The Sunday After: Akron (5 yard penalty for delay of game)

[Cyclophile1]

Thanks, Jay,
Very insightful. I was not aware of how bad our coaching staff sucks. I, like many others, say we should have kept the old regime. 41 points a game is an embarrassment. The oline should be way ahead of where there are, with all the experience they have together, one would assume they would have meshed into a freight train.
Dropped passes, who would have thunk. Those floaters should never go through a receivers hands. NEVER happens in the NFL, shouldn't happen here.
It is obvious this staff is not putting in the hours they should..If you want to see sad, look at the GPA's of this team. I am told that the average GPA is about 2.9.
PATHETIC. Fire the whole staff. They don't deserve any more time.

 

[The_Gent]

Congratulations 'vac. You're the second person ever on my ignore list.
What's wrong with an expert voicing BOTH the positives and the negatives? If I wanted only unicorn skittles I'd become a hok fan and read the Gazette.

Or read anything by Randy Peterson

 

[9104Griffith]

Love these articles, thanks for the good info.

Excited about Braxton Lewis. Saw this tweet shortly after I read your article. He and Montgomery were the only Cyclones on the first team offense/defense.
View attachment 50045

It looks like Lanning made it also.

 

[tazclone]

Wow! That's good stuff!!



Sorry to harp on this, but drops are not good, especially, if as noted in the article, the QB is trying to mess with the pace of his throws to make an on-target throw more "catchable". That will not end well.

Another thing that drops do is extend the game by stopping the clock. In the early 4th quarter so far this year, ISU has been leading all the games, and when you are leading, you don't want an extended game. The college play clock is 40 or 25 seconds depending on the scenario, but assuming an average 30 seconds can be run off the clock per play, 15 clock stops on drops equates to 7.5 minutes of extra game time.

Also, if you lack depth relative to your opponent, particulalrly on defense, I would suggest that you generally don't want to extend the game either...since drops often tend to stall offensive drives and put the defense back on the field.

One thing has been consistent form iSu WR coprs for years...drops and drops at critical times.

Drops have killed iSu for a long time and it amazes me how fans tend to poo poo them. It is good to see the issue getting some attention.

 

[tazclone]

Would like to read an analysis of what JayJ thinks of the fbl staff overall. Does it quickly recognize area deficiencies and do what it can to correct them? Or, is it slow to react? Is the staff pretty good at 'X's and 'O's, or maybe just mediocre. That sort of thing, about whatever constitutes staff work.

Is the staff a good fit for iSu? Is the future bright with this staff? How does it rate compared with other Big12 staffs? . . .

Uh, another thought: With most all of this year's veterans-in-development returning in 2018, is it reasonable to assume that once the staff finds the groove this fall the 2018 squad largely will be equipped to charge out of the gate next season firing on all cylinders?

Oops, the questions keep arising ;-) Is the coverage failure we've witnessed this fall have something to do with split coaching responsibilities? McDonald coaches cornerbacks, Heacock the safeties.

(Wanting more is a sign of one's success, I guess.)

I think when he speaks of iSu's halftime adjustments...it speaks of the coaches ability to recognize deficiencies, adjust and good X's and O's. I have been very impressed with their ability to come out in the second half and make adjustments. Either with personnel or with X's and O's

 

[CyCloned]

Just want to say I completely agree with the larger point you made in this comment, but the bolded is largely due to the defensive looks we were getting from Iowa.

I am no expert, but it seems like sometimes you just have to get the ball to your playmaker in space and see what he can do. I would rather give DM that quick pitch against Iowa and have him try to make someone miss outside instead of trying to run him up the middle behind a line that can't get any movement.

 

[stateofmind]

I think that halftime adjustments have proven the kind of staff we have here. We are so much better after half this year.

 

[CyCloned]

Safety play at times has been very bad. It is a very hard position to play, especially for ISU, where the safety has had to make way too many tackles in the run game. Seems like the line and LBers are getting better, so maybe there will be less pressure for the safeties to fill like LBers. I have no problem with Jay calling out number 4 and 5 on the defense. Can't give up easy scores.

 

[tazclone]

Thanks, Jay,
Very insightful. I was not aware of how bad our coaching staff sucks. I, like many others, say we should have kept the old regime. 41 points a game is an embarrassment. The oline should be way ahead of where there are, with all the experience they have together, one would assume they would have meshed into a freight train.
Dropped passes, who would have thunk. Those floaters should never go through a receivers hands. NEVER happens in the NFL, shouldn't happen here.
It is obvious this staff is not putting in the hours they should..If you want to see sad, look at the GPA's of this team. I am told that the average GPA is about 2.9.
PATHETIC. Fire the whole staff. They don't deserve any more time.

The WR drops are not good. I don't know how anyone can defend them.

Not sure how to read what you wrote...100% sarcasm or what. But the staff has pretty much said the same things and Jay really gives the staff a lot of credit for adjustments. He points out the growth in the OL from last season, half time adjustments, personnel adjustments, etc.

 

[tazclone]

I quick question. On short yardage, goal line or even in the red zone plays why not go with the wildcat with extra blockers or at least an extra RB or 2 or 3. It could be similar to what Lanning does but with the RBs instead of Joel. I also loved the jumbo package they ran vs UNI, the wildcat and that blocking package could do some damage.

