Iowa Final Drive Questions

J

jameskalina

Well-Known Member
I just got back from out of state last night and I apologize if this topic already has been discussed.

Question: When Iowa received the ball with about 2 minutes and 40 seconds to go, down by one point on Iowa's 26 yard line and facing the worst defense in the Big Ten and with Iowa pretty much rushing at will with Coker why didn't Iowa use Coker to advance the ball?

Another question: Iowa's strength is suppose to be the offense, then why couldn't Iowa so much as get one first down on the final drive facing the worst defense in the Big Ten?

It's not like Iowa had to score a touchdown to win. All the Hawks needed was 45 to 50 yards to kick the winning field goal. Playing the percentages I doubt Meyer would have missed three straight in the game. Two minutes and 40 seconds is almost an eternity in college football to score points.
 
Folks, I called Hawk Talk tonight but the calls ahead of me went quickly. I just missed Ferentz as he was walking in the door when I was finishing up with Gary Dolphin.

I asked Gary to ask Ferentz why he decided to pass for 4 downs on the final possession with plenty of time left on the clock to either score a TD or at least attempt a field goal, thinking Mike Meyer probably wouldn't miss three in a row in one game, rather than rush the ball with a fresh Marcus Coker (he was on the bench for several minutes in the 4th quarter) who was pretty much having his way the whole game rushing for over 250 yards.

Gary did ask Ferentz the question. Ferentz responded saying they do what gives them the best chance to win the game and that is why he decided to use the passing game in the final possession.

What the? :confused:
 
jameskalina said:
Folks, I called Hawk Talk tonight but the calls ahead of me went quickly. I just missed Ferentz as he was walking in the door when I was finishing up with Gary Dolphin.

I asked Gary to ask Ferentz why he decided to pass for 4 downs on the final possession with plenty of time left on the clock to either score a TD or at least attempt a field goal, thinking Mike Meyer probably wouldn't miss three in a row in one game, rather than rush the ball with a fresh Marcus Coker (he was on the bench for several minutes in the 4th quarter) who was pretty much having his way the whole game rushing for over 250 yards.

Gary did ask Ferentz the question. Ferentz responded saying they do what gives them the best chance to win the game and that is why he decided to use the passing game in the final possession.

What the? :confused:
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Translation:
IDK, I left it up to KOK and JVB isn't very good under pressure.
 
I certainly agree that Coker should have been given the rock a couple times. When Iowa gets the ball at the end of the 1st half in their own territory, what do they do? Run the ball hoping to pop one and get out of their own shadow. Why do they do this? Conservatism? Big time. However, typically defenses are in some type of soft prevent, so running the ball with numbers generally will produce decent gains. Considering Iowa did not need a TD, and the time was well over 2 minutes, it was inexcusable in my opinion that they did not run the ball. However, what were peoples' expectations in that spot? Clock management and late game situations have proven to be this coaching staff's achilles heal over and over again.

I have another question? If you do decide to go 100% through the air, why would the choice of targets be: 1st down TE that has proven to be untrustworthy catching the ball and has no ability for yards after catch, 2nd down um... ah... see 1st down, 3rd down Jason White - nuff said, 4th down immobile QB runs on do or die 4th and 15. You have arguably the best WR in the league, who by the way is big and physical. Why not throw it up to him, even though it may be in traffic, and see if he can make a play?

Why did you have to get me started?!
 
The staff has always done a miserable job of clock / game management. The MN game was another example of how poorly prepared we are for real world situations like fake punts, onside kicks, 2 minute offense, etc. Risk aversion is the name of the game in Iowa City.

Next time I hope KF and KOK do the opposite of what they think gives us the best chance to win.
 
Dear Pitt:

By pressure we mean any sort of blitz from the edge. Not the sort of weak*** pass rush you applied.

Best regards,

Everyone else.
 
SWIHawk said:
I have another question? If you do decide to go 100% through the air, why would the choice of targets be: 1st down TE that has proven to be untrustworthy catching the ball and has no ability for yards after catch, 2nd down um... ah... see 1st down, 3rd down Jason White - nuff said, 4th down immobile QB runs on do or die 4th and 15. You have arguably the best WR in the league, who by the way is big and physical. Why not throw it up to him, even though it may be in traffic, and see if he can make a play?

Why did you have to get me started?!
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I agree with this. Not that I'm calling out any players or anything...I just think there were better options. During the Pitt game KMM had some big catches down the stretch. If you feel for some odd reason you MUST throw the ball in that situation, at least throw it to big strong athletic guys who could maybe make a play. Hopefully Vandy and the coaching staff learn from this and we take out all of our frustration on Michigan!
 
jameskalina said:
Gary did ask Ferentz the question. Ferentz responded saying they do what gives them the best chance to win the game and that is why he decided to use the passing game in the final possession.

What the? :confused:
Click to expand...

Ferentz really said this? Coker was averaging over 7 yards a carry had over 250 yards and yet in the final 3 minutes against a tired D passing the ball instead of rushing a few times gave them the best chance to win?

I wish he would have just said we went into panic mode and didn't know what the hell to do. At least I would respect the honesty, but to say passing gave this team the best chance to win when they had rushed for over 300 yards is an insult to everyone's intelligence. Come on Kirk people aren't that ignorant and could tell with 3 minutes left, 40 to 50 yards to go for at least a FG try and 2 timeouts you didn't need to throw the ball 4 straight times, and especially when the clock stops after 1st downs.
 
lame excuse. poor execution. poor play calling. sometimes the name Ronnie Harmon pops in my mind at these crucial times.
 
hawkeyescott said:
Ferentz really said this? Coker was averaging over 7 yards a carry had over 250 yards and yet in the final 3 minutes against a tired D passing the ball instead of rushing a few times gave them the best chance to win?

I wish he would have just said we went into panic mode and didn't know what the hell to do. At least I would respect the honesty, but to say passing gave this team the best chance to win when they had rushed for over 300 yards is an insult to everyone's intelligence. Come on Kirk people aren't that ignorant and could tell with 3 minutes left, 40 to 50 yards to go for at least a FG try and 2 timeouts you didn't need to throw the ball 4 straight times, and especially when the clock stops after 1st downs.
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Yes, he really said that. I could hardly believe what I heard.

If I didn't know any better it looked as if the coaching staff was trying to throw the game during the last possession. I do know better, but it sure appeared that way.

McCall was medically cleared to play. I wonder why he didn't get out on the field as, at least as a decoy, sometime during the game to give Coker a breather if Ferentz was afraid to use him during the final possession (if he was afraid to use him due to the number of carries/plays).
 
Why do i feel that if we ran the ball a couple times and even picked up a first down or two but still fell a little short of field goal range that fans would have been going nuts that we were conservative and should have been passing right away?
 
yeah, i know what you mean, but the run was there all day long. the one time this year i think we didn't even have to pass and we win. when we did pass we had the fumbles and the sacks.
 
ibahawkeye said:
Why do i feel that if we ran the ball a couple times and even picked up a first down or two but still fell a little short of field goal range that fans would have been going nuts that we were conservative and should have been passing right away?
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Speculative scenario. No way to prove that would have happened.

My point is, do in the final possession what was working all game long. So what if Iowa again advanced between the twenties and stalled again. That's a makeable 37 or so yard field goal. I doubt Mike Meyer misses three straight in one game.
 
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