masthead.jpg

switchconcepts.com, U3dpdGNo-a25, DIRECT rubiconproject.com, 14766, RESELLER pubmatic.com, 30666, RESELLER, 5d62403b186f2ace appnexus.com, 1117, RESELLER thetradedesk.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER taboola.com, switchconceptopenrtb, RESELLER bidswitch.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER contextweb.com, 560031, RESELLER amazon-adsystem.com, 3160, RESELLER crimtan.com, switch, RESELLER quantcast.com, switchconcepts , RESELLER rhythmone.com, 1934627955, RESELLER ssphwy.com, switchconcepts, RESELLER emxdgt.com, 59, RESELLER appnexus.com, 1356, RESELLER sovrn.com, 96786, RESELLER, fafdf38b16bf6b2b indexexchange.com, 180008, RESELLER nativeads.com, 52853, RESELLER theagency.com, 1058, RESELLER google.com, pub-3515913239267445, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0
September 22, 2016

Load on the Running Game and Price

Filed under: Football — Chas @ 7:39 am

I suppose it makes sense for the coaches to be a little more cautious in overtaxing James Conner this early.

“Even if you have the wrong guy in the game, it’s still a pretty good guy to have in the game,” Powell said.

Powell relies on Conner to keep him apprised of his energy level. “But I’m beginning to rely on me more,” Powell said.

After a season of inactivity, Conner doesn’t want to let down his teammates, but there is a fine line he and Powell must walk.

No Pitt running back is as talented or as tough as Conner, but none are recovering from cancer, either.

Conner’s 24 carries against Oklahoma State were far from excessive. He averaged 23 per game two years ago when he was the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, and he had four games with at least 30.

I wonder, though, if wanting to keep him fresh and not overuse Conner is just a useful cover to allow the offense to give carries to the other running backs that are waiting. Qadree Ollison got no touches against Oklahoma State, for example.

The bigger issue, though, isn’t the load on Conner so much as the load on the running game.

The passing game has been sorely lacking.

It would be ridiculous to expect the Panthers to morph into a pass-first offense as Pitt opens ACC play Saturday at North Carolina. But the passing game needs to improve, particularly on third down, where the Panthers have struggled. They converted just 4 of 18 on third down against Oklahoma State.

“There’s a lot of improvements we need to make,” Peterman said. “There’s a lot of things we can get better at. We certainly feel like if we would’ve made a couple plays here and there we still should’ve won that game. It’s behind us. We’ve got to move on.”

Narduzzi also has acknowledged some missed throws and reads and did not sound particularly fond of third-down decisions.

“I’m not going to take anything away from who they [Oklahoma State] are, but we missed some throws and some reads especially on some third and medium calls, where we had a chance to stay on the field and keep them off the field,” Narduzzi said. “We didn’t put the ball where it needed to be on those plays. We missed a play in the fourth quarter to Jester Weah that we have to make.”

Narduzzi said Peterman managed the game well, and “If he continues to do that, we will be fine. You can’t blame one guy. It takes 11 to win a football game.”

I think what has surprised me three games into the season is not even the attempt in the passing game to stretch the field. There is speed at WR in Weah, Tipton and Matthews. Peterman has only 2 completions of more than 20 yards on a throw. He’s only made 7 attempts.

Everyone knows that Pitt has an outstanding running game and an excellent run-blocking O-line. But keeping the receivers constantly in short routes means safeties can cheat up without any risk. Even corners can stay close.

Meanwhile Joe Starkey points out how dependent the defense is on Ejuan Price.

Jarring thought: Where would Pitt’s defense be if Ejuan Price hadn’t been granted a sixth year of eligibility?

It’s almost too frightening to ponder.

Even with Price doing a reasonable Aaron Donald impression, Pitt has surrendered 84 points and 1,046 yards in two games against major college competition.

Next up: North Carolina, which has racked up 104 points the past two weeks.

Coach Pat Narduzzi promises to fix the pressing issues. I’m not convinced he will.

I am convinced of this: Ejuan Price is borderline unblockable.

I wouldn’t go so far as to make the Aaron Donald comparisons that Starkey followed. That is simply not fair. But Price has been the best player on the defense for a second straight year. The D-line, overall, has been decent so far. It is just that the whole defense is so thin. Injuries to Hendrix and Hamlin have really hurt.





