Not feeling a coherent picture of the stories today. It may be my own incoherence from the cumulative effect of a sustained, massive allergy attack this week — and cocktails of assorted medicine I’ve been using to combat it.
Previously the ACC announced it was pulling out of Charlotte for the ACC Championship game in response to the ongoing fiscal suicide that is North Carolina law HB2. As expected, the game has been relocated to Orlando.
Pitt’s offense working on the four-minute drill? Sure.
It may seem counterintuitive to place much blame on the offense considering it scored 36 points, rushed for nearly 300 yards and won the time-of-possession battle by roughly 22 minutes. But it’s a team game and the offense sputtered in the fourth quarter, when football’s version of keep-away was desperately needed. A week earlier at Oklahoma State it was a similar story.
“If we get one more first down at the end of the game, it’s over, and we know that,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “We talk a lot about our four-minute offense. The last few weeks we have focused on it. We probably have to throw the ball a little better.”
I’ve been over this. And I never expected Narduzzi to admit that the playcalling was as much at fault — and not because they didn’t pass more. It still annoys me to see the attempt to shift all the blame to the execution.
Puff pieces on Freshman RB Chawntez Moss.
Moss has earned a spot in the rotation with starter James Conner and backups Darrin Hall and Qadree Ollison. He has only nine carries for 55 yards, but his 6.1 average leads all backs.
Moss said the rotation is determined through performance and situations.
“If you’re hot, you’re staying in,” he said. “But for that (North Carolina) game plan, they wanted to use me particularly more so outside because I’m a little bit faster, a little bit quicker.
“They like to use James in the goal line because James is, you know, Big James. They like to use (Ollison) in certain situations because Q is more knowledgeable about the offense, like the no-huddle type stuff.”
Note, even Moss knows he’s better right now running outside in space. Which makes having him take a run up the middle late in the UNC game that… No! I’m letting it go. I swear.
And some things regarding linebackers Saleem Brightwell and Sean Idowu.
The story of this season is yet to be written, but Idowu does allow himself a moment to reflect on his wild ride from a walk-on into the middle of Pitt’s present and future plans.
“Sometimes, I still look back on it and (say), ‘Look where I’m at after all this time,’ ” he said. “Before every couple practices, I’m just like, ‘Whoa.’ ”
Brightwell said he was nervous in the first quarter, but he settled down after tackling Switzer.
“I just started playing football like I’ve been doing my whole life,” he said.
Both credited Caprara, who is expected to return Saturday against Marshall, with constantly offering encouragement when they came to the sideline.
“He was one of the most amped people for the game,” Idowu said. “He was on the sideline, making corrections. It was like having another coach.”
Mostly, Idowu and Brightwell were there for each other.
“During the game, I was on him,” Idowu said. “I kept reminding him, ‘Hey, man. This is what we wanted. It’s time to go.’ ”
Idowu has played more, but Brightwell had a big impact in his first game against UNC.
Nice story on Tyrique Jarrett and the work he puts in off the field to stay on the field as much as possible.
As for tomorrow’s game against Marshall. The Thundering Herd got smacked around by Louisville. Not that it would have made a difference in that game, but they were without their starting QB. He’s going to be back for the Pitt game. Guess what? He can throw the ball.
Marshall coach Doc Holliday confirmed during Tuesday’s press conference that [Chase] Litton would practice this week and is on schedule to play this Saturday at Pittsburgh (2-2). The non-conference game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Heinz Field, which doubles as the home for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Chase has got a lot of games – he’s still young going into his second year – but he has a lot of games under his belt,” Holliday said. “He is our quarterback … has experience there and getting him back is going to help a lot.”
Litton put up impressive numbers – 722 yards and 10 touchdowns – in two games this season before the injury. He is one of three quarterbacks – along with California’s Davis Webb and Texas Tech’s Pat Mahomes – who have at least four touchdown passes in every start this season. Litton is averaging a touchdown pass every 7.3 throws.
Admittedly the opponents in those two games were Morgan State and Akron, but still something to watch.
Marshall head coach Doc Holliday compares Ejuan Price with Baltimore Ravens DE Elvis Dumervil.
How much worse could the pass defense get?
But with the way Brightwell played in his first outing, taking him off the field would seem to be the LAST THING you would want to do.
Besides, Lewis looks to be the REAL Weak Spot in the Secondary.
But so far, something making sense doesn’t seem to be the OVER-RIDING factor with Narduzzi.
The king of negativity Ron Cook of the PG
never misses an opportunity to take
a shot at Pitt. See today’s paper. This guy
should move to Happy Valley.
