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The addition of James Butler changes the 2017 equasion.

soybean

HR King
Sep 30, 2001
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The addition of Bulter is making me re-think how the Hawkeye games with Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State may play out. With him and Wadley running behind our offensive line I honestly don't think any of the other nine opponents have what it will take to stop the Hawks.







 
I looked him up. Rushed for over 1,300 yards his junior and senior year, averaging 6.5 and 5.1 ypc respectively. The interesting part is his receiving numbers his senior year--37 receptions, 381 yards, 3 TDs. Averaged 10.3 yards per reception.

So, what are the odds the Ferentzes have plans to try to use him a bit as a slot receiver? Clearly, the kid's got speed and skills in space.
 
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The addition of Bulter is making me re-think how the Hawkeye games with Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State may play out. With him and Wadley running behind our offensive line I honestly don't think any of the other nine opponents have what it will take to stop the Hawks.

Respectfully, Daniels and Wadley were pretty darn good last year, and the Hawks finished 121st in total offense. These guys are not going to put up numbers against 8 or 9 in the box.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pumped for the addition of Butler, but he's going to need some room to run.
 
Iowa has some provocative opportunities on offense with this addition. I read that Butler led the nation in making people miss. As others have suggested, it would seem Butler and Wadley should be on the field together about 80 percent of the time. Any OC with an imagination should be salivating at the many, many options...some untested...the Hawkeyes have. Multiple TEs, two of the quickest RBs in the country, some exciting potential among the freshmen WRs, a terrific O-line... Again, BF has the personnel to really make a mark on this Iowa offense from the first play of the season. If he has the creative gumption to take it, well, look out for the Hawkeyes.
 
Love it, though useless if they can't figure out how to make it work.
Respectfully to what Butler has done in the MWC, I sure hope some of our younger backs are prepared to step up and make their name in 2017.
 
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The addition of Bulter is making me re-think how the Hawkeye games with Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State may play out. With him and Wadley running behind our offensive line I honestly don't think any of the other nine opponents have what it will take to stop the Hawks.








I think you have something here as long as our line can make their blocks and open up some holes! Pretty excited to see this kid this fall.
 
The addition of Bulter is making me re-think how the Hawkeye games with Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State may play out. With him and Wadley running behind our offensive line I honestly don't think any of the other nine opponents have what it will take to stop the Hawks.

Thinking this has to be sarcasm.
 
Love it, though useless if they can't figure out how to make it work.
Respectfully to what Butler has done in the MWC, I sure hope some of our younger backs are prepared to step up and make their name in 2017.

Thinking about this today (the "why" of it all), something tells me they weren't very confident going into the season as far as a complimentary guy to pair with Wadley - let alone any combination of guys if Wadley were to go down for an extended period of game(s).
 
Iowa used 4 RBs in 2015. And we have seen what injuries can do to that group. Wadley, Daniels, and Canzeri all had great games individually and all were banged up at some point. Mitchell also got in on some garbage time and 3rd downs.
 
Respectfully, Daniels and Wadley were pretty darn good last year, and the Hawks finished 121st in total offense. These guys are not going to put up numbers against 8 or 9 in the box.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pumped for the addition of Butler, but he's going to need some room to run.

Yeah, because there is no way to counter that. No way to make em pay.
 
We have been running against 8 and sometimes 9 in the box for years. Kind of used to it. Part of that is our penchant to run on first and second downs and throw on 3rd. Predictibility is our thing.
 
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Iowa has some provocative opportunities on offense with this addition. I read that Butler led the nation in making people miss. As others have suggested, it would seem Butler and Wadley should be on the field together about 80 percent of the time. Any OC with an imagination should be salivating at the many, many options...some untested...the Hawkeyes have. Multiple TEs, two of the quickest RBs in the country, some exciting potential among the freshmen WRs, a terrific O-line... Again, BF has the personnel to really make a mark on this Iowa offense from the first play of the season. If he has the creative gumption to take it, well, look out for the Hawkeyes.

