2017 NFL Draft Breakdown: Iowa Hawkeyes Quarterback CJ Beathard

CJ Beathard's Iowa career did not end on the most positive note, as Iowa got blown out 30-3, and Beathard suffered an injury in the first half that greatly affected his (abysmal) second half performance. But you can't judge a guy off one bad game, and Beathard had over two years of film for NFL teams to look at and decide whether he can be an NFL quarterback. Without really giving it a close look, I thought he'd be worthy of drafting, mostly because Jake Rudock got drafted and Beathard definitely seemed like the better quarterback of those two. But instead of just using the transitive property, I decided to break down game film. Since I know Beathard fairly well as a player, I knew there was no need to check out the second half of this season, so I took a look at his games against Pittsburgh, Purdue, Minnesota, Stanford, and Michigan State from 2015, and his game against Miami (Ohio) from 2016.

Beathard's mobility seems to be forgotten at this point, but it was a legitimate weapon for the first half of 2015. Then he got hurt and could barely move the rest of the year, and this year, he seemed to forget that he could run. But I don't think he could lost all of his athleticism in a year, and he has shown that he has enough mobility to make some plays with his legs.

I'll admit that I totally forgot that a majority of the yards on the final drive to get Iowa in position to win on a last second field goal against Pitt were gained off of Beathard scrambling for yardage on three separate plays in the last 44 seconds.

Another thing that was much more evident in 2015 was his ability to lead receivers and hit guys in stride. This year, it seemed like nearly everything was difficult once VandeBerg went down, and I think a lot of that was due to Beathard's comfort level with his other receivers. Since so much of Greg Davis's offense is based off option routes, Beathard may have had to wait a beat longer to see what his receiver was going to do instead of trusting that they would make the right break for him to deliver the ball. That lack of timing and chemistry with his receiving corps may have been the biggest factor in his step backwards during his senior year.

The thing that separated Beathard from the quarterback that came before him, Jake Rudock, is arm strength. Here, the flea flicker play does not work out as planned, but he still gets enough distance on this ball despite having to alter his release for an oncoming hit.

Here's an example of him zipping a ball into a tight window.

And on top of that arm strength, he showed that he also had touch in his game as well.

That is a beautiful back shoulder fade, and he did it while knowing he had to absorb a hit. This really hammered home how bad the receivers for Iowa were this season. Because it's not like Beathard needed a ton of space to fit balls in, as he could place balls fairly well, and we still saw it this year with VandeBerg healthy. But having VandeBerg and Tevaun Smith in 2015 let Beathard show his true potential.

The first weakness I want to talk about seems to be the weakness of every Iowa quarterback, pocket awareness. I mean, Drew Tate was the last quarterback to actually feel a rush coming for him for Iowa, and although that doesn't seem that long ago, it's been ten years. For Beathard, his issue seems to be tunnel vision as he literally doesn't see anything out of his direct line of sight coming. This can cost him when locking in on receivers, and also just a total obliviousness to blitzers coming straight up the middle at him as seen in back-to-back pass plays below.

One thing I do worry about with Beathard is his offensive coordinator causing a lot of these issues. It's really tough to judge Beathard without the All-22 and whether there were hot routes for him to throw to or whether he had no options due to poor play calls. I mean, it's not like Greg Davis was ever seen as an infallible genius.

Another issue Beathard is his ability to go through progressions. Like many college quarterbacks, he's fine when he can target one side of the field, but things get extremely shaky when that side is covered well, as he's slow to look to the other side of the field and make decisions. Iowa's offensive line often got beat in games, but Beathard deserves a good amount of blame for slowly going through the motions and giving defenses time to get to him.

And even though the Michigan State game ended in a loss, let us not forget the biggest moment that I had ever seen as an Iowa Hawkeye football fan.

Don't forget the dab.

Because of the unimpressive senior year, I think he falls in the draft. Most projected him as a 3rd-4th rounder going into the season, but I see his value being around 6th-7th round. He's going to need to be drafted into the right situation to reach his potential. He's not good enough to overcome a bad offensive line or poor receiving options. The perfect fit for him would be the Raiders. A lot of Beathard's weaknesses were the same things Carr struggled with at times in college. I could easily see him outplaying Connor Cook to become Carr's backup and giving them a much better chance of winning if Carr gets hurt again.

