[JonDMiller]

The BTN's annual road trip made its way to Iowa City on Friday, and Gerry Dinardo, Howard Griffith and Dave Revsine sent a few tweets out that are encouraging for Iowa fans.

Griffith, a former Illinois running back and fullback for the Denver Broncos said this of James Vandenberg:

"After watching Iowa practice today James Vandenberg has a chance to be the best pure passer in the Big Ten conference."

Fellow BTN analyst and former LSU & Indiana head coach Gerry Dinardo said this of Vandenberg in a question a fan asked about how is better, him or Ricky Stanzi: "Vandenberg (is) more talented and now we wait to see if he will become a better QB."

Those have been my thoughts this spring and summer; I have said since Vandenberg's start against Ohio State in 2009 that James had more tools in the tool box than Stanzi, but it would remain to be seen if he could approach Stanzi's ability to lead, flush bad plays and simply win.

Here is another comment Dinardo had on Vandenberg: "Not many QB in the B1G can beat you with their arm. Vandenberg is one of them. He could be All B1G in 2012 & on NFL roster in 2013."

Here is a string of comments from Dinardo

-"Most of the teams in the B1G are stronger on offense than defense - Iowa (is) no different."
-"Looks like Bernstine is having a good camp. Both Saf - Miller & Sleeper playing well. Martin - Manley will help the WR depth."
-"I liked Law on recruiting tape and liked him again today. Freshman QB Rudock looks good. Young WR Hillyer & Grant have a chance."
-"Two other general things - the team plays with great leverage as a rule and the young talent Fr. & So. is the best in 5 years
-"One of the best places to visit. It's one of those places that when you watch you think "this is what it's supposed to be like"
-"Secondary will exceed expectations. Nice blend of talent there and playing same scheme every year pays off"
-"LB - Morris and Nielsen give LB stability and the rest will fill in to make it a good group."
"D Line little banged up today but will be fineThere has been a high standard set at this position in recent years so be patient."
"Young talent at TB looked good. They all need scrimmage snaps and then non-conference snaps to get ready." (Dinardo added in another tweet that based off of his one practice observation, McCall would be next best behind Coker)
-"Still need another threat on the flank other than Marvin. They have some talent and it will be interesting who emerges."
-"Tight end very solid position with Brad Herman and CJ. CJ has made a lot of improvement in a year. Sky’s the limit."
-"this isn't breaking news but just to cover it - they will have a very good offensive line."
-"today was the 8th day in a row they prac. Considering it was the 8th straight day of practice I thought the tempo was very good."
-"most teams are obviously better in camp than in spring practice but I thought Iowa's improvement was more significant than usual."

And then these comments from studio host Dave Revsine:

-"Back on the bus after Iowa practice. They are young, but very talented. Ferentz really spoke highly of young RB's. Howard liked McCall."
-"Canzeri had one rep that was really impressive - showed nice burst getting thru the line. Ferentz praised him after practice."
-"Brad Herman stood out to me. With the lack of depth behind McNutt - he gives them a tough to defend weapon in the pass game."
-"Nice to see Norm Parker, as always. There is clearly a lack of developed depth on "D" - but he loves the mobility of the group."

Some good comments in there to provide people more optimism for the 2011 season. That being said, the BTN folks are certainly not going to be overly critical of areas of weakness. It's almost like when you see an ounce of criticism from them, that's an area or comment to magnify. The BTN is not in the business of throwing people in the league under the bus. However, having watched a number of their studio shows, having had my own (if brief) show on the BTN and having gotten a chance to know a number of people there and the mindset from how they look at criticism, as long as it's fair you will see it.

I don't know that anything in here was an 'Oh! Snap!' or breaking news, but it's always good to get the perspective of former coaches, players and guys that have already been to other Big Ten practices and read their comments.

To follow these guys on twitter:
@gerrydinardo
@howardgriffith
@btndaverevsine

[iloveyoularrystation]

Originally Posted by JonDMiller

Those have been my thoughts this spring and summer; I have said since Vandenberg's start against Ohio State in 2009 that James had more tools in the tool box than Stanzi, but it would remain to be seen if he could approach Stanzi's ability to lead, flush bad plays and simply win.

Uh Jon, did you say Stanzi and flushing bad plays in the same sentence. The one thing Stanzi was not good at was flushing bad plays. In fact i remember in the game against NW after Stanzi got hurt a huge cheer coming from the crowd after Vandenburg threw the ball away rather than taking a sack since it was the first time in like 8 years we had seen an Iowa QB throw a ball away rather than taking a sack. Stanzi's worse trait was taking bad sacks rather than throwing the ball away. I'm nit-picking of course you were dead-on on the rest.

[ICbornNraised]

Originally Posted by iloveyoularrystation

Uh Jon, did you say Stanzi and flushing bad plays in the same sentence. The one thing Stanzi was not good at was flushing bad plays. In fact i remember in the game against NW after Stanzi got hurt a huge cheer coming from the crowd after Vandenburg threw the ball away rather than taking a sack since it was the first time in like 8 years we had seen an Iowa QB throw a ball away rather than taking a sack. Stanzi's worse trait was taking bad sacks rather than throwing the ball away. I'm nit-picking of course you were dead-on on the rest.

Jon's talking about the 2009 Hawkeyes. Stanzi had tons of INT's and tons of TD's....and won games.

