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NJ.COM James Kratch’s Offensive Preview

The Rutgers offense was abysmal last season. We’ve spent the last 300-something days discussing this reality a thousand different ways, so there’s no reason to rehash all the gory details.

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just what I expected , as the season gets closer > NJ.com gets offensive.
 
Honestly, just put Blackshear, Pacheco, Young, and Adams on the field at the same time and teach them rugby principles. Get them comfortable lateraling the ball when they're about to go down. Use Pacheco as an option QB at times. Get wild.
 
I think I may be falling for preseason hopes again.. and this paragraph is interesting:

Could graduate transfer McLane Carter beat out Sitkowski? Definitely. Do I understand why some Rutgers fans want that to happen? Obviously. But I still think the job is Sitkowski’s to lose, and he remains my pick with camp two weeks away. Last season was very bad, and the spring was not as emphatic an affirmation that major strides have been made as Rutgers would have liked. But I’m told Sitkowski has had a strong summer of training and cleaned up a lot of mechanical issues that he struggled with last year, and the game has slowed down for him. Plus Carter has not done enough in his previous college stops to convince me he is definitely better than Sitkowski. We’re still talking about a major career rep disparity between the two despite Carter’s age, too.
Mechanical issues? I thought his mechanics looked pretty good. Shows you what I know. I assumed his issues were a vision thing.. or a brain - decision-making thing.

I think Sitkowski can make the throws.. he just needs to know when and where to throw the ball.

Once he can do that we'll need to see if receivers get to the right place at the right time and can make the catch. Even with some talented RBs.. we need a passing game to be a real threat.
 
Honestly, just put Blackshear, Pacheco, Young, and Adams on the field at the same time and teach them rugby principles. Get them comfortable lateraling the ball when they're about to go down. Use Pacheco as an option QB at times. Get wild.
I have often thought it might be interesting to have a group of rugby wingers on the bench for those few times you need to do something with no time left.. maybe a kick return thing on occasion. At home your roster is practically unlimited.. travel squad might be tough to include another 5 guys whose only use would be so rare.
 
I have often thought it might be interesting to have a group of rugby wingers on the bench for those few times you need to do something with no time left.. maybe a kick return thing on occasion. At home your roster is practically unlimited.. travel squad might be tough to include another 5 guys whose only use would be so rare.

I think it's one of the rare inefficiencies left in the sport. You'd have to spend a lot of time getting guys comfortable with it and your fumble rate would definitely go up, but I still think it'd be worth it.
 
Blackshear is our best receiver. He should be running routes just as much as he's running the ball.
 
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Two things stood out
1. We don't have a receiver you can count on to get open and just go get the ball
2. Our OL is underwhelming
Both mean we are in for a long season. Again, I do want Ash to succeed, but seems like his fate is sealed come December.

Im counting on the freshmen, Stanley King and Isaiah Washington to get open. Jury is out on everyone else, but these two cats have the ball skills to go up and get the ball.

Three of five OL return to a line that paved the way for 193 yards rushing vs Penn State, and 184 yards rushing vs Michigan. I’m looking for big things from the OL this year.
 
We stopped recruiting Florida and the kids we did take just aren’t good enough to date.

Names that came to mind. I might be missing a couple


Carroo, Britt, Sanu, Underwood, Wright…...NJ

Patton, Coleman.....Maryland

Harrison......Ct

Grant, Brown.....Florida

It's not always all about Florida Al. Rutgers 5 best WR's over the last 10 plus years have all been from NJ or Maryland.
 
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Two things stood out
1. We don't have a receiver you can count on to get open and just go get the ball
2. Our OL is underwhelming
Both mean we are in for a long season. Again, I do want Ash to succeed, but seems like his fate is sealed come December.

December? Maybe October.
 
Names that came to mind. I might be missing a couple


Carroo, Britt, Sanu, Underwood, Wright…...NJ

Patton, Coleman.....Maryland

Harrison......Ct

Grant, Brown.....Florida

It's not always all about Florida Al. Rutgers 5 best WR's over the last 10 plus years have all been from NJ or Maryland.

It IS about Florida because FL provides us with depth and playmakers. Grant was only our biggest offensive playmaker this Decade, as a returner and as a WR. Tim Brown combined with others to win 10 games, in 2006, and was one of the biggest offensive playmakers for the last decade. He was one of the few kids who consistently made plays on deep balls, and could score from anywhere on the field.





