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Spring Practice Observations

The pickings are slim right now at QB in the transfer portal. The ASU kid, highly ranked out of HS, is probably headed to Georgia. The Utah State kid has one half of a (mediocrre) year under his belt, is 5'10 185 and is visiting Utah Utes.

This is Lester's first crack at a P4 school to recruit a QB. If all the debbie downers are right and you need to have played the position in order to effectively recruit and coach it (think J Bud), then Iowa should be fine if a QB that fits is available in the portal.
I would expect even if a transfer qb is brought in, he will likely never see the field this season.....either as the #1 or #2.
 
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I know this is sarcasm-laden comment but in your scenario the Hawks would need to finish 5-8 in playoff standings to get a game at kinnick, correct?
If the season went great and we lost at OSU only, then again in the BIG title game to OSU, would 11-2 get us in that mix?

If OSU runs the table they will be #1 all season, so losing to them only should not destroy Iowa in the rankings.
Yea..i am a glass half full guy.

Go Hawkeyes!

Drugs r bad mmm kay?
 
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You can say that again for the morons in the back. They still think throwing the ball late as possible and as hard as you can at any receiver on any route is desirable because Iowa’s former coaches for some insane reason coached them to do that. Stanley, Petras, Hill.

Funny, Jordan Love did that in the playoffs vs San Fran, in fact Josh Allen does it routinely….hmmm

Does Brian work for the Pack & Bills too? Or maybe, that’s what QBs often do….

If only there was someone smart in here to help us…
 
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This is an interesting perspective and probably the most accurate one.

I have been very harsh about Deacon’s performance on the field (it’s never personal). With that said, there’s just no way his potential has been reached. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think his limitations (namely his lack of mobility) will ever be overcome, but there’s no way what we have seen from Deacon Hill in games is an accurate reflection of his ability.

I believe the same to be true for Spencer Petras, Alex Padilla, Marco Lainez, and even Cade McNamara.

There’s a common denominator here: Brian Ferentz. The disaster that has been the quarterback room just further adds to Brian’s legacy of gross incompetence and idiocy.

Lester has got to be privately thinking, WTF have these guys been learning/practicing here?

They were forced by KF to learn QB/offense from an OL guy. But hey, Kirk got to hand his son a $1M a year for several years, so to Kirk, it was worth it.
 
I do believe, though, that Ferentz put McNamara out there and let him move around so that he could be on video not moving well. That gets out on Twitter and will certainly get some QBs' attention.
In the presser, KF said that Cade will be fully ready to go in June. He would not say that under your theory.
 
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Understatement of the Century. Guys like Drew Tate didnt even need a running game and won the Big Ten Championship. The gap between Hill and Tate is Mt Everest sized.

Holy compartmentalization Batman…

So as a Sophmore, with no Rbers he won the Big 10. How’d he do as a Jr & Sr?

Better right ?! 😂
 
Funny, Jordan Love did that in the playoffs vs San Fran, in fact Josh Allen does it routinely….hmmm

Does Brian work for the Pack & Bills too? Or maybe, that’s what QBs often do….

If only there was someone smart in here to help us…

I’m a Justin Herbert (and his QB coaches) kind of guy.

Q:“What was the biggest change you had to make preparing for the NFL?”

A:“I had to work on slowing down my passes.”

Statistics courtesy of NFL Research.

  • Most passing TD as a rookie (31)
  • Most games with 300+ passing yards as a rookie (8)
  • Most consecutive games with 2+ TD passes as a rookie (7)
  • Most games as a rookie with 3+ TD passes (5)
  • Most passes completed by a rookie (396)
  • First rookie in NFL history to have 4 passing TDs in MNF debut
  • First rookie with 2,000+ yards passing and 15+ TD in first 7 starts
  • First rookie with 1,600+ yards passing and 20+ TD in first 9 starts
  • Most passing yards in 1st half of a game since 1991 (277)
  • First player with passing TD and rushing TD in 1st half of NFL debut since 1954
  • Tied for most games with 3 TD passing and 0 INT through 2 seasons (6) (Still has 13 games left in 2nd season)
  • First QB to reach 500+ completions before 20th career start
…You get all of that?

 
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I’m a Justin Herbert (and his QB coaches) kind of guy.

Q:“What was the biggest change you had to make preparing for the NFL?”

A:“I had to work on slowing down my passes.”

Statistics courtesy of NFL Research.

