Proud of the team today

[Caliknight]

Were there some questionable calls? Sure. There always are, it's sports.

I am a big fan of Ash going for it. I didn't love the execution of the play at the goal line, but Ash is sending a message to his team. He is going to try and make plays when those opportunities present themselves. If I am a player, I want him to believe in me. Looking at the final score, you can argue he made the right decision anyway.

Whatever your position is on individual calls, they are meeting my expectations so far. We are getting better each week, and the kids COMPETE. We didn't see this in the old regime. I was excited by those things today. Keep recruiting, keep developing. This is a process, and today is part of it.

Keep at it team.

 

[rutgersal]

Agree. Good post Cali.

 

[NickKnight 1]

Were there some questionable calls? Sure. There always are, it's sports.

I am a big fan of Ash going for it. I didn't love the execution of the play at the goal line, but Ash is sending a message to his team. He is going to try and make plays when those opportunities present themselves. If I am a player, I want him to believe in me. Looking at the final score, you can argue he made the right decision anyway.

Whatever your position is on individual calls, they are meeting my expectations so far. We are getting better each week, and the kids COMPETE. We didn't see this in the old regime. I was excited by those things today. Keep recruiting, keep developing. This is a process, and today is part of it.

Keep at it team.

[sick]

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Excellent post. Mirrors most of my thoughts.

 

[shields]

Agree with this post.

 

[rufamily]

Totally agree we are a few play away from winning that game and the defense played great.

 

[thevictors97]

I was surprised by Rutgers competitiveness against Iowa. Get a better QB under center and it's a win. Just my opinion. Recruiting is king. Ash will bring Rutgers into the mix in the B1G. Be patient.

 

[Caliknight]

Totally agree we are a few play away from winning that game and the defense played great.

Yep. And the D really posted up today. Very encouraging as well. Today was a proper B1G game.

If we can somehow manage more production from the QB spot and the receivers start stepping up, I think we will surprise a team. My prediction was 4 wins, seeing us compete, with us playing our best at the the end of the season, along with Ash signing a top 35 class. That is the top of success scale to me in his first season. Anything else is gravy.

 

[rutgersdave]

Defense isn't that bad and with some more skill players on offense next year, Rutgers will do well.

 

[highsoxguy]

The issue now is injuries, and depth. Besides Grant, Hamilton was hobbling around...Lambert left on cart, Hester, Pinnix-Odrick didn't look 100%..there's a LONG way to go. Gotta get through the next two weeks, somehow...

 

[OC Knight]

Couldn't agree with the OP more. Even though we lost, I see a bright future ahead. The next few games are going to be tough but I hope we continue what I saw today.

 

[rucoe89]

Gotta hand it to them for keeping it close. The D was great, special teams ok. The offense had its chances but failed to execute. They did have some decent drives.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

The issue now is injuries, and depth. Besides Grant, Hamilton was hobbling around...Lambert left on cart, Hester, Pinnix-Odrick didn't look 100%..there's a LONG way to go. Gotta get through the next two weeks, somehow...

Yeah, that's a lot to take no doubt, and is the main reason I've been so pissed about recruiting the last few years (under Flood) and laugh when guys are like "well there's a lot of talent starting for us." It's NOT just about your starters. Rarely ever is in this game. Gotta have QUALITY DEPTH and that all begins with recruiting.

 

[lilphilw]

What we wanted before the season was for the team to look competitive in losses. Before the season began I think most would've taken a hard fought 7 point loss to Iowa. It hurts now but I'm also proud of the team and look forward to seeing them stay in games into the 4th quarter

 

[RUnTime]

Flood would have went for field goals in the zone to keep the game close. Ash went FTW. Need a few more skill players and a switch to the B1G West division.

 

[TonyVolt]

Typical Rutgers loser mentality. Yes the team played hard, but at the end of the day this is just another loss.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Typical Rutgers loser mentality. Yes the team played hard, but at the end of the day this is just another loss.

Losses suck. That being said, most of us are looking for a difference in how Ash's teams play, compared to Flood's, and we're seeing major signs of change IMHO. That's a good thing and, I believe, what Cali is happy about (as our many...).

 

[retired711]

Congratulations to Caliknight on such a fine post.

 

[TonyVolt]

Losses suck. That being said, most of us are looking for a difference in how Ash's teams play, compared to Flood's, and we're seeing major signs of change IMHO. That's a good thing and, I believe, what Cali is happy about (as our many...).

I can agree with that. Ash is definitely a step up from Flood and there are certainly signs of positive change. Don't get me wrong. I'm proud of the fight, but, damn, this was ours for the taking.

I'll say it again, every snap we give to Chris Laviano is a missed opportunity for the development of this program.

 

[BoogieKnight]

Typical Rutgers loser mentality. Yes the team played hard, but at the end of the day this is just another loss.

