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An amazingly terrible movie called “The Room”. It’s fun to watch with friends while getting your drink on.
Yes, of course, practice helps coaches evaluate performance, but any athlete, and any fan, and all coaches should be well aware that what happens in practice--good or bad--doesn't always translate to the games. And, of course, only the games matter.
Some guys kill it in practice but falter in games. Some guys look meh in practice but, if given the opportunity, kill it in games. That's why any player with any talent deserves game opportunities to prove himself. Anyone who evaluates talent based on practice alone isn't giving the player--or the team--a valid evaluation.
So yes, play OM a lot in early games and see what he can do. Same for Charlie Jones. Both would start on a lot of Power 5 teams, which again shows the talent Iowa has collected at the position.
BTW: It's called "receiver," so I agree with those who say catching the ball should be the skill most valued at this position--along with blocking, of course. Speed does no good whatsoever if you don't catch the football. Tyrone Tracy, in particular, showed mediocre hands on too many occasions last season, so continuing to start him because he MIGHT catch the ball and, IF he does, he's really fast, wouldn't be an optimum choice when you have, for instance, a glue-fingered receiver like Charlie Jones--and maybe OM--in the room. Catch the ball and move the chains.
As ISM stated in a recent interview - no current Iowa WR has put up 10 TD receptions in a season nor has any guys had a 1000+ yard season. Nobody has "arrived" ... so hopefully everybody is working to get better ... and working so that they're ready to contribute to the 2020 team.Martin will contribute in an essential and pivotal way this fall. He is an elite receiver. If not injured last season should have been starting all year!
Should he play a large role if others are just better than him?I'll tell you what, he better play a large role in the receiver core this year. Its not entirely clear to me just what was going on with his injury situation last year. If healthy I expect him to see significant time and even move into a starting role this year.
Our WR core will be such a threat that Goodson could accumulate incredible statistics, given our OL is much improved.As ISM stated in a recent interview - no current Iowa WR has put up 10 TD receptions in a season nor has any guys had a 1000+ yard season. Nobody has "arrived" ... so hopefully everybody is working to get better ... and working so that they're ready to contribute to the 2020 team.
I do know this ... during Ferentz's long tenure as coach, the 2019 season was the first ever where we had 4 WRs get 400+ yards receiving. So this is the most returning production we've ever had at WR ... and things get even more interesting when you consider what Jones and Martin are capable of doing too.
Maybe it flared up later on in the year or something different? Not sure...
Yeah, I'm really curious how Brian will call things ... and how he will utilize the field. The working philosophy that underlies O'Keefe's O (that is the foundation of what Brian is implementing) - is to force the opposing D to defend the whole field. That helps the QB and OC to identify weak points ... and then exploit them to move the ball. Obviously, Iowa's running game helps to open up the play-action game - and that is where we hit most of our "big plays" in the passing game.Our WR core will be such a threat that Goodson could accumulate incredible statistics, given our OL is much improved.
Our play-action and running game out of the shotgun should be effective as defenses won't know which stud skill player is going to get the ball. I'm psyched.
Rick sixes happened with plenty of frequency in '09 ... even without Greg's help!Greg going to the edges also resulted in more pick sixes. Throwing horizontally is always a risk. If you want the d to defend the edges, run more reverses and jet sweeps.
Well, Oliver better hurry up. He's only got two years of eligibility left, and Nico has three.I'm hopeful he jumps Ragaini
Nico has mostly just been playing the slot. I think Oliver is capable of playing a few of our WR spots. Irrespective of how many snaps he sees this year - I think that if he improves (like the others) ... then he has a chance to be a pretty darn important contributor for the O in 2021 (if not sooner).Well, Oliver better hurry up. He's only got two years of eligibility left, and Nico has three.
You're right, that's why Kirk and Brian are going to make sure OM sees a "fair amount" of action in 2020, but not too much. After all, we don't want him making All B1G 1st/2nd Team this year, and then jump into the 2021 NFL Draft, do we?Nico has mostly just been playing the slot. I think Oliver is capable of playing a few of our WR spots. Irrespective of how many snaps he sees this year - I think that if he improves (like the others) ... then he has a chance to be a pretty darn important contributor for the O in 2021 (if not sooner).
Exposure made him a top recruit as much as talent.Would love to see the talent that made him a top recruit be present next year.