in ACC, Defense, Pat Narduzzi, Pitt Football, Players, Podcasts, Predictions 181 Words

POV’s Sunday Podcast: Miami Game

There isn’t a whole lot of surprises that came out of yesterday’s game – even the Pitt fans who predicted a win weren’t surprised we lost… but they maybe were shocked at the poor overall showing we put forth in Miami.

51-28 was the score and here are the box score and stats for you to lament over as you listen.

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So that was yesterday’s totals – here is something to chew on when thinking about our next three games:

Pitt Team Stats – Through games 11/05/2016
Stat Rank Value
Total Offense 50 422.3
Rushing Offense 30 220.4
Passing Offense 93 201.9
Team Passing Efficiency 32 146.29
Scoring Offense T-27 37.0
Total Defense 87 428.7
Rushing Defense 13 111.6
Passing Yards Allowed 126 317.1
Team Passing Efficiency Defense 115 147.36
Scoring Defense 107 34.4
Turnover Margin T-54 0.11
3rd Down Conversion Pct 43 0.429
4th Down Conversion Pct T-34 0.600
3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense 40 0.365
4th Down Conversion Pct Defense T-110 0.667
Red Zone Offense 28 0.897
Red Zone Defense 128 0.974
Net Punting 90 36.18
Punt Returns 20 11.82
Kickoff Returns 1 30.68
First Downs Offense T-72 187
First Downs Defense T-59 187
Fewest Penalties Per Game T-45 5.78
Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game 41 48.67
Time of Possession 21    33:01

93 thoughts on “POV’s Sunday Podcast: Miami Game”

  1. November 6, 2016 at 9:54 am
    The game was lost because their lines pretty much man-handled ours all day.

    We never got any pressure on Kaaya, who started the game with 13 straight completions.

    Price was ineffective with two big agile studs on him all day (and they never call holding unless they tackle a guy)

    Then Soto takes a helmet to the shin (should have been a penalty) and Jarrett gets rolled up on, on the same play (could spell disaster for the rest of the year) although Taleni made 8 tackles.

    On offense, the line couldn’t open a hole for Conner or Moss all day, or seal off for Henderson. Hall had two nice runs that were wasted, when they inexplicably passed with no success. The line also gave Peterman little time to throw on most occasions.

    Then you add a throw by the punter to Whitehead in double coverage (the trick that didn’t trick anyone),
    a drop of a TD pass by Weah to stop momentum, the fumble by Henderson and the interception by Peterman.

    You end up with a very bad day.

    Of course Pitt fans blame it all on Narduzzi, which is pro-forma around here.

    Miami had their bad day vs VT. They lost by a point to FSU and close games to UNC and ND.

    They weren’t going to lose 5 in a row and our mistakes made it easy for them.

    Barring a miracle next week, we will have to struggle to beat Duke and Syracuse, both teams
    are not pushovers, and Heinz field will be at half capacity at best. Pitt would be well served to allow everyone to fill in the lower bowl, if they want any atmosphere at all.

    Like

  2. Wearing my coaches hat this morning….I piled on Narduzzi and am guilty as charged but……every one that has ever coached has had “yesterday” happen to them. You prepare your team well, good practices following a tough loss the game before, and start the next game. From the beginning everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. Then your team has a few key injuries, the dam opens up, and your team that you so love and put your heart and soul into coaching, falls apart and an ugly rout (are their any pretty routs?)ensues.

    It’s happened from girls Jr HS basketball coaches to Mike Tomlin ( see Philly,Miami).

    What’s important is how,as a coach,you handle the coming week with the morale of the team and the season on the line, No job anywhere could be tougher than coaching Pitt Football and now to have to play Clemson next with a third of your team injured, just brutal!

    The coming week will tell us a lot about our apprentice head coach and whether he has the chops
    to be successful and it won’t be about wins and losses!

    Like

  3. Ditto Dan72, this week counts and how he and they handle that performance. I dont see complaints about Narduzzi sideline behavior, he was a gentleman ?and it had no effect. Just an all around putrid butt kicking that all jelped create..

    Like

  4. I love how Naruzzi gets a pass like he is some priven winner. Matt House had a better Defense. Yes Matt House. Say that outloud and still want to give Narduzzi a pass?

    Nice podcast Reed.

    Like

  5. We have now played Miami a dozen times in the past 20 years, and on 9 occasions I came away thinking that they were far and away the most talented team we played in that season … and scratched my head (1) at the disparity in talent between them and us and (2) why they didn’t have a better record (except for 00- 02).

    Like

  7. IMO, they are only 4 defensive starters who are of ACC caliber … Price, Jarrett, Maddox and Whitehead … and only 2 of those committed to House

    Like

  8. Wwb – which takes away any excuses House could of used. His players, next year, I personally believe are just excuses.

    Next year we will say another year and we are close.

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  9. Hose had to defend Jameis Winston who completed 25 of 27 passes Then go to 2014, and look at the entire 1st half of the schedule … not one fucking competent offense …. then we finally play some offenses, and give up 56, 51 and 40 points in 3 consecutive weeks. .

    If House had to defend this year’s schedule with his players … he would have jumped off of the Cathedral half way through.