[theboat]

Originally Posted by iloveyoularrystation

Uh Jon, did you say Stanzi and flushing bad plays in the same sentence. The one thing Stanzi was not good at was flushing bad plays. In fact i remember in the game against NW after Stanzi got hurt a huge cheer coming from the crowd after Vandenburg threw the ball away rather than taking a sack since it was the first time in like 8 years we had seen an Iowa QB throw a ball away rather than taking a sack. Stanzi's worse trait was taking bad sacks rather than throwing the ball away. I'm nit-picking of course you were dead-on on the rest.

You are talking about avoiding bad plays, flushing them is after they already happen. Stanzi was the same QB after throwing 3 picks as he was before them. Mentally, he was able to flush them and not let it bother him.

[JonDMiller]

Originally Posted by theboat

You are talking about avoiding bad plays, flushing them is after they already happen. Stanzi was the same QB after throwing 3 picks as he was before them. Mentally, he was able to flush them and not let it bother him.

This

[ArizonaHawkeye88]

another twitt
gerrydinardo Gerry DiNardo
Two teams in B1G go away from campus for camp ILL/NU. Of the teams we've seen Wisc/Minn/Neb/Iowa only Iowa stays in hotel. Others stay home

[SwirlinLingerie]

Interesting post Jon. Thanks for sharing. However, I've wondered about this rather vague line before: James had more tools in the tool box than Stanzi, but it would remain to be seen if he could approach Stanzi's ability to lead, flush bad plays and simply win.

Uh, didn't Stanzi lose 5 games last year with a nearly unprecedented amount of future NFL talent around him? Of course this wasn't all on Stanzi, but you see the problems with making a statement like Stanzi "simply wins." At the same time, couldn't James play lights out but not be credited with being a "winner" if Iowa loses several games.

With that in mind, what exactly are the metrics and skills that Vandenburg possesses that are superior to Stanzi? Arm strength? Mobility?

At this point, wouldn't we venture (based on evidence) that Stanzi has superior skills in recognizing defenses, understanding where to deliver the ball, and then being able to quickly and accurately deliver the ball?

Are there any tools more important than those for playing the quarterback position?

I guess I've always been a bit confused as to why you think Vandenburg has demonstrated that he has more tools crucial to playing the position than Stanzi. Of course, I'd love it if he turns out to be a better player than Stanzi.

[JonDMiller]

To me, winning is the ultimate measure of a college QB...or any QB. Stanzi has the 2nd most wins ever by an Iowa QB. Yeah, last year's 2 minute drills were not fun to watch. And the offense was incapacitated after the MSU game with the 1st and 2nd string RG going down for basically the rest of the year, Adam Robinson (who was the MVP to that point) getting his bell run and never being the same after..the offensive production tanked from that point on in points and third down conversions, the latter seriously affected the defense.

Rick obviously was a skilled player...but I think Vandenberg has a bigger arm, more zip on the 15 yard far hash outs, better on the run...we'll soon get a chance to see that in action week after week.

Stanzi was a three year starter with 26 wins...that's nearly nine a year. Will James get to 18 total over the next two years? It would be a great accomplishment.

[ArizonaHawkeye88]

Here is what DiNardo had to say about Iowa's practice.

"It looks like an NFL practice," said DiNardo. "If you look around during individuals (drills), every single coach at every single group is giving instant feedback. A player does something and a coach is talking to that player. It is as good a learning environment as I have ever seen."

[MisterLucky]

From some of the comments here, you would think it was Stanzi that gave up all of those fourth quarter TD's.

[hawkihayes]

Anyone know when these will air on BTN?

[ArizonaHawkeye88]

link for BTN
Big Ten Network Football Tour 2011 - Big Ten Network

[smbhawk1]

I agree with Jon, I have thought for two that Vandenburg was the better passer. What remains to be seen is if he has the intangibles that Stanzi had. If he does, look out!

[SpecialKHawk]

I'm excited to have Vandenburg take the reins as the starter to see what he can do.

He appears to have a great arm but I have concerns in two areas;

- Taking sacks, especially when blitzed (lost the OSU game in OT & failed to read/move against a constant safety blitz aginst Minny in 2009) -> hope there is improvement here

- Touch + Deep ball -> In the limited game + practice highlights I have not noticed the ability to put some touch on certain throws that require touch. I think one of his picks in the spring game was riffled off the should pad of a receiver who was wide open in the flat/underneath. To me it appeared to be a throw that needed less zip and a little more touch. I also have not seen many examples of James connecting on a deep-route. Again, limited opportunities is a factor.

I think Stanzi might go down as the most under-rated QB we have had. Was he perfect no but a great leader who did some things really well -> rythm passer, great deep ball, really good touch on the ball, leader of men/respected and a gamer/stand up guy

I don't blame last year entirely on Ricky. We had O-Line issues due to injury/size and injuries at LB which really hampered us. I think we were a little conservative at times also relying on the 'D' to make the plays down the stretch. Last year we just didn't make the key play or two down the stretch like we did the year before.

If Vandy turns out to be a good player that would be great.

[djwoody98]

Folks, if it isn't obvious by now, despite our grumbling at times (myself included) we have a damned fine coaching staff and program. Can't wait to kickoff the 2011 season.