In Defense of Laviano.......

[scarletschuyler]

....I figured this would draw some attention. However, let me observe the following:
I was at the Big House two weeks ago, and without Carroo the Rutgers receivers got absolutely no separation from their defenders. With very few exceptions there was nobody open for Laviano to throw to the whole game.
Also, against Nebraska all Laviano could do is run for his life against an essentially unblocked Nebraska defensive line. Maybe Rettig can throw better, but he certainly would have been no better at running and scrambling.
Last year we all complained about Nova; now we bitch about Laviano. None of these resemble Mike McMahon, but few of us were absolutely anti- Laviano before the season started. Has he fallen against our expectations, or do we suffer from: a poor offensive line, poor receivers who have not stood up in the absense of Carroo, and a defense that is not able to contain B1G offenses (with the exception of Longa).
We all praise the QB when we win and bury him when we lose, but I suggest that our QB play is but one of many problems this team faces every Saturday.
OK, now you can crucify me.

 

[lighty]

, but few of us were absolutely anti- Laviano before the season started

Actually many people were excited at the idea of Rettig as QB to start the season.

I'm not saying Rettig would have fared better. But seriously, he could hardly have done worse than we've seen.

 

[Plum Street]

Please stop.

 

[jmc11201]

I just think Laviano has no confidence right now and that bringing in someone with a fresh set of eyes and a degree of enthusiasm would give the team a better chance of going 1-0 this week.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Rettig looked better in the Spring. Looked better in the Summer, according to experts, and looked good in the 1st half vs Howard.

I don't hate Laviano or anything like that, he will make a good backup moving forward. I just hope he is getting a great education and a great degree.

 

[rbled]

The one advantage that strong-armed QB has is that they can fit balls into tighter windows, especially short out and dig routes. Complete a few of these and the secondary has to tighten up coverage on underneath routes which opens up the middle of the field and leaves the secondary susceptible to double moves. Not sure if Rettig is capable of making these throws consistently, however it is clear that defenses have been able to play off receivers with Laviano knowing that they have time to close if it comes their way. Plus Laviano seems reluctant to try to fit throws into tight coverage, probably knowing he lacks the arm strength to do so.

Not every QB needs a cannon arm to be successful and Laviano seems smart and could potentially do well in the right system with the right pieces around him. However right now since other than Carroo, none of our WRs are able to get much separation, we need a QB that is capable of throwing guys open. I don't know if Rettig is that QB but I am certain tha Laviano is not.

 

[T2Kplus10]

CL is just a very limited QB, with limited skills. There's nothing wrong with wanted the more talented Rettig to start.

 

[RU Husky]

I was also at the Michigan game . Having never seen either QB in person, I watched both of them closely in warm ups . It was pretty windy on the field in Ann Arbor and I was unimpressed with Rettig's arm strength (supposedly his biggest asset). His ball floated even more than Laviano's. I'm really not that certain that Rettig would be a difference maker but Laviano definitely earned a spot on the bench after producing nothing in 3 straight games. Rettig should have started against Nebraska. Flood had nothing to lose and had Rettig faltered as badly as Laviano, he could have silenced a few of his critics, but certainly not the most strident ones who frequent this board, by playing Rettig. Had Rettig played well, perhaps the season could have been saved and maybe Flood's job with it. Maybe it's a good thing that he stuck with Laviano.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

The OP isn't really off base: our group of WR's is NOT nearly as good as some here kept telling us they were, based on spring practice and summer camp, lol!

 

[NickKnight 1]

To quote you " Rettig will be no better at running or scrambling."
You know who has the best yards per attempts? Martin? no
James? no Hicks, no they all have between 4 to 5 yards per carry.
The winner is Rettig with over 8.4 yds per carry. How you like them
apples?

 

[Caliknight]

Rettig is more mobile than I thought he would be as evidenced in the Howard game.

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

CL is just a very limited QB, with limited skills. There's nothing wrong with wanted the more talented Rettig to start.

Very Limited, aka, stinks.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Rettig is more mobile than I thought he would be as evidenced in the Howard game.

Yeah I've been trying to figure out, since that TD run - granted against Howard, but he showed he can do it, and wasn't exactly "slow" - why people keep saying that he's not mobile. No, he's not a "running QB," but neither is Laviano.

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

Yeah I've been trying to figure out, since that TD run - granted against Howard, but he showed he can do it, and wasn't exactly "slow" - why people keep saying that he's not mobile. No, he's not a "running QB," but neither is Laviano.

