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October 15, 2011

Well I’m battling the cold my kids had last weekend. I’m going to Big East Media Day in NYC, which means leaving my wife and kids during the week. So as a trade-off, I had to give up going to this game.

I can’t say I’ve seen any Utah games this year. I don’t really know what to expect from this one. Like the team, I know I was more than a little overconfident going into last week’s game. Sure that even if Pitt struggled a little more than they did against USF, they could still take that Rutgers team. That factored in to taking the loss so hard. Actually assuming a win.

The game is on ESPNU at noon.

Quick review of the rules: It’s a moderated chat. Not every comment gets through. Especially duplicative, trolls, overly vulgar, personal attacks, or general stupidity as defined by me (like porn, I know it when I see it). Some people who have been regulars get passes to comment freely, but not everyone. Partially to keep it from being a free-for-all, and partially because some of the regulars get, let’s say, a little too emotional and reactionary; especially when Pitt is losing.

The liveblog is below, and as always if you need to break it out from the site Click Here.





Uconn, who got beat by the one of the Directional Michigan’s in the MAC last week, beat USF today.

Great, they’re going to have some momentum now coming into the Pitt game.

What happened to the Zach Brown today, did the guy even get one carry? For being in this game the whole game, leading at halftime 14-13, and still in it 14-19 late in the 4rth, why why why did we throw it 30 times, when when when that is the weakest weakest weakest part of our offense???

We should have ran ran ran and we might have won won won. The Tino syndrome, curse whatever appears to be very hard to overcome.

Comment by EMel 10.15.11 @ 9:39 pm

Ontario were did you see Myer’s play? In high School, in practice, where? When someone states flatly they have seen someone play they should say were. No one can argue Anderson belongs in college football not because of his size but because of his inability to throw further than 20 yards – nice pass at the end of the game and his other long passes – he just throws it – the recievrs were open. Quick release Ontario how can someone as small as Tiny have a quick release (this is based on strength). Next your going to tell me Tino has a quick release. I do not expect you to answer my question about Myers since the only blogger who has seen him, warming up at a game completely disputes your observation

Comment by DRW 10.15.11 @ 9:45 pm

Well, I was among those on here that said it was time for DW to go. His offense was boring and predictable, and his defense was too conservative…He just was not going to get us to the next level…We asked for change and we got it…radical change. I thought we could go through the learning curve of radically different offensive and defensive systems and still be competitive in the BE (it is the BE after all, not the SEC)…I was wrong. We are in for at least another year like this because we just don’t have the QB or WR’s to run this system…I don’t care what Chad Voytik’s done in HS…No true freshman is going to come in and rescue this team. I think the defense is very close to being a dominating unit. The offense will take another season after this…I do think that TG is working towards something special, but I’ve lost all hope for this season, and don’t have much enthusiasm for next year either.

Comment by HbgFrank 10.15.11 @ 9:47 pm

Everyone keeps blaming our QBs especially Tino but we do have a QB coach that is supposed to be their mentor/teacher/??? After watching both of them play I want to know why are we paying this guy? I am also not impressed with our ex-Michigan offensive coordinator. I think both of those guys need replaced.

Comment by John In South Carolina 10.15.11 @ 9:51 pm

Hey John In SC,

Believe it or not (and you certainly can’t tell based on the last 2 games), we have two (2) OC’s.
Yes that is correct, it took two OC’s to concoct this offense. McGee & a 30 year old guy named Mike Norvell.

Of course they can’t make Tinny or Tiny into something they’re not. And that’s a legit D1 QB.

Comment by EMel 10.15.11 @ 10:01 pm

First off, I did not have any glowing endorsement of Tino in fact my stance on here has been opposite, he has to go and I won’t continue watching games if he’s playing. (who I think absolutely is horrendous, not sure I’ve seen worse QB play in recent history at D-1 level) Nor do I think Trey is any good right now (who at least can run, but hasn’t been able to hit the broad side of a barn). I think our QB situation is a disgrace for D1 FB and that I lay on Wanny.

