Digusted Lifelong Fan

[RomanHawk]

Who are you hiring at OC? Who was fighting to get this job prior to BF? Greg Davis? That worked out swimmingly worth a national championship winning OC with a way different scheme...

And yes, Purdue does have better skilled position players than Iowa does this year.

Talent is FAR superior to method. What team has won a natty that isn't decked with 4 and 5 star recruits? None.

Our method is what it is because of the talent level we can draw at Iowa.

You and I have no knowledge of the Greg Davis hiring process. Who applied? Who was sought?
Were they told that KF would retain control of the offense?

What we do know is that a guy was brought in who had one foot in retirement, who didn't have enough
commitment to Iowa to even move there, who had no drive to recruit or make his mark-only to get a paycheck.

What we can surmise because of the transparency, is that he was brought in as a place-holder, because of the above and at the same time as BF. So strong evidence that both GD and BF were brought in for purposes other that to improve the team.

I didn't say methods were more important than talent. I said more important at the margins. And I also don't expect you to understand what that means.

 

[RomanHawk]

Lol...Evy is a big part of the reason we sucked for 20 years. He undercut Burns and Nagel. He got fired for it.

No argument with that. But I wasn't talking about that 20 years. And those 20 years happened because nobody did anything to stop it--a common problem at Iowa. Just like nobody has stopped nepotism.

 

[HawkOn15]

You and I have no knowledge of the Greg Davis hiring process. Who applied? Who was sought?
Were they told that KF would retain control of the offense?

What we do know is that a guy was brought in who had one foot in retirement, who didn't have enough
commitment to Iowa to even move there, who had no drive to recruit or make his mark-only to get a paycheck.

What we can surmise because of the transparency, is that he was brought in as a place-holder, because of the above and at the same time as BF. So strong evidence that both GD and BF were brought in for purposes other that to improve the team.

I didn't say methods were more important than talent. I said more important at the margins. And I also don't expect you to understand what that means.

You know it has been very well documented that GD was hired based off of a recommendation of Jim Caldwell right?

 

[longliveCS40]

You and I have no knowledge of the Greg Davis hiring process. Who applied? Who was sought?
Were they told that KF would retain control of the offense?

What we do know is that a guy was brought in who had one foot in retirement, who didn't have enough
commitment to Iowa to even move there, who had no drive to recruit or make his mark-only to get a paycheck.

What we can surmise because of the transparency, is that he was brought in as a place-holder, because of the above and at the same time as BF. So strong evidence that both GD and BF were brought in for purposes other that to improve the team.

I didn't say methods were more important than talent. I said more important at the margins. And I also don't expect you to understand what that means.

I do understand what that means. But thank you for the ad hominem attack.

The problem is that it doesn't matter the method you bring in. You are limited too much by that talent gap. That.is.the.point.

We have the best schemes and methods for the talent level available.

As for Greg Davis, you say we have no idea what the hiring process was but then go on to say the failure was because Davis was retiring and didn't care as if it's fact? You have some sort of discussion with him where he let you in on that nugget of info?

He was a national championship winning offensive coordinator with a different style of play. That's EXACTLY what you're asking for and he was a miserable flop.

What does that tell us? You have to style the scheme to the personnel because the opposite isn't an option.

 

[RomanHawk]

You know it has been very well documented that GD was hired based off of a recommendation of Jim Caldwell right?

So what? What makes him an expert? And who else was recommended by others? And part of hiring success is doing your own homework and having the ability to make an astute judgement. He failed.

 

[HawkOn15]

So what? What makes him an expert? And who else was recommended by others? And part of hiring success is doing your own homework and having the ability to make an astute judgement. He failed.

You’re delusional

 

[NCHawkeye24]

Iowa doesn't get a mulligan like Bama.

A one loss Iowa more than likely makes the CFP. Do I think Iowa wins all the rest of their games and the B1G championship? With this o-line? No, but I will play along.

