One of the infuriating things about the whole Paul Rhoads thing, has been the complete lack of blame he has gotten from the media. From Starkey saying Rhoads should get as much time as Wannstedt, to excuses for the talent, and no blame for the lack of same talent from a supposed good recruiter. There has been a tacit acceptance that Rhoads is under some pressure with making him responsible for the linebackers rather than the secondary in addition to the Defensive Coordinator duties, but it is almost thought of as unfair.
Finally, though, a Pittsburgh media member acknowledges that Rhoads is not just on the hot seat, but he should be on the hot seat.

Q: Since it has been made clear that Dave Wannstedt is not on the hot seat, is Paul Rhoads at least on the hot seat? I mean, if the defense were to fail again, would the university at least force some sort of a shake up?

Zeise: Yes Rhoads is on the hot seat, as is the rest of the coaching staff. That is how these things happen — the first step towards making a wholesale head coach change is to force a guy to change his staff. Wannstedt is clearly nowhere close to the danger zone, but if the defense doesn’t show some signs of marked improvement someone on that staff will have to go and Rhoads would be the obvious choice. There is no way you could justify keeping him around, particularly if you are going to try and make the pitch to your fans that they must have patience with Wannstedt.

…I think it is very telling that Rhoads got handed over the keys to the linebackers this year and thus it is all riding on his shoulders with nobody else to pass the buck to now since that group is a part of the run and pass defense. The linebackers, to a man, say they loved the move because they all think very highly of coach Rhoads. Frankly, he is very well respected and regarded as a good football coach but at some point he must produce results.

There’s a Schiano comparison which is often made. Now I wouldn’t be surprised if Wannstedt did make that move at some point, but I am not totally sold on the Schiano comparison. The defense was improving under the old DC, but not quickly enough by what Schiano expected. I’m not sure Coach Wannstedt would be willing to pull the trigger, even if he felt that way.

Statistically, I expect the numbers to improve on the run defense simply because they were so bad last year. The actual effect is what I will be watching.

Well, maybe Coach Wannstedt will get some results from moving DC Rhoads off the secondary to working with the linebackers. Shame it took the guy having to be moved, to figure his responsibilities as a DC extend to more than pass defense.

That is why Rhoads is stressing that his linebackers know not only their duties, but also those of the players in front of them and behind them. By making his players more accountable, he is putting a premium on the defense being more disciplined and, as a result, more effective. But he’s not just focusing on the linebackers. The defense is now spending more time operating as a unit.

“Coach Rhoads is the heart and soul of our defense,” fifth-year senior defensive end Chris McKillop said. “It shows because last year we would break meetings and go into our individual groups. Now, at least two or three times a week the whole defense meets together. You have a feel for where people are going to be.”

With all four starters returning on the defensive line, the Panthers are expecting a greater push up front. Nevertheless, Rhoads is preaching for his linebackers to be more aggressive instead of reading and reacting to plays.

“When we’re moving laterally, trying to dissect plays, you’re not pulling the trigger,” Rhoads said. “We want those guys to be physical and hard charging, and I think they’re showing that. In doing that, we’re freeing up defensive linemen sooner, we’re getting off blocks sooner and that’s allowing the guys up front to play, and the guys up front are playing awfully well.”

How the hell did this guy hold on to his job this long? Ostensibly in charge of the whole defense all this time, and only now thinking that maybe “read and react” or “bend but don’t break” defenses may not be the best idea.

Have to move on from this, or I’ll just start repeating the same rants about Rhoads.

Gene Collier notes that despite the game for Pitt expected to be a lopsided affair (I think the line is around 20), Pitt is under pressure not to have a bad night.

But somehow — and this is the one remaining beauty of college football — this Pitt-EMU fender bender is fraught with pressure. For Pitt, it’s a must win, as there is but a small handful of wins available on a schedule heavy with Big East obligations and road games at Michigan State and Virginia.

“There’s a lot of pressure, whether you’re a player or a coach,” Panthers safety Mike Phillips said yesterday on the South Side. “You can’t have an off night. In other sports, you can get away with one here or there. But it drives you to do your best.”

