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Setting the Bar for QB1 this Fall (a little long)

iowaflash

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Jul 1, 2006
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Disclosure: many of my last season posts leaned toward giving AP more game time look and evaluation, based on his performance with opportunities when called upon in 2021.

KF recently acknowledged we must have better QB play, and an Open Competition including JL will be embraced with this Spring/Summer workouts. No Iowa QB in transfer portal is good in the sense that all 3 are well familiar with the Iowa playbook, which gives more hope for better execution in 2022. After much thinking about how much eligibility each QB has remaining, plus what we already know about SP’s ceiling over the past couple of years, here’s what I believe the dynamics should be, while KF and BF observes the progression growth and development of SP, AP, and JL…..

If SP cannot show that he’s at least 25% better than BOTH AP and JL, then he should NOT be named the starting QB in August. His winning record argument entitling him to start is skewed, because it can be debated that almost any P5 average QB could have had the same or better record, with this supporting cast. We know what we know about SP in almost two full years of play, and what he has left at Iowa, which is his Senior year coming up and a possible Covid year afterward.

If AP or JL is easily within 25% of SP, whichever one is more impressive, gets QB1 opportunity, because either will grow into the position to exceed SP’s ceiling, and either has more upside in terms of eligibility, assuming May and Marco need adequate time to learn and practice for the big stage. If both AP and JL are within 25% of SP, then you have QB1 and QB2 for 2022, and SP becomes emergency QB3, good teammate calling in signals, and player/coach in other meaningful ways. SP shouldn’t feel sad about this relegated role. He did the best he could (like Jake Christensen), wanted Iowa to succeed, but needs to accept a new way to help the team providing depth. Also, his Mom will be spared future criticism of her son in the newspapers or message boards.

So there it is, and it’s very simple. If we would have had better (expected) QB1 play last season, at the very least we would’ve kept the Purdue, Wisconsin, and Michigan games much closer, and we would have been Citrus Bowl Champions. We know KF and BF can’t just come out and say as much, but we can only hope they will be bold enough to shake up the QB situation, if SP only barely beats out AP and JL…….
 
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If AP or JL is easily within 25% of SP, whichever one is more impressive, gets QB1 opportunity, because either will grow into the position to exceed SP’s ceiling, and either has more upside in terms of eligibility, assuming May and Marco need adequate time to learn and practice for the big stage.
Why do we have to assume this? We haven't seen anything from either AP or JL that says either has more upside than SP. Are you assuming that they do? If so, why? And what makes you think that SP has hit his ceiling? What would you do if he suddenly started playing better when he had 3 - 5 seconds to get his throws off?

Asking for a friend.

😉
 
25% better?

Hilariously stupid.

Go back to your day job. If you have one.
Wow. How easy is it to call something or someone stupid, without stating your own opinion? This is a message board, and you’re free to not waste your valuable day time job by taking the time to reply to an opinion of another Hawk fan. But if you have something constructive to say about “25% better”, let’s hear it….
 
Why do we have to assume this? We haven't seen anything from either AP or JL that says either has more upside than SP. Are you assuming that they do? If so, why? And what makes you think that SP has hit his ceiling? What would you do if he suddenly started playing better when he had 3 - 5 seconds to get his throws off?

Asking for a friend.

😉
BBHawk thanks for your opinion in the five questions. First, I’m not assuming anything, only KF and BF have the ringside seats to make best decision. Respectfully disagree about AP, as we did see him some while he was at the helm winning the NW, Illinois, and Minn games. Upside potential greater with other QB’s because we’ve already watched SP for roughly 19 games over two years. My opinion is OL in any year hasn’t made a QB look this underachieving. AP and JL deserve same game time long look, like SP got. SP skills are what they are, and I’ve never seen in my last 30 years of watching Hawkeye football, a quarterback with less peripheral vision and thus so statue-like to sack. And better OL play this coming year won’t make SP a brand new QB, IMO. Aside from OL giving SP 3+ seconds to throw, what makes you think he’s not already close to his ceiling?
 
