So since we had our second child last Thursday, I wasn't able to do a pre-game look at the Panthers. On top of that, the hospital didn't have the Iowa game on, so I had to wait until Sunday night to actually see the game. Now had the Hawks come through with one of the most improbable wins I have ever seen, I probably wouldn't have even watched the film, but here is my position by position breakdown.
QB- Stanzi came out with guns a blazing in the first half, he looked very sharp on the opening drive, but even on that drive his passes were in front or behind most of their targets. After that first drive Stanzi looked awful the rest of the first half, missing many open targets and making bad reads. In the second half he put a couple of drives together and started making better reads. Some of the positives that I saw were that he spread the ball around, hitting 7 different receivers with at least one pass, when it was crunch time he put the team on his shoulders and led them on a couple of scoring drives. Couple negatives, he tried to force the ball too much, showed a lack of maturity by not throwing the ball away when he was pressured outside the pocket. Overall grade C+
RB- Going into the game we knew that it would be a struggle going with what most fans considered the #3 and #4 options at the position. Paki O'Meara started the game and got the bulk of carries in the first half. He seemed to lack the burst that is needed to get through the hole on the zone play, a staple in the Iowa offense. He also fumbled on the first drive of the second half and wasn't heard from again in the game. O'Meara channeled his inner Marcus Schnoor getting tackled by the initial tackler several times, often the shoestring variety. Adam Robinson was second string and saw his first collegiate action for Iowa. He looked good at times, but other times looked like a freshman. He showed the burst that is needed by an Iowa running back (4.2 ypc) and also showed some strength, rarely going down on first contact. For only being a freshman Robinson showed that he could also take on defenders as a blocker. Overall grade: O'Meara D+ Robinson B
WR/TE- The one bright spot on the offensive side of the ball was the pass catchers. The wide receivers that started the game were McNutt and Stross with McNutt being Stanzi's favorite target early. Changing positions in the spring from QB to WR, McNutt looked like a seasoned veteran. Paul Chaney looked light years better than he has at any time at Iowa, his speed could be a weapon for the Hawks this season. Tony Moeaki looked like the player that Iowa thought they were getting four years ago. The leading receiver of the last two season barely even played, at some point we will find out what DJK has done to find his way into the doghouse. Overall grade A-
OL- Going into the season, all fans thought that the strength of the offense was going to be the line. The starting line for the UNI game was from L to R: Bulaga, Gettis, Eubanks, Doering, and Richardson. Normally, I would just break the line down as a whole, but in watching the game, the tackles played phenomenally. I don't even know if you heard the names of the two UNI defensive ends all game. The interior of the line on the other hand was the exact opposite. For being a 5th year senior, Doering looked like he was a freshman out there. The interior defensive line and linebackers owned the interior of the Iowa line and it was a problem the whole game. Gettis showed flashes of promise, but he is still young. Overall grade: T's- B+; G's and C- D
Coaching- There were times where you thought that Iowa was going to be different, opening with a pass and not a zone play. Even busting out a reverse early in the game. I liked how they brought in several different packages, however if they weren't able to get holes, I thought that they should have gone to a more spread out offense to keep the 8th defender out of the box. In the 4th quarter when Iowa was trying to run out the clock they went to a pass on second down and having an incomplete pass instead of running the ball and either taking up more time or forcing UNI to use a timeout. Overall grade: C+
Showing posts with label Dace Richardson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dace Richardson. Show all posts
Monday, September 7, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
BTN in Iowa City
Since they donate a ridiculous amount of money to the University, The Big Ten Network was granted entrance into Fort Kinnick to witness a practice yesterday the 25th. The Hawks were full pads and it was very interesting to see some of the drills that they do. Here is a rundown of what I saw at every position that was interesting:
QB- Stanzi is the manzi as they say and he looks to have put on some muscle since last year. In watching Rick's practice, you can easily tell that he is carrying himself differently and I have heard several times that he has become a leader on the team. He is seeing more of the field and has an overall better grasp of the offense then he did last year. The backup reps were split between Wienke and Vandenberg. Neither on stood out over the other one, they both throw a nice ball and have the potential to be good, but neither one probably knows the offense very well as they were both running the scout team a year ago. Speaking of scout team, the only other QB on the roster is Wyatt Suess, a walk-on that comes to the Hawks from Cedar Rapids.
