Hawkeye Football

I really don’t want to talk about it but I guess I will.  In what has to be the worst display of offensive football I’ve ever subjected myself to watching the Iowa Hawkeyes lost to Iowa St. in a game that will set back the game of football 50 years.  Go ahead and celebrate Cyclone fans but neither team deserved to win that game your team just happened to have more points when the game ended, you shouldn’t have, but you did so enjoy it.  The Iowa offense is putrid and no it isn’t the new coordinator or the new scheme.  I counted 10 drops by Iowa players on offense and that is being nice.  Keenan Davis, Kevonte Martin-Manley, Don Shumpert, Mark Weisman and CJ Fiedorowicz all dropped easily catchable balls from James Vandenberg some of them dropped more than one.  Vandenberg was inaccurate many times during the first game against NIU but for the most part he was right on the money against ISU.  The Hawkeye fan base is losing its collective minds over another loss to ISU (Ferentz is 6-8 lifetime against the Clones) and trust me no one hates losing to ISU more than I do but I try to look at the games objectively after I have watched them as a fan and I can say this; Ferentz’s concerns about the WR group during spring practice were well founded.  As both a fan and an objective observer my take of the receivers on this team is this…they suck.  Keenan Davis drops more routine passes than any starting WR I can remember and apparently Kevonte Martin-Manley has decided that that is the trait of Davis’s he most wants to emulate, bad choice.  The scouting report on Don Shumpert coming into the season was that he is fast but has trouble catching the ball…talk about hitting the nail on the head.  My report about Mark Weisman from the open practice talked about how he looked good except trying to catch the ball deep down the sideline and I said as long as throwing deep to our fullback wasn’t a major part of the offense we were okay but apparently short quick throws at the goal line are not his strong suit either.  Weisman looked like a grizzly bear swatting at a fly trying to catch that pass.  Even Fiedorowicz dropped a pass late that would have picked up a first down on a 2^nd and long, luckily for him Shumpert dropped an equally easy pass on the resulting 3^rd and long that made everyone forget the pass he dropped.  The good news is that the receivers did a better job of getting open in this game than they did against NIU the bad news is being open doesn’t do you any good if you can’t catch.  I’m not as worried about Fiedorowicz and Weisman as I am about the WR group as a whole, Fiedorowicz and Weisman can positively affect the game in other ways but the principle job of the WR is to catch the damn ball.  I don’t know what Davis’s problem is but this problem began before this season, it is a problem he has had as long as he’s been here.  I follow Iowa Hawkeye football recruiting very closely and I can tell you that Don Shumpert was originally recruited to be a safety and you don’t have to be an expert to see why.  There is an old saying among football scouts; defensive backs are just wide receivers that can’t catch…Mr. Shumpert you missed your calling. The late John McKay, a coaching legend who once coached the terrible expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers was once asked after his team’s less than impressive performance what he thought of his team’s “execution” he said he was “all for it.”  That is exactly how I feel about the Hawkeyes WR corps after the first two weeks of the season.  Kirk Ferentz held his weekly press conference on Tuesday and a reporter apologized for asking him if the receivers that are playing are better than the freshmen receivers that haven’t seen the field.  Ferentz said obviously that’s the case but that leads me to wonder something else…how bad are our freshmen receivers?  I understand that it seems preposterous to ask a coach if he is playing the best players but after witnessing the past two games I am questioning our WR recruiting if this really is the case.  Catching a football is like any other skill, you can get better with repetition, but some of it is just natural instinct and we have a few guys that lack that natural ability…cough …Shumpert … cough, cough… Davis.  How much worse could the young guys be?  How about some accountability for the guys playing?  If you can’t perform the most basic part of your position what good are you to the team?  I’ve seen people blaming the new offensive scheme and I’ve heard people using the new offense as an excuse for why we are struggling but the truth is there is nothing wrong with the new offense and the guys have been practicing it long enough to make it work it’s our fundamentals that are lacking.  There is talent on the offensive line but we aren’t blocking well enough, our quarterback is experienced and talented but he can’t seem to put it all together and all our receivers pass the eyeball test just as long as you look away when they try to catch.  Kirk Ferentz has one more game this week against UNI to get this figured out or he’s going to lose the fan base but it’s not the fan base he needs to worry about losing.  UNI gave Wisconsin all it could handle in week 1 (that looks like less of an accomplishment after Wisconsin lost to Oregon St. in week 2) and if the Panthers can put up 17 points against the Hawkeyes this weekend I’m not sure this Hawkeye offense can outdo that.  Lost in all of this was a fantastic game by the Hawkeye defense and if Ferentz can’t get the offense straightened out he may have to worry about losing his defense.  Going against the same QB that shredded them last year in Ames the Hawkeyes turned in an impressive defensive game.  Despite not generating much of a pass rush the first two weeks of the season the Hawkeye defense has been stingy and they forced 4 turnovers by the Cyclones.  Any defense that forces 4 turnovers and holds its opponent to 9 points expects to win and if the offense doesn’t start putting points on the board Ferentz may have to worry about his team being divided, one side doing their job while the other side doesn’t.  There were other issues during the game and one that I have pointed out numerous times in this blog came up again.  After Keenan Davis actually made a play and got us down to the 3 yard line it was first and goal and we ran out 195 pound tailback into the middle of the line of scrimmage twice and that led to the aforementioned Weisman bobble on third and goal.  I’ve said it many times Damon Bullock is not an inside runner.  If you are going to use Bullock in a tight formation close to the goal line why not fake the inside handoff to the fullback and then toss it to Bullock wide I bet he can beat everyone to the pylon.  If you are dead set on getting the tough yards inside than use an inside runner, I don’t think Brad Rogers was busy and I’ve seen him carry the ball before.  My other suggestion this close to the goal line involves a certain 6’7 TE who unlike our WR actually knows how to use his body to shield the defender.  Both Ferentz and Greg Davis have referred to Fiedorowicz as a weapon but they don’t seem to know when to use that weapon.  This is definitely nitpicking as one bad offensive play calling series wasn’t the problem but in a close game where your defense is playing great and your offense isn’t one series can change the outcome of the game, literally.  The Hawkeyes can put minds at ease if the offense comes out blazing against UNI this weekend but if they don’t I’m going to start asking the same question every other Hawkeye fan will be asking…When does basketball season start?

 

NFL Quick Hits

-I’m a Patriots fan and even though I didn’t get to watch their game this last weekend it was obviously a very business-like win over the Titans.  I always believe the Patriots will be in the Super Bowl and I probably always will as long as Belichick and Brady are there but after the first week the best teams in each conference are the Ravens and the 49ers.  Two unbelievable defenses with vastly improved offenses.

