Football VIDEO: Rutgers Football HC Greg Schiano talks UCLA game week
- Thread starter Richie O
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That's one take. I will give Greg credit for maintaining a positive face and says that they have addressed the issues.
I suppose if you consider every alternative version of handling a presser today... yeah.. it doesn't matter. "strong" statements could be far worse for team morale. Just hope for teh best as fans might be the best approach. Perhaps it will "work out".
I like how he stands up for his players. But that was not a ringing endorsement of his staff. Particularly when asked about offense. He mentions defense being one little thing here one little thing there but offense he knows that’s a shit show.
It is all too easy to read way too much into what HCs say in these press conferences. I like to watch them in case there's something of note. But, IMO, 98% of the time, there's nothing of note said. And fans trying to read into what was said to create something of note is a pretty silly exercise (although nobody should let that reality stop them if they have fun doing that - there's nothing at all wrong with engaging in silliness if it's enjoyable).
The coaching staff cannot make wholesale changes to the team's philosophy and approach to the game in the middle of the season. They can tweak stuff where they feel it can be coached and practiced sufficiently in a week. But tweak a little too much and it can backfire because of lack of reps.
Chess is easy compared to preparing a football team for the next opponent. Because in chess, the "coach" knows that each piece he moves will do exactly as planned. Players are not chess pieces and, unlike chess players and chess pieces, there are many human flaws that can interfere with turning schematic design into great execution.
So the coaches need to focus on what they can realistically achieve which is to correct the technical mistakes that were made, rebuild the player's confidence, and install a plan for the next opponent. This is especially important for the younger players who had to come into the game and play lots of snaps due to injuries to so many starters. And that's basically what GS talked about.
Not really sure what critics of the press conference think should've been said or why it would matter. Talk in press conferences is cheap and almost entirely meaningless to preparing the team. It only matters as a PR exercise with the fanbase. And when you lose, the fanbase will NEVER be super happy with anything the coach says.
The coaching staff cannot make wholesale changes to the team's philosophy and approach to the game in the middle of the season. They can tweak stuff where they feel it can be coached and practiced sufficiently in a week. But tweak a little too much and it can backfire because of lack of reps.
Chess is easy compared to preparing a football team for the next opponent. Because in chess, the "coach" knows that each piece he moves will do exactly as planned. Players are not chess pieces and, unlike chess players and chess pieces, there are many human flaws that can interfere with turning schematic design into great execution.
So the coaches need to focus on what they can realistically achieve which is to correct the technical mistakes that were made, rebuild the player's confidence, and install a plan for the next opponent. This is especially important for the younger players who had to come into the game and play lots of snaps due to injuries to so many starters. And that's basically what GS talked about.
Not really sure what critics of the press conference think should've been said or why it would matter. Talk in press conferences is cheap and almost entirely meaningless to preparing the team. It only matters as a PR exercise with the fanbase. And when you lose, the fanbase will NEVER be super happy with anything the coach says.
Doesn’t sound good on the injuries. Not feeling good about the D. Think we will miss Lewis, Dixon and Powell. I hope we get Longerbeam back. The O will have carry us.
He pointed out, and is correct in doing so, that games take on a life of their own. There were numerous obvious mistakes or failures of execution on offense in that game, right? Make a few too many of those, and it results in lots of missed opportunities, and those pile up quickly and can lead to terrible overall performances.
Slightly better QB protection would lead to better QB performance which might've helped the receivers catch balls in some cases. That would've meant longer series on offense which would've worn the Wisconsin D down some more. Same with the drops by receivers. Make those catches, it alters the complexion of the game by keeping the O on the field, giving the D more rest and, critically for the young players who had to come in when the starters got hurt, more time to review and correct problems.
The difference between a competitive game and potential win, and a blowout loss, often comes down to the details of execution on a just a couple handfuls of plays. Coaches mention that a lot after reviewing film on a bad loss, but I think fans (and probably players) don't often register the truth of it or take it onboard.
All the team can do at this point is try to fix the execution, make some tweaks where that can help players do that without confusing them, and then see how that works results-wise. People expecting something else from the coaches or players are just not being realistic at this point in the season.
The most disappointing aspect of the recent losses is the apparent dearth of talent in the 2 deep roster. The injuries are piling up and it seems there is a big drop off with the replacements. It seemed much was made of improved depth coming into the season. It doesn’t appear accurate. It’s unfortunate and does fall on the coaching staff.
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UCLA is on life support, we have injuries, but so do they. If we don't beat them at home on Saturday we might not win another game.
This was true vs. Wisconsin.
First possession: Fletcher was open behind the D. Execute the pass and catch and it could have been 7-0 RU.
Later possession: stuffed at the 10. Make that play and it could be 14 all.
FG snap was dropped. Could have been up 17 14 at the half.
There were other blown chances in the 2nd half. But the point is clear. We didn't make the key plays that were available.
Yep. We might not win another game this season, after all, the other teams are good D1 football teams and they are working hard to win same as us. But I still think the potential for us to win any game is there. Just gonna have to see what happens.
Yea I agree with most of what you said. And as I said I appreciate that he protects his players and takes on the blame. He was more open about specifics when it came to defense (maybe because that’s his side of the ball) but when it came to answering questions about offense he was less direct and sounds to me like he inferred there is more to work on with the offense and it didn’t come down to one or two things.