Disclosure: many of my last season posts leaned toward giving AP more game time look and evaluation, based on his performance with opportunities when called upon in 2021.

KF recently acknowledged we must have better QB play, and an Open Competition including JL will be embraced with this Spring/Summer workouts. No Iowa QB in transfer portal is good in the sense that all 3 are well familiar with the Iowa playbook, which gives more hope for better execution in 2022. After much thinking about how much eligibility each QB has remaining, plus what we already know about SP’s ceiling over the past couple of years, here’s what I believe the dynamics should be, while KF and BF observes the progression growth and development of SP, AP, and JL…..

If SP cannot show that he’s at least 25% better than BOTH AP and JL, then he should NOT be named the starting QB in August. His winning record argument entitling him to start is skewed, because it can be debated that almost any P5 average QB could have had the same or better record, with this supporting cast. We know what we know about SP in almost two full years of play, and what he has left at Iowa, which is his Senior year coming up and a possible Covid year afterward.

If AP or JL is easily within 25% of SP, whichever one is more impressive, gets QB1 opportunity, because either will grow into the position to exceed SP’s ceiling, and either has more upside in terms of eligibility, assuming May and Marco need adequate time to learn and practice for the big stage. If both AP and JL are within 25% of SP, then you have QB1 and QB2 for 2022, and SP becomes emergency QB3, good teammate calling in signals, and player/coach in other meaningful ways. SP shouldn’t feel sad about this relegated role. He did the best he could (like Jake Christensen), wanted Iowa to succeed, but needs to accept a new way to help the team providing depth. Also, his Mom will be spared future criticism of her son in the newspapers or message boards.

So there it is, and it’s very simple. If we would have had better (expected) QB1 play last season, at the very least we would’ve kept the Purdue, Wisconsin, and Michigan games much closer, and we would have been Citrus Bowl Champions. We know KF and BF can’t just come out and say as much, but we can only hope they will be bold enough to shake up the QB situation, if SP only barely beats out AP and JL…….
While QB play needs to be better, it was not the sole reason why we lost to Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan and Kentucky last year. Poor offensive line play and poor receiver play went hand-in-hand to why the offense was not very good. It is extremely hard to me to blame any QB when he has no running game and a defender in his face in 2.0-2.4 seconds. Where the blame should fall on the QB is when he doesn't execute the "makeables", those 3 to 4 plays that were set up or schemed for that could or should be touchdowns. Prime examples of that are the Penn St. game where SP made the play and we won, and the Kentucky game where he didn't and we lost. Those plays are the margin for error, especially when you look at how young this team was and the experience and talent they played against.

Beyond that, this team was very much a mis-match of talents with regard to optimal complimentary football. The recipe, as I see it for Iowa's scheme of playing ball-control, limited possession, zone-heavy defense, is to have a bell-cow power back, dominating offensive line, mis-matches at TE and a man-beater on the edge. That is the minimum to counter any defense that is thrown at us. Unfortunately last year we had a running back that was good, but much more of a lightning than a thunder, massive inexperience on the OL, and a true freshman at wide receiver. It is astonishing that this team won 10 games because it was so hard to move the ball because every defense we played utilized some sort of man-coverage underneath and zone coverage with 2 safeties over the top while they continually brought blitzers. One would think that we should have been able to run out of this, or even screen, but our weaknesses on the OL prevented those plays from being effective. LaPorta was our biggest weapon, especially in the seam, but the better defenses knew that and blanketed him. Because we could not react to what the defense gave us, all the points had to be schemed by running plays out of a formation over and over again with little success, then, only to disguise an explosive play with that same formation later in the game, or, at the beginning of the game if a team was only shown another repeated look on film. These are the makeables I was talking about earlier, and it was critical that these plays were successful.

This defense is far, far more effective when playing with a lead because the fundamental mantra of the Parker (Norm and Phil both) is to capitalize on the other team's mistakes. It is not designed to shut a team down, it is designed to force the other team to take what is given to them and not make a mistake. It is a very effective strategy and one that has won a lot of games.

