Good article by Iseman on Kaliakmanis's play and improvement

[RU848789]

Well done article. The improvements in our passing game have been significant vs. last year, as we're now in the middle of the pack in the B1G as opposed to at the bottom, plus his 14/6 TD//INT ratio is pretty good. Of course, having a great RB and better WRs than last year have helped some, but much of the improvement is clearly due to AK's better accuracy and decision-making.

He’s been exactly what Rutgers has needed. Against Maryland he went 20-of-30 passing for 238 yards with two touchdowns. His throws were strong and accurate. Most importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over.

In the process, Kaliakmanis eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark for the season, becoming the first Rutgers quarterback to do so since Chris Laviano in 2015. Kaliakmanis is 10th in the conference with 2,128 passing yards. He’s thrown 14 touchdowns with six interceptions.

Through the Scarlet Knights’ 12 regular-season games last year, they ranked 124th in passing yards per game (142.0) and 120th in total offense (307.4 yards per game). So far this season those rankings have jumped to 81st (212.8 yards per game) and 76th (382.2), respectively.

It’s not a huge jump, but it’s still been the type of improvement Rutgers needed. The Scarlet Knights were mostly anemic last year offensively.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/s...akmanis-just-what-offense-needed/76425539007/

 

[Knight Shift]

Well done article. The improvements in our passing game have been significant vs. last year, as we're now in the middle of the pack in the B1G as opposed to at the bottom, plus his 14/6 TD//INT ratio is pretty good. Of course, having a great RB and better WRs than last year have helped some, but much of the improvement is clearly due to AK's better accuracy and decision-making.

He’s been exactly what Rutgers has needed. Against Maryland he went 20-of-30 passing for 238 yards with two touchdowns. His throws were strong and accurate. Most importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over.

In the process, Kaliakmanis eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark for the season, becoming the first Rutgers quarterback to do so since Chris Laviano in 2015. Kaliakmanis is 10th in the conference with 2,128 passing yards. He’s thrown 14 touchdowns with six interceptions.

Through the Scarlet Knights’ 12 regular-season games last year, they ranked 124th in passing yards per game (142.0) and 120th in total offense (307.4 yards per game). So far this season those rankings have jumped to 81st (212.8 yards per game) and 76th (382.2), respectively.

It’s not a huge jump, but it’s still been the type of improvement Rutgers needed. The Scarlet Knights were mostly anemic last year offensively.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/s...akmanis-just-what-offense-needed/76425539007/

I have said before that Iseman is the dean of "regular press" (old line newspaper) Rutgers beat writers.

By the way, posted this in another thread--The drop rate for Rutgers WRs is double what it was last year. Just adding back in half of the drops bumps Athan's completion percentage to just under 60%

Double the drop rate over 2023:



@ADavidHaleJoint

13 drops all year in ‘23. So closing in on doubling it.

 

[goru7]

Athan’s game against Maryland was his most accurate game by a decent margin. He hit his tall receivers where they could easily catch the ball and I do not recall 1 throw behind the receivers , even when he hit Miller when he was blitzed and hit. Previous weeks always had a number of balls behind receivers and drops. There were no drops on Saturday against Maryland. If Kirk calls more pass plays and Athan is accurate to our tall receivers Strong and Duff and hits Miller in stride then a lot more yards after catch as well . Sprinkle in Kyle running and finally Kirk has the defensive coordinator uncomfortable and guessing. Something he should have been doing all along.

 

[RU848789]

I have said before that Iseman is the dean of "regular press" (old line newspaper) Rutgers beat writers.

By the way, posted this in another thread--The drop rate for Rutgers WRs is double what it was last year. Just adding back in half of the drops bumps Athan's completion percentage to just under 60%

Double the drop rate over 2023:

View embedded media

@ADavidHaleJoint

13 drops all year in ‘23. So closing in on doubling it.

Agreed on Iseman. Good stat on the drop rate.

 

[ashokan]

I have said before that Iseman is the dean of "regular press" (old line newspaper) Rutgers beat writers.

By the way, posted this in another thread--The drop rate for Rutgers WRs is double what it was last year. Just adding back in half of the drops bumps Athan's completion percentage to just under 60%

Double the drop rate over 2023:

View embedded media

@ADavidHaleJoint

13 drops all year in ‘23. So closing in on doubling it.

