The comments on posts sometime take things to different places. So here’s some thoughts on a couple of them.

I’m going to wait for part two of the Paul Rhoads story before writing about it. Honestly, the first part didn’t surprise me. If you expected a hatchet job on Rhoads, well, then you just haven’t been paying attention to the treatment given him by the local media for the past 8 years.

A little bit of interest in what Pitt players are doing in the NFL is always interesting. More interesting, what is thought of Pitt players heading to the NFL. The 49ers have a scout who blogs, and was in Pennsylvania.

I drove over to Pitt and caught their afternoon practice. This was also my second visit at Pitt, and I was mostly interested in seeing more of their left tackle Jeff Otah. I watched additional film on Friday and also talked to some coaches, and Otah is developing into one of the top left tackles in college football this year and he’ll come off the board relatively early this April.

I hung around Pittsburgh for their game on Saturday against Syracuse. It was a competitive game that Pitt pulled out, and Otah played exactly as I thought he would and as he should.

Another player who stood out in the game for Pitt was defensive end Joe Clermond. He was very productive in the game, got a couple of quarterback sacks and pressures and he showed quickness, speed and was very instinctive in finding the football.

About what you would expect on Pitt’s team for NFL draftable players for the 2008 Draft.

What a shock, Pitt struggled on offense. Even against one of the worst defenses in 1-A. Not just among BCS teams, but in all of 1-A.

Pitt scored 17 of its 20 points on drives the started inside the Orange 35, a credit to its special teams but a blight for a Panthers offense that managed only 294 yards on 71 plays against a Syracuse defense that was allowing 475.9 a game. Bostick finished 21 of 30 for 153 yards, but was sacked twice for minus-14 yards as Pitt rushed for only 141 yards.

It’s just kind of embarrassing.

On the defense, well it looks good until you realize that Syracuse was playing their #3 running back. The starting QB played with a cracked rib before being pulled after one half. So with an untested back-up, the Orange still got near their pitiful average.

Even though the Orange is ranked 114 out of 119 teams in NCAA Division I-A in total yards, Pitt’s defense did play a relatively complete game. The Panthers limited the Orange to 265 total yards, including 30 yards rushing on 31 carries. Pitt also forced 10 punts, had six sacks and the Orange only converted 2 of 14 on third down.

If you believe that Pitt’s defense wasn’t that bad during the losses to UConn, UVa and Navy; then you can’t claim it’s that good as the statistics claim versus Syracuse.

The Syracuse O-line is probably worse than Pitt’s. Pause. Let that sink in for a couple minutes. Greg Robinson even called out the O-line’s performance.

His unit entered Saturday’s game ranked No. 117 in the nation in sacks allowed with 31. Pitt’s defense entered the game next-to-last in the Big East with 19 sacks in eight contests. It recorded six Saturday, at least two of them occurring despite employing only three rushers against SU’s five linemen. SU’s last-ditch attempt to get into field-goal range to tie the game was thwarted on such a play.

“I was very disappointed in the way our offensive line played today,” Robinson said. “From what I could tell from the sideline, a lot of their pressures were coming on simple blitzes, with one extra guy coming. We need to be able to pick that up.”

The lack of adequate pass protection was equaled by the line’s inability to open holes for running backs. SU, coming off a season-high 179 rushing yards vs. Buffalo, finished with 30 Saturday. It has failed to gain 100 yards rushing in seven of nine games this season.

The best part of Pitt’s day wasn’t necessarily LeSean McCoy, but the performance of the special teams. The punt and kick returns set Pitt up with short fields that the offense was able to convert into 17 points.

Not that McCoy was exactly shabby in earning Big East Player of the Week.