09.09.23
by

Rutgers: One Step Back, Two Steps Forward?

These days are over, unfortunately

We don’t like to say “I told you so” in this space but, at least in two specific instances over the last few days, we told you so.

Our last post was about Quincy Patterson coming in to “pass” the ball instead of running it. Even the headline of the post was: “HERE’S A THOUGHT: HOW ABOUT HAVING QUINCY PATTERSON PASS?”

What did Stan Drayton do in the first half of a 36-7 loss to Rutgers on Saturday night?

Do the same damn thing he’s done for 99 percent of the time he’s brought Patterson into the game: Try to run.

No. 24 is the future of an improved Owls’ running game.

It’s telegraphing the play to the opponent and Rutgers’ head coach Greg Schiano didn’t need a Navajo codebreaker to determine what Patterson was going to do. Drayton had Patterson run the ball–and like most coaches before him–Schiano was able to stop it.

Who knows had Patterson been allowed to pass if the Owls would have been seven points closer but it would have been something Rutgers would have been unprepared for and the Owls needed those points at that time. ECU sent the house in last year’s final game “knowing” Patterson was going to run it but Drayton fooled them by having QP take one step forward as to run and then one step back for a touchdown pass. Would have been nice to pull that ace out in the RU game.

As it was, the Owls were shut out in the first half, 13-0.

New Temple rule: If a quarterback gets shut out again in the first half, a new quarterback should come into the game.

Thirty minutes is plenty of time to score a point and that’s the quarterback’s job.

Patterson passes there and Temple maybe scores and goes down 13-7. Warner’s second-half touchdown pass would have made it 14-13, good guys. Since the TD pass came in fourth quarter, that’s a full 45 minutes of shutout football Drayton gave Warner.

Too much. Waaaaaaay too much.

The second “I told you so” moment came when true freshman Joquez Smith came into the game. Last week, we wrote that “No. 24 needed a shot” because none of the other backs displayed the ability to make a tackler miss in the opener against Akron.

He got his chance and proved that he was so much better than the upperclassmen options Temple has.

If Stan Drayton learns a couple of lessons here, it will be one step back and two steps forward for Temple.

If he trots out Edward Saydee as his feature back and brings Quincy Patterson in only for short-yardage runs at the goal line again next week, it will be three steps backward. One step for the blowout and two steps for not recognizing Joquez can run and Quincy can throw.

Three steps in the opposite direction Temple cannot afford to make.

E.J. Warner is a good college quarterback. He is not a great one. At least not yet.

He needs to develop a sense of urgency and having Patterson clicking at his heels gives Temple the kind of run/pass option most of the other good college teams have. You can’t allow any college quarterback that many three-and-outs.

Zero points in the first half should have been enough to pull the trigger on Warner and give Patterson a shot.

Drayton deserves some props for putting Smith in the game. He is the future.

If Warner keeps getting shut out in subsequent first halves, he will have to make similar hard and necessary decisions.

That’s the only way Temple takes two steps forward from this big step back.

Monday: This Is The Week

20 thoughts on “Rutgers: One Step Back, Two Steps Forward?”

  1. Agree with you regarding Smith, needs to be the starter next week. In the first 2 games he and to a lessor extent Wilson seem to be the best RBs on the rooster. Think Saydee can still be effective in the passing game coming out of the backfield. As for your points about Warner I’m kind of torn, on the one hand can’t fault your logic regarding switching up if your shutout in the first half, on the other I can see leaving EJ as part of a maturation process. Same way I’m looking at Drayton still learning to be a HC. Maybe I’m overly optimistic but I thiught if worst case Temple could come out of the first 4 games 2-2 there was still the possibility of winning 6 games this season. Won’t be easy but need to take care of business next week

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    • My fear is that they can take care of business with Saydee and Warner and that teaches them nothing going forward. Give Warner and Saydee the first half if you want but make QP and Joquez go the second half, total up the stats and go with the team of runners and passers that give you a BETTER shot to be competitive with Miami (let’s face it; Miami is WAY better than Rutgers).

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  2. Each game, each matchup is its own entity with a number of different factors that come into play. I agree that Warner is a good college QB though I did think the TU fanbase was a bit ‘too much, too fast, too soon’ with the ‘hype and expectation machine’ based off of a few good games. The Rutgers defense isn’t ‘elite’ but is probably much better than many may give credit for. The TU O and D-lines have little depth, which was probably the biggest factor that broke the game open in the 4th.
    I’m not sure some TU fans realize the amount of recruiting ‘decay’ that happened under Collins and Carey (believe me Rutgers fans lived it with Flood and Ash) and how Drayron wasn’t going to undo 5 years of decline in 2 seasons, especially with everything that happened between March 2020 and the fall of 2021.

    …this week’s scores are also showing that the transitive property is often inexact, and the Vegas lines care about money distribution. Akron needed a last-minute touchdown to beat Morgan State and there have been a number of scores that will make you do a bit of a double-take.

    Joe P.

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    • Morgan State beat Richmond. Much better team than it is given credit for …

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      • All due respect to Morgan State and Richmond but are MEAC and CAA teams really the measuring stick in this case?

