I’m doing the Sunday podcast on Saturday evening as we are having house guests tomorrow morning for a football brunch while watching the Ravens play in London.
Here is that note I mentioned – if you didn’t get one in the mail then read this and, I hope, take it to heart. We have eight more games to play and who says we can’t turn things around? I am wary just as you guys are that we can do it but I am a Pitt fan first and as such support the kids out there – they do give it their all…
pittpov.com 
Pitt will be favored over Rice(maybe) with both NC and VA toss up games and the remainder we will be the underdogs. Right now playing the cast of characters we are playing I can’t see us winning more than 4 or 5 this year. And the 4 figure may be optimistic with the way our offense is playing at this point.
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This quote from HCPN says it all in my opinion – time to turnover the roster – sit Weah, Officer, JJS, Hodges, Flanagan and Browne –
“You should win the game when you have four turnovers,” Narduzzi said. “We got out there offensively and didn’t take the momentum with the sudden change and do anything with it. That’s probably the most disappointing thing. Some of these guys on offense aren’t playing their best football, and some of them are seniors. They’ve got to play better if you’re going to win ballgames.”
Let the youth play and gain experience – this team won’t win with this senior class.
Mathews looked impressive in the 4th qtr – can’t say the same yet this year about Weah. Flanagan has disappeared – play the FR TE’s. The Oline is a mess – get the younger talent experience and clean up this mess now.
HTP! – thanks for the letter Reed
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Reed – I think PSN may be reading you blog and comments section –
http://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2017/09/24/sunday-psn-daily-notebook-3/
Either that, or the changes are obvious to all but HC Duzz.
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Here are the seniors who start or play a lot: Jones-Smith, Officer, Winslow, Flannagan, Weah, Edwards, Browne and Maddox. Actually Winslow has played pretty well as has Flanagan.
Except for Bookser, O’Neal, Henderson, Ffrench and Oduwo …. virtually every other starter have little or no experience at all.
If it hasn’t happened already, our defense be considered the better unit …. which of course is ‘damning with faint praise.And I continue to insist that by mid October, they will be pretty sound.
Nonetheless … I believe it’s time for a wholesale youth movement and play for the future
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Whitehead should be added to paragraph 2 above
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Reed.. thanks for the T shirt and all you do.
We aren’t a good football team- that aside, had a great time in Atlanta. Met Pittman4ever, Atlanta and Savannah Panthers (latter 2 are DrToms friends). Met another couple, courtesy of the good dentist, who will be going to the Duke game with us. We are gluttons for punishment.
Never thought the O would regress this far. No QB, don’t attack the D.. heck, I don’t recall one deep pass, OL that doesn’t run or pass block very well and play calling….. Chryst and Chaney seem to be doing fine now, therefore, it comes down to bad manage or are we curesed… Dark one, peer into your 🔮 crystal ball- we need answers.
In the meantime I have tickets for 3 more games and a chance to get outta town, good food, drink, meet new folks. I will always make the best of it.
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The good – O’Neill and QH aren’t leaving for the NFL yet. A. Mathew’s hands and JW’s return to the offensive backfield (was Watson in the bathroom when Jordan had his two rushing touches?)
The bad – The Oline and Watson’s play calling. The O going 1-13 on 3rd down conversions. The O not scoring after 4 GT turnovers – gifts that were not appreciated by our OC (again, more bathroom breaks?)
The ugly – what the Pitt fan support will look lyke the remainder of this season. SOP and Tino references showing up in the same “thread” after a few years of absence. Someone referenced Rice as a toss-up game (if true, I may toss-up some unsightly mess).
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Another “ugly” – being shut out offensively in the 2nd half after “halftime adjustments” were made.
Again, was Watson sitting on the pot for the entire halftime break? Tim Salem is a former OC – let’s make the change or switch positions (Salem interim OC and Watson interim TE coach). It’s not the end all solution to this non-functioning O, but any change is better than the product Watson is producing.
The Carrick 5th graders could call a better game IMO.
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Winslow gets drafted- beautiful kicks. Kessman is doing better- strong leg
Saw one PITT player come out of the locker room on crutches in street clothes.. didn’t know who he was.. at one point during the game Whitehead was went to the locker room…
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Note to HCPN – you have to have at least two playmakers on the field at the same time –
It would be nice if one of the two was your QB – since Pitt does not have a playmaking QB that you will insert into the game, I’ll list the offensive playmakers for your future reference – no thank you is necessary.
Jordan Whitehead #9
QH – played some RB in HS (make him an APB) run him on something other than the jet sweep.
AJ Davis – remember playing him in game 1 vs ysu? He made plays, even scored a TD.
Aaron Mathews – he has size, hands and heart – should have started already.
Ffrench – see QH above.
At least two of these players should be on the field when Pitt has the ball – it brings stress to the opposing D as to which of those players will get the ball – they are great decoys and good playmakers when the ball is in their hands.
Having one or none means Pitt won’t move the ball, nor score. Watch the film of the last four games.
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If it’s any consolation ….
— The Browns are 0-2, starting a rookie QB who had 4 INTs last week … and are favored AT Indy
— The Bengals are seeking its 1st win … and 1st TD today
— And the 3 teams listed above are probably not the worst team in NFL …. not as long as the J-E-T-S are still around
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No consolation at all, but thanks trying …
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OK State got beat yesterday by two TD’s and the Fraudster was victorious over a ranked opponent last night.
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Pitt will not win enough to go bowling so how will that impact recruiting?
How will 40k yellow seats for each remaining home game impact recruiting?
How will this season impact donations and season ticket sales?
How badly will the Pitt brand be damaged after a season like this?
Can Pitt turn everything around next season?
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And Wake Forest, Duke and Virginia Tech are 4-0.
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Erie Pitt really should have lost the YSU game. Going into over time and the way our defense played them in the 2nd half I saw little to no chance of Pitt winning that game. A great Weah catch and a real dumb decision by the YSU QB kept Pitt from being 0 and 4 at this point. If the offense has a repeat performance this coming week against Rice we not even win that game.
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Pitt needs to follow the VTech non-conference scheduling model.
Pitt won’t, but I’d rather be 3-1 in those games than 2-2, or GULP, if Pitt can’t be Rice and is 1-3.
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Dave Hart, Carl DePasqua, Paul Hackett, JM2, and now Pat Narduzzi. Following Pitt football has never been harder. I am stunned that people still express confidence that something will change or improve under this guy. Please, tell me where you see improvement? Recruiting? Coaching? Innovation? Identity? Yup, that’s it, identity. We are identified as a laughing stock. Used to piss me off that announcers made fun of us, now I realize they are right.
WBB, you are smoking crack if you think this d will crack the top100 at anytime this year. I thought that PSU and OK. St. were very,very good teams and we just got handled. After this week I realize we made them look good.
To those who think we will beat the Cuse, lol, we are going to get schooled. This year will set the program back to the black days of the early 70’s. You want to take a look, OK
1) The d line, which PN ID as a major strength, well, they are small, not very quick, apply no pressure, and lack that man mountain of a run stopper. Other than that they are studs.
