Kirk decided to take the knee at half against Purdue. Then he says he, “agreed with fullback dives” against Wisky. So who calls the actual plays?
Can we all agree KF is still calling the plays? What is son’s actual job then?
- Thread starter hawkeye_power
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Say yes and cash his check
BF is essentially Tommy Boy, but lacking any ability to save the family business
His son's job is to continue to make sure we finish the regular season ranked in the top 25 as much as possible with occasional bursts into the top 15 or better. His son has been doing a good job at that.
Phil Parker has done a good job at that.
Since you ride the football short bus I figured I'd help you out
Do you think its uncommon for a head coach to have final say and OK the play call on 4h and short, Go or No Go? I think Brian has control of the Game Plan and calls 95% of the plays, and recommends the best options in his mind, for the other 5%. I would bet this is similar to most programs.
Offensive line experience and slowed development due to injury appears to be the primary challenge. Young offensive tackle execution of pass protection schemes and assignments in particular. If the OTs / O-Line give Spencer more time to pass/complete, our Receivers can run a larger variety routes of potentially execute more explosive routes, creating more explosive plays and making it more difficult to load up against the run. Its really that simple. Execute better.
This has nothing to do with having a more "modern" offense. I see Iowa's stretch run zone blocking scheme and play action pass game every Sunday in the NFL by many teams.
However, if the O-Line does not execute solid pass protection, after a few sacks, it severely limits what plays you can call. That is not BFs fault.
Offensive line experience and slowed development due to injury appears to be the primary challenge. Young offensive tackle execution of pass protection schemes and assignments in particular. If the OTs / O-Line give Spencer more time to pass/complete, our Receivers can run a larger variety routes of potentially execute more explosive routes, creating more explosive plays and making it more difficult to load up against the run. Its really that simple. Execute better.
This has nothing to do with having a more "modern" offense. I see Iowa's stretch run zone blocking scheme and play action pass game every Sunday in the NFL by many teams.
However, if the O-Line does not execute solid pass protection, after a few sacks, it severely limits what plays you can call. That is not BFs fault.
For **** sakes
IMO, if the line cannot sustain pass protection for deep routes, then Brian needs to adapt to utilizing a different scheme. Short passes, dinking and dunking down the field should be used. Use the play action more often, but I really don't understand with the tight ends Iowa has why they are not running slants, utilize that size across the middle.
KF wants our offense to operate under an over-arching mindset/philosophy, but there is no way he’s calling plays. I don’t know why people think he does. Hell, watch him on the sidelines when we have the ball. He ain’t calling plays.
BF’s offense is different than GD’s, whose offense was different than KOK’s. The one constant in terms of scheme has been zone blocking. Route trees are different, formation usage is different, the tendencies established by each are different. There are probably things that Kirk vetoes or certain sets for down/distance, but he literally is not calling plays.
BF’s offense is different than GD’s, whose offense was different than KOK’s. The one constant in terms of scheme has been zone blocking. Route trees are different, formation usage is different, the tendencies established by each are different. There are probably things that Kirk vetoes or certain sets for down/distance, but he literally is not calling plays.
I do not believe Kirk is calling the plays.
He probably has a offensive philosophical style he wants such as 50% run and 50 % pass but is not calling the certain plays Brian sends in. Same on Defense.
He probably has a offensive philosophical style he wants such as 50% run and 50 % pass but is not calling the certain plays Brian sends in. Same on Defense.
Exactly…..Thank you …..lIt comes down to the Joe’s
KF isn't talking to anyone or doing anything, while BF is constantly looking at play charts and chattering into his mic on offense. I do believe BF checks with KF on 4th downs and other pivotal situations. And of course KF will cover for BF with the press.
I'm in agreeance that I don't think Kirk is calling plays. What I'm sure is happening tho is Brian has a select number of plays that he calls based on what Kirk has had drawn up for 23 + years. So yes, Brian is calling the plays.
Greg Davis' offense was miserable to watch...as is this one. Its the same song and dance...neither one uses the middle of the field, everything is 5-10 yard outs or slants and nothing designed beyond that. Nothing annoyed me more often under Davis than when we'd need 8-9 yards for a first down and he'd call a 2 yard pass in the flat on 3rd down. EVERY TIME. Its no different with Brian - the two QB sneaks again Purdue and the two FB dives against Wisky are maddening on so many levels. If you're going to call TO RUN A DIFFERENT PLAY. Whatever happened to the pitch? Run a PA out of the same package. ANYTHING ELSE.
I still remember Vince Young in an interview talking about how 90% of the time he would audible out of whatever Davis had called. But he had the ability and legs to do that.
I miss the shallow drags and square-ins of the KOK era. I wish I had access to the all-22 and see just what our route tree is.
So KF the ex-nfl OL guru and our head coach and the BF the ex OL player and how the offensive coordinator are not responsible for recruiting and preparing this current OL?
I studied the Hawkeye staff on the sidelines when I was a season ticket holder up until the end of the 2012 season. I was curious how involved KF was and the conclusion I came up (with similar to others in this discussion) was that KF does virtually zero game-day coaching. He is never in the defensive or offensive huddles when they come to the sideline, he is rarely seen speaking into his mic or to his coaches directly, and most of the time his mic was at the top of his head anyway.