-6 QB’s threw 3 picks or more.  Ryan Fitzpatrick, Matthew Stafford, Andrew Luck and Ryan Tannehill each had 3 while Michael Vick and Brandon Weeden both threw 4.  Tough opening week for three rookie QB’s and Vick and Weeden played each other, I think they were having a contest to see who could complete more passes to the other team.

-That clicking noise you hear is all those experts out there that picked Philadelphia to make the Super Bowl hitting their delete button.

-The Bears looked good but they were playing the Colts.

-Atlanta and Kansas City played a great game for the first half then KC fell apart.  The Falcons are tough and Matt Ryan looks like a different player.

-Peyton Manning is back and the Broncos no-huddle offense is scary.  They had the ball for a total of about 36 seconds in the entire 2^nd quarter and they went 80 yards and scored a TD.

Hawkeye Football

The Hawkeyes must have thought the red in red-zone meant stop because they struggled all day with moving the ball inside the 20 yard line.  They breached the zone multiple times but their one TD came on a Damon Bullock run from the 23 yard line.  That was the offense’s biggest problem of the day but hardly it’s only one, the defense struggled with the most fundamental aspect of playing D, tackling.  Bad positioning, bad form and bad angles were unfortunately the norm for the afternoon.  I re-watched the game the other night even though I was sure I would come away even more upset then the first time I watched it live but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Let’s break it down.

Offense:

The Good: This is a short list so I’ll get it out of the way.

-Damon Bullock- We seemed to have found a legit RB as Bullock carried the ball 30 times for a 5 yard average.  His 23 yard TD run late in the 4^th quarter was the highlight in an underwhelming offensive performance for the Hawks.  Like I mentioned in a previous post our RB’s are better running to the outside than on the inside and I think this game was a clear example.

-Going for it- The Hawkeyes got the ball with about 1:15 left on the clock in the first half and they actually tried to do something with it instead of kneeling down.  It didn’t go as planned as James Vandenberg ended up intentionally grounding a ball causing a 10 second run-off and then got sacked as he dropped back for a hail-mary pass attempt.  The execution was lacking but at least they went for it.

The Bad: This list could get long.

-Red-zone Offense- I already mentioned this but it needs repeating because it was atrocious.  Last year the Hawkeyes scored touchdowns on 63% of their possessions in the red-zone and so far through one game they are at 0%, that’s not good.

-The passing game (this is actually 3 things that I made into one item on the list) – It wasn’t the play calling it was the execution.  Unfortunately it wasn’t just one part of the passing game.  Three of the things that have to work for the passing game to be effective didn’t for the Hawkeyes; the offensive line has to block, the wide receivers have to get open and the quarterback has to be accurate.  It seemed like the Hawkeyes could never get all 3 of these things working at the same time.  When Vandenberg had time his receivers weren’t open, when they were open he was running for his life and getting sacked and when he had time and the receivers got open he couldn’t seem to put the ball where it needed to be.  Our offense seems to include a lot of screens passes; screen passes to the WR, screen passes to the TE and screen passes to the RB.  Unfortunately the blocking on screen passes was horrible.  I’m not sure if the offense was tipping off the defense that the screens were coming or what but NIU seemed to always be able to get someone through the blockers and stop the play.  I like the idea of throwing screen passes to Kevonte Martin-Manley, Don Shumpert, Damon Bullock and even CJ Fiedorowicz but the execution is key and the Hawks have to work that out.

-The Blocking- I’ve already mentioned it in reference to the passing game and specifically the screen game but it gets its own spot on the list.  Giving up 6 sacks and many more QB pressures to a MAC team doesn’t bode well for the conference season. NIU has some good defenders on the d-line but it isn’t going to get easier from here.

-The inside running game-  Damon Bullock played great but he is most effective running to the edge.  The Hawks aren’t used to having a RB that has the speed to get to the edge and beat people but Bullock has it and they need to take advantage.  Running up the middle is nice and all but when your backs aren’t as effective that way use the run to the outside to spread the defense out a little and it makes the inside run a little easier.  I’m not suggesting the Hawks run a toss-sweep every time but running off-tackle is a better place for Bullock (and Garmon) than running right up the back of the guard.

Defense:

The Good: The defense was pretty good for the most part.  I was impressed with the d-line overall and that was my main concern going into the game.  They didn’t get a lot of sacks but they put enough pressure on the QB, Joe Gaglione caused a fumble on a strip sack and they rotated guys in.  They didn’t run out of gas at the end of the game and actually probably got stronger as the game went on.

The Bad: The tackling left a lot to be desired.  NIU seemed to always break the first tackle and pick up extra yards.  The big play for NIU was Jordan Lynch’s 73 yard TD run which was the result of LB James Morris playing too close to the line of scrimmage and getting caught up in a block and FS Tanner Miller taking a ridiculously bad angle and letting Lynch run right by him.

The good news is that the problems seem to be correctable.  The bad news is that after a month of camp the Hawks have this many problems to solve before Saturday’s game against Iowa St.  The biggest concern is the passing game, or lack thereof, given the Hawks have a senior QB coming off a pretty good year.  Getting all of the issues worked out in a week is a tall order and now the element of surprise that was Damon Bullock last week is gone.  They always say the biggest leap for a team is between week 1 and week 2 of the season and Hawkeye fans better hope this team has a Carl Lewis long jump in them this week.

College Football Weekend: The Hawkeyes weren’t the only team I watched this weekend.

-Alabama destroyed Michigan.  Not many teams could lose a RB like Trent Richardson and actually improve their running game.  Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon are the Tide’s version of thunder and lightning and they are scary good.  Alabama’s offensive line is remarkable and the defense is as good as always.  The Tide jumped USC to take the top spot in the polls this week (apparently demolishing Hawaii just wasn’t that impressive to the voters).  Michigan may have come in slightly overrated at #8 but they aren’t far out of the top 10 teams in the country and Alabama dismantled them.  The Crimson Tide are that good.

-Matt Barkley kicked off his Heisman campaign with 372 yards and 4 TD’s passing.  I didn’t see the game just the highlights but I’m guessing Barkley, with help from his WR’s Robert Woods and Marquise Lee, is just getting started.

-Michigan St. pulled out a win over Boise St. in a game they tried very hard to lose.  Le’Veon Bell carried the Spartans on his back and the Michigan St. defense was as stingy as advertised.  Bell had 44 carries for 210 yards and 2 TD’s and Boise St. was held to 13 points.  Defense and a running game are apparently how the Spartans plan to win this year as Andrew Maxwell got off to a tough start throwing 3 picks in his first start.

-Wisconsin got a scare from Northern Iowa, I usually cheer on Big Ten teams in the non-conference but I was pulling for the Panthers and they gave Wisconsin all they could handle.

-Oklahoma St. beat Savannah St. 84-0 and the Cowboys starters didn’t even finish the second quarter.  I only mention this game to say…who the hell scheduled this?  You might as well take on the flag football champion of your Rec League.