    Like

  10. and by the way … this is Monday Morning QBing. Go back to the Blather … many of us here bitched hard and long as to just how offensive oriented the classes of recruits were a few years ago.

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  12. Pitt is dead-last in fund raising for athletics in the ACC by a wide margin. Until that changes expect the same results. The large donors need to be found and tapped. You would think the sweet spot would be post-2000 since the grads who grew up w/ TD and Marino gashing opponents would be in their prime earning years… and for some reason it just hasn’t happened.

    So you get to the current situation. Pay $$ for Canada… justified. But no $$ left and you end up w/ the Conklins and the Renaldo Hills and Rob Harley’s of the trade. MAC level coaches coaching MAC level players.

    And you people act shocked and outraged?!? Give me a f’n break. Open your eyes fools!

    Like

  13. Great podcast Reed. I just don’t understand why so many make excuses for Narduzzi. We have digressed over the season and no one can dispute that. Upitt I couldn’t agree with you more.

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  14. Narduzzi will only succeed if he can recruit better players for his Defense, and IMO, things are not looking that good. I have said for several years that you cannot win without a strong pass rush, it has to come from two d-ends and guys that can blitz. Yes we need better d-backs, but without a pass rush you can have Revis’s back there and it won’t matter.

    And yes we need a better QB. In almost every game the opponents QB has been better than ours. Certainly in all of our losses, it isn’t even close.

    Narduzzi may be the guy or maybe not, but we certainly don’t know yet, and another coaching change is not the answer.

    The real question is, can he recruit enough elite players to Pitt? Definitely not an easy job.

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  15. I know I sound like I’m pointing fingers at Narduzzi alone. That really isn’t my intent and I get all those things that gc stated above.

    But isn’t it the responsibility of the coaching staffs to have work-arounds in case of injury and the ability to adapt when circumstances change?

    Yet I see none of that in our ball games this season. I think the opposite of what gc says is the truth in some ways – he says “Of course Pitt fans blame it all on Narduzzi, which is pro-forma around here.” which is his take.

    But it can also be said that because everyone loved the Narduzzi hire and all his bells and whistles – twitter, Pat Signals, his energy, etc… they give him a pass on the responsibility of how his players execute and what his players are tasked to do.

    I don’t do that. I think that after 26 years in college coaching, 8 as a Big Ten DC and after a full season as a head coach in a Power Five conference it is he who should shoulder the blame for our team’s poor performances. Yet Pitt fans seem to bend over backward to look at everything else before him and his staff.

    And if he retains Conklin after this season I’ll say that Narduzzi has no judgement at all when it comes to being a HC. You don’t watch your defense go in the toilet for two straight year – culminating in some of the worse defensive play we have ever had – just because you like the coordinator or want to keep him until you “have your guys” in place.

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  16. It’s not rocket science …. PC and staff recruited OL, TE and RB very well. But not so well on defense and at QB.

    In 2013-4, the defensive staff consisted of

    the most underqualified coordinator in Power 5
    an LB coach (directly from Mt Lebanon HS)
    a DL Coach with one year D1 experience
    and a grad assistant who filled in as CB coach

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  18. Look at how many points Wisconsin is now scoring ….. not very many at all. PC is winning by defense.. The defensive coordinator at Wisc while PC was at Pitt is now the DC at LSU.

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  19. You have to wonder whether Chryst always knew he was going back to Michigan or was he just passive aggressive towards Steve in hiring House. There really wasn’t one elite player recruited on defense during Chryst’s tenure except for Whitehead, who did commit before Chryst left. Jarrett and Soto are having good senior seasons, but one year is just not enough.

    You need guys that can win their individual battles. We have very few on defense, Narduzzi needs to find more.

    By the way, getting Cabinda back has really helped PSU. Good thing he didn’t play against us, he is their run stopper. It looks like Franklin has solidified his position. Maybe not a great coach, but he is a great recruiter and will only get better with this year’s record.

    I think I said 7-5 was the over/under for this season. Definitely not going to be the over.

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  20. We’re in game 21-20. From there our play was bad led by poor QB and his ability Big question go over replay and watch how many times whitehead misses(completely) arm tackles anyone. He has been not a factor in any games. If he is our best we are in trouble in future. Next year syndrome creeps in again for us fans. Tryouts for QB long season there. I’ll still drive over three hours for each game one way but enthusiasm and hope are dwindling. It’s tough to watch psu on tv and know they improved a lot and we have digressed this year. How much do you think we have gotten better since Sept 11. See you at duke game. I’m taking wife shopping so I dont have to watch Clemson next week

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  21. Reed, I don’t give Narduzzi a pass, and said the conservative offense cost us against OKST and UNC.

    However, it is not Narduzzi or Conklin’s fault we don’t have a pass rush. Our guys are just not good enough to beat the blocks. Our linebackers are too slow to blitz and can’t win their individual battles.

    Our D-backs can’t win an individual battle with a receiver.

    Other than Price, Soto, Whitehead and Jarrett, we don’t have another guy that would start on any ACC team.

    Our QB would not start on any other ACC team.

