Pitt has a ton of problems. And, yes, I have posted for a couple straight days with attention to the coaching staff. There’s a reason for that.
The deficiencies and strengths on this team — regarding the players/talent/depth — were mostly known coming into the season. The unknown was how the coaching staff would use them. How they would coach and prepare them.
So far, it has not been pretty. There’s no way to pretend otherwise. Yes, the coaching chaos the last two years have taken a toll. Almost certainly it has had an effect on the team psyche. Yes it has impacted the overall talent on the squad. Yes, there are injuries — especially to the linebackers. Yes, there has been a bit of overestimating the overall talent on this squad.
None of that is sufficient to explain the performance of this team in the first two games. Losing by 14 — and never even leading — to YSU. Not being competitive in the Cinci game. Sorry. This team should not be this bad.
Coach Chryst will and should have the time to set up this program his way. He’s also a first-time head coach, learning and making mistakes. We wish otherwise, but the on-the-field performance and the way the team has started in the first two games demonstrate that right now he is finding 0ut how steep the learning curve can be in moving from coordinator to head coach.
Changes. Shake-ups to the coaching staff won’t happen until the off-season. (And there absolutely needs to be a shake-up just based on these first two games.) So, the position coaches had better find their own sense of urgency.
[Editor note/UPDATE: Holy crap, Wisconsin just fired their O-line coach, 2 games into the season!]
What I will be looking to see over the rest of the season and going forward: will there be improvements? Will the players be better prepared to start games? Will they have more urgency? Will they be in a better position to use their strengths, and can their weaknesses be masked?
It sucks to be in week two and already writing off even a .500 record, but that is the reality right now. It sucks for guys like Holley, Tags, Jacobson and seniors who have worked their tails off. Done all they can. Left bits of cartilage and brain matter on the field for Pitt.
The reality is, this season is lost. They lost a gimmee, and failed miserably in a game that was believed to be a toss-up before the season started.
The defense is a mess. The D-line is being shredded, and that further exposes the very depleted linebackers. The secondary, which was supposed to be the strength on this team is struggling badly to play man coverage.
Sunseri is not the reason Pitt has lost their first two games — the defense takes a larger share of the blame so far. He’s been his maddeningly-inconsistent-tight-when-it-matters-unable-to-hit-a-man-more-than-20-yards-downfield-self. But the offensive line remains lousy. Giving him no time, and not giving the running backs anything inside. That said, Sunseri’s not helping, and I am ready to rip the redshirt off of Voytik.
The only thing that gives me pause — and it has gotten much smaller the more I think about it — is playing behind the Pitt O-line. The O-line is technically at full-strength (Notwithstanding Juantez Hollins) — or at least closer to full available players than last year — and it is just as bad at pass protection. No one should feel that comfortable throwing a freshman QB behind that O-line, least of all the coaches. Of course it can rationalize that away because Voytik is supposed to be a better runner.
It’s defensible to keep Voytik’s redshirt in a lost year, but it less defensible to keep trotting out Sunseri. At this point it just seems like wasting time.
After that, what other changes do you make to the line-up? Plug Bisnowaty and/or Demhasaj in at the O-line? Give Rippy a look at linebacker (actually, yes).
Blame the loss of the 2011 recruiting class all you want, on the lack of talent, but those would only be sophomores and redshirt freshmen. As tumultuous as last year was, the 2012 recruiting class held together and brought in some good talent. To say nothing of how all summer, plenty were supporting the idea that stars and recruiting rankings were not the end-all-be-all.
Ultimately the only losses I can really point to from the last two recruiting classes that hurt in terms of present depth and need are all from the 2011 class: Gary Nova (QB), Marquise Wright (DT) and Quintin Alston (LB) — and the loss of Alston was arguably negated by picking up Ejuan Price after the Tressel firing. After that, there really aren’t many other players that decommitted from Pitt who would really be an upgrade at the position on this particular squad.
