I hope people are patient with our new coach

[Scarlet Shack]

Guys

This is not to be a "bash flood" post....

But I really think we are going to need to be patient with our new coach and staff

If you take a good look at our roster right now...it really needs help

There is a lot of guys coming into upper class mode in 2016 (including 10-12 senior starters ) that may keep iud n a similar competitive mode as 2014-2015....competitive in & or 9 games a year but out matched in 3 or 4 of them

But beyond fhat...outside of the secondary who had a trial by fire season and, IMO, was the best defensive position group on the field last season...I don't see the young kids to replace what leaves after 2016. Lot of undercertsoniyy

Combine that with a lot off offensive changes, the inevitable shakeout of some players when a new coach comes in....bottom line is that this a rebuilding job now that really needs three good recruiting classes in a row and having to deal with the bumps of playing them earlier than they should to get better athletes and size on the field

Im hopeful that Chris ash and staff can get this going quicker....with better cosching. But we need to be patient here and hope that we can surprise and be prepared that it make recruiting several classes and growing them up to think middle of the pack of the big ten

 

[zappaa]

I can see and smell upward trend from a mile away. Just being able to lineup and look like we have a clue will be a sign of progress.

 

[RUfromSoCal?]

So, it's a process?

 

[RU-ROCS]

Good post. The cupboard is not totally bare, but there are a lot of empty drawers.

 

[lighty]

I can see and smell upward trend from a mile away. Just being able to lineup and look like we have a clue will be a sign of progress.

I think it was a game against Ohio State when the Big Ten Network announcers were basically laughing at Rutgers for barely being able to line up correctly. Yeah, that would be progress.

 

[Dr. Potato]

Been hearing this for 30 years.

 

[Knight Shift]

The unmitigated desire for instant gratification is heartwarming and frustrating at the same time. We have some passionate, but unrealistic fans. There is no "recipe" for success that works at every school. We know we are unique.

"R" House, has a great foundation that was put in place by a master craftsman. The house is a little dinged up and has some weak spots due to neglect and some moderate diluvial damage. Gutting the house to the studs and rebuilding seems to be the right approach. We have some really bright spots and reasons for hope-an experienced OL, experienced running backs, DBs who, with proper coaching, showed some promise this year. Hamilton is coming back. If Turay gets healthy, the DL may be OK. Yeah, there are lots of question marks.

I am encouraged that Chris Ash and his hires all come from programs that have backgrounds in playing and winning at the highest levels--Ohio State, Florida, Iowa. I don't think we have had this many coaches with championship experience, and our coaching staff is not complete yet. I expect fundamentals to improve--namely tackling on defense. I think Mehringer will fix the WR issue that seemed so perplexing the last two years---why was Carroo the only WR who could get open?

Blue skies are ahead. Patience is indeed needed.

 

[JQRU91]

The roster may need a few years to revamp, but if Ash is good at teaching fundamentals we should be able to see some sort of progress on the field, even if it doesn't translate into wins and losses. Within a year and a half (to install the new scheme), I would expect that we should look much better defensively, even if all the parts are not there yet.

 

[daveo13]

Everyone has to be patient. Give the coach time to implement his culture. Most players will buy in and some will not. Until he gets the majority of the team focused on his direction there will be bumps in the road. There should be more focus to the team going forward. Once in awhile at my work I will be asked by a GC if my company can finish a project that another contractor failed to perform. I say to them when you go to a resteraunt do you bring the ingredients and tell the chef how to cook? Ash is the chef now and he needs his ingredients to make this work. Give it time.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

On ESPN, they say that it typically takes 3 full recruiting classes before we will see a HC's full vision on the field. Of course this 1st class doesn't count anymore than's Flood's 1st class. That means we will see Ash's full vision in 2020.

That doesn't mean we are going to stink it up for 3 full years but that is reality. Hopefully we will see improvement every year leading up to that of course. The 1st year however should be pretty brutal, our program is broken and the few good players that we had are leaving, It will take nothing short of a miracle to win 6 games in 2016 no matter who the HC is.

 

[rufeelinit]

Been hearing this for 30 years.

I think that would be a fair comment for basketball but not football.

 

[bryanjints]

The biggest issue this past year was poor coaching. There is talent on the roster. This is not the situation when Shea left a team full of D2 players on the roster. Many of these kids are good enough for a fair amount of P5 teams.

