I'm sorry to say it, but there needs to be some questions on Herman as OC

[rebecacy]

They also realize we rarely run routes that would burn them. A lot of coming back to the ball and stationary targets. Why? One reason could be because we do not have an accurate QB.
And before we blame it on the WR, I have seen less gifted athletes get open far more, if for not anything else but defensive breakdowns. There is a reason Herman is not calling for more of those routes that keep the defense honest. You do not need water bugs or fast guys to get separation. Routes and timing. Hard to get separation when the routes you run call for you to be a stationary target and the ball is late. Also makes yards after the catch hard to come by.

This is what I see too PA --- AA gets rattled and he can't hit stationary targets. It's so easy for me to see but I'm not joining in the debate any longer -- we need a QB that can stay calm and run thru the progressions in Herman's system. We obviously don't have him. AA was much better under McFarland.

 

[rebecacy]

Let me first state that Collin Franklin is our possession receiver this year. It was a bogus question to begin with because you can't ask for me to name a guy and then limit who I can choose. Maybe you should look at the statistics and I wish they had a number of targets but they don't.

Collin Franklin 31 catches for 313 yards *long of 36
A-Rob 19 catches for 128 yards *long of 23
Darius Darks 17 catches for 205 yards *long of 31
Jake Williams 15 catches for 159 yards *long of 28
Sedrick Johnson 14 catches for 94 yards *long of 15
Darius Reynolds 11 catches for 162 yards *long of 36
Josh Lenz 6 catches for 72 yards *long of 18
Kurt Hammerschmidt 4 catches for 31 yards *long of 15
Shontrelle Johnson 3 catches for 9 yards *long of 9
James White 1 catch for 5 yards

So now you have to break this down...

Throws to RB or TE.... 58
Throws to WR's.... 63

52% of completions go to WR's.

Let's look at Indiana for a comparison

Demarlo Belcher WR 41 catches for 510 yards. *long of 65
Tandon Doss WR 32 catches for 438 yards. *long of 46
Terrance Turner WR 32 catches for 329 yards. *long of 33
Duwyce Wilson WR 15 catches for 216 yards. *long of 39
Ted Bolser TE 12 catches for 194 yards. *long of 27
Darius Willis RB 11 catches for 102 yards. *long of 19
Trea Burgess RB 5 catches for 38 yards. *long of 13
Max Dedmond TE 5 catches for 37 yards. *long of 16
Nick Turner RB 3 catches for 22 yards. *long of 8
Kofi Hughes WR 4 catches for 21 yards. *long of 7
Jamonne Chester WR 2 catches for 13 yards. *long of 11

Their breakdown...

Throws to RB & TE's.... 36
Throws to WR's... 126

78% of completions go to the WR's.

What does this tell you?

1. Arnaud is only looking to his WR's a shade over 50% of the time.
2. Arnaud is not looking much farther down the field then 10 yards....if that.
3. Arnaud is confused by the defense and is looking for the easiest throw possible meaning a ton of dump off throws to his backs and TE's.
4. Based on the dispersion of his completions he is not making accurate throws down the field considering the average yardage per completion is only 9.6 yards and his yards per attempt is a mind blowing 5.7 yards.

To put this into perspective.... The absolutely horrid QB's at Kansas are averaging 6.13 and 6.38 yards per attempt. Their receivers are averaging 10.4 yards per catch. Oh... and both Kansas QB's are completing passes at a higher percentage then Arnaud.

If these numbers don't make you want to throw up in your mouth then I don't know what to do for you. The numbers say it all.

THANK YOU -- AA does not have the mental skills for our offense -- as soon as he gets rattled........ at all, it's game over. I wish they'd give him a couple valium before the next game.

 

[CYinPA]

If any of you think Alexander is better than Adam... you are incredibly mistaken. Does iowa have a better offensive line? Yes. Does Adam run harder? Yes. Are they equal speed? Yes. Who was better last year? Alexander.

Iowa's utter dominance in player development has suddenly become my infatuation. I would argue there is not one program in the entire country that develops better than Iowa. And from what I've seen out of ISU, we don't develop relatively at all. Credit that to coaching changes.

Iowa does have a good developmental program. Never said different.
However, ARob vs Arob does not prove that. A healthy ARob behind Iowa's Oline is better than Arob behind Iowa's Oline. You went on and on about how Arob developed more than ARob. That is just not true. ARob ISU got bigger, stronger and faster, more so than Arob iowa. They started from the same level.

