Give Me Some Optimism For 23 and Beyond

cyatheart

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SuperFanatic T2
Nov 18, 2008
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It's really hard to tell how "close" we are. I think our defense is so far ahead of many in the league that it makes us look a lot more competitive offensively than we really are because the scores stay so low on both sides. With that said, obviously it takes both O and D to win games so I'm not trying to negate that huge strength on defense.
Agree with this. Heacock is light years ahead of the entire conference. What he has and is doing is nothing short of amazing. And he does it every year, with different guys. Imagine if we gave him a competent offense...well we did and they won a Fiesta Bowl.

I'm not sure why an SEC team doesn't offer him 2m, maybe they have and he likes it here.
 

simply1

Rec Center HOF
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Jun 10, 2009
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My sister and my nieces wasted a lovely day today watching subpar football. They deserve to see a team coached by a multimillionaire show some improvement over a season, and especially with two weeks to prepare. Watching the same mistakes and ineptitude gets very, very old.

Rhoads and McDermott killed my fandom as a Cyclone fan. Seeing some really disturbing things that remind me of those eras. Cyclone fans deserve better.
Who are you a fan of then, and why are you here?
 
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Cyclad

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Apr 12, 2006
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You do you. It’s a free country.

These bastards have me hooked, no matter how hard this train may hit the wall.
I am with you - clone to the bone!

I couple thread observations:

1) Fans. We have chosen to believe we are above average fans. Not true. Our “fans” bail out in tough times like everybody else. I been going since 1969 - trust me. (Based upon all the people claiming they have had enough on this board.)
2) we need a QB with escapability, who is a running threat with our OL. They do not come along often, think Seneca Wallace. But, half the schools have them, so they are out there.
3) I joined WEWILL months ago, and get email updates. Seems we have a LONG way to go. As evidenced by this board, our fans base is opposed. Personal choice.
Will make things increasingly harder. We all knew it.
4) we desperately need a TE.
5) our defense is great - I agree. Appear to have quality depth too.
6) I have become convinced we must live with poor OL play. Need to compensate. We dabbled in JUCO OL last year - good idea. We seem better able to recruit playmakers. We are a little short of them right now.
7) I still trust CMC. We lost a ton of offensive firepower from last year - obviously the replacements are not near as capable. Some will develop and get better - only recruiting may solve other problems.
8) offensive play calling often puzzles me.
Anytime we have one yard to go, we will likely not make it. Drove me crazy yesterday. GET UNDER CENTER.
9) really proud of Jace Gilbert. Since KU he has shown a ton of character and talent.
10) I am disappointed - but will never give up.

Fire away!
 

heitclone

Well-Known Member
Jun 21, 2009
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Way up there
Biggest reasons to be optimistic is the schedule gets easier without the round robin and as long as Heacock is here the defense will be fine.

Not a ton of hope for offense, Jj Kohl already has unfair expectations but him being ready would change things. Even if he's just a game manager, that could go a long ways. Dekkers is a an athlete trying to be a qb, we need someone more polished who can handle the mental aspect of the position. With the same staff coaching, it's hard to see much development from the position. My hope is that Kohl has been better coached up to this point.
 

mj4cy

Asst. Regional Manager
Staff member
Mar 28, 2006
31,848
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Iowa
Good for next year
1. Noel will be back and I think Stanley can use a covid year.
2. Brock and Norton both completely healthy
3. QB with a year of starting experience (needs to find way more consistency to keep his job with a borderline 5 star QB coming in)
4. Heacock and his D
5. Punter and Kicker back. Both been mostly really good. Punter needs to work on getting it off quicker, kicker just work on not letting a miss snowball into 3 misses in a game

Bad for next year
1. X and McDonald gone
2. Offensive line. I’m not gonna get caught up in the inevitable offseason hype that they’re looking good. It’s been bad for 6 years now with it getting worse
3. TE have shown little to no blocking ability
4. WR blocking also is bad

Agreed on the line....we've had starting NFL RBs to hide their issues for a few years. This year it shows.
 