2) The lbackers, they are small, fast, and out of position most of the time. They try to fill holes, but are too light to do any good.
3) secondary. I truthfully don’t know what to say. Guess you can look no further than Hamlin getting screwed into the ground yesterday to realize the level of talent there.
4) To those who believe in better things in the future, what are you going to believe, what the coaches tell you or your lying eyes?
5) Offensive line, yup, it is.
6) Tight ends, do we still use these cause we should put out a missing persons report.
7) wide outs. Are they really that slow that they can’t get separation against any of the teams we’ve played?? And the Jester is back to the fumbled finger guy we thought he was.
8) running backs, ya, that’s a productive group.
9) QB, lmao, DiNucci, lmao again. Nice kid, good family, terrible QB. He only looks good by comparison.
10 Coaching, this could go on forever. Nothing will change because there is nothing wrong. I have given up thinking PN will ever change his philosophy, and that d might work well in the Big 10, but in a speed conf with good qb’s, not so much. Here’s a scarier thought, he doesn’t know how to fix it.
I am not just thinking this way because of our recent embarrassments. Before the season I said 4-8 but would be optimistic and say 5-7. Foolish. On the way to the stadium before the YSU game I expressed concern. Said I couldn’t believe people were saying 8-9 wins. Saying there wasn’t a game they couldn’t win. I looked at the graduations, the dismissals, the woeful lack of talent, and the really poor coaching and told someone: there isnt a sure win on the schedule.
The confusion lining up against .YSU and kids out of position were an indicator. These should have been easy to clean up, not so much. It’s starting to snowball. Which team can we stop?? And which team can we score on??
To those who hold out hope on d, these linemen aren’t going to put on 20lbs of muscle during the season. The sceame won’t change. Can’t stop the run and can’t stop the pass is no way to go thru life.
We are stuck, a aggressive AD would sit Pat down for a serious chat. That won’t be happening. And while I’m on the subject of ADs. What in Gods green earth leads any one to believe Tressel would ever be interested in coming here?? Why would any bigtime coach come here, even if we paid big money? Best we will ever do is an up and coming MAC coach, and After the lastest mess I doubt that will happen.
Best thing this weekend, Upitt had better things to do than watch this mess.
I will hit the golf course, do yard work, pay more attention to my wife. We will be at the Rice game, with 19k of my closest friends. Not getting too political,but, SAD.
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JoeKnew, are you aware that going into their game yesterday, Vanderbilt had a higher rated defense than Alabama. Again, it’s mostly about who you play
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It’s official. I’m married. It’s also official we suck.
By the way, to those that thought we would compete for a Coastal. Every team is better in ACC except us. UVA and Syracuse and Duke will kick our ass.
Narduzzi sucks.
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Watson really has shut the bed. DC no better. The talent is there. They are young so there will be growth. Need to go with developing for next year. Need to shake up coaches. New philosophies are more important than players. Need to do make big ketchup bottle a 40k home. Or better, build new facility Schenley Park
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Only hope I see for the future is for Upitt and his bride to create the Pitt QB of the future. Waiting 18 more years may be undoable.
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Haha. Best we can hope for is 6 ft. Haha.
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It was a great night at the UPitt wedding ceremony. A good time had by all. Helped drown the sorrows of another pathetic Pitt performance. Somebody please hand Narduzzi the tape of the TCU/Ok. St. game. That is the way you play defense against the Cowboys. Well done Horned Frogs….As for the Panthers, it is back to the drawing board for what looks to possibly be the lone winnable game on the schedule. The Coastal is only going to get better with Fuentes, Richt, and Mendenhall. Arrow pointing up for those programs.
Narduzzi’s defense gave up 436 yards rushing yesterday! I guess he can’t quote the run stats anymore to deflect the heat off the passing defense. Can’t wait to see what kind of game plan he has for Syracuse. Talk about a MUST WIN game….I think this defense will be really stout in 3 years when he gets “his guys” in there. Unfortunately, I think “his guys” would rather commit to Columbus, VaTech, or Penn St.
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Been traveling and could not see the OKS and GT games. Will be at Rice game to see a win. My opinions muted because I did not see those 2 games but every one here seems to think we are in the toilet. I am always positive for Pitt. Now we find out how good our coaches really are and if our kids are players. H2P
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Many of us wanted the Paul Chryst replacement to be an experienced HC and not a coordinator, wannabe HC.
Duzz brought fire and 8 wins his 1st year after mediocre 6 wins for four years. The fans were behind the new HC.
Now Duzz has HC-ing experience and his most recent body of work in bad. Now is the time for him to make changes to positively impact the program going forward and to keep his job, IMO. An important part of that change is to clearly communicate it to the fans. We need to know there could be a positive future and help him by rallying around the change.
If not, the we just have SOP!
I vote change…
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Narduzzi won with Chryst’s recruits. He is a bad recruiter and terrible scheme coach.
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So play off my “change” needs to happen now scenarios –
Hire a coordinator who is a proven recruiter or who has coached a successful scheme. The optimum would be both.
The real change needed is for Duzz to accept his Scheme does not work today, and move on to something else.
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u mean the same Chryst who in his 3rd year …..
— lost to Georgia Tech 63-28 giving up 612 yards
— in the 5th game of the year, lost at home to Akron 21-10 …. getting shut out, just like yesterday, in the and half
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Yes. He is the one who didnt have a program handed to him with top talent. Narduzzi is no where bear potato as a recruiter or coach. If chryat stayed he wins 12 games last year. Not 8 with the best offense in history. Defensive moron is he.
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HS, you’re still on the GT game! You’ve cited it enough times that you could at least have the correct score. The score of the GT game was 56-28. Pitt fumbled on their first 5 possessions and tallied 6 for the game. The guilty parties included future NFL players Conner and Boyd. Conner fumbled prior to going into the end zone for a certain score. 4 of the fumbles were on Pitt’s end of the field.
In fairness (who’d want that?) it might also be good to point out that Pitt had 526 yards of offense in the game.
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PSUcks won.
Fraud won.
Dome won.
And we were turrible.
Anyone still worried about HCPN leaving for Michigan State?
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this was the winning TD yesterday for Florida when Kentucky only had 10 players on the field ….. the 2nd of their TDs when a WR was left totally unguarded
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I only skimmed the comments, because after a terrible performance (especially on offense) emotions always get in the way of logic- i.e,, panties get “in a bunch”.
First and foremost though, apparently Upitt got married, this is great. Upitt I wish you and your wife the best, hopefully this will be really good for you too. Til death do you part…
I honestly don’t care that much what others think about the program status (and no Narduzzi didn’t win 8 games his first 2 years because of Chryst’s awesome recruiting, c’mon Upitt, that’s nuts, I know you’re smarter than that), but I do have my own opinions on certain aspects of the team right now, and am more than happy to adjust them based on what happens the rest of the year.
