WWHD?

by StoopsMyAss on Sep 8, 2009 9:06 PM CDT Comment 22 comments

[Bumped, because hell yes.--OPS]

What would Hayden do?

Well, he told us during the broadcast of the UNI game that, first and foremost, he would chuck that bitch deep. He said whenever he felt his offense was struggling during a game the magic elixir was to challenge the opponent D-E-E-P.

Hayden understood that the deep ball is threatening, it is aggressive, it is an inherently hostile act. It says that you will invade the football version of the enemy’s personal space in the most spectacular way you know how. It’s inspired by a concept from the animal kingdom know as territoriality, and it clearly is something he learned about as a psych major and put into practice in the Marines. The concept is simple enough, if you feel threatened then one way to purge that feeling is to turn the tables, put your opponent on the defensive—make them defend their personal space!

Hayden always sought out the "edge." It started cosmetically with the sunglasses and the naval hat and by wearing all that naval camander white (after labor day no less...as if to say, I don’t follow rules motherfucker). But his edgiest statements were made through his play calling. He wanted the opponent to sense that Iowa feared nothing. He would throw an exotic out there whether we were ahead or behind, and he’d chuck it deep whether we were on our own 20 or at midfield, whatever it took to change the tide or establish further dominance. Sports psychologists today teach this concept to athletes for wads of cash—as usual, Hayden ahead of his time.

Bob Rotella, the sports shrink on the PGA with half the tour employing him, preaches to every player that after a bad golf shot they MUST do something not only mentally, but physically to shock their system, change the flow. Tiger Woods spits...you always see it. Right after a bad shot he hawks a loogie, and usually a huge one. As if to physically purge his body of the shank. The concept is transferable to football too, take ones focus away from the failure and start afresh, goes the thinking.

I recall several games in the early 1980s where Hayden (well, Bill Snyder technically) would call for Chuck Long to throw the bomb, which might fall miserably incomplete, and then he would call for it again on the very next play. The old Marine would happily lose the battle to win the war. And it wasn’t as though Iowa had Chaney-type speed at the wide out position in those days.

I cannot recall a receiving group with potentially as much talent and speed across all positions as we have right now. We can certainly go deep with all of them, to include our TE!! So, I am going to engage in hedonistic voodoo rituals and telepathic experiments all week, first because its fun to do that, but also in hopes that it will lead to KOK calling for more deep passes. All this run stuff is attention-grabbing and certainly important, but the real threat lies in the post pattern.

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I do what I can.

by Anonymous Hero on Sep 8, 2009 9:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm Just Gonna Leave This Here

H-Fry has no patience for those who don’t value the… uh… value the deep ball.

I will haunt your dreams and eat your children.

by Dr. Hawk on Sep 8, 2009 10:04 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't know what's going on there but I love it

I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks

by Adam Jacobi on Sep 8, 2009 10:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can only assume

that Haydenasaurus Rex is chasing Bob Zook because he’s already devoured the One True Zooker. At least I hope that’s the case.

by RossWB on Sep 9, 2009 12:17 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good lord,

I’d forgotten about the Sex Cannon….well done, sir. Well done indeed.

by TarHeelHawk on Sep 8, 2009 10:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I feel that any time I can work in a John Shoop reference, I am required to do so.

I do what I can.

by Anonymous Hero on Sep 8, 2009 11:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I want to like that photoshop...

but I don’t like thinking about Hayden Fry biting some dude who is cowering in fear on the toilet.

Also, does that mean Ferentz is Sam Neill / Dr. Grant?

Finally, between this photoshop and the one from a couple weeks ago about velociraptors, I feel like BHGP has met its seasonal dinosaur quota for the rest of fall 2009.

I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it. I felt I owed it to them.

-- Judge Smails

by WaterlooChazz on Sep 8, 2009 10:20 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't really agree with Stoops often

But, yes, do this.

by NorseHawk on Sep 8, 2009 10:26 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Hell fucking yes, wing that damn thing 45 yards downfield & let someone run under it. Or no one. Whatever. Just go deep, dammit.