You have a great QB, great RB and a damn good WR corp. Why limit your options and make it easier for the defense to defend? Especially when the OL is not getting the push up the middle.

One note...on Montgomery's touchdown...they did bring in an extra blocker. They had Soenbucher and Allen on the left side. iSu was 5 of 6 in the redzone against Akron. The one they missed should have been a TD if Jones doesn't stop his route.

 

[CY22]

They seem to do a nice job at in-game/halftime adjustments as well. There wasn't satisfaction for just having a lead Saturday.

One complaint is offensively, if something's working, don't shy away from it just because it's a crucial moment. Running something like that 'option' pitch to DM late the week before may have made the difference.

I am no expert, but it seems like sometimes you just have to get the ball to your playmaker in space and see what he can do. I would rather give DM that quick pitch against Iowa and have him try to make someone miss outside instead of trying to run him up the middle behind a line that can't get any movement.

Question about this play in particular: Why is Park pitching the ball to DM almost instantly? I thought on an option like that, the QB is supposed to wait to pitch it until he attracts a defender to him so that they're out of position to tackle the RB after the pitch occurs.

Someone tell me why, otherwise it will continue to DRIVE ME CRAZY!!!

 

[danielyp29]

This seems like as good a place as any to ask a question about Lewis....who in the hell is he? Is he a walk-on? I tried to find him in past recruiting classes on Rivals with no luck.

He backed up Mike Johnson last year at safety... got the start at Kansas last year

 

[tazclone]

Question about this play in particular: Why is Park pitching the ball to DM almost instantly? I thought on an option like that, the QB is supposed to wait to pitch it until he attracts a defender to him so that they're out of position to tackle the RB after the pitch occurs.

Someone tell me why, otherwise it will continue to DRIVE ME CRAZY!!!

Because it is successful .

More seriously, I would like to see Park keep it longer as well but if the play is successful and it doesn't give the defender a reason to hit the QB then I am fine with it and look at it more like a toss play than an option play.

With as successful as it has been...no reason for Park to wait until the last minute to pitch it and take a hit

 

[JJIII]

The option pitch is not a true option. They are reach blocking the end and freezing the OLB pursuit with the speed option look. It is always going to be a pitch, but the RB gains a step on the pursuit with the option threat.

A true option would use a down block from the tackle with the DE being the read player.

Would love to see that action turned in to an RPO where the receiver slants behind the cover man and OLB. If they stay in position then pitch. If they come forward hit the slant in the vacated zone.

 

[JJIII]

Memphis uses that action with a go route on the outside. Hit for a td v UCLA and last year v Houston.

 

[RezClone]

When we had Barnett and Richardson run the read option, by the 2nd half they looked as wobbly as Connor mcgregor trying to stay standing against Mayweather.

I will not be advocating for any plays that do anything except protect our signal caller from unnecessary punishment. Anyone who wants to see Jacob keep on pitches more than once a month should really just cut to the chase and start advocating for Zeb Noland or LanRam 2.0 under center the rest of the way cuz that is what you would be inviting.

 

[kingcy]

You have a great QB, great RB and a damn good WR corp. Why limit your options and make it easier for the defense to defend? Especially when the OL is not getting the push up the middle.

One note...on Montgomery's touchdown...they did bring in an extra blocker. They had Soenbucher and Allen on the left side. iSu was 5 of 6 in the redzone against Akron. The one they missed should have been a TD if Jones doesn't stop his route.

Because running plays for Lanning worked last year. Everyone knew what he was going to do and couldn't stop that package. It could work that same with the wildcat this year.

 

[Al_4_State]

This website comprehends sarcasm as well as the Cyclones handle a 10-14 point 4th quarter lead.

 

[madguy30]

When we had Barnett and Richardson run the read option, by the 2nd half they looked as wobbly as Connor mcgregor trying to stay standing against Mayweather.

I will not be advocating for any plays that do anything except protect our signal caller from unnecessary punishment. Anyone who wants to see Jacob keep on pitches more than once a month should really just cut to the chase and start advocating for Zeb Noland or LanRam 2.0 under center the rest of the way cuz that is what you would be inviting.

I agree with not just letting Park run it up.

I think there's 1st downs he could pick up without much contact at times though, although that seems to be the last option.

 

[BeneventiCy28]

You have a great QB, great RB and a damn good WR corp. Why limit your options and make it easier for the defense to defend? Especially when the OL is not getting the push up the middle.

One note...on Montgomery's touchdown...they did bring in an extra blocker. They had Soenbucher and Allen on the left side. iSu was 5 of 6 in the redzone against Akron. The one they missed should have been a TD if Jones doesn't stop his route.

I understand our WR crew and DM are very good and a mismatch for most/all matchups, but for me, no matter what kind of offense a team runs, football at certain times comes down to the same basic principle...I'm running, you know I'm running, now try to stop me. Call me old fashioned (I just turned 25, so call my thinking old fashioned) but at some point in football, it just comes down to wanting it more. Cliche I know, but cliches and stereotypes exist in part for a reason.