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I was wrong about Iowa's QB situation

jonesy5960

HR Legend
Sep 6, 2012
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It happens every few years and I'm big enough to admit it.. 😉

Not about the Petras vs Padilla debate yet. That story is still being written. I believed that when faced with a logical decision in terms of which QB to play, Kirk would base that decision solely upon who he thought gave Iowa the best opportunity to win that day. Saturday showed me that was not always the case.

Petras wasn't able to go in practice because of an injury to his throwing shoulder. Padilla practiced with the ones instead. Instead of starting the healthy QB who practiced all week he started the injured QB who wasn't able to go.

There is no logical reason for why Petras started Saturday's game other than Kirk's apparent unwillingness to make a change from the starter outside of an injury (which wasn't even enough in this case) or an act of God. My belief is that he sincerely believes that replacing a starting QB for performance reasons inevitably does more harm than good in the long run. Performance alone cannot determine the fate of Kirk's starting QB and I believe that is the understanding that Kirk has with his starting QB's so go out and play loose without fear of losing your job.

Should Petras have told Kirk that he couldn't go before the game? Probably, but if he's of the mindset that the job is 100% his unless another QB gets an opportunity to outshine him by a wide margin, then you can hardly blame him for telling Kirk he was feeling good enough to play. Given how the previous 2 games played out his confidence couldn't have been high in the first place.

As it was, Petras wasn't anywhere close to being able to play up to even his own modest standards. It took not 1, not 2, but 3 series in the game knowing fully well what was going on before Kirk pulled him out. That frankly is inexplicable to me but I don't get paid the big bucks to run things. Kirk has also always held the stated belief that the player can't lose his job to injury.. All of this leads me to believe that if Padilla doesn't absolutely shine on Saturday and Petras comes back healthy, you probably won't see him on the field again unless Petras is out.
 
How many more times does Petras have to prove that he just isn’t a good, or even average qb? Should we give him another year? He supposedly worked with a qb coach, and he looks even worse this year. Padilla should be the guy moving forward, period.
Let's see how Padilla does going forward. He's bound to stumble at some point, then you'll be attacking him and calling for Deuce.
 
How many more times does Petras have to prove that he just isn’t a good, or even average qb? Should we give him another year? He supposedly worked with a qb coach, and he looks even worse this year. Padilla should be the guy moving forward, period.
I am not here to say whether Petras is good or not, he has been playing behind a subpar line, That aside, Padilla did look good for the "first half" of Iowa's game against a poor defense. None of us can really say whether Padilla is better then Petras since I don't believe any of us has been to practice this year. However, I will say I think Kirk should stick with Padilla as long as he moves the offense consistently and the team scores, as that is what the offense needs and has been lacking in a QB.
 
Our offense was shrinking with Petras as the QB. Immediate difference in avoiding the rush, seeing multiple players, and pushing the field with Oadilla. Small sample size, and against a bit so great team; but from what I have seen—Padilla should start until he plays his way out of it. And if he does—let’s see what Hogan can do.

Not saying Petras should necessarily be done, but I would say he has to earn it back in practice and over time.

In my opinion, he needed a break, and Padilla deserves this shot. Petras’ confidence was rattled and his effectiveness was decreasing with more experience.

Yes our line is an issue, but who could argue Padilla has the tools to lengthen a play better?

I am far from a football coach, but I hope Padilla gets a legit shot at this.
 
How many more times does Petras have to prove that he just isn’t a good, or even average qb? Should we give him another year? He supposedly worked with a qb coach, and he looks even worse this year. Padilla should be the guy moving forward, period.
Why do you keep saying "he looks even worse" ... the blocking is certainly worse which is making him look worse, but you cannot tell the difference? SP has made steady improvement until the OL became a siv ... It is now AP's time (he can mitigate the OL issues a little with his mobility and his quicker release (shown flashes of that at least)). Stop bagging on SP. It is embarrassing all around.
 
I absolutely, 100% believe that KF plays the QB that KF believes gives Iowa the best chance to win.

Is he always right? Probably not.

I, for one, do not know the extent of SP's injury. Does anyone really? He must have thrown the ball well enough in warm-ups.

So, KF knew SP couldn't go and started him anyway? Why in the world would he do that??

He wants to win. He believes passionately in his approach (a.k.a he is "stubborn"). He makes mistakes. He would probably admit starting SP was a mistake.

We don't have all the facts.
 
I absolutely, 100% believe that KF plays the QB that KF believes gives Iowa the best chance to win.

Is he always right? Probably not.

I, for one, do not know the extent of SP's injury. Does anyone really? He must have thrown the ball well enough in warm-ups.

