[Herky] STILL WAY TOO EARLY TO ASSUME THIS IOWA TEAM IS ON THE VERGE OF BEING SPECIAL

Mon Sep 30 16:36:04 PDT 2019

Herky is a small group and I don’t see it getting much bigger. That is not necessarily bad. The larger discussion groups tend to be part of a for profit organization and require a moderator to deal with combative members. Here we use our real names and get along pretty well. 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Curtis Frazier" <cfrazier at ceoexpress.com> 
To: herky at lists.herky.net 
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2019 1:37:51 PM 
Subject: Re: [Herky] STILL WAY TOO EARLY TO ASSUME THIS IOWA TEAM IS ON THE VERGE OF BEING SPECIAL 

Ok, here is WAY MORE than my $.02…. 

Email/Herky: 

    * I am sad as well. Larry has done a stellar job of taking the mantle from Jim Monahan (RIP), so I thank you endlessly. 
    * I love it when us ‘old timers’ chime in, because it is always insightful and well thought out, IMHO. 
    * I would love to have more subscribers/contributors, but I hope we don’t go away if that doesn’t happen. 

Iowa Football overall: 

    * The team is on the right trajectory, but I also have the sneaking feeling that we are tiptoeing through a graveyard. We have made mistakes that have not (yet) hurt us, but that potential is always there if we do not pay attention to correcting our gaps. 
    * I love it when we make a good play or 2, as we seem to energize and rise to that standard for the next few plays. To that end, we need some emotion on the field to get the guys motivated. I am a calm guy by nature, but a chest-beating gorilla move has its benefits in the right context! 

Coaching 

    * The coaching is better, but not much. More creative play calling and ‘going for it in ways we did not always do. Loving the QB sneaks that gain 5-15 yards. More of that. 
    * Need MUCH work on clock management at end of Quarters, Halfs, and final 2 minutes. We seem as though we don’t have a clear ‘plan’, but moreso, we did not expect to be in the position we are in, so we are making it up as we go. 
    * Rotate the positions in a less predictive manner. It is clear what the call is probably going to be based on the substitutions – timing and personnel. Shake it up! 
    * Coach Brian F. needs to grab a slice of humble pie before his pressers. He cannot afford to get defensive and upset about the questions about playing time, clock management, etc. Wish he had a little more of his father’s demeanor. Small criticism. 

Offense 

    * Stanley is doing MUCH better as a field general/leader. Clearly, his confidence moved up to the front of the class and it shows. Keep it up. 
    * On the other end, he sure as hell is unexplainable on the long ball overthrows. At first, I thought it was situational, but more and more, I think it is in his mechanics. He should have his receivers figured out by now. 
    * Speaking of receivers, going after the ball much better. Better efforts to get open, which is impressive. I have a lot of faith in each game that 1-2 guys are going to shine. 
    * Running backs are doing just fine. I think the new rotation of the 3 headed monster (Sargent, Young, Goodson) are great. Again, though, don’t always use the same situational players. Each have a strength, but they aren’t weak in other areas (ie. Have Goodson block, take Sargent on a sweep, etc.). Put IKM in the slot, if you want him in rotation? 
    * Line is doing B+ work, IMHO. They could be better, but that may be a result of shifting players due to injury. Have not yet felt the ‘pancake block’ feeling from the big boys, but hopefully they will get with the better competition. 

Defense 

    * The line worries me, downright. Double/triple teams on AJE are certainly happening, but as said by others, this should free up 1-2 other guys to bull rush. Also, we should blitz a DB or LB every now and then on his side. This would release a blocker or bring further attention to that side to free up others. Either way, we need to get MUCH more pressure on the QB. 
    * The linebackers are vanilla. They are doing ‘fine’, but not the headhunters we have grown accustomed to in that position. I think they can tackle well, but they so not seem to ‘attack’ the ball carrier as much as I would expect. Further, they are almost always trailing the receivers over the middle and in the flats. Almost as though they are reacting instead of doing quick reads. Could be trouble with quick receivers, but that may be me overthinking it as an old linebacker. 
    * The DB’s are an infirmary. Don’t know what injuries are or when they are happening, but they need bubble wrap over the next 3-4 weeks during practice. OJ and Hankins are very, very good, and DJ is doing well as a RSFrosh, but should stay in loose coverage until he figures out body reads. 

Special Teams 

    * Punter? No worries, mate. We have a good guy there. 
    * Kicker? No worries, at all here either. We can certainly give him a scholly if we have not yet? 
    * Kick return? Taker it around the edge every now and then. It is like we don’t trust our speed. Shake it up instead of running up the backs of the blockers every time. 
    * Punt return? Don’t get me started. Fair catches inside the 10? Bounces let go at the 20? NR is good and fast, but his judgment is way off. 

Overall 

    * I am still cautiously optimistic for a double digit win season. I think we can beat Michigan with good discipline. I think Penn State may have our number in a close game. I think Wisconsin may have our number, and I think (if by providence we make the championship,) we go down to tOSU. That puts us at 10-2 (or 10-3) and a NYD bowl. 
    * I think we lose 3 non-seniors to the draft, but we can re-load to about 85-90% productivity going into 2020. 

SO, have I contributed? Is it wrestling season yet? 

Go Herky and GO HAWKS!!!!! 

Curtis 

From: Herky On Behalf Of SRINIVAS REDDY Chirra 
Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2019 9:16 PM 
To: herky at lists.herky.net 
Subject: Re: [Herky] STILL WAY TOO EARLY TO ASSUME THIS IOWA TEAM IS ON THE VERGE OF BEING SPECIAL 

I am happy that we are 4-0 at this point in the season. 

However, I do not get the feeling that we are anywhere close to a top-10 team. 

Our 3rd year senior QB has been interception free but he still does not make those big plays under duress as frequently as is expected of him. Him missing on long throws still rankles me. 

Our WRs dropping not so easy balls frequently bothers me. 

Our collective defense has been good. 

AJE being double and triple teamed should have allowed others to really shine but it has not happened to the extent I expected against three overmatched opponents. 

Next couple of games when AJE is probably defended one-on-one is when we will find out how good we are. 

NOTE: It is sad that after we lost a couple of our long term members, we have stopped having conversations, criticisms, critiques and chats about Hawkeyes in this forum. It is boring not to have those discussions here  

From: Herky < herky-bounces at lists.herky.net > on behalf of Larry Edwards < larryed6124 at knology.net > 
Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2019 8:39 PM 
To: herky < herky at lists.herky.net > 
Subject: [Herky] STILL WAY TOO EARLY TO ASSUME THIS IOWA TEAM IS ON THE VERGE OF BEING SPECIAL 

https://allhawkeyes.com/pages/story/details/3266 

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