Offense: First and foremost, we seem to be a team that went from being really scared about our defense and fairly confident about our offense, to a team that all of a sudden might be more concerned about our offense. Wow, that was fast, and for good reason. Five turnovers yesterday, most around midfield, and no points?
I don’t think its an overreaction to alarmed by this, especially when taking into account the prior 3 games. We are now building some history with coach Watson, and it isn’t good. One comment that stuck out yesterday was when an announcer wondered why, with Georgia Tech’s type of pressure, Pitt didn’t throw the ball over the middle of the field more. Good point, but why didn’t Watson pick up on that and design something for it? I know we have a QB issue, and that’s part of it, but this concerns me.
And what happened to the OL? We have some decent players with experience there, and they did a poor job yesterday for the most part. In fact, from last year to this year, I think this is an area (besides QB) where we dropped off the most, and every offense starts with the OL. Right now, personally, I’m more concerned about our OC than our OL, but its a tough call, I’m hoping for clarity as the season progresses.
Defense: Still early, but we all knew this would be a concern this year, and I think it’s primarily because you don’t play D1 defense with your front 7 being freshman and sophomores, any good program is largely playing Juniors and Seniors there, especially on the DL. That said, I think when the season is said and done, I suspect the defense actually will have taken a small step forward this year, and may finally be in a position to be solid next year- but this presumes we have the right DC and in place, and we all have our questions here as well.
Look at how quickly Ga. Tech’s D improved with Roof, makes me think if we had the right DC in place, we’d improve too, eh?
Narduzzi: Way too early to tell for me on whether he’s the right guy or not, but the headline that the honeymoon is over is spot on, and he has a lot to prove. For those who blur the line between criticizing him and rooting against him, do yourself and everyone else a favor and keep it to yourself, or better yet turn to the Home & Gardening channel instead, nobody likes to ‘hear’ someone constantly whining & bitching.
H2P
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Reed, thanks for the inspirational pep talk. BTW did you send yourself one of those nice little cards in the mail? If so you may want to read it.
The game yesterday was just as frustrating of a game as the OSU game but in a different way. Couldn’t stop the run up the middle and PITT could not run the ball at all. << There’s something terribly wrong there.
The cherry on top was the 3rd down play calling or else the DiNucci could see down the field but the constant throwing behind the sticks was inexcusable.
More than GT getting all those rushing yards the frustrating part to me was the offense in general. PITT should be able to move the ball much better than they did. If PITT could have held onto the ball a little longer the defense was hanging in there just enough but PITT couldn’t just keep on handing the ball back to GT.
The one thing I have to disagree on when it comes to Narduzzi. He hired Matt Canada, I believe they were familiar with each other so when we shake our heads with the hires Narduzzi makes, think about that hire. Can’t have it both ways. Also no one seems to be upset at the Charlie Partridge hire. jus saying… ..ike
H2P!
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when each team you play has someone setting personal, school or conference records against you, I do not think it’s who you are playing.
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On top of everything else , I’m going to a birthday party today where I’ll be surrounded by gloating , condescending PSU fans.
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PSU fans are minionsof Satan!
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Cal stole our uniform design and sucks just like us.
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Canada had a bunch of toys to play with, an NFL running back,an NFL qb, 2 NFL o linemen, as well as a tight end. Doesn’t look so good at LSU does he? And it took him how long to let that NFL qb loose. Just sayin
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And appears, according to the TV on-field reporter, that LSU head coach Orgeron was upset with Canada’s play calling always running on 1st down, so he changed the play on the next series to a crossing pattern pass on 1st down which resulted in a TD.
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A few test questions for the POVers. (1) True or False, Pitt had positive rushing yards in the 2nd half. (Hint: Don’t forget to include the yards lost on QB sacks) (2) Pitt had more than 15 pass plays directed at receivers less than 5 yards from the line of scrimmage (3) When DiNunni broke the pocket to scramble there were multiple WR’s making an effort to run into an open zone to make the catch.
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Big B you chick magnet.
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If I coach D against Pitt I stack the box to stop the run… football 101….
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Why? We stop ourselves when the opponents field the regular 4-3 defense.
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rkb.. the Phi Delt frat house rocked… great school spirit… like we had at Pitt in the 70s but without the babes… we didn’t have that ” Faceman” power of the Fijis and Dr Tom and Atlanta Panther’s SAEs…. sadly, frats have gone by the way of political correctness at Pitt.. no stadium and no frat house to return to on homecoming. Phi Delta Theta now has no house and meets in the Hillman library. Best move at Pitt was joining a frat. The older guys tutored me in my studies and truly had a group of good guys who made an urban school environment so much more enjoyable. The POV has become my new frat house and OCS rolled into one.
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Our house was torn down, along with 3 others on Bayard and Neville, not too long after I graduated.
Great locale, we could walk to Haddon Hall, Mitchell’s, Luna and the rest on Centre Ave.
They moved to some newly Pitt built place up by old Pitt Stadium. But it was never the same.
How could it be !
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Our lines are not good enough and we don’t have a decent QB. Our D Line is young and should get better, but our O line is very disappointing.
It is time to question recruiting. It is time for the younger guys to step up.
You also have to question the coaching.
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Funny thing…..In 2010 when Watson was with Nebraska and let go, his biggest complaint was lack of ingenuity and creativity. He runs the same play over and over that DCs can quickly figure out his scheme. He does not keep defenses honest with his play calling style and seems to fall in love with certain plays. Hmmmm……
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Wwb…as a long suffering Browns fan, I can tell you that The Browns have a good (not great), solid defense this year. Pitt does not have that.
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Upitt congratulations on wedding Big B you guys know how to enjoy life. College football is a business so enjoy the friends atmosphere and beverages. This is long year and the cupboard is not bare. We need leadership and a great QB. PSU won with one great running back and he gets everyone better Time to run another tailback ,find a leader and accept this is what we have. Good or bad. They must show up Saturday because Rice is no cupcake. Suck it up guys I’m almost 70 and have seen a lot of bad years One thing is still prominent. PEEN STATE SUCKS. H2P
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Friends of Pitt…. Congrats on your survival skills… I am also turning 70 in late November. Were you at Pitt in the 65-69 period? If so, you remember the awful teams, save a few miracle games, that we went through during that period, with three straight seasons of 1-9 under Dave Hart. Hoping this year is not a return to those glory years of 1966-68!
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The Great – We only gave up 48 yards passing.
The End….
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The situation is awful and perplexing. The only thing worse that could happen is losing the team. The defense is historically bad. The offense utterly inept. How did we go from two 8-5 seasons (the last in which we beat the national champs and PSU) to this mess? It is not recruiting.
It is coaching. I do not assume I know more about offensive game calling than our OC but I can see what there is to be seen and our OC’s play calling has been below amateurish. It has been dumb amateurish. Beaver and Butthead amateurish. But player performance has also been horrid.
I admit I cannot understand this fall. I do think that many POV’ers conflate coaching and player performance (blaming QO for his inability to run wide). And they also conflate one aspect of player performance (poor OL play with poor RB play) (these are just examples). It is hard to see clearly when we have these multiple problems.
