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IowaLaw's Post Game Analysis: Purdue

IowasLaw

All-Conference
Nov 19, 2019
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What a difference a few weeks + a softer schedule make on attitudes. The Hawks won decisively today, 24-3, despite not being held scoreless the last 29 1/2 minutes of the game. Chalk another win up to an incredible defensive performance.

1. Beware of the RB Freshmen Phenom Curse. It's easy to get excited for the future when watching true freshmen Johnson carve a Big 10 defense for 200 yards (9.1 yards per carry). This is the kind of back the Hawks desperately needed since Wadley (it's time to start utilizing him in the passing game like Wadley as well). Clearly, the sky is the limit with this kid. However, today's performance reminds me of what I was thinking back when other freshmen phenom backs at Iowa had breakout games. There was super star Marcus Coker. He ran for 220 yards in a game his freshmen year, then built on that with 1,400 yards his sophomore year. He proceeded to flame out of the program shortly after. Then there was 2009 when the Hawks two different freshmen phenoms on the same roster, with Brandon Wegher gaining 650 yards and Adam Robinson with 835. That thunder and lightening combo flamed out and never finished their careers. Here's to hoping Johnson stays on the right path and breaks some records before all is said and done.

2. Inexcusably Ignorant Play Calling on Second & Short. I've never seen worse play calling than I saw repeatedly in the first quarter when the Hawks would pick up 9 yards on 1st down, leaving a 2nd and 1. 99.9% of offensive coordinators view a 2nd and 1 as the ideal down and distance to take a chance and throw the ball down the field or take a chance because there's nothing to lose. Phys ed major & nepotism champ Brian Ferentz opts to instead shortsightedly run a dive up the middle/qb sneak each and every time that opportunity presented itself. It happened 3 times in a row in the 1st quarter, and each time the Hawks gained just 1 yard while passing up the opportunity to stretch the defense or create a big play.

3. OLine Still Sucks. To an uninformed fan (much of this board), the OLine seems to be gelling. Not so fast. When looking at the numbers, it's clear the offensive success is more a result of Kaleb Johnson's incredible individual performance & playing against a weaker opponent and less a result of any improved blocking. For example, Johnson averaged 9 yards per carry...but the rest of the backs had 8 rushes for just 3 yards (an average of 0 yards per carry). In addition, it may have seemed like Petras had all day to throw the ball when compared to the OSU or Michigan games, but he was still sacked 4 times by a pretty poor defense. The defenses just haven't been stacked like previous opponents.

4. A Mixed Bag for Moss. I still don't know what to make of Moss this season. He's obviously an elite Big 10 cornerback and the Hawks are lucky he decided to come back for another year this year. But is he the "all-American" he's been touted to be? He laid the wood today and deflected 3 passes...but he finished the game with just 1 tackle (a complete annihilation of Charlie Jones) despite being targeted all game long. Did he hold Jones in check? Not really. Jones had 11 catches for 104 yards. Moss was flagged for 2 or 3 obvious pass interference calls. Unfortunately, he still hasn't been able to get over the hump and land his first interception of the year. His career path sort of reminds me of Desmond King's, where he won the Thorpe Award as a junior, came back as a senior with high expectations, wasn't targeted much, and didn't quite reach them.

5. Taylor Redeems Himself. After being Iowa's early season MVP, Tory Taylor had himself a rough October. But watching his performance during this windy day was about as entertaining as it gets for a punter. The guy's punts against the wind were a thing of beauty. Low, directional line drives that popped off his leg like a golf ball off a 4 iron. And with the wind, forget about it. Kirk can take all the delay of game penalties he wants, those balls are going through the end zone. On the day, he had 8 punts for a 52 yard average...that's the highest punting average in a game I ever remember seeing. More importantly, he kept the ball out of the nation's best punt returner's hands in Charlie Jones.

6. Petras is Still Petras. After a promising start and taking some shots down the field, Petras showed that he's still the same Petras. 13 for 23 for 192 is mediocre at best (a 56% completion percentage is good by Petras standards but would not rank in the top 100 QBs nationally). Petras still struggles in the red-zone, and aside from Johnson breaking off a 75 yard run to start the 2nd half, the Hawks were held scoreless the second half. By comparison, Purdue's opponents in the weeks before Iowa all put up 35+ points against their D...Iowa scored 24.
 
I honestly didn’t realize that Petras was only 13/23 today. He faded towards the end for sure.

The one thing he did well today, despite the still low completion percentage, was get the ball to his targets (on the completions) so they could run after the catch. That’s huge - and has been rare this year.
 
For #1 I liked that we didn’t get cute when it was 2nd and short. I get what you’re saying but this offense needs first downs because they need to stay on the field. The mindset was get them and continue trying to march down the field. A big shot downfield on a windy day leads to a higher turnover potential. Which is fine when you need to, but I wouldn’t do it a bunch.

When it was 1st and goal from the 1 we got too cute and it cost us 4 points, Three straight dives up the middle should have scored a touchdown.
 
What a difference a few weeks + a softer schedule make on attitudes. The Hawks won decisively today, 24-3, despite not being held scoreless the last 29 1/2 minutes of the game. Chalk another win up to an incredible defensive performance.

