WR's Need to Step Up

[Walleye70]

Wish they were as good as they think they are

 

[anon_gjzkhykcp9iuj]

Pretty awful! How can an intended Receiver (Fant) jog out of bounds and then come back in? #12 was lazy in his route running - and was not pissed off enough to want to catch every ball. No desire by any of the receivers except Hocky. I don't know how they walk away thinking they were amazing! Looked like the worst effort of any receiving group Iowa has ever had! No Effort!

Fant didn't jog out of bounds, he barely put the back of his foot out.of bounds. But don't let facts get in the way of a rant.

OMG... And just think if we had a close game or even lost. This board is really hard to read all the time. I thought I was Mr. negativity but you guys take the cake. It's been noted for years Iowa has a hard time recruiting wr because we are known as a running team. It's hard to get recruits to come to Iowa if they know they are only going to get 3 or 4 passes a week. Until we get a new coach it won't change.
How about finding one or even two positive things to say, just once in a while. I didn't think the play calling was terrible so nothing to bitch about that today. Not a lot of stupid penalties or bad clock management. I can't wait for next, win or lose, to let the complaining begin. JMO

Ummmmmm, penalties killed everything we did in the first half. And I don't see any complete negativity, but I do see a lot of folks being honest about our WRs. Just because YOU don't like it, doesn't mean it isn't true or is negative.

I think that we have to remember that it was just the first game of the season. There's always a lot of items that need to be ironed out. Given what we saw out of Stanley in 2017, I think that we know that he's capable of being a proficient passer. Furthermore, we return the vast majority of our pass-catcher from the '17 season ... and each guy is reported to have improved.

My expectation is that we need to give the passing game time ... it will get there. We have to remember that one game does not a trend make!

Not so sure about Stanley yet. Last year he completed 55%, which we can all agree is not good. Also take out two 5 TD passing games, and he had 16 TDs in 11 games. Is what it is. Was hoping to see some semblance of accuracy, and didn't really see it. Not the end of the world, but not a good omen either.

Also, the people throwing Smith and the wide receivers under the bus after one game are idiots.

It isn't one game, it is a year +1 game. Also, the folks that continually, year after year, bury their heads in the sand because of fandom are idiots.
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And for the record, I loved the game. But I am also not going to lie about the negatives.

 

[Wasnt-drunk-didnt-troll]

Fant didn't jog out of bounds, he barely put the back of his foot out.of bounds. But don't let facts get in the way of a rant.



Ummmmmm, penalties killed everything we did in the first half. And I don't see any complete negativity, but I do see a lot of folks being honest about our WRs. Just because YOU don't like it, doesn't mean it isn't true or is negative.



Not so sure about Stanley yet. Last year he completed 55%, which we can all agree is not good. Also take out two 5 TD passing games, and he had 16 TDs in 11 games. Is what it is. Was hoping to see some semblance of accuracy, and didn't really see it. Not the end of the world, but not a good omen either.



It isn't one game, it is a year +1 game. Also, the folks that continually, year after year, bury their heads in the sand because of fandom are idiots.
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And for the record, I loved the game. But I am also not going to lie about the negatives.

This x1000. Plus if you dont think there was not some $hitty clock management go back and watch the entire 2nd quarter.

 

[Harbinger273]

I'm hoping to see vast Improvement with the wide receivers and passing game. Maybe Stanley is part of the issue. He still seemed to lack touch on short passes. He is just developing slowly as a passer coming from a run heavy high school offense. Need to drill heavily on the passing game. Get some kind of rhythm and trust established.

 

[Walleye70]

He is too darn big to let them mug him- ever corner is all-American the week they play the smith’s

 

[IAHawk2011]

It isn't one game, it is a year +1 game. Also, the folks that continually, year after year, bury their heads in the sand because of fandom are idiots.
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And for the record, I loved the game. But I am also not going to lie about the negatives.

One game and one year with a pair of true sophomore WRs. Let’s wait a few games before concluding nothing has changed since last year.

