Following up on Lee’s 7 things to smile post, I’ll shamelessly amend, appropriate and addendum.
7 Positives From Nebraska:
- LaRod Stephens-Howlings-bobana-fofana can hyphenate his name as many times as he wants if he keeps running like that.
- The Defense. The secondary kept the receivers from getting open and allowed the line to finally get some pressure. The defense was better than it had been against a sustained running attack.
- Zero Turnovers.
- The offensive line provided holes with which Pitt could run the ball.
- Palko to Lee is still a viable deep threat.
- Graessle can punt the hell out of the ball.
- Some actual signs of progress for the offense.
7 Negatives from Nebraska:
- Safety Mike Phillips breaking his ankle. On the instant replay when his body and leg went one way and his ankle and foot went the other, I went queasy.
- Despite the effective onside kick trickery, special teams were not good from punt coverage to returns, they put Pitt in holes. And do we really want to discuss field goal attempts?
- The offense still was unable to score a touchdown (8 quarters and counting), sustain a drive, and keep the ball for even half the time.
- Pass protection by the O-line was lousy.
- Pitt’s defense has generated only 1 turnover in 3 games.
- Pitt still seems incapable of throwing short to medium passes over the middle.
- The Pitt defense, despite the improvements still allowed 185 yards rushing by the backs on 41 carries.
7 Questions:
- What has happened to Tyler Palko’s mobility? No rollouts, no scrambling. He looks trapped when he drops back.
- Whatever happened to the Tight Ends? A strength on this team going into the season. Only 2 catches — 1 in the 1st quarter by Strong and 1 on the 4th quarter to Gill. Aside from that, they spent most of their time doing nothing more than helping with the blocking. Hmm. I think I may have answered my own question. A companion question is what happened to the short and medium pass over the middle?
- Do Big 12 officials call holding? Ever?
- Has anyone ever seen that many illegal formation penalties called against one team in a game as Nebraska had?
- If you didn’t have a rooting interest in the game, would you have rather gouged your own eyes than watch?
- How harsh a laugh do you think OC Matt Cavanaugh is getting at the Baltimore Raven’s 0-2 start and only 17 points (not that he’d ever admit it)?
- Does actual (not paid) attendance crack 25 K for the Youngstown State/Throwback Uniforms game?
Personal observations:
ESPN GamePlan is dangerous for me. Very enjoyable to flick to so many games (though I never left the Pitt game) during the day. The wife didn’t appreciate it, though. She finally realized I had done something around 10 pm when she noticed as I was flicking between games and the on-screen program guide on one channel registered “ESPPPV2.”
“We have pay-per-view ESPN?”
Trying not to sound defensive, “How else could I see the Pitt game when they were showing the Ohio State game here?”
“How much was it?”
“Well, it’s not like I paid for the whole season package, which is a good price at only $120. I only went for one day.”
“How much?”
“Cheaper than a ticket.”
“Chas…”
Mumble incoherently then take a large glug of beer.
“What?”
Sigh. “Only $20.”
“Uh, huh.” She reaches for the handy monthly budget sheet, “that comes out of your alcohol budget.”
“Yes, dear.”
Why yes, I am whipped. Why do you ask.
Lee hates Brent Musberger for always trying to go for the cheap storyline — usually the underdog — and thus seemingly against his beloved Buckeyes.
Not to go all Dr. Z on this, but I hate Musberger’s play calling because he tells you nothing. I tend to try and chart the Pitt games when I’m at home. Musberger sucks because he never tells you the yardage or anything about the play. As soon as the play ends, he just launches into a narrative. This may be good if you have a bunch of people watching the game and not too concerned with the specifics, but it drives you absolutely batty if you are trying to follow the game and the plays.
That said, Gary Danielson is very underrated as a color guy. He was excellent despite Musberger at talking about the plays and game — when Musberger actually gave him time.
