I spent the day under the weather so had a full Internet surfing day to look up all the media stuff I can find on the Panther’s season to date.  Here are some tidbits I found interesting.

Chris Peak of Rivals did a very good review of each of the 10 games we have played so far this season… which as you all know we stand at 4-6. Here is that article but it may be behind a paywall.

“Ten Thoughts from the First Ten Games”  If you can see the linked content fine = if not here is a sampling of his breakdowns…

At the time, Pitt’s overtime win against Youngstown State was chalked up to a few things. Chief among those rationales was the notion that the Panthers held back on their offense, saving things for the next week’s game at Penn State; that made sense, since Pitt had done the same thing against Villanova a year earlier. Plus, the players seemed to let up in the second half, which allowed YSU to get back into the game.

In retrospect, the line of thinking about holding back the offense was not accurate. There were things Pitt unveiled against Penn State and beyond that weren’t present in the YSU game, but that wasn’t the reason the Panthers had to go to overtime against an FCS team. Rather, that outcome resulted from the issues everyone knew going in: Pitt was a young, inexperienced team with quite a few vulnerabilities stemming from that youth and inexperience.

Those elements caught up to the Panthers in the second half, and while it’s not reasonable to state is Pitt is equal to an FCS team, that game did show that if the 2017 Panthers didn’t play at or above 75% of their abilities on a consistent basis, they could be caught by just about any opponent on the schedule.

I agree with this assessment 100%.  I can’t post any more than the above because that is Rival.com’s writing but I’ll say this as I have in the past – Chris Peak is the best sportswriter covering Pitt football today and I subscribe because he’s that good… and it is worth the $9 or whatever per month it is to read his balanced look at the program and team.

So there is nine more of those type reports and after reading those,  and listening to his Podcast after the NC game it got me thinking about how my fellow POVers look at this season so far so I’ll ask a simple question.  At which point did it become apparent to you that the 2017 was not what we hoped it would be and that we’d end up with a disappointing, or losing really, season?

Here is King Pat talking about the upcoming Hokie game:  He kind of lost me there when he started of the Presser saying “A lot of good things… when you watch the film – a lot of good things.”  I understand the need to inject optimism into these dark days but a shot of honesty every once in awhile from this guy would be so refreshing .

What I don’t get here is when he’s talking about the 4th & 19 punt from our 41 yard line to put our defense in the ‘win or lose’ position to have to make the stop and get the ball back.

He stated that if it was 4th & 10 vice 4th & 19 he would have gone for it… but this extreme risk aversion of his is what we have been talking about all season regardless of how far it was to the  1st down marker the ball still would have been in the same spot for the Tarheels to take over on downs.

Remember we were already down by 3 points – we didn’t have a lead to protect but needed a score to win or tie.  And his decision to punt; rely on our defense then hope our offense could then get the ball back and score was made know that in our last two possessions we went for 3 plays for (-) 2 yards and a punt then 7 plays for only 16 yards and a punt.  Not a good trend there.

But if he truly believed in our defense he would have punted no matter what distance it was 19 yards or 10 yards.   Then of course we turn the ball over on the punt and NC promptly converts a 2nd & 18 play to shove the stake farther into in our heart.

Look – our defense had given up 34 points so far in that game (27 if you are splitting hairs with the KO return for a TD that wasn’t on the defense) – it wasn’t like we were playing so well on defense that we could in any way rely on them to shut the NC offense down.

I know that his decision was the ‘safest‘ one but that doesn’t always win games. Bold moves produce winning teams Pat, especially when you currently sit at 4-5 and have nothing to at all lose by taking chances.

Instead he plays it safe and we lose anyway… which you all knew we would as soon as he punted because that is exactly how this season has been playing out.

Narduzzi needs to get out of the obsessive Defense Coordinator mode he is in, and has been in for three years now,  and act like an actual Head Coach.  You would think after 35 games under his belt as a HC at Pitt Narduzzi would realize exactly what our defense could and couldn’t do.  And of course it couldn’t deliver the goods right then just as it hasn’t all season long or in any game yet save for the last stop against Clemson last season.