 

[kceasthawk]

Brandon Smith is catching a lot of flak, and I agree he looked a bit timid out there, but it’s not like Stanley was giving him a ton of chances. First play of the game, very tough catch on a not great throw. On the deep ball interception, Smith had no chance. I can think of a couple other targets that he should have battled more for, but I didn’t think Smith was as bad as many others did, and as mentioned, he was okay blocking as well.

Smith-Marsette is a game breaker and should have at least a target/jet-sweep per drive. Even if it’s on a screen (tunnel or bubble) he should have increased touches. Didn’t even notice Easley. Max Cooper had a nice catch on a poorly thrown screen ball from Stanley. He seems to have some good hands.

I expect wide receiver play/Stanley to improve with more experience. Not worried... yet

Well first off, I'm not a coach, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn express last night, but, Chuck Long's comment seemed to make sense to me. He said on several of those routes it appeared that Smith ran sloppy or incorrect routes. The play on the sideline that was intercepted was a good example. While Stanley needed to put the ball a little farther out there, it looked like Smith did not allow enough separation with the sideline for Stanley to have any room to place the ball. Coach Copeland has a busy week ahead of him. He needs to figure out in the next couple of days who can provide a spark at this critical position. I don't care if its Smith, Groenweig, Cooper, Tracy, Young, or hell for that matter Beyer.

 

[kceasthawk]

I'm hoping to see vast Improvement with the wide receivers and passing game. Maybe Stanley is part of the issue. He still seemed to lack touch on short passes. He is just developing slowly as a passer coming from a run heavy high school offense. Need to drill heavily on the passing game. Get some kind of rhythm and trust established.

Whats interesting is that most of last season he was simply overthrowing his WR's on those long shots. He got a little better toward the end of last year. In game one he slightly underthrew Fant, (which still should have been caught), and the one to Smith. Made it look like he's trying to take something off that bomb of his. A work in progress I guess.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

It isn't one game, it is a year +1 game. Also, the folks that continually, year after year, bury their heads in the sand because of fandom are idiots.
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And for the record, I loved the game. But I am also not going to lie about the negatives.

Brandon Smith is only in his 2nd year on campus. If you liked Mo Brown ... then you understand that he didn't step up and make a huge impact until his junior season! On the flip side, Clinton Solomon made an instant impact as a TR FR. Different guys develop at different rates. If you read between the lines ... what folks suggest about Brandon Smith is that he's a kid with really nice raw talent ... however, he seems to lack confidence when he's on the playing field. Some guys are like that ... and often such guys grow out of it. Other guys sometimes never get out of their own head. I don't know which type Brandon is ... but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I also trust that the coaches will try to put the "right guys" on the field who give us a chance to win. If Brandon isn't producing as he should after a number of games - then we'll likely see other guys get their chance too.

What surprises me is when fans jump to conclusions so quickly. There's plenty of those sorts of ostriches around too ... just sayin'!

 

[unoHawkeye]

Well first off, I'm not a coach, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn express last night, but, Chuck Long's comment seemed to make sense to me. He said on several of those routes it appeared that Smith ran sloppy or incorrect routes. The play on the sideline that was intercepted was a good example. While Stanley needed to put the ball a little farther out there, it looked like Smith did not allow enough separation with the sideline for Stanley to have any room to place the ball. Coach Copeland has a busy week ahead of him. He needs to figure out in the next couple of days who can provide a spark at this critical position. I don't care if its Smith, Groenweig, Cooper, Tracy, Young, or hell for that matter Beyer.

As far as the deep ball, maybe Smith’s route wasn’t perfect - I didn’t really see it - but Brandon isn’t going to be beating anybody deep with his speed. Which is why Stanley needs to give him a chance to use that 6’3 frame and good vertical. Can’t underthrow it there (bad pass into double coverage to begin with imo)

I think everybody here would agree that the level of WR play, and just the passing game in general, was unsatisfactory. It just seems like, in particular, people are extra disappointed in BS for looking like a guy who doesn’t have a ton of D1 experience starting his first game, when that was the exact scenario.

