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I’m actually enjoying watching this team play..

cmhawks99

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Jul 23, 2002
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I will confess those first two games were a shock to my equilibrium… I honestly wasn’t prepared for the offense to be that horrific…

With that said this defense is even better than I imagined. We have indeed had injuries and are still playing at a remarkable level and I believe they could even get better…

We have had incredible individual performances by seven or eight different defensive players, hell maybe more!

I also have to point out something that I believe many of our fans miss… I get the offensive complaints and I’m not gonna cover them they’re here. I’m not even going to respond to anybody that says anything.

But of all the things we “have” improved ( not offense) one of the most remarkable is the fact that we somehow seem to keep most of our players on the team in the last few years, especially defensively…

How we have managed to keep those guys with all that talent engaged is beyond remarkable… Terry Roberts and Sebastian Castro would’ve transferred out already at many places and yet here they are making immense plays for us !!!

and people like Deonte Craig and Ethan Hurkett seem to be getting better by the week in a back up role!

We have not seen the pinnacle of this defense…!!
 
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Saturday night was beautiful football to watch.

I don't get it. I guess people don't appreciate winning football, which is exactly what we've been given for the better part of 20 years.

In my opinion, all these Hawkeye "fans" that continually bash "their team" aren't fans at all. They don't deserve a good team. The team and and real Hawk fans would be much better off without them
 
I will confess those first two games were a shock to my equilibrium… I honestly wasn’t prepared for the offense to be that horrific…

With that said this defense is even better than I imagined. We have indeed had injuries and are still playing at a remarkable level and I believe they could even get better…

We have had incredible individual performances by seven or eight different defensive players, hell maybe more!

I also have to point out something that I believe many of our fans miss… I get the offensive complaints and I’m not gonna cover them they’re here. I’m not even going to respond to anybody that says anything.

But of all the things we “have” improved ( not offense) one of the most remarkable is the fact that we somehow seem to keep most of our players on the team in the last few years, especially defensively…

How we have managed to keep those guys with all that talent engaged is beyond remarkable… Terry Roberts and Sebastian Castro would’ve transferred out already at many places and yet here they are making immense plays for us !!!

and people like Deonte Craig and Ethan Hurkett seem to be getting better by the week in a back up role!

We have not seen the pinnacle of this defense…!!
I knew the defense would be great. Give PP this much experienced talent and a lot of depth and he pretty much guarantees a top 10 defense. I was apprehensive about the offense given how bad it was last year and a general lack of faith in the staff to fix it. I was still shocked at how bad they came out to start the season and whatever hope I had that this offense would be much improved was promptly dashed in the span of one half of spectacularly bad football. I've since come to terms with this being another season of abysmal offense and spectacular defense and special teams. I'm going to enjoy those aspects and hopefully some decent wins along the way.
 
Saturday night was beautiful football to watch.

I don't get it. I guess people don't appreciate winning football, which is exactly what we've been given for the better part of 20 years.

In my opinion, all these Hawkeye "fans" that continually bash "their team" aren't fans at all. They don't deserve a good team. The team and and real Hawk fans would be much better off without them
This team is likely headed to 6-6 or 7-5, barring a huge jump in offense. And it's not completely off the table that it could happen. Rutgers is not all that good. With that said, with the current state of Iowa's offense it was an improvement.

Rutgers gets the FG. Then Iowa has a penalty, messes up opening drive. Then DeJean's INT and score. Then teams trade some punts, with Iowa getting 42 yards on one possession and flipping field position. Then the scoop and score and now it's 14-3. After Rutgers gets a couple of first downs, they punt and put Iowa at the 6 with 5 minutes left. Here is where Iowa so far this year has gone 3 plays, punt. Which would give Rutgers a shot at a FG or TD. But Iowa takes it 87 yards over 12 plays and they get a FG late in the half. Then Iowa takes the opening kickoff of the 2nd half, TD, 24-3 and really the game is over at this point. It is the best quarter of football spanning the 2nd and 3rd quarters Iowa has played all year (it's a low bar).

Yes, it would be nice if Iowa just kept moving and scoring. But with the defense and special teams, I am fine with KF going into two-score "suck the life out of the game' mode. In fact, I hope we get to see it every single game this year.

