If Gio starts from Game 1, we go BOWLING

[jerzey devil]

No I didn't. You're saying that I'm saying that the Gio we saw Saturday would have been the Gio we would have seen Game 1, and I didn't say that.

I'm saying

-that Gio would have performed better saturday had he played games 1-6
-we likely would have won the winnable games had Gio played

Big difference between Could and Would.. Yes, Gio could have progressed quite a bit had he started every game...But your stating he would have, like its a fact...Hell he could have went into a 2013 bad Nova tailspin for all we know after OSU and Mich games!! There's just way too many variables to make any claims either way... Now we can play this what if game till the cows come home... But to put this to rest.. I'll say this... What DID happen was the staff saw Gio doing things running scout team that they hadn't seen him doing consistently in practice before hand... He had plenty of chances before that to show he was ready to be "the man" and he hadn't.. Which tells me that he wasn't ready at those points in time... And to say that we "would" have won the winnable games had he been starting since game 1 is an idiotic statement...(and Al.. c'mon man, you've made plenty of those through the years)

 

[yesrutgers01]

It sounds as if Gio just wasn't ready earlier. But under the premise that if he was ready and we had a QB who could make plays...yes, we have at least 1 more win and more than likely a more experienced Gio beats Minn as well. He is still making mistakes but he has shown that he can also move the ball. I am actually surprised of his arm though.

 

[Ruthinking]

Well, at least Ash switched quarterbacks before he switched license plates. Or did he get that taken care of already?

(Still Ohio plates as of the Illinois game).

 

[Ruthinking]

Maybe if we allowed hitting the QB during the spring game and practices, we would have seen Gio rise to the top faster. Or said another way, Laviano is our best QB when we play two hand touch but Gio is best when we have to play football.

 

[rutgersal]

Big difference between Could and Would.. Yes, Gio could have progressed quite a bit had he started every game...But your stating he would have, like its a fact...Hell he could have went into a 2013 bad Nova tailspin for all we know after OSU and Mich games!! There's just way too many variables to make any claims either way... Now we can play this what if game till the cows come home... But to put this to rest.. I'll say this... What DID happen was the staff saw Gio doing things running scout team that they hadn't seen him doing consistently in practice before hand... He had plenty of chances before that to show he was ready to be "the man" and he hadn't.. Which tells me that he wasn't ready at those points in time... And to say that we "would" have won the winnable games had he been starting since game 1 is an idiotic statement...(and Al.. c'mon man, you've made plenty of those through the years)

Its not fact, but its reasonable speculation. Gio helped put up 32 points on a defense that averaged giving up around 20. That is a FACT.

 

[yesrutgers01]

It's hard for me to envision Rettig performing worse than what we saw the first 6 games. He surely deserved more of an opportunity than Allen, who had trouble completing passes. but I'm happy that Gio has seized his opportunity.

It would have been hard to envision someone like Allen looking worse then CL did in the first 6 games and somehow he did. What makes you so sure that a QB that 3 staffs have buried could not possibly be worse?

 

[rutgersal]

It would have been hard to envision someone like Allen looking worse then CL did in the first 6 games and somehow he did. What makes you so sure that a QB that 3 staffs have buried could not possibly be worse?

Because though raw, I felt he flashed some ability in the first half vs norfolk state, and in completing long passes against OSU (58 yards) and Wisconsin (49 yards). Yes it was garbage time, but so what. to not even be able to see what the guy could do is disappointing.

 

[zwicker]

I would put Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota in the win columns. We certainly don't get shutout by OSU and Michigan.

The million dollar question is why did it take so long to make the qb switch?

Flood made Ash sit the top QB.

 

[RUforlife]

I think we have 2 more wins . We beat Iowa and get another one .

Really, how do you know he doesn't throw a pick 6, fumble a hand off, or make the wrong read and we lose by more? I think the kid shows promise, but of all of sudden we have fans thinking he is a three year starter coming off an injury, not a kid playing in his first real college competition. The kid is going to have some tough afternoons, people, it is to be expected.

 

[rutgersal]

Really, how do you know he doesn't throw a pick 6, fumble a hand off, or make the wrong read and we lose by more? I think the kid shows promise, but of all of sudden we have fans thinking he is a three year starter coming off an injury, not a kid playing in his first real college competition. The kid is going to have some tough afternoons, people, it is to be expected.

i don't care if we lose every remaining game. Watching Gio is like a dream compared to watching Laviano struggle.

 

[RUMountie]

But he did not, he did not have a good spring.

Yeah, but Laviano (who I like and appreciate alot) in no way fits this offense. As a head coach or an OC you have to have some vision for each player's potential in the context of the system/scheme. Hard for me to believe you look at Gio compared to all of the other QBs on the roster and not see he had the most upside for this season and maybe the next 2 as well. I thought he was not considered because he couldn't throw, but the last two weeks prove he has a live and reasonably accurate arm. I think we would be 5-3 right now if he was brought along quicker IMHO.

