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Cooper DeJean, George Barnett, BF, and stuff

Beattheohiostate

All-Conference
Aug 5, 2022
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First, why did it take an injury to Arland Bruce IV for Iowa coaches to put the best athlete on the team back to return punts? Cooper DeJean did just about everything yesterday except sweep out Kinnick after the game. He had 114 total yards . . . as a defensive back . . . compared to 146 for what Iowa calls its offense. Iowa has had two superlative punt returners in the last 30 years or so--Tim Dwight and last year's Big Ten returner of the year, Charlie Jones. Well, now it has three in DeJean. The kid is a natural and, when your offense is as pathetic as Iowa's, you need every yard you can get from special teams, and DeJean is the guy to get them. Bruce has been mediocre to poor as a punt returner. He just doesn't have the natural, uncoachable instincts to be good at it. DeJean, on the other hand, is fabulous, and he should be the returner as long as he remains in Iowa City. Period.

Second, OL coach George Barnett never should have been hired, and he should have been fired--or reassigned--long ago. Just as the DL is the heart of the defense, the OL is the foundation of the offense. Without a decent OL, not much good can happen on the offensive side of the ball. And then you add an unqualified OC/QB coach and just like that, you have the nation's worst offense. Despite their glaring shortcomings, and they are significant, even Petras and BF would look a lot better with an O-line that could do anything against halfway decent competition. And so KF has done his team, his QB, and his son no favor by refusing to do something about Barnett. Iowa must have a new OL coach next season.

As for BF . . . it's all been said. He needs a change of scenery, and I hope he can head back to the NFL soon. Iowa needs a whole new voice on offense, and an actual QB coach would be nice too.

If KF wanted to hang it up after this season, that would be a bonus. I don't see it happening. KF may reassign Barnett, or let him resign, and BF might move back to the NFL, but I still don't see KF--in year 24--taking his hands off the offense. But any objective observer can only lament what might have been if KF had acted as CEO and given the OL and QB coaching jobs to someone competent and let them do their thing. With Phil Parker's defense and merely an adequate offense, Iowa could have been right there with Michigan and Ohio State. That's what's so frustrating. Opportunity has knocked, but stubborn KF has refused to open the door.

And despite it all, the Hawkeyes' defense and special teams once again have Iowa on the brink of winning the division. But even if they do, how can they prevent another embarrassment in the championship game without an offense? So close . . .
 
This OL coach may be bad, but he wasn't there for past 5 years while the two coaches that list Offensive Line as their area of expertise have been overseeing the recruiting on OL and certainly would be able to step in to address any technique issues.

I don't expect much changes this off season. Assuming they lose Kadyn Proctor, there goes the OL rebuild. If QB is the guys already in program, then we have no QB. So expect a 100+ ranked scoring offense next year.
 
First, why did it take an injury to Arland Bruce IV for Iowa coaches to put the best athlete on the team back to return punts? Cooper DeJean did just about everything yesterday except sweep out Kinnick after the game. He had 114 total yards . . . as a defensive back . . . compared to 146 for what Iowa calls its offense. Iowa has had two superlative punt returners in the last 30 years or so--Tim Dwight and last year's Big Ten returner of the year, Charlie Jones. Well, now it has three in DeJean. The kid is a natural and, when your offense is as pathetic as Iowa's, you need every yard you can get from special teams, and DeJean is the guy to get them. Bruce has been mediocre to poor as a punt returner. He just doesn't have the natural, uncoachable instincts to be good at it. DeJean, on the other hand, is fabulous, and he should be the returner as long as he remains in Iowa City. Period.

Second, OL coach George Barnett never should have been hired, and he should have been fired--or reassigned--long ago. Just as the DL is the heart of the defense, the OL is the foundation of the offense. Without a decent OL, not much good can happen on the offensive side of the ball. And then you add an unqualified OC/QB coach and just like that, you have the nation's worst offense. Despite their glaring shortcomings, and they are significant, even Petras and BF would look a lot better with an O-line that could do anything against halfway decent competition. And so KF has done his team, his QB, and his son no favor by refusing to do something about Barnett. Iowa must have a new OL coach next season.

