He also gives thoughts on why Hecklinski did not win the starting job.
Watch:
Watch:
Dochterman on Hank Brown: "His ball placement has been rough this year."
- Thread starter Franisdaman
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So Brown's ball placement was rough (I think he means poor by using the word rough) in the game he went 12-12? Hank was 70% completion rate against ISU. He was under a good deal of pressure against Mich and OSU so yeah you can see some passes being a bit off.
I think if Hank had the Iowa running attack from 2024 and '25 he would not have had the pressure on him the last two games. so not sure where the Dochter is coming from
Against Ohio St? Yes. Every other game? No. This is why Dochterman is the beat guy I listen to the least.
To be fair, part of what made the rushing attack successful for the 2025 team was having an actual dual threat QB in Gronowski...............
He finished with a record 16 rushing TDs for an Iowa QB, and 545 yds, good for second behind Moulton's 878.
We simply won't get even a fourth of that production from Brown OR Hecklinski.
Give Brown, some slack, have we forgot about those Ann Arbor guys? I hope he is healthy and makes some of us eat crow.
He was a good runner, but how many of these olineman are as good as the guy that played that position last year?
To be clear, Doc said even in the game where he had no incompletions, Hank’s ball placement was not good, but the receivers were able to make adjustments and come up with the catch.
I like Doc a lot, but his thinking here aligns with many of the other folks who are banging the drum for Hecklinski, in that they tend to cherry-pick stats and argue hypotheticals to make their case. Doc (and Chad) are a little more subtle about it, but it’s the same thing.
With Hank, his detractors dismiss his success because he was “lucky,” or because he “got away with some bad throws,” or that “his receivers made good plays on poorly placed balls.” So it’s like Hank’s actual results don’t really count.
But with Heck, you see folks talking about some of his misses were dropped balls, and that his stats are “really better than they are.” People are basing their favorable appraisals on things that haven’t actually happened. Or things that they hope will happen because they read that Heck was a “gunslinger.”
But at the end of the day, the results are the results. Hank had solid performances in 4 games. He laid a turd against tOSU. Heck, meanwhile, was very mid in the early games he played in, (to be fair, not a big sample size) and he had one fantastic drive near the end of the tOSU game. Oh, and he apparently had at least one really good practice, though most of us did not see it.
To be clear, while I’ve supported Hank to this point, I am curious to see what Heck does on Friday night. It could very well be that he will shine brightly when the lights come on and the offense will hum. I remain open-minded that Heck might be our guy.
But I’m going to base my opinion on actual results. Not cherry-picked stats. Not results that could have been. Not results that I wish for. Actual results on the field. Other fans, and best writers, should do the same.
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Bottom line: Our passing game is sub-par. Again. Another season..
The Iowa football team has an Offensive disease.
The Iowa football team has an Offensive disease.
Doc really got bent on his podcast when Brown got the nod to start.
On Coach Patterson's podcast he hinted at to why Hecklinski had the better Kids Day stats as he heard they were playing throw and catch. Coach Patterson has contacts with the Iowa staff.
Yeah well then ya know what, it's time for our opponents' defenses to start sucking more..........
Let's stop putting it all on Iowa to execute 100% of the time or else they make 1904 college football offenses on a winless team look like the 2007 Patriots in comparison.
Enough with this sh**.
I watched Lester have a lengthy pregame convo with Dochterman and Leistekow prior to Ohio State game on sideline.
The measure by which Iowa QBs are measured is insane. So long without good QB play and fans will try to convince themselves that Hank or Heck is good
a healthy Mark G was solid. Otherwise, gotta go back to Stanley.
a healthy Mark G was solid. Otherwise, gotta go back to Stanley.
I don’t get that comment. He had one rough game against the best team in the country. One with a payroll at least 3 times ours.
maybe we should have paid Entringer too.
maybe we should have paid Entringer too.
He also had 2 meh quarters against Iowa State and Michigan. Just needs to put it together all 4Qs
RVZ, DJ, and Diaz have all bailed Hank out numerous times each game. Snatching balls that were off (and many cudda been picked)
Hank has been bailed out a lot by our receivers, especially our 'big 3'. Offense is pretty paltry even with (4) good backs, 2 good WR, and one good TE. Truth is, if McNamara, Deacon, or Spencer had the Big 3 to throw to, who knows how much better their numbers wudda been. 
Maybe equal to what we are getting now with Hank?
Maybe equal to what we are getting now with Hank?
