Petras Friday

[jberesford]

Wasn’t there a pretty healthy round of boos for Adam Shada on Senior Day back in the day? Hopefully I have that wrong, I haven’t been to a Senior Day since the one that included Bob Sanders.

No seniors should ever be booed on Senior Day. It’s a recognition of all the time and effort they’ve put into the Iowa football program and a really special moment for them and their families. Any fans who boo that are selfish a-holes that deserve their own public scorn.

You're not wrong on Shada. I was there for it. I immediately thought of it reading the post you responded to and would have cited that example. You beat me to it.

 

[cecilB]

Of maybe an Antifa rioter? Or are they too sophisticated?🤦🏻‍♂️

Haha - you still buying the boogeyman antifa talking points? Or, rationalizing J6, defending the fata$$ redneck, or you’re one of them?

Either way Happy Thanksgiving, and god bless America

 

[WinOneThisCentury II]

Lets dive a little deeper, shall we?

Because of Minnesota's ball control offense and our defense not able to stop the run the possessions in this game were going to be very limited. Iowa had 3 real possessions in the first half and 5 in the second half for a total of 8.

Possession 1: the big pass to LaPorta put them in FG range, but a 2nd down sack on the bad snap really killed that drive.
Possession 2: TD
Possession 3: They had a couple of first downs, moved the ball from the 25 to MN 39, but then the bad snap over Petras' head took them out of being able to do anything on 4th down.
Possession 4: moved the ball to midfield from the 25 but missed on 3rd and 5 with throw to Lachey. Nobody's fault there, he was covered
Possession 5: Moved the ball from the 25 to MN 26, but then the corner blitz for a 10 yard loss that was much more on Ostrenga than Petras. Remember Ostrenga was playing due to LaPorta being out.
Possession 6: First 3 and out but this is the miss to Ragaini. It was there, Ragaini could have should have caught it. I don't blame Petras much because he had to put some zip on that throw because of the wind because if that throw hangs up its coming back the other way. It happens. Punt from our 41.
Possession 7: This is after the fumble and backed up at our own 9. 3 incompletions in a row resulted in a 3 and out. This was the most vulnerable possession of the game and one where the offense really needed to put 2-3 first downs together to flip the field like they had done all day.
Possession 8: After the interception, the big play to Lachey and the FG.

While you are correct that we only scored 13 points, the offense did its part in all except 1 of the 8 possessions to either score or flip the field. The reason why we won, aside from the turnovers, when Minnesota ran it down our throats is because they consistently had a really long field to go.

Do not lose sight of the fact that everyone we have played has a really, really good defense, especially MN, IL, WI, OSU, MI and ISU. All of those defenses are elite and especially if they can generate negative plays and get the other team into one-dimensional situations. I don't know what the stats are, but I would venture to say the percentage of drives that are killed after a negative play of any kind, let along a 10 yard sack, is very very high.

So to cap it off, of the 8 possessions that Iowa had, 3 ended in scores, 2 were killed with bad snaps, 1 killed with a missed protection on a blitz, 1 killed with a drop or missed connection on a definite explosive play, and the other was when we were backed inside our 10 yard line. This offense is not dynamic, few are, but if they can stay out of the negative plays and make the makeables, the scheme will continue to churn out wins. It is what it is all about.

Dude...that's freaking brilliant. Once you actually look at the facts...it tells a different story. One of the first things Kirk said in the postgame was to talk about those two snap issues and how costly those were for the offensive possessions. Nice post here.

 

[notlongago]

Statistically speaking, the numbers for Petras are absolutely terrible...I wouldn't suggest otherwise. And, earlier in the season (first half) he made some terrible-looking plays from time to time. However....did you ever consider the following:

The root cause of most of the bad plays and poor stats for Petras was the O line (first and foremost), poor receivers (very limited with injuries), and no run game. And....isn't it possible that any other D1 QB that you would consider average or pretty solid overall would have similar if not worse stats than Petras?

I am not suggesting that Petras is a great QB. I'm only suggesting that he has most likely accomplished every bit as much as any other average D1 QB would have....given the circumstances he had to work with. Spencer Petras is not nearly as bad as the stats suggest.....and to say otherwise isn't fair to him.

