We’ll start out this week with Jared’s general thoughts on the Iowa-Eastern Illinois game:

-Eastern Illinois did everything I thought they would try to do. Quick throws, not much direct running against us, trying to attack the edges and young corners. They had a few tricks up their sleeve, especially on the fake punt. They did everything they should have done, but it’s a matter of us having better talent than them.

-I thought we had good production on specials teams, with a blocked punt for a score an another on that was tipped. Great kickoff coverage, punting inside the ten was great.

-I was glad to see Morse be a bigger part of the offense. He has been a good blocker for a lot of years, sort of unheralded and it was good to seeing him catch a touchdown pass and they threw the ball at him on other instances.

-We spread the ball around on offense and moved the pocket to both sides of the field. You saw some reverse plays, and the fake reverse. That will soften up the backside defensive end on those plays for future opponents. I thought they did a lot of things to show a variety of looks that will give opponents a lot to work with; inside zones, outside zones, different formations.

-I was watching James Ferentz a lot; he did a nice job. One of the toughest things to do in football is a center to come to the line, call out a protection, identify a backer, snap it successfully and reach a guy. That will take time, but for his first game, nice job.

-I loved the play action to the tight end and it will be big for us this year if we can establish a running game, you sneak the tight end behind the linebackers.

-I liked the play out of Zusevics…he had some very good blocks. He stayed with his blocks a long time and that was very good. If Gettis gets back here soon, I am encouraged. I think Coach said in the post game press conference that he was encouraged by the play of the line.

-I didn’t like the first play of the game for Eastern, they went with a hi-low on Clayborn. That is not classy. Clearly, it was designed to try to slow him down and get him thinking about who is coming after his legs. There is no place for that.

-Karl Klug continues to use his hands well, he read the screen great, when they tried to block him one on one, as was the case last year, he beats it. That gives us a great leg up when we walk a linebacker out, to have two DT’s that can play three blockers and get production there.

-I will eat my words. I was saying that I was excited to see Hampton in and still am. But I said it last year, Adam Robinson does not wow you when you see him walk on the field, but he has a unique knack to make people miss. He showed it again Saturday. He was shifty and it looks like a good one-two punch coming up.

-I thought our secondary was hitting. One of the biggest things coming out of camp is tackling. I think Eastern did a poor job like a lot of teams around the country. Iowa does a great job of working on that on a daily basis and I felt for our first game we had good form tackling and we were bringing it a little bit, too.

-I thought Mike Daniels play on the line was good. It’s great to have another option there in case of injury, or for a rotation.

-I thought our pursuit was fantastic, both inside and out. They tried to get the ball to the edges quickly, and our line and linebackers pursued really well. Because of that, you will have to see our corners tackle a lot this year. They will have to make one on one tackles, because there are not many teams that will try to force it down our throats. They will try to get the ball to the edges.

-Teams will blitz us a lot. Our ability to pick that up with the line and the running backs will be huge.

-It was a very positive first game. A few turnovers you dont want to see, but Stanzi hadnt thrown an incompletion for most of the first half.

Q: Did it look to you that Rick Stanzi and Iowa were focused on getting rid of the ball quicker and also ‘taking the profit’ as Anthony Herron said, throwing the ball underneath to the running backs where Iowa didn’t do that a lot last year?

Clauss: I am not an expert on quarterback play, but yeah, he looked more confident. You would expect to see that heading into your senior year with all of his experience. It was great to see his improvement. The play action game was working well and it’s going to be a challenge throughout the year because teams are going to bring the pressure against us and you will have to identify things quickly. But I was very encouraged by his accuracy outside of a couple balls that got loose on him.

Q: Some fans said after the game that say that Iowa left some plays in the playbook. Do you think it’s just Iowa being Iowa, working on what they know they will need in October and November? Not holding things back?

Clauss: No, I don’t think they hold back. I think they are going to play the way they need to play to win. They will work on their play action game, inside and outside zones, different formations, what they need to work on and what they need to do to win. there might be a wrinkle here and there, but there is not a separate playbook that says Iowa State or Arizona on it. They will work things to set up plays for the future. The reverses, the tunnel screens, things like that, perhaps there is a wrinkle off of those down the road and a team prepares for a tunnel screen and something else opens up. Or there is a variation on the reverse, or a variation on a route combo. I don’t buy into that at all. We have always been a ‘here is what we are going to do, beat us’ team. There isn’t much disguise and I like it that way.

Q: It was a lot of fun watching Christian Ballard keep up with running backs in the flat. Do you think it’s better for Iowa with him at tackle or end?

Clauss: When I was there, it was about getting the best 11 on the field. He is a very good end, I think he is best served at tackle for us because Binns is a great player as well. For our football team, getting him on the field at tackle is the best thing for us right now. But for a guy that weighs that much to chase down guys on the edge is very encouraging for us and his future as well, that is rare.

Q: What are your thoughts on the Iowa State game?

Clauss: It’s a huge game. I watched the Iowa State-Northern Illinois game, and they looked improved. I think they have improved skill players. Iowa has to protect the ball, and Coach Rhoads has done a nice job of improving over last year and carrying momentum, because NIU was not a slouch and they played well. The key to our game on defense, is sitting back in the zone and waiting for things to happen. I think playing our game this weekend will be big, playing our zone defense. We had success sitting in that zone last year and not forcing things and leaving things open. On offense, they have a smaller defensive line and we have a young offensive line that will be a key matchup. But I am excited to get a lot of our starters back on the field. We are going to have Hampton and Binns back for sure, and if we can get Prater and Gettis and some of the other guys on the field, we will be that much more improved. I am excited, it’s a big one. Coach Ferentz emphasizes it. It’s not just another game and I can’t wait.

Tags: hawkeye football, Hawkeye Nation, hawkeyenation.com, Iowa football, Jared Clauss, MMQB, Monday Morning Quarterback