Good god I need some white slacks.

by Bucketochicken on Sep 8, 2009 11:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Hayden Fox was pretty badass, too

by Brodie on Sep 9, 2009 1:03 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

To the OP, great, great post and I agree for the most part. But…

I think we took our shots downfield some. I dont think Kirk trusted his line enough the way they were playing to chalk up a bunch of deep plays though. We did however have our share of opportunities deep.

-Cheney TD that got called back
-Stanzi overthrowing Davis
-Stanzi overthrowing Stross
-Stanzi to finger-tip catching Stross

We’re not a vertical team by any means, but I agree that we have the players to do it when need be. We just need to take advantage of those opportunities when they present themself and protect Rick, and Stanzi needs to make the play when it’s there.

Hawkeyes n Cowboys. Bleeding Black, Gold, Sliver and Blue since 1987.

by HawksFlyHigh on Sep 9, 2009 1:45 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

With DJK, Moeaki, McNutt, Stross, Chaney

we could run the Atari pass route all day long

by ChryslerKinnick on Sep 9, 2009 8:19 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

We do go deep

as HFH notes. It’s just off the play action or waggle when we read a cheating safety. And ‘deep’ means something else now. We don’t throw the bombs because you can’t build an offense around 7-step drops; there’s not enough time; defenses have changed and always have 285 lb speed rushers (like 100-meter man Ballard, in our case). Even Spurrier has largely given up on the seven step drops. Can you think of a single pro or college team setting up with seven-step drops? Me neither.

The Holloway catch was a miracle play born of necessity — and a busted coverage.

That said, Chaney does seem to be able to get behind coverage.

Mr. Boh Knows ...

by Bellanca on Sep 9, 2009 9:23 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Well, how abou Colt McCoy?

He went deep to Shipley on a go (or fly) route in the Texas game last Saturday and that offense often looks to air it out. Miami, FLA had several long crossing routes and their QB drifts back to at least 9 yards behond scrimmage out of the shotgun. I know we are a run based offense and often start under center—I didn’t count the number times we lined up in shotgun but it did not seem like a lot—and I am not in the stadium so I can’t see the coverage teams are using.

But I was struck by Fry’s assessment that he wished Iowa went deep more often. Given my vantage point, I thought (and think) it is a compelling point.

Zed: You could be my right-hand man.
Oh: I've seen what you do with your right hand. No, thank you.

by StoopsMyAss on Sep 9, 2009 10:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not arguing with you,

and certainly not with Fry. Obviously Fry thinks we can get a few defenders out of the box if we stretch the field more. There must be something there.

I do think safety play is dramatically different now than in Fry’s day, as is thinking about the pass. 30 years ago the over-under for a successful passing day was hitting 50% of the throws and throwing fewer than 1 pick per 10 passes. Now the better QBs hit 65%, and I think McCoy reached 78% last year. So the coaches have very different risk profiles when it comes to the passing game. That translates into fewer game-planned long balls, and picking spots off a QB read (as I believe Iowa does) when the SS rolls up as a robber and the FS gets nosey. Iowa’s offense is almost unstoppable when we run well enough to force the SS up. I still think Stanzi is going to have a big year throwing it.

It would be an interesting question for the Credentialed Media to ask a coach: how, or if, the vertical game has changed in college. It’s certainly changed in the NFL. The historical long ball that made Oakland is today a kind of jurassic joke. You just can’t do it. Spurrier came into the NFL with his 5 and 7 step drops and Patrick Ramsey was so beaten up he still hasn’t recovered.

Mr. Boh Knows ...

by Bellanca on Sep 9, 2009 12:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good points

I do think the long ball comes out of a different tactical approach that, as you effectively point out, is pre-historic. But, don’t you think there is more opportunity to do as we did in the Minnesota game? I think we can hit that route down the sidelines?

I don’t know if watched the Miami – FSU game, but what Miami did in that game was so outside the box it was phenomenal. They racked up some 350 yards passing, and 250 or so of them were on first downs, out of the shotgun, pretty much downfield.