Interesting thought here but I'm assuming you watch a lot of NFL. There are a lot of teams that have two really dynamic running backs that very rarely share the backfield together. I actually think we will do just that but trying to suggest an OC isn't imaginative if he doesn't "do it" is just more about what you want and not reality. And just in case the NFL analogy doesn't work for you and you're one of those "this ain't the NFL" kind of guys Alabama doesn't do it Ohio State doesn't do it quite frankly I rarely see any team use lead tailbacks together in the backfield.

The truth is the way you said it....just reeked of your regular attitude towards the coaching staff. I think they'll do a good job of finding ways to use them even if they just use them one at a time?!
 
Interesting thought here but I'm assuming you watch a lot of NFL. There are a lot of teams that have two really dynamic running backs that very rarely share the backfield together. I actually think we will do just that but trying to suggest an OC isn't imaginative if he doesn't "do it" is just more about what you want and not reality. And just in case the NFL analogy doesn't work for you and you're one of those "this ain't the NFL" kind of guys Alabama doesn't do it Ohio State doesn't do it quite frankly I rarely see any team use lead tailbacks together in the backfield.

The truth is the way you said it....just reeked of your regular attitude towards the coaching staff. I think they'll do a good job of finding ways to use them even if they just use them one at a time?!
Agreed imo if the 2 will be on the field together it will be with 1 in the slot
 
Agreed imo if the 2 will be on the field together it will be with 1 in the slot

Yes, which is fine and even exciting but even that comes with its own limitations! It just goes back to my overarching point that we just truly don't understand what it takes to be a good OC/play caller!
 
Agreed imo if the 2 will be on the field together it will be with 1 in the slot

Yes, which is fine and even exciting but even that comes with its own limitations! It just goes back to my overarching point that we just truly don't understand what it takes to be a good OC/play caller!

Give Brian Ferentz a chance.
 
Yeah, because there is no way to counter that. No way to make em pay.

Greg Davis didn't seem to be able to do it. I think KOK gets verticality a bit more so there's hope with him back on staff and I think BF is ok being aggressive and taking some more risk.

But soybean you have to admit having two 1000 yard backs, an award winning line, an NFL TE, and an NFL QB it is absolutely ridiculous Iowa had the 121st ranked offense in 2016.

So, back to your statement there wasn't much of a way to counter it in 2016, and I'll concede it could be MVB getting injured that sunk our ship in terms of passing.
 
We have been running against 8 and sometimes 9 in the box for years. Kind of used to it. Part of that is our penchant to run on first and second downs and throw on 3rd. Predictibility is our thing.
And people wonder why we have trouble protecting the qb! ;)
 
Interesting thought here but I'm assuming you watch a lot of NFL. There are a lot of teams that have two really dynamic running backs that very rarely share the backfield together.
They probably have more than 1 other guy they can depend on to make a reception though ....
 
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I think it needs to be said soybeans made an incredibly valid point here. First and foremost this was unexpected and so just for that reason it's pretty exciting. But also I'm surely not the only one that has been mildly concerned about Wadley getting 20+ touches a game as a straight tail back.

It exposes him to injury, definitely increases his bangs and bruises and makes it that much harder for him to be explosive and keep his weight up. Besides keeping him fresh, it keeps him dialed in and hungry. I also don't think it's indicative at all of the talent we have behind Wadley. I think the opportunity arose and we're damn lucky to get a kid of this caliber. I think it changes the complete dynamic of the team not to mention it sounds like he's an excellent human being and a great chemistry addition to a team that I think most of us would agree is only as good as the chemistry and desire of the collective team historically speaking!

It alleviates the Wadley injury concern, increases the collective practice time opposing defenses have to prepare for and gives us that much more opportunity to be explosive on the outside.

I think it increases the likelihood that we will have bare minimum an average offense tenfold whether our passing game gets off the ground or not.

As Homer said a solid running game and above average defense will win you a lot of games.

As far as the eight or nine in a box thing goes. Michigan played 9+ in the box with an anemic passing game and we were still able to run the ball in fact when we're not at our best on defense we've played teams that ran it down our throat's with nine in the box as well.

