One thing not talked about much from Saturday’s game was that the Gold offense ran a Todd Graham-like hurry-up offense run a bit. Please tell me that we aren’t going to a speeded up offense this season. Yes, we saw a great run by Henderson on a quick snap, but let’s get a decent offense in place first before we start the trickeration. Just wanted to get that out of the way.
To follow on a continual theme on here and elsewhere, Jerry DiPaola’s 24:19 minute podcast (below) starts out with the comment “If Nate Peterman gets hurt the season is over…”
That’s an exaggeration hopefully but it is now a very public concern. We saw how Bertke and DiNucci played Saturday and I didn’t see one bit of progression in Bertke from when I watched him on a more regular basis in past practices and scrimmages. DiNucci, in my opinion, just doesn’t have D1 talent. So for all intents and purposes it will be up to Manny Stocker to step up if Peterman goes down with and injury or if his playing goes into the crapper.
There is one very important thing to remember about the difference between spring and fall camps. Tryouts are basically over when fall camp comes around. Narduzzi and Canada will go with Peterman and Stocker as QB1 and QB2 respectively from Day One and Stocker will get all the snaps not given to Peterman. He’ll get more one-on-one coaching and be the secondary guy in film sessions and unit meetings. That will mean he’ll be sharper and more in command of the offense by the time the opener rolls around.
Now, if we can get him to grow three inches before then….
To follow on a continual theme on here and elsewhere, Jerry DiPaola’s 24:19 minute podcast (below) starts out with the comment “If Nate Peterman gets hurt the season is over…”
The broadcasters seem to agree on this point and unless one of our current backups gets hit by lightning and turns into some sort of Idiot Savant out there, it is true that we’ll dive quickly in case of injury. The only decent thing he said about the other four QBs is that Stocker is ‘mobile’.
His main points are that the WRs were less than mediocre; Jester Weah, who hasn’t done anything all of a sudden has to (probably) be a starter.
They discuss Narduzzi’s paranoia (talk of ‘spies’ all the time and his closed practices) then they segue into a discussion about Narduzzi and MSU saying that there is “not much distance between Pat Narduzzi and Michigan State” Hmmm…..
Here is Jerry D’s article referenced in the comments section yesterday – it is sort of bland because the reality is that we just didn’t see many players who will be starters in 2016 even take part in the spring drills. That is why we say that while the spring practices are nice for acclimation (QBs getting used to new receivers, a unit getting used to a new unit coach, etc.) they really don’t mean a thing in the long run.
They are fun for us fans and gives the sportswriters something (very little with Narduzzi) to talk about and fill blank spaces on the sports pages. But there is no real “two-deep” or any sort of solid decisions made in April – that comes with the more intense and serious fall camp.
Here is what he says about some of the units on the team:
QUARTERBACK
Finding a backup is important, but the more pressing need is to ensure senior starter Nathan Peterman takes the next step in his development: Throw deeper, maintain accuracy, spread passes to people not named Tyler Boyd, including those who play
SATURDAY’S RESULT: Peterman completed 11 of 22 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns. He played much better in the second half.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: If Peterman develops some rhythm with Dontez Ford, Jester Weah and Quadree Henderson, the passing game will perform better than most people expect.
Hard to argue that. New OC Matt Canada has express surprise that Pitt didn’t go deep more often so he’ll have that as part of the core play calling.
WIDE RECEIVER
Pitt’s offense could become imbalanced if the Panthers feel the loss of Boyd too acutely. Injuries this spring to Dontez Ford and Zach Challingsworth didn’t help, but they are expected to recover.
If Ford plays Saturday — he still is an uncertainty — he can make an impact. He’s smart and athletic, a combination coaches love.
SATURDAY’S RESULT: Ford had a good day, especially considering he missed most of the 14 previous practices with a leg injury — four catches, 55 yards.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: I get the feeling Ford will have a big season, enough that opposing defenses will need to know where he is at all times, thus, opening up lanes for the running game.
I have been talking about Dontez Ford being our next star player on offense since the end of last season
and he keeps showing why that could take place. To remind: his 19.4 ypc on 26 receptions for 505 yards was pretty amazing given that he was playing against the pass magnet Tyler Boyd.
Yesterday I mentioned that I wasn’t as ‘down’ on the DL as some fans seem to be. The reason is that instead of pure bulk up front – tying up the opponent’s offensive linemen from getting past them to our linebackers Narduzzi is going with a lighter but quicker DL this year. Narduzzi keeps mentioning that Tyrique Jarrett (The ‘Dice!) has to lose weight but if we remember he was very quick off the snap akin to Aaron Donald’s great first step… if not exactly in that exalted company.
