The Nightmare Matchup Paradox

by Adam Jacobi on Dec 28, 2009 11:30 AM CST in Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball

We've already mentioned the fact that Iowa's game may largely hinge on the way Amari Spievey handles (or at least matches up with) DeMaryius Thomas.

What's interesting is that Thomas basically represents the single greatest fear for Spievey's pro aspirations. After all, though Amari's two years at Iowa are solidly successful resume builders and reason enough for a high draft pick, Spievey has now got a fly-running giant in front of him. Amari may be a lockdown corner within 15 yards of the LOS, but it has always seemed that he can be beaten deep; if anybody on Iowa's schedule this season can accomplish such a feat, it's Spievey.

Likewise, Tech's most highly rated pro prospect is Derrick Morgan. He's uniformly projected to be a top 8 pick in this draft, regardless of any minor problems that may arise between then and now. He's a likely future all-pro in the NFL. He can ball. He's legit.

And thus, the quandary arises.

After all, just as Spievey finds himself matched up against the type of receiver that has confounded him, Iowa OT Bryan Bulaga must face All-American Morgan. And a paradox ensues.

Indeed, if Iowa wants to win the bowl game and claim a BCS victory, it will have to be largely on the backs of Spievey and Bulaga. They both face GT's strongest players, and their success rate will fundamentally instruct their decisions for the 2010 season. Really, if Iowa's super juniors bring it as hard as we expect them to, they're gone for the NFL in a well-deserved nanosecond. They'd be demonstrably ready for the next level, even as Iowa's ship sinks. And so then Iowa sucks in 2010 as the Hawkeyes struggle in vain to replace their players who are ready for the next level.

Alternatively, despite the BXI showing, very few (or none!) are ready for the next level, and the bowl game will expose that. Good news if you wanted Bulaga, Calloway, and Spievey back, but bad news if you believed in their elite abilities beforehand.

So it's really a talon-dominant bitch of a celebration. It's a good feeling. Make the most of it.

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Comments

Somebody's got a case of the Mondays.

by Eyeheartfreedumb on Dec 28, 2009 11:43 AM CST reply actions

A case of knowing Iowa plays Purdue on Tuesday?

OHHH! haHA!" – Gus Johnson

by ReadingRambler on Dec 28, 2009 12:26 PM CST up reply actions

Speaking of which

why is this posted in the ‘Basketball’ section?

by Brock Sampson on Dec 28, 2009 12:52 PM CST up reply actions

Needs more graphs and bar charts

/Ramblin’ Wrecked

by YouCanPutYourEddsInIt on Dec 28, 2009 11:53 AM CST reply actions

In a paradox, opposites do not negate each other

They cohere in mysterious unity at the heart of reality. Perhaps the Orange Bowl and Pro prospects will cloud over in a thick shade of grey.

"For me the game wasn’t grounded in reality. It was about the uniform you put on that turned you into a warrior. It was about the mythology of the battle, the victory, the defeat, the struggle." - Mike Reid, PSU '69

by jtothep on Dec 28, 2009 12:43 PM CST reply actions

Ah, the "j" and "p" are for...

…Jean-Paul Sartre. Or was that a Yoda quote? :)

by Eyeheartfreedumb on Dec 28, 2009 1:48 PM CST reply actions

I think it was Red Heather the First

Nah, I memorized that paradox line years ago from some Quaker literature and have always wanted to drop it in a football context.

by jtothep on Dec 28, 2009 2:37 PM CST up reply actions

Damn...

…until I scrolled down I thought I had dropped the Heathers ball. I just caught part of it while hanging out at my cousin’s house on Friday.
Just in time to catch:
“I love my dead gay son!”

I wish I had a bunch of old Quaker books to quote from. All I have is Quaker Oats boxes from the flood, but I won’t quote them here.

by Eyeheartfreedumb on Dec 28, 2009 3:59 PM CST up reply actions

RIP Ram

by jtothep on Dec 28, 2009 8:45 PM CST up reply actions

Christmas was that bad, eh?

"Wow. You know you have problems when even the cheerleaders know you suck." ~ Pain in the Sash

by Leftcoast Hawk on Dec 28, 2009 2:09 PM CST reply actions

Calloway?

I know i’m slow, but isn’t he gone anyhow? I hope i didn’t miss the joke and get slammed. Go Hawks!

i don't wife em...i one night em

by smokinthereiff on Dec 28, 2009 2:47 PM CST reply actions

Reality leaves much to imagination

by fivewords on Dec 28, 2009 3:15 PM CST reply actions

I'm not overly worried about Bulaga going

They got by fine with Reiff.

Spievey leaving would have me worried though.

Luck is probability taken personally, clutch is probability attributed to individuals.

It's shocking how much can slip your perception

Even your eyes lie

by shake n bake on Dec 28, 2009 5:36 PM CST reply actions

Eh, it'd be a big loss for sure, but I feel pretty good about having Prater & Bernstine back there.

