Give Me Some Optimism For 23 and Beyond

[joefrog]

Points win games, not yards.

That can be fool's gold, where you rack them up after the game is already decided.

Scoring points requires taking risks and also executing well.

This staff loves a safer 3 more so than going for 7.

That's why we lose.

 

[clonedude]

Let's start with the obvious.... the OL is far and away the biggest issue with this team. It sucks. There's really nobody that good on it, yes including Downing. I've always thought he was way overrated. The OL is critical to both the rushing and passing game..... without a good OL you have no chance. Need to hit the portal hard here.

So the first step, beyond recruiting the OL, is to fire Myers and tell Manning he can be the OL coach next year if he wants it, and if not, see ya. And then go hire a young and upcoming offensive mind and give him the reigns to the offense.

Next most important position on the field is QB. I think Dekkers has all the skills you look for in a QB. Right now, something is in his head.... but with the proper coaching I still believe he can be a stud for us. When he drops back and starts to feel some pressure he needs to step up in the pocket a bit and if he still doesn't see anyone open take off and run! He showed yesterday he can be a very effective runner, but he's very reluctant to take off. We did the same thing to Purdy. Purdy evidently has the talent to be an NFL level backup QB, but could only take us to 7 wins with the best ISU roster ever. That's an issue with this offense and the play calling. An NFL level QB should have won 10 or more games with that roster we had last year.

So I think Dekkers has the talent to be the QB we need..... it's all about a better OL, better play calling, and a better OC or QB coach that can develop him. Maybe Kohl will be the savior to this program some day, hope so, but don't get yourselves too excited. Watching his highlights, I'm not seeing anything that we didn't see from Dekkers in HS, or Purdy, or you name it.

Then we need to bring in some stud WRs too. Losing X will be a disaster. I'm not confident in Noel being a number 1 or 2 really. He's more like a 3rd WR to me. I don't know why Bitter doesn't play more honestly? The guy seems to catch anything near him. Great hands. That's what we need.

Not worried about the defense at all unless we see a mass exodus of players.

 

[ClonerJams]

A day later, I've calmed down a bit. I've accepted its a down year, and for a school like us it was going to happen eventually. Campbell has shown he can grow the program (we were in a lot worse shape talent-wise in his first year), so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt he can do it again. Still, changes on the offensive side have to happen. Jeff Myers needs to be gone - I'm sure he's a nice guy and works very hard, but his entire tenure has shown he is not capable of being a OL coach at this level.

 

[JM4CY]

A day later, I've calmed down a bit. I've accepted its a down year, and for a school like us it was going to happen eventually. Campbell has shown he can grow the program (we were in a lot worse shape talent-wise in his first year), so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt he can do it again. Still, changes on the offensive side have to happen. Jeff Myers needs to be gone - I'm sure he's a nice guy and works very hard, but his entire tenure has shown he is not capable of being a OL coach at this level.

I know I’m not qualified to grade OL play. But there clearly seems to be something off. I really hope Bruns hits on it during the IA Everywhere postgame pod this week.

 

[Acylum]

Jeff Myers needs to be gone - I'm sure he's a nice guy and works very hard, but his entire tenure has shown he is not capable of being a OL coach at this level.

Not to the person who matters the most I’m afraid.

 

[Jkclone15]

Kickers are both freshman, and the analyst is in year one, so hopefully after a year with the program they all improve? Giving up the fake field goal touchdown was backbreaking yesterday but otherwise special teams seemed to have gotten better. If they can learn how to be average next year that's one less problem.

 

[Williowa]

Breece Hall and David Montgomery became pros here, we didn't recruit NFL talent out of high school, we developed them.

Campbell and staff changed defense over night. Fundamentally capable of improving their offensive predicament.

 

[Malty Flannel]

There are lots of issues on this team, and 5 losses are magnifying them exponentially. The reality is, despite the issues, ISU is right there with every other team in conference. Some of you don’t seem to remember a decade ago when ISU was losing 70-7 against Baylor. The talent gap that was glaring in the past is gone. Some things need to change. But let’s not act like ISU has no hope. When is the last time the cyclones lost by more than 14?

 

[MeowingCows]

Knowing what I know now about our OL/run game further affirms my belief that Hall should've won the Heisman last year.

 

[acoustimac]

Best thing I can offer is we make more money