 

[tazclone]

They also realize we rarely run routes that would burn them. A lot of coming back to the ball and stationary targets. Why? One reason could be because we do not have an accurate QB.
And before we blame it on the WR, I have seen less gifted athletes get open far more, if for not anything else but defensive breakdowns. There is a reason Herman is not calling for more of those routes that keep the defense honest. You do not need water bugs or fast guys to get separation. Routes and timing. Hard to get separation when the routes you run call for you to be a stationary target and the ball is late. Also makes yards after the catch hard to come by.

I want to make one thing clear. I don't think AA is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don't think he is a spread QB. What I am trying to point out, is AA is not the only issue on the offense. WR play has not been good and it is not AA's fault. OL has been inconsistent.

Back to the stationary routes. I agree 100%. But at the same time we are running the curl routes, is the defense taking away other routes? When AA makes his presnap read, are the DBs taking away routes? It isn't like we don't run bubble screens, swing passes, slants and outs that give WRs/RBs opportunities. We do and we complete them sometimes but other times AA either throws it off, the WR is knocked off the route, the WR drops it, or they are tackled immediately. All four happen. I will never claim that AA doesn't miss guys, he does but I think too many people put too much of the blame on AA. Some of that blame needs to go to the OC and WR. That is all I am saying. Everyone here wants to say it is 80-100% Arnaud's fault and if we get a different/more accurate QB then nothing else matters. Guess what? If receivers drop the ball on 3rd and long or get tackled right away on a 5 yard slant on 3rd and 8...It doesn't matter if the QB throws for 100%.

I disagree about not needing a playmaker(waterbug) at WR. Look at successful spreads and you see atleast one WR that is a playmaker. More times than not, the WRs end up in the NFL and have longer careers in the NFL. Look at Herman's offense at Rice. Look at TT, Missouri, Florida, Utah, Texas, etc...Rice had James and Dillard. TT had Welker and Crabtree. Mizzou had Alexander, Maclin, and Franklin. Kansas had Meier and Briscoe. Heck, Tebow, Young and Smith weren't exactly what people thought were great passing QBs Was Florida more explosive with Percy Harvin. Stats say they were. Heck Florida had 4 WRs drafted in the last two years. When McCoy went down against Alabama last year, did Garret come around or did he just find Shipley and let him make plays? Look at Adams from Arkansas last week. He made Wilson look like a stud. He took a poorly thrown swing pass and made a 15 yard gain. Then Adams took a poorly thrown ball across the middle and made a 24 yard gain out of it. Two plays later, Wilson put a ball up for grabs and Childs went up over a defender to get it for a TD. Three passes, none of them great but Wilson was 3-3 and looked like a stud.

That playmaker opens things up for everyone else. Right now, our playmaker is a TE. I love Franklin and he is good but he isn't a guy that is going to take a 5-10 yard pass and turn it into a 50 yd TD. Right now we don't have anyone a defense fears or has to gameplan around. Why worry about deep coverage when no one will beat them deep and in the rare case they do it is 50%(25% chance AA misses and 25% chance they sack the QB or rattle him) that it is completed. People didn't fear Daniels, Harrel/Potts/Kingsbury, and Clement's ability to go deep. They feared the receivers turning a 5 yard slant into a 50 yard TD.

For every great spread QB, there is a great or better WR.

 

[mikem]

I guess I'll wait for the Neb game to make an accurate comparison then. In last year's win at Lincoln, Jessie Smith and Michael Brandtner, both McCarney players, were dominant players; they were named Big 12 Defensive and Special teams players of the week respectively. Smith ended up leading the Big 12 in tackles for the season.

You can't be this dumb, you just can't be.....I let the first idiotic post slide, because you have a man crush on the guy that brought the program back to the depths he found it in after taking it 18 inches above ground.

But, if you don't realize the difference between last year's schedule, and this year's schedule, the you don't remember your hero/brother whatever he is, assuming the fetal position against them. And if you can't see the difference between the way Nebraska played that day and how they have since then....nevermind it just isn't fair.

It is so sad that there are people that still spend much of their time defending the mediocre, and really underacheiving legacy of Mac....I wanted the guy to win more than anyone, but you could only watch him choke with equal or greater talent so many times...PLUS you knew that he wasn't winning against better talent (unless the name Iowa was on the jersey, so he could make sure the Baylor loss would hurt even more later).

 

[mikem]

These are great points, and echo my thoughts. We need to do something different, that other teams aren't used to, and right now, everyone is used to the spread.

I think this era would be a great time to go back to the offenses we ran under Loney, with allot of motion. I miss seeing JJ or Lane go in motion behind Sage and Seneca. That look forced the defense to defend allot of different angles.

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!

Arghhhhhh, THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR THAT THIS STAFF HAS EVER BEEN TOGETHER, why can't people remember that???