1. Beware of the RB Freshmen Phenom Curse. It's easy to get excited for the future when watching true freshmen Johnson carve a Big 10 defense for 200 yards (9.1 yards per carry). This is the kind of back the Hawks desperately needed since Wadley (it's time to start utilizing him in the passing game like Wadley as well). Clearly, the sky is the limit with this kid. However, today's performance reminds me of what I was thinking back when other freshmen phenom backs at Iowa had breakout games. There was super star Marcus Coker. He ran for 220 yards in a game his freshmen year, then built on that with 1,400 yards his sophomore year. He proceeded to flame out of the program shortly after. Then there was 2009 when the Hawks two different freshmen phenoms on the same roster, with Brandon Wegher gaining 650 yards and Adam Robinson with 835. That thunder and lightening combo flamed out and never finished their careers. Here's to hoping Johnson stays on the right path and breaks some records before all is said and done.

2. Inexcusably Ignorant Play Calling on Second & Short. I've never seen worse play calling than I saw repeatedly in the first quarter when the Hawks would pick up 9 yards on 1st down, leaving a 2nd and 1. 99.9% of offensive coordinators view a 2nd and 1 as the ideal down and distance to take a chance and throw the ball down the field or take a chance because there's nothing to lose. Phys ed major & nepotism champ Brian Ferentz opts to instead shortsightedly run a dive up the middle/qb sneak each and every time that opportunity presented itself. It happened 3 times in a row in the 1st quarter, and each time the Hawks gained just 1 yard while passing up the opportunity to stretch the defense or create a big play.

3. OLine Still Sucks. To an uninformed fan (much of this board), the OLine seems to be gelling. Not so fast. When looking at the numbers, it's clear the offensive success is more a result of Kaleb Johnson's incredible individual performance & playing against a weaker opponent and less a result of any improved blocking. For example, Johnson averaged 9 yards per carry...but the rest of the backs had 8 rushes for just 3 yards (an average of 0 yards per carry). In addition, it may have seemed like Petras had all day to throw the ball when compared to the OSU or Michigan games, but he was still sacked 4 times by a pretty poor defense. The defenses just haven't been stacked like previous opponents.

4. A Mixed Bag for Moss. I still don't know what to make of Moss this season. He's obviously an elite Big 10 cornerback and the Hawks are lucky he decided to come back for another year this year. But is he the "all-American" he's been touted to be? He laid the wood today and deflected 3 passes...but he finished the game with just 1 tackle (a complete annihilation of Charlie Jones) despite being targeted all game long. Did he hold Jones in check? Not really. Jones had 11 catches for 104 yards. Moss was flagged for 2 or 3 obvious pass interference calls. Unfortunately, he still hasn't been able to get over the hump and land his first interception of the year. His career path sort of reminds me of Desmond King's, where he won the Thorpe Award as a junior, came back as a senior with high expectations, wasn't targeted much, and didn't quite reach them.

5. Taylor Redeems Himself. After being Iowa's early season MVP, Tory Taylor had himself a rough October. But watching his performance during this windy day was about as entertaining as it gets for a punter. The guy's punts against the wind were a thing of beauty. Low, directional line drives that popped off his leg like a golf ball off a 4 iron. And with the wind, forget about it. Kirk can take all the delay of game penalties he wants, those balls are going through the end zone. On the day, he had 8 punts for a 52 yard average...that's the highest punting average in a game I ever remember seeing. More importantly, he kept the ball out of the nation's best punt returner's hands in Charlie Jones.

6. Petras is Still Petras. After a promising start and taking some shots down the field, Petras showed that he's still the same Petras. 13 for 23 for 192 is mediocre at best (a 56% completion percentage is good by Petras standards but would not rank in the top 100 QBs nationally). Petras still struggles in the red-zone, and aside from Johnson breaking off a 75 yard run to start the 2nd half, the Hawks were held scoreless the second half. By comparison, Purdue's opponents in the weeks before Iowa all put up 35+ points against their D...Iowa scored 24.
Hard to argue with any of this. I was marginally optimistic that the OL might be getting a little more confidence. But again this isn’t a very good defensive team in PU…
 
When Iowa beats a team like PU and NW...they are labeled as dog crap teams by some fans.
Hawks can't win with some fans.
NW pushed OSU hard today and we beat them by 20 points while OSU did by 14....doesnt matter to some "fans_.".
 
OP has never written a positive post after a game...ever.

Let me think, on a day where the wind absolutely had an impact on the game - see both of O'Connell's picks; am I going to be upset about Petras going 13/23 for 190, 90% of which came in the first half when Iowa was picking its spots to throw perfectly? And he still had better completion %/yardage #s than O'Connell?

Seriously, please explain why i should be upset about that.

My main complaint, is that while I understood it - with Iowa up 24-3 and Kirk/Brian locking down the offense, clearly recognizing that Purdue wasn't coming back barring turnovers, I wish we had a medium-level gear to the offense at times like that. To be fair, idk how much Bruce getting banged up had to do with it. Sounds like he should be fine; but with 2 super-physical games on-deck vs Wisconsin and @ Minnesota, I can understand while not agreeing with the degree to which they locked things down on offense.

If the Iowa offense can get 375+ yards/game, barring turnovers I think they win out. Sadly, that likely also means BF stands a much higher chance of returning as OC than any of us would like.
 
