Iowa Hawkeye Football fans... in the recent words of Aaron - TopicsExpress



          

Iowa Hawkeye Football fans... in the recent words of Aaron Rodgers... RELAX... Reading through the dialog after a tough loss to Minnesota has been nauseating. Many calling for the head of Coach Ferentz with the complete swiftness of the usual knee-jerk. As someone who seeks to know and tries to understand the weekly preparation of a football team; please understand the many, many factors that impact a teams performance on game day... aside from the Head Coach - and reflect on the factors that created greater momentum for the Gophers yesterday... 1. Poor Special Teams play (specifically Punt protection and Kickoff Return execution) - both leading to poor field position and putting an already impacted defense (with many young players - LBs playing because of discipline issues with other players) in a difficult situation. 2. Poor execution with the offensive line in Run-play execution... and physically being beaten at the point of attack. For whatever reason, their assignment execution was below what they established against Northwestern...but is still a work in progress. 3. Poor execution against the Minnesota zone-read scheme...again, very different speed when practicing and preparing for it during the week versus seeing it in-person. With three young LBs seeing game action for the first time against such a scheme. This leads to poor gap-integrity within the defensive front and exposes poor fits and fills from the second and third-level players. 4. Poor execution in Pass Defense... little to now pass rush and containment of the Gopher QB... poor LB drops in zone to get under intermediate routes and poor DB fundamental footwork against WRs making double moves within their routes. 5. Poor ball security and offensive execution on 1st and 2nd down (while los ing the field-position battle)... and not taking care of the football when maintaining possession on offense. Turnovers on short fields elicit a difficult mentality for young defenses at times. These are just a few (with many others not highlighted). They are examples of what occurs on the field...not a mentality and certainly not a magic pep talk that is suppose to occur from a coach when things become difficult during game play. The Lombardi speeches are Hollywood... not real world. Perhaps it takes someone whose actually competed in sport to understand... versus the jockless wonder who was intramural flag-football runner-up wearing his Drew Tate jersey (a size too small because of his expert fitness regiment) to Kinnick Stadium... All members of the team are responsible for the execution, coaches and players. Coach Ferentzs frustration was as evident as his players... but what impresses me about Coach Ferentz and the players in the Iowa Football program is that they keep things in proper perspective regarding their game day play... it comes back to executing and playing with sound football fundamentals... Blocking, tackling, ball security, block disengagement, proper fit and fill (gap integrity) within the defensive front, throwing and catching with proper route-run execution, proper coverage fundamentals (man or zone)...etc., etc., etc.... Iowa is a very sound and very good fundamental football team...offensively, defensively and with special teams...it has been their calling card through decades and through two head coaches over the last 30+ years... Sometimes things occur that are not easily explainable - particularly to a group that wants immediate answers...in our already impatient society... Coach Ferentz is a man, just one, just like the many hundreds invested within Hawkeye Football on a daily basis. He has invested and committed himself, heart and soul, and his family to this program... He wasnt the flavor of the month choice for many skeptics when he was hired... but he was the right choice and is a very, very good football coach. The more I learn about him and Iowa Football during his time as head coach... the more impressed I become. For those calling for his head... consider this... two years ago Dave Brandon, former A.D. at Michigan was placed on the pedestal as the illustration for what a D-I college athletic director and his leadership should be about... now he is unemployed - a product of the knee-jerk culture weve become in sport. He was the greatest 24 months before...? Really...? Or is it just our ADHD-created and cultivated society...? Only allowing attention for 24 hours or to things that are only good... like a cat with a yarn ball! Let the man do his job...which is all hes been doing... (and from one fan) doing well during his time at Iowa. Football (or basketball, baseball, etc.) games are won or lost because of fundamental play... directly or indirectly attributable to many, many factors - not a football cultures one-man punching bag. Unfortunately as fans weve morphed back to Salem, Massachusetts, circa 17th century and become uneducated witch hunters... Coach Ferentz has had opportunities to leave many times over during his tenure in Iowa City and he has remained something that we lack in todays ADHD-created and cultivated society... LOYAL. Perhaps we would do well to follow his example... or become, God-forbid, Michigan...? New week, new opponent... GO HAWKS - BEAT ILLINOIS!
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 16:38:44 +0000

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