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September 21, 2009

And Now The Challenges Begin

Filed under: Football — Chas @ 1:50 pm

Boxes are everywhere. The wife bought 3 pieces of unfinished furniture, that are out in the garage that she expects me to stain and poly-coat in the copious spare time. To say nothing of painting, organizing and finish clearing and cleaning the old place. All with children constantly underfoot. Probably still going to be a reduced output for a while but somehow, someway I will be setting aside the time on Saturday to watch and liveblog the Pitt-NC State game at 3:30 on ESPNU.

3-0. That is nice. Something Pitt hasn’t done under Coach Wannstedt and just has not happened since 2000. Hard to believe that the schedule is 1/4 complete.

Is it what was expected, considering the schedule and the team? You bet. Still, that has never stopped Pitt before.

After 3 weeks, though, the questions/concerns/fears actually seem to have shifted away from the offense and quarterback to the defense and secondary. I don’t think anyone saw that coming.

Bill Stull has done something you hope to see, but few expected. He has improved each week. A shaky start, a solid performance last week and then an excellent game on Saturday. 17-24 (70.8%), 245 yards, 1 TD and 0 INTs. For the season he is 49-70 (70.0%) for 540 yards, 6 TD and 1 INT.

The competition may not have been topflight, but it is clear that Stull is playing with more confidence and even something approaching a swagger. The support of his teammates and coaches has probably helped.

With teams looking to stop the run, as Dion Lewis and the running game remains a strength, teams have obviously looked to make Stull and the passing game beat them.

The secondary, however, has become extremely worrisome. Not much of an issue against Navy and their triple option, but it has been clear to anyone watching that the corners and safeties are struggling. They are playing very soft and the tackling has been inconsistent.  Teams starting with NC State and including Rutgers, ND, and WVU are fully capable of brutally exploiting the secondary if adjustments and improvements are not made. Even UConn might be able to air it out a bit (USF as well, but with Grothe out for the year, I now have my doubts).

Having a dominant front four and linebckers that look to be getting better each week won’t do much if teams go with quick drops and shotgun snaps to get the ball out to the receivers quickly.

Still, if there is one side of the team where I believe the coaches are capable of adjusting to fix a problem it is on the defense. It will, however, come down to  the players.





As i mentioned before.. against navy… they had some drops.. and open receivers… just that their qb made some terrible throws.

Now can one take that for the fact.. we probably cheated and played the run.. and had to keep everybody up… and basically didn’t care if they beat us via the pass ?

Thats why the NC state game will be very interesting to finally see if we play D all around. I don’t think there are any questions around the D line and linebackers… Offense is looking efficient as well.

If the secondary solidifies, (fields need to get his head in the game.. but i think he did improve)
this could be an exciting season.

Its nice to be 3-0.

Comment by Snala the Panther 09.21.09 @ 2:03 pm

NC State just got done running up big numbers against two IAA teams… I’m not impressed.

This game is very important, IMHO. This is the type of game Pitt (and Wanny) usually loses.

Comment by Pauly P 09.21.09 @ 2:16 pm

THAT SECONDARY HAS BEEN SHAKY SINCE RUTGERS.THEY LOOKED BAD VS. OREGON ST.

Comment by alcofan 09.21.09 @ 3:39 pm

Good luck continuing the move Chas.

The secondary stinks. But if Romeus/Mick Williams and co get the pressure on the QB, it won’t matter. One thing the secondary DOES have is playmakers. Fields, Berry, and even Dom DeCicco, are capable of playing takeaway. And I think we all already knew this, but Dan Mason is a complete beast. Put him, Adam Gunn, and Greg Williams on the field at the same time, and you’re going to really have something.

Comment by maz. 09.21.09 @ 3:57 pm

While I am bit concerned about the secondary, overall I am really pleased where the team is at right now, and believe they are better at this stage than last year. But to quote our favorite basketball coach “we have to keep getting better.”

I also believe our new OC is promoting the “playing to win” collegiate sttrategy instead of the “playing not to lose” approach common in the NFL … (this pro approach was very obvious in the Sun Bowl.

Comment by wbb 09.21.09 @ 4:40 pm

off topic but Duquesne is once again hosting the 1st round of the NCAA in 2012, this time at the new arena. I could be wrong but believe that Pitt would not be eligible to play here like they did the last time it was here.

link to pod08.prospero.com

Comment by wbb 09.21.09 @ 4:44 pm

Chas, hope the initial move went well, hope the rest continues to go smoothly.

How about a guest blogger, like you do sometimes during the Bball season?

Comment by dugdog 09.21.09 @ 5:57 pm

Pitt, NC State game line opened even, I agree regarding the secondary, the weakest link that has not been fixed since the Rutgers game.

Comment by The Boast of Tradition 09.21.09 @ 6:24 pm

Cleveland will be hosting a first/second round game at the Q in 2011. Hopefully, a nice close jaunt for our newly rebuit Pitt BBall team!

Comment by Pauly P 09.21.09 @ 6:30 pm

good stories on Big East nlog on espn.com
link to espn.go.com

Comment by wbb 09.21.09 @ 7:11 pm

you want to know why teams like Pitt drops 2 places after their win, Jason White beats out Larry Fitz for the Heisman, Tebow beats out Pat White despite leading UF to only a 9 and 4 record, etc. etc. ………. the following is an excerpt from CBS.com college fb writer, Dennis Dodds:

Tim Tebow, Florida: The Gators don’t beat Tennessee unless Superman churns for 76 well-earned yards on 24 grinding carries.
– – – – – – – –

The national shows and media are clearly all about the hype amd appealing to the masses … with no substance.