But Narduzzi is all about penetration (insert joke here) and our DL will give that to the opponents this season (insert another joke there).
DEFENSIVE LINE
Keep an eye on Bisnowaty at left tackle when he lines up opposite end Dewayne Hendrix. It might be the highlight of the day: Pitt’s best offensive lineman against a potentially destructive pass rusher.
In the fall, it will be interesting to see how opponents block Pitt’s line because Ejuan Price has 16 1?2 career sacks at the opposite end. Plus, tackles Tyrique Jarrett at 335 pounds and former end Shakir Soto offer a blend of beef and a burst.
SATURDAY’S RESULT: Bisnowaty and Hendrix had good moments, Hendrix ending up with a sack and two quarterback hurries.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: This could turn out to be a disruptive front four, with more quickness than Pitt opponents have seen in a long time.
All in all he’s pretty optimistic that we’ll play well this upcoming season, but as he says in his podcast the schedule will dictate wins and losses more so than our individual talents. But IMO if ever a team has to 1) play to full potential as a team and 2) severely limit mistakes – it is Pitt this year against this schedule.
Chris Peak of Rivals PantherLair.com has his Trib Total Media weekly podcast up now also and he too is talking about the results of the spring scrimmage and the prospects going into fall camp.
He discusses that Peterman has to complete those longer passes to get the opposing defense to ‘fear’ the passing game. We saw some of that in the scrimmage with a 47 yarder to Weah so let’s hope Weah can deliver in real time.
TE Scott Orndoff showed well on Saturday and he did a great job as a TE/WR last season. he totaled 13 catches for 244 yards at a 18.8 ypc average and five TDs which gave him an amazing TD:Catch ratio at just a stitch over 1:3. I labelled Orndoff a TE/WR because he is tall and fast enough to split out wide in a multiple WR formation.
With Boyd gone I really hope that Canada not only uses multiple receivers but also uses them in surprising ways. Orndoff and sometimes a RB split wide could be one of those change-ups. Rachid Ibrahim catches the ball well and could be used wide also. We saw whitehead at RB a bit – split him out wide with Weah on the other side once in a while and free wheel the ball as far as Peterman can throw it.
The bottom line is that we need to give Peterman every opportunity to find open receivers this season because I don’t think relying on a strong running game, if indeed it is going to be strong, is going to cut it against the stronger teams on the schedule. I’m not sold on James Conner giving us ‘star’ production this season – at least not at his 2014 level.
Peak also channels his inner-Donald Rumsfeld when in discussing the worth of a successful deep passing game he says this: “Sometimes the value of a thing is the thing itself”… OK Chris – thanks for that bit of wisdom. At the 43:30 mark of his podcast Peak talks about how Narduzzi surprised some in the press box showing that Henderson around the end pitch and run play.
He goes on to echo the ‘paranoia’ slant that the guys above mentioned also. He references Narduzzi saying in an earlier imterview “You know we play two in-state teams… they could send people out to watch us” to which Peak says with a chuckle “Coaches… man!… there is some paranoia“. One point Peak makes is that Wannstedt and his staff got nervous when one of their spring games was broadcast on the NFL network and DW was really worried that Rutger’s might videotape it and use that film to prepare for their game against us.
Well, Duh!
Hell Dave, all anyone has to do is drive to Heinz Field and walk through the turnstiles to see what is you and your staff is doing in the spring game! I swear – I remember him saying that and it is part and parcel of why I crack up every time someone thinks Wannstedt would make a good Pitt AD. The guy has an elevator in his head that goes up just so many floors then comes to a dead stop.
Peak also has a new article series titled “Redshirt Review” where he talks about the rsFR who will be ready to play this season. It is behind a subscription paywall but is a good read. If Pitt fans can afford the monthly subscription to Rivals then I highly recommend doing so for Peaks articles and other work covering the program.
I’ve read some criticism of his work by commenters on here saying he doesn’t go into much detail but I suspect they are able to access only his public stuff which is about 1/5th the total content he puts out on Pitt football. I cancelled another sub to get the Rivals one and haven’t looked back.
The Pitt News has a great article on OC Matt Canada and his travels on the way to Heinz Field. Take the time to read it in full please, it is well written and timely.
It was 5:30 in the morning in 1996. Instead of sleeping, a then 23-year-old Canada was hanging a banner for the Indianapolis 500 on a bridge on 16th Street in the city.
He was serving as Butler University’s quarterbacks and wide receivers coach at the time, sometimes doing odd-jobs to supplement his $5,000 salary — “part-time money for a full-time coach,” as he described it. As he and two other men struggled to hang the banner, he started to question his employment decision.
