Yesterday was the scolding day for the quarterbacks.

“I have not been happy with our quarterback play. I would like to think we would be a bit farther along than what we have shown. We have not shown the execution that I would like to see. Our expectation for these guys is a little higher than where we are at right now. We did inside run drills today and with both groups the defense did get the better of the offense. However, I have never been a part of a good team anywhere in the first couple days where the defense is not ahead of the offense at this point.”

Effect of the quarterback play on the defense:

“No, the decision making and execution is there. It’s on them to perform better and be more efficient.”

On how the quarterbacks will respond to the challenge:

“They will respond fine. It’s only practice three but we hold that position highly and if we’re going to play well they have to play well.”

Of course that last comment strikes me as somewhat conflicting to Coach Wannstedt’s general view that a QB for his squad just needs to manage the game. An implication that the QB just needs to be competent and avoid mistakes.

The defense dominated in the first day of pads at practice, as expected. Still, Paul Zeise has not been impressed by the QBs so far.

Bill Stull got things started on the wrong foot this morning with an inconsistent session but you have to figure he’ll get it together as he is a smart kid, a tough kid and he is generally an accurate passer. The guys behind him, however, I’m not so sure.

Kevan Smith has struggled with his accuracy and consistency going back to the spring. Pat Bostick still needs to develop some arm strength and his accuracy has seemingly gotten worse, not better. And Greg Cross, while he is capable of being a nice change of pace, needs to show he can beat someone with his arm as well as his legs or the Wildcat will become just another goofy formation with a predictable — and thus ultimately not successful — outcome.

Again, it is early, but so far the struggles of the quarterbacks — struggles which have not gone unnoticed by the head coach — have begun to be a bit of a developing storyline.

Though, when the QBs do start to get it together, it already looks like they will have a very helpful target.

Bossard, Pitt’s new receivers coach, exchanged stunned looks with offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh as both watched with amazement a feat of incredible athleticism.

“There was no spoken word, but we were both saying the same thing,” Bossard said. “I thought that ball was eight feet out of bounds.”

At 6-foot-5, 222 pounds, with 4.4-second speed in the 40-yard dash and a 40 1/2-inch vertical leap, Baldwin is challenging the dimensions of the playing field and the Panthers’ passing game as a downfield threat who provides a big target in the end zone.

The word redshirt has not and will not be spoken in conjunction with Jonathan Baldwin.

It hasn’t helped the QBs, that the defensive line manhandled the offensive line. The D-line apparently looks strong and deep.

“I’ve been very, very pleased with their effort,” Gattuso said. “I think that complacency is a danger now that these guys are getting a little older and feeling a little more confident, but their effort has been outstanding. Right now, we have four tackles who have played and started a lot of games, and they are all having a good camp.

“I think one of the things we’ve found is the best motivator is competition and depth, and, right now, they are all pushing each other, so you can’t help but be pleased with what we’ve seen so far.”

…

Gattuso said the Panthers likely will use a rotation of four tackles and three ends once the season begins.

“I don’t know who is going to end up the starters, though Mick Williams has really been playing at a high level right now,” Gattuso said. “But I can put any of these guys in and feel good about it. The one thing I will say is I’ve talked to Jabaal Sheard about how he needs to increase his effort and how he needed to become more coachable, and he’s responded well. He’s working harder. I’ve never worried about his talent or his instincts, it is the fundamentals and techniques and, if he keeps working on those things, he’ll be a starter and a great player for us.”

And don’t forget about players who redshirted last year.

Myles Caragein dominated the afternoon practice like no other, in both one-on-one and team drills. He used a spin to beat right guard John Bachman almost untouched, then flipped to the other side and beat left guard Josh Novotny.

Caragein also was disruptive against the run, stopping Harris at the line on one play and beating Bachman to hit Harris behind the line of scrimmage on another. Caragein is capable of playing inside or outside on the defensive line, and it’s just a matter of Pitt coaches figuring out how to use him.

Of course, the question that always is there at this time of year. Is the defensive line really that good, or is the offensive line struggling?

Q: It has been widely documented that the 08 season will be contingent upon the performance of the o-line. But the line must face arguably the best defense in the nation. How much of their poor performance has to do with facing an awesome defense every day in practice?

ZEISE: I will concede that some of the struggles of the line in the spring were due to injury and the defense being so good. So far in camp, however, even though they haven’t gone in full pads and at full speed, it appears as if the line is going to struggle again. And some of that is the defensive line being so good but a lot of it is inexperience and the fact that these guys haven’t played a lot together as a unit. That’s why I would expect (and Pitt fans should hope) that as this unit plays together (once the starting five is sorted out) it will get better and better, and it should because this group is talented. The problem is that is not a guarantee. You never know how long it takes for linemen to develop and for the chemistry to develop between them. We know there is talent, we know it will get better with experience but we don’t know how fast the learning curve will be.

Apparently O-line Coach Tony Wise, is very high on John Malecki on the offensive line.

Q: How has John Malecki looked at offensive guard? Even with the depth at D-line I am still concerned about this move. He was a beast on the d-line.

ZEISE: If you go back to top and look at what I wrote, you’ll see I couldn’t disagree more. The defensive tackle position is fine — and he would have a hard time getting a lot of playing time there, particularly with Mick Williams and Tommie Duhart and Gus Mustakas and Rashaad Duncan all playing as well as they are. He is going to be a beast as an offensive guard. Tony Wise — the line coach — said his toughness, his intensity, his fearlessness, his physical play have all rubbed off on the other guys on the line — he’s a fighter and he loves to hit people and block people. This staff gets criticized for moving people around and sometimes justifiably so but not in this case. This was the absolute right move for both Malecki and the team.

Just a day past 3 weeks until we start to see for ourselves about all of this.