One thing that I have seen enough of is the OC’s play calling. I still wake up at night with that screen pass from OSU’s 2 yard line. SW cannot call plays any longer. Have the waterboy call the plays or Our AD. I don’t care who calls them as long as it isn’t SW.
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Cal U beats Narduzzi. He is a fraud DC who can’t coach kickball in Blawnox.
Excuse Maker
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Upitt Chryst never would have hired Canada or got Peterman to join PITT. O’Neill would probably still be a TE as well.
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Chryst didn’t need Canada or apparently Peterman. Pitt averaged 32 points and 435 yards per game in 2014 with RS-Sophomore Voytik in his first season as a starter. That was Chryst’s 3rd season.
In 2016 Pitt averaged 40 ppg and 447 ypg.
Narduzzi needed Canada and Peterman because of how poorly his defense played. Surrendering 35 ppg and 453 ypg.
I am sure that wwb is lurking so Pitt allowed 26 ppg and 360 ypg in 2014 and I am sure that any differences are entirely because of the inferior schedule that Pitt played that season.
Of course O’Neill would still be a TE under Chryst in 2014. That’s what he was recruited to play that season (when he redshirted). If we’re going to give Narduzzi credit for some great vision in converting O’Neill from a tight end to a tackle, then Chryst should be given crap tons of credit for converting Conner, who was recruited as a defensive end, into an all american running back.
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I did notice Cals uniform. They totally ripped off PITT.
I’m all for playing Pickett at this point but I really can’t see it making a difference at all. Yet it would be a step in the direction for next year.
Firing Conklin is not a smart idea and complaining they don’t is just swimming in quicksand as it’s not going to happen. Even if Narduzzi switches up coaching responsibilities he would never tell anyone. No leaks on the south-side like there is in Washington.
Why be down one coach? BTW, saying coaches don’t matter to the young players is another remark made out of frustration. They certainly do. Peterman and Hornibrook are just two perfect examples of it out of hundreds.
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Thank you Reed for the letter. But its tough to keep one’s chin up after games like this. Pitt has some of the most loyal fans on earth given what we’ve experienced over the years.
But, I ask myself what did we as Pitt fans do to deserve this. I sometimes think I’m living in Pitt Hell. I’m not just looking at this game but the program over the last 35 years.
The administration gives me no hope that they are truly serious about contending and committing to excellence across all sports programs. This front porch talk by Gallagher was all a sham.
Why does Pitt continue to get things wrong?
I’m not calling for firing of the head coach. That would only create additional instability and uncertainty which would set the program back even more.
What I am calling for is the BoT take the sports programs at the university seriously and begin implementing actions that will change the culture.
But I dont believe the BoT will lift a finger until Heinz is empty and donations dry up.
I’m asking fans next week to boycott the Rice game. Instead send dear Heather some Fantas and those 36 voting members of the BoT some bags of rice.
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Upitt, are you still married? 🙂
) . CONGRATULATIONS!!!
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So, is the QB position still making people confident enough that no JuCo or a fifth-year passer should be brought in the 2018 class as I mentioned a few weeks ago? Patti will redshirt, MacVittie, well, appears to not have a future under center at Pitt. So then 2018 is all about Pickett and DiNucci? What if Pickett wins the job then gets hurt?
How about Watson passing on Doyle?
This is starting to get scary thinking about the program’s future without more options at the most important position.
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Well, used to be a Steelers fan…. Tough days in the ‘Burgh. Go Pens!
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Benson had 196 yards rushing?
The fullback? The fireplug?
How does ‘stop-the-run-at-all-cost’ allow the fullback to rush for 196 yards?
And our quarterbacks – 19.15 average QBR. A JV second teamer at Gannon can do that.
Reed, call out your active duty pals cause the ship is going down fast.
Imagine what rough shape we’d be in without those summer camp hotel rooms and HCPN keeping the media out of practice?
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UPitt congrats but what are you doing commenting after your wedding night? Get back to making that QB. 🙂
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Rice is 1-3 as are we, don’t think we be more than 6 pt favorite and that only because we will have 40K empty gold seats on our side.
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Such a “pitt-iful” performance yesterday… So can anything be done to restore some credibility back to the program this year or is it a totally lost cause?
On the perception issue at Heinz Field, why don’t they simply tarp off the upper deck. I go to the Nascar races at Dover and they purposely demolished some of the seating and tarped over other sections. The tarps can be attractive and even lucrative with advertising. It makes the place more exciting when the fans are bunched together and it looks crowded and well-attended. I think having more intimate seating at Heinz would be a win for everyone.
On the team, is there anything that can be done this year? I watched some of the Iowa/PSU game yesterday and was really impressed with the intensity of the Iowa defenders. Sure Barkley was awesome but they made him battle for every yard. Today I looked at Iowa’s recruiting success over the past four or five years. They are well BELOW Pitt’s record (at least according to the 24/7 composite). So what gives? I never bought into the hype that just because Narduzzi recruiting a guy his 3 star was really someone else’s 4 star. But I find it hard to believe that Narduzzi’s 3 star is actually someone else’s 2 star…. It can’t simply be lessor talent. That leaves drive, experience and scheme. We know experience is lacking. But is it that or is it scheme. Saunders from PSN has run very nice “film studies” from the prior three games and it is shocking how out of position so many players seem to be…. Iowa last night did not seem to have that problem. Yes, going against Barkley would give anyone fits but they never seemed to completely breakdown.
Can it change or is it too late? I didn’t play football in high school so I really don’t know if there is time during the season to really make changes in scheme – or do you need to do that at the fall practices and then simply live with what you put in place.
On offense, how could things go so far south so fast – especially with the OL. We lost two great players from that unit but, my gosh, now they look like a high school outfit. Why not put critical mass of O’Neill and Bookster and Officer (at Center) on one side and just run (and rollout) mainly to that side. This cross training of so many of the OL guys to so many positions never rang true to me because how do you build a cohesive unit that way….
On playing young guys, if experienced football people say it is hard to turn around a unit gone bad or rogue, why not simply use this season to prepare for next year and give Pickett, AJ Davis, the new TE’s and maybe a receiver or two some experience..
I am with UPitt that unless Narduzzi comes out and speaks some honesty to the fans (and takes the blame and, as CEO, pulls some plugs), we are right to demand more (up to and including the short leash that the BOTs should have)…
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Pitt Engineer…. Thx for the interesting data on Iowa recruiting classes ranking worse than Pitt’s. I agree that the Iowa intensity during that game made a big difference, and likely coaching was the difference-maker. Although Pitt defense also gave PSU some problems, it also suggests that maybe the PSU offense isn’t all that dominant and may get exploited down the road.
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wow, you guys had me curious so I checked & Cal really did rip off our unis, and the good ones too, not just the crappy light/honey yellow ones. They’re an obscure program though so it shouldn’t matter that much. Still, nice catch.