It is another loss. And that part sucks. But tied late in the 4th quarter with a chance to win vs a team who started the season in the Top 20 was not something a lot if people on here thought would happen. I personally thought we'd match up with Iowa well going back to the summer and I considered this a toss up. But most people did not. Bottom line, we are where most thought we would be at this point...2-2 and facing back to back beat downs the next two weeks.

The OP is spot on and remember that the next two weeks as ugly as it may get will also be part of the process.

And we are not going to the west division for the guy who said that so buckle up. And this year Wisconsin and Nebraska would throttle us the same way OSU and UM will so it doesn't matter really.

 

[Caliknight]

Typical Rutgers loser mentality. Yes the team played hard, but at the end of the day this is just another loss.

It's actually the opposite. It's realistic expectations and having a plan. It's easy to say win. It takes a plan to actually do that. Effort, getting better, competing...that is a part of that plan, and Ash is executing it. They are also baselines for quality teams and attributes we didn't possess last year. It's nice to see them being implemented now.

You don't go from a fired for performance coach and in the first season of the new coach say just win. It's lazy, unrealistic, and naive. That mindset is reserved for the replacement of a winning coach who left for a better job or the like.

Losing sucks, but we are starting to see the manifestation of what Ash has been instilling in his program. And it is only game 4 in his coaching tenure at RU. So far the staff is grading out very well. And we will need even more of it with the players we are losing and the lack of overall talent this team has.

 

[AntiG]

I'll never get too upset about being aggressive and going for it on fourth down. Yes, not always the smartest decision, but I'd rather see a coach with balls than one that never takes a chance.

 

[RU31trap]

Were there some questionable calls? Sure. There always are, it's sports.

I am a big fan of Ash going for it. I didn't love the execution of the play at the goal line, but Ash is sending a message to his team. He is going to try and make plays when those opportunities present themselves. If I am a player, I want him to believe in me. Looking at the final score, you can argue he made the right decision anyway.

Whatever your position is on individual calls, they are meeting my expectations so far. We are getting better each week, and the kids COMPETE. We didn't see this in the old regime. I was excited by those things today. Keep recruiting, keep developing. This is a process, and today is part of it.

Keep at it team.

Sorry Cali I respectfully disagree. You take the three points just before the half and hope it motivates the offense to push just a little harder. If Flood made the same call posters would have the pitch forks and torches blazing. Also, losing by a TD at home against a limping Iowa team that was beaten by a North Dakota State Team is not moving in the right direction. Very serious pain awaits us. All I wanted from this year was to view superior coaching at every level. Can't say it's superior yet, but one never knows.

 

[KevH]

Were there some questionable calls? Sure. There always are, it's sports.

I am a big fan of Ash going for it. I didn't love the execution of the play at the goal line, but Ash is sending a message to his team. He is going to try and make plays when those opportunities present themselves. If I am a player, I want him to believe in me. Looking at the final score, you can argue he made the right decision anyway.

Whatever your position is on individual calls, they are meeting my expectations so far. We are getting better each week, and the kids COMPETE. We didn't see this in the old regime. I was excited by those things today. Keep recruiting, keep developing. This is a process, and today is part of it.

Keep at it team.

Well said. Couldn't agree more.

 

[Dpgru]

It was good to see that we belonged on the field with a team many predicted to win the west. I think Iowa is a little over rated in that respect but they are still a very good team and we looked like we belonged. That was good to see.

 

[RU848789]

Were there some questionable calls? Sure. There always are, it's sports.

I am a big fan of Ash going for it. I didn't love the execution of the play at the goal line, but Ash is sending a message to his team. He is going to try and make plays when those opportunities present themselves. If I am a player, I want him to believe in me. Looking at the final score, you can argue he made the right decision anyway.

Whatever your position is on individual calls, they are meeting my expectations so far. We are getting better each week, and the kids COMPETE. We didn't see this in the old regime. I was excited by those things today. Keep recruiting, keep developing. This is a process, and today is part of it.

Keep at it team.

As I've said a couple of times, somehow we don't agree on anything political, but we agree on just about everything related to football. Great post and not just because it echoes things I've said about yesterday.

I didn't like the decision to go for it at the end of the 2Q, but I respected the mentality of the call. My biggest issue was the situation: in a scoreless game, every 3 points is precious - that and the psychological benefit of getting on the scoreboard and taking a lead are why I would've gone for 3.

Loved our schemes and how hard we competed and our discipline with very few mistakes - with a better QB (thought CL was competent, which is a step up from what he's been so far), we beat a team that was undefeated last year and is still top 25 caliber. The loss hurts, but a lot to like, still.

 

[Mr_Twister]

Was the Iowa game this year's Michigan State game?