RB- In my opinion this is the one position that scares me. Going into the spring we knew that Greene was gone, but had high hopes for Hampton. Now, a knee injury, and a tweak (whatever that means) later we are down to the second string. All fall long last year we kept hearing that Jeff Brinson would have split time at #2 with Hampton if it hadn't been for an illness in camp. However he hasn't made the anticipated strides from year one to year two and didn't get any reps of live action that I saw yesterday. I saw him warming up, but beyond that he was non-existent. That worries me a lot as Paki O'Meara and Adam Robinson took the bulk of the carries with the first team. Neither one of them is a "game changer," but both can be serviceable. Paki has more experience, but Robinson seems to have more talent, so you could see a committee to start the season. The other running back that saw reps was freshman Brandon Wegher, but a year with Doyle could help him as he looked a little on the small side.
TE- This Iowa team, not unlike almost all of Ferentz' teams have two solid tight ends in Moeaki and Reisner. There has never been a question of whether Tony has the skills, it has just been a matter of him staying healthy. He made a couple nice catches at practice yesterday and at times looks like the 6th OL in there. Reisner looks to be more of the H-back type of TE, and is a much better pass catcher than a blocker. Behind them JD Griggs was taking reps with the 2's along with Peterson.
WR- In my opinion this is the deepest wide receiver corps in the Ferentz era. They return Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Trey Stross, Paul Chaney, and Colin Sandeman with experience and add to that group converted QB Marvin McNutt and freshman Keenan Davis and you will have guys who don't get the playing time the probably deserve. Looked like McNutt and Stross were starting, but DJK didn't go because of an undisclosed injury. Chaney saw a lot of reps out of the slot and it looks like there is a conchies effort to use him as a weapon. Stross, if healthy, adds experience and is still waiting on his "moment." Davis looks and plays the part, however depth could see him getting less reps than he would have a year ago.
OL- One word, deep. The offensive line, which is one of Iowa's specialties is deep this year. They return five players with starting experience, anchored by tackles Bulaga and Calloway. Calloway will sit the first game, giving some backups some much needed playing time. At the guards yesterday were Adam Gettis and Dan Doering. Much like Stross, Doering is still waiting to live up to his potential. At center was a combination of Eubanks and Koeppel. Dace Richardson was taking reps at right tackle in anticipation of Calloway being out. Julian Vandevelde is a player that when he gets back from injury figures to be pushing for a starting spot somewhere along the line. Riley Reiff, Haganman, Ferentz, Kuempel, and MacMillan were running with the 2's. For the first couple of games you could see upwards of 10 guys getting reps until they find the best 5.
DL- If you lose two players with the experience of King and Kroul, you aren't supposed to be better, but this year's defensive line could be just that. Look for Iowa to line up with Clayborn and Binns on the ends and Klug and Ballard inside. Clayborn is just a man child and will only make himself and Bulaga better by the two future NFL players going against each other every day. Binns has been singled out several times by Ferentz since last season and is too good to keep off the field and might be Iowa's best pass rusher since Matt Roth. Ballard's athleticism inside reminds me of Jonathon Babineaux. Klug received Big Ten Player of the week honors last year in a backup role, so he has the skills and a motor to match. Lebron Daniel and Travis Meade will backup the tackles and Huntermark and Daniels backing up the ends.
LB- The trio of linebackers are probably the second best unit in the big ten behind Penn St., but that is nothing to sneeze about. Angerer is a tackling machine and plays a throw back kind of middle linebacker. Edds is a former TE that can run like a deer and is a three year starter. Hunter from ever thing I heard was in a race for his starting job with Jeff Tarpanian, but seems to have planted himself as the #1. So long as the defensive tackles do their job of keeping offensive lineman off of the LB's these guys will shine. The backups were Tarpanian at the will, Bruce Davis and Troy Johnson at the mike, and Tyler Nielsen at the leo. Did see in one drill where Iowa took a DL out and put Tarpanian in as almost a rover in the middle of the field behind the LB's.
DB- If Jordan Bernstein hadn't broken his ankle I would have went on a limb and said that this was the best defensive backfield of the Ferentz era. After he broke his ankle it is still good. Spievey will lock down one corner and cut the field down by a third. Shaun Prater will be the other corner, but is suspended for two games. That leaves the door open for William Lowe, Greg Castillo, or freshman Micah Hyde to step in and play early. The safeties will once again be Brett Greenwood and Tyler Sash, while neither is flashy, they epitomise an Iowa Hawkeye in that they just get the job done and don't make mistakes, guys that Norm Parker loves. The backups are Lowe, Castillo and Hyde at corner with David Cato and Jack Swanson at safety. Cato in my opinion could be a special teams leader this year, he likes to hit and has the same build as a former Hawk now playing safety for the Colts.
