Not to bore anyone with stories of homeownership, but somewhere along the line somebody who owned our house decided that speaker wire would work just fine as the grounding wire for the wiring in the bathroom.
Been a bit crazy with things that need to be done at the new house, while getting everything cleaned out and up at the old rental by today.
So after being unable to post for a couple of days, I’m not sure how much it is worth going back over the NC State game.
I’m just going to touch on a couple things here. Forgive the rambling. Not enough coffee or sleep.
As usual, Bob Smizik likes to act like the contrarian by making strawmen.
At the highest levels of the University of Pittsburgh, where wise and cool heads prevail, Dave Wannstedt is not in trouble.
At any level of the blogosphere, where hot heads and insanity often prevail, Wannstedt would have been fired around 7:00 p.m. Saturday after Pitt blew a 14-point lead in the final 18 minutes and lost to North Carolina State.
Exactly where in the blogosphere are they calling for Wannstedt’s firing after the loss? Can you actually cite a post where Wannstedt’s head on a platter is demanded? Are people pissed? Yes. Were there comments made to that effect by readers? Of course. Just as there are on any message boards. If you are claiming that people who comment on the posts are that blogosphere, then congratulations Smizik, your blog has contributed to this. In other words, you share the blame.
That’s really only a minor thing that just bugs me.
This is the part I really wanted to note.
From all indications, Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and athletic director Steve Pederson are happy with Wannstedt.
They appear to be satisfied with a coach who’s usually going to win seven, eight or nine games, recruits well, keep his players mostly out of trouble and conducts himself in an outstanding manner.
They’d love to go higher, to be in contention for a national championship every year, but changing coaches is not always the answer.
This jibes with other things that have been said in the past by others and what has been relayed to me at times. In other words, they wanted Walt Harris only with more personality and better relations with the media and alumni.
It may not be true, but at the same time I think that perception is beginning to harden as conventional wisdom and as reality.
I did wonder what Coach Wannstedt would single out for the reason for Pitt’s loss. Afterall, Pitt had no turnovers. So that excuse was no good. Instead it was penalties and the injury to Adam Gunn. I’m not downplaying the importance of either, but the injuries compared to NC State and plenty of other teams are relatively minor.
All through camp, we heard how this was completely Wannstedt’s team and his players. How the depth was there. Instead, the loss of one of the last Harris holdover players and a player that was a hair away from being a grayshirt are differences? That does irritate me.
As for the penalties, well they aren’t good. The pass interference calls were earned by the poor positioning of the secondary. The officials see the corners playing out of position and late all game. So, when they finally play up and get there with the player, they lose the benefit of the doubt.
That said, NC State had no shortage of penalties of their own to offset, but in the second half both the offense and defense couldn’t do anything with opportunities.
The offense does need to finish games. That’s on the players as well as the coaches not to let up. Too predictable play calling and not particularly strong play in the second half worries me that the offense has taken the personality of their head coach. Just try and run out the clock.
