Talking basketball

RU Men’s Basketball tips off with an exhibition against Caldwell at the RAC on November 10th. To give you an idea of how much of a basketball fan I am, I had to look that date up. It’s up in the air how much basketball content will be here in coming months. If you’re looking for in-depth coverage, read a newspaper, or visit Carino’s blog, ZAGSBLOG, or the Big Beast. There’s a very, very high probability that this preview will contain some crucial error owing to me missing a critical piece of news reported during the offseason.

That’s a little ironic actually, because, a while back, I actually had a lot more access to RU basketball than I ever did to football, even though I didn’t take much interest in it. I can vividly recall listening to Jim Carr badmouth a player for five minutes, and then switch gears when that person entered the room. In conclusion to this tangent, let me just add that I have a very, very low opinion of Gary Waters. I sincerely want Fred Hill and the current staff to succeed.

A decade ago, could anyone really have expected the day when Rutgers fans would have a high opinion of their football program, but basketball would be considered a black eye on the athletic department? The BB program has had several near misses since then, but it has not made the NCAA Tournament since 1991; apparently, only Oregon State has had a longer drought among Big Six conference teams. Since the tail end of the Bob Wenzel era, Rutgers men’s basketball has been the victim of a combination of terrible decision making and a string of bad luck. The former removes any chance of overcoming the latter. Entering the 2008-2009 season, is there any semblance of hope?

Yes and no. Preseason hyperbole has a tendency to go a little overboard, but there is absolutely no doubt that the 16-team Big East is deeper and stronger than ever on paper heading into this coming season. Rutgers is entering year three of the (sans-Quincy Douby) Fred Hill era, and its fanbase is going restless and anxious to see results. Remember, it was in year three that Greg Schiano reached 5-7 and flirted with going .500. As strong as the Big East this year, the fans absolutely need to see a competitive team if there is going to be any chance of luring them back to the now suddenly quiet RAC.

Big East: Week Ten

It’s gut check time this weekend in Storrs, when West Virginia comes to town. This game could determine the balance of power in the Big East this year.

Cincinnati hasn’t been able to generate as many turnovers this season. A large turnover differential is typically seen as one of the major indicators of luck (see: Rutgers 2006, UConn 2007, Kansas 2007, etc…)

Just as Louisville seemed to be heating up comes word that receiver Scott Long (who finally had his long-awaited breakout game against USF) is done for the year with an ACL tear. Rough break. Long sounds like Louisville’s version of Shawn Tucker, another very promising receiver who saw his career ended by injuries.

Pittsburgh is facing questions at quarterback and center after losing two starters to injury last weekend. With a game against Notre Dame in South Bend, their bigger concern may be stopping the Domers’ passing game. I’ll say it again: this is a game where McCoy has to earn his future NFL paycheck. Another potential wrinkle is the possibility that Notre Dame will take the conference’s Gator Bowl bid this year.

USF may be missing four starters tonight when it travels to Cincinnati for a Thursday night matchup on ESPN. What could ultimately doom the Bulls (again) is a major lack of team discipline.

Syracuse is prepping for the Cards this week, and I did find it interesting that quarterback Cody Catalina has been moved to TE, since Rutgers was interested in him a couple of years ago.

West Virginia’s fans have suddenly swung from pessimism to optimism (sound familiar?), yet Bill Stewart knows that his team is in for a handful in facing one of the most opportunistic teams in the country in UConn.

Depth chart tea leaves

I’m not thinking ahead to 2009 all that much at this point, but here are a couple of thoughts to consider when there’s not much to talk about.

• QB Dom Natale seems to have firmly established his role as backup quarterback ahead of Chris Paul-Etienne. Jabu Lovelace was so ineffective at quarterback that, if he’s able to successfully rehab and returns for his fifth year, he should strongly consider switching to safety. A lot of fans want to immediately anoint Tom Savage or D.C. Jefferson, but I think they’re both raw enough that the odds are overwhelmingly against them (and Steve Shimko) from seeing the field before 2010.
• Jourdan Brooks is ahead of Mason Robinson right now. I just wish that both would see more consistent work so the coaching staff has a good opportunity to see what they can do in game action. Eric LeGrand has been getting work at FB, and that might continue until Andres Morales finds his way out of the doghouse.
• Before his recent leg injury, former walk-on QB Andrew DePaola had seemingly passed Julian Hayes on the depth chart, as well as Marcus Cooper. If Britt leaves for the NFL draft, Timmy Brown is likely to be counted on as RU’s big play receiver (Campbell in the slot?), but I’m not sure who will be the next possession receiver if not Hayes or DePaola. Cooper has a similar body type to Underwood, while it remains to be seen whether Keith Stroud or Tim Wright have a little Britt in them. The underclassmen look talented, but it’s hard for them to get much experience when RU’s depth chart is very crowded at the position this year.
• Giving Graves the starting TE job over Brock was a good decision. They’re similar players, but Graves has another two years to improve. I’d imagine that McGovern won’t petition for a sixth year if he can’t see the field as it is. Ruiz is bigger than Graves, but he’s still not the mauling, Sam Johnson-type blocker that you’d want behind Graves at this point. Maybe with another offseason working with Jay Butler.
• Art Forst could be on the Anthony Davis path, only with his eventual destination at right tackle (pure speculation on my part). A couple of the beatwriters did mention that Lange and Hardison switched uniforms for the Pitt game, but Hardison is still at the depth chart at center. Besides, at 280 lbs, can anyone see him playing defensive tackle for a Greg Schiano team? It’ll be interesting to see whether the staff brings in any junior college help this year. The trio of Stapleton, Muldrow, and Newell were three of my favorite recruits in their class. The fact that we’ve heard nothing about Muldrow or Newell lately has been a little disturbing, but they might just be late bloomers.