What do you want or hope to see from this team at this point?
classes were over rated. Pitt has had the highest rated classes
in the BE (other than WVU) yet loses games to Cincy, Uconn,
etc. Or is it coaching? Regardless this is another sad season for Pitt. Lots of empty seats this season.
Your question is rhetorical. It always starts at the top because that where the race starts.
What do I want to see from this team?
Effort, heart, fire and that refusal to get kicked around like a bunch of p*ssies.
But as long as Pederson remains, you are only moving deck chairs on the Titanic.
You play to win the game…
if that means Voytik… so be it…
why people are into red-shirting is beyond me.
Article in Trib today…
Solution to Pitts problems… recruit better!
and we know, Chryst is terrible at recruiting.
Tiny is pathetic
I emailed Sam as well at PG editor.. shirman…
Pointless article!!
and his 1st question out of the box after Cincy game interview of Chryst… dumb, dumb, dumb.
If that is what is to be expected out of sam… go back to covering hs sports.
Going back to spring, long before “The Debacle” (YSU) and “The River City Smackdown” (Cincy) I was on the record saying VaTech would be Chryst’s signature win in his first year as HC.
Believe Dr. Tom agreed.
Well as foolish as it may sound… I’m sticking to it.
Here are a few reasons…
1) VaTech is good but not that good — Most impressive aspect of the team looks to be the defense, especially line and linebackers.
2) Hokie QB good but not that good — Physically imposing and obviously a gifted athlete for his size, Logan Thomas is just average when it comes to throwing the football. Pitt may be about to have its first interception of the season.
3) Pitt’s Defense showing life — Chryst and Huxtable are showing a willingness to put who they think are the best players on the field no matter what anybody thinks. Holley and Hendricks in, surprisingly Taglianetti out and Vinopal out. The addition of Clemmings seemed to give the D-Line a little edge. And most surprising, Gordon finally sucked it up and played his best game in two years although still not exactly Mason-esque.
4)Pitt’s running game improviing — Ray Graham is healthier and finally Rushel Shell gets to show us what he can do and he looked pretty good… as a runner. Now, if the O-Line can just come around.
5) Chryst finally gets to see tape on a team with an extra few days to lay out his gameplan. Wisconsin’s offensive woes last weekend are testimony to exactly what Chryst brings to the table and why he was hired.
If there is going to be a signature win for Chryst to restart the season and his tenure… this is it.
Have yo u ever posted something positive? Does the ‘D’ stand for Debbie as in Debbie Downer. lol
Kidding aside. I actually agree with you on one thing. The local media does not have the best journalist when it comes to creativity for a story.
I come to find out… PG and Werner are just cheerleaders…
Trib is better for Pitt coverage.
Now, even DiPaolo didn’t finish the story… just recruit better!! that is easy to say… maybe its an opening to another article on recruiting.
I like the idea of recruiting kids after you have seen them in person at a camp against the best competition.
I don’t believe you can say Chryst can’t recruit talent yet especially after the lack of production from DW’s 4 stars.
Only time will tell and we really have no choice but to give him time.
As for Steve Pederson, you can’t help but blame him for alot of this. I know Wanny was a loyalist to his staff, but if Steve was a good AD, he would have forced Wanny to hire a new offensive coordinator. Everything else, IMO, was fine. Wanny was just a bad game day coach with a putrid offensive scheme, but that guy could recruit. I think Chryst is still a better coach, but that hire needed to be made first before Haywood/Graham. The team would have been in much better shape last year, this year, and better prepared for the ACC. (Especially last year because Chryst would have had better players for his system and there was a slight chance his 2011 class could have been kept intact.) Oh yeah, and did anyone see ASU’s record? Who else wants to puke with me?
is the lack of production from DW’s 4star due to poor coaching… or lack of drive.
If lack of drive…
I say, bring in 25 new recruits… and show some the door. Any junior that is not a current starter… I would release from scholarship at end of season. It may be time to cut the cancer affecting the locker room.