-Notre Dame beat Navy 50-10 in Dublin, Ireland.  Notre Dame is not that good Navy is just that bad.  Manti Teo, the star LB for the Irish, is that good though.

Some quick NFL fantasy football notes.

-My not really a sleeper sleeper.  Brandon Lloyd WR Patriots.  The cat is out of the bag on this one, he could have a very big year.

-My real sleeper pick.  Eric Decker WR Broncos.  He had 44 catches for 612 yards and 8 TD’s last year with Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow throwing to him. Now he has Peyton Manning.  It’s like he traded in his Ford Focus for a Ferrari, he goes for at least 90 catches for 1100 yards and 12 TD’s this year and I can’t believe I’m saying this about a former Minnesota Golden Gopher; I may break out in hives.

-My deep sleeper pick.  Donald Brown RB Colts.  No more Peyton Manning offense in Indy which means Brown may actually be used like a real RB and he may actually get more than 10 carries in a game.  I’m still a little worried about Indy’s o-line but their offense can’t be anywhere near as bad as it was last year.

-I got both Brandon Lloyd and Eric Decker on my fantasy team this year so I’m pretty happy with my team.  I’ve got 4 QB’s which seems like a lot but we start 2 so it’s not that strange.  Here’s my team; QB- Tom Brady, Matt Schaub, Carson Palmer and Sam Bradford.  RB- Matt Forte, Fred Jackson, Doug Martin, Beanie Wells and Michael Bush. WR- Andre Johnson, Brandon Lloyd, Eric Decker, Mike Williams and Danny Amendola. TE- Jacob Tamme and Jason Witten.  I will try to get to a more detailed fantasy football breakdown later.

The NFL season is about to kick off and that makes me very happy.

Go Hawks, Beat State.

Nate

Hawkeyes Football Update

The Iowa Hawkeyes released their two-deeps for the first game next weekend against Northern Illinois at Soldier Field. Here are a few notes.

FB- This is the one spot with a real surprise, Mark Weisman over the returning starter Brad Rogers definitely qualifies as surprising.  After watching Weisman during the open practice a few weeks ago he certainly showed enough to look like he could contribute, my only question is whether this has to do with Rogers missing some time (like the open practice) and is this a reflection of Weisman getting more reps in practice.

WR- Keenan Davis and Kevonte Martin-Manley are still the starters, which is no surprise at all but Jacob Hillyer and Steve Staggs being listed as the back-ups is a bit of a shock.  The freshmen receivers, especially Maurice Fleming and Tevaun Smith have been talked up during camp and I’ve been waiting for them to move into the depth chart.  Hillyer doesn’t surprise me as much as Staggs since he was talked up quite a bit last year while redshirting and my only guess with Staggs is that it could be a bit of the “Jason White” scenario where the veteran is listed on the depth chart but the younger guys get the playing time.

TE- CJ Fiedorowicz is the starter as expected.  Ray Hamilton taking the back-up job from senior Zach Derby is a pleasant development.  No disrespect to Derby and I’m sure he will get his fair share of playing time but Hamilton is younger and has more potential so it’s nice to see him making a move into the depth chart.

DE- Steve Bigach is listed as the co-starter at both DE spots with Dominic Alvis and Joe Gaglione and since I’m fairly certain Bigach can’t start at both spots I’m going to go with this being a 3 man rotation with Melvin Spears getting back-up snaps.  Alvis is likely the other starter but all three guys will play plenty.

CB- Micah Hyde and BJ Lowery are the starters and that’s great news, the good news is that true freshman Kevin Buford is listed as one of the back-ups the bad news is Greg Castillo is listed as the other one.  I’m not a Castillo fan and I was hoping either redshirt freshman Torrey Campbell or true freshman Sean Draper would win that spot let’s hope this is another “Jason White” situation.

SS- Tom Donatell and Nico Law are listed as co-starters at strong safety, something tells me this battle may go on for a while.

P- It looks like true freshman Connor Kornbrath has beaten out converted QB John Wienke for the punter job and while I normally don’t like freshman in a position like punter I really like Kornbrath’s potential.

RB- Using the term depth chart to describe the Hawkeyes backfield feels a little ridiculous but Damon Bullock is the listed starter and 4 star true freshman Greg Garmon and true freshman walk-on Michael Malloy are the back-ups.  Junior college walk-on transfer Andre Dawson is the only other true RB on the roster that is healthy (although Jordan Canzeri is trying to make it back from his spring knee injury) meaning depth is in short supply.  The changes here include the removal of Brad Rogers, who was listed as a co-starter with Bullock, from the position altogether and the loss of Barkley Hill to an ACL tear.  It’s safe to say the Hawkeye running attack may look different than it has in the past.  Bullock, Garmon, Malloy and possibly Canzeri offer a different type of RB than the Hawkeye faithful are used to seeing.  These guys are more edge type runners and less between the tackles kind of guys.  Garmon has a little more size than the other three but if the Hawkeyes need a tough yard we may see Rogers or Weisman get the call or even Dawson for that matter.

The Dodgers and Red Sox make a huge trade.

The trade deadline in baseball was about a month ago but that didn’t stop the Red Sox from dealing about $260 million worth of contracts to the Dodgers.  The Red Sox gave up 1B Adrian Gonzalez in order to rid themselves of the cancer that Josh Beckett had become and the albatross of a contract that Carl Crawford is now and they threw in Nick Punto for some reason.  They got back James Loney, who I guess you can say is a first baseman just not a very good one, two good pitching prospects Rubby de la Rosa and Allen Webster and a few other prospects they hope turn into something.  The Red Sox hit the reboot button on the team because they were paying a lot of money for a terrible product, Gonzalez is a great first baseman and giving him up was the cost of ridding themselves of Crawford and Beckett.  The Dodgers, who are about to become flush with cash from a new TV deal, were willing to take on Beckett and Crawford to make the upgrade from Loney to Gonzalez at first.  The Dodgers are fighting for a playoff spot this year and their new ownership is willing to spend to make a playoff run but this deal isn’t just about this year.  Gonzalez just signed an extension this last year so they get to keep him for the foreseeable future.  Gonzalez joins Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Hanley Ramirez in what looks like a very formidable lineup for the next few years.   Beckett could be a bit of a steal in this trade considering he goes from pitching in the AL East to the NL West and now he’s most likely the fifth starter instead of the staff ace he once was in Boston.  Crawford is a sunken cost; $20 million a year for an outfielder that just had ligament replacement surgery on his elbow, best case scenario is he comes back for a playoff run late next year.  The Red Sox are hoping de la Rosa and Webster can become a couple of pieces in a new starting rotation and that they can go out and spend the money they saved in this deal on new free agents.  Red Sox fans are hoping they spend the money wiser than they did when they signed guys like Carl Crawford, Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lackey.  Dodger fans are just happy to have owners who are willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on actual baseball players and not on a divorce.  I don’t know how Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine feels about this trade but it’s safe to say the Red Sox of today are not the team Valentine signed on to manage this year, maybe it’s time to hit the reboot button on that decision too.

