2022 Football post mortem/looking forward

Does Dekker not have a great football IQ? I know some people have knocked him because he played lower level high school football and probably did not see any complex defenses.. I've seen people say they'd rather get a 3-star QB who played 6A high school ball in Texas than a 4-Star QB from lower-level play.
Or he could be fighting between coaching demands and instinct.

He seriously looks like he is struggling mentally on many passing plays.
 
That Bruns comments is pretty clear that he meant that Rocco did the audible all by himself. I don’t know if that really happened but I would trust Bruns knows what he is saying considering his background.
Radio guys made it sound like an audible.
 
My wife, who knows nothing about football (but the game was going in the background), said:

"So I think we need to get a kicker? ... and a new guy who coaches kickers?"

YES!

yes-jack-nicholson.gif
 
That Bruns comments is pretty clear that he meant that Rocco did the audible all by himself. I don’t know if that really happened but I would trust Bruns knows what he is saying considering his background.


Well, if Dekkers wasn't allowed to audible....then Rocco goes and decides to on his own....does that mean Rocco is one of those not "buying in".

I would hate to think the staff allowed the backup to do something not allowed to the starter. Even if it's scrub time during the last game of the year.

Because if that was the case maybe Hanika's tweet needs to be directed to the staff.
 
Looked like a clear audible to me.

That Bruns comments is pretty clear that he meant that Rocco did the audible all by himself. I don’t know if that really happened but I would trust Bruns knows what he is saying considering his background.
Yeah but when, looking back in the game thread @simply1 mentioned it around the run to get us to 1st and goal. The plays that Becht could have audibled he very clearly looked to the sideline both times, I was wondering if there was a time when he audibled on his own without checking.
 
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Imagine actually having a D1 QB who's been playing this game a dozen years with the confidence to give his players direction at the line of scrimmage rather than look toward his parents standing on the sideline.
 
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Yeah but when, looking back in the game thread @simply1 mentioned it around the run to get us to 1st and goal. The plays that Becht could have audibled he very clearly looked to the sideline both times, I was wondering if there was a time when he audibled on his own without checking.
I am not sure, I would have to go look back but I got kids man… No time or will to do this lol. I thought it was maybe the pass to Hanika if I recall correctly.
 
Need a new offensive line coach. I know many on here will say the whole offensive staff needs to go, but I think it’s hard to judge with how bad the OL unit has been. In previous seasons, other position groups haven’t been bad, so I don’t think those coaches are a problem.

I wouldn’t be sad if Manning left, but part of me wonders if the playbook was limited due to how bad the OL was.

Another thing we need to do, if Campbell is going to continue to talk about winning in the margins, I think more practice time needs to be spent on the fundamentals. That’s how Iowa pulls out good seasons even when they suck. Players, in any sport, that are great at fundamentals will be average at worst.
Your offense is only AS GOOD AS YOUR OFFENSIVE LINE...Quoting Lenny Dawson
 
Changes need to be made on O and ST but our D is overrated. Through 11 games they were 80th in the nation in turnovers gained and 59th in 4th down defense. Those rankings will only get worse after forcing 0 turnovers and allowing TCU to go 3 for 3 on 4th down.

Our defense is also greatly helped by our offensive philosophy. I would say we are still a Top 25 defense but certainly not a Top 10 defense.
 
Changes need to be made on O and ST but our D is overrated. Through 11 games they were 80th in the nation in turnovers gained and 59th in 4th down defense. Those rankings will only get worse after forcing 0 turnovers and allowing TCU to go 3 for 3 on 4th down.

Our defense is also greatly helped by our offensive philosophy. I would say we are still a Top 25 defense but certainly not a Top 10 defense.

The defense looked like they had given up and were unwilling to risk injury at this point in the season. I don’t blame them, and I don’t think it’s fair to downgrade them based on the fact that this rolling dumpster fire of an offense was almost at the finish line.
 
It's going to be a busy few weeks for this CMC:
  • Sign Fall Recruiting Class
  • Replace a Few Coaches
  • Do a deep dive on How Does ISU become a top Big12 program again. Just because something worked in 2020, doesn't mean it will work in 2022, even if executed.
IMO the final item is a priority because it impacts recruiting and coaching hires.

Big picture, we look slow on offense. Not sure if other Big12 teams have gotten faster- but our RB's & WR's don't have that extra gear to pull away from defenders. Even Dekkers at 30lbs lighter seems to have average quickness for an RPO QB. Our play calling is way to horizontal. Also, we don't throw the 15-20 yard routes between the hashes that can create big plays. And more importantly help minimize the safeties in the run game.

On defense, Heacock needs to figure ways to create turnovers and negative plays from the 3-3-5. We just don't put consistent pressure on opposing QB's. How often do our DL tip passes. Lastly, I hope we do away with using a LB as a spy. It's basically playing 11 on 10. I would much rather have had Vance rushing Duggan today, than sitting in no-mans land waiting for Duggan to run up field.

Campbell is a solid coach and will make the necessary changes. He knows that next year needs to be a 7+ win team, otherwise his job gets a lot tougher in 2024.
 
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The defense looked like they had given up and were unwilling to risk injury at this point in the season. I don’t blame them, and I don’t think it’s fair to downgrade them based on the fact that this rolling dumpster fire of an offense was almost at the finish line.
We shockingly (maybe) only got outgained by like 40 yards today.

I don’t mess with the formula much if I’m Heacock. That D did more than enough to win many games this year. And really, win them comfortably if the offense is just somewhat competent.
 
Number one need is better QB play. Yes coaching was subpar this year but a QB who could make better reads and throws would have got us a couple more wins minimum this year. Not looking to trash 12 but he needs to make a serious jump this offseason or transfer out.
 
We shockingly (maybe) only got outgained by like 40 yards today.

I don’t mess with the formula much if I’m Heacock. That D did more than enough to win many games this year. And really, win them comfortably if the offense is just somewhat competent.
Agreed. I'd like to see them be more aggressive with blitzes and try to force more turnovers, but I'm splitting hairs there, they're obviously far from the problem.
 
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I think all the sideline checking brought to you by Wilson Toyota going by bye would be a great start. Give the play. Let the players make the call.
Yeah, I have wondered about this for years. When the players are fully reliant on the coaches to handle this, is this actually stunting player growth? They never really need to learn to read defenses or truly understand the intricacies of our offensive strategies because they don't have to, they just do what they are told.
 
The defense looked like they had given up and were unwilling to risk injury at this point in the season. I don’t blame them, and I don’t think it’s fair to downgrade them based on the fact that this rolling dumpster fire of an offense was almost at the finish line.
I agree LAClone the defense looked to me like they just wanted to get this game and season over so they could move on...Especially the Seniors!!
 
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Changes need to be made on O and ST but our D is overrated. Through 11 games they were 80th in the nation in turnovers gained and 59th in 4th down defense. Those rankings will only get worse after forcing 0 turnovers and allowing TCU to go 3 for 3 on 4th down.

Our defense is also greatly helped by our offensive philosophy. I would say we are still a Top 25 defense but certainly not a Top 10 defense.

Meh I'm not going to bag on the defense. It was ugly this game, but after having no help from the offense game after game I wouldn't blame them if the mentally checked out this game.
 

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