One of the great things about Pitt football, win or lose, is talking about or reading the thoughts and opinions of our fans after each game. Sometime we find an issue that carries agreement across the board and sometimes we find issues the bring a great discussion and debate to the table.
After yesterday’s game I think we all agree on the fact that if we don’t do something concrete and lasting about our pass defense we are going to have a long season with some real disappointments. It was that bad on Saturday…. and during the previous game.
But there were some bright spots for the Panthers that showed on Saturday also. Our offense is still scoring points – even when we see our passing game limping along. Our special teams play was better across the board, etc… I’ll address some of the positive points in my “Three positive & Three negative” section later on.
But one thing I do after after each game is let a full 24 hours pass while I don’t read any media reports from other writers. I do that so that I can sift through my own thoughts and feelings, then come to my own conclusions about what I think the games show us, and the national audience in Saturday’s case.
I have written in the last week that I wasn’t overly impressed after the Penn State game when it came down to the actual playing of football by the Panthers; the win felt great but the way we played sure didn’t – and now that is magnified after the OSU match. We went into Stillwater, OK on a high and got carried out on a stretcher… maybe pushed out in a wheelchair… but you get my drift.
Forget about the final 45-38 score, the Cowboys took it to us right off the bat and kept the lead save for 1m 25s stretch when we were up 10-7 in the 1st quarter. From the 4:26 mark in that quarter until the final whistle OSU firmly controlled the score and the game.
I think the worst part of watching these last two games has been seeing how very easily our opponents hit big plays against us in the air. The interesting point here is that even though we have given up 872 yards passing against OSU and Penn State they have only had three passing TDs between them. Compare that to our rather anemic 328 yards in the air but we have four passing TDs in those games. Strange huh?
So – now we know what we have done in the first three games and at this point in a regular season, with a regular team, we fans would start talking about our apparent strengths and weaknesses and what the coaching staff would have to do to smooth out the lumps for the remaining nine games.
But this year? With this horrid and crippled defensive backfield? This ain’t no regular year and that ain’t a regular Pitt team. I’m scratching my head trying to remember if, in recent history, we have had such bad play and such terrible results for one field unit. I can’t find anything that even remotely compares to this season’s passing defense.
I suppose we can look at our 2007 team’s poor passing game when we were 104th in passing with only 104 yards per match, but that was with our 3rd string QB playing the last ten games of the year.
Maybe you guys can come up with something else but in my mind this season’s passing defense is about as bad as it gets…. and I’m not convinced that is going to change anytime soon.
We know head coaches tend to surround themselves with staff they are familiar with and our Cornerbacks coach is one of those in Renaldo Hill, who played DB at Michigan State before Narduzzi coached there; but Narduzzi has mentioned that he knew Hill well. Get this part of his Pitt bio:
“His impact on Pitt’s corners last season was immediate. This was especially evident with Avonte Maddox, who in his first full year as a starter ranked third in the ACC in passes defended (1.15 per game, 15 total). Maddox was an All-ACC Honorable Mention selection and is primed for greater all-star recognition in 2016.”
I’ll disagree about how ‘immediate’ Hill’s coaching impact was considering we dropped from 34th nationally in passing efficiency defense in 2014 to 66th last year. Tag onto that the fact that in ’14 we gave up 2,471 yards and 17 TDs in the air to last year’s better 2,791 and 18 TDs. And that was with Matt House as the DC and no dedicated defensive backs coach!
This year – if previous form holds – we’ll give up 3,636 yards passing…too much to even contemplate really. The point is that under Narduzzi and Hill our pass defense got worse last season and and now it is atrocious.
OK – that said, what are the three positive and three negative points we can takeaway from Saturday’s loss? Because it is a loss I’ll start off with the negative.
NEGATIVE:
#1. See above. Here are the stats – you figure it out: The OSU QB went 26/46 (57%) for 540 yards and 2 TDs. but here are the killer numbers – his yards per pass was an excellent 11.7 average and his yards per completion was an astronomical 20.8! I’ll say that again – 20.8 yards average on passes caught. Guys, a pass play over 20 yards from the LOS is considered a deep completion.
#2. QB Nate Peterman’s play. We won’t win football games with our QB having a less than 50% completion rate. Worse even was that some of those incompletions were to wide open receivers. One specific instance of that was when the Jester “The Human On-Off Switch” Weah was wide open on a deep route and Peterman badly overthrew him.
Granted Weah caught an TD and then also dropped a sure TD earlier, but a good QB needs to give his receivers constant chances to catch his passes and some of Peterman’s throws were just plain bad. His final tally was 14/30 for 237 yards, 1 TDs and an INT. Surprisingly his yards per pass was respectable at 7.9 and his yards per reception was very good at 16.9.
But we need consistency back there and we didn’t get it on Saturday.
#3. OC Matt Canada and his D staff coaching. I could easily have listed just his playcalling here but I think his use of the personnel at his disposal is just as bad, if not worse.
First off let’s tie this back together to the ultra-poor defensive back’s play. We have the almost the same personnel as we did last season yet we are playing much worse pass defense. We lost DB Lafayette Pitts to graduation and S Pat Amara to transfer (due to Whitehead’s ascendance). But our two deep is essentially the same as it was in ’15. So far this season no matter what sort of substitutions we made back there PSU and OK State just kept completing long passes against us.
I don’t know how much influence Narduzzi exerts on his coordinators – he says he’s hands off but I don’t believe that for a minute when it comes to Coach Conklin and the defense. Regarding the offense? I just don’t know, but I do know that Narduzzi tends to hold grudges and sometimes his decision making is influenced by that. Maybe ‘grudges’ is too strong a word, but if he gets pissed at something or someone it shows up later in his coaching choices.
It is almost inconceivable that we held out our #2 RB, Quadree Ollison, he of the 1121 yard season in ’15. Instead Canada went with a Narduzzi recruit (Ollison was a Chryst recruit) in RB Darrin Hall who gained 17 yards on five carries for a 3.8 ypc average. For some reason Ollison has been the poor step-child with Narduzzi and not using him has cut into talent available to be played.
Ollison played just a few snaps and had one reception for 8 yards and not one carry… not enough in my book at all.
Look at this chart – Canada ran nine different ball carriers on called running plays Saturday including such players as WR Araujo-Lopes three times (!), RB Chawntez Moss twice and WR Tre- Tipton once.
