BTN Crew at Iowa Practice today - Twitter Feed
- Thread starter Blair Sanderson
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"Beathard on time and on target in underneath game today - question with Iowa offense will be where the explosion comes from."
Oh gawd, here we go...a month's worth of threads served on a silver platter.
Oh gawd, here we go...a month's worth of threads served on a silver platter.
Here's Tom Dienhart's post-practice article:
http://btn.com/2015/08/11/5-things-tom-dienhart-learned-at-iowa-football-practice/
http://btn.com/2015/08/11/5-things-tom-dienhart-learned-at-iowa-football-practice/
Do 3 yard outs on 3rd and 8 count as 'little things'? If so, we're golden!
Encouraging that they think linebackers are better and that secondary looks really good. I think the biggest question mark on the line is Meier and Bazata. Johnson and Ott will be good.
Sounds like they think OTs are athletic and have talent, just need more time to gain experience get reps etc.
Sounds like they think OTs are athletic and have talent, just need more time to gain experience get reps etc.
From the BTN Live Show featuring Iowa (paraphrasing/quoting Kirk Ferentz)
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What has stood about this group? KF: Attitude has been strong since January. Only 6 practices in, making progress, but plenty to go.
Camp Schedule? KF: Really enjoy camp because it's just the football team. We're either sleeping, eating, or focused on football. Togetherness and just pure football.
Young OL? KF: Making progress. Attitude has been good. Learning every day. Offensive tackles working against good players in Ott and Meier. Making progress. Hit or miss right now. Hopefully in two weeks being hitting it a lot more.
This team remind you of any past teams? KF: Without thinking too far back, maybe the '08 team or even 2013. We came off a disappointing end and I think everybody has had the right focus, right resolve. So far, so good. Now it's how we run the rest of the race.
A lot of ones vs. ones? KF: We just think it's important, especially for the younger guys, to get a feel for the tempo.
How does last year motivate the team? How much do you talk about it? KF: Not so much about the record, but more about how we were playing. Bottom line is we didn't finish the way we wanted to when you look at our last couple games. Not happy about that. When you leave opportunity on the field, it's hard to live with. Trying to make the most of opportunity.
Special teams? KF: Important everywhere, especially here at Iowa. That was something we got good at early, 15 years ago, really took shape. Last year we were disappointed, didn't cover kicks or punts the way we wanted to. All of those phases are so critical for us. I think we're making progress. Worked hard on it in the spring and will keep working on it right into the season.
What have you seen that leads you to believe you can be more explosive offensively? KF: Time will tell, but I think we've got the capability at the skill positions. We've got a veteran guy like Tevaun Smith, Jake Hillyer is a guy that I think has a chance to be a really good player and Matt VandeBerg, our other receiver, and our tight end group has a chance to do some good things and CJ Beathard has really shown some great stuff and then the RB position is a little healthier so I think it's more of a collective thing quite frankly. If we do a good job with our schemes and with our line hopefully we'll have a chance to put more points up there.
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What has stood about this group? KF: Attitude has been strong since January. Only 6 practices in, making progress, but plenty to go.
Camp Schedule? KF: Really enjoy camp because it's just the football team. We're either sleeping, eating, or focused on football. Togetherness and just pure football.
Young OL? KF: Making progress. Attitude has been good. Learning every day. Offensive tackles working against good players in Ott and Meier. Making progress. Hit or miss right now. Hopefully in two weeks being hitting it a lot more.
This team remind you of any past teams? KF: Without thinking too far back, maybe the '08 team or even 2013. We came off a disappointing end and I think everybody has had the right focus, right resolve. So far, so good. Now it's how we run the rest of the race.
A lot of ones vs. ones? KF: We just think it's important, especially for the younger guys, to get a feel for the tempo.
How does last year motivate the team? How much do you talk about it? KF: Not so much about the record, but more about how we were playing. Bottom line is we didn't finish the way we wanted to when you look at our last couple games. Not happy about that. When you leave opportunity on the field, it's hard to live with. Trying to make the most of opportunity.