Right now they are 11th and there is only 1 team behind them that could possibly pass them and that is Wake Forest. Ahead, if we win out, there will be 4 B1G teams that will lose and we will pass all of them. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State play so somebody loses there. Even if Oregon wins out, Iowa's wins will be better because Iowa's next biggest win would be Penn St. if they beat OSU in the championship game and Oregon would only really have 1 quality win. That puts us up to 5th. If Georgia beats Alabama in the SEC championship game, Bama is out. If Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were to lose, regardless if they win their conference or not, we pass them. The only way we get left out is if Bama beats Georgia, Cincinnati stays undefeated and Oklahoma wins out. Then there would be a huge debate between Cincinnati, with their best win as Notre Dame and second vs. Indiana, whereas a 1-loss B1G team with their biggest win against OSU (probably), 2nd is Penn St., 3rd is Iowa St., 4th is Wisconsin, and 5th is probably that same Indiana team. I say Iowa wins that argument.

It won't happen but its fun to think about anyway.

Oh, one last sidenote: I know everyone is looking at this Purdue loss as such a bad loss, but I think we will all see by season's end that this Purdue team is a pretty good team. They have a lot of really, really good players (best player on the field on both sides) and a lot of experience. I think they are a 9-3 team and beat both MSU and Wisconsin at home.

 

[Cincy_Hawk]

Isn't it amazing. Kirk knows he has had good to great defense and special teams. But won't elevate the offense to round out the team.
Greg Davis was Kirk's splash hire....

He's on record saying he hates games where teams score 40+ points. He said that before the Maryland game.

For everyone who says Iowa's offense has to be bad for Iowa to play the way it does and win - Brohm won the recruiting battle over Bell. Brohm plays innovative offense, and now has a good DC that has the defense humming. Wisconsin outrecruits Iowa at OLine, wr, and running back year after year, and they are a running team that runs it up against inferior opponents and wins in close games against everyone but OSU (pretty much equivalent to Michigan). We're not going to ever be Oklahoma on offense, but we could be waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than what we've been during Ferentz's career.

We do need to stay in our lane, play sound fundamental football and not turn the ball over, but being at least as good as Wisconsin prior to the last two years and Perdue on offense is doable.

As for WeLl wHo yA GoNna get SpongeBob SquarePants concern trolling, we have to make a decisionin five years or less, anyway.

Kirk has earned the right to stay till he wants to leave, and Phil too, but depending on when that happens...

Brian cannot have the job. How bout Brian Johnson? How bout Tommy Rees? How bout Sean Lewis? How bout Mike Stoops, or Jay Norvell if you want Hayden guys. Personally, Sean Lewis would be my choice.

There are plenty of good candidates for when the switch happens.

 

[speed4power]

We don’t need to move on from Kirk. Kirk just needs to be realistic. Fire or demote Brian, bring in a proven “good” offensive coordinator AND let him run the offense his way.

Agree with you. Problem is that’s just not going to happen. Kirk is not going to fire his own son. That’s the problem with hiring him in the first place and it should have never been allowed.

 

[CO_hawk]

He's on record saying he hates games where teams score 40+ points. He said that before the Maryland game.

For everyone who says Iowa's offense has to be bad for Iowa to play the way it does and win - Brohm won the recruiting battle over Bell. Brohm plays innovative offense, and now has a good DC that has the defense humming. Wisconsin outrecruits Iowa at OLine, wr, and running back year after year, and they are a running team that runs it up against inferior opponents and wins in close games against everyone but OSU (pretty much equivalent to Michigan). We're not going to ever be Oklahoma on offense, but we could be waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than what we've been during Ferentz's career.

We do need to stay in our lane, play sound fundamental football and not turn the ball over, but being at least as good as Wisconsin prior to the last two years and Perdue on offense is doable.

As for WeLl wHo yA GoNna get SpongeBob SquarePants concern trolling, we have to make a decisionin five years or less, anyway.

Kirk has earned the right to stay till he wants to leave, and Phil too, but depending on when that happens...

Brian cannot have the job. How bout Brian Johnson? How bout Tommy Rees? How bout Sean Lewis? How bout Mike Stoops, or Jay Norvell if you want Hayden guys. Personally, Sean Lewis would be my choice.

