What Greg Schiano is saying as Rutgers football preps for Maryland game

PISCATAWAY – Prior to Rutgers football’s bye week, coach Greg Schiano vowed to make a full evaluation of his program and, along with his assistants, try and correct the issues that have hurt the Scarlet Knights during their poor start to the season.

Now that the bye week is over, what exactly did the evaluation reveal?

Schiano unsurprisingly wouldn’t go into specifics to avoid giving away any competitive advantages, but he confirmed that a full analysis was conducted.

“We looked at things in all three phases,” Schiano said. “Is there ways that we can make it more productive? And that's really what it's about. It's about executing the scheme in a way that allows us to perform at a higher level.”

That’s going to be critical as the Scarlet Knights attempt to get moving in the direction following a 1-4 start that included losses to UMass and Boston College.

Rutgers’ first chance to make those corrections will come Saturday, Oct. 17 when it plays Maryland at SECU Stadium in College Park, Maryland.

On paper this is a very winnable game for the Scarlet Knights – the Terrapins also haven’t played well, and coach Mike Locksley’s job status is under ample scrutiny.

But Rutgers will only have a chance if it plays at a much higher level than it has been, especially on defense – the unit is giving p 407.4 yards per game, worst in the Big Ten (although only four spots lower than Maryland).

That poor performance was among the issues that Schiano scrutinized during the bye week – but that certainly wasn’t the only issue.

“Some of its communication, some of its teaching, some of it is perhaps technique, and some of it is scheme,” Schiano said. “When you look at a play that doesn't work, you really have a few things that it could be: Poor coaching or scheme, not talented enough to do what we're asking to do, or they don't understand. They are talented enough, but they just don't understand exactly what we're looking at.”

As poorly as Maryland has played, the Terrapins have a quarterback in Malik Washington who can be dangerous if the defense doesn’t contain him properly.

The 6-foot-5, 227-pound Maryland native so far this season is 136-of-223 passing for 1,352 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. He’s also rushed for 56 yards and one score – last season he ran for 303 yards and four touchdowns on 56 carries.

“He really is talented, and when he extends plays, he does it both in his arm and his feet,” Schiano said. ‘He chooses to scramble at times and run it. He also chooses to extend the play, and then jet it down the field. Tremendous arm strength, arm talent. He is a big, strong, really talented quarterback.”

If the defense isn’t able to limit Washington, it could be a long day for the Scarlet Knights.

Schiano had a lot to look at over the bye week. Plenty of tough decisions to make.

The results of his evaluation will become clearer when his team takes the field against Maryland.

He acknowledged that one week can’t solve everything, but it’s enough for improvement to begin.

How much improvement remains to be seen.

“Now, are all of them going to work?,” Sciano said. “No, but hopefully some of them will and then you start to get a little better result. “

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: What Greg Schiano is saying as Rutgers football preps for Maryland game