Thoughts

[bac2therac]

First of all no one likes to lose 48-13...and yes this team looked awful and overwhelmed from the start but honestly what were people expecting. Flood left Ash with no qb and a lineup devoid of any playmakers, he left personnel intact from the worst pass defense from 3 years running. Ash and company can tweet or talk the good talk all they want that people lap up and buy into but the bottom line this is a total rebuild. Ash knows it, maybe the RU fans will finally learn it. I was shocked at such optimisim for this game season..beating Washington on the road? Going 8-4. I didnt post much the past few weeks but the positivity seemed over the top. The game thread had a bunch of people seemingly shocked on how poorly the team played? Did everyone just forget about last year? Did they forget about how this program lacks talent.

Not going to judge Ash on his first game on the road against the #14 ranked school with experience and playmakers. Its hardly a litmus test and quite frankly not sure if this season is a litmus test on Ash. Ash will rebuild this program through recruiting first, the hole is deep. Rutgers is what it is this year. We all hope Ash can improve the bad habits from the previous regime and try to get this program more disciplined and focused. Ash is stuck with a major issue at QB because we know that Laviano is not a good QB and not the answer for the future but at this point he may be the best we have. Hopefully Allen can improve and Ash gains enough confidence in him to start him. The OL is not good. The defense is going to need a total enema that may last all season to see improvement

Reality check for the fans. I know you want to be pollyannas. Some of you came crashing down today. Its okay, its better to learn it today than later. Stop pencilling in wins over programs very similar. Thats not to say Ash cant be judged or criticized. Certainly games against New Mexico, Illiniois, Indiana, and Maryland will be ones that will be very important to see if the team is showing any progression. I think New Mexico is going to be a huge test for Ash and the program and the fans as well. Its not a definite win. How much does the team improve from week 1 to 3. Can they beat schools like Illinois which are total tossups that our fanbase pencils in as wins. Advice is to temper expectations and sit back. I know its a hard pill to swallow but I think if people are realistic they will realize that after last season, its a looooooong slog back to a bowl game

 

[RU 77]

Dumb post as usual. Lots of seniors. Wrong scheme. Bad offensive plan. Should have been much closer.

 

[Knightmoves]

Dumb post as usual. Lots of seniors. Wrong scheme. Bad offensive plan. Should have been much closer.

Not sure about that. The speed, skill and talent differential today were mind boggling IMO. At this level of competition I believe that Ash is facing the same type of challenge that Schiano faced in 2001.

As a long time RU fan I have no choice but to hang with Ash for the long term. We need a serious upgrade in talent on both sides of the ball before we can be a B1G competitor.

 

[Knight Shift]

Yawn. I'm still going with 8-4 or maybe even 10-2 baby.

 

[bac2therac]

Knightmoves...I see people making the same mistake on the hoops board with respect to Pikiel...total overexhuberence not dealing with the reality of the talent level. We just have to wait it out and hope both coaches can close the talent gap.

 

[djrc89]

Schiano lost to buffalo Villanova and New Hampshire and it wasn't because we lacked talent relative to those teams. I'd like to see us perform as expected against teams we should beat. That will be a good start

 

[MADHAT1]

Reality, finding out RU doesn't have the skill set you thought it had to compete with the better programs.
Don't know if the type of talent I thought RU had wasn't really there, or the previous coaching staff didn't know how to bring it out, leaving Ash and his staff to try to get that talent to start showing.
But it's obvious ( to me) : RU didn't show the type of talent it takes to beat a team like Washington.

 

[Knightmoves]

Knightmoves...I see people making the same mistake on the hoops board with respect to Pikiel...total overexhuberence not dealing with the reality of the talent level. We just have to wait it out and hope both coaches can close the talent gap.

Agree. No quick fix in these situations. In my experience teams don't go from conference doormat to .500 teams overnight.

Too many exuberant fans see a positive coaching change and start sniffing the ether, thinking that a program can be turned around overnight. History tells us otherwise.

The good news for RU is that Ash and Pikeil seem like guys who have the ability to succeed over the long term, something RU has not had in the past. IMO the long term is 3-5 years at best.

 

[RU 77]

Greg did not have any 5 stars in 2001. Our talent is not that bad.

