RU to win again

[ruready07]

We've had 2 bad seasons out of the last 3 or 4 and we let that erase all the momentum we had going during a nice 7 year period. We were a really solid college football team, constantly hovering around the top 25 for a long time there.

Let's stop pretending that we shouldn't win and that we shouldn't get the top guys. We absolutely could and we should.

 

[MADHAT1]

Thinking positive should be the rule, not the exception !

 

[ecojew]

We sometimes forget how far we've come and how close we've been to BCS bowls on three occasions - just one play away against Cincy (2008), and one blown call by BE officials away in each of two regular season finales (2006 and 2012). Our two poor seasons were 2010 (following the injury to Eric) and 2015 (when we were just 4 minutes or so away from being 7-5). And we had a very mediocre season in 2013 in the AAC after losing 7 players on defense to the NFL. Overall, that isn't as bad as we make it sound most of the time and there are many programs out there with a far worse track record than that.

 

[ruready4somefootball]

Looking forward to the days when turning on ESPN will scroll the Top 25 and Rutgers will be listed.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

Looking forward to the days when turning on ESPN will scroll the Top 25 and Rutgers will be listed.

Rutgers had that a few times in the last 10 years. Maybe you missed it. I know the years 2006, 2007, and 2012 each had Rutgers listed in the top 25 (actually top 15) for a several weeks. Rutgers has to sustain the ranking every year instead of every few years.

 

[WhiteBus]

We've had 2 bad seasons out of the last 3 or 4 and we let that erase all the momentum we had going during a nice 7 year period. We were a really solid college football team, constantly hovering around the top 25 for a long time there.

Let's stop pretending that we shouldn't win and that we shouldn't get the top guys. We absolutely could and we should.

I agree 1000% that we could and we should. That was the argument for the past two seasons. But you can't be positive when you know the wrong person was leading the program.
Now that Flood is gone I don't see anyone less than positive. Looking forward to the Ash era.

 

[Ataylor1989x]

Personally, I'm at the point where I'd rather have a team that I can root for in good conscience even more so than a championship team. (By that I mean a team with upstanding citizens that care about their education and respect their school).

I've concluded that you can't possibly do better than people like Ash and Parker to create such a team and culture, and I'm certain that mentality will eventually lead to many more wins and such a culture will play particularly well in a talent-rich state like New Jersey.

 

[bac2therac]

truthfully its been along time since we have been near the top 25...we are in 2016, 2006 was a long time ago and 2007 ranking quickly disintegrated, there may have been a brief entry one other year but I dont think perception was that this program was fringe top 25

better times are ahead but most of our bowls were minor and 7-5 type seasons with some 8-4s. Im not too concerned about that because I have full confidence that Ash has the ability to push us past mediocrity and make us legitimately competitive with anyone not named Ohio State

 

[ruready07]

truthfully its been along time since we have been near the top 25...we are in 2016, 2006 was a long time ago and 2007 ranking quickly disintegrated, there may have been a brief entry one other year but I dont think perception was that this program was fringe top 25

better times are ahead but most of our bowls were minor and 7-5 type seasons with some 8-4s. Im not too concerned about that because I have full confidence that Ash has the ability to push us past mediocrity and make us legitimately competitive with anyone not named Ohio State

bac,
it really hasn't been a long time. In 2012 we were ranked for much of the year. But in all due respect, your response to this thread is the little attitude adjustment we need to undertake in order to push the program forward. When a group of people collectively believe something, the energy is enough to create change. No more holding ourselves back.. Don't you agree?

 

[Yeah Baby]

Nice thoughts ready07. We clearly were hovering and sometimes you take steps back before you can step forward. There are a very few teams that have been very good EVERY year since 2005. We have been up and down but outside of a few years we were pretty good to good on average and hovering near at the Top 25 or so.

Unfortunately, when you join a conference like the BIG you have to take the bad with the good. Sure we could have stayed in the AAC and been like Temple last year in the Top 25 but long term, we will be a much stronger program for being in the BIG. We have upgraded or will be upgrading just about everything we need to compete. If we stayed in the AAC we would have hovered in the 25-45 range. Now we have a legit shot to move up to the next level.

 

[mildone]

Thinking positive should be the rule, not the exception !

How about patiently positive? I'm feeling very positive, but also thinking that it's realistic to think that we're going to need a couple seasons to get back on track.

 

[beaced]

We sometimes forget how far we've come and how close we've been to BCS bowls on three occasions - just one play away against Cincy (2008), and one blown call by BE officials away in each of two regular season finales (2006 and 2012). Our two poor seasons were 2010 (following the injury to Eric) and 2015 (when we were just 4 minutes or so away from being 7-5). And we had a very mediocre season in 2013 in the AAC after losing 7 players on defense to the NFL. Overall, that isn't as bad as we make it sound most of the time and there are many programs out there with a far worse track record than that.

In '06 there were TWO BLOWN CALLS against the"EERS. The one on Stanton and the mugging of RR in the end zone for a 2 pointer.

 

[Yeah Baby]

How about patiently positive? I'm feeling very positive, but also thinking that it's realistic to think that we're going to need a couple seasons to get back on track.