I’d rather we try our hardest to WIN the games and not take the safest and most conservative approach ad nauseam to try not to lose them… which he always does.

This is another reason Pickett should have been getting some real series in these last three games.  His arm is twice as strong and more accurate than DiNucci’s and so what the hell;  throw him in there for that 4th down play if he had some PT under his belt and let him sling the ball downfield.  At that point we had nothing to lose in going for all the marbles on that play.

Let’s be honest here though, Pickett even as a true FR would have had the same if not better results than DiNucci has had since he became the de facto starter.

This was yet another Big Ten mentality decision on Narduzzi’s part – rely on the defense to stop the opponent and get the ball back when the sad truth is that our defense sucks hind tit yet again this season and can’t make the stops when really needed.

Earlier in the year he was asked why he didn’t go for two point conversion after a TD (in a game we lost) and he answered “Because that is what the chart says to do” meaning the crib sheet that says “If down by XX points go for 1; if down by YY points go for 2″.

I think this is exactly how he coaches football games and is what led to his decision described above.  He looks at what the conventional thinking is and does it 100% of the time when there is any sort of hard decisions to be made.  Somewhere on that sideline there was a “Chart” that said ‘punt and rely on your defense’.

I don’t care what the smart move was – I want to see him have the stones to try to win football games.

If I had a full head of hair I’d be pulling some out right now.

Roundtable:  We have our weekly Roundtable Call-in tonight at 9:00 pm.  I think what we’ll do is stop these after the last Pitt football game of the 2017 season and then start them up again during the Spring practices and then again during the Fall camp.

Since I don’t really pay attention to Pitt BB I won’t schedule Roundtables during BB season these unless we can make arrangements for a POVer who is really into BB act as the Moderator for BB discussions and then I’ll continue to host the roundtable on Bluejeans, inc.

To join the Meeting:
https://bluejeans.com/303520973

To join via phone :
1) Dial:
+1.408.740.7256 (United States)
+1.408.317.9253 (Alternate number)
2) Enter Conference ID : 303520973

Example:  408-740-7256- 303520973#  (remember the # sign)

 

 

 

Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset #22 Miami on Thursday night at Pitt Stadium.

112 thoughts on “POV Bits & Pieces and Roundtable Call-In”

  1. How Narduzzi can’t remember his personnel is beyond me. He states that there was only two scholarship QBs when he got here at Pitt; Voytik and Bertke (“great arm” he said of Bertke BTW ) – yet he overlooks that his now-starting QB Ben DiNucci was also here.

    That is three scholarship QBs he had when he arrived which is the norm in college ball.

    His attitude that every question asked of him is a “media vs me” type question… “You guys would have questioned …” He does this all the time.

    Also – he says he has ‘No problem with our return coverage teams’??

    We are currently 121st in KO return coverage at allowing 25.7 ypk and in punt returns we are sitting at 112th allowing 12.8. And we have given up TDs in both coverages.

    These aspects of our defense are as bad, if not worse, as our defensive categories we currently suck at.

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    1. Incorrect. DiNucci was grabbed by Narduzzi after he realized the dire situation Pitt had at QB. DiNucci was committed to either Penn or Temple (forgot) at the time.

      BTW — trivia question. Which is the only college to have two QBs starting in the NFL right now?

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            1. my bad … asked the question wrong. It should have been which college to have 2 starters this week?

              Pitt has 2 — Savage and Peterman

              Note that the Colts have a bye (thus Brissett not playing) and Wilson finished at Wisconsn (just like Peterman finished at Pitt

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    1. I really like Meyer as the Pitt bball beat writer. He strikes me as even handed and thoughtful.