The best you can say is that Sunseri is not the ONLY reason Pitt is off to an 0-2 start. In other words, he didn’t (yet) blow games all by himself, like he did soooo many times in 2010 and 2011.
But if Pitt was playing a D-1 quality QB instead of D-III Tino, maybe we could outscore teams until the defense catches up.
With Tino Sabe in the saddle, the only way this team can win, as currently configured, is for the defense to pitch a near-shutout.
Looks like we’re in for a long year. Like, record-long (bad)…
I still say nothing is gained by Tino taking another snap in a Pitt uniform. We’ve seen this movie, we know how it ends. Time to start getting the next guy ready for 2013.
We know Tino doesn’t perform well under pressure. Much of the pressure is in the red zone.
Chryst doesn’t think Voytek knows the whole playbook.
So put in Voytek with a few scripted plays in the red zone. Maybe he can throw a fade with some touch to our tall receivers.
Based on what? Honest question. Because I haven’t seen a single droplet of evidence that the guy can coach at all.
All I see (so far) is a guy who very well might go winless with a 2011 bowl team.
Petrino – HC
Mark Mangino – OC
Tom Bradley – DC
Jay Paterno – QB Coach
Joe D – LB / Secondary
Pittastic – DL
Coach Ditka – TE/OL
IMMA Man – WR/ RB
FrankCam – recruiting coordinator
@ PittofDreams, sorry, I’m now hanging my head, Sunseri has crushed my hopes for the VA TECH game. I presently find myself entertaining masochistic thoughts of VA TECH really kicking the $hit out of Pitt and Tino in particular (I guess that is actually sadistic thoughts) just to reinforce the obvious. Tino must go!
Coach Ditka just presented very well,the other side of the coin that I’ve been harping about every since Thursday night’s debacle,establishing the team’s mindset. Tino INSTILLS confidence in the team, therefore they play with the wicked abandon of assumed success. Unfortunately, the team that I refer to, is the defensive squad of whomever we’re playing that week.
When your coaches pound into your head in preparation for playing Pitt that, “if you apply enough pressure to this Sunseri guy, he is going to make mistakes. Plus he is not a running threat”. It is going to positively effect your level of play on the defensive front. Add to that, no danger of getting burned deep in the passing game and you have a Pitt formula for failure, or conversely and opponent’s formula for success.
So keeping Tino in there is a double edged sword and unfortunately for us, we are getting cut up on both sides of that sword.
So to answer the question, Now What?
First, and foremost, BENCH SUNSERI.
Second, call a total team meeting with Chryst informing the Pitt squad that a shake up is underway across the board. Starting with a new QB.
Third, have personal, one on one, meetings with Voytik, Anderson and even Ronald Jones regarding their own feelings on where they are at in their own preparation to start at QB come the Gardner-Webb game. This will be utilized to determine how the QB position is manned for the immediate future. Emphasize that honesty is imperative, if you do not feel ready and have any reservations, then let us know. We do not want you in there if you are not 100% confident in your potential. No worries, it’s OK to say you’re not there yet. Incorporate Ronald Jones in some form of “Wildcat” formations, 3 or 4 basic play selections for specific situations. Jones has proven that he can handle that responsibility from past performance and success and it would give the offense a completely different look when used.
Fourth, Let the rest of the team know that this football team is in a total state of flux and that no starting position is secured by tenure or experience alone. If you are not getting it done, you will be replaced by somebody else, to give them their chance on game day.
Fifth, Invite and bring in every single Pitt football legend who is willing to speak to the team. Have them show up and share their personal Pitt experiences with this team throughout the remainer of the season. Especially if you can get it to happen on game day. Football is a game of emotion. This team needs to get some. Instill that sense of tradition in them, make them aware that because of their individual actions, their personal success or failure that it reflects on the University and all who came before them. Instill in them the responsibility that they have to the tradition of Pitt football when they perform out there on the field of play.
