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September 23, 2013

Vote for Tom Savage

Filed under: Football,Media,Players — Justin @ 10:07 am

As many of you know, Savage was awarded the Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Duke. It’s a pretty impressive achievement and his stat line certainly warrants it. 23/33 (69.6%) for 424 yards and 6 touchdowns is video game-like and the best QB stat line we’ve seen in a long time. There’s another opportunity to make sure he earns more praise.

That’s the ESPN Capital One Cup which is awarded to the best impact performance of the week. He’s currently second behind a PR from Iowa who had 2 returns for touchdowns in a blowout. If he trips and falls on his face on both returns, his team still wins easily, so I fail to see his impact.  So vote early and vote often (I don’t know if you can vote multiple times, but I’m sure Iowa’s fans are) and get our players some more praise!

Something to keep in mind is these things aren’t isolated awards. When players get national recognition, it’s a win on many fronts, most importantly recruiting. The two things you can justifiably criticize Pitt for are mediocre results and poor fan attendance. Don’t you think the casual fan will see “Tom Savage wins X” or “Tyler Boyd, freshman All-American” and think, “wow, yinz gotta see dis Pitt football n’at. Da Stillers are sucking, might as well see what they’re all about.” Yes, that was horrific yinzer, but you get the point.

Win awards and you’ll get your name in the national media for recruits and casual fans to see. If you want to stop complaining about attendance, put your mouse clicks where your mouth is and vote!





Savage did indeed look like a man among boys Saturday against Duke. Being 23 years old helps.

We knew he had a ridiculous arm… above average for an NFL quarterback let alone college. But surprised by his accuracy and just how good he can be when he has time.

His record setting performance even against a bad Duke team shows he is paying attention and putting into action what Chryst and Rudolph are teaching… similar to Tino a year ago.

A clean game with no interceptions and sacks was achievable and he achieved it.

Still need more evidence against a good team. Duke was a huge positive step. Virginia presents a similar opportunity and a slightly bigger challenge.

One thing for certain. Savage benefiting from a talented freshman running back and a and talented Offensive Line that’s getting better by the week.

Comment by PittofDreams 09.23.13 @ 10:42 am

Pittofdreams: Savage was sacked once and it was 100% Biz’s fault. Biz got bull rushed hard and Savage didn’t stand a chance. Thankfully he took the sack and didn’t fumble, which was the correct decision. Sometimes a QB’s best play is to take a sack.

Comment by Justin 09.23.13 @ 10:47 am

Thanks Justin.

Must have missed it when I was ordering another Miller Lite.

Comment by PittofDreams 09.23.13 @ 11:00 am

The O line “played extremely well”, to quote Jackie Sherrill. If you go back and look at some re-plays, the pocket held true and Savage threw darts all day long. I was concerned about the lack of a running game in the second half, especially the 4th quarter. Justin, in your opinion why could we not run the ball in the second half like we did in the first?

Comment by Panther Fan in Hoopieland 09.23.13 @ 11:03 am

We scored 58 pts. won and didn’t cover. This season is going be to be kind of crazy. I still think I would rather be us than Duke, can you imagine if we had scored 55 and lost? I can’t wait to see how we do against Virginia.

Comment by spiritofsection 22 09.23.13 @ 11:06 am

The more publicity the better. Can definitely be used as a recruiting tool. I just voted three different times from three different browsers. Also you should spread this around to other sites, twitter, etc. Do your bit for Pitt!

Comment by Atlanta Panther 09.23.13 @ 11:08 am

From the ACC blog..
Pitt is a team that clearly misses defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable. That was made more apparent after watching his game plan to slow down Boyd and Clemson in his new job as NC State defensive coordinator. Pitt has given up 123 points in three games. If it can get a defense to pair with what looks like a solid offense, watch out

Comment by markp 09.23.13 @ 11:33 am

Hoopieland: If I had to guess, it’s that the OL got tired. Not a great endorsement, but there were numerous quick turnarounds and Pitt won the time of possession by 13 minutes. Due to how quickly Duke scored, they never had a chance to catch their breath. That’s my guess.

Comment by Justin 09.23.13 @ 11:59 am

The early line has us as a 7pt favorite. If we can throw up 58 again then we can cover if we can hold Virginia to 50 or less.

Comment by spiritofsection 22 09.23.13 @ 12:03 pm

I agree with you Hoopie — concerned about the running game in the second half…after bullying Duke badly in the first half, we just seemed to lose our edge…maybe chalk it up to indifference after our passing game looked so good?

I love the way Conner runs and impressed by his quick feet for a big back, but Pitt still needs a speed back. Our offense looks promising in every other area, but we won’t be able to consistently muscle the better teams all game, so need a speed guy to give a new look from Conner. I like Bennett but it appears his knee injury has robbed him of his burst — maybe Ibrahim can help, but we need a complimentary back for Conner…who can outrun tackles a little more.

Comment by Matt N. 09.23.13 @ 12:05 pm

This is VA’s first road trip and first ACC game. Pitt should stop their run and make VA pass. Pitt needs to dominate the lines and jump out quick.