      Reed, you may have stepped in it with this “I agree with this assessment 100%.” with regard to Peak’s view on the YSU game. “….Pitt was a young, inexperienced team with quite a few vulnerabilities stemming from that youth and inexperience.” I had thought you felt this was a bit of an “excuse” for Pitt’s play in 2017. IMO while somewhat accurate on the defensive side of the ball it was not then and remains not all that accurate on the offensive side of the ball. About the only real argument on offense is the level of experience that Browne and DiNucci had entering the season.

      Does Narduzzi mention anything about the number of scholarship QBs that he had on the roster last season and whether that was a problem? Along those same lines it also seems fairly telling that he seemed to have omitted MacVittie from the QBs he had available this season. He also mentions having a red shirt freshman in the spring. Who is that? Perhaps he just “overlooked” his personnel again?

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  4. To get the BB fans ready for the game against the Gauchos… There is a Pitt connection with the opposing HC… Upitt – pay attention to what he says about Sean Miller. Pretty much exactly what we have with Stallings huh?

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    1. LMAO Reed. Heck this reporter may know more than Mr. Stallings. I like the Gauchos Coach. Sharp and Young! Opposite of what we have!

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  5. You can all stick a fork in Pitt Football for the remainder of this season as I believe the players will just go through the motions in their last two games. VT is out for revenge after playing poorly their last couple of games and this Pitt team is just the ticket to get them in a much better mode. As for the Miami game it will be hard for any Pitt player to get excited about playing in front of 20,000 fans when at the same time Miami will be shooting for an entry into the college playoffs.

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    1. Do not forget the Clemscum game last season. Pitt was left for dead with who was on their schedule and the the Death Valley game happened.

      I’m not trying to be overly optimistic, but I’m not giving up.

      Both VT and miami have very good front 7’s and will key on stuffing Hall. They both also have great secondaries. The chance of pulling off 1 win in the next 2 games is 10%. Two wins goes down to 5%.

      Not high percentages for sure.

      The players and the coaches need to show up with fight and energy or the fanbase disappears…

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  6. I usually want my team to be more aggressive in going for it on 4th down. But near the end of the NC game, I actually agreed with the punt there on 4th and 19 at the time.

    19 yards is a hell of a long way to go in one play, especially for this offense. There’s 3 minutes left and you have all of your timeouts. You’re at the 41 and you can probably get them inside the 20. Carolina hadn’t had a lot of success running the ball (to that point). If you can force the 3-and-out, their punter had looked shaky.

    There’s probably advanced analytics out there that can tell us the probabilities. At the time, it seemed to be at least defensible. Until our defense got gashed, of course.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Narduzzi arrived in January and there were just two guys in spring ball is probably what he meant. Ben wouldn’t have arrived until August.

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  8. Fire Lyke and get a Jeff long back ASAP. He was just let go. Sorry Heather you aren’t Jeff Long and timing is just the way it works.

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  9. No, he has said this before he meant in 2014.

    Provo, that is conventional thinking and just what I’m talking about.

    This guy can’t take a real risk to save his life when the game is on the line.

    If you can’t go balls to the wall at 4-5 then you never will. Plus it would say to your offense and your quarterback “well you’re the starting quarterback it’s time for you to make a f****** play”.

    If not get someone in there who can throw the ball 19 yards without it skipping or going out of bounds.

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    1. I agree with you Reed. If you Defense was awesome yes punt but at 4-5 play to win.

      He is so black and white it is easy to coach against him. Ok St. coach all but said that and his stubbornness is easy to plan a offensive scheme.

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  10. UPitt–How did Pitt do with our other rehires. Pederson, Majors II. Even though I like Jeff Long, my belief is when someone leaves for greener pastures, they have shut the reentry door.

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  11. Reed to differ … I agree with the punt on 4th and 19 late in the game… Carolina was averaging 2 yds per carry to that point and Duzz was thinking the Heels would run and we stop them… he also has to know Nuch odds at converting a 4 and 19 were about zilch… should have done a better job of avoiding 4th and 19….. it was a screwy game to watch… like I said previously.. when I want to see a real game I turn the channel… “ the more I drank the better she looked” well PITT didn’t get any better looking even with the club section full service bar last Thursday!