Lance Armstrong gives up the fight

I believe Lance Armstrong was doping when he won his 7 consecutive Tour de France titles and the reason I believe it is because so was everyone else.  The sport of cycling is so rampant with doping that I am glad I don’t give a damn about the sport.  I’m glad that this year the Tour de France was going on an I didn’t know it until one day in the middle of July I was watching Sports Center and they mentioned who won the 16^th stage (no I don’t remember who it was) and I thought “oh yeah the Tour de France is going on now”, I have no idea who won the whole thing this year and I couldn’t care less.  Go check out the list of guys that finished behind Armstrong in his seven Tour wins.  Let me tell you what you will find, doping allegations, some proven some not just like with Armstrong.  Armstrong’s toughest competitors like Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso would come under suspicion in a major doping case and later winners like Floyd Landis and Alberto Contador would be stripped of Tour titles and banned from the sport.  Given the rampant nature of doping in cycling it amazes me just how few people actually get caught by the blood tests, Armstrong never tested positive during his seven year run of dominance and many of the guys who finished behind him were only implicated by their association with Operacion Puerto case. I don’t think it is right for professional athletes to use performance enhancing drugs but in the case of Lance Armstrong I don’t think we can say he gained a competitive advantage by using I think he leveled the playing field.  Armstrong has never admitted using PED’s and this week all he did was stop fighting the Anti-doping Agency because regardless of how many blood tests he passed in his career (and it numbers in the hundreds) he felt like he could never prove he didn’t cheat and he’s right.  If all those blood tests came back negative and they still don’t believe him then there is no path for him to prove his innocence.  My solution is this, instead of banning the riders for doping just end the sport all together, if the participants can’t play fair then they shouldn’t be able to play at all.

Until next time

Nate

Thoughts from my weekend of sports.

The Olympics:

-NBC’s coverage of the Olympics has taken its fair share of criticism and I have to say I agree with most of it.  It’s 2012 and NBC’s Live coverage on the internet was a joke, no commentary and crappy feeds were the standard instead of the exception.  NBC couldn’t change the fact that the events weren’t held in prime time for those of us in the U.S. but in a world of HD and 3D TV’s and smart phones that dominate our lives why did the internet feeds look like something from my dorm room in 1997.  The only thing missing was the dial tone and the load screeching coming from my external modem.  You got 4 years until Rio guys, get it together.

-NBC gets an A+ for hiring Dan Patrick for the studio.  Bob Costas and Al Michaels are two premiere sports guys and Dan made it a trifecta for them.  They get a D- for hiring Ryan Seacrest and here’s why.  I like sports not sports entertainment and that’s what Seacrest covered and I don’t like the stupid fluff pieces.  However, I understand that many people do like these “stories” and the reason I didn’t give the hiring of Seacrest an F is because bringing him in meant NBC’s actual sports reporters didn’t have to cover this aspect of the games.  (By the way if you thing I’m a Seacrest hater I’m not, he’s a perfectly good host of American Idol and New Year’s Rockin Eve and stuff like that just keep him away from my sports coverage.)

-Usain Bolt claims he’s the Best Athlete in the World, whoa there speedy back up a bit.  Your title, Mr.  Bolt is World’s Fastest Human, you earned it, you proved it and it’s a fact but hold on just one second.  The title World’s Best Athlete usually goes to the Decathlon gold medalist and that was Ashton Eaton and he is a better athlete than you and I would go out on a limb and say Trey Hardee (the silver medalist) is also a better athlete than you and truth be told Leonel Suarez (the bronze medalist from Cuba) is probably also a better athlete than you.  There is more to being an athlete than speed.  Size, strength, speed, agility, stamina and coordination are all athletic traits so until you run farther than 200 meters or for longer than 20 seconds at a time, until you pick up something heavy, throw something heavy or jump over something please keep your proclamations to yourself.  Ashton Eaton earned the unofficial title of World’s Best Athlete, of course if I were choosing the winner it’s LeBron and it’s not even close.

-Speaking of LeBron the USA men won another gold beating Spain in a rematch from 2008.  The question wasn’t would this team win the gold it was could this team beat the 1992 Dream Team.  As presently constituted, no, the roster lacks enough size in the post to take on Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone down low.  This team struggled against physical teams like Lithuania and Spain, they beat them but they struggled and they beat them because they dominated their perimeter players, they wouldn’t dominate Jordan, Pippen, Stockton, Magic, Bird, Mullin and Drexler.  I will say the 2012 collegian Anthony Davis is far superior to Christian Laettner so they have that going for them.   I could write 5000 words breaking this down and I think I will…this will likely be my next blog post…stay tuned.

-The USA bested China in the medal count both overall and in golds, Go USA.  It really is an unfair fight, when was the last time China won a medal in Track and Field…on second thought they have badminton and ping pong (I know they call it table tennis) so we won fair and square.

-Speaking of badminton and ping pong let’s talk about other events to eliminate from the Olympics.  Badminton for sure because they will never recover from the tanking scandal that rocked the 2012 Games.

-Equestrian (Especially Dressage):  It’s one thing when the horses are jumping over things but seriously dressage? Either give the medals to the horses or stop the whole thing.

-Synchronized Diving/Swimming: These go together because asking two people to do the same thing at the same time and then judging whether they did it better together then two other people is not a sport.

-Speed Walking:  How is running slowly an Olympic event?

-Fencing: Even in slow motion I missed it.

-Tennis: It is actually a sport but how are the Olympics different than the pro tours.  Murray vs. Federer at Wimbledon, we just had that match…at Wimbledon…and I’m not just saying this because the best male tennis player American can send is Andy Roddick, we are actually good on the women’s side and actually won gold medals.

-Shooting and Archery: 10 meter air rifle is Olympic event, really, and when a blind guy sets the world record in Archery I question the competitiveness of the sport.

-Boxing: I know it’s blasphemy to suggest we get rid of the sport of Muhammad Ali but it’s a dying sport and we should just let it go.

-Rowing/Canoeing/ Kayaking:  I must be missing something because I don’t get the appeal.  Kayaking down the rapids looks fun but I don’t see the appeal of watching people do it.

-Cycling: 1. We already have the Tour de France and 2. It’s just a matter of time before we have to strip the medals from the winners for doping…oh wait that’s the Tour de France…no this is the Tour de France,  wait no it’s the Olympics…okay you can keep the Velodrome.

-Sailing: To quote Aaron Sorkin’s SportsNite “All you need is a million dollars and a dream”.

And lastly the sport that we not only shouldn’t cut from the Olympic Games but should get way more air time…Handball…coolest sport no one talks about.

Hawkeye Football

I went to the open practice on Saturday to watch the Hawkeyes in person, no earth shattering news to report but here are a few quick hits.

