MAC 6U play

[JumpOnBoard]

 

[tee*dub]

At first glance one might think that NILL D will not be up to 2012 standards. We all saw how good that DL was last year when they played Iowa. But that DL only returns 1 starter. However, the guys who step into starting roles had a combined 10.5 sacks and 9 tfl not including the lone DL returner who accounted for 2 sacks and 7.5 tfl himself. Not often do you have a 4 man LD return just 1 starter but have that much production coming back.

NIU fans feel pretty good about their LB situation too with Bass potential for All MAC honors and the others have some starting experience. They aren't all green.

I think quietly the NIU players might feel that they have not gotten the respect they deserve and with a week 2 bye and with week 3 and 4 being against only Idaho and East ILL I can't help but think that Iowa is the only thing the players and coaches have had on their mind since fall camp opened.

I was on the fence in this game, maybe because I thought Iowa was in for something of a bounce-back season. I figured they were so bad at QB last year that Rudock could only be an improvement, but as you point out, the fact that he did not once replace a struggling Vanderberg last year says alot. Maybe I need to examine this further.

Thanks.

good post.. I think Iowa will improve throughout the year as that has been the M.O. of the Ferentz era and from a gambling perspective many on here have profited by stalking that trend.. LY was the first year in my memory where the team actually got worse (with only a few exceptions) throughout the year..Broke the trend. Why? Talent drought at playmaking positions is the main reason IMO.. I think they will get back to the typical Ferentz plan of in season performance progression but they got the wrong team to start building it IMO.. And the crazy thing is-- if you believe what you read, Ferntz is gonna try this crazy out of character fast paced no huddle offense. That could be a disaster with Ruduck and the lack of any downfield threat... Its almost like Ferentz is saying-- I know Im a dinosaur and we need to change the way we play (to attract more talented skill recruits etc) and if we have to lose a few games and look bad to get experience so be it.. Again, if they were playing a lower level MAC team that makes sense, but they are playing a very talented team with nothing but revenge on their mind. And good point- with an open week next week they have been gameplanning Iowa for 8 months.

 

[tee*dub]

you on Iowa or pissed about Reds collapse last night..

 

[tee*dub]

Can someone who is smarter than me, imbed the video (I tried and failed) in here of Votto running off the field last night when he thought there 3 outs when actually there were 2. His reaction was priceless.. Focus and concentration in a pennant race is overrated.. lol

 

[rochclone]

Tee glad to see you on Northern Illinois they will be a TU play for me as well this week. I think Iowa's QB situation is going to be just as dreadful this year as it was last year. If Northern Illinois can stop the Iowa running game then they will have an outstanding opportunity to win this game by 7-10 points.

 

[Lareux]

You got it! the first guy is the pervert from 2007/08, tho it looks like he changed his shoe color.. He is a dark strange little fella.. Nice grab my man.

You got it Tee! I'm going to see if there's a way we can get this guy, and the blue dancing guy back on the CTG list of emoticons...

 

[tee*dub]

Notes from Ferentz Presser today for those interested:

Here’s KF from the B1G teleconference:
Intro — Think we’ve had a productive camp. Eager to get on field. See how things look in a game. Great to be in Kinnick. Northern Illinois a real challenge. Return an excellent football team. Excellent QBs, but other players around him.
What put Rudock over the top — All three of the QBs improved and did a good job. Jake is most consistent. Best suited right now. Close competition. Pleased with all three of them.
Biggest keys for Jake in first game — Just worry about his position and not do too much. He’s intelligent and has worked hard. Needs to carry to game field. Try to relax and do what you do well.
How staff has coached for targeting — Big concern for everybody. Intent is good. Excellent training video. Does a nice job of showing plays that would be considered fouls and legal. My concern personally, it’s apparent in the comfort of meeting rooms what is and what isn’t, but bang-bang nature will always be a tough play to officiate. Intent is great, but at same time going to be a challenge and another thing for the officials to have to deal with. Mental approach is important. Hopefully, calls are more right than wrong.
More on Rudock: What did you like? — KOK was coordinator. ID’s Jake as someone interested in. Watched him play baseball. Great job at Aquinas. The more we learned, the better we felt. Came up after offered and volunteered to compete in camp. He went out and impressed us when he didn’t have to. Byproduct of doing things well for a long time.
Tough opponent to start — It doesn’t matter how we feel about it. All of our players fully realize and are aware how good NIU is. That means we better be at our best. That’s a healthy thing.
Temps — We’ll see how it goes. It’s not uncommon. Our guys have trained in heat. It’s like snow or rain, it’ll affect both teams. We’ll play it as it comes.
Injuries — I think we had a good camp. Health is good as you can hope for. Feel good about our status.
Jordan Lynch and what other weapons NIU have — NIU is much more than Jordan Lynch, and I’m not trying to minimize Lynch’s role. That would be silly. Look what they’ve done. They’ve played well and you just don’t do that with one player. We couldn’t catch up to their DEs, both of whom are in pro camps. Lynch in a word is a winner. Keep rush lanes. He wins throwing, running and is a smart guy. RB is a tough guy. OL extremely tough and physical. He’s got to be the catalyst for them. Tremendous leader.

_________________________​

Main newser begins at 12:45. Officially.
Come back for transcripts, video.

___________________________​

Oh but wait, here’s a bonus.
We had some technical glitches last night, but the first episode of “On Iowa Live” is now available online here: http://www.kcrg.com/sports/top-9/Watch-The-Season-3-Premiere-of-On-Iowa-Live-221336431.html
This is the live TV show we do on KCRG 9.2 on Monday nights. Former Iowa kicker Nate Kaeding will be on next week.

