What? You haven’t joined the Pitt Blather Bowl Challenge yet? The bowl games start tomorrow at 2 pm.
Need your incentive other than the joy of competing by predicting the outcome of all the bowl games?
Okay, time to announce the prize for the winner.
You will have a choice. I have one pair of the customized Pitt Nike Zoom Huarache training sneaker, courtesy of Nike. Here are some more pics from the Pro Combat day. I would have kept the pair for myself, because I did get to try a pair and they fit nicely. Unfortunately the pair they sent me is not my size. So if you win and want the sneaker option we will find out if you have the right sized foot for this.
(Odd aside, of the ten programs to get the Pro Combat treatment this fall, four of them — Pitt, Florida, Miami and WVU — have coaching turnover.)
Now the other prize option is a schwag/regifting collection. All of the items are new/unused. I’ve ended up with them, and it’s time to dump them share.
Among the items in this are:
— 8 GB jump drive in the form of Nike branded military dog tags
— Padded black Nike drawstring bag
— Jim Beam branded flask
— Brewzkey bottle opener
— Flying Dog branded pint glass
And I’m adding this t-shirt in size Large
There may be some other items added, but I have to look what is accumulated.
How can you not be fired up to play now? Register, here.
1) His team will always line up and play it’s heart out. That alone encourages me because I haven’t seen that from Pitt for a LONG time…
2) As far as strategy, Haywood’s staff will always be right there. I’m not going to say they will be the best X & O guys in the land and will never be outplanned or out coached, but you will never see them looking lost or helpless. They are adaptable and make adjustments in game and between games. HbgFrank pointed out some great examples. Don’t be surpised to to see a tradition 30 runs off tack with little variety against a Maine – why? because it will win. But don’t be surprised to see a lot of 3,4, 5 wides and motion against a Rutgers or UCONN either…
the biggest question mark that will determine just how high Haywood can take this program is simply how well can he and his staff recruit… We won’t have a honest answer on that for a couple years. Based on what he did in the past, I like his chances…
Right or wrong, Wanny is gone, and it is time to move forward, and I agree that Haywood deserves a chance. Two things he brings to the table which will be welcome are (1) a no B.S. approach which appears to be badly needed since, to me, the biggest disappointment of this past season was the lack of discipline both on and off the field, and (2) the ability to adapt … he appears to be very willing to change his strategy based on his opponent and game situation.
While I, like many here, had my doubts about him because he was not the ‘sexy’ hire, I would not at all be surprised if he turns out to be Howlandesque (and not Callahanesque.)
link to sports.espn.go.com
I look at it this way, Pitt had an awful game and Tennessee played out of their minds! It happens.
I am in Maryland land and the rumors are rampant that the Fridge is gone….
Love our new coach Haywood and ask that we all get behind his efforts.
I also agree that recruiting will be the key. However, I think we will have an answer on that score by this time next year not in two years, based on how he closses out the current class and how good the incoming 2012 commits look. If recruiting is the same or up from what Wannstadt did then the new guy will be a big success 9assuming you are correct on coaching)will be a flop in the long term. If somewhere in between those extremes the jury will be out for at least one additional year.
Bowling Green Panther. I like what you have to say about the coaching aspect–sure hope it is a 100% accurate assessment!
I also agree that recruiting will be the key. However, I think we will have an answer on that score by this time next year not in two years, based on how he closses out the current class and how good the incoming 2012 commits look. If recruiting is the same or up from what Wannstadt did then the new guy will be a big success (assuming you are correct on coaching). If not, itwill be a flop in the long term. If somewhere in between those extremes the jury will be out for at least one additional year.
Comment by pitt1972 12.18.10 @ 3:31 pm
I don’t know why the perception here among some seems to be that Wannstedt’s coaches were the only ones capable of recruiting some of these areas.
As I’ve said in some other threads, some research into Haywood’s background and reading up on some interviews with people familiar with him reveals a coach who has made it a point to retain contacts he’s had with every area he’s coached at previously. He was recruiting kids from Texas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Virginia to Miami (OH). When I looked at the Miami (OH) roster, I was amazed at how many kids he pulled from those areas. He also made it point to hit the Cincinnati area hard, an area just as historically solid as the WPIAL.
Granted those kids he was pulling were MAC-caliber players for the most part, but isn’t that kind of expected anyway? He now has the selling point of a team in a BCS conference with much better facilities; I’m sure if he continues to hit those areas, he will bring higher-caliber players to Pitt.
The main things for me are the scheme and his ability to use talent within the scheme. He already said his offensive gameplans are built on identifying mismatches and exploiting them, and I’m not sure I ever heard Wannstedt say that over the six years he was here. To that end, I don’t care as much about the overall quality (read: ranking/rating) of the recruits as I do his ability to develop them and maximize their talents within his scheme. This is how Patterson wins at TCU and Peterson wins at Boise. This is how RichRod won at WVU. This is how Kelly also wins at Oregon (and with the help of a bunch of JUCO’s, too).
Pitt is in nowhere as bad a shape as Miami was when Haywood first got there. If the current players ‘buy in’, they can reach their full potential as well. As far as the discipline stuff, a lot of these players go to private academies(think Dion Lewis & LeShean McCoy) and military schools for just that, to learn some discipline. It also makes you that much more of a better football player. Just watch Navy, Air Force & Army play, they usually don’t beat themselves. This could be a very good hire by SP & Pitt.
What do you mean it’s only the first two games, aren’t we supposed to jump to conclusions based on the slimmest of evidence on here?