Special teams? KF: Important everywhere, especially here at Iowa. That was something we got good at early, 15 years ago, really took shape. Last year we were disappointed, didn't cover kicks or punts the way we wanted to. All of those phases are so critical for us. I think we're making progress. Worked hard on it in the spring and will keep working on it right into the season.
What have you seen that leads you to believe you can be more explosive offensively? KF: Time will tell, but I think we've got the capability at the skill positions. We've got a veteran guy like Tevaun Smith, Jake Hillyer is a guy that I think has a chance to be a really good player and Matt VandeBerg, our other receiver, and our tight end group has a chance to do some good things and CJ Beathard has really shown some great stuff and then the RB position is a little healthier so I think it's more of a collective thing quite frankly. If we do a good job with our schemes and with our line hopefully we'll have a chance to put more points up there.
Phil Parker (paraphrasing)
Heading into camp, where did you feel the strength of your defense was? PP: Well, I wouldn't say we have one particular strength but the chemistry with our team has been good. Just the unity of the defense has been strong. Obviously we have experience in the secondary, but the linebackers are up and coming. Ben Niemann, outside right now, is really looking good, and you've got Josey in the middle, which I think is a really good fit for him.
What unit are you most concerned about depth? PP: Well, right now, I think we might be a little short at corner, at least for camp, but we have a lot of experience there, just not a lot of depth. We've got our two deep and that's about it.
You lose Carl Davis and Trinca-Pasat inside, but it looks like you have two players that have a lot of upside there. PP: There's no question. When you look at Jaleel, he's a big guy, he's explosive, he's violent. Really like what he's doing and Bazata is really doing a good job over there too. Then we have a couple other guys. Faith is doing a good job too and the other guy is Terlouw, who came into our program and he's a hard worker. So I think we've got about four guys inside at tackle.
How does this defense compare to some of your past defenses? Is there one that it's similar to? PP: Well, in the last 3-4 years here, it would probably be 2013 with the chemistry. Everybody is on the same page and we're really having fun out here in practice.
When you went back and studied the film of the second half of the season, was it scheme or the team wearing down a little bit? PP: I don't know if it's scheme. I mean we've been running this defense for a long time, for going on 17 years we've been running the same defense, and we've had good defenses here for a long time. Obviously looking at it statistically scoring defense is big. It was the most we've gave up since I've been here, so 17 years, 25.9 or 25.6. So what leads to that? One is big plays. We gave up 65 big plays last year. That's not good enough. In 2013, we gave up 35, so that's a big difference. That's our biggest problem, I think, is giving up big plays and then the other one is takeaways. We only had 16 takeaways and that's not very good. That puts you about last in the country.
You have mentioned chemistry a couple times. What do you think has brought about that chemistry? PP: I think the off-season program here. In the summer, we've got an opportunity to get around the players and get to see them a little bit more, and the guys have bought into it. They're all together, having their own meetings and doing a good job in that regard.
You mentioned your linebackers. I noticed today that all three although young are real physical at the point of attack: PP: Yeah, there's no question that those guys like to come downhill, stay square, and they're going to hit you, and obviously they can run.
You talk about the takeaway issue, second fewest in the Big Ten, how do you go about changing that? PP: Well, we started last spring and anytime a ball right now is on the ground we try to scoop and score whether it's an incomplete pass or a fumble. So we've really put an emphasis on that and now we're making a tape of all the scoops and scores that we have. That's what we're trying to do.
Heading into camp, where did you feel the strength of your defense was? PP: Well, I wouldn't say we have one particular strength but the chemistry with our team has been good. Just the unity of the defense has been strong. Obviously we have experience in the secondary, but the linebackers are up and coming. Ben Niemann, outside right now, is really looking good, and you've got Josey in the middle, which I think is a really good fit for him.
What unit are you most concerned about depth? PP: Well, right now, I think we might be a little short at corner, at least for camp, but we have a lot of experience there, just not a lot of depth. We've got our two deep and that's about it.