_______________________________​

Some quick notes/observations:
– The linebackers seemed fine. Kirksey was all smiles. Morris was all PO’d and business-y. I took an Instagram of Hitchens’ legs. Seemed fine. Let’s file this, for now, under Drew Tate’s broken ankle.
– The theme on offense: Do your job. If you’ve paid attention to Ferentz teams, you know that phrase, that intense concentration on detail and what’s in front of you, is what’s gotten this team some pretty big wins in some pretty impossible situations (really rang out to me at Penn State in ’09). That is, pretty much to a man, what every offensive player said they’d do to help Rudock while he takes his first steps.
– Right guard will be junior Andrew Donnal and sophomore Jordan Walsh.
– Iowa AD Gary Barta said the stadium management will take a ton of precautions in regard to the heat. Scott will have a post. You will be allowed to bring in an extra water bottle. Extra emergency personnel also will be in the stadium. Be careful, you guys.
– I’m not sure I followed KF and his plan at QB. The bottom line seems to be that they are invested in Rudock, but then said they’ll take it a “series at a time” and that there are no boundaries. And then I asked about a QB having to look over his shoulder. He said hopefully not.
It sounds as though they’re invested in Rudock, but he has to hold up his end of the deal. Where that line is, I don’t know. I would set it at five 3-and-outs.
– Trosh (true freshman) running back LeShun Daniels is playing. After him, KF said maybe a couple more on D, maybe not. He was asked about trosh WRs and his answer made it sound as though they wouldn’t put any in. Damond Powell is in, he’s the juco, you remember.
– KF on Powell: You see pretty quickly how fast he is.
- See more at: http://thegazette.com/2013/08/27/the-quickest-slant-here-we-go-2/#sthash.L28pbHTx.dpuf

 

[tee*dub]

Transcript-- long read but I read them all and always learn something--- for those interested:

