Brian Ferentz and the QB's of his era

[archmage2002]

I will preface this post by saying I had high hopes for Brian Ferentz as a OC because it has been clear for quite some time that Kirk Ferentz has had an outsized influence on the play-calling and design. I had hoped being his son, Brian Ferentz would be able to say no to his father and modernize the offense a bit. I saw a lot of encouraging signs at first because I saw misdirections, motion plays, middle of the field actually being used, wildcat and various other positive signs. Of course, over time this has proven to be window dressing because it's still the exact same offense underneath with none of the tweaks actually changing anything fundamental and I firmly believe its because Kirk Ferentz doesn't want it to change, he wants to the run the exact same plays he ran 21 years ago. In other words, Brian Ferentz can't seem to tell his father to eff off when it comes to the offense.

With that out of the way, I have been seeing a lot of offensive rankings and numbers being thrown around for the years under KOK, GD and BF but one of the crucial differences not being mentioned is the QB's in those years. If Iowa was to have a good offense 2 things almost universally need to happen, a good offensive line and crucial to put Iowa over the top we need a good QB with that said I am starting from 2001:

Year - QB - OC - Rank.

2001 - Kyle McCann - KOK - 47/117
2002 - Brad Banks - KOK - 13/117
2003 - Scott Chandler - KOK - 92/117
2004 - Drew Tate - KOK - 104/120
2005 - Drew Tate - KOK - 22/119
2006 - Drew Tate - KOK - 27/119
2007 - Jake Christensen - KOK - 109/119
2008 - JC and Ricky Stanzi - KOK - 53/119
2009 - Ricky Stanzi - KOK - 89/120
2010 - Ricky Stanzi - KOK - 57/120
2011 - James Vandenberg - KOK - 76/120
2012 - James Vandenberg - GD - 117/124
2013 - Jake Rudock - GD - 84/125
2014 - Jake Rudock - GD - 66/128
2015 - C.J. Beathard - GD - 72/128
2016 - C.J. Beathard - GD - 121/128
2017 - Nate Stanley - BF - 117/130
2018 - Nate Stanley - BF - 92/130
2019 - Nate Stanley - BF - 99/130
2020 - Spencer Petras - BF - 88/128

One of the things that stand out to me besides the obvious mobile QB for the win(Oh and wow I didn't expect Jake Rudock to have the best offense of the GD era) is that BF has been seriously handicapped by the type of QB that has played under him.

Stanley sucked throwing deep, his ball placement often forced his receivers into awkward catch's, he was slightly more mobile than a statue, he could only seem to call run audibles to the left or right side and he had times when his brain went to sleep mid-game "1 Sheep, 2 Sheep, baa!!".

Petras on the other hand has a good deep ball, can make every throw in the book, his passes runs extremely hot or cold, statues may have more mobility than him, his ball placement is just like his passes, he has no feel for manipulating the pocket and he seems to be afraid to audible.

 

[StillGold]

Mobility is often quoted. I did my best to get 40 yard times for our QB's and none are blazers though last two are faster than are current top three.

Petras 5.05
Padella 4.89
Deuce 4.90
Labas 4.6-4.7
May 4.6-4.7

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

Maybe BF should learn how to help his guys out. No misdirection, no jet sweep action. He does absolutely nothing to fool a defense or get their eyes looking somewhere else. He’s so overmatched by defensive coordinators. Look at the Wisconsin kid’s comment after the game. He said they could tell which way the ball was going by Iowa’s alignment and personnel. Imagine being a QB with the defense knowing where it’s going most of the time.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Mobility is often quoted. I did my best to get 40 yard times for our QB's and none are blazers though last two are faster than are current top three.

Petras 5.05
Padella 4.89
Deuce 4.90
Labas 4.6-4.7
May 4.6-4.7

While I'd love to have a burner taking snaps, a respectable 40 time + shiftiness + pocket presence/situational awareness is the combo I'm interested in. 4.75 40 time + duck/shuck/juke/spin + internal clock/scan field/eyes back of head

 

[grayhair81]

Mobility is often quoted. I did my best to get 40 yard times for our QB's and none are blazers though last two are faster than are current top three.

