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.
Injuries or penalties are factors, but the biggest reason Pitt lost this game was because there was a giant ball that was dropped. Pitt just has to win those games to start being taken seriously. It’s embarassing to not be front-running the conference year in and out with WVU, setting a standard for the realigned BigEast.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to join Smizik’s fictitional menacing mob that’s storming the cathedral like it is frankenstein’s castle.
HTscriptP
Frequently he uses excuses for a bad performance and blames anyone he can, officials, players, injuries, turnovers, etc. except the coaching.
See these examples:
“We need to run faster.”
“We didn’t see him scramble like this at all this year.”
“We knew that they were going to run the ball. For the most part, what they did running the ball was what they have been doing for the past five years.”
I am not trying to say that anyone is perfect, but when you are in a conference that is fighting a bad reputation, your team has been inconsistent at best the last decade or so, and you are trying to get a better national presence in the media & recruiting, I am not so sure this is the manner Mr. Smizik is referring to. A little accountability on Dave’s head would be nice.
Not my fault Waltstedt ?
I think we have the answer!
Four down linemen hasn’t produced the kind of pass rush that a blitzing 3-4 might (and it’s not like we’re crushing the opponent’s running game).
Of course, who would play the two middle LB spots? Can they cover when they aren’t blitzing?
Yeah, there were penalties and lack of execution. But when you take a step back, this is a lack of game management by the coaching staff thats been going on for years. I dont want Wanny fired. I just want him to learn to coach in college.
Starting to sound like the Nuttings at all?
I would like to change the topic somewhat as follows:
1) for local Pgh fans, FSN is televising a high school game tomorrow night which includes Sto-Rox, quaterbacked by the ‘infamous’ Paul Jones and his primary receiver, Pitt recruit, Andrew Carswell.
2) Versus is televising the new UFL which includes the California Redwoods, coached by Denny Green and quarterbacked by Tyler Palko
3) check out the stroy on Pitt’s newest QB recruit — not only is he 6’4, 220 and strong-armed, he runs the 100 high hurdles
link to community.post-gazette.com
Especially in the case of basketball, I don’t see any reason for your complaint. Pitt has upped the compensation for Dixon each time it has been necessary to do so. They built a new facility. (They also hired Agnus B., and have gotten the NCAA Womens’ Tourney to Pitt (twice now).) How has the University in any respect stood in the way of the teams achieving at a very high level? In fact, under Nordenberg the basketball programs have both gone from awful to highly competitive.
As for Wanny, I see both sides. As fans, we want to win. But a coach who professionally and positively represents Pitt and can win 8 or 9 games each year is an asset to the University. I’m sure that Nordenberg and company worry that any replacement could potentially be worse than what they have right now. If Wanny goes 4-8, 5-7, then I think he digs his own grave. But at 8-4, 9-3 I think he will be around as long as he wants.
I have been convinced for some time that Pitt’s interest is in getting the most profit from the least expense. That won’t build an elite program.
Why would Pitt stand in the way of any of its teams winning? Lack of commitment does not mean standing in the way.
8-4, 9-3? That’s what I mean. That’ll be good enough for Pitt. Won’t win NCs, though.
As to the offensive strategy in the second half of the last two games – yes, it’s certainly been head scratching at times – especially on that last series against NCS. However, there were plays not made by WRs that killed four drives in second half play in those games also. Three drops on first down catches that would have extended drives and Baldwin’s inability to get his feet inbounds after a sideline catch.
Had the WRs made those plays – all on good passes by Stull BTW – the offense very well could have kept drives alive and possibly scored some additional second half points. So IMO it doesn’t fall on the playcalling alone for what we fans see as the staff going into a second half shell.
Overall, I think we are largely agreeing. Nordenberg and company are happy being competitive and “in the mix”. And I’m not convinced that’s the wrong perspective. Should we gamble on a coach who will potentially lead us to higher performance but could also be a disaster? Based on the past three decades, the risk of doing worse is probably higher than the reward of taking that gamble.
Realistically, who could Pitt attract who would almost certainly lead us to a higher level in football? There just are not a lot of proven coaches who consistently win who also would jump at the chance to take-over Pitt, are there? We can take a chance on an up-and-coming younger coach, but that’s a fairly high risk proposition. This is why I believe Nordenberg et al. will stay with Wanny so long as he puts up winning seasons.
Sure, Myers is likely not to ever come close to reach the heights of Big Ben, however, it is hard to attract attention when you sitting as a high scholl junior. But if you are sitting the pine, at least it’s not so bad that the senior ahead of you was the state offensive player of the year.
The other point is that this QB is 6’4, 220, strong-armed, runs the 110 high hurdles, plays in the highest school classification in OH, and a HS coach of 21 years thinks he has the strongest arm he’s ever seen …. I don’t care who is recruiting him, this kid is worth taking a risk.