This program was awful when mac left, and chiz leaving after only two years set it back even more.

I am amazed that I read all of this nonsense.....One poster was talking about player development, well take that up with mac, because he was the only coach here long enough to be held accountable.

This is insane, you are trying to build a program, and in doing so you have to establish what you are going to be about. This is the offense that CPR has chosen to run here.....SO, you run the damn offense, and recruit better players to run it.

I swear some of you have lost so much perspective that maybe you need a break. Reality dictates that it won't be an overnight process. The fact that this staff is .500 with what they inherited, and the teams that they have played is a great accomplishment, and a testament to their professionalism.

 

[CYinPA]

But at the same time we are running the curl routes, is the defense taking away other routes? When AA makes his presnap read, are the DBs taking away routes? It isn't like we don't run bubble screens, swing passes, slants and outs that give WRs/RBs opportunities. We do and we complete them sometimes but other times AA either throws it off, the WR is knocked off the route, the WR drops it, or they are tackled immediately. All four happen. I will never claim that AA doesn't miss guys, he does but I think too many people put too much of the blame on AA. Some of that blame needs to go to the OC and WR. That is all I am saying. Everyone here wants to say it is 80-100% Arnaud's fault and if we get a different/more accurate QB then nothing else matters. Guess what? If receivers drop the ball on 3rd and long or get tackled right away on a 5 yard slant on 3rd and 8...It doesn't matter if the QB throws for 100%.

I disagree about not needing a playmaker(waterbug) at WR. Look at successful spreads and you see atleast one WR that is a playmaker. More times than not, the WRs end up in the NFL and have longer careers in the NFL. Look at Herman's offense at Rice. Look at TT, Missouri, Florida, Utah, Texas, etc...Rice had James and Dillard.

That playmaker opens things up for everyone else. Right now, our playmaker is a TE. I love Franklin and he is good but he isn't a guy that is going to take a 5-10 yard pass and turn it into a 50 yd TD.

Bottom line for me is if I was to rank which units are to blame, QB would be first, Oline second, and WR last (primarily because they are more dependent on the first to doing their jobs). None of them are playing well enough to cover for each other, so it could be said none of them are "helping" each other.

As for the bubble screens/outs/swing passes, those will not work that well when seemingly everything you run is with in 10-15 yards. Too many defenders coming down hill and/or near the line scrimmage. The WRs are set up to fail in the same way the OLine is on running plays. Then you add that the ball is hardly ever placed where it needs to be on those passes, and it is a disaster. Of course, if the WRs were All-Americans or Big 12, they could overcome this to some degree.

I did not mean you do not need any playmakers (although you do not need an entire fleet). I did imply that we have seen less physically gifted guys become playmakers because of different routes/timing that we cannot have with AA. We are in trouble if this offense needs the roster of NFL guys like Mizzou, Utah, Florida, Ok State to have enough playmakers to work.
Look at how this offense did against BCS schools at Rice. By the way, wasn't Casey a TE, not a WR?

Which leads me to my final disagreement. With the right QB, which would allow for the right routes, Franklin could be a guy that takes a 10 yard pass and makes it a 40-50 yard one. He has done it before.

 

[tazclone]

Let me first state that Collin Franklin is our possession receiver this year. It was a bogus question to begin with because you can't ask for me to name a guy and then limit who I can choose. Maybe you should look at the statistics and I wish they had a number of targets but they don't.

Collin Franklin 31 catches for 313 yards *long of 36
A-Rob 19 catches for 128 yards *long of 23
Darius Darks 17 catches for 205 yards *long of 31
Jake Williams 15 catches for 159 yards *long of 28
Sedrick Johnson 14 catches for 94 yards *long of 15
Darius Reynolds 11 catches for 162 yards *long of 36
Josh Lenz 6 catches for 72 yards *long of 18
Kurt Hammerschmidt 4 catches for 31 yards *long of 15
Shontrelle Johnson 3 catches for 9 yards *long of 9
James White 1 catch for 5 yards

So now you have to break this down...

Throws to RB or TE.... 58
Throws to WR's.... 63

52% of completions go to WR's.

Let's look at Indiana for a comparison

Demarlo Belcher WR 41 catches for 510 yards. *long of 65
Tandon Doss WR 32 catches for 438 yards. *long of 46
Terrance Turner WR 32 catches for 329 yards. *long of 33
Duwyce Wilson WR 15 catches for 216 yards. *long of 39
Ted Bolser TE 12 catches for 194 yards. *long of 27
Darius Willis RB 11 catches for 102 yards. *long of 19
Trea Burgess RB 5 catches for 38 yards. *long of 13
Max Dedmond TE 5 catches for 37 yards. *long of 16
Nick Turner RB 3 catches for 22 yards. *long of 8
Kofi Hughes WR 4 catches for 21 yards. *long of 7
Jamonne Chester WR 2 catches for 13 yards. *long of 11

Their breakdown...