Petras 5.05
Padella 4.89
Deuce 4.90
Labas 4.6-4.7
May 4.6-4.7

4.6-4.7 is crazy fast for a QB. Mahomes or Russell Wilson wouldn't hit that mark. Anything under 4.8 is really good for a throw-first QB.
BTW-Petras couldn't do a 5.05 falling off a cliff.

 

[M&Shawk]

Drew Tate was hardly a straight line burner but he could navigate a pocket like nobody else we have had and knew how to run to create more time for his WRs to get open

 

[StillGold]

4.6-4.7 is crazy fast for a QB. Mahomes or Russell Wilson wouldn't hit that mark. Anything under 4.8 is really good for a throw-first QB.
BTW-Petras couldn't do a 5.05 falling off a cliff.

NFLDraftscout.com list Petras time as low 4.95 and high 5.15 though I don't know where those times came from. Brad Banks time at NFL Combine was 4.67.

 

[HawkOn15]

4.6-4.7 is crazy fast for a QB. Mahomes or Russell Wilson wouldn't hit that mark. Anything under 4.8 is really good for a throw-first QB.
BTW-Petras couldn't do a 5.05 falling off a cliff.

Russell Wilson ran 4.55 at the combine.

 

[StillGold]

To my surprise I see Petras ran on his high school track team including 100 meters and low hurdles. 100 meter time of 12.04 in 2017. Looks like his weight was less then as listed as 205 lbs coming out of high school. https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=10164349

 

[large78]

Maybe hire Drew Tate as QB coach, instead of a 68 year old who should be at home enjoying retirement.

 

[iahawkeyes17]

I don’t need a dual threat but give me an elusive guy with good pocket presence. Give me a qb like Tate or beathard who is a passer first but can make the play with his feet if needed everyday of the week. Iowa has brought in some dual threat guys but none have never been good enough to win stater job like derby, drew cook and mcnutt originally brought in as a qb.

worst thing about Petras is he has no pocket presence what so ever as orlovsky brought up last game. Least with Stanley he’d shed tacklers at times like Big Ben and could make a throw when he left the pocket. With Petras when he does he rarely if ever makes a throw when he rolls out. He panics easily when the pocket collapses and worse folds like a deck of cards whenever he gets the slightest bit of contact for a sack. A recipe for disaster with our OL this year.

 

[iahawkeyes17]

Maybe hire Drew Tate as QB coach, instead of a 68 year old who should be at home enjoying retirement.

It really is a joke we pay our qb coach what we do. But we all know he was brought in to hold our OC’s hand who wasn’t qualified in the first place. Honestly before polasek left you could argue we had 2 other coaches on staff more qualified to be calling plays instead of the coaches son. On top of it look at our qb play last 2 seasons under kok. Time for him to hang it up.

 

[83Hawk]

Maybe BF should learn how to help his guys out. No misdirection, no jet sweep action. He does absolutely nothing to fool a defense or get their eyes looking somewhere else. He’s so overmatched by defensive coordinators. Look at the Wisconsin kid’s comment after the game. He said they could tell which way the ball was going by Iowa’s alignment and personnel. Imagine being a QB with the defense knowing where it’s going most of the time.

This is exactly why I said before the Wisconsin game that the Hawks needed to do the exact opposite of every one of their tendencies to have a chance to win. And it still holds true for this week, because Fitz has had Iowa figured out for a long time.

 

[NCHawkeye24]

First of all, don't be fooled by thinking that a running quarterback would fix this offense. Sure, a running quarterback with a big arm that can make throws to all 3 levels would be a luxury (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Trevor Lawrence, Lamar Jackson, etc.), but, there just aren't very many of those guys. A lot of the running quarterbacks suffer from accuracy issues or arm strength, and so trading accuracy for mobility is really a push. That is for the quarterback that we can get.