So, KF knew SP couldn't go and started him anyway? Why in the world would he do that??

He wants to win. He believes passionately in his approach (a.k.a he is "stubborn"). He makes mistakes. He would probably admit starting SP was a mistake.

We don't have all the facts.
The Coaches had the pregame warmup to monitor/evaluate Spencer. With the way he performed for three series I find it very hard to believe some red flags didn’t raise themselves during warmups.
 
We don't have all the facts.

We do however have the facts of their play on the field. It was not close. Not close at all.

Which leads one to ask themselves, “Just what in the HELL does Kirk see in Petras?”

Kirk is simply defending his decision to start Petras.

The backup coming in and outplaying the starter makes him look dumb.

He is protecting his own fragile ego, that’s it.
 
Was on the radio yesterday. Not sure if there is mutual interest. Could be hogwash…but I know a family friend who said they would not be surprised at all. So I tossed it out there. Would be intriguing but I also am not sure if KF would want to do it.
 
He must have thrown the ball well enough in warm-ups.

Kirk said that Petras didn't have any "zip" in warmups.

They saw enough that they basically refused to throw the ball for 3 possessions. That was smart.
 
I absolutely, 100% believe that KF plays the QB that KF believes gives Iowa the best chance to win.

Is he always right? Probably not.

I, for one, do not know the extent of SP's injury. Does anyone really? He must have thrown the ball well enough in warm-ups.

So, KF knew SP couldn't go and started him anyway? Why in the world would he do that??

He wants to win. He believes passionately in his approach (a.k.a he is "stubborn"). He makes mistakes. He would probably admit starting SP was a mistake.

We don't have all the facts.
We kinda do have most of the facts though.

Spencer had an injured throwing shoulder

Spencer didn't practice during the week because of it.

Padilla practiced with the ones during the week and was ready to go.

They knew that Spencer wasn't 100% physically with the one injury that no QB can get around which is to the throwing arm/shoulder.

Does anyone really believe that a 50 or 75% Petras is still a better option than a 100% Padilla? Did it really take 3 series to figure that out? I kinda doubt it.
 
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Was on the radio yesterday. Not sure if there is mutual interest. Could be hogwash…but I know a family friend who said they would not be surprised at all. So I tossed it out there. Would be intriguing but I also am not sure if KF would want to do it.
Interesting however isn't he a true dual threat/spread type of QB? Iowa was very interested out of HS, and Max chose TCU primarily because of their offensive plan and scheme.
 
Interesting however isn't he a true dual threat/spread type of QB? Iowa was very interested out of HS, and Max chose TCU primarily because of their offensive plan and scheme.
Yep. That is something that makes me question it.
 
Let's see how Padilla does going forward. He's bound to stumble at some point, then you'll be attacking him and calling for Deuce.
I don't get this. Petras has enough of a sample size now that we pretty much know who he is. I think the majority of fans were willing to give him the benefit of a doubt because of last year being such a weird season. covid, no Spring ball, no real Summer to work w/the receivers, etc. Can you honestly say he's taken a step forward this year, line or no line? His completion % was low, especially in today's game of FB. A starting Qb w/all the rules favoring the offense should hit 60% at a minimum. I understand NW is awful this year, but Padilla looked better than Petras has all season. Fans are frustrated. That's ok. By all accounts Petras is a great guy and great teammate. He's just not a very good QB at this point in his career. And I've said this multiple times that I do think he's shellshocked. The pass that Padilla threw down the sideline to a tightly covered Johnson was a pass Petras throws into the stands because the guy wasn't wide open. The pass to Jones that he dumped perfectly over the LB'ers was another throw Petras can't make. It's Padilla's time. Plain and simple.
 
I don't get this. Petras has enough of a sample size now that we pretty much know who he is. I think the majority of fans were willing to give him the benefit of a doubt because of last year being such a weird season. covid, no Spring ball, no real Summer to work w/the receivers, etc. Can you honestly say he's taken a step forward this year, line or no line? His completion % was low, especially in today's game of FB. A starting Qb w/all the rules favoring the offense should hit 60% at a minimum. I understand NW is awful this year, but Padilla looked better than Petras has all season. Fans are frustrated. That's ok. By all accounts Petras is a great guy and great teammate. He's just not a very good QB at this point in his career. And I've said this multiple times that I do think he's shellshocked. The pass that Padilla threw down the sideline to a tightly covered Johnson was a pass Petras throws into the stands because the guy wasn't wide open. The pass to Jones that he dumped perfectly over the LB'ers was another throw Petras can't make. It's Padilla's time. Plain and simple.
SMH.
 
