in Alumni, Defense, Discipline, Pat Narduzzi, Pitt Football, Pitt POV, Predictions, Statistics 1,538 Words

2017’s DEs; Upgrade, Downgrade or Draw

This is the fifth of a longer POV series looking at the individual positions which need to be re-filled in 2017 and whether we will meet the PRODUCTION we had in those positions. We will not factor in true freshman at this point.

DE 17.pngWe have been blessed as a team to have had Ejuan Price at the defensive end position on our defense these last six years… that’s not a typo as two of those years were injury redshirts seasons.  His constant and stalwart play masked some other problems we had on defense last season;  mainly pressure on the QB from his fellow defenders.

Wait! you may say we had a ton of sacks and we sure did with 43 which was good for 6th nationally.  But what is hidden there is that translates to only 8% of the times 592 times the opposing QBs dropped back to pass.  As we know those same QBs ripped us apart on the other 92% of those pass plays.

So – as we know and are reminded all the time, stats can be deceiving. Here we see 43 sacks and think that is fantastic and it pretty much is, but is was the lack of constant pressure from the other DE position and the LBs that fell by the wayside… and helped to account for those 331 yards passing per game against us.

But that is the heart and soul of a Narduzzi defense.  Stop the run and put strong pressure on the quarterback.

That worked out pretty well in 2015; 2016 was a completely different story however as the other team’s passer had more than enough time to throw those intermediate and deep route completions for a substantial 12.4 ypc rate and 28 TDs.  You may think 12.4 ypc given up isn’t so bad but let’s remember that it happened 350 times to our defense.

That is a recap of what happened.  Here are who helped it to come about from the DE position. First, as mentioned, we had Price who was just plain fantastic from that spot. 13 sacks for losses of 92 yards and 23 tackles for loss (TFL) for a total 123 yards…  ‘Nuff said. He was great for us.

On the other side we mostly had Rori Blair who as a JR played in 11 games and started eight. Blair had an average year at best and that’s given some benefit of doubt.  The bold fact was that we had no one else to put in there really, at least no one with any experience or starting talent.  Blair ended up with 3.5 sacks and 5.0 total TFLs for (-) 36 yards.  Here is his game log.

Blair seems to have never really bounced back from his off field problems two years ago and, at least in my opinion, never lived up to what looked like solid potential as a real DE producer that he showed in 2015. He’s returning as our most experienced DE this season and as a SR will be expected to be one of the vocal leaders on what will shake out to be a very young defense. 

If his play doesn’t improve rather drastically we will be in some real trouble because every DE on the roster after him is either inexperienced, not that great a ballplayer or a complete cipher.

Hell, let’s start with the Ghost DE first.ghwhowlk That would be highly anticipated rs JR Dewayne Hendrix who, after transferring from Tennessee two years ago has become a player who gets more publicity without having done anything that any Panther I can remember.

Hendrix played two games as a true FR down south then just wasn’t happy there so he bagged out and came to Pitt.  Good for us. He started last season;’s opener after getting good reviews in the off-season camps then an injury took away his playing time for the season.

He might be a good one but I get this feeling from reading Pitt fans comments about him that they are expecting star status right away.  It almost pains me to point out there is no basis for that… yet.  it may come about and he’ll certainly get a good chance to show his skills – one pundit has him doing just that.

ESPN has said this about our Phantom Pass Rusher:

Pitt’s Dewayne Hendrix finishes with double-digit sacks.

Ejuan Price (and his 13 sacks) are gone, and Pitt looks particularly thin up front. But Pat Narduzzi’s defenses tend not to sit back and relax. They attack the QB, so someone is going to pick up the slack.

That someone might as well be Hendrix, a talented defensive end who transferred in from Tennessee two years ago but has seen just one game of action since. An injury ended his 2016 campaign on the third series of the year, but he figures to be a starter from Day 1 again this season, and if he’s healthy, Hendrix could easily join the ranks of Bradley Chubb, Harold Landry, Clelin Ferrell and the other top pass-rushers in the ACC.