So that leads to why the offense is the way it is. I have no inside knowledge, but I would bet that when KF sat down with all the coaches at the beginning of all of this to define the team philosophies, he knew to build the program there needed to be consistency so that meant eliminating as many variables as they could. While a team certainly needs good players, the main variable to eliminate would be having a unit or entire team depending on 1 player, and quarterback is certainly highlighted here. They knew that if they had to depend on the very rare 5 star dual threat guy to win football games that they would not have jobs very long and they would leave the program in a worse place than what they found.

So the obvious philosophy is, knowing that the quarterbacks available to us from year to year are flawed, is to try to choose the flaws they want. Look, right now everyone wants the RPO quarterback, that is a given. So even if our offensive philosophy was to change, OC was to change, head coach is to change, it is still a foregone conclusion that Iowa would be way down the list as far as choice destinations for said quarterback. Add to that the fact that in the past 20 years, 17 super bowls have been won by statue quarterbacks so a passing pro-style quarterback has not gone out of style. So one would logically come to the conclusion that if everyone wants an RPO style quarterback, that it would be much easier to for Iowa to recruit a top-level pro-style passer than than a runner on a year to year basis.

Now explains the quarterback. But what all of the pro-style passers need more than anything else is time to throw, and I bet having a great offensive line was never considered a variable but a constant because with all the farm boys in the midwest our coaching would provide top offensive lines every year. And this is where it has all gone wrong because we have not had an elite level offensive line in a very long time, and has been below average for quite a few years even though we have had nfl talent at various positions. Is it coaching? Recruiting? Style? I don't know, I am no offensive line coach, but it is probably all 3 and this whole department needs attention because this is THE PROBLEM with this program right now.

 

[large78]

It really is a joke we pay our qb coach what we do. But we all know he was brought in to hold our OC’s hand who wasn’t qualified in the first place. Honestly before polasek left you could argue we had 2 other coaches on staff more qualified to be calling plays instead of the coaches son. On top of it look at our qb play last 2 seasons under kok. Time for him to hang it up.

Totally agree. I wonder who (IF) the other candidates were for the OC position.

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

First of all, don't be fooled by thinking that a running quarterback would fix this offense. Sure, a running quarterback with a big arm that can make throws to all 3 levels would be a luxury (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Trevor Lawrence, Lamar Jackson, etc.), but, there just aren't very many of those guys. A lot of the running quarterbacks suffer from accuracy issues or arm strength, and so trading accuracy for mobility is really a push. That is for the quarterback that we can get.

So that leads to why the offense is the way it is. I have no inside knowledge, but I would bet that when KF sat down with all the coaches at the beginning of all of this to define the team philosophies, he knew to build the program there needed to be consistency so that meant eliminating as many variables as they could. While a team certainly needs good players, the main variable to eliminate would be having a unit or entire team depending on 1 player, and quarterback is certainly highlighted here. They knew that if they had to depend on the very rare 5 star dual threat guy to win football games that they would not have jobs very long and they would leave the program in a worse place than what they found.

So the obvious philosophy is, knowing that the quarterbacks available to us from year to year are flawed, is to try to choose the flaws they want. Look, right now everyone wants the RPO quarterback, that is a given. So even if our offensive philosophy was to change, OC was to change, head coach is to change, it is still a foregone conclusion that Iowa would be way down the list as far as choice destinations for said quarterback. Add to that the fact that in the past 20 years, 17 super bowls have been won by statue quarterbacks so a passing pro-style quarterback has not gone out of style. So one would logically come to the conclusion that if everyone wants an RPO style quarterback, that it would be much easier to for Iowa to recruit a top-level pro-style passer than than a runner on a year to year basis.

Now explains the quarterback. But what all of the pro-style passers need more than anything else is time to throw, and I bet having a great offensive line was never considered a variable but a constant because with all the farm boys in the midwest our coaching would provide top offensive lines every year. And this is where it has all gone wrong because we have not had an elite level offensive line in a very long time, and has been below average for quite a few years even though we have had nfl talent at various positions. Is it coaching? Recruiting? Style? I don't know, I am no offensive line coach, but it is probably all 3 and this whole department needs attention because this is THE PROBLEM with this program right now.

