It's been 10 days since we kicked off against Minnesota and a bunch of things have changed.
A) We removed Moses Walker from the linebacker rotation (for the most part) and a lot of the defensive breakdowns have been minimized.
B) We elevated KJ Duff and Ian Strong to true starters on the outside and and focusing on placing Miller in the slot, within the offensive gameplans.
C) The offense has actually gotten better by asking more of the WRs and AK at QB.....this is after injured players Monangai didn't play vs Minnesota, Kenny Fletcher was lost for the season and we limited snaps for now, with Benjamin Black, Chris Long and even Christian Dremel.
D) Big passing plays have taken the heat off the offensive line.....we lost Felter for the season....Needham is also out for the season.....the aggressive playcalling and WR play of Duff and Strong have reduced the need on Monangai to carry the offense, but now a big passing play OR a defensive back committing a holding penalty against Duff and Strong is almost expected once a half.
E) The general public has noticed.....RU opening as a 1.5 point underdog vs #24 Illinois AND in less than 24 hours, the line has flipped to RU as a 2 PT favorite.
The last 2 games have been the best 2 games in the Schiano 2.0 era.....not the best performances by the defense or offense....but for the 1st time in almost 5 years......we are OUT of excuses....
A) Every team has injured players out for the season....Some of the backups have not only performed but stepped up and improved the roster.
B) The coaching staff has stepped up....they have called more blitzing on defense and replaced players who were not performing up to standard or when mistakes are made, another player goes into the game and is expected to play well.
C) The loss of Monangai vs Minnesota forced the staff to look elsewhere for plays to be made. I would never advocate for it having to happen this way, but I don't feel like Benjamin or Raymond can't step in and make plays, if Kyle doesn't get 25 carries.
So, now what?? For me, anything can happen in a game on any given Saturday, but I expect to make plays now on offense vs Illinois and Michigan State. I actually feel like even a mistake or 2 on a drive, isn't the end of the world, we can make up for it with our impact WR play.
8-4 is not only in play, but unless I'm missing something, RU should be able to score 24, 27 or 30+ in both games. Doesn't mean we will win both, but I can't see any reason why RU shouldn't move the ball in the air.....(which opens up the ground attack).
I fully expect the skeptical RU fans to knock this down....but the excuses have gone away for me....we can't use injuries anymore, so it now just comes down to players and playmaking.
Fill the stadium Saturday folks, I know the 4 game streak was ugly, but now we can pass, score and look explosive on offense.....there's a reason to show up !!
A) We removed Moses Walker from the linebacker rotation (for the most part) and a lot of the defensive breakdowns have been minimized.
B) We elevated KJ Duff and Ian Strong to true starters on the outside and and focusing on placing Miller in the slot, within the offensive gameplans.
C) The offense has actually gotten better by asking more of the WRs and AK at QB.....this is after injured players Monangai didn't play vs Minnesota, Kenny Fletcher was lost for the season and we limited snaps for now, with Benjamin Black, Chris Long and even Christian Dremel.
D) Big passing plays have taken the heat off the offensive line.....we lost Felter for the season....Needham is also out for the season.....the aggressive playcalling and WR play of Duff and Strong have reduced the need on Monangai to carry the offense, but now a big passing play OR a defensive back committing a holding penalty against Duff and Strong is almost expected once a half.
E) The general public has noticed.....RU opening as a 1.5 point underdog vs #24 Illinois AND in less than 24 hours, the line has flipped to RU as a 2 PT favorite.
The last 2 games have been the best 2 games in the Schiano 2.0 era.....not the best performances by the defense or offense....but for the 1st time in almost 5 years......we are OUT of excuses....
A) Every team has injured players out for the season....Some of the backups have not only performed but stepped up and improved the roster.
B) The coaching staff has stepped up....they have called more blitzing on defense and replaced players who were not performing up to standard or when mistakes are made, another player goes into the game and is expected to play well.
C) The loss of Monangai vs Minnesota forced the staff to look elsewhere for plays to be made. I would never advocate for it having to happen this way, but I don't feel like Benjamin or Raymond can't step in and make plays, if Kyle doesn't get 25 carries.
So, now what?? For me, anything can happen in a game on any given Saturday, but I expect to make plays now on offense vs Illinois and Michigan State. I actually feel like even a mistake or 2 on a drive, isn't the end of the world, we can make up for it with our impact WR play.
8-4 is not only in play, but unless I'm missing something, RU should be able to score 24, 27 or 30+ in both games. Doesn't mean we will win both, but I can't see any reason why RU shouldn't move the ball in the air.....(which opens up the ground attack).
I fully expect the skeptical RU fans to knock this down....but the excuses have gone away for me....we can't use injuries anymore, so it now just comes down to players and playmaking.
Fill the stadium Saturday folks, I know the 4 game streak was ugly, but now we can pass, score and look explosive on offense.....there's a reason to show up !!