It was a bust before in Florida and will be again.
Another instance of political correctness insanity gone a muck.
Enjoy the Women’s/Girls bathroom in Orlando ..perverts.
That criminal needs arrested.
(is that made in da Burgh anymore or did Theresa move that down to Mexico)
Pitt 52
We Are Who 41
Sorry for beating a dead horse (I realize I am in the minority on this but I am still seething) but that is exactly what Barnes did with the Stallings hire. There was so much anticipation when Jamie left (taking the high road as he did), that Pitt was on the verge of making a statement to the world that they were all in in all sports and planned to be a factor in both football and basketball in the ACC. Then they pay Barnes search firm buddies mega bucks to find a coach anyone one of us could have located for free in the unemployment office in Nashville. The only thing that has happened to generate any type of hype since that fateful day was beating the Nits. Then last Saturday happened. Pitt just can’t out of their own way sometimes and Barnes at the wheel will only perpetuate our misery.
We were underdogs the last 2 weeks .. and we lost. Yes, we could have won but we also could have lost to PSU.
I don’t know what some of you are sniffing but if we end up at 8 and 4, then we are on schedule IMO
Come up with a list of coaches who are very successful in years 1 and 2? Very very rare.
I get the frustration over what could have been in each of those games, but sometimes it’s just an accurate reflection of where the team really is right now. It sucks, but in Year Two of a new coach’s tenure, this is where a lot of other programs that eventually made that leap found themselves as well.
My hope is that things start to change as this season wears on. As the team and season evolve, I’d like to see some younger players start to find their way into the lineup. The next three games will tell the coaches a lot about how much better some of the upperclassmen can continue to be, particularly those that have Narduzzi recruits behind them on the depth chart. I get the sense that this staff won’t hesitate to burn redshirts where it decides it must.
Starting next season, Pitt’s defense will have the likes of Whitehead, Hamlin, Miller, Ford, Brightwell, McKee, Stocker, Camp, Pine and – hopefully – Wade, Ambry Thomas, etc. in the lineup as regulars. If we keep seeing that defense getting torched like this on a regular basis, then it will be time to worry about Narduzzi’s ability to get Pitt to make that leap.
PittofDreams did you watch the Ok St game? Maddox had one of the worst days I’ve ever seen watching football. The kid he was on most the game had 300 yds receiving and then he was on the kid who caught the last long pass and he fell, leaving him wide open.
Lewis has been bad. Absolutely. But Webb was awful against NC this past week. No one is without blame for the dumpster fire that the secondary is…
PC left us quality offensive starters — no doubt but the large bulk of the defensive talent right now are Duzz’s recruits … meaning that they are very young (and also injured …. Hamlin, Hill and Hendrix)
But take your pick, replace Whitehead with Brightwell and use Whitehead to replace A, B or C.
I also think it is funny that many seem to think our backfield will be better next year with all the new young guys.
I don’t see how when we loose Jarrett, Soto, and Price on the line and a big problem already is our lack of pressure.
And by the way, 8-4 is far from a given, just the best possible outcome left.
To interpret this as meaning that somehow I blame Lewis for the poor pass defense is ridiculous. He is one of many deficiencies and it is not just the d-backs. Our linebackers can’t cover downfield and our scheme is designed to stop the run.
I also think that Narduzzi and Conklin are doing a poor job with what they have.
Three defensive time outs is poor coaching and shows a lack of faith in the offense, the strength of the team.
Goes back to last year’s Notre Dame Game when he refused to acknowledge that a little Safety HELP might have made a DIFFERENCE with Maddox getting torched by Fuller.
Of course, it is NOT just Lewis. But if you’re going to take someone OFF the Field in order to get some NEW Blood in the Game… it would be Lewis.
And that was what gc suggested above.
My main point is that Brightwell needs to be ON the Field somewhere. And probably so does Caprara.
So where does Brightwell go?
Don’t even know if he can run or cover well enough to play Strong Safety. And realistically speaking, at this point of the Season a Position Switch is not something you would normally consider.
But a loss to Marshall… and EVERYTHING and EVERYONE is up for discussion.
“It’s enough to make you wonder how many yards and points Pitt would be giving up if Narduzzi weren’t such a defensive genius.”
I don’t know how anybody could argue against that given the number of points and yards surrendered to FBS opponents since the Navy game. Pitt’s D has been shredded.
I still find it amazing that people believe that disappointment about not beating OSU and NC makes people whiners because Pitt wasn’t expected to win and people expected Pitt to end the season 8-4. So because expectations were/are lower, it’s okay to lose those games. Those were both winnable games with a competent pass defense and good game management.