Our guy I a 60% passer, there are plenty of mobile QBs that can compete 60% of thier passes.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

First of all, don't be fooled by thinking that a running quarterback would fix this offense. Sure, a running quarterback with a big arm that can make throws to all 3 levels would be a luxury (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Trevor Lawrence, Lamar Jackson, etc.), but, there just aren't very many of those guys. A lot of the running quarterbacks suffer from accuracy issues or arm strength, and so trading accuracy for mobility is really a push. That is for the quarterback that we can get.

So that leads to why the offense is the way it is. I have no inside knowledge, but I would bet that when KF sat down with all the coaches at the beginning of all of this to define the team philosophies, he knew to build the program there needed to be consistency so that meant eliminating as many variables as they could. While a team certainly needs good players, the main variable to eliminate would be having a unit or entire team depending on 1 player, and quarterback is certainly highlighted here. They knew that if they had to depend on the very rare 5 star dual threat guy to win football games that they would not have jobs very long and they would leave the program in a worse place than what they found.

So the obvious philosophy is, knowing that the quarterbacks available to us from year to year are flawed, is to try to choose the flaws they want. Look, right now everyone wants the RPO quarterback, that is a given. So even if our offensive philosophy was to change, OC was to change, head coach is to change, it is still a foregone conclusion that Iowa would be way down the list as far as choice destinations for said quarterback. Add to that the fact that in the past 20 years, 17 super bowls have been won by statue quarterbacks so a passing pro-style quarterback has not gone out of style. So one would logically come to the conclusion that if everyone wants an RPO style quarterback, that it would be much easier to for Iowa to recruit a top-level pro-style passer than than a runner on a year to year basis.

Now explains the quarterback. But what all of the pro-style passers need more than anything else is time to throw, and I bet having a great offensive line was never considered a variable but a constant because with all the farm boys in the midwest our coaching would provide top offensive lines every year. And this is where it has all gone wrong because we have not had an elite level offensive line in a very long time, and has been below average for quite a few years even though we have had nfl talent at various positions. Is it coaching? Recruiting? Style? I don't know, I am no offensive line coach, but it is probably all 3 and this whole department needs attention because this is THE PROBLEM with this program right now.

I don't dispute the issues with the offensive line. Outside of Linderbaum they are blindingly clear.
But, I do think that the qb is a big part of the equation and that mobility is critical. While of course I'd love to see a Kyler Murray at Iowa I know that there is virtually no chance that happens. But there are certainly some Drew Tate types available out there.
I believe that it is not reasonable to expect a clean pocket the majority of the time. It's not what I see in a lot of games currently just scanning around the dial on a Saturday. And yet somehow many of those offenses are able to move the ball with less than stellar O-lines.
Shouldn't the expectation be that the line does a much better job AND that the qb needs to make plays when it doesn't go that way?
As for statue qbs, they are less representative of even the NFL than they used to be. The guys who hold all of those super bowl titles that are immobile are hall of famers(Manning, Brady, Rothlisberger). Additionally they are surrounded by receiving talent that is far superior.

 

[RocknRollface]

Maybe BF should learn how to help his guys out. No misdirection, no jet sweep action. He does absolutely nothing to fool a defense or get their eyes looking somewhere else. He’s so overmatched by defensive coordinators. Look at the Wisconsin kid’s comment after the game. He said they could tell which way the ball was going by Iowa’s alignment and personnel. Imagine being a QB with the defense knowing where it’s going most of the time.

Thats been said by opponents for the last decade and a half.

Kfs belief in his running scheme doesn't have any connection to results on the field.

 

[RocknRollface]

4.6-4.7 is crazy fast for a QB. Mahomes or Russell Wilson wouldn't hit that mark. Anything under 4.8 is really good for a throw-first QB.
BTW-Petras couldn't do a 5.05 falling off a cliff.

Yeah, straight line speed is pretty irrelevant for a qb.

Agility, coordination, vision, poise and instincts are what matter. Petras is probably the worst at those things of any qb in the country.

Knowing when to take a few steps in the correct direction at the correct time is everything.

Petras does not understand when and how to move up in the pocket to buy time.

 

[grayhair81]

Russell Wilson ran 4.55 at the combine.