That's why Vandenberg staying healthy & this glutton of TEs we have are so important. This just increases our ability to run run run and run some more and again I don't think it's at all indicative of Young or Toks, who I think are both outstanding young prospects!
 
They probably have more than 1 other guy they can depend on to make a reception though ....

Well youd hope. But you watch the same NFL that I do, some pretty poor quarterbacking throughout the league after you get past the top 12 or 15!

When Jay Cutler is still one of the 15 best quarterbacks in the NFL you know you've got a quarterback problem!
 
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I think it needs to be said soybeans made an incredibly valid point here. First and foremost this was unexpected and so just for that reason it's pretty exciting. But also I'm surely not the only one that has been mildly concerned about Wadley getting 20+ touches a game as a straight tail back.

I think that the Hawks were happy to benefit from the grad transfer not only because the young man a great fit BUT also because the Hawkeye offense desperately needs the running game to be a strength. If Wadley were to get injured, I think that we all know that the implication would be that our O would veritably be on life-support. If not in reality ... at least in terms of perception. That would make it that much harder for a new O to find the confidence to find it's feet and make the improvements that it must.

Just watching Wisconsin or Northwestern ... both teams that are our peers and rivals ... as a base-line both programs want to run the ball and have a strong D FIRST. After that ... they develop their passing game. When everything comes together ... their teams can be awfully tough to defeat. I think that previously Iowa would occasionally force Kirk's philosophical preference for balance a little bit too much. I think that Brian ideally wants balance ... but I also anticipate that he's a bit more of a scratch-where-it-itches type of coach. Thus, if I were to guess, I'd think that Iowa WANTS to be able to lean on its running game ... but if it's going to do that, the coaches know that they'd need to distribute rushes more (because it would otherwise be too much of a burden on Wadley).
 
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Iowa has some provocative opportunities on offense with this addition. I read that Butler led the nation in making people miss. As others have suggested, it would seem Butler and Wadley should be on the field together about 80 percent of the time. Any OC with an imagination should be salivating at the many, many options...some untested...the Hawkeyes have. Multiple TEs, two of the quickest RBs in the country, some exciting potential among the freshmen WRs, a terrific O-line... Again, BF has the personnel to really make a mark on this Iowa offense from the first play of the season. If he has the creative gumption to take it, well, look out for the Hawkeyes.
Honestly, that goes against the use of a fullback that KF seems so persistent in using. I would like to see it though and not just on passing situations. We could finally do some misdirection, but I'm sure won't happen.
 
Respectfully, Daniels and Wadley were pretty darn good last year, and the Hawks finished 121st in total offense. These guys are not going to put up numbers against 8 or 9 in the box.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pumped for the addition of Butler, but he's going to need some room to run.
I understand and appreciate your concerns, but there were a lot of factors that contributed to Iowa being 121st in total O. Iowa's OL was oft injured, Beathard had a bum knee, Kittle was injured on and off throughout the season, and VandeBerg went down to injury. On top of that, we were breaking in a bunch of inexperienced guys at FB and TE (among other spots).

Let's say Iowa's QB and OL can remain healthy ... already that's likely going to make it a little harder for opposing Ds to sack the QB. That could equate to fewer stalled drives.

Let's say that Iowa uses its TEs and RBs more in the passing game to compensate for deficiencies we might have at WR - that admittedly doesn't spread the field vertically, but it forces guys into coverage more. For a QB who can run ... that opens up other opportunities too.

Lastly, we know that O'Keefe ball is all about using the run to set up the play-action. Thus, we'll definitely take shots down the field. Given Polasek's input - we'll probably see formation and motion also try to give us numbers advantages in the running game. Even if there are 9 hats in the box ... if most of them are on the wrong side ... it's easier for them to get caught in the wash.
 
I think this year's offense is going to be noticeably different and more aggressive. While we don't have much of a proven threat at WR (I'm a bit worried about Vandeberg's readiness to play this fall), I think we'll have success running and passing the ball. Teams will load the box and make us prove it in the air. That worked out poorly for Nebraska and I think it will be a downfall for our opponents early in the season. I really hope opponents underestimate our passing game, because we will punish them for it.