And don’t get me wrong, if he continues playing like he did against NIU, then somebody who will be more productive (don’t care who) should get those reps. But I predict that he will improve dramatically over the next couple of weeks. A lot of film he can learn from

 

[Johnsoda123]

Brandon Smith is only in his 2nd year on campus. If you liked Mo Brown ... then you understand that he didn't step up and make a huge impact until his junior season! On the flip side, Clinton Solomon made an instant impact as a TR FR. Different guys develop at different rates. If you read between the lines ... what folks suggest about Brandon Smith is that he's a kid with really nice raw talent ... however, he seems to lack confidence when he's on the playing field. Some guys are like that ... and often such guys grow out of it. Other guys sometimes never get out of their own head. I don't know which type Brandon is ... but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I also trust that the coaches will try to put the "right guys" on the field who give us a chance to win. If Brandon isn't producing as he should after a number of games - then we'll likely see other guys get their chance too.

What surprises me is when fans jump to conclusions so quickly. There's plenty of those sorts of ostriches around too ... just sayin'!

The problem is that there isn't a lot of time for these WRs to develop. I expect this team to compete for the West this year. If Iowa doesn't have a downfield threat against Wisconsin the probability of winning that game goes down substantially.

 

[H4wkfan4life]

Well first off, I'm not a coach, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn express last night, but, Chuck Long's comment seemed to make sense to me. He said on several of those routes it appeared that Smith ran sloppy or incorrect routes. The play on the sideline that was intercepted was a good example. While Stanley needed to put the ball a little farther out there, it looked like Smith did not allow enough separation with the sideline for Stanley to have any room to place the ball. Coach Copeland has a busy week ahead of him. He needs to figure out in the next couple of days who can provide a spark at this critical position. I don't care if its Smith, Groenweig, Cooper, Tracy, Young, or hell for that matter Beyer.

If we're gonna quote chuck, then lets quote him saying that nate had a pretty crappy game too and give him his share of the blame

 

[kceasthawk]

If we're gonna quote chuck, then lets quote him saying that nate had a pretty crappy game too and give him his share of the blame

I'd agree with that as well. Nate had a couple of poor throws early, but had some nice throws to Hock, and Fant, (one he dropped for a nice gain), and a couple of nice throws to ISM. It just seemed that the throws to B Smith were consistently off target, which lead me to believe that they were not on the same page, or Smith was just running poor routes, or probably some combination. I would probably have graded Nate about a C- for the game which is certainly not what I would have expected, but hope to see him much improved against the Clones next Saturday.

 

[bphawkeye_Rivals]

Just curious why do you almost always refer to players by their number and not their name?

I'm sure when they prove to be worthy of being called by their name - I will.

 

[bphawkeye_Rivals]

Fant didn't jog out of bounds, he barely put the back of his foot out.of bounds. But don't let facts get in the way of a rant.



Ummmmmm, penalties killed everything we did in the first half. And I don't see any complete negativity, but I do see a lot of folks being honest about our WRs. Just because YOU don't like it, doesn't mean it isn't true or is negative.



Not so sure about Stanley yet. Last year he completed 55%, which we can all agree is not good. Also take out two 5 TD passing games, and he had 16 TDs in 11 games. Is what it is. Was hoping to see some semblance of accuracy, and didn't really see it. Not the end of the world, but not a good omen either.



It isn't one game, it is a year +1 game. Also, the folks that continually, year after year, bury their heads in the sand because of fandom are idiots.
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And for the record, I loved the game. But I am also not going to lie about the negatives.

OK - no court awareness - same damn thing. Nobody around him and he runs oob? Awesome! Great route running? Point is the same! He needs a huge kick in the ass for trying to catch a long pass with his knee pads. And I'm still pissed that he was oob on that pass - with no defender within 20 yards! Dude only wants to catch TDs - drops all else - need him to be tougher.

 

[unoHawkeye]

I'm sure when they prove to be worthy of being called by their name - I will.

Nice

 

[ANYCHawk]

I'm sure when they prove to be worthy of being called by their name - I will.