        ….I think you often make a number of good points but don’t get bringing up games from 5+ years ago with completely different sets of circumstances as ‘evidence’ that something will happen now. Coaches also don’t get everything right every time, though with your QB’s (and we’ve seen this at Rutgers much more than we would like since Nova graduated), the staff sees them all the time in practice and generally (though not 100% accurate) if one QB is playing over another, there’s usually reason(s) why…sometimes those reasons are tenuous at best (Ash playing a clearly not-ready true freshman Art Sitkowski in 2018 over a QB that helped guide Rutgers to 3 conference wins the year before, Schiano naming true-freshman Ryan Cubit (the OC at the time’s son) the starting QB over Chad Schwenk in 2001), but often they’re fairly accurate…and I’m not sure (at least in my opinion) if there is a more overrated ‘combine competition accolade’ than participating in the Elite 11.

        Joe P.

  3. Trouble going forward for the offense. The O-line is undersized, slow, and lacks explosion. Average line play will cap J. Smith’s ceiling. Aside from Norfolk, every team will play man press/cover 1 against our WRs. We’ll see 7 and 8 man fronts going forward.

    This offense needs a threat to run from the QB position to enjoy any type of success.

    Temple will not go bowling if Drayton doesn’t switch.

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    • Agreed. QP needs at least the same shot that Drayton gave E.J. I revise my plan. Start QP and play him the entire first half against Norfolk and then bring EJ in for the second. No restrictions on passing. Let the best man win.

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  4. It looks a bit more Obvious as to Drayton now, doesn’t it? Only hope is HE does not make these Decisions, but they are suggested by his staff. If not, then this is the beginning of the end as TU will be in such a bottom dweller status no one will be interested except 1 stars….Watching that game yesterday as sooo lame I didn’t even swear at the TV anymore.

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  5. The biggest question now is whether Temple even really has a chance for an even record and bowl game. Are we looking at more seasons of the same old lousy Temple football? It just hardly ever ends, one lousy coach and losing season after another – what the hell is the matter with Temple?

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  6. PS: after reading the description of the game on the TU sports site I was shocked to see that Temple went into the 4th 1/4 with a very close game. Apparently our D fell apart thereafter, thank you Withers and Mike you never mentioned how close it was entering the forth. Maybe some hope there?

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    • Can’t blame Withers and the defense. They kept us in the game for 3 quarters. The offense was completely inept and Warner kept turning the ball over, putting the defense in tough spots. For all of the preseason belly-aching about the hiring of Withers, the defense has actually been the strength of the team so far. (Strength being a relative term)

      As KJ stated, the O-line is undersized and lacks talent. This has been a problem for a few years now. Until we get some horses upfront, we won’t be able to run the ball consistently. Smith definitely looked better than Saydee and Hubbard, but the O-line is the glaring weakness on this team. The offense is too one-dimensional and predictable due to the inability to get any push upfront.

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    • I did mention that the fourth quarter was close. From above: “Patterson passes there and Temple maybe scores and goes down 13-7. Warner’s second-half touchdown pass would have made it 14-13, good guys. Since the TD pass came in fourth quarter, that’s a full 45 minutes of shutout football Drayton gave Warner.”

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      • I was referring to Jon’s post, “Apparently our D fell apart thereafter, thank you Withers”

      • Gotcha! I just didn’t realize going into the 4th 1/4 it was that close – I couldn’t get the game on TV or audio from TU sports so I was unaware. Warner has the soph let down?

      • Through 2 games, yes. He didn’t play particularly well against Akron, but pulled it together enough to get the win. Last night was the worst game he’s played as an Owl. He and the receivers weren’t on the same page at all. Guys were cutting one way and he was throwing another. He also sailed a few passes too high that led to interceptions. He never looked comfortable or got into a rhythm all night. I was really hoping he’d take a leap forward in year 2, but thus far it’s looking more like a sophomore slump than a step forward.

  7. I am thoroughly astounded with Drayton’s and his staff’s coaching abilities. The number of penalties called on Temple is a travesty. If the difference in quality between the players on 2 teams like yesterday is present, then coaching has to be called into play. The illegal formation and substitutions are unforgivable, these should not occur.
    I am still amazed by the lack of imagination Drayton exhibits with both his offense and defense. The questions that continually enter my mind are; Who is next coach going to be?, When will it take place?, and most disturbing to me, Is Temple’s board of trustees actually ushering football out the door?
    As a lifelong owls, I am fearful of the future.
    Thanks for your continued dedication!!

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    • Not to mention the terrible 12-man on the field penalty. That should never happen. I’m waiting for the first time the Owls get penalized by using two guys in the same play with the same number. That happened under Carey. It will happen under Drayton if they continue to be this sloppy with details on the sidelines and the finger points directly at the head coach.

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      • By the way, had to delete a comment calling for Temple to drop football after losing to Rutgers. One, that’s disrespectful to Rutgers. Two, the name is this site is “Temple Football Forever” not “Temple Football Never.” Find a site called Temple Football Never and post that kind of nonsense there.

  8. Warner was not in control of the offense IMO. He was 20 of 48 for 230 yards, one TD and two interceptions. He threw several passes over the heads of wide open receivers. Owls managed just 63 yards on 23 carries on the ground. Offensive line needs to get much better. The Quincy Patterson attempt to run the ball in for a score fooled no one! Score was a manageable 13-7 at the start of the fourth quarter. Then things fell apart. Bring on Norfolk State!

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  9. Quite a number of AAC teams lost or had close games with schools from lower level competition. Maybe good for Temple as the season progresses but not looking good for the conference as a whole.

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