Gronowski getting Heat from the local media

HMB Trumpet

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Mar 19, 2018
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If this ends up another fiasco like Cade the responsibility lies totally on Kirk and Lester not the fans. Not a good look for The Swarm either withholding the medical info until he signed the big contract.

Gronowski's success at the FCS level has nothing to do with his current condition and ability to succeed at the Big Ten level. We pushed aside two QBs Brendan Sullivan and Jackson Stratton who played well for us last season. Kirk has said he doesn't want to go to the portal next spring and have the QBs in the program compete. Day late and a million $$$ short on that one Kirk.
Shaggy is still on the team, but was out while recovering from a hernia. He's currently QB5, but presumably will ascend as he regains strength. Sullivan chose to leave, but didn't see the field in Tulane's win over Northwestern.
 
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HMB Trumpet

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Mar 19, 2018
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Following the extremely bad first quarter, MG zipped a nice, short TD pass on 4th down and in the third quarter threw a very good pass across the field to Gill. It was a much more difficult throw than the missed TD opportunity on the opening possession.

MG's main problem seems to be overthinking. He was slow to make reads and hesitant to throw. His struggles really don't seem to be related to his shoulder.
 

Tom Paris

Heisman
Oct 1, 2001
143,651
18,859
113
If the numbers are correct, he's making a million dollars and so with that money he's expected to perform. I highly doubt he plans to give any of it back when he plays poorly so he deserves the criticism because the expectations were high.
He’s a professional now. I’m very glad I invested zero cents into any of these players. NIL is a damn joke. Worse than I imagined.
 

Tom Paris

Heisman
Oct 1, 2001
143,651
18,859
113
If this ends up another fiasco like Cade the responsibility lies totally on Kirk and Lester not the fans. Not a good look for The Swarm either withholding the medical info until he signed the big contract.

Gronowski's success at the FCS level has nothing to do with his current condition and ability to succeed at the Big Ten level. We pushed aside two QBs Brendan Sullivan and Jackson Stratton who played well for us last season. Kirk has said he doesn't want to go to the portal next spring and have the QBs in the program compete. Day late and a million $$$ short on that one Kirk.
They played well?? Both were less than mediocre. Neither are close to being good.
 

Tom Paris

Heisman
Oct 1, 2001
143,651
18,859
113
FWIW, have you seen Iowa's local beat writers? Doubt many ever played the game. They are not worthy of carrying his jock strap.

First game, always starts slow. Looked good running the ball, missed a few throws and several wide open receivers but he'll get better. Kirk always keeps thing close to the vest in game one. Generally our biggest improvements are between week 1 and week 2.

I will not make judgements until we play Indiana. If we are 4-1 or 5-0 it vould be a very good year. 3-2 and I'll be disappointed.
44 yards passing slow??? In 2025??
 

UIAlumFireFighter

All-Conference
Sep 26, 2018
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I will not make judgements until we play Indiana. If we are 4-1 or 5-0 it vould be a very good year. 3-2 and I'll be disappointed.
LOL, What?? Let's say MG has the exact same passing 'success' against ISU...You won't be making any judgements??

The patience and low expectations some have is incredible :unsure:

I can forgive a slow series or two, or at worst an entire half in game 1... I see it and it happens to many offenses. But the passing game stayed slow. For the whole damn game. We aren't going to win sh*t without a capable air attack.
 

Kceasthawk@77

All-American
Feb 2, 2005
3,067
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LOL, What?? Let's say MG has the exact same passing 'success' against ISU...You won't be making any judgements??

The patience and low expectations some have is incredible :unsure:

I can forgive a slow series or two, or at worst an entire half in game 1... I see it and it happens to many offenses. But the passing game stayed slow. For the whole damn game. We aren't going to win sh*t without a capable air attack.
Lolol.. and just how many passes did we attempt in the second half? It became very clear we didn't need to throw to win easily and by then our QB was having cramping issues.
 

UIAlumFireFighter

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Sep 26, 2018
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Lolol.. and just how many passes did we attempt in the second half? It became very clear we didn't need to throw to win easily and by then our QB was having cramping issues.
Do many P4 teams need to throw to win in week one? Nope. Especially those with an FCS opponent.

But they do it for several good reasons.

So now here we are, going into a huge game 2, without feeling the success of a passing attack…

The more a player has the ball in his hands, the more comfortable he gets. Comfort = Higher chance of success. Why do some of you not understand the importance of this?
 

Kceasthawk@77

All-American
Feb 2, 2005
3,067
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Do many P4 teams need to throw to win in week one? Nope. Especially those with an FCS opponent.

But they do it for several good reasons.

So now here we are, going into a huge game 2, without feeling the success of a passing attack…

The more a player has the ball in his hands, the more comfortable he gets. Comfort = Higher chance of success. Why do some of you not understand the importance of this?
My point being that MG started slow, and then progressed some, and by then he was having cramping issues so they said lets just run the ball. We all know that Kirk chooses the path of less resistance, and doesn't care if he wins by 7 or 27, so if he thinks its best he pulls the wings in. Brown came in and threw one pass, completed, but could easily have been a pick 6, and that was all for the day.
 
