Key to the Iowa D this Season

[Auger]

I don't have many concerns about the Iowa DLine or the Backfield this year. I think the two new DT's will be solid even if they are a step down. The key to the Iowa D and even the season this year will be Iowa's ability to protect the edge. In the Minnesota, Tenn and Wisconsin loses last year the edge was a glaring weakness. Nebraska also exploited it at times.

In the Minny game Kill by far out coached Iowa's staff. Kill believed his guys were faster on the edge then Iowa's D and he was right. He took KJ Maye a WR who at the time only had 6 rushing att through 8 games and ran him 10 times on jet sweeps against Iowa to the tune of 66yds and a TD. Maye beat the DE's and LB's to the edge. Leidner and Cobb also had success in the game on the edge. Minny ran for 291yds in that game with most of them coming from running on the edge.

Tennessee and Wisconsin took Kill's blue print and exposed Iowa on the edge in both of those games. They combined to run for 549yds against Iowa.

I've heard Reid talk a few times this off-season that at the end of the year he and Parker singled the Minnesota and Tennessee games out and reviewed tape over and over again to learn ways of fixing issues at LB. I think we have seen their solutions this summer in position switches and depth chart moves. I've heard Reid stress the importance of the LB's getting to the edge faster this season. Twice when talking about the LB's containing the edge this summer i've heard him mention RS FR Aaron Mends who is undersized but very athletic right now. Reid has also mentioned new drills this year designed at getting the LB's to the edge faster that the group has been working on.

Many of the teams on Iowa's schedule right now have the pieces to exploit the edge on a team that can't match the speed. If Iowa improves in that area this year I think its going to lead to a huge improvement in Iowa's D and season win total.

 

[nu2u]

Also, tackling the ball carrier once they have containment. That normally goes without saying because it's fundamental but it was sub-standard at times last year. Too many opponent drives were kept alive due to poor tackling.

 

[David1979]

Yeah there were a lot of problems with both teams exploiting the edges and also poor tackling, poor angles, etc. If the linebackers have improved as well as safety play then the dense can be very good.

 

[soybean]

Also, tackling the ball carrier once they have containment. That normally goes without saying because it's fundamental but it was sub-standard at times last year. Too many opponent drives were kept alive due to poor tackling.

This. So this. It nearly drove me crazy last year.

 

[hawkguy90]

Getting the scoring D fixed is the number one issue. They will need to shave off seven points a game from what they gave up last year to be successful. I anticipate with the moves at linebacker we are going to platoon these kids more like in tarp inland sr year

 

[icu81222]

Didn't read all of that. IMO, the D is fine for the regular season schedule we play this season. We are better every single position on D but DT and I think we wi be fine there.

The offense will dictate this season.

 

[rfgiowa]

The offense needs to stop with all of the three and outs. Get first downs and put up 24-30 points a game.

 

[GunnerHawk]

What about special teams? We were close to the bottom in punting. FG kicking was just ok and our punt coverage cost us the game against Nebraska.

We don't have enough talent to not have good special teams.

 

[rclui57]

Than you Augur. This the type of post that informs and leads one to watch.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

I think that some fans can read a comment about how the Minnesota offense thought that they could beat Iowa to the edge ... that they were "faster" ... and misinterpret it. The Minnesota coaches and players saw the Iowa D on tape ... and knew that they could exploit them on the edge.

The "speed" issue there isn't necessarily an issue of lateral quickness or straight line speed ... but also likely relates to reaction time. The ability to read keys correctly, play fast, and then make sure that you're positioned in the right place at the right time. As others have alluded, this is very intimately related to taking good angles and making and/or finishing a play once you're there. However, that's also just part of the story.

Over the past several years, the linebackers seemingly have really taken it to heart to make sure that they're students of the game. However, even with all that preparation in the film room, you have to also make sure that you're not suffering from "paralysis by analysis." That was definitely a problem last season ... and arguably a significant reason why the Iowa LBs were so "slow." Of course, it also didn't help that ALL three of the LBs were new starters (even though Alston acquitted himself quite well).

I think that the aforementioned issues are a big reason why Jim Reid has been placing such a strong emphasis on "playing fast" and not worrying so much about making mistakes. At a certain juncture, they need to trust their keys and get where they need to be in a hurry. As they gain more experience, their fast play will get more and more refined.

Frankly, I expect that Iowa's D will be improved on pretty much ALL fronts. The very fact that Lomax has a year of starts under his belt and Mabin is more experienced ... it will help that the secondary is stronger behind the LBs. That might give them a little more "wiggle room" in their development. Just as Augur suggested - I'm not particularly worried about the DL either. With good things being said about Terlouw - it's nice to know that we have a solid group of FOUR guys to man the interior ... and that is with veteran book-ends on the edge. Also, I'm excited to see what Matt Nelson will bring to the table - he was recruited by A LOT of quality programs - and I'm willing to bet that he has some legit ability.

 

[ichawk24]

The offense needs to stop with all of the three and outs. Get first downs and put up 24-30 points a game.

Iowa was 5th in the B1G at 31.2 ppg last year. Third in first downs .

Unfortunately, we allowed the second most first downs.

Like any other Kirk season, we'll live and die with the defense.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Iowa was 5th in the B1G at 31.2 ppg last year. Third in first downs .

Unfortunately, we allowed the second most first downs.

Like any other Kirk season, we'll live and die with the defense.

While the O was frustrating to watch when they got off schedule - the D simply gave up WAY too many big plays. Of course, the struggles of the D were rather understandable. We featured a new starter on the DL (Meier) - who was even a little undersized. We featured THREE new starters at LB - don't tell me that wasn't felt. AND, lastly, we also featured 2 new starters in the secondary. It didn't help that Lowdermilk wasn't exactly a hugely lauded returning starter .... and, as Ferentz has alluded, King may have thought that he had more things "figured out" about DB play than he really had.

That's quite a number of new pieces to deal with. It becomes an even bigger issue when the LBs are focusing so much on the mental side of the game (which, in itself, isn't bad) - that they start playing too tentatively. Since they're relative newbies ... they needed to focus a bit more on playing fast and flowing to the ball.

 

[Recruiting Violation]

I don't have many concerns about the Iowa DLine or the Backfield this year. I think the two new DT's will be solid even if they are a step down.

Tennessee and Wisconsin took Kill's blue print and exposed Iowa on the edge in both of those games. They combined to run for 549yds against Iowa.

To be fair, we were playing against one of the best running teams in the country and contained Gordon pretty well all day except for one blown play. I thought the run defense against Wisconsin was fair or better. Heck, Nebraska gave up over twice as many yards to the Badgers the week before.

None of that changes your points, however. I liked your overall analysis.