  • Most passing TD as a rookie (31)
  • Most games with 300+ passing yards as a rookie (8)
  • Most consecutive games with 2+ TD passes as a rookie (7)
  • Most games as a rookie with 3+ TD passes (5)
  • Most passes completed by a rookie (396)
  • First rookie in NFL history to have 4 passing TDs in MNF debut
  • First rookie with 2,000+ yards passing and 15+ TD in first 7 starts
  • First rookie with 1,600+ yards passing and 20+ TD in first 9 starts
  • Most passing yards in 1st half of a game since 1991 (277)
  • First player with passing TD and rushing TD in 1st half of NFL debut since 1954
  • Tied for most games with 3 TD passing and 0 INT through 2 seasons (6) (Still has 13 games left in 2nd season)
  • First QB to reach 500+ completions before 20th career start
…You get all of that?


Whoa….shouldn’t he have learned that @ Oregon?! Wow…..
 
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Funny, Jordan Love did that in the playoffs vs San Fran, in fact Josh Allen does it routinely….hmmm

Does Brian work for the Pack & Bills too? Or maybe, that’s what QBs often do….

If only there was someone smart in here to help us…

Difference is those guys are accurate throwing to top notch wrs. Mix deacon spraying the ball over the field like Ricky “wild thing” Vaughn to inconsistent college wrs is a recipe for disaster.
 
Difference is those guys are accurate throwing to top notch wrs. Mix deacon spraying the ball over the field like Ricky “wild thing” Vaughn to inconsistent college wrs is a recipe for disaster.

@cmhawks99 calling a Deacon Hill QB’d game:

7GKccN.gif
 
lol an analogy…. That wasn’t an analogy that was pointing out the stupidity of a comment that really was only designed to throw shade, when the truth is quarterbacks all up & down the board need to be “told” not to do that right up into their 40th year….

A Witty person would know better. I just pulled the rug….

It was a terrible attempt by him….now he knows better. 🤷‍♂️
 
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Difference is those guys are accurate throwing to top notch wrs. Mix deacon spraying the ball over the field like Ricky “wild thing” Vaughn to inconsistent college wrs is a recipe for disaster.

Dude, there is no difference. It was a simple stupid comment by him and I “simply“ pointed out how dumb it was…..as they ALL need coached
 
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@cmhawks99 calling a Deacon Hill QB’d game:

7GKccN.gif

I love that movie….still a dumb comment by you. If NO other QBs routinely did that we could easily blame Brian but unfortunately that is something they’re still doing in the NFL so that means they all need to be told, some more than others not a Brian problem “a QB problem”….

For someone that likes to be smart and witty, that was an extremely poor attempt🤷‍♂️
 
I would expect even if a transfer qb is brought in, he will likely never see the field this season.....either as the #1 or #2.
In Lester’s first year as Syracuse’s OC, the starter got hurt in the opener and he had to go with two QB’s the rest of the way who had never taken a snap in college. They averaged 27 ppg (never scored less than 14) and put up 20+ on three ranked teams. Not an apples to apples, but if we get someone to come in that can do the job, I think they’ll be rewarded appropriately.


That would be a negative.
There has been nothing posted, on here or on social media… videos, interviews, etc., that suggest this is the same offense. EVERYTHING written and said about it has been about how different it is. You think they’re spending all this time practicing something that they won’t do in games? Come on, man.
 
In the presser, KF said that Cade will be fully ready to go in June. He would not say that under your theory.
Don't you tell me what a person would or would not say in a hypothetical situation based upon MY theory!
 
The other issue besides BF is Barnett. Why is KF having to spend his time there helping a guy who's supposed to be a great teacher? Of course the scheme they ran helped no one on offense when the defense knew what was coming . The positives are they are running Lesters offense. KF could have demoted BF to oline and brought in a real OC. All problems solved.
I get what you're saying. All good, logical questions that I think many have been asking, and understandably so.

For reference: Kirk has most often (always) spent his time during position periods with the OL. It's his passion. He's left his OCs do their thang, obviously with a mixed bag of results and maddening inconsistencies on O as a whole.

I've spoke to a few staff members and others close to the program and a consistent theme was, "Kirk has 100% given Tim of the keys to run his offense." Tim knows it best, as he has studied and crafted it from Shanahan - something Kirk hasn't done nor know where to start given his mega responsibilities for the entire program.

Other comments were that Kirk likes Tim's blocking schemes - they make sense - and he is loving teaching the new concepts and techniques. For certain. He's a teacher at heart.