And has had the crap knocked out of him for several years. He is still a great player but he doesn't run like he did when he was a rookie.

 

[PartyHawk95]

Petras throws a good deep ball and can make every throw in the book?

He does throw more bounce passes than than any point guard I’ve ever seen.

 

[MWardT]

I don’t understand why Ken O’Keefe as the problem isn’t talked about more. Since he’s returned as Iowa’s QB coach in 2017 he has failed to recruit or even coach a good QB.

It’s well documented he personally passed on Trey Lance and Zac Wilson.

It’s also well documented Iowa has missed on every QB recruit the last two years that they targeted and wanted - and had to fall back on Labas and May.

Maybe is time for some young blood at the QB coach position. O’Keefe is almost 70 and should just enjoy retirement.

 

[obfuscating]

Maybe BF should learn how to help his guys out. No misdirection, no jet sweep action. He does absolutely nothing to fool a defense or get their eyes looking somewhere else. He’s so overmatched by defensive coordinators. Look at the Wisconsin kid’s comment after the game. He said they could tell which way the ball was going by Iowa’s alignment and personnel. Imagine being a QB with the defense knowing where it’s going most of the time.

80%+ of the fans can call the offense, it is NOT some biochemistry formula that some folks preach it to be. He is the OC, overseeing the OL coach, TE coach, RB coach, WR coach, and QB coach. If the offense isn't working, the buck stops with him. OC has to make changes to get things moving. If he AND the position coach can't get it done, any other D1\P5 school would have fired nearly the entire Off staff.

 

[BBHawk]

Maybe BF should learn how to help his guys out. No misdirection, no jet sweep action. He does absolutely nothing to fool a defense or get their eyes looking somewhere else. He’s so overmatched by defensive coordinators. Look at the Wisconsin kid’s comment after the game. He said they could tell which way the ball was going by Iowa’s alignment and personnel. Imagine being a QB with the defense knowing where it’s going most of the time.

What?

 

[BBHawk]

I don’t understand why Ken O’Keefe as the problem isn’t talked about more. Since he’s returned as Iowa’s QB coach in 2017 he has failed to recruit or even coach a good QB.

It’s well documented he personally passed on Trey Lance and Zac Wilson.

It’s also well documented Iowa has missed on every QB recruit the last two years that they targeted and wanted - and had to fall back on Labas and May.

Maybe is time for some young blood at the QB coach position. O’Keefe is almost 70 and should just enjoy retirement.

As did 99% of the recruiters in the country.

How many passed on Mahomes? Burrows? Playing this game is not only stupid but tells you nothing at all.

 

[BEAVERDALEHAWK]

Lots of ignorance here

 

[iahawkeyes17]

As did 99% of the recruiters in the country.

How many passed on Mahomes? Burrows? Playing this game is not only stupid but tells you nothing at all.

Actually Burrows was highly sought after out of HS before he went to OSU and when he transferred to LSU. I still find it freaking hilarious the one school he wanted to go to both times because of his family connections that passed on him was Nebraska.

 

[OutbackBowl2017]

Lots of ignorance and f’n arm chair qb’s here

FIFY and appears Iowa has their real QB coach here. Wonder if any of these people submitted an app

 

[cmhawks99]

Maybe BF should learn how to help his guys out. No misdirection, no jet sweep action. He does absolutely nothing to fool a defense or get their eyes looking somewhere else. He’s so overmatched by defensive coordinators. Look at the Wisconsin kid’s comment after the game. He said they could tell which way the ball was going by Iowa’s alignment and personnel. Imagine being a QB with the defense knowing where it’s going most of the time.

Hmmmm..,, you’re saying they don’t run any jet sweeps or misdirection?! Because I could’ve swore sometime throughout the year people were bitching about them running the jet sweep and I also totally made up the wide receiver touchdowns I’ve watched over the last couple years running the ball…thanks for clarifying..

Also since I’m pretty confused now, are we talking about the Wisconsin who’s very own offense scored 13 versus Minnesota, 20 vs defensive juggernaut army, 17 versus Michigan, 13 versus Notre Dame and 10 versus Penn State?! Is that the one we’re talking about?