As for BF . . . it's all been said. He needs a change of scenery, and I hope he can head back to the NFL soon. Iowa needs a whole new voice on offense, and an actual QB coach would be nice too.

If KF wanted to hang it up after this season, that would be a bonus. I don't see it happening. KF may reassign Barnett, or let him resign, and BF might move back to the NFL, but I still don't see KF--in year 24--taking his hands off the offense. But any objective observer can only lament what might have been if KF had acted as CEO and given the OL and QB coaching jobs to someone competent and let them do their thing. With Phil Parker's defense and merely an adequate offense, Iowa could have been right there with Michigan and Ohio State. That's what's so frustrating. Opportunity has knocked, but stubborn KF has refused to open the door.

And despite it all, the Hawkeyes' defense and special teams once again have Iowa on the brink of winning the division. But even if they do, how can they prevent another embarrassment in the championship game without an offense? So close . . .
Bravo!
 
First, why did it take an injury to Arland Bruce IV for Iowa coaches to put the best athlete on the team back to return punts? Cooper DeJean did just about everything yesterday except sweep out Kinnick after the game. He had 114 total yards . . . as a defensive back . . . compared to 146 for what Iowa calls its offense. Iowa has had two superlative punt returners in the last 30 years or so--Tim Dwight and last year's Big Ten returner of the year, Charlie Jones. Well, now it has three in DeJean. The kid is a natural and, when your offense is as pathetic as Iowa's, you need every yard you can get from special teams, and DeJean is the guy to get them. Bruce has been mediocre to poor as a punt returner. He just doesn't have the natural, uncoachable instincts to be good at it. DeJean, on the other hand, is fabulous, and he should be the returner as long as he remains in Iowa City. Period.

Second, OL coach George Barnett never should have been hired, and he should have been fired--or reassigned--long ago. Just as the DL is the heart of the defense, the OL is the foundation of the offense. Without a decent OL, not much good can happen on the offensive side of the ball. And then you add an unqualified OC/QB coach and just like that, you have the nation's worst offense. Despite their glaring shortcomings, and they are significant, even Petras and BF would look a lot better with an O-line that could do anything against halfway decent competition. And so KF has done his team, his QB, and his son no favor by refusing to do something about Barnett. Iowa must have a new OL coach next season.

As for BF . . . it's all been said. He needs a change of scenery, and I hope he can head back to the NFL soon. Iowa needs a whole new voice on offense, and an actual QB coach would be nice too.

If KF wanted to hang it up after this season, that would be a bonus. I don't see it happening. KF may reassign Barnett, or let him resign, and BF might move back to the NFL, but I still don't see KF--in year 24--taking his hands off the offense. But any objective observer can only lament what might have been if KF had acted as CEO and given the OL and QB coaching jobs to someone competent and let them do their thing. With Phil Parker's defense and merely an adequate offense, Iowa could have been right there with Michigan and Ohio State. That's what's so frustrating. Opportunity has knocked, but stubborn KF has refused to open the door.

And despite it all, the Hawkeyes' defense and special teams once again have Iowa on the brink of winning the division. But even if they do, how can they prevent another embarrassment in the championship game without an offense? So close . . .
Phil is very possessive about his players, especially DBs. That much is obvious.
 
First, why did it take an injury to Arland Bruce IV for Iowa coaches to put the best athlete on the team back to return punts? Cooper DeJean did just about everything yesterday except sweep out Kinnick after the game. He had 114 total yards . . . as a defensive back . . . compared to 146 for what Iowa calls its offense. Iowa has had two superlative punt returners in the last 30 years or so--Tim Dwight and last year's Big Ten returner of the year, Charlie Jones. Well, now it has three in DeJean. The kid is a natural and, when your offense is as pathetic as Iowa's, you need every yard you can get from special teams, and DeJean is the guy to get them. Bruce has been mediocre to poor as a punt returner. He just doesn't have the natural, uncoachable instincts to be good at it. DeJean, on the other hand, is fabulous, and he should be the returner as long as he remains in Iowa City. Period.
I think the answer lies in KF's presser last night:

1) Q. We talked to Cooper; he says he can't drop-kick a field goal. Are you amazed how he can affect the game in so many different areas --

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, there's probably not a position on the perimeter he couldn't play. You'd have to change your offense if he was your quarterback.

