Notebook: 2nd early bye should help Cyclones heal

[ChrisMWilliams]

Won't the lack of bye week later in the season wear us down, though?
If depth is this large an issue, that might be a concern later.

Yeah but what are the chances of losing your first two centers in the first two games? I don't call not wanting to play with your third string center a lack of depth. Few, if any, programs in the country would be comfortable doing that.

Sure, there will be injuries later in the year. Absolutely. But if I have the option to get my QB and C healthy now, I'll take it as opposed to going without them at Tulsa and maybe needing that extra time later.

 

[isufbcurt]

Yeah, the Wildcat is stupid. And the zone read is nearly as dumb. So is passing the ball 3 yds behind the line of scrimmage and airmailing it into the stands.

A friend of mine, who is neither an ISU or Iowa fan, asked me on Monday if all we do is pass the ball horizontally all the time instead of vertically? He said it sure seemed that way. All I could do is tell him that he is basically correct.

You are the biggest overreactor I have ever seen.

Zone read nearly as dumb, I bet Oregon would disagree. WR screens are dumb, I bet Okie State would disagree, Okie State routinely goes jet tempo and will run WR screen multiple times in a row. As long as it picks up 3 or 4 yards it is as good as a running play.

 

[isufbcurt]

"I commented on each play" said CPR.

I hope it was something like this after the first two plays:

"Iowa has 5 down linemen and 3 LB's playing up close, and we try to run the first two plays UP THE MIDDLE with our least powerful tailback??????"

I hope Rhoads was smart enough to see that Iowa NEVER had 5 down lineman in the game at once (except for FG or Extra Point attempts).

 

[NATEizKING]

I hope Rhoads was smart enough to see that Iowa NEVER had 5 down lineman in the game at once (except for FG or Extra Point attempts).

Who doesn't put 8 in the box these days

 

[CyCloned]

I was at least encouraged by the fight the offense showed at the end of the Iowa game. There are certainly players that showed a lot of improvement from the first and second game, especially on defense. If the Clones can get some OL back, get Sam healthy or Grant ready, they could win at Tulsa. Taking what is easy by the offense would probably be helpful too.

I talked to my brother, who is a Hawk fan, after the game and he said that was the weakest ISU team he has seen in quite a while. I don't know if it is a matter of experience, pad level or good old fashion muscle, but ISU sure has been pushed around in the first two games.

 

[CycloneErik]

Yeah but what are the chances of losing your first two centers in the first two games? I don't call not wanting to play with your third string center a lack of depth. Few, if any, programs in the country would be comfortable doing that.

Sure, there will be injuries later in the year. Absolutely. But if I have the option to get my QB and C healthy now, I'll take it as opposed to going without them at Tulsa and maybe needing that extra time later.

Definitely, the odds are low.
I'm not saying it won't be a welcome help now. It will be. It just has the potential to be a double-edged sword, or it might not be and it all goes well.

 

[Cyclophile1]

Sounds like CPR is on top of things, as I expected he would be.

I thought Sam really struggled early throwing the ball - memory serves he missed a lot of first-half throws either high or long, and no matter what play was called the coaches can't do much about execution.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned much is this was Sam's first start against our biggest rival. I remember Arnaud not being real sharp against the Hawks - its a rivalry game and sometimes guys press. I'll give Sam the benefit of the doubt on the first half, he certainly seemed to settle down in the second and moved the ball well in that last 5 minutes. This was his 5th start ever, which is not an excuse but a fact. Iowa's QB was making his 3rd start?, but had the benefit of a very effective run game, so he didn't have to do too much.

The other thing I haven't seen mentioned in the myriad of threads... why haven't the coaches put in a "Cyclone" package (I refuse to acknowledge term coined for this formation by purple Kansas) - especially once they KNEW Sam's ankle wasn't going to allow him to be 100%? With the wealth of running back talent, surely Wimberly or White could take the snap and run the zone read more effectively than Sam on a bum ankle. Everyone has said Wimberly needs more touches, and if you're not going to pull the trigger on Rohach for a series or two, then why not try it? I find it hard to believe one of the RBs couldn't throw as effectively as Lenz did on occasion for us over the last two seasons.

Looking forward to seeing progress vs Tulsa. I just pray Farniok doesn't have a setback or worse.

I have been yearning to see a wildcat formation with Wimberly at the controls as a change of pace on some of these 2nd and shorts.

I really hope that we don't rush Farniok back too quickly, but the sad fact is that we need him badly. Sam started off really tight, didn't have his feet and threw some bad balls in the first half, no doubt but the reality was we were in a Lafester Rhodes moment. Coach Mess "your &%& ain't working." We did very little in terms of plays that had a high probability of success. Iowa had us staked out cold. They blanketed us and just blitzed us into the stone age. When Sam finally loosened up and started playing with nothing to lose, he started throwing darts. Iowa's soft defense had something to do with it, but we didn't challenge those Iowa CBs nearly enough, and we had nothing whatsoever going across the middle or toward the middle.