No, I contend it would be a significant feat to put up worse stats than SP. He has zero pocket awareness and somehow worse mobility/footwork in the pocket. That's a deadly combo with a poor line. Slow-mo his sack avoidance move. First thing he does is stop his feet and tries to shoulder duck.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

No, I contend it would be a significant feat to put up worse stats than SP. He has zero pocket awareness and somehow worse mobility/footwork in the pocket. That's a deadly combo with a poor line. Slow-mo his sack avoidance move. First thing he does is stop his feet and tries to shoulder duck.

Yet somehow Alex Padilla found a way. Worse at everything. Hopefully both will have different homes next season. I think the micro management kept the devil we know in the QB job.

 

[CRazzle]

I'm sure they'll give Petras a standing ovation but I think it will generally be coming from the fact that he'll finally be gone.

 

[notlongago]

Yet somehow Alex Padilla found a way. Worse at everything. Hopefully both will have different homes next season. I think the micro management kept the devil we know in the QB job.

Padilla can move the pocket, infinitely better at avoiding sacks and a better grasp on "touch passes".

 

[jonesy5960]

Because the other 7 opponents are average to suck....
What part of 109th QBR (last by a significant margin in the conference) and an offense ranked last or 2nd to last in the conference is not clicking with you? How can you assign any credit to a unit and player that are, literally, the worst?

Four of those teams (Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, ISU) might not be very good, but they are top 20 defenses, so it's not like he was playing against deficient defenses. Nobody is suggesting that Petras is a great QB, but compared to how he started out, he's not sailing balls to open receivers and he's making the plays he's supposed to make. He deserves credit for sticking it out and improving through incredibly difficult circumstances. Had the oline improved to the same degree over the course of this year we could have a truly capable offense.

 

[notlongago]

Four of those teams (Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, ISU) might not be very good, but they are top 20 defenses, so it's not like he was playing against deficient defenses. Nobody is suggesting that Petras is a great QB, but compared to how he started out, he's not sailing balls to open receivers and he's making the plays he's supposed to make. He deserves credit for sticking it out and improving through incredibly difficult circumstances. Had the oline improved to the same degree over the course of this year we could have a truly capable offense.

Stats say any improvement you think you're seeing are fools gold. This isnt middle school - no one "deserves" credit for simply being there.

 

[jonesy5960]

Stats say any improvement you think you're seeing are fools gold. This isnt middle school - no one "deserves" credit for simply being there.

Stats and eyes and anything else you've got say he has played better. I'm not sure what else there is. And yes, he does deserve credit for getting better and not folding under a ton of pressure. I don't get why any of this is so difficult to understand.

 

[cecilB]

Stats and eyes and anything else you've got say he has played better. I'm not sure what else there is. And yes, he does deserve credit for getting better and not folding under a ton of pressure. I don't get why any of this is so difficult to understand.

Only explanation- they are idiots

 

[jonesy5960]

Only explanation- they are idiots

I don't think they're idiots. I think they tend to conflate giving credit for anything with saying that someone is playing at a high level. It's OK to say someone has improved and isn't hurting the team anymore like he was earlier in the season. It's also OK to give a guy credit for hanging in there when he was under tremendous pressure by everyone because he was in fact playing really poorly. He's been much better of late.

 

[notlongago]

Stats and eyes and anything else you've got say he has played better. I'm not sure what else there is. And yes, he does deserve credit for getting better and not folding under a ton of pressure. I don't get why any of this is so difficult to understand.

In a world where you believe "stats and eyes and anything else youve got say he has played better" and the QB play (or any offense on the whole) "deserve" any credit, its understandable that you can't grasp that others dont agree.

 

[ottumwan in tx]

he has gotten better as the year has progressed, but then the o-line has as well. he has gone from absolute disaster to fairly mediocre to ok. not great but ok. progress is a good thing. I think iowa folks kind of owe him an apology a little.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

Padilla can move the pocket, infinitely better at avoiding sacks and a better grasp on "touch passes".

Yes, I've noticed that in his play this season, especially on his last "scramble".

Last year they were sacked at the same rate.

 

[notlongago]

Yes, I've noticed that in his play this season, especially on his last "scramble".

Last year they were sacked at the same rate.

That 90yd td drive that just happened would've never happened w/ sp. Padilla avoided 4 sacks on that drive that sp could not.

 

[The Deplorable Sleeping Dog]

That 90yd td drive that just happened would've never happened w/ sp. Padilla avoided 4 sacks on that drive that sp could not.

They're both grossly inadequate and are hopefully done at Iowa. The difference between bad and worse is no longer worth the coin. My faith in Kirk will be somewhat shaken if #8 is the starter. That would be a good message to the team.