What makes Iowa a champion in 2016

[tony0051]

In my order of concern

1) pass rush off the edge. Hope Hesse and Nelson can provide consistent pressure

2) pass catching. Hawks didn't drop much in way of passes this year. The young guys at WR need to show consistent hands

3) kicking game. New PK and P could be troublesome.

4) O-line play. Iowa gave up a ton of negative runs and sacks. Line needs to be better.

5) playing under pressure. Iowa has a target on now so every game is gonna be scrutinized. Can they drown out noise.

 

[Herkmeister]

Three things:

• CJ Beathard
• CJ Beathard
• CJ Beathard

 

[rfgiowa]

1. Pass Rush
2. WRs and TEs get separation
3. O-Line gels

4. Now pardon me...

 

[Forgery5]

Open up the offense-play calling
D line play-agreed, D ends need to make big gains before next season
Leadership

 

[hawkjazz]

CJ needs to improve ALOT, no more 97 yard passing games and no going 0-9 on 3rd down conversions came vs Nebraska. sorry but Nebraska's pass defense was one of the worst in D1 FB this year giving up over 283 ypg.

as for the OL think back to 2012 when RSSO Scherff started that team went 4-8. this years starting OT were RSSO's and the team went 12-2.

now if BF can develope Sherff into a #5 NFL draft pick, just think what he will do with these RSSO's..
another thing in 2012 the IA run game ended up 106th @ 123 ypg.
in 2015 the run game ended up 35th @ 181.7 ypg.

to think this team will have those 3 for another 2 years. the future is bright.

 

[freemanbrenner]

I think a couple of the defensive end commits could get a lot of playing time next year. Pass rush is huge. Lot of things to like about this team next year. There are question marks but every team has question marks heading into the upcoming year.

 

[ottumwan in tx]

getting a first down

 

[hawkjazz]

Open up the offense-play calling
D line play-agreed, D ends need to make big gains before next season
Leadership

IA had its best year scoring under KF, SO PLEASE EXPLAIN as I am confused?

 

[icantfindausernamethatisntused]

Execution at critical times. That is really what separates Ferentz's elite teams from his average teams. Not much more. This also makes it difficult to predict future success with much certainty.

Next year's team will have enough talent to play with anyone on our schedule. However, the talent is not so elite that we have much margin for error. This will result in a lot of close games, and those games will come down to just a few plays. Thinking of this past season, the games against Iowa State, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan State all were very close in the last few minutes and the difference in those games was just a couple plays. Even other games like Indiana, Purdue, and Nebraska could have gone the other direction if you changed just a few plays. Fortunately for us, we executed very well in critical junctures. Different parts of our team stepped up in each of these games. Sometimes it was our running game, which helped seal wins against Illinois and Minnesota. Sometimes our defense made big stops like it did against Wisconsin (and almost MSU). Sometimes it was our special teams and other times it was CJ making great plays to pick up much needed first downs.

There's not a single game on our schedule next year that we can't win, and I would guess that we will be favored in 10 or 11 of those games. However, we can easily end up with 4+ losses if we don't execute small details in important situations. It will be the coaches' jobs to keep this team focused this offseason and throughout next season so that the players can execute well, especially when they're tired.

 

[Freyvet]

getting a first down

You are an idiot!

 

[ottumwan in tx]

You are an idiot!

have you ever seen a team win championships without getting first downs?

 

[Bigfann1966]

With the difficulty in the schedule increasing we need CJ to stay healthy. Line play has to improve....the rest won't matter without a pass rush and Oline that can consistently block against quality defenses.

 

[whatsup13579er]

In order of concern:

1 - LT
2 - RT
3 - LG
They need to develop better pass protection. That was the biggest weakness of the team all season IMO. Need to win in the trenches.
4 - DE, Need a more consistent pass rush on the edge
5 - WR, J Smith needs to show he can play like he did vs. Illinois every game.
6 - Healthy CJB. He played very well this season. I would love to see what he can do at 100%.

 

[hoffmkr]

With the difficulty in the schedule increasing .

Everyone keeps talking about the schedule getting harder.
I'd put the schedule at the same or easier?
NDSU vs Ill St - EVEN
ISU home vs @ ISU - 2015
Miami OH vs N Texas - 2016
@Purdue vs home - EVEN
@Ill vs home - EVEN
@ Penn St vs Pitt home - EVEN (PSU loses alot)
Wisconsin home vs @WISC - 2015 (Wisconsin loses a lot)
NW Home vs @ NW - 2015
NE home vs @ NE - 2015
@ MN vs MN home - 2016
@Rutgers vs Maryland Home - EVEN
MI home vs @ Indiana - 2016 (But close)

Looking at game vs game, there are 4 games that are easier, 3 tougher and 5 that are pretty much the same. Michigan is a bigger challenge than a dangerous road game at Indiana, but Wisconsin is much more favorable with new QB and defensive leaders.