There are plenty of good candidates for when the switch happens.

Correction, Kirk doesn't want other teams scoring 40 points.
If he doesn't see that an average to good offense would help him win games, I give up.

 

[Ignored]

Some posters seem to be missing the significance of who we lost to and how we lost, not merely that we lost.

I'll be honest, I missed the beginning of the game and turned it off when it was about 5 p.m. in Iowa City as I had other things going on. Them playing poorly affects me too much, I have to admit. I just looked at the box score for the first time... QB threw for 195 yards? On 32 attempts? Had 4 picks, against Purdue, at home? WTF?

2019 wasn't so long ago and it was maybe the first season in recent memory that we beat just about everyone we were supposed to beat. After that year I had hope that a corner had been turned and the program was going to consistently hold serve against lesser teams, but last week proves otherwise. If we had to lose once or twice this season I would've much rather it been against PSU and Wisconsin.

 

[BVHawkeye]

How many Big 10 Championship game appearances in the last 29 games? I’ll hang up and listen.

Of all the Big Ten teams how many have played in the championship games? I'll hang up and listen. Our program is a top four team in the conference and has been right there for 40 years.

 

[David1979]

KFs biggest weakness has always been his micromanagement of the offense. Insisting on the old school zone blocking scheme and being slow to change on that side of the ball. They have added in a few new things on offense under BF but really they need a complete change in philosophy. They constantly struggle to run the ball and their passing game is pretty pedestrian as well.

 

[David1979]

Of all the Big Ten teams how many have played in the championship games? I'll hang up and listen. Our program is a top four team in the conference and has been right there for 40 years.

Northwestern has more championship game appearances than Iowa.

 

[BVHawkeye]

Northwestern has more championship game appearances than Iowa.

I agree but there are 14 teams in the Big. We are nearly always in the running to the west championship. That was my point. We just won 12 games in a row and when we lose one it's time to fire the coach! We have some idiots that are fans!

 

[David1979]

I agree but there are 14 teams in the Big. We are nearly always in the running to the west championship. That was my point. We just won 12 games in a row and when we lose one it's time to fire the coach! We have some idiots that are fans!

Oh yeah I agree I just think the coaching staff, well the offensive coaching staff, has held this program back from having several championship game appearances. But it’s all still out there for them this year. Just need to make some adjustments and finish the job. If this team can beat ISU on the road and PSU then there is no reason they can’t get things corrected win the West.

 

[ChuckBarkley]

To add to this, there have been 11 schools that have won the national title since the BCS was created out of the 130 or so FBS teams. The one thing I hate about the playoff system is for many fans the season is over and becomes meaningless once eliminated from the playoff conversation. Each week more and more "fans" declare the season a disaster and over as they pick up that 1st loss of the year.

No one expected Iowa to even sniff the top 5 this year. Young lines, question mark QB, loss of receivers, etc. If 6 months ago you told the true fans we would have 1 loss and sniffing the top 10 7 weeks into the season, with legit Rose Bowl hopes and an outside shot at a CFP berth, fans would be on cloud 9. Instead we have all of the "the season is over, there is nothing left to play for" garbage. It is one loss and there is plenty still at stake but by all means fire everyone, bench starters, etc. We really are starting to sound like Husker fans.

I get everything your saying but we all suffer from recency bias. I think many would take where we’re at if you told us at the beginning of the season but expectations changed after early success.

 

[du72]

I agree but there are 14 teams in the Big. We are nearly always in the running to the west championship. That was my point. We just won 12 games in a row and when we lose one it's time to fire the coach! We have some idiots that are fans!

You’re settling for mediocrity. I refuse to do that. It’s time to take a stand.

 

[JRHawk2003]

Look....this is all entertainment. I am still pissed we cant field a mens swim or soccer team and we seem to allow our AD to make all kinds of mistakes...but whatever.

 

[JRHawk2003]

You’re settling for mediocrity. I refuse to do that. It’s time to take a stand.

 

[Jizzer]

We were undefeated a couple days ago and favored to win every remaining game on the schedule - our chance of making the playoff was set at 25% at the time. And we were laughed at because the % was so low as a 6-0 team.

