This team is a Ricky Stanzi, Beathard, Tate, Nate Chandler or Stanley away from being elite. Pretty much any decent qb away from being really good.
Big 10 Quarterback Rankings after 5 games
- Thread starter tomander
- Start date
Maryland has a guy in his first few months. So does Northwestern. And that's just in the B1G. You can't tell me they have better receivers or TEs than us.
That doesn't mean our second stringer is better than Petras. I'm not saying Petras is great, I'm just saying that as long as I have been alive I think Drew Tate is the only one who looked above average his first season. Maybe Chuck Long did, but I was really too young to pay attention at that time. Maybe Brad Banks counts? Sort of? The point is more often than not an Iowa QB needs to learn on the job quite a bit. Remember Pick 6 Rick? And Stanley never really did learn to hit the deep ball consistently. I guess I'm just not ready to give up on him yet even though he's rarely close on a deep ball and the next time he hits a receiver in stride will be the first time that happens. I did see a few plays in the last game that gave me some hope to be optimistic he will get better, but we need to keep seeing more of it.
I don't think it has much to do with being as "effective" as the previous 3 year starter, though it is entirely possible to be better than that previous starter. It can and does happen.
Iowa isn't Morehead University, they can and do recruit good players at every position, players with Professional potential, including QB's. (I'm very surprised Nate Stanley is still on an NFL practice squad however, but good for him)
I doubt many expected Petras to light the Big Ten on fire, but he was awful in his first two winnable Big Ten games, with halftime leads and plenty of experienced skill position players around him and an Offensive Line that has done a pretty fair job of protecting him.
He wasn't connecting on a lot of basic passes less than 15 yards from the line of scrimmage. That's bad. They've clearly gameplanned most mid level passes out of the playbook, because they saw what everybody else saw. High throws and passes continually behind receivers among other things. There has been some drops of decent passes, but more really good catches of poorly thrown balls.
When you hold your breath every time your QB drops back to pass, that's not good. Just do the basic throws OK, that would be a huge upgrade. 10-15 yard passes from a 6'5" 230 lb QB trained young man isn't that much to ask for IMO.
The 2 fumbles at Purdue weren't on Petras, but even average play by him wins us that game regardless, IMO. It's just looked optically bad, because it is, and the stats in this case really bare that out.
Iowa fans want to see better play out of that position, no matter who it is. I don't think there's some personal vendetta because he has a mustache or likes the Grateful Dead. Just don't suck, and Iowa will do fine with what they have right now. Likely 5-0 and a Top Ten team in this weird year with anybody besides Petras or Jake Christensen. He needs to be better, he just does.
We should be able to expect the qb to make basic throws consistently, and not continue to make the same mistakes in game 5 that he did in game 1. 3 years in the program and we are hoping he can find some touch and accuracy. He has the lowest yards per attempt in the conference, and his completion percentage is still awful.
55.6% is “abominable” but 58% for career not only okay but gets you drafted? Beathard was 56% as senior, was that “abominal”?
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Ws are Ws. We are 5 f-ing points from being undefeated. And no it was not all Petras fault.
These are fair criticisms. But it's not really anything new either. I wish it could be different but for whatever reason, Iowa doesn't seem to be able to develop QB's until they actually get on the field. And then they seem to be pretty good at it. At least we aren't Harbaugh and Michigan. But I also don't think you are out of line for being critical of this because that is a coaching thing if you see the same pattern from QB to QB.
I don't disagree with you. I guess I'm seeing exactly what I expected to see this season out of him which is why I'm not surprised. I have to trust the coaches that they aren't keeping the Baker Mayfield prototype Heisman in the first year on the bench just because.
Everything I’ve heard suggest Petras is the best option now. What I’m worried about moving forward is Hogan not getting a shot until Petras leaves. That would suck.
I hope you and others can see I'm not trying to be argumentative about it, and I wasn't expecting anything other than a competent Big Ten QB from a 3rd year player.
So my expectations were relatively low actually, and just hope he was much better, that's all we can do I believe when a new QB is intoduced.
Unfortunately he's been underwhelming to my low expectations. Scary at times. That's the reality as I see it 5 games in. I truly hope the light comes on soon.
Petras is one of the more inexperienced QBs on the list in one of the most unusual years for a first year starter. If we are seeing similar stats next year, then it will be time for questions. But I think we will see a lot of improvement between now and then. Petras seems to have that "it" with the team, and he can make all of the throws.