But I'm pretty sure he could be a pretty good running back, I know he could be a really good receiver, and you think about the four positions on defense in the back end plus the nickelback, the slot guy, so there's five right there.

My Interpretation: They recognize Cooper's talent, but he already has a ton on his plate as a true sophomore.

2) Q. Today you had Cooper and Deontae make huge special teams plays. These are defensive starters...

KIRK FERENTZ: Part of the reason is you don't have to be as veteran of a player, I don't think, to be a good special teams player; there's not quite as much learning. There is learning and there's obviously calls and schemes and all that, but it's not quite -- the experience doesn't factor in. If you have a good attitude and you're really a tough-minded guy, it gives you a chance.

Fast forward then, the dilemma becomes as you get a little bit down the road hopefully, thinking about guys like Abdul Hodge, Greenway, Dallas Clark, how much do you use them on special teams because they're so valuable on defense, too.

So now you circle back to Cooper who's easily leading the team in snaps right now.
I think probably the only time he comes off would be kickoff, kickoff return. I think that's correct. And then the field goal teams, he's not on those. He's playing every snap on defense.

A, we don't have a choice right now. We're not the deepest outfit. But our guys take pride in that, and the good players I've been around want to play on special teams, and then we have to pull them back. But if there's a way to get a guy who maybe is a second team that can play as effectively, we're going to give that guy the opportunity. There's a little bit more buy-in and they're more part of the team, feel like they're more part of the team. That's kind of been our philosophy for a couple decades here.

But it's tough sometimes because some guys can really make a difference, and it's going to be hard to take him off any of these teams moving forward.

My Interpretation: They are trying to manage Cooper's usage to avoid injury / fatigue. *But* Kirk's last sentence seems to be an admission that they finally realize the rewards outweigh the risks with Cooper.
 
This OL coach may be bad, but he wasn't there for past 5 years while the two coaches that list Offensive Line as their area of expertise have been overseeing the recruiting on OL and certainly would be able to step in to address any technique issues.

I don't expect much changes this off season. Assuming they lose Kadyn Proctor, there goes the OL rebuild. If QB is the guys already in program, then we have no QB. So expect a 100+ ranked scoring offense next year.
When you think about it, it is truly amazing for a team to have a HC who coached OL in college and NFL for a total of 13 years, and OC who both played and coached OL for a good period of time, to have a team that is so inept in that regard.
 
as a fan it is so "obvious" and easy for me to want cooper on all O, D, and ST plays but KF certainly has a bunch of trade-offs to manage. overloading superman into an injury or some such is certainly not worth it. got to play him just close to the point of diminishing returns and that's a somewhat tough call.

if kf can get us over the next two games with his current plan that's a-ok but at that point if cooper is open to it, and if we get roberts back at 100% by then, i would use cooper at qb for a few set of downs or even drives (yes he will have to change to offense for it) in the ccg.
 
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as a fan it is so "obvious" and easy for me to want cooper on all O, D, and ST plays but KF certainly has a bunch of trade-offs to manage. overloading superman into an injury or some such is certainly not worth it. got to play him just close to the point of diminishing returns and that's a somewhat tough call.

if kf can get us over the next two games with his current plan that's a-ok but at that point if cooper is open to it, and if we get roberts back at 100% by then, i would use cooper at qb for a few set of downs or even drives (yes he will have to change to offense for it) in the ccg.
I think it's asking too much to install a package for CDJ in one week. Bowl game? Maybe. Next year? My god, I hope so.
 