I think we might have a better running game than I thought we might after losing Jewel…Robinson surprised me a bit (I had low expectations) and with Calloway back and Dace moving to the more comfy inside, and perhaps Vandervelde returning, this all may be moot. ISU’s D-line is not nearly what UNI’s was and we may just stuff it down their throat until they run blitz us and then it’s a Moeaki fest.

But, UNI played two freshmen CBs and ISU may just think they can go man-up given UNI’s success in the first half at least….and if they do go man-up on us i would love to see the deep ball.

Zed: You could be my right-hand man.
Oh: I've seen what you do with your right hand. No, thank you.

by StoopsMyAss on Sep 9, 2009 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The cross-buck

Of course, Hayden was also the master of the fake to halfback one way, give it to the fullback (Paul Kujawa comes to mind) going the other way, a running play which took about 5,000 seconds to develop.

by DodgerHawki on Sep 9, 2009 9:39 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Crossing routes and quick outs are the new deep pass.

Complete a pass to a guy in space, and watch him break one tackle to turn a quick slant or hook into a 20+ yard gain.

Stretch the field horizontally. We need to get back to that… it’s how we were successful in Ferentz’ early years. Now we think we have the athletes to take lower percentage deep shots, but it doesn’t work out that way.

by rockyh on Sep 9, 2009 5:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Of course, Hayden and Long had all those deep weapons...

….like, umm, like, ummm.

In 1985, we use Happel and Helverson, two of the whitest slowest guys u know. We also had a Mr Robert Smith, who ran (and caught) like the wind. I remember him catching exactly one pass, against Illinois in the ran, and it went for a TD.

I remember him whiffing on exactly a million passes, however.

Other than Smith, Long almost NEVER had a deep threat, yet we still tried to throw it. I suppose that only validates JHF’s philosophy, in a way: it’s the THREAT, not the actual CATCHING of the deep ball that accomplishes your aim.

It wasn’t until Quinn Early came into his awesome fruition that Iowa had a really good deep threat, followed by Danan Snow-Angel a few years later.

With Chaney and Davis and McNutt, we should be throwing about five long “GO” routes a game—and I think we’ll see that. Now that we have a tall receiver or two, we might even be able to win a few jump balls back there, even if underthrown, Braylon Edwards style.

If it's not too much trouble, search your soul--and then ask yourself if maybe I might have a point.

by The Director on Sep 9, 2009 5:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Arithmetic.

1. QBs have 3.1 seconds max to unload the ball, unless we’re playing ~~UNI~~ Luther.

2. Iowa’s fastest wideout (Chaney) runs a 4.3-4.4 in pads.

3. I say we throw 20-30 yards and hope we read the safety right.

Just my $0.02. I exhausted my bickering budget with Cook on the third day of the month.

Mr. Boh Knows ...

by Bellanca on Sep 9, 2009 6:55 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

well, if you throw the ball when the reciever is 29 yards downfield

by the time the ball gets to him he is 50 yards downfield

i understand your point, however. the pass blocking was poor in the first half last week.

I do what I can.

by Anonymous Hero on Sep 9, 2009 7:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was talking about the deep throws at the game...

with the people sitting behind me. We definitely have the personnel, and I’m not even counting Chaney (because I think we’ve already seen most of his plays for this season where he doesn’t fall down and where he actually catches it).

But, as long as Stanzi looks like that, we will always be throwing those passes from down 14 points, because he will already have thrown 2 picks in the first 22 minutes against “real” defenses (Arizona, most Big Ten teams, and maybe ISU).

The bread and butter of the Iowa offense under Ferentz/O’Keefe will always be:
field position, lack of turnovers, running the ball, and accurate short and medium throws. We will probably have a few long-gainers this year, but they probably will be when we are way behind.

Some things I would like to see are: the occasional pitch to a side where you have Bulaga and the best blocking-TE (is it Moeaki?). More runs with a fullback (especially when you are already in FG range). Some out and ups with our TEs.

I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it. I felt I owed it to them.

-- Judge Smails

by WaterlooChazz on Sep 9, 2009 9:00 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs