Outback Bowl - Iowa
I bet some of you thought I would not send do a write-up of the Outback Bowl. However I did indeed go down and since I next to none of you went I couldn’t let down my fans, the biggest of whom I was surprised to recently learn is Heather’s dad.
Allow to start with my extraneous information as I often do. Raymond James Stadium was not a bad place, the pirate ship is neat and it turns out they have a little faux pirate village right behind there that you never see on TV. Without the boat it would not have much personality, not that football stadiums usually do. I was in the second to last row, but since this is a modern stadium I could still see the field. This was my first post-season game ever and since I didn’t go to Jacksonville it was also my first neutral site game as well. The student section was much more subdued than normal, perhaps because we were filled with older people who flinched their kids’ tickets, perhaps because people aren’t as drunk at eleven in the morning (although they were selling beer and some were – including the annoying girls behind me thrown out for dumping beers over the side of the stadium onto others), or maybe because some of us realized hollering doesn’t cause the opposition offense if you are only half the crowds (some of us did not seem to get that, and I hollered a bit myself try and get into the atmosphere more – but this was the first game I left with a voice). Iowa fans turned out in impressive numbers, I also saw them walking around in their yellow shirts Tuesday over in St. Petersburg. I would take any excuse to get out of Iowa too. Iowa fans also seem proud to be rednecks, a number wore shirts saying “cornfed.” Anyway…
QB: This is becoming a pretty standard day in the office for the Leakster. Several one hoppers, a few overthrows, one dropped picked, and stats that look better than they really are. He did do well leading us to that touchdown right at the end of the first half, that was key to momentum at that time (Iowa had just scored their first points). Overall he did well leading the offense, although he seems to have lost the ability to stay on his feet. There were more designed quarterback runs than normal. I don’t know why, they must have thought they saw something in the game because they did not start with them. I’ll give some credit to Meyer for giving that up once it was clear it was not working, he is getting a little better at that.
GRADE: B+/B
RB: Boy I sure look smart for saying Moore was the back of the future now don’t I? (as an aside: Maury, stopping questioning me). This was easily our best running effort of the season, which surprised me as you would not think it would come against a Big Ten team (of course you also think they would run the ball well too…but I am getting ahead of myself). I don’t know where Wynn was in the first half, maybe he pissed Urban off again, maybe Urban was trying to send him a message that if a true freshman runs better than you do you should be giving up those ideas of heading to the draft. I’m not sure how would have run if when we needed to kill the clock because we kept passing (I am getting ahead of myself again), but those early breakouts really set the tone.
GRADE: A (hey we actually had a rushing attack for once)
WR: Easily Dallas Baker’s best game, having a month to heal helps. If he could be that way consistently that would be great because Chad Jackson is reportedly leaving. He’s nuts, he might have led the SEC but no one is going to be impressed with a 10 yard average and he has that anti-UF receiver bias to contend with too. He did have a few nice drive sustaining catches in his last college game. Otherwise no one else did anything. Where was Cornelius!?
GRADE: B+
TE: The Tatebomb had one sizable pickup, I did not notice him otherwise. This guy is 6-6, looks to have some speed, and is from the town “Friday Night Lights” was about: I don’t get it.
GRADE: B (He’s a tight end, one big play is all you really have a right to expect)
OL: Their best game. If we had our best game running and Leak rarely had serious pressure you have to give them credit. Being so high up I couldn’t really see them that well to see how they were doing as individuals.
GRADE: A- (not truly dominating)
DL: Playing without McDonald they did not get much passrush. Given that they were behind and throwing this is especially alarming. I guess Moss is still a work in progress. However they totally snuffed out the running game. That guy is no slouch either: 1,300 yards (more than twice our leading guy) and a 5.4 yard average is nothing to sneeze at in the Big Ten, he was the #4 back in the conference.
GRADE: B+
LB: I am sure they were one the field. Okay, that is not nice if we stuffed the Hawkeyes’ running game they showed up, but I don’t remember them making any plays good or bad. Do you?
