When will the wheels fall off the bus?

[NOTTHOR]

The Hawks are living on borrowed time, I see us losing to NU, one of MSU or Wisky and OSU for a 9-3 record. When do you guys think we'll see the first loss?

We can only keep getting lucky for so long, eventually one of Stanzi's gifts is going to cost us a game. And the run blocking has got to step up, Stanzi's been near 300 the past two weeks so teams should back off from the 8 in the box.

[Master Blaster]

I think the toughest challenge this team will face will be on Saturday when they go to Camp Randall. After that, I am worried about the game at the shoe of course.
This team actually looks better on the road then at home. Don't get that one at all. And Stanzi needs to quit throwing pick sixes or it will bite us. Just a matter of time.
On a side note, I am thinking tht next years Iowa team will be better than this one, and this one is damn good. Lots to be happy about in Hawkeye land.

[lpcalihawk]

Hawks have 2 losses in them. One will be in the next couple of weeks at Wisky/Mich. State. The other to OSU.

[NotMyKid]

Oct 12, 2009 8:40:38 GMT -6 lpcalihawk said:

Hawks have 2 losses in them. One will be in the next couple of weeks at Wisky/Mich. State. The other to OSU.

I have the same feeling. However, we haven't played very well the last two weeks and came away with 2 wins.

If and when the OLine gets back on track, the DL plays every game like they did @ PSU and Stanzi stops making horrible throws we could have a great team by the end of the year.

This weeks game is big, if we can pull out a win in Madison, I like our chances the following week at MSU.

NW and Indiana are garbage.

[101]

I think it's just a likely that Ricky stops throwing pick-6's. He's had 3 already this year....that trend won't continue.

[NOTTHOR]

I just thought about it a little longer and I don't know who else we will beat. 6-6. Motor City here we come!!!!

[lpcalihawk]

Oct 12, 2009 9:24:38 GMT -6 NotMyKid said:

Oct 12, 2009 8:40:38 GMT -6 lpcalihawk said:

Hawks have 2 losses in them. One will be in the next couple of weeks at Wisky/Mich. State. The other to OSU.

I have the same feeling. However, we haven't played very well the last two weeks and came away with 2 wins.

If and when the OLine gets back on track, the DL plays every game like they did @ PSU and Stanzi stops making horrible throws we could have a great team by the end of the year.

This weeks game is big, if we can pull out a win in Madison, I like our chances the following week at MSU.

NW and Indiana are garbage.

Hoffa.....Any idea what is up with the OLine? Should the fire Reece Morgan chants start up again? We have the most seniority at any position on our OLine, yet they have underperformed more than any other position. Some may some chemistry.....but again these guys have been around each other for years!!! Is it the running backs fault, because the pass protection usually seems OK its the run blocking that has been sucking. Maybe they just haven't learned the tendencies of Robinson and Wegher yet. Either way, we have to run the ball effectively to capitalize on the play action pass.

Also, did Ken Keefe finally get his shit together and realize that DJK, McNutt and Stross are the best receivers? They pretty much got all the throws at WR. Could Ken Keefe finally be taking LP's advice after 10 years?

[thunderhawk]

Throw to Moeaki. Repeatedly, relentlessly. He is an NFL tight end playing on college football fields. He made those Michigan defenders look like they were running through wet concrete. He's so damn fast for his size that he looks like he's jogging...except everyone else is falling further behind him.

Get that beast the motherfucking ball, Keefe.

[NotMyKid]

Oct 12, 2009 12:41:42 GMT -6 lpcalihawk said:

Oct 12, 2009 9:24:38 GMT -6 NotMyKid said:

I have the same feeling. However, we haven't played very well the last two weeks and came away with 2 wins.

If and when the OLine gets back on track, the DL plays every game like they did @ PSU and Stanzi stops making horrible throws we could have a great team by the end of the year.

This weeks game is big, if we can pull out a win in Madison, I like our chances the following week at MSU.

NW and Indiana are garbage.

Hoffa.....Any idea what is up with the OLine? Should the fire Reece Morgan chants start up again? We have the most seniority at any position on our OLine, yet they have underperformed more than any other position. Some may some chemistry.....but again these guys have been around each other for years!!! Is it the running backs fault, because the pass protection usually seems OK its the run blocking that has been sucking. Maybe they just haven't learned the tendencies of Robinson and Wegher yet. Either way, we have to run the ball effectively to capitalize on the play action pass.