Today, there are 15 to 17 WRs on the roster and no one knows if any of them can play. We would have had our share of playmakers had we not stopped recruiting FL.
 
It IS about Florida because FL provides us with depth and playmakers. Grant was only our biggest offensive playmaker this Decade, as a returner and as a WR. Tim Brown combined with others to win 10 games, in 2006, and was one of the biggest offensive playmakers for the last decade. He was one of the few kids who consistently made plays on deep balls, and could score from anywhere on the field.


.



Today, there are 15 to 17 WRs on the roster and no one knows if any of them can play. We would have had our share of playmakers had we not stopped recruiting FL.

Grant was a great return man but never a great WR.

Brown had 1 good game in '06. Did start making his mark till '07. Left 10 years ago,

Issues at WR had nothing to do with not recruiting Florida. If anything it has been the inability to recruit w/i 100 miles of the school.
 
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I didn’t see anything in there about the true x-factor: “Continuity”

That alone should lead to at least 8-9 wins.

Oh wait, everyone wants Carter to play?
But that’s not “continuity”.
 
I think I may be falling for preseason hopes again.. and this paragraph is interesting:

Could graduate transfer McLane Carter beat out Sitkowski? Definitely. Do I understand why some Rutgers fans want that to happen? Obviously. But I still think the job is Sitkowski’s to lose, and he remains my pick with camp two weeks away. Last season was very bad, and the spring was not as emphatic an affirmation that major strides have been made as Rutgers would have liked. But I’m told Sitkowski has had a strong summer of training and cleaned up a lot of mechanical issues that he struggled with last year, and the game has slowed down for him. Plus Carter has not done enough in his previous college stops to convince me he is definitely better than Sitkowski. We’re still talking about a major career rep disparity between the two despite Carter’s age, too.
Mechanical issues? I thought his mechanics looked pretty good. Shows you what I know. I assumed his issues were a vision thing.. or a brain - decision-making thing.

I think Sitkowski can make the throws.. he just needs to know when and where to throw the ball.

Once he can do that we'll need to see if receivers get to the right place at the right time and can make the catch. Even with some talented RBs.. we need a passing game to be a real threat.


I agree with you here. I think Kratch is the best guys they have over there but don't agree with him on this. Also, Sit has looked good in drills/practice from day 1. Decision making is the issue. Hopefully experience will help.

His OL comments concern me. We need big improvement there.
 
Well, there's this minor issue of someone being able to accurately throw them the ball.
really have not seen a lot of misses by him.. Laviano was the king of inaccuracy.. many of his INTs and incompletes were accuracy related.

Sitkowski's INT issue seems to be with not seeing defenders who are reading him. He stares down one receivers, doesn't look off safeties.. misses DEs and LBs dropping deeper into coverage and defenders get a jump on him.. that's bad pre-snap reads, no faith in his WRs to get where they need to be (without him watching them) and not processing what he sees quickly enough.

On the plus side, he is brave as hell.. will stand in and deliver the ball knowing he will get hit. he has a strong and accurate arm... at least as far as I have seen. In fact his accuracy could be part of the reason for some of his ints.. if a defender reads where he is going and he throws accurately, the defender will be where the ball should going. If he learns to hide his intentions better that could be fixed.

I think his mistakes can be corrected easier than it is to teach bravery or teach someone to develop a stronger more accurate arm.

Maybe his mechanics fixes include a quicker release.. but it never seemed to me that a long wind-up is responsible for his INTs. That's a very real problem with taller QBs.. but I don't see that with him. I could be wrong.. no expert I.
 
really have not seen a lot of misses by him.. Laviano was the king of inaccuracy.. many of his INTs and incompletes were accuracy related.

Sitkowski's INT issue seems to be with not seeing defenders who are reading him. He stares down one receivers, doesn't look off safeties.. misses DEs and LBs dropping deeper into coverage and defenders get a jump on him.. that's bad pre-snap reads, no faith in his WRs to get where they need to be (without him watching them) and not processing what he sees quickly enough.

On the plus side, he is brave as hell.. will stand in and deliver the ball knowing he will get hit. he has a strong and accurate arm... at least as far as I have seen. In fact his accuracy could be part of the reason for some of his ints.. if a defender reads where he is going and he throws accurately, the defender will be where the ball should going. If he learns to hide his intentions better that could be fixed.

I think his mistakes can be corrected easier than it is to teach bravery or teach someone to develop a stronger more accurate arm.