We kinda do have most of the facts though.

Spencer had an injured throwing shoulder

Spencer didn't practice during the week because of it.

Padilla practiced with the ones during the week and was ready to go.

They knew that Spencer wasn't 100% physically with the one injury that no QB can get around which is to the throwing arm/shoulder.

Does anyone really believe that a 50 or 75% Petras is still a better option than a 100% Padilla? Did it really take 3 series to figure that out? I kinda doubt it.


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Ask yourself, would a proud stubborn old football coach refuse to play backup, even though the starter is CLEARLY INJURED, just to prevent the certain to come fresh wave of criticism when his fanbase finds out, YET AGAIN, he made the wrong choice on starting QB?

Yes, yes he would. His dismissive BS response to the reporter last week was very telling.

Maybe you haven’t “given it much thought” because YOU DONT WANT TO Kirk. Maybe everyone else on the staff and fanbase HAD given it plenty of thought.


Why the hell do you get paid $4M to NOT THINK ABOUT WHO SHOULD BE STARTING AT QB?????!!!!
 
If Padilla has another decent game Saturday and the coaches start Petras after he is "healed", Padilla will be gone at the end of the year. There are probably half a dozen BIG 10 teams he could be starting at next year either due to graduation or just plain out playing the returner.....Not to mention the other power5 teams who will be facing the same turnover.

He will have proven he's too good to be sitting on the bench and some coach out there will pick up a really good QB....
 
If Padilla has another decent game Saturday and the coaches start Petras after he is "healed", Padilla will be gone at the end of the year. There are probably half a dozen BIG 10 teams he could be starting at next year either due to graduation or just plain out playing the returner.....Not to mention the other power5 teams who will be facing the same turnover.

He will have proven he's too good to be sitting on the bench and some coach out there will pick up a really good QB....
I think it's a little early to proclaim Padilla as a "really good" B1G QB. The next game or 2 will give us a much better idea.
 
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It happens every few years and I'm big enough to admit it.. 😉

Not about the Petras vs Padilla debate yet. That story is still being written. I believed that when faced with a logical decision in terms of which QB to play, Kirk would base that decision solely upon who he thought gave Iowa the best opportunity to win that day. Saturday showed me that was not always the case.

Petras wasn't able to go in practice because of an injury to his throwing shoulder. Padilla practiced with the ones instead. Instead of starting the healthy QB who practiced all week he started the injured QB who wasn't able to go.

There is no logical reason for why Petras started Saturday's game other than Kirk's apparent unwillingness to make a change from the starter outside of an injury (which wasn't even enough in this case) or an act of God. My belief is that he sincerely believes that replacing a starting QB for performance reasons inevitably does more harm than good in the long run. Performance alone cannot determine the fate of Kirk's starting QB and I believe that is the understanding that Kirk has with his starting QB's so go out and play loose without fear of losing your job.

Should Petras have told Kirk that he couldn't go before the game? Probably, but if he's of the mindset that the job is 100% his unless another QB gets an opportunity to outshine him by a wide margin, then you can hardly blame him for telling Kirk he was feeling good enough to play. Given how the previous 2 games played out his confidence couldn't have been high in the first place.

As it was, Petras wasn't anywhere close to being able to play up to even his own modest standards. It took not 1, not 2, but 3 series in the game knowing fully well what was goin butg on before Kirk pulled him out. That frankly is inexplicable to me but I don't get paid the big bucks to run things. Kirk has also always held the stated belief that the player can't lose his job to injury.. All of this leads me to believe that if Padilla doesn't absolutely shine on Saturday and Petras comes back healthy, you probably won't see him on the field again unless Petras is out.
Why does Ferentz think he owes loyalty to any quarterback over another one. Padilla throws a ball that is easy to catch, Petras throws a ball that is hard to hold on to so it limits yards after the catch
 
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Inciteful comment.

You never give any logical explanation as to why Ferentz would start Petras if he didn't think Petras gave the team the best chance of winning. The closest you got was when you said:
  • "My belief is that he sincerely believes that replacing a starting QB for performance reasons inevitably does more harm than good in the long run."
Even if that were true, and Ferentz was willing to sacrifice a game because he's thinking about the "long run" why would he pull Petras after 3 series?

There's not a chance in hell Ferentz though Padilla gave them a better chance to win, but he went with Petras instead. Yeah, that was a dumb decision, and I am also puzzled as to how he could have thought an injured Petras was our best option, but what makes even less sense is that Ferentz was intentionally trying to sabotage the game by starting Petras, only to bring in Padilla in the first quarter.