OP has never written a positive post after a game...ever.

Let me think, on a day where the wind absolutely had an impact on the game - see both of O'Connell's picks; am I going to be upset about Petras going 13/23 for 190, 90% of which came in the first half when Iowa was picking its spots to throw perfectly? And he still had better completion %/yardage #s than O'Connell?

Seriously, please explain why i should be upset about that.

My main complaint, is that while I understood it - with Iowa up 24-3 and Kirk/Brian locking down the offense, clearly recognizing that Purdue wasn't coming back barring turnovers, I wish we had a medium-level gear to the offense at times like that. To be fair, idk how much Bruce getting banged up had to do with it. Sounds like he should be fine; but with 2 super-physical games on-deck vs Wisconsin and @ Minnesota, I can understand while not agreeing with the degree to which they locked things down on offense.

If the Iowa offense can get 375+ yards/game, barring turnovers I think they win out. Sadly, that likely also means BF stands a much higher chance of returning as OC than any of us would like.
Locking down the offense- I said that in the 2nd half as well, at least it appeared like that happened. However, wasn't SP 11/15 for 182 yards in the first half? How much of the lock down came because there was no pass game in the 2nd half?

I'm not criticizing, I'm genuinely curious.
 
I honestly didn’t realize that Petras was only 13/23 today. He faded towards the end for sure.

The one thing he did well today, despite the still low completion percentage, was get the ball to his targets (on the completions) so they could run after the catch. That’s huge - and has been rare this year.
Much better to take a sack right than throw away and hurt your stats.
 
What a difference a few weeks + a softer schedule make on attitudes. The Hawks won decisively today, 24-3, despite not being held scoreless the last 29 1/2 minutes of the game. Chalk another win up to an incredible defensive performance.

1. Beware of the RB Freshmen Phenom Curse. It's easy to get excited for the future when watching true freshmen Johnson carve a Big 10 defense for 200 yards (9.1 yards per carry). This is the kind of back the Hawks desperately needed since Wadley (it's time to start utilizing him in the passing game like Wadley as well). Clearly, the sky is the limit with this kid. However, today's performance reminds me of what I was thinking back when other freshmen phenom backs at Iowa had breakout games. There was super star Marcus Coker. He ran for 220 yards in a game his freshmen year, then built on that with 1,400 yards his sophomore year. He proceeded to flame out of the program shortly after. Then there was 2009 when the Hawks two different freshmen phenoms on the same roster, with Brandon Wegher gaining 650 yards and Adam Robinson with 835. That thunder and lightening combo flamed out and never finished their careers. Here's to hoping Johnson stays on the right path and breaks some records before all is said and done.

2. Inexcusably Ignorant Play Calling on Second & Short. I've never seen worse play calling than I saw repeatedly in the first quarter when the Hawks would pick up 9 yards on 1st down, leaving a 2nd and 1. 99.9% of offensive coordinators view a 2nd and 1 as the ideal down and distance to take a chance and throw the ball down the field or take a chance because there's nothing to lose. Phys ed major & nepotism champ Brian Ferentz opts to instead shortsightedly run a dive up the middle/qb sneak each and every time that opportunity presented itself. It happened 3 times in a row in the 1st quarter, and each time the Hawks gained just 1 yard while passing up the opportunity to stretch the defense or create a big play.

3. OLine Still Sucks. To an uninformed fan (much of this board), the OLine seems to be gelling. Not so fast. When looking at the numbers, it's clear the offensive success is more a result of Kaleb Johnson's incredible individual performance & playing against a weaker opponent and less a result of any improved blocking. For example, Johnson averaged 9 yards per carry...but the rest of the backs had 8 rushes for just 3 yards (an average of 0 yards per carry). In addition, it may have seemed like Petras had all day to throw the ball when compared to the OSU or Michigan games, but he was still sacked 4 times by a pretty poor defense. The defenses just haven't been stacked like previous opponents.

4. A Mixed Bag for Moss. I still don't know what to make of Moss this season. He's obviously an elite Big 10 cornerback and the Hawks are lucky he decided to come back for another year this year. But is he the "all-American" he's been touted to be? He laid the wood today and deflected 3 passes...but he finished the game with just 1 tackle (a complete annihilation of Charlie Jones) despite being targeted all game long. Did he hold Jones in check? Not really. Jones had 11 catches for 104 yards. Moss was flagged for 2 or 3 obvious pass interference calls. Unfortunately, he still hasn't been able to get over the hump and land his first interception of the year. His career path sort of reminds me of Desmond King's, where he won the Thorpe Award as a junior, came back as a senior with high expectations, wasn't targeted much, and didn't quite reach them.

5. Taylor Redeems Himself. After being Iowa's early season MVP, Tory Taylor had himself a rough October. But watching his performance during this windy day was about as entertaining as it gets for a punter. The guy's punts against the wind were a thing of beauty. Low, directional line drives that popped off his leg like a golf ball off a 4 iron. And with the wind, forget about it. Kirk can take all the delay of game penalties he wants, those balls are going through the end zone. On the day, he had 8 punts for a 52 yard average...that's the highest punting average in a game I ever remember seeing. More importantly, he kept the ball out of the nation's best punt returner's hands in Charlie Jones.