So next year I hope QB play is better. That will be a big help to the offense for sure. But as much as people are going to rip me for this, I think that SP could be effective if we can protect him, if we can run the ball between the tackles, and if he has options at all 3 levels to throw to. Without those things, I don't think any style of QB can be effective, and if he can run he will just be running for his life every play, and that doesn't win you 10 games. So lets hope that the offensive line takes a massive leap next year, lets up that the backs can continue to play hard like they did in the Citrus and hopefully someone like Johnson can emerge, and lastly lets hope there is a ton of growth with Johnson on the outside and Bruce in the slot. I think the TE's will be fine.

(Disclaimer, I use "we" and "our" a lot in my reference of Iowa, its just easier to describe it that way.)
 
Thanks, but that's all quite obvious to most except KF. For the same reasons you list, there was no reason to play SP in the bowl game.
I firmly believe the Citrus Bowl was essentially a last chance interview for Petras for the starting role entering the spring. He fell short. Barring a massive leap this spring, or failure by Padilla/Labas to progress, I will be shocked if he’s named the starter at the end of the spring. Best case for him, imo, is a failure by either of the other two to separate prior to the end of spring ball and he maybe gains traction as the “safe” option - as limited as that would make the ceiling for the offense.

To me, the competition (I hope), should primarily be between Padilla and Labas, again, unless Petras makes a huge leap. As you said, we know who and what Spencer is by now, and the ceiling doesn’t appear to be what we hoped it was. Limited idea of who Padilla is, and just promising noises about Labas. It is notable however, that Kirk mentioned Labas by name last week when discussing the open competition. He doesn’t often mention guys if they don’t at least have a decent chance for a spot.
 
Why do we have to assume this? We haven't seen anything from either AP or JL that says either has more upside than SP. Are you assuming that they do? If so, why? And what makes you think that SP has hit his ceiling? What would you do if he suddenly started playing better when he had 3 - 5 seconds to get his throws off?

Asking for a friend.

😉
I’ll bite. Petras had the exact same completion percentage in 2021 as he did in 2020. He also had the exact same average. Sam LaPorta and Goodson were his leading receivers this year. Which means he checked down….a lot. He can look good at times but there aren’t extended times where he looks good.

I’m a Padilla fan because he targets WRs and throws a more accurate ball (sometimes accurate to the other team). With that said, I do need to go back and watch the Illinois game as his numbers were absolutely terrible. He was victimized by drops in the NW and Minnesota games. He was not nearly as bad as people want to say in the Nebraska game if you rewatch.

I just think of the two, Padilla has a higher ceiling just from being more of a gun slinger and more accurate. I’d like to see what he could do taking the majority of reps this spring/fall.

With that said, I did watch Labas’ senior highlights the other night and was super impressed. I can see where the hype is coming from. His legs could be a real weapon.
 
The quarterback who gives Iowa the best chance to be successful should be the starter. It's really that simple.

These discussions always boil down to three points:

1) KF is either incompetent to choose the best quarterback or plays favorites and doesn't care.
2) The Iowa offense is too complicated.
3) Iowa can't develop and/or recruit quarterbacks for squat.

I'm guessing none of the above are correct. With that said, Spencer Petras needs to improve leaps and bounds or it's time for a change. I don't know what "25 better" means, but it better start with improved accuracy and better pocket awareness.
 
While QB play needs to be better, it was not the sole reason why we lost to Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan and Kentucky last year. Poor offensive line play and poor receiver play went hand-in-hand to why the offense was not very good. It is extremely hard to me to blame any QB when he has no running game and a defender in his face in 2.0-2.4 seconds. Where the blame should fall on the QB is when he doesn't execute the "makeables", those 3 to 4 plays that were set up or schemed for that could or should be touchdowns. Prime examples of that are the Penn St. game where SP made the play and we won, and the Kentucky game where he didn't and we lost. Those plays are the margin for error, especially when you look at how young this team was and the experience and talent they played against.

