Iowa’s passive rush

IOWA CITY - The ghost of 2010 continues to spook Iowa's defense, especially on passing downs.

Iowa boasted perhaps the nation's best defensive line that year, yet it struggled to contain dual-threat quarterbacks. One play in particular scorched the Hawkeyes that season, and it remains fresh to Iowa defenders four years later.

With four minutes left and No. 20 Iowa leading No. 7 Ohio State 17-13, the Buckeyes faced fourth-and-10 at the 50. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor rolled right, but no receivers were open. Iowa lost contain to the left, however, and Pryor scrambled for 14 yards. The drive culminated in a game-winning touchdown five plays later, and Iowa was dealt with another excruciating defeat.

Pryor's run wasn't an outlier against Iowa; it has become the norm. Northwestern's Dan Persa (2010) and Kain Colter (2011-13) also terrorized Iowa's third-down defense, as did Iowa State's Steele Jantz in 2011. Last year, Ohio State's Braxton Miller recorded almost the same highlight to Pryor's run. With the game tied 24-24 and the Buckeyes facing third-and-7 from Iowa's 28, Miller ran right and was trapped. Iowa lost containment on the left side, then Miller broke free across the field and ran for nine yards. The next play Ohio State took the lead for good.

'It's a little tough because when I first got here that was one thing we always struggled with - quarterbacks that got out,” said Iowa senior defensive tackle Carl Davis, who watched Pryor's run while a red-shirt in 2010. 'I remember even when Adrian (Clayborn) and all those guys were here and Pryor got loose and got out on that fourth-down situation. Ever since then it's been something that's been emphasized.”

Iowa stressed containing Iowa State quarterback Sam Richardson last week, and the scheme had the opposite effect in a 20-17 loss. The Hawkeyes registered no sacks and little disruption to Richardson, and the defensive line became passive. That still visibly frustrates Davis three days after the defeat.

'That's a credit to their offense. They schemed us well,” Davis said. 'They knew we wanted to contain (Richardson), and we couldn't let him out. He got loose a couple of times, and I feel like we were just thinking too much rather than just playing Iowa defense and just giving everything we've got. We were thinking too much up front and all over the field, honestly.”

Richardson took advantage of Iowa's lack of pass rush, completing 10 of 11 passes in the third quarter alone for 75 yards. At one point he connected on seven consecutive passes. Richardson still was able to make plays with his legs. On third-and-4 from the Iowa 39, Richardson broke out of the pocket and ran for 12 yards. On the next play, with Iowa playing passive up front, Richardson found running back DeVondrick Nealy on a time-consuming wheel route against linebacker Reggie Spearman for a 27-yard touchdown.

'We were in a little bit of contain mode, but I think we all just got scared when he broke one contain on us, and we don't want that to happen again,” Iowa defensive end Drew Ott said. 'I think we were a little too cautious in our pass rush. Obviously we didn't get enough pressure or any sacks or anything like that.”

Iowa, which had seven sacks in its first two games, generated no pass rush at all on Iowa State's game-winning drive. With the score tied 17-17 and just 4:08 left, ISU took over at its 25. The Cyclones converted a pair of third downs - one on an Iowa penalty, one with a 7-yard pass on third-and-5 - and moved into field goal position.

'I almost wonder a little bit in retrospect if our guys might have been a little paralyzed by analysis,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'We have respect for their running ability. This quarterback runs a lot, too. But at some point you got to cut it loose a little bit and go.”

Iowa plans to alter its philosophy this week against Pittsburgh. Davis and Ott both said the team needs to generate more pressure without sacrificing containment. While that's a challenge, it won't allow a quarterback to pick apart the defense without pressure.

'What we've got to do is take our chances with it and just rush,” Davis said. 'We've got to go. I know I was a little passive last week in the passing situations. I wasn't doing what I normally would do because I had a fear of creating the pocket, a gap for the quarterback to escape. That's something I've got to work on this week in practice.”

'We'll pin our ears back a little more this week and get after them, hopefully,” Ott said.

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