Cheers!
 
He’s a good emergency option? To me that’s like he saying if he’s your 3rd string qb option. But if you are implying back up no way can you make this claim. If any of our other backups were statistically the worst in the nation at that position (which deacon was last year) I wouldn’t feel or have much confidence with them no matter how much the locker room likes him. On top of qb being the most important position on the team.

College football is a business not a popularity contest. Way too many flaws with deacons game. Honestly what does he do well? It’s readily apparent Iowa needs to find an upgrade over him which shouldn’t be too hard to find one. If he’s over Marco that’s just an indictment to how poorly Iowa has recruited and developed the position. If he wants to stay and finish his career at Iowa as 3rd string so be it. But if KF & Lester and rest of the staff are serious about winning and have concerns with cades health they go out and upgrade the weakest spot on the roster which is backup qb.
I am not implying #2 or #3.

Normally teams have 5 scholarship QBs on their rosters. Iowa is not in a normal state regarding the QB room.

Hence, emergency (a la 5th or last, however you want to look at it).

You can indict the Iowa coaches and their QB recruiting all you want - but the coordinators and QB coaches who committed the crimes of incompetence have been convicted and sentenced. They sold Kirk on their offensive coaching prowess and made cases to him to offer certain QBs scholarships...then failed to develop them in a professional manner.

Also, it's unfair to indict the players and throw so much hatred and vitriol towards the young men that make up the roster of your supposedly favorite team.

JMO
 
Fall games will tell if (A) The Capt HAS granted Lester freedom to significantly innovate, and (B) if given that freedom, Lester is up to the task.
 
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In Lester’s first year as Syracuse’s OC, the starter got hurt in the opener and he had to go with two QB’s the rest of the way who had never taken a snap in college. They averaged 27 ppg (never scored less than 14) and put up 20+ on three ranked teams. Not an apples to apples, but if we get someone to come in that can do the job, I think they’ll be rewarded appropriately.
I hope so!
 
Sure seems like it. That, or they just spent an entire spring running a completely different offense for no reason.
I can't judge Lester until it is apparent he has been granted freedom to significantly innovate.
He is saying good things.
 
I am not implying #2 or #3.

Normally teams have 5 scholarship QBs on their rosters. Iowa is not in a normal state regarding the QB room.

Hence, emergency (a la 5th or last, however you want to look at it).

You can indict the Iowa coaches and their QB recruiting all you want - but the coordinators and QB coaches who committed the crimes of incompetence have been convicted and sentenced. They sold Kirk on their offensive coaching prowess and made cases to him to offer certain QBs scholarships...then failed to develop them in a professional manner.

Also, it's unfair to indict the players and throw so much hatred and vitriol towards the young men that make up the roster of your supposedly favorite team.

JMO
Agree about not lighting up specific players.
 
In Lester’s first year as Syracuse’s OC, the starter got hurt in the opener and he had to go with two QB’s the rest of the way who had never taken a snap in college. They averaged 27 ppg (never scored less than 14) and put up 20+ on three ranked teams. Not an apples to apples, but if we get someone to come in that can do the job, I think they’ll be rewarded appropriately.



There has been nothing posted, on here or on social media… videos, interviews, etc., that suggest this is the same offense. EVERYTHING written and said about it has been about how different it is. You think they’re spending all this time practicing something that they won’t do in games? Come on, man.
Chad Leistikow Article on Spring Practice

Excerpts...

Unpredictability was the theme of the 15-practice session of Iowa spring football, thanks to the offense being implemented by new offensive coordinator Tim Lester.

That made things difficult on a salty defense that Ferentz thinks might be the most experienced he’s had in 26 years as Iowa’s head coach.

“It was a stressful spring,” veteran middle linebacker Jay Higgins said, before repeating himself for effect. “It was a stressful spring.”

Higgins didn’t sound like he was exaggerating when he said it took him 13 practices to start to figure out what Lester’s NFL-style offense, inspired by what Kyle Shanahan does with the San Francisco 49ers, has brought to Iowa City.

Right now, the Hawkeyes lack the on-field talent at quarterback to really make the defense pay. But even so, one recent practice saw Lester’s offense use pre-snap motion on 60 out of 67 play calls. The biggest positive for the offense was that it helped uncork more big runs than Iowa’s seen in many years, according to defensive coaches.