Throws to RB & TE's.... 36
Throws to WR's... 126

78% of completions go to the WR's.

What does this tell you?

1. Arnaud is only looking to his WR's a shade over 50% of the time.
2. Arnaud is not looking much farther down the field then 10 yards....if that.
3. Arnaud is confused by the defense and is looking for the easiest throw possible meaning a ton of dump off throws to his backs and TE's.
4. Based on the dispersion of his completions he is not making accurate throws down the field considering the average yardage per completion is only 9.6 yards and his yards per attempt is a mind blowing 5.7 yards.

To put this into perspective.... The absolutely horrid QB's at Kansas are averaging 6.13 and 6.38 yards per attempt. Their receivers are averaging 10.4 yards per catch. Oh... and both Kansas QB's are completing passes at a higher percentage then Arnaud.

If these numbers don't make you want to throw up in your mouth then I don't know what to do for you. The numbers say it all.

LMAO...you miss five very important possibilities

1. Receivers are not getting open- I know this refutes the myth that Arnaud stares down his receiver but it is possible he goes through his checks and dumps to his TE and RB.
2. Receivers are dropping the ball- hurts compl %. every receiver except money has multiple drops this year
3. The OC isn't calling deeper routes- How many times a game do we go deep or run deep routes? Who is our deep threat? Did you notice when we called deep routes agaist TT, AA completed the pass. Because TT has a horrible defense and receivers were open. Hmmm. How about when we played KSU and the balls were on the money but knocked away
4. The OL doesn't give time to go deep sometimes- KSU rushed three and sacked us twice
5. The receivers aren't making plays after the catch- You are assuming that the Indiana receivers are catching deep balls. Having watched their offense, I doubt they are. Are they catching deep balls or are they taking shorter passes and making longer gains. hint- look who they have played. Did Chase Daniels throw deep or did Maclin and Alexander turn short passes into big plays?

This is my point. You want to place all the blame on one player. It makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside and that in a year when that player is gone, this offense will click. There is a reason we have recruited 10 WRs since Herman and CPR have taken over. Belcher was a preseason third team All Big 10 selection. When is the last time ISU had a WR get all conference anything? when is the last time ISU had a receiver with big play ability?

 

[CYinPA]

It makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside and that in a year when that player is gone, this offense will click. There is a reason we have recruited 10 WRs since Herman and CPR have taken over. Belcher was a preseason third team All Big 10 selection. When is the last time ISU had a WR get all conference anything? when is the last time ISU had a receiver with big play ability?

I think you are under-estimating the need to have a good to great QB for this offense to run.
We have also recruited as many as 5 QB's since CPR has taken over. Considering the spread offense has many as 5 WR out there at one time, yet only 1 QB, which number is more telling, 10 or 5?
I am very concerned if we are going to need NFL WR for this offense to not be horrible (plus a good/great QB).
We have talked about the WR's regressing from drops. Which is more likely: that all of our WR's (and RBs) have forgotten/regressed in catching the ball, or that the QB is influencing the poor performance of the WRs? They do effect each other, but the relationship is not equal.

 

[FootballinTexas]

I do not think any kid plays because they are from a certain state. We need tough guys. Those are usually not the ones that would leave because they think they are not getting playing time due to their origin.
If you can send more tough kids from Texas up, I promise I will cheer for them like they are from my hometown.

Here's a quick example, who offered Woody (Iowa kid)? No one! We need some explosion on offense and everyone is excited about his 2.2 yards a carry but you have a guy like D. Hollis redshirting! Hollis is one of the mist explosive kids we have and he has the size to compete right now! This guy had offers from the Hawkeyes, Baylor, Kansas, and KState. Do you think he is happy right now sitting behind a kid that was a walk-on? He turned down schools much closer to home because someone told him he had a chance to compete this year! This is why they come home! If your gonna recruit them to play here, play them or they will go home! Now, I'm done!!

 

[CYinPA]

Here's a quick example, who offered Woody (Iowa kid)? No one! We need some explosion on offense and everyone is excited about his 2.2 yards a carry but you have a guy like D. Hollis redshirting! Hollis is one of the mist explosive kids we have and he has the size to compete right now! This guy had offers from the Hawkeyes, Baylor, Kansas, and KState. Do you think he is happy right now sitting behind a kid that was a walk-on? He turned down schools much closer to home because someone told him he had a chance to compete this year! This is why they come home! If your gonna recruit them to play here, play them or they will go home! Now, I'm done!!