6. Petras is Still Petras. After a promising start and taking some shots down the field, Petras showed that he's still the same Petras. 13 for 23 for 192 is mediocre at best (a 56% completion percentage is good by Petras standards but would not rank in the top 100 QBs nationally). Petras still struggles in the red-zone, and aside from Johnson breaking off a 75 yard run to start the 2nd half, the Hawks were held scoreless the second half. By comparison, Purdue's opponents in the weeks before Iowa all put up 35+ points against their D...Iowa scored 24.
You gotta be an old fat turd.
 
What a difference a few weeks + a softer schedule make on attitudes. The Hawks won decisively today, 24-3, despite not being held scoreless the last 29 1/2 minutes of the game. Chalk another win up to an incredible defensive performance.

1. Beware of the RB Freshmen Phenom Curse. It's easy to get excited for the future when watching true freshmen Johnson carve a Big 10 defense for 200 yards (9.1 yards per carry). This is the kind of back the Hawks desperately needed since Wadley (it's time to start utilizing him in the passing game like Wadley as well). Clearly, the sky is the limit with this kid. However, today's performance reminds me of what I was thinking back when other freshmen phenom backs at Iowa had breakout games. There was super star Marcus Coker. He ran for 220 yards in a game his freshmen year, then built on that with 1,400 yards his sophomore year. He proceeded to flame out of the program shortly after. Then there was 2009 when the Hawks two different freshmen phenoms on the same roster, with Brandon Wegher gaining 650 yards and Adam Robinson with 835. That thunder and lightening combo flamed out and never finished their careers. Here's to hoping Johnson stays on the right path and breaks some records before all is said and done.

2. Inexcusably Ignorant Play Calling on Second & Short. I've never seen worse play calling than I saw repeatedly in the first quarter when the Hawks would pick up 9 yards on 1st down, leaving a 2nd and 1. 99.9% of offensive coordinators view a 2nd and 1 as the ideal down and distance to take a chance and throw the ball down the field or take a chance because there's nothing to lose. Phys ed major & nepotism champ Brian Ferentz opts to instead shortsightedly run a dive up the middle/qb sneak each and every time that opportunity presented itself. It happened 3 times in a row in the 1st quarter, and each time the Hawks gained just 1 yard while passing up the opportunity to stretch the defense or create a big play.

3. OLine Still Sucks. To an uninformed fan (much of this board), the OLine seems to be gelling. Not so fast. When looking at the numbers, it's clear the offensive success is more a result of Kaleb Johnson's incredible individual performance & playing against a weaker opponent and less a result of any improved blocking. For example, Johnson averaged 9 yards per carry...but the rest of the backs had 8 rushes for just 3 yards (an average of 0 yards per carry). In addition, it may have seemed like Petras had all day to throw the ball when compared to the OSU or Michigan games, but he was still sacked 4 times by a pretty poor defense. The defenses just haven't been stacked like previous opponents.

4. A Mixed Bag for Moss. I still don't know what to make of Moss this season. He's obviously an elite Big 10 cornerback and the Hawks are lucky he decided to come back for another year this year. But is he the "all-American" he's been touted to be? He laid the wood today and deflected 3 passes...but he finished the game with just 1 tackle (a complete annihilation of Charlie Jones) despite being targeted all game long. Did he hold Jones in check? Not really. Jones had 11 catches for 104 yards. Moss was flagged for 2 or 3 obvious pass interference calls. Unfortunately, he still hasn't been able to get over the hump and land his first interception of the year. His career path sort of reminds me of Desmond King's, where he won the Thorpe Award as a junior, came back as a senior with high expectations, wasn't targeted much, and didn't quite reach them.

5. Taylor Redeems Himself. After being Iowa's early season MVP, Tory Taylor had himself a rough October. But watching his performance during this windy day was about as entertaining as it gets for a punter. The guy's punts against the wind were a thing of beauty. Low, directional line drives that popped off his leg like a golf ball off a 4 iron. And with the wind, forget about it. Kirk can take all the delay of game penalties he wants, those balls are going through the end zone. On the day, he had 8 punts for a 52 yard average...that's the highest punting average in a game I ever remember seeing. More importantly, he kept the ball out of the nation's best punt returner's hands in Charlie Jones.

6. Petras is Still Petras. After a promising start and taking some shots down the field, Petras showed that he's still the same Petras. 13 for 23 for 192 is mediocre at best (a 56% completion percentage is good by Petras standards but would not rank in the top 100 QBs nationally). Petras still struggles in the red-zone, and aside from Johnson breaking off a 75 yard run to start the 2nd half, the Hawks were held scoreless the second half. By comparison, Purdue's opponents in the weeks before Iowa all put up 35+ points against their D...Iowa scored 24.
O'Connell 20-43 163 yds and 2 picks. Spencer played a much better game in piss poor conditions.
 
What a difference a few weeks + a softer schedule make on attitudes. The Hawks won decisively today, 24-3, despite not being held scoreless the last 29 1/2 minutes of the game. Chalk another win up to an incredible defensive performance.