Nexy year is going to be a disaster for the football program because the non-con schedule doesn’t have cupcakes.
I have given up because we were told Wanny was hired to take us to the “Next Level” he is incapable.
The our offense shuts down in the second half because the other team’s DC makes adjustments and realizes Wanny’s ball control/sit on a lead mentaility. They watch game film and know Wanny is a caveman!
Also, Stull has a hard time with accuracy. If his passes were a bit more accurate our WR’s and TE’s wouldn’t have to contort their bodies or jump for the ball on a consistent basis to make a catch.
Do you think opposing DC’s pick up on the fact that Stull folds under pressure? Can’t throw the deep ball or has very little accuracy on medium range passes?
I figured out, I am sure they did!
Jamie had no head coaching expereince, was at least 2nd choice, and came relatively cheap .. and we are very fortunate to have him. However, Agnes had a large school, head coaching background and I’m sure was more expensive than her predecessor.
You may remember that when Howland was hired, everyone asked, who is he and how is this west coast guy every going to recruit here? Conversely, Ralph Willard was more high profile and everyone seemed pretty pleased with his hiring.
Unless you’re a program like Bama and can hire a Saban, or UF with Myers, or UM with RichRod … it will always be a crapshoot. (Heck, for some reason, USC even hired Hackett after he failed here!)
Like it or not, Pitt had its best year under Wanny last year, and if he can match it, he isn’t going anywhere ….. and there is no proof positive that this isn’t the prudent approach.
During the interview process which eventually resulted in Jamie Dixon’s hiring, Calipari made it well known that he would be interested in returning to Pitt … and at that time had already brought a team to the Final 4 and was a head coach in the NBA.
It is quite possible that Calipari would have brought at least one Pitt team thus far to the Final 4 had he been hired …..
In retrospect, do you wish Calipari was hired instead?
(note that I am not necessarily making any inferences to the football coaching situation, I’m just interested in what most eople ere think)
Bill Stull deserves zero criticism for any failure of the Pitt football team thus far. The kid has played brilliantly. He put the ball right on the money for Dorin Dickerson on third down. That was a big time throw and the receiver didn’t make the play. That isn’t Bill Stull’s fault. Saying he is making high throws and additional nonsense is just that, nonsense. He has had several balls dropped and his receivers aren’t exactly Larry Fitzgerald. Baldwin had an opportunity to make a great play on very nicely thrown ball and didn’t. Bill Stull is actually the MVP of this football team right now.
Without a spread-type QB, the defense has an 11:10 advantage.
The last pass Stull threw in the NC State game was very poor, the game was on the line, yes the defense played horrible but they did give the offense the opportunity to tie the game at the 8 yard line!
It was a pressure situation, the throw to Dickerson wasn’t any easy catch, Stull folds under pressure, thank God his eligibility will be used up this season.
We are a mediocre football team
Nonetheless, the last throw is indicative of what separates Stull from a playmaker. He admittedly let it go early when he felt the pressure.
Having said this, this loss is not on Stull … and maybe more importantly, there is absolutely no guarantee that replacing him would be an upgrade …. there are much bigger fish to fry!
I confess that I didn’t even read the article that you had linked because after watching Bayless on ESPN2’s First and Ten many times, I will never waste my time with anything he says or writes again.
Heck, I don’t even know if Bayless is on that show anymore since I avoid it all cost because the possibility is there … in fact, I saw a promo that Polamalu was to be on the show the other day, and still refused to watch it.
if dickerson catches a very well thrown ball on third down, then this is no 4th down pass. stull put the pass where only his receiver could get it, with enough room to get his feet down, and where the receiver had both fricking hands on it. i don’t care if it would have been an above average catch. it was an above average throw and dorin had both hands on it. you have to make that play to win the game. the 4th down pass was horrible, but it should never have come to that. additionally, cedric mcgee dropped another easy catch. i honestly don’t understand the criticism of bill stull. he has done more than enough to give his team a chance to win. period.
The Defense had already folded. Guaranteed touchdowns for every State possession.
That feeble last pass from Stull is moot. It only would have extended the agony.
I can appreciate the author pre-judgement. However, this feature is consistent with a number of other articles written by Bear and Dolphin fans. It complements the official article about him on the Chicago Bears history web pages. Bayless appears to have had good sources and insider knowledge. His descriptions could have been taken right from Heinz Field.
However, the penalties were killer. Forget the Berry pass interference in the end zone. That was clear and Aaron Barry always interferes rather than playing the ball. I bet he has more PI penalties than the rest of the corners combined. The Jared Holley penalty was a terrible, terrible call. He made an excellent play. That was an awful call and made a huge difference in the game.