The entire premise of this thread is dumb. You want to criticize Kirk for starting Petras? I'm right there with ya. I'm shocked that the staff put Petras out there given the apparent condition of his shoulder, and it is a major indictment on the staff's ability to effectively manage the depth chart. However, to think that Ferentz intentionally made a decision against the best interest of the team simply makes no sense.
 
You never give any logical explanation as to why Ferentz would start Petras if he didn't think Petras gave the team the best chance of winning. The closest you got was when you said:
  • "My belief is that he sincerely believes that replacing a starting QB for performance reasons inevitably does more harm than good in the long run."
Even if that were true, and Ferentz was willing to sacrifice a game because he's thinking about the "long run" why would he pull Petras after 3 series?

There's not a chance in hell Ferentz though Padilla gave them a better chance to win, but he went with Petras instead. Yeah, that was a dumb decision, and I am also puzzled as to how he could have thought an injured Petras was our best option, but what makes even less sense is that Ferentz was intentionally trying to sabotage the game by starting Petras, only to bring in Padilla in the first quarter.

The entire premise of this thread is dumb. You want to criticize Kirk for starting Petras? I'm right there with ya. I'm shocked that the staff put Petras out there given the apparent condition of his shoulder, and it is a major indictment on the staff's ability to effectively manage the depth chart. However, to think that Ferentz intentionally made a decision against the best interest of the team simply makes no sense.
Every piece of objective evidence suggested that Petras shouldn't start that game and yet he did. Not only that but Petras confirmed during the first series that his arm strength was limited and yet he played 2 more series.. That means that either Kirk is an idiot or he's simply philosophically opposed to pulling his starting QB until it's absolutely necessary. I don't think he's an idiot. I stated clearly why I thought he takes that approach. He doesn't want his starter playing tight and looking over his shoulder as he feels it will hinder his performance on the field.
 
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Every piece of objective evidence suggested that Petras shouldn't start that game and yet he did. Not only that but Petras confirmed during the first series that his arm strength was limited and yet he played 2 more series.. That means that either Kirk is an idiot or he's simply philosophically opposed to pulling his starting QB until it's absolutely necessary. I don't think he's an idiot. I stated clearly why I thought he takes that approach. He doesn't want his starter playing tight and looking over his shoulder as he feels it will hinder his performance on the field.
I also believe Kirk is very careful to create a positive culture and chemistry in the locker room. He is trying to avoid half of the locker room being Spencer guys and half of the team being Alex guys and the division that could cause. QB controversies can be a distraction that he is trying to avoid, which is why he treats media questions about it the way that he does. I think Kirk wants his starting QB to be the leader of the team.
 
I also believe Kirk is very careful to create a positive culture and chemistry in the locker room. He is trying to avoid half of the locker room being Spencer guys and half of the team being Alex guys and the division that could cause. QB controversies can be a distraction that he is trying to avoid, which is why he treats media questions about it the way that he does. I think Kirk wants his starting QB to be the leader of the team.
That's absolutely correct.
 
Kirk said that Petras didn't have any "zip" in warmups.

They saw enough that they basically refused to throw the ball for 3 possessions. That was smart.
Petras was 2-4. The 2 misses were woefully short so they switched to Padilla.
 
I also believe Kirk is very careful to create a positive culture and chemistry in the locker room. He is trying to avoid half of the locker room being Spencer guys and half of the team being Alex guys and the division that could cause. QB controversies can be a distraction that he is trying to avoid, which is why he treats media questions about it the way that he does. I think Kirk wants his starting QB to be the leader of the team.
I agree with this also ... I also think KF wanted to give SP a chance to see if the arm would respond in the heat of the game with the adrenaline flowing. I thought maybe he should have gone to AP after that bad throw in the first series but he went with him 2 more, I don't think that was as outrageous as some here are framing it. You give your guy a chance. Everyone on the team saw he got the chance but couldn't go ... AP comes in, no controversy on the team.
 
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Ask yourself, would a proud stubborn old football coach refuse to play backup, even though the starter is CLEARLY INJURED, just to prevent the certain to come fresh wave of criticism when his fanbase finds out, YET AGAIN, he made the wrong choice on starting QB?

Yes, yes he would. His dismissive BS response to the reporter last week was very telling.

Maybe you haven’t “given it much thought” because YOU DONT WANT TO Kirk. Maybe everyone else on the staff and fanbase HAD given it plenty of thought.


Why the hell do you get paid $4M to NOT THINK ABOUT WHO SHOULD BE STARTING AT QB?????!!!!

Coach speak. Do you really think this hasn't been discussed by the coaches?
 
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