Of The Three, I really think Clayborn would’ve been the biggest loss.

BEWARE THE PEPPER TRAP!

by Bucketochicken on Dec 28, 2009 5:42 PM CST up reply actions

forgot about Bernstine

was thinking about Lowe/Castillo

Replacing Clayborn would have been rough, though Mike Daniels looked good whenever I saw him in, could’ve moved Ballard back outside and gone with Klug-Daniels in the middle.

Luck is probability taken personally, clutch is probability attributed to individuals.

It's shocking how much can slip your perception

Even your eyes lie

by shake n bake on Dec 28, 2009 5:54 PM CST up reply actions

Totally agree Mr. O'Chicken.

Spivey/Bulaga are great, but most difficult to replace of the three would have been Clayborn.

Black and Gold Blood: Cubbie Blue Heart

Follow me on Twitter: @MattLaCasse

by MissouriHawk on Dec 28, 2009 9:24 PM CST up reply actions

This.

Clayborn allows the Hawks to do what they do… put pressure on the QB without needing DB’s of LB’s to blitz.

/O'keefe'd

by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Dec 28, 2009 9:47 PM CST up reply actions

Two things to remember

We’ve all heard the “Iowa can’t replace _______ and ______ before.” Most of the time, this comes from Iowa State fans. There was no way Iowa could replace Roth and Babineaux, and then there was no way Iowa could replace King and Kroul.

I would think that by this point, most of us are able to recognize this staffs ability to coach players up regardless of experience. If the raw talent is there, the learning curve is pretty steep. Bulaga’s improvement from 2007 to 2008 is a good example of that. There is NO reason to think that if Bulaga and Spievey both leave that the guys waiting in the wings won’t be able to molded in that same fashion. Besides, even if it ends up being Bernstine taking Spievey’s spot, it isn’t like Iowa has two stud safeties to help him out should the situation call for it.

by TarHeelHawk on Dec 28, 2009 9:27 PM CST reply actions

Wasn't it...

…Hodge and Hodges that couldn’t be replaced one year there too?

by Eyeheartfreedumb on Dec 28, 2009 10:15 PM CST up reply actions

Or maybe Greenway in there somewhere.

by Eyeheartfreedumb on Dec 28, 2009 10:25 PM CST up reply actions

Or Brodell this year.

You’d think that kid was Jerry Rice the way they talked about how fucked we’d be this year w/out him. Heh, I love ISU fans. Well, their pain and delusion, anyway.

BEWARE THE PEPPER TRAP!

by Bucketochicken on Dec 29, 2009 7:16 AM CST up reply actions

That sounds like a TV show

but I really don’t know, I was just using the latest example of players that Iowa would never able to replace.

This summer it’ll be that Iowa can’t replace Angerer and Edds. Never mind that at least 3/4 of the secondary will come back, along with the whole defensive line. Without AJ and Pat out there, Iowa is truely fucked.

by TarHeelHawk on Dec 29, 2009 7:49 AM CST up reply actions

Proper fucked...

…[though I will miss watching our LBs lining up against other teams’ receivers and covering them like a blanket… after Klinkenborg got beat by that ISU receiver a few years back I’ve enjoyed watching our shut down linebackers… however, we’ve got a great corps coming back next year, so it isn’t like we’re losing ALL of our quick LBs.]

by Eyeheartfreedumb on Dec 29, 2009 8:32 AM CST up reply actions

This is crap.

It’s always better to have more good players than not. Yes, if these guys leave, Bernstein and Reiff will be Big XI-starting quality and the team will be fine. The problem is that I think this team can be far better than fine. They can compete for a MNC. Bulaga and Spievey could end up being among the very best in the country at their positions. A) It’s better to just have depth, period. B) Having 1st-round NFL talent is far better than Big Televen-starter quality players.

Raise your expectations man!!!

In the past 10 years, just four team owners have not paid a luxury tax and are not on pace to pay one this year: Donald Sterling, Jerry Reinsdorf, Chris Cohen (Golden State), Bob Johnson (Charlotte).

Two owners’ teams averaged an operating income of over +$10 million per year while their teams have lost over 60% of their games: Donald Sterling and Jerry Reinsdorf.

by tyger1147 on Dec 29, 2009 9:45 AM CST up reply actions

Okay, Iowa fans...

What gives? The Orange Bowl web site has a poll asking “Who will win the Orange Bowl” — As per the “results”, there have been 2.218,204 votes with 100% “voting” that Georgia Tech will win… WTF? Over 2 million (yes, with an M) votes and they ALL think Tech wins? (I have a screen shot but don’t know how to insert the jpg into the post.)

DWWD -- WDE!

by ATL_AU_FAN on Dec 29, 2009 12:07 PM CST reply actions