There’s next to a zero percent chance we make the playoff with that double digit loss.

If there is anything we know, it's that you will most certainly overreact after any Hawkeye loss. If we win out, that would include a win over OSU/PSU/Michigan in the Big Ten championship. If we did that, the only way we would NOT make the playoffs, is if Cinn and Okie win out, and Bama beats GA in the SEC championship.

 

[HawkLogic]

Genious move? Purdue knew it was coming and had 9 players stacked in the box. I'm not opposed to QB sneaks especially with Linderbaum at Center but honestly, its a little embarrasing how much Iowa relies on that play. Purdue litterally had 3 DTs squezzed together opposite TL on 4th down and they still ran the sneak,

BF must have been following the board members that were promoting QB sneak as an offense.

 

[SoonerBeAHawk]

As we know, Iowa's offense is so futile so often. Ugh!

SP spends more time on his back than a SEC recruiting host coed.

 

[83Hawk]

Of all the Big Ten teams how many have played in the championship games? I'll hang up and listen. Our program is a top four team in the conference and has been right there for 40 years.

I don’t care about the other teams.

And if Iowa is so good, why aren’t they in the championship game more often? How can Northwestern make it multiple times but Iowa only once? With inferior talent, nonetheless?

Don’t get me wrong……I am happy with the success Kirk has had, and 6-1 is much better than I thought we would be at this point. But……AS USUAL….the Hawks are just an average offense away from being a legitimate Big 10 contender. Is it really too much to expect even an average offense?

 

[du72]

Which one of you is this? Bell now has the single game receiving yards record at Kinnick that will probably never be broken unless another opponent does it. Lord knows we’ll never have a receiver this good.

 

[TRHawkeye145]

I don’t care about the other teams.

And if Iowa is so good, why aren’t they in the championship game more often? How can Northwestern make it multiple times but Iowa only once? With inferior talent, nonetheless?

Don’t get me wrong……I am happy with the success Kirk has had, and 6-1 is much better than I thought we would be at this point. But……AS USUAL….the Hawks are just an average offense away from being a legitimate Big 10 contender. Is it really too much to expect even an average offense?

This x1000

 

[BVHawkeye]

You’re settling for mediocrity. I refuse to do that. It’s time to take a stand.

Is 12 wins in a row mediocrity? God we have selfish, stupid fans!

 

[BVHawkeye]

This x1000

How many teams won 12 games in a row with 6 of them against top 25 teams? I get sick of hearing I’m settling for mediocrity. If that is being mediocre I’m settling for it. People forget that ISU had 16 senior starters and we had 2 or 3 with one being the kicker. This team is not mediocre and will be good for awhile.

 

[NCHawkeye24]

I think the model here is Saban, as Kirk and Saban are really from the same school of thought. I would say that Nick, if he had his preference, would much much rather win games 21-7 running the ball and playing defense than 42-28 in a spread, and in fact, I bet there is a really big part of him hates the idea that his defense gave up 28 points. But, he eventually figured out, either on his own or with help, that he couldn't win national championships playing that the old traditional pro style of ball. So he did a really difficult thing and totally flipped the script on what Alabama and Saban football is about by making it offensively focused with a competent defense.

Kirk right now is right there at that point. But will he pull the trigger and take the risk? Or will he ride off into the sunset on the back of a game management style of play? It is a huge leap for him and it would definitely have to get worse before it gets better. Case in point is there is a reason why we didn't get Bell and that was because we wouldn't have thrown it to him. In this offense, if everything were to be the same as what he had at Purdue on Saturday, it would be really hard pressed to think he would have 100 yards receiving, let alone the 500 or whatever he had. So why would he come here? If you are a tight end, come here. If you are a fullback, come here. There is no excuse why our offensive line isnt very good, as that should be the cornerstone of this team each and every year, but reality is it hasnt been above average for quite a while so why would you come here if you are a running back or a dual option quarterback? And you certainly wouldn't come here if you were a wide receiver.