 

[jakeknight]

When you talk about "talent" on the roster you need to compare this roster with the competition. The RU talent is noticeably subpar compared to 5 teams on the 2016 schedule. (MSU, OSU, PSU, UM, and Iowa) One could argue that it is also clearly sub par to U of Minn. as well. It is clearly no better and maybe not quite as good as at least two other rosters we will face in 2016. So without at least 2-3 substantially better recruiting classes it will be very difficult to reach bowl eligibility in the next 2-3 years. While I certainly expect the product on the field to improve vs. the last regime it is unrealistic to expect a big turnaround in the next few years until the recruiting vs our peer schools improves. While the coaching will be better I don't expect Chris Ash to out coach Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh, and Mark D'Antonio, and Kirk Ferentz on a regular basis so it comes down to getting better talent and coaching up what you have and stealing a game here and there when you have a chance.

 

[RURM85]

Bowl eligible? Flood achieved that in his first year of Rutgers playing in the BIG and most likely fell short by a few points in his second year with a first year QB. I give Ash a pass in his first year since he'll be implementing new offensive and defensive systems along with new tackling technique. I don't give him a pass for year 2. He should at least get us to 6-6 with a bowl game.

 

[RocktheRac]

We haven't been relevant in football since 2005. So 30 years is about right.

 

[Yeah Baby]

I think it was a game against Ohio State when the Big Ten Netwneed toork announcers were basically laughing at Rutgers for barely being able to line up correctly. Yeah, that would be progress.

Meh. We looked like we were lining up well against UNC last year as well as Michigan and Penn St. This year we looked like we knew what we were doing against teams in our realm. Sometimes the other team just kicks your a$$ in every phase including coaching. OSU did that to a lot of teams.

I agree with Shack we need to have patience but for a slightly different reason. We need to build depth to run through our gauntlet of a schedule. We went into Summer Camp with a pretty veteran team in 2015 and lost half our Defense to shenanigans and a very key injury. Then we had True Frshman not only playing but playing hurt because of our lack of depth. The Big Boys like OSU and Michigan St can survive that. We cannot. That is where we need to improve the most. Diamonds in the rough can field some very good teams but we need to build depth with 3 and 4 star players. I am actually way more displeased with players dropping out than the recruiting. If everyone stayed and developed 4-5 years we are a much deeper and better team.

Even looking back to 2006 some of our posters point to the fact that we were basically injury free which is true. But we also had a great combination of Senior leadership, veterans across the board and some shining young stars getting some reps (ie Britt and the McCourty's). THAT is why we were ranked as high as #7 and finished #12. It was talent but it was also depth and retention of players for 4-5 years.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Bowl eligible? Flood achieved that in his first year of Rutgers playing in the BIG

I am not sure if you saw any of the games this year or not but there is a big difference between that team and the team we will have next year. Plus we are losing some of our best players. Most of offense last year was mostly one person and he is gone. Our defense was one of the worse in Rutgers history and near the bottom of the entire FBS this season.

Next year's schedule is actually harder than this year's schedule to boot!

On top of all that we will be installing a brand new offense and defense.

I just don't see anyway we can win 6 wins in 2016. I will be extremely impressed if that happens or better.

 

[MoobyCow]

Agreed. This roster is thin everywhere with LB being an outright disaster. Lots of people are still in a bit of denial about how poor of a job Flood was doing.

 

[RU-05]

On ESPN, they say that it typically takes 3 full recruiting classes before we will see a HC's full vision on the field. Of course this 1st class doesn't count anymore than's Flood's 1st class. That means we will see Ash's full vision in 2020.

That doesn't mean we are going to stink it up for 3 full years but that is reality. Hopefully we will see improvement every year leading up to that of course. The 1st year however should be pretty brutal, our program is broken and the few good players that we had are leaving, It will take nothing short of a miracle to win 6 games in 2016 no matter who the HC is.

We still have talented players who we can hope will carry the load. Starting with Hick's and Martin I think those are 2 very impactful players, beyond those 2 hopefully Muller comes back and anchors the OL, same with Hamilton and the DL.

We lose far and away our best player, and that stings, as does losing the entirety of the LB corps, but the db's should show improvement and I for one thought WR's aside from Carro were vastly underutilized this past season.

So am I expecting miracles? No, but I'm not writing this season off either. A big time coach can work wonders, lets hope Ash is one.

 

[MorrisAsh]

Coach Ash made a couple of references to the team's need to be ready for a very challenging offseason. It's apparent that he will really work the kids hard to push out the weak and the bad apples, while strengthening the survivors. It's a necessary step in trying to change the culture.

I think RU football will be in for a mini version of Bear Bryant's Junction Boys. That first year the team lost most of the team players due to cuts and quitters and they won only one game. Two years later the core of that team went undefeated.

The takeaway is that the OP is right. If Ash is the right guy, we'll have to be patient. If he isn't the right guy, well......

