Pass protection continues to plague Rutgers offense

Quarterback Chris Laviano has had a forgettable four-game stretch for the Rutgers football team.

Against Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska, the sophomore signal-caller has been on the run more than the James Gang.

Laviano has been sacked 15 times over that span, stifling any semblance of rhythm for the Scarlet Knights in either the passing or running game.

With just two games left in a nightmare season for the Knights (3-7, 1-6), the corrections need to come quickly if Rutgers wants to rescue any positivity from the rocky road traveled in the 2015 campaign.

For senior left tackle Keith Lumpkin, there’s no need to mince words.

It’s not one issue or another for the 6-foot-8, 325-pounder, but a collection of problems that need to be solved in order to end a crippling four-game losing streak that has torn a gaping hole in a team that made grand proclamations back in August.

“We have to do a better job protecting Chris (Laviano),” Lumpkin said. “It’s detail, you know. We just gotta work harder in practice and get things corrected. It’s just a mixture of things that we gotta fix. That’s really it.”

As guardian of Laviano’s blind side, Lumpkin assumes immense responsibility on the offensive line.

But he is taking each blow in stride, refusing to let the mounting losses break his spirit, insisting instead that each game is a learning experience — if not for him, than for the guys who will fill the roles on next year’s roster.

“It’s life, you know. Sometimes you go through your ups and downs, you go through your stages in life,” the senior said. “So, it’s just something you can learn from. The younger guys can learn from it, and when it’s their time they can put the destiny in their hands.”

Lumpkin has started 36 consecutive games at left tackle and right guard Chris Muller has started just one fewer at his position. But Muller’s streak may end this week, as junior center Derrick Nelson is listed as questionable on the injury report released by head coach Kyle Flood on Monday.

Nelson was victim to a horrific collision with teammate Dorian Miller in the middle of an interception return last week against Nebraska in the closing minutes. The pair was attempting to tackle Nate Gerry during his return of Laviano’s third pick of the contest, when the two linemen came together helmet to helmet, sending both spiraling to the turf.

Miraculously, Nelson is expected to play again this season, according to Flood. But that won’t make matters easier along the line for Muller and Co. this weekend at Army, whether Nelson can go or not.

As always with Muller, there’s no need to sugarcoat the failure to protect the passer. The buck stops with No. 70 in Scarlet and White.

“We’ve just been poor,” Muller said. “We just haven’t been fundamentally sound, just too many mental errors, and that falls a lot on my shoulders, being one of the older guys on the offensive line.”

Laviano is optimistic that the offense can turn things around this week as the Scarlet Knights tangle with the Black Knights of the Hudson up at West Point. The Glen Head, New York, native refuses to excuse the lackluster play on his side of the ball during Rutgers' recent skid, but is equally unwilling to put the blame on one position group or another.

“I think that as an offense, as whole we all own our part, and whenever the offense isn’t playing well it just comes down to taking what we need to learn from the game film," Laviano said. “It’s nobody’s fault.”

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Laviano and his offense, along with the members on the defensive side of the ball, haven’t exactly been put in the best position to succeed as of late.

Field position has been a major cause for concern on both sides of the ball. And the impact of the starting position, for the offense in particular, was never more evident than last week in the 31-14 loss to the Cornhuskers.

The Knights average starting position on offense against Nebraska was the 29-yard line, but that number is skewed by two interceptions on defense that set the offense up at the Huskers' six- and 35-yard line respectively. The poor starting spots make it difficult to put points up on the board.

But for Flood, the drive start is indicative of the ability to flip field position on both sides of the ball.

“The way you flip field position obviously on offense is you put some first downs together,” Flood said. “And the way you flip field position on defense is when you get a chance to pin them back there, you keep em’ pinned back there. We had some opportunities to do both (versus Nebraska) and we didn’t get it done.”

On defense, senior strongside linebacker Quentin Gause sees it from a different perspective. On the verge of a 100-tackle season — already eclipsing his career-high 72 tackles from a year ago — the Rochester, New York, native has posted 81 tackles in 2015 and his team-leading 12 tackles for loss rank fifth in the Big Ten Conference.

Gause points to the third phase of football to shoulder the burden of dictating field position.

“Special teams are critical in that aspect,” he said. “With punts and kickoffs — trying to make sure we keep inside the 20. I believe it starts there and I feel like we’ve done a good job this season, but we have our ups and downs.”

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As if the team didn’t have enough problems to attack, this week the trip to the Hudson Valley has Flood setting up a preemptive soft landing for his squad.

Rutgers will be asked to wrangle Army’s triple-option offense that has ripped opponents in the running game to the tune of 353.3 yard per contest, ranking ninth in the nation in rushing offense. On the Week 12 Big Ten Coach's Teleconference, Flood was quick to point out the troublesome task of preparing for such an offense in a short span of time.

"This week we have a great challenge, going to West Point (to) try to defend the triple-option with really only a week to prepare, and this late in the season is a little bit unique for us," the fourth-year head coach said.

But fortunately for Flood, there is some familiarity with this particular offense. The Knights faced Navy last season, and the head coach of the Black Knights is a disciple of Paul Johnson.

On top of that, Flood has faced Army head coach Jeff Monken a few times before.

"I've coached against Coach Monken on a few different occasions — three different schools for him and three different schools for me. So I'm pretty well-versed in terms of how they play.”

Gause said the only way to contain this week’s opponent on the ground is to remain dialed in throughout the contest. He feels lapses in focus could cause further headaches for a team mired in a four-game losing streak.

“(Army is) locked in on what they do,” Gause said. “They have the most rushing yards in the country I believe — I think Navy is probably first, but you gotta be disciplined in doing your details, because if you don’t you might get cut-blocked or something. So you gotta lock in and stay focused.”

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