Also, did Ken Keefe finally get his shit together and realize that DJK, McNutt and Stross are the best receivers? They pretty much got all the throws at WR. Could Ken Keefe finally be taking LP's advice after 10 years?

lp,

The O Line is the biggest question mark as of right now in my book. I know some of it has to do with the fact that teams are stacking the box against us but we ran the ball on PSU and Zona when they were doing it.

I am glad to see that the coaches realized they needed to get Reiff back on the field, he is clearly one of our top 5 guys.

Hopefully Bulaga is in game shape now, he got schooled a couple of times on Saturday, that can't happen if we want to continue to win.

If you think about it we haven't had the same OL yet this season.

If they can put things together and Stanzi can take advantage of teams stacking the box we could be in good shape but one thing lost on Saturday is he only had 83 yards passing in the second half and 42 of them came on Tony's TD.

Still a lot of room for improvement, but great that KF teams seem to always finish strong and this is the start of the 2nd half of the season!

And as for BTR's boy, I think he has done a really nice job calling plays this year, now if he could just get them called a little quicker I would be happy.

[lpcalihawk]

Reiff has been moved ahead of Vandevelde on the depth charge for this week. Again, I understand that our guys haven't all been in the game at once, but at least 6 of these guys have been working together for the past 2 years (Richardson, Eubanks, Calloway, Vandevelde, Bulaga, Kuempel).....they should have a sense of how to get the line moving forward. Understand the point about stacking the box....that is where Moeaki and Reisner become invaluable.

[NOTTHOR]

I also think Eubanks might be a liability. When we pulled him for Koeppel (or maybe Kuempel, I can't remember who) in the second half against ISU, it looked like we had a new line in there.

[lpcalihawk]

Eubanks had the snap that cost us 10 yards in the shotgun. I still think Reece Morgan is the second worst assistant coach we have.

[NOTTHOR]

Oct 12, 2009 14:07:45 GMT -6 lpcalihawk said:

Eubanks had the snap that cost us 10 yards in the shotgun. I still think Reece Morgan is the second worst assistant coach we have.

Yeah, true. Stanzi falling on that ball and not trying to be a hero was probably the second smartest offensive play of the game behind Moeaki's stellar pass breakup of what could have been a pick six.

The reason I think Eubanks is really the problem is that we lost Seth Olsen and Bruggeman off of last year's line, but we had a nice rotation and had three sophomores and a frosh get a lot of PT last year. That line was really sick. Seth was obviously good, but I think Bruggeman was the unsung hero off that line. The line now looks more like the porous 2007 line (anchored by Eubanks) than it does like the phenomenal 2008 line (anchored by Bruggeman).

[lpcalihawk]

Oct 12, 2009 14:13:10 GMT -6 NOTTHOR said:

Oct 12, 2009 14:07:45 GMT -6 lpcalihawk said:

Eubanks had the snap that cost us 10 yards in the shotgun. I still think Reece Morgan is the second worst assistant coach we have.

Yeah, true. Stanzi falling on that ball and not trying to be a hero was probably the second smartest offensive play of the game behind Moeaki's stellar pass breakup of what could have been a pick six.

The reason I think Eubanks is really the problem is that we lost Seth Olsen and Bruggeman off of last year's line, but we had a nice rotation and had three sophomores and a frosh get a lot of PT last year. That line was really sick. Seth was obviously good, but I think Bruggeman was the unsung hero off that line. The line now looks more like the porous 2007 line (anchored by Eubanks) than it does like the phenomenal 2008 line (anchored by Bruggeman).

At what point does Captain Kirk take over the O-Line meetings and straighten the shit out. This is one area that needs micro-managed by the Head Coach. If O-Line is KF's strength, then step in and pull it together.

[NOTTHOR]

Rumor last year was that Ferentz was so pissed off with the o-line after 2007 that he did just that, lp. It sure looked a lot different than this year's o-line. I thought that talent wise going into the season, this would be our second best o-line ever behind that 2002 line, but in all honesty, this line looks worse than last year's and the 2003 line.