Add that to Hall’s carries and they had is 11 carries for 2.9 ypc average. I like the idea of giving Moss carries, especially now that we burnt his redshirt but you can’t tell me giving the ball to Ollison 10 or 11 times in that game wouldn’t have had better effect.
However giving the ball to WRs or Whitehead is what we are doing this season. We do some jet-sweeps with a WR and it works sometimes so we think “Hey, lets do it all the time – that way when the next game comes around their DC will think we’ll NOT do it against them!”.
Seeing Henderson do well at a jet-sweep is one thing, he got 97 yards on 7 carries and 2 TDs – very productive; but understanding that Tipton and Araujo-Lopes are not Henderson is whole other thing all together. I much prefer we used this so-called awesome OL for what it is built for – getting yards between the tackles as our bread and butter running game and then complement it with the jet-sweeps and end-around carries.
POSITIVES:
#1. Our running game. Even with the issues above we had to rely, again, on our rushing to keep us in the game. Because of the poor showing by our passer we needed to get our constant yardage from Conner and Henderson (and Peterman’s legs also). The three TDs we had on the ground were the 21 points that kept us close enough to at least have some hope in the latter stages of the game.
#2 K Chris Blewitt and P Ryan Winslow. Blewitt broke out of his slump by connecting on the only FG he was asked to attempt – but it was a long 48 yard one and gave us the only lead we had in the game at 10-7. The real impact Blewitt had was on his kickoffs though. In his 7 kickoffs he had 5 touchbacks and only two returned for a total of 34 yards.
Ryan Winslow matched that with his 11 punts averaging 42.4 yards and putting 4 of those inside the Cowboy’s 2- yard line. They had 4 punt returns for 34 yards with a long of 11.
So let’s add our kick coverage teams to this positive also – they did a good job limiting the return yards.
#3 James Conner. He has come to play in each game so far and has done well. I picked him as one of the positives in this game because he did some fine inside running against a stout OSU defensive line. He had 111 rushing yards on the day with 24 carries which is below his normal 5+ ypc average, but he made up for that in other ways. He had a long run of 32 yards and then ripped off another 21 yarder to keep a drive alive in the 4th quarter.
Perhaps his best contribution on the day was a 55 yard pitch, catch and run for 55 yards. That play took us from our 22 yard line to the OSU 23. That also led to a Pitt TD to close the score to 24-17 and kept the game from getting out of hand early in the 1st quarter.
Conner totaled 171 yards in total offense on the day and his efforts kept us at least withing striking distance in the 4th quarter.
Note: – When I started this blog the only real rule that I set down was that it would be a politics-free blog and that I’d either curb or delete posts that dragged politics into the discussions.
I have noticed lately that we have posted some comments that have addressed politics specifically so this is a reminder… Please leave the politics to other venues – Facebook and other websites are good for that – but not on here.
Thanks
pittpov.com 
Jeter to ND.
http://notredame.247sports.com/Article/BREAKING-4-star-DE-Donovan-Jeter-commits-to-Notre-Dame-47592904
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Ouch. 4 out of top 5 locals to ND. Double ouch.
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When the plays are not working, the OC usually gets the blame. I didn’t get to see the post-storm action but looking at the last 2 play calls before Pitts final punt was certainly head scratching.
I was never real high on NP as most here but his play needs to improve or the opponents will continue to stack the line.
Notre Dame is killing us!
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That is some train running between western PA and South Bend
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Good Luck to Jeter. Pitt could have used his services for sure. These are the kind of recruits that raise the quality of a recruiting class. Coach Duzz, sorry, swing and a miss.
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Good Luck to him and the rest……hope none of them are sent up the scissor lift to take pictures in a hurricane
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The 2017 class of blue-chip local recruits is dwindling…
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of the two top recruits that were remaining, Jeter was thought to be the one headed for Pitt. Wade is a longer shot. Jeter didn’t even have ND in his Top 5 a month ago, yet after 1 trip to South Bend …
I am venting … I’m sure this is not the opinion of this site but I am more saddened by the Jeter decision than I am the loss to Ok State.
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Reed, I disagree with a couple of your items above. I can’t believe we are bashing Canada already. I think we need to give it a few more games before we really see where we are at. I agree there were a few head-scratching calls but I think overall his play-calling has far exceeded Chaney. I don’t know about anyone else, but personally I felt way more irritated with the play-calling in the Steeler game yesterday than in Pitt’s game on Saturday.
Another thing I disagree with is that OK ST had the game in check from 10-7 on. “From the 4:26 mark in that quarter until the final whistle OSU firmly controlled the score and the game.” Maybe it was just me but I felt like we had all the momentum when the lightning delay hit. And even afterward when we were trading punts in the 4th qtr, you can’t say OK ST had the game in hand and it was never in doubt. We gave up one play in the 4th qtr and it happened to be the one that cost us the game.
As for Ollison, I didn’t have a huge problem with him not getting any carries. I understand the reasoning behind those wanting to see him on the field. However, I think the idea behind Hall/Moss is that they present a different type of back as a contrast to Conner. To me, Ollison is very similar to Conner and I think they were looking for a quicker pace to offset the heavy power running of Conner. And I don’t think for one second that it has anything to do with not being a Narduzzi recruit.
And as far as recruiting is concerned, I guess it doesn’t really matter until February anyhow. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Jeter change his mind come February. But if these guys want to go play for Kelly, then so be it. It’s their life and decision to make. And hopefully it works out for them. You can’t argue the atmosphere out there. What you can argue is how good of a coach and person he is.
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Here is Dokish’s Top 10:
Top 10 in PA for 2017 (as of Signing Day 2016)
Lamont Wade, Clairton HS (Clairton) CB- Possibly the best cornerback prospect in the country for the class. Not big at 5’10” and 185 pounds, but he is a potential superstar with speed, athleticism, technique, hands, and toughness. Offers include Pittsburgh, Penn State, West Virginia, Ohio State, Auburn, Nebraska, UCLA, Maryland, and Virginia Tech. In my opinion, he won’t end up at Pitt, though I think the Panthers will be involved until the end.
Paris Ford, Seton-LaSalle HS (McKees Rocks) S- Pretty slim right now at 6’0″ and 175 pounds, but he’s a high level athlete with the speed, athleticism, and hands to be an all-star college player. Great range with hands to match. Also a good hitter despite frame. Ed Reed centerfielder type that seems to be everywhere. Chose PITTSBURGH over Penn State, West Virginia, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Auburn, and North Carolina.