Do you think they would redshirt someone that they did not think had a big future? Do you think any coach is going to play guys just because of where they are from? These coaches livelihood is at stake. If it is close, they would play a guy from an area where there are more recruits, and that is not Altoona, IA. I can guarantee if he is not seeing time at ISU, he would be redshirting at KSU, Baylor, Iowa, and KU.

I am sure you know it is more than just YPC. Woody's role on the team is to get tough yards/change-up...not a role that will put up big YPC. Comparing Woody to Hollis is misguided. Woody is not taking Hollis spot, Johnson and ARob are. It was up to him to beat out Johnson/ARob. Those two are not from Iowa.

 

[weR138]

Here's a quick example, who offered Woody (Iowa kid)? No one! We need some explosion on offense and everyone is excited about his 2.2 yards a carry but you have a guy like D. Hollis redshirting! Hollis is one of the mist explosive kids we have and he has the size to compete right now! This guy had offers from the Hawkeyes, Baylor, Kansas, and KState. Do you think he is happy right now sitting behind a kid that was a walk-on? He turned down schools much closer to home because someone told him he had a chance to compete this year! This is why they come home! If your gonna recruit them to play here, play them or they will go home! Now, I'm done!!

I'm sorry but I can't hear you. You'll have to use a few more of these...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Cyclonestate78]

LMAO...you miss five very important possibilities

1. Receivers are not getting open- I know this refutes the myth that Arnaud stares down his receiver but it is possible he goes through his checks and dumps to his TE and RB.
2. Receivers are dropping the ball- hurts compl %. every receiver except money has multiple drops this year
3. The OC isn't calling deeper routes- How many times a game do we go deep or run deep routes? Who is our deep threat? Did you notice when we called deep routes agaist TT, AA completed the pass. Because TT has a horrible defense and receivers were open. Hmmm. How about when we played KSU and the balls were on the money but knocked away
4. The OL doesn't give time to go deep sometimes- KSU rushed three and sacked us twice
5. The receivers aren't making plays after the catch- You are assuming that the Indiana receivers are catching deep balls. Having watched their offense, I doubt they are. Are they catching deep balls or are they taking shorter passes and making longer gains. hint- look who they have played. Did Chase Daniels throw deep or did Maclin and Alexander turn short passes into big plays?

This is my point. You want to place all the blame on one player. It makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside and that in a year when that player is gone, this offense will click. There is a reason we have recruited 10 WRs since Herman and CPR have taken over. Belcher was a preseason third team All Big 10 selection. When is the last time ISU had a WR get all conference anything? when is the last time ISU had a receiver with big play ability?

You are incorrect. I do not place all of the blame on Arnaud. Arnaud has been sacked 9 times in 7 games. That is 1.29 sacks per game. Arnaud doesn't throw the ball down the field which means he isn't holding the ball for very long anyway. Thus you can't blame the O-line for not protecting him. Hell.... 48% of his completions are dump off throws to the TE or RB's.

To your point... when was the last time we had great receivers? I can't recall. I can recall a group of of wide receivers at ISU that put up very respectable numbers who were not overly talented. Jack Whitver, Lane Danielson, Jamaal Montgomery, etc.... That group wasn't going to win any awards for their receiving skills yet they flourished because they had one hell of an accurate QB throwing them the ball. His name was Seneca Wallace.

 

[Cyclonestate78]

LMAO...you miss five very important possibilities

1. Receivers are not getting open- I know this refutes the myth that Arnaud stares down his receiver but it is possible he goes through his checks and dumps to his TE and RB.
2. Receivers are dropping the ball- hurts compl %. every receiver except money has multiple drops this year
3. The OC isn't calling deeper routes- How many times a game do we go deep or run deep routes? Who is our deep threat? Did you notice when we called deep routes agaist TT, AA completed the pass. Because TT has a horrible defense and receivers were open. Hmmm. How about when we played KSU and the balls were on the money but knocked away
4. The OL doesn't give time to go deep sometimes- KSU rushed three and sacked us twice
5. The receivers aren't making plays after the catch- You are assuming that the Indiana receivers are catching deep balls. Having watched their offense, I doubt they are. Are they catching deep balls or are they taking shorter passes and making longer gains. hint- look who they have played. Did Chase Daniels throw deep or did Maclin and Alexander turn short passes into big plays?

My response to your 5 points....

1. Have you ever watched Arnaud force the ball into double coverage? I have seen it far too many times. We can't get the QB play we need when the QB is making poor decisions throwing the football.