An Interview With:
COACH KIRK FERENTZ
Editor’s note: Transcript is missing opening
statement and first four questions.
Q. How do you prepare for the heat?
(Bob Brooks, KMRY)
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, it was almost
predictable. It seems like the first Monday back,
this is my chamber of commerce week, I was with
the quarterback club yesterday, seems like that's
always a hot day. We practiced in it on Sunday,
and we'll practice in it today and tomorrow and just
see what it looks like.
But our guys have trained in heat and
they've played in heat. It's a factor, but it's a little
bit like rain or snow. It's going to be equal for us
as it is for them. It's just one of those things you
deal with.
Q. With Jake, do you envision another
season where only one quarterback takes a
snap for you guys or have you left the door
maybe a little more open that CJ or Sokol could
get in there? (Andrew Logue)
COACH FERENTZ: Well, I think if it
played out he's the only guy that played, that
means he's playing pretty well, which is a good
thing. We haven't ruled anything out or set any
boundaries up. We'll take it a series at a time.
But Jake has done a good job, and he's --
the thing I would say first of all, first and foremost,
is I think all three of the returning players have
really improved during this camp segment, 25
practices, and that's what we were hoping to see.
They've all progressed at a little different stages
and timelines, but clearly by naming Jake last
week we felt like he was the furthest ahead and
has been the most consistent.
But both CJ and Cody have done a good
job, too. We feel like we have three good
candidates, kind of like we did in April. This is the
ultimate test, what happens in game competition.
Q. Do you think it could be tempting for
him when you have a Jordan Lynch on the
other side to want to match things or a little –
(Andrew Logue, Des Moines Register)
COACH FERENTZ: I would hope not. I
don't think he's looking at it that way. I think he's
focused on the right things, which is doing the best
he can do, and just playing quarterback. He
doesn't have to be the leader of our football team
right now. Got to be unfair to expect that from him,
other than what a quarterback does, and
quarterbacks have to lead, and I think he
understands that. He's been down that street
before.
The big thing is just go out and play as well
as he can play the way he plays, and that's what
we need him to do.
Q. There's a fine line probably between
the quarterback looking over his shoulder and
the team moving the ball and having success
on offense. Are you going to worry about the
quarterback looking over his shoulder in that
scenario? (Marc Morehouse, Cedar Rapids
Gazette)
COACH FERENTZ: Hopefully not. We'll
address that. Kind of already have, but we'll circle
back. We're going to let him play. He's earned
that over time. Again, we have confidence in both
CJ and Cody, but Jake is going to play, and we'll
let him go.
Again, it's like anything, you don't want
somebody looking over their shoulder. That's not
productive anyway for him. He needs to be looking
at what's in front of him. He's going to have a lot to
look at, and it's going to be moving fast, too.
Those guys are quick.
August 27, 2013
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Coach Ferentz - 8 27 13
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Q. If you had time to separate the three,
what kind of put him over the edge? (Steve
Batterson, Quad-City Times)
COACH FERENTZ: I think it's been
consistency over the long haul. We were most
interested in what happened once we got back in
August. We had a good picture of all three guys in
April, but they're young guys, and I'm not going to
say no different, but it's a little bit similar to other
guys that haven't started yet. You tend to see
jumps with every segment and every phase, and
all three guys have done a good job.
But Jake grabbed the semi-early lead, if
you will, and he's just done a good job of building
on that, but again, I'm pleased with all three guys.
Q. At what point during fall camp did it
become clear to you that he was the most
consistent? (Brendon Stiles,
hawkeyedrive.com)
COACH FERENTZ: Probably when we
named it. We wanted to give it time, plenty of time.
There's no sense rushing to a conclusion because
things do change and can change. So we wanted
to wait as late as we could but also wanted to start
preparing a little bit for this game, which we did at
the end of the last week.
Q. Is it fair to say that the quarterback
has to play well for you guys to do well this
season as a team, or is that too simple? (Pat
Harty, Iowa City Press Citizen)
COACH FERENTZ: I can't think of many
teams at many levels where that's not true. It's an
important position. I'm not minimizing that position
by any stretch.
I think what you expect a quarterback to do
differs based upon experience and that type of
thing, what you ask a quarterback to do. But it's
hard to play I think no matter what style of offense
you have, unless you just have like 10 dominant
players at the other positions. But it's really hard to
win without good quarterback play.
I'd even say, I'm thinking about the Ravens
right now when they won the Super Bowl, their first
Super Bowl. That quarterback was a good player.
He played well, he was tough, didn't turn it over, all
those kinds of things, they had a great defense.
Everybody says, boy, that was a great defensive
team. But their quarterback did a great job for the
way they were built. And I think that's really
important that quarterbacks do that.
Q. Do you consider this like a snapshot
in time for this position, whereas if the
trajectory of say CJ Beathard, who's only a
red-shirt freshman really soared throughout the
season and workouts then next year that he'll
have that opportunity to compete? (Scott
Dochterman, Cedar Rapids Gazette)
COACH FERENTZ: He has an
opportunity right now. Nobody has played yet.
That's the one thing we do know. So we'll just --
kind of like what we've done through August, we'll
let the scenario play itself out, and that's what
we're going to do starting Saturday.
And again, I don't envision us making this
a three-ring circus or anything like that. But if
that's what it takes, that’s what it was in '87, so if
that's what it ends up being, that year was a
three-man competition, '08 was a two-guy
competition, and right now we're just going to see
how it unfolds, see how things go.
Q. How important is this game from the
perspective of a season opener but coming off
last year wanting to get the bad taste out of
your mouth? (Rick Brown, Des Moines
Register)
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, it's kind of like
the quarterback question. To me every opener is
important just like every game, and football is
different than basketball or baseball where you're
playing a lot of games. Football you only get 12
shots, so every game really is critical, from that
standpoint you have to value the importance of
every game.
But regardless of what happens, in '09 we
got off to a 9-0 start. That was a pretty good deal.
But in '08, the year before, we were 3-3; '04 we
won the league, we were 2-2; and in 2002 we were
2-1 after three games. So to portray this as the
Normandy invasion is not quite that level of
importance, but it's an important game. I think it's
important for every team playing right now.
If you're in college football you've got 12
shots; you'd better be ready every time you get a
chance to go to the bat.
Q. How has Scherff handled rehab and
where is he right now? (KCCI)
COACH FERENTZ: Really well. I mean, it
was pretty much a non-issue with him in the spring
and kind of stays that way, I think.
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Coach Ferentz - 8 27 13
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Q. Freshmen, made any decisions on
true freshmen? (Tom Kakert,
hawkeyereport.com)
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, I think right
now it looks pretty obvious and apparent that
LeShun is going to play, LeShun Daniels, and
defensively we're still mulling a couple things over.
We have a candidate or two, but we haven't
finalized that yet. And then Damond Powell
obviously, we didn't recruit him to sit on the bench,
so he'll be playing some, too.
Q. Can you talk about the receivers?
(Tom Kakert, hawkeyereport.com)
COACH FERENTZ: At this point we
haven't green-lighted it, but we haven't ruled it out.
I don't think it'll be this week, but we'll keep an eye
on things and just see how they develop.
Q. I realize that injuries are going to
happen, things are going to happen, but the
week before your first game, as a coach do you
have a pretty good idea of what you've got?
(Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette)
COACH FERENTZ: Yes and no. We kind
of think we do, but you're never quite sure. Yeah,
I've been doing this a couple years now, and I
swear I learn -- I know less now than I did maybe
15 years ago. That's because you know more, and
I feel less organized. Go right down the list. But