 

[Knight Shift]

I am not sure if you saw any of the games this year or not but there is a big difference between that team and the team we will have next year. Plus we are losing some of our best players. Most of offense last year was mostly one person and he is gone. Our defense was one of the worse in Rutgers history and near the bottom of the entire FBS this season.

Next year's schedule is actually harder than this year's schedule to boot!

On top of all that we will be installing a brand new offense and defense.

I just don't see anyway we can win 6 wins in 2016. I will be extremely impressed if that happens or better.

Reasons for optimism on defense: Hamilton, a healthy Turay (who will get some proper coaching), and experienced DBs-Hester, Cioffi, Wharton, Austin.
Reasons for optimism on offense: Grant, Agudosi, Patton, Hicks, Martin, Peoples, Goodwin--predict Goodwin may move to defense (or Hicks). An experienced OL. Question mark for QB, but likely Laviano/Rettig will be the starter, unless Ash lands a stud dual threat QB.

As far as the schedule , I see it as a push to maybe slightly tougher.

Howard=Norfolk State
Washington<<Washington State
Minnesota<Nebraska
Iowa=Wisconsin
New Mexico>>Kansas
Illinois>Army

But I am always optimistic.

 

[Yeah Baby]

I am not sure if you saw any of the games this year or not but there is a big difference between that team and the team we will have next year. Plus we are losing some of our best players. Most of offense last year was mostly one person and he is gone. Our defense was one of the worse in Rutgers history and near the bottom of the entire FBS this season.

Next year's schedule is actually harder than this year's schedule to boot!

On top of all that we will be installing a brand new offense and defense.

I just don't see anyway we can win 6 wins in 2016. I will be extremely impressed if that happens or better.

Easy Debbie. We looked pretty bad in 2013 (6-7) in the AAC and had a solid inaugural season in 2014 against a very tough BIG schedule (8-5) including a very impressive bowl win against UNC. We looked pretty bad in 2010 (4-8) and came back to win 9 games the following 2 seasons. Did you watch any of those games?

Players develop. We have kids in the program that can play ball.

 

[derleider]

Guys

This is not to be a "bash flood" post....

But I really think we are going to need to be patient with our new coach and staff

If you take a good look at our roster right now...it really needs help

There is a lot of guys coming into upper class mode in 2016 (including 10-12 senior starters ) that may keep iud n a similar competitive mode as 2014-2015....competitive in & or 9 games a year but out matched in 3 or 4 of them

But beyond fhat...outside of the secondary who had a trial by fire season and, IMO, was the best defensive position group on the field last season...I don't see the young kids to replace what leaves after 2016. Lot of undercertsoniyy

Combine that with a lot off offensive changes, the inevitable shakeout of some players when a new coach comes in....bottom line is that this a rebuilding job now that really needs three good recruiting classes in a row and having to deal with the bumps of playing them earlier than they should to get better athletes and size on the field

Im hopeful that Chris ash and staff can get this going quicker....with better cosching. But we need to be patient here and hope that we can surprise and be prepared that it make recruiting several classes and growing them up to think middle of the pack of the big ten

The tale will be told in two stats - recruiting ranking next season and defensive ranking next season. If those don't improve significantly between this year and next, you can write Ash off as a cheap place holder. Both were so bad relative to what we should expect here that if Ash if the real deal, he will improve them just by not being Flood.

But next year on the field - I expect about hte same record - 4 or 5 wins, probably start out 1-5.

 

[RUsojo]

We would all be much happier if Ash was taking over with what Schiano left Flood.

 

[RURM85]

I am not sure if you saw any of the games this year or not but there is a big difference between that team and the team we will have next year. Plus we are losing some of our best players. Most of offense last year was mostly one person and he is gone. Our defense was one of the worse in Rutgers history and near the bottom of the entire FBS this season.

Next year's schedule is actually harder than this year's schedule to boot!

On top of all that we will be installing a brand new offense and defense.

I just don't see anyway we can win 6 wins in 2016. I will be extremely impressed if that happens or better.

You're commenting on my post of which you clearly did not read. I said I give him a pass in year 1 which is 2016, however, no pass in year 2 (2017) for going at least 6-6. Yes, every year I read we're losing our best players. Most programs lose the critical players every year, however, we live in a world where freshmen step up and do great things. Losing players is not an excuse.

And yes I'm a season tickets holder who attends every game.

 

[PatrickRU92]

It a nice thought Shack, but yeah, well that's not going to happen!