    I like and support our kids because they are our kids, but let’s be honest we don’t have an abundance of talent on defense. worst yet, we have no depth.

    So while Narduzzi has his faults, in some ways it is remarkable that we have been in every game except for yesterday.

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  22. While I did think the pass from the punter was ill-advised, Narduzzi didn’t miss a tackle, fumble the ball, throw an interception, miss a field goal, drop a TD pass, or jump off side.

    It was a really bad game.

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  23. Reed

    First and foremost thank you for the podcast and your frank evaluation. I’ve been watching Pitt football since the 60’s and you really got me thinking.

    Some ramblings:

    Pitt has been a bit of a graveyard for head coaches and pretty much a revolving door that you have to admit looks quite comical.

    Foge was fired and never a head coach again.

    Mike Gottfried was fired and never a head coach again.

    Paul Hackett fired, yes USC hired him but they fired him quickly and never a head coach again.

    Majors 2, stepped down, never a head coach again.

    WLAT Harris was forced out due to his contract was not renewed by the administration and fired by Stanford.

    Wanny was hired to take Pitt to the next level, resigned/fired never a head coach again but he looks great in the studio at Fox Sports.

    Mike Haywood fired, currently head coach at Texas Southern.

    Turd Graham,the ultimate job hopper saw the writing on the wall of a dysfunctional and cheap administration and texted in his resignation for ASU his dream job.

    Paul Chryst finished his training program set up by Lord Barry Alvarez, he resigned and yes went home to his dream job.

    The book is out on Narduzzi and who really knows what the future holds, maybe Purdue, MSU or stays at Pitt and continues to do it his way.

    Yes, Pitt might be a stepping stone based on the last few hires but prior to that the Pitt administration dictated terms through firing men who really never had head coaching success after Pitt as head coaches.

    Pitt a long, long time ago was considered an elite program but through bad management and pure arrogance pissed everything away and now we are an also ran looking to climb that ladder back.

    It is going to take a commitment from the chancellor (who seems to be committed) down to the alumni and fans to provide the resources to become successful.

    That means a lot of money and yes fan support by packing the stadium on a consistent basis.

    Even when Pitt was elite attendance was an issue and to top that off Pitt does not travel well to bowl games.

    Can Pitt scale the ladder back to an elite program again?

    Pitt has selling points, the city, the shared practice facility with a pro team a great opportunity for an education.

    At Pitt it’s going to take time to develop players because we are not going to get top recruits year in and year out and when your chewing through coaches every 3/4 years it puts you behind.

    As you mentioned in your podcast Pitt at this time doesn’t pay in the upper tier and if you want to compete you have to pay because it is a business and money is the driving factor behind it all.

    College football is big business and that’s why Pitt moved to the ACC for more money.

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  24. Someone complained that Whitehead missed a lot of tackles. He still had 5 solo and 10 total to lead the team. He isn’t the problem.

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  25. I am really not looking forward to hearing Narduzzi’s coulda woulda shoulda press conference. Every week it’s like we were so close if a couple plays had turned out differently – yada yada yada. I want to hear him stand up as the head coach and admit that this was an EMBARRASSING game and UNEXCUSABLE on so many levels and that a HUGE amount of that falls squarely on the coaches.

    I totally agree with you Reed, that they threw in the towel in the fourth quarter. There were just too many bone headed plays as well as giving up huge runs when we KNEW they were in running situations.

    I am also completely puzzled by the punt on 4th and 5 with 3 or so minutes remaining. I would love to hear any kind of sane explanation how that made sense? At that point, our ONLY hope of winning was to get the 1st down, score a touchdown, and then do an onsides kick with what would have been ~ 1:30 or more remaining. That was one of the worst coaching decisions I’ve EVER seen.

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  26. College football is a business. It is an arms race. You need to out spend your opponents. If Pitt is cheap, it will just be mediocre and that’s how Cornole and Nerdball wanted it. Just a middle of the pack team with some occasional relevance. Now the current Chancellor, wants a better front porch. He’s willing to spend some money but it won’t be at the elite level. Only boosters can help do that. And Pitt doesnt have the boosters that these other schools keep around. Donations have always been a big problem with Pitt. And Pitt cant rely on revenues based on ticket sales. We max out at 45-50k season tickets whether we play in a 50k or 100k stadium…in good times. So the solution is fundraising and donations. Which is the primary job of our AD. Boosters want influence. Fans will donate if they had a good experience. Tough for these students to have a good experience when they are bused to a stadium and very little traditions exist to boost school spirit and engage fans. But it is very remarkable that Pitt hasnt become Rutgers or BC by now. I think we are on the right path, but our road has many hills.

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  27. Well yesterday’s loss was an eye opener for me for sure. Team did not seem well prepared and they did not execute the way they have the first 8 games. Narduzzi needs to except responsibility and the blame for the way his players put forth a very poor effort. There is no denying that at all.

    Again and it seems like almost every game anymore that the team makes critical mistakes throughout the games. It’s wearing me down like the rest of you guys. Miami had some drops and bad penalties as ell so I know it worked both ways yesterday.

    imo, the pass defense got beat yesterday in a little bit different way then usual. It seemed to me that Miami was attacking more areas of the field than the past games, like the middle of the field. Many bemoan the fact that PITT plays press coverage yet yesterday at times the d-backs were off the line of scrimmage, resulting in passes thrown underneath. The pass defense breakdowns are not so cut and dried as a lot like to say. I did see some double coverage at times although not many times.