The variety in the running game, the overall pass protection and the plays to push it down the field with the TE's were all good things. The issue, really, in the offense is Iowa just does not have any explosive players on the perimeter of the passing game. The OL and the QB are also issues, but there are zero opportunities for explosive plays in the passing game against quality opponents. It's very hard to play football that way.

Your point is correct on the overall quality of the KF program over 20 years. Two things can be true at the same time. There have been individual seasons that could have been better if not for excruciating losses. The overall quality has also been very good.
 
This team is likely headed to 6-6 or 7-5, barring a huge jump in offense. And it's not completely off the table that it could happen. Rutgers is not all that good. With that said, with the current state of Iowa's offense it was an improvement.

Rutgers gets the FG. Then Iowa has a penalty, messes up opening drive. Then DeJean's INT and score. Then teams trade some punts, with Iowa getting 42 yards on one possession and flipping field position. Then the scoop and score and now it's 14-3. After Rutgers gets a couple of first downs, they punt and put Iowa at the 6 with 5 minutes left. Here is where Iowa so far this year has gone 3 plays, punt. Which would give Rutgers a shot at a FG or TD. But Iowa takes it 87 yards over 12 plays and they get a FG late in the half. Then Iowa takes the opening kickoff of the 2nd half, TD, 24-3 and really the game is over at this point. It is the best quarter of football spanning the 2nd and 3rd quarters Iowa has played all year (it's a low bar).

Yes, it would be nice if Iowa just kept moving and scoring. But with the defense and special teams, I am fine with KF going into two-score "suck the life out of the game' mode. In fact, I hope we get to see it every single game this year.

The variety in the running game, the overall pass protection and the plays to push it down the field with the TE's were all good things. The issue, really, in the offense is Iowa just does not have any explosive players on the perimeter of the passing game. The OL and the QB are also issues, but there are zero opportunities for explosive plays in the passing game against quality opponents. It's very hard to play football that way.

Your point is correct on the overall quality of the KF program over 20 years. Two things can be true at the same time. There have been individual seasons that could have been better if not for excruciating losses. The overall quality has also been very good.

Nice post!!
 
Saturday night was beautiful football to watch.

I don't get it. I guess people don't appreciate winning football, which is exactly what we've been given for the better part of 20 years.

In my opinion, all these Hawkeye "fans" that continually bash "their team" aren't fans at all. They don't deserve a good team. The team and and real Hawk fans would be much better off without them
Ok Brian! Don’t tell your dad how we really feel!
 
I will confess those first two games were a shock to my equilibrium… I honestly wasn’t prepared for the offense to be that horrific…

With that said this defense is even better than I imagined. We have indeed had injuries and are still playing at a remarkable level and I believe they could even get better…

We have had incredible individual performances by seven or eight different defensive players, hell maybe more!

I also have to point out something that I believe many of our fans miss… I get the offensive complaints and I’m not gonna cover them they’re here. I’m not even going to respond to anybody that says anything.

But of all the things we “have” improved ( not offense) one of the most remarkable is the fact that we somehow seem to keep most of our players on the team in the last few years, especially defensively…

How we have managed to keep those guys with all that talent engaged is beyond remarkable… Terry Roberts and Sebastian Castro would’ve transferred out already at many places and yet here they are making immense plays for us !!!

and people like Deonte Craig and Ethan Hurkett seem to be getting better by the week in a back up role!

We have not seen the pinnacle of this defense…!!
I am actually surprised that K-Johnson and A-Bruce have not transferred (yet). Not having any defense players hit the portal is no surprise to me though...
 
The whole "If you complain about the Iowa program you aren't a real fan!" mindset is such a loser mentality. Yeah, wanting Iowa to be better and wanting Iowa's offense to not continue as one of the worst in all of college football is the sign of a bad fan. Lol, too funny.
 
The whole "If you complain about the Iowa program you aren't a real fan!" mindset is such a loser mentality. Yeah, wanting Iowa to be better and wanting Iowa's offense to not continue as one of the worst in all of college football is the sign of a bad fan. Lol, too funny.
Yeah, and I’ve never gotten the “Iowa would be better off without them” point of view either. Really? Better off without them making noise in Kinnick, traveling to bowl games, buying merchandise, wearing Hawkeye apparel across the country for high school students to see? The program would be better off with fewer rather than more fans? What if they changed their allegiance to ISU or Wisconsin or Nebber, and funneled their money and passions there, would that benefit the program?
 