If you were an 18-20 year old Pitt player sitting in the locker room before the game listening to a Dan Marino instilling in you how to play with Pitt Panther Pride, going 100%, start to finsih, no matter what the outcome of the game, do you think that your game demeanor would be enhanced, sure enough would!
Sixth, As Coach Chryst has already professed. Play to your player’s strenghts. Job one however is to find the guys who have bought in 100%. Then play those guys. Effort and committment trump experience or previous starting history across the board. Once found develop those guys with the correct mental attitude for the future.
Seventh, demand from your coaches as well as from the administration, 100% committment to recruiting. Invite in these uncommitted recruits to this process. Educate them to the history and tradition of Pitt football. Have them sitting there in the locker room on game day listening to the Danny Marinos of days gone by, getting them bought in even before they sign on the dotted line on LOI day.
Eight, challenge the Pitt fan base and the Pittsburgh sports fan in general to support the program. Let them know what you are committed to doing and ask them to come out and support the team. Literally giveaway blocks of tickets via donations to various organizations to get people in the stands. YMCA, Boys Clubs, Big Brothers, city football leagues, high school football programs, etc. And if needed arrange and provide mass transportation to make it happen. Establish a Pitt ambassador program of both paid and volunteer participants to serve as chaperons and guides for these game day excursions.
Ninth, give some incentive at every home game for the student body to attend the game. T-shirts, sign competition, best team spirit outfit, etc. Let the student body onto the field for the start of every game to form a tunnel when the Panthers take the field. And most important, produce priorty boarding passes to the student sections, to be passed out at the exit of every student section at the END OF THE GAME to get priority bus boarding first, without waiting in line behind those who left the game early. Make it even better by providing an advertising incentive to businesses on these passes, like on the tickets for some food offer etc. for the students.
Tenth, refuse to accept mediocrity. HAIL TO PITT!
Sticking a guy in a game when we’re down by 21 against a defense smelling blood and with a sputtering, no-confidence offense is hardly a fair shot. Forget waiting until Tino shames himself again and just give Anderson or Voytik the keys at the start of the game…the only fair way to assess their ability.
Tino has gotten 27-28 straight starts — how about 3-4 straight starts for Anderson or Voytik and then check their progress?
You would give four coaching slots to non-Pitt Blather participants? That does it. I’m filing a grievance with my Pitt Blather steward.
Brilliant. Thank you.
Meanwhile the O line is leaving guys unblocked constantly or are just being punished in the trenches. Please explain to me why our GIGANTIC O-line is only allowing our RB’s to get under 3 ypc when we take away just the longest run they had of the day… I dislike having Tino as our QB just as much as the next guy, but until our defense starts making tackles and our Oline blocks, it won’t matter who’s under center. You guys need to get that through your heads.
Redshirt Voytik? What are we saving him for? Shell will play significant minutes this year at a much deeper position. So…
If this doesn’t get you exciting about Pitt Football and get you interested in making some of your own Pitt Football history in the future, then nothing will.
Watch it, HAIL TO PITT.
Do you think they’d let Sandusky out on a work release program on Saturdays? He could surely help with the staff.
Qb is the most important position and making change even to Anderson could be some type of spark. I seen enough of Tino.
He is not a leader and i am convinced that he has no ambition to even play.
“Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova went 15-of-27 in the game for just 130 yards with two touchdowns, but again looked tentative in the pocket for the second straight week. Nova spread the ball to seven different receivers, with wide receiver Mark Harrison snagging six receptions in the game. Despite the equitable distribution, only four Rutgers first downs came by way of the pass.”
All that being said, all I’d like to see for the rest of the year is some fire. Play with emotion, Panthers! I’m not saying take dumb penalties, but get fired up! Talk trash even if you’re losing. Mostly, show me that you care.
