Ray Rice speaks about Rutgers' struggles this season
While he only got to watch the first half of Saturday's loss to Navy, Ray Rice still believes that his former team has it in them to turn the season around.
"Overall, I think they'll be fine,"
Rice told me after his Baltimore Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns 28-10. "They're a young team. They're young with leaders, but they've got to keep the younger guys going."
It's been a tough go of it for Rutgers since Rice's departure after last season. They've struggled to get a replacement running game going, with injuries and inconsistencies hampering those efforts. The play of the offense, led by quarterback Mike Teel, has been inconsistent.
But Rice thinks that in spite of everything that seems to be going against his former mates, they still have the right man for the job on the sidelines.
"Coach Schiano has a great grip on that program,"
he said. "I'm not worried about that. He's a great guy, a motivational leader. They'll be fine."
One thing that Rice thinks might be an obstacle for this team is the fact that many of them have not experienced losing like this before. For the past three seasons, Rutgers has erased memories of winless years past with two straight bowl wins, of which Rice was a key figure for.
"A lot of the young guys came in on high times,"
Rice said. "They don't know about the history of the program and stuff."
I asked Rice if he had any words of advice that might propel his former team to turn the corner this season and he pointed to all of the bad times that came before him.
"You've got to remember the past,"
he said. "What got us to where we are at. It was the hard work and the dedication. It wasn't just talent on and off the field. it was everything. Everybody putting it all into one, going out there and making it their goal. I think they'll do that. It may take a little time."
While Rice wasn't able to stay for the entirety of Saturday's loss to Navy (he had to be back at the Ravens team hotel by 6 p.m., in time for curfew), he was impressed by the running display put on by Jourdan Brooks and Joe Martinek. Brooks, especially.
"Yeah, he'll scare some guys, I'll tell you that,"
Rice said laughing. "I just look forward to (watching them). They've got some good running backs, it's just timing and chemistry. That's all it is. Timing and chemistry. When they get it, it will all be fine."
So does Rice think there is still hope for redemption this season?
"This program has come to be known as an elite program,"
Rice said. "It's just a question of doing it. They're going to be fine."
