Minnesota 27, Iowa 24: The Song Remains The Same

“I can’t tell you what to think or how to feel — just know that if you choose to remember them more for their failures than their successes, it probably says a lot about who you are as a fan than how good (or bad) they were.”
+1

Great analysis. Thanks RossWB!

Sums it up for me pretty well. A high horse riding in, and a lowly jackass riding out. The “Ferentz gets paid too much” comments have already started up at the convenience store I run.

Too bad and very disappointing but these seniors gave us great memories and I will always remember that. Hope we can get a good bowl win in the end!

but Minnesota’s intermim coach said before the game that the team who played with more physicality in this one would come out the victor…and he was absolutely right.

flat out difficult to watch but I think I will always remember AC for his Orange Bowl performance, I will always remember Rick in the 4’th quarter against Indiana last year, and DJK jumps onto my list of Hawks that I will follow religiously in the NFL. Even with the disappointment that was 2010 I am going to miss these Seniors.

Also, the Gophers just reminded me why I hate them. I had no ill feelings towards them before this game, the rivalry has been renewed for me.

And one last point, not asking for rumors here, I know they are out there. How long is it before we find out what the Wegher situation was this year and what it is for next year. Is that book officially closed?

It seems that there just isn’t a great fit for Iowa in the bowl picture this year. With a downtrodden fanbase you’d want something new and exciting to get people to travel to the bowl game. Yet, we’ve been to Florida every year since Ponce DeLeon discovered the joint…and we already sent somewhere between 10-20K fans to the Pheonix area earlier this year…most of whom don’t want to go back.

From Sports Illustrated

By now, it’s abundantly clear there’s no point heaping high expectations on a Kirk Ferentz-coached team, because Iowa’s most hyped teams inevitably flop. An embarrassing 27-24 loss to rival Minnesota (3-9) put the finishing touches on a disappointing 7-5 season for a team that began the year ranked ninth in the AP poll. And because of the glut of other 7-5 Big Ten teams (Penn State, Michigan, Northwestern), the Hawkeyes may have cost themselves a New Year’s Day bowl appearance.

And the worst part of that is, it’s true.

recruits making visits the next few weeks can view real, somewhat meaningful practices instead of just a few guys dickin’ around in the weight room

Ricky Stanzi was never that good. He just had a few games where he put together a nice last drive. He was actually much better in 2010 than in 2009, which is saying something.

Same with the rest of this team. The difference between 10-2 and 7-5 is merely a matter of execution. Last year, we didn’t execute well, but somehow put it all together at the end of the game to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. This year, we executed a bit better over the course of the game, but when it really counted, we folded. Maybe our boys were trying too hard, or maybe they were reading their own press and getting complacent, who knows. But this team, at 7-5, is not that different from the team that went 10-2 during the season last year.

I’m just as frustrated as anyone at the tenor of the losses we’ve suffered this year, but conversely expectations were sky high to start the season, and perhaps unreasonably so.

Insightful, balanced, sane, thoughtful. All the things I avoid so as to ensure I get the first pick on appointment times each Tuesday with my social worker.

You could tell he left it all on the field, despite Kirk’s obsessive desire to keep him from having fun. Seeing him break down in tears as the student section chanted his name on senior day demonstrated to me that he was truly proud to be a Hawkeye, and was sorry to have to leave it all behind. I wish he could have had a better ending to his career here.

is a very nice upgrade from the dome, which is a shithole, and the jumbotron was very nice. My frozen feet made the fucking “who hates Iowa, we hate Iowa” chants even worse to listen to.

They’re 1-4 away from Kinnick, with the lone win being a brutally ugly (and frankly lucky) win at Indiana,

…but pretty sure the win at Michigan still counts. Fuck. We DID win that won right? Memory fading….

Disappointing is the word in every article about this team today, and it’s correct. My greatest disappointment is with a lack of intensity. We’re probably always going to live on the edge at Iowa, and I can handle close losses when we’ve left it all on the field, but it seems like Ferentz and his coaches just don’t control the emotion of their teams. You can’t force chemistry, but one of the biggest differences between this year and last was intensity and attitude of play. We can’t always have a Sanders or Angerer on the field, and at some points the coaches need to find a way to control the team’s attitude. Am I off base here?