-Greg Garmon and Barkley Hill were banged up so they didn’t practice, completely disappointing seeing as they were the main thing I wanted to see in person.

-Many other guys didn’t practice due to “bumps and bruises” including FB/RB Brad Rogers and WR Reese Fleming, needless to say the offense had its struggles during the scrimmage.

-Mark Weisman got a lot of work at FB with Rogers out and he looked pretty good, he did drop a pass down the sidelines during 11-on-11 drills that hit him in the hands but it was a good 25 yards down field so as long as the deep pass to the fullback isn’t a large part of Greg Davis’s offense he should be okay.

-Some freshmen pass the eyeball test; WR Tevaun Smith, DT Jaleel Johnson and LB Nate Meier look physically ready to play at this level.

-True freshman safety Ruben Lile tore his ACL at some point last week and was in a full leg brace, too bad because even though I wasn’t expecting him to contribute at safety this year he could have been helpful on special teams.

-Tom Donatell started the scrimmage at SS but Nico Law rotated in, looks like there could be some competition there.

-I’ve read some stuff about the offense being behind the defense, no kidding, the defense has a “new” coordinator but he isn’t exactly new.  The defense is running pretty much the same thing they have been running for 13 years, the offense is actually changing things up.  The good news is James Vandenberg looked his best in the 2-minute hurry-up offense and Greg Davis has said he intends to use a more up-tempo offense and unlike Ken O’Keefe saying something similar last year after the Pitt game (and then never doing it) I actually believe Davis (I never believed O’Keefe).

-Damon Bullock is a different kind of back than Iowa is used to, he’s not bad just different.

-Don Shumpert looked like he might actually be able to handle being our 3^rd WR but so did Tevaun Smith and Fleming didn’t practice so I don’t think anything is settled behind the starters at WR.

-Nolan MacMillan broke his hand and is out for a little while, this kid can’t catch a break (no pun intended) you can set your watch by this kid’s injuries.

-Two quick updates on position changes that have occurred; true freshman Faith Ekakitie has moved from DE to DT and fellow freshman Nate Meier has moved  from RB to LB.

-Nothing at this practice wowed me and that’s pretty normal.  I’ve been to a lot of spring games and open practices at Iowa over the past 15 years and honestly the only time I remember seeing someone do something unbelievable was the year they moved Dallas Clark from LB to TE and he lit up the spring game, truly an astonishing performance in a scrimmage.

The Dwight Howard Saga Ends

Our long national nightmare is over; Dwight Howard has finally been traded.  Two things make me happy about this trade; 1. It finally happened so we can stop talking about it and 2. It puts a really big roadblock in the way of the LeBron James Miami Heat train.  The Heat’s two biggest weaknesses are their point guards and centers and the Lakers just added Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.  Somehow the Lakers traded the second best center in the NBA and got the best center in the NBA.  The last time they did something like this they traded the second best Gasol brother and got the best Gasol brother, then they won two titles.  Kobe just got his chance to pass Jordan’s 6 titles, Nash just got his shot to play with two of the best big men in the league, Howard just got his chance to play with the best point guard possible for him, Gasol gets to stay with the Lakers and actually play with a center that might make him better and Lakers just got a guy who can help their current star (Kobe) win now and be the centerpiece of the team over the next decade as Kobe walks away.  The Magic got Aaron Afflalo and Al Harrington.  No, I can’t figure it out either.

The Honey Badger got booted

LSU CB/KR Tyrann Mathieu got kicked off the team reportedly for failing another drug test.  I only mention this because he was a Heisman finalist last year and I’m glad he won’t be playing for LSU this year because I hate his nickname “the honey badger”.  I think it’s stupid and I hate that commentators call him that non-stop during games.  It’s almost as annoying as when John David Booty was the QB for USC and they called him by all three of his names constantly even though most people just called him JD.  They didn’t call him Booty or JD it was John David Booty repeatedly, over and over again.  Luckily JD Booty never made it big in the NFL so that nightmare ended for me when he graduated.  At least now I get a year off from Mathieu’s Honey Badger moniker and he isn’t a great cover corner and he’s kind of small so I can hope that if he does make the NFL he isn’t a star and they use his actual name.

Until next time

Nate

Here come the HAWKEYES!!!!!

The current 2-deeps for the Iowa Hawkeyes list 8 seniors as starters and that includes John Wienke as the punter (he’s been a QB for the past 4 years).  This is great news…for next year…not so much for this year.  James Vandenberg, Brad Rogers, Keenan Davis, James Ferentz and Micah Hyde are key seniors and leaders for the Hawkeyes this year and with new coordinators on both sides of the ball leadership from these guys will be very important. Here’s the team breakdown.

Coaching Staff:

Kirk Ferentz is entering his 14^th season at the helm of the Hawkeyes and after 13 years with the same two coordinators change has finally come.  Phil Parker replaces Norm Parker at defensive coordinator and many of the same principles will remain.  The hope is that with some new blood (Levar Woods) and some relocated blood (Reece Morgan and Darrell Wilson) the defense will be reinvigorated and hopefully will do some things (blitzing and press coverage) that were mostly absent under Norm Parker.  Iowa’s defense has rarely been the problem for this program and there is no need to reinvent the wheel but after 13 years the Hawks could use some new tires.

The Ken O’Keefe years have finally passed and we are about to find out if it was Ferentz always reigning in O’Keefe or if it was O’Keefe not pushing Kirk enough.  The new offensive coordinator is Greg Davis whose last coaching job was as OC for Texas a job he was fairly or unfairly run out of depending on who you ask.  What the new Iowa offense will look like is a mystery and anyone who tells you they know what to expect is lying and that is the best part about a new OC.  The problems under O’Keefe were not the “system” the Hawks run it was the predictability of the play calling, it is a whole lot easier to play defense against someone when you know what’s coming.  The Hawkeyes just started fall camp and given the question marks on offense the coaches can’t be completely sure what the offense will look like come September.  Greg Davis’s best attribute is that he can tailor his offense to fit his personnel and all you have to do is look at his track record at Texas.  He coached Vince Young to a National Championship and Colt McCoy to being the winningest starting QB in college football (at that time, the record has since been broken), two QB’s that couldn’t be more different.

The two other coaching changes of note are the addition of Brian Ferentz as OL coach and the move of Eric Johnson to a more full-time recruiting coordinator role.  Brian Ferentz was a player that got by on his intelligence and his knowledge of his position and opponent, all traits that should translate very well to coaching offensive line.  Johnson’s move to focusing more on recruiting seems to all ready be paying dividends as Iowa has 16 verbal commitments for the class of 2013 by far the most they have ever had going into a season.  We can’t discount the work of the other coaches especially the young guys Brian Ferentz and Levar Woods but someone is coordinating a far more effective strategy in recruiting and that is good because that’s what it takes in today’s recruiting world.

