Iowa football: Who’s to blame for deep passing game struggles

The Iowa football team isn’t known for possessing a deep passing game, but who’s to blame for that? We take a look right here.

You would think with a multi-year starter with a big-time arm at quarterback and two wide receivers designed perfectly to go deep in jump-ball specialist Brandon Smith and the speedy Ihmir Smith-Marsette, the Iowa football team could deep with regularity.

However, they don’t.

Last year, Stanley averaged 7.2 yards per attempt, which ranked 76th in the nation. His two leading returning wide receivers, Smith and Smith-Marsette averaged 12.9 and 15.7 yards per reception, respectively.

Smith-Marsette’s 15.7 yards per reception led the team, but a significant chunk of that came after the catch as the Iowa football team tried to get him the ball in space and utilize his speed and athleticism to break big plays.

So let’s review the possible issues here.

Wide receiver

It’s not the wide receivers. Brandon Smith is unlike any wide receiver the Iowa football team has really had. He is a guy that can go up and high point the ball, no matter how contested the catch is. Last season, for example, he ranked second in the Big Ten in contested catch percentage at 62.5%.

While Ihmir Smith-Marsette doesn’t possess the elite jump-ball catching abilities, he does have elite speed that can take the top off of defenses if they play too close to the line, which is a common occurrence for defenses taking on the Iowa football team.

Offensive system

This is definitely part of the problem. Systemically, the Iowa football team just doesn’t run a very advanced vertical attack. There are a few players here and there, but the majority of the offense is horizontal routes and shorter routes. However, I have been impressed with Brian Ferentz and the changes he has made to the offense. It’s come a long way since the Greg Davis-era.

With a big-arm quarterback and two wide receivers built for a vertical attack, we could see the offense open up even more in year three.

Nate Stanley

Last but not least, let’s take a look at Nate Stanley who is tough to assess. He has great natural traits but struggles on basic things like accuracy.

He also isn’t exactly a risk taker, which may be my biggest frustration with the senior quarterback. Often, he will opt for the underneath route as opposed to trying to fit the ball into a tight window. It’s kept his interceptions down, but it’s also kept him from reaching his potential as well.

Moreover, according to advanced analytics put together by Pro Football Focus, he’s just not that accurate when throwing deep.

Adrian Martinez is in third with an adjusted completion percentage of 43.4% which means Stanley is obviously even lower.

We already know there are accuracy concerns considering he was the 5th rated returning quarterback in the Big Ten in overall adjusted completion percentage, but it looks like the further away Stanley gets from the receiver, the more difficult it is for him to deliver an accurate pass.

My educated guess is Brian Ferentz will open the offense up even more when he feels confident in Stanley’s ability to deliver a well-placed pass. Until then, it could just be more of the same.