One thing I learned doing marathon liveblogs at FanHouse. They rarely work that well. Everyone gets a little weary. Bigger gaps in the comments. It just takes a toll. Yet, it is always fun to try.
So there is some significant overlap of the football and basketball. Plus, for those not in Pittsburgh or around NY the football game may be the only option. We’ll give it a shot and see what happens.
Now here’s what everyone needs to remember. This is a moderated chat. Personal attacks are not going to get through. Things have tended to get overheated with football. I understand the emotions. That said, if you can’t keep them in some sort of check before putting them on the computer, we will do it for you. If you just won’t stop, banning is an option — just so Luke and I don’t have to read this crap.
The liveblog is below, but if you need to separate it out for easier viewing or script problems you can break it out by Click Here.
Pitt’s brand of football would be fun and exciting if Wanny had the hogs to run it. If your 11 players are better than the 11 players you line up against then Wanny’s style of football will work. However, you have to recruit good O-Linemen to do that which Wanny has not. Next years class has 1 O-linemene and he’s a 3 star recruit. And most Pitt fans who say Pitt is boring aren’t even complaining about that, they are complaining about him being afraid to try and win games. He coaches not to lose. Sorry that is not enjoyable. Watching a team go out and play not to lose is not fun. It is not a fun brand of football. You win games by playing to win the game.
It should be enough to say that maybe Wannstedt isn’t a very good coach and we can do better. There is no need to smear him as some kind of idiot who is stupider than all of us, or who is content with mediocrity. I personally am inclined to give him another year– one year of 7-5, following 9-4 and 10-3, is not a trend. A second consecutive year of disappointment would be. However, if/when I reach the conclusion that it is time for Wannstedt to go, it will be in sadness, not the anger and bile I read in these comments. He is an honorable man, is trying the best he can, and cares at least as much as any of us. It may become in the best interest of the program to fire him, but if/when that happens then shame on us if we gloat about it.
Not to say that his heart was/is not in the right place with the school’s best interest in mind, but enough is enough. The talent that we’ve faced over these 10-3/9-4/7-5 years has been downright pathetic! The Big Sprawl (kudos Chas) is made up by a dart board and is the biggest patch-job to date. Pitt should be flying high by now and the talk of the town as every analysts favorite flavor of the day program (sound familiar bball fans?). UCONN and USF didn’t even have D-I programs prior to the BE! And now they own us! How can you possible spin that into a positive? Enough of the b.s. from the stache, he’s had more than enough chances to put together some risky gameplans to spark a little life into the players and fans, yet he stuck with his guns and lost WAY too many games that should have been easily one with adjustment (someday McCoy will tell us how he really felt about Stull throwing into 50mph winds and losing 3-0 to OR-St.).
My heart goes out to any senior on this year’s team that dug down deep on Saturday to give it their all and try and salvage something out of this season. I commend them for winning in spite of awful coaching, but I find it very hard to consider this year worthy of co-Big East Champs.
Go ahead and see if this s@#$ flies with USC, Oh St., Florida, Miami (drr they just FIRED their coach), Texas, EVEN STANFORD!!!
Expectations are meant to be set and risen to, not the other way around.
HTscriptP
I am right, I know.
I didn’t say Wanny deserves no criticism, I just think the “FIRE HIM! HE IS A DISGRACE! HE’S THE WORST COACH! HIRE MIKE LEACH” segment of Pitt fans sounds ridiculous.
I also think they will improve next year and hopefully win some more games.
No matter how you spin Wanny’s past as a head coach, he has NOT been successful…period. I admit was one of those people waving the Wanny flag despite Chicago and Miami and thinking this was a whole new ballgame for him, but it’s time to admit it and move on.
Great guy. Nice guy. Great Pitt guy. Okay recruiter. Good ‘rally around me guy’.
But bad head coach and game day coordinator.
HTscriptP
1) We lose important games, ALL the time
2) We usually lose non important games
3) We win meaningless games, with inferior talent, weakly
4) We make mistakes that show no development
5) We do not have a strategic plan before, during, or finishing games leaving poor perceptions of preparation
6) We don’t instill confidence and pride in the fanbase by constantly underachieving for the perceived talent level
7) In a game of perception (like polls for CFB), we perform horribly because we are incapable of dominating other teams that are inferior (also see beating better teams to help perception)
8) And to top it off, the only reminder of our past era of success (our logo, colors, and marketing identity) was ripped from the team..further diminishing our brand recognition nationally.
WHAT PART OF THIS DO YOU PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND? PITT FOOTBALL IS A HORRIBLE, SICKENING, MIND NUMBING EXPERIENCE THAT CANNOT BE ENJOYED BECAUSE OF THE AFOREMENTIONED POINTS.
Until we win big games, dominate less talented teams, show player development and improvements throughout the year, have a game plan, and achieve to the level we are capable of with the recruits we have… we will be having the same conversation this time ever year.
We don’t need to score seventy points, hire Mike Leach or run some horse shit spread offense to build a great brand of football. It’s not a style contest, it is an execution contest…
Win important games! Win crap games convincingly. Show development. HAve a plan. Execute. Live up to our capabiltites.
Pitt 2010 did NONE OF THESE.
That way next year you can all high five each other During the Buffalo & Maine conquests.
It shouldn’t be hard to find each other at Heinz field as there will be only 10 to 15 thousand people actually in attendance. That is after we get hammered by Utah, Iowa, & Notre Dame.
I watch from my living room next year.
mike- you and i disagree on the definition of success. i think wannstedt is a fraud who swindled all of his previous employers out of money. he is stealing.
I believe Wanny should go. But I think we are focusing way too much on Wanny. What about the other coaches like Frankie Cigs and Phil Bennet. Wanny isn’t some Belicheck’esque coach that micromanages everything. I’m sure both had a large say over play calling. I personally thought the offensive play calling was pretty bad this year.