that's just, I think, kind of like you're always
anxious. For a game you tend to be anxious.
That's just part of the territory.
But I think it's safe to say I think we're in a
lot of areas a lot more veteran right now and a little
further down the road. But it's like the quarterback
play, you really don't know until you start playing
what it is.
But you evaluate 15 practices in the
spring, you evaluate 25 prior to game week, and
what they do in the conditioning programs, all
those kinds of things, I'm really pleased with the
way the guys have worked. I'm really pleased with
our leadership, and our older guys, not just seniors
but older guys have done a good job of showing
other guys how to do things.
So I'm pleased with everything they've
done so far. I say everything, just about
everything. I think the guys are working hard, and
over the next 12 weeks we'll find out how things
unfold.
Q. Do you feel better or more confident
than you did a year ago this week? (Mike Hlas,
Cedar Rapids Gazette)
COACH FERENTZ: About certain things I
do, certainly, yeah. Probably more things than not.
But again, you just never know how things are
going to unfold. I felt like we were a better team in
'08 but we were sitting at 3-3 at one point, and not
long thereafter we were sitting there at 5-4. There
are no guarantees how things are going to unfold,
and there's really no sense in worrying about how
they unfold. What's really important is how you
move forward, and that's really the mindset we've
tried to take since December.
Q. We've seen Coach Norm Parker
around still really. He had such a reputation of
stymieing quarterbacks, whether it's Gabbert
or McCoy or JaMarcus Russell. What kind of
legacy did he leave behind? Is there still an
influence in a way how to prepare for a game
like that? (Andrew Logue, Des Moines Register)
COACH FERENTZ: I think so. Phil Parker
was with Norm for 13 years, and I think Phil is a
tremendous football coach. Yeah, it's not like
we're void in that regard. Certainly Norm was
critical in my mind to helping us build a good
defensive football team because we were not a
good one in '99, so that was a process, and what it
gets down to is really playing good team defense.
I think that was Norm's approach all the time, and
that's kind of how we were built and that's how we
operate, and I think for the most part we've
remained that way.
That's the key to the whole thing is being
good fundamentally and realizing it takes 11 guys
to stop teams. Most teams we play are going to
have some really good performers. The positions
may rotate but you have to play good team
defense to stop a guy that's a really great player.
Q. Kirksey seems to be the guy that
gets the least amount of recognition of the two
llinebackers just because of positioning plays, I
guess. How important is he in a game like this
for a quarterback who's such a good passer
and runner? Seems like he'd do both of those
pretty well? (Rick Brown, Des Moines Register)
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, I don't mean
this in any disrespectful way to Anthony, but if
Chris played that position he'd have a lot of
tackles, too. It's just kind of the nature of that
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Coach Ferentz - 8 27 13
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position. LeVar played it, Grant Steen, you go
right down the row there, and AJ Edds. By nature
that position doesn't get involved as much with
tackling, what have you, but it's a really critical
position for us to play good defense.
Again, it just gets back to that point when
you play a quarterback like this, and they've got a
lot of other guys, too. They've got fast receivers,
good receivers, they've got a really good running
back. It's going to take all 11 guys for us to be
successful because if one guy isn't where he's
supposed to be, these guys will do a good job of
finding it, and that's really going to be critical for us.
Q. How much time have you put into
going over the rules and the change of
emphasis? (Bob Brooks, KMRY)
COACH FERENTZ: We've covered them
all in camp like we always do. The biggest thing
obviously is targeting. It's really not a new thing,
but the NCAA sent out a video that was really, I
thought, well done, gave great illustrations of what
is legal, what isn't legal, why it's not legal. I think
everybody in America is all in favor of protecting
defenseless players. That's nothing new and I
think it's a great thing.
Probably the biggest concern going into
this is just the emphasis and the escalation of
emphasis and talk about it. I think it's a very
difficult play to officiate, no different than an onside
kick. But the difference is there's a real heightened
awareness right now.
To me it hasn't been a problem in our
league based on what I know and what I've seen.
It hasn't been a real big issue in our conference. I
just hope it doesn't become one because we turn it
into one, I guess if that's a good way to say it,
politically correct way to say it.
Q. What have you seen from Austin
Blythe and his growth? (Jared Aarons, KGAN0
COACH FERENTZ: He's done a really
nice job, probably surprisingly so. I expected a
little bit more -- few more bumps in the road back
in the spring, but he just kind of slid in there and
did a good job. So that was good to see. He's not
there yet, but he'll keep getting better. But he's
really performed well.
I think the biggest thing I'm happy about is
last year he played like a first year guy, and you go
back and look at the tape, we're seeing our first
game right now for obvious reasons. Like a lot of
first year guys, he had a few hiccups in there and
all that type of thing, and then he had the injury.
He's starting to get a little bit better. He had the
injury, and when he did come back from that, he
looked like a first-year guy starting over again.
He's made a big jump from a year ago. He's a
much better player and I think a lot more confident
and all that. But it's his first time playing center so
it'll be a little different, but he's done a real nice job
in practice. I expect him to do well.
Q. Last year's offense was a little bit
lost in translation; some of your players were
saying just like this English-to-Spanish type of
thing. Do you feel like now everybody is on the
same language? (Scott Dochterman, Cedar
Rapids Gazette)
COACH FERENTZ: Probably everybody
but me. I'm probably the only guy that's still
translating sometimes, and that's a good thing.
Now I'm in and out of the meetings sometimes,
one of those deals. But yeah, I think everybody
else has really done a real good job, and certainly
Bobby is familiar with it and comfortable and Chris
White has done a great job. I think all the players
are very comfortable. You can talk to them today.
But I think we're a lot further down the road on that
one, and that's a good thing.
Q. Have your blocking patterns
changed much? (Scott Dochterman, Cedar
Rapids Gazette)
COACH FERENTZ: Not dramatically, but
we always are looking to do some things a little
differently, and I think we've maybe done a couple
little things, but we still are pretty much who we
are. I don't think it'll be radically different.
Q. Your depth at the tight end position,
how can that be kind of a security blanket for
Jake? (WHO-13)
COACH FERENTZ: I think the biggest
thing that will help Connor is maybe some of our
inexperience at receiver, although I think we're
making progress at that position. Happy to say
that. But the nice thing is I think we can use our
tight ends to maybe take some pressure off the
outside guys, and Bullock, Canzeri, too, if they can
help us a little bit in that regard, that's a good thing,
as well. Hopefully we'll have some places to
distribute the ball.
Q. Losing Scherff last year, how big of
a blow is that to your line, and how great is it to
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Coach Ferentz - 8 27 13
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have him back? (KCCI)
COACH FERENTZ: You know, it didn't
help. If you wanted to talk about two things right
off the bat, our running back, it was tough to have
two healthy backs that were proven backs at one
time. We go into this season at least with an
opportunity to have, I think, three or four guys we
feel pretty comfortable with, which is an upgrade.
We had lost Blythe with an ankle and then we lost
both Brandon and Andrew, bang-bang.
That's not good for any football team
certainly, and we just don't -- typically I haven't
rolled out backups that look like starters. It's just
not as easy to do here as some places, so injuries
are always a factor.
Q. At the right guard spot, is Jordan
Walsh pretty much a full go in there for you, or
are you looking to do some rotating? (Brendan
Stiles, hawkeyedrive.com)
COACH FERENTZ: I think it's fair to say
we'll play both guys, Andrew and Jordan. Jordan I
think has really made a jump this past week, which
is good to see, and I think Andrew getting out of
camp, his rehab was a little bit more involved or
lengthy than Brandon's. Getting out of camp is
going to be a good thing for him, and he is a