You lose Carl Davis and Trinca-Pasat inside, but it looks like you have two players that have a lot of upside there. PP: There's no question. When you look at Jaleel, he's a big guy, he's explosive, he's violent. Really like what he's doing and Bazata is really doing a good job over there too. Then we have a couple other guys. Faith is doing a good job too and the other guy is Terlouw, who came into our program and he's a hard worker. So I think we've got about four guys inside at tackle.
How does this defense compare to some of your past defenses? Is there one that it's similar to? PP: Well, in the last 3-4 years here, it would probably be 2013 with the chemistry. Everybody is on the same page and we're really having fun out here in practice.
When you went back and studied the film of the second half of the season, was it scheme or the team wearing down a little bit? PP: I don't know if it's scheme. I mean we've been running this defense for a long time, for going on 17 years we've been running the same defense, and we've had good defenses here for a long time. Obviously looking at it statistically scoring defense is big. It was the most we've gave up since I've been here, so 17 years, 25.9 or 25.6. So what leads to that? One is big plays. We gave up 65 big plays last year. That's not good enough. In 2013, we gave up 35, so that's a big difference. That's our biggest problem, I think, is giving up big plays and then the other one is takeaways. We only had 16 takeaways and that's not very good. That puts you about last in the country.
You have mentioned chemistry a couple times. What do you think has brought about that chemistry? PP: I think the off-season program here. In the summer, we've got an opportunity to get around the players and get to see them a little bit more, and the guys have bought into it. They're all together, having their own meetings and doing a good job in that regard.
You mentioned your linebackers. I noticed today that all three although young are real physical at the point of attack: PP: Yeah, there's no question that those guys like to come downhill, stay square, and they're going to hit you, and obviously they can run.
You talk about the takeaway issue, second fewest in the Big Ten, how do you go about changing that? PP: Well, we started last spring and anytime a ball right now is on the ground we try to scoop and score whether it's an incomplete pass or a fumble. So we've really put an emphasis on that and now we're making a tape of all the scoops and scores that we have. That's what we're trying to do.
Greg Davis (paraphrasing) on what has stood about about Beathard:
Dave, to me, the first thing that is obvious is leadership. In January, when we made the decision, from that point on, winter workouts, spring training, summer workouts, quarterbacks are in charge of a lot of the throwing and catching, so that's the first thing I saw. Then about the third day of practice, he checked into a pass that we had not installed yet. He knew it was coming and signaled and everybody handled it. So just overall his leadership and the way he's handled himself.
Dave, to me, the first thing that is obvious is leadership. In January, when we made the decision, from that point on, winter workouts, spring training, summer workouts, quarterbacks are in charge of a lot of the throwing and catching, so that's the first thing I saw. Then about the third day of practice, he checked into a pass that we had not installed yet. He knew it was coming and signaled and everybody handled it. So just overall his leadership and the way he's handled himself.
CJ Beathard interview:
Coming into camp as the starter, what has been the biggest adjustment other than the obvious, the haircut? Beathard: I think one of the biggest thing this off-season was some guys needed to emerge as leaders because I think that was the thing about last season. We didn't have the leadership we needed to be the team we wanted to be. I think I took that upon myself and a lot of the older guys, the seniors, took that about themselves to change the culture on this team and lead the team in a better way than we did last season.
How is the pressure different being the starting quarterback than being in a QB battle? Beathard: I think it's a little bit easier, especially in practice because you're not splitting reps all of the time. I think the more you're in there getting reps with the starting offense instead of switching out or getting the two reps, it's a lot easier and I feel in better rhythm with the receivers. The more reps we get together, the more on the same page we are. It's a lot easier that way and the same with the offensive line. We've got a couple young guys on the offensive line, but they're continuing to progress and I've got full faith they'll continue to get better all season.