Maybe his mechanics fixes include a quicker release.. but it never seemed to me that a long wind-up is responsible for his INTs. That's a very real problem with taller QBs.. but I don't see that with him. I could be wrong.. no expert I.

You haven't seen too many missed throws by AS? What?! Is this a serious post?
 
It IS about Florida because FL provides us with depth and playmakers. Grant was only our biggest offensive playmaker this Decade, as a returner and as a WR. Tim Brown combined with others to win 10 games, in 2006, and was one of the biggest offensive playmakers for the last decade. He was one of the few kids who consistently made plays on deep balls, and could score from anywhere on the field.





Today, there are 15 to 17 WRs on the roster and no one knows if any of them can play. We would have had our share of playmakers had we not stopped recruiting FL.
Don't forget Moses or Tucker. Both were solid WRs from Florida. BUT, we've had some good ones from NJ too - Britt, Underwood, Sanu, Wright, Carroo.
 
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really have not seen a lot of misses by him.. Laviano was the king of inaccuracy.. many of his INTs and incompletes were accuracy related.

Sitkowski's INT issue seems to be with not seeing defenders who are reading him. He stares down one receivers, doesn't look off safeties.. misses DEs and LBs dropping deeper into coverage and defenders get a jump on him.. that's bad pre-snap reads, no faith in his WRs to get where they need to be (without him watching them) and not processing what he sees quickly enough.

On the plus side, he is brave as hell.. will stand in and deliver the ball knowing he will get hit. he has a strong and accurate arm... at least as far as I have seen. In fact his accuracy could be part of the reason for some of his ints.. if a defender reads where he is going and he throws accurately, the defender will be where the ball should going. If he learns to hide his intentions better that could be fixed.

I think his mistakes can be corrected easier than it is to teach bravery or teach someone to develop a stronger more accurate arm.

Maybe his mechanics fixes include a quicker release.. but it never seemed to me that a long wind-up is responsible for his INTs. That's a very real problem with taller QBs.. but I don't see that with him. I could be wrong.. no expert I.
Good breakdown. Part mechanics and part mental. The mental part is sometimes hardest to correct, but can be done.
 
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You haven't seen too many missed throws by AS? What?! Is this a serious post?
yes, serious.

There's a lot that spectators cannot rightly judge. On a timing pattern.. was the QB inaccurate or did the WR mess up or did the defender make a good play and prevent the route from being run properly?

Seeing that kind of play, a spectator is in a "smile on a dog" situation.. they see what they want to see.. or they repeat what they hear others say.

Art throws a good ball.. that is a sign of accuracy.

On those little sit-down, button-hook type patterns.. where receivers run to a spot and turn around and wait for the ball.. which should already be on the way: an accurate QB puts the ball right in the guys chest. a bit high or low.. but not left or right... especially not to the side of the nearest defender.

Now.. what if the WR messes up and doesn't sit down but instead drifts away from the nearest defender? The pass may look to be behind.. but was really spot-on. Spectators have a hard time figuring out which it was.

The coaches know when they see the film. They me what the people in the film room say about Art and the WRs and I'll listen. They know the play call.. see the defense.. and the results knowing how it was supposed to be executed.. they know who messed up.

From what I have seen and comparing it to the QB Art replaced, I think he is much more accurate. The WRs need work.. and time and experience. Hopefully the QB and WRs get on the same page this season.
 
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yes, serious.

There's a lot that spectators cannot rightly judge. On a timing pattern.. was the QB inaccurate or did the WR mess up or did the defender make a good play and prevent the route from being run properly?

Seeing that kind of play, a spectator is in a "smile on a dog" situation.. they see what they want to see.. or they repeat what they hear others say.

Art throws a good ball.. that is a sign of accuracy.

On those little sit-down, button-hook type patterns.. where receivers run to a spot and turn around and wait for the ball.. which should already be on the way: an accurate QB puts the ball right in the guys chest. a bit high or low.. but not left or right... especially not to the side of the nearest defender.

Now.. what if the WR messes up and doesn't sit down but instead drifts away from the nearest defender? The pass may look to be behind.. but was really spot-on. Spectators have a hard time figuring out which it was.

The coaches know when they see the film. They me what the people in the film room say about Art and the WRs and I'll listen. They know the play call.. see the defense.. and the results knowing how it was supposed to be executed.. they know who messed up.