Comment by Frank MD 09.23.13 @ 12:07 pm

Tom is behind 46% to 21%. Looks like Iowa fans are stuffing the box. Seriously, he would be a distant 4th in voting if it were honest.

Comment by 2$Chuck 09.23.13 @ 12:20 pm

I’m not sure that it’s Bennet’s lack of burst as much as his vision. IMO he didn’t seem to see the lanes very well and wasn’t very patient on his runs. It basically looked to me like he was running blindly to an area, which more often than not was filled with defenders. Conner seemed to have a better feel for where the creases were.

Still confused as why thy didn’t try to get Bennet t or Ibrahim to the edge in the 4th quarter when Duke was stacking the box.

Justin…I’m not sure if I buy your explanation as to why the O-Line would be tired. Wouldn’t the D-Line be just as tired, if not more? If they were tired (I know that Conner certainly looked gassed)…it seems to point to lack of conditioning.

Comment by Atlanta Panther 09.23.13 @ 12:21 pm

2$ Chuck – I’d bet Iowa has a lot more fans and more importantly a lot more fans who care. Present company excepted, Pitt fans are a pretty lackadaisical bunch.

Comment by Atlanta Panther 09.23.13 @ 12:22 pm

Atlanta: DLs can rotate a lot more than OL. An OL never leaves the field if healthy because cooperation is so vital. On the DL, your job is much more individual, so you can rotate in and out.

Comment by Justin 09.23.13 @ 12:24 pm

it only let me vote one time i went and back in 2 times but it only give the percent of vote.we need more people to vote.

Comment by FRANKCAN 09.23.13 @ 12:29 pm

NAME CMP ATT YDS CMP% YDS/A
Savage 51 78 861 65.4 11.04

TD INT Rating
9 4 185.9

65% completion percentage looks familiar.
The 11.04 ypa does not ! haha

Had this TS been eligible last year, PITT would have been 9-3, maybe 10-2 .

Comment by EMel 09.23.13 @ 12:38 pm

That Iowa clown with 3 names has a huge lead.

46% to 21%

Somebody send a link to the Pitt News. Can only have a chance of reversing that if the student body gets involved.

Comment by EMel 09.23.13 @ 12:42 pm

Being 23 years old helps.

It didn’t help the Saskatoon Tool 🙂

Comment by EMel 09.23.13 @ 12:45 pm

We scored 58 pts. won and didn’t cover. This season is going be to be kind of crazy. I still think I would rather be us than Duke, can you imagine if we had scored 55 and lost? I can’t wait to see how we do against Virginia.

Comment by spiritofsection 22 09.23.13 @ 11:06 am

That was indeed interesting ss22, since Blewit blew an extra point and had a chip shot FG blocked. He it’s some really low FG & XP kicks.
Needs to work on popping that ball up when it’s a chip shot. You hit it low when you’re trying for an extremely long FG, still not good though. Too easy to block.

Hopefully someone is working with him, since ‘mum’ is the word on who is coaching ‘special teams’.

Comment by EMel 09.23.13 @ 12:50 pm

**typo

6th line…..blocked. He hit’s some really low FG & XP kicks.

Comment by EMel 09.23.13 @ 12:52 pm

EMel and outhers you must all read chris dockish post on panther prey to day.
he is the only sports writer in pgh who tell it like it is.
he has guts he does not care if he gets a free lunch at pitt
read what he says

Comment by FRANKCAN 09.23.13 @ 12:53 pm

Iowa
Established 1847
Type Flagship
Public
Space grant
Endowment USD $1.062 billion (2013)[1]
President Sally Mason
Academic staff 2,296
Students 31,065 (Fall 2013)[2]
Undergraduates 21,974 (Fall 2013)
Postgraduates 9,499 (Fall 2013)
Location Iowa City, Iowa, United States
Campus Urban
1,900 acres (770 ha)
Nickname Hawkeyes
Colors

Black & Gold

Comment by EMel 09.23.13 @ 1:00 pm

Pitt has twice as many Teachers/Professors in a school roughly the same size:

PITT
Motto Veritas et Virtus (Latin)
Motto in English Truth and Virtue
Established February 28, 1787
Type State-related[1]
Endowment US$2.618 billion[2]
Chancellor Mark Nordenberg
Provost Patricia E. Beeson
Academic staff 4,938[3][4]
Students 28,766[5][3]
Undergraduates 18,427[5][3]
Postgraduates 10,339[3]
Location Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Campus Urban, 132 acres (53 ha)
Former names Pittsburgh Academy (1787–1819)
Western University of Pennsylvania (1819–1908)
Colors Blue & Gold

Comment by EMel 09.23.13 @ 1:04 pm

ok Frankie, I’ll check it out. Thx for the notice.

Comment by EMel 09.23.13 @ 1:12 pm

It would have been nice to see what Savage could do at Pitt if he had more than one year.

