Iowa's linebackers seek to become erasers again

IOWA CITY — Iowa assistant Jim Reid calls his linebackers the defense's erasers. It doesn't matter what happens to a defensive lineman, his linebackers are required to clean up the mess. No excuses.

Last year, however, Iowa's erasers were worn to the metal stub. A year removed from a stellar trio with three NFL linebackers — in which the team gave up just 3.58 yards per carry — the Hawkeyes struggled to fill gaps along the perimeter and tackle in space. The Hawkeyes allowed 4.42 yards per carry, the program's worst number since 2000. There were embarrassing moments where isolated players couldn't contain backs in passing routes and others when linebackers got caught in the wash and holes became alleys.

Such was the case in two major defeats for Iowa, a 51-14 pounding at rival Minnesota and a 45-28 loss to Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Bowl. Minnesota rushed for 291 yards on 59 attempts, while Tennessee annihilated Iowa on the ground for 283 yards on 51 carries. There was a common element to both games.

'Their linemen, we were used to them coming out and attacking us and they just pretty much stood side-by-side and they ran outside on us,' Iowa defensive end Nate Meier said in the spring. 'The D-line was useless. As a D-line, it was one of those things we didn't have any control over. In the Tennessee game, they ran eight times for 11 yards up the middle. They're not going to run in the middle, so it's one of those deals. Our game plan was great, but I guess they just did something different.'

Opportunities were there to make plays against Tennessee. The second play featured a missed tackle that led to a 25-yard gain. A blown sack two plays later led to an 11-yard scramble. Tennessee attacked the perimeter for 69 of its 80 yards on the drive. Frequently, missed tackles by linebackers became the culprit. It was perpetual issue throughout an excruciating first half where Iowa allowed 191 rushing yards.

Tennessee followed a blueprint that Minnesota created two months earlier. In 2013, Gophers Coach Jerry Kill watched in horror as Iowa stifled his physical running game for 30 yards on 27 carries. Not only was Iowa dominant up front, but the inside tandem of Anthony Hitchens and James Morris combined for 18 tackles. Those failings prompted Kill to shift tactics.

'We studied a lot on their defense because we hadn't done a very good job, frankly,' Kill said. 'So we spent a month studying what they've done defensively, and we hadn't done a lot against them. So we said, 'We've got to spend some time finding the way to move the ball on these guys.''

The old Wing-T offense featured a wingback in motion running off tackle. Kill dusted off the old play with a modern reboot, sending receiver K.J. Maye from the slot around the corner on a jet sweep. Maye hit the edge quicker than Iowa's linebackers could catch up. Maye rushed 10 times for 66 yards in a decimation that had Iowa's linebackers on their heels.

'We studied a lot of different things,' Kill said. 'This jet sweep was part of that, trying to mix it up instead of going downhill so much because they're so strong up front and get on the perimeter a little bit more.'

In other words, attack the edges. It was the game plan, and Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner was blunt about it.

'We knew we were faster than them, and we knew we would be able to get the ball outside on the edge on those guys,' Leidner said.

Iowa's linebacker erasers were sliced like metal on paper. Everyone from the players to the coaching staff knew it. Both games, they simply were destroyed.

In the aftermath, like their northern rivals a summer ago, Iowa has adjusted. Reid's duties expanded to include all linebackers. Partially, it's to encourage versatility. Mostly, it's about efficiency. Instead of dividing the linebackers into two rooms for video sessions, they're under one roof listening to one message.

Iowa Linebackers: A Closer Look

Before instructing Iowa's linebacking corps this fall, Reid and defensive coordinator Phil Parker re-watched those games and asked their own critical questions. As much as on-field mistakes mortally wounded the team's chances at victory that day, were their teaching methods and techniques part of the problem?

'I think what every coach does is they look at the plays that hurt them the most and see if there's any common denominator,' Reid said. 'We gave up a number of big plays against Minnesota and a number of big plays against Tennessee. What you do is you look and make sure that everybody knows and understands what they're doing and make sure we're all on the same page and we move on.'

'You're always watching,' Parker said. 'You don't look at the games you win. A lot of times you're looking at the games you lose. We spent a lot of time doing that, a critique. 'Are we doing the right thing? Why were we giving up those big plays?' Obviously we knew they were attacking the perimeter; that's what (Minnesota) decided to do. From the years before, they didn't want to run up the middle. You've got to make some adjustments, and you've got to improve your perimeter play.'

Iowa's defense has focused on the perimeter. Parker said that starts in a drill with more physical play setting the edge and fighting off blocks. There's also a pursuit drill about finding the proper angle in run support. Eyes are important with noticing change of direction and seeing the play develop into a big picture. Becoming erasers again.

Middle linebacker Josey Jewell called last year a 'big learning curve' where the game was too fast at times. Now it's about growth, from watching video to awareness on the field.

'It's amazing when you see it,' said Jewell, a sophomore from Decorah.

Reid earns the respect of his players with both his methods and the passion with which he teaches. But he learned something about resiliency from watching his linebackers — the team's erasers — respond after those beatings last year.

'We need to reinvent, we need to re-energize and we need to move forward,' he said. 'I think our guys have done that. I really, really do. I think our guys did that on the flight home. If we asked them to go out to practice the next day after Tennessee, they would have done that. It would have been high energy, 'Give us the next goal,' learn from what happened and then move on. That's what I believe, and that's what I know happened to our group here.'

In other words, erase the past and become Iowa's erasers once again.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com