Tuesdays with Torbee
I don’t know if Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz ever tunes into NFL post-game press conferences, but if he was listening to New York Jets Coach Robert Saleh Sunday after his team’s 25-6 loss to the New England Patriots, I can almost guarantee you he had a big smile on his face.
The Jets hotshot rookie quarterback Zack Wilson despite going a respectable 19-33 for 210 yards, also threw a game-deciding four interceptions, which played a decisive role in the loss. Wilson, a former BYU Cougar and first-round draft choice, is lauded for his swagger, athleticism and ability to fit the ball into tight windows. Sunday, his swagger resulted in his first two passes landing in Patriot arms.
Afterward, Saleh had this to say about his young gunslinger:
“It’s OK to play a boring game of football. That’s really it. He’s an electric dude. He’s competitive as crap and he wants to win so bad, but sometimes it’s OK to be boring.”
The quarterback on the other side of the field, Mac Jones, is also a rookie. The ex-Alabama QB was drafted 15th to Wilson’s 2nd. His stats from Sunday? A boring and pedestrian 22-30 for 186 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Oh, and a big, fat W in the won-loss column.
Of course, his coach is also Bill Belichick, perhaps the original architect of “boring football is winning football.”
I presume you Hawkeye fans can see where I’m going with this by now.
Kirk Ferentz is a Belichick disciple. I sometimes think the Platonic ideal for a football win in his mind is a 9-0 victory where his team kicks three field goals, never passes and doesn’t allow the opponent to cross midfield. That might be a TWO-scoops of vanilla ice cream win!
This is why I am not participating in the rending of garments over Spencer Petras’ relatively mundane statistics and lack of downfield or across-the-middle passing. Would I, as a consumer of college football, prefer to see my quarterback launching bombs and gunning spirals to streaking slot receivers? Sure, who wouldn’t? But you know what I like as an Iowa fan even more? Winning!
And here’s the thing, when Iowa has a lights-out, seemingly impenetrable, ball-hawking defense that is capable of destroying an opponent’s game plan and putting points up on the board itself, Kirk and Brian Ferentz are absolutely, positively not going to allow their quarterback to put the ball in harm’s way. Until Iowa needs to make a heroic comeback, dump downs, easy outs to the flat and outlet passes to tight ends are going to make up the bulk of the passing game. The need to air it out is not likely until at least the Maryland road game in two weeks, if even then.
Of course it’s fair to wonder if holding Petras back now may hamper his ability to transform from a game manager to a playmaker later, if needed. I would submit that he’s shown a few flashes of that ability, most notably in his deep touchdown shot to Charlie Jones in the Iowa State game and on a couple of nice seam passes to Sam LaPorta. Can he do it consistently when Iowa absolutely needs a score? The jury is still out.
I would also note that unlike every other quarterback in the Ferentz era, Petras has never had the luxury of feasting on cupcakes. He has posted a 9-2 record against nine Big 10 teams, the defending Big 12 regular season champ and the consensus preseason pick to win the MAC title. Now, much like pitchers in baseball shouldn’t get all the credit for wins, Petras has been helped tremendously by both his defense and a usually solid-if-not-spectacular run game. But his game management ability has absolutely played a crucial role in Iowa’s current Big 10-best winning streak.
It isn’t sexy, but it is Iowa football.
Beyond Petras, it was nice to see the run game come to life, albeit against a sub-par rush defense. Much like the passing game, it did not appear Iowa dug very deep into the playbook, with few misdirection plays or much pre-snap movement. Ivory Kelly Martin’s ball security issues are concerning, however. If Iowa is going to rely on stellar defense and basic, mistake-free offense, it cannot afford turnovers. It’s nice to hear Ferentz is willing to give the long-suffering Kelly Martin another shot, but he needs to be on a short leash.
I am not expecting Colorado State to put up much of a fight against Iowa next Saturday, so it may be an opportune time for the Hawkeyes to press the accelerator on the offense a bit. It would be nice to have more confidence in the air attack, should that weird Friday night game in Maryland turn into some kind of shootout. I don’t know how likely that is, given the quality of the Iowa defense, but you’d hate to be in the position of bringing a knife to a gunfight.
Bottom line, it’s nice to be three games into the season and arguing about whether Iowa is just really good or potential Big 10 championship great. Offensive fireworks may be in short supply, but winning is never boring.
Follow me on Twitter @ToryBrecht