First, why did it take an injury to Arland Bruce IV for Iowa coaches to put the best athlete on the team back to return punts? Cooper DeJean did just about everything yesterday except sweep out Kinnick after the game. He had 114 total yards . . . as a defensive back . . . compared to 146 for what Iowa calls its offense. Iowa has had two superlative punt returners in the last 30 years or so--Tim Dwight and last year's Big Ten returner of the year, Charlie Jones. Well, now it has three in DeJean. The kid is a natural and, when your offense is as pathetic as Iowa's, you need every yard you can get from special teams, and DeJean is the guy to get them. Bruce has been mediocre to poor as a punt returner. He just doesn't have the natural, uncoachable instincts to be good at it. DeJean, on the other hand, is fabulous, and he should be the returner as long as he remains in Iowa City. Period.

Second, OL coach George Barnett never should have been hired, and he should have been fired--or reassigned--long ago. Just as the DL is the heart of the defense, the OL is the foundation of the offense. Without a decent OL, not much good can happen on the offensive side of the ball. And then you add an unqualified OC/QB coach and just like that, you have the nation's worst offense. Despite their glaring shortcomings, and they are significant, even Petras and BF would look a lot better with an O-line that could do anything against halfway decent competition. And so KF has done his team, his QB, and his son no favor by refusing to do something about Barnett. Iowa must have a new OL coach next season.

As for BF . . . it's all been said. He needs a change of scenery, and I hope he can head back to the NFL soon. Iowa needs a whole new voice on offense, and an actual QB coach would be nice too.

If KF wanted to hang it up after this season, that would be a bonus. I don't see it happening. KF may reassign Barnett, or let him resign, and BF might move back to the NFL, but I still don't see KF--in year 24--taking his hands off the offense. But any objective observer can only lament what might have been if KF had acted as CEO and given the OL and QB coaching jobs to someone competent and let them do their thing. With Phil Parker's defense and merely an adequate offense, Iowa could have been right there with Michigan and Ohio State. That's what's so frustrating. Opportunity has knocked, but stubborn KF has refused to open the door.

And despite it all, the Hawkeyes' defense and special teams once again have Iowa on the brink of winning the division. But even if they do, how can they prevent another embarrassment in the championship game without an offense? So close . . .
 
win another game or both, the entire staff will be back BOOK IT. I hate it too buts that's the way KF rolls
 
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First, why did it take an injury to Arland Bruce IV for Iowa coaches to put the best athlete on the team back to return punts? Bruce has been mediocre to poor as a punt returner. He just doesn't have the natural, uncoachable instincts to be good at it.

I trust LeVar Woods in what he is doing. I would imagine most Iowa fans do, too.

You call Bruce mediocre to poor as a punt returner. Well, if one were to be fair, how many punts did Cooper not catch yesterday, where as a result, Iowa started out with much worse field position?




OL coach George Barnett never should have been hired, and he should have been fired--or reassigned--long ago.

KF has stated recently, when asked about the OL, that he knows a lot about the OL and OL coaching and that Barnett is a great OL coach. I think most Iowa fans would trust KF's public assessment of Barnett. Yet, you, who know nothing about OL play, think he should have never been hired?

The problem, imo, is the lack of talent in our current stable of offensive linemen. I think they are getting the coaching; I just don't think they are good enough to get the job done on a consistent basis.
 
win another game or both, the entire staff will be back BOOK IT. I hate it too buts that's the way KF rolls
If we drop the next two games, yes heads should roll.

But let's look at the best case scenario of 8-4 with West title and ccg appearance with a shot at b1g championship. that would mean that this team went from 3-4 to 8-4 and outside of going undefeated achieved whatever we set out to achieve on first day of the season. That would by definition imply the staff and team made significant improvements. Yet you would want heads to roll? en masse? It doesn't take away from a comical showing by the offense but surely our dissatisfaction should have some correlation to reality. Not saying we are there but there remains room this season for the staff and team to prove their mettle yet.
 
I trust LeVar Woods in what he is doing. I would imagine most Iowa fans do, too.