Laviano has awful pocket presence.
He crumbles with the hint of pressure.

He should be playing at Wagner

 

[RU Husky]

Rettig is more mobile than I thought he would be as evidenced in the Howard game.

I think you mean Norfolk State,but what kind of sample was that?

 

[RUinPAC10land]

I dunno... Perhaps our receivers are running lazy routes because they know that Laviano can't hit them with accuracy after X amount of yards. Perhaps, defenses are crowding the box not respecting his ability to throw deep. Perhaps, our play calling is not creative enough to make up for these deficiencies. When I watched the WSU and Fresno State game, I saw a lot of bubble screens to neutralize the pass rush. Our offense has tried this a few times with Grant and execution of this play seems to have a lot of room for improvement. Can Rettig do a better job with the bubble screen and drawing the safeties back so our running backs have more room? We will never know because of this time of the Flood (pun intended).

 

[anvilofstars]

To quote you " Rettig will be no better at running or scrambling."
You know who has the best yards per attempts? Martin? no
James? no Hicks, no they all have between 4 to 5 yards per carry.
The winner is Rettig with over 8.4 yds per carry. How you like them
apples?

Rettig has -1 rush yards for the season. How does that compute to 8.4 yards per carry? Are we saying he has negative carries as well?

 

[RU205]

I don't know if Rettig is the answer, but the way the offense is not moving the ball why not give him a chance. Maybe he gets the offense going and they score some points. Maybe he doesn't and the result will be the same.

right now things aren't working so try something different.

 

[ScarletNYC]

Rettig looked better in the Spring. Looked better in the Summer, according to experts, and looked good in the 1st half vs Howard.

I don't hate Laviano or anything like that, he will make a good backup moving forward. I just hope he is getting a great education and a great degree.

I really do think that Laviano has better grasp as the play as he's been here longer than Rettig. With that said, that is meaningless without execution. And Laviano hasn't delivered. You gotta change it up when your QB hasn't thrown for a TD in 4 games in blowout losses.

 

[shields]

A friend of mine went to Ohio State game. Did not know Rettig. Saw him before the game in warmups throwing the ball. Was impressed with arm.Just want him to get a half of play.

 

[RU-ROCS]

The OP isn't really off base: our group of WR's is NOT nearly as good as some here kept telling us they were, based on spring practice and summer camp, lol!

But Grant and Patton were somehow much more successful in getting separation last year against the same opponents in Fridge's offense. So, some of that is on our new under-qualified OC.

 

[RU205]

But Grant and Patton were somehow much more successful in getting separation last year against the same opponents in Fridge's offense. So, some of that is on our new under-qualified OC.

Many people didn't like Nova but he threw the deep ball well. If you watch last years highlights you will see that he extended field and this opens up the underneath routes. With Laviano the D doesn't fear his deep ball so they press and try to take away the underneath route. The WRs aren't the problem, it's the play calling.

 

[RichDonRU]

At this point who knows who is better BUT at least try someone else. I think that is all most fans want, try something different! We are non competitive, everyone on the team deserves to worry about their job at this point, offense, defense, QB, etc. Doing the same things and getting the same results over and over is crazy, what is the harm in trying something different. Would we lose by 30 points, 40 points? Would we make more mistakes, drop exchanges from the center? Would Rettig get sacked 6 times a game? That is already happening.

 

[Jersey383]

See here's the thing Laviano is not a B1G caliber QB and there is nothing wrong with that i think he could be a good back up qb in the B1G. I'm not even sure that Rettig or anyother qb on our roster is B1G caliber but i dont think i will ever understand why none of the other qb's ever got a chance to play the second half in any of these past 4 games. I dont want to sound like i am bashing one of our players but laviano just isn't good enough to get it done in the B1G.

 

[cRURah]

This thread is not productive as it only invites criticism of one of our players who is trying his best. Despite his lack of necessary QB skills to play at this level, I will say that Laviano is one tough son of a gun. He has dodged many hard hits with his mobility and speed thus remaining injury free all season.