Back to work

That was the mantra for Rutgers football on Tuesday, even though rain forced a retreat inside the team’s practice bubble.

More on this next week, but one Newsday article from yesterday mentions that Rutgers is going after JUCO lineman Andrew Tiller. If true, is it an indictment of Art Forst, Desmond Stapleton, Richard Muldrow, Caleb Ruch, and Keith Newell? There’s no way to know for sure without access to the program. One of my biggest questions right now is how the young linemen who redshirted last season are looking, on both sides of the ball. It’s not an indictment of a lineman if they can’t contribute overnight like Zuttah and Davis did, and maybe a JUCO could help next year. Fans just have no way of knowing, and any speculation will just be pure conjecture.

It’s one of those things that’s kept under wraps on Rivals and Scout public boards, but the suspensions for J.R. Inman and Jaron Griffin may be reduced according to vague speculation that’s out there right now, which at least helps RU men’s basketball’s prospects in the coming season.

Speaking of basketball, Jerry Carino has a lot of good information from media day at the RAC yesterday. Not to hype him too much, but I really get a Brian Leonard-type vibe from the way Mike Rosario handles himself. He sounds like a winner, and Rutgers needs winners. This year, at first, it’ll have to come from the freshmen. Meanwhile, Adam Zagoria has one of the best pieces about Hamady N’Diaye that you’ll ever read.

Blogpoll: Week nine

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas	–
2	Alabama	–
3	Penn State	–
4	Florida	–
5	Oklahoma	–
6	Georgia	1
7	Oklahoma State	2
8	Southern Cal	2
9	Utah	1
10	Minnesota	5
11	TCU	3
12	Boise State	1
13	Ohio State	5
14	Texas Tech	5
15	Ball State	3
16	Brigham Young	1
17	LSU	4
18	Missouri	5
19	North Carolina	7
20	Michigan State	6
21	Tulsa	4
22	Florida State	4
23	South Florida	11
24	Maryland	2
25	Oregon	1

Dropped Out: Pittsburgh (#16), Northwestern (#20), Kansas (#21), Georgia Tech (#22), Vanderbilt (#24).

Fans always hate the coordinators

Believe it or not, the Big East and Rutgers are not the sole realms of discontent this year in the college football world. Look around – Texas A&M, Washington, Auburn, there’s plenty of hatred to spare. One program however that I would have never expected to fall on hard times would be Virginia Tech. You would have thought that all Frank Beamer needed to right the ship was reinserting quarterback Tyrod Taylor back into the starting lineup, but frustration is mounting in Blacksburg as of late, and most of the ire is directed towards offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring. Even if warranted, fans are always going to turn on the coordinators first if there is no obvious player scapegoat.

I am fairly open to guest posts. They don’t have to be about Rutgers, but as long as you’re talking about football and vaguely coherent, send them in. Most of these are going to come from my friends, but a couple will be from people I don’t know all too well (like the author of the piece below), and I’m definitely open to anything from complete strangers.

Virginia Tech has no offense this year, and frankly it’s not looking good for the Hokies after FSU managed to take out our top two QBs (and pay us back for knocking out Drew Weatherford in last years game in the process). With the news about our backups prepping for the Maryland game, I’d say the prognosis is grim for my Hokies.

What does this mean for our already poor passing offense? I expect it to disappear. Bryan Stinespring, the single largest contributing factor to Frank Beamer not having a national title, basically refused to try passing the ball after the ECU game with the two qbs who have taken snaps in practice and have worked throwing the ball. Our best game in terms of passing was at Nebraska, and that was based upon our ability to run the ball, coupled with their desire to leave the middle of the field open. The man could not play call himself out of a paper bag. What would help our running game which is the core of our offensive game plan? How about trying to convince the secondary we MIGHT pass. We don’t try to stretch the field; he refuses to have the receivers run a route deeper than 5-15 yards.

