After reading an article about Iowa’s last game at Maryland in 2021 it dawned on me how badly Brian Ferentz failed Iowa. Petras completed passes to, among other players, Charlie Jones (1st team All American and current Cincinnati Bengal), Tyler Goodson (backup Colts running back), Sam LaPorta (top ten tight end in NFL with the Lions), and Tyrone Tracey (starting running back with the Giants). How can an offense with such talent just at the skill positions be so bad????
Pretty Incredible Iowa Offensive Football Stat
- Thread starter IChawkeye45
- Start date
Iowa's offensive woes begins and ends at the OLine. While they have been better in the run game this year, and maybe a bit better in pass pro, the last 3 years they have not been good. This is not a defense of BF, but rather a criticism of KF, BF, and GB.
You answered your own question: pathetic "coaching." It matters, and Iowa's offense--thanks to the brilliant decision by his dad to install his son, totally unqualified son, as OC and then doubling down by also making him QB coach, well . . . LOL
Hmmm, what has every football expert for 150 years told us? The game is won at the line of scrimmage.
And Iowa's struggles at O-line actually had almost nothing to do with KF, BF, and GB.
Any attempt to make it into anything else is a just bunch of 4 year olds throwing a sugar fit
Two things;
One is you are only as strong as your weakest link.
And second, I think if most coaches had to choose they would prefer to be strong at QB and on the OL, and weak at the skill positions.
As the OP pointed out, we were deceptively strong at those skill positions but it doesn’t matter if an undependable OL and mediocre QB prevent you from getting them the ball.
One is you are only as strong as your weakest link.
And second, I think if most coaches had to choose they would prefer to be strong at QB and on the OL, and weak at the skill positions.
As the OP pointed out, we were deceptively strong at those skill positions but it doesn’t matter if an undependable OL and mediocre QB prevent you from getting them the ball.
Sort of agree but the lack of OL is someone’s fault.
I know we had injuries too. It would be interesting to see the stats on how our injuries at OL compared to other teams.
I’ve seen KF comment on it and he said he’s convinced our OL injuries during this timeframe can be traced back to the pandemic and the disruptions it had on our strength and conditioning. We forced these guys out of the gym and they just had to make due, lifting weights in garages and what not.
Of course the pandemic impacted everyone so we aren’t unique there or anything
Beyond the fact that Brian just couldn't seem to grasp the nuances required for gameday play-calling, I see 2 glaring weaknesses during that time:
1. The biggest hinderance to our offense was the offensive line. After 2020, we had nothing left.....due to injury/retirements, bad recruiting, etc. It's been a 3 year reclamation project at this point. I don't know if that falls at the feet of Polacek, who bolted. If it was how we distributed the scholarships. But it was bad.
2. Inability to develop a competent QB. Once KOK retired and BF took over the reins of QB, there was a huge and noticeable dropoff in our QB play. In addition, injuries to the position, which we really hadn't experienced prior to 2021 certainly hampered us and continues to hamper us.
Now that we (hopefully) seem to maybe have the OL issues figured out, plus have a much more competent OC and QB coach, the next order of business is getting the QB position itself fixed.
Yes but Iowa suffered significant attrition to the O-line at the time. Which was the same time they lost Doyle, who was clearly a difference maker.
The guys forced to step in were nowhere ready to play, and had missed developmental workouts during the COVID shutdown.
You don't put on muscle overnight. Then consider that Iowa had always recruited undersized O-lineman, with good feet, to be built up by Doyle, and it's all pretty straightforward.
But you guys have your agendas and narratives to attend to
That all makes sense. I know the Athletic did an article with what happened to all of our OL and you are right, a big chunk of our OL pipeline didn’t pan out due to some combination of transferring out or injuries.
And it was bad timing to have it illegal to come into the weight room to lift weights because we are always going to be a developmental program so that probably hurt us more than most other teams.
It’s interesting that our DL was as strong as ever through this timeframe while our OL was the worst. But the OL lost both Doyle and Polasek, so maybe that had some influence on the player’s transferring out instead of sticking it out.
It could be as simple as these players lost the coach they had connected with so when times got hard they were more likely to transfer than stick it out.
Pretty hard to be good up front when you’re very tendency heavy based on down and distance and formation. OL can be better but it’s not on them.
