This is from the weekly notes package the guys at Pro Football Focus sent me.
Iowa’s top graded offensive players:
1. Ike Boettger, T
2. Akrum Wadley, RB
3. Sean Welsh, G
Key Takeaways:
- Ike Boettger and Sean Welsh continue to have strong overall games for the Hawkeyes in both pass blocking and run blocking. For the season they are far and away the most impressive offensive linemen on the roster. Welsh is PFF’s 12th best run blocking guard in the nation through 7 weeks.
- Iowa absolutely dominated Purdue on the ground Saturday afternoon, rushing for 391 yards on 50 carries (7.8 avg.) and 4 touchdowns. As a team, they had 204 yards after contact and forced 9 missed tackles, with Wadley and Daniels Jr. forcing 4 each. They had 3 different players with a long run of the day of 45+ yards (Smith – 45), (Daniels Jr. – 67) and (Wadley – 75).
- QB C.J. Beathard was effective facing no pressure against Purdue (10-15 for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 drop-backs) but struggled in the 7 drop-backs he faced pressure, not completing a pass in his 3 attempts and taking 2 sacks. As long as Iowa continues to dominate games on the ground, Beathard will not be asked to do much aside from managing the game.
- TE Peter Pekar started the game and played 48 snaps while Kittle played just 17. Pekar responded well and had his best game of the season so far, grading out particularly well in run blocking, where he ranked in the top 10 for his respective position in run blocking for Week 7. For the season, Kittle is still PFF’s top overall tight end, particularly in run blocking where he is far and away the most dominant at his position.
Iowa’s top graded defensive players:
1. Parker Hesse, DE
2. Desmond King, CB
3. Faith Ekakitie, DT
Key Takeaways:
- DE Parker Hesse had a monster game against Purdue, forcing an insane 7 QB hurries and recording 3 stops. His 7 QB hurries were tied for the most amongst 4-3 defensive ends in Week 7 and he also graded out very strong against the run as well.
- Coming into the game, CB Desmond King was targeted only 22 times all season, allowing 10 receptions for 70 yards and no touchdowns. Shockingly, he was targeted 10 times against Purdue alone, but he still had a great game, allowing only 3 receptions for 62 yards and recorded an interception he took back for a touchdown and 2 passes defended. With another strong performance in Week 7, King has now moved into PFF’s top overall cornerback in the nation for the season.
- The defensive front continues to be a strong position of depth for Iowa, as they now have 6 players who have played at least 271 snaps on the season (Jaleel Johnson – 356, Anthony Nelson – 339, Nathan Bazata – 311, Parker Hesse – 288, Matt Nelson – 288 and Faith Ekakitie – 271).
- With a comfortable lead late in the game, Iowa was able to get some players game action who haven’t seen the field much this year. The most impressive of the bunch was CB Joshua Jackson, who played 28 snaps (he had only played double digit snaps 1 other time this year) and he had the second best pass coverage grade on the team for the week (behind King), defending 2 of the 5 passes that went his way.
Iowa’s top graded offensive players:
1. Ike Boettger, T
2. Akrum Wadley, RB
3. Sean Welsh, G
Key Takeaways:
- Ike Boettger and Sean Welsh continue to have strong overall games for the Hawkeyes in both pass blocking and run blocking. For the season they are far and away the most impressive offensive linemen on the roster. Welsh is PFF’s 12th best run blocking guard in the nation through 7 weeks.
- Iowa absolutely dominated Purdue on the ground Saturday afternoon, rushing for 391 yards on 50 carries (7.8 avg.) and 4 touchdowns. As a team, they had 204 yards after contact and forced 9 missed tackles, with Wadley and Daniels Jr. forcing 4 each. They had 3 different players with a long run of the day of 45+ yards (Smith – 45), (Daniels Jr. – 67) and (Wadley – 75).
- QB C.J. Beathard was effective facing no pressure against Purdue (10-15 for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 drop-backs) but struggled in the 7 drop-backs he faced pressure, not completing a pass in his 3 attempts and taking 2 sacks. As long as Iowa continues to dominate games on the ground, Beathard will not be asked to do much aside from managing the game.
- TE Peter Pekar started the game and played 48 snaps while Kittle played just 17. Pekar responded well and had his best game of the season so far, grading out particularly well in run blocking, where he ranked in the top 10 for his respective position in run blocking for Week 7. For the season, Kittle is still PFF’s top overall tight end, particularly in run blocking where he is far and away the most dominant at his position.
Iowa’s top graded defensive players:
1. Parker Hesse, DE
2. Desmond King, CB
3. Faith Ekakitie, DT
Key Takeaways:
- DE Parker Hesse had a monster game against Purdue, forcing an insane 7 QB hurries and recording 3 stops. His 7 QB hurries were tied for the most amongst 4-3 defensive ends in Week 7 and he also graded out very strong against the run as well.
- Coming into the game, CB Desmond King was targeted only 22 times all season, allowing 10 receptions for 70 yards and no touchdowns. Shockingly, he was targeted 10 times against Purdue alone, but he still had a great game, allowing only 3 receptions for 62 yards and recorded an interception he took back for a touchdown and 2 passes defended. With another strong performance in Week 7, King has now moved into PFF’s top overall cornerback in the nation for the season.
- The defensive front continues to be a strong position of depth for Iowa, as they now have 6 players who have played at least 271 snaps on the season (Jaleel Johnson – 356, Anthony Nelson – 339, Nathan Bazata – 311, Parker Hesse – 288, Matt Nelson – 288 and Faith Ekakitie – 271).
- With a comfortable lead late in the game, Iowa was able to get some players game action who haven’t seen the field much this year. The most impressive of the bunch was CB Joshua Jackson, who played 28 snaps (he had only played double digit snaps 1 other time this year) and he had the second best pass coverage grade on the team for the week (behind King), defending 2 of the 5 passes that went his way.