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  12. As odd as is may sound, it may be hard for my to say exactly when I felt the season is done, but the YSU opener was not a good sign for the season, but it was the terrible performance against OK State that solidified it. Yes they are a much better team and that can’t be stated enough, but the team looked hopeless and the following games did nothing to change that, so I’m going with Ok State.

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  14. I’m re-watching this game as I type. In the first half alone there was four plays where Pitt needed to make a stop to have the other team punt and on all four plays we failed..

    One play aside from those was a 2nd and 15 play off of a penalty and they threw a screen pass for 18 yards. It was that our defense was statistically good but in reality it really didn’t play that well.

    We were not making needed plays before so why think we would at the end of the game? Odds we’re we would not stop them and that is exactly what happened

    Look we had given up 34 points already… I say roll the dice and actually try to win WHILE WE HAD THE BALL.. because hey… We never got the ball back, did we?

    No balls.

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    1. How many UPITT included would take Paul Chryst as Pitt Head Coach? UPItt always referred to him as the potato.

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  16. wwb asked the question. Which is the only college to have two QBs starting in the NFL right now? Should have been this weekend which makes PITT the correct answer and not UNCS.

    Indy’s off << Brissett
    Seattle doesn’t play until Monday night. << Wilson and not the weekend. . . . ike

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  18. Reed..Good hindsight ! Our odds of us making a 1st down on 4th and 19 were Nyet/Nil/Zilch…Duzz has to know Nuch doesnt have it…He has more confidence in a young D…are we in a dilemma or a predicament…that is the question…..

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  19. I agree with the majority of your thoughts, Reed, but I disagree on the 4th and 19 play. All three of the downs leading up to that play were so poorly executed. I had zero faith that Pitt would have converted that play. Dinucci was so rattled during that drive he reminded me of Tino.

    I am with you on Pickett. Put him in the game. This season is over. It would have been wiser to start him against UVA or a 1-8 UNC team, but he needs experience. I think they’ll need to leave an extra pass protector in there on obvious pass situations (TE or RB). His play earlier this year was not particularly inspiring, but his O-Line has him running for his life. They should get him experience now.

    Dinucci has a lot of heart and character, but his decision making is not where it needs to be. I don’t let Watson off the hook. Dinucci is a backup quarterback at best, and that’s being generous. He was able to cause a spark in some of those earlier games, but he has not been able to step up against defenses who have game planned for him.

    Time for Pickett. Let’s see what we have before relying on another graduate transfer. Graduate transfers are good in a stop-gap year, but Pitt cannot continue to rely on graduate transfers year after year.

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  20. Upitt may have cardiac arrest over what I’m about to say (Upitt, have aspirin under your tongue). After watching both of our coaches post game remarks here’s my simple observation:
    Otis comes across as humble, taking the blame and responsibility for his teams loss, and not making excuses for the loss. He comes across as truthful.
    The Duzz? The exact opposite of above!

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    1. Pittman and Upitt

      I agree the Duzz should sit in on Otis presser to learn how to do a press conference.

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  22. Odds were much greater that PITT would stop them after a punt than go for it on 4th and 19.

    This now being the debate it is, is proof to me that HCPN is not very well liked. Well, I mean the posters that say they do like him but…. we know the ones who actually say it out loud.

    Reed, stick with the but only cause you don’t like him. I do believe you when you say you don’t want him fired. Yet?

    King Pat huh? lol . . . ike

    H2P!

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    1. That’s crap and you know it Ike. For people who don’t blindly follow this guy like you do, and it is apparent you do, we realize he has warts and thus makes mistakes.

      The “King Pat” reference comes for his condesendsing manner he treats anyone who questions is decision-making at all… Rewatch his pressers Ike… And they are twice as bad in person.