Yeah, and I’ve never gotten the “Iowa would be better off without them” point of view either. Really? Better off without them making noise in Kinnick, traveling to bowl games, buying merchandise, wearing Hawkeye apparel across the country for high school students to see? The program would be better off with fewer rather than more fans? What if they changed their allegiance to ISU or Wisconsin or Nebber, and funneled their money and passions there, would that benefit the program?
Its always a bad idea to drink the Kool-Aid. Cults of personality almost always result in a bad product or bad ideas. Kirk needs pressure on him from somewhere to get this program’s crap together….or quit. Or the athletic director should make a change. Its not complicated.
 
The whole "If you complain about the Iowa program you aren't a real fan!" mindset is such a loser mentality. Yeah, wanting Iowa to be better and wanting Iowa's offense to not continue as one of the worst in all of college football is the sign of a bad fan. Lol, too funny.
i honestly do get that even though i'm not one of those advocating for sudden and complete overhaul...my preference would be incremental change (say padilla to run a few series when petras is mentally toast). i am also inclined to give kf benefit of the doubt in light of 2021 (i loved last year minus the ccg) and watch the team through the entirety of the season to see if they keep getting better into the fall and winter.

all that said, while i can easily buy the flak from fans on the iowa boards, it puzzles me that at a national level iowa is making bigger waves this year at 3-2 than notre dame (2-2), texas a&M (3-2), texas (3-2), oklahoma (3-2) etc.
 
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Its always a bad idea to drink the Kool-Aid. Cults of personality almost always result in a bad product or bad ideas. Kirk needs pressure on him from somewhere to get this program’s crap together….or quit. Or the athletic director should make a change. Its not complicated.
Do you honestly think Kirk needs “pressure” to try his damndest to win games?

That’s a hilarious take
 
Do you honestly think Kirk needs “pressure” to try his damndest to win games?

That’s a hilarious take
Yeah. Whether this staff is even capable of fielding an effective offense is more than open for debate. Thinking they need pressure to want to win games is beyond ludicrous.
 
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Do you honestly think Kirk needs “pressure” to try his damndest to win games?

That’s a hilarious take
Taste in humor varies. But how funny is this: Iowa has been one of the ten worst offenses in all of college football for the last 18 months, and yet there has been no change in the offensive scheme, the OC (also now QB coach), or the quarterback. To me and most of the country, THAT'S hilarious. But to each his own.
 
I’ve been watching the Hawks since the late 50’s. I love watching our defense and special teams play during the past two seasons. Because we have no offense, I get to enjoy over half of the game. If you are a skill position offensive player why would you even consider Iowa? Forget the fans, the players deserve much more from the current. Iowa offensive staff.
 
I’m starting to enjoy the season a little more now that:

1) I’ve adjusted my expectations (begrudgingly btw bc there are so many extremely positive components to this team) and
2) accepted (resigned to) there just ain’t gonna be any change to QB or other small but meaningful changes on offense.

that’s all to say I’ve finally processed all stages of grief and have firmly landed in the Acceptance stage - which is allowing me to just enjoy watching on football Saturdays. And I mean that genuinely.
 
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Taste in humor varies. But how funny is this: Iowa has been one of the ten worst offenses in all of college football for the last 18 months, and yet there has been no change in the offensive scheme, the OC (also now QB coach), or the quarterback. To me and most of the country, THAT'S hilarious. But to each his own.
I don't find it hilarious at all. It's actually kinda frustrating to watch, but as fans there is nothing we can do about it. The offense is bad and the staff hasn't had any answers so far. If the season becomes something I'd rather not watch I'll just do something else.
 
I also think the story of this season is yet to be written. In 2020 we started slow at 0-2 and then boom, played great ending with a six game win streak. Then 2021 we started hot only to see it unravel (that’s probably an overly harsh way to describe it but we did turn into a pretty mediocre team after Penn State). We could still take the 2020 trajectory! I happen to doubt we will as I think the offensive struggles are just too big to overcome - but I sure do hope I’m wrong and very much respect the heck out of the players for grinding!
 
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