BTN Roadshow to Iowa
- Thread starter HoustonHawkeye
- Start date
What were you hoping to find out? I didnt even watch it, just read a couple news or tweeter thoughts and I found out Bower may have beaten Mends out but its close and both look very good. In fact all the Lbers look athletic and the depth is above average. I found out Daniel's is back in front at center and and the prevailing thought is the OL is probably as good as advertised and HawkeyeGamefilm on his tweeter feed echoed that.
I found out they are very physical and that is paramount for us. I also found out the leadership and focus does indeed appear to be spot on. And it does appear we may have quite a bit of depth at some positions.
What did you expect, there's never anything new or different, it is just like listening to DSM talk radio, local TV sports, and reading the DMRag. Especially bad is, Randy Peterson and the DMRag, aka the isu daily. take BTN for what it is worth, an hour today of hearing about the hawks, it is better than not hearing about them.
That's really not a crazy statement. We just use our talent better/get more out of it.
I learned that Dinardo thinks this WR group is the most talented he has seen at Iowa. It still has developing to do but he was surprised at how gifted they were. That didn't surprise you OP?
Dog 1- "Fml....why?"
Dog 2- Will eat other animal's poop just to see if it tastes good
Dog 3- Trying too hard to impress you
There are articles posted currently about our TE being a top prospect, a quarterback who will play on Sunday's, and the defending Thorpe award winner.
It's not an overly accurate statement.
Last time I checked, there are a few more than three players on a football team.
You're right. Think about all of our talent that returns from a 12-0 team. We have NFL talent on this team at quite a few positions.
Yes there is plenty of talent as long as the leadership continues will we flourish.
I learned that J Leman doesn't do much research and either has some concussion problems or an obvious drug/alcohol problem. He certainly has some interesting, "high energy" opinions.
And PSU does not? Based on current draft projections, they have draft picks at WR, RB, LB, S, and DE in the next two seasons. Saying the overall talent level is similar (top to bottom of the roster) isn't a knock on us whatsoever. It's just indicative of the difference that coaching, culture, and leadership make.
A couple things.... 1st I think Franklin is still a solid coach. I believe fans are quick to turn their judgement on coaching. It's tough to win especially in the Big Ten.
2nd I know their recruiting rankings have been solid but over the last 15 years quite frankly few teams have had more NFL talent than Iowa in the Big Ten. Iowa, UM, Wiscy, PSU, MSU and surprisingly Purdue have all done a decent job of generating NFL talent.
I said that to say this.... I'd say Iowa will have two cornerbacks a DT, a TE and a quarterback for sure drafted in this next draft alone. I'd also wager it's a decent shot Cole Croston will and I guess Daniels would be a long shot and Vandy with a big year who knows.
The following year there is Welsh Boettger will have a shot, Bazata, Jewel, Niemann will test off the charts speed/agility wise wait and see, and Id wager Taylor will all get serious looks maybe Wadley if he can get to 200lbs.
The point being tOSU is way out in front then I'd wager "maybe"
UM & MSU have more NFL talent but it would be closer than many think.
I'd say they both have better offensive skill players but not OL/DL linebacker/DB talent per se...?!
Do you think ?
How about they just give us all their talent so we can win a national championship.
You're welcome.
PSU has 38 players currently in NFL camps to Iowa's 31. PSU is one of those teams with more NFL talent despite the reduced scholarship numbers they have had to work with over the last couple of years. That being said, the numbers are pretty similar, which, although isn't the original premise of Howard's statement, would help to support what has been said if we are basing it on history. I don't think I have them all, but Barkley, Godwin, Hamilton, Wartman-White, Cabinda, Allen, and Sickels all are projected picks.
In regards to UM & MSU this year, I would agree on skill positions. Disagree that UM is not better at DL and MSU at LB, but I couldn't definitively say that they are better at any other position groups.
What I believe Howard was trying to get across though was talent level of the whole roster, not just the starters/2 deeps. It's reasonable to think that the higher rated recruits at those other schools would appear more naturally talented in their first couple years on campus in comparison to the developmental type program we have. Whether that holds throughout their careers is yet to be seen, but it's just an opinion that one neutral party stated.
Keep in mind PSU only recently passed us again as we have gotten older "NFL players" and our 2008-2009 classes bombed. For years we were number 2 behind tOSU.
Just get it over with and tell us how much better Iowa is than Penn State. We all know you want to...........................
Things I learned from the BTN Live yesterday that I either didn't know or confirmed suspicions:
- Daniels will play Center, moving Welsh back to guard. OL will be very physical.
- DE is a question mark. Who will pressure the QB?
- Snyder looks like your typical hard hitting Iowa safety. Secondary will be very good.
- WR is very talented but young and inexperienced. Need the youngsters to step up.