I’ve said multiple times you can win a game when the other team scores 28 points. But it is very difficult to win games when you only score 7. This offense is having a hard time scoring points and that started last year. Playcalling has been abysmal and Schiano knows it.
I wonder who decides each week that only passes outside the hashes close to the sidelines are called
Can you enlighten us with comparison to hula hoops ? And jacks ? Did you ever play jacks ? I don’t think kids play jacks anymore, but hopefully you do so you can teach us the difference between coaches positioning players and people grabbing their jacks.
UCLA is the 'easiest' game remaining on our schedule. If feels like a lifetime ago when we were on the verge of being a top 25 team.
Going back to last year, against the "better" teams, Rutgers scored:
2023:
Michigan 7
Wisconsin 13
Ohio State 16
Iowa 0
Penn State 6
2024:
Nebraska 7
Wisconsin 7
That's an average of 7 points per game. That's pathetic.
That was my biggest takeaway. I fear we may have seen the last of a few of those guys this year.
Those "Hello Kitty" shirts are ready!
When those 5 yd sideline passes start flying be ready to shout "Go kitty Go!
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They also have Jersey gear
When those 5 yd sideline passes start flying be ready to shout "Go kitty Go!
Rutgers Scarlet Knights Hello Kitty Shirt - Vintagenclassic Tee
## Rutgers Scarlet Knights Hello Kitty Shirt: A Fan's Delight
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They also have Jersey gear
Maybe kicking a few chip-shot field goals would help.
This team has nearly the entire starting defense on injured reserve and a QB who tap dances when the pocket breaks down. Gonna be a long season.
Some on this board give little respect to UCLA and feel that this is almost a gimmie win.
However, I think they are much better than their 1-5 record would indicate (lost to 4 Top 20 teams and a close loss to Minnesota).
I wounder what Rutgers/Greg record would be if they had played UCLA's schedule.
Not saying Rutgers won't win but can't look past this game.
Interesting match up.
HAIL TO PITT!!!!
However, I think they are much better than their 1-5 record would indicate (lost to 4 Top 20 teams and a close loss to Minnesota).
I wounder what Rutgers/Greg record would be if they had played UCLA's schedule.
Not saying Rutgers won't win but can't look past this game.
Interesting match up.
HAIL TO PITT!!!!
As I said the playcalling, especially in the red zone has been pathetic. It’s more a scheme/system problem than a personnel problem. Can’t rely on the defense to win games. Offensive staff has done a horrible job putting the players in a position to succeed.
Check the weekly scoreboard for all of CFB.
If you score less than 20pts, it's nearly an automatic loss.
Last week 30 teams scored less than 20pts.
3 of them won.
So what do we do? Fire our Offensive Coordinator for like the 15th time in 18 years?
Exactly and that's why they play the games. Otherwise we could just give tOSU , Michigan or Penn state the B1G championship each year.
Those are the facts. Offensive production has been pretty bad. I think it's the one area that just hasn't improved much, if at all, season on season since GS has been back. It's slightly better than the Ash years, but that's a very low bar.
I don't have any good way of knowing how much of that is bad play-design or play-calling versus other factors (player ability, player mistakes in execution). For example, we've had a ton of very critical drops on perfectly catchable passes this season. Can't really blame that on play calling or design. The QB has made some poor passes under pressure - hard to blame that all on play calling or design.
For me, the biggest question mark about play calling and design is that the OL has been pretty obviously overmatched in the past two games, both in run blocking and pass protection. And when the OL cannot do it's job, that severely restricts what plays can be called by the OC. The OC can't call plays he knows the OL line is incapable of running.
The OL line woes might be due to position coaching or it might be due to talent or it might be due to preseason scheme design. For example, maybe the OC didn't think OL players would be fast or agile enough so, when designing plays for the this season, he opted to eliminate most plays where a guard has to pull and block out wide - limiting certain types of plays that depend on a pulling guard.
My point is not to defend the OC or Schiano. It's to point out that while we can all see and agree that the offense is just not getting the job done, it's not entirely clear where the "blame" lies for that. My guess is that it's not any one thing, or any one person's fault. But it's fair to say most GS teams are not offensive juggernauts.
Can we bring back the Fridge as co-OC? In just that one season, he appeared to have a pronounced positive impact on the offense. Imagine what he could've done over the span of 4 or 5 years.
I read this and immediately thought to object.. then I checked their schedule. They have played some tough teams for a long time now. It could be they have upped their internal measuring stick to that level.
My take on our team is that we had a nice first team set up on both sides of the ball. And that our performance was based on them seamlessly doing their assignments. And that the injuries have us all disjointed.
Prior to this season, I did caution us all that no Big Ten game is a gimme. That, had we lost that miracle comeback game vs MSU that we would not even have been a bowl team last year nor had the chance to beat Miami, filling us with confidence for this season.
Guess we will have to see what happens.
So, @Panthergrowl13 , what is your prediction for the game? You set up your comment as if every Rutgers fan still thinks this game is a gimme. I see no evidence of that, so I am wondering if you have a specific prediction. I know I do not.
I don’t feel good about any games at this point. Our D is 2nd and 3rd string. No confidence in the QB play and we forgot how to run the ball.
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