“You’re over here trying to tie this Budweiser race sign up, and you’re kind of wondering, ‘what I am doing here,’” Canada said.
Through his grogginess, Canada remembered why.
Canada has always wanted to teach, even when he was getting offers to play college ball. Before coming to Pitt as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under head coach Pat Narduzzi, Canada picked up opportunities wherever he could, snowballing his learning experiences into a coaching style peppered with influences from multiple mentors.
It is one of the best examples of sports journalism I have read in years and is why I have The Pitt News in my ‘Pitt Football’ bookmarks. Hidden article that needs to be read by every Pitt football fan to understand who our new OC is and what drives him.
Our friend Chris Logue over at Pitt Nation Sports has a pre-spring game poll that he put up with a series of queries about specific issues like these:
Ahead of the Pitt Spring Game on Saturday, we look for your opinion and to cast your vote for various aspects of the game, and of course, who you think will be the victor at the end of the day.
Will Pitt receive a verbal commitment on Saturday?
- Yes
- No
Will Darrin Hall will be the leading rusher?
- True
- False
Who do you expect to surprise you?
- Jester Weah
- Chawntez Moss
- Dewayne Hendrix
- Manny Stocker
- Malik Henderson
- Rafael Araujo-Lopes
- Other
Here is my favorite poll question though – with all the back and forth in the comments section of the last Blather article asking my views on the “State of the Program” it appears that I’m not the only one who thinks a Pitt national championship will be a loooong time coming:
In Pitt celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1976 championship, it will be less than 40 years until the next championship.
- True (53%, 8 Votes)
- False (47%, 7 Votes)
Total Voters: 15
On a last note:
Given that Pitt News article above here is a repeat of Canada Mic’d Up.
P/S: now that the spring practices are over I really do have to get back to writing other things. I’ll still chip in but not every day like the last three weeks.
HTP!
Throwing on third and short was pretty stupid.
Hopefully Canada is run first. We need a balanced offense, but with our D we need to control the time of possession.
Stocker will be a capable back-up with a strong running game.
If that doesn’t work we can have Whitehead run the wildcat.
Have faith in our coaches……!!!!
I’m also not worried about the “not too much distance” comment above for a number of reasons, though I do think it makes for good media drama.
Comparing last year to this, here are a few things I find interesting:
First and foremost, I’m hopeful (wishful?) that Canada will positively affect the offense, as there was a pretty good drop-off in talent usage when Chryst was replaced by Chaney…
I’m a little curious to see if Stocker will be used creatively. Voytik’s usage was completely bungled.
As pointed out in the really nice article above, how will Ibrahim impact the offense? I had forgotten about him, he’s a talented athlete and does a great job catching balls out of the backfield.
I’m also curious to find out if any freshman WRs will make an impact this year, because this IS a position where a talented true freshmen can come in and play right away.
CBs are critical to Narduzzi’s scheme, and I’m really hoping we can upgrade this position in the Fall, possibly with a true freshman or two? This area has been a glaring weakness over the past 2+ years in particular.
Good stuff Reed!
gc – Chaney was more run heavy than any HC or any recent season that I can remember at a 60/40 split. DW was a bit heavier in some years but surprisingly enough in 2007 with McCoy and a average at best true FR Bostick at QB DW passed more than Chaney did last season at 42%
I think we need to pass a lot MORE this season – open up the run game which BTW wasn’t all that great last season averaging only 186 ypg and a very poor 19 TDs.
I’m not sure why people are thinking it is going to be all that much better either.
We have good WRs and I think top to bottom we have better WRs this year than we did last – given that only Boyd and Ford’s numbers were called by Chaney and looked at by Peterman.
Canada is going to go heavier on the pass with a different approach to it all together.
new article about it this afternoon…
as for your opinion of the dl in your op, I think the defensive ends should be pretty darn good this year. I have concern about the tackles, obviously. no production there, keyshon camp of amir watts might step in and be our best playmakers there as true freshman.. as for jarrett, I agree that he has the talent but hes had 4 years to lose weight and he hasn’t done it yet. something may click for him and hell get it together, but id say the odds are pretty slim (no pun)
– ditto Yewcic at Pitt in ’76
– in 92, all-Pro Phil Simms was injured and Jeff Hoffstettler had to QB. Giants won with ground game and defense.
– and we all know that Pat Bostick’s 2 big wins vs ND and WVU were despite of him (2 TDs and 5 Ints total). Again ground game and defense … in fact, the 13-9 was probably the best defensive effort I’ve ever seen.
