You are flat out calling Jamie Pollard a liar. He said the entire reason he fired McCarney several times was he thought we couldn't sell 30k season tickets if he was retained.
Bowl or Bust
- Thread starter Haverhill
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You are flat out calling Jamie Pollard a liar. He said the entire reason he fired McCarney several times was he thought we couldn't sell 30k season tickets if he was retained.
I keep telling my hawkeye friends, how if they can't even beat Iowa State they are not a good team. That they would perform pathetically in the big 12. We are literally the worse team in all of the P5 schools, yet Iowa still can't beat ISU.
What are the benefits of being naively optimistic?
I think I should bump the thread where people RIPPED CW after the NDSU for selling them a false bill of goods. Now that is bullcrap, but when you are optimistic to the point of absurdity that is a potential offshoot.
And for the record I don't think I'm negative. My expectations for next year are 4 wins. Again pretty close to yours.
Link that quote. IMO, one of the big reasons McCarney had to resign is because our recruiting for football was completely in the tank. UNI was beating us for recruits. We literally had hardly anyone showing any interest in us at all. Things were bleak.
Give DMac credit for resigning for the good of the program. Unfortunately for us, Pollard chose a poor replacement from the ones who wanted the job. We could have had Brian Kelley or Jim Harbaugh instead.
4 to 6 wins is being naively optimistic??? Disagree with that allegation. But that is what you are charging me with.
Optimism creates enthusiasm and excitement. It is also strongly motivational. Because your positive outlook builds confidence that hard work has the possibility of gaining success. The Positive Attitude going forward is always seen as a much better outlook than Pessimism. Glass half full.....or glass half empty......what is your outlook on things?
A Negative Attitude gives way to the feeling that hard work is fruitless. You are doomed for failure. Why try? Don't go to the games........we will lose anyway. Don't support the team.....we are going to suck. We have no hope.
The main benefit is you don't sound like a kool aid drinking homer when you go on a message board and talk about how every single position is going to be better than last year when that is obviously never going to be the case.
It was far from just the ISU game. The last several games of the season made my decision to cancel much easier. They lost games last year that they had absolutely no business losing. That has happened far too many times in the past several years. Until that is addressed I'm not paying that kind of money. I don't think it's too much to ask for a coach and team to beat the teams they are supposed to beat. I understand upsets happen, but Iowa allows it to happen far too frequently for my taste. When they start stepping on bad team's throats then they'll have my attention again.
It has been a frustrating several years to be an Iowa fan. They compete with teams you wouldn't think they could compete with and they lose to teams they have no business losing to. It's really quite mindboggling.
You do not know that.
Do you think our Defensive Line is going to be better than the Defensive Line was last year? (Jensen got injured)
Do you think our Linebackers will be better than last year? (Remember that Miller got injured, Peters was injured, Knott was injured, Harris was Redshirted)
Do you think our secondary will be better than last year?
Do you think our Offensive Line will be better than last year? (Dagel, Burton, Lalk, Dunning all injured)
Do you think our QB will be better than last year? (SR returns)
Do you think our WR's will be better than last year? (Bundrage, Medders injured whole year. West out part year, )
Do you think our kickers will be better than last year? (both return)
Do you think our RB's will be better than last year ? (lose Wimberly, Nealy) (return Brown, Syria and gain Mike Warren)
IMO, those are almost all yes and in a couple of cases we are at least as good. What are your answers?
I'll admit I had to plug my nose paying for my season tickets this year with the price increase and one less home game.
Also, you never mentioned TE. Losing a guy like Bibbs will have an impact. Plus his replacement left as well.
Like basically every team in the country I think some will be better, some will be worse, and some will be somewhere close to the same. Which position falls in which category I don't think anyone can reliably say for sure, but I think saying that each and every one will be better off is a bit ridiculous.
What hurts is that we didn't just lose to those lower division teams, we got completely dominated. We actually got outplayed by UNI the year before but Jantz managed to steel one. If we get beat by UNI without David Johnson this year it will be more than I can take, but I certainly don't expect that to happen.