    Now my amateur beef with Pat. When Ollison didn’t play at the beginning of the season, I was quick to say trust in the coach. However moving on all season I realize that he and his coaches have a weird way of awarding playing time. Not sure what it is but I just don’t think the right players are being used at the right times. To me, and I’ve said this all along, Wirginis deserves much more playing time. He’s around the ball when he is out there. I saw flashes from Brightwell as well. Speed from both these guys ere evident to me. Mitchell didn’t have a great game but I thought he was around the ball and in more team tackles then Webb.

    Offense has one trend pointing down lately and it’s the negative plays on first downs. PITT did recover on a few but one way or another they do not get positive plays on first downs. On this note I thought Nate had a poor day and Canada had a worse one.

    Weah’s drop, Henderson fumble, Peterman interception hurt a team that can not afford to play sloppy.

    Miami’s kicking game should have gotten a game ball for their stellar performance yesterday. Actually the two kickers may have been the difference………ike

    STILL—–H2P

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  28. Reed: Why blame Conklin when Narduzzi is calling the shots on the defensive scheme? The blame firmly rests with Narduzzi, No matter who we get as defensive coordinator they will still be burdened with Narduzzi’s scheme.

    At this point in the season I will be surprised if we finish the regular season better than 6-6. Hopefully we can beat Duke. Syracuse can pass the ball. Clemson is going to kill us.

    James Conner should seriously consider coming back next year. He needs another year of recovery from his ordeals before thinking of trying to go pro. Hopefully he also realizes that he needs his diploma also because his NFL chances are not a great as they were after the 2014 season.

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  29. Reed, I wish you had someone to make transcripts of your podcasts. I am just too impatient to listen to them.

    Who said Miami’s O- line was hurting. They sure looked healthy yesterday.

    One other thing that is very bothersome. With a mature O-line and 4 really good running backs, we don’t seem to have much of a running game. Our opposition has figured out how to stop the sweeps. Conner has 759 yds and the other three haven’t amounted to much.

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  30. @Reed ……..C’mon What are you talking about?????? ……. Coaching Clinics and what not? should help you learn to be a Head Coach whaaa???

    …….YOU WERE 1,000-TIMES EASIER ON PAUL CHRYST AND HIS 6-6 SEASONS AND IT’S GETTING RIDICULOUS AT HIS POINT.

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  31. John the Listener – interesting point on Conklin. So, if any D coordinator will have to play Narduzzi’s defense no matter what, then the only thing that matters is if he’s a recruiting machine and road warrior. Pay for that when we dump Conklin because I think you’re right about Narduzzi dictating.

    John Ramella – you are correct on fundraising, boosters and fans. Pitt gets the football team it deserves and the factors you mentioned feed off themselves and spiral. Not enough big boosters, no OCS, mediocre team leading to shitty ticket sales and cheap tickets with very little required donation. I should be paying more for my club seats and my required donation should be larger – if we had a real program. Pitt has a very large endowment on a relative basis, but that money isn’t for athletics. We need boosters who want to help repair and paint the “front porch” – that is the AD’s primary job.

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  32. SO MANY EXAMPLES OF HORRIBLE RECRUITING —- #ZEROPERSPECTIVE —- Avonte Maddox DROPS ANOTHER PICK-6 (Brad Kaaya throws the ball RIGHT TO HIM —- no Miami offensive players anywhere close) — so Chryst’s BEST DEFENSIVE BACK shows he’s bad too.

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  34. So last year our four running backs combined for 1775 yds. This year our four running backs have combined for 1200 yds.

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  35. DK – not sure who said Maddox could be counted as a ACC level player. Absolutely not. Low level D1player at best. Plays hard and with good heart but just not talented enough.

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  36. ^^^^ “If we go 6-6 the Bowl Committee might just overlook us”……BRO, I might have to start: “The Pitt Factor” or Something lol

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  37. Pitt Played FOUR QUARTERBACKS WHO WILL GO IN THE FIRST ROUND AND IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DO NOT EVEN REMOTELY COMPREHEND FOOTBALL DANG :

    —– Sometimes it’s like I’m listening to some Housewife complaining

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  38. So last year our backs averaged 136.5 yds per game with Ollison leading the way.

    This year 133.3 with Conner leading the way.

    Yes schedule has been tougher, and I am not saying Ollison is better than Conner.

    But there does seem to be a problem, shouldn’t we be better than last year, with our line intact.

    I like Canada, but sometimes I think he is so enamored with the misdirection that he has forgotten about power football.

    I still don’t understand his use/misuse of Ollison.

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  39. Darren Hall also CLEARLY LOST 10+ POUNDS —- and he looks Slim and like a TOTALLY DIFFERENT PLAYER — he looks like he’s gone from Overweight to a Svelte 200 or so — he was EXPLOSIVE and I LIKED IT lol.