[TBELL]

Oct 12, 2009 12:50:50 GMT -6 thunderhawk said:

Throw to Moeaki. Repeatedly, relentlessly. He is an NFL tight end playing on college football fields. He made those Michigan defenders look like they were running through wet concrete. He's so damn fast for his size that he looks like he's jogging...except everyone else is falling further behind him.

Get that beast the motherfucking ball, Keefe.

This right here. He is a man amongst boys, IMO. JUST STAY HEALTHY!!!

[NotMyKid]

Oct 13, 2009 0:01:11 GMT -6 TBELL said:

Oct 12, 2009 12:50:50 GMT -6 thunderhawk said:

Throw to Moeaki. Repeatedly, relentlessly. He is an NFL tight end playing on college football fields. He made those Michigan defenders look like they were running through wet concrete. He's so damn fast for his size that he looks like he's jogging...except everyone else is falling further behind him.

Get that beast the motherfucking ball, Keefe.

This right here. He is a man amongst boys, IMO. JUST STAY HEALTHY!!!

Also agree, with him in it gives us a lot more options and looks from a 2 TE set, or even 1 TE sets. A play fake to one of the RB and a quick dump off to Tony should get us 5-10 yards every play. It will be interesting to see how things go from here on out and how much more we can do on O now that he is healthy.

There are way to many Iowa fans that don't realize how good he really is and what a difference maker he is for the whole O when he is healthy. They just like to label him soft becasue of his bad luck.

[NOTTHOR]

I agree hoffa - Tony is a stud, probably the best player on the team. I watched the game on ESPNU last night and I have now concluded that Bruggeman is the biggest loss off of last year's team. Greene was awesome, but he was substantially a product of a great line. Ballard is busting through the middle as much as King did.

[lpcalihawk]

Oct 13, 2009 8:48:41 GMT -6 NOTTHOR said:

I agree hoffa - Tony is a stud, probably the best player on the team. I watched the game on ESPNU last night and I have now concluded that Bruggeman is the biggest loss off of last year's team. Greene was awesome, but he was substantially a product of a great line. Ballard is busting through the middle as much as King did.

BTR....I re-watched the game as well. Did you notice at the beginning of the second half Adam Robinson had 3 runs of at least 10 yards each over the right side of the line? He was running behind Vandevelde and Calloway and to the strong side of the field.

I also noticed that our front 7 was a bit weak against Minor. I'm a bit worried about the Wisconsin RB who seems like he could rack up some yards against our front 7. Norm doesn't seem to substitute on the line at all (I haven't seen Daniels in a game for 2 weeks). These big RBs could get big yards in the 2nd half if our front 4 gets worn down.

[thunderhawk]

Oct 13, 2009 8:48:41 GMT -6 NOTTHOR said:

I agree hoffa - Tony is a stud, probably the best player on the team. I watched the game on ESPNU last night and I have now concluded that Bruggeman is the biggest loss off of last year's team. Greene was awesome, but he was substantially a product of a great line. Ballard is busting through the middle as much as King did.

To be fair to the O line (not that they deserve it) Greene probably would have broken off some of those runs where A-Rob and to a lesser degree Wegher got some space but were brought down by a single tackler. Green had massive yards after contact.

[NOTTHOR]

Oct 13, 2009 10:34:14 GMT -6 lpcalihawk said:

Oct 13, 2009 8:48:41 GMT -6 NOTTHOR said:

I agree hoffa - Tony is a stud, probably the best player on the team. I watched the game on ESPNU last night and I have now concluded that Bruggeman is the biggest loss off of last year's team. Greene was awesome, but he was substantially a product of a great line. Ballard is busting through the middle as much as King did.

BTR....I re-watched the game as well. Did you notice at the beginning of the second half Adam Robinson had 3 runs of at least 10 yards each over the right side of the line? He was running behind Vandevelde and Calloway and to the strong side of the field.

I also noticed that our front 7 was a bit weak against Minor. I'm a bit worried about the Wisconsin RB who seems like he could rack up some yards against our front 7. Norm doesn't seem to substitute on the line at all (I haven't seen Daniels in a game for 2 weeks). These big RBs could get big yards in the 2nd half if our front 4 gets worn down.