I will take the job.
on game day you would hear the VT DC say dont
hurt sunseri dont smash tino becuse if he is there
QB we are sure to win
1) VT is an established football program
2) And counter to popular belief Pitt is not
Ah he** here is a third: Chryst is coach and you all are not. Irrespective of SP hiring him you all cannot fire him.
and new starter on DL BRYAN MURPHY.
THOES ARE NOT ENOUGH CHANGES.
and no real changes on offence which means it is still tino time is there no one we can send e mail to to ask for a change at QB
there are 3 schools out there that i know of who play freshmen QB but we get a study diet of tino
is there no one we can email and ask if the coach is blind what is with this tino tino we are so screwed.
i dont think any one wants to fire chryst
but some of the asst coachs might have to go next year.
I have seen at least two post today calling for his firing. maybe they weren’t serious… could of, should of, would of, Paul Chryst is Pitt’s football coach for the foreseeable future. lets move on and get the AD fired!
it is to soon to tell but the DL coach worrys me
becuse it is not playing well and he was fired
after one year at ucla a red flag.
and a LB coach who was a high school coach last year.
and as you know the LB play is real bad.
thoes 2 worry me.
Besides if Voytik lives up to his billing they will still have a redshirt left if he gets hurt, besides if the Chapman kid is any good you have himin the future mix of QBs. Why continue down the Tino road to no where ?
1. Character. I want to see every individual from players to coaches display character. This is self control, emotion, leadership and discipline.
2. Leadership. Each person needs to step up and be the player and coach that is expected of them. Be an example to the person next to you, behind you…infront of you. Display true leadership.
3. Create an identity. This team has no identity. The offense doesnt have one. The defense doesnt have one. The TEAM doesnt have one.
4. Compete. At least compete in games from coin toss to final whistle blow. In both games they never were competing on every play, every down all game long. Every single position needs to improve. They all need to elevate their game.
5. Be prepared. Not sure whose fault this is. Coaches need to prepare the players to be ready, to be ready to match their opponent. Players need to respond and play. The thing that has really killed me this year is watching the defense continuously be out of position. They are always running people down. Tackling is another problem. A basic you would think, but it has been awful.
The QB play and all of that discussion of Sunseri is a long past mute point. I dont know him and dont want to attack his character at all. He is however a very mediocre college QB. He simply cant play at the level required of a D1 program. Until someone else is given a chance, the discussion of QB for me is not worth griping about.
If the positional play does not get better starting immediately, then Chryst needs to start looking at the position coaches and clean house. This starts with the S&C coach, both line coaches and D coordinator.
If we dont win this season or even have a mediocre record at best, I at least want to see growth in my top 5. Those are basic fundamentals.
HTP
i told him he should e mail them to the AD and to
chryst he really should do that. or type them up and mail them.
Ridiculous media questions.
and if you didn’t know it..
based upon Chryst demeanor and answers… you would think the team was 1-1 and the games were close!!
I really like your number 8 above. Well said.
.but we cant fire chryst you know that.
but i am with you that ASST coachs may need to go
and he should hire them from were you say.
and news paper people and tell them to give up there free lunchs at pitt and ask them when they are goin to ask some real QUESTIONS like when is he going to bench tino does he need new asst coachs things like that.
no more puff QUESTIONS.
if only chryst read these post.
abought you .
you have been away to long.
Pitt’s coaches are obviously over-matched. All you have to do is look at their resume’s and you just roll your eyes and wonder what the hell Chryst and Pitt’s AD were thinking. I get it, we all thought Pitt was getting Bob Bostad and when he didn’t come on board Pitt went to Plan B.
Plan B isn’t working. There is nothing that I have seen in the first two games to think its ever going to work. Have some balls, go to Plan C.
That’s you Peterson. You are making a lot of money making piss poor decisions. Time to get a sack and tell Chryst he needs to make some changes. I understand Chryst has some loyalties to the people he hired. Everybody loves loyalty. But this crap show isn’t working. The assistants that were hired are not cutting it. Time for you to wipe that stupid smile off your face and show this University that you have some balls. Force Chryst to make a change.
