Tag: NBC Sports Chicago

Greg Schiano talks no Big Ten divisions in 2024

Greg Schiano comments on Rutgers football’s 2024 schedule.

Greg Schiano said it jokingly, but there is certainly an element of truth to his statement about the Rutgers football schedule in 2024. It isn’t easy to say the least.

With the loss of divisions beginning next season, most teams in the Big Ten East are breathing a sigh of relief. Given that the division is considered one of the toughest (if not the toughest) in college football, it would seem that for Rutgers, being able to mix and integrate their schedule with teams from the Big Ten’s other division would be a good thing.

After all, three East teams finished last year ranked in the top 10 of the polls and two of those teams went to the College Football Playoff.

With that being said, the 2024 conference schedule won’t be very different for Rutgers, except that they swap out Indiana (whom they have beaten the last two years) for UCLA.

So in short, it is the same, grueling schedule that they’ve had since joining the Big Ten in 2014.

“Well, believe it or not, we must have made somebody mad or something because in ’24 we get the entire Big 10 East except for Indiana on our schedule,” Schiano said in an interview with NBC Sports Chicago’s James Neveau. “So yeah, I think for us it won’t be much different in ’23 or ’24.”

The gauntlet that is the Big Ten and in particular the East division, certainly isn’t lost on Schiano. The Scarlet Knights are in their fourth season under Schiano following his return to the program.

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“I would say it’s almost every week, you have to show up on a big stage in the Big Ten, at least your conference games. So I think our guys understand that,” Schiano told Neveau.

“We’re not trying to be a better version of Ohio State or a better version of Michigan. We’re different. And we know that and we’re trying to do it differently. And what does that gonna look like? We’re just gonna have to wait and see.”

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Tank for Trevor Lawrence in 2020? Bears fans and experts debate

The Bears are in win-now mode. But would they be better off trying to tank for next year’s NFL Draft prize in Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence?

Chicago Bears fans know the pain and agony of not having a true franchise quarterback all too well. In the team’s 100 year history, not a single player has thrown for 4,000 yards or scored 30 touchdowns, milestones that become more pedestrian by the year.

The Bears took another stab at solving its continued conundrum this offseason, trading for the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback and Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles in hopes of pushing, and possibly supplanting, starter Mitchell Trubisky following a disappointing 2019 season.

The trade, along with other free agent acquisitions such as tight end Jimmy Graham and edge rusher Robert Quinn, prove the team is in win-now mode. But would they be better off trying to tank for next year’s prize in the 2021 NFL Draft, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence?

Lawrence, the sensational sophomore quarterback, led the Tigers to a National Championship over the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2018-19 and became the talk of college football. The 6′ 6″ 220-pound passer was tabbed as the likely first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft two years out and will be the focus of many teams when college football returns this fall.

But when it comes to the Bears, are they in position to land Lawrence? The question became a hot topic this past weekend and many experts and fans had an opinion on the matter.

To start, Ben Brown of Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently published an article detailing which teams should consider tanking for the college phenom this season. The Bears were fourth on their list, and PFF made the case for why they are in good position to potentially land Lawrence:

Nick Foles immediately emerges as the odds-on favorite to win the starting quarterback position for the Bears after being traded from Jacksonville. Foles had the perfect contract to take on, as it contained a guaranteed salary in 2020 with only a $5 million roster bonus thereafter, according to OverTheCap.com.

This gives the Bears the opportunity to evaluate Nick Foles, and if he plays well, the Bears could keep him for two more seasons. If he doesn’t play anywhere near the 2018 Super Bowl MVP level he has flashed, the Bears can move on from him and hopefully be in a position to draft (Justin) Fields or Lawrence in 2021.

Brown argues the Bears could easily move on from Foles if this season doesn’t work out for a small penalty and hopefully be in a position to land Lawrence or another highly-touted college quarterback such as Ohio State’s Justin Fields. Trubisky, meanwhile, could also come off the books depending on how the team decides to handle his fifth-year option.

PFF made their case for the tank while one Bears writer gave fans two options on the matter. NBC Sports Chicago’s Bryan Perez created a “would you rather” scenario regarding Lawrence, asking if fans would rather see an 11-5 season culminate in a loss in the NFC Championship game with Nick Foles, or see them go 3-13 and land Lawrence in 2021.

The results, as expected were mixed.

While having a player such as Lawrence don the navy and orange in 2021 would be a pleasant sight to see, I would still opt for the first scenario. The Bears have made the playoffs five times in 20 years, winning only three playoff games. To have the team finish in the NFL’s final four would be worth celebrating, even if it means not winning a Super Bowl. The Bears would still be set up for success and the core of the team would remain the same.

Stumbling to a 3-13 record, while it would land Lawrence, would create another set of problems. A new coaching staff, possibly jettisoning key players and bringing in a whole new regime for the third time in a decade for a player who appears to be the real deal, but isn’t guaranteed to have success in the NFL. One player, even a quarterback, cannot save a franchise if the other pillars are constantly being rebuilt. Teams who don’t have stability usually don’t have success.

The argument on whether or not to tank for a highly-touted quarterback is always an interesting one and is here to stay. But given the Bears current pieces, they’re in win-now mode and should do what it takes to rise to the top. Even if that means trying to catch lightning in a bottle at the quarterback position for yet another year.

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