    —– DAN 72 ??????? Pitt Football SUCKS, Pitt should drop from D-1 to D-2, Pitt WILL NEVER BE GOOD….NO WONDER!!!

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  40. AND GOOD IF EVERYONE GIVES MAD-SH*T TO THE D-BACKS!!!!

    James Conner should go in the D-Backs meeting and TEAR THEM UP!!!!

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  41. PITT and Narduzzi didn’t put the best PITT has out on the field yesterday. DK. I’ve been a Narduzzi apologizer up until now. PITT sucked yesterday and all involved are responsible for it. Top of the list? Pat Narduzzi.

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  42. STOP WITH NARDUZZI TO PURDUE….STOP…STOP —–

    ….LOL it’s Pat Narduzzi to MICHIGAN STATE lol get it right, YEESH!!! 🙂 🙂 haha

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  43. —— GUYS —- Pitt is now ranked as an Elite Northeast Academic Institution* 🙂 🙂 🙂 — And Pitt in the ACC is PRIMED to become a TOP FOOTBALL PROGRAM as well — I’ve said since from the very beginning: IN CHANCELLOR PATRICK GALLAGHER I 100% – TRUST 🙂 🙂 . He loves football **too* and I KNOW he is going to **make sure Pitt ascends into the ELITE . 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  44. AND ANY REAL FOOTBALL FANATICS KNOW —– hahaha Drew Brees is gonna hire the next both Purdue Foozball Coach — that ‘Austin (TX) Boi’ is not only a MONSTER Purdue Booster but he loves Purdue Football as well.

    Regardless — Patrick Gallagher is as INVESTED IN PITT FOOTBALL WINNING NATTY’S as an Poster Here: I PROMISE THAT.

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  45. I prefer Ollison over JC.
    And if Hall can show what he did yesterday, then he deserves carries also.
    As for receivers, I want to ssee Ffrench. He can’t drop as many as Jester.
    Time to play the youngsters

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  46. According to some here, Hall is a bum and only played because he was a Narduzzi guy. We just don’t know what goes on in practice. Which is another problem all together for too many.

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  47. There is something clearly wrong w/ Narduzzi and that is evident from his press conference yesterday. Maybe he has come to realize the futility of coaching Pitt w/ a budget that only allows for plucking DC’s from FBS schools. For that matter… plucking LB coaches from FBS schools… plucking DB coaches w/ one year experience. These guys are incompetent!!!

    Narduzzi spent the $ he had on the offensive side of the ball assuming he could coach the defense and hire a bunch on the cheap. It ain’t working out. Fundamentals are not there due to lack of coaching.

    Reed – you’re coming across week after week as if the only solution is to fire Narduzzi NOW because he’s an idiot. Is that what you really want? Otherwise… I don’t understand your point.

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  48. How ineffective was the O-line yesterday?

    James Conner ran 12 times for 47 yds.

    One for a 12 yd yard TD, untouched because of a great block by Henderson.

    Another for 15 yds.

    So for his other 10 carries, he averaged 2 yds per carry.

    Anyway you look at it, very bad.

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  49. Actually it was worse than that because Conner’s net yds rushing were 40. So less than 2 yds per carry after 12 and 15 yd runs.The team ran for a net of 130. By far our worse performance of the year.

    Obviously when you get behind, you have to pass more, but still very bad.

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  50. Not really much left to say, with at least 5 losses after next week, Pitt will get nothing more than another no-name 4th rate Bowl Game and how exactly do you recruit to the Weedeater BBVA Military Wargamer Bowl held in Podunkville. That is, if we even get to 6 wins, and that is seriously in doubt as Duke played VT as tough as we did yesterday, but actually had the ball down 3 late in the game and Cuse will beat us if Eric Dungy plays(and they just do every so often). You can put a fork in this year’s football season.

    Thankfully Basketball season is about to start. None too soon either !!

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  51. Emel – just got off the golf course and thought I’d share this tidbit about our 1st regular season BB opponent, Eastern Michigan – they have (3) guys at 6’9″ and (1) each at 6’10” and 6’11”.

    Oh and they are the preseason favorites to win their MAC division. I doubt that Jamie approved them as an opponent.

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  53. I’ve said before, this is my first experience with blogging. I guess I’m a virgin again for the first time in 45 years.

    Funny, at times it does feel like school again and I’m the odd man out but it’s OK, I hated cliques way back then as well.

    This space also reminds me more of a therapy group more then a give and take PITT football site. A support group for the wounded PITT fans of years gone bad.

    That’s a tough angle for me to accept. I get that we have the diehard believers and the diehard unbelievers. The latter thanks to “the steve” and his narcissistic football killing idealism.

    Now it’s Narduzzi’s turn to have his feet held to the fire. Yes, he’s been a real piece of work in progress and he does remind me of DW in many ways. Very slow learning of the fine nuisances of being in charge and running an entire college football program. Some want to constantly complain about just about everything he does but then always quick to say, let’s keep him around. Seems like hooey to me. If you don’t like the man then just say it!