A-Rob had a nice run Reiff at RG as well. I think Calloway is our best tackle right now, though. When Bulaga was out, the right side of the line was phenomenal.

[NOTTHOR]

Oct 13, 2009 10:38:20 GMT -6 thunderhawk said:

Oct 13, 2009 8:48:41 GMT -6 NOTTHOR said:

I agree hoffa - Tony is a stud, probably the best player on the team. I watched the game on ESPNU last night and I have now concluded that Bruggeman is the biggest loss off of last year's team. Greene was awesome, but he was substantially a product of a great line. Ballard is busting through the middle as much as King did.

To be fair to the O line (not that they deserve it) Greene probably would have broken off some of those runs where A-Rob and to a lesser degree Wegher got some space but were brought down by a single tackler. Green had massive yards after contact.

No doubt, Greene had about a dozen runs that were all Shonn Greene, such as the two TDs against Purdue. I suspect that it's only a matter of time before Wegher busts an 80 yarder against someone. I don't know that I like the way the backs are substituted right now, though. I think Robinson gets one drive, then Wegher gets the next. I think there are situations where you just want to have Wegher in and there are situations where you want to have Robinson in, but that seems to be beyond Queefe to figure that out.

[lpcalihawk]

Oct 13, 2009 11:35:48 GMT -6 NOTTHOR said:

Oct 13, 2009 10:38:20 GMT -6 thunderhawk said:

To be fair to the O line (not that they deserve it) Greene probably would have broken off some of those runs where A-Rob and to a lesser degree Wegher got some space but were brought down by a single tackler. Green had massive yards after contact.

No doubt, Greene had about a dozen runs that were all Shonn Greene, such as the two TDs against Purdue. I suspect that it's only a matter of time before Wegher busts an 80 yarder against someone. I don't know that I like the way the backs are substituted right now, though. I think Robinson gets one drive, then Wegher gets the next. I think there are situations where you just want to have Wegher in and there are situations where you want to have Robinson in, but that seems to be beyond Queefe to figure that out.

What about using both back within the same drive? You have two different running style with ARob and Wegher.......plus Wegher is better on the screen passes. Defenses will figure out Keefe's offensive tendencies like they always do and Keefe will need to adjust.....which it seems he can only do over the off-season.

[NOTTHOR]

Oct 13, 2009 12:03:11 GMT -6 lpcalihawk said:

Oct 13, 2009 11:35:48 GMT -6 NOTTHOR said:

No doubt, Greene had about a dozen runs that were all Shonn Greene, such as the two TDs against Purdue. I suspect that it's only a matter of time before Wegher busts an 80 yarder against someone. I don't know that I like the way the backs are substituted right now, though. I think Robinson gets one drive, then Wegher gets the next. I think there are situations where you just want to have Wegher in and there are situations where you want to have Robinson in, but that seems to be beyond Queefe to figure that out.

What about using both back within the same drive? You have two different running style with ARob and Wegher.......plus Wegher is better on the screen passes. Defenses will figure out Keefe's offensive tendencies like they always do and Keefe will need to adjust.....which it seems he can only do over the off-season.

Do you mean put them both in on the same play? If you went Stanzi out of the gun with Wegher to the left of him and Robinson to the right, teams would not be able to blitz a LB because the threat of either of them going out for a screen would have the d-coordinator crapping his pants.

[lpcalihawk]

Oct 13, 2009 12:06:39 GMT -6 NOTTHOR said:

Oct 13, 2009 12:03:11 GMT -6 lpcalihawk said:

What about using both back within the same drive? You have two different running style with ARob and Wegher.......plus Wegher is better on the screen passes. Defenses will figure out Keefe's offensive tendencies like they always do and Keefe will need to adjust.....which it seems he can only do over the off-season.

Do you mean put them both in on the same play? If you went Stanzi out of the gun with Wegher to the left of him and Robinson to the right, teams would not be able to blitz a LB because the threat of either of them going out for a screen would have the d-coordinator crapping his pants.

Yes, using them on the same play along with alternating them more frequently within the same drive (i.e. first down play has ARob in the backfield, 2nd down play has Wegher in the backfield)