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The Big Z

All-Conference
Jan 5, 2023
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Lolol.. and just how many passes did we attempt in the second half? It became very clear we didn't need to throw to win easily and by then our QB was having cramping issues.
It’s basically a practice game. We were so bad throwing however early that we just said F it and ran the ball. So we basically didn’t use this game at all to get him prepped because he was so bad at throwing we just decided we were only going to run. Your million dollar QB needs to be able to make plays if you want to do better than 7-5, 8-4. To beat Penn St, Oregon, even Iowa St we aren’t going to win like this. Such a red flag that I called out the minute they announced his surgery. He’s basically had hardly any live practice time. And you can tell.
 

UIAlumFireFighter

All-Conference
Sep 26, 2018
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My point being that MG started slow, and then progressed some, and by then he was having cramping issues so they said lets just run the ball. We all know that Kirk chooses the path of less resistance, and doesn't care if he wins by 7 or 27, so if he thinks its best he pulls the wings in. Brown came in and threw one pass, completed, but could easily have been a pick 6, and that was all for the day.
In bold… plain stupid. You should always want to crush your competition.

Bottom line:

Iowa needed to treat that matchup as a practice game yet we finished it with next-to-zero success in the passing game which should be close to half the reason the offense is successful.

Illinois game was the first Box Score I clicked on a moment ago… They were up 31-0 at half and continued to work on their passing through the 3rd quarter. That’s how you get your players involved(!). That’s how you get better.

Kirk does not understand this basic concept which makes it very difficult on his team.

Lastly - Hank Brown should have had numerous pass attempts.
 
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Kceasthawk@77

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Feb 2, 2005
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My advice, FWIW, is prepare to be disappointed. Based on the historical facts and Saturday's evidence, Iowa may finish 2-10. They could improve significantly and still finish 2-10. I think it will take a miracle for Iowa to even stay competitive on Saturday. ISU smells blood, and they have a QB who just completed 19-20 while Iowa's threw for 44 yards because he was nervous. LOL

The defense will be mediocre, especially by Iowa standards, and the one-dimensional offense will be stuffed time and time again. Special teams? Yah, sure.

I was done with KF in 2014. My sincere hope is that Beth Goetz shows KF the door when this disaster of a season is over. Or maybe miracles do still occur. Saturday should give us a much better view of the future, but I'm tired of all the talk about the Shanahan offense. I want to see it. And Saturday gave no one any reason to believe the talk was anything more than so much hot air.
This is SO far off base. How much are you willing to put up that Iowa does not go 2-10? "Based on historical facts" is it? Okay there Mr Anonamous whens the last time Iowa went 2-10? For the record, the last (and ONLY ) time Iowa failed to win more then 2 games was Kirks first year in 1999. Thats 26 years ago. The last time Iowa had a losing record was 2012 and they were 4-8. Basically at least 8 wins every year since and much of that with a sub par passing attack. I get people not being happy with how Iowa football looks, but its the nonsense posted like this that is the last straw. Show us your historical data that Iowa is going 2-10 or less, or stop posting that crap.
 

Kceasthawk@77

All-American
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It’s basically a practice game. We were so bad throwing however early that we just said F it and ran the ball. So we basically didn’t use this game at all to get him prepped because he was so bad at throwing we just decided we were only going to run. Your million dollar QB needs to be able to make plays if you want to do better than 7-5, 8-4. To beat Penn St, Oregon, even Iowa St we aren’t going to win like this. Such a red flag that I called out the minute they announced his surgery. He’s basically had hardly any live practice time. And you can tell.
"Your million $ QB"? Excuse me? I'm not one of the dolts playing players to play college sports while they get a free education, medical care, perks and a free internship for a pro career.....
 

kwik44

All-Conference
Mar 6, 2003
9,209
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Ok so were two whistles blown way too early on two Gronowski runs.

One of them was a sack but the knee was never down, and the other was a 3rd a goal designed run and it looks like he stayed up for a touchdown. What was going on with these plays?

edit: elbow down on the second one.
 

2D

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Oct 8, 2013
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Never listen to Chris Hassel. That guy is an emotionally stunted psychopath who secretly simps for the Clowns.
 
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Palmerhawk

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Never listen to Chris Hassel. That guy is an emotionally stunted psychopath who secretly simps for the Clowns.
Is he really "local media"?
Who does he work for these days?
Seems to go after kf a lot for a local media guy.
 

kmurpny

Sophomore
Jul 22, 2006
129
143
43
My advice, FWIW, is prepare to be disappointed. Based on the historical facts and Saturday's evidence, Iowa may finish 2-10. They could improve significantly and still finish 2-10. I think it will take a miracle for Iowa to even stay competitive on Saturday. ISU smells blood, and they have a QB who just completed 19-20 while Iowa's threw for 44 yards because he was nervous. LOL

The defense will be mediocre, especially by Iowa standards, and the one-dimensional offense will be stuffed time and time again. Special teams? Yah, sure.