 

[RUinBoston]

First of all no one likes to lose 48-13...and yes this team looked awful and overwhelmed from the start but honestly what were people expecting. Flood left Ash with no qb and a lineup devoid of any playmakers, he left personnel intact from the worst pass defense from 3 years running. Ash and company can tweet or talk the good talk all they want that people lap up and buy into but the bottom line this is a total rebuild. Ash knows it, maybe the RU fans will finally learn it. I was shocked at such optimisim for this game season..beating Washington on the road? Going 8-4. I didnt post much the past few weeks but the positivity seemed over the top. The game thread had a bunch of people seemingly shocked on how poorly the team played? Did everyone just forget about last year? Did they forget about how this program lacks talent.

Not going to judge Ash on his first game on the road against the #14 ranked school with experience and playmakers. Its hardly a litmus test and quite frankly not sure if this season is a litmus test on Ash. Ash will rebuild this program through recruiting first, the hole is deep. Rutgers is what it is this year. We all hope Ash can improve the bad habits from the previous regime and try to get this program more disciplined and focused. Ash is stuck with a major issue at QB because we know that Laviano is not a good QB and not the answer for the future but at this point he may be the best we have. Hopefully Allen can improve and Ash gains enough confidence in him to start him. The OL is not good. The defense is going to need a total enema that may last all season to see improvement

Reality check for the fans. I know you want to be pollyannas. Some of you came crashing down today. Its okay, its better to learn it today than later. Stop pencilling in wins over programs very similar. Thats not to say Ash cant be judged or criticized. Certainly games against New Mexico, Illiniois, Indiana, and Maryland will be ones that will be very important to see if the team is showing any progression. I think New Mexico is going to be a huge test for Ash and the program and the fans as well. Its not a definite win. How much does the team improve from week 1 to 3. Can they beat schools like Illinois which are total tossups that our fanbase pencils in as wins. Advice is to temper expectations and sit back. I know its a hard pill to swallow but I think if people are realistic they will realize that after last season, its a looooooong slog back to a bowl game

I'm not sure what that point of posts like this are. So, people were optimistic. So was I. Good for us...we're not the coaches, we're the fans...we're supposed to be optimistic. It's not a competition for who can have the lowest expectations. Also, I think everyone has the right to be disappointed after today...the game could have been closer, and saying we have no playmakers is absurd. But at the same time, it's a first time coach making first time mistakes and seeing his team on the field for the first time, on the road, against a good team. So we move on and get optimistic about the next ones.

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

Agree. No quick fix in these situations. In my experience teams don't go from conference doormat to .500 teams overnight.

The quick fix was moving to the spread from pro offense. Doesn't seem to have worked. Our team speed is crap. Looked like a slow B1G team out there.

 

[RocktheRac]

Who are e the playmakers besides Grant?

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

Who are e the playmakers besides Grant?

Coach Ash and the Scarlet Knight Mascot.

Oh and Lil Jovi and DJ Yoshi.

 

[bac2therac]

I'm not sure what that point of posts like this are. So, people were optimistic. So was I. Good for us...we're not the coaches, we're the fans...we're supposed to be optimistic. It's not a competition for who can have the lowest expectations. Also, I think everyone has the right to be disappointed after today...the game could have been closer, and saying we have no playmakers is absurd. But at the same time, it's a first time coach making first time mistakes and seeing his team on the field for the first time, on the road, against a good team. So we move on and get optimistic about the next ones.

OkAy we have Grant..thats it..our lack of speed vs UW was glaring.

 

[Knight Shift]

Who are e the playmakers besides Grant?

You can't be serious. Hicks. Goodwin. Patton. Some still to emerge.
People need to relax. First game. Tennessee looked like crap (especially their QB) in their opening game. First game for new coach here against a top team.

 

[RU31trap]

If anyone thinks for one moment that the coaching staff is not ultimately responsible for the debacle you saw today then you're in denial. Our team was ill prepared on so many levels it makes no sense to list them all. No one is saying that we should have won the game, all we are saying is that the execution on offense looked like the team was put together last week and the defense was not far behind. The only reason the defense looked a little better in the second half was because Washington sat it's starters. We better come to play next week. Seriously.