What did Iowa do scheme wise that helped the OL out at all under Brian?
And the record is a reflection of playing in the worst division in the history of college football, lol.
For that year, average OL play and unimaginative/predictable play calling.
This year, it was an ineffective McNamara. He was a square peg in the round hole of Lester's offense. I bet that parts of Lester's offense had to be shelved because McNamara couldn't pull them off. Going to Sullivan was nice, but it was too late. He should have been the starter from the beginning of the season, let him work out all of the kinks early on. Instead, that he was being asked to come in with more than 50% of the season over and pick up without a hitch wasn't realistic. Not really fair to expect him to be in mid-season form when it was really the beginning of the season for him. The UCLA game probably doesn't happen if Sullivan was starting his 10th game at that point, not his second. A similar argument could be made about MSU (even though the defense was lousy in both games). If I recall, he and McNamara were reported as neck and neck at the start of the fall camp. By then, McNamara should have been head and shoulders ahead of Sullivan. The fact that he wasn't, and it was being reported that they were in a close competition for the starter's role should have been all that was needed to go with Sullivan from that point forward. I bet Lester regrets not going with Sullivan at the outset (assuming he had the right to make the call).
Agree. The OL has been bad, but it's just as much about the most predictable offensive playcalling in the country. You can have the best OL talent in the world, but 3 OL and a TE on one side of your line will never be able to block 8 guys who know exactly where the play is going.
Depends which season/game you are talking about. But overall, I don't have the necessary inside information to answer that question very well.
What I can tell you is the offense was never broken until the O-line was broken.
Things started to surface in the 2nd half of the '21 season for the O-line. It was compounded by an RB that decided to save his hits for the NFL, rather than fight for the tough yards, but that's another story.
Then in '22 the O-line was completely raw, underdeveloped in every way, and broken. This was compounded by an immobile QB, but the offense was broken regardless.
'23 showed some improvement from the O-line, as they had more strength and experience under their belt. And to at least somewhat answer your question, Iowa adjusted to much more pin-and-pull blocking scheme, which I would assume BF had a hand in. But mostly due to an emergency QB having to play most of the season, the offense was not able to take off.
This season the O-line is a semi-finalist for the Joe Moore award, and Iowa's offense has drastically improved. Again, from my under informed position, it seems that Lester has brought some helpful scheme. But KF, and guys like myself said even before Lester that the O-line and offense would be significantly better this season. Why wouldn't it be?
There is no point in blaming BF for anything, as that ultimately fell on KF, and to credit TL is also to credit KF
If the OL struggles have “almost nothing” to do with the head coach, offensive coordinator, or OL coach, where does responsibility fall then?
Do any of these three have anything to do with recruiting these guys? Coaching these guys?
You are special.
What happens to that 8th man when he's got a D-lineman knocked into his lap? You see it countless times every weekend.
The stats were even posted earlier this season how Kaleb was running better against 8 man boxes than non-stacked fronts.
You guys keep those narratives healthy
It seems as though the responsibility falls on you to read what's already been posted in this thread.
As a matter of fact, I've been posting it for years
Being tendency heavy based on down and distance and formation really puts guys up front behind the 8 ball. Rush packages and just DEs in general are going to eat when they don’t have to worry about depth and rush lane discipline (QB with cement shoes) and good luck “executing better “ regardless of IZ,OZ,gap power etc when the defense is crashing to the point of attack. Really wish I had access to the all 22 cut ups over the years.
All you've had to do is watch our O the past 5+ years on any given play and watch as the opposing D's linebackers are already cheating towards where the run is going to go, pre-snap. It's embarrassingly bad playcalling.
Folks, it is the failure in all aspects of the program by the great Kirk Ferentz, period.
You responded to ICWest.
What the hell else could be gleaned from your response? He said he blames those three. You responded you agree the OL is a problem but not to blame those three.
So, who’s to blame for poor OL play?
You are special.
Not my only post in thread. Others in the thread have also helped to answer your question
Don't worry he was supposed to be on a self imposed ban, but that lasted like 10 minutes.
He's a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. I dare you to solve it.
You saying such a thing is about the least surprising thing I've ever heard or read.
Oh, don’t forget he gets us to. I’ve seen those commercials.
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