2. Austen Arnaud is 108 of 186 throwing the football this season for 58%. Are you telling me that the receivers have dropped 78 of his perfectly accurate passes? I didn't think so.

3. Arnaud tries to throw the ball deep from time to time. And in quite a few of our passing plays at least one receiver will be streaking down the field. In the Texas Tech game Arnaud had some long completions. Did you notice some of the freaking miracle catches that our receivers had to make. Money diving for one, Lenz diving for another while covered, and Franklin making a leaping grab falling backwards with 2 defenders in his face. These were great plays by the receivers on balls that 9 times out of 10 wouldn't be caught. Maybe the receivers don't suck as bad as you claim they do.

4. Austen has been sacked 9 times in 7 games. That is 1.29 sacks per game. With his quick and short throwing tendency I wouldn't say the O-line has been doing him wrong here. In fact there have been plenty of times when he has had all day to throw and misfired.

5. Have you ever watched those spread teams you mentioned? They throw the ball short and most importantly..... accurately so their receivers can get in space with a full head of steam and make big yardage. Hell... on our short throws you see guys picking the ball off the ground, turning around because the ball is way behind them, or flat out having to stop completely just to be able to catch a less then accurate pass. Kind of hard to go anywhere when they lose all momentum just trying to catch poorly thrown balls.

 

[tazclone]

I think you are under-estimating the need to have a good to great QB for this offense to run.
We have also recruited as many as 5 QB's since CPR has taken over. Considering the spread offense has many as 5 WR out there at one time, yet only 1 QB, which number is more telling, 10 or 5?
I am very concerned if we are going to need NFL WR for this offense to not be horrible (plus a good/great QB).
We have talked about the WR's regressing from drops. Which is more likely: that all of our WR's (and RBs) have forgotten/regressed in catching the ball, or that the QB is influencing the poor performance of the WRs? They do effect each other, but the relationship is not equal.

The number of WRs is out of proportion to what the need is and is out of the ordinary. We have recruited more WRs than OL and DL. Their are 5 OL/DL on every play and you need 2 years to develop OL. So it is very odd to take more WRs than OL/DL. Very odd.

We have not recruited 5 QBs since Rhoads has been here. We have recruited Capello, Barnett and Richardson. Very common to take 1-2 QB's per year. I will be very surprised if Daniels is a QB past his first fall. Who is the 5th you are thinking of?Mims? He is purely an athlete and was not recruited as a QB and evene stated he could play QB, WR,DB S he didn't know.

Like I have said time and time again, who is our big play WR? Who is that guy that can turn a 5 yard slant into a 20+ yard gain? And who has done that? Who is the WR that defense should worry about in our offense? Even in our TT offensive performance, each passing play went for as many yards as it was designed. We have heard Herman say it last year and this year that our plays only go for what they are designed. We do not see any plays being made that equal yardage beyond

And I ask again, what high producing passing "spread offense" has not had a very good to above average receiver?

As far as drops? Johnson has always had the dropsies. Darks had them his first year, got better last year was fine until KSU then got the dropsies again. Williams was money last year but has had a lot of drops this year. I am talking balls that flat out hit him in the hands. I can think of one per game. Not balls that are behind him not balls in front of him balls that a D1 receiver should make. I am not talking about balls that could be blamed on AA. Lenz has had a couple but he also hit a wall midseason last year and doesn't get a lot of reps. Our coaches have told us more than once that guys are dropping balls. I am not making this up. It was a problem in fall camp and it is a problem on game day. It is a problem no matter who you have at QB. Herman said it was a problem and Wells down played it. I don't know how you could say it is on Arnaud since he was the QB last year and IMO- has improved his short passing accuracy starting with the bowl game. Last year he just had a guy he could count on in Hamilton as well as Williams.

I don't underestimate what a good QB will do in this offense. I know that AA is not the perfect fit. I also know that when you are throwing short passes, you need a WR to break a big play once in a while. I know when you are throwing short passes and not getting yardage after the catch, you need the WR to catch every pass that hits them in the hands or you give up a down. I know when you are throwing short passes, you need your downfield WRs to block on time and sustain blocks. I know you also need a QB to throw for 65%+. I know the top 10 passing teams complete anywhere from 56-74%. Most in the 60-64% range. Did you know if Arnaud completed 1 more pass per game, he would complete 62%. 2 passes and he would be at 66%. Eliimnate half the drops and he is at 62%+. Those drops have been the difference in extending drives or drives stopping. I shouldn't say everyone has regressed only one has and everyone else has just maintained.

