Okay, wow. Just watched the video posted earlier in this thread. JB is a home run waiting to happen. His moves are different than Wadley's, but every bit as uncanny. I know he was playing against defenses from a much weaker conference and some of those long TD runs would have been limited to big gains (but still, a lot of those gains would still be around 20 or 30 yards or more), but he just has the look. He has Wadley-like speed, fluid and unpredictable moves as opposed to Wadleys wild gyrations and jump cuts, better than Wadley at putting guys on their heels as he runs downhill because it's clear they are cautious because he can easily outmaneuver any aggressive straight-line approach and it's ultimately why he is better at breaking tackles than Wadley. But part of the reason for the latter is because he also possesses Dalvin Cook-like vision, patience, and explosion. I'm not saying he's Dalvin Cook at all. I'm just saying he possesses a lot of similar traits as Wadley and Cook.
Whether that will translate to the B1G, we'll see. But I honestly think he and Wadley will share time like Wadley did with Daniels last year. That's not a bad thing at all if JB plays in a way worthy of splitting time. Hopefully, B. Ferentz has the type of mind who can manage to get two playmakers like that on the field at the same time, especially since Iowa is hurting at WR. And I hope K.O.K has learned a few good things since he was last with Iowa (not a jab, I just hope he can be more effectively creative).
If the offensive minds were willing and could manage to create roles for Wadley and Bradley (provided he's as good as I think he is) similar to that of Curtis Samuel or Christian McCaffery then I'd ... well, I'd cry. I'm not ashamed to admit it. If I saw two Mini-McCafferys on the field at the same time doing crazy Christian McCaffery-type things, I'd bawl. I would have to go back to the mid-80s Hayden Fry days to find an Iowa playbook that used its weapons in ways that kept the defenses constantly guessing. I know, it would be a miracle to see B.F. be a contemporary version of Bill Snyder as O.C.
But they gotta figure out as many ways as possible to use their weapons. They have some weapons, too: Wadley, MVB, Fant, and hopefully Butler. In fact, the reports are that they have quality receiver depth at TE. Get them on the field if Devonte Young or Adrian Falconer aren't cutting it. Even if they do well, you'd think that they'd add a multitude of sets with 2 and 3 TE. Heck, even 4 on the field to throw wrinkles into game plans, using sets of plays and personnel that hadn't been used against earlier opponents to prevent opposing teams from easily predicting the play before the ball snapped (cough, GD, cough).
If, in addition, B.F. could be Snyder-like and call plays in sequence that keeps the opponent off balance and playing below their talent level then I will commit myself to believing in unicorns and fairy tales. For the sake of making a radical change from my typical position on this subject, I shall allow myself to imagine that B. Ferentz will blow my mind. It's preposterous, yes, but I shall wait until halftime of the Wyoming game to completely rip him to shreds for failing miserably.
But, no, I'm going to choose to believe--through conscious self-deception--that JB is a an All-B10 level stud and that B.F. will prove to be THE best offensive coordinator in the nation through an internalization of an inspired and extraordinarily complex cross-pollination of many of the best offensive minds: {Bill Walsh x Pete Carroll x Kyle Shanahan} x {Todd, Haley x Don Shula} x {Brian Billick x Don Coryell x Mike Holmgren}.
I'm basically saying that Brian Ferentz is the smartest man alive. Yes, an offensive genius on an unparalleled level, the first human to create an offensive playbook more complex and beautiful than spacetime quantum fractals, but he derives all of his knowledge not through studying film, reading published strategies and philosophies of other coaches, or collaborating with fellow coaches, but through his skin as the surrounding molecules made up of various elements penetrating his veins and arteries and then interacting with his red blood cells, information is delivered in a mathematically perfect manner through the nervous system and the brain, making Brian the first such person to utilize the physical compounds of the air that envelopes him and every other human being as a means to become a genius beyond genius, the Proto-Genius, The On-HighNess of Playbooksberg, the To Become beyond our feeble minds' ability to fathom, the Ongoing Ongoing, the Mystical Poop Sack, The Jelly Roll Donut, the Master of Everything You Thought Could Not Be Mastered, The Living Kind, The Legally Blind, and The Insane Badass Knick Knack.
Reclaimed the thread for you with this post.
Mike Hlas@Hlas 7h7 hours ago
Gary Dolphin@GaryDolphin 7h7 hours ago