You call Bruce mediocre to poor as a punt returner. Well, if one were to be fair, how many punts did Cooper not catch yesterday, where as a result, Iowa started out with much worse field position?






KF has stated recently, when asked about the OL, that he knows a lot about the OL and OL coaching and that Barnett is a great OL coach. I think most Iowa fans would trust KF's public assessment of Barnett. Yet, you, who know nothing about OL play, think he should have never been hired?

The problem, imo, is the lack of talent in our current stable of offensive linemen. I think they are getting the coaching; I just don't think they are good enough to get the job done on a consistent basis.
You know as well as I do that KF will never throw even a hint of anyone under a bus during the season. The situation would suddenly take care of itself by that individual moving on. I have no doubt Barnett knows how to coach line. But does he coach of the way that Iowa needs to have it coached. I actually do think that one of the things that hurts them is that Bryan is probably not hands-on with the line at all. Since taking on the quarterback responsibilities which everyone could joke about, his attention is elsewhere during practice. And Kirk, because Barnett has so much experience probably doesn’t step in as much as he should. Think about it when they hired Polasak, I’m sure Brian was a lot more available and Tim was under a watchful eye because he had never coach the position before. And they didn’t seem to have these types of issues.
 
You know as well as I do that KF will never throw even a hint of anyone under a bus during the season. The situation would suddenly take care of itself by that individual moving on. I have no doubt Barnett knows how to coach line. But does he coach of the way that Iowa needs to have it coached. I actually do think that one of the things that hurts them is that Bryan is probably not hands-on with the line at all. Since taking on the quarterback responsibilities which everyone could joke about, his attention is elsewhere during practice. And Kirk, because Barnett has so much experience probably doesn’t step in as much as he should. Think about it when they hired Polasak, I’m sure Brian was a lot more available and Tim was under a watchful eye because he had never coach the position before. And they didn’t seem to have these types of issues.

Regarding your question on whether Barnett coaches the way that Iowa needs to have OL play coached, I thought KF still oversaw the OL more than anything else. From KF's public comments, he's come out & stated that he's happy with Barnett's coaching. If KF wasn't happy, he could have beaten around the bush when asked about Barnett and not brought Barnett up by name and simply said that "we need to get better."

The only time I recall KF throwing anyone under the bus was Deuce Hogan, which led to his transfer.

One great thing about Phil is that he has coaches overseeing each position group but he makes sure the defense as a whole works very, very well. He gets the right players on the field. Brian clearly, and unfortunately, does not have that talent as the OC.
 
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Regarding your question on whether Barnett coaches the way that Iowa needs to have OL play coached, I thought KF still oversaw the OL more than anything else. From KF's public comments, he's come out & stated that he's happy with Barnett's coaching. If KF wasn't happy, he could have beaten around the bush when asked about Barnett and not brought Barnett up by name and simply said that "we need to get better."

The only time I recall KF throwing anyone under the bus was Deuce Hogan, which led to his transfer.

One great thing about Phil is that he has coaches overseeing each position group but he makes sure the defense as a whole works very, very well. He gets the right players on the field. Brian clearly, and unfortunately, does not have that talent as the OC.
Good points and I do agree with your last paragraph. Obviously there’s some thing that is not being communicated correctly and I’m not in the camp of it’s just bad players. I think these are the same types of players Iowa always gets for the line. But something is not right and that’s always up to the staff to fix. And I believe KF has a lot of pride in that line play And this obviously is not up to anyone’s standards.
 
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Good points and I do agree with your last paragraph. Obviously there’s some thing that is not being communicated correctly and I’m not in the camp of it’s just bad players. I think these are the same types of players Iowa always gets for the line. But something is not right and that’s always up to the staff to fix. And I believe KF has a lot of pride in that line play And this obviously is not up to anyone’s standards.

IMO, with the OL season long struggles, I think KF has gravitated over to that position group to help out. Obviously, we as fans see the poor OL play and we all draw our own conclusions. Is it the coaching? Is it they are just not good? Is it that they are simply inexperienced? Personally, I think they are getting coached up but just aren't good at what they should be doing. But, none of us fans know for sure what the answers are.