starter. He has played. So has Jordan. I think we
all feel pretty comfortable with those guys, what
they can do.
Connor only started three games, but I feel
comfortable just because of the way he's practiced.
He's really done a great job since the string.
Q. How do you feel about your
defensive line? (Steve Batterson, Quad-City
Times)
COACH FERENTZ: I think we're gaining
ground, but it's going to be a great test. I think the
one thing about Northern Illinois, if you just focus
on the quarterback you're missing the boat.
There's three years of success there. There's
more than three years, but the last three years,
tough to match those numbers.
So they've got a lot of good players, a lot
of spots, and where I'm going on this, they've got a
Big Ten -- a good Big Ten offensive line, not just a
Big Ten offensive line. All their guys are back.
They're big, physical guys.
It's going to be a real -- it's not like we're
waiting four weeks to see how we match up with
anybody. This is going to be a quite a test. We've
got more tests coming, too; I know that. But this
one right off the bat is going to be a real challenge
for our guys up front.
Q. You said you have multiple capable
running backs. How do you plan on using that
running back depth this season? (Ben Ross,
Daily Iowan)
COACH FERENTZ: Well, the nice thing is
hopefully we won't have to run one guy into the
ground, not that we ever do that. But when you
have some options, and I'll go back to -- speaking
of running guys into the ground, Shonn Greene,
but we had guys that could come off and give him
a break here and there. I think we at least go into
this game with that flexibility and not have to be
just holding our breath every second that
somebody else is in there. I think we have four
guys that have demonstrated they can help us out.
Q. The defense, how much harder is it
to plan and coordinate? (Ben Ross, Daily
Iowan)
COACH FERENTZ: We have two different
style of guys, but running backs are running backs
and they come in all sizes and shapes. These
guys have a little guy that's tougher than nails.
You'd think their guy, like he might have some
blocking deficiencies, but he's a tough blocker and
he's a good runner, too. I think our four guys are
good players.
Q. Talk about Nate Meyer a little bit, is
he going to be a situational guy? (Tom Kakert,
Hawkeyereport.com)
COACH FERENTZ: He showed us a year
ago he's tough. But he was trying to channel that
toughness and make it productive. It was a little bit
of a challenge. But he did a good job in the spring.
He's a guy that we hope can play on special teams
and hope that maybe he can help us a little bit --
he's not the biggest guy in the world right now, but
if he can give us a little something on passing
situations, things like that, we might utilize him.
Q. Has Powell been consistent since
his performance at the open practice? (Marc
Morehouse, Cedar Rapids Gazette)
COACH FERENTZ: It's been a process,
and I think you probably saw his highlight; him
catching that ball right there on the pylon was
really a great football play, so that was good to
see. We figured out he's fast pretty quickly. We
visit our archives at asapsports.com
Coach Ferentz - 8 27 13
6
noticed that. I think he's starting to -- it's been fun
to watch him climb the ladder. Would have been
really neat if he was here in the spring; he'd
probably be further down the road. But he's doing
a good job.
Q. Is he a guy you can count on in
every situation? (Marc Morehouse, Cedar
Rapids Gazette)
COACH FERENTZ: It's like a lot of
players, we'll try to find roles for everybody and
play to their strengths, do what they do best, and
certainly we'll do that with him, too.
Q. Seems like one of Rudock's real
attributes is he's a really bright guy. Is that
maybe part of the reason he is where he's at?
(Luke Meredith, Associated Press)
COACH FERENTZ: It didn't hurt him, and
he is bright. I asked him last night what he was
taking. He happened to be in the office last
evening, and I didn't take many of those courses, I
can tell you that, that he's taking. Probably none of
those courses to be specific. He's on a different
planet.
But that's a good thing. He communicates
well. He's not an egghead, if you will. He's a guy
on the team that really does a good job. He's a
smart guy but he's also a guy who prepares, and
he's very serious about what's in front of him and
does the same thing academically. You see guys
go both ways, but he kind of takes care of all the
details.
Q. There were six games last year that
were decided by three points or less, and a lot
of those type of games sometimes will come
down to kicking. Have you talked to Mike
Meyer about how important every kick is going
to be this year? (Jared Aarons, KGAN)
COACH FERENTZ: You know, we do
every year, be it a kicker or a punter. Special
teams come down to a couple things; the
specialists first of all. They have to do what they're
supposed to do to make it work, but everybody
else has to do their job, too. I think the big thing
for Mike is just, kind of like every player, just go out
and do what you do; don't worry about all this stuff.
If you're called on to kick, then kick it well. And I
think he'll do that. He's a tremendous young guy,
and he's improved with every step of the way.
Q. Is there anything else that you've
found has been the difference between winning
those three-point games versus losing them?
(Jared Aarons, KGAN)
COACH FERENTZ: That's kind of the
story of our history, if you will. I go back to the '08
season. I think we lost three games there by 10
points or 13 points. I'd have to look it up. It's been
a while. And then lost at the buzzer there at
Illinois.
Conquering the close game thing is, if you
can do that, you're going to have a really good
year or a chance for a good year, and if you can't,
you're going to come up short. That's one of the
challenges, things that go into it, and it's something
we certainly try to point out to our guys on a
continual basis, what it takes to be successful in
those situations.
Q. Ideally about how many wide
receivers would you want to play? (Scott
Dochterman, Cedar Rapids Gazette)
COACH FERENTZ: Ideally would be like
10. If we had 10 it would be great, but I don't know
what we'll do. I think you guys probably know the
names, who's going to be in there. It's just how it
all shakes out. It's a little bit like everything else,
depending on how they're doing in the game.
Q. You have a lot of coaches around
the country talking about how they're trying not
to get burned out. Are you still finding time to
enjoy yourself here? (Josh Bolander, DITV)
COACH FERENTZ: Sometimes, yeah. It
was tough last year; when you're going 4-8 it's not
much fun.
Q. Your non-conference win
percentage I think is actually in the top third in
the Big Ten Conference. How important is it for
you guys to get those wins? (Josh Bolander,
DITV)
COACH FERENTZ: It's helpful to get off
to a good start in anything you do, going to class,
starting a game or whatever and starting the
season.
But no matter what happens, no matter
how it starts out, you have to keep pushing
forward. You really can't dwell too much on what's
going on. I go back to being 2-2 or 3-3 and the sky
was falling in both those cases. You can't worry
about that. You've got to worry about what you're
doing moving forward. But it's always good to start
out well, and that's something -- that's one of our
visit our archives at asapsports.com
Coach Ferentz - 8 27 13
7
goals, obviously, but we've got to go do it.
Q. Going back to special teams, has
Connor come along as you were hoping as a
punter now that he's handling all the duties
now and not just punting like he was a year
ago? (Brendan Stiles, hawkeyedrive.com)
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, it's still a
process. His plus-50 punting has been pretty good
in practice. But that's a tricky position, and when
he hits it well, he hits it really well. But the
consistency thing is the biggest thing. I go back to
that first year, Jason Baker was a veteran guy but
he was still a little bit up and down. 2000 he really
just took off. It happens at different times, but
we're optimistic Connor will do a good job.
Q. Do you have any interest in wearing
white jerseys at home instead of black? (Scott
Dochterman, Cedar Rapids Gazette)
COACH FERENTZ: I hadn't thought of
that. Do we still have time to pull that one off? I'll
have to ask about that. Hadn't thought about that.
They wore their -- it was '07, they wore some
traditional jersey. But yeah, if I coached in Florida
I'd probably think of that. They do it down there in
the NFL I know for sure, but we'll be okay. I hadn't
thought of that one, though.
Q. With the no-huddle, I guess you take
the risk of maybe someone being on the field a
short time if it's one, two, three-and-out. On a
day that's terribly hot would you back off from
that plan a little bit? (Rick Brown, Des Moines
Register)
COACH FERENTZ: We'll see how it goes.
But I think we work in the heat, it's just part of
football, so we'll be okay. I think we'll be okay.