GRADE: B- (you are supposed to make plays)
DB: Of course other than Vernell Brown you could say that about the whole defense. That pick should have been a deal sealer. They started out well but gave up an awful lot of yards as they game went along. However those were not big plays so much as nickels and dimes, truth is we got complacent and went prevent, which is the coaches’ fault. However the late touchdown in the first half was their fault, although even that was more a good play by them, our guys were not wildly out of position.
GRADE: B
And oh yeah, Webb heard he is a first or second round pick so he is going pro. I’m currently offering bets that he doesn’t go in the first.
FOOTBALL 101: This is a new segment were use the skills I learned in becoming a good historian and define my terminology. Today’s word kids is “The Prevent Defense.” The prevent defense is when a team that is ahead in game and has been pushing the other team’s offense around all day decides to let them back into the game by having secondary fall back 20 yards down field to prevent quick scores and let the other team do whatever it wants short. You might ask why you would want to change your defense if it had been working all game but this just shows you are some stupid fan and not a coach and should sit down. Coaches also love to “tweak” there systems once they get into the playoffs to show how smart they are rather than stick with what worked well enough to get time into the playoffs in the first place (this is similar to letting yourself go after you marry). Smart gamblers (pay attention I’m giving you a big hint) know the more a coach says this the more money they should bet on the other team. All good football fans hate it when their team goes conservative (never good to be conservative) and employees the prevent defense. Now it is based on a legitimate theory and you don’t realize the team is doing it when it works and your team gets a pick to seal the victory, however it far to often results in the other team driving right down the field to be used as much as it is (especially if you have personal for a high-tempo defense with DBs not used to running around chasing receivers for forever and a day). Some coaches have started to figure this out (I guess hearing “the prevent prevents you from winning” a million times eventually sinks in) and you see it less than you did ten years ago, at least more teams will rush four guys now rather than let the QB sit back their all day under a three man rush (my father taught me to hate that, you may as well just rush one guy). However fans of all generations still hate it out of cultural memory, the same way you know not to whip a horse that can’t pull an overloaded wagon even though I’m the only person you know likely to have driven from Pennsylvania to Virginia in a horse and buddy (wow are my metaphors all over the place today).
D/ST: The special teams giveth, the special teams taketh away. I was so high up I thought the punt was blocked by Cornelius (actually Jarvis Herring – never heard of the guy who returned it – Tremaine McCollum?). Truth be told it was not that great of a play: Iowa’s center blocked left and let Herring go untouched. Meanwhile we allowed a big kickoff return to set up their TD at the end of the first when we had all the momentum in the world, and started their comeback off when Jackson muffed a punt. Once again we botched onside kick defense: everyone went for the ball, no one whacked their guys. And after seeing it on TV, they were not offsides. Not that it means they tie the game (any more than Vandy was sure to make that 2-point conversion), everyone seems to have forgotten Iowa’s last drive ended in a long field go on fourth and ten, we might have held. Hetland also missed another chipshot fieldgoal. We did convert a fake punt.
GRADE: D
Coaching: For the second time this season we let an inferior team we were handling back into the game. Good teams keep their foot on your throat and don’t get complacent. And why weren’t we running to burn the clock we were ahead? Urban likes the pass to much. You all probably can guess by now what I thought of us going to the prevent. I thought about the fake punt right before they ran it and while worked I didn’t like it: the risk/reward ratio was off (we were pretty deep in our own end and up by two scores). Also on fourth and two don’t have your receivers run one yard routes. To Meyer’s credit I would rather have a coach who knows you have to take risks sometimes than one who never does. Also given him credit for going for it rather than sitting on it at the end of the first half, even if that running into the kicker penalty was bogus (yes, the officals were bad. And the ref needs to get his voice box changed, I never understood a single call he made: I felt I was a student in Peanuts).
GRADE: C+
Bottom Line: We have a lot of work to do come next year. I will say that West Virginia reportedly runs the same offense that Meyer is so in love with and the Mountaineers sure whooped up on the Bullpuppies didn’t they Jen? But we sure don’t have a QB or RB who can run that way.
