Iowa Vs. Arizona Review

Same format as usual.  Would like to wish Arizona well.  The more they win the better Iowa looks.  I feel that was a very good team the Hawks beat.  They have some questions at QB, and I am sure they could have used Gronkowski, but Iowa wasn't exactly the picture of health entering that game.  Very impressed with the Wildcat's secondary and both TBs.  Delashaun Dean looks like he could be a Sunday player.  Both Interior D-lineman were fairly impressive also.  Now onto last weeks Negatives, Positves, and Coaching observations.

Negatives
Iowa's first half passing game: It would be easy to put all of Iowa's issue's squarely on back of Ricky Stanzi but I am not sure that is the case.  I think he has been inconsistent both mentally and physically, and he has made some decisions that would have cost against better teams.  However he still flashes moments of brilliance.  When he is getting his whole body into throws and his first option is open he is fantastic.  Unfortunately he seemingly isn't reading the whole field.  It seems like he is deciding where to throw the ball before he takes the snap.  I could be wrong, but if I am not that is going to lead to DBs and LBs sitting on routes for specific formations all season.  I also feel like KOK should get a little of the blame.  I think the coaching staff is so worried about getting Ricky off to a hot start they are trying to get him nice easy safe passes on the edge and are afraid to attack the middle of the field early in the game.  I also think the slot receiver is being ignored by both our offense and opposing defenses.  If no one is within 5 yards of Chaney maybe we need an audible to just throw him the ball and let him work?  Call me crazy but if we like his ability to retun punts we must like him in space and that is a lot of space to work with.  We are getting plays late again.  When that is coupled with a blitz and Stanzi has no time to look over a defense that is going to lead to sacks or turnovers.  This needs to be corrected.  You have 40 seconds to call a play and signal it in.  Delay of game and time outs are not acceptable when you are in your 11th year on the job.  The huddle should be broken and the team should be lined up with at least 12 seconds on the play clock.  I would also like to give Arizona's secondary some credit for the first half perfomance Saturday.  They were extremely aggressive and fast.  They even defended double moves.  Our receivers are also still relatively young, especially with Moeaki and DJK out.  They might not always be in the right place making Stanzi look bad.  I think Ferentz addressed that in his Tuesday Presser.  There is certainly room for improvement but I don't think the passing game is broken by any means when you see the way Stanzi plays the 2nd half of games.  I just would like to see that for four quarters.

Kickoff Coverage and Return Units: Although the Hawks have forced a couple of fumbles on the KO cover team they generally haven't looked very aggressive and nearly gave up a return for a TD in the Arizona game.  I would prefer that Murray not make any more tackles this season.  I feel Iowa really misses Jayme Murphy.  They need someone to replace his passion on this unit and play with that kind of reckless abandon.  Of course the flipside of that is career- ending injuries.  The Kick Return Unit has also looked out of sorts.  It doesn't seem to matter who we put back there.  Chaney and Spievey haven't broken anything and haven't even looked like they have had a seam.  The blocking needs to improve.  This could really spark something special.  Our success early this decade was often lead by the special teams.

Koeppel as the third TE in Goalline: This might seem really nitpicky.  But I am going to expand this to nitpick some other things formationally.  Iowa has some young TEs that need to gain some experience.  One, J.D. Griggs, is roughly the same size as Koeppel.  I feel like putting a lineman in there just sends the signal- here comes the run, no threat of P/A passing here.  If they did run play-action and he dropped the pass I would go ballistic on KOK.  I also hate it when the Hawks run an unbalanced formation (cover up one of the tight ends with a wide out)  I have yet to a pass run out of this formation and it would be easy to get a penalty called if it were successful.  I do like the "tight" ( receivers in tight, not split out wide like normal) formations but I thought they were overused and could be detrimental to the running game overall as Iowa doesn't generally attack the outside.  I did like some of the route combinations out of these formations.

Postives
Ryan Donahue:  I don't have BGHP's affinity for nicknames and I wish I could come up with one for him right now besides MVP.  I probably haven't given him enough notice on this site but he is having an outstanding season.  Punters don't usually leave early for the NFL but it might be time to get nervous.  He is truly a weapon.  Even when he gets a touchback his net is longer than most punters average.

The Defensive Line: Adrian Clayborn played an incredible game and rightly has gotten a lot of recognition this week but the whole unit well last week.  Binns was a constant presence in Matt Scott's face, and both Ballard and Klug were shedding O-lineman like they were fat ladies with candy wrappers.  They also played their lanes for the most part.  The only time Grigsby got loose was on the 58 yard draw on 3rd and 6th where Clayborn took an outside path to the QB.  I thought it was a nice playcall, nothing the d-line did wrong.   Arizona got 85% of their rushing total on 3 plays.  That is a dominant performance.  That isn't even addressing the hurt and frustration they put on Matt Scott.  Arizona's offensive line sure didn't enjoy the film review this week.

The Offensive Line: This unit is really starting to come together.  The pass protection has really improved from the UNI game and they don't fall for the same blitz twice.  They are doing a nice job in the run game and doing it most of the time against 8 or 9 man fronts.  Again Riley Reiff should get special mention as he mane just his second start and basically shut out an All Pac Ten Player.  Adam Gettis has also done a nice job stepping in for Vandervelde when he needs a blow.

Sash and Greenwood: These guys are playing so well that Norm is actually calling blitzes on first and second downs.  The Vulture got another pick and was so pissed he dropped a second one I thought he was going to go fight the Arizona sideline.  Both are solid to spectacular tacklers.  They also don't miss assignments and are becoming more and more confident in their abilities.

Coaching: KOK has dialed up some pretty decent gameplans so far this season but he needs to improve his clock management.  This isn't a new problem for him but so far it is really the only thing to complain about and that is a pretty good thing.  Norm on the other hand has done everything right so far this season.  He has been more aggresive with the players and really showing confidence in them by letting them blitz or spying with Angerer or Sash.  He is showcasing Spievey by letting him blitz and press.  They obviously have confidence in the younger players on the secondary as they are playing as much Nickel and Dime as I have ever seen.   This may be the best defense that Norm has ever coached but it certainly is the most aggressively he has ever coached at Iowa.

Again I would like to complement Coach Ferentz.  I think he could care less that Iowa isn't ranked.  No one realizes that Moeaki, Bulaga, and DJK are hurt outside of the state of Iowa and The Hawks just continue to roll.  His press conferences my be full of dry wit and no information but I read them anyway.  I just like the way he conducts himself, even if I disagree with a gameday decision I am glad he is Iowa's coach.