 

[Knight Shift]

Good Knight, folks. Some of you are insufferable. It's hard to lose so badly, but relax. It was one game.

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

If anyone thinks for one moment that the coaching staff is not ultimately responsible for the debacle you saw on television today you simply don't understand college football. Our team was ill prepared on so many levels it makes no sense to list them all. No one is saying that we should have won the game, all we are saying is that the execution on offense looked like the team was put together last week and the defense was not far behind. The only reason the defense looked a little better in the second half was because Washington sat it's starters. We better come to play next week. Seriously.

Agreed

We were pretty inept on ALL sides of the ball.

Could of easily been 80-3 if Peterson hadn't taken his foot off the gas. imo he should have kept his foot on the gas. That's how you win championships, see Urban Myer.

 

[LC-88]

81-0 and I'd be worried. UVa lost to Richmond by 17 at home. We'll keep improving.

 

[Knight Shift]

Agreed

We were pretty inept on ALL sides of the ball.

Could of easily been 80-3 if Peterson hadn't taken his foot off the gas. imo he should have kept his foot on the gas. That's how you win championships, see Urban Myer.

For a guy who purports to know a lot about Rutgers football and football, you can't spell the names of any key people in the sport, undercutting your credibility.

 

[ClassOf02]

Good Knight, folks. Some of you are insufferable. It's hard to lose so badly, but relax. It was one game.

You need to stop shouting people down. It was a really ugly game (I was there) and fans can have a really ugly reaction to it. I wasn't expecting a win, but the lack of compete and weird offensive scheme is concerning. I'm by no means worrying about the long term, but today was ugly. People voicing their frustration on a message board isn't exactly surprising.

 

[stacyusaf]

I think you guys looked good, you played a top 10 team what did you expect?

 

[DJ Spanky]

The quick fix was moving to the spread from pro offense. Doesn't seem to have worked. Our team speed is crap. Looked like a slow B1G team out there.

Shades of moving to a spread offense in 2009 and 2010.

 

[Underdogs88]

There was a reason we were 27 point underdogs. We lack talent due to flood. It's a 2-3 year rebuild. I was amused at all the optimistic people thinking we would be good this year. It took Washington 3 years to be good, and it will take us the same.

 

[RUJMM78]

Its the nature for fans to be optimistic at the beginning of a season.Reality ,however, quickly sets in when games against tough competition begins.This debate about the level of talent never goes away and neither does the embarrassing losses.The bottom line for both the football program and mens basketball is that the talent level needs a major upgrade to be successful against league competition.In the case of mens basketball its been over 25 years without one NCAA bid .In the case of football success will be more difficult because of league competition where there are no easy wins.

 

[jonS]

Not sure about that. The speed, skill and talent differential today were mind boggling IMO. At this level of competition I believe that Ash is facing the same type of challenge that Schiano faced in 2001.

As a long time RU fan I have no choice but to hang with Ash for the long term. We need a serious upgrade in talent on both sides of the ball before we can be a B1G competitor.

all your points are well taken. For me , the big differentials were Washington's team speed , especially its playmakers, and their ability to take advantage of certain matchups as they did in the first TD pass. Big disappointment was Laviano--I thought he would step up more , avoid dumb mistakes, etc. Rutgers lack of speed in its wide receivers compared to Washington was incredible. Grant looked slow compared to Washington's Ross.....

 

[bac2therac]

If anyone thinks for one moment that the coaching staff is not ultimately responsible for the debacle you saw today then you're in denial. Our team was ill prepared on so many levels it makes no sense to list them all. No one is saying that we should have won the game, all we are saying is that the execution on offense looked like the team was put together last week and the defense was not far behind. The only reason the defense looked a little better in the second half was because Washington sat it's starters. We better come to play next week. Seriously.

Im giving a pass because it was the staffs first game and they are working with a subpar talent level against a top 15 school..so to me its understandable why things snowballed. If we lost 48-23 would it really have made a difference...this season is about a long slog to improvement and learning. if you are that disappointed today you want us to be something we arent right now. Its game one

 

[MADHAT1]

You can't be serious. Hicks. Goodwin. Patton. Some still to emerge.
People need to relax. First game. Tennessee looked like crap (especially their QB) in their opening game. First game for new coach here against a top team.