      He’s an average at best HC and we’re seeing how well he does when his crappy recruiting classes hit the field.

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  24. I really don’t know who should start the next two games, but if it is pickett, and he is not good I hope people will go easy on him. I think people’s expectations might be a bit inflated.

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    1. Start DiNooch and see how he does. VT will stuff the run, so he’ll have to shine early. If he doesn’t then insert KP and let him learn on the field vs a very good D.

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  25. You have to punt there. Everyone on here who said go for it would have ripped him a new one if he went for it and they didn’t get it. Have we completed more than 1 pass all year that was thrown at least 19yds in the air?

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  27. Yes, Savage is starting, but we all know he is, at best, a backup in the NFL. I heard an announcer make the statement this weekend that there are at least a dozen quarterbacks watching the NFL games at home that are better than Savage.

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  29. Jeff was the AD that let us wear the real Mustard (once) during his brief tenure…Palko said after the game ” for the first time I felt like a PITT Panther.” I don’t know if he used the adjective F’ing Pitt Panther !

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  31. Maybe we wouldn’t be having this punt/don’t punt discussion if Pickett was the starting QB for that game because he has the D1 tools in his toolbox but The Nooch only has high school wood shop tools.

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  32. UPITT…thanks for the UPitt compliment..I report’em as I see’em….hadn’t seen it posted on the “First to Know News- POV.”

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  33. Awful news for Cam Johnson. UNC announces the Pitt transfer suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee and is undergoing surgery today. Happened in practice.

    Although I was against Johnson transferring within conference, I don’t wish an injury to anyone … even the Nitters.

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  36. As much as I would like to agree with UPITT and others about Otis/Nardidiot/Lyke they are not the problem. I don’t blame Otis for taking the job. He believes that he can do something positive and make a difference. He isn’t stealing…he is trying to do the best job he can. He believes in himself. I cannot knock him for that…he is a victim of what is going on at this University.

    The Chronicles of Nardidiot is easier to knock. His arrogance and stubbornness are frustrating to say the least. But in the end it’s not his fault either. He believes he has a plan and regardless of what I think he believes in himself and is trying to do the best he can within his limitations/plan. He is a victim of what is going on at this University.

    Heather Lyke believes in her abilities and I can’t knock her for being opportunistic. While there are things that just are seemingly in over her head-like. She is trying to do the best she can within her limitations. She is a victim of what is going on at this University.

    Answer me this? if any of these folks leave (on their own accord or are dismissed) do any of you seriously think after the body of work that has been around for what now 30+ years that there is any chance that they will get this right?

    Walt was a bright spot but he had his limitations
    Wanny was the closest thing…and the only reason he stayed around for as long as he did was his blind love/loyalty to his alma mater
    Chryst was a calming influence in what was a disastrous two years of lost recruiting and just complete ineptitude. Hell just because of his mediocrity he looks good against the others in comparison. But many here thought he was a steaming pile of hickness.

    No the above are not the problem…nor will anything be solved by their departure. What needs to be righted is the administration itself and the BOT. Until that happens one incompetent will beget another incompetent.

    Without the money a program will lose talented coaches/recruiters…and that instability will lead to the lather, rinse, repeat we have seen time and again.

    I don’t argue with anyone’s venting/frustration of the incompetence of the coaching/administrator. I just don’t see any fix as long as there is half-hearted commitment level from the top.

    I used to say to my brother wrt the Pittsburgh Pirates…the Nuttings know exactly what the number is that they need to invest to maximize the profit/return and will not go beyond that amount. They know the elasticity of demand and even if they lose 110 games they will still get a maximum return.

    if they win 100 games but only get 5% profit margin why not lose 110 and get 20% profit margin. Wining is only secondary to that profitability number.

    While I can’t say that is the exact model for University of Pittsburgh, I am guessing I am not far off on that hypothesis.