Are you saying fields and Petras have the same experience? I'll stop there lol
Derp.
This is ramsey's 4th b1g season.
Md can get better recruits....
Shocker huh lol
Look all the qbs struggling, people need to remember that.
When's the last time psu msu mi all had trouble finding a qb in the same season?
Morgan was suppose to be a stud for mn and was a total dud vs us
Stanzi was the king of the pick 6 for sure but he also stepped up and made huge plays at key moments of the game. Petras has yet to do that. Rudock didn't throw INTs. He also didn't make big plays.
Beathard and the entire offense were crap in 2016. Not far above 2012 level futility. Yes. 56% is abominable in the modern era of offense. The big difference between 2016 and 2020 is the quality of surrounding cast Petras has.
Edit-Beathard was ranked 101 out of 120 starting QBS in 2016.
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I don't think any Iowa fans expected Petras to step in and be as good as Stanley. However, he was a 4 star recruit with a lot of high school accolades going into his 3rd year on campus.
All I would hope is that after 5 games he would be a better than this. Hopefully he improves drastically.
Peyton Ramsey may be in his first year at Northwestern but he has had significant playing time in each of the last 3 seasons. It's also absurd to compare the number of years in a program to actual playing time. Petras had no spring camp and it was likely very limited this summer. If he continues as is next year, complaints will be valid. Right now, he's a first year starter who has made some mistakes, but has also shown significant ability. I'd take my chances to see what you have with a high ceiling guy any day, especially with a give away season.
If Hogan doesn't get a shot it's because a) Petras continues to get better and is better for the entire time both players are here; or b) Hogan doesn't end up being a good college QB.
I get excitement about certain QB's, but we had people frothing at the mouth about Petras' high school tape and how it was good that he'd get a shot once Stanley was gone. Barring the freak talents like Trevor Lawrence, most guys take some period of adjustment. Petras has taken baby steps the last 2 weeks. The way he finished against Minnesota was encouraging and the game against PSU was his best overall game (even with the fumbled exchange. The drive where he hit Ragaini down the seam, then LaPorta near the goal line was outstanding, as was the series where Iowa took over own downs at midfield and scored at the end of the first half. No wow throws in that series, just several on time, accurate ones that moved the ball.
No, I think this is an interesting conversation. You've brought up good points and have valid reasons to be critical.
Well, he converted a 3rd and 20. He needs to do a lot more of that but it's something.
What?! Go back and watch how many missed opportunities (and passes) Petras had in those games. There were some egregiously wide-open misses, several on third downs. I would love to see a statistic on bad QB throws, I'm willing to bet he leads the Big Ten. Bottomline, as others stated and what you are alluding to, if we had a better QB or at least QB performance, we would be 5-0.
Ask Petras about those games and he would tell you it wasn't on his teammates, the loss is on him as the leader of the offense. If he holds himself accountable to this mantra, why shouldn't fans as well.
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its not about defending him , its about giving him a chance . saturday hw was above average , it was better . he has played 5 competitive games in 3 years , am i a little disappointed ? yes but i still think potential is there .
I have been defending him. If there is 1 throw he needs to be better at it is his touch throw. I think we all agree on that. It was better against PSU.
We had two 1000 yard rushers in 2016, Beathard should have had the easiest time of any QB we've had that year.
Good god just stop. If we do not fumble we beat Purdue. If we do not miss a FG we beat NW. How that on Petras? also He has had some picks, but there have also been some drops. I do not know how you keep focusing on Petras. The penalties have also gotten a little better but those are also killer too. Again not all on Petras.
If we had better line play in the 1st 2 games we'd be 5 0. If we had better rb play we'd be 5 0.
I agree about Purdue with the fumbles but the NW game was just awful. Petras was spotted two touchdowns. NW completely sold out to stop the run. All he had to do was put together ONE legit td drive to put that game away. Petras was just terrible against NW.
And? Where do you suppose that got them rated any year throughout their career? Here are the QB ratings since 2015:
2015-34
2016-101
2017-67
2018-27
2019-44
Mean of around 55.
Sub-60% is bad, really bad in the modern era. Especially when the majority of your targets are <10 yards.
And managed 95th in scoring at 24.9 per game. Scored less than 20 six times and 21 in losing to NDSU at home. I am not clear. What about comparing Petras' performance this year to anything in 2016 displays him in a favorable light?
I hope he turns it around. I had great hopes for him coming into the program.
Playing experience-wise, live game experience, he’s in his first year. Live games are different than practice.