Throwing harder-to-catch passes to WRs who have a better chance to catch them.
Last year there were few long passes - GS said OL couldn't block for them
The passes left to throw were the short Playskool passes to short side lines and middle bubble.
Nobody could be depended on to make contested catches last year so they were rarely risked.
This year there are more of those as AK said.
AK also can overdo the short fireballs receivers cant always catch

 

[Knight Shift]

Throwing harder-to-catch passes to WRs who have a better chance to catch them.
Last year there were few long passes - GS said OL couldn't block for them
The passes left to throw were the short Playskool passes to short side lines and middle bubble.
Nobody could be depended on to make contested catches last year so they were rarely risked.
This year there are more of those as AK said.
AK also can overdo the short fireballs receivers cant always catch

The lower drop rates also could also be a factor of the number of poorly-thrown uncatchable passes by GW too. These stats can always be parsed away in different ways, but you are correct GW did not throw many deep balls. What is interesting is Rutgers has "better" receivers this year, but more drops. The numbers can be confounded by the additional number of passes thrown, if that makes any sense. Regardless, hopefully the passing game is moving in a more aggressive direction going forward and RU does not revert back to their old offense we save in the first 8 games.

 

[ashokan]

The lower drop rates also could also be a factor of the number of poorly-thrown uncatchable passes by GW too. These stats can always be parsed away in different ways, but you are correct GW did not throw many deep balls. What is interesting is Rutgers has "better" receivers this year, but more drops. The numbers can be confounded by the additional number of passes thrown, if that makes any sense. Regardless, hopefully the passing game is moving in a more aggressive direction going forward and RU does not revert back to their old offense we save in the first 8 games.

GW was anatomically a deep ball thrower but those plays were not called (a good one was Washington catch vs M'land).
Last years receiving corps was the worst of the GS era - wouldn't have started on BE teams.

 

[RUtrumpet92]

You can't drop a GW pass that is thrown outside your catch radius. I have to figure that's part of the higher drop total this year. AK already has more attempts than GW did all last season, too.

I would argue a 25% increase in total yards per game is a pretty dramatic improvement for the offense. I love our WR room. I wish we had Miller for another season. I guess next year it is Duff and Strong as the starters going into camp, with Black pushing for time too. Will Brantley be able to play next year?

 

[RU at the shore]

I hope so. But I am not putting a lot of stock in last week. The Maryland DBs were terrible.

 

[RUTGERS95]

I have said before that Iseman is the dean of "regular press" (old line newspaper) Rutgers beat writers.

By the way, posted this in another thread--The drop rate for Rutgers WRs is double what it was last year. Just adding back in half of the drops bumps Athan's completion percentage to just under 60%

Double the drop rate over 2023:

View embedded media

@ADavidHaleJoint

13 drops all year in ‘23. So closing in on doubling it.

what is interesting is that this issue has followed him. I have to imagine that he's a part of it whether position of pass, speed, etc..

odd that he suffers (seemingly) from high drop rates.

 

[Knight Shift]

GW was anatomically a deep ball thrower but those plays were not called (a good one was Washington catch vs M'land).
Last years receiving corps was the worst of the GS era - wouldn't have started on BE teams.

I don't disagree about the receiving corps last year, but don't you think if GW was such a great deep ball thrower, he would have been used more by Kentucky this year? He did thrown one very nice deep ball 2 or 3 games ago, but that was followed (or preceded) by several poorly thrown passes. GW may have the ability to throw a deep ball, but his Achilles' heel seems to be consistency.

Last week against some cupcake U, the second team reps went to freshman QB Cutter Boley, and Stoops said this week that Boley would get the second (and first) team reps this week.

 

[Doctorzit]

I hope so. But I am not putting a lot of stock in last week. The Maryland DBs were terrible.

In my opinion the major change allowing for a better completion rate was the increased time Kaliakmanis has to find his receivers. If one watches the last game again he was not hurried very often. This week Illinois will put much more pressure on him. Hopefully,he can compensate.

 

[RUTGERS95]

GW was anatomically a deep ball thrower but those plays were not called (a good one was Washington catch vs M'land).
Last years receiving corps was the worst of the GS era - wouldn't have started on BE teams.

you are one my favorite posters for a variety of reasons but you completely lose your mind in some alternate universe when it comes to Gav. It's like you found the gospel of tardation and start posting anytime he comes up

 

[LeapinLou]

IMOP Kaliakmanis throws a hot short/mid range ball, ala Brett Favre. Yes, guys at this level should still catch it, but in the offseason he may want to work on taking some heat off the fastball when a softer toss will get the job done.

Against Maryland, the guys caught everything and it was a non-issue.

 

[jtung230]

AK is very streaky. In the Minny game, great 1st half and terrible 2nd half. In the MD game, first few series were terrible and back on track the rest of the game. We are more balance but the running game has taken a step back.