 

[koleszar]

When you talk about "talent" on the roster you need to compare this roster with the competition. The RU talent is noticeably subpar compared to 5 teams on the 2016 schedule. (MSU, OSU, PSU, UM, and Iowa) One could argue that it is also clearly sub par to U of Minn. as well. It is clearly no better and maybe not quite as good as at least two other rosters we will face in 2016. So without at least 2-3 substantially better recruiting classes it will be very difficult to reach bowl eligibility in the next 2-3 years. While I certainly expect the product on the field to improve vs. the last regime it is unrealistic to expect a big turnaround in the next few years until the recruiting vs our peer schools improves. While the coaching will be better I don't expect Chris Ash to out coach Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh, and Mark D'Antonio, and Kirk Ferentz on a regular basis so it comes down to getting better talent and coaching up what you have and stealing a game here and there when you have a chance.

In most cases I agree with you that these schools have more talent. But in the case of the bolded schools I think you are confusing talent for coaching. Minnesota and Iowa do not have more talented rosters, they're simply developed and coached better. The others yes there is a clear talent gap especially OSU, UM, psu. MSU has an edge but not by a ton like the others, it's truly amazing what D'Antonio and his staff do year in, year out with that program. I believe they have the best staff in the B1G they're not flashy like the others but outwork and out scheme their opponents all the time. In conclusion yes we are going to suck. Lots of wrong taught by the last regime has to be undone before we can move forward.

 

[PedroPete3]

Some of you are already writing off 2016? What I like about college football is that every year is different. So let the games be played before we are so willing accept loosing.

 

[urbanecane]

My main focus with Ash for the next 2 seasons will be fundamentals (alignment, penalties, and for god's sake can we please not miss tackles?), development, and recruiting. Take a hard look at what our 2 deep at defense will be this year and what the 2 deep at offense will look like the season after that. Our LB depth right now is cringe-worthy and i'm sure we will still be feeling the effects of our depleted secondary. Then, in 2017, we will lose 3-4 starting O-lineman and 4 receivers. By 2018 I expect to at least be optimistic about our roster once again, even if it is youthful.

 

[Knight Ed]

We haven't been relevant in football since 2005. So 30 years is about right.

Math major?

 

[Knight Shift]

Math major?

Kyle Flood helped him with that calculation.:flush:

 

[RealityChech2]

So the excuses have begun!

The schedule will be about the same as this year, not harder.

We have7 starters on D returning.
We have 8 starters on O returning.

This team should make a bowl in 2016.

 

[RUInsanity]

We haven't been relevant in football since 2005. So 30 years is about right.

Math major?

The beauty of this post is that both the math and the statement are wrong. I guess two wrongs make a right?

 

[jakeknight]

Not excuses, just a bit of reality, I don't expect coach Ash to be superman and leap better more talented teams in a single bound. I am excited about the change in regime and looking forward to it. I think he will do a great job and I am looking forward to steady improvement. But given the division we play in there is a significant talent gap with more than half of the teams in the division. Better coaching and better recruited talent will help close the gap but it will be a process over time. I expect and would welcome steady progress and fewer blowout loses.

 

[MoobyCow]

So the excuses have begun!

The schedule will be about the same as this year, not harder.

We have7 starters on D returning.
We have 8 starters on O returning.

This team should make a bowl in 2016.

From a team that stunk and is graduating basically the entirety of what made the offense functional.

 

[Block R]

It a nice thought Shack, but yeah, well that's not going to happen!

Not going to happen? It already isn't happening.

Ash hit the nail on the head in his initial presser that we need some positivity around here. At the very least people could lay off until more info comes out to help better assess the situation (e.g. after all coaching slots filled, signing day passes and Spring ball ends).

 

[bitnez]

It's not that difficult to win 6 college football games. Regardless of changes and/or turnover I see no reason why we can't compete for 6. Think about it, we were horrible this year but if we held off WSU and didn't cough up a huge lead against Maryland we would've had 6.

I'm supporting Ash but no passes from me.

 

[Extra Point]

We should get a lot of wins next year but keep expectations low so you don't post irrational things during the games.

 

[RU31trap]

It's not that difficult to win 6 college football games. Regardless of changes and/or turnover I see no reason why we can't compete for 6. Think about it, we were horrible this year but if we held off WSU and didn't cough up a huge lead against Maryland we would've had 6.

I'm supporting Ash but no passes from me.

If it were not for the arrests and our HC suspension we would have gone 8-4 this year. I truly believe that if we were at full strength and with no distractions we would have beaten WSU, Neb, MSU and MD. What was killing Flood as a head coach was his inability to recruit.

As for the OP, what choice do we really have?

 

[76Scarlet]

I agree with most of what you say. We do need a little patience at least at the start. Just hope we don't get caught in a what comes first "chicken or egg" situation (i.e. to win we need to first get good players but to get good players we need to win).