Uh-huh, and as it happens, there are few people under any more pressure anywhere in sports than a safety in a major-college football program, where simple mistakes can take you out of a game in a climate where one loss is often fateful.

Good bit after that with Mike Phillips talking about how his broken ankle happened and coming back from it.

Of course, Pitt has a very good history against MAC teams. Especially at home. On the road recently has been a different issue, but that isn’t really a concern for this game.

Adam Zagoria blogs a bit about Dan Jennings from New York. A class of 2009 or 2010 recruit at the power forward/center spot. He’s had a very good summer with his AAU team, the New York Gauchos.

Jennings has an application in at Oak Hill Academy (Va.) and could end up there this season, according to Book Richardson, the former Gauchos director. After that, depending upon his academic situation, Jennings could prep for a year before being a high-major D-1 player.

“He could be a Top 50 player because he works so hard and he’s a sponge,” Richardson said. “He’s a freak of nature. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s quick and very agile. He would probably spend a year at Oak Hill and then a year of prep if he’s not academically eligible.”

If he does go to play for Steve Smith at Oak Hill, folks can watch him on ESPN2 against St. Benedict’s on Dec. 13 in a game that will take place in Lexington, Ky.

In terms of Jennings’ college situation, the young man said he had received offers from Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Pitt, Xavier, Memphis, South Florida and that Arizona had showed interest.

“I like Arizona a lot,” he said. “I also like Memphis and Pittsburgh.”

…

Jennings said he is tight with Theodore, the Seton Hall recruit, and with Pitt-bound guard Travon Woodall of Paterson and St. Anthony. Both have talked to Jennings about coming to their schools to form a strong guard/big man tandem.

Jennings has essentially ruled out Seton Hall, Rutgers and St. John’s at this time. Saying he doesn’t want to be that close to home. If you just go by the schools interested in him, obviously he has a lot of potential.

Looking to some alum, Aaron Gray has been working out with the Chicago Bulls conditioning and strength coaches since the summer league ended.

“Working with the staff here is a great opportunity,” said Gray, a 7-footer who spent four years at the University of Pittsburgh. “The work I put in this summer is going to be one of the keys to me being on the court.”

Given that he was a second round draft pick, there are no guarantees for Gray. The majority of players taken after the first round do not end up in the NBA; rather they either play in the NBA’s Development League or go overseas. And that’s exactly what is motivating Gray this summer.

“It’s great because I’m kind of the underdog again,” he said. “I’ve kind of played that role my whole life and had some good success at Pitt. Now I’m here, back at the bottom of the totem pole, where I’ve been before. I’ve worked my way up to the top before and hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to do the same here.”

Meanwhile, Levon Kendall played a bit in the summer league for the Utah Jazz. He will be heading to Greece to play professionally. Right now, he is playing on the Canadian national team. His hometown paper in Vancouver is giving him one of the biggest slurp jobs I’ve ever read.

It had to be a little frustrating for Vancouver’s Levon Kendall on Wednesday playing for Canada against Argentina.

The performance of the starters was so pathetic the game was virtually over by the time the big Kits grad got off coach Leo Rautins’ bench to put in his typical 18 to 20 minutes in a very effective role for a team trying to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

Just what he’s doing there instead of starting is another matter, but presumably Rautins knows his personnel better than it appeared against the Argie,s who won 85-70.

…

That’s unlikely now. But this surely can’t diminish Kendall’s performance. The former Pittsburgh Panther has been outstanding for Canada, particularly in Monday’s second-round victory over Uruguay.

The 23-year-old is set to begin his pro career in Greece with Panionios and the way his development is going it wouldn’t be terribly surprising to see him get some NBA time before he ends his tremendous basketball career.

“I signed a two-year deal and it has an out after one if I get an NBA offer,” said Kendall, almost certainly being scouted closely by NBA teams at this competition given his rate of improvement, particularly at the offensive end. “I played with the Utah Jazz team in the summer league and did pretty well so hopefully they’ll be watching.”

Kendall took a lot of abuse at times for always getting the national commentators gushing about his intangibles at Pitt while fans just wanted something more tangible.