Pitt Engineer – I agree with playing youth at this point, but honestly, we’re already headed largely in that direction anyway. I just think with Pickett, that if he’s not ready with regard to his grasp of the offense at this point, that they may as well redshirt him, and may do more harm than good by bringing him in now.
Now that the honeymoon phase is officially over, I think Narduzzi is going to have to think long and hard about who he is going to have lead his defense and offense, because those choices will ultimately affect his tenure here, and the timing is now. Unfortunately, now that we’re 3 years in with the difference OC’s, I think he’s pretty much bound to Watson. Then again, maybe if we had a good QB, Watson would look better, who knows.
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Sorta like Chaney at Georgia (pointed out earlier by BigB), which is now ranked in the top 10.
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Reed, I love your letter at the top of the post. It’s been a tough season and those of us who follow Pitt football as a primary hobby aren’t overly surprised but… I’m still damn proud to be a Panther and wouldn’t change my alma mater for the world. As long as our kids try hard in the classroom, stay out of trouble, stand for the anthem, and try to make their community a better place, God Bless em. Winning is secondary. When I sit in my giant man cave that is a shrine to Pitt football and we lose, sure, it hurts like hell. But I’d rather be one and three with a University has done nothing but handle itself with dignity for the last century, than be 3 and 0 with sleezey James Franklin who left Vandy in controversy, Saint Joe the disgusting, and Creepy Uncle Jerry…not much to be proud of there, in fact there should be shame. Keep the faith POVER’s, better days will be ahead.
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We visited the College Football Hall of Fame today in Atlanta. It’s a neat interactive venue where the fan can emmerse themselves in the College Football experience. One quote that struck me while watching one of the movies presented was a coach explaining how one can learn from failure & losing. Right now everybody on Pitt’s squad should be taking notes! There’s a lot to be learned.
The complaints that I have from Saturday’s game is the total lack of offensive fire power. We have 5 running backs and only two saw playing time. We had no down field passing attack and our OL did not play well.
On defense we are young but also many times out of position & often just a step too slow.
This adds up to 35-17 type loses when facing good teams. GT’s QB Marshall, is a talented QB. Thank you Lord for all of the GT turnovers or this one could have been another Pitt beat down.
On to the good stuff. Gotta love QH’s run back for a quick six. And our kicking game was solid. Winslow’ punts have great hang time & look like they come out of a machine with that beautiful spiral that he puts on the ball.
So what have we learned after 4 games? The big news is we are not going to be competing for the ACC Coastal with this current two deep. Second, our QB situation is in dire need of improvement. Lastly, Narduzzi’s defensive scheme is flawed when implemented by the athletes that are currently on our roster.
Myself, if I’m the HC, I blow up the two deep by clearly communicating to my team that tryouts begin anew on Monday to determine the starting line ups across the board. I also see adjustments being needed in positioning of good players. For instance, Brightwell should be moved to an outside LB position and play Chase Pine in the middle and develop him early has he is our future at that position. I also rearrange the OL. Now that Bookser is back, move O’Neill back to the right tackle position, put Officer back at center and do open auditions in our young OL troops for starting playing time. The future is now for these youngins! Other youth that I would force into action before they are really would be Paris Ford, AJ Davis and Pickett at QB.
Davis has already burned his RS & these other guys are going to be solid down the road so get them experience with playing time right now.
Modify our defensive scheme! And I’d b shaking up the coaching staff by hiring a new DC.
Back to the College Football HOF experience. At the “Skills” field I discovered that I can still put a good spiral on a pass but that my range although accurate lacks a deep ball thr at (kinda like our current Pitt QB’s apparently), but to my point. During my time on the field they coordinated a Pitt highlights reel from last season on the Big Screen and it was fantastic! Memories of beating team like penn state and Clemson when we are currently are all crying in our beers right now provide some consolation for our present growing pains.
Pitt sure does have some great history, all of it noted on the third floor in a nifty interactive exhibit for every team. We Pitt alumni have a lot to be proud of. Hail to Pitt.
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Great comments Dr Tom.
We had the scheme to stop Tech just not the talent!
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Pitt-i-ful
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Exactly the type of opponent Pitt needs at this time. Although Owl’s sometimes give Pitt trouble.
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AJ.. good pep talk to the POV team… there is no quit in this POV bunch… only occasional crankiness….
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Steelers and Pitt both need to practice tackling. It’s like Pitt players are in Steeler uniforns today. I’ve counted 16 missed tackles today.
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The running game on offense & defense is the same too. I think someone poisoned the water on the South Side or something…
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Hey Dan, is it possible you are an accountant? 🙂
You really have an eye for tallying up missed open receivers and now….. missed tackles.
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Is it true the Steelers did not take the field for the National Anthem??? Just got off an airplane heard someone mention it……
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Yep it’s true.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/look-one-steelers-player-breaks-tomlins-order-comes-out-for-national-anthem/
Saw a pic of a 8 year old team, kneeling during national anthem. So this will spread to the colleges as well.
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I have no interest in watching the NFL. None, zero, nada.
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As of today I am done with all things NFL also. Disgraceful behavior no matter what your politics!
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No, I was a coach of HS Basketball, played football 6 years in HS. Until today, nothing pissed me off in sports than lack of fundamentals. Stats are how you track those.
Today the anthem behavior just really got to me. It’s all about the black players and their grievances as they run to the bank to cash their million $ checks and plan their next end zone dance. Hypocrites all!
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I
Went to the FSU vs NC State game this weekend. FSU loss but the freshmend QB played well. If Pickett is the future, play the future and get to work on next year’s slogan. “Take it!” isn’t working.
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I politely disagree. They took it from penn state, they took it from OK St. & now they took it from GT. Hopefully Rice won’t “take it” to us too.
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It’s baffling to me what the Pitt administration’s position is on the Pitt brand – or worse maybe they don’t have one.
Pitt has always been solid academically, but not elite. The Harvard’s and Yale’s don’t have to build their brand on atheletic performance, and yet some kid in Texas will still know both of them instantly and also badly want to go there. Their alumni will not base their contributions on athletics as the face of the university. But Pitt, like many others, doesn’t have that pedigree. The rest know that building their name recognition has to be based on at least one athletic focus.
Now, the obvious criticism for this approach applies. Too many academic institutions have sold their soul to put themselves at the front of the athletic arms race. Am I glad that Pitt doesn’t offer online hospitality courses on coffee, tea, and wine (see FSU) – yep. Am I glad that Pitt doesn’t recruit with hookers (see UoL) – yep. Am I glad that Pitt doesn’t have a blind cult following that looks the other way on issues of basic human decency in the name of football (see mindless idiots to the east that shall remain nameless) – yep. Am I glad that Pitt doesn’t pretend that it wants to be a player in big time D1 football and come out and say how committed they are to building championships – uhh, wait, I think they state this over and over again on their way to hiring on the cheap and spoon feeding us a bunch of crap on how excited they are to have such first class coaches and facilities. And that’s my beef more than anything. Stop pretending. Put up or shut up. And figure out that you’re not going to be recognized and admired by the masses for anything other than how the football or basketball team is doing – and actually having a great year once in a while that rejuvenates the brand. Worse yet, recognize that you cannot let yourself become a mockery in athletics because it directly negatively impacts the academic brand and donations that you will get now and in the future. Wake up.
