What Kind Of Team Did Schiano USED To Have?

[BucsFTW]

It's no secret that I'm definitely NOT a huge NCAA football fan.  That being said, can anyone with a decent level of college football know-how tell me what kind of team Schiano put together at Rutgers?

Yeah, I know what he's promised to deliver here in Tampa, but is it something new to him, or was Rutgers really a "power running team that took shots down field"...?

[BucsBay]

I really only watched Rutgers against USF, but in those games he would do what a lot of teams would due to the Bucs last year and test USF's discipline throughout the game. I remember them always running the ball well, and always getting big plays out of the passing game too.

[anterrabae33]

Took a bunch of no-name guys and made them into a competitive football team basically year after year. They would get an elite talent every now and then but not having a decent QB always screwed them.

[Beatles123]

I actually asked a Rutgers board what they thought of Schiano a while back:

http://thegreasetruck.yuku.com/topic/8833/Buccaneers-fan-here-I-come-in-peace-questions-on-Schiano#.T4X_U6u2Qp0

As we can see, opinions vary, but most agree he is a good coach for what we have, i'd think. Some don't like him simply because he was never as successful as they'd like, but when discussing his style, he seems to fit exactly as he is advertised. Which is what we all wan't, mostly.

"Bump" seems to be the only "Java" in that thread. Most seem to think he's off base.

[Pepsi]

"Beatles, let me give you a bit of a more general, non-Schiano perspective.  Tampa Bay needs a good coach.  Any team needs a good coach to win.  And a good coach is not someone who doesn't have the weaknesses of your previous coach or has strengths that your previous coach did not.  All that is irrelevant and reactionary.  It doesn't matter if there used to be no discipline.  That doesn't mean you go and get a disciplinarian.  What matters is that you had a bad coach, and you need to replace him with a good one.  Thinking otherwise is reactionary.  I say this only because you needed to give us that history, and I think it's for the most part irrelevant.  Oh, and Tampa won't win at all -- no matter how good the coach -- unless it has a good GM who selects good players, particularly a QB.

By the way, having seen Freeman in college and only a little bit, I'm skeptical he'll ever be a top QB. "



I totally agree with that!

[Beatles123]

And i'll tell you whsat I told him...I have faith in Free.

[tajik_buc]

think the real question should be: what was Rutgers like before he got there?

[bobcs2]

And i'll tell you whsat I told him...I have faith in Free.

Me too man - I have faith that he can be an elite QB. However, I fear that he'll have 2 more poor season with us, we let him go, then he goes straight to a SB with whoever we trade too.

Same with LGB - if we get rid of him, we'll regret it big time xD

Great thread btw, gave me alot of insight

[dbrooks55]

I personally feel that Schaino will be a better pro coach than college...I think his way is more fit for the NFL.

[Tampa-Two]

think the real question should be: what was Rutgers like before he got there?

+1 Bingo! Yatzee! Jackpott! Touchdown! Homerun! Its Good!

[champkind]

I personally feel that Schaino will be a better pro coach than college...I think his way is more fit for the NFL.

I agree. It is far more difficult to win consistently in college while running a pro system unless you have elite talent.

[Benchwarmer#1]

And i'll tell you what I told him...I have faith in Free.

Me too man - I have faith that he can be an elite QB. However, I fear that he'll have 2 more poor season with us, we let him go, then he goes straight to a SB with whoever we trade too.

Same with LGB - if we get rid of him, we'll regret it big time xD

That's why it was so critical to get a competent OC. I think we're definitely on the right track regarding Freeman and the team in general with the staff they have picked.

My biggest question is, will Schiano have the ability to mold this defense that is pretty much the same as last season? I think he can,and is much of an improvement over Raheem.

However, his first season may not go as planned because of his lack of knowledge of the finer details in the NFL. I think he'll catch on quickly, but how quickly is unknown. Certainly we can expect better than last season regardless. If they can't muster a .500 season, it's a failure imo.

[jerseybucsfan]

think the real question should be: what was Rutgers like before he got there?

Before Schiano got there, Rutgers was a laughingstock. They were among the worst Division I football programs in the country. There was a culture of losing and it took Schiano about three, four years to change that while bringing in better recruits and waiting for the previous classes to graduate. Many like to recall players like Ray Rice or Devin McCourty, but when I think of Rutgers I think of Anthony Davis, the lineman for the Niners. IMHO they became run first because he never had a QB one would consider one of the 10 best in the country. That he had multiple wideouts that still were NFL caliber is remarkable given this deficiency. But my guess is that Schiano will emphasize a balanced offense, not so much run first. You have to pass well to win in the NFL, but play action obviously doesn't work if you can't run too. That's what the Giants do. Conversely if Freeman proves he can't protect the ball (ala 2011), we may be fishing for a new QB in 2013.

[champkind]

think the real question should be: what was Rutgers like before he got there?

Before Schiano got there, Rutgers was a laughingstock. They were among the worst Division I football programs in the country. There was a culture of losing and it took Schiano about three, four years to change that while bringing in better recruits and waiting for the previous classes to graduate. Many like to recall players like Ray Rice or Devin McCourty, but when I think of Rutgers I think of Anthony Davis, the lineman for the Niners. IMHO they became run first because he never had a QB one would consider one of the 10 best in the country. That he had multiple wideouts that still were NFL caliber is remarkable given this deficiency. But my guess is that Schiano will emphasize a balanced offense, not so much run first. You have to pass well to win in the NFL, but play action obviously doesn't work if you can't run too. That's what the Giants do. Conversely if Freeman proves he can't protect the ball (ala 2011), we may be fishing for a new QB in 2013.

Man, they were lucky if they had one of the 10 best in the CONFERENCE (yes, out of 8 teams.)

[jerseybucsfan]

And i'll tell you what I told him...I have faith in Free.

Me too man - I have faith that he can be an elite QB. However, I fear that he'll have 2 more poor season with us, we let him go, then he goes straight to a SB with whoever we trade too.

Same with LGB - if we get rid of him, we'll regret it big time xD

That's why it was so critical to get a competent OC. I think we're definitely on the right track regarding Freeman and the team in general with the staff they have picked.

My biggest question is, will Schiano have the ability to mold this defense that is pretty much the same as last season? I think he can,and is much of an improvement over Raheem.

However, his first season may not go as planned because of his lack of knowledge of the finer details in the NFL. I think he'll catch on quickly, but how quickly is unknown. Certainly we can expect better than last season regardless. If they can't muster a .500 season, it's a failure imo.

IMHO that is a losing mentality.
1. The talent isn't as high of a level as some of you would like to believe. IMHO that's on the GM.
2. The ability to stay healthy isn't there for a lot of these guys. Again, the GM picked them.
3. Most significantly we don't know if we have an elite QB. We know he can be good (see 2010), but you win with either an elite QB and good defense or good QB and GREAT defense. In this way Dominik has done his job. The Bucs have the line and receivers. If Freeman can't get them the ball, he needs to be replaced.
IMHO, we are anywhere from a 6-8 win team. We're in a pretty good division. We could go 7-9 and still play reasonably well. But IMHO anything less than six wins would be a failure. Expect 6 or 7, make 8 the goal. But we really need to figure out which of these guys (like Price, Benn, etc.) should be part of our long-term future.