    DaveD

    Liked by 1 person

  37. How about the 4th and inches at our own 40 at the end of the 1st quarter down 14-3?

    No guts there also. You all are acting like that game was in a normal winning season…but it wasn’t as thus the perfect time to roll the dice. But no, you all want him to play as conservative as possible and what did we get.?? ..the loss we deserved.

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  38. Reed I agree with most of what you said, BUT I would have punted as well. All 3 timeouts and a chance to pin them inside the 20 makes too much sense than having Tino Lite run around like a chicken with his head cut off and gain 4 yards.

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  39. Reed I am with you 10000% on the 4th and inches down 14-3, I was dumbfounded that he didn’t run right at them and gain momentum right then and there.

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  40. This Saturday we will know in the first 5 minutes of the game if Pitt can pull the upset or if they will get mauled. If we come out and go 3 and out and VT puts a drive together and scores we will get routed. If Pitt comes out and has a nice drive and scores they will be in it and have a chance to win

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  43. I agree with the baffling punt on fourth and inches ( i forget where the ball was) but there was no chance converting the first down but at least time for PITT to get the ball back on the fourth and 19.

    There’s not a coach in America that would have gone for that considering the circumstances.

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    1. Exactly why he should have tried it ike – and that is a blanket statement – look at my last post and see what NC did on the series leading up to that last punt… if Narduzzi thought our defense, who had allowed scoring on almost every series prior, was going to stop them all of a sudden he’s an idiot.

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  44. Good post by DD above. The blame is directed at the wrong people. The one’s being chastised are trying their best to feed their families and get ahead.

    What’s the law with injuries in college sports considering HIPPA? I believe in the NFL they are required to disclose.

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  45. That show episode reminds me of the movie All The Right Moves with Tom Cruise. It was filmed in Johnstown as was the hockey movie Slapshot with Paul Neuman. Of course the movie Fences took place in the Pittsburgh Hill District where my uncle and cousin had a barber shop for many years.

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  46. Look guys – Narduzzi himself said that if it was 4th & 10 he’d have gone for it.

    I ask you this one simple question – with the QB we had on the field at the time do you honestly think the odds were worse at 4th & 19 vice 4th & 10? really?

    DiNucci was averaging only 8.4 yards per attempt at that point and had to that point only converted one 3rd down play by passing – out of 6 times he had the ball on that down.

    So why at 10 yards would it have been OK but not take a chance at 19? Doesn’t make sense to me and in his presser he mitigated that choice.

    Look – it all boils down to this – it didn’t have to be DiNucci trying to make that play – we had just seen NC use a pass by a RB to get a TD – I’m sure we have that in our playbook; we could have direct snapped to Whitehead in the Wildcat or tried a WR hook route with a lateral…etc…

    But Narduzzi took the ultra-safe route and it lost the game for us… which if we are honest with ourselves as soon as NC got the ball back we figured that was going to happen anyway. At least I did. As soon as we chose to punt I knew we lost that game because our defense has sucked all year when it mattered in real games..

    What Narduzzi did with that punt was to ensure that not only our defense had to hold them but in turn the offense had to score – two full series had to have things had to go right there. When was the last time that worked out this season?

    We had held NC to only two 3 and out series and both in the 1st quarter of play (out of 10 series). in the their five series previously they had a TD, FG, FG, missed FG and a TD… 20 points with all of those series getting at least 44 yards… but somehow that would all change and we’d hold them on a 3 and out at the end of the game?

    Obviously not.

    So I say lose the game when you are at least doing everything possible and really trying to win it, instead of rolling over and giving NC exactly what they wanted – the ball and an easy opportunity to run out the score..

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    1. It’s three 3-and-outs if you count them holding UNC to a FG after Henderson’s fumble, right?

      But yeah, OK, no 3-and-outs in the second half for sure.

      (They were due, ha)

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    1. Was at that game, we sat under the big Panther head on the side of the White House. Loved that big Panther with the script Pitt beside it.