1. Beware of the RB Freshmen Phenom Curse. It's easy to get excited for the future when watching true freshmen Johnson carve a Big 10 defense for 200 yards (9.1 yards per carry). This is the kind of back the Hawks desperately needed since Wadley (it's time to start utilizing him in the passing game like Wadley as well). Clearly, the sky is the limit with this kid. However, today's performance reminds me of what I was thinking back when other freshmen phenom backs at Iowa had breakout games. There was super star Marcus Coker. He ran for 220 yards in a game his freshmen year, then built on that with 1,400 yards his sophomore year. He proceeded to flame out of the program shortly after. Then there was 2009 when the Hawks two different freshmen phenoms on the same roster, with Brandon Wegher gaining 650 yards and Adam Robinson with 835. That thunder and lightening combo flamed out and never finished their careers. Here's to hoping Johnson stays on the right path and breaks some records before all is said and done.

2. Inexcusably Ignorant Play Calling on Second & Short. I've never seen worse play calling than I saw repeatedly in the first quarter when the Hawks would pick up 9 yards on 1st down, leaving a 2nd and 1. 99.9% of offensive coordinators view a 2nd and 1 as the ideal down and distance to take a chance and throw the ball down the field or take a chance because there's nothing to lose. Phys ed major & nepotism champ Brian Ferentz opts to instead shortsightedly run a dive up the middle/qb sneak each and every time that opportunity presented itself. It happened 3 times in a row in the 1st quarter, and each time the Hawks gained just 1 yard while passing up the opportunity to stretch the defense or create a big play.

3. OLine Still Sucks. To an uninformed fan (much of this board), the OLine seems to be gelling. Not so fast. When looking at the numbers, it's clear the offensive success is more a result of Kaleb Johnson's incredible individual performance & playing against a weaker opponent and less a result of any improved blocking. For example, Johnson averaged 9 yards per carry...but the rest of the backs had 8 rushes for just 3 yards (an average of 0 yards per carry). In addition, it may have seemed like Petras had all day to throw the ball when compared to the OSU or Michigan games, but he was still sacked 4 times by a pretty poor defense. The defenses just haven't been stacked like previous opponents.

4. A Mixed Bag for Moss. I still don't know what to make of Moss this season. He's obviously an elite Big 10 cornerback and the Hawks are lucky he decided to come back for another year this year. But is he the "all-American" he's been touted to be? He laid the wood today and deflected 3 passes...but he finished the game with just 1 tackle (a complete annihilation of Charlie Jones) despite being targeted all game long. Did he hold Jones in check? Not really. Jones had 11 catches for 104 yards. Moss was flagged for 2 or 3 obvious pass interference calls. Unfortunately, he still hasn't been able to get over the hump and land his first interception of the year. His career path sort of reminds me of Desmond King's, where he won the Thorpe Award as a junior, came back as a senior with high expectations, wasn't targeted much, and didn't quite reach them.

5. Taylor Redeems Himself. After being Iowa's early season MVP, Tory Taylor had himself a rough October. But watching his performance during this windy day was about as entertaining as it gets for a punter. The guy's punts against the wind were a thing of beauty. Low, directional line drives that popped off his leg like a golf ball off a 4 iron. And with the wind, forget about it. Kirk can take all the delay of game penalties he wants, those balls are going through the end zone. On the day, he had 8 punts for a 52 yard average...that's the highest punting average in a game I ever remember seeing. More importantly, he kept the ball out of the nation's best punt returner's hands in Charlie Jones.

6. Petras is Still Petras. After a promising start and taking some shots down the field, Petras showed that he's still the same Petras. 13 for 23 for 192 is mediocre at best (a 56% completion percentage is good by Petras standards but would not rank in the top 100 QBs nationally). Petras still struggles in the red-zone, and aside from Johnson breaking off a 75 yard run to start the 2nd half, the Hawks were held scoreless the second half. By comparison, Purdue's opponents in the weeks before Iowa all put up 35+ points against their D...Iowa scored 24.
I have one question. Who asked you?
 
Locking down the offense- I said that in the 2nd half as well, at least it appeared like that happened. However, wasn't SP 11/15 for 182 yards in the first half? How much of the lock down came because there was no pass game in the 2nd half?

I'm not criticizing, I'm genuinely curious.

After Iowa went up 24-3 Iowa looked like they decided they just wanted to run the clock out - they only attempted 8 passes the second half. Running game was working so it wasn’t like Purdue suddenly started stopping the offense.

It’s a question I wish they’d ask more in postgames - did they go run-heavy due to the lead, resting players, etc?

To some extent I get it…we all know that win or lose we’re in for a physical battle the next two weeks, the game is in hand - milk the clock, rest up anyone who’s taken minor knocks.
 
We have a problem at right tackle for sure. Way too many whiffed blocks. Center is a weakness as well. I agree with the op, the OL is a long way from being good. They still seemed confused on who to block too many times.

Can we please top running the hurry up QB sneak on third and short? Everybody knows it’s coming.

Still, it was a very nice win and certainly better than earlier in the year.
 
They did better than I thought they would against Purdue. I’ll give them credit for that. But I have no illusions that all the problems that plagued our offense the first 7 games of the season are now magically fixed.

We all know the Big 10 West is extremely week. The uptick in offensive performance is akin to putting lipstick on a pig. When we move the ball against a legitimate top 25 team, then I’ll celebrate.
 