I'll be honest. 2016 PV (Post VandeBerg) made me forget how good Beathard could be as a quarterback. Now he's not perfect; he's mechanical in scanning the field and his pocket awareness is abysmal. But man, there is a lot of arm talent there. Here's to hoping he gets a chance to show it.

My Review of the Shrine Game

Since the Rose Bowl was the last game, come to think of it, only game I attended this college football season, I was left with a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. Luckily, I had one last chance to watch college football players compete against each other as the East-West Shrine Game was just down the road from where I live at Tropicana Field.

Now, this is not the Senior Bowl, which has a ton of the top Senior talent from all around the nation and some likely first round picks. This is a leftovers game, but that doesn't mean there weren't some intriguing guys on the field. The most notable name was probably Keenan Reynolds, who set the all-time NCAA touchdown record, but he didn't play. I would guess the next most notable name was Vernon Adams, Jr., quarterback of Oregon this past season. Still, the guys I was most interested in seeing were Iowa safety, Jordan Lomax, and former Iowa quarterback (with his final season at Michigan), Jake Rudock.

Overall, I would say that Lomax looked solid, as he made a few tackles and seemed to do well in coverage. There are a lot of rules to simplify things in these All-Star games, so there isn't a ton of room for a safety to stand out outside of being in a good position for a quarterback's mistake. Lomax is a guy who is going to have to shine on special teams to get a shot at the next level, but he has the tools necessary to succeed there.

As for Rudock, well, uh, it was not great. He technically lead the East to all of their scores, as they had an interception that put them deep in the West's territory that ended in a field goal, and he was still the active quarterback when the defense got an interception that they returned for a touchdown. He is going to be accurate, but he just doesn't have the arm strength to be a viable candidate to be a professional quarterback at the next level. He was a Pre-Med Major; he's a former college quarterback; I think he's going to be fine.

But the star quarterback, and really, the star of the game was Vernon Adams Jr. I'll admit that the only game I really focused on from Oregon this year was when they got beaten badly by Michigan State, a game that Adams was not 100%. He was definitely 100% for this game, as he straight tore things up on the field. Adams is an interesting prospect, as he is very athletic, but relatively small for a quarterback, standing just 6'0" tall. In this game, he showed abilities to make plays from the pocket, and definitely showed that he knows how to move around and make plays as well. His 93 yard touchdown pass will get the most highlights, but it wasn't his best play, as he did a good job of avoiding the rush before finding a guy that was wide open. It was much more impressive to see him scan the field from the pocket and find the open man in the rhythm of the play.

In an All-Star game, it's tough to stand out if you're not a skill position guy, and I'll admit that I was only focusing on the big aspects of the game as opposed to trying to breakdown the footwork of offensive linemen, so Adams was really the only guy who seemed to stand out. Brandon Doughty was getting some buzz, but he failed to impress when he took the reins of the offense. Joel Stave performed exactly how you would expect Joel Stave to perform.

More importantly than what happened on the field was what was happening off the field. CLOWNS. Lots and lots of clowns. I've never been a big clown guy, but I gotta admit it; these clowns added a lot to my entertainment. I mean, sure, they did some clown stuff for entertainment, but even more fascinating was when they were just a bunch of dudes hanging out in full clown gear. One guy even had on a football costume with shoulderpads and a football on a string that he would use to trick people. Does he use that year round, or is this his only time of year to shine (or Shrine, if you prefer)? Anyway, I would love it if football got rid of cheerleaders and replaced them with an army of clowns. There is no way that ends badly.

The East-West Shrine Game is not the Senior Bowl, but it's got $15 General Admission tickets, and there are worse ways to spend a Saturday evening, especially if you can convince your wife to count it as a date night.