    Here’s my take on the whole picture. What happened in 1976 and 1996 have nothing to do with this current PITT football team. What happened with the most recent AD and chancellor does. Nordy didn’t give two craps about the football program and for anyone who doesn’t think so? Prove it, and while I think Nordy was plain hands off, I think steve held a deep resenting attitude towards the football program. Mr basketball and mr Nebraska, oops, they threw his ass out and slammed the door shut and told him to never return. The anti prodigal son.

    More then ever, PITT needs continuity. I say and I quote myself again. Variety is the spice of life but it’s continuity that is the glue that holds life together. Stick with it men and don’t cry so hard when progress is being made. I know many are just used to crying but your whine needs some cheese. You all have waited this long. Put on your big boy pants and like I say, lead by example and give the PITT football program time to recover from the throws of “the steve” and his intentional attempt to ruin PITT football. It’s coming, keep the faith.

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  54. Coincidence or a tale of two teams.

    Pitt plays on the road after 10 days off against a team with 4 straight losses (Miami). Steelers play on the road after 14 days off against a team with 4 straight losses (Baltimore). Both losses are blowouts.

    Does anybody think lax preparation, no incentive, could care less, etc.

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  55. Erie – I assume the TCU faithful will gladly accept Slogball, if 20 wins come with it! And 10 straight Tourney appearances!

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  56. Frank MD – no, not me. Pitt flat out was beat by a more talented team and our coaches were out coached.

    I believe better talent is being developed and recruited. As for coaching, you learn through trials and mistakes.

    Yesterday was both for this staff – the mistakes cannot be made again though or there will be louder calls of SOP.

    No, not me, right now…

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  57. Savannah – TCU is basking in BB heaven right now and Jamie will get to control the non-conference schedule. So, yes 20 wins will be within reach every year as will the field of 64.

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  58. All is not lost. The coach has a record of 13-9 (hey!) in his first 1.7 years. Sadly, that’s progress around here. Still hopeful that Pitt can get to 8-5 again. 16 wins over two seasons. It’s a start.

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  59. Yes – continuity and stability is what matters right now but also competence and commitment. I’m not too sure that Pitt has competent coaches and I’m not really sure that our Chancellor is truly committed to the football program or even sports. Our overall budget for athletic coaching salaries, recruiting and facilities is near the middle and bottom half of the ACC. Pitt needs to find money to pay coaches and players 🙂 to ever sniff elite status or even relevance. You find money by nurturing boosters, giving fans a reason to donate and creating a culture of future donors from the student body.

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  61. I just wish our defensive genius HC would re-examine his defense’s effectiveness in the ACC . PN that is what “geniuses” do. Work on adjusting during the off season. I need therapy.
    Speaking of BB is anyone beside me seriously concerned that Stallings is going to start Artis at PG as he has said over and over in the local media. At yesterdays scrimage va UPJ our new point guard had no assists.

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  62. Green Bay Packers down 18 with less than 9 minutes to go in the 4th qtr. No give up at all.

    The biggest difference I see see besides a team that gave up (in Pitt) and the Packers, is their D made a stop and Pitt’s D could not.

    If I’m coach Duzz, I’m showing the Pitt FB team the film of the Packer’s vs Colts 4th qtr.

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  63. rkb, I think Stallings is starting Artis at PG to keep his intrest up early in the season, by Jan he better have another option or its going to be a longggg season.

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  64. Opinion from Mike Vuk at PSN –

    “So, Pitt fans will have the choice of complaining and criticizing the program (which doesn’t look good to prospective recruits) or they can be fans and believe in what Narduzzi is attempting to build.”

    I tend to agree with this opinion – we all have the freedom to do one or the other (in some cases both). I choose to play more golf and believe in what Narduzzi is attempting to build.

    HTP!

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  65. @Erie EMU is exactly the kind of game that JD would have scheduled. I wouldn’t doubt that JD scheduled the game. He liked to schedule teams from lower tier conferences that were anticipated to be competitive in the conference. I am not endorsing that, just noting it. I add that JD is in good company in the approach for pre-conference games. Just pay attention to the power 5 over the next two months.

    Regardless of the mishaps yesterday Pitt still lost by 23 points and surrendered a career game to another quarterback.

    Still trying to determine who the great defensive players were that House coached other than Aaron Donald. Donald’s last season was 2013.

    House’s last year (2014) had Todd Thomas, Ray Vinopal, Anthony Gonzalez, Nick Grigsby, Darryl Render, Shakir Soto, Matt Galambos, Reggie Mitchell, Lafayette Pitts, Avonte Maddox, Terrish Webb, Khaynin Mosley-Smith, Rori Blair, David Durham, Bam Bradley, Ryan Lewis and Pat Amara. 8 of those guys are starters or receive major minutes in 2016. Fans frequently wanted Vinopal and Pitts to be benched. Amara transferred out. Grigsby, Moseley-Smith and Render started last year for Narduzzi.

    I suppose an argument could be made that all 8 of the returning guys peaked under House.

    Taleni, Wirginis Brightwell, and Dane Jackson look like good defensive players and were recruited by Chryst. Why they don’t play more is on Conklin and Narduzzi.