What a difference a few weeks + a softer schedule make on attitudes. The Hawks won decisively today, 24-3, despite not being held scoreless the last 29 1/2 minutes of the game. Chalk another win up to an incredible defensive performance.

1. Beware of the RB Freshmen Phenom Curse. It's easy to get excited for the future when watching true freshmen Johnson carve a Big 10 defense for 200 yards (9.1 yards per carry). This is the kind of back the Hawks desperately needed since Wadley (it's time to start utilizing him in the passing game like Wadley as well). Clearly, the sky is the limit with this kid. However, today's performance reminds me of what I was thinking back when other freshmen phenom backs at Iowa had breakout games. There was super star Marcus Coker. He ran for 220 yards in a game his freshmen year, then built on that with 1,400 yards his sophomore year. He proceeded to flame out of the program shortly after. Then there was 2009 when the Hawks two different freshmen phenoms on the same roster, with Brandon Wegher gaining 650 yards and Adam Robinson with 835. That thunder and lightening combo flamed out and never finished their careers. Here's to hoping Johnson stays on the right path and breaks some records before all is said and done.

2. Inexcusably Ignorant Play Calling on Second & Short. I've never seen worse play calling than I saw repeatedly in the first quarter when the Hawks would pick up 9 yards on 1st down, leaving a 2nd and 1. 99.9% of offensive coordinators view a 2nd and 1 as the ideal down and distance to take a chance and throw the ball down the field or take a chance because there's nothing to lose. Phys ed major & nepotism champ Brian Ferentz opts to instead shortsightedly run a dive up the middle/qb sneak each and every time that opportunity presented itself. It happened 3 times in a row in the 1st quarter, and each time the Hawks gained just 1 yard while passing up the opportunity to stretch the defense or create a big play.

3. OLine Still Sucks. To an uninformed fan (much of this board), the OLine seems to be gelling. Not so fast. When looking at the numbers, it's clear the offensive success is more a result of Kaleb Johnson's incredible individual performance & playing against a weaker opponent and less a result of any improved blocking. For example, Johnson averaged 9 yards per carry...but the rest of the backs had 8 rushes for just 3 yards (an average of 0 yards per carry). In addition, it may have seemed like Petras had all day to throw the ball when compared to the OSU or Michigan games, but he was still sacked 4 times by a pretty poor defense. The defenses just haven't been stacked like previous opponents.

4. A Mixed Bag for Moss. I still don't know what to make of Moss this season. He's obviously an elite Big 10 cornerback and the Hawks are lucky he decided to come back for another year this year. But is he the "all-American" he's been touted to be? He laid the wood today and deflected 3 passes...but he finished the game with just 1 tackle (a complete annihilation of Charlie Jones) despite being targeted all game long. Did he hold Jones in check? Not really. Jones had 11 catches for 104 yards. Moss was flagged for 2 or 3 obvious pass interference calls. Unfortunately, he still hasn't been able to get over the hump and land his first interception of the year. His career path sort of reminds me of Desmond King's, where he won the Thorpe Award as a junior, came back as a senior with high expectations, wasn't targeted much, and didn't quite reach them.

5. Taylor Redeems Himself. After being Iowa's early season MVP, Tory Taylor had himself a rough October. But watching his performance during this windy day was about as entertaining as it gets for a punter. The guy's punts against the wind were a thing of beauty. Low, directional line drives that popped off his leg like a golf ball off a 4 iron. And with the wind, forget about it. Kirk can take all the delay of game penalties he wants, those balls are going through the end zone. On the day, he had 8 punts for a 52 yard average...that's the highest punting average in a game I ever remember seeing. More importantly, he kept the ball out of the nation's best punt returner's hands in Charlie Jones.

6. Petras is Still Petras. After a promising start and taking some shots down the field, Petras showed that he's still the same Petras. 13 for 23 for 192 is mediocre at best (a 56% completion percentage is good by Petras standards but would not rank in the top 100 QBs nationally). Petras still struggles in the red-zone, and aside from Johnson breaking off a 75 yard run to start the 2nd half, the Hawks were held scoreless the second half. By comparison, Purdue's opponents in the weeks before Iowa all put up 35+ points against their D...Iowa scored 24.
Agree whole heartedly with your assessment. Brian Ferentz coaching QB’s and calling plays is comical. I don’t blame Petras as much as I blame BF. Our offensive line seems to be getting better but look at who we’ve played. If Iowa wins out the fans that love mediocrity will be in full force defending these chumps and opening their pocket books for more of the same.
 
They did better than I thought they would against Purdue. I’ll give them credit for that. But I have no illusions that all the problems that plagued our offense the first 7 games of the season are now magically fixed.

We all know the Big 10 West is extremely week. The uptick in offensive performance is akin to putting lipstick on a pig. When we move the ball against a legitimate top 25 team, then I’ll celebrate.

I certainly don’t think we’ve magically solved all that ails the offense, especially for the need to overhaul the scheme.

That said, it’s been nice to at least resemble competency on offense the last two games.
 
After Iowa went up 24-3 Iowa looked like they decided they just wanted to run the clock out - they only attempted 8 passes the second half. Running game was working so it wasn’t like Purdue suddenly started stopping the offense.

It’s a question I wish they’d ask more in postgames - did they go run-heavy due to the lead, resting players, etc?