Beyond that, this team was very much a mis-match of talents with regard to optimal complimentary football. The recipe, as I see it for Iowa's scheme of playing ball-control, limited possession, zone-heavy defense, is to have a bell-cow power back, dominating offensive line, mis-matches at TE and a man-beater on the edge. That is the minimum to counter any defense that is thrown at us. Unfortunately last year we had a running back that was good, but much more of a lightning than a thunder, massive inexperience on the OL, and a true freshman at wide receiver. It is astonishing that this team won 10 games because it was so hard to move the ball because every defense we played utilized some sort of man-coverage underneath and zone coverage with 2 safeties over the top while they continually brought blitzers. One would think that we should have been able to run out of this, or even screen, but our weaknesses on the OL prevented those plays from being effective. LaPorta was our biggest weapon, especially in the seam, but the better defenses knew that and blanketed him. Because we could not react to what the defense gave us, all the points had to be schemed by running plays out of a formation over and over again with little success, then, only to disguise an explosive play with that same formation later in the game, or, at the beginning of the game if a team was only shown another repeated look on film. These are the makeables I was talking about earlier, and it was critical that these plays were successful.

This defense is far, far more effective when playing with a lead because the fundamental mantra of the Parker (Norm and Phil both) is to capitalize on the other team's mistakes. It is not designed to shut a team down, it is designed to force the other team to take what is given to them and not make a mistake. It is a very effective strategy and one that has won a lot of games.

So next year I hope QB play is better. That will be a big help to the offense for sure. But as much as people are going to rip me for this, I think that SP could be effective if we can protect him, if we can run the ball between the tackles, and if he has options at all 3 levels to throw to. Without those things, I don't think any style of QB can be effective, and if he can run he will just be running for his life every play, and that doesn't win you 10 games. So lets hope that the offensive line takes a massive leap next year, lets up that the backs can continue to play hard like they did in the Citrus and hopefully someone like Johnson can emerge, and lastly lets hope there is a ton of growth with Johnson on the outside and Bruce in the slot. I think the TE's will be fine.

(Disclaimer, I use "we" and "our" a lot in my reference of Iowa, its just easier to describe it that way.)
Valid points made, NCHawkeye24. Just a fast clarification, I didn’t say we wouldn’t have lost to Purdue, Wisky, and Michigan with better QB play, I said they would have been much closer games. Only the Kentucky game was where we should have won. We know now that Tracy couldn’t make the most of his opportunities, and not sure how Ragaini disappeared with SP targets, but making something out of nothing, has to be a trick a good QB can do from time to time, I believe….
 
The quarterback who gives Iowa the best chance to be successful should be the starter. It's really that simple.

These discussions always boil down to three points:

1) KF is either incompetent to choose the best quarterback or plays favorites and doesn't care.
2) The Iowa offense is too complicated.
3) Iowa can't develop and/or recruit quarterbacks for squat.

I'm guessing none of the above are correct. With that said, Spencer Petras needs to improve leaps and bounds or it's time for a change. I don't know what "25 better" means, but it better start with improved accuracy and better pocket awareness.
25% better = improve by leaps and bounds; I.e. improved accuracy and better pocket awareness, as determined by KF and BF.

If SP can show this in Spring/Summer workouts, then we should definitely ride with him into his Senior year. But if not improve by leaps and bounds, please SP accept new role to support the team.
 
I’ll bite. Petras had the exact same completion percentage in 2021 as he did in 2020. He also had the exact same average. Sam LaPorta and Goodson were his leading receivers this year. Which means he checked down….a lot. He can look good at times but there aren’t extended times where he looks good.

I’m a Padilla fan because he targets WRs and throws a more accurate ball (sometimes accurate to the other team). With that said, I do need to go back and watch the Illinois game as his numbers were absolutely terrible. He was victimized by drops in the NW and Minnesota games. He was not nearly as bad as people want to say in the Nebraska game if you rewatch.