 

[satnom]

AK is very streaky. In the Minny game, great 1st half and terrible 2nd half. In the MD game, first few series were terrible and back on track the rest of the game. We are more balance but the running game has taken a step back.

Have no issue with taking step back in running to take steps forward to a WIN.

GO RU

 

[Eagleton96]

IMOP Kaliakmanis throws a hot short/mid range ball, ala Brett Favre. Yes, guys at this level should still catch it, but in the offseason he may want to work on taking some heat off the fastball when a softer toss will get the job done.

Against Maryland, the guys caught everything and it was a non-issue.

The Minnesota receivers had an unusually high drop rate last year too. Might be a pattern.

 

[mdk01]

I have said before that Iseman is the dean of "regular press" (old line newspaper) Rutgers beat writers.

By the way, posted this in another thread--The drop rate for Rutgers WRs is double what it was last year. Just adding back in half of the drops bumps Athan's completion percentage to just under 60%

Double the drop rate over 2023:

View embedded media

@ADavidHaleJoint

13 drops all year in ‘23. So closing in on doubling it.

Dremel didn't drop many. But was it the Nebraska game where the drop rate was terrible? I think it's gotten better as the youngsters gained experience.

 

[jtung230]

The Minnesota receivers had an unusually high drop rate last year too. Might be a pattern.

His passes are close enough to get hands or fingers on it but not on the money.

 

[Knight Shift]

His passes are close enough to get hands or fingers on it but not on the money.

All of them?

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

AK is very streaky. In the Minny game, great 1st half and terrible 2nd half. In the MD game, first few series were terrible and back on track the rest of the game. We are more balance but the running game has taken a step back.

I mean - of course the running game dropped off. We lost 2 of our best OL players. That was going to be a given. Look at Pacheco’s numbers with a weak OL.

 

[jtung230]

All of them?

That’s the only explanation because it’s following him from school to school. Also, GS keeps praising the WRs when discussing AK’s improvement.

 

[jtung230]

I mean - of course the running game dropped off. We lost 2 of our best OL players. That was going to be a given. Look at Pacheco’s numbers with a weak OL.

Funny it didn’t impact pass protection.

 

[Knight Shift]

That’s the only explanation because it’s following him from school to school. Also, GS keeps praising the WRs when discussing AK’s improvement.

Sincere questions:
Are you anti Athan?
Do you miss Gavin?

Funny it didn’t impact pass protection.

Different blocking scheme for pass protection and run game. Also, RB stays in to block during pass plays.

 

[Eagleton96]

His passes are close enough to get hands or fingers on it but not on the money.

As others have said, he fires them in hot. When the receivers are in a groove, they catch them. But I do think it increases the odds of a drop if the pass is delivered at top speed.

 

[jtung230]

Sincere questions:
Are you anti Athan?
Do you miss Gavin?

Different blocking scheme for pass protection and run game. Also, RB stays in to block during pass plays.

No one is talking about GW but you here. We are talking about why AK has high drop rates at Minny and RU.

True that blocking schemes are different but I would argue pass blocking is much harder.

 

[Knight Shift]

No one is talking about GW but you here. We are talking about why AK has high drop rates at Minny and RU.

True that blocking schemes are different but I would argue pass blocking is much harder.

But are you anti Athan. Maybe misinterpreting in your posts, but it seems you never have any praise for him. The passing game is definitely much better than last year, and part of that is due to the quarterback.

 

[jtung230]

But are you anti Athan. Maybe misinterpreting in your posts, but it seems you never have any praise for him. The passing game is definitely much better than last year, and part of that is due to the quarterback.

I think you can go back and see my posts that I agree the passing game is better. I just wish he can be a better runner to help the run game. The only thing I miss from GW is that short yardage HB lead power play. Don’t you remember all the highlights of KM crushing guys as lead blocker. But back to the subject why drop passes have followed AK. The common denominator is AK.

 

[Knight Shift]

I think you can go back and see my posts that I agree the passing game is better. I just wish he can be a better runner to help the run game. The only thing I miss from GW is that short yardage HB lead power play. Don’t you remember all the highlights of KM crushing guys as lead blocker. But back to the subject why drop passes have followed AK. The common denominator is AK.

Yes, it is a common denominator, but is it the cause? Would need to see film. Have not studied it that closely. You said above--"His passes are close enough to get hands or fingers on it but not on the money." I don't agree with this. Great receivers will make most of those catches. There is a break point on "fingers," past the finger tips, but there is an old adage- if you can touch it, you can catch it.

