Is anyone else concerned..

[ChuckThomas12]

that we gave up 424 yards to our worst opponent on our schedule?

I believe that puts us currently in last place in the conference. Miami (OH) has won 5 games over the last two years. I feel like if we played a reputable team in OOC, we might not like the outcome.

This is supposed to be our follow up year to prove to the country that we belong in the upper tier. We better fix this in a hurry!

 

[chrislukenel]

that we gave up 424 yards to our worst opponent on our schedule?

I believe that puts us currently in last place in the conference. Miami (OH) has won 5 games over the last two years. I feel like if we played a reputable team in OOC, we might not like the outcome.

This is supposed to be our follow up year to prove to the country that we belong in the upper tier. We better fix this in a hurry!

Obviously it was not what we want to see from our defense. I wouldn't say I'm worried yet. Let's see how we look Saturday against a terrible offense, and next week against an FCS opponent before we call the defense a bust this year.

 

[ANYCHawk]

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

No. They have to play better, but Jewel was out, Hesse barely played. This will be a good unit. Also I don't care what miami oh did the past 3 years, teams get better.

 

[ChrisVarick]

Not this guy. As said above we were missing Jewel and Hesse. On some of those run plays having Jewell in there would have been the difference between their 3-5 yard gains becoming 0-3 yard games. That would have changed things.

Also, don't discount what having a 21 point lead against a MAC school will do to the motor of a guy like Jaleel Johnson. The game wasn't in doubt and the adrenaline pump of the first game had subsided. There was some coasting going on. As much as some of you will be outraged by that it happens.

 

[QChawks]

Not true, ISU worst team in our schedule.

 

[the Howler]

Ever since KF has been coach, Iowa has always looked vulnerable in the secondary. OK, so what, there was a little more "breaking than bending" against Miami. Still, there were way too many variables last Saturday for any of this to be a lasting concern, imo (ie., First game of season after 240 days rest, King colonizing one side of the field, Mabin getting up to speed, Jewell out, etc.)

 

[ANYCHawk]

Ever since KF has been coach, Iowa has always looked vulnerable in the secondary. OK, so what, there was a little more "breaking than bending" against Miami. Still, there were way too many variables last Saturday for any of this to be a lasting concern, imo (ie., First game of season after 240 days rest, King colonizing one side of the field, Mabin getting up to speed, Jewell out, etc.)

A senior with 22 starts shouldn't have to "get up to speed."

 

[93hawkeye]

Game stats are only of secondary importance, but they help you understand what your team is bad/good at and why you won/lost. I don't care as much about the passing yards as the rushing yards. Yes I know we had subs in...and we will for most of our games. Injuries, suspensions, ejections, etc are part of a 12-game schedule, so yes, critiquing the D with subs in is valid

 

[DavenportHawk8]

first game of the year. I chalk it up to rust and just some new guys in some new places. name one team not Alabama that looked flawless in their opening game? First game of the year there are always things to clean up and I am sure the Iowa coaching staff will do just that. Im not worried.

 

[millah_22]

1-0

 

[ichawk24]

Iowa was up 21 virtually the entire game.

 

[InsaneHawkJJP]

Don't they say you make biggest improvement from game 1 to game 2! Have a little faith op. The coaches will get it figured out.

 

[rufus-hawk]

I am concerned. I hope with the other pieces in place we can get some pressure on opposing QBs. I thought Mabin made positive strides last year but obviously he struggled Saturday. With King on the other side and no QB pressure, he will be picked on until he can prove he can stop someone.

I expect the run defense to be fine once Jewel and Hesse back.

 

[GolfHacker1]

that we gave up 424 yards to our worst opponent on our schedule?

I believe that puts us currently in last place in the conference. Miami (OH) has won 5 games over the last two years. I feel like if we played a reputable team in OOC, we might not like the outcome.

This is supposed to be our follow up year to prove to the country that we belong in the upper tier. We better fix this in a hurry!

Yes and no.

Yes, because of what we saw unfold saturday. No, becuase they played cover two virtually the entire game. Something Iowa, and many other teams that aren't playing a marquee opponent do early on to isolate players on an island to see how they perform.

 

[Kurt Warner]

Little concerned, actually Miami would have been down only seven at one time if the refs hadn't given us that gimme touchdown. Jewel and Hess being out hopefully played a major roll in not looking so hot on d. I'm thinking they will look much better against isu.

 

[milehighhawkeye24]

Pretty sure that was as vanilla of a defense as we have seen in a long time, barely any blitzes nor did we even see a ton of stunts on the DL. Normally we would see a raider package on some of those 3rd and med-long also. Very glad to get the W without showing our hand what-so-ever on defense and really didn't show much on offense either. I thought the game plan was great on offense, pretty basic but threw in a few things just in to keep ISU honest this week

 

[bhawk24bob]

I think you're going to see Miami finishing either 1st or 2nd in the MAC East. It might not mean much, but that team isn't terrible as some expect them to be

 

[mlb1399]

When you go up 35-7 against your opponent, you tend to take your foot off the gas. If it was a struggle all game, then maybe I'd be concerned.