Comment by wbb 09.21.09 @ 7:51 pm

Actually, I think Pitt would still be eligible to play at the new arena in 2012 provided they do not play more than a certain number of games there during the season (I think the max is 2). This is the reason that Villanova played Pitt at the Spectrum last year – so they would not be ineligible for the first round games at the Wachovia Center. The other requirement is that a school that is “hosting” the tournament cannot play at their own site, so Duquesne would not be eligible to play at Consol in 2012, but this should not affect Pitt.

All of the above subject to the assumption that the rules haven’t changed…

Comment by Pantherman13 09.21.09 @ 8:35 pm

Pantherman, you’re probably right. I know there are restrictions about local teams playing in their home area in the 1st round … and know for a fact that Syracuse can no longer play an NCAA game at the Carrier Dome … like they did a few times in the past.

Comment by wbb 09.21.09 @ 8:59 pm

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly is up on the PG’s Redshirt Diaries blog.

I like this excerpt;

“This group has proven that wonderful talent can make coaches look like geniuses, even those who have degrees from Penn State…..(relax, we’re just joking. We think the world of Greg Gattuso, he is an excellent coach and he has done a marvelous job with this group, but every so often we feel it is our job to make sure he stays at least a little bit humble….)”

Comment by dugdog 09.21.09 @ 10:15 pm

I am glad Cignetti is running the offense. The improvement is obvious.

Comment by TonyinHouston 09.21.09 @ 10:35 pm

Pauly P – what exactly do you mean by “this is the type of game Pitt (and Wanny) usually loses”?

Do you mean solid opponents… road games…?

Recent history for PITT begs to differ – DW has done well winning games against ranked opponents in the last two years (WVU x2, USF, ND), and played very well on the road (5-2 last year).

I guess I just don’t follow your reasoning here.

Comment by Reed 09.22.09 @ 4:05 am

Reed, are you counting the Sun Bowl as a road loss? Because I only recall Pitt losing one road game last year, at Cincy.

Comment by Jimbo Covert's my Dad 09.22.09 @ 8:05 am

Really bad news for USF and Grothe with that year ending ACL injury. I hate to see such promise being sidelined by injury no matter who it is. Stull will remain on the hot seat all season I’m afraid, but it is SOOO good to see him respond to the home fan pressure the way he has. NCS QB Russell Wilson will test both the front 4 as well as the secondary of our defense all game. This will be a barometer game for our defense this season. We will learn a lot about who the Panthers are on defense this week.

Comment by Dr Tom 09.22.09 @ 8:32 am

I actually wanted to see how USF would do at FSU this week, especially after the Noles went out and whupped BYU … however, I see very little chance going into Gainesville with an untested QB

BTW, this situation may help justify using Tino, who has never played in a pressure situation … as we saw last year vs Rutgers, the 2nd team QB is one play away of taking over. Which now leads to the next question … if Stull would happen to get hurt on Saturday? (and I am NOT wishing it) … does Tino or Pat take over?

Comment by wbb 09.22.09 @ 8:47 am

Once again my fellow PITT fans some of you are hyping up NC STATE to be Florida or Texas. I think we match up well against this team. South Carolina was able to pound the ball on them and I don’t remember a Steve Spurier team to pound the ball. Also this Wilson for NC State reminds me a lot of Pat White. IF you stay sound, in your lanes and spy him he’s nothing. I really like our chances again.

Comment by Lou 09.22.09 @ 8:52 am

Im not sure if fans are hyping nc state as florida or texas.. but i think people are excited… anxious to see pitt play a setup in competition… a team with athletes that should challenge pitt.

Comment by Snala the Panther 09.22.09 @ 9:01 am

Anyone have any idea where in Charleston, SC I could watch the game Saturday, or if it would be on local/ national broadcast there? I am visiting a friend/ fellow Pitt alum and transplant and we want to watch the Panthers go 4-0.

Comment by Greg 09.22.09 @ 10:23 am

wbb I agree with the media hype of certain teams. College Gameday is a 2 hour advertisement for Florida and Texas. I dont even think they said the words Big East the entire show. It is really disgusting to watch. I know those teams deserve the most attention but they dont deserve all of it. Im tired of the Lee Corso and Herbstreit schtick – its getting old. Same old pony show every week. Then you have to listen to Herby defend the Big 11 and Ohio State most of the show.

I wrote an email to espn last year on this very subject – Im sure it was ignored but at least it was some effort to voice my opinion.

You can go here to voice your opinion to espn if you wish:

link to proxy.espn.go.com

Comment by Coach Ditka 09.22.09 @ 10:28 am

Coach Ditka (over the hurricane),

Here’s what really gets me. As you said, the BE are nobodies nationally .. that is until Auburn beats WVU, both previously ranked in the 30s. How all of a sudden WVU is significant win and Auburn moves up 10 spots to 23. Do you think WVU would have even reached the Top 25 if the would have won? Total hypocrisy

Comment by wbb 09.22.09 @ 11:26 am

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