PITT
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Penn State
Josh Lugg, North Allegheny HS (Wexford) OT- Already great size at 6’6″ and 290 pounds, and he has the frame to get bigger. Great feet, tenacious, and strong. He has a a lot of potential physically, but right now he is very green. He’s very much worth trying to flip because if it all comes together for him, he could be special. Committed to NOTRE DAME over offers from Pittsburgh, Penn State, West Virginia, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. I’m assuming that he won’t flip, but if he does, Pitt would probably be the school he would flip to.
Notre Dame
Georgia
Notre Dame
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If there is no change, I can see Ollison transferring at the end of the year. I agree with all others on this issue. Personally I would not have burnt Moss’s redshirt with the wealth at running back. Unless Conner gets hurt this year, he is going to the NFL next year.
Everybody is down on Peterman but I feel the problem in the passing game is mostly due to our inept wide receivers. Their route running leaves a lot to be desired. During the OSU game several times they simply were not where they were supposed to be causing Peterman to look bad. I also think Canada has very little confidence in our wide receivers as well. Hopefully Challlingsworth is getting back to playing shape and will see more time at wide receiver.
Pitt is still a work in progress and Pitt fans are a fickle bunch. If we win next week and put together a run of several wins in a row, everyone will be again aghast when we get blown out by Clemson.
With regard to recruiting, sometime kids get caught up in all the glitz and hype of a school. Notre Dame is just that type of school. Until Pitt wins at least an ACC division title, it will have a tough time competing against such schools. Notre Dame is in a downward spiral. There is a good chance they will lose to Stanford and Miami and end up at 8-4. Unfortunately both of those games are at ND.
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Coach Narduzzi is still adjusting and learning. I don’t believe he will have his team get caught with the wrong cleats ever again. Not so fixable is his insistence on playing his smurf corners in Man defense vs tall athletic receivers. If he would have just played a single high safety, Pitt might have won on Saturday. As it is, this defense has no chance vs NC.
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Swift has verballed to Georgia as well.
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I am slightly mystified at the Domers doing this well in our backyard. Jeters loss is major because Duzzers spent a great deal of time with the kid, then one trip to south Bend and he commits??!? WTF is up with that? Still question His talent, but like I said, if Narduzzi spent that much time and lost out when ND came in late, well that is strange!
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I agree with Dokish regarding Jeter. It’s not like Pitt didn’t try. They were over the top with him and treated him as a priority for 2 years. How many times did Jeter say Coach was the man? I guess the mystique of the school or something swayed him on his visit. You can’t win them all – the best don’t win them all. Cause if they did, everyone would go to Alabama.
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Thanks for the no politics Reed.
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Teams now have had a couple of games to watch our jet sweep ” option” for lack of a better term… Either a handoff to the tailback or a handoff on the jet sweep. The Tar Heels have a very good defense of coach… We will need better all around play … I think we grow and improve… One positive is these boys didn’t quit and actually won the 2nd half 14-7 .. Something to build on.. Good to see my Homey Tre Tipton contribute.. Jester needs more opportunities.
Heading into conference play this weekend. I think we will be ok going forward and will be there to support our boys.
As far as Jeter goes – good luck. We will get our share as we win.. Played a couple of times against my home High school.. wasn’t a dominating force from what I’ve heard
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BigB last anonymous post
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I agree with JJ above. We were in this game especially after the half when, thanks to adjustments, Pitt was in control until the rain delay. Yes, our DB’s were getting torched early (and on the last OSU drive), but just prior to that series we had the ball with under 3 min to go in the game, near midfield with the score tied. Sustain that drive and we win either 41-38 or 45-38.
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I have been saying for some time that Narduzzi is getting crushed in recruiting, specifically in the WPIAL.
Those that were saying the WPIAL doesn’t matter are mistaken, it certainly matters to ND.
Obviously an older piece by Dokish.
Not mentioned as a WPIAL guy is Robert Hainsey of Gateway since he went to the IMG Academy, another ND recruit.
Of course the biggest get of all is Jurkovec.
You never know which ones will be Whiteheads and which will be Morellis or Fosters, but the fact is ND is getting the vast Lion’s share of the elite local guys.
They are also a parasite on the ACC, and haven’t won a championship since old mush mouth was there.
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So many points being scored these days in a ton of games … even teams with solid bluechippers … It’s easy to find fault but how do you consistently stop a scoring Barrage..
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Kelly is playing a much easier schedule these days giving them a shot at the playoffs each year.
Hopefully a few more ACC teams will rise to the level of Clemson, FSU and now Louisville to knock ND out every year.
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I think Duzz looks at his 2nd half adjustments and used that as a starting point going forward.
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Coach Narduzzi in not the most interesting man in the world but he still is interesting. He seems a little Jackie Sherrillish. He likes to keep things under wraps more then most coaches. I know PITT was not held back in the OSU game in anyway but it is still possible he has some tricks up his sleeve for UNC? Starting right after the game Saturday I’ve began to have this overwhelming sense that PITT will be OK this coming game. Let’s not forget that a lot of the catches for OSU were dam great plays. Once again we have to watch how these plays unfold. It’s not always about what happened but how it did. OSU had a 100 yard rusher who had a 67 yd run on one play where there was an obvious hold. This was not nearly the beat down as some of you are suggesting. Get ready for a great game in Chapel Hill fellows…….
H2P……………..ike
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I, for one, am not too disappointed by the loss to OSU. I thought back in the spring that we’d get beaten 40-7, or something like that. To me, the good sign is that we didn’t let the quick score demoralize us, and we stayed in the game to the end. Also, against teams from the big 10 (12/15 whatever) and the Big 12 (10/15 whatever) we scored 80 points. After next week, we should be 3-1 (no guarantee, of course). When the schedule first came out, I think every Pitt fan would’ve taken that.
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Many of the comments above is why I am so bothered by the Jeter decision (even more than the Pitt loss)
he’s local whose brother is at Pitt, and he’s been attending both FB and BB games for a few years now
he supposedly had a great relationship with HCPN
he didn’t even have ND on his board until a few weeks ago, and one small visit and that’s all it took
If we couldn’t get him, who can we get? (and I don’t even think he plays a position of great need — it’s just the idea of it) I may need to be talked down from a ledge (with maybe HCPN standing right besides me)
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You have to wonder why the local recruits are being lost to ND – is it Narduzzi – hope not!
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C’mon guys we know it’s only about ND. Kids grow wanting to go to a particular school. Let’s not forget Shelton Jeter left his home town for Vanderbilt of all places. These kids could possibly be encouraged to leave the city life. We don’t know but don’t get all depressed over these things. Foster was a big loss too,,or was he?