 

[citizenHawk]

Not sure which aspect of the defense was at fault, but it's worth noting that Bahl was pretty accurate all day. Improvements are definitely necessary, and hopefully they get it sorted out before the BigTen.

 

[mvhomerj]

A senior with 22 starts shouldn't have to "get up to speed."

Thank-you. Maybe he (Mabin) sit a few series, here and there. Looked very lost at times Saturday, and yes I'm not a big Mabin fan.

 

[anon_8rcdnbko1jbe0]

No. They have to play better, but Jewel was out, Hesse barely played. This will be a good unit. Also I don't care what miami oh did the past 3 years, teams get better.

Agree EE. Also as per the history of new Hawkeye Safeties - Snyder had a few slow reads and rotations. I am sure there will be improvement next week - like we have always seen under PP.

 

[The_Joker13]

that we gave up 424 yards to our worst opponent on our schedule?

I believe that puts us currently in last place in the conference. Miami (OH) has won 5 games over the last two years. I feel like if we played a reputable team in OOC, we might not like the outcome.

This is supposed to be our follow up year to prove to the country that we belong in the upper tier. We better fix this in a hurry!

I think we need to take a wait and see approach right now. Now if we get gashed for big yardage again this weekend, then there's legit reason for concern. That being said, I got this feeling that a lot of people are going to be disappointed with the outcome of this season. Let's be real, last year we had an incredibly easy schedule and we had quite a few breaks go our way. The two best teams we played, we lost to. One of them straight up embarrassed us on the national stage at the Rose bowl. People need to temper their expectations for this year a little bit and remember that last year means absolute dick for this year.

 

[Suterman]

Mabin is the best we got at that position. I wish Desmond could play both DB positions, but he can't. Unless someone can beat him out, Mabin is our guy.

 

[the Howler]

A senior with 22 starts shouldn't have to "get up to speed."

I'm just trying to see things for what they are. When you recruit a WR-converted-CB whose only other offers are Jacksonville State and Tulane, you have to expect development over the course of the season. What's concerning is how athletic some of those MAC receivers looked in comparison to ours.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

It was just a "vanilla defense". Can't expect Iowa's players to be man on man better than a bottom end mac squad.<sarcasm off>

 

[jerbob36]

Spread teams have traditionally hurt us with the run more than an NFL-style power run attack.
To me it's a numbers game, pure and simple. With 2 safeties 9-10 yards deep regardless of down and distance (at least last week), it's 10 v 8 in short yardage situations. On the 4th down and 1, we seemed to have no desire to stop a short gain. Safeties 10 yards deep, CB on WRs, it was basically 9 v 7 for at least the couple seconds it takes for our safeties to come up and attack a run play. I would hope in the future we would bring at least one of the safeties up closer to the LOS in that situation, because we're not stopping anybody 4th and 1 playing down 2 guys. It is what it is and always has been. Bend but don't break. There are plays you'll get most of the game and teams know it. Leads to long time-consuming drives at times.

 

[mazda1]

Kirk mentioned that a couple of other guys other than Sheel were dinged, but got through it okay. I hope both of those guys were on the defensive side of the ball. I was pretty disappointed in our defensive tackle play with both guys being returning starters. What did their stats look like? I don't remember their names being called much.

In reality we had a new starter at DE with Hesse going down, 2 new starting linebackers with JJ being tossed, and a new safety. I would expect that those positions are much stronger this week. If we had a couple of starters less than 100% in addition to the newbies listed above it's no wonder we looked a little different than last year.

If we don't make major strides we are in trouble though. It's probably not a problem against ISU, but the rest of the schedule won't allow us to win with a defense this poor.

 

[Scott559]

I am taking a glass half full approach The Hawks won easily and didn't play anything close to what I would consider a good game, I think it bodes well for ISU week! The coaching staff has a lot of ammo for practice this week. I think the players know they have a lot of room to grow as well. I believe they will be ready Saturday night.

 

[TJHawkeye]

The Hawks didn't win easily. We were outgained in yardage, time of possesion and first downs. If not for a couple of fortunate turnovers, this game could have been much different. I don't think the team put forth 100% in this one. We have to do a lot better next week. Miami is not a good team.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

A senior with 22 starts shouldn't have to "get up to speed."

While Mabin clearly has continued room for improvement ... a guy did get behind him on one of the TD passes ... for the post part, he just got beat by very well thrown balls. It would have significantly helped, had Miami's QB felt a little bit more consistently harassed. Part of what gave him that extra confidence was that Miami typically was able to get into comfortable down and distances. That is largely on Iowa's run D ... or rather, deficiencies of the run D.

There were a plethora of errors made ... definitely a lot of stuff to clean up. The most egregious errors were that the LBs seemed to be playing a step slow ... largely attributable to playing more reactive football. They need to make their reads ... and then play fast. They have to remember that its okay to make errors ... just as long as they're making those errors FAST.