His ability to play call never seems to fit the situation, his choices are simply boggling. Look at the Orange bowl last year. To end the first half, Brandon Ore got to carry the ball for nearly the entire drive. He ran through the Kansas front 7 and took us 70+ yards down the field for a touchdown. In the second half I think he touched it maybe a grand sum total of 5-7 times. WHY? The moment a particular game plan works his plan becomes, do the opposite. His ability to put our offense in bad positions and force them to make something out of nothing is continuously infuriating. Forget the O-line being mediocre, or the fact that our top receivers coming into the year got injured. Look no further than Eddie Royal. His stats at VT are rather pedestrian, but look at what he has done since he went to the NFL. It’s a waste of talent, pure and simple; it’s what Stinespring does best. Take the talent that should equal at least a top 50 offense and make it a sub 100 one.

This team will never make it to the next level of success as long as the offensive staff we have in place is there. I respect Beamer a great deal for his loyalty, I love to see coaching continuity, but his offenses have been putrid for years. Loyalty is one thing, holding your team back is a completely other thing.

I’m sure the man is personally very pleasant and intelligent, but he’s one of the worst offensive coordinators I’ve ever seen keep his job. He was awful when I arrived there, he was awful when I left, and he’ll still be awful as long as he has his job. What does Virginia Tech need to do to get to a national title game? Stop letting Stinespring call the plays on offense.

Discontent with playcalling is seemingly universal. Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech fans want to take shots down field, while Rutgers fans are sick of Mike Teel overthrowing wide open receivers. Later on, our guest shares his thoughts on the level of parity in the ACC.

10/28 Recruiting Update

Tom Savage’s Cardinal O’Hara team is struggling, behind a rash of injuries.

As far as Gerald Hodges goes, Mike Farrell is staying noncommittal.

Rutgers commitment Gerald Hodges, a linebacker, took a visit to Penn State last weekend. Some say Hodges is sticking with Rutgers, while others insist he’s going to switch to Penn State.

What’s the latest on class of 2010 RB Corey Brown?

“I’ve only played in three games so far this year,” Brown said. “I tore my MCL in the third game so I’ve been out.

“I’m doing rehab right now for it and I should be back for the first round of the playoffs. I’ve just been in the pool running, riding the bike and doing different exercises.”

Cardinal O’Hara was 3-0 before Brown went down with his injury. They won their next four in spite of his absence but just lost their last game and they are looking to bounce back. In the three games Brown played in he racked up 545 yards and an eye-popping 13 touchdowns. Despite his injury schools didn’t back off.

“Lately I’ve been talking to schools like Florida, UCLA, Colorado, Notre Dame and Tennessee,” he explained. “I haven’t been to any games recently but I’ve been thinking about going some places. I was planning on going to the Rutgers-Louisville game at the end of the year and I’d like to get out to Penn State for a game sometime.”

The Star-Ledger spoke with Malcolm Bush on Friday.

“Basically, I felt that I committed prematurely,” Bush told The Star-Ledger by phone Friday afternoon. “Instead of waiting it out and feeling that way and changing my mind a few months before signing day — with the respect that I have for the coaches, I decided to de-commit now.”
…
The Hackensack senior said though that Rutgers’ disappointing start to the season had nothing to do with his decision to de-commit.

“Actually, I was thinking about it before the season started,” Bush said. “I know Rutgers is going to bounce back. All good programs go through their ups and downs, but they’re going to be a good program in the end. It doesn’t have anything to do with the start of the season.”
…
Bush said that he expected to speak with Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano tonight regarding his recent decision.

“Coach Schiano was a big part of the reason why I committed early,” Bush said. “I had a meeting with him and Coach Schiano, he’s a hard guy to turn down. He made it seem — not that it wasn’t — but he made it seem like it was the perfect place for me and I went with my feelings at the moment.

“Now that I’ve re-evaluated, I think I should just wait it out a little bit and if I still feel that way at the end of the day, then Rutgers is definitely the place for me.”

The All-Greg Schiano Team

It’s bye week, which means that there isn’t all that much to talk about as far as Rutgers football goes. It does however afford RU fans the opportunity to talk RU football in ways that aren’t really tied to the 2008 season.

If one was to put together an all-star roster based upon the best individual seasons from Greg Schiano’s tenure as head coach, who would be on it? My selections are as follows:

QB: Ryan Hart, 2005. Hart was always a very accurate quarterback, but he had the tendency to try to force balls in at times, which partially explains his high interception totals. His lack of height was a major disadvantage at times, and his arm strength was a major liability when defenders would try to jump any out routes. Still, Hart was usually a very efficient passer. I think Mike Teel was better at times in 2007, but Teel had several poor games down the stretch.