 

[zappaa]

I was also at the Michigan game . Having never seen either QB in person, I watched both of them closely in warm ups . It was pretty windy on the field in Ann Arbor and I was unimpressed with Rettig's arm strength (supposedly his biggest asset). His ball floated even more than Laviano's. I'm really not that certain that Rettig would be a difference maker but Laviano definitely earned a spot on the bench after producing nothing in 3 straight games. Rettig should have started against Nebraska. Flood had nothing to lose and had Rettig faltered as badly as Laviano, he could have silenced a few of his critics, but certainly not the most strident ones who frequent this board, by playing Rettig. Had Rettig played well, perhaps the season could have been saved and maybe Flood's job with it. Maybe it's a good thing that he stuck with Laviano.

I never miss warmups, Rettig has an absolute cannon for an arm

 

[RU Husky]

I never miss warmups, Rettig has an absolute cannon for an arm

Sorry, Zap, I was in the artillery and can recognize a cannon. Now, I haven't seen as much of him as you have , but on that field , on that Saturday, in warmups, he was throwing cottonballs.Who knows, maybe he didn't give a shit because he knew he wasn't starting and was just going through the motions.

 

[soundcrib]

I just think Laviano has no confidence right now and that bringing in someone with a fresh set of eyes and a degree of enthusiasm would give the team a better chance of going 1-0 this week.

How hot is his girlfriend? That would be all you need to know about his confidence.

 

[shields]

Rettig has a cannon, my post about my friend who is not a Rutgers fan. Impressed with his arm strength.

 

[lighty]

Yeah I've been trying to figure out, since that TD run - granted against Howard, but he showed he can do it, and wasn't exactly "slow" - why people keep saying that he's not mobile. No, he's not a "running QB," but neither is Laviano.

People need to say Laviano is more mobile because otherwise there's no explanation for him playing...

 

[cubuffsdoug]

But Grant and Patton were somehow much more successful in getting separation last year against the same opponents in Fridge's offense. So, some of that is on our new under-qualified OC.

Play calling has as much to do with the success of the players being put in the right position to succeed. Rutgers refuse to attack deep down the field to open up the middle for Grant and Patton like last year. Defenses don't have their safeties playing normal depth because there is no deep threat. It's all about run support and defending 10 yds or less dink and dunks passes. So much easier to defend. Separation becomes almost impossible when you limit the offense space to operate.

 

[RUsojo]

No. Just no.

 

[RU848789]

....I figured this would draw some attention. However, let me observe the following:
I was at the Big House two weeks ago, and without Carroo the Rutgers receivers got absolutely no separation from their defenders. With very few exceptions there was nobody open for Laviano to throw to the whole game.
Also, against Nebraska all Laviano could do is run for his life against an essentially unblocked Nebraska defensive line. Maybe Rettig can throw better, but he certainly would have been no better at running and scrambling.
Last year we all complained about Nova; now we bitch about Laviano. None of these resemble Mike McMahon, but few of us were absolutely anti- Laviano before the season started. Has he fallen against our expectations, or do we suffer from: a poor offensive line, poor receivers who have not stood up in the absense of Carroo, and a defense that is not able to contain B1G offenses (with the exception of Longa).
We all praise the QB when we win and bury him when we lose, but I suggest that our QB play is but one of many problems this team faces every Saturday.
OK, now you can crucify me.

Everything you said is true, but what you didn't say is that CL, after a generally good start to the year (except for PSU), has been pretty bad, even when he's had time and open receivers. Just look at last week: if he hits Carroo, who had a step on the DB, on that long opening pass, could've been a very different game - and there have been several other open receivers he's either missed or thrown poor passes to (i.e., not in stride at all). Not saying Rettig hits that pass, but he did hit two very nice long passes in mop up time against OSU and WI.

At this point, very few are saying Rettig would've done a lot better, but there's a small chance he would've and we don't understand why the coach wouldn't at least give him a shot to start, given CL's struggles and how well Rettig played in the opener. And especially now that the season is essentially over.

 

[greenknight]

I think CL is actually very good at the process before the play but after the snap it goes away. He cannot stay in pocket and pass he's afraid that will NEVER change. I think he is extremely mobile but I'm extremely disappointed in his continued slides. You gain traction in the clubhouse based off your toughness sliding on 3rd and 10 down 17 with what 9 minutes left and your looking for a W to keep yourself eligible for a bowl does not cut it for me. You need to GET that 1st down.

 

[rucoe89]

The OP isn't really off base: our group of WR's is NOT nearly as good as some here kept telling us they were, based on spring practice and summer camp, lol!

Oh great --- well, at least next year they'll have experience and .... oh, nevermind. We're screwed.