I remember one particular play ... Bower came up in what seemed to be the gap that should have been Taylor's responsibility, got caught in the wash, and then couldn't get over to the gap that was his responsibility in time. Making the wrong read wasn't as bad as the fact that his response was so delayed.

There was another case when the back released on a route ... definitely a LB responsibility to pick up (Hockaday's in this case, IIRC) ... and the LB went completely in the opposite direction. The QB ended up completing the pass without any problem.

The thing is that had Jewell been there ... I rarely see him miss on his coverage responsibilities. Furthermore, even when he makes mistakes, he sheds blocks well and flows to the ball so well ... he naturally gets himself into a ton of plays. Most importantly, having Jewell there is almost like having a coach on the field ... he'll tell guys what he sees, help them to correct their mistakes, and he instills confidence. It will be interesting to see how the LBs fare against ISU.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Spread teams have traditionally hurt us with the run more than an NFL-style power run attack.
To me it's a numbers game, pure and simple. With 2 safeties 9-10 yards deep regardless of down and distance (at least last week), it's 10 v 8 in short yardage situations. On the 4th down and 1, we seemed to have no desire to stop a short gain. Safeties 10 yards deep, CB on WRs, it was basically 9 v 7 for at least the couple seconds it takes for our safeties to come up and attack a run play. I would hope in the future we would bring at least one of the safeties up closer to the LOS in that situation, because we're not stopping anybody 4th and 1 playing down 2 guys. It is what it is and always has been. Bend but don't break. There are plays you'll get most of the game and teams know it. Leads to long time-consuming drives at times.

Iowa isn't afraid to defend against the run with only 6 hats in the box ... particularly against teams that are a little more pass-happy. The thing is that usually they control the gaps better, flow to the ball better, and fill better. Without Hesse ... that impacts how cleanly the LBs are getting to the ball. Without Jewell ... that potentially impacts even more things.

 

[ANYCHawk]

While Mabin clearly has continued room for improvement ... a guy did get behind him on one of the TD passes ... for the post part, he just got beat by very well thrown balls.

Sorry but no. Some were well throw passes, but you don't give up nearly 200 yards on 8 for 11 passing to your guys on just well thrown balls. And well thrown balls aren't the reason, Mabin hasn't the slightest clue on what to do when a receiver stop runnings. (hint Mabin, stop too)

 

[Kurt Warner]

Sorry but mabin has never really impressed me and some were saying he will be a pro someday. My question is why is he the best we have at that position? No offense to him.

 

[Bearhawk0505]

that we gave up 424 yards to our worst opponent on our schedule?

I believe that puts us currently in last place in the conference. Miami (OH) has won 5 games over the last two years. I feel like if we played a reputable team in OOC, we might not like the outcome.

This is supposed to be our follow up year to prove to the country that we belong in the upper tier. We better fix this in a hurry!

Their QB was very accurate and made good decisions. Their coaches had a good offensive game plan. We had a pretty vanilla plan. I am not worried yet. I think our offense will be good enough that our D will not have to be great.

 

[cecilB]

My only concern is the great unknown coaching our LBs. only thing that has change( and replacing only 3 starters). Need a teacher to bring along young talent. We got our most experienced on the field, but the more talented aren't ready for some reason. We've gone from LeVar and Reid, to Reid, to a relatively novice coach. Will be interesting to see how it's handled

 

[Packer54]

I was more concerned when we opened with a 17 point win vs FCS Illinois St last year.

 

[Ladell-hawk]

Obviously it was not what we want to see from our defense. I wouldn't say I'm worried yet. Let's see how we look Saturday against a terrible offense, and next week against an FCS opponent before we call the defense a bust this year.

ISU has some good weapons in their offense, they certainly aren't terrible. It looked like Bower and Hockaday were slow to get off blocks and were "catching " the ball carrier 4 to 5 yards downfield instead of attacking the play. Our DE's are young and have to get better. If we keep healthy , we should have a good D. It was disappointing that Mends didn't get in till late in the game. I thought he would be ready to play a lot and early.

 

[Ladell-hawk]

Sorry but mabin has never really impressed me and some were saying he will be a pro someday. My question is why is he the best we have at that position? No offense to him.

Why don't we move King around instead of leaving him on the same side of the field all the time? Let him follow the other teams top receiver.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Sorry but no. Some were well throw passes, but you don't give up nearly 200 yards on 8 for 11 passing to your guys on just well thrown balls. And well thrown balls aren't the reason, Mabin hasn't the slightest clue on what to do when a receiver stop runnings. (hint Mabin, stop too)

Several of those receptions were back-shoulder catches ... those are exceptionally hard to defend. The knock on Mabin is that he simply doesn't turn to see the ball. To his credit, IIRC, he was right on the guy for the majority of the receptions.

Now, as I indicated in my first statement of that post ... Mabin obviously has room for improvement. Thus, I wasn't indicating that Mabin was devoid of responsibility. I'm just saying that the failings weren't ALL on him ... it was larger than that. If you don't appreciate that observation, then your football IQ has a lot of room for growth.