Allow to start with my extraneous information as I often do. Raymond James Stadium was not a bad place, the pirate ship is neat and it turns out they have a little faux pirate village right behind there that you never see on TV. Without the boat it would not have much personality, not that football stadiums usually do. I was in the second to last row, but since this is a modern stadium I could still see the field. This was my first post-season game ever and since I didn’t go to Jacksonville it was also my first neutral site game as well. The student section was much more subdued than normal, perhaps because we were filled with older people who flinched their kids’ tickets, perhaps because people aren’t as drunk at eleven in the morning (although they were selling beer and some were – including the annoying girls behind me thrown out for dumping beers over the side of the stadium onto others), or maybe because some of us realized hollering doesn’t cause the opposition offense if you are only half the crowds (some of us did not seem to get that, and I hollered a bit myself try and get into the atmosphere more – but this was the first game I left with a voice). Iowa fans turned out in impressive numbers, I also saw them walking around in their yellow shirts Tuesday over in St. Petersburg. I would take any excuse to get out of Iowa too. Iowa fans also seem proud to be rednecks, a number wore shirts saying “cornfed.” Anyway…
QB: This is becoming a pretty standard day in the office for the Leakster. Several one hoppers, a few overthrows, one dropped picked, and stats that look better than they really are. He did do well leading us to that touchdown right at the end of the first half, that was key to momentum at that time (Iowa had just scored their first points). Overall he did well leading the offense, although he seems to have lost the ability to stay on his feet. There were more designed quarterback runs than normal. I don’t know why, they must have thought they saw something in the game because they did not start with them. I’ll give some credit to Meyer for giving that up once it was clear it was not working, he is getting a little better at that.
GRADE: B+/B
RB: Boy I sure look smart for saying Moore was the back of the future now don’t I? (as an aside: Maury, stopping questioning me). This was easily our best running effort of the season, which surprised me as you would not think it would come against a Big Ten team (of course you also think they would run the ball well too…but I am getting ahead of myself). I don’t know where Wynn was in the first half, maybe he pissed Urban off again, maybe Urban was trying to send him a message that if a true freshman runs better than you do you should be giving up those ideas of heading to the draft. I’m not sure how would have run if when we needed to kill the clock because we kept passing (I am getting ahead of myself again), but those early breakouts really set the tone.
GRADE: A (hey we actually had a rushing attack for once)
WR: Easily Dallas Baker’s best game, having a month to heal helps. If he could be that way consistently that would be great because Chad Jackson is reportedly leaving. He’s nuts, he might have led the SEC but no one is going to be impressed with a 10 yard average and he has that anti-UF receiver bias to contend with too. He did have a few nice drive sustaining catches in his last college game. Otherwise no one else did anything. Where was Cornelius!?
GRADE: B+
TE: The Tatebomb had one sizable pickup, I did not notice him otherwise. This guy is 6-6, looks to have some speed, and is from the town “Friday Night Lights” was about: I don’t get it.
GRADE: B (He’s a tight end, one big play is all you really have a right to expect)
OL: Their best game. If we had our best game running and Leak rarely had serious pressure you have to give them credit. Being so high up I couldn’t really see them that well to see how they were doing as individuals.
GRADE: A- (not truly dominating)
DL: Playing without McDonald they did not get much passrush. Given that they were behind and throwing this is especially alarming. I guess Moss is still a work in progress. However they totally snuffed out the running game. That guy is no slouch either: 1,300 yards (more than twice our leading guy) and a 5.4 yard average is nothing to sneeze at in the Big Ten, he was the #4 back in the conference.
GRADE: B+
LB: I am sure they were one the field. Okay, that is not nice if we stuffed the Hawkeyes’ running game they showed up, but I don’t remember them making any plays good or bad. Do you?