To answer you’re question I have seen multiple game films on him from HS as well as seeing him in practice at Pitt. I don’t dispute that he has the best arm or throws the best ball. I simply think he is clearly slower than the other two and has a slower release. (I agree Tino doesn’t release the ball at all so why does it even matter). But quick release has nothing to do with strength, but rather throwing mechanics. I do think Trey has a quicker release than Myers. Those were simply my observations.

The only reason I stated those thoughts on him was because I was thinking of reasons he wouldn’t be in the mix right now. But, lets consider that he has been beat out by Tino twice, was seemingly going to be beat out by Gonzalez this year, and then was beat out by Anderson (An undersized, walkon true freshman, who does not have a great arm).

The staff knows the QB play is horrendous yet Myers has not been in. If he was ready and playing like he deserved to, or even on the level of the other two I believe he’d be given a shot. We will see this coming week what happens. If not I believe he must be so horrendous in practice that coaches are terrified to put him in.

Todd Graham does not have to please the crowd by trying every QB on his roster. Ya the play is horrible but that doesn’t mean you just throw anyone in. If Myers really is that much worse in practice there is no reason to put him in.

Again, I’d love to seen him in there. I’d love to see someone else get a shot. But if they think he is currently that bad, that he can’t play on the level of what they have, then that doesn’t make me particularly excited about how he may perform.

Comment by OntarioLett'sGoPitt 10.15.11 @ 10:03 pm

Emel,

The 30 year old guy, Norvell, is not calling the game so I was being a little easy on him. But yes, we do have two offensive coordinators and they have called two horrible games. On that I agree 100%. I find it hard to believe we cannot get a usable qb from either Sunseri, Anderson, Gonzalez, or Myers. For that we should blame the QB coach.

Comment by John In South Carolina 10.15.11 @ 10:11 pm

Myers was a true freshman last year. He was a 4 star recruit, and as I recall, played very well in the all star games. It is quite possible that Myers was beaten out last year because a redshirt sophomore was ahead of him, who, as some have speculated, may have had the job handed to him. He was beaten out this year because he (1) reportedly had an injury in the spring , and (2) was concluded by the Todd Graham brain trust to not be worthy of playing in this masterful offense, at least not yet. Based on what I have seen, that should be a badge of honor.

And this BS about a slow release. Is it the party line well placed sources on Graham’s staff are “leaking” to the crack Pitt “beat reporters”? I can start with Vinnie Testaverde, and go down a list of about 100 quarterbacks that have played at a high level in the NFL with a strong arm but without a Dan Marino release. What the hell good is a quick release if you cannot pick up a receiver?

Anderson has a low release point. That, plus his lack of height are serious impediments to his success now and in the future. If that was not apparent today. He may get the ball off quicker than Sunseri, but that is about it.

Sorry. Myers can throw interceptions, miss wide open receivers, take sacks and lose games just as well as Anderson and Sunseri. We do not know what, if any upside he may have. But he deserves a shot. Chances of him getting it? Close to zero. Graham is now at the point where he cannot afford to look any worse, and he just cannot take the chance that Myers will be successful.

Comment by PO's Panther 10.15.11 @ 10:37 pm

I just typed a full page “think piece” that somehow never loaded but it started with this .. and I’ll save you all the rest.

I’m glad some are starting to see some of the horrible coaching that is happening here. From preparation, scheme, game day decisions and play calls. I thought this all came to a head at Rutgers but apparently not.

Who is our offensive coordinator? So, we have two? Is TG calling plays? And who is this QB coach and who has he actually coached this year?

That “rock” they carry before the game should be buried or exploded as a sacrifice. You know they probably spent about 10 grand on that.

When Urban Meyer becomes Penn State’s next coach … Tom Bradley will be available.