I swear to all the thats Holy, we have quite a few fans watching completely different games than the rest of us.

Incidentally a quick look at the stats showed me Arland Bruce had 10 carries with 3-TDS, Tyrone Tracy had seven carries with 1-TD, Keegan Johnson had three carries & Charlie Jones had 10..,it’ll be interesting to see what our offense looks like when we actually start using the wide receiver in the jet sweep…DOH!!

 

[cmhawks99]

Thats been said by opponents for the last decade and a half.

Kfs belief in his running scheme doesn't have any connection to results on the field.

Here is what is so remarkable. KFs last five or six years have probably been his best and yet everybody knows what the hell he’s doing and he’s they still can’t win regularly pretty mind-boggling, right?

 

[cmhawks99]

80%+ of the fans can call the offense, it is NOT some biochemistry formula that some folks preach it to be. He is the OC, overseeing the OL coach, TE coach, RB coach, WR coach, and QB coach. If the offense isn't working, the buck stops with him. OC has to make changes to get things moving. If he AND the position coach can't get it done, any other D1\P5 school would have fired nearly the entire Off staff.

really?! The whole staff…Ok

 

[BBHawk]

Actually Burrows was highly sought after out of HS before he went to OSU and when he transferred to LSU. I still find it freaking hilarious the one school he wanted to go to both times because of his family connections that passed on him was Nebraska.

My point still stands.

 

[FWIW4922463]

FIFY and appears Iowa has their real QB coach here. Wonder if any of these people submitted an app

I'm just guessing, of course, but I suspect anyone on here could be Iowa's OC and turn out the 121st best offense (of 130 teams) in the country. And I suspect at least a few on here have more experience coaching QBs than Brian Ferentz does since anything is more than zero.

And if some of us did submit an app, we would have had no chance to win the job on merit because baby boy Ferentz was his dad's choice all along. I still haven't heard or read a single report that says anything about the hiring process or that any other person was ever even considered for the QB coaching position, let alone interviewed.

Of course, that's how most successful organizations operate. Give the key jobs to your totally inexperienced relatives. You need an OC? Give the job to your son who's never held that job at any level. Need a QB coach? The obvious choice is your son, the OC, who is already in charge of the 121st best "offense" in the nation. No one in America could have been a better choice for either role . . . because no one else was the coach's son. IMHO, of course.

 

[BBHawk]

I'm just guessing, of course, but I suspect anyone on here could be Iowa's OC and turn out the 121st best offense (of 130 teams) in the country. And I suspect at least a few on here have more experience coaching QBs than Brian Ferentz does since anything is more than zero.

And if some of us did submit an app, we would have had no chance to win the job on merit because baby boy Ferentz was his dad's choice all along. I still haven't heard or read a single report that says anything about the hiring process or that any other person was ever even considered for the QB coaching position, let alone interviewed.

Of course, that's how most successful organizations operate. Give the key jobs to your totally inexperienced relatives. You need an OC? Give the job to your son who's never held that job at any level. Need a QB coach? The obvious choice is your son, the OC, who is already in charge of the 121st best "offense" in the nation. No one in America could have been a better choice for either role . . . because no one else was the coach's son. IMHO, of course.

LOL!

 

[cmhawks99]

I'm just guessing, of course, but I suspect anyone on here could be Iowa's OC and turn out the 121st best offense (of 130 teams) in the country. And I suspect at least a few on here have more experience coaching QBs than Brian Ferentz does since anything is more than zero.

And if some of us did submit an app, we would have had no chance to win the job on merit because baby boy Ferentz was his dad's choice all along. I still haven't heard or read a single report that says anything about the hiring process or that any other person was ever even considered for the QB coaching position, let alone interviewed.

Of course, that's how most successful organizations operate. Give the key jobs to your totally inexperienced relatives. You need an OC? Give the job to your son who's never held that job at any level. Need a QB coach? The obvious choice is your son, the OC, who is already in charge of the 121st best "offense" in the nation. No one in America could have been a better choice for either role . . . because no one else was the coach's son. IMHO, of course.