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  49. Reed, why do coaches call plays for 5-7 yards on 2nd and 15? << to make 3rd down more plausible. 4th and 19 is unattainable for most teams let alone one with a QB who can’t see that far down the field.

    The real point is the time remaining and timeouts left.

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  50. No Ike, the real point is that Narduzzi was in his DC mode still and had faith (as misguided as ever) that our defense was capable of stopping anyone in crunch time. Again, look at that graphic I posted. If he felt that all of a sudden we’d play 100% better defense than we did on the previous five NC possessions he was foolish.

    Our defense was not capable to stop them from getting a 1st down – not a score mind you but a single 1st down – and if he acted like the HC he’s paid to be he’d have known that.

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  52. All good points Reed, but no way does the nooch convert 4th and 19.
    If getting a stop was 5 percent that is 5 percent better than zero.

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  53. Here’s a prediction from an obscure site:

    PITTSBURGH AT VIRGINIA TECH, 12:20 P.M. ET

    SportsLine Projection Model’s score: Virginia Tech 34, Pittsburgh 22

    Vegas line: The Hokies are a 16.5-point home favorite (O/U 50.5)

    Projected Statistics: Josh Jackson passes for 277 yards and 2.04 TDs with Cam Phillips catching 5.2 balls for 76 yards for Tech. Ben DiNucci goes for 251 yards, 1.15 TDs and 1.40 INTs to lead the Panthers.

    Same site that projected DiNucci to throw for 249 yards against NC.

    So – I’ll up my bet from free beers and say free shots for anyone who wants to bet me that DiNucci will have over 251 yards in the air against VT this weekend… and takers?

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    1. I’m not fool enough to take this bet

      Pitt may be playing from behind. If so, they may throw the ball around a bit. It’s possible that BD may approach 200-220 yards passing.

      BD may also end up on his back more than a few times. A safer bet would be that BD gets sacked more than 5 times and therefore has negative rushing yards.

      VT can be beat. Pitt has had a longer week of practice given the Thursday night game. VT played GT on Saturday, and the VT defense may be a little beat up from the dive blocks. Anything is possible (just don’t bet the house on Pitt winning).

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  54. Also – I’m still planning to drive up to Archies Tavern on the Southside to watch the Pitt game. How about we POVers who aren’t already doing something else get together there? First second and third rounds are on me.

    4th round is on Ike unless he feels it necessary to punt because ‘that’s what great coaches do’.

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  55. I read somewhere, probably the Trib…since I don’t do the Pedo Gazette, that Nardo is sticking with The Nooch. No questions asked.

    Because the Nooch’s 56% completion ratio against the likes of weaklings, Duke & UNC, not to mention middling UVA is sooooooooo impressive. Not to mention his 160 yds passing per game and whopping 3 TD passes.

    Has he lost his marbles ?
    (of course this might be a good thing, since Pickett might get killed ala Max against VT, who is gonna play enraged after losing 2 straight)

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  56. Tino Lite throwing for 251?!?!? What is the writer for that site drinking?? Tino Lite couldn’t throw for 251 in 3 games against VT let alone 1.

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  57. Coaches usually play the kids they think will give their team the best chance to win now. HCPN seems to follow that rule. He appears to not look down the road ergo Pickett.

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  58. im sick and tired of the youth and inexperience excuse
    sick and tired of our QB
    sick and tired of the play calling and coaching inabilities
    sick and tired of this season
    put a bullet in the panther and be done with it
    we suck and probably arent getting much better next year
    i have lost all faith and confidence in heather the compliance gal, nard dog the stubborn and clueless watchdog and Gallagher the paper pushing bureaucrat
    id rather support Otis and Rockports since I know he at least tries

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  59. BREAKING NEWS from a bleeding heart PITT fan from Latrobe Pa

    95% of the POVers and all PITT fans agree, Narduzzi should have punt in that 4th and 19 situation. << this survey has a degree of accuracy between 0-99%

    Reed, how are your crunches going and your back doing?

    