We all tend to focus on the negatives, so today I thought that I might be more like Dr Tom and Tossing Thabeets. There are some really good things happening even after a tough loss.

Somehow, some way Pitt tied the game at 38 points. A game that could have easily been a rout. Who knows what might have been without the two hour delay and the wet field without appropriate cleats. Certainly OK ST had to be feeling the pressure. The fact that we were in the game to the very end says a lot about the character of the team and the coaching staff’s ability to adjust to adversity.

The defense did rise to the occasion and forced a fumble and got a defensive score. Something that has been pretty rare for Pitt.

Weah caught and ran for a very long touchdown. Henderson continues to make great plays. Tipton showed he has skills that are sorely needed.

The good news is that the offense is good enough to improve and to play better in the fourth quarter. We have guys that can and will make plays. Our O-line should get better each week, open more holes and protect Peterman better. Although he hasn’t had a great game yet, he has potential to have several this year.

It is unfortunate that we don’t play UNC later in the year. However, if we can figure out how to win on Saturday, things will be looking pretty bright again.

My game plan would be to run 60/40 Conner/Ollison, and don’t be afraid to throw some play action on 1st and 2nd downs.

Hopefully, we learned from our defensive mistakes and adjustments have been made.

Comment by gc 09.22.16 @ 8:05 am

It really is too bad that we won’t get to see Hendrix forcing pressure on the other side from Price. Also surprisethat there isn’t more of a rotation at the tackle position. Watts played but no sign of Herndon or Camp. Camp probably redshirts now but why not get Herndon in for a few plays. Soto’s play has been very positive.

It is odd that Price doesn’t generate more holding calls.

Whitehead appears to be in a bit of a sophomore slump. Maybe he has a big game this week.

Comment by gc 09.22.16 @ 8:26 am

Most of the problems that fans are upset over are depth and experience issues. It’s why I’m not too worried. The offense is on the 3rd offense in 3 years and the defense was recruited to be reactionary instead of attacking and was very under-recruited by the previous staff. This is the team we have. They compete hard, don’t quit and are fun to watch. I can’t wait to see year 4 with this staff though … but that’s still 2 years away.

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 09.22.16 @ 8:42 am

Yeah,run Connor Ollison with some sweeps by Henderson and STRETCH the field on a few plays,use Henderson and Weah’s speed. I do not understand Ollison’s status last year and the lack of opportunity this year.Hall has shown little so far.

Comment by Pitt60 09.22.16 @ 9:32 am

@TT Perhaps I am misunderstanding you, but I’m not sure where the experience issue is. Only Lewis, Idowu, Henderson, Orndoff and Weah are first year starters. Orndoff has played a lot over the years. Lewis is a RS senior. Most of the starters are juniors and seniors. Perhaps you are talking about the bench?

Also, I don’t recall whether you were specifically a Tino basher, but Tino certainly would have appreciated getting a pass from fanbase on the OC excuse.

I fully agree that the players compete hard and don’t hang their heads when adversity strikes. It’s actually the most encouraging thing I’ve seen so far this year. Although I feel that he altered the defensive scheme a bit late against OSU, I also appreciate that Narduzzi is not afraid to change the plan when he sees it isn’t working.

I am not sure I understand the complaints that appropriate footwear cost Pitt after the lightning delay. Perhaps I missed it but I haven’t seen any player complaints. They basically played the entire fourth quarter after the delay and one touchdown was scored off of one huge play with a few minutes remaining. I didn’t see an appreciable advantage to OSU after the delay.

Comment by Barvo 09.22.16 @ 9:37 am

Don’t see Conner being SLIGHTLY less than himself the issue.

The REAL issue is the Offensive Line and its struggles to create lanes that enable Conner to get to the Second Level where he does his damage.

Seeing a lot of wasted Running Plays where there is absolutely NO WHERE for Conner to go. This was evident not just against Oklahoma State but also Penn State.

I see there being a few reasons for this.

One is the Blocking Schemes that have been instituted as part of Canada’s Offense.

Another has been the Plays being called. For instance, the Sweep with Conner that was clearly READ by the OKSt Defense and clearly NOT blocked by the Pitt O-Line.

And of course, the lack of an EFFECTIVE Passing Game is also not helping matters.

Bottom line, Canada’s Offense and the way it’s performed so far has NOT exactly set the table for Conner to be the Conner.