From what I have seen and comparing it to the QB Art replaced, I think he is much more accurate. The WRs need work.. and time and experience. Hopefully the QB and WRs get on the same page this season.

We'll just agree to disagree. Here is the Illinois game which was considered one of his "better" games - you should see the Kansas, Texas State and Maryland games:



6:15 - First offensive play for Rutgers - Interception. Bad throw to double covered Vokolek. But freeze at 6:50 - look at Hayek streaking to the middle. He hits him near the R and that's a big gain - beat his defender and that's a TD.

11:40 - Incomplete. Bad throw - threw behind the receiver. Freeze at 12:03 - look at open receiver up top who got behind the defender. Had he thrown in front of him and he hits him in stride, that's a big gain.

25:12 - Incomplete. Bad throw - threw behind Vokolek. Yes, AS throws behind the receiver in crossing patterns a lot. That is not someone who is "accurate." But wait - freeze at 25.15 - look at middle receiver WIDE OPEN and could go for a big game or TD. Yes, an open WR is also another thing you notice once you breakdown AS' film.

Now freeze at 31.17 and see how at this point, Illinois starts to defend Rutgers. They stacked the box and dare RU to throw.

Next play at 31:54 - INTERCEPTION AGAIN. Freeze at 32.25 - This time, not only was it thrown behind the Hunter Hayek, it was also thrown low - where is the accuracy? Also, freeze at 31:58 - look at streaking WR all by himself above the 50 on the sideline. That could have been another TD.

At 38:40, again under throws Blackshear who got past the defenders. Play went against Blackshear as PI.

In the last two minutes of the half, he made a couple of good throws to Vokolek and Melton but at this point, it's already 24-7 and the TD made it 24-14 but it's already a steep uphill battle for RU.

In general, if you watch enough film of AS (as I have), you will notice that he hits stationary targets well - so in that sense, yes, he is accurate. But moving WRs he has had trouble. He cannot hit a fly pattern or a deep post. He underthrows them most of the time. He also has a hard time hitting crossing patterns. He hits short dump-offs/screens and receivers on short hooks (intermediate routes) who stops and turns. That's the limitation of his repertoire.

On top of all that, he also makes tons of bad decisions and has trouble reading defenses. He throws a beautiful ball - no doubt about that. And he has a rocket launcher. But that's it. Being a good QB is much much more than just being able to "throw it across the pond."

Now can he prove us all wrong and improve? Maybe. Actually, I HOPE SO, because he really is a good kid. But with data from Old Bridge, IMG and one year's worth at Rutgers, gun to your head, will anybody really bet on that?
 
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How does Art's first year stack up against our QBs starting with Teel until present?
 
We'll just agree to disagree. Here is the Illinois game which was considered one of his "better" games - you should see the Kansas, Texas State and Maryland games:



6:15 - First offensive play for Rutgers - Interception. Bad throw to double covered Vokolek. But freeze at 6:50 - look at Hayek streaking to the middle. He hits him near the R and that's a big gain - beat his defender and that's a TD.

11:40 - Incomplete. Bad throw - threw behind the receiver. Freeze at 12:03 - look at open receiver up top who got behind the defender. Had he thrown in front of him and he hits him in stride, that's a big gain.

25:12 - Incomplete. Bad throw - threw behind Vokolek. Yes, AS throws behind the receiver in crossing patterns a lot. That is not someone who is "accurate." But wait - freeze at 25.15 - look at middle receiver WIDE OPEN and could go for a big game or TD. Yes, an open WR is also another thing you notice once you breakdown AS' film.

Now freeze at 31.17 and see how at this point, Illinois starts to defend Rutgers. They stacked the box and dare RU to throw.

Next play at 31:54 - INTERCEPTION AGAIN. Freeze at 32.25 - This time, not only was it thrown behind the Hunter Hayek, it was also thrown low - where is the accuracy? Also, freeze at 31:58 - look at streaking WR all by himself above the 50 on the sideline. That could have been another TD.

At 38:40, again under throws Blackshear who got past the defenders. Play went against Blackshear as PI.

In the last two minutes of the half, he made a couple of good throws to Vokolek and Melton but at this point, it's already 24-7 and the TD made it 24-14 but it's already a steep uphill battle for RU.

In general, if you watch enough film of AS (as I have), you will notice that he hits stationary targets well - so in that sense, yes, he is accurate. But moving WRs he has had trouble. He cannot hit a fly pattern or a deep post. He underthrows them most of the time. He also has a hard time hitting crossing patterns. He hits short dump-offs/screens and receivers on short hooks (intermediate routes) who stops and turns. That's the limitation of his repertoire.