 

[hawkjazz]

have you ever seen a team win championships without getting first downs?

actually they did get 1st downs as they scored 2 TD's and a FG. other than ST play and a couple broken coverages that led to TD's the game was actually closer than the score indicated,

 

[ottumwan in tx]

actually they did get 1st downs as they scored 2 TD's and a FG. other than ST play and a couple broken coverages that led to TD's the game was actually closer than the score indicated,

I'm talking about the Nebraska game. and msu. 0-9 on third down conversions, then 3-12 with msu

you are not going to win championships that way. you are just not going to. period. end of story. the proof is: the losses. {should have lost Nebraska but that idiot qb threw all those picks}

you guys watch in the national champ game time tonight, the team which converts more third downs wins, guaranteed { might have to add in some 4th if they go for it enough} but anyway, getting the first down, keeping the chains moving, keeping the d off the field

 

[hawkjazz]

In order of concern:

1 - LT
2 - RT
3 - LG
They need to develop better pass protection. That was the biggest weakness of the team all season IMO. Need to win in the trenches.
4 - DE, Need a more consistent pass rush on the edge
5 - WR, J Smith needs to show he can play like he did vs. Illinois every game.
6 - Healthy CJB. He played very well this season. I would love to see what he can do at 100%.

actually there was nothing wrong with IA's OL. when Scherff started as a RSSO and Donall also started that team went 4-8. this group of 3 RSSO's went 12-2. not to mention 8-0 in conference play something IA last did in 2002.

as for the DE's with Ott IA recorded 22 sacks in 6 games, without Ott they recorded just 8 sacks in 8 games, that was in large part due to SR 6'4 270 lb Ott being replaced by a RSFR 6'3 240 lbs Hesse. Weight on the DL makes a big difference.

next years DL could look like this if Ott gets his 5th year.
WDE 6'8 270 lb RSSO Nelson size and speed of a TE off the edge
SDE 6'4 270 lb RSSR Ott preseason All BT last fall
DT 6'2 285 lb RSJR Bazata
DT 6'4 310 lb RSSR Johnson

if Ott does not get his 5th year go by the new depth chart to see who lines up at DE's. to think that the defense that returns 8 starters ranked 10th @ 114.9 ypg rushing could be better.

even the scoring defense finished in 15th @ 18.5 ppg and that ibcludes the 45 points that Stanford scored.

that's a pretty good defense that returns. Ott if fully healthy will/should make the defense better. another spring and summer with Doyle who knows they may put on another 5-15 lbs on per man on the DL,

 

[Bigfann1966]

IA had its best year scoring under KF, SO PLEASE EXPLAIN as I am confused?

Iowa also played a soft schedule BIG schedule.

 

[Rustys Dad]

In my order of concern

1) pass rush off the edge. Hope Hesse and Nelson can provide consistent pressure

2) pass catching. Hawks didn't drop much in way of passes this year. The young guys at WR need to show consistent hands

3) kicking game. New PK and P could be troublesome.

4) O-line play. Iowa gave up a ton of negative runs and sacks. Line needs to be better.

5) playing under pressure. Iowa has a target on now so every game is gonna be scrutinized. Can they drown out noise.

So basically you are concerned about pretty much everything ...

 

[whatsup13579er]

actually there was nothing wrong with IA's OL. when Scherff started as a RSSO and Donall also started that team went 4-8. this group of 3 RSSO's went 12-2. not to mention 8-0 in conference play something IA last did in 2002.

This year's OL was solid in the run game the first 12 games. The entire season pass blocking was an issue and was a revolving door against Stanford and MSU. Iowa got beat up in the trenches and that is why they lost their last 2 games. To compete for the NC they need to get better up front. Period.

 

[hawkjazz]

as with every RSSO they will get better, as I pointed out Scherff and 4* Donnall were not NFL ready as RSSO's.

in the Bowl game Welsh had to move because or injuries this forced them to use a True FR. IA is not a plug and recruit program and who among you were predicting that IA would compete for the NT anytime soon?

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

1. Defenseive line play
2. Linebacker play
3. Defensive backs play
4. O-line pass protection

No, it is not a coincidence that the top 3 are all about defense. It's the reason we won the Orange Bowl in 2010 and lost the Rose Bowl in 2016. I still don't think many have wrapped their minds around just how good the 6 Seconds of Hell Defense of the '09 season really was. This year's offense was better, but think back to that Orange Bowl. That defense would have cut Stanford's offensive output in half, at the very least.

 

[whatsup13579er]

as with every RSSO they will get better, as I pointed out Scherff and 4* Donnall were not NFL ready as RSSO's.

in the Bowl game Welsh had to move because or injuries this forced them to use a True FR. IA is not a plug and recruit program and who among you were predicting that IA would compete for the NT anytime soon?

The title of the thread is 'What makes Iowa a champion in 2016?' I don't really care what excuses you make for the line play. Simple fact is that if Iowa wants to be a Champion, they will need to be dominant up front. Iowa should be good enough everywhere else to make a serious run.

 

[milehighhawkeye24]

Things I am not concerned about:
1) QB play (I think we have some good depth too)
2) LB play (much returning and love replacement(s)
3) OL Play, a bit up and down this year but we will be fine (averaged over 180 a game although CJB did get sacked too much late in season much has to do with his lack of mobility from injury)
4) Interior DL
5) DB's
Things we need to improve or questions
1) Kicking game (Punting and Kicking)
2) DE's (think we will be fine but need improvements from young DE's
3) WR's outside of Vandy unproven (good talent in youth but lets see it)
4) TE's I think we will be fine and intrigued by Outsey