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We still have a “Pitt is it!” Out there!!
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Don’t think it’s Narduzzi — this is from Jeter’s dad:
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Pitt sitting at no 36 in usa today poll 3 spots behind NC.
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ike, Robert Foster did win the starting WR job as a redshirt soph … that was last year when Bama won it all. That means something … I’m sure Pitt could have used him.
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Oh I’m sure that PITT could use right now. Just saying and not trying to be ignorant to the young kids but sometimes things aren’t always what they seem. Not to mention when a young man makes a decision when he is 18 will it be the right decision in the end?
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Jeter basically said a few months ago he wasn’t going to Pitt ” I’m not playing for some smalltime program”. Once he got offers from OSU & ND it was over.
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Reed, 100% with you on the Ollison observation. I would like to see him get a bigger workload, but this is modern day college sports. Placate “our” recruits and the “other guy’s” recruits are judged with complete bias. I doubt Ollison will be in a Pitt uniform next year because it will be Darrin Hall’s time. If they are viewed as comparable in the eyes of the coaches, then Hall is elevated ahead of Ollison.
I was a big Chris James advocate and really thought he got the short end of the stick by this coaching staff. Obviously, nobody knows what happens in practice, but this 2016 utilization of Ollison serves to provide confirmation bias after the James situation. I was on UPitt’s couch a year ago (after Conner went down) when I said James has no chance at Pitt with Hall getting every opportunity to win the backup role. As expected, James left for an opportunity to play, and you can’t blame him. I am really interested to see what Chris James does at Wiscy next year. The question is, will Ollison join him? I would love to hear Ibrahim’s perspective on this issue.
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Marshall game on Oct 1 to start at 7:30
Hall is a Youngstowner, and Hall is from Cleveland … an Ohio preference? I hardly doubt it. But Hall came in Narduzzi’s 1st class, and Moss in his 2nd …. this preference is more feasible.
Still, I can’t believe Ollison is not playing if the coaches believe he is better
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Well it didn’t take long for a complete 180 from the sentiment on this board. Not sure I get the extreme negative reactions. Oklahoma State is a pretty good team and is a horrible call from being top 15-20. Pitt lost to them on the road and had a chance at the end. They definitely exposed our weakness real bad but despite that the players battled and never gave up. Let’s see what the coaches do to adjust against that during a week of preparation. I thought Canada was as creative as any OC we have had in a long time for most of the game. Will concede the 4th quarter offense was a bit curious but it is difficult for me to change my opinion on him because of 3 series. Plus when it feels like you need to score every possession just to keep up some of that stuff gets magnified a little more than it should in the grand scheme of things. Look this is just not a top team yet and there will still be more growing pains but signs are there in terms of effort and intensity that the attitude is changing. Just need the personnel upgrade to match with that attitude and intensity upgrade. Let’s see what Pitt does this week before we get the mob together and the pitchforks out, I’m not ready to fire coordinators left and right. Still plenty of season to go.
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I’m with JJ too regarding game control. OSU scored a TD with roughly 9 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and I believe did not score again until the deciding touchdown. I feel like the Pitt D had actually instilled some level of concern in the OSU QB’s play and on the part of the fans prior to the lightening delay. It also seemed like the Pitt O might also still be confusing the OSU D. Note the failure of many plays after the break that succeeded before the break.
I agree that Peterman was not sharp again. However using the Weah play, assuming I am remembering the cited play accurately, isn’t the best example. I didn’t see Weah exactly sell out for that ball. That was a ball that Ford for example would have made a credible attempt to catch.
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Sorry about Jeter. Wish him well. We need to win ACC Coastal and that will impress recruits. Game most likely in Orlando. Signing day 4 months off. Kids change their minds everyday.
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Dallas Mike is a patient of mine. Upitt’s couch is therapy session. I see many clients who battle SOP Disease. We are working through our issues together.
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That is funny UPitt, seriously, but I can see this lack of unaccountability concerning the author’s and screen names of these posts rolling into some problems with posters not as credible as I am. 🙂
Then again I could have some fun with stuff..
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Upitt, can I join as a patient? I was screaming the whole time that Peterman wasn’t looking for the slot receiver running a post minus the one overthrow. Pitt faithful were strong and well in OKS. #H2P
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re Ollison.. possibly missing assignments or not practicing well..I don’t think for one second is a “Duzz recruit” thang…
Need to get ND out of the ACC so we can play those bastards every year.
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UPitt psychotherapy…. do you offer a full service bar at your office???
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Therapy has been at Mike’s and Ted’s as well. Yes Drinking is accepted. Only good stuff. Good Group of Pitt guys here in DFW. Ted was at the game sending snapchats.
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Cheesehead Paulie,wasn’t afraid to go to his Freshman QB, former Pitt recruit Alex Hornibrook. Who led Wisconsin on 3 scoring drives in the 2nd half to win the game. The Lefty was 8 of 12 for 122 yds with 1 TD.
http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400869657
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Pit is 0-5 against the spread in its last five games. The UNC spread his pit +7. Hmmmm.
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Pitt is not getting better on D this year. Maybe we will see the redshirt freshman DBs get a shot. Dane Jackson, etc.
This is a new offense for the team, it takes time and this past week was the first game they tried the passing game..which is the coaches fault.
Remember last year after UNC game, it was obvious Pitt had less speed, that didn’t change in a year.
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I could be wrong but I believe Jackson saw the field a little bit cause I remember seeing him get burned for a TD.
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JJ—He did and he did
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Regarding the recruiting and recent losses of recruits, Dokish has a very interesting article up on his blog. I tend to agree with most of what he says. And if you read the article on PSN from the Irish beat writer, it doesn’t sound like ND did anything “extra” or more impressive than Pitt did – even though they tried to make it sound that way. The kid was just totally into the whole ND aura.
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Yes both Dane Jackson and Phillipie Motley were on the field
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We just played a complete one dimensional team in OSU with no running game and they lit up big time. Maddox and Lewis confidence factor will not be strong going into the UNC game.
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UPitt. Saw some Pitt +6.5’s out there. I think this one goes off Pitt +8.5. Cannot imagine Pitt covering let alone winning.
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Time for Coleman, Garner, Miller and Malik Henderson to step it up in practice so they can get on the field.
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I am always amused by adults getting worked up over 17 and 18 year olds. I sure hope it’s always about football and nothing else. But that is how it looks to me…. creepy.