We have seen lot’s of blown coverage even though we have 3 seniors in the backfield.
Very few passes have been broken up by good coverage.
Opposing teams must look forward to game planning against this bunch.
I don’t agree that the problem is Peterman, how do we know that he can’t throw a 20 yard pass when they never let him throw one.
Will they use the fourth quarter turtle offense again this week. It does make for exciting finishes. For our opponents.
2. Knowing Pitt will rush to kill the clock, Marshall puts 9 men in the box and somehow stops Pitt’s rush.
3. Because they are behind late, Marshall throws on every play. Pitt puts even more emphasis on stopping the run, blitzes, and gives up long passes.
4. Pitt loses a close game.
5. HCPN declares the defensive scheme works, if the players just executed properly.
6. Rinse and repeat.
Someone be above stated, if NP can’t make the throws, maybe we try someone else (do we have anyone who can?)
We may see Aaron Mathews chuck one past 20 yards (like T.Boyd) before NP even attempts one.
Yes! The ability of our young wide receivers has been questioned since the end of last season. Against NC they caught every pass that was catchable. I too question if Peterman can make the tough throws. If you are going to run the ball then the qb should be a threat to run. Not to beat a dead horse but Voytic lost the starting job because he could’nt make the deep throws. Not that he would start but I wonder what Pitt’s record might be if he played the last series of our two losses?
Looks like Litton could be a good EXCUSE if things go South.
Let’s hope Narduzzi doesn’t get to use it.
That’s fine so long as he doesn’t pick Pitt. Could be the Death Knell.
Well, today is another test.
Narduzzi under a big of PRESSURE today to show he’s up to the job.
Going up against a proven commodity when it comes to being a VERY Good HEAD Coach.
It’s the “whoa is me” crowd that is already throwing in the towel on the team and coaches that annoy me (and others). Pitt is 4 games into year 2 of a complete make over.
That same crowd likes to point at other coaches and programs and whine that those other schools are winning, “why isn’t Pitt?” The problem with that is the coaches and programs they’re pointing to took 3-4 years to become relevant. Pitt fans don’t see that though. They just see they’re winning now and expect instant gratification.
Every time a coach leaves, it’s a rebuild. That’s the way college football works; unless you are a successful program and hire within for continuity’s sake. Even those programs don’t usually have the continuity they had hoped for.
Pitt lost two winnable games. It’s frustrating. I get that. It’s way too early to give up though.
Pitt fans hate it because they’ve been asked to be patient for 30 years. When Chryst left Pitt hanging it set the program back … again. All the stabilization he gets credited for goes out the window.
Pitt started over (again) … which means another 3-4 years until the program reaches it’s potential. That’s not Kool Aid. That’s not optimism. That’s the cold hard facts how college football works.
Basketball is an easier fix. One great recruiting class and you’re up and running. Football just takes time.
Think we can agree the talent is pretty equal. If there’s an advantage… and there is… it goes to Michigan with strength on BOTH sides of the Ball.
Let’s see who comes out on top.
I understand there will be growing pains, but this is much less of a rebuild than Chryst had coming in with two lost recruiting classes and a bunch of kids that needed purged.
Narduzzi won 8 games last year with Chryst’s players. Most of them are back this year. The offense is pretty good except for the fourth quarter even without much of a passing game.
The defense seems to have taken a significant step backwards, and that is supposed to be the coaches strength. I get that he doesn’t have great players to work with, but i seems worse than it should be.
Recruiting was solid last year except for the unforeseen health issues. Still time left, but recruiting is looking fairly poor at this point.
Hopefully we get back on track tonight and Narduzzi starts learning from his mistakes.
PN inherited a good offense but the best players on defense is a 6th year senior who played for Wanny and a true sophomore in PN’s first class. That’s how bad the defense is. The game by game comparisons are completely fair. I just think more time is needed to make a decision on PN himself. Some already have though.
The rest of the season offers few such opportunities. Winning the next four games aren’t a given, but won’t change the trajectory of the program. Beating Miami, while a good thing still doesn’t raise the bar that much.
The only game on the schedule that would raise National Eyebrows is Clemson and chances of an upset there are slim to none.
That is why the UNC game meant so much to the program and why another fourth quarter collapse was so devastating.
It pretty much spells another wasted year for Pitt Football. More empty seats at Heinz and more recruiting disappointments.
Sorry to be so negative, but while an eight and four season might salve some of the wounds, it will be another season of what might have been.