Comment by PittofDreams 09.22.16 @ 10:10 am

I’m sure there is some truth in what you say PoD, but it is the same line as last year, with one more year of experience and weight training.

They have been doing a nice job on the jet sweeps.

Also if the sledding inside is tougher, another reason to spread the carries.

For whatever reason, they are not getting it done in the fourth quarter.

I guess you are willing to admit that Clemmings and Rotherham had a lot to do with Conner’s record setting year. They created some pretty big hole to run through.

Comment by gc 09.22.16 @ 11:02 am

I do like Canada, but it sure would have been great if Rudolph would have stayed with his line coach. Probably much better for local recruiting as well.

Comment by gc 09.22.16 @ 11:08 am

@ gc, if it is, as you say, UNfortunate that we play UNC so early in the season then by counter intuitive logic, you must be pretty happy that we get our toughest test of the year on Nov.12th against Clemson IN Death Valley! Yikes!

Myself, I find this one a statement game and I’m happy that we have it right now to get this team refocused on their preseason goal. Are the Panthers there yet, to be taken seriously as contenders for a weak ACC Coastal Crown or not? Now matter how well or poorly Pitt plays in OOC contests, that question isn’t going to be answered by playing Villanova, PSU, OSU or Marshall. This one on Saturday begins that quest and answers that question in the affirmative with a win.

If these guys are really ready then they play some inspired football on Saturday. We saw what that looked like a couple weeks ago. This team is learning how to win. They can learn from both positive and negative example. Last week was definitely a negative example. If they get that worked out this week in preparation and come out against UNC like they did against PSU, with a serious fire in their belly attitude, then the Tarheels are going to have their hands full with some very angry Panthers.

The Pursuit truly begins in 51 hours.

Comment by Dr. Tom 09.22.16 @ 11:22 am

Dr. UNC is in the Coastal, Clemson is not, but still rather play both later hopefully when our team is matured and better. Losing to UNC early would diminish our chance to win the Coastal, unlike last year when our toughest games came later.

No one gives us a chance vs Clemson so opportunity for the biggest upset since 13-9.

Comment by gc 09.22.16 @ 11:33 am

Barvo – I wasn’t a fan of Tino but didn’t bash. I try to stay away from bashing college kids. The Fraud season didn’t bother me at all. I expected a steep learning curve and he coaches the game like college football is played now. Part of the reason the Chryst hire bothered me so much. His approach fit the Big 10 but not the overall landscape of college football. Tino brought a lot of it on himself by openly complaining about the change in offense (the reason Fraud would call him out) and not endearing himself to his teammates. I’ve never seen a QB not helped up by his linemen as often as he was.

To clarify the experience statement, the problems people have are on defense (depth) and the passing game on offense (inexperience at WR and playing in a new system). I was only referring to the general complaints about the team, not the overall makeup.

The QB situation isn’t ideal and, as I said on another thread, Voytik probably is a better fit for Canada like NP was a better fit for Chaney. It is what it is though and next year there should have better competition at the position.

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 09.22.16 @ 12:12 pm

I think they have tried to stretch the field from time to time by passing. Maybe not as much as we like, but they have. They just haven’t been able to execute that with the personnel available. As you saw against OK St, the QB tucked the ball in and ran on many attempts, incl. long yardage downs. This isn’t the kind of receiving crops you can force the ball to. Pitt knows it needs to keep the D honest, so they do call stretch the field type pass plays. BUT, this is a smart coaching staff. They also know they need the QB to play it smart when there’s nothing downfield…which is often the case. We all knew the type of year this was going to be without Boyd. I think things have developed exactly as most of us expected with the passing game.

Comment by The Pitt Dilemma 09.22.16 @ 12:38 pm

TT, Gene Chizik has many years as a successful DC and a NC ring to boot. I think he will have a plan to neutralize a large portion of Pitt’s one dimensional offense, namely the running part. UNC may not be effective at this and let’s hope they are not, but I think Peterman better be ready just in case. NP will need to have his best game of the year.

Comment by Grizzly1 09.22.16 @ 1:12 pm

I love the reporter/quoted genius who said Conner should get the same carries as 2014 without blinking — and failed to mention he had a serious, season-ending knee injury…and CANCER!!? Yep, definitely do not take that into consideration.

Teams are loading the box against him so its tough sledding, even if he was at 100%. That’s why Henderson is killing people on the sweeps — keep it going!