9 Thoughts on Iowa vs. Nebraska

My thoughts going into this Nebraska game is surprisingly confident. Nebraska is a team that needs to run the ball to be successful, and Iowa does an excellent job of shutting the running game down. Iowa's offense started to show some dynamic trends last week, even with the three interceptions. Nebraska is prone to turnovers, so as long as Iowa doesn't badly lose that turnover battle, I see them having more ways to win in this game.

1. Hitchens's interception was just a nice job of dropping into a zone and reading the quarterback's eyes. He really didn't have much of an idea of where the receiver was, but he saw where the quarterback wanted to throw and cut it off before it could get to the receiver.

2. Iowa was busting up Nebraska early on in this game as the offensive line was creating holes and Weisman was punishing defenders who came up to make the tackle.

3. I know I mentioned this last week, but Rudock's increased pocket awareness is a huge development for the Hawkeyes. He is hanging in the pocket and waiting for receivers to work their way open instead of panicking and trying to scramble. On the Hawks first touchdown drive, it got him sacked on second and goal. On third down, it gave him enough time to scan the field and find CJF crossing the field for the touchdown.

4. The defense was not threatened by Nebraska's pass attack which made things a whole lot easier for them. If Ameer Abdullah isn't getting yards on those early downs, Nebraska's offense really provides no threats and Iowa took advantage of that.

5. To start the second half, Nebraska just beat the shit out of the Hawkeyes. There is no other way to put it. They ran it right down Iowa's throat, they handled the pass rush and marched right down the field for a touchdown.

6. There was nothing that filled my heart with more joy than seeing Iowa stop a fake punt.

7. Iowa has done a great job of mixing up their defenses. Everybody has noticed that Iowa has blitzed a lot more this year, but it doesn't end there. Iowa is mixing in zone and man coverage to keep giving quarterbacks different looks. They are letting their corners hang with wide receivers down the field instead of having to decide whether to pass them off to the safeties. Last year, that caused major issues as the cornerbacks were left looking for help from safeties that never came. There is much better communication and coverage from the Hawks defensive backfield.

8. Along that line, Tanner Miller has made such a tremendous step forward from last year to this year. I'm not saying he's an All-B1G talent, but he's gone from bad to solid, and that is not an easy transition to make.

9. I was grumbling a little bit as Iowa only called Weisman runs as they tried to run out the clock, but it set up the bootleg from Beathard, which was a great call as Nebraska sold out to stop Weisman.

Overall, it was one of Iowa's best performances as the defense did not let Nebraska build any momentum, and the offense grinded out enough to keep putting points on the board. There is a decent chance of the Outback Bowl against a member of the SEC. Obviously that can mean only one thing: We Want Bama.

8 Thoughts on Iowa vs. Michigan

Thoughts going into this game: Mostly fear. I can't believe Iowa is 6.5 point favorites. Of course, I have been much higher on Michigan this entire year. Even when they were struggling with Akron and UConn, I still felt they would pull through. I still think Devin Gardner has some great tools to be successful, but that Michigan offense has not been able to put it together.

1. Obviously, the first Rudock interception was bad. Michigan had a perfect call for that play, but had they had a different call, Hamilton was running open for what probably would have been close to a first down. But yeah, that Favrean interception was not fun.

That second interception from Rudock actually looked worse than the first when I watched it live as it looked like he threw it to three Michigan defenders. It was obviously bad, but it is a mistake that a lot of quarterbacks make. He expected Countess to hang with Hamilton, but since he drifted back, he was right in the passing lane for Rudock. It's bad, but it's also a mistake that he can learn from.

The third interception was another play where he thought he could get the ball off, but he got hit just a split second too early. I thought it was going to get overturned, but I don't see this as a big worry going forward.

Outside of that, I really liked some of his decisions. He was willing to wait in the pocket to attack downfield which is not something I had seen enough of early on in the season. It really paid off as he threw some deep (by Iowa standards) balls down the sideline. He also made some quick throws where he made the proper pre-snap reads. You can tell he's getting more comfortable as a quarterback. Before, it was clear that when he had a thought of running, he made the decision to run. On that first touchdown, he ran hard to the outside, but turned his body and delivered a nice ball to Fiedorowicz. Early in the season, he runs that ball, and I think he may have gotten a first, but highly doubt he would have made it into the end zone.