And yes, that is why people are asking if this is the right offense. When so many teams are running the same offense, why would talented receivers come to ISU. Why forego Missouri, TT, OSU, Utah, etc for ISU? Yes, you need an accurate QB but you also need some play makers at WR. I have yet to see that at ISU.

 

[tazclone]

You are incorrect. I do not place all of the blame on Arnaud. Arnaud has been sacked 9 times in 7 games. That is 1.29 sacks per game. Arnaud doesn't throw the ball down the field which means he isn't holding the ball for very long anyway. Thus you can't blame the O-line for not protecting him. Hell.... 48% of his completions are dump off throws to the TE or RB's.

To your point... when was the last time we had great receivers? I can't recall. I can recall a group of of wide receivers at ISU that put up very respectable numbers who were not overly talented. Jack Whitver, Lane Danielson, Jamaal Montgomery, etc.... That group wasn't going to win any awards for their receiving skills yet they flourished because they had one hell of an accurate QB throwing them the ball. His name was Seneca Wallace.

THAT IS EXACTLY MY POINT!!! thatnks for making it for me. Seneca Wallace has a lower compl% than Arnaud. Remember that Seneca Wallace never won more than 7 games. Even a very accurate talented QB like Seneca Wallace could only win 7 games at ISU and he beat the teams he was supposed to beat. If he would have had more talent at WR or more talent at OL or RB then maybe we win 9 or ten games. He did have better defenses. It takes more than a great QB. It takes talent at all positions

 

[snowcraig2.0]

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!

Arghhhhhh, THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR THAT THIS STAFF HAS EVER BEEN TOGETHER, why can't people remember that???

This program was awful when mac left, and chiz leaving after only two years set it back even more.

I am amazed that I read all of this nonsense.....One poster was talking about player development, well take that up with mac, because he was the only coach here long enough to be held accountable.

This is insane, you are trying to build a program, and in doing so you have to establish what you are going to be about. This is the offense that CPR has chosen to run here.....SO, you run the damn offense, and recruit better players to run it.

I swear some of you have lost so much perspective that maybe you need a break. Reality dictates that it won't be an overnight process. The fact that this staff is .500 with what they inherited, and the teams that they have played is a great accomplishment, and a testament to their professionalism.

Relax, I never said I wanted a change now. I want continuity right now. I was just pointing out that that kind of offense would be unique right now.

 

[FootballinTexas]

Do you think they would redshirt someone that they did not think had a big future? Do you think any coach is going to play guys just because of where they are from? These coaches livelihood is at stake. If it is close, they would play a guy from an area where there are more recruits, and that is not Altoona, IA. I can guarantee if he is not seeing time at ISU, he would be redshirting at KSU, Baylor, Iowa, and KU.

I am sure you know it is more than just YPC. Woody's role on the team is to get tough yards/change-up...not a role that will put up big YPC. Comparing Woody to Hollis is misguided. Woody is not taking Hollis spot, Johnson and ARob are. It was up to him to beat out Johnson/ARob. Those two are not from Iowa.

Name me 1 BCS team that runs the spread and uses a short-yardage back? When Woody is in teams are now covering 3 WR'sand a TE with 5 DB's. That's 5 on 4. Then you put 6 in the box with 5 blocking them and a non-explosive RB and average QB. That equals no offense. Spread teams must have explosion at the skill spots, the line can be average because the ball gets out so quick they don't have to hold their blocks
long. When your livelihood is at stake you take drastic measures. Keeping your speed in the stall is not one them. Thanks for listening to this 10 gallon hat wearing Texan.

 

[CYinPA]

So you think that AA does not shoulder most of the blame (60-70% overall imo) for the low offensive output the past two years? I find that incredible. The impact of not having an accurate QB in the spread is propagated as much as bad Oline play (which we have not had sans OU and Iowa).
Good lines/average lines, WR drops/no WR drops, tough opponents/easy opponents...two things have been fairly consistent: 1.) Poor offensive output. Why? 2.)Mostly because of poor QB play.
Timing, accuracy, and quick reads are the most important aspect of the spread QB. AA does not excel in any of those areas.

The number of WRs is out of proportion to what the need is and is out of the ordinary. We have recruited more WRs than OL and DL. Their are 5 OL/DL on every play and you need 2 years to develop OL. So it is very odd to take more WRs than OL/DL. Very odd.

Taz?
3-5 to WR play virtually every snap, not too mention special teams. 10 WR in two-three years tells you nothing! Only 1 QB is on the field at a time. Yet we have recruited 4! 4 scholarships for 1 position vs 10 scholarships for 3-5 position. Nothing odd about it, QB play must be the highest priority to correct and have the biggest impact...i.e, it can cause the most (60-70%) problems.