Comment by MelbaPlace 10.15.11 @ 10:50 pm

Did anybody notice that Mike Shanahan was nowhere to be found today? Did he even catch a pass today? Tino refuses to throw to anyone besides Shanahan and today he just could not break off the jams at the line of scrimmage. He was nowhere to be found at all today and has been very inconsistent all year.

Comment by Alex P 10.15.11 @ 11:00 pm

I have a feeling one of the two OCs erased Shanahan’s number from the playbook when he dropped that would be touchdown and the one after.

Never to be heard from again.

Comment by MelbaPlace 10.15.11 @ 11:05 pm

I usually try not be too hard on the players/kids, but OMG, SHOW SOME HEART/PASSION/INTEREST ON OFFENSE!!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more downtrodden team. Even the defense looked “defeated” in the second half after FLYING all over the place, making plays, celebrating, jumping around in the first 25 minutes or so.

As for the play calling or lack thereof, remember when Graham said that he had watered down his offense so much for these kids that he could barely stand to watch? That is pathetic. He had kids at two other schools setting records running this offense. 30 other teams have players capable of running his offense. WTF?

If you think Graham and his coaches are going to CREATE and learn a new system or playbook, you are kidding yourselves. We are what we are until some better pieces are in place.

Comment by cnorwoodaz 10.15.11 @ 11:37 pm

The Mike Norvell OC was the passing game coordinator with TG at Tulsa, where he was also the WR’s coach and the recruiting director. Busy guy. I would assume he’s probably coordinating the passing game (or lack of it) at Pitt.

Part of his bio on Pitt’s website.

The Golden Hurricane had five 1,000-yard receivers during Norvell’s tenure. His most accomplished pupil was All-America receiver Damaris Johnson, who led the country in all-purpose yards for two consecutive years and set the all-time NCAA FBS record for that category with 7,796 career yards.

C-USA was a very different conference. I mean a lot of those teams average boo coo points. Houston scores gazillions of points. Since June Jones took over at SMU, they have been ringing the scoreboard. Other than UCF last year, nobody plays defense in C-USA. ECU puts up lots of points, as does Utep and Tulsa.

Comment by EMel 10.15.11 @ 11:42 pm

Nova passes for 2 TDs and Rutgers beats Navy 21-20

A Rivals headline. Nova was a DW/Pitt commit who decommitted and is starting for Rutgers as a true freshman. He is another guy on the list of “DW could never recruit a QB” as espoused by some posters on this board. Stull/Myers/Gonzales/Bostick. I understand that the real rap against DW is that he wasn’t able to land Joe Namath, but instead let him slip away to Alabama.

Comment by BigGuy 10.16.11 @ 1:00 am

Graham needs to declare that all positions are open. What doe she have to lose? A coach loses his players when he makes bad decisions. If the players think tino or trey are the best options, you wouldn’t see them quit.

Put Clemmons, Hale and Myers in and let the fans see they don’t have what it takes. If proven correct, there will be mass transfers, which goes to the theory of natural selection. The best survive, the least become expendable and the new recruits know they have an honest opportunity if they are good enough. Play politics and be stubborn and you will lose the team. MAC logic and used car sales tactics doesn’t work in the big boy conferences. We have talent, just not good politicians. Play the repressed…now!

Comment by dhuffdaddy 10.16.11 @ 1:08 am

Show me a team that had a worse stable of QBs than Pitt had during Wanny’s tenure. Half of them weren’t suited to play IAA QB. To defend Wannstedt’s recruitment of QBs shows a ridiculous bias that makes it not even worth arguing with you on this point. It was one of the absolute worst, and most pathetic jobs he did at Pitt. He had no eye for talent at that spot and didn’t have a clue how to develop it. If your going to pick a battle chose something other than QB, they all flat out stunk.

Let’s see how Nova turns on in 3 years, I have been less than impressed in every game I’ve seen him in.

Comment by OntarioLett'sGoPitt 10.16.11 @ 12:01 pm

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