If you make changes and this shit show continues I will know at least you tried. I will be satisfied that you at least tried. But if you sit on your ass and do nothing..Apathy will take over in September. And that is bad for business.
Look at U of W’s AD. That guy has a sack. Do you?
Here is one of my emails to media.. PG & Trib.
Let me help you out young fella…
Question for Chryst…
Wisky just fired its Oline coach after 2 game…
Will you replace any current assistants before the end of season… if not, why not!!
What will it take for you to bench Sunseri?? It’s 3 years with Sunseri… there are freshman QB’s starting all over D1 that look better than Tino…
What goals do the Defensive coaches have for VT game? Total yards? Turnovers?
please no powderpuff question…
if you are going to be a cheerleader…
go put on a skirt and grab a pair of pompoms and go to the sideline
Yesterday, you can’t do a single thing about, that is what they call history. Tomorrow, is what you make of it. My question is, where do YOU want to see Pitt football next year?
That is the great unknown. It only takes the correct combination of human beings with the clear, common vision to conceptionalize the result desired to turn the world on it’s ear.
Russell Shell has stated that his vision is to bring home a National Championship during his tenure as a Pitt Panther. Many would laugh in his face regarding his naivete. I say why not?
I’ve witnessed transformations in college football programs from the depths of despair to the heights of jubulant victory more than once in my lifetime. Sometimes it takes a wake up call of hitting rock bottom to jar one’s self into the realization that you can only go up from here to initiate it. The ultimate question might only be how far up are we committed to go?
This Pitt football program is in deep shit. Where do we go from here is the ultimate question. I say only up from here. the real question is how far. That my friends will be determined by the coaches and the players that play the game for the University of Pittsburgh.
As always, HAIL TO PITT.
These guys are afraid of losing their jobs. With 12 separate cba’s the PG wont last another 5.
My question would have been “if your 5th year senior doesn’t know by now how to kill the clock by throwing the ball away, not into Kentucky, don’t you think he will never get it?”
While those are all good questions and I’d LOVE to hear honest answers, the sad truth is NO head coach would ever answer any of those in public – NEVER!
I stopped watching any press conferences years ago because they are a waste of time. The reporters can ASK any question they want, the coach is not required to ANSWER anything. Look at Cowher and Tomlin – those two are the masters at controlling the media.
Reporters know the coach is not going to answer any tough questions, so they don’t waste time even asking. Instead they lob softballs and the coaches do not even give good answers to them. That’s why we have the term “coach speak.”
I’ll be watching to see if anyone from either newspaper changes their strategy based on your emails.
i think for the most part you have intersting things to say send some of thoes e mail to the AD
and radio people.
keep there feet to the fire.
i dont think any one could do worse.
I get no response from Sam Werner…
Zeise told him about me.. Zeise banned me when I commented about his son on red shirt diaries a few months ago… but I hardly went there anyway.
Dipoalo for Trib will respond at times… we went back and forth on the suspensions… basically I wanted 2 of them kicked off the team and free up the scholarship.. (Gonzo and Chris Davis have had 2 suspensions).
just got a response from DiPaolo..
Just because Wisconsin fired its OLline coach doesn’t mean that is the answer for all teams. And even if Chryst had plans to do that, do you really think he would answer a question like that. Of course, he wouldn’t.
My response..
You should still ask the question.
who do you serve pitt or the readers of the news paper.
or do you have no balls piss him off changle his man hood may be we get a tough QUSTION.
LIKE WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO BENCH TINO.
Pitt’s problem is that DW not only left the cupboard empty, but also completely screwed up the attitudes of the players he had. We’re paying for that now. DW couldn’t recruit, and I have no idea why everyone thought he could. He could get some decent individual players, but he couldn’t recruit an entire team. There were always big holes at key positions – like QB and OL for instance. Worse than that, he couldn’t motivate anyone, and I never saw that much desire or passion on the field. Guess what, I’m still not seeing it from the upperclassmen now. You can villify Stevie P all you want, but firing DW was the right move all the way around. I know DW loves Pitt and is a good guy, but he was a mediocre college coach at best.