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I just re-watched the game. Will someone please tell me why the criticism of Dinucci’s performance? And please don’t say because he throws sidearm (because he doesn’t and even if he did that has nothing to do with performance). Seriously, I want to be educated.
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Because he looks like Marvin the Martian out there
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Thanks. Respect you. Not the info.
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6&34 – DiNuch had at least two balls in the first half thrown right to the defender. Fortunately, the GT defenders dropped both passes.
I missed the second half to drive to Lafayette College to watch their game vs Princeton with my nephew. But, DiNuch was pulled for Browne – that says enough about bad as I need to know.
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He was blamed for not moving the offense after the first drive.
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And although you can mention the Ollison handoff I watched that quite a few times and it seemed to me that Ollison got to the handoff moment to quickly (I saw no hesitation by Dinucci). I might add that play call was peculiar (to be nice to SW).
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I actually think that on that handoff, QO was afraid of the contact he was about to receive as he saw the end crash the play. QO missed a big block opportunity early in the game and I think his lack of drive to finish runs despite his size is his big weakness. So unlike James Conner.
I watched the full game yesterday and really saw a lot of things that I hadn’t noticed during the ACC feed I was able to catch while at work. There is a lot of blame to go around from coaches on down, but these players as a whole just don’t seem to be able to do their jobs. Getting beat by the other guy is one thing, but blowing your assignment(O-line, D-backs), totally missing blocks(QO), running to the wrong hole(Moss), blowing tackles(#8 Hendrix and others).
Coaching? Talent? Scheme? Lack of leadership? I think we have issues everywhere. Some can be fixed quickly, not sure they will, some will take time and commitment, not sure enough of the latter.
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Using a slow big back for that play was sub-moronic on Narduzzi’s part.
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That’s “too quickly” of course.
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🎶Way to go Steelers.. Way to go!!!🎶
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It was just like watching Pitt yesterday. What an awful weekend!
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With New England driving down the length of the field in 2 minutes to win too…..just like the pedos.
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Ben did everything he was capable of doing yesterday.
Unfortunately, he is not capable of throwing the ball downfield. That is not a poke at him. He just doesn’t have that kind of ability.
That is one of the main reasons we didn’t attempt to stretch the field yesterday, and contributed to why ga tech was able to keep so many of their players within easy striking distance of our run game.
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I do not remember seeing them but I will watch again unless someone at the game reports there were wide open receivers galore that he did not throw to. I am no Dinucci fanboy but until what I saw with my own eyes is corrected by someone who was able to see more than what was observable on TV I am going to stand up for him.
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We are suffering through a cascade of apathy and ineptitude.
Nordy implodes the stadium.
He gives way to Gallagher who offers lip service and little more.
The BOT does not care about athletics, as evinced by hiring Herman.
Herman goes to Oregon State to dismantle their athletic program, and we hire Heather – I run six miles a day and if you do too, i will share a beverage.
At some point, a pharmacist believed hiring PN was a reasonable idea, but PN has proven to be obstinate, somewhat acerbic, and less than what we had hoped, all the while similar programs (VTech, NC, and soon, Syracuse) have passed us by.
There is no plan to fix/address the yellow-seat dilemma, which is not only an embarrassment, but an affront to the players, fans, and coaches – as incompetent as they may be.
And while it is always darkest before the dawn, i dont see any way to rectify this terminal spiral unless the powers-that-be begin to care about Pitt football as much as we do.
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PittGrad – You speak the truth but the BoT could care less. That means Heather doesnt care. Gallagher doesnt care. And Narduzzi doesnt care. How will they begin caring?
Boycott
March
Refuse Donations
Write Letters
Its a matter of Civil Rights. Our Rights as Pitt fans are being violated by a corrupt BoT. And yes we do have certain rights given that many of us fans paid for our degree. Our degree worth is directly impacted by the perception of our sports programs (especially football) in the ACC.
Pitt actually is a sleeping Giant. But the BoT is making sure the the Giant never awakens. I truly believe they believe that a powerful sports program will overshadow the academics and will corrupt our brand and lead us to a slippery slope.
That mindset is misguided. I would love to be the Stanford of the East.
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Only us fans can awaken the Sleeper. We are the Spice.
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If the athletic department is our “front porch”, doesn’t that make our football team the flaming bag of dog crap on the top step?
Quick question.. Were any of you less proud to be an alum, fan, friend of the program from ’73-83 when our administration actually cared about winning football games?
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It seems that neither Pitt QB takes an an occasional shot downfield. I remember one long pass early in OSU game where Weah had a step on defender and Browne over threw him by about a yard or so … he probably would have dropped it, But it seems like the most passes are within 10 yards … how about all of the 3rd down throws well short of the sticks?
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A serious thought here. One voice could go a long ways in being heard if it’s a powerful united voice. If the POVer’s wants to complain as individual’s the message dies on the vine.
The big hope I have for Reed and the POV is we all unite and use our concerns as an influential group of PITT Panther Football fans, alumni, season tickets holders and life long fans. A respectful drafted letter with educated ideas with a united front will go a long long ways. …ike
food for thought
H2P!
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Pitt falls to #13 of 14 in the ACC power rankings on ESPN.com, just ahead of BC.
No end in sight to this free fall.
http://www.espn.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/99785/florida-state-tumbles-in-accs-week-4-power-rankings
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More importantly Pitt currently ranks #114 in the FBS in total defense. The lowest of any ACC team (1 spot behind UNC). However still ahead of Fraud at ASU!
Pitt currently sits at #109 in total offense. Rice is #119, so there is a light there.
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Not a bad idea.. but what’s the universal message? Some on here think all’s fine and we just need time for Narduzzi’s players to get on the field. Some think the program is an impending dumpster fire. And there are countless opinions in between.
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Hey Jay, Reed will get on the stats and facts and it could be easily proven that money spent on a P-5 football program will be money well worth spent and benefit The University of Pittsburgh in the longer run.
I get that Reed wants to stay on the good side of the University but I hear his voice loud and clear on the POV! . . . ike
strength in numbers
H2P!
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Barvo, PITT has played a tough schedule up until this coming week. Prospective or reality? PITT may very well suck but I’m willing to watch a little more.
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Everyone, stop and think how you felt last season after the Miami blowout loss in early November.
Clemscum was next on the schedule and Pitt appeared to be heading to a bowl-less season.
Pitt finished the regular season at 8-4. The team and coaches never gave up, but many fans did.
Sitting here at 1-3 at the end on September, Pitt appears out of the running for a bowl game. One game at a time, build character and perserverence.
Don’t count this team out yet. They are on the canvas and the ref is at four. Number 5 is this Saturday. I believe this team will get to it’s knees vs Rice and be back for more punches and maybe take another standing 8 count and surprise us all.