To some extent I get it…we all know that win or lose we’re in for a physical battle the next two weeks, the game is in hand - milk the clock, rest up anyone who’s taken minor knocks.
I think someone said it best in the Game Thread....Purdue actually did a better job of milking the clock in the second half, they essentially raised the white flag which tends to be our offensive mantra more times than not... ;)

Side note - I was impressed with their walk-on RB!
 
Can we please top running the hurry up QB sneak on third and short? Everybody knows it’s coming.
I've said for about 5 years now - and still maintain- that at this point, a fake QB sneak in that situation is a sure TD. Just have the TE stand up then go -- guaranteed wide open with no defender within 20 yards, Easy toss for a TD.
 
I don't view either being kicked off or forced to leave the team "flaming out" which was pretty much the case with all of the RB examples in the OP. And technically, the calls against Moss were holding and not pass interference.
 
I don't disagree with your comments about Moss, but one of those penalties saved a touchdown and Iowa got an interception on the next play. You can say what you want about him getting burned (even the best players get burned every now and then), but taking that penalty was a really smart play at the time.
 
What a difference a few weeks + a softer schedule make on attitudes. The Hawks won decisively today, 24-3, despite not being held scoreless the last 29 1/2 minutes of the game. Chalk another win up to an incredible defensive performance.

1. Beware of the RB Freshmen Phenom Curse. It's easy to get excited for the future when watching true freshmen Johnson carve a Big 10 defense for 200 yards (9.1 yards per carry). This is the kind of back the Hawks desperately needed since Wadley (it's time to start utilizing him in the passing game like Wadley as well). Clearly, the sky is the limit with this kid. However, today's performance reminds me of what I was thinking back when other freshmen phenom backs at Iowa had breakout games. There was super star Marcus Coker. He ran for 220 yards in a game his freshmen year, then built on that with 1,400 yards his sophomore year. He proceeded to flame out of the program shortly after. Then there was 2009 when the Hawks two different freshmen phenoms on the same roster, with Brandon Wegher gaining 650 yards and Adam Robinson with 835. That thunder and lightening combo flamed out and never finished their careers. Here's to hoping Johnson stays on the right path and breaks some records before all is said and done.

2. Inexcusably Ignorant Play Calling on Second & Short. I've never seen worse play calling than I saw repeatedly in the first quarter when the Hawks would pick up 9 yards on 1st down, leaving a 2nd and 1. 99.9% of offensive coordinators view a 2nd and 1 as the ideal down and distance to take a chance and throw the ball down the field or take a chance because there's nothing to lose. Phys ed major & nepotism champ Brian Ferentz opts to instead shortsightedly run a dive up the middle/qb sneak each and every time that opportunity presented itself. It happened 3 times in a row in the 1st quarter, and each time the Hawks gained just 1 yard while passing up the opportunity to stretch the defense or create a big play.

3. OLine Still Sucks. To an uninformed fan (much of this board), the OLine seems to be gelling. Not so fast. When looking at the numbers, it's clear the offensive success is more a result of Kaleb Johnson's incredible individual performance & playing against a weaker opponent and less a result of any improved blocking. For example, Johnson averaged 9 yards per carry...but the rest of the backs had 8 rushes for just 3 yards (an average of 0 yards per carry). In addition, it may have seemed like Petras had all day to throw the ball when compared to the OSU or Michigan games, but he was still sacked 4 times by a pretty poor defense. The defenses just haven't been stacked like previous opponents.

4. A Mixed Bag for Moss. I still don't know what to make of Moss this season. He's obviously an elite Big 10 cornerback and the Hawks are lucky he decided to come back for another year this year. But is he the "all-American" he's been touted to be? He laid the wood today and deflected 3 passes...but he finished the game with just 1 tackle (a complete annihilation of Charlie Jones) despite being targeted all game long. Did he hold Jones in check? Not really. Jones had 11 catches for 104 yards. Moss was flagged for 2 or 3 obvious pass interference calls. Unfortunately, he still hasn't been able to get over the hump and land his first interception of the year. His career path sort of reminds me of Desmond King's, where he won the Thorpe Award as a junior, came back as a senior with high expectations, wasn't targeted much, and didn't quite reach them.

5. Taylor Redeems Himself. After being Iowa's early season MVP, Tory Taylor had himself a rough October. But watching his performance during this windy day was about as entertaining as it gets for a punter. The guy's punts against the wind were a thing of beauty. Low, directional line drives that popped off his leg like a golf ball off a 4 iron. And with the wind, forget about it. Kirk can take all the delay of game penalties he wants, those balls are going through the end zone. On the day, he had 8 punts for a 52 yard average...that's the highest punting average in a game I ever remember seeing. More importantly, he kept the ball out of the nation's best punt returner's hands in Charlie Jones.

6. Petras is Still Petras. After a promising start and taking some shots down the field, Petras showed that he's still the same Petras. 13 for 23 for 192 is mediocre at best (a 56% completion percentage is good by Petras standards but would not rank in the top 100 QBs nationally). Petras still struggles in the red-zone, and aside from Johnson breaking off a 75 yard run to start the 2nd half, the Hawks were held scoreless the second half. By comparison, Purdue's opponents in the weeks before Iowa all put up 35+ points against their D...Iowa scored 24.
As always, your expertise is greatly appreciated!
 