Pitt has never won in Chapel Hill and won’t on Saturday. Get used to it.
Programs are built over YEARS… not months. Let the man do his thing. Piss him off… he will leave.
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Oh… and one more thing. It was a one possession loss. Reading this article – I would swear Pitt got blown out by 4 TD’s. Lighten up a little reed, OK?
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I know where you’re coming from John. But there are many examples of coaches building programs or at least a complete turnaround in months.
Johnny Majors (1) at Pitt is the easiest example.
This year and last you have the U of Houston, who is 16-1, ranked # 6 since our collapse in the Nightmare Bowl. And they are a legit contender to get into the playoff if they roll the table.
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John – We should of lost by 20 but got a gimme TD on a fumble. We have no Defense none.
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And I could find many more examples if I cared to do the research. Pitt wasn’t a total doormat either like some of these other programs that were.
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Great comments, enjoying reading them all!
3 POSITIVES:
1. HEART! Many Pitt teams of the past would of folded like a cheap lawn chair. As bad as it was we were there at the end with the opportunity to win the game. Wow!
2. ABILITY TO SCORE.
We put up 38 and had plenty potential for more.
3. The kicking game finally got on track. Thank goodness!
NEGATIVES:
1. Pass Defense. As I mentioned previously, for Duzz’s D to work he needs Stalions for D backs. Only problem is we have Shetland Ponies.
2. COACHING. How can you not bring the right cleats if it rains???? Pathetic!
3. Now everyone in the entire world knows how to beat Pitt. Ask an Afganistan Yak Herder how to beat Pitt and he replys: Simple, throw the pig skin all the way to new pastures!!!
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@ John Ramella, we are talking college football they are ALL 17& 18 and without them you don’t have a team.
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Lol: “Programs are built over YEARS… not months. Let the man do his thing. Piss him off… he will leave.”
Naaaaaa, this is good venting here: Because like you said, Pat Narduzzi is a MAN and he’s going to finish what he started, no matter what!
Pat Narduzzi will have to leave Pitt one day (whether it’s just him getting “sent to pasture” a la Bear Bryant at Alabama, or Narduzzi leaving for the NFL when he’s ready) — but when he does it’s going to be because he “Completed The Mission” at Pitt, and he will pass the program off to whom he feels will Carry Pitt further.
But I personally Love The Attitudes here, even if I may disagree strong on many of the Particlars of peoples’ arguments. Because everyone here wants Pitt to be great!
I really don’t know how good Donovan Jeter will be. At this point I’m more focused on Pat Narduzzi come-February signing 23-25 guys who he thinks can play to keep building the program.
Because even the “Un-Heralded” Narduzzi-recruits, by the time their Seniors and R.S. Juniors, will make-up all the starters on the Pitt Football team, and Pitt will be at the MINIMUM many-times faster and more explosive than they are right now :)>
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Please cite an example of a coach coming into a program that had gone thru coaches like Pitt did from 2010-2014. Don’t bother… there is no precedent.
The guy obviously wants to do it his way. If that means giving up 500+ yds passing in the mean time – so be it. Watching MSU completely stone cold shut down tOSU last year is proof enough it will work once those 3-star recruits become acclimated.
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Tom Herman needed 6 months. Not 2 years like Narduzzi has had. Oh he is ranked 3 in Nation at a no name football school.
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Gents,
The Cowboy’s Washington is a pretty good WR – 27th in the country last yr and 5th this year. The #2 guy Seales is 54th. Rudolph knows how to place a ball. It was fairly obvious that he and Washington have worked on that a lot. The deep throws were accurate and in multiple cases the WRs made over the shoulder catches. Even if Maddox was close to his man, Washington was still going to make those catches. They were as impressive as our coverage was awful.
That was a special tandem and one we are not likely to see the rest of the year, save Clemson. Quite simply, it created the worst possible match-up for Pitt and Gundy appropriately exploited it.
Everyone knew what playing Ok St meant from the day they inked the deal. A very tough opponent. Most people penciled in an “L”. I thought they were out of our league to be honest. We saw this coming last year…this spring… and into the summer. And then it happened. And yet, we only lost by one TD in a game affected by a 2 hr. delay…on the road…against a team that has a chance to win the Big12. A better outcome than I expected.
Of course, other teams this year will try to see if they can do the same. But I don’t see that happening in the ACC Coastal Division. No way.
Maybe we lose in Chapel Hill Saturday, but I like our chances. Marquise WIlliams is gone and Trubisky’s playing time in 2015 was garbage time. Switzer is now the #1 WR. Admittedly, he’s got a lot of heart to make up for lack of size. He;s not Washington and Trubisky is not another Rudolph. These two are really working together for the first time this year, unlike Rudolph and Washington.
Mark last week up as a “perfect storm” guys.
There’s another guy with a couch named Dr. Bob Rotella. He’d tell you our best golf is in front of us and so is it for Pitt football.
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When do we get the PSU win recruiting bump?
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John Ramella: Do we muse you? It’s a blog/message board, git outa here. 🙂
I do agree with the sky is falling blown-up BS, was up wit dat?
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I love the political correctness of everyone wishing Jeter all the best in his future endeavors when what they really want to say is that we hope he goes to ND and we never hear from him again. Move on. He is a AA school big guy beating up on some bad AA school kids and isn’t even that eye popping dominant against those small schools. Go to FL or Ohio and find big players at big time schools that play big time opponents who might only be 3 stars but played better competition than Mohawk or New Brighton.
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Hey – just because it was a one TD loss (certainly not a ‘one possession’ loss) doesn’t mean we can’t be disappointed in the team’s play. If you have read my previous writings you’d know that I look at a lot more than just Ws & Ls in Monday Morning QB.
And when we give up 540 yards passing there sure is reason for concern and since we talk about all the aspects of Pitt football on here that is a major current topic.
I read a lot of “should haves”, “could haves”, “…if we didn’t have a delay…” in these comments but that is all speculation – what’s not to say had we not had a delay OSU would have scored more points.
When a Pitt team has 5 punts in a row then ends the game on an interception I don’t care what the score was – that is poor play by the offense especially when points were needed to win the game.
I’d love to have written about a win this morning – but IMO even though we only lost by 7 points we pretty much took an ass-whipping on the field. Better in the 2nd half but we even played poorly then – OSU just played worse in that half but had scored enough points in the 1st half to hang on.