Huh – double-digit sacks from a guy who hasn’t played a full game in college yet and has one solo tackle under his belt.  While that isn’t impossible, Ejuan Price was a converted LB who blew up to stardom at DE so good things do happen, it still may be a reach.  But it is reachable and we’ll desperately need him to do that as the drop off into the two-deep talent is rather significant.

As shown by the 2016 Bowl game starting lineup in the graphic above one of the most probable second string DEs is rsSR Allen Edwards who has played sparingly since being a JUCO transfer.  I don’t expect much from him and he may drop from that spot given how well JR James Folston and rsFR Rashad Weaver do in camp this fall.

Neither of those two have played much at Pitt – Weaver none at all because he redshirted last season, but they have the makings of good ballplayers.  Folston is a ‘tweener in size and is a converted LB also.  At 6’3″ and 245 he’s one of the quicker defenders and that might com in handy.

Weaver is an interesting kid and if you believe his offer sheet was well pursued even as  ranked only a Rivals 2* (other sites have him at 3*s). He’s one of those Florida kids we keep saying we need to see more of and the fact that it came down to Pitt, Penn State and Michigan (more on this in a minute) shows some potential chops on his part.

12002669So… Michigan.  Weaver was the kid who UM’s Jim Harbaugh tossed aside after Weaver had been verbally committed for over seven months.  That generated some press and their poor actions may be a real godsend for Pitt starting as soon as this year.  Beside – I like his sense of style…

Watch – I’ll say all the nice things about Weaver’s potential at the DE position and OC Shawn Watson will steal him from DC josh Conklin to play TE this season – and that may happen as we are very hinky there also with the comfortable_position_for_the_traveller“TE Traveler” in Chris Clark.

I guess I’m more of a fan who looks at potential of the younger kids and wonders how well they can do early on in their careers at Pitt rather than crossing my fingers and hoping incoming transfers will do the same. 

But I fully understand the role of transfer players in college football today as it is the way of the world now.

We wouldn’t have gotten close to eight wins last season if it wasn’t for our transfer QB Peterman.   This season we are pegging our hopes on another transfer QB in Max Browne, so we’ll see this type of player movement somewhere in the Pitt two-deep from now on I believe. Every school does it; some work out and some don’t.

So I’m not holding my breath for Dewayne Hendrix to shoot into stardom right off the bat, if ever. But I do think if there is any position on the DL which needs that to happen in a big way it is at defensive end as we are weak there. 

I don’t see any other sterling talent at that position yet. Blair isn’t the Big Answer and the others players in that unit are all question marks going into (and coming out of) fall camp.  Hendrix is going to be the focus of attention in a big way this season – let’s hope he plays to the expectations, however high, our fans have for him.

DOWNGRADE

We should have begged James Conner to come back for another year and switch over to DE for us – he’d probably be an All-American had he stayed at that position out of HS.

As a treat for Friday – here is what college football should be all about.  We strive for that balance at Pitt and I truly believe we reach it way more often or not… and it starts with the head coach ensuring that happens.  (Note Inoke Brecterfield pretending to be Penny Semaia.)

(The Roundtable Call-in on Wednesday experienced technical difficulties – will do it again on the 21st.)

70 thoughts on “2017’s DEs; Upgrade, Downgrade or Draw”

  2. Downgrade is the appropriate rating IMO. Reed is correct to point out that at this point, the is no proven returnee. One player not listed above is Kaezon Pugh who is switching from OLB to DE … a la Ejuan Price. But of course, he is even less proven since he has no experience.

    This position is no different than most on the defensive side this year … Pitt has to rely strictly on the potential of what they recruited the past 2 years, since the previous staff didn’t leave the current staff with much.

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  3. Downgrade to start the season, but it may prove to be an upgrade (if guys stay healthy) by mid-season. I have bigger concerns at the defensive tackle/nose tackle positions as well as LB. I hope that Herndon and others step up. Perhaps that is the next position to be reviewed by Reed.