 

[tee*dub]

played the Yankees tonight -120

like a lot about it

 

[tee*dub]

Tee glad to see you on Northern Illinois they will be a TU play for me as well this week. I think Iowa's QB situation is going to be just as dreadful this year as it was last year. If Northern Illinois can stop the Iowa running game then they will have an outstanding opportunity to win this game by 7-10 points.

GL Roch---you never know how these inexperienced QBs are going to react but Ruduck has a massive challenge here.. I think the QB situation will eventually stabilize and my personal opinion is Sokel will be the guy.. Ferentz knows he is in a tough spot and Ruduck was the safe choice, but clearly not a comfortable choice..

 

[tee*dub]

Latos on fire and not a guy I want to be against but this will be his toughest toe in awhile on the road:

[TABLE="class: tablehead"]
<tbody>[TR="class: stathead"]
[TD="colspan: 13"]St. Louis Cardinals Career statistics vs. Mat Latos[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: colhead"]
[TD]BATTER[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]AB[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]H[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]2B[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]3B[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]HR[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]RBI[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]BB[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]SO[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]AVG[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]OBP[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]SLG[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]OPS[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: oddrow player-10-3971"]
[TD]Carlos Beltran[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]18[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]5[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]3[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]4[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]3[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]2[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].278[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].381[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].833[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1.214[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: evenrow player-10-31015"]
[TD]Matt Carpenter[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]7[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]2[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]2[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].286[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].375[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].286[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].661[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: oddrow player-10-30399"]
[TD]Allen Craig[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]18[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]5[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]4[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]3[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].278[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].278[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].500[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].778[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: evenrow player-10-30475"]
[TD]Daniel Descalso[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]7[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]2[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].143[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].143[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].286[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].429[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: oddrow player-10-29694"]
[TD]David Freese[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]16[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]5[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]2[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]3[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]3[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]4[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].313[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].421[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].438[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].859[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: evenrow player-10-4243"]
[TD]Rafael Furcal[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]22[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]8[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]2[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]2[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]5[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].364[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].391[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].455[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].846[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: oddrow player-10-5940"]
[TD]Matt Holliday[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]23[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]7[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]6[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]3[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].304[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].320[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].304[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].624[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: evenrow player-10-29691"]
[TD]Jon Jay[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]24[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]10[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]2[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]2[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]4[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].417[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].481[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].500[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].981[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: oddrow player-10-28866"]
[TD]Rob Johnson[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]2[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].000[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].000[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].000[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].000[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: evenrow player-10-30011"]
[TD]Pete Kozma[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]9[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]3[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].111[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].200[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].111[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].311[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: oddrow player-10-5986"]
[TD]Yadier Molina[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]26[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]11[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]3[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]5[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]4[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].423[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].423[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].654[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1.077[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: evenrow player-10-30358"]
[TD]Shane Robinson[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].000[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].000[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].000[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].000[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: oddrow bi"]
[TD]Totals[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]173[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]55[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]12[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]0[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]5[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]25[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]12[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"]32[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].318[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].364[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].474[/TD]
[TD="class: textright"].838[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

 

[aplous]

YANKS (handshake) (perv)

 

[tee*dub]

YANKS (handshake) (perv)

Stripper gal/blu guy dancing/ pervert watching #new shoes

 

[s--k]

Q. With the no-huddle, I guess you take
the risk of maybe someone being on the field a
short time if it's one, two, three-and-out. On a
day that's terribly hot would you back off from
that plan a little bit? (Rick Brown, Des Moines
Register)
COACH FERENTZ: We'll see how it goes.
But I think we work in the heat, it's just part of
football, so we'll be okay. I think we'll be okay.

I was hoping to read a little more about their no-huddle offense, but I can dig into that on my own.

Iowa running a no-huddle this season reminds me a bit of Vanderbilt going to it in 2009 off their 2008 bowl winning season. The transition was terrible. They had a decent OL and some good young backs, but awful WRs and a QB light on experience. Vandy's D had potential to be every bit as good as the 08 version, but they simply wore down because of how often the offense was punting the ball away.

Iowa could be in the same boat. This and Iowa's defense was statistically poor in many categories (total D, rush D, rush ypc D, compl % D and fewest sacks[13], and their second worst pts allowed) were the worst they've had in the last 7 years. A good offense could help improve that defense. An offense is not suited to run the hurry-up style will make it worse. And NIU is not a good opponent to be working kinks out.

I'm glad I stopped by and read your NIU thoughts, got me thinking something for Saturday. Good luck to you!

 

[RambleOn]

Gl this season Tee, Ill be paying attention.

 

[RambleOn]

circa 2007-2009 pervert guy was the fella who was in fitness mode doing the "step class" but as we all know had a much more devious and dark past. he stalked the stripper gal and the dancing blue guy was his alter ego..

LMAO. Good ole days.

 

[jdoggoakley]

BOL Tee!

 

[JumpOnBoard]

 

[tee*dub]

Got it. Lmao! Bailey at Busch vs red hot waino will likely have you adding a third frown face later tonight.. But worry not my man, reds much different at home and you get us there next week.

 

[tee*dub]

RB Akeem Daniels, Northern Illinois' No. 3 rusher in '12 with 447 yards, is out vs. Iowa. Cameron Stingily (6-1, 244, 1 carry in '12) starts

 

[rochclone]

RB Akeem Daniels, Northern Illinois' No. 3 rusher in '12 with 447 yards, is out vs. Iowa. Cameron Stingily (6-1, 244, 1 carry in '12) starts

That is a fairly big loss. Does that change your opinion at all Tee.