We have already had a couple of seasons. We are stronger and deeper at our biggest achilles heel since the 70's (DL). If you can run and stop the run you have a chance. Doing those things against the elite BIG teams is still a couple of years away but let's see how this D stacks up. Playing a group of veterans vs young players in this conference gives you a MUCH better chance. Having depth is a big plus. Kids working hard and being disciplined, big plus. Running the spead gives us a better chance IMO in this conference than trying to run down the throats of these elite teams. I will be patient but I'm not counting out a chance at going 8-5 again as we did in 2014. If we can do it then why not now? Sure having a Sr QB in Nova did help a ton (plus Fridge guiding him) but that was in the Pro style and now we have the spread. Let's see what happens. I will enjoy every victory and not bitch about every loss though inside I will be pissed.

 

[Ole Cabbagehead]

I read somewhere that we are the only Power 5 team that has not been playing major conference football for more than 40 years. If you think about what Rutgers has been up against as far as having ingrained supporters and a built in donor/fan base, it is incredible how far we have come. And we will continue to rise as part of the Big Ten.

 

[mildone]

We have already had a couple of seasons. We are stronger and deeper at our biggest achilles heel since the 70's (DL). If you can run and stop the run you have a chance. Doing those things against the elite BIG teams is still a couple of years away but let's see how this D stacks up. Playing a group of veterans vs young players in this conference gives you a MUCH better chance. Having depth is a big plus. Kids working hard and being disciplined, big plus. Running the spead gives us a better chance IMO in this conference than trying to run down the throats of these elite teams. I will be patient but I'm not counting out a chance at going 8-5 again as we did in 2014. If we can do it then why not now? Sure having a Sr QB in Nova did help a ton (plus Fridge guiding him) but that was in the Pro style and now we have the spread. Let's see what happens. I will enjoy every victory and not bitch about every loss though inside I will be pissed.

I mean a couple seasons for the new coaching staff to establish a winning culture and for the new offensive approach to start to really click. You're correct, it could be possible to win more games similar to 2014. And this is a thread about positivity, so I won't qualify that correctness.

I am, however, going to continue to make pleas for patience on this board, should the team find itself struggling a bit early on. Give the new staff some time to accomplish what they want to accomplish, which surely involves recruiting - and that takes time.

 

[Yeah Baby]

I hear you Mildone and while at it make pleas to support our QB. The below average fan in terms of knowledge will point the finger at the HC and the QB any time we play poorly. I don't know how you can get people to change years of ingrained complaining but patience and support are preferred by me no matter who is coaching and who is playing QB. I'm all in for Ash, the new staff and whoever is taking snaps in the gun.

 

[miketd1]

We have always had talent.

What has been our Achilles heel has been depth to reload:

We have Tom Savage, but no protection.
We have Sanu, but Chas Dodd (God bless him) can't take advantage.
We have NFL secondary/Khaseem Greene/Juwan Jamison, but an inexperienced Gary Nova.
We have an experienced Gary Nova, but no run game or protection.

This year it looks like the DL might be the strength. But now just about every position of offense is a questions mark.

Yes we need 4 & 5 star players to compete.

But more importantly, we need our 2 & 3-star kids to develop and produce in order to provide adequate depth. They don't need to be the strength of the team, but they can't be weaknesses either.

 

[ruready07]

I am, however, going to continue to make pleas for patience on this board, should the team find itself struggling a bit early on. Give the new staff some time to accomplish what they want to accomplish, which surely involves recruiting - and that takes time.

If we ever find ourselves struggling, that is when the whole program needs to double down on the support. This fan - team relationship is most special when the fans have an impact on the improvement of the team. We can do it. We have great kids, we really do. We have smart kids and we have a bunch of talent throughout the team. Lets MAKE it happen.

 

[Yeah Baby]

We have always had talent.

What has been our Achilles heel has been depth to reload:

We have Tom Savage, but no protection.
We have Sanu, but Chas Dodd (God bless him) can't take advantage.
We have NFL secondary/Khaseem Greene/Juwan Jamison, but an inexperienced Gary Nova.
We have an experienced Gary Nova, but no run game or protection.

This year it looks like the DL might be the strength. But now just about every position of offense is a questions mark.

Yes we need 4 & 5 star players to compete.

But more importantly, we need our 2 & 3-star kids to develop and produce in order to provide adequate depth. They don't need to be the strength of the team, but they can't be weaknesses either.

I agree with all of the above and when I said DL has been our achilles I should clarify that we have always been paper thin there even when we had some very talents D Linemen, especially the interior positions. Even in 2006 we played a rotation of 3 DT's for 90-95% of our snaps and 2 of them were walk ons. Think about that. But they were very disruptive and we were veterans across the board that season except for Teel and Britt who both came on late in the season.

 

[mildone]

I agree with all of the above and when I said DL has been our achilles I should clarify that we have always been paper thin there even when we had some very talents D Linemen, especially the interior positions. Even in 2006 we played a rotation of 3 DT's for 90-95% of our snaps and 2 of them were walk ons. Think about that. But they were very disruptive and we were veterans across the board that season except for Teel and Britt who both came on late in the season.

I also agree with what @miketd1 said about depth. It's a critical aspect of winning in the Big Ten East. And it's been lacking w/us which is why we have a good season or two, but then it takes time to reload when we lose some key players. And why our seasons can be derailed so completely by injuries to key players.

Reading between the lines of what's been going on and what's been said since Ash was hired, I think he's identified depth as a key issue and is taking steps to build more depth within the ranks of the players we already have, in addition to through recruiting. By which I mean that I think our non-two-deep players will be better prepared to contribute sooner than they used to be.

Or at least it seems that way to me anyway.