I just think of the two, Padilla has a higher ceiling just from being more of a gun slinger and more accurate. I’d like to see what he could do taking the majority of reps this spring/fall.

With that said, I did watch Labas’ senior highlights the other night and was super impressed. I can see where the hype is coming from. His legs could be a real weapon.
I'm sorry, but AP is nowhere near the realm of "accurate". SP dealt with just as many drops, and still hit more than 50% of his passes. 49.1% completion rate is abysmal.
 
Through poor QB recruiting of development or both, the coaches were pretty much stuck with SP and AP. To argue that AP was better has to be due to pure distain for SP. SP had a higher rating (117 to 91), a higher completion % (57 to 49) and a higher per completion average (6.5 to 5.7). Their interception and TD rates were about the same. AP may be a better runner, but that only matters if he actually runs the ball.

For comparison, Nate Stanley had a rating of 130+ in his 3 years at the helm and was routinely roughed up on this board.

So, some fans think SP played because he was KF's "favorite"? Absurd. He played because he was better. He wasn't any good, but he was still the best available sadly.

Some fun facts -

- Jake C had a 117 passer rating in 2007 and 2008 and he was replaced by Stanzi (after 4 games when the Hawks were 3-1 when both QB's played) who rated 134 in 2008 as a sophomore. Fans seem to think KF stuck with JC all season and it cost them lots of games.

- Kyle McCann's rating in 2001 was 146 and he completed 66% of his passes. But history has convinced some that he played the wrong guy. In Drew Tate's best statistical season in 2005 his rating was 146.

- JR and CJ were close in their ratings in 2014 (JR 133.5 v CJ 129). But the coaches were wrong then too.

I believe the best QB will play next year. Problem is, he might not be very good.
 
Valid points made, NCHawkeye24. Just a fast clarification, I didn’t say we wouldn’t have lost to Purdue, Wisky, and Michigan with better QB play, I said they would have been much closer games. Only the Kentucky game was where we should have won. We know now that Tracy couldn’t make the most of his opportunities, and not sure how Ragaini disappeared with SP targets, but making something out of nothing, has to be a trick a good QB can do from time to time, I believe….
Technically you are right, but, you could go up and down the roster and say if this person or that person played better those games would have been closer. I agree we should have beaten Kentucky, however, I think that loss is just as much on the defense as it was on SP, because they had a chance to win the game and they didn't. I think Tracy and Ragaini both have suffered from the same thing, and that is the line was just not very good and was not respected. I think both players are good players, not great and not mis-matches, but effective. But they had no space to operate because defenses could get all the pass rush they wanted as well as stop the run with 4 and even 3 lineman like Wisconsin uses. Not being a SP apologist or anything, but it is incredibly hard to find a place to throw when you have 3 receivers out in routes against 7 or 8 defenders. I know the great QB's can seem to make something out of nothing from time to time, but, that is a terrible gameplan if that is what is expected.
 
BBHawk thanks for your opinion in the five questions. First, I’m not assuming anything, only KF and BF have the ringside seats to make best decision. Respectfully disagree about AP, as we did see him some while he was at the helm winning the NW, Illinois, and Minn games. Upside potential greater with other QB’s because we’ve already watched SP for roughly 19 games over two years. My opinion is OL in any year hasn’t made a QB look this underachieving. AP and JL deserve same game time long look, like SP got. SP skills are what they are, and I’ve never seen in my last 30 years of watching Hawkeye football, a quarterback with less peripheral vision and thus so statue-like to sack. And better OL play this coming year won’t make SP a brand new QB, IMO. Aside from OL giving SP 3+ seconds to throw, what makes you think he’s not already close to his ceiling?
Wait..."winning the NW, Illinois, and Minn games"? Did he do something special that SP hadn't done to win those games?
Against NW (when he spelled an injured SP) he was 18/28 for 172 yards, no TDs or INTs. His best game but not exactly setting the world on fire. The defense won it.