 

[tee*dub]

That is a fairly big loss. Does that change your opinion at all Tee.

no doesn't change the bet.. as long as the kid who rushed for 1800 and touches the ball every offensive play-- is a go, I'm a go:grin:..and obviously know nothing about this Stingily but he is a big boy and behind that offensive line and against Iowa's front 5, like it decently. But lets be real- NIU's runningback is Lynch.. trying to find more on the Stingman now..

 

[tee*dub]

cardinals resting Molina tonight. No player out of the lineup in MLB makes a bigger difference than Molina IMO.. Affects starting pitcher performance with pitch calling and shutting down the baserunning and it shallows the Cardinals lineup considerably... Look at the splits for the Cardinals when Molina catches and when he doesn't. Considered a Cardinal play and prolly still decent given Baileys past Busch stadium failures and the Reds pathetic road performance, but without Molina its a pass for me..

 

[Mags]

cardinals resting Molina tonight. No player out of the lineup in MLB makes a bigger difference than Molina IMO.. Affects starting pitcher performance with pitch calling and shutting down the baserunning and it shallows the Cardinals lineup considerably... Look at the splits for the Cardinals when Molina catches and when he doesn't. Considered a Cardinal play and prolly still decent given Baileys past Busch stadium failures and the Reds pathetic road performance, but without Molina its a pass for me..

On no score 1st inning here :shake:

 

[tee*dub]

Jdogg and a few others have asked my opinion on some NFL team totals. I'll try to get a thread up over there but not sure I can get all my notes written up to the extent I would like to. Jdogg specifically wanted to know my thoughts on Rams total of 7.5 wins which is currently juiced to the over at 130 or so.

not gonna have time tonight to break down the schedule but give you a few thoughts on the Rams potential:

Fucking Sam Bradford.. Big Sigh... Who knows with this guy.. People keep saying if you give him offensive weapons he will excel.. OK , so his main target in preseason was Givens and last time I checked he was on the team last year, I.E. weapon..... Say this, he'll have weapons. Difference this year potentially is he will have the horses up front to get deep in his progressions, assuming he is capable of that and I just don't know if he is tbh.

Weapons-- Givens is very capable of blowing out the back end of the defense as is Austin from the slot.. Wildcard is former tenny TE Cook. If he played with Manning, either one, Brady or Ponder (kidding on last one) he would be multiple year All Pro.. Megatron in the slot.. Can Bradford get him the ball? If he can , look out.. Rams have unlimited offensive weapons IMO and the return game should be outstanding with Pead on KR and multipurpose threat Austin on punt returns. Again comes down to the Indian.. Can he be an above average QB? I don't know.

Offensive line- well, this could go a long way in determing the Rams upside.. Jake Long looks like the vintage Jake Long we saw a couple years ago.. Looks like he has a chip on his shoulder and trying to prove something.. If he stays healthy, and he currently is, he is a top 3 LT in the Sunday league.. Now moving Saffold, who is in his free agency year to right tackle could be dynamic.. Saffold tweaked his shoulder in first preseason game but is back to full strength.. Has talent and all the motivation in the world as he enters free agency.. Rams should be exceptional in offensive line, without injuries of course.

special teams--- best kicker punter combination IMO and second place isn't close... if you want more on that let me know but of all the Rams assets I am most confident their kicking game will be stellar... And return game should be very good with Austin.

Defense--- Tricky.. Defensive line made great strides last year and return everyone.. Finnegan back, good, Janoris Jenkins if he stays out of crackhouses and hanging out in gangland has all - pro makeup every year.. The ss position is questionable with rook from USC getting a lot of early action> not sure he is ready tbh... Linebacker is the wildcard... I personally think Laurenititis is over rated in the middle but he is clearly adequate.. The loss the outside backer Dunbar for 4 games for PEDs and the signing of 58 year old witherspoon to fill in-- ummm.. That's a BIG question mark.. A bigger question mark is Ogletree, rookie from Ga. Watching him in preseason he most the time seems lost and cant find the ball with a GPS. Then he makes an unbelievable athletic play (strip and run for TD last week) that makes you think he is the real deal... He will struggle in pass coverage against elite QBs for sure early. Not sure how he will progress..

Coach-- Fisher is a guy who is not going to have a bad team long.. This should be a big progress year for him if the plan is working..

For me, everything is in place if you have a QB playing at a decent level and it doesn't even need to be exceptional.. Does Bradford have it?.. I don't fucking know is my answer...

No play for me but I would definitely lean the over 7.5 wins..

 

[jdoggoakley]

Great thoughts - Thanks much.
J

 

[chancedog]

Good to see you my friend BOL

 

[Marsski]

Good luck Tee. Not sure what to think about NIU at Iowa...think C Mich beating them last year will mean they aren't overlooking the Huskies...but Lynch can hitch up the wagon and ride it himself pretty much. I guess Ferentz is being legit about all of this hurry up stuff but it feels like to me his best chance to win is to grind old school on NIU and wear em down...maybe a rope a dope here with the hurry up talk? I guess we shall see...good luck to you brother not sure I'm getting involved in this one...

 

[wiseplayer]

Good to see you back tee. I'll be rooting for you but have no action on this game. Don't see enough to play it.

 

[CHSGTMD]

Agree with others tee, have missed your input around here.
Appreciate all the info on good ol SGU, those were the days of big wins on SGU so lets get this season started the same way:cheers::shake:

 

[JumpOnBoard]

Guess Brandon's hissy fit worked for a night.

 

[tee*dub]

Guess Brandon's hissy fit worked for a night.

Indeed.. Not saying Waino doesn't give up runs if Molina was catching but I certainly don't think he would have choked up a 9 spot. And I guarantee you Molina will be catching him the rest of the year... Gonna be interesting Jump.. And I know one thing no one wants tot play the wildcard play in game in Cinncy.

 

[tee*dub]

I was hoping to read a little more about their no-huddle offense, but I can dig into that on my own.