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  4. Upgrade:

    Basically the question becomes, can Dewayne Hendrix and Kaezon Pugh replace Ejuan Price.

    If Dewayne Hendrix (Pitt’s only upperclassman with great size at 6’3” , 260) can even just be a solid player, and be good for 6+ sacks this year, he could pretty much ease the loss of Price as Pitt’s #1 pass rushing D-End.

    Wild Card here is Kaezon Pugh** — he’s listed at 6’1” , 245. From his interviews he not only looks like a Beast, with muscles coming out of his muscles — but he also looks like he can very easily carry and ideal 250 and be svelte not lose any speed. He is by-far Pitt’s most explosive athlete on the D-Line. So I think Kaezon Pugh (of course, hopefully staying healthy!) this year may just totally suprise people and end up being the Big-story as a pass-rushing end.

    If Dewayne Hendrix can just be solid, with his size he can be a dependable, if ‘unspectacular’ D-End. Rori Blair will get snaps just being a Senior with experience, but we all know what he is. If Rori Blair can even get 5+ sacks it will be house-money. Allen Edwards is just a body to help give rest.

    But I”m HYPE to see Kaezon Pugh play D-End this year. Again he’s by-far the most explosive athlete down on the front four, and at 6 foot plus, 250 he actually has great size for a Speed pass rusher. He is way, way bigger and stronger already than Ejuan Price, and Pugh could be Pitt’s next Jabaal Sheard level game-changer — I feel strongly about his abilities!

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  5. I have to agree with Dark Knight upgrade with more depth and athleticism than last year with better positional coaching from Charles P!

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  6. Tough call because Hendrix has been unable to stay on the field for any length of time. Also the loss of Taleni may put additional pressure on the ends as the opposition may slide more of their defensive scheme against our DE’s not fearing any substantial pressure from our DT’s.

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  7. couple things, naturally:

    Not sure if PITT had Price for 6 years, I’m thinking he spent one year at Ohio State. but I could be wrong

    Rasheed Wheeler (projected at D-tackle) played tight end in high school and did catch a few passes. He’s up in weight now… So maybe Weaver could be a candidate? Although I think Weaver is more highly thought of than Wheeler. Confused yet?

    Everyone loves to pick on Blair, I guess he does deserve some criticism but for a player to have never taken a red-shirt someone must have liked him…. and he is the projected starter as well. About his numbers? He does sub in and out a lot so he doesn’t have the snap count that Price had either.

    Speaking of snap counts. Hendrix only played a few snaps last year to get that one solo tackle. Wow, project through an entire year. Yes Reed it’s a joke..

    Always the optimist I always like to think that the players coming back should be at the very least slightly improved. Some may make a giant leap forward, which I expect to happen for Rori Blair. Edwards is another player unrated on here. Depth will mush improved but you have to expect PITT to miss Price.

    Over-all I think the DE unit will be fairly equal to last years. Going out on the limb I call it a draw…

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    1. I think Blair may have been dinged up the latter half of last season. My seats are only about 10 rows behind the Pitt bench where the defense typically huddles and I remember Blair frequently coming off the field for attention (arm and leg issues) last year. Judging from the game log he may have even sat out against Miami, Clemson and Syracuse.

      Regardless I do agree that he has yet to fully show the promise of his freshman year. It would be a huge boost to the pass defense if Blair and Hendrix could return the pass rush to at least the days of Sheard and Lindsey.

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  8. Patrick Jones is a nice looking DE prospect that hasn’t been mentioned – 6’5″ 250 rFR. Enrolled early and picked Pitt over hometown Virginia Tech, Virginia, NC St, California, Illinois, Duke, Wake Forest, etc.

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  9. Local Geno Thorpe 6’3 SG transfer has picked Syracuse over Pitt .. to nobody’s surprise

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    1. Indeed.