Comment by Panther Pride 09.23.13 @ 1:15 pm

I think Duke played above their heads because when they looked at their schedule they mistakenly thought that Pitt was beatable (like we view New Mexico, ODU, Duke) and they were counting on us not being as talented as we are; thus, they played their hearts out to try and get the win. In all fairness, they did have some playmakers who stepped up and made offensive plays when they needed them.

Sometimes you get in a game that both teams get in a scoring groove and the momentum shifts in favor of the offense. Bowl games are often like that. Regardless, our defense needs to improve dramaticly!

Don’t look for Coach Chryst to demote or get rid of House in mid season. He is not a knee-jerk kind of guy. Mack Brown is fighting to keep his job at Texas so he had more urgency to fire his DC.

Comment by Panther Fan in Hoopieland 09.23.13 @ 1:20 pm

Is Savage as good as he looked Saturday? Is he nearly as good as he looked on Saturday? Is he anywhere near as good as he looked on Saturday? If the answer to any of those questions is yes it bodes well for the rest of the year. Are our special teams and D as sorry as they looked on Saturday? Are our special teams and D nearly as sorry as they looked on Saturday? Are our special teams and D anywhere near as sorry as they looked on Saturday. If so how can we fix them?

Comment by spiritofsection 22 09.23.13 @ 1:22 pm

None of the defensive staff gets a pass. They all game plan together.
Palermo coaches defensive ends and linebackers…not exactly positions that are excelling.

Gonzalez, with the exception of the interception, has done nothing this year. Every tackle he makes is 5 to 10 yards down field and he is slow to chase to the sideline.

Someone mentioned playing the back up D tackles at DE. I like that idea. There is absolutely no push on the ends. Also, why not move Donald around, especially on obvious passing downs. I would think that would make it much harder to double team him.

Comment by notrocketscience 09.23.13 @ 1:26 pm

Frankcan, I read the Dokish post and looked back at his preseason projections as well. He is the same guy that was telling us a month ago that our problems would lie on the offensive side. I am not knocking him but I can’t endorse him too the degree you are either.

Comment by spiritofsection 22 09.23.13 @ 1:48 pm

Dokish doesn’t know any more than the average Joe.

He is a self proclaimed expert…the Mel Kiper of Pitt sports especially when it comes to recruiting.

Comment by notrocketscience 09.23.13 @ 1:57 pm

I nominate Tom Savage to receive the “Play ABT Weekly Award”!

Do I have a second?

Comment by Dr. Tom 09.23.13 @ 2:12 pm

notrocketscience, I don’t know who knows what? I suspect this Savage kid might be way better than most thought he would be. The receivers look formidable. Conner and the O-line look to have the look of future success too. Our defense can’t be as bad as they played Saturday because otherwise they couldn’t have made the good plays they did. I hope the special team disasters prove to be a 1 game misstep. I don’t think it is time to replace coaches like some suggest, I mean we did win remember?

Comment by spiritofsection 22 09.23.13 @ 2:16 pm

Dr Tom, He keeps flingin’ it around like Saturday he can have my vote mayor.

Comment by spiritofsection 22 09.23.13 @ 2:21 pm

*for mayor

Comment by spiritofsection 22 09.23.13 @ 2:23 pm

the point is no outher sports writer had the guts to call out the D COACHS the way he did .
and that is the point all so we all thought the D would be are strong point not the weak point.

just saying if the outher sports writers had his guts and told the truth pitt would have to fix things.

and did you see he puts as much blame on are AD
as he does the coach.
i like the post maybe it will do some good way to go chris dockish.

Comment by FRANKCAN 09.23.13 @ 3:00 pm

Atlanta — good observation on Bennett and Conner, you may be right.

Given that House was on Huxtable’s staff last year, I wonder how much he changed things from a top 20 defense — but remember, Pitt’s D looked very bad after 2-3 games last year as well and then turned it around big time…but I would like to see some of the younger ‘backers like Caprara get more time. Gordon seems strong on run support but not great in space.

Comment by Matt N. 09.23.13 @ 3:41 pm

Galambos (sp?) looks pretty mobile so maybe he could come in on obvious passing downs as kind of a hybrid safety/linebacker.

Comment by Matt N. 09.23.13 @ 3:44 pm

Frankcan,

I say this to say no ill of Dokish, but I think you overestimate the power of the media. Any coach or program that is listening to the media for advice is doomed to fail. Most teams would need 7 QBs just to make it through the season because everyone wants to bench the starter. The media has virtually no impact on how a team is run and who is running it. Only in very unique situations will the media impact things.

If Chryst fired a coordinator because everyone in the media wants him to, I’d want him fired because he’s letting outside influence dictate his program. You can’t let outsiders dictate your program. Outsiders are typically quick to make changes and slow to accept a necessary process.

Comment by Justin 09.23.13 @ 4:09 pm

Voted for Savage. Other performances did not set records as important.

link to espn.go.com

Link to vote at end of video.

Comment by Frank MD 09.23.13 @ 6:00 pm

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