On top of all that, he also makes tons of bad decisions and has trouble reading defenses. He throws a beautiful ball - no doubt about that. And he has a rocket launcher. But that's it. Being a good QB is much much more than just being able to "throw it across the pond."

Now can he prove us all wrong and improve? Maybe. Actually, I HOPE SO, because he really is a good kid. But with data from Old Bridge, IMG and one year's worth at Rutgers, gun to your head, will anybody really bet on that?
Some of your points and examples are good.. but others do not speak to accuracy.

I will admit some bad-looking form on some of those... not stepping into the throw strongly enough. I think protection issues on longer patterns might be an issue.. which might also stem from WRs not getting downfield quickly enough.

Moses made his QB look good. Sanu made his QB look good. Caroo made his QB look good. Britt and Coleman.. meh.. not so much. Can you think of a go-to WR on this team who will make every catch anywhere near him?

And, no, I am not convinced it (vast improvement) will happen. Just hope it does.

The passing game SUCKED. No doubt. I don't know how long it takes WRs and QBs to sync up or if there is a system or playcalls that minimize the need for them be in-sync... we'll know fast enough this season if there is any progress.
 
Watching that video it seems like he locks onto receivers and decides who he's going to before the he even hikes the ball. It's a Freshman mistake. He makes poor decisions because the game is too quick for him. As the game slows down I think he will improve. Like stated before there were open receivers on those routes, he just made the wrong decision.

Sitkowski has the arm talent to be an elite QB. Unfortunately he needs to develop other parts.of his game badly. We have no other choice but to give him another shot. It's wishful thinking but I think he improved this year a lot.
 
Now compare any of AS throws to this one ..........



Deep sideline throw to a WR blanketed by a DB and drops it to a spot only Woods can get it - in stride. THAT is an elite accurate throw.
 
We'll just agree to disagree. Here is the Illinois game which was considered one of his "better" games - you should see the Kansas, Texas State and Maryland games:



6:15 - First offensive play for Rutgers - Interception. Bad throw to double covered Vokolek. But freeze at 6:50 - look at Hayek streaking to the middle. He hits him near the R and that's a big gain - beat his defender and that's a TD.

11:40 - Incomplete. Bad throw - threw behind the receiver. Freeze at 12:03 - look at open receiver up top who got behind the defender. Had he thrown in front of him and he hits him in stride, that's a big gain.

25:12 - Incomplete. Bad throw - threw behind Vokolek. Yes, AS throws behind the receiver in crossing patterns a lot. That is not someone who is "accurate." But wait - freeze at 25.15 - look at middle receiver WIDE OPEN and could go for a big game or TD. Yes, an open WR is also another thing you notice once you breakdown AS' film.

Now freeze at 31.17 and see how at this point, Illinois starts to defend Rutgers. They stacked the box and dare RU to throw.

Next play at 31:54 - INTERCEPTION AGAIN. Freeze at 32.25 - This time, not only was it thrown behind the Hunter Hayek, it was also thrown low - where is the accuracy? Also, freeze at 31:58 - look at streaking WR all by himself above the 50 on the sideline. That could have been another TD.

At 38:40, again under throws Blackshear who got past the defenders. Play went against Blackshear as PI.

In the last two minutes of the half, he made a couple of good throws to Vokolek and Melton but at this point, it's already 24-7 and the TD made it 24-14 but it's already a steep uphill battle for RU.

In general, if you watch enough film of AS (as I have), you will notice that he hits stationary targets well - so in that sense, yes, he is accurate. But moving WRs he has had trouble. He cannot hit a fly pattern or a deep post. He underthrows them most of the time. He also has a hard time hitting crossing patterns. He hits short dump-offs/screens and receivers on short hooks (intermediate routes) who stops and turns. That's the limitation of his repertoire.

On top of all that, he also makes tons of bad decisions and has trouble reading defenses. He throws a beautiful ball - no doubt about that. And he has a rocket launcher. But that's it. Being a good QB is much much more than just being able to "throw it across the pond."

Now can he prove us all wrong and improve? Maybe. Actually, I HOPE SO, because he really is a good kid. But with data from Old Bridge, IMG and one year's worth at Rutgers, gun to your head, will anybody really bet on that?

One of the best posts on the board I can remember. Good work.
 
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