Spec- Donahue isn't going to get the most yards, but he hangs them high and gets very few return yards. Daniel Murray looks to have locked down the kicker job and you might see Mossbrucker take his redshirt and have three years to start after Murray is gone.
On a side not it was sad to see Jamie Murphy wearing a red jersey and will have a very limited role with the team on the field this year due to the effects of too many concussions. The Irish Car Bomb as he was appropriately nicknamed was one of my favorite Hawks to watch on special teams.
Check back this weekend for a preview of the Iowa vs UNI game.
QB- Stanzi is the manzi as they say and he looks to have put on some muscle since last year. In watching Rick's practice, you can easily tell that he is carrying himself differently and I have heard several times that he has become a leader on the team. He is seeing more of the field and has an overall better grasp of the offense then he did last year. The backup reps were split between Wienke and Vandenberg. Neither on stood out over the other one, they both throw a nice ball and have the potential to be good, but neither one probably knows the offense very well as they were both running the scout team a year ago. Speaking of scout team, the only other QB on the roster is Wyatt Suess, a walk-on that comes to the Hawks from Cedar Rapids.
RB- In my opinion this is the one position that scares me. Going into the spring we knew that Greene was gone, but had high hopes for Hampton. Now, a knee injury, and a tweak (whatever that means) later we are down to the second string. All fall long last year we kept hearing that Jeff Brinson would have split time at #2 with Hampton if it hadn't been for an illness in camp. However he hasn't made the anticipated strides from year one to year two and didn't get any reps of live action that I saw yesterday. I saw him warming up, but beyond that he was non-existent. That worries me a lot as Paki O'Meara and Adam Robinson took the bulk of the carries with the first team. Neither one of them is a "game changer," but both can be serviceable. Paki has more experience, but Robinson seems to have more talent, so you could see a committee to start the season. The other running back that saw reps was freshman Brandon Wegher, but a year with Doyle could help him as he looked a little on the small side.
TE- This Iowa team, not unlike almost all of Ferentz' teams have two solid tight ends in Moeaki and Reisner. There has never been a question of whether Tony has the skills, it has just been a matter of him staying healthy. He made a couple nice catches at practice yesterday and at times looks like the 6th OL in there. Reisner looks to be more of the H-back type of TE, and is a much better pass catcher than a blocker. Behind them JD Griggs was taking reps with the 2's along with Peterson.
WR- In my opinion this is the deepest wide receiver corps in the Ferentz era. They return Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Trey Stross, Paul Chaney, and Colin Sandeman with experience and add to that group converted QB Marvin McNutt and freshman Keenan Davis and you will have guys who don't get the playing time the probably deserve. Looked like McNutt and Stross were starting, but DJK didn't go because of an undisclosed injury. Chaney saw a lot of reps out of the slot and it looks like there is a conchies effort to use him as a weapon. Stross, if healthy, adds experience and is still waiting on his "moment." Davis looks and plays the part, however depth could see him getting less reps than he would have a year ago.
OL- One word, deep. The offensive line, which is one of Iowa's specialties is deep this year. They return five players with starting experience, anchored by tackles Bulaga and Calloway. Calloway will sit the first game, giving some backups some much needed playing time. At the guards yesterday were Adam Gettis and Dan Doering. Much like Stross, Doering is still waiting to live up to his potential. At center was a combination of Eubanks and Koeppel. Dace Richardson was taking reps at right tackle in anticipation of Calloway being out. Julian Vandevelde is a player that when he gets back from injury figures to be pushing for a starting spot somewhere along the line. Riley Reiff, Haganman, Ferentz, Kuempel, and MacMillan were running with the 2's. For the first couple of games you could see upwards of 10 guys getting reps until they find the best 5.
DL- If you lose two players with the experience of King and Kroul, you aren't supposed to be better, but this year's defensive line could be just that. Look for Iowa to line up with Clayborn and Binns on the ends and Klug and Ballard inside. Clayborn is just a man child and will only make himself and Bulaga better by the two future NFL players going against each other every day. Binns has been singled out several times by Ferentz since last season and is too good to keep off the field and might be Iowa's best pass rusher since Matt Roth. Ballard's athleticism inside reminds me of Jonathon Babineaux. Klug received Big Ten Player of the week honors last year in a backup role, so he has the skills and a motor to match. Lebron Daniel and Travis Meade will backup the tackles and Huntermark and Daniels backing up the ends.