I predicted 7 wins as camp ended and while I hope we get more that is looking pretty much what we’ll have to me because I don’t think this problem with our pass defense is going to be resolved this season. We have given up 870 yards passing and 80 points in our last two games so teams are going to score big on us all season and unless we look at the passing game as a true partner in the offense we’ll continue to have problems.
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Reed:I agree with your assessment. Is this year’s pass defense the worst in since the Hackett/Majors days?
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Twyman would certainly help and they might want to re-think telling Hubbard no thanks. Of 12 or so DT’S they offered Twyman is the last man standing.
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Reed, you’re confusing what happened with what happened. You mention what if’s, you’re just as guilty. PITT lost be 7 points not 3 touchdown’s? What works one way, works for another in a different way. I get the what if’s but the fact is, it took a slip down of the PITT DB from a wet turf for OSU to beat PITT at their home field. This was in no way the beat down you suggest… imo..
H2P…………………………ike
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I am in the minority but I don’t wish Jeter well. I hope ND turns into a dumpster fire because they can’t stop anyone and Kelly gets canned. I hope he turns out like Foster and never sees the field.
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Ok, so now I have the “Like” button available.
This is going to save me a whole lot of really crappy writing.
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Maddox was ALL-ACC honorable mention. please. Also the hype and pre-season ALL-ACC on Biz and Johnson appears to be just that hype.
JC got stuffed on 13 of his 24 rushes on Saturday for 2 yds or less, of those several were for NO Gain and several were for LOST yardage. Hall got stuffed twice more and Aston only his carry got 1 yd.
I think it’s time they put Jared Jones-Smith into the line as they did 2 years ago when JC ran for over 1700 yards. I can’t remember if Aston played much Saturday at FB, maybe someone can chime in. But when your lead RB is getting stuffed so often at the line of scrimmage it means the O-line isn’t moving anybody.
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Thanks Emel. I don’t get the unwarranted hate and the lack of seeing what is obvious.
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Agree Reed about Ollie. I mean WTF, everyone got to carry the ball (9 players) but your 1200 yard rusher from last season. Without Ollie last year we would have been lucky to win 6 games.
If they keep f8cking around with him, the kid is going to transfer. And if JC goes NFL, I’m not sold on Hall as the feature back.
It seems to me Ollie got passed over because like you mentioned he’s not a Nard Dog recruit. Cause Dog and the RB coach continually rave about Hall and I’m sorry I’m just not seeing that. (as of yet)
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~ ike ???
What was obvious as I mentioned after the game, was this defense reminded me of an OutHouse defense from 2014. For 3 quarters it was the Houston Nightmare all over again.
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You are right I misinterpreted. The fact remains that many so called experts consider Maddox really good at what he does. My bad there.
However, Maddox was a big time recruit that what PITT never would have had a sniff at other than the fact he just a 2 inches too short. I get that
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Who won the………Predict a Score ? I had Pitt’s points correct at 38. Didn’t think our defense would be such a sieve. You could have made an argument we were in somewhat of a prevent defense against the Pedo’s later in the game to rationalize that near collapse away.
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No problem ike, it’s easy to misinterpret things on blogs, depending on how you read it. 🙂
And what frame of mind one is in. lol
Done it myself !
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Bisno and Johnson are not Clemmings and Rotherham yet. But the line will get better.
So far the O has been one dimensional. Last time Conners was running behind Clemmings and Rotherham and defenses had to cover Boyd, (1100 yds) and runs by Voytik.
The lack of a passing game is hurting the run.
Fourth qtr offense is as big a problem as the defense.
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Majors turning Pitt around quickly isn’t a good example. There are rules against bringing in the amount of players he did to affect that change.
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For the Wanny yrs we complained about not rushing the passer. Now with Pn we rush the passer which means we give up big plays. We just need better players.
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Interesting. When JC went down last year, it was Ollison not Hall that became feature back. So I’m not buying the Narduzz recruit over the Chryst recruit theory. I think it’s more a case of Ollison not having a good spring and getting in the dog house.
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I mean who really cares about Spring ball. 15 – 20% of the team was held out of Spring practice. We’ve had QB’s throw for Peyton Manning numbers in the Spring and never replicated that in the Fall.
I don’t buy that, something else is going on when everyone and his brother carried the ball Saturday as Reed noted. Even the Rafael Muy Pequena Lopes carried the rock 3 times.
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Not sure that HCPN has shown that he’d pass over a guy like Ollie simply because he didn’t recruit him. Has to be more than that. Could be an issue with something non-football related such as grades…or perhaps the kid is temperamental and Duzz had to make an example (a la Rushel Shell).
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What was interesting (to me at least), on the Quadree 2 reverse in the 3rd Q, where he went for 50 yards and a TD, the camera followed Quadree 1 on the fake and he would have had a big gainer as well.
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~ gc
One other thing in 2014, pretty much every running play had a lead blocker FB(Parrish). When they go to 3 WR’s, this current offense takes out the FB and it would be interesting to see, how many plays we played without the FB and on how many of those occasions JC got stuffed at the LOS.
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Ok tomorrow we start hating on the Tarholes of Chapel Hell.
Boy would I love to beat those cheaters living down here in the heart of Hole Country !
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ND has already recruited 3 DT and 1 DE for 2017. That is a whole new defensive line already. They have 21 DLs on their roster now. Sounds like a lot. Is that normal?
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count me in the camp that says the sky Is not falling. I watched the same game as everyone else, and as bad as the pass defense was, Pitt was in the game until the end. I had hoped that the lightening delay would be a blessing by giving our players a chance to rest, but instead it appeared to zap our momentum. NC seers to have our number,, but I still think Pitt is headed in the right direction and should win at least 8 games this year. CBS projects Pitt in the Pinstripe Bowl vs Maryland this week. H2P!
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@upitt – Let’s be fair my brother. Houston was building for years with Sumlin and company before moving to the top of the class. He also got a great college QB. Greg Ward is lamar Jackson, jr.
Kelly is not loved by the ND brass. He is cocky and brash which doesn’t sit well with the priesthood. This is why ND football gets big ratings. They come into programs neighborhoods and take their talent away from them. Once that happens, that community either supports the kids and there Management, and he is not liked, period. ND should be out of the National championship conversation, but will get back in because of their week scheduling. They will get dumped this year because they don’t play a championship game.