And if Lester’s offense is throwing off a veteran defense that prides itself on filling run gaps with their defensive fits, then that feels like tangible change coming to Kinnick Stadium on Aug. 31 vs. Illinois State.

“Like the running back jabs right, (Lester) knows that I’m going left,” Higgins said. “Or if the guard pulls, he knows I'm gonna see that guard pull, and then they go the opposite way.

“He basically plays with us all the time. It was really fun. It felt like a game week every time we came on the practice field.”

Higgins said for the first time since he’s been at Iowa, the defensive coaches – led by coordinator Phil Parker – were installing new schemes to counter what Lester was trying to do.

And, by the way, what we saw Saturday was a very vanilla offensive plan from Lester, who situated himself in the Kinnick press box to call plays.


“They kept it simple today. Smart guys,” Higgins said. “There’s probably somebody in here with cameras.”
 
I am not implying #2 or #3.

Normally teams have 5 scholarship QBs on their rosters. Iowa is not in a normal state regarding the QB room.

Hence, emergency (a la 5th or last, however you want to look at it).

You can indict the Iowa coaches and their QB recruiting all you want - but the coordinators and QB coaches who committed the crimes of incompetence have been convicted and sentenced. They sold Kirk on their offensive coaching prowess and made cases to him to offer certain QBs scholarships...then failed to develop them in a professional manner.

Also, it's unfair to indict the players and throw so much hatred and vitriol towards the young men that make up the roster of your supposedly favorite team.

JMO

Well it’s a message board and not out of line to say what everyone already knows. Deacon hill is an awful qb and should never see the field again. It’s not hate it’s just straight up facts. If he wants to stay on the team and is well liked then good for him. But with these players wanting all this NIL $ take the good with the bad and any criticism of his play is well warranted.
 
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Fall games will tell if (A) The Capt HAS granted Lester freedom to significantly innovate, and (B) if given that freedom, Lester is up to the task.
Lester has said he has installed 85% of his offense. Do you think he is lying?
 
Well it’s a message board and not out of line to say what everyone already knows. Deacon hill is an awful qb and should never see the field again. It’s not hate it’s just straight up facts. If he wants to stay on the team and is well liked then good for him. But with these players wanting all this NIL $ take the good with the bad and any criticism of his play is well warranted.
Deacon Hill WAS an awful Qb in his first year of starting at the college level. I mean you do know we all suck at things when we first try them or when we step up a level in them. I mean you are going to have a pretty short list of people who have walked into college and played their first year (and by all accounts it was his first year here and the first real game action he saw). So that was then and today is a new day. Let's just see how things go. You also know that Phil would pin his ears back and tee off on an inexperienced QB. So you don't think everyone did the same to us last year??? Or should we talk about when you struck out and sucked at pee wee baseball while we are at it?? Since you like to talk about the past.
 
Deacon Hill WAS an awful Qb in his first year of starting at the college level. I mean you do know we all suck at things when we first try them or when we step up a level in them. I mean you are going to have a pretty short list of people who have walked into college and played their first year (and by all accounts it was his first year here and the first real game action he saw). So that was then and today is a new day. Let's just see how things go. You also know that Phil would pin his ears back and tee off on an inexperienced QB. So you don't think everyone did the same to us last year??? Or should we talk about when you struck out and sucked at pee wee baseball while we are at it?? Since you like to talk about the past.

They don’t have the ability to think like that. It’s my main problem with this board.
 
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Deacon Hill WAS an awful Qb in his first year of starting at the college level. I mean you do know we all suck at things when we first try them or when we step up a level in them. I mean you are going to have a pretty short list of people who have walked into college and played their first year (and by all accounts it was his first year here and the first real game action he saw). So that was then and today is a new day. Let's just see how things go. You also know that Phil would pin his ears back and tee off on an inexperienced QB. So you don't think everyone did the same to us last year??? Or should we talk about when you struck out and sucked at pee wee baseball while we are at it?? Since you like to talk about the past.
There were first year quarterbacks across the country……. None looked as bad as Hamburger Hill
 
There has been nothing posted, on here or on social media… videos, interviews, etc., that suggest this is the same offense. EVERYTHING written and said about it has been about how different it is. You think they’re spending all this time practicing something that they won’t do in games? Come on, man.

No offense, but i won’t believe it until i see otherwise. Small ball, predictable, low risk, put the offense in terrible spots and down/distances. Putting the pressure on the D & ST. That’s the Kirk way and has been for years.
 
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