2. I'm falling in love with Jordan Canzeri. He has shown an excellent ability to find the best running lane and just squirt through holes to turn no gains into 3-4 yards.

3. That being said, it's also still fun to see Mark Weisman rumbling down the field. He is basically Mike Alstott in that he is a downhill runner who will always fall forward and offer very little else.

4. That Iowa defense was swarming to the ball. The thing that really helped was Iowa trusting their secondary to make plays. This allowed them to blitz which caused happy feet from Gardner and a lack of space for their running game. Gardner was able to get away a few times and do some damage, but overall, I thought they played very well.

5. Desmond King is definitely my favorite Hawkeye. He sticks to receivers on intermediate routes. He is not the most athletic guy, so he can get beat deep, but his aggressiveness is really paying off. He may not be betting interceptions, but he is breaking passes up and helping to get the defense off the field. The way he was able to hang with Jeremy Gallon was very impressive.

6. Devin Gardner has some talented players around him, but he just can't get the job done. The offensive line is below average in pass protection (worse in run blocking), but I don't think they are awful in handling a regular four-man rush. Fitzgerald Toussaint is a very poor running back. He has all the physical tools, but he is incredibly indecisive in every decision he makes. I like Gallon as a receiver as he knows how to get open. He's not a top prospect, but he's a guy to use a late round pick on and use as a third or fourth receiver to have a reliable option for the quarterback.

7. That final offensive play before Iowa downed the ball was a thing of beauty. Iowa went out and won the game instead of trying to avoid losing. Running on the first two downs was smart, but they had the option of burning 40 seconds of clock or not giving Michigan any chance of winning the game. They chose the latter and it paid off. I was one of the biggest Greg Davis haters last year, and I can fully recognize that he is a good offensive coordinator for Iowa. Kirk puts the shackles on any offensive coordinator, but he has learned to complement the running system with some option-based passing plays. I'd still like to see more passing down the field, but they did go down the sidelines 15-20 yards today, so it was a positive step forward.

8. The Iowa offensive line is fun to watch. That is the number one reason that Iowa is better this year than last year, and I feel like they do not get nearly enough love. One huge reason is that Scherff is a monster. There are so many plays you could point to of him dominating the defense to spring a big play. On the first play of the final Iowa possession, Scherff made it to the second level and sealed off the outside linebacker. Since he's such a huge human being, he also stopped the middle linebacker from being anywhere near Weisman as the running back had an easy 22 yards. An underrated aspect of Iowa's offensive line is that everyone is good. There is no weak link. No team can depend on getting consistent pressure from a basic four-man rush, and they have opened up holes for a variety of running backs all year long. Yes, the stretch left is always going to be the number one play, but the fact that teams can't overload that side in fear of getting destroyed going to the right is crucial to Iowa's success on the ground. Only nerds watch offensive line play, but it is still pretty damn fun to watch Iowa plow forward. 

6 Thoughts on Iowa vs. Purdue

Okay, initial thoughts going into this game can be summed up with, "Oh God, please don't blow this, please don't blow this, please don't blow this..." Purdue is so bad at football, but they really can't play any worse than last week, so they're bound for a bounce back. Still, even if they bounce to their best previous performance, Iowa should still win. I just want you to know that I was terrified going into this game, and that is strictly caused by Iowa's incompetence.

1. Purdue's whole game plan in the first quarter was attack Iowa on the outside. It's a very reasonable strategy, because Iowa really lacks great athletes, so beating them with speed is a solid plan. Iowa struggled early with it, but they made adjustments by keeping contain on the outside and funneling them back in where help can take care of the play.

2. The last play of the first quarter was a thing of beauty by Canzeri. That spin move was the most athletic thing I have seen from a Hawkeye in a long time.

3. That 34 yard pass from Rudock to Shumpert was one of the most depressing big gains a team can have. Shumpert had 5 yards on his defender, because Purdue decided to set a pick on their own team, but the ball was so badly underthrown that Shumpert had to do a 180 while catching the ball.

4. Rudock made up for it with that strike to Kevonte Martin-Manley. It wasn't the smartest throw, but he got it in there, so bravo to Rudock.