Our 2 best assets coming into this year are OL and RBs .. both talented, experienced and deep. Also, HCPN being a defensive guy, we can expect our defense to improve
Chryst did a good job of creating an offensive identity (physical, effective running team), and he did that pretty well. I had high hopes for Chaney, but in hindsight he strkies me as a very mediocre (not bad, certainly not good) offensive coach. My hope in Canada is: see my second sentence. And ultimately to be a good football, we’ll need to be good on both lines of scrimmage regardless of our philosophy at that time.
Wow. We must have been watching two different teams last year, because I had exactly the opposite impression.
Sure, I am sure you can find tapes for each OC, but that doesn’t mean they are running the same offense they ran before.
Let’s face it, the Pittsburgh newspaper writers suck. No imagination in what they write, both papers often write on the same subject. All you have to do it watch the interviews post practice with Narduzzi and you can predict what will be in the paper the following day. They dis Narduzzi because he doesn’t give them enough time to watch practice. I hope they don’t get paid shit because their effort sucks.
Reed’s observations and insight are better as is the Pitt newspaper.
Plus even though the end arounds with Boyd and Whitehead were effective and count as running plays, they are not indicative of a good running game. Too many times we would pick up 6 or 7 yds on first down, then throw two incompletions then punt.
Jeff, the reason Voytik was benched for Peterman was for the passing game, which fell apart down the stretch.
Ollison ran for 1100 yds even though he rode the bench quite a bit. His yards per carry were very good.
He hardly played vs Miami and should have been used to pound the ball vs Navy.
link to pittsburghpanthers.com
Can increased seat contributions be far behind?
So maybe Peterman won’t get Theismann’d in the Oklahoma State game.
And I heard some James Conner guy was going to be back and I don’t want to hear about how he’s not going to be 100% until November or maybe never. The workouts he’s doing right now, the level of strength and stamina he’s showing while still undergoing chemotherapy, he’s not going to be puking on the sideline or unable to break tackles until Halloween. I don’t think he’ll be 100% on September 3rd but he isn’t going to disappoint us.
There are a few – just a few now mind you – more reasons than usual to think Pitt will have a good season this year. Most of those reasons aren’t even on campus yet. I’m not thinking the season will be tough until I read about how guys like Hamlin and Hill are doing in August.
Guys, let’s not forget that Peterman’s passing got us to a 8-3 record when he had 18 TDs to three INTs. Yes, he turned downward over the last two games but for his first 10 games he was doing some of the best passing we have seen in some time – and getting us wins doing it.
Deep – you may not want to here it but I’m concerned about how much Conner is going to be able to contribute. Don’t forget he also had that MCL tear that had already taken him out for the season. That somehow has been overlooked in the discussion about his returning to the field. He still hadn’t gotten the green light to play again before his cancer diagnosis.
I’d love for him to hit the ground running as it were, I just aren’t sure that will happen the way we all want it to.
Cheney called an exact 60/40 run to pass split in 2015. That is very one sided and as I said in the article even more so than in ’07 when we had rookie Bostick and superstar McCoy. I was told also that Chaney was s tickler for the QBs to follow the playcall and not to deviate unless absolutely necessary.
Granted when you are going the majority of the time to Boyd anyway that might not have been a big deal but Canada is going to allow Peterman much more decision making authority as the play unfolds than Chaney did.
Big Voytik article in drafting for tomorrow am… someone call Emel and tell him to be ready to read & respond at a moments notice.
ADB is either a master delegator or likes to have a solid layer of folks to throw under the bus.
But that’s just the beginning … it was the run plays that were called (almost set up to fail.) I implore you to watch a replay of the Va Tech game. Pitt received the 2nd half kickoff, returned to the 37. Two off-tackle handoffs to Ollison from the pro set and we score. 2 plays, 67 yards, TD!
The only other time we used the pro set was on a 4th and short in the 4 quarter where we got the 1st down with yards to spare. But I guess success doesn’t spoil Chaney .. he has to spread us out and run wide!
UNC had a top 10 defense vs the pass and was very low rated vs the run …. so guess wat our OC calls. You may recall, Baylor ran UNC out of the bowl game with > 60 carries and 700 yards or so …. but not us. NOOOO!
–Yes Pitt’s running game should be decent, but we don’t have a home-run hitter in the backfield, unless it’s George Hill. YOu can’t win with the running game unless you have a home run hitter.
–This is a concern against PSU. Their approach sounds like it’s going to be to wear down the defense which will allow Barkley and the QB to make some plays…
–Would like to see the Pitt QB more involved in changing the play at the line – hope it’s true because that has to give the offense an advantage.
Go Pitt.
Especially when Peterman seemed to lose his edge after the Louisville game.