      On the other hand Thorpe is a 6’3″ shooting guard that hasn’t shot it all that well (career 40%FG and 35%3P) He also apparently doesn’t take care of the ball all that well as his career A2TO is nearly 1:1.

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  10. Push. No way to tell at this point. I am confident that Pitt will find a way to replace Ejuan’s sacks though.

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    1. This E.Price reminds me of when T.Boyd left for the NFL. Everyone (but Reed) thought the cupboard was bare. In fact, Pitt was loaded at the WR position.

      I will take the optimistic approach and call it a draw. Hendrix, Pugh, Weaver, Blair, Edwards (squared), Gilbert Jr., Folston and P.Jones will surprise the fan base with 40+ sacks – a few more by the DB’s & LB’s, Pitt may lead the nation in sacks.

      HTP!

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  11. I pointed this out last year when everyone was saying how great our pass rush was because of the increased number of sacks. Specifically, the Clemson game, they tossed I think, 70 times? We should have more sacks in those scenarios versus a team that is ranked 5th that only faced on average 30 passes a game.

    This is where statistics can be a huge mis-leader. Would be great to understand the top 5 teams and how many sacks per attempt. That would be the better number, although not a perfect number. Another reason statistics are goofy.

    Did the defense face an offense that was west coast, three step drop, or more pro style 5-7 step drop? Did the defense play with leads that precipitated more pass attempts from an offense than usual. I think you can chase your tail for a long period of time trying to make sense of it or you can just play.

    The eye test works best for me. Sorry.

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  12. Reed

    I think you are short changing Edwards. He got some experience last year. Played more toward the end of the year. Made a huge stop against Clemson on 3 and 1. I think he ends up playing a ton this year and does quite well.

    The D is a year away, too much inexperience. I can see this being a long year.

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  13. Notrocket,
    Agree, agree, agree.
    I see Allen Edwards coming on strong.
    As for Rori, I think he takes off too many plays.
    And Hendrix is more of an unknown than Darkie’s medicine cabinet.

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  14. DOWNGRADE
    Would love to be wrong here but if you look at the hard facts instead of hoping beyond hope that it will be better – you can only conclude that at this point, without Price, we have no proof in the pudding.

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  15. OT!! BTW, not a big follower of the Pens but I do watch the playoffs and follow them closely. Last nights game was the best I have ever watched, period. They beat Smushville in every-way possible. Crosby kicking Suban’s butt was priceless and the same game Malkin landing punches to Josi. Oh and they won 6-0…. Great game..

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  16. DE is definite downgrade. Edwards plays hard and mean, Blair not. Hendrix has yet to show anything so IMO too much is expected of him. Dont worry about Weaver, I believe MacVettie will be a tight end someday.

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  17. Oregon State’s top pitcher, who was identified Thursday as a registered sex offender by The Oregonian, released a statement Friday saying he has asked to be excused from playing. AD Scott Barnes claims he should have stayed at Pitt.

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    1. Zack Attack is on every roster listing I have found. Even the Ourlad’s version that has in the freshman class list as well.

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  19. Flying over Louisiana Gulf with sun sitting is beautiful.

    I can’t believe Rockports didnt get hired at OSU. He is so f ing good right??? Remember when he had people on here saying he was a good hire. He makes Conklin look good.

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  20. I think we will see the gamut next season at DE – starting the season worse than last year and ending the season better.

    We simply will have better athletes who will improve with experience.

    Loved Juan Price and he will be missed, but he seemed to have either a real effective game or a tough game. And I thought he struggled a bit in chasing down wide plays…

    I’m putting some faith in potential and in Coach Partridge getting these guys to do things a bit more effectively as the season progresses.

    Go Pitt.

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  23. MajorMajors is the guy that I’m aligned with. We will see this 2016 recruiting class come into it’s own in 2017. There will be a lot of youngsters getting their “trial by fire”. That spells mistakes, mistakes & more mistakes. More game time will prove invaluable for this newbies and by season’s end we will be evaluating the future potential of an entire herd of new young bulls on our defense.