5. One thing that really stood out in this game is that holes seemed to be opening up earlier than normal. It made Canzeri the best running option as he is the best at accelerating quickly through a hole, where Bullock and Weisman take a little bit longer to get going, so the holes were closing before they could make it through. I'm looking forward to more Canzeri at the end of this season.

6. Honestly, this wasn't a pretty game by any standards, but Iowa did what they had to do. They ran until they wore down Purdue, and then they could basically do whatever they wanted in the second half. Nothing really stood out; Purdue just doesn't have the talent to compete in the B1G. Honestly, I'm not even sure if they could compete in the MAC.

11 Thoughts on Iowa vs. Northwestern

1. I'm going into this game with high hopes, and if there is one thing Northwestern is known for, it is destroying Iowa's hopes with stupid luck and chicanery.

2. I love when Iowa plays at a fast pace, because it is unlike anything any other team does. They don't spread teams out; they keep things even tighter and just pound the ball to help set up their play action. It is aesthetically pleasing for somebody who loves watching a good run game.

3. Rudock is very good at running the sneak. If they don't stack the middle, he shoots in right behind his center. If they do stack the middle, he just takes his time and goes behind his guard or tackle depending on where he can find some space. A guy like Cam Newton will always be great at sneaks with his athleticism and leg power, but being patient works for less athletic quarterbacks. Tom Brady is an excellent example of this, but I promise this will be the only Brady/Rudock comparison I make today.

4. Iowa used James Morris as a spy this week, which is a way better use of a fourth rusher considering the lack of rush they have been able to generate with their defensive line. Learning lessons from last week is a very positive step forward. It also doesn't hurt that he made a great play on a delayed rush with a sack on Colter.

5. Northwestern showed that although Iowa can handle power running, speed running with misdirection can pick up yardage, especially if the quarterback is a key part of the running game.

6. It is very tough for me to be critical of Iowa's strategies, because it's never poor; it's just often not good enough. That is why it seems as though any time an offense gets a penalty, they can never recover to get that first down. Teams can get ten yards on Iowa, but they'd shut teams down if they changed the rules to go 12 yards.

7. Meyer missed the kick against Northwestern, because these things always happen against Northwestern. He never had a chance.

8. I am glad that even Kirk pointed out that Rudock made the right call on his interception at the end of the game. Trying to thread the needle there is well worth the risk, as an interception did not put Iowa in any danger, and if he is able to complete it, they are set up to try a field goal as time expires in regulation. It's a situation where stats can be deceiving.

9. The touchdown pass to Fiedorowicz was a well designed play. In man coverage, you know the man in coverage has to protect on inside breaking routes, so all he had to do was loft it out there  and count on his tight end having a step on his man.

10. Desmond King makes plays. I am super excited about his future, as he may be the first cornerback since Jovon Johnson who will get crunk on the field.

11. 5-3 is very solid. This team plays everybody tough, and nobody is claiming that Ferentz should be fired. It's a good time to be a Hawkeye.

5 Thoughts on Iowa vs. Iowa State

1. Very impressed with Rudock on his first drive. He showed some mobility, had some pocket presence, and yes, there is room for growth, but he was solid in all areas. The one really weird thing early on is it looked like he was doing three-step drops when the routes were designed for five-step drops. He wasn't firing quick enough, so it would have been more beneficial to have him drop back more and give him room to step into his throws. That pocket was really tight.

On the other hand, he looked off the chain when rolling out of the pocket. It's a good move for young quarterbacks, because it cuts the field in half and gives them a simple high-low read.

2. I love fullbacks. Adam Cox did a great job opening up some holes for the Iowa halfbacks.

3. Iowa dominated the line play in the first half.

4. One thing that bothered me about Weisman is that in the second half he allowed defenders to get under him and push him to the side instead of getting low and falling forward for an extra yard. I think it had to do with fatigue, since I noticed it primarily in the second half, but that's a sign to give Daniels some of those carries.