Three Positives : 1). The DB’s – Look, we have lost Hamlin and Hill this year. They would have played and would be an upgrade over our current stock of corners. Why do people think that a corner that stand 5’7″ and could only run a 4.6 forty last year, could stay with receivers that run a 4.38 and 4.40 forty’s? Our guys didn’t get bigger or faster this year. We are short staffed as stated above, but trying. 2). Offensive Innovation – We score points……..by running. I disagree with all the writer’s above. Coaches are loyal to their recruits and families first when talent is similar. Shouldn’t be a shocker there. 3). QB Play – Peterman had a sub par game and we still almost won. He should improve going forward.
Three Negatives: 1). You only go around this world once. The coaches and players will sit back when the season is over and look at this game as winnable. We were so close to victory in a game where we were out “big played”. 2). Apparently we recruit players with stiff necks because they cannot turn them around while running. If that is the case, a cover 2 defense is warranted. 3). Jeter – this is a negative for him, not Pitt. I have counseled my kids to not be “takers” in this world. Many reports indicate that he did a lot of taking in the recruiting process. Pitt spent the money to keep bringing him on campus. Narduzzi gave his time freely to be with him, often. Kelly, will never spend the time with Jeter, like Narduzzi did. This is when you need a parent to explain life. You go home with your date, not the dude driving the shiny car and slicked back hair.
Three different approaches on both negs and possi’s. You all hit most of the stuff. Jeter will learn a tough lesson as do many when they leave. Narduzzi has got to shut the door on these kids wanting to come back later after they experience real life at their respective campuses when things don’t go their way. Look, Kelly is responsible for the death of a student employee that he put behind football. Wins over sins never work!
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Narduzzi’s wife needs to learn how to cook pecan pies…
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Emel – Living in Central VA, I know plenty of arrogant Tarholes who refuse to accept Pitt as a peer university. Tobacco Road provincialists! Would be great to silence them – just like the BBall team did in Greensboro a couple years ago.
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BTW, Chris Dokish wrote a good piece today on the subject of recruiting.
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Dokish is a koolaid drinking goof. He is a Pitt Puppet.
Huff – Houston was 6-6 and fired it’s coach. Greg Ward was a 3 star QB with 4 total
Offers.
Herman is totally smoking Narduzzi in every facet.
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Upitt you are right for once or twice or even three times. Dokish far more wrong than right. But acts like he’s some kind of expert.
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Doke thinks the pedos are one of the elite schools because they pay 4 mil for their bum coach who has them .500 every year. He bases it on $ alone.
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#QuadreeOllisonStarts
Quadree Ollison is the most talented running back on this team. Quadree Ollison has shown that he is a more talented, and way bigger Home-Run Threat than James Conner is. Rachid Ibrahim can’t get a touch, and well — man, Darren Hall is just an (sorry!!) OVERRATED RECRUIT — Zero Burst, Zero Dynamic-Speed, and Zero Vision. Is what it is haha.
Quadree Ollison needs to play —– dunno what the coaching staff is after or wants?? I was all-in rooting for Darren Hall and all, but he’s just a Ho-Hum, Zero-Impact Back. (Dion Lewis, Ray Graham, were both 2-3 star no-hype backs so 4 stars means SQUAT for running backs)
James Conner does not have the Magic anymore. 2014 James Conner, on THIS YEAR’S TEAM, is just a DYNAMO. But So-Glad he’s healthy, forget-the-rest. But as of now he’s just a “third-down”, “change-up” back.
Everyone can sense it, what the heck is going on at this point??? Favoritism? Personal-Beef??? ……. Quadree Ollison gets put in for 1-play here-and-there, it is a straight-up, poorly-designed run play with poor blocking, then he gets taken-out. *** No screen plays for Quadree Ollison????!! **** — THE GUY on the team who who be as Fierce on a screen, in-space, as the fellow “Quadree” Henderson??
Change of Pace, hahaha more bitching about why the Oklahoma State loss is Irkin’ Everyone: I keep watching the replay —- AND HONESTLY, maybe Jester Weah drops it anyway, that’s not the point hahaha 🙂 —- but how did Nathan Peterman miss Jester Weah streaking-open down the middle, on play action in that * “NFL OVERTIME / AKA 4th quarter” * pass???? That was a ” TINO SUNSERI – BALL ” .
I agree with above-poster about the overall play of the offensive-line, and it 😦 😦 $ucks but gotta be real here, 😦 😦 — and goes along with people who try and say, “Pat Narduzzi’s wins are due-credit to INHERITING TALENT” —– Adam Bisnowatty and Dorian Johnson are looking like at-best, ABOVE AVERAGE offensive lineman this year. The rest of the line looks mediocre too. Look in Power-5, Every offensive line is gonna average 6’4”, 300+ , from UCLA to Texas A&M, to Minnesota in the Big 10 to Florida in the SEC, WHOEVER. — But Adam Bisonowatty and Dorian Johnson were being hyped by EVERYONE Nationally as 1st-2nd round at the Latest level-talents (i.e. Dominant Talents) —- what is going on with them??!
Anyway, It’s all-good, ‘Cus Pitt FINALLY beats the Tar Heels!!! For 1-3 against them since Pitt joined the ACC, but it’s Way Better than 0-4 against the Baby-Blues!!!
#HailToPitt —- BEAT THE TAR HEELS!!
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My positives and negatives:
Positives
1. James Conner
2. Quadree Henderson
3. Juan Price
Honorable Mention – Jester Weah and S.Sota
Negatives
1. DB’s – 1st AND 2nd string
2. Not handing the ball to Quadree Ollison (ACC Rookie of the Year 2015 with over 1,100 rushing yards)
3. Tie – NP and the left side of our O-line (all seniors)
Honorable Mention – with under 4 minutes to go in the game and the ball at mid-field – Pitt has the ball on 3rd down with 4 yards to go (GAME ON THE LINE – tied at 38). O’Canada calls a toss to Conner with Henderson and Whitehead on the bench. Easy stop for the Pokies as they knew what was coming because JC was the ONLY threat in the game. THROW THE BALL NEXT TIME AND TRY TO WIN THE GAME!
On to the next game – revenge game with unc…
Hammer the Heels!
HTP!
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No one said the sky is falling but to look at what has happened in the last two games and not be very concerned is putting one’s head in the sand.
Look, just beccause most fans predicted a loss to OSU earlier does not mean you can’t be disappointed when it happens especially if, after a couple of games, you have a better idea of what the team can do than you did during fall camp.
Coaches make personnel decisions based on their personal feelings rather than strictly football issues all the time. It could very well be based on who Narduzzi recruited as opposed to who he inherited… not playing Hall last year means nothing as kids redshirt more often than not.