    Less we forget, Price was nothing more than an injury riddled 4 star disappointment until his Senior season. Hendrix is following in Price’s footsteps. He will be good. Another player that will have a breakout year for the Panthers this season will be Allen Edwards. This Florida product’s time is now. Reed has written him off apparently, but mark my words, he gets significant playing time this year and he will prove out as a real weapon in applying pressure on the QB.

    Pugh won’t stink either. He’s one year away from being a starter.

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  24. I am hoping that overall we will get more pressure from both sides. If we don’t it could be a very long season. No way to really tell though, since there is absolutely no one we can consider a sure thing.

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  25. On another note, the Federal Department of Transportation apparently will not fund several infrastructure projects including Pittsburgh’s electric rail from downtown to Oakland. The city has been planning this for 10 years. It cannot be built without Federal funds.

    Without this project an OCS or near OCS will become even more remote.

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  26. Well that’s too bad frank. With or without an on campus stadium a light rail from Oakland to downtown would be very special for the students and a real game changer in recruiting.

    About game stats. How can we accurately measure the effectiveness of any player when we don’t know how many snaps the player participated in? We broke down sacks per pass attempts pretty good but doesn’t it also depend on how many snaps the player was in the game on?

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  28. 1) DR Tom, Price’s junior season was every bit as good as his senior season, unless you count his 5th season as his 1st senior season (which actually makes sense)

    2) I have been saying for decades that a light rail from downtown to Monroeville won’t happen because it makes TOO MUCH SENSE, It would include 4 colleges, 5 hospitals and 3 major shopping centers and it would lessen traffic on the most traveled road in Western PA … so of course, it won’t happen
    It is my understanding that although Pres Trump did promise a trillion dollars towards infrastructure, he only allocated $200k towards it in his first budget … but I guess he has a few years to make up for it (I think)

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  29. Absolutely Anon, If there was a geographic region that need a rail system to the suberbs it’s Pittsburgh. This is exactly the reason that the area was thought as the perfect place to experiment with a high speed transit system.

    INSTEAD WE GET BIKE LANES!!!

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  30. Ike,
    Who wouldn’t want to ride their bike on Parkway East out to Monroeville?
    Stop being so negative!!! LOL

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  31. Price was at Pitt six full years – his start was much like Sibley’s in that he verballed to OSU then they said they didn’t want him at the last minute.

    Correct – these articles are written using only roster players. We’ll do another one after the freshman go through camp. So, one of those might pan out and may be good at DE but he isn’t at Pitt yet.

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  32. Given the rampant obesity problem in this country, I vote for bike lanes.
    And while I applaud a rail system, getting ones fanny off the couch and onto a bike makes loads of sense. So…
    The Saturday after a Thanksgiving is the Dirty Dozen Bike Ride in Pittsburgh. Twelve of Pittsburgh’s nastiest hills and about fifty miles all together. Friday is a Pitt game, so book another night and stay for the ride. Plenty of time left to train. And best of all, post-ride drinks are on me.

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  33. Gasman,
    Thanks for the heads up!
    I’ll start training now for the post – ride drinks!!!!
    Bottoms up

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  34. The last thing I am against is bike riding. I only suggest to not take up valuable space on the already congested road infrastructure in Pittsburgh for recreational sport. It’s also a dangerous idea for all involved.

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  35. Gasman what about 62yoa guys like me, students with disabilities etc.? Y’all in minority groups eg bikers want everyone to live your iife, how dumb we are not to live the way you do. . Pittsburgh traffic is so tied up its ridiculous. I am not eating kale,drinking Starbucks lattes, veggie smoothies, electric cars etc etc, 🙂 Please quit political preaching get back to living your own life like you want to and I will live mine like I want. Reed please delete that preaching stuff while deleting mine. Back to Pitt Football. sorry

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  36. Gasman – the dirty dozen sounds grueling.