LB- The trio of linebackers are probably the second best unit in the big ten behind Penn St., but that is nothing to sneeze about. Angerer is a tackling machine and plays a throw back kind of middle linebacker. Edds is a former TE that can run like a deer and is a three year starter. Hunter from ever thing I heard was in a race for his starting job with Jeff Tarpanian, but seems to have planted himself as the #1. So long as the defensive tackles do their job of keeping offensive lineman off of the LB's these guys will shine. The backups were Tarpanian at the will, Bruce Davis and Troy Johnson at the mike, and Tyler Nielsen at the leo. Did see in one drill where Iowa took a DL out and put Tarpanian in as almost a rover in the middle of the field behind the LB's.
DB- If Jordan Bernstein hadn't broken his ankle I would have went on a limb and said that this was the best defensive backfield of the Ferentz era. After he broke his ankle it is still good. Spievey will lock down one corner and cut the field down by a third. Shaun Prater will be the other corner, but is suspended for two games. That leaves the door open for William Lowe, Greg Castillo, or freshman Micah Hyde to step in and play early. The safeties will once again be Brett Greenwood and Tyler Sash, while neither is flashy, they epitomise an Iowa Hawkeye in that they just get the job done and don't make mistakes, guys that Norm Parker loves. The backups are Lowe, Castillo and Hyde at corner with David Cato and Jack Swanson at safety. Cato in my opinion could be a special teams leader this year, he likes to hit and has the same build as a former Hawk now playing safety for the Colts.
Spec- Donahue isn't going to get the most yards, but he hangs them high and gets very few return yards. Daniel Murray looks to have locked down the kicker job and you might see Mossbrucker take his redshirt and have three years to start after Murray is gone.
On a side not it was sad to see Jamie Murphy wearing a red jersey and will have a very limited role with the team on the field this year due to the effects of too many concussions. The Irish Car Bomb as he was appropriately nicknamed was one of my favorite Hawks to watch on special teams.
Check back this weekend for a preview of the Iowa vs UNI game.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Offensive Line
In the Kirk Ferentz era there has always been a constant and up until a couple years ago it was line play. That all changed last year when the Hawks got great offensive line play. The unit really gelled last season and executed the zone blocking scheme to perfection in paving the way for Shonn Greene to win the Doak Walker award. Even more than the rushing yards the Hawks were able to gain, the best thing the line did was keep their QB upright, something they had problems with in '07. Gone from last year's starters are Rob Bruggeman and Seth Olsen who will both be in NFL camps this fall. While they are huge losses for Iowa, there are several players waiting in the wings to fill their spots. Iowa will return both of their tackles for next season, junior Bryan Bulaga and senior Kyle Calloway. The fact that Stanzi's blindside will be protected by one of the nation's best should give him a sense of safety when in the pocket this season. Hawk fans better enjoy this season with Bryan Bulaga as if he plays as well as he did last year, the NFL could come calling with a high draft pick in hand. Let's hope that Bryan takes the path of former Hawk Robert Gallery and stays for his senior season. That is of course all speculation so let's get back to the break down. While Calloway and Bulaga provide solid "bookends" the pages will be new in the O-Line. Returning will be co-starters for most of the season last year Rafeal Eubanks and Julian Vandevelde, who both spent time at LG last season with Julian taking over full time for the last part of the season. Expect Vandevelde to be at one guard spot for the season opener. At the other guard an old, but familiar face was recently seen playing at, Dace Richardson. Dace returns to the field after spending much of the last two years out of football due to injuries. If Dace can lock in on the other guard spot, the Hawks will have the luxury of having solid duo's on either side of center. And speaking of center the Iowa staff will have to replace Bruggeman who really was the straw that stirred the drink last year for the group. Recent photos have shown Stanzi taking snaps from Josh Koeppel, the soon to be junior from Iowa City. When he came to campus the staff was really high on Koeppel, let's hope that he can fill the big shoes that Bruggeman left behind. As a whole the line has the potential to be as good as the '02 line if they gel together like that one did. They will all have to be on their game as their are several players waiting in the wings to get onto the field. Rafeal Eubanks has spent time at both G and C in his three seasons on the field so he can fill in at either of those positions. Riley Reiff has made the switch to the OL permanent and if he fills out his frame, will bring a mean streak that the OL has been missing since Gallery. As Coach Williams used to say at Simpson, "We need some pricks out there." Another Hawk to keep your eye on is Casey McMillan, the red shirt freshman to be is two years removed from being the Montana player of the year and is still waiting to get his time on the field. Dan Doering is still at Iowa and is still battling injuries this spring, but when healthy he can step in and play either guard or tackle and be very serviceable. I would say James Ferentz, but I have a feeling that he won't be donning the pads for entire season due to his recent run in with Iowa City's finest. If they stay healthy the O-Line will be one of the strengths of the Hawks in '09 and will have very capable backups to boot.
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