So the problems right now that we are facing are deep. We don't have the players and we dont have them because our offensive system is, in a good way to say it, dated. Sure, there is little turnover on this staff, but that also is an indication of being stale. So right now the only way Iowa can win, and Kirk and his staff have done a damn good job at it, is to play the style of football that we see. And we can continue to win, and can win the west. But compete against teams with dynamic playmakers like we saw Saturday, or against OSU, the SEC teams or Stanford 2015, or go back to USC 2002, not so much.

 

[frydaze]

I hear you. Fry had Snyder as OC and QB coach.

Two things still bother me about Saturday.

1. the O line looks bad and is not improving.

2. Phil Parker lost my respect by not giving Hankins any help with Bell. It’s insane to keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

So despite the amazing job Parker has done as the DC, you no longer respect him because of the Purdue game? Interesting.

QUESTION: Do you have respect for Brian Ferentz?

 

[TRHawkeye145]

How many teams won 12 games in a row with 6 of them against top 25 teams? I get sick of hearing I’m settling for mediocrity. If that is being mediocre I’m settling for it. People forget that ISU had 16 senior starters and we had 2 or 3 with one being the kicker. This team is not mediocre and will be good for awhile.

I don't think Iowa is mediocre at all. Who said that? I think Kirk has built an above average program that has produced some incredible wins, memories and runs in the last 22 years.

If Kirk would put more focus on the offensive struggles and develop a gameplan to more consistently beat NW, Purdue and Wisconsin....then it would result in more division titles. NW can do it and I refuse to believe NW has any better talent or coaching staff than Iowa does.

At some point, you gotta find a way to beat those teams or you will never win the division regardless of being "good for a while". We as fans have seen this on repeat for the last 3 years.

Now...I believe the counter argument could be....well Kirk has a formula that has won games to put us in that "almost division title" conversation most years. That does mean something and I'm not saying it doesnt. I can only think of a handful of times Iowa hasn't been competitive in any game recently.

But I think it's hard to argue the offense (in most cases) have handicapped this program to get more consistent titles. To me, that's my expectation for this program. A division title every 3 years with a chance to win the championship once a decade. Thats winning 1 out of 3 championship games in a decade. Maybe that's too aggressive but I see a championship caliber defense/SP that could do it.

If that makes me ungrateful or a bad fan...then so be it. But I see a West division that is down like Nebby, Illinois and Minnesota and Iowa has a real chance to own the division especially during the years they don't play Ohio State and Michigan.

Being a year where they started 6-0..
Beating 3 conference teams (that doesn't happen often obviously) ...regardless of preseason expectations. They did it. If they miss g out on another division title given all these variables (favorable schedule too given what we know of the West teams this year) is what frustrates me and many other fans. Bc most see the potential this team has even with an average offense

 

[BlackNGoldWings]

You’re settling for mediocrity. I refuse to do that. It’s time to take a stand.

LOL! Huff and puff and blow the door down? Ooooo!

 

[du72]

How many teams won 12 games in a row with 6 of them against top 25 teams? I get sick of hearing I’m settling for mediocrity. If that is being mediocre I’m settling for it. People forget that ISU had 16 senior starters and we had 2 or 3 with one being the kicker. This team is not mediocre and will be good for awhile.

Beating those hillbillies from Ames shouldn’t be anything special, they choke vs us every year.

 

[Ladell-hawk]

I'll start this off saying that I'm a lifelong fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes that goes back generations. This season was set up perfectly for us to win a National Championship and that is all gone now because we couldn't beat Purdue of all teams. I'm tired of the such lackluster offense. The QB sneak on 3rd and 2 the first time was a genius move but you can't just repeat a play like that and expect it to work. Look at how Brohm handled the Purdue offense, completely out coached. Did we even realize David Bell was on the field today? The guy has been a Hawkeye killer since Day 1 and it's like we didn't even know that. He now has the most receiving yards ever at Kinnick and with our offense that will never be broken which is very disappointing. Hayden Fry is probably rolling in his grave after seeing the box score yesterday and that makes me sad.