RB: Ray Rice, 2007. Rice was arguably more dominant running the football in 2006, but that mostly owed to having better play on the offensive line. Rice was far better as a receiver and pass blocker in 2007.

FB: Brian Leonard, 2005. The unfortunate fact is that Leonard was underutilized in 2006, despite, or perhaps owing to, his improved blocking. Rice was overused a lot in his career, but at no time was that more evident than in 2006, when Rutgers puzzingly refused to adequately use one of its best weapons in Leonard.

WR: Kenny Britt, 2007. Let’s be clear about one thing – there’s nothing wrong with the way Kenny Britt has performed in 2008 (besides his one-game suspension against Morgan State). In fact, he’s arguably been better than he was in 2007, single-handedly keeping Rutgers in games at times. Britt’s numbers have dipped this year because of an inferior supporting cast, and no fault of his own. Kenny Britt 2008 is an absolutely dominant force, one that Rutgers will have to ride hard down the stretch if it wants to make something of this year. Britt is the clear choice over 2003 Shawn Tucker, who looked like a potential star before succumbing to a series of injuries.

WR: Tres Moses, 2004. Moses gets the nod at possession receiver over Tiquan Underwood’s 2007. Underwood arguably had better overall stats, but dropped too many critical catches down the stretch (a problem that got completely out of control in 2008). 2004 was a terrific year for Moses, who seemingly never dropped a catch that year, and was always good for a critical first down.

TE: Clark Harris, 2004. Arguably, he was better in 2005, but saw his role in the offense reduced by a returning Tucker and Ray Rice emerging in the backfield. Let’s agree to forget about his 2006, shall we? L.J. Smith was the team’s best receiving threat during Schiano’s first two seasons, but his hands were as unreliable then as they are for the Eagles today. Sam Johnson was always overshadowed by Harris, but Rutgers still has yet to adequately replace Johnson’s blocking.

Passing the time

Pittsburgh fans and media are justly confused by the bizarre comments made by Dave Wannstedt at yesterday’s presser.

Every time we’ve played these guys, they’ve run the football, played defense and played special teams. That’s how they beat Connecticut the week before.

Of course, they weren’t really doing much of anything on offense vs. Connecticut. They couldn’t, because Mike Teel was completely ineffective. You can’t really blame Wannstedt for assuming that would continue, but it’s strange to key in on the run when RU’s run blocking has been so miserable up to this point.

Keith Sargeant points out that 6 wins may not be enough for Rutgers to get to a bowl this season.

Mike Teel is the BE offensive player of the week.

Tom Luicci noticed that RU keeps hurting opposing QBs. It’s probably a coincidence, as Bill Stull collided with McCoy in the backfield.

Can Ray Rice be Baltimore’s Brian Westbrook?

Wow, the NIH is giving the Rutgers Cell and DNA depository a $57.8 million grant.

The Big East makes no sense at all

I watched most of Cincinnati’s game with UConn on Saturday. Cincy had a chance to win, but Tony Pike was still hurting at quarterback, and  his understudy Chazz Anderson just plain is not ready (he looked fairly bad against Rutgers too).

It’s back to basics for UConn, as backup Cody Endres was ineffective, but they won big behind Donald Brown and defense/special teams.

Just what the hell is the world coming to; Bill Stewart (more below) and Steve Kragthorpe’s teams are improving? Scott Long may finally be emerging at receiver for the Cards.

I don’t remember the ESPN 360 announcers mentioning this during the game, but Pitt center Robb Hauser was lost for the season due to a broken ankle. Expect left guard C.J. Davis to slide over to replace him.

I understand why Pitt fans are upset after that loss. I can even understand the frustration over losing to a team that had done nothing on offense until Saturday. However, Rutgers does have a roster that had that kind of game in them. They were too talented at the skill positions to be so ineffective on offense for the entire season. Every game is won just as much as it is lost. There’s going to be venting, sure; after Pitt’s coaching staff made two terrible calls, and after their defense looked unprepared in an important game. Now the Panthers need dust themselves off and get ready for Notre Dame. This is the kind of game where Shady McCoy needs to assert himself and refuse to lose.

Why did USF lose to Louisville?

The Bulls’ biggest culprits against Louisville were a leaky defense that allowed a fourth quarter game-winning TD drive for the second time in three games, a banged up offensive line that couldn’t protect QB Matt Grothe, undisciplined play (14 penalties for 109 yards) and virtually no running game (the Bulls had a school-record low eight yards rushing).

The end is near in Syracuse, reports beatwriter Donnie Webb.

Auburn hasn’t looked too hot this year, but it was definitely a positive to see West Virginia beat them on Thursday night. Could the Mountaineers finally be coming into form?

Let’s hope so, because with Pitt and USF’s losses, the Big East doesn’t really have a marquee team this year to represent the conference high in the polls. The conference is now wide open, and it remains to be seen which team is going to step up and make a play for it.