The more I think about this, the more I think that our offense is really the big problem here, and what is separating us from other top programs. Our defense wasn’t clutch this year, for sure, but I do think we had a good enough defense to win more games. Our offense isn’t getting it done, and hasn’t for years. This is Big 10 rank for offense and defense by yards per game:

Year (O rank, D rank)
2010 – 8, 2
2009 – 10, 3
2008 – 5, 3
2007 – 11, 5
2006 – 5, 7
2005 – 5, 4
2004 – 10, 2
2003 – 9, 4
Ave – 7.9, 3.8

We have a defense that is consistently a top 3-4 D in the league, while our offense is consistently near the bottom. That’s not getting it done. This year we had the most talent at skill positions on O that we’ve had in a long time – lots of experienced seniors – and we still can’t do better than 8th in O. Yes, stability has helped us, but its time to find a system/staff that can create more points.

Then we might consider counting both jNWU’s 4Q scoring drives.

While I respect the DJK love on display here, why do we automatically assume that Ferentz is the bad guy in this situation? Why do we assume that there is a bad guy?

Maybe DJK is the kind of guy who always tries to get in the last word. Maybe he’s the kind of guy who is always muttering comments just out of earshot. Maybe he’s the kind of guy who always makes life difficult. What’s clear is that the two just don’t connect. There’s no chemistry there, unless you count those chemistry experiments that produce a cloud of gas and kill all the lab mice.

DJK is in that no-man’s-land between acting like a kid and acting like a man. That just comes with the age. For those of us who are older, remember what we were like in our early 20s? I could be a real dick, I can admit.

My concern for Kirk is that he appears to have let the tension get the best of him. My concern for DJK is that he appears unable to leave well enough alone. Kirk should have enough life experience to know that some guys just won’t get the program and that it’s best to bite your lip and leave well enough alone. My disappointment for DJK is that no one pulled him aside and told him that sometimes it’s better to go along to get along and that to do so could be a choice worth millions in pro money.

They have a broken relationship, I’m sorry to say, and may have cost the Hawks a season to remember.

Iowa under KF is the better long-term investment in my mind.

I guess we’ll see how it goes over the next few years.

I’m only mostly joking.

I’ve been coming to some conclusions this season and many of my recent posts have been trying to untangle and refine these thoughts.
1. Ferentz is a great talent developer, an exemplary manifestation of Midwestern values, and I really like the guy.
2. Iowa is never going to win an MNC under Ferentz because of many of the reasons why I like him.
He is both loyal and stubborn. He is a great big picture thinker in terms of program direction over years at a time, but can’t seem to make adjustments today based on obvious information directly in front of him.
The stoic lack of emotion is great for planning, but in the heat of a game comes off as distant and uncaring.
We will never be a bad team under Ferentz, but I don’t think he has the killer attitude to get a team to play at peak levels for the full season required for greatness.
As a lifelong fan, and a fairly competitive person, this all combines to leave me at odds with myself as to what I want to see going forward.
Do we accept average most years or do we take more risks with both the higher amounts of good and bad. I don’t have those answers as to what I would like to see from Ferentz yet and probably won’t for some time.

I don’t think the only alternative to choking the life out of the ball and losing by 3.7 ppg, or putting dispirited teams on the field, is a corrupt program such as Auburn. That’s a false choice, I believe.

because i see two directions. one is the “i want a National Title” direction and the other is a “i want to be competitive” direction.

personally i want a National Title, and personally i dont think KF will be able to give Iowa one. now if we want to get winning records on a constant basis, get into a BCS bowl once in a while and rarely stir the pot like good middle of the pack schools do then Ferentz is our guy, but i want to take the next step, even if its a risk and we end up in the 90’s again, no one succeeded without taking risks.

I just watched Barcelona whup Real Madrid, 5-0.

He’s not leaving us with a mess, plenty of good talent coming back and Iowa will be able to attract a good coach with the salary we can offer and the facilities/fan base. I see nothing wrong with trying to get a football equivalent of a McCaffery – aggressive, offensive-oriented ball, and it doesn’t have to be of the Rich Rod variety. I think Kirk is running a serious risk of running the program into the ground if he continues his stubbornness of refusing to adjust in-game. Let him do that at the next level. Iowa isn’t going to suck, the foundation is there for continued success, but it may be time for someone else to drive the bus.

but i feel it needs repeating

plenty of prayers have come my way and yours embellish a simple truth i have learned surviving 58 weeks after radical head and neck surgery

if you beleive, if you releive believe things will happen , but not necessarily in your time,,,

I want our kids to know that I beleive in them, and no matter how much shit is slung on the wall if they want to really show is what being a Hawk is they can,,, and what ever has happend (watching AC getting double and triple teamed in Bloomington with my own eyes is just one example) doesn’t mean they can’t look inside and find the strength to end the season the best of their abilities .

