If stats were porn, this would be brutal tentacle rape.
by Adam Jacobi on Oct 8, 2007 5:54 PM CDT
in Iowa Hawkeyes News
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Anthony Morelli: Master of Deception
I really don't know what merit there could possibly be in adding any commentary to a picture like that, other than to point out--again--that Iowa got destroyed by a quarterback who play-actions the way I pump fake at the Y.
But onward we must press, readers. It's part of the healing process.
First, a question: Is Jake Christensen too scared of mistakes? It certainly seems that way. While his statistics indicate solid if unspectacular play (10 TD's, 2 INT's, 1152 yards), the fact remains that he's also been sacked 25 times--18 of them in Big Ten play--and the Iowa offense has ground to a near-complete halt. The third-down conversion rate is, by all metrics, a disaster zone; the 28% conversion rate is (astonishingly) skewed by a 13-19 success rate against Syracuse. That game aside, Iowa has converted 15 of 77 opportunities, which doesn't even crack the Mendoza line. Hell, during the first three quarters of play, Penn State and Anthony Goddamn Morelli scored as many touchdowns as Iowa had first downs.
True, many of the sacks can be attributed to poor blocking. Jebus noticed during one play that when Penn State rushed five against six, all five of the defenders beat their block. He was right. But almost as prevalent as the matador blocking have been the plays where Chrustensen spends five or six seconds in the pocket before either collapsing under the inevitable pressure or rolling out and tossing the football into Row H.
It would be nice if the offense--and specifically Jake--showed the same disregard for consequence as they did on the scoring drive (yep, just had the one, thanks for asking), where Jake took chances and made throws that I don't think he'd have attempted in a closer game. It seems almost paradoxical to suggest that the team needs Jake to throw more interceptions, but it's hard not to consider. As it stands, opposing secondaries are rarely being forced to make plays on defense; usually, staying with a receiver on his route for four seconds is usually rewarded with a throwaway, dumpoff, or sack. That just doesn't work for Iowa.
So, the $64,000 question is this: is a new quarterback the answer? Doubtful, unless you're still so sore about the off-season embarrassments that you need to see Arvell Nelson sacked repeatedly instead of Christensen. Jake can make throws if he's afforded the opportunity to step into them, and I can't imagine that Kirk Ferentz wants to bench the guy who's going to be the leader of the offense for the next three years just to placate the more idiotic members of the fan base.
Up now is Illinois, which means it's Ron Zook week at BHGP.
You've been warned.
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Of, forgot to sign my name to the above.
It's me.
Also, ignore the #2 at the bottom of the post. It's not meant to be there.
Then again, maybe it's appropriate, given everything.
Anyway, JC is proving that stats are as meaningful as a cuddle in a cat-house: they make you feel good, but it don't mean shit.
Personally, I don't think our present offense suits him. Like when they tried to make Ron Powlus run option. Course, he won those four Heismans....
Someone hasn't been paying attention in class...
JC missed plenty of open receivers during Wisconsin (and Indiana, for that matter). We've already discussed this. There are archives.
But that isn't the point. You're correct it's on the offensive line. If it's a question of talent or effort, then the guys buried on the KF nepotism depth chart need a chance. If the strength coach can't get these guys off their asses and into the weight room, then Reese can go (and I hate to say that; he's a good guy). If KOK can't figure out how to impart some level of competence on these guys, he needs to pack it up and head back east. And if the 3 million dollar man, who is supposed to be the Mr. Miyagi of offensive line play, can't coach these guys up, well...
"career assistant"
What a moronic thing to say about KOK. Hayden Fry's career at Iowa began to suffer in the later years because he couldn't consistently replace the non-"career assistants" who took their own head coaching jobs. One of the guys who didn't was "career assistant" Bill Elliott, who was arguably a better coach than even some of the guys who did move on.
Further, Norm Parker has "only" been an assistant for the past 40 years; Nobody in their right mind would question the fact that Parker has been one of the best coaches in Iowa history and one of the best defensive coordinators in the NCAA over the last 15 years or so.