Against Minn, he was 11/24 for 206 yards and 2 TDs. Pretty pedestrian but again he didn't hurt Iowa. Again, the defense won it.

Against IL he was 6 - 17 for 83 yards, no TDs and an interception. Iowa ran for over 200 yards or it loses. And the defense was primarily why Iowa won it.

Now, you add in Nebraska (the last game he started), he was 6/14 for 76 yards. SP was 7/13 for 106 yards. Neither threw a TD or an INT. Iowa won because the defense scored 9 points (TD and safety) and they ran all over Nebby in the second half.

So AP was a whopping 35/69 with 2 TDs and an INT over his 3.5 games. You think that shows promise? Wow.

IMHO, neither AP nor SP has done enough to suggest that either is markedly better than the other. NO ONE has a clue about how Labas will do when the bullets fly. I don't give a rat's butt how any have done in practice, that doesn't mean squat. I hope all 3 get a chance this spring, summer and fall, and that the best man wins. I am not rooting for any one of them in particular, I just want at least one of them to get their shit together and play winning football for Iowa!
 
25% better = improve by leaps and bounds; I.e. improved accuracy and better pocket awareness, as determined by KF and BF.

If SP can show this in Spring/Summer workouts, then we should definitely ride with him into his Senior year. But if not improve by leaps and bounds, please SP accept new role to support the team.
Thank you for clarifying what you meant.
 
I’ll bite. Petras had the exact same completion percentage in 2021 as he did in 2020. He also had the exact same average. Sam LaPorta and Goodson were his leading receivers this year. Which means he checked down….a lot. He can look good at times but there aren’t extended times where he looks good.

I’m a Padilla fan because he targets WRs and throws a more accurate ball (sometimes accurate to the other team). With that said, I do need to go back and watch the Illinois game as his numbers were absolutely terrible. He was victimized by drops in the NW and Minnesota games. He was not nearly as bad as people want to say in the Nebraska game if you rewatch.

I just think of the two, Padilla has a higher ceiling just from being more of a gun slinger and more accurate. I’d like to see what he could do taking the majority of reps this spring/fall.

With that said, I did watch Labas’ senior highlights the other night and was super impressed. I can see where the hype is coming from. His legs could be a real weapon.
Wow. Just wow. <50% completion is accurate?

LOL!
 
When you give the QB’ a red jersey in spring practice you learn nothing. Of course SP looks great with that on or in warm ups. But we see what happens when bullets fly and the Off line sucks.
 
When you give the QB’ a red jersey in spring practice you learn nothing.
If this were remotely true, it wouldn't be standard practice for nearly every level of football.

There's a very good reason every single professional AND college team (DI-DIII), sans a handful of triple option teams, don't do this:

It's not worth the risk when some dumbass scout-team freshman takes down your starting QB.
 
SP is a statue behind C. The game is changing for sure and you actually need a QB who can occasionally get you a few yards on a run. Petras is NOT that guy. He folds like a cheap lawn chair the minute there is any pressure on him, or throws the ball 3 feet into the checkdown receiver's feet......
I'm open to ANYONE other than Petras.....
 
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Wait..."winning the NW, Illinois, and Minn games"? Did he do something special that SP hadn't done to win those games?
Against NW (when he spelled an injured SP) he was 18/28 for 172 yards, no TDs or INTs. His best game but not exactly setting the world on fire. The defense won it.

Against Minn, he was 11/24 for 206 yards and 2 TDs. Pretty pedestrian but again he didn't hurt Iowa. Again, the defense won it.

Against IL he was 6 - 17 for 83 yards, no TDs and an interception. Iowa ran for over 200 yards or it loses. And the defense was primarily why Iowa won it.

Now, you add in Nebraska (the last game he started), he was 6/14 for 76 yards. SP was 7/13 for 106 yards. Neither threw a TD or an INT. Iowa won because the defense scored 9 points (TD and safety) and they ran all over Nebby in the second half.

So AP was a whopping 35/69 with 2 TDs and an INT over his 3.5 games. You think that shows promise? Wow.