Well you know what they say about opinions and a$&holes and for the record not every opinion is equal and that’s certainly where yours falls in….

PS…. Iowa football is a successful organization and there are tons and tons and tons of family owned businesses that are doing just fine.

Kind of a dumb take, but coming from you not surprising….

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

First of all, don't be fooled by thinking that a running quarterback would fix this offense. Sure, a running quarterback with a big arm that can make throws to all 3 levels would be a luxury (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Trevor Lawrence, Lamar Jackson, etc.), but, there just aren't very many of those guys. A lot of the running quarterbacks suffer from accuracy issues or arm strength, and so trading accuracy for mobility is really a push. That is for the quarterback that we can get.

So that leads to why the offense is the way it is. I have no inside knowledge, but I would bet that when KF sat down with all the coaches at the beginning of all of this to define the team philosophies, he knew to build the program there needed to be consistency so that meant eliminating as many variables as they could. While a team certainly needs good players, the main variable to eliminate would be having a unit or entire team depending on 1 player, and quarterback is certainly highlighted here. They knew that if they had to depend on the very rare 5 star dual threat guy to win football games that they would not have jobs very long and they would leave the program in a worse place than what they found.

So the obvious philosophy is, knowing that the quarterbacks available to us from year to year are flawed, is to try to choose the flaws they want. Look, right now everyone wants the RPO quarterback, that is a given. So even if our offensive philosophy was to change, OC was to change, head coach is to change, it is still a foregone conclusion that Iowa would be way down the list as far as choice destinations for said quarterback. Add to that the fact that in the past 20 years, 17 super bowls have been won by statue quarterbacks so a passing pro-style quarterback has not gone out of style. So one would logically come to the conclusion that if everyone wants an RPO style quarterback, that it would be much easier to for Iowa to recruit a top-level pro-style passer than than a runner on a year to year basis.

Now explains the quarterback. But what all of the pro-style passers need more than anything else is time to throw, and I bet having a great offensive line was never considered a variable but a constant because with all the farm boys in the midwest our coaching would provide top offensive lines every year. And this is where it has all gone wrong because we have not had an elite level offensive line in a very long time, and has been below average for quite a few years even though we have had nfl talent at various positions. Is it coaching? Recruiting? Style? I don't know, I am no offensive line coach, but it is probably all 3 and this whole department needs attention because this is THE PROBLEM with this program right now.

A couple thoughts.

First, most here do not need a running QB...just one with some pocket awareness and ability to extend if protection breaks down.

Second, and more importantly, RPOs don't mean the QB is the runner. Yes, it's Run/Pass Option, but the run isn't necessarily the QB and usually isn't. Are you confusing RPO with Zone Read? I really don't know what an RPO quarterback is. Unless they just can't think fast enough to make the post snap reads, there's no special skills needed for a QB to run RPOs. In fact, Iowa runs them now with our "statue" QBs.

 

[pistachio1999]

Maybe BF should learn how to help his guys out. No misdirection, no jet sweep action. He does absolutely nothing to fool a defense or get their eyes looking somewhere else. He’s so overmatched by defensive coordinators. Look at the Wisconsin kid’s comment after the game. He said they could tell which way the ball was going by Iowa’s alignment and personnel. Imagine being a QB with the defense knowing where it’s going most of the time.

Redskins players were telling opponents the plays in one of their Super Bowls because they knew they’d kick their ass anyway. Cowboys coach says being great means when you run the ball and the other team knows you are gonna run the ball you do it successfully anyway.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

Jesus christ you guys, I posted that the day after the Wisconsin game. Give me a little slack here 😂. Who actually saves and digs this shit up?!

 

[obfuscating]

FIFY and appears Iowa has their real QB coach here. Wonder if any of these people submitted an app

Job was never posted, his seat was still warm when BarF was annointed.

 

[Dargo]

Redskins players were telling opponents the plays in one of their Super Bowls because they knew they’d kick their ass anyway. Cowboys coach says being great means when you run the ball and the other team knows you are gonna run the ball you do it successfully anyway.

That works when you have NFL talent across the board, like maybe if you're Alabama, Georgia, etc. We don't have that.