Comment by Matt N. 09.22.16 @ 1:44 pm

Now after three games that we’ve shown we want to run the ball down people’s throats, I’d love to see Canada cut Peterman loose and start flinging the ball around in the first half at UNC. His arm is good enough to push it fairly deep and he can role from pressure, so let him loosen their safeties up with a few deeper patterns…and use Orndoff liberally in the middle.

Comment by Matt N. 09.22.16 @ 1:50 pm

We look like a team that could score 40 points a game most of the time — with any kind of D improvement at all, we can be a force in the ACC…we need a speed package on D however, with two fast LBs out there and five DBs to track these teams that really chuck it.

Comment by Matt N. 09.22.16 @ 1:56 pm

Grizzly –

vs. GA: 474 total yards, 289 rushing
vs. IL: 309 total yards, 182 rushing
vs. JMU(FBS): 495 total yards, 209 rushing

Just like Narduzzi needs players to fit his scheme, so does Gene Chizik.

Illinois just lost to Western Michigan 34-10.

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 09.22.16 @ 1:56 pm

gc… agree there might be a little drop off in Talent with this line versus 2014.

But I think the Plays and Blocking Schemes then and last year with Chaney (who I was not a big fan of) were better suited for straight ahead Power Football.

Hopefully, Pitt will get a Passing Game going with either Peterman or Stocker or whomever and that will help open things up.

Comment by PittofDreams 09.22.16 @ 2:20 pm

I think gc mentioned that a fear of turnovers is the reason for Pitt to not utilize its passing game more. I wholeheartedly agree, as I Pitt will not win too many games with negative turnover statistics. And since I believe many of our inexperienced WR’s are not running precise routes turnovers are very much in the cards when we pass.

Comment by jrnpitt 09.22.16 @ 2:46 pm

Matt N,
Pitt (Chaney) made the mistake of trying to pass against NC last year despite NC having the worst run defense in the ACC and it resulted in defeat. Let’s not make the same mistake against NC 2 years in a row. Run that ball again and again until NC shows they can stop our running game.

Comment by Spindler's Spirit 09.22.16 @ 2:52 pm

Left Crafton at 8:45 almost in Chapel Hill. Hoping to bring home a winner.

Enjoying these ACC road trips. Did UVA 2 yrs ago and V Tech last year.

After watching the secondary get torched last week and Maddox himself giving up almost 400 yds it’s hard to feel real good about this one…

Comment by Pap76 09.22.16 @ 3:22 pm

I’m going with the injury rumor on Peterman (the one I just started). We are so hesitant to let him throw the ball downfield that I have concluded its because he can’t due to some undisclosed injury.

Comment by HbgFrank 09.22.16 @ 5:49 pm

The biggest thing this year is converting 3rd and medium especially in the 4th quarter. This was also a problem some games last year (often in the first half of games though). It seems like Peterman has all the tools to be a great QB He had some great games last year against Louisville and at the end of games against Akron, Miami, and IOWa were he looked like a Pro QB. I know there are new receivers and sometimes maybe their routes aren’t always correct, but it seems like Peterman has missed reads and had some bad throws in key situations. I know he can play better. That being said NC is poor against the run and has very good corners. Pitt needs to run all over NC. H2P!!!!!!!

Comment by joec 09.22.16 @ 6:13 pm

Spindler — I’m with you…if we can run it down broadstreet on them, do it all day. But, hard to imagine they wouldn’t prepare for that. Also, even if we can, nice to loosen up our passing game and give other teams something to think about.

Comment by Matt N. 09.22.16 @ 10:59 pm

A QB injury? Really? No. Our WRs can’t get separation and run precise routes. You have been watching the games, right? I thought that was one of the most obvious things about this team. For the love of all things great, do not start zinging the ball downfield in this game. Go with your obvious strength.

Comment by The Pitt Dilemma 09.23.16 @ 9:45 am

That’s my story and I’m sticking with it….In my best Alan Iverson voice: “Downfield”…”Downfield”…We’re talking about 3rd and 5ish plays in critical situations in the last two games and our QB was not allowed to put the ball outside of the backfield. So yes, if a 6 to 7 yard quick pass is “downfield” , then by all means, I say we zing away the next time we are in a similar game situation.

Comment by HbgFrank 09.23.16 @ 10:35 pm

Powered by WordPress © PittBlather.com

Site Meter