IMHO, neither AP nor SP has done enough to suggest that either is markedly better than the other. NO ONE has a clue about how Labas will do when the bullets fly. I don't give a rat's butt how any have done in practice, that doesn't mean squat. I hope all 3 get a chance this spring, summer and fall, and that the best man wins. I am not rooting for any one of them in particular, I just want at least one of them to get their shit together and play winning football for Iowa!
The TD was a punt block, which is special teams.
 
SP is a statue behind C. The game is changing for sure and you actually need a QB who can occasionally get you a few yards on a run. Petras is NOT that guy. He folds like a cheap lawn chair the minute there is any pressure on him, or throws the ball 3 feet into the checkdown receiver's feet......
I'm open to ANYONE other than Petras.....
OKAY, YOU MADE YOUR BOLD POINT!

😉
 
I'm sorry, but AP is nowhere near the realm of "accurate". SP dealt with just as many drops, and still hit more than 50% of his passes. 49.1% completion rate is abysmal.
The Minnesota game alone he has 6 drops. I can think if one really good throw against NW that Charlie Jones dropped. I can’t remember that many for Petras. Again, I’ll have to watch Illinois again as I don’t have a memory as to why he was 6-17.
 
Wow. Just wow. <50% completion is accurate?

LOL!
I’m sticking to my opinion until I rewatch the Illinois game. There is more to it than just completion percentages. Otherwise, you’d say Padilla was better in the BTT because he completed 10/15 passes to Petras’ 9/22. But that’s not the case.
 
I'll go with Joey Throws for a hundred, please. There's been no talk from Kirk like we're hearing now for years.

Coaches tried to go with Alex, he was awful. They came back to Spencer but, unusually, no one has uttered a word about Spencer has an advantage, knows the offense, etc...

Joey's been on the team for a year. His consultant/mentor for the two prior years has been Rick Stanzi. Of course, Joey has had a swifter growth curve in this offense.

Kirk, "wow", Brody Brecht, "some throws like Mahomey". And just today, picked up a little rough intel that the "younger" players have bought into extra work with him on their own time. I know there's always a million rumors and "tells" to read but they all are going in one direction about Joe Labas. Now, Spencer and Alex have no relationship with the new QB coach longer or tighter than Joe. At least one of Spencer and Alex will be in the portal at the end of spring practice.

Usually not this much smoke without a fire.
 
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Wait..."winning the NW, Illinois, and Minn games"? Did he do something special that SP hadn't done to win those games?
Against NW (when he spelled an injured SP) he was 18/28 for 172 yards, no TDs or INTs. His best game but not exactly setting the world on fire. The defense won it.

Against Minn, he was 11/24 for 206 yards and 2 TDs. Pretty pedestrian but again he didn't hurt Iowa. Again, the defense won it.

Against IL he was 6 - 17 for 83 yards, no TDs and an interception. Iowa ran for over 200 yards or it loses. And the defense was primarily why Iowa won it.

Now, you add in Nebraska (the last game he started), he was 6/14 for 76 yards. SP was 7/13 for 106 yards. Neither threw a TD or an INT. Iowa won because the defense scored 9 points (TD and safety) and they ran all over Nebby in the second half.

So AP was a whopping 35/69 with 2 TDs and an INT over his 3.5 games. You think that shows promise? Wow.