As far as your 2nd n short theory goes, wasn’t there like 40mph winds all day? And I remember a specific shot downfield to Vines that was dropped. Would have been a good catch because of pretty tight coverage but the throw was damn near perfect and probably could/should have been caught. Not sure if that was on 1st or 2nd down.
 
Your point #3 tells me you don’t understand how zone blocking schemes actually work. The RB absolutely matters. If you don’t have vision, cutback ability and patience, you’re not going to do well in a zone blocking scheme.
It takes the line and the back time to get that down. This kid "gets it"
 
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What a difference a few weeks + a softer schedule make on attitudes. The Hawks won decisively today, 24-3, despite not being held scoreless the last 29 1/2 minutes of the game. Chalk another win up to an incredible defensive performance.

1. Beware of the RB Freshmen Phenom Curse. It's easy to get excited for the future when watching true freshmen Johnson carve a Big 10 defense for 200 yards (9.1 yards per carry). This is the kind of back the Hawks desperately needed since Wadley (it's time to start utilizing him in the passing game like Wadley as well). Clearly, the sky is the limit with this kid. However, today's performance reminds me of what I was thinking back when other freshmen phenom backs at Iowa had breakout games. There was super star Marcus Coker. He ran for 220 yards in a game his freshmen year, then built on that with 1,400 yards his sophomore year. He proceeded to flame out of the program shortly after. Then there was 2009 when the Hawks two different freshmen phenoms on the same roster, with Brandon Wegher gaining 650 yards and Adam Robinson with 835. That thunder and lightening combo flamed out and never finished their careers. Here's to hoping Johnson stays on the right path and breaks some records before all is said and done.

2. Inexcusably Ignorant Play Calling on Second & Short. I've never seen worse play calling than I saw repeatedly in the first quarter when the Hawks would pick up 9 yards on 1st down, leaving a 2nd and 1. 99.9% of offensive coordinators view a 2nd and 1 as the ideal down and distance to take a chance and throw the ball down the field or take a chance because there's nothing to lose. Phys ed major & nepotism champ Brian Ferentz opts to instead shortsightedly run a dive up the middle/qb sneak each and every time that opportunity presented itself. It happened 3 times in a row in the 1st quarter, and each time the Hawks gained just 1 yard while passing up the opportunity to stretch the defense or create a big play.

3. OLine Still Sucks. To an uninformed fan (much of this board), the OLine seems to be gelling. Not so fast. When looking at the numbers, it's clear the offensive success is more a result of Kaleb Johnson's incredible individual performance & playing against a weaker opponent and less a result of any improved blocking. For example, Johnson averaged 9 yards per carry...but the rest of the backs had 8 rushes for just 3 yards (an average of 0 yards per carry). In addition, it may have seemed like Petras had all day to throw the ball when compared to the OSU or Michigan games, but he was still sacked 4 times by a pretty poor defense. The defenses just haven't been stacked like previous opponents.

4. A Mixed Bag for Moss. I still don't know what to make of Moss this season. He's obviously an elite Big 10 cornerback and the Hawks are lucky he decided to come back for another year this year. But is he the "all-American" he's been touted to be? He laid the wood today and deflected 3 passes...but he finished the game with just 1 tackle (a complete annihilation of Charlie Jones) despite being targeted all game long. Did he hold Jones in check? Not really. Jones had 11 catches for 104 yards. Moss was flagged for 2 or 3 obvious pass interference calls. Unfortunately, he still hasn't been able to get over the hump and land his first interception of the year. His career path sort of reminds me of Desmond King's, where he won the Thorpe Award as a junior, came back as a senior with high expectations, wasn't targeted much, and didn't quite reach them.

5. Taylor Redeems Himself. After being Iowa's early season MVP, Tory Taylor had himself a rough October. But watching his performance during this windy day was about as entertaining as it gets for a punter. The guy's punts against the wind were a thing of beauty. Low, directional line drives that popped off his leg like a golf ball off a 4 iron. And with the wind, forget about it. Kirk can take all the delay of game penalties he wants, those balls are going through the end zone. On the day, he had 8 punts for a 52 yard average...that's the highest punting average in a game I ever remember seeing. More importantly, he kept the ball out of the nation's best punt returner's hands in Charlie Jones.

6. Petras is Still Petras. After a promising start and taking some shots down the field, Petras showed that he's still the same Petras. 13 for 23 for 192 is mediocre at best (a 56% completion percentage is good by Petras standards but would not rank in the top 100 QBs nationally). Petras still struggles in the red-zone, and aside from Johnson breaking off a 75 yard run to start the 2nd half, the Hawks were held scoreless the second half. By comparison, Purdue's opponents in the weeks before Iowa all put up 35+ points against their D...Iowa scored 24.

Is Charlie “the nation’s best punt returner“ in a Purdue uniform? I think it’s fair to say Purdue’s offense has made him a marquee receiver but he’s averaging just over 6 yards on punt returns and 15 on kick returns. Arland Bruce averages better than that and everyone who has returned a kick for Iowa has a better KR average. Could special teams schemes be a difference? I think it could be a combination of scheme and Charlie being a little more “worn down” that make him not as dangerous in the return game at Purdue.
 
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