UNI Game Recap Offense

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+

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.