If Stanley is given time to work behind the offensive line look out. The team will win the west. If not, middle of the pack finish. To me that is the X factor above all else. D will be solid. Hawks must increase their scoring average. I believe they can but it's up to the o-line.
Stanley and time
- Thread starter Gogetr
- Start date
More important IMO will be Stanley's ability to scramble out of the pocket, tuck it, and run. If he adds that dimension, Iowa's offense will be extra potent. I'm not talking about a lot of carries, maybe 2,3,4 times per game where he can take off for 8-9 yards and pick up a 1st down.
Some times the receivers are just covered. Last year he took the sack when he had 25-30 yards of open field ahead of the pocket. Find a seam and go. He is a pretty big guy at 6ft5 and 240, slide when necessary.. Even Ruddock kept drives moving with a timely scramble. Keep the DBs honest. Last year DBs had zero expectation that Stanley would scramble.
Some times the receivers are just covered. Last year he took the sack when he had 25-30 yards of open field ahead of the pocket. Find a seam and go. He is a pretty big guy at 6ft5 and 240, slide when necessary.. Even Ruddock kept drives moving with a timely scramble. Keep the DBs honest. Last year DBs had zero expectation that Stanley would scramble.
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I believe Stanley will improve his in game acumen noticeably this year. I think he will hit the deep pass with more accuracy, scramble for positive gain on several necessary occasions per game, and have better pocket presence. In addition, given the anticipated improvement of our receiving corp, I believe there will be some big plays and more consistent pass catching that will improve our offense overall, and subsequently Stanleys individual performance.
Time will certainly be a factor. We are expecting our Tackles to be solid in their sophomore campaigns, but the interior of the OL will have to come together and establish good chemistry to make the unit cohesive. Its very important for Stanley and for our success in running the ball as well.
Time will certainly be a factor. We are expecting our Tackles to be solid in their sophomore campaigns, but the interior of the OL will have to come together and establish good chemistry to make the unit cohesive. Its very important for Stanley and for our success in running the ball as well.
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
This is huge, we did not have enough big passing plays last year that 1. Score obvous touchdowns and 2. Make the defenses play honest vs loading 8-9 in the box. We are very limited with short passing and heavy diet of runs, putting so much pressure on Defense, Special Teams and Red Zone Execution - we can be competitive but the big passing plays are what can turn this into a great season.
Well said Bird. If one of more of the receivers steps up and the line play is solid this could be a pretty high scoring offense. We always have winnable running backs.
Everything about Stanley says he will improve his understanding of the game, quicker and more decisive reads, etc... His touch on the deep ball improved significantly as the season progressed so I'l bet that part of his game improves even further (if there is someone to whom the throws can be directed).
Everything about Stanley says he will improve his understanding of the game, quicker and more decisive reads, etc... His touch on the deep ball improved significantly as the season progressed so I'l bet that part of his game improves even further (if there is someone to whom the throws can be directed).
After reading through the replies and thinking a bit more...my 2nd key is Ferentz Jr. calling a good game. Hopefully after 1 yr at the helm of this offense he also is night and day better.
I thought he did well last year calling plays- so many wide open deep ball opportunities missed by over throw or wr drop
Agreed, whether or not he can tuck it and run to keep the chains moving will be a huge factor this coming season. Last year he wasn't very good at feeling pressure and committing to tuck it and run. He also doesn't run very fast. I was a little surprised to see that his weight is up another 8 lbs. I thought that maybe they might want him to take off 10 lbs.in an effort to improve his quickness. Of course Chuck Long wasn't very quick, but he could really feel where the pressure was coming from and had a knack to roll away from it in time to make a play.
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
I agree Gogetr, while BF had his moments last year, he also experienced some growing pains. He should be more consistent. I really think we are very solid at RB and Obviously TE, so we can only assume WR will be better (not saying much of course) which should give BF a few more tools in the Ol' tool box.
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No Daniels, no Welsh. Big drop off on the inside. Stanley will have to do more through the air in this year' offense. He'll need improved receivers, quicker reads, and better pocket awareness.
There's a lot of potential to improve, but It's not a given. We need to become at least a middle of the pack offense to improve on last year' record.
There's a lot of potential to improve, but It's not a given. We need to become at least a middle of the pack offense to improve on last year' record.
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
No doubt Daniels is a great talent and will be missed. But the truth is, he played hurt much of the season and had more then his share of missed blocks and whiffs, especially vs blitzes and blocking downfield. I think we will get a very comparable effort at center this year vs last year. Not concerned about the center play.
The big question is whether we actually can enjoy some personnel continuity on the OL for a change. Should this question be answered with an affirmative, then the implication is that the OL will have a chance to develop some excellent cohesion from the summer going into the season. Render is a smart guy who already practiced at C last year ... and already has a lot of starting experience. Reynolds will be a SR ... and many guys continually remark on him possessing excellent athleticism. Banwart is a guy who Polasek has been raving about for a while now ... and we already know that our two book-end OTs are high-caliber guys. On top of that ... when healthy, Levi Paulsen is legitimately in the mix for a starting spot ... and his brother Landon is reputedly a "riser." Lastly, Polasek will continue to improve as an OL coach with the more experience he gains ... and the more time that he and Brian have to work together (to make sure that the OL is meshing with the rest of the O).