As far as balanced attack goes, it's a good strategy. Our "balanced" attack under GD was really not balanced because so many of our pass plays could be defended the same as a run play. While we did pass the ball, many times it was really a glorified run. This threw us out of balance and made us much easier to defend. Those days will be over and defenses will be foolish if they defend us the same way this year that they have under GD.

This will be a good team. They will score points and the defense will be salty. We will be a tough out for everyone on our schedule. Overall, I expect a season somewhere between '08 and '09 with respect to how we look and the overall results. If we stay reasonably healthy, it's gonna be a fun season.
 
Has there been a time in the last 20 years when Iowa didn't see 8-9 in the box?

I doubt it happened much in 2004! Also limited in 2002, 2003, and 2009.

But your point is valid and I agree - Iowa's offense going against a loaded box isn't something new. Like soybean said, there SHOULD be ways to make a team pay for that, but evidently Iowa hasn't figured this out of late.
 
I think this year's offense is going to be noticeably different and more aggressive. While we don't have much of a proven threat at WR (I'm a bit worried about Vandeberg's readiness to play this fall), I think we'll have success running and passing the ball. Teams will load the box and make us prove it in the air. That worked out poorly for Nebraska and I think it will be a downfall for our opponents early in the season. I really hope opponents underestimate our passing game, because we will punish them for it.

As far as balanced attack goes, it's a good strategy. Our "balanced" attack under GD was really not balanced because so many of our pass plays could be defended the same as a run play. While we did pass the ball, many times it was really a glorified run. This threw us out of balance and made us much easier to defend. Those days will be over and defenses will be foolish if they defend us the same way this year that they have under GD.

This will be a good team. They will score points and the defense will be salty. We will be a tough out for everyone on our schedule. Overall, I expect a season somewhere between '08 and '09 with respect to how we look and the overall results. If we stay reasonably healthy, it's gonna be a fun season.

I agree with so much of this. I'm also worried we don't have a full picture of MVB's foot injury yet. And I believe GDGD was the worst possible thing to ever happen to a KF-style offense. We need the passing game to emphasize verticality and the TE over the middle, otherwise the defense might as well just "phone booth" our RBs and OL.
 
Decisive 1st cut runner. Different stride but reminds me of Adam Robinson. Nice eith his pass blocking.

James Butler has been under radar his whole career. I have followed him in depth. He is 5.91/4 weighs 214 exact . His blocking is exceptional , he carries out fakes in great detail, he was a captain, runs with power and speed and great vision. He lead Nation in yards after contact last 2 years while being hit in backfield flat footed what does that mean now with Iowa O line and him hitting holes at full speed ? Look out .. he has never dropped one pass thrown his way in college, was MVP of his one Bowl game ,he finished country last year 12th in rushing at 208 , 2015 before 27th splitting reps at 202 , and now he is at 214 his biggest he has ever been and running a 4.49 . Cant wait to see who can stop this machine .. and If Coach Erb never left Iowa he would have been there from start. We are getting a play maker that will partner with Wadley and with Brian Ferentz fresh young mind running the offense we are in for a huge treat. With both of these guys on field same time , and with great play calling this offense will be hard to stop .. 2017 will be special ..
 
He adds another dimension to an offense that needs a lot of help.

He looks to be a good addition. The offense still has significant unknowns. As hopeful as I am about the run offense now with Wadley, the offensive line, and now a proven addition at running back, the passing game will still have to do something.

They don't have to be good; approaching mediocre would be an improvement.

The combination of QB and the receiving corps need to provide 180-200 or so yards of passing offense and minimize turnovers. This is the year for a game manager QB.
 
If we use them together on passing downs,, let the D figure out which one between he and Wadley are more dangerous and try and cover them both. This alone should help the WR's get some space by occupying LB's and maybe a DB. Hell, by the end of the season teams knew Wadley was going to get the majority of passes and they still struggled to stop him. Now, we add another backfield pass threat. Of course, it depends on how he is used, but I can only see his presence as a major plus.
 
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