I'm glad I stopped by and read your NIU thoughts, got me thinking something for Saturday. Good luck to you!

Here is some good info on Iowa no-huddle offense and some heat related thoughts from former Iowa All-American QB Chuck Long who now works for BTN. He has been at numerous practices this fall..

Q: You were able to see Iowa’s offense last year and you have taken in a few practices this year. What are the improvements that you have seen and why will things be better this year than last?


Chuck Long: The number one improvement I have seen from the offense is I think they have more of an understanding of where they want to go. What I mean by that is I thought last year they were not on the same page with what Kirk wanted to do and what Greg Davis wanted to do. I think they were feeling each other out and it has taken a year to do that. I do believe this year, in the practices I have seen, they have more of a definitive philosophy on how they want to attack defenses. It took Greg a year to understand a) the Big Ten and b) Iowa and where they are at. I think that will help him.


He was so used to that Texas speed and with the wide receivers getting the ball in their hands and make someone miss...that’s not going to necessarily work in the Big Ten and at Iowa. You don’t have that speed at Iowa. They are on a better page philosophically of where they want to go and how they attack. I felt that in seeing their practices. They will play to the strengths of their running backs. It really gets simple when you have a brand new quarterback. You can’t do everything you’d like with a new quarterback anyway, so this condenses you automatically which will bode well this year. They will be in a lot better way offensively.


Q: They’ve done a lot with the no huddle in the spring and again this fall...what do you think the biggest benefit will be from Iowa’s no huddle or what are the benefits of not huddling?


Long: There are two big benefits of not huddling. The first is you get the chalk in your hand last. You know exactly what a defense is going to do by not huddling. You will see where they will freeze a count and then they will look to the sideline. What they are doing there is the coaches devise a way to freeze the defense to make them stand still, so the offense knows exactly what they are doing. When they look back, they get to the best play possible. In the offensive world, we call that getting the chalk in our hand last. We will come up with the best play in the end, not the defense.


The second benefit is that it tires out a defense. It keeps out the blitzing when you no huddle, you can’t blitz as much especially when you go fast. It also tires them out by the fourth quarter where tackling gets sloppy. You will see it time and time again if you keep the same defensive personnel in the game without much subbing, they are naturally going to tire out. Those are the big things when it comes to no huddle offenses.


Q: Speaking of tiring out, the temperature is going to be very warm in Iowa City on Saturday. How do you see that factoring into this game?


Long: Northern Illinois will come in and run a faster version of the no huddle than Iowa. The advantage they have is they have been doing it for a number of years. As far as the no huddle and the stamina, because there is a certain stamina to it, the advantage will go to NIU. They have nice speed and they are lighter players. It is sheer numbers with weight; the Iowa players have more weight than the NIU players have. They are more used to it. You can be in the best shape possible for football, but it’s not basketball shape. That’s a simple analogy but it does come to bear. Northern Illinois is used to that and Iowa is not going to be as used to that sort of thing. The tempo and no huddle advantage goes to NIU at this point in time.


I know they’ll do this but Iowa has to play to their strength which is size. They have massive size compared to Northern Illinois. With their no huddle, they have to be smart enough to stay with their bread and butter which is running the football right out them. They need those downhill runs in this game to win it; don’t get so fast or too much fast paced tempo or go sideways with your game. You need to get the ball downhill with Weisman and go right at those guys because Iowa has a big size advantage.

 

[tee*dub]

Iowa would be insane to run no huddle Saturday. Maybe its gamesmanship from Ferentz but I don't think so.. Iowa's no huddle vs NIUs no huddle.. hmm .. pops always used the saying. "Don't get in a debate on religion with a Sunday school teacher"

 

[spanishshark]

GL this season tee !

 

[tee*dub]

Here is the key take away from the long post above

Long: Northern Illinois will come in and run a faster version of the no huddle than Iowa. The advantage they have is they have been doing it for a number of years. As far as the no huddle and the stamina, because there is a certain stamina to it, the advantage will go to NIU. They have nice speed and they are lighter players. It is sheer numbers with weight; the Iowa players have more weight than the NIU players have. They are more used to it. You can be in the best shape possible for football, but it’s not basketball shape. That’s a simple analogy but it does come to bear. Northern Illinois is used to that and Iowa is not going to be as used to that sort of thing. The tempo and no huddle advantage goes to NIU at this point in time

 

[nbafan88]

bump

 

[tee*dub]

stalking this NoIlly 2H. side and total..opcorn:

 

[tee*dub]

iowa has scored so far on defensive fumble return and just got red zone field position on flea flicker.. Iowa 17-10..

 

[theking]

hows the offensive/defensive lines matching up so far?

 

[tee*dub]

hows the offensive/defensive lines matching up so far?

No illy defensive front is getting tired. been on the field a lot.. No illy receiver drops and fumble returned for TD the difference

 

[tee*dub]

NoIlly now threatening and Iowas defense looks gassed.. stalking 2H total over --- if this works right should be good. Hope the don't stray too far from game line... Also-- IMO No Illy wins SU..

 

[tee*dub]

TD No Illy ..tied 17-17... Lynch has not missed a receivers hands yet.. they haven't always caught them however.. lynch looks very good. both defenses gassed.

 

[theking]

Yeah that No Illy offense has no possessed the ball a whole lot...but they have done well for the amount of time they've had the ball. the same can not be said about iowa, other than they are at least keeping possession.


if time of possession balances out in the 2H i would think No Illy will be ok

 

[tee*dub]

gonna be a shootout.. No Illy looking like MAC defense.

 

[tee*dub]

2:30 left 1 H 17 -17... Iowa fg provides lots of options in 2H

 

[tee*dub]

definitely goona be fatigue and cramps 2H on both sides.. lots of plays, lots of heat.

 

[Marsski]

Over? I just tuned in...seems back and forth

 

[tee*dub]

Iowa TD 24-17 SGU... regardless of outcome today.. Adjusting Iowa power ranking .. Rookie ruduck has tools

 

[txtennisboy]

-.5 ni over 27