Thought I'd drop by here as well as the EliteDawgs forum and share some wisdom on this year's edition of Hawkeye football.
It's been an up and down year, typical for Iowa with games that shoulda/coulda been won and most within one possession. When Iowa is playing well, they're damn near unbeatable, but when they don't (which it's quite a challenge for college players to execute an NFL system), things can get hairy.
Usually, when the Hawks are out-athleted in a game (which they will be against MSU), they rely on clean play, capitalizing on opponent mistakes, hidden yards and field position to keep things close. If the opponent plays clean for the most part, we probably don't have much of a chance because we just don't have a bunch of guys on offense able to make game-changing, explosive plays.
What you will get is a team that plays with 100% effort until the end, very few penalties, good balance on offense, a good offensive and defensive line and hard hits if we can get a good angle on the ball carriers.
Our offense has been sporadic. We really need to pass to set up the run as we haven't been able to just line up and maul many defenses with the exception of Nebraska. We have three RBs who are all decent, but not spectacular. We have a QB who has been as inconsistent as any QB can be. At times dropping dimes and at others just dropping the ball. TEs are the best in the nation, but one has left for the NFL. The better of the two will be playing in the bowl game. Can explain more about that if anyone is interested. WRs are okay. Will give more detail on individual players in a later post. Obviously, your salty defense will be a big test for our middling offense.
Defense has been quite solid. DL is the strength and goes 8 deep with the best of the bunch a backup (true story). The LBs were all new and probably the weak point due to lack of footspeed/agility. Safeties are solid with one being B10 DB of the year. The corners have been inconsistent as well. Geared to not give up the big play, typically play a softer zone coverage and make teams earn their way down the field. If you guys can move our DL, we're sunk. They've been better vs the pass than the run this year, so it will be interesting to see how well the LBs can step up to stuff your very good run game. I haven't watched a bunch of your games, but will over the next couple weeks and have a better idea of how we matchup for further thoughts on a prediction.
Look forward to some good give and take with you guys and would be happy to try to answer any questions y'all might have.
It's been an up and down year, typical for Iowa with games that shoulda/coulda been won and most within one possession. When Iowa is playing well, they're damn near unbeatable, but when they don't (which it's quite a challenge for college players to execute an NFL system), things can get hairy.
Usually, when the Hawks are out-athleted in a game (which they will be against MSU), they rely on clean play, capitalizing on opponent mistakes, hidden yards and field position to keep things close. If the opponent plays clean for the most part, we probably don't have much of a chance because we just don't have a bunch of guys on offense able to make game-changing, explosive plays.
What you will get is a team that plays with 100% effort until the end, very few penalties, good balance on offense, a good offensive and defensive line and hard hits if we can get a good angle on the ball carriers.
Our offense has been sporadic. We really need to pass to set up the run as we haven't been able to just line up and maul many defenses with the exception of Nebraska. We have three RBs who are all decent, but not spectacular. We have a QB who has been as inconsistent as any QB can be. At times dropping dimes and at others just dropping the ball. TEs are the best in the nation, but one has left for the NFL. The better of the two will be playing in the bowl game. Can explain more about that if anyone is interested. WRs are okay. Will give more detail on individual players in a later post. Obviously, your salty defense will be a big test for our middling offense.
Defense has been quite solid. DL is the strength and goes 8 deep with the best of the bunch a backup (true story). The LBs were all new and probably the weak point due to lack of footspeed/agility. Safeties are solid with one being B10 DB of the year. The corners have been inconsistent as well. Geared to not give up the big play, typically play a softer zone coverage and make teams earn their way down the field. If you guys can move our DL, we're sunk. They've been better vs the pass than the run this year, so it will be interesting to see how well the LBs can step up to stuff your very good run game. I haven't watched a bunch of your games, but will over the next couple weeks and have a better idea of how we matchup for further thoughts on a prediction.
Look forward to some good give and take with you guys and would be happy to try to answer any questions y'all might have.
