Interesting Stat

**cybsball20** · 11-03-2008, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by mjones34

No kidding. Against A&M, four different times they had a guy with literally no defender closer than 15 yards from all directions right in the middle of the field. I know we're not that unathletic so it has to be that we're out of position or at least I hope.

Thats not on the safety though... Thats the MLB that needs to get deep...

**Indyclone** · 11-03-2008, 04:47 PM

I would say they are interesting if we played against the same DL's and OL's. But we haven't. We have no idea how we would fare against Wisconsin or Michigan States line just like we have no idea how Iowa would fare against Baylor or Nebraska's lines.

**BryceC** · 11-03-2008, 04:51 PM

The IA D-Line is also built to stop the run and they do a very good job of that. Ours doesn't stop the run or pass... so yeah.

**ajk4st8** · 11-03-2008, 04:56 PM

It is no secret that we have a glaring lack of athletes on the DL and at middle linebacker.

Ive always wondered how good Jesse Smith would have been with 25 more pounds at DE. Too short probably.

**ISUFan22** · 11-03-2008, 05:08 PM

Seems like this thread belongs in the other forum section, if the point was to show how not good Iowa is in the trenches.

**MontyBurns** · 11-03-2008, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by Gordyo5

It is interesting because J Miller always tells about how much better Iowa's lines are than everyone else in the country.

They are pretty good against the run but part of the reason their pass defense is so bad is that they sacrifice pressuring the QB in order to stop the run. I haven't heard J Miller say they're better than everyone else in the country so I'll give the benefit of the doubt and assume you're exaggerating. He is usually (not always) objective, so I presume he would say they are what they are -- above average but not great.

**cyradio** · 11-03-2008, 08:29 PM

Gotta just love the no stop comparisons to Iowa.

**candg4ever** · 11-03-2008, 08:52 PM

Originally Posted by Clones85'

We SHOULD have more sacks than Iowa. We play teams that pass 40 times a game. The Big 10 has a rule in place that you can only throw 20 times a game....don't they?!?!

It doesn't matter how many passes are thrown. What matters is what kind of routes are being run. T Tech throws the ball a ton, but most of them are short, controlled routes designed to get the wr/rb one-on-one in the open field. In these cases, getting to the QB is not as important as disrupting timing, and sometimes DEs even peel back in coverage to disguise the defense. More and more offenses in the Big 12 are leaning towards this pass-happy, ball control type of play.

If you only throw in throwing situations, as is the case often in the Big 10, it makes it much easier to call defensive plays to combat the pass and get a more effective rush.

**SplitIdentity** · 11-03-2008, 08:55 PM

Originally Posted by MontyBurns

They are pretty good against the run but part of the reason their pass defense is so bad is that they sacrifice pressuring the QB in order to stop the run. I haven't heard J Miller say they're better than everyone else in the country so I'll give the benefit of the doubt and assume you're exaggerating. He is usually (not always) objective, so I presume he would say they are what they are -- above average but not great.

You haven't watched Iowa much this year have you. Iowa's pass defense is pretty bad? It's not great, but it's far better than it has been in the past.

**MontyBurns** · 11-03-2008, 09:44 PM

Originally Posted by SouthernHawk

You haven't watched Iowa much this year have you. Iowa's pass defense is pretty bad? It's not great, but it's far better than it has been in the past.

Yeah it's pretty bad. Against even a halfway decent offense that spreads the field -- like Illinois & Northwestern -- they get burned. The only reason they look better than they have the past is because they are playing a soft schedule this year.

**JonDMiller** · 11-03-2008, 11:45 PM

I think that Iowa has one of the best DL's and OL's in the Big Ten in the ground game, and against the ground game.

Iowa gave up 6 sacks this week, most of those came when they were down 15 in the fourth quarter. Illinois pinned their ears back, and that happens.

I fully expected Iowa's DL to have more sacks this year. However, they are getting quite a bit of pressure on the opposing QB's. Iowa is #3 in the nation in interceptions this year, one off the leader. A lot of those are coming from pressures and hurries.

I think this is the third best KF era OL.

As for Iowa's pass defense being 'bad'. the first stat I look at when a pass defense is giving up some yards is the team's rush defense. Iowa's pass defense nationally is in the mid-50's. Not horrible, not great. Just barely above average.

But their run defense is 12th in the nation. Makes sense that if you can't run the ball against a team, you are going to have to throw the ball against them. Iowa's pass efficiency defense is 9th in the nation. Iowa has also given up a total of 12 touchdowns in 9 games. So I wouldn't call them bad.

**JonDMiller** · 11-03-2008, 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by MontyBurns

Yeah it's pretty bad. Against even a halfway decent offense that spreads the field -- like Illinois & Northwestern -- they get burned. The only reason they look better than they have the past is because they are playing a soft schedule this year.

In those two games, CJ Bacher and Juice combined to have a passer rating of 127.93, a number that would be about 50th in the nation this year for individual throwers. 4TD passes and 3INT's in those games, combined. That number would be slightly below averagae compared to current team pass efficiency stats.