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  67. I got one better…

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  68. Stop the Purdue gibberish! He is not going to Purdue. Purdue is not an attractive solution, so stop. Look, according to the theories on here that Narduzzi is so sucky, than why would Purdue pay him $4M? Poorly argued point. He doesn’t have a coaching pedigree. The big10 is not the final resting spot. His best chances at a national championship run are at Pitt in the coastal. He would still have to recruit in an area that isn’t conducive to great high school talent. C’mon now. Check the ego’s at the door.

    Mark Stoops, that some clamored for a few years back has gone 2-10, 5-7, 5-7 and is 5-4 this year with Tenn and Louisville left on the slate. That is during a time when Tenn, LSU and Georgia has been down. Kentucky didn’t can him a year and a half into his campaign. The talk of getting rid of him is ludicrous and only is brought up by sportswriters that want to be controversial. The shock jocks of print. I want him to win so that you all can see that PATIENCE is the critical piece to turning around a program. Ask Cleveland! Mike Tomlin is 41-31 over the last 5 years. Fire him? I think so based on 4.5 years of mediocrity. But Narduzzi at a year and a half. You all be nuts!

    The Pitt fan base is its worst enemy and everyone knows it but…….the Pitt fanbase. Negative nellies. Not even realists. I wouldn’t step on the field with most whiners because we’d fight in the locker room if I ever heard this crap in the locker room. The enemy is not the opponent. The crotchety fan base is the problem. The schedule gets easier and we should win 8 games next year…..if that is your measuring stick. It’s not mine. I want solid football. It will come with patience.

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  69. This season will serve as a wake up call to the administration that they need to pour a lot more cash into this program to undo the decades of mediocrity.

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  70. My thoughts. FWIW

    I’ve seen enough of the U. I don’t ever want to play them again. They just have too much of a natural recruiting advantage, probably the best in the country, yes better than Alabama. The gifted athletes in SE Fla play football 365 days a year and can’t even spell basketball! And trust me, I like playing a tough schedule but not the U. No there is a dilemma!
    The consensus here of getting donations from the alumni rings a bell with me. I personally stopped when the university “deemphasized” (help me Emel with the year) by deciding they (Pitt) would hold the recruits to higher standards than the NCAA requirements just to make a point. That was stupid stupid management of an business and showed the past chancellor’s true intent. I will resume when the university makes it very clear they consider it (football) a business and get into it to win it. Just like in business don’t tell me about what you did in the past show me what you are doing today! I think the 10-2 expectation is reasonable for starters.
    The wheels came off yesterday, not only was it a bad day for a lot of our best players but, more importantly the injury bug put the final nail in the coffin of a team without a lot of depth at key defensive positions at the beginning of the season. Not making excuses but we probably would have another win or two if we had been lucky enough to have no injuries at key defensive positions early and often.
    Coaching continuity is important as many point out but HCPN needs to recognize any deficiencies in the coaching ranks and the AD needs to give him the resources to fill any vacancies appropriately. (see second paragraph above) The ACC got a whole lot better this year with the new coaches at Virginia, VT, and Miami. As mentioned above it is an arms race and we got worse by not upgrading defensive coaching. Mr AD and Mr HC what are you going to do about that? Show me the results!

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  72. Does Charles Reeves remind you of Eric Green or what? We will be happy to get him and keep him in the fold. Only concern is OSU at the last minute.

    Has anyone noticed that Denver DB’s just got called for pass interference like 4 times in a row in the 4th quarter? It’s an art and many struggle with coverage. Ohhh, they are playing their backups due to injury! So fire the coach….sheeeesh!

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  73. Barvo, like I said, look at the schedule Pitt played for the 1st 7 games of 2014. There was not one team considered to be offensive proficient … NOT ONE. Then we did run into really good offenses … and gave up 56, 51 and 40 points consecutively.

    But also consider last year vs this year … the players are pretty much the same, the coaches are the same — so what has changed? Obviously, it’s the schedule. Look at the caliber of offensive (especially passing) teams we have played this year compared to the last two.

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  74. Here are the top 6 QBs per CBS Sports … anyone look familiar?

    PLAYER  POS.    POS. RANK   SCHOOL  CLASS   HT. WT. PROJ. ROUND
Mitch Trubisky  QB  1   North Carolina  rJr 6-3 220 1
Deshaun Watson  QB  2   Clemson Jr  6-2 215 1
DeShone Kizer   QB  3   Notre Dame  rSo 6-4 230 1-2
Chad Kelly  QB  4   Ole Miss    Sr  6-2 224 2
Brad Kaaya  QB  5   Miami (Fla.)    Jr  6-4 210 2
Mason Rudolph   QB  6   Oklahoma State  Jr  6-4 235 2-3

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  75. Back to back Dokish tweets from last night further justifying the posts I made yesterday towards the beginning of the this blog:

    Chris Dokish ‏@ChrisDokish 11 hours ago
    Btw, Pitt started 7 players on offense against Miami with five or more P5 offers.

    Chris Dokish ‏@ChrisDokish 12 hours ago
    Pitt started 2 players on defense against Miami that had 5+ P5 offers- Price & Whitehead. Narduzzi brought 14 in on defense last year.

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  76. At the beginning of the season most on here predicted between 5 and 8 wins this year. We are at 5 wins and 7 seems realistic for the season. We are who we thought we were.