Concerning Bibbs. We have no replacement of his caliber. He was injured the last few games and did not play in the last 2 games at all. IMO, we may play the TE as much and when we do the TE will be more of a blocker rather than a receiver. Bibbs was not a very good blocker and that is a big weakness of his going into the NFL Draft.
Concerning the other position groups. No question we are much improved at the DT's as in MAJOR upgrade. At DE, the only player we lose is Morissey, who was very good. But we have Pierson, who was playing very well at the end of the season back as well as Trent Taylor who also started. Now add in Darius White who has a year of experience and also return Gabe Luna. Overall, the depth should be good and the return of 3 more experienced DE's should at least make that unit close to a push. We should be decent and combined with the major upgrade at DT the Defensive Line will be much better overall.
At LB, Harris Redshirted. The light has come on. Harris is No. 1 on the Depth Chart and has moved ahead of Kane Seeley who beat out last year's starter Alton Meeks the last half of the season. Probably why Meeks transferred. That is a big positive. We will be better at MIKE. Levi Peters returns after missing all of last season. And we have Brian Mills back who was starting over Luke Knott at the end of the year. Hopefully Luke Knott gets back from injury as well. We have Juco Jarnor Jones and Reggan Northrup at the other LB. Lost Brackens and Ferch. Brackens shortcomings have been well documented. Not disciplined and not a good teammate but had some good physical gifts. Explains why he did not develop into the elite player we thought he would at one time. IMO, the Linebacker group will be better than last year. MAJOR upgrade with Harris. Everyone is saying the light has come on.
We return 3 of 4 starters in our secondary. Cotton Moya is back. Tribune is back. Sam R. is back. And we have added Jomal Wiltz. Brian Peavey. DeMonte Ruth. Somtimes starter and top backup Ken Lynn has moved to WR because he has been beaten out by them. Definite positive. We lost Mutcherson, who did not play the last few games because he was suspended. Floyd returns. As well as Syrie and Darian Cotton. Overall the secondary is better. Can not see how a rational person could argue otherwise. And your comment "the other two spots" shows your lack of understanding of who we have.
On offense:
QB should be better. SR returns.
WR's better.
O-Line....that is the big question mark. We lost Farniok. Big loss....4 year starter. But Lalk will be a capable center. It is the rest of the line returning from injury and improving is the difference IMO. Campos LT....should be better in his second year. Taiese or Omoile...LG.....if Taiese, we have just gotten huge and he is very mobile. Center...Lalk. Burton at RG....he is projected to be an NFL Draft pick possibly. Dagel...RT....coming back from knee injury.....great size and talent.....another possible NFL Draft pick. If they can just stay healthy. That is the key.
RB's....a push. Wimberly was good but he was small. I am enthused about Brown and Mike Warren. And liked what I saw out of Syria last year.
So yes, we will be a better team. But we were a bad team last year. But we do have the potential for my expectations. And that is not naive optimism.
Contrast that with the Hawkeye Depth Chart and see what you come up with. No doubt they are worse than last year IMO. In most areas
The single biggest difference between your opinion and mine? Hope. You take what you hear from the coaches in camp and you use that as your reasoning that they will be better. I choose to wait and see because they've made comments in past offseasons that simply never came to fruition. For instance, saying the light has come on with Harris. I'll believe it when I see it. Tucker is a beast? I'll believe it when I see it. Offensive line should be serviceable without Farniok? I'll believe it when I see it. You getting the picture here?
As long as Iowa State stays healthy, they will be a hell of a lot better than the last two years. Experience and continuety is a much much bigger part of football than you bozos realize.
Interesting that you do not take that attitude of "when I see it" before making predictions that "Cyclones will suck".
Shouldn't you wait..........and then see it.........before making those predictions?
2013 Big 12 T-7th 3-9
2014 Big 12 10th 2-10
What exactly are we waiting for? Everyone in the world can "see it."