Hill's would definitely not have been. Maybe a healthy Cade, but he probably wasn't full strength for any game he played in an Iowa uniform. He also would be less likely to hit Diaz on that bomb against ISU. Spencer might be close, but he doesn't make that throw to Ostrenga late in the fourth quarter against Michigan because he never showed the agility to evade the pass rush like that to buy time.Hank has been bailed out a lot by our receivers, especially our 'big 3'. Offense is pretty paltry even with (4) good backs, 2 good WR, and one good TE. Truth is, if McNamara, Deacon, or Spencer had the Big 3 to throw to, who knows how much better their numbers wudda been.
Last I checked aren't WRs supposed to catch balls that are catchable?Hank has been bailed out a lot by our receivers, especially our 'big 3'. Offense is pretty paltry even with (4) good backs, 2 good WR, and one good TE. Truth is, if McNamara, Deacon, or Spencer had the Big 3 to throw to, who knows how much better their numbers wudda been.
So they did catch balls they should have caught, LOLZ
12-12 against UNI? Impressive. I would have enjoyed a similarly productive day against a team Iowa should be embarrassed to play.
Against OSU, Brown repeatedly missed WIDE OPEN receivers--and not by inches, by yards. Complete most of those, don't fumble after holding the ball WAY too long, and it's a much different ball game. Hell, take away that gift TD and it's 24-14 with 10 minutes to play.
Brown's passes were SO bad against OSU that you may recall the refs reviewed a PI call against OSU because they thought the ball may have been tipped at the LOS. But no--it was just another wounded duck from Brown.
Right up to the first game, KF insisted the QB "competition" was even, and then he proceeded to start Brown every single game. KF had his guy all along--the game manager, not the dual threat. And in other news, water is wet.
No one can take that last game-winning TD throw away. But an objective review of that final drive reveals a helluva lot of luck involved.
That's why I only rely on writer's and reporters to report and give me some news. Just because they have access to the team to get information doesn't mean they automatically know any more about the game. People just assume because guys like Doc and Kakert have the access, they must have the knowledge. Not always the same.
a little more nuance to this isn't there? This isn't just a Hank issue either, there have been throws from each QB that if were placed in stride or just correctly, would have been huge gains if not 6.
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What was Hecklinski numbers against UNI?
Here let me help you cuz you will need it.
6 of 11 54% with a QB rating of 9.6
Impressive?
Now ramble on with some lame excuses.
I have a certain amount of respect for these two, but sometimes their Takes area suspect. I like watching that Hassell guy with the Iowa st guy. On YouTube. “Iowa everywhere”.
Lol! No! Hank is lucky receivers caught balls. Otherwise those would have all been interceptions ya know!
Heck was 6-11 for 65 yards and took the only sack vs UNI. What's your opinion of that? He must suck compared to you.
12-12 is good against anybody. If it were so easy, then we should expect to see it quite often when superior teams play inferior opponents. But we don't. The last time an Iowa QB started a game with 12 consecutive completions was CJB in 2015 against North Texas. (The Mean Green wasn't very mean that year, finishing 1-11). Brown also completed his last five passes against ISU and his first two at Michigan, giving him 19 consecutive completions.
This is not to say that Brown is great, but it is clear that he doesn't suck. To this point of the season, Brown has played better than Heck. Hopefully, Heck builds on his best performance--albeit just one drive--and has a good game tonight. It he can do that, then he could become QB1. Personally, I don't care who earns the spot as long as they help the Hawks win.
Iowa is so so close to being 2-3 heading to Wash. a lot of luck against Michigan and a sluggish workmanlike effort against an Iowa st whose given up 42 and 31 points against their last 2 P4 opponents.
On the Iowa curve (where good QB play is probably hard to recognize cause there’s been so little of it) Hank has been decent I guess.
But there’s no evidence he’s any sort of difference maker or really solid QB option on a team that wants to compete with the big boys.
we will see if Jeremy offers any evidence tonight.
On the Iowa curve (where good QB play is probably hard to recognize cause there’s been so little of it) Hank has been decent I guess.
But there’s no evidence he’s any sort of difference maker or really solid QB option on a team that wants to compete with the big boys.
we will see if Jeremy offers any evidence tonight.
Hank had a lot of time in that game. Also, there were holes for our backs that I could have gained 2 or 3 yards. None of that happened for Heck.What was Hecklinski numbers against UNI?
Here let me help you cuz you will need it.
6 of 11 54% with a QB rating of 9.6
Impressive?
Now ramble on with some lame excuses.
Oh, please. Your memory must be selective. Check out the play-by-play and you'll see several long runs after Heck entered the game. The protection was solid. Brown was sharp against UNI and Heck was so-so.
That said, it was one game that by itself doesn't define either guy.
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