If anyone understands the concept of leaving nothing on the field, I do. I want to share that with the young men wearing the hawk on their helmet. I can’t go out and block anyone or throw or do anything but offer encouragement because they can. It doesnt matter what I feel about KOK or Captain Kirk or Norm,,,,

GO HAWKS

(my apologies 1-10 not 1-11 mental methane)

but instead have read/listened to fans here and elsewhere and have come to the conclusion that wrapping my mind around this season will take another week or so, if not much longer.

Yes, we’re all extremely disappointed. Yes, most of us realize that this truly is a solid team we’re talking about and that the marquee wins this year are much more indicative of their collective ability than the last 4 games. And yes, we’re all very conflicted about the coaching staff, especially KF, and their ability to manage games and instill confidence and a sense urgency in their players.

That last part is what I’ve been most upset about in the weeks since the Sparty beatdown; the coaching staff, especially the defensive coaches, have shown little to no sense of urgency before, after or during games. I’d love to see what goes on in practice or film sessions during the week, because I (and we, for that matter) could be very wrong about this, but the way it has appeared on the field these past few Saturday’s is that this team doesn’t play with passion or the drive to execute when it matters most. Of course, this is not all on the coaches. Last year, things went the Hawks way a lot. They played extremely well when it mattered, and they played with passion. Whatever the cause for this monumental shift may be, it absolutely needs to be corrected if this program hopes to return to the form of the latter half of the ’08 season and the full ’09 season in the years to come.

And that ultimately falls on the shoulder of KF. This off-season is going to be an incredibly interesting one, and I have a strong feeling that Kirk will be under the microscope heading into next season more than he’s probably ever been. So it goes when you follow a resounding success with an ugly-duckling of a season. By my book, the changes that must occur are as follows; the message of the coaching staff in tough moments and behind closed doors needs to be reevaluated; the complete and utter reliance on a system that the opposition has effectively been handed the keys to defeat must be adapted when necessary; and most of all, a sense of urgency and outward passion must be relied upon much more heading into future years.

I, for one (and as far as I can tell, I am not the only one), still believe in this program and Coach Ferentz. When we win and play well, the mantra KF and his staff preach makes all other programs look inferior. Perspective is certainly one of the most important things a coach can extol… but when the going gets tough, it’s time to live in the now and correct things before preaching perspective turns into the door hitting you in the ass.

I watched the entirity of Glass’s press conference last night saying ta ta to herr Lynch. It was the classiest put the boy in the boat and set it on fire speech I have ever seen.

Real Class,,,,

Every year I think about coaches and coaching in the B10 at the end of the year and a bit of panic sets in. Brew and his first recruiting class, DickRod and past sucesses, the Zooker (recruiter extroadinaire), and the Fitz. How will Iowa keep up? I will take my chances with Ferentz. Look at how some of those others turned out. I think the the next coach at Minnesota will be Wiscy offensive coordinator, Crist. The loss of him and the OL will put a little pressure on Bielema. We’ll see. By the way, how come noone comes to raid Iowa’s coordinators? Something to think about.

the one thing that I simply haven’t been able to comprehend is that Iowa teams lead by KF are supposed to get stronger over the course of the season.
This is to say, we’re not flashy, we’re not overwhelmingly talented, we’re a scheme driven team, that relies on timing and a complete understanding of each players part in the system. Those early season losses and close calls in previous years have been explained by lack of experience, but generally by the end of the year, we’re as good as possible. We don’t typically plateau in halfway through the season. There are still mistakes, still plenty of teaching moments, and those are used to get better.
We didn’t see that this year. We didn’t see a team where execution appeared to be fine tuned over the course of the year
It’s easy to point to all of the injuries, and I have no doubt that they are the majority of the cause, as well as sheer player inexperience caused by guys pressed into action because of the injuries.
However, it still seems to me that we didn’t see the kind of progress as the year went on that we normally see. I’m used to being excited for the end of the year to see how good we can be, but that’s not the case this year.