It was flat out embarrassing when Wisconsin rushed just 3 and dropped back 8 and they still very quickly got to Spencer.
 
Good points and I do agree with your last paragraph. Obviously there’s some thing that is not being communicated correctly and I’m not in the camp of it’s just bad players. I think these are the same types of players Iowa always gets for the line. But something is not right and that’s always up to the staff to fix. And I believe KF has a lot of pride in that line play And this obviously is not up to anyone’s standards.
I don't understand this discussion of whether it's the players or the staff. It's always the staff. They are responsible for recruiting, developing and coaching the players. If the players are "bad" that's a direct reflection of bad recruiting and/or development by the staff. They're not victims being forced to coach someone else's mistakes.
 
Let’s all take a moment to be silent and reflect on the DeJean-Graves train that will be running through the cfb world the next two years. I called DeJean back watching him play basketball as a sophomore. Something about his athleticism that is hard to describe, his body control, body proportions combined with a humble demeanor, hard working attitude, lunch pale guy; he has everything Iowa Hawk football looks for.

Graves came along and whispers about him as a freshman in high school, then watching him play, listening to him, reading his interviews and his coaches interviews. This guy will be a generational talent for the Hawks as well.

Just terrific kids coming from small town Iowa.
 
The problem, imo, is the lack of talent in our current stable of offensive linemen. I think they are getting the coaching; I just don't think they are good enough to get the job done on a consistent basis.

I don't believe that there is a problem with talent in the OL room. The problem is that there is not a distribution of experience levels in the OL room. Guys who ARE the veterans in terms of years in the program are not the leaders we'd need/want them to be. If guys like that aren't scoring out consistently ... they get passed on the depth chart. The problem then becomes one where the OL may be filled with promising young talent - but they're still learning/developing. There isn't the steadying influence of veteran leadership to supply ballast for the young guys. That makes it hard on them. The coaches can only do so much. Without having the leadership on the field too ... you end up seeing breakdowns on the field.
 
First, why did it take an injury to Arland Bruce IV for Iowa coaches to put the best athlete on the team back to return punts? Cooper DeJean did just about everything yesterday except sweep out Kinnick after the game. He had 114 total yards . . . as a defensive back . . . compared to 146 for what Iowa calls its offense. Iowa has had two superlative punt returners in the last 30 years or so--Tim Dwight and last year's Big Ten returner of the year, Charlie Jones. Well, now it has three in DeJean. The kid is a natural and, when your offense is as pathetic as Iowa's, you need every yard you can get from special teams, and DeJean is the guy to get them. Bruce has been mediocre to poor as a punt returner. He just doesn't have the natural, uncoachable instincts to be good at it. DeJean, on the other hand, is fabulous, and he should be the returner as long as he remains in Iowa City. Period.

Second, OL coach George Barnett never should have been hired, and he should have been fired--or reassigned--long ago. Just as the DL is the heart of the defense, the OL is the foundation of the offense. Without a decent OL, not much good can happen on the offensive side of the ball. And then you add an unqualified OC/QB coach and just like that, you have the nation's worst offense. Despite their glaring shortcomings, and they are significant, even Petras and BF would look a lot better with an O-line that could do anything against halfway decent competition. And so KF has done his team, his QB, and his son no favor by refusing to do something about Barnett. Iowa must have a new OL coach next season.

As for BF . . . it's all been said. He needs a change of scenery, and I hope he can head back to the NFL soon. Iowa needs a whole new voice on offense, and an actual QB coach would be nice too.

If KF wanted to hang it up after this season, that would be a bonus. I don't see it happening. KF may reassign Barnett, or let him resign, and BF might move back to the NFL, but I still don't see KF--in year 24--taking his hands off the offense. But any objective observer can only lament what might have been if KF had acted as CEO and given the OL and QB coaching jobs to someone competent and let them do their thing. With Phil Parker's defense and merely an adequate offense, Iowa could have been right there with Michigan and Ohio State. That's what's so frustrating. Opportunity has knocked, but stubborn KF has refused to open the door.