Like I have said time and time again, who is our big play WR? Who is that guy that can turn a 5 yard slant into a 20+ yard gain? And who has done that? Who is the WR that defense should worry about in our offense? Even in our TT offensive performance, each passing play went for as many yards as it was designed. We have heard Herman say it last year and this year that our plays only go for what they are designed. We do not see any plays being made that equal yardage beyond

We hardly run slants because you have to be accurate to run the slant. There is no chance to turn it 5 yards when you have to stop to catch a ball behind you. Drop offs are even worse. Guys like Johnson (Rabbit), who clearly can break loose, are bottled up by AA's throws. We have all seen less formidable athletes have bigger plays in other offenses at ISU. Heck, the we saw some of the same WR play better when AA was not in this offense. The spread is handicapped by AA.
If ISU needs NFL WR to make this offense go, we are in big trouble.

And I ask again, what high producing passing "spread offense" has not had a very good to above average receiver?

Ones with bad QB play is where to look. The fact that you need NFL talent at WR to overcome AA in this offense is exactly what we are saying. To trivialize my point, if we had 5 NFL 1st round WR, this offense may be average. The fact that we do not, and the subsequent subpar play, does not make the burden mostly on the WR. It is mostly on AA.

As far as drops? Johnson has always had the dropsies. Darks had them his first year, got better last year was fine until KSU then got the dropsies again. Williams was money last year but has had a lot of drops this year. I am talking balls that flat out hit him in the hands. I can think of one per game. Not balls that are behind him not balls in front of him balls that a D1 receiver should make. I am not talking about balls that could be blamed on AA. Lenz has had a couple but he also hit a wall midseason last year and doesn't get a lot of reps. Our coaches have told us more than once that guys are dropping balls. I am not making this up. It was a problem in fall camp and it is a problem on game day. It is a problem no matter who you have at QB. Herman said it was a problem and Wells down played it. I don't know how you could say it is on Arnaud since he was the QB last year and IMO- has improved his short passing accuracy starting with the bowl game. Last year he just had a guy he could count on in Hamilton as well as Williams.

The coaches also said AA was the most improved...he is not this in games. One thing they have also hinted at is that the need for better QB play. Again, it is VERY unlikely that an entire unit would regress in something like catching balls, unless it was due to what they had to catch. Maybe AA has improved so much in practice that his throws in the games are catching them by surprise?

I don't underestimate what a good QB will do in this offense. I know that AA is not the perfect fit. I also know that when you are throwing short passes, you need a WR to break a big play once in a while. I know when you are throwing short passes and not getting yardage after the catch, you need the WR to catch every pass that hits them in the hands or you give up a down. I know when you are throwing short passes, you need your downfield WRs to block on time and sustain blocks. I know you also need a QB to throw for 65%+. I know the top 10 passing teams complete anywhere from 56-74%. Most in the 60-64% range. Did you know if Arnaud completed 1 more pass per game, he would complete 62%. 2 passes and he would be at 66%. Eliimnate half the drops and he is at 62%+. Those drops have been the difference in extending drives or drives stopping. I shouldn't say everyone has regressed only one has and everyone else has just maintained.

Everything you list here can be partially explained by poor QB play and somewhat improved with good QB play. I realize he is close to 65% I also realize few teams run the type of routes we do- other wise the % would drop.

And yes, that is why people are asking if this is the right offense. When so many teams are running the same offense, why would talented receivers come to ISU. Why forego Missouri, TT, OSU, Utah, etc for ISU? Yes, you need an accurate QB but you also need some play makers at WR. I have yet to see that at ISU.

I have seen similar WR units at ISU play much better in offenses that do not place the burden of needing such consistent accuracy on the QB.

 

[CYinPA]

THAT IS EXACTLY MY POINT!!! thatnks for making it for me. Seneca Wallace has a lower compl% than Arnaud. Remember that Seneca Wallace never won more than 7 games. Even a very accurate talented QB like Seneca Wallace could only win 7 games at ISU and he beat the teams he was supposed to beat. If he would have had more talent at WR or more talent at OL or RB then maybe we win 9 or ten games. He did have better defenses. It takes more than a great QB. It takes talent at all positions

I think that is also his point. This team has better Oline, RB, and with a QB as accurate as Wallace, better WR. Yet Seneca won just as many games.
You put a naturally accurate QB like Seneca in this offense, and you see much better results than this or last year. Montgomery, Jack, Danielson, Young, were not naturally better at getting separation than this group. They were not NFL big play guys. They could run effective routes with Wallace.