 

[FanuSanu52]

No I didn't. You're saying that I'm saying that the Gio we saw Saturday would have been the Gio we would have seen Game 1, and I didn't say that.

I'm saying

-that Gio would have performed better saturday had he played games 1-6
-we likely would have won the winnable games had Gio played

How about the flipside:

Gio plays before he's ready, makes tons of mistakes, loses confidence, gets buried on depth chart. We still lose all those games, maybe worse. Now we're stuck with the #2 qb for the foreseeable future ... laviano. Enjoy few to no season highlights, whatsoever.

Just as possible, and in fact more likely based on what observers have said about springtime Gio.

In the end, who cares. Not changing the past, but at least future looks a lil brighter.

 

[NorthNJRUFan]

I love the fact that Al put Minnesota in the win column. I hope that was appreciated by others

 

[RUMountie]

Actually, I think if Grant doesn't get hurt, we beat Iowa and Minnesota. Not sure if even a healthy Grant could overcome 5 turnovers in the Illinois game.

If Grant doesn't get hurt and Gio plays close to what he did against Minny we smash Iowa, Illinois and Minny.

 

[NotInRHouse]

We had 3 trips to the endzone against Iowa with no score. I would think Gio converts one of those.

Seems like a stretch to say Gio was worse than Laviano LDW but somehow in 6 weeks of practice suddenly leapfrogged him.

He went from worse than Laviano level (basically AA caliber) to someone who had a B1G bowl team on its heels on their homecoming?

Sorry that doesn't pass the smell test. With Odin randomly playing Saturday I think the staff is at a minimum confused on QB issues.

 

[JQRU91]

It's hard to say for sure what would have happened if Gio had started since the beginning of the season. We'd probably have at least one more win, maybe two or even three, and Gio would be further along in his development. But if he'd played against Ohio State and Michigan and couple that with the beating he just took against Minnesota, maybe he'd be out for the next few games or even the season. Then we'd probably be looking at Laviano getting the next start against Indiana. So... (shrugs)

 

[AshCatchEm]

why is nobody happy that this staff developed gio into a starting quarterback? he sucked in the spring, he was one of the most improved players this summer, and hes continued to progress ever since. he has only like 8 months to learn under a former spread QB. yet for some reason his development is a negative with most of the fanbase...I just don't understand the "logic"

 

[AshCatchEm]

Very wild. A kid who accounts for 2 or three TDs every game wouldn't have helped us beat a team we lost to 14-7 or a team we lost to by 2 points..

very wild to imagine this kid has continuously progressed as the season has continued thanks to the good work put in by our staff. sorry it didn't work with your boy laviano. thank goodness we don't have to deal with him anymore.

 

[kapyoche]

Is this his last year? The QB competition next year is going to be brutal.

 

[bac2therac]

can we get ONE win with Gio first without starting a revisionist history about the season and going bowling.....ah Rutgers fans smh

 

[NewJerseyGuy]

This thread is mind-bowling.

 

[rutgersal]

It's hard to say for sure what would have happened if Gio had started since the beginning of the season. We'd probably have at least one more win, maybe two or even three, and Gio would be further along in his development. But if he'd played against Ohio State and Michigan and couple that with the beating he just took against Minnesota, maybe he'd be out for the next few games or even the season. Then we'd probably be looking at Laviano getting the next start against Indiana. So... (shrugs)

The staff gets a merit for recognizing and developing Gio.

but a demerit for
-sticking with Laviano too long
-playing Allen over Gio
-needlessly burning Odens redshirt for limited benefit

 

[rutgersal]

Is this his last year? The QB competition next year is going to be brutal.

He's got two more years after this year, which will hopefully allow Lewis to redshirt.

 

[mildone]

The staff gets a merit for recognizing and developing Gio.

but a demerit for
-sticking with Laviano too long
-playing Allen over Gio
-needlessly burning Odens redshirt for limited benefit

The demerit thing is kind of ridiculous. Everything looks obvious in hindsight, Al.

My guess is that if you were in meeting rooms and practices and saw everything they saw, and you had at least a half dozen years of CFB coaching experience in good programs to help you form conclusions, that you would have agreed with 99% of all coaching decisions made this season at the time they were made.

The only reason I only say 99% is that you could put Saban and Meyer in the same room and they aren't going to agree 100% on everything.

 

[ru8081]

You guys are missing the point. If the previous staff had played both Rettig and Gio more LAST YEAR, we would know THIS YEAR what they have. And playing guys in garbage time does not get the job done in terms of evaluation. We are suffering from terrible QB recruiting in the last 4 years. Hopefully Gio is the exception to the rule.