That is about as much optimism as I can squeeze out today.
HTP!
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Remember …. the only 2 teams to beat a team that DeSean Watson started at QB for was Pitt and the Patriots
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… over the past 2 seasons
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First Vegas line Pitt -22. Can Pitt even score 22 points??
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very surprised by that line
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UPitt is now explaining to his new bride why they should bet the house on this one…
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I agree ike. There is strength in numbers. It could be as simple as we’re not going to take it anymore. Show us a serious commitment to excellence or your donations will dry up, attendance will fall and the Pitt Spirit will die. You already know what the Pitt Spirit thinks.
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Dan lol. Tx you are not calling for us to take a knee during the Alma Mater. 🙂 Cover the whole upper deck with tarps?, my seats are on the visitor side 45 yard line upper deck – never getting 45 YL down lower. Covering part of the upper deck from goal to 20 on each side makes sense – hey I like my seats, except for 90 degree noon starts in September. 🙂
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OT – back to the Steelers for a moment… I grew up (out of state) a Steelers fan, as a kid during their dynasty years. Have followed them for decades since. Not coming out during the national anthem? What a bunch of attention-seeking, spoiled brats. I respect their right and freedom (as well as that of the other NFL players) to express their views how they want, and I (like many others) will exercise my freedom in return by not tuning into any more NFL games until this is over (if ever), whether that’s next year or never.
Pansies…
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WVU, who has lost to all 4 ranked teams it has faced the past 2 years (2 from ACC), is back in the polls at 23, despite giving up 35 points to lowly Kansas
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when you sell out your home games no matter who you play …. you can continue to play the nobodies
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rkb – not calling for a knee. Best way to protest against our BoT is by not attending games and not donating when they come around asking. Its money that talks.
But I am intrigued by the idea of doing something when the Pitt band plays our alma mater song.
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since it’s the tune of the German National Anthem, you can call in the Neo-Nazis
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Steelers Retraction: Apologies to Mr. Villanueva, the lone MAN on the Steelers.
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Pitt will be hard pressed to score 22 against Rice.
Pitt 15
Rice 6
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Rice is the Ivy League of the South much like Vandy. They really dont care about athletics. So why does Pitt like to think its Ivy league and pretend to care about sports?
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didn’t Pitt try to join the Ivy League? I’m not so sure we shouldn’t have stayed in the BE where we have have ended up in the AAC …. I would bet that we wouldn’t have near the largest budget in that league either
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It should be even then……neither does Pitt.
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I’d rather be a Hoopie than a Panther at this point. I could learn to like incest and sheep raping.
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Word is you have to get them to the edge of the cliff so they push back a bit
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A tube of toothpaste lasts 10 time longer too…..
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1618.. correction.. the only real MAN in the monopolistic NFL… united to protect the brand….
Nuff politics…
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Erie.. Pitt scored points last year… what do we average… 1-2 offensive TDs per game.. I was expecting a 7-9 point drop off and a 7-9 point per game improvement on D .. don’t see it happening this year…
My biggest concern is how this affects potential recruits and IMO we see a drop off.
Mgmt, BoT and coaches need a “Come to Jesus meetin” sooner than later.
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But there is no Jesus for the reckoning. Jesus left with Jackie for A&M.
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Lucifer has been in charge since.
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I posted on here over a year ago that I stopped listening to ESPN radio and watching ESPN TV because of politics over the black lives matter deal. In a nutshell, I was traveling home from a night at work and wanted to relax and just listen to sportstalk. What I got was a “Special Hour” . I turned it off and have not tuned back in to ESPN since…except for a Pitt game.
Today, I exercised my right not to watch a professional football game despite a great interest in the sport. I have attended three Steeler Super Bowls, multiple games and playoff games in the past. Today, I cut the chord. Except for one person. I will support Villanueva if he endorses products. He is an Army Ranger and I lost my nephew in the Special Forces, who fought for the same right that allows these folks to take a knee or be a no show. They are cowards. They are hypocrites.
The National Anthem is a sacred cow to me. We need to take “National” out of the professional football league, because they no longer represent the Nation.
To Upitt – Congrats brother! I have heard from Narduzzi on this and this is something you can share with Mrs. Upitt. The most improvement is usually seen from night one to night two. Just trying to help you out brother and give her hope! LOL, send Pics!
@Reed – this is not political at all. Actually, this is an area of concern on college campuses and you could do Pitt a service by giving them feedback on how your readership believes in this space. On the other hand, we could blame the 26k attendance figure on the whole mess to provide air cover for Lyke.
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If DiNucci is not the answer for next year then play McV or Pickett. Get them the necessary experience!
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The participation sheet says McVitte played on Saturday vs GT. Was it on punt coverage or did I miss that he play QB?
Anyone able to clear up that odd question?
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Punt coverage. twice.
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A this point I agree. But I’ll bet that Dizzy Narduzzi still thinks we can get in a bowl game.He needs a psycho evaluation….
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Prediction thread…. poster @Tim hit it on the money 35-17…
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The Chancellor in the 60s tried to get us into the Ivys but we were rejected. Forgot his name.
Maybe we were too good in athletics then. Maybe try again but I digress.
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By Pitt or the Ivy’s?
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Huff … good post .. powerful…
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After today’s National Anthem debacles, thank goodness we have zero political bullschitt on the POV.
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Reed commands the POV ship and we STAND…. what a great country… have hundreds of thousands maybe millions affected by major hurricanes who will struggle for months to get there lives straight.. sickening to watch the NFL show solidarity/.. against what…protecting their brand
Wish Pitt had their $h_t together.. maybe we pick up some NFL fans ready to jump off the Rooney bandwagon
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Say it BigB. Such a sad state of affairs it is.
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Call me a bigot, but i will withhold any financial support from Pitt if there are Nits on the BOT.
And as for the Rooneys, they care about the Rooney’s, and not Pitt.
Unfortunate that the only ones who want what’s best for Pitt is us.
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Love be watching NHL games being played in 🇨🇦 just to hear the Canadians proudly sing their “Oh Canada” while are fans seem to only know the word “Oh” when we get to the verse “Oh say does that Star Spangle banner yet wave”
My of the POVers played high school football. I did and as I stood on the sideline holding my helmet, I samg every word with goosebumps and a tear in my eye. Still tear up whe I hear it…something is really misplaced in the NFL… I gave up on ESPN and the NFL a couple of years ago..
Reed, sorry if this post is too political and you are 100% about keeping politics out of the POV…but the ” thief came calling in the night” and will steal our joy… college is next…..
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I haven’t watched the NFL since this started last year. I will never watch them again until they man up and set the little boys who love themselves straight. If colleges go this way I also will give up my 8 season tickets I’ve had since 90′ s This is unamerican. I lost good friends in Vietnam Nam and students from school injured. Live is short but memories last forever I am deeply concerned about Pitt sports and direction their headed. Money speaks and empty seats no financial support by all of the povers. I hope those who are faced with this look around Saturday at the game and see no one there. 21 point favorites intrigues me. How can Pitt score that many and shut out rice with our team. H2P. PENN STATE SUCKS
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Too many militants…if I don’t get my way…..wow sounds like what we need hear at Pitt- a united front against the management….heck, we all want it- commitment , change competiveness and maybe championships… Right?