GRADE: B- (you are supposed to make plays)
DB: Of course other than Vernell Brown you could say that about the whole defense. That pick should have been a deal sealer. They started out well but gave up an awful lot of yards as they game went along. However those were not big plays so much as nickels and dimes, truth is we got complacent and went prevent, which is the coaches’ fault. However the late touchdown in the first half was their fault, although even that was more a good play by them, our guys were not wildly out of position.
GRADE: B
And oh yeah, Webb heard he is a first or second round pick so he is going pro. I’m currently offering bets that he doesn’t go in the first.
FOOTBALL 101: This is a new segment were use the skills I learned in becoming a good historian and define my terminology. Today’s word kids is “The Prevent Defense.” The prevent defense is when a team that is ahead in game and has been pushing the other team’s offense around all day decides to let them back into the game by having secondary fall back 20 yards down field to prevent quick scores and let the other team do whatever it wants short. You might ask why you would want to change your defense if it had been working all game but this just shows you are some stupid fan and not a coach and should sit down. Coaches also love to “tweak” there systems once they get into the playoffs to show how smart they are rather than stick with what worked well enough to get time into the playoffs in the first place (this is similar to letting yourself go after you marry). Smart gamblers (pay attention I’m giving you a big hint) know the more a coach says this the more money they should bet on the other team. All good football fans hate it when their team goes conservative (never good to be conservative) and employees the prevent defense. Now it is based on a legitimate theory and you don’t realize the team is doing it when it works and your team gets a pick to seal the victory, however it far to often results in the other team driving right down the field to be used as much as it is (especially if you have personal for a high-tempo defense with DBs not used to running around chasing receivers for forever and a day). Some coaches have started to figure this out (I guess hearing “the prevent prevents you from winning” a million times eventually sinks in) and you see it less than you did ten years ago, at least more teams will rush four guys now rather than let the QB sit back their all day under a three man rush (my father taught me to hate that, you may as well just rush one guy). However fans of all generations still hate it out of cultural memory, the same way you know not to whip a horse that can’t pull an overloaded wagon even though I’m the only person you know likely to have driven from Pennsylvania to Virginia in a horse and buddy (wow are my metaphors all over the place today).
D/ST: The special teams giveth, the special teams taketh away. I was so high up I thought the punt was blocked by Cornelius (actually Jarvis Herring – never heard of the guy who returned it – Tremaine McCollum?). Truth be told it was not that great of a play: Iowa’s center blocked left and let Herring go untouched. Meanwhile we allowed a big kickoff return to set up their TD at the end of the first when we had all the momentum in the world, and started their comeback off when Jackson muffed a punt. Once again we botched onside kick defense: everyone went for the ball, no one whacked their guys. And after seeing it on TV, they were not offsides. Not that it means they tie the game (any more than Vandy was sure to make that 2-point conversion), everyone seems to have forgotten Iowa’s last drive ended in a long field go on fourth and ten, we might have held. Hetland also missed another chipshot fieldgoal. We did convert a fake punt.
GRADE: D
Coaching: For the second time this season we let an inferior team we were handling back into the game. Good teams keep their foot on your throat and don’t get complacent. And why weren’t we running to burn the clock we were ahead? Urban likes the pass to much. You all probably can guess by now what I thought of us going to the prevent. I thought about the fake punt right before they ran it and while worked I didn’t like it: the risk/reward ratio was off (we were pretty deep in our own end and up by two scores). Also on fourth and two don’t have your receivers run one yard routes. To Meyer’s credit I would rather have a coach who knows you have to take risks sometimes than one who never does. Also given him credit for going for it rather than sitting on it at the end of the first half, even if that running into the kicker penalty was bogus (yes, the officals were bad. And the ref needs to get his voice box changed, I never understood a single call he made: I felt I was a student in Peanuts).
GRADE: C+
Bottom Line: We have a lot of work to do come next year. I will say that West Virginia reportedly runs the same offense that Meyer is so in love with and the Mountaineers sure whooped up on the Bullpuppies didn’t they Jen? But we sure don’t have a QB or RB who can run that way.
posted by El Breto @ 11:24 AM
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