Trotting out a derisive, snotty dig at O'Keefe like that tells me that you know more about complaining than about football, and it's an automatic disqualifier for the rest of whatever your argument might be.
let's not go overboard
There are plenty of reasons to be upset with KOK, but derisively calling him a "career assistant" is a remarkably stupid way to go about it.
Spread
I think you're right on Arvell in the spread. And if we actually had 4 receivers and weren't running the spread with Nelson behind center, I'd have no choice but to burn Iowa City to the ground.
JC might well be able to run a 4.6, but he's not outrunning that blitzing safety...or that other blitzing safety...or that one...holy shit, will someone block the fucking safety? He also seems to run directly into the back of Seth Olsen whenever there's pressure, so it might be better to time him in a 3 yard dash.
I've been saying it for a month: Put him in the gun (he's listed at 6'1", but he can't be an inch over 5'10") and/or roll him left to protect him from the chaos around him, give him a chance to see the field, and let him hit a receiver without 3 defenders in his face.
(Oh, and I was McNabb above. Peace out playa.)
A few comments:
Love ya,' Oops Pow, but your credibility is unfortunately undercut a bit when you say 'Bill Elliott' when the man's name was 'Bob' Elliot. My impression is that KOK needs to go for one obvious reason: the offense sucks. It's sucked for two years now and SOMEONE has to take the heat.
About JC:
He CAN run the ball. Oddly, I think he'd be great in the spread. Why? Because the space/distance in that would give him time that he otherwise doesn't have. We could run Sims from it, too; could toss little dumps to Young, or run JC from shotgun. Hell, ANYTHING seems better than what we're doing.
When we've moved the ball this year via the air, it's been in hurry-up situations. Maybe a little 'no huddle' would work on occasion.
But sorry, the above would involve two things this staff can't seem to do:
- Admit that they're wrong about what they've been doing.
- Use a little imagination to tailor an offense to the present situation.
And imagine the surprise of our opponents! They'd shit their pants if we suddenly rolled out a spread offense with a mobile QB.
Personally, I don't blame JC. He's been put in a terrible spot with his o-line and lack of WR's. He is in charge of a predicatable, ineffective offense. I feel sorry for him more than anything.
He'll improve. Unfortunately, I see our coaches and schemes staying the same.
good catch.
It was early. In my sleepy haze, I was (of course) referring to Bob. The rest of my post I will leave unamended.
Couple other quick points:
- I imagine the pants-shitting would be done out of excitement, as JC would be sacked at least 15 times a game.
- You desperately need a new tagline.
Oops, old pal....
...surely 'you know I'm right' about Bob's first name! You have to give me THAT one for my tag-line.
Actually, it's possible that NO offense will work until JC is 'ready.' And then, maybe ANY offense will work.
But we KNOW that what we're doing now isn't working. Maybe it's too late to run the spread, but at least we could run some more plays out of shot-gun, let JC run more out of shotgun, hand-off out of shotgun.
You see where I'm going with this.
The problem I see with the 'max protection' scheme is that it only takes one breakdown and you've still got a sack. Some of JC's sacks are with three people bearing down on him.
He needs DISTANCE from the rushers. Which means shotgun. Now all we need are a greater variety of plays from shotgun and--perhaps--we'll see some results against teams we can't run against the old way.
And, BTW, I like my tag-line. Anyone who takes it seriously in the least neads to take That Concussion Test that is keeping Klink on the sideline.
In step with what I'm feeling from KF nowadays, I'm going to keep it--even though I WAS thinking about changing it--just because other people want me to change it. Hah! That'll show 'em!
last note on this
I was definitely talking about Bob Elliott, not Bill Snyder. The subject was "career assistants," and Bill Snyder was a very successful head coach.
And, uh, Nate Chandler could run a 4.7. He wasn't elusive--6'7" 250 guys never are--but he was good at scrambling for yardage.
Also he was a dead ringer for the lead singer of QOTSA.
YES
I have been saying this for years. Nate Chandler is Josh Homme. Josh Homme is Nate Chandler. Finkle is Einhorn. Einhorn is Finkle.
by Patrick Vint on Oct 10, 2007 9:34 AM CDT up reply actions
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