QB:  James Vandenberg, Jake Rudock, Cody Sokol, CJ Beathard and kind of John Wienke.

The Starter: James Vandenberg

Vandenberg is the returning starter at QB and he is the leader of the offense and John Wienke is the only other player on the team to throw a pass and he is more of a punter than a QB now.  Given the question marks at RB and WR the Hawkeyes offense will go only as far as Vandenberg takes it.  Vandenberg has to play more consistently and improve his completion percentage if the Hawkeyes are going to be good on offense.

The Battle: Jake Rudock vs. Cody Sokol for the back-up job.

Jake Rudock was a winner in his high school career at St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida where he played with superior talent and he knows what it’s like to play against the best.  Cody Sokol is a junior college transfer who is a little older and has played college football before.  No one really expects either of these two to put pressure on Vandenberg but the guy who wins the back-up job this year has a leg up on next year’s starting job.  My prediction is Rudock wins the battle I don’t have any real reason just a hunch.

The Others: CJ Beathard, John Wienke (sort of)

CJ Beathard is an incoming freshman who committed to Iowa when Ken O’Keefe was the OC and we were a standard pro-style offense so depending on the direction of the offense under Davis Beathard could be a perfect fit or not.  It is unlikely that Iowa would stray too far from a passing offense that fits Beathard but it is wait and see for him.  Wienke is the guy that lost out to Vandenberg for the back-up job to Ricky Stanzi a few years ago and now as a fifth-year senior he is our holder and is working as a punter trying to get on the field any way he can.  You have to pull for a guy who stuck it out for 5 years and is still trying to do what he can to help the team.

RB:  Damon Bullock, Brad Rogers, Greg Garmon, Barkley Hill and the rest of the gang.

The Starter: Yeah right.

Damon Bullock and Brad Rogers are listed atop the depth chart going into fall camp and since Rogers is also listed as the starting FB that means Bullock’s hold on the starting job is tenuous at best.  Since Jordan Canzeri tore his ACL during spring practice Bullock has been atop the RB depth chart by default, while he has as good a chance as any of winning the job in training camp there has always been a feeling that his name was simply a place holder.  Rogers came to Iowa with the idea of being a big back in the mold of Shonn Greene but illness and the emergence of Marcus Coker sent Rogers to the fullback spot where he played very well last year.  He could emerge as the thunder to Bullock’s lightening in a two back rotation.  Bullock is the smaller shiftier type of back that can catch the ball out of the backfield and get to the edge.  Garmon and Hill are the incoming freshmen and Ferentz says both of them will play.

The Battle:  Bullock vs. Rogers vs. Garmon vs. Hill vs. the field

Four players listed atop the 2 deeps means anything can happen.  Garmon is the 4-star recruit that everyone was expecting to come in and compete but due to some legal problems (that he will not face suspension for) he missed most of the summer workouts and seemingly lost ground to Bullock, Rogers and even Hill.  Barkley Hill is the less heralded in-state recruit who looks more like the type of RB the Hawkeyes are used to having in terms of style.  Rogers has been around the longest but making him a full-time RB means finding a new starter at FB too and assuming he can handle the workload.  Bullock has been working as the starter since spring and he brings a lot of useful qualities to the position the most impressive being his pass receiving skills.  Last year when the Hawkeyes seemed stacked at the RB position at the beginning of the year the coaching staff moved Bullock to WR and even used him in the slot in the first game of the year.  My prediction is Garmon eventually wins the starting job but Bullock and Rogers may get a lot of snaps depending on the situation, Bullock is a classic 3^rd down back and Rogers could be the Hawks goal-line option.  Garmon’s all-around talent should eventually lead to him becoming the every down back.

The Others:  Nate Meier, Michael Malloy and Andre Dawson

Nate Meier is another in-state recruit coming in at RB but he’s a kid that played 8 man football in Iowa and while he may be impressive physically, asking someone to step from 8 man football to Big Ten football seems unlikely.  Meier dominated 8 man football in Iowa but 11 man is a different game and Big Ten football is a level far beyond anything he has encountered.  Michael Malloy is a walk-on from Sioux City and Andre Dawson is a walk-on originally from Cedar Rapids coming to Iowa from Iowa Western Community College, these two add depth for practice but seem unlikely to contribute at RB this year.

FB: Brad Rogers, Jonathan Gimm and Mark Weisman

The Starter: It’s Rogers and it’s not even close.

The Battle: Gimm is a senior who has not been able to break through and Weisman is a sophomore that sat out last year after transferring from the Air Force Academy.  The likelihood is that when we use a fullback it will be Rogers and if Rogers is playing tailback he will be doing it in a one back set.

The Others: My future prediction is that if Nate Meier doesn’t eventually grow into a LB or a D-lineman he ends up at FB and becomes the starter.

WR: Keenan Davis, Kevonte Martin-Manley, Don Shumpert, Steven Staggs, Jordon Cotton, Jacob Hillyer and the 4 freshmen receivers. 

The Starters: Keenan Davis and Kevonte Martin-Manley

Keenan Davis is literally the most accomplished returning WR in the Big Ten, unfortunately that may speak more to the sorry state of receiving in the Big Ten than it does to Davis.  Davis has all the physical tools to be an elite WR at the college level he just has to bring more consistency to his game.  He spent last year learning from the great Marvin McNutt but now it is time for him to translate it to the field because the Hawkeyes need his production.  Kevonte Martin-Manley flashed huge potential last year and if you need a reminder watch the 2^nd half of the Pitt game.  Vandenberg has two receivers he knows in Davis and Martin-Manley but after that the position gets very dicey.  Don Shumpert and Steven Staggs are listed as the back-ups but that is written in pencil.  Shumpert has speed to burn but his hands have been suspect and Staggs may not have the speed Greg Davis desires in his receivers.

The Battle:  Shumpert, Staggs, Jacob Hillyer, Jordon Cotton, Maurice Fleming, Tevaun Smith, Cameron Wilson and Greg Mabin.

When any one of eight players could potentially be the third receiver it makes a QB appreciate his top targets that much more.  I covered Shumpert and Staggs above.  Jordon Cotton is a 4^th year junior who has barely seen the field.  Jacob Hillyer is a redshirt freshman that apparently played well last year in practice but wasn’t needed so the coaching staff didn’t burn his redshirt.   Maurice Fleming, Tevaun Smith, Cameron Wilson and Greg Mabin are all incoming freshmen and have the size and speed Greg Davis is looking for in his receivers.  My prediction is Hillyer and Fleming move into position behind Davis and Martin-Manley.  Hillyer impressed the coaches last year and Fleming offers the speed and shiftiness the Hawks could use in the slot.

The Others: In a position where 8 guys are competing to be the back-ups there are only walk-ons Blake Haluska and Nick Nielsen left.