The pitches rarely worked and Chaney never exploited his advantage of the Pro set off tackle plays which Ollison and our O-line are best at.
OK, Ollison isn not Conner, or Shady, but he was a solid redshirt freshman who gained 1100 yards almost as an afterthought. He wasn’t even supposed to play much last year. He is not flashy, he just gets the job done.
It seemed like every time Ollison had some success he was benched.
The script was to have Chad leave the Pitt program – coaching staff’s choice.
Chad was not even asked to warm up in either game.
The “real class” was shown by this young man (Chad) who represented Pitt well for the four years he was with us. He never spoke “ill” of the program, coaches nor university.
I personally wish him the best and may pass on reading anything Reed writes on this subject.
Choices – we all have them – the beauty of freedom in America. May we never lose it.
HTP!
On Voytik, I’ve always been a fan of his. I wish him the best as well although, for selfish reasons, it would have been nice to have him remain at Pitt as a veteran backup as a security blanket for me at QB.
QO appears to have a similar “practice” bug – he seems in the doghouse every week with HCPN no matter the game day results. Hall on the other hand has shown little during game time, but he seems to be the “chosen one” with Duzz in practice.
Now Rachid plays well during practice and games, from what I gather, as does James “the beast” Conner. We’ll see come September if Moss is the shaker he showed in Spring ball or maybe if the horses are ready, he is afforded a redshirt.
I’m not claiming to be an expert, just throwing out my opinion. HCPN keeps things sealed and as a fan, we have to read between the lines. But on game day, HCPN must show his talent to be the best HC he can be.
In the end, he’ll be judged on W’s and L’s. Sometimes, your #2 guy needs to help win some games.
TT was two losses from ten wins as a “fan predictor” last season – just maybe, our #2 QB could have turned the tide on a few of those losses last season when our #1 QB was struggling (mightily) – we will NEVER know.
Fun stuff…
Jerry did throw out that this will be a “down” year for pedo FB. Give me a break – is it because he is clearing the way for a Pitt victory he will deem meaningless OR is Jerry himself meaningless…
Off topic but what many of us said.
He chose to NOT fear cancer…he will play football again!
And who knows – with a new OC a reverse of the 2015 fall camp could have happened.
I think they were so afraid of a QB controversy that they shot themselves in the foot. Time will tell.
In case anyone is watching…
There is a mixed bag on CV – the point I was making, why bash a player who represented our school well. Wish him the best and move on.
HTP!
Not that Dokish is always right .. and he certainly isn’t .. but I remember him questioning the hiring of Smoke Williamson a couple of years ago; not because of his background but because Williamson’s connects were in Detroit … way outside of the ACC footprint. Smoke did recruit Corey Manigault (who appears to be good but certainly not elite) but obviously he had some trouble connecting within the ACC area.
On a day when Prince died, no less. 57 years old.
Thanks for the link.
Really feel for that Kid.
Appreciated his VALUE on and off the Field before the Cancer.
Now, without question… Conner has supplanted all others as my personal favorite Pitt Player of all time.
Not even close.
“Cancer started the fight,” Narduzzi said. “James is going to finish it.”
He got a four year degree from a top class University for free! He even got to play some D-1 football in major stadiums.
Heck, I’m watching good senior high school lacrosse players sitting on the bench even in games that are blow outs! (Not my grandson, he starts.) For these kids my heart bleeds.
Conner looked good on Ellen’s. Maybe a little heavy.
Cardiac Hill has a letter from Dixon we should all read. He loved Pitt. I miss him.
Thanks Reed. I read most (?) of it. Please keep it coming.
Good luck to Chad. He was instrumental in keeping Pitt football from falling down into an abyss back in 2012. He deserves a lot of thanks, not the keys to the city.
The kid has really taken a solid combination one, two punch from life and he’s stronger than ever mentally as demonstrated by his interview today with Ellen. Football is such a game of emotion and momentum. The Conner factor is Pitt’s wild card for this season. Having a June prognosis report come back that confirms James has defeated cancer can only have positive implications for his personal future as well as energizing Pitt football in general.
Even if Conner never steps on the football field again, if he beats this cancer diagnosis he will have won the ultimate battle and winning his like back. That alone is inspirational.
Now come September, if he is back in uniform for the Panthers, who really knows what kind of impact a leader like him, in light of these current struggles, could have on this team’s chemistry going forward? All that I know is that the first time that Conner carries that rock for Pitt in 2016, my eyes won’t be dry. Hail to Pitt! Stay Conner Strong!
It is quite possible that because of Conner’s injury and he being monitored more than the average person, they found his cancer at an early stage.