You wish he was a better runner- you do see he had a knee or leg brace on most of the season? That will hinder running ability. Disagreement is what these boards are here for, but we probably do not agree that the QB position has overall been upgraded over last year. Waiting for ashokan to jump in with his better receivers mantra, but even so, I think the position has been upgraded overall, even factoring in the QB run game.

 

[ruteelrice]

In the amount of time you keep saying common denominator you could be watching film. Most recently Miller had a disaster of a 2nd half against Minnesota and was dropping perfect passes.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Does this mean the people lamenting the choice of AK over GW were wrong all along?

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

... The only thing I miss from GW is that short yardage HB lead power play. Don’t you remember all the highlights of KM crushing guys as lead blocker. ...

KM ran for 5.2 YPC in 2023
GW was 3.8.. which tied Benjamin

We didn't need a running QB.. we needed a more accurate passing QB. I do agree, having both in one player would be nice.

 

[jtung230]

KM ran for 5.2 YPC in 2023
GW was 3.8.. which tied Benjamin

We didn't need a running QB.. we needed a more accurate passing QB. I do agree, having both in one player would be nice.

We need a running QB for those short yardage situations. Yes, I’m looking for a QB that can do both.

 

[RU#1fan]

IMOP Kaliakmanis throws a hot short/mid range ball, ala Brett Favre. Yes, guys at this level should still catch it, but in the offseason he may want to work on taking some heat off the fastball when a softer toss will get the job done.

Against Maryland, the guys caught everything and it was a non-issue.

Black caught a bullet thrown over his head. Great catch.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

We need a running QB for those short yardage situations. Yes, I’m looking for a QB that can do both.

FYI.. Athan is averaging 2.1 this year. Sheppard has only 3 carries but averages 8.0

 

[ruteelrice]

FYI.. Athan is averaging 2.1 this year. Sheppard has only 3 carries but averages 8.0

Your QB running stat posts suggest you don't know sack yards are counted against them

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Your QB running stat posts suggest you don't know sack yards are counted against them

And why would a "running QB" have a lot of sack yards?

Could it be because defenses do not fear his passing and sends the house against him?

Could it be because he doesn't use his running skills to get out of danger and gain yards?

Bottom line.. the offense is better despite a 2.1 YPC stat for AK.. which also includes sack yardage.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

And why would a "running QB" have a lot of sack yards?

Could it be because defenses do not fear his passing and sends the house against him?

Could it be because he doesn't use his running skills to get out of danger and gain yards?

Bottom line.. the offense is better despite a 2.1 YPC stat for AK.. which also includes sack yardage.

What part of what KS said about the damn knee brace do folks not understand? Why is this being completely ignored? Athan was way more mobile before that brace appeared. He’s gradually become more mobile again the past few weeks. During the early part of the losing streak he was clearly in bad shape and could not run at all. Folks need to revisit the tape. This isn’t debatable.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

What part of what KS said about the damn knee brace do folks not understand? Why is this being completely ignored? Athan was way more mobile before that brace appeared. He’s gradually become more mobile again the past few weeks. During the early part of the losing streak he was clearly in bad shape and could not run at all. Folks need to revisit the tape. This isn’t debatable.

I agree completely. But, surely, AK's ability to complete passes far outstrips any need for him to run.. though running and avoiding sacks is a great feature in a QB when available.

I wanted GW to stay , if not start, and to continually improve in his remaining time. But it was clear for several seasons now his inaccuracy was a huge problem for the offense. All he needed to do was learn to complete quick slants and screens to punish over-aggressive blitzing teams and he did not do that.

If GW had quick feet (not top speed once going) to evade rushers and gain yards like a true running QB even that would have made him a plus to the offense rather than a minus. Then add in his long throwing motion and slow delivery... it was too much. We had to make a change.. even if the change did not work out it was worth trying.

GS- IT WORKED OUT!

 

[mildone]

AK is more consistently accurate than GW was, but obviously not nearly as good a runner. AK's accuracy appears to become much more GW-like when under heavy pressure or, with a couple notable exceptions, when throwing on the run.

Our overall passing game this season is benefiting greatly from better OL pass blocking and much better WRs, especially in the past couple games. And MD's secondary was really very bad.

AK is also likely benefiting statistically from not having to play teams overflowing with elite DBs and LBs like the 3 teams GW faced last season (OSU, UM, PSU).

While I think that GW, with this year's OL and WRs, would have significantly better stats at RU than he did in 2023, I still think AK is probably the slightly better QB overall. But I don't think it's nearly the huge difference so many of our fans make it out to be.