CyclonesRock

Well-Known Member
Jan 1, 2018
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Iowa
And Purdy's skill level was taken for granted more than most would admit.
That's why I take all of the self-proclaimed experts on this board with a grain of salt. These are the same ones that endlessly called to "put in Dekkers" every time Purdy had a rough outing. I see a very talented QB that makes the inevitable QB bonehead play when they are trying to do it all. I will continue to support my team regardless of the outcomes. The product is leaps and bound better than what I experienced in my student days in the mid 80's. :cool:
 

GoldCy

Well-Known Member
Jul 11, 2016
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I am with you - clone to the bone!

I couple thread observations:

1) Fans. We have chosen to believe we are above average fans. Not true. Our “fans” bail out in tough times like everybody else. I been going since 1969 - trust me. (Based upon all the people claiming they have had enough on this board.)
2) we need a QB with escapability, who is a running threat with our OL. They do not come along often, think Seneca Wallace. But, half the schools have them, so they are out there.
3) I joined WEWILL months ago, and get email updates. Seems we have a LONG way to go. As evidenced by this board, our fans base is opposed. Personal choice.
Will make things increasingly harder. We all knew it.
4) we desperately need a TE.
5) our defense is great - I agree. Appear to have quality depth too.
6) I have become convinced we must live with poor OL play. Need to compensate. We dabbled in JUCO OL last year - good idea. We seem better able to recruit playmakers. We are a little short of them right now.
7) I still trust CMC. We lost a ton of offensive firepower from last year - obviously the replacements are not near as capable. Some will develop and get better - only recruiting may solve other problems.
8) offensive play calling often puzzles me.
Anytime we have one yard to go, we will likely not make it. Drove me crazy yesterday. GET UNDER CENTER.
9) really proud of Jace Gilbert. Since KU he has shown a ton of character and talent.
10) I am disappointed - but will never give up.

Fire away!
Fire, ready, aim
Seriously, and I know you have insight, who is responsible for blocking schemes, line adjustments prior to snaps etc. Is it even possible to change mid season.
My #1 concern=special teams. No hope on horizon.
2=Need QB that throws it to his teammates as well as the present one throws to the opponent.
 

LtRaczack

Well-Known Member
Dec 23, 2010
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Columbus, GA
You should have optimism that you will see inside runs left, right and center from shotgun. You will see 2-4 yard short crossing routes just past the LOS and short passes to the RB in space. You might see one or two plays where the QB is rolled out for a completed 20-yard pass.

You should also be optimistic to see that the offensive play chart is a 3x5 card that says all these plays must be run from shotgun unless the ball is within two yards of your own end zone.
 
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CyCloned

Well-Known Member
Oct 18, 2006
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Robins, Iowa
Good for next year
1. Noel will be back and I think Stanley can use a covid year.
2. Brock and Norton both completely healthy
3. QB with a year of starting experience (needs to find way more consistency to keep his job with a borderline 5 star QB coming in)
4. Heacock and his D
5. Punter and Kicker back. Both been mostly really good. Punter needs to work on getting it off quicker, kicker just work on not letting a miss snowball into 3 misses in a game

Bad for next year
1. X and McDonald gone
2. Offensive line. I’m not gonna get caught up in the inevitable offseason hype that they’re looking good. It’s been bad for 6 years now with it getting worse
3. TE have shown little to no blocking ability
4. WR blocking also is bad
All these are very true. A lot of the bad OL has been covered up by having NFL running backs and TEs. Historically the WRs under Campbell have been really good blockers. Not sure about the current ones in terms of run blocking.
 

Sigmapolis

Minister of Economy
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Aug 10, 2011
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They're 6-2 if you judge the games on net yardage from scrimmage.

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One of those (Baylor) was only by 11 yards after some awful officiating.

Teams who are winning on net yardage but lose by the score are generally shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers and poor special teams play. So if those could be addressed, Iowa State could be one of those teams you project to improve only through regression to the mean on their luck.

This team looks like what we thought it would be -- young and talented but inexperienced and prone to making stupid mistakes. Keep the good stuff from this team and work on buffing out the bad stuff and it could be quite competitive as soon as next year (assuming that, as others have noticed, the young talent on the roster stays home rather than being picked over by the circling NIL vultures out there).