And despite it all, the Hawkeyes' defense and special teams once again have Iowa on the brink of winning the division. But even if they do, how can they prevent another embarrassment in the championship game without an offense? So close . . .
Didn't Desmond King return punts?
 
I think the answer lies in KF's presser last night:

1) Q. We talked to Cooper; he says he can't drop-kick a field goal. Are you amazed how he can affect the game in so many different areas --

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, there's probably not a position on the perimeter he couldn't play. You'd have to change your offense if he was your quarterback.

But I'm pretty sure he could be a pretty good running back, I know he could be a really good receiver, and you think about the four positions on defense in the back end plus the nickelback, the slot guy, so there's five right there.

My Interpretation: They recognize Cooper's talent, but he already has a ton on his plate as a true sophomore.

2) Q. Today you had Cooper and Deontae make huge special teams plays. These are defensive starters...

KIRK FERENTZ: Part of the reason is you don't have to be as veteran of a player, I don't think, to be a good special teams player; there's not quite as much learning. There is learning and there's obviously calls and schemes and all that, but it's not quite -- the experience doesn't factor in. If you have a good attitude and you're really a tough-minded guy, it gives you a chance.

Fast forward then, the dilemma becomes as you get a little bit down the road hopefully, thinking about guys like Abdul Hodge, Greenway, Dallas Clark, how much do you use them on special teams because they're so valuable on defense, too.

So now you circle back to Cooper who's easily leading the team in snaps right now.
I think probably the only time he comes off would be kickoff, kickoff return. I think that's correct. And then the field goal teams, he's not on those. He's playing every snap on defense.

A, we don't have a choice right now. We're not the deepest outfit. But our guys take pride in that, and the good players I've been around want to play on special teams, and then we have to pull them back. But if there's a way to get a guy who maybe is a second team that can play as effectively, we're going to give that guy the opportunity. There's a little bit more buy-in and they're more part of the team, feel like they're more part of the team. That's kind of been our philosophy for a couple decades here.

But it's tough sometimes because some guys can really make a difference, and it's going to be hard to take him off any of these teams moving forward.

My Interpretation: They are trying to manage Cooper's usage to avoid injury / fatigue. *But* Kirk's last sentence seems to be an admission that they finally realize the rewards outweigh the risks with Cooper.

He also said in the postgame that he was returning punts instead of blocking the gunners, which is what he is really good at. I'm not a rocket scientist nor am I a Bruce hater but find someone else that can block a gunner.

Also, let Cooper play QB.

Kidding.


Kind of.
 
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Good post by the OP. It’s a myth that Kirk is some great evaluator of talent. Just this year it took 8 games to figure out Johnson is by far the best back, DeJean should be returning punts, and still hasn’t figured out Petras sucks.
 
I think we would all like try Cooper at QB but I’m sure his position in the bigs is on defense. Kind of doubt he would be interested, maybe some wildcat. Tim had some real speed does Cooper compare to that. I think we solved the punt return issue
 
When you think about it, it is truly amazing for a team to have a HC who coached OL in college and NFL for a total of 13 years, and OC who both played and coached OL for a good period of time, to have a team that is so inept in that regard.
You don't have to "think about it" much. It quickly smacks you in the face
 
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If we drop the next two games, yes heads should roll.

But let's look at the best case scenario of 8-4 with West title and ccg appearance with a shot at b1g championship. that would mean that this team went from 3-4 to 8-4 and outside of going undefeated achieved whatever we set out to achieve on first day of the season. That would by definition imply the staff and team made significant improvements. Yet you would want heads to roll? en masse? It doesn't take away from a comical showing by the offense but surely our dissatisfaction should have some correlation to reality. Not saying we are there but there remains room this season for the staff and team to prove their mettle yet.
Heads should be rolling even if they win the next two games. This is more than a five year mess.
 
