As a Hawks fan, I'm glad I'm not able to watch the majority of these games. I listen from work every Saturday and it seems every week this vaunted Hawks defense led by the great defensive mind of Ferentz gets the ball shoved up their ass every 4th quarter. It's getting very fucking tiresome.

Hawkeye Vince, I know you can shed more insight.....what in the hell is wrong with this defense????

I'll hang up and listen for my answer.

They just are not a very good team. Lose to Northwestern and Minnesota and if an IU guy can catch the ball they lose to them as well.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

They were the exact same team last year. Sometimes things bounce your way, you go 10-2, and everything is fantastic. Then sometimes they don't, you go 7-5, and everything is awful again.

This has been an 8-9 win team the past three years.

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Fire Phil Emery

Tackling would be a good start...

This. While awful is a strong word, it's not far from the truth based on the talent/age of this team.

In addition, I think where they are lacking the most leadership is in the linebacking core. Angerer and Edds did more than any of these linebackers did all year.

I meant awful more from a fanbase perspective than a team perspective. Iowa is still fine as a team. Not great, but fine.

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Fire Phil Emery

I'll take your word for it. I don't know I can qualify a team that has blown multiple games in the 4th quarter as "fine" but like I said I can only listen on Saturdays.

I don't think that it is a talent / ability issue. They are able to shut other teams down pretty well for the first 55 minutes of each game. But they shit the bed at the end of the game. Maybe it is a matter of defensive playcalling and an inability to adjust to the other team's use of a hurry up offense. Maybe it is a conditioning issue. Maybe they just have no balls.

I don't think that's quite right. They certainly didn't shut down Arizona or Minnesota for the first 55 minutes. Wisconsin was a back-and-forth game. That argument works better for NU and OSU, but that's only two of the five games. In the other three, the team had noticeable failures both early and late.

I just think if you live by the fluky, skin-of-your-teeth ending, you're going to die by it sometimes as well.

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Fire Phil Emery

And when the cover 2 is getting pressure up front, it makes the defense look better than a defense that gives up yards in chunks and 'buckles' down near the end zone. Well, at some point, you are going to give up points - unfortunately for Iowa, they gave them up late consistently this season.

I'm shocked that I am agreeing with IB so much on this question.