I was done with KF in 2014. My sincere hope is that Beth Goetz shows KF the door when this disaster of a season is over. Or maybe miracles do still occur. Saturday should give us a much better view of the future, but I'm tired of all the talk about the Shanahan offense. I want to see it. And Saturday gave no one any reason to believe the talk was anything more than so much hot air.
We aren’t firing a coach wth that kind of buyout.
 

kmurpny

Sophomore
Jul 22, 2006
129
143
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He’s a professional now. I’m very glad I invested zero cents into any of these players. NIL is a damn joke. Worse than I imagined.
Worked for Miami yesterday. Of course, they have much more money than little old Iowa.
 

The Big Z

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"Your million $ QB"? Excuse me? I'm not one of the dolts playing players to play college sports while they get a free education, medical care, perks and a free internship for a pro career.....
I meant Iowa’s million dollar QB, nothing to do with you.
 

joelbc1

All-American
Sep 5, 2007
4,452
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Did you watch the game?

The lost fumbled snap at the 50 was his big chance. He blew it.
Bad snap exchange and the right guard “pulled” into MG and kicked the ball when it was on the ground. I guess he blew it… but a messed up exchange involves two players usually.
 
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QCHawkeye

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Dec 18, 2023
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I think we blew it as a fanbase when we thought we would be getting a savior at QB. I feel like our SWARM brethren that donates got swindled into investing into a bad investment.

Got sold that we would be getting a great QB who then had to have surgery without fully releasing this info to the donating public. Then we see the product we were sold go for possibly a historic Iowa low of 44 yards and make horrible throws that HS freshman would have hit.
This won’t help donations if he has a bad year at QB.
 
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eyesofhawk

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Meanwhile, Purdue's QB threw for over 300 yards. Why is it so easy for other teams to find a QB that can throw but so hard for Iowa?
Why aren't those teams rushing for 300 and giving up 177 total yards with their D?
 

eyesofhawk

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Apr 17, 2011
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Kirk is so out of touch with what a passing game should look like it's astonishing. And the older he gets the worse he's getting
How does KF know how to defend passing attacks if he has no idea what they look like?

It's astonishing how many teams are out of touch with a strong running attack
 

MAKhawks

All-Conference
Nov 3, 2001
1,418
2,175
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Meanwhile, Purdue's QB threw for over 300 yards. Why is it so easy for other teams to find a QB that can throw but so hard for Iowa?

I’ll give you one guess why it’s so hard for Iowa.

It’s been over FIVE seasons (11/23/2019) since Iowa had a QB throw for over 300 yards in a single game. Your average aged kindergartener has not witnessed it in their lifetime. Six starting QB’s ago.
 
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Anon1723352342

Redshirt
Aug 10, 2024
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My advice, FWIW, is prepare to be disappointed. Based on the historical facts and Saturday's evidence, Iowa may finish 2-10. They could improve significantly and still finish 2-10. I think it will take a miracle for Iowa to even stay competitive on Saturday. ISU smells blood, and they have a QB who just completed 19-20 while Iowa's threw for 44 yards because he was nervous. LOL

The defense will be mediocre, especially by Iowa standards, and the one-dimensional offense will be stuffed time and time again. Special teams? Yah, sure.

I was done with KF in 2014. My sincere hope is that Beth Goetz shows KF the door when this disaster of a season is over. Or maybe miracles do still occur. Saturday should give us a much better view of the future, but I'm tired of all the talk about the Shanahan offense. I want to see it. And Saturday gave no one any reason to believe the talk was anything more than so much hot air.
If you had to choose between winning only 1 game between UAlbany and ‘Clones this year, which would it be? Obviously the 1st game of season means nothing. All the cards on table for KF this Saturday, this is CFP for Hawkeyes!!
 

Clonewithasigh

Heisman
Jun 18, 2001
97,380
39,742
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How many people donating money to pay ball players are REALLY getting what they paid for?
And therein lies the breaking point of NIL. IMO this is the main reason that the kids are put on payroll now. The risk associated does not provide a sustainable model to support bidding wars for college kids. Coaches such as KF certainly don’t want to be beholden to donors when deciding to play kids or not, and donors aren’t going to be money pits for players that don’t provide the necessary ROI.
 

Hawkapottomos Rex

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Gronkowski?

Football Touch Down GIF by Nickelodeon

Take political comments to the OT board.
Funny you never tell that douchebag to do that and he's the one that brings it up all the time so I just gave him a little of his own medicine, Tommy
 

hahkize

Senior
Feb 7, 2007
331
508
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I think we blew it as a fanbase when we thought we would be getting a savior at QB. I feel like our SWARM brethren that donates got swindled into investing into a bad investment.

Got sold that we would be getting a great QB who then had to have surgery without fully releasing this info to the donating public. Then we see the product we were sold go for possibly a historic Iowa low of 44 yards and make horrible throws that HS freshman would have hit.
caveat emptor