I don't believe that there is a problem with talent in the OL room. The problem is that there is not a distribution of experience levels in the OL room. Guys who ARE the veterans in terms of years in the program are not the leaders we'd need/want them to be. If guys like that aren't scoring out consistently ... they get passed on the depth chart. The problem then becomes one where the OL may be filled with promising young talent - but they're still learning/developing. There isn't the steadying influence of veteran leadership to supply ballast for the young guys. That makes it hard on them. The coaches can only do so much. Without having the leadership on the field too ... you end up seeing breakdowns on the field.

Plumb attempting to undercut Wisconsin LB...that was the slowest most uncordinated block I've ever seen. I don't see how you can say the talent is there. Put Wirfs and Jackson on at the two OT's and this is a completely differen OL...it is about the talent, especially at OT positions. Colby has looked awful at times....he obviously can't play tackle because his time at RT was a disaster, but even at guard he may be overmatched vs quicker guys.
 
Plumb attempting to undercut Wisconsin LB...that was the slowest most uncordinated block I've ever seen. I don't see how you can say the talent is there. Put Wirfs and Jackson on at the two OT's and this is a completely differen OL...it is about the talent, especially at OT positions. Colby has looked awful at times....he obviously can't play tackle because his time at RT was a disaster, but even at guard he may be overmatched vs quicker guys.
Colby has talent ... but it was a new position for him. I don't know the kid ... but not all linemen are the brightest bulbs. Not everybody learns stuff at the fastest rate. Does that apply to him? No idea ... but I'm sure it applies to some of those guys.

If you read between the lines from one of Kirk's prior pressers ... it sounds like Colby was demonstrating a bit of "reversion" with his reps at OT. That's part of why they put him back at a spot where he had a higher comfort level.

In his defense, he's also just in his second year on campus ... and it ain't an easy gig. Not everybody is going to come on and play like a Wirfs.
 
Plumb attempting to undercut Wisconsin LB...that was the slowest most uncordinated block I've ever seen. I don't see how you can say the talent is there. Put Wirfs and Jackson on at the two OT's and this is a completely differen OL...it is about the talent, especially at OT positions. Colby has looked awful at times....he obviously can't play tackle because his time at RT was a disaster, but even at guard he may be overmatched vs quicker guys.
Also, when Wirfs and Jackson had to come in and play as young guys ... they were mentored by Boone and Ike. That's some high-level mentorship. Welsh was also a SR. Daniels was quite the veteran junior.

When you have so many guys around with that level of experience, it has a settling effect on younger guys.

The current group of guys ... who do they have? In fall camp this year, Richman had to be a vocal leader. The dude will finish his career at Iowa as a mighty fine OT ... but the fact that everyone is having to "grow up together" certainly isn't making things easier.
 
Good post by the OP. It’s a myth that Kirk is some great evaluator of talent. Just this year it took 8 games to figure out Johnson is by far the best back, DeJean should be returning punts, and still hasn’t figured out Petras sucks.

Dude I am really serious about this…. I get it you’re mad and you hate this staff, but even people on your side, I swear to God, some of the things you say they’re behind the keyboard going this guy is the dumbest man alive!

KF is, and isn’t a lot of things, but the sheer raw amount of people they have put in the NFL from walkons - low ranking 3-stars is an major death knell to your stupidity!!

And your use of Johnson is an extreme misnomer. I’m not even gonna try to rationalize your stupidity, way more people than me have pointed out your failings!
 
Probably bc they didn't want to overwork DeJean's workload. Apparently, it's not an issue with him.

This does cause some thought on why their best players are not on the field till much later. It's a Ferentz thing.
After getting trucked by that Husker, going to have be very careful. One more big hit like that and Coop could be done.
 
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Why didn't Hayden Fry use Tim Dwight at cornerback?
Fry certainly didn't use him properly. Like KF, he hung around a decade too long. He was just awful his last years. TD would had been much better off playing for Bill Walsh at Stanford like he wanted to do.
 
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Concerning usage of Cooper ... given what we observed what happened after he got injured in the Nebraska game ... I think that was a great illustration of how thin we were depth-wise at CB.
 
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