Reed, could the POV become a political activist group…
Has the time to sit around and bitch “keeping our eye on PITT football” morph into the Pitt POV ” a force for change?”
The natives are growing restless
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Sorry for the typos.. Steelers totally pissed me off except for one
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Hey B sent you an email, Attica Attica! 🙂
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Large crowd at Met Life Stadium in NYC
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this was from Thursday ….. NFL attendance has been dwindling for some time but never this bad
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Reed has rules we all follow here. Is that so hard to do or is it we don’t make millions of dollars to post on here? I guess we’re not spoiled so and so’s?
I salute the USA flag with much pride, hail to the USA and to PITT!! . . . . … .. . ..ike
H2P!
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Lots of tickets were available here in Charlotte for the Panthers game.
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I believe what the Steelers did was the best way. They didn’t let any of their players become headlines and they kept the political distractions from affecting the team. Isn’t that what the teams used to do…come out after the anthem, or am I mistaken?
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Unfortunately, that plan seems to have backfired in the eyes of the media.
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The teams weren’t out on the field a half dozen years ago. When the players heard the National Anthem it was a signal that it was 4 minutes to show time.
Maybe revert back to that and stop all the madness.
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EE , Not sure but I think T-Mac may have played on special teams of some sort? I think he may be destined for TE one day? just imo. . . . . . .ike
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To clarify my above post. We all do follow Reed’s rules. My point was the the millionaires believe they can make up and live by their own rules.
I salute Reed and all our veterans of the service! . . . . . ike
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Screw the NFL and the owners and most of the players. People are speaking and they are tired of this garbage. Godell has no spine. How could you mess up the NFL. By being to PC that’s how. American’s arent stupid. #FtheNFL&Steelers
Tomlin lets the in
Ates run the asylum.
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Inmates
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Buying a Villanueva jersey tonight. Only one with a heart, pride or balls.
Tomlin then calls him out for doing the right thing.
Bellichek wins 5 more rings with Steelers talent. F them I won’t watch them. Sick man I’m sick.
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I will not be at the game on Saturday. Hubby and I are going to visit our daughter in grad school and watch her volleyball games. So I have 2 tickets on the Pitt side 50 yd line just above the walkway opening, and a parking pass at the Clark Bar. Anybody want them? They are free. I just want someone to use them. Can’t find anyone I know that wants them. Let me know. Reed has my email so you can contact me. I can drop them in the mail ASAP.
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I gotta say the POV tailgates have been the best part of the home games so far this year. Sorry I’ll miss it this week.
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Annie – Sadly I think you could give away the flu easier. Very kind of you. I think you are making a good choice.
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Upitt…congrats on your nuptials. Been married since Oct 6, 2001 and can tell you I still think it was the best day of my life.
Wrt the Steelers and the protests…why don’t these players put their money where their mouths are. Jim McMahon showed them the way.
Wear armbands, wear shoes with messages (like AB did) that show their commitment to change. But the anthem means different things for many of us.
of course they won’t do that because A) they would be fined and B) Czar Goodell would never permit it for the purity of the message.
But if he and they cared…the NFL and NFLPA would allow this type of protest as oppose to pissing off a great segment of the fan base.
But the fan is the least important thing to both the players and the owners.
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“Rally round the flag-“ever hear that expression.. the flag and out anthem is unified and doesn’t divide.. just as our history tells us our story good or bad- it’s our story… militants using their confrontational methodology to get their way even if the vast majority feel differentl. Villenuava gets it right and the whole league led by Goddell becomes militant… time for the return of the USFL… screw the NFL
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.. a unifier…5am typos
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thinking this will eventually unify this country is like thinking Pitt will average 40 ppg in the last 8 games
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Reed-got your letter Saturday right after the GT game and it couldn’t have arrived at a better time. After the last 2 years I honestly felt Pitt had turned the corner and these first 4 games have been maddening. This is Chryst year that Akron pushed us all over the field and then Duke and UNC seemed to score every time they touched the ball.
After watching both qb’ s start a game it is clear that o line and play calling are the issue. Jj can’t block a speed rusher and our longest pass route was 28 yards to a power rb-totally putrid football.
I said 7-5 at beginning of the season, now I have a hard time finding 4-8, I never ever thought we’d be this bad-heck we lost to YSU and Akron back with PC and STILL made bowl games. Getting very very hard to stay positive.
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As far as the Steelers, I would be more worried about my run defense than a tweet from the president, but I guess that’s why Tomlin makes the big bucks–SAD!
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In defense of the Steelers, up until Sunday, they are one of the very few NFL teams which never had player kneel or sit during the anthem over the past 2 seasons. I would expect that they will return to normal from here on in …. but don’t know.
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Had to turn the FAN off this am after Ed Bouchette blamed Villanueva for “making it worse by drawing attention to himself”… Holy crap. I am requesting the tailgate committee to allow me to fly the American flag and the POV flag at this next game just one time. Bernie’s “rally round the flag” comment got me thinking…
Certainly – but above the POV flag of course.
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I like it Fran!
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I will say this and then I’ll leave it at this.
I get up in the morning everyday and thank God I live in a country where we have freedom of expression and freedom of speech where we can voice our opinions – whether they’re agreed with or not – without fear of personal reprisal from others. But actions also have consquences.
I don’t like what’s happening at all. I think it’s childish and I think it’s ineffective and that this is a protest topic that is not easily either understood nor easily remedied.
but I also think it’s their Right to protest in any form that does no harm to others it if they want to do that. And that’s their right with a capital R as stated in our nation’s wonderful Constitution.
I also defend an employer’s right to insist it not happen either in the workplace or when the actor is representing their employer. In the military you are free to protest on your own time as long as you are not in uniform nor pretending to have the individual Service’s endorsement of your opinions.
I spent 33 years in public service to this country and it makes me more sick to see the clear and dangerous divisions we have right now permeating every aspect of our lives than it does the disrespectful stance toward our flag. “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” is and has been one of the guiding principles of my adult life.
I will say this; I feel that the both Media and the White House own a large part of what we are seeing happen because they are magnifying these acts of protest way beyond the player’s communicative strength alone. But this is the bread and circus society in which we live today.
I don’t know exactly what we have to do to make it better but until that happens I’m not going to criticize or ostracize anybody who honestly feels so strongly about something that they put their personal reputation and livelihood on it.
I just wonder how many of these players would kneel before the flag if they were assured that they would lose their jobs and their multi-million dollar paychecks when they did it. I would bet zero but because the union protects them in this case they do it anyway.
it’s a crappy situation; I don’t like it but I also refuse to allow the alternative of denying people their rights of protest because it may interfere in our own beliefs.
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