Youd've been better off not answering

 

[bphawkeye_Rivals]

Youd've been better off not answering

Whatever - I'm old and don't give a crap. In the next few weeks other guys will be wearing the same numbers. Pretty good job by the guys that came in and dominated. When the original guys came in on D in the 4th = free TDs. Iowa needs better players on the numbers I called out. Life is short - and I can't wait for Iowa posters to agree with me. I see what I see - no time to be nice about it. Someone thinks I'm too hard on the original starters? Screw 'em. I made a post about that - and some hero thinks we should be easier. Whatever! Is my post.

 

[nu2u]

I had a couple of friends watch some spring and fall practices. Both said Max Cooper was the best of the three sophomore receivers but "is very slight". He looked really skinny even in pads yesterday. Knowing the importance of blocking and looking at Cooper's size, or lack thereof, I can see where he's not going to see a lot of downs this year.

Have to agree with everyone's comments about Brandon Smith. He looked the same as last year. No real effort or focus. Brandon did not fight for balls, looked lost on the intercepted pass and seemed to round off his cuts instead of angling into his breaks. Brandon may have potential, obviously the coaches think so, but he has yet to make a good play in a game.

Cooper or Groeneweg should pick up some downs if we see another game like Brandon played yesterday.

Hardly looked at Easley, who seemed tightly covered all day. Didn't seem to set up ISM for much action either.

Receiver was a problem area going into the opener and it nothing seems to have changed.

While I agree with many of your comments, people seem unaware that Northern Illinois has a veteran group of highly regarded secondary players. Jalen Embry and Albert Smalls, both seniors, are probably the best CB duo in their conference. Junior safeties Mykelti Williams and Jayshon Foster are multi year starters.

That was not a slouch defensive secondary that Iowa faced on Saturday and it showed. WRs were blanketed all afternoon This is not to excuse Iowa's sloppy execution, just giving credit to NIU. That program has had a very good defense since Jay Niemann (Ben and Nick's dad) was coordinator.

 

[ANYCHawk]

Whatever - I'm old and don't give a crap. In the next few weeks other guys will be wearing the same numbers. Pretty good job by the guys that came in and dominated. When the original guys came in on D in the 4th = free TDs. Iowa needs better players on the numbers I called out. Life is short - and I can't wait for Iowa posters to agree with me. I see what I see - no time to be nice about it. Someone thinks I'm too hard on the original starters? Screw 'em. I made a post about that - and some hero thinks we should be easier. Whatever! Is my post.

That's an awful lot none of which is why on a message board you call guys 8 and 66 and not Staley and young

 

[hawkeyeinmo]

I'm sure when they prove to be worthy of being called by their name - I will.

Tough guy.

 

[chuck285]

"One off season?" Hayden Fry's first Iowa team--after he'd been in Iowa City all of about nine months--came out in its first game with the precision of a well-oiled machine. The QB was a fifth-year senior who had been a 4th-team D-back under the previous coach, Bob Commings. Hayden's wide receivers were slow white kids who ran precise timing routes and caught every damn thing thrown anywhere near them.

There is no excuse whatsoever for the offense's ridiculously poor overall performance of that first half, and especially the awful performance of the passing game in general and the WRs in particular.

I was all aboard the Brandon Smith hype train--he has a great back story--but no longer. Other kids, Groeneweg and Cooper to name two, should start next week, period. If Iowa's running a meritocracy, then the B. Smith experiment should be placed on the back burner. He simply has not earned it.

And first-game jitters as an excuse? Well, as others have noted, Utah State didn't seem to have any @ MSU. There are no excuses. Shake up the depth chart, and I would seriously consider benching Fant next week, too. First team All-American? Send a message, and send it now. You ain't nothin' til you actually do somethin'...every play, every week.

I also like the idea of moving some of Iowa's stable of TE's to WR. Forget about speed. Run precise timing routes and use their size to overwhelm corners.

Why Iowa can't recruit WRs continues to be a mystery when virtually every other team in America can.

Brilliant idea. Bench your AA tight end. And then let's throw in the offensive line because they allowed one sack. Why not the D as they allowed 7 points..
Our season is already over and we haven't lost a game. Brilliant...