I agree that Chryst’s choices for assistants seem more about friendship than qualifications, and some staff changes are going to have to happen at the end of this season. However, I don’t think we are going to know how good Chryst is as a coach or as a recruiter until DW’s guys are gone and he has a chance to fill the team with his own recruits.
I think more people need to email the media as far as what questions to ask… their emails are all listed.. trib, PG,
It starts with the Seniors… This senior class has no drive and definitley no heart.. That is very sad..
Chryst should start playing the underclassmen….Maybe they still care….The Seniors do not…
PC is not the problem. The AD is the problem.
Why complain about the YSU loss? Look they have 65 scho;arship players that have bought into a system, play like they are taught, have limited aspirations of going pro and because of that play for each other. Pitt cannot play for each other when the player that touches the ball on every offensive snap, is just that, offensive. Tino is polarizing as is our AD.
Our AD messed up Wanny, Haywood and Graham. All of those lost in their power struggle with Pederson. All have indicated that it is not the talent at Pitt, but rather the “other things”. What they are saying is no “all in” support from the AD. The AD nearly killed Nebraska football and is trying to replicate that at Pitt. We all allow this continue, so we get what we get.
Personally, I do think that Chryst is the man to lead us into a bright future. I spent the last four days on tobacco road (possible relocation to Raleigh/Durham) and to the person, each thinks Paul Chryst will be successful. That said, each person ridiculed our AD for how he handled the coaching debacle and the Nebraska fiasco. Is it a wonder how Solich has become successful so soon after separating from Pederson? As much as I hate to see it and you all hate to read it, Graham looks to be successful too (early). They can coach if the Pitt AD gets out of their way.
No coaches need to be fired, now. Pitt cannot play copy cat of wisconsin for one reason. Pitt needs stability in all of its ranks. Recruits are already being affected negatively with all the coaching changes, with competing coaches telling them that PC will not be at Pitt when they get to be Juniors and Seniors. Same will be said about their position coaches. Tweaks at a later date if you can improve the coach…and pay them. Step back from the ledge people. The good days are coming. Patience required!
1) Play Voytik in a series or two against VA Tech. He needs to understand what college game speed really is. Then get him QB snaps in between games to be ready to be used seriously.
He isn’t that great of a QB where we should worry for one minute that if we burn his redshirt he won’t be a four year starter – that won’t happen anyway.
2) Graham’s ASU team is twice as fast as PITT’s was last season. I’m not surprised he’s haveing success there and think that had he stayed at PITT for a few years he would have recruited players that fit his system and probably won here also. I’m glad he’s gone though.
Bonus point: Chryst will have winning seasons at PITT, it just won’t be this season.
To say that Tino Sunseri is not PROBLEM #1 for this team either shows that you haven’t watched Pitt football for the past 3 years or you are perhaps blind. Yes, Tino is not the only problem but he is the biggest. Lets start with his skill set: slow, indecisive, bad decision maker, lack of field vision, average accuracy, average to below average arm strength, no ability to throw the deep ball accurate, poor game manager and no sense of awareness in the game. Now you argue that the O-line has not been good at protecting him and I will agree somewhat. My argument is that most of the problems up front are actually caused by Sunseri. The other teams know Tino cannot beat them, they know he cannot throw downfield and they challenge him to do it. Knowing this, Pitt’s opponents wisely stack the line and shorten the field. They also are far more likely to blitz more often because they aren’t afraid of Sunseri beating them. So… when you have opponents that can basically play defense within a 20 yard field of play and have no fear of blitzing and stacking the line to stop the run….what do you get??? a losing team. It all starts at QB and this team needs a change for better or worse. At the very least someone else deserves to get a start and see what they can do. I simply don’t understand how a coach can continually watch the same problems and mistakes and allow it to continue week after week????