- 'Akrum having a very good camp.' - CJB
- 'I'm feel better now than I have since week 3 last year' - CJB. Him being healthy is huge.
- Bower seems to have an edge over Mends.
- We should have any remaining questions answered after Friday's scrimmage, except K/P, and decisions on Frosh RS will be made next week.
My hope is that the DBs will be able to cover long enough for the DE to get pressure.
Our defensive QB rush is obviously the biggest ? this year. There is no Ott. Espenesa will be here next year. It will interesting to see if Parker/new Kirk goes with more selected blitzes to compensate for that this year.
Does anyone remember last years team? Started 12-0.
Drew Ott was out most of the season where Parker Hesse played DE most of the season(and is 15 lbs bigger than last year).
Lost Nate Meier, 6'2"-245 lbs, replacing with Matt Nelson 6'8"-280 lbs.
Our DTs, LBs and DBs should be better than last year. I am not freaking out about our DE position.
Drew Ott was out most of the season where Parker Hesse played DE most of the season(and is 15 lbs bigger than last year).
Lost Nate Meier, 6'2"-245 lbs, replacing with Matt Nelson 6'8"-280 lbs.
Our DTs, LBs and DBs should be better than last year. I am not freaking out about our DE position.
A
anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba
Guest
Yes, intelligent use of various blitzes, please. Do NOT let QBs get comfortable. We have an excellent defensive backfield, but nobody can cover indefinitely. Gotta get the pressure. No pressure makes mediocre QBs dangerous. Likewise, pressure makes great QBs mediocre. KF and Coach Parker need to dial it up...do it judiciously, but dial it up.
An hour of meaningless Hawk team preview is still better the having to watch Ohio State and Michigan. I swear, every time I turn the Tube to BTN it seems like its all about Urban and Harbaugh.
Man I sure do hate watching teams blitz themselves into big plays. Thats one thing I'be always loved about those teams that blitz only sparingly. Less big plays given up. In fact we gave one up in the Rose Bowl vs Stanford on a Blitz, that 42 yard TD at the end of the game came off a blitz.
Not sure we should hang our passing rushing hopes on a true Frosh DE, no matter how high he is ranked.
I'm going to say this, if we end up having to blitzing alot, we are in BIG TROUBLE.
Not sure we should hang our passing rushing hopes on a true Frosh DE, no matter how high he is ranked.
I'm going to say this, if we end up having to blitzing alot, we are in BIG TROUBLE.
Yes, however the defense really regressed as the season went on. We gave up over 400 YPG over the last half of the year.
The odd thing is we get most of our pass rush from the DTs instead of the outside. I really liked bringing in Bower and others on passing downs for edge rush. Suprised we are giving up Mends's speed for Bowers strength.
I actually would like to see some secondary blitzes this year more since we have the players to go 1 on 1 if need me during a blitz.
Fatigue.....depth is more important than a world class pass rush. Which to tell you the Truth, I personally believe we will have a better than average pass rush, and I'm hoping we have the depth we will need. Looks promising but we won't know until the rubber meets the highway. As I said before at the end of the season when people have time to prepare after seeing a bunch of our film we wont get where we need to get to if we have to blitz an inordinate amount. If we can blitz a similar amount to 2013 we'd be fine. That was a bit more but that depends on the Lbers and safeties too for that matter. You don't just show up in practice one day and say "okay we are going to blitz more"...I honestly think that's what people think. It puts a TON of pressure on a defense to blitz all the time.
I think Bowers is plenty fast enough (Not as explosive as Mends) his issue was he just wasn't playing fast. Poor reads, bad angles, i/e: inexperienced, so quite frankly, I don't think their looking at it any other way than who can makes plays and perform the best. I'd be shocked if it is fully played out and both don't get plenty of opportunities. Honestly Bower wasn't terrible but when he was out of palce he was OUT OF place.
I think this is pretty much the case. I think Bower has the athleticism to play LB. He doesn't possess freakish athleticism, however. When he is a step out of position or his read is a step slow, he doesn't have enough athleticism to make up for it. He will be better with practice and experience.
Bowers was forced into starting as a RSFR after entering the program as a walkon. I'm not surprised he struggled.
He is now a RSJR, and this is the prime time for a player with his backgrand to become a positive contributor. I won't be surprised if he starts and plays well this year.
I don't think that Nate Meier gets enough credit from this board, and Hawkeyes fans in general. The guy was one of the toughest players on last year's squad, with an absolutely freakish motor. Any play that dragged out in the backfield I felt like inevitably ended up with a tackle by Nate, or him forcing the player into another Hawkeye's arms. He also did well in the run game. To get the production that he provided last year, Nelson will need to have a pretty good year.
I too am confident in the defensive line, (and it helps returning three of our four linemen, counting Hesse) but feel that Meier's production last year is often overlooked.