Where do the explosion plays come whether it's from a certain play or certain player? Beathard: There were plays to be had last season that sometimes we missed. I think we're making an emphasis to make sure we see those explosive plays and execute them the way they're supposed to be executed. I think with this veteran group of receivers it will be easier for them to get open and make explosive plays for us.
Which ones did you miss last year? Were they deep passes? Beathard: There were some posts, some deep posts. There were some open balls there that we missed. There were some go routes. There were plays we wished we could have got back and re-read them I guess.
You talked about that group of veteran receivers, but you also have some young guys that are coming in. Have some of the younger guys stepped up that you've taken notice of? Beathard: Yeah, definitely. Obviously, Jacob Hillyer, senior, Tevaun Smith, senior, and Matt VandeBerg is a junior. Those are the older guys and they're teaching these younger guys along with me. I'm trying to kind of bring these younger guys along. Jay Scheel and Andrew Stone, Riley McCarron, all of these guys, Andre (Harris), they're all progressing very well and I think a big part of that is the veteran group ahead of them.
Coming into camp as the starter, what has been the biggest adjustment other than the obvious, the haircut? Beathard: I think one of the biggest thing this off-season was some guys needed to emerge as leaders because I think that was the thing about last season. We didn't have the leadership we needed to be the team we wanted to be. I think I took that upon myself and a lot of the older guys, the seniors, took that about themselves to change the culture on this team and lead the team in a better way than we did last season.
How is the pressure different being the starting quarterback than being in a QB battle? Beathard: I think it's a little bit easier, especially in practice because you're not splitting reps all of the time. I think the more you're in there getting reps with the starting offense instead of switching out or getting the two reps, it's a lot easier and I feel in better rhythm with the receivers. The more reps we get together, the more on the same page we are. It's a lot easier that way and the same with the offensive line. We've got a couple young guys on the offensive line, but they're continuing to progress and I've got full faith they'll continue to get better all season.
Where do the explosion plays come whether it's from a certain play or certain player? Beathard: There were plays to be had last season that sometimes we missed. I think we're making an emphasis to make sure we see those explosive plays and execute them the way they're supposed to be executed. I think with this veteran group of receivers it will be easier for them to get open and make explosive plays for us.
Which ones did you miss last year? Were they deep passes? Beathard: There were some posts, some deep posts. There were some open balls there that we missed. There were some go routes. There were plays we wished we could have got back and re-read them I guess.
You talked about that group of veteran receivers, but you also have some young guys that are coming in. Have some of the younger guys stepped up that you've taken notice of? Beathard: Yeah, definitely. Obviously, Jacob Hillyer, senior, Tevaun Smith, senior, and Matt VandeBerg is a junior. Those are the older guys and they're teaching these younger guys along with me. I'm trying to kind of bring these younger guys along. Jay Scheel and Andrew Stone, Riley McCarron, all of these guys, Andre (Harris), they're all progressing very well and I think a big part of that is the veteran group ahead of them.
Blair, I can't get that link to work for some reason. I do have BTN2go installed, and it's working fine. Is there a way to search for the article within BTN2go program?
Edit: I got it to work on my desktop, but not my iPad. Weird
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They seem pretty high on Iowa, think that if the hawks can play fundamentally sound football they should be able to be competitive in all of their games.
The problem that I see is Special Teams. Iowa has sucked at Special teams the last 5-6 years and we have had no threat on the KR/PR game. Need to put your best athlete back there and try and get something going. Also our Kick Coverage and Punt Coverage has been horrible. Need to shore up the Special teams and Iowa could be okay this fall.
I did not know Iowa gave up 65 BIG plays last year! Holy crap that is a lot. Defense has to cut down on those.
The problem that I see is Special Teams. Iowa has sucked at Special teams the last 5-6 years and we have had no threat on the KR/PR game. Need to put your best athlete back there and try and get something going. Also our Kick Coverage and Punt Coverage has been horrible. Need to shore up the Special teams and Iowa could be okay this fall.
I did not know Iowa gave up 65 BIG plays last year! Holy crap that is a lot. Defense has to cut down on those.