For a change, the Hawks have been recruiting pretty decently on the OL ... and we already know there capacity to develop guys. Kirk is already on record stating that he expects improvement from the group. Given that there were times when we had 3 or 4 relatively "new" guys on the OL playing a substantial number of quality snaps at the same time ... it is understandable that the level of play could have issues.
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I wonder where Kallenberger fits in? As good as Wirfs is, he may have to move to guard if Kallenberger deserves to be on the field.
Kallenberger still strikes me as a physical work-in-progress (it simply takes a while to build up to 300 lbs and have it all be "good weight") ... however, he's also clearly a guy who the coaches like a lot. It could be that the coaches will either work him in at OG ... or let him rotate in some at OT. Regardless, it seems like he's a guy who's definitely "in the plans" ... that's assuming that he keeps on earning the respect and trust of the coaches and his teammates.
If the DBs have their back to the QB ... then that can translate to more open green in front of the QB. Of course, given Iowa's TEs ... that can also make LBs have their backs turned in coverage too. Anyhow, it strikes me that since Stanley was still so new to the O ... he may have been focusing most of his attention on keeping his eyes downfield and working through his progressions. Going off of what Ken has said about his development ... it sounds like Stanley's game experience has really allowed him to "speed up" how he sees things. Consequently, the next step is for him to recognize when it is worthwhile to give up on the pass ... and try to tuck it and run. Stanley was never a dual-threat QB in high school ... however, he definitely had the capacity to gain yards with his legs.
This is another really exciting thing to contemplate concerning Stanley. We have to remember that he's still just in his second year of being on campus at Iowa. In '18, he'll be starting his 3rd year. For all the positives we saw in '17 ... and there were plenty ... he's capable of improving quite a bit. He's going to continue to learn how to adjust to what he sees from opposing Ds ... he's going to increasingly take command of the O. As much as fans are excited about what might happen when Stanley has more time to work with in the pocket ... we have to anticipate that defenses will continue to throw heat at him until he can prove that he can burn them for it. This means that he needs to recognize what the Ds are doing ... and then either check to "the right play" ... or find a way to quickly get the ball to a guy (in space) who can make the D pay for crowding the LOS and bringing heat.
Of course, most of you-all have read my posts about how I believe that the duo of Toren and Ivory, both of whom run with a really nice combo of power and vision, may help us stay ahead of the chains. If Iowa can regularly enjoy favorable down and distances ... that makes it harder to defend us. If the Hawks have a 2nd and 5 ... then odds go up that either a run or pass could be effective as a 2nd down play. This typically will force opposing Ds to have to still place a premium on defending the run ... which may force them to slow their pass-rush.
Then there is the significance of "dialing in" the long ball. Even given all the other considerations, there still is little selective pressure on opposing Ds to not keep a lot of hats near the line of scrimmage ... and then rely heavily upon man-coverage on the edges. Maybe the opposing D spends 1 safety against the run ... and the other helping bracket the TE. Plenty of Ds still keep a 1-high safety ... but still, he usually has to choose a side of the field if the O is working the edges of the D. If the long-ball becomes a higher percentage play for the Hawks ... then that forces opposing Ds to have to respect it ... and they then have to allocate resources accordingly. Should this happen ... then more Ds will defend the run with 7-hats in the box ... and that rarely ends well for our opponents.
And, as others have pointed out ... what happens when Fant improves his blocking AND drops fewer balls? Improved blocking will allow him to use blocking more effectively as a decoy ... so then he can slip out into open seams. If he drops fewer balls ... that likely equates to more big plays and more long receptions ... because few LBs seem to be able to run with him.
I agree with the posters about not taking the OL for granted. Gotta agree with the popular opinion, the tackles will be good. The interior line is more of a question mark. However, Iowa usually develops good interior O linemen and we've got some very good prospects, not projects, at those positions. So its reasonable, not groundless euphoria, to assume that most of those prospects will turn into quality starters.
If not there is trouble because Nate is not nifty in the pocket. He's a bull back there but a lot of penetration up the middle is the worst thing in the world for Iowa because Nate's lateral quickness is probably his biggest weakness.
If Nate's feel for when to tuck and run improves, and I'm thinking it will significantly, just running straight up the field isn't the worst thing. Nate's a load to bring down.
If not there is trouble because Nate is not nifty in the pocket. He's a bull back there but a lot of penetration up the middle is the worst thing in the world for Iowa because Nate's lateral quickness is probably his biggest weakness.
If Nate's feel for when to tuck and run improves, and I'm thinking it will significantly, just running straight up the field isn't the worst thing. Nate's a load to bring down.
I read recently of a comparison of Stanley to Nathan Chandler. The comparison largely mentioned that both guys are "big boys" and both have big arms. Chandler wasn't with us quite long enough to develop more as a passer ... but he was getting there towards the end of the '03 season. However, throughout the whole season, he did a great job of getting extra yards with his feet. Boy was he a load to take down. I remember times when LBs would get low to level him ... and he'd still knock 'em back. Tough dude .... it will be nice if we can see Stanley add that element to his game.
Chandler was a juco and much more filled out. He probably weighed 240-250. Definitely not the passer Nathan is but always got the extra yards.
What I love about Stanley is how he improved seemingly game to game in the pocket. I thought after the MN game that it was his best game. I think OSU was a week later and you had an NFL 1st round draft pick dangling in Stanley’s leg. It reminded me most of Big Ben. Curious to see what his weight gain will be this fall. Watch out.