I don't believe Brian Ferentz does much game day coaching either. If you study other coaches that call offensive plays, many of them have a detailed color laminated large size game plan that undoubtedly has plays for various scenarios they may encounter (see Matt Lafleur for Green Bay). Brian is seen on the sidelines with a small sheet of paper folded in half and I have rarely seen him looking at it. I believe the offensive plays are scripted deep into the game and there is someone in the booth that calls the plays down to the field and Brian may then give the play to a runner or the backup QBs to signal in.
I don't believe Brian Ferentz does much game day coaching either. If you study other coaches that call offensive plays, many of them have a detailed color laminated large size game plan that undoubtedly has plays for various scenarios they may encounter (see Matt Lafleur for Green Bay). Brian is seen on the sidelines with a small sheet of paper folded in half and I have rarely seen him looking at it. I believe the offensive plays are scripted deep into the game and there is someone in the booth that calls the plays down to the field and Brian may then give the play to a runner or the backup QBs to signal in.
You still need receivers that are able to get off the line of scrimmage, get into a route/come clean; you still need backs and TEs that can get clear of a linebacker in under 2 seconds...and you need 2 seconds before the defense gets their hands on the QB. Remember that the lateral passing game is dangerous in that IF you can't get Dbacks off the line of scrimmage they have an increased likelihood of reading the play and they don't have to go far to pick off the pass and then there isn't much between them and the goal line. Even the dinky-dunk game requires execution at a level we haven't demonstrated consistently this season.
Have to agree here, although I really think some posters think KF is calling 95% of the plays and BF the other 5%....
They play it in the NFL because they have the personnel and linemen to do it.
This is complete nonsense. Brian has spoken and answered questions extensively about his playcalling. He's talked about "getting caught up in the game, and going away from his gameplan" in calling the unbalanced passing vs. rushing plays against NU last year, for example.
He may not call the plays but he’s instrumental in selecting the plays that will be implemented week to week.
Kirk has said that Brian calls the plays, but he listens in on every call and has the right to change/veto any call. I have no reason to doubt that this is the arrangement. In fact I think Kirk wants it known that Brian is a "player caller" in an effort to raise his profile as an assistant coach.
I don't think it's all about game day. I think the film study post-game has a major effect on the OC's decisions. You can work for a manager long enough to know how to do something the way he wants it done, even if it goes against your own instincts and recommendations, and even if it fails.
I speculate that there's a fair amount of dysfunction at Iowa on the offensive side. I think Brian, like O'Keefe and Davis before him, coaches not always "to the game" but "to the manager" to avoid getting criticized or reamed out afterwards when things go wrong - conveniently the manager's mistakes are often overlooked. It would explain why Iowa coordinators have a history of longevity under Kirk.
I don't think it's all about game day. I think the film study post-game has a major effect on the OC's decisions. You can work for a manager long enough to know how to do something the way he wants it done, even if it goes against your own instincts and recommendations, and even if it fails.
I speculate that there's a fair amount of dysfunction at Iowa on the offensive side. I think Brian, like O'Keefe and Davis before him, coaches not always "to the game" but "to the manager" to avoid getting criticized or reamed out afterwards when things go wrong - conveniently the manager's mistakes are often overlooked. It would explain why Iowa coordinators have a history of longevity under Kirk.
Correct. Just like there are reasons why running quarterbacks and spread offenses have been much more common in college than in the pros. Running quarterbacks can't outrun the speed they face across the board in the NFL. Similarly, the zone stretch requires that every o-lineman be capable of running, pulling, and blocking with agility to eliminate penetration. The vast majority of NFL O-lineman can do that. The vast majority of college linemen cannot. All it takes is for one of these lineman to miss a block and the play gets blown up. Add in that it requires an NFL quality back with great vision and burst to consistently identify and run through the correct lane and it's not hard to see how difficult this play is to run consistently in college.
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The point argued here was that Iowa does not run a "modern" offense an needs to change to one (apparently in mid season). Thanks for establishing that the Iowa Offense is an offense that is a modern day professional level Offense. The offensive struggles of late are not scheme related, they are individual performance and experience related (on the offense line).
I'd say it's some of both. Scheme and personnel need to compliment each other. This offensive line doesn't have the ability to run a zone blocking scheme effectively so IMO they'd be better off simplifying things. Of course opinions are like a$$holes. Everybody has one.
This year Iowa has one NFL ready lineman and the other 4-5 aren't close to that level and really struggle with zone blocking. They often end up blocking no one or with 3 guys on 1. Someone is always shooting a gap and the o-linemen look confused half the time as to who they are supposed to pick up and when. I blame a lot of this on coaching. Not looking good for the new guy.
OL understanding angles is far more important than most physical traits in zone blocking. It’s all about where is the defender and what angle you need to take to get there. The quality of nfl OL is also pretty poor overall.
I don't know what his job is, but I can tell you what he does: get paid $800K/year for doing jack shit
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