But to shut out a 1100+ yard rusher who had a very good 5.3 ypc last season is strange esprecially since Hall hasn’t played all that well.
I very much doubt the reason is academics either as that is usually accompanied by a suspension and the kid wouldn’have made the trip.
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Erie – Connor outside of his catch and 1-2 runs lost yards or gained 1 yard or less on most runs.
He is the 2nd best RB on the team.
Play Ollison!
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Our DBs suck – they are too small and too slow to play in Narduzzi’s system. When Narduzzi said at half we had to rush better Pitt did and the game was more contested. What puzzles me is that Narduzzi doesn’t seem to ever want to drop a safety. This made no sense against a team we knew was going to pass. Oh well, on to the Heels. HAIL TO PITT.
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We got owned by OSU’s passing game, true. But after watching that game again, if you don’t appreciate what a great day Rudolph had, you just don’t understand good football. That QB could have beat the majority of the FBS with the game that he brought to the field against the Panthers.
No excuses for this Pitt loss but as so many on this sight like to do, let’s keep it real. The Cowboys put a whole bunch of explosive pass plays right on the button to WRs like Washington that were just pretty much perfect. The fact is, when that happens OSU wins & their opponent loses. Last week, that was us. This OSU team is going to win a lot of games if they play like that week in and week out.
On to UNC.
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Reed,
Speculating that Narduzzi is playing favorite is SOP fan conspiracy BS! None of us knows what goes down in practice. Here’s a F-ing idea, he isn’t earning the playing time in practice. He isn’t doing what is expected of him.
My God, why do we always blame the authority figure. It is the teachers fault my kid is failing, it is the cops fault I punched him in the face and he shot me, etc etc. If he isn’t seeing playing time guess what….it could actually be his f-ing fault!
Ollison is half the back Connor is, literally. If I saw him lower his shoulder once and run someone over I would say they are equals. Ollison runs soft for a big man. Period.
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I still think Conner is our best back, especially in the redzone. But Ollison needs 10 to 15 carries per game to be effective and to keep Conner fresh in the fourth quarter. Have not seen the burst of a Lewis or Graham, or the lateral moves of a McCoy from Hall or Moss.
Funny that Narduzzi says that it was execution and not the scheme. Technically true, but with little pass rush and receivers running past our defenders pretty obvious to most that our players were unabl to execute the scheme. Big difference in the second half when the d-backs played deeper and forced Rudolph tobeat us underneath.
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Dark Knight
Last year, weren’t you Nate’s biggest, non-stop, most obsessed fan. Now it is on to the next QB in line, LOL.
So next year it is out with McVittie after two games, in with the next true freshman.
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Canada has been very conservative with the passing game, got away with it vs PSU, but it cost us the OK ST game.
I am hoping the emergence of Henderson, Weah and it appears Tipton is a very positive development. Hopefully we will
see a little more balanced and less predictable offense and more throws on first and second downs.
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Dark Knight makes some good points though needs to back-off the hyperbole.
Connor probably looks the way he does because he is gassed. Why can’t Powell or Canada figure this out?? You can’t continue to run this guy they way they have – or he may have health issues down the road. 15-20 carries is fine. 20+ is nonsensical. I’m sure some UPMC doc is going to step in at some point.
Peterman threw a Tino line-drive to Weah. Not catch-able. If you can’t put air under the ball – you can’t complete those passes. Notice how the OKST QB threw those high-arc balls? Even off-target it allowed the receivers to adjust. And those receivers were GOOD.
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Cmon now upitt, do you think I would make up win loss records for Houston? Sumlins last 4 years at Houston were 13-1, 5-7, 8-5 and 8-5. Far from the 6-6 you argued back, but I get the point. Those are good teams from which to inherit good players. They beat Oklahoma this year and Ohio State blew out Oklahoma. Maybe OK is not great this year. Houston is the new Boise St. They only need to beat one or two good teams a year. They get to rest and heal up against inferior teams for most of the season. Put them in the big12 and they are .500 at best. I didn’t argue stars about Ward. I argued talent. He was Sumlins recruit and as he goes, so does Houston. I worked with Herman and he is solid, no doubt.
I think the Pitt defense dials up the pressure this week and keeps the two deep in play. How about Akron clubbing Marshall? Anything can happen in the ncaa!! I think Narduzzi and company will look back at this season and kick themselves for the OKState loss. Very winnable. Watched it three times.
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Agree on the conservative offense and it bit Pitt in the ass the last game.
This is most likely the most inexperienced group of receivers in the ACC. To throw Narduzzi’s words back in his face, teams make the greatest improvement from game 1 to game 2, so the UNC game is really game 2 for the pass offense.
I get being conservative with Villanova and surprising Penn State. It certainly worked. However, not throwing in those two games just delays the inevitable passing game growing pains.
New receivers, new offense…it doesn’t click over night but the coaches delayed it even further.
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Franco ran soft for a big man.. Not rocket .. Ollison probably having some difficulty with the new offense or the coaches have Conner getting some ” work conditioning” and will lean more toward JC this year
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Huff
You are correct about Houston, saying Herman turned them around in a year is a huge exaggeration.
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One positive that I’m surprised was not mentioned was the second half defensive adjustment… up until okst last drive (when Maddox fell down), it’s d controlled the half giving up only 1 td. In the first half okst was almost unstoppable. From what I heard, the diff was bumping was at the line.
One of my biggest concerns is the lack of a passing game. NP had been average, and we haven’t helped by at least getting a short passing game going. And I don’t agree with our lack of Matthews involvement to this point.
Finally, Connor is still out best back…
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The first half defense was nonsensical. 4-man rush, no safety help (unless Narduzzi is correct by saying Whitehead failed to communicate to the DB’s) and Galambos basically just standing there in space w/ no one to cover so you’re basically playing 10 against 11. Beyond stupid.
In this day of NCAA video game football – if you fail to adjust until halftime – you probably have given up at least 4 TD’s w/o just cause. Again… beyond stupid.
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If you go back to my game comments, it was obvious that Galambos was caught in no mans land on several occasions. He then misses making a play by a step, which leads to a big play at a big point of game. That did cause us to play 11 against 9, especially if Whitehead was doing the same thing. All correctable.
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John R: absolutely correct. The fact that it was obvious that Galambos was just standing there during each and every play is only surpassed by the fact I couldn’t even find Caprara on the filed, which he was. Poor poor schematics first half.
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BigB, I like the James Conner “work conditioning” Physical Therapy reference!
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