Lester or Kirk?

[uihawk82]

I like the looks the offense is giving, but I worry we lost the bully edge in the red zone that comes with it. Way too cute down there yesterday.

Why not put Sullivan in at 6’4 220 & do a sneak or two?

The Sullivan call is the type of situational thinking Kirk needs to accept. Sullivan could take the snap and even leap over the pile {somewhat dangerous} and gain half of that first and goal from the 1 1/2. Then on 2nd and goal near the half yard line a regular sneak.

Get the effing TD

 

[Rustys Dad]

Who do you blame more for yesterday?

💯 Lester. Red zone offense play calling was atrocious.

 

[Zooropa_NCR]

This post is like going to a therapist/doctor who accurately diagnoses you after years of struggling to find answers.

It really makes you wonder about the O'Keefe-Ferentz years. Who gave up on the power struggle first? I have to believe that was just exhausting for Ken, and Kirk ultimately "won" that battle. He's never hired anyone who pushed back as much since, and the results speak for themselves.

KOK was frustrating because it seemed like he never scratched where it itched consistently. There were games that it made sense, and 2002 - 2005 we had amazing offenses. Even in 2010 the offense was pretty damn efficient. What was lacking those years….a defense who could get a stop. Also, some of those OSU, WI and Bowl opponents had legit offenses and QBs. Nothing like Iowa faces today.

But the same inconsistency showed up back then. Remember 2008 against NW? 4 straight passes from inside the 5 and we failed. Greene was knocked out of the game but the calls were just off

KOK ran a high flying offense before joining up with Kirk. We saw some of that but then we saw the Kirk requirement which has always led to conflict in results

 

[hawkeye54545]

It's 100% Kirk. With all OC's they may call the plays but when it's a first down or 2nd and long Kirk will tell them to make it a run play. The predictability is on him.

 

[hawkguy90]

Kirk started trying to run the clock out in the 2nd quarter. It’s who he is.

 

[herkyhawk00]

Other teams have situational packages, goal line packages, to get their backup QBs in the game all the time. Not Iowa. It's bizarre, it's like KF thinks QB1 will freak out and transfer mid-game if they put in someone else.

KF made it clear yesterday, as is always the case, that Cade will play every single snap and Sullivan will not get a chance no matter how poor he struggles. It boggles my mind when he excuses McNamara’s play by saying he has been out of the game a while and will need to time to get back into game shape.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

KOK was frustrating because it seemed like he never scratched where it itched consistently. There were games that it made sense, and 2002 - 2005 we had amazing offenses. Even in 2010 the offense was pretty damn efficient. What was lacking those years….a defense who could get a stop. Also, some of those OSU, WI and Bowl opponents had legit offenses and QBs. Nothing like Iowa faces today.

But the same inconsistency showed up back then. Remember 2008 against NW? 4 straight passes from inside the 5 and we failed. Greene was knocked out of the game but the calls were just off

KOK ran a high flying offense before joining up with Kirk. We saw some of that but then we saw the Kirk requirement which has always led to conflict in results

Kirk started trying to run the clock out in the 2nd quarter. It’s who he is.

Our last third down that we handed off after we kept handing it off to run the clock, I thought about the play that iced the 2010 Insight Bowl win over Missouri. Easy to say now, but I absolutely wanted us to take a calculated risk like this, 10:55 mark:

 

[Macbride79]

Taking the OC job under Kirk Ferentz may have been career suicide for Tim Lester.

Offense looks the same as it has during this decade of the 2020s.

 

[JerNHawk]

Who do you blame more for yesterday?

20-something years of Groundhog Day and people with their heads buried in the sand still asking if it’s Ferentz or the OC 🫵🤣

 

[Hawkeye Marching Band]

Just because you have depth at TE doesn’t mean 4 of them have to be on the field at the same time. I don’t really want to re-watch those goal line series, but I’m pretty sure it was Pascuzzi that got destroyed in one of those looks.

The point I was making is that Lester seems more like a guy who would stick to 11 or 12 personnel most of the game and spread the defense out a bit rather than going super heavy and playing in a phone booth.