    Ike – Light rail (generally slow speed rail) and paved bike path infrastructure can go hand in hand and use the same corridor. Out here it’s a viable way to commute to downtown (and is not just recreational) provided that you have shower facility at your work location etc. There are bike lanes (on slow speed roads but mostly we have separate bike lanes are around city.

    Pugh sounds like an athlete. Narduzzi might have some interesting situational packages with a kid like that.

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    1. isn’t there a bike/walking trail from downtown to Oakland? I know it’s a walking trail, assume you can bike on it.

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  38. rkb – Gasman tied his bike post into a Pitt game weekend. And, he noted that this was his opinion when he said ‘I vote’. His post seems reasonable.

    B-t-w, I’m not much younger than you and I bike to work. However, I don’t eat kale or go to Starbucks. Like most I’m a live and let live, so if biking isn’t your thing, no worries.

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  39. you cam bike from Pittsburgh almost all the way to DC …. I know a guy from Beaver Valley area who biked with a few of his buddies, took about 3-4 days (forgot) … also forgot how they got home. He’s about 60 years old BTW

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  40. I occasionally eat a tabouli/kale salad from Aladdin’s, a mid-eastern chain restaurant near me. I also get a kibbee plate … I think it’s pretty good

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  41. Heading out for vacation in the AM. Have a great week everyone. Maybe when I get back Pitt will have landed 4 star recruit and EVERYONE will be happy… H2P !

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  42. Hi Guys, Well I’m back from my father/son trip to Japan and Korea. I would like to personally thank the guy with the funny haircut for waiting one day before launching his missle into the Sea of Japan, where we actually were the night before!!
    I hope all of you have an opportunity to do something like this with your kids or significant other. I wasn’t expecting much, but Japan was amazing. Clean, no homeless or beggars!( do wonder where they put them?) Who would have thought Kit Kats and KFC would be so big over there??
    Anyhow, I am getting caught up with things on the POV and have come to the conclusion it is much like a soap opera. Miss a month or so and nothing has really changed. Same people bitching about the same stuff. Reed giving great topics and food for thought, but people insist on busting chops. I will say the light rail topic sparked my interest. We were in Seattle last fall, actually day Washington played Stanford. One hell of a lot of people took that system from .Seattle and other areas to that game. Several miles but no problem.
    Went to Kennywood yesterday. Kids and grandkids, fun. Did notice one thing. For the first time in recent memory, the Pitt gear outnumbered Nitter gear by a large margin. Even Mrs. JoeKnew commented. It was a nice feeling.
    Another thing, bikes actually were very,very rare in Japan, and Tokyo in particular. This surprised me. They walk or take subway as only a fool would try to drive there. 38 million people, no bikes, public transit. Imagine that! Good to be back!

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  43. Oh, and on the 4-5 star thing. The only hope a school like Pitt has on landing elite talent is if the kid is local. That is why it’s so important to keep up with the local schools and coaches. Recruit nationally for good talent, hope you land the local stars. Until you win 10 games regularly that’s the route you must go.

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  44. Just to clarify things… Price signed with Ohio State and asked out of his letter. I believe that was when they lost their D coordinator.

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  46. RKB, I am 55, so don’t whine to me about being 62.
    No reason anyone who is not impaired (Perhaps you can learn the difference between impairment and disability), cannot exercise and exert some effort to care for oneself. Take a look around: 65% of folks are overweight, and with that comes diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, heart failure, coronary artery disease, etc. But why deal with facts?
    As for the crack on bike lanes, they afford me the opportunity to ride without getting near traffic. While most drivers give me four feet ( the state law), others want to get close so as to teach me I do not belong on the road…as if I pay no taxes.
    As for preaching, you can smoke, eat like a glutton, drink, use heroin, whatever. Your choice. But don’t bust on bike lanes for people who are reducing exhaust, staying fit and thereby reducing insurance costs, keeping down gas prices (supply and demand), and are otherwise minding our own business.
    Shall I mark you down for the Dirty Dozen, or is your advanced age a rationalization for not doing it?
    Drinks on me afterwards, and maybe a Primanti sammich.