TE:  CJ Fiedorowicz, Zach Derby, Ray Hamilton, Jake Duzey, Henry Krieger-Coble, George Kittle

The Starter: CJ Fiedorowicz

At the end of last year CJ Fiedorowicz took over as the starter and began to fulfill the promise he brought with him as a 4-star recruit.  This season with a WR position that is short on proven producers Fiedorowicz is expected to step up and be a big part of the passing attack.  Hopefully Brian Ferentz brought some plays from the Patriots playbook with him and Iowa can try to use CJ Fiedorowicz the way the Patriots use Rob Gronkowski.  Fiedorowicz is a physical specimen with great hands and the Hawkeyes need to find ways to take advantage of his abilities in the passing game and exploit the mismatches he creates.

  The Battle: Zach Derby vs. Ray Hamilton at back-up

Fiedorowicz passed Derby on the depth chart last year but he remained the back-up.  Ray Hamilton played last year as a freshman both on special teams and a little at TE.  Hamilton is the rising player and Derby is the steady senior and the truth is both will play plenty.  The questions at WR mean we should see more two TE sets and that means at least three TE’s will play and it could be even more.

The Others: Jake Duzey, Henry Krieger-Coble and George Kittle

Jake Duzey is a kid that was more of a WR sized guy coming into the program and has grown a bit but his receiving skills should be great and he just needs to grow into the position.  Henry Krieger-Coble is another guy that needed to grow into the position and he and Duzey should compete to be the 4^th TE.  George Kittle is the incoming freshman that is nowhere near physically ready to contribute at TE but has a good frame and athleticism for the position.

OL: Brandon Scherff, Matt Tobin, James Ferentz, Austin Blythe, Brett Van Sloten, Nolan MacMillan, Andrew Donnal, Conor Boffeli, Eric Simmons, Jordan Walsh and Drew Clark.

The Starters: LT Brandon Scherff, LG Matt Tobin, C James Ferentz, RG Austin Blythe, RT Brett Van Sloten.

Center James Ferentz is the only guaranteed starter on the OL but that doesn’t mean the line won’t be good.  Competition breeds production and it looks like Brandon Scherff and Brett Van Sloten have held off their competition in the spring for the LT and RT positions.  Senior Matt Tobin, who had his struggles last year and was replaced many times by Scherff, has the inside track at LG and redshirt freshman Austin Blythe was impressive enough in the spring to go into the season as the starting RG.  Two things we know about Kirk Ferentz is that his comfort level with a senior that has started before (Tobin) gives him an advantage and if a redshirt freshman is atop the depth chart going into the season he must have been very impressive.  Ferentz likes players with experience but he isn’t afraid to play lineman early if they are good enough (Mike Jones, Bryan Bulaga and Riley Reiff come to mind).

The Battle:  The guard spots Matt Tobin and Austin Blythe vs. Andrew Donnal, Nolan MacMillan and Conor Boffeli.

Assuming Scherff and Van Sloten hold off Donnal and MacMillan at tackle those two become competition at the guard spots.  Ferentz has never been beholden to offensive linemen playing a certain positions, “the best five will play” has usually been the mantra when it comes to starting positions.  Conor Boffeli has been on the cusp of a starting position for a few years and is still fighting for one of those guard spots.  My prediction is that MacMillan gets snaps at guard either because Blythe isn’t quite ready or because Tobin struggles like last year.

The Others:  Eric Simmons, Jordan Walsh, Drew Clark and Ryan Ward

There are even more but these are the ones to talk about.  Eric Simmons is a junior college transfer with 3 years of eligibility and could compete at guard and center and is one of the guys who will compete next year to replace James Ferentz.  Jordan Walsh was a 4-star prospect that has spent time at guard and tackle and is only down the depth chart due to the strength of the guys ahead of him.  Drew Clark has been around awhile and has been passed up by younger guys and looks like a career back-up.  Ryan Ward won’t play this year but he is the future at tackle as the Hawkeyes have had better luck recruiting interior lineman and Ward was a 4-star tackle prospect.

DL: Steve Bigach, Joe Gaglione, Dominic Alvis, Carl Davis, Darian Cooper, Louis Trinca-Pasat, Riley McMinn, Mike Hardy, Melvin Spears, Dean Tsopanides, Jaleel Johnson, Faith Ekakitie

The Starters:  DE Steve Bigach/Joe Gaglione, DE Dominic Alvis, DT Carl Davis/Darian Cooper, DT Louis Trinca-Pasat

A healthy Dominic Alvis is crucial to the success of the Hawkeye defensive front.  Alvis is the best pass rusher the Hawkeyes have and he is coming off a knee injury.  If the team can’t get pressure out of the front four then they have to blitz and that takes them out of their comfort zone.  Steve Bigach and Joe Gaglione are seniors listed as co-starters opposite Alvis but neither one scares an offense.  Bigach can play inside or out and that means he’s a valuable player, Gaglione hasn’t proven to be much but he has been around.  There are 3 guys listed at DT, Carl Davis who brings impressive size but has yet to produce on the field, Darian Cooper is a redshirt freshman that many believed would contribute last year but he never saw the field and Louis Trinca-Pasat is the guy that came on strong during bowl prep and in spring practice.  These 3 have loads of potential but are lacking in actual production.

The Battle:  The entire defensive line except for Dominic Alvis at DE.

Dominic Alvis is the only sure thing and that is dependent on his knee being completely healed.  Bigach and Gaglione are starters by default because no one has stepped up to beat them out.  Young guys like Riley McMinn, Melvin Spears and incoming freshman Faith Ekakitie will look to unseat Bigach and Gaglione at DE or at least contribute in a rotation.  Davis, Cooper and Trinca-Pasat will likely work in a rotation at DT and true freshman Jaleel Johnson is expected to contribute also.

The Others:  Mike Hardy, Dean Tsopanides and John Sawhill

John Sawhill is a fifth-year senior that transferred in from Drake and he could be a surprise and add some depth at DT.  Hardy and Tsopanides are young guys that will try to challenge for playing time but are fighting an uphill battle.

LB:  James Morris, Christian Kirksey, Anthony Hitchens, Quinton Alston, Travis Perry, Cole Fisher

The Starters:  James Morris, Christian Kirksey and Anthony Hitchens.

James Morris has started at LB since midway through his freshman year and now as a junior he is one of the leaders of the defense from his middle linebacker spot.  A position he has mostly played with the exception of some games last year where he was shifted outside.  He’s flanked by two other juniors, returning starter Christian Kirksey who played very well last year and Anthony Hitchens who played some last year as an injury substitute and in some sub packages.  There has been a concerted effort to add speed to the LB position and Kirksey and Hitchens do that although they don’t bring a ton of size.

The Battle: Can Quinton Alston break into the line-up.