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  79. The only losses I blame on Narduzzi were OKST, and UNC, and not because of defense, because of the conservative 4th quarter offense.On defense we just don’t have the talent and we have had injuries.

    I have been critical of Narduzzi for not adjusting his scheme, which he tried to do a little on Saturday, he gave some help to the corners at times. But when Kaaya starts with 13 straight completions, you struggle to get back in the game, then you drop a TD pass, fumble, get intercepted, and drop an interception, lose your anchor in the middle, the wind is going to come out of your sails. I don’t think our guys gave up as much as they were beat up at that point.

    The bigger concern to me was that Miami shut down our running game. This cannot happen if Pitt has any chance to win. The guys that need to look in the mirror are the offensive line. Also Conner is supposed to be our star, but did not play like one.

    I do find it interesting how many are willing to turn on Narduzzi with one bad loss. I do think he is still our best hope for quality football at Pitt. I never thought it would be easy or a done deal. I still believe it is an uphill battle and recruiting is the key.Great coaches are great because they have great players.

    Money is always an issue and Pitt needs to change it’s culture to one that values athletics. That doesn’t happen overnight. You have to get the Nerds to buy in.

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  80. gc – you are confused. “Our guys are just not good enough to beat the blocks… Other than Price, Soto, Whitehead and Jarrett we don’t have another guy that would start on any ACC team”.

    So you concede that 3 out of our 4 DL our ACC caliber players yet they can’t beat the blocks??

    Pitt’s defensive coaching staff has NO experienced P5 conference coaches. NONE!!

    Pitt’s offensive coaching staff ALL have P5 experience.

    Pitt’s offensive stats are near the top of the ACC. Pitt’s defensive stats are near the bottom of the ACC.

    Hmmm….

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  81. Get ready for it, next year is going to be worse. A rookie QB going up against OKST and at PSU.

    A defensive line without Price, Soto and Jarrett, and a whole bunch of rookies at linebacker and D-back.

    It will be a rebuilding year. Hopefully some of the young backers will be the real deal. As has always been the case, my main concern is, where will the pass rush come from?

    The most important thing for Pitt football is that Narduzzi and Co. finish this recruiting season like they finished last and win most of the battles for the players they want and need. It has not been looking good.

    Maybe some of these guys will change their minds about Kelly and ND, but like Jeter they probably pick a bigger stage. Narduzzi needs to find the diamonds in the rough that will make a difference. We really need a couple of stud linebackers, if we want to turn this D around.

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  82. I don’t get your point John. You say I am confused, I am by your post.

    Who other than the four I mention can beat their opponents blocks?

    Four out of eleven guys is no good.

    Did you forget that Narduzzi was the top D Coordinator in the country?

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  84. You want to see a defense that stinks? Then have both Soto and Jarrett still out with injuries against Clemson next week, oh boy.

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  85. John R, you are correct … HCPN, just like HCPC, spent the majority of his coaching budget on offense.

    The differences are (1) PN expertise is on defense and more importantly (2) his hires were focused on recruiters, and thus far, assistants like Harley, Salem and Conklin have done prettyy well so far as evidenced by this past recruiting class. This past class has more quality defensive recruits than the entire Chryst regime combined.

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  86. Does anyone else remember the bitching and moaning about the recruiting for defense under Graham and Chryst? Fact of the matter was, as I hate to say it, House adapted with what he had and that was Grahams defense (1 year of re-recruiting Wanny whomever else was the coach at the time, and 1 Chryst pathetically tried to bring in). I love Narduzzi and his passion which is another topic. Good coaches adapt to the environment they are given. Perfect example would be Saban in Alabama. Saban wouldn’t touch the spread offense w/ a 10 foot pole 5 years ago. Now? He has let Kiffin go out and get kids who can not only run the offense, but has built his defensive roster with more depth at positions that will be able to play those offenses because at the end of the day….It’s not that he’s going to be right, it’s that he is going to win.

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  87. Huff – the point wasn’t that the school was Purdue – I believe that any HC will take a job that almost doubles his salary… Narduzzi included. The fact that it would be a Big Ten school is, in my mind, where Narduzzi really wants to be employed.

    Hell, he loves the Big Ten so much he refuses to believe he has to change his defense to play ACC teams.

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  88. Question for youins… remember the broken play in our backfield where JC went the wrong way and collided with QH and NP said something to him… did JC play very much after that point?? I can’t recall him being on the field that much after that misstep….

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  89. Heading to the Clemson game and have a free ticket if anyone wants it.. wife and I are going.. let me know .. Reed can hook you up with my email..
    Hoping for the best and keeping the chin up…hang in there guys… We beat Penn State… and 13-9 was saving Grace for that dismal season…
    Looking forward to Clemson… time to let some others get experience … can only help for 2017

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  91. Wbb.. perfect and predictable!
    So we need to stop feeling so bad and get to work… kinda like shanking one into the woods in golf.. gotta hit the next straight…
    It’s obviously going to take time and team effort to fully rehab this program… I love reading these posts but am fatiguing of the constant negative 👎 even when there has been a lot of positives and excitement this season.. Time to ” circle the wagons” men…

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