IMHO, neither AP nor SP has done enough to suggest that either is markedly better than the other. NO ONE has a clue about how Labas will do when the bullets fly. I don't give a rat's butt how any have done in practice, that doesn't mean squat. I hope all 3 get a chance this spring, summer and fall, and that the best man wins. I am not rooting for any one of them in particular, I just want at least one of them to get their shit together and play winning football for Iowa!
Respectfully, I don’t put as much emphasis on negative stats when we’re winning games. Here’s what I do know after watching NW, Illinois, and Minn games I referred to. The first quarter of NW, SP was extremely poor, whether it was due to injury or not. Had he been left in that game, we were sure to lose that one. Conversely AP didn’t set anything on fire, but he moved the ball effectively as KF wanted, and made the necessary throws to win the game. Prior to ILL game, they had won 2 out 3 conference games (@PSU and @MINN) so this could have been a dangerous game to potentially lose, but AP again did what he needed to do. MINN game was basically for the B10 West Championship and AP again did what KF wanted, and led the offense - 60 points total were scored while IOWA won both the ILL and MINN games. Did the defense do their job, absolutely, and was a main reason why we won 10 games this year. But defense didn’t come close to scoring most of those 60 points. I didn’t mention the NE game because it’s true that when SP played in the 2nd half, he did in fact play much better than his last 3 games, although AP did get cheated out of a clear TD in the first half, as our TE had possession the necessary time before being stripped post TD. With these observations, I could say that AP was our only undefeated QB, when starting and finishing a game in 2021, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. What I’ve said before, is that AP at least deserves the same long game time look, like SP got, statistics aside. We play QB’s to win, not to just be statistically superior. Would you contend we’ve seen enough AP in only 2 full games and 2 partial games (which we won all of them, not including mop work in B10 Championship game)? If so, how long do you normally give a new Iowa QB to prove himself on average?
 
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Respectfully, I don’t put as much emphasis on negative stats when we’re winning games. Here’s what I do know after watching NW, Illinois, and Minn games I referred to. The first quarter of NW, SP was extremely poor, whether it was due to injury or not. Had he been left in that game, we were sure to lose that one. Conversely AP didn’t set anything on fire, but he moved the ball effectively as KF wanted, and made the necessary throws to win the game. Prior to ILL game, they had won 2 out 3 conference games (@PSU and @MINN) so this could have been a dangerous game to potentially lose, but AP again did what he needed to do. MINN game was basically for the B10 West Championship and AP again did what KF wanted, and led the offense to 60 points while winning both ILL and MINN games. Did the defense do their job, absolutely, and was a main reason why we won 10 games this year. But defense didn’t come close to scoring most of those 60 points. I didn’t mention the NE game because it’s true that when SP played in the 2nd half, he did in fact play much better than his last 3 games, although AP did get cheated out of a clear TD in the first half, as our TE had possession the necessary time before being stripped post TD. With these observations, I could say that AP was our only undefeated QB, when starting and finishing a game in 2021, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he must be the starter in 2022. What I’ve said before, is that AP at least deserves the same long game time look, like SP got, statistics aside. We play QB’s to win, not be statistically superior. Would you contend we’ve seen enough AP in only 2 full games and 2 partial games (which we won all of them, not including mop work in B10 Championship game)? If so, how long do you normally give a new Iowa QB to prove himself on average?

I think you're looking for equity in a world where little exists. The coaches see the players a lot. Hours in practice and film. Not saying it's fair but the book has probably closed on Alex. The inability to clearly out play Spencer really does say a lot. New coach and a new QB. The Petras-Padilla chapter is finished.
 
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I think you're looking for equity in a world where little exists. The coaches see the players a lot. Hours in practice and film. Not saying it's fair but the book has probably closed on Alex. The inability to clearly out play Spencer really does say a lot. New coach and a new QB. The Petras-Padilla chapter is finished.
It’s very likely you have more inside information than I do, however, the fact that AP didn’t decide to hit the portal since the Citrus Bowl, might mean he’s got enough confidence to beat out both SP and JL in Spring/Summer workouts. This assumes of course, we believe KF when he says we’ll have Open Competition at QB, and not this entitlement factor SP had from 2020 to 2021. We all welcome the new QB Coach - and I would be fine with any combination of AP and JL being given fair opportunities for QB1 and QB2. Trust in Kirk….
 
Respectfully, I don’t put as much emphasis on negative stats when we’re winning games. Here’s what I do know after watching NW, Illinois, and Minn games I referred to. The first quarter of NW, SP was extremely poor, whether it was due to injury or not...
I quit reading right here. You know he was injured. Cute.
 
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