5. Iowa won, and that is good. They only won by 6, which a lot of people are saying is bad, but I would just look at it as not as good as it could have been. A win's a win, and Iowa thoroughly outplayed Iowa State for the first 53 minutes. They probably should have been up by four or five touchdowns. Instead, they were up by 20 points and played a very safe style of football. Both the offense and defense failed in just about every aspect in those last seven minutes, and it could have cost them had Iowa State gotten two onside kicks. Let's be honest though, sometimes things go wrong, and Iowa failed to receive yet another onside kick, which is bad, but at least they got the second one. And they won the game; that's all that really matters.

Iowa is never going to win style points, so who cares? They went on the road and won against a BCS Conference team. Yes, Iowa State sucks (I think most sane Cyclone fans would agree with that), but Iowa is nothing special either. 7-5 is the goal at this point, because that would mean a .500 record in conference, which is by no means guaranteed, since right now, I can only really see them favored against Minnesota and Purdue.

But with that being said, they got the win, and they are far more fun to watch this year than they were last year. Is it a great time to be a Hawkeye? Not really, but it ain't bad, and after last year, I'll take it.

8 Hawkeyes Football Thoughts For Week 2

1. I'm a terrible football fan. I love it, so, so much, but sometimes my priorities get messed up, and I don't watch nearly as much as I should. Opening weekend, I missed my beloved Hawkeyes because of my bachelor party in Austin, Texas. The only bars that had the game were somehow unable to be competent enough to serve us beers, so we had to make due and watch normal football games.

This week, I had to do some wedding planning stuff in the morning, and then brought my fiancee some lunch. No big deal as I was smart enough to DVR the game. I left the TV on for the dog and carefully changed the channel without looking at the score. I then went to my DVR menu, and although it said that the game was recording on my cable box, it was nowhere to be found on the menu. Perfect. So, all I saw was the last minute of the first half, but I did get to see the second half.

2. Iowa got stopped at the 1.5 yard line after the crowd begged the coaching staff to go for it. They then started booing when they were stopped. THAT'S NOT HOW THIS WORKS. If they do what you want and don't succeed, you shrug your shoulders. And don't give me any crap that you had a better play selected. Yes, maybe a pass would have worked, but if they would have thrown an incomplete, you would've been pissed that they didn't pound Weisman into the end zone.

3. I'm an old school football fan. When I play video games, I basically play like the Iowa Hawkeyes. I try to pound the ball with my running game and only pass when I have to. On defense, I run basic zone coverages with four man rushes. I do use 3 man fronts a little bit more, so I can surprise the offense with where I'm sending that fourth guy. This is a long way of saying that I loved the second drive where they just ran the ball down Missouri State's throat until they got in the end zone.

4. Greg Davis's offense is growing on me, as he starts to grow into it. The thing about his offense is not that he needs fast receivers, he needs quick receivers. Finding quick receivers is much easier than fast receivers, and those quick screens are really just designed to get 5-7 yards, which is definitely possible with some guys with a little bit of elusiveness.

5. I saw limited runs from Daniels. I like his vision as he seems to make good decisions and efficient cuts. I would say he finishes a little high at the end of his runs, but I really like what I see.

6. I also just like the different looks that they get from their four running backs. I would not feel bad about any four of them being the primary ball carrier, although I think Weisman is best suited for this offense. Also, Iowa was basically unstoppable running to the left. That side of the line was just clearing guys out.

7. So the back to back plays where Missouri State scored, I really do not have an issue with either one. The first one, a true Freshman, Desmond King, was trying to make a play. He bit on the pump fake, and they made him pay. That's obviously not good, but it's tough to get real upset about it.

The second one was kind of a fluke. Did Rudock get tricked? Yes, but it was mostly caused because the linebacker slipped right as the play started. When Rudock looked over and saw that, it should be pitch and catch at that point, but the guy recovered, dropped into coverage and made a play. This Iowa offense is built around quick reads, so plays like that are going to happen.

8. The Hawkeyes won. It wasn't pretty, but if Iowa can run effectively, continue to stop the run, and tighten up things in the secondary, they could actually be pretty decent. And by pretty decent, I mean 12-1 before facing Alabama in the National Title game.