Agreed they don’t, and it’s not like he did it much. But, it’s not dumb to try it. It’s similar to Wisconsin’s heavy package, except adding TEs rather than linemen. The TEs give you more options. Besides the obvious blocking and running patterns, they can be moved out wide. We could see variations down the road.

 

[kwik44]

The Sullivan call is the type of situational thinking Kirk needs to accept. Sullivan could take the snap and even leap over the pile {somewhat dangerous} and gain half of that first and goal from the 1 1/2. Then on 2nd and goal near the half yard line a regular sneak.

Get the effing TD

Then when the scouting becomes aware of it later on in season, you roll the kid out and find your levels or run it himself on the edge?

 

[jonesy5960]

This is a pretty simple answer. Kirk is the CEO. It's Kirk's job to build an effective staff on both sides of the ball. He's failed miserably on the offensive side of the ball.

 

[Hawk-A-Doodle-Doo]

Pain?

 

[Ladell-hawk]

The TEs are his best options right now, except maybe Vander Zee, and the OL needs help blocking.

Blocking was pretty damn good, we ran for over 200 yards. Our quarterback’s inability to get the ball to the receivers was the issue. He had plenty of time to throw. Once again, his footwork and throwing mechanics looked off.

 

[eyesofhawk]

Who cares? Team loss.

But in general, the head coach should get the blame and the credit

 

[Shafthawk]

Our last third down that we handed off after we kept handing it off to run the clock, I thought about the play that iced the 2010 Insight Bowl win over Missouri. Easy to say now, but I absolutely wanted us to take a calculated risk like this, 10:55 mark:

View embedded media

You go play action and if it isn’t there, McNamara can just go down.

Better chance than running 3 times in a row when the defense is expecting it.

KF’s plan is always try to run the clock as much as possible, instead of trying to get another 1st down. It’s why it always comes down to the D needing to end the game.

 

[PartyHawk95]

Cade.

Didn't see a wide open Gill in the ez.

Threw a terrible INT when we could have put the game away early in the third.

Under threw a wide open KB3 that would have ended the game in the 4th.

Coaches job to put the athletes in a position to win, it's up to the athletes to make the plays.

It's also the coached responsibility to put the best players on the field.

 

[Greenway4Prez]

Great post. Before the year I actually looked up highlights of past WMU. IMO the offense is yet again Kirk's simply based off the fact we take so many snaps from under center. I didn't see that at all from the WMU stuff I watched.

Wasn’t our entire first series, or the VAST majority of it, from shotgun?

 

[ButtersHawk]

Wasn’t our entire first series, or the VAST majority of it, from shotgun?

It might have been. I'm pointing more to the fact that because we simply take snaps from under center probably indicates yet again Kirk who has never called plays has his fingerprints on the offense.
Now for the record I don't give a shit what we do as long as it's effective but it's frustrating to see the offensive genius of 25 years Kirk is still dictating it.

 

[obfuscating]

Lane Kiffin could be OC with Mahomes at QB and Kirk wouldn’t let them do shit.

KF would put Deacon in before Mahomes.

 

[Hawkeye Marching Band]

Blocking was pretty damn good, we ran for over 200 yards. Our quarterback’s inability to get the ball to the receivers was the issue. He had plenty of time to throw. Once again, his footwork and throwing mechanics looked off.

OL play was better this week, except in short yardage situations.

 

[uihawk82]

The Sullivan call is the type of situational thinking Kirk needs to accept. Sullivan could take the snap and even leap over the pile {somewhat dangerous} and gain half of that first and goal from the 1 1/2. Then on 2nd and goal near the half yard line a regular sneak.

Get the effing TD

Then when the scouting becomes aware of it later on in season, you roll the kid out and find your levels or run it himself on the edge?

Really good running bigger QBs can see the soft spot in a QB sneak situation. Those QBs can slide either way and get thru that soft spot. The qb can even give the tush push guys behind him a heads up on where he might go