Don't forget a brand new spread offense being implemented on a roster recruited for the pro set.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

More like 3-4 year build.

I don't expect much during this rebuilding year. I will say that the tackling looks better and the run defense looked a lot better.

We just didn't have enough firepower and talent to hang with the #14 team in the nation.

We are going to face teams like that at least 4 more times this year and the results will be the same or worse.

They are about 4 winnable games this season and only one will be easy and that will be next week.

It is what it is but if Ash can keep this class we should be in our way back to being good again.

 

[bac2therac]

More like 3-4 year build.

I don't expect much during this rebuilding year. I will say that the tackling looks better and the run defense looked a lot better.

We just didn't have enough firepower and talent to hang with the #14 team in the nation.

We are going to face teams like that at least 4 more times this year and the results will be the same or worse.

They are about 4.. Maybe 5 winnable games this season and only one will be easy and that will be next week.

It is what it is but if Ash can keep this class we should be in our way back to being good again.

wait so we arent beating Michigan this year...wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[RU 77]

Exactly. Don't want us to not be a power running team. Let Laviono take what the running gives him.

 

[REDRICH65]

We beat Ash twice while he was at Arkansas. He's no defensive genius And the cred of his other coaches is questionable. No P5 experience. These kids we not prepared. Floods teams played better.
.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

We beat Ash twice while he was at Arkansas. He's no defensive genius And the cred of his other coaches is questionable. No P5 experience. These kids we not prepared. Floods teams played better.
.

I'm sorry but this simply isn't true.

 

[sct1111]

What bothered me was supposedly the best part of our team the Oline and DLine were dominated all game. 10 strong looked like 10 weak.

 

[Mr Magoo]

It's nice to be optimistic and I'll admit we looked very unprepared (which surprised me) but this game had blowout written all over it.

New coach, same QB, new offense, same bad defense, 1st game, cross-country trip, too twenty team, and (although many will disagree) large discrepancy in talent.

 

[Caliknight]

The quick fix was moving to the spread from pro offense. Doesn't seem to have worked. Our team speed is crap. Looked like a slow B1G team out there.

That wasn't the quick fix. It's the long term plan.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Some of you

It's nice to be optimistic and I'll admit we looked very unprepared (which surprised me) but this game had blowout written all over it.

New coach, same QB, new offense, same bad defense, 1st game, cross-country trip, too twenty team, and (although many will disagree) large discrepancy in talent.

YES YES YES!!! THANK YOU! Anybody thinking:

- this game should have been closer
- we have more talent than we do (3 years of lousy classes will tell you that isn't the case...)
- we have "plenty of speed" as one poster claimed the other day, talking about us having the fastest WR's, LB's, RB's, and DB's, in the conference
- or we should be running the O that we have the players for, now, then changing things when the time comes...

...really aren't thinking clearly right now. This is NOT about this season. This is about getting quality depth built it, for the right systems, over the next 2-3 years. My Lord people relax.

 

[RU 77]

That wasn't the quick fix. It's the long term plan.

No. It's a long term fail IMO. If anybody can run a pro set it should be us.

 

[Veiox]

 

[RUsojo]

You can't be serious. Hicks. Goodwin. Patton. Some still to emerge.
People need to relax. First game. Tennessee looked like crap (especially their QB) in their opening game. First game for new coach here against a top team.

Patton?!?!? Patton is a playmaker? Who the f*** are you kidding? What the hell us Andre Patton ever done in CFB beside stand 6'3 and weigh 200+ lbs?!?!

Goodwin?! The guy who lost a starting and couldn't find a way on the field? Goodwin had 3 decent games 3 years ago and you think he's a playmaker.

Hicks?! A guy who is third on the depth chart behind the guy above. A kid who had one good bowl game, who has flashes in the 4th quarter against second team defenses, and hasn't "started" a game (maybe barring an injury I can't recall).


I agree that people need to relax, mostly you and others, but not me, as my posts above are true, aggressive, and a pleasure for me to type, but that yes it's only week one and we lost how we were supposed too. Other than that, you sir, are f****** moron just looking to stir the pot.