I'm still hopeful we can win out but as a lifelong fan, I've seen this story too many times. I think it's time to move on from Kirk, especially after all the negative press the last few years. He's been a great coach but he looks completely lost when he faces any adversity against a better coach. Let's use the bye week to get better like Purdue did and run the table.

If you are really that disgusted with a 6-1 record, you probably are bound to be disgusted.

 

[grayhair81]

Of all the Big Ten teams how many have played in the championship games? I'll hang up and listen. Our program is a top four team in the conference and has been right there for 40 years.

Northwestern has played in it twice in the past three years. Your point would be valid if Iowa was in the East.

 

[illhawkdvv]

Well I'm 81 and have been going to Hawk games since the early 50s and can tell you that when KF leaves the chance of Iowa getting a coach as good as HF or KF is slim. Hate to say that but it really is. Better than the years we went through trying to get one in the 60s 70s because we have better facilities but the recruiting area is hard to get top notch coach.

 

[83Hawk]

I don't think Iowa is mediocre at all. Who said that? I think Kirk has built an above average program that has produced some incredible wins, memories and runs in the last 22 years.

If Kirk would put more focus on the offensive struggles and develop a gameplan to more consistently beat NW, Purdue and Wisconsin....then it would result in more division titles. NW can do it and I refuse to believe NW has any better talent or coaching staff than Iowa does.

At some point, you gotta find a way to beat those teams or you will never win the division regardless of being "good for a while". We as fans have seen this on repeat for the last 3 years.

Now...I believe the counter argument could be....well Kirk has a formula that has won games to put us in that "almost division title" conversation most years. That does mean something and I'm not saying it doesnt. I can only think of a handful of times Iowa hasn't been competitive in any game recently.

But I think it's hard to argue the offense (in most cases) have handicapped this program to get more consistent titles. To me, that's my expectation for this program. A division title every 3 years with a chance to win the championship once a decade. Thats winning 1 out of 3 championship games in a decade. Maybe that's too aggressive but I see a championship caliber defense/SP that could do it.

If that makes me ungrateful or a bad fan...then so be it. But I see a West division that is down like Nebby, Illinois and Minnesota and Iowa has a real chance to own the division especially during the years they don't play Ohio State and Michigan.

Being a year where they started 6-0..
Beating 3 conference teams (that doesn't happen often obviously) ...regardless of preseason expectations. They did it. If they miss g out on another division title given all these variables (favorable schedule too given what we know of the West teams this year) is what frustrates me and many other fans. Bc most see the potential this team has even with an average offense

What I don’t understand is why Kirk SEEMS to be against having a good offense. It is possible to have both a good defense AND good offense. They are not mutually exclusive.

 

[TRHawkeye145]

What I don’t understand is why Kirk SEEMS to be against having a good offense. It is possible to have both a good defense AND good offense. They are not mutually exclusive.

Exactly

I do see the argument about having a slower tempo offense which can directly benefit the defense. However, that doesn't mean there can't be improvements. Even just improving the run game would help tremendously.

I'm far from an o-line expert but I read in previous posts (or just heard over-the-years) that Wisconsin has man-blocking schemes whereas Iowa does zone-blocking. Is there a benefit to zone-blocking at this level? Isn't it harder to teach and sustain drives than man-blocking? (i.e. takes more rhythm, cohesion, etc.). And maybe its just as simple as breaking in a newer o-line.

Here are some rushing stats over the last several years. Toward the bottom of Big most recent years. Obviously it doesn't tell the whole story but a better, more committed run game could help sustain drives when passing isn't working or having a shaky QB...

2021 College Football Offense Rushing Team Stat Leaders - ESPN

ESPN is the place for NCAAF stats! Find a list of the Offense Rushing team stat leaders for the 2021 NCAAF Postseason.

www.espn.com

Also found this article interesting about Iowa's zone-blocking. Learned more than I ever knew...

Iowa Run Game: Zone Blocking and Variants - Inside The Pylon

Mark Schofield looks at the dominant Iowa run game, and how the Hawkeyes use a simple zone blocking scheme, with complicated variations.

insidethepylon.com