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  47. Wow Gasman. I already told you I’m training for the free drinks after the bike ride……and low and behold I can now also be in training to eat free Primanti sandwiches – you da man big guy!!!
    Bottoms up (with a sammich on the side). :>)

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  48. Welcome back JoeK

    and Pittman4, aren’t we all in training for the after-race libations and Primanti samiches? You didn’t think anyone got that joke did you? ike

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  50. The strength at the DE position will come with the #’s. Partridge has the luxury to run guys onto the field like a hockey line – keeping them fresh and aggressive.

    The starters will probably be Hendrix and Blair. Then you have A.Edwards and Folston. All with game experience.

    The third line could be Pugh and Weaver and the forth could be Jones and D.Edwards.

    If Hendrix lives up to his hype and potential, Charlie will keep him on the field. If any of the others get hot and start pressuring the QB or making plays, their playing time increases.

    HCPN needs this position to have an impact for his D to rebound from last year’s showing. Setting & achieving a goal of 5 sacks per game will have a huge, positive impact on our secondary.

    What the sack totals could look like:

    Hendrix 13
    Blair 9
    All Other DE’s 10
    DT’s 6
    LBers 15
    DB’s 7

    HTP!

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  51. Everyone complained about bike lanes in DC and it actually improved traffic. I’m saying this as someone whose blood pressure rises and my grip on the wheel tightens when I see bikers riding in rush hour traffic. I’m getting angry just typing this … but it did improve traffic … but they shouldn’t be sharing the road with cars … but it did improve traffic … I want to honk a horn so badly right now.

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  52. It will all work out in the Ends. Ha my pun.The talk about transportation should have ended after the Oakland link discussion but since I did not start it.Bike to DC on a trail it’s great but quit taking up already congested street space with low density usage bike lanes and congesting traffic worse than Pgh. already is downtown. It galls me to sit in traffic and look at the loss of a lane 50% of the capacity and it is empty. Love cycling but get rid of those MT space bike lanes on streets put them off road. Back to important things like football. Have faith in the Duz. He should have the right players to make his D system work this year.

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  53. Here’s a thought or two. Obese people rarely ride bikes.

    I was wrong about Price being at OSU for one year

    Is Peduto considered obese?

    Sitting here reading the paper with coffee at the ready waiting for the Sunday morning podcast from beeeeauutifull downtown Columbia Maryland where it’s always sunny at 80 degree’s…. and btw it’s really nice in a little bit beautiful downtown Latrobe this morning… I’m ready Reed.. …ike

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  54. I am on a volunteer board that is helping to develop rails on trails. These are a great asset to our communities and lifestyle. Too old and fearful to enjoy biking in traffic, but endorse bike lanes when they make sense. Attended a planning meeting on biking and pedestrian connectivity. Heard a few younger people who are really passionate about biking as transportation on the roads with and without dedicated bike lanes. Made the argument that if we want younger people to stay or move to Pittsburgh, including the suburbs, bike lanes are important. I guess I understand the debate from both sides. Like TT, I get nervous when passing a bike in my car, although I don’t share the anger issues.

    The difficulty for Pittsburgh is that it is difficult and expensive to modernize an ancient and decaying infrastructure. Roads, Bridges, Sewers, Waterlines, Locks and damns need billions.

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  56. It is my experience that the traffic issues in Pgh is usually associated with bottlenecks and tunnels. Of course, that doesn’t explain Route 28 …. but bike lanes have nothing to do with any of these.

    I must admit that I don’t like bikes being ridden in high traffic areas … but, heck, I don’t like cars, trucks or buses being ridden in high traffic areas either

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  58. Not nervous. Just road rage. Lol. Pure exhilarating fury at the bycyclist. The bike lanes in DC really did work tho. Go figure.

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