The 3 LB spots seem pretty secure but if anyone is going to change that it would be Quinton Alston.  Alston has played some linebacker and a lot of special teams and is very talented.  The problem he faces is that he is strictly a middle linebacker and that happens to be James Morris’s position.  What Alston would have to do is play well enough to convince the coaches that the LB unit would be better off with him in the middle and Morris shifted outside in place of Hitchens but that seems unlikely.  Alston will see time especially when the Hawkeyes need more size on the field.

The Others:  Travis Perry, Cole Fisher, Marcus Collins and Laron Taylor.

None of these guys are likely to see much playing time but they all bring the speed that the defense has wanted to add at LB and they are young guys sitting behind some very talented juniors and a sophomore.

DB: Micah Hyde, BJ Lowery, Nico Law, Tanner Miller, Jordan Lomax (injured), Greg Castillo, Torrey Campbell, Tom Donatell, Colin Sleeper

The Starters:  CB Micah Hyde, CB BJ Lowery, SS Nico Law, FS Tanner Miller

Micah Hyde is the senior leader of the Hawkeye defense; he’s a multiyear starter, able to play multiple positions if needed and is an All-Conference caliber player.  His running mate at CB is BJ Lowery who flashed multiple times last year and has been biding his time waiting to take over. Lowery is a very skilled cover man with good size.  Tanner Miller is a returning starter at free safety and brings a lot of experience over the last two years which is a good thing since the starting strong safety is Nico Law.  Law spent his freshman year playing a lot of special teams but not getting much time at safety.  Law will be a fan favorite and likely a media favorite as he is sure to be a quotable player.  He brings potential to a position needing an upgrade in talent.

The Battle:  Greg Castillo vs. Torrey Campbell for the nickel corner job.

This position was all but sewn up by Jordan Lomax until he suffered a shoulder injury and is now out for the season.  He was a freshman who played last year on special teams and at corner at times but he will take his redshirt year this year and come back next year to fight to replace Micah Hyde.  In the meantime senior Greg Castillo will try to fight off redshirt freshman Torrey Campbell for the job and given Castillo’s track record he will almost assuredly do so and make Hawkeye fans miss Lomax that much more.  Campbell is an unknown at this point but hopefully he turns his potential into production in camp and wins the nickel job.

The Others:  Kevin Buford, Sean Draper, Ruben Lile and Anthony Gair

These 4 true freshmen are worth mentioning because they could come in and potentially add depth to the defensive backfield.  Buford and Draper both project at corner and it is a position without a lot of depth beyond the top four.  Lile and Gair project at safety and while seniors Colin Sleeper and Tom Donatell have played in the past there is a reason they aren’t starters and have been passed by younger players.  Donatell has actually seen as much if not more time at outside LB than he has at safety.

Specialists:  Mike Meyer, Marshall Koehn, John Wienke, Jonny Mullings, Connor Kornbrath

The Starters: K Mike Meyer, P John Wienke/Jonny Mullings

Mike Meyer has been the starting kicker since his freshman year and while he has had his ups and downs he’s pretty solid.  If he can be more consistent he can be a weapon.  John Wienke is a converted QB trying to make it as a punter and Jonny Mullings is a guy with a big leg and a slow delivery.

  The Battle:  Kornbrath vs. the field

True freshman Connor Kornbrath has all the tools to come in and win the starting job at punter and given his competition and the fact that Ferentz has never shied away from playing freshman kickers/punters I would say the odds are in his favor.

The Others:  K Marshall Koehn, K Trent Mossbrucker

Koehn is a redshirt freshman walk-on with a big leg and could possibly contribute as a kick-off specialist to save a little on Meyer’s leg.  Mossbrucker is a senior who’s been beaten out by younger players and his biggest contribution at this point is the fact that he helps signal in the plays from the sidelines.

The Schedule:

Iowa begins the season at Soldier Field in Chicago against a solid Northern Illinois team and then comes home for 4 weeks in a row against very beatable teams starting with Iowa St. The Cyclones haven’t been an easy win for the Hawkeyes in a while but the game is at home so that should help.  October only has three games, two tough away games versus Michigan St and Northwestern sandwiched around a now very vulnerable Penn St team under the lights at Kinnick.  I normally wouldn’t call Northwestern tough but we have struggled against them lately especially on the road.  November goes like this at Indiana (shouldn’t be a tough game) Purdue at home (our “bitter” cross-divisional rival) at Michigan (I hate that Brady Hoke appears to be as good of a coach as I thought he would be) and Nebraska in Kinnick the day after Thanksgiving (really want to beat the Cornhuskers on national TV).  I don’t really want to make a prediction about how the Hawkeyes come out on the season because I’m always optimistic and I think this team could surprise people.

Final thoughts:  Iowa will go as far as the lines take them.

Like most Iowa teams it really should come down to how they play along the offensive and defensive lines.  The OL may not have a big name prospect like Bulaga and Reiff but there is a lot of talent and a lot of depth and a new exciting position coach in Brian Ferentz.  If the o-line plays well we have enough talent at RB that their inexperience won’t matter.  The defensive line is the key, Dominic Alvis has to be healthy and the guys inside (Trinca-Pasat, Davis, Cooper and Jaleel Johnson) have to contribute.  Finding a second consistent pass-rusher would be huge for this team whether that person comes at DE or DT doesn’t really matter the Hawks have to get pressure from the defensive line.

Guys to watch:

RB Greg Garmon- If he can avoid the RB curse the kid has the talent to be special.

TE CJ Fiedorowicz- I didn’t mention the name Rob Gronkowski by accident, this kid has that type of physical talent he just has to put it all together.  He is a match-up nightmare for defenses and he could absolutely explode this season.

QB James Vandenberg- He has the tools he just needs some consistency.  He needs to up his completion percentage and play better on the road.  If he leans on Keenan Davis, Kevonte Martin-Manley and CJ Fiedorowicz in the passing game he should be fine.

LT Brandon Scherff- When I said Iowa didn’t have a big name prospect like Bulaga or Reiff I should have said yet.  Scherff could be the next great LT from Iowa.

DT’s Darian Cooper and Jaleel Johnson- One of these two needs to step up and be the other dominant player on the line with Dominic Alvis, they both possess the talent they are just very green.

LB James Morris- You don’t start at MLB as freshman without some serious talent.  Morris is only a junior but he has more experience than just about anyone which is why he is a leader on defense.

LB Christian Kirksey- He turned into a tackling machine last year and I expect him to keep it up, he isn’t the biggest LB but he’s got speed that kills.

CB Micah Hyde- The Hawkeyes best cover guy and most consistent defender and unless Fiedorowicz explodes and enters the NFL draft early Hyde will likely be the first Hawkeye drafted in 2013.

SS Nico Law- I think this kid could bring the swagger to the defense that has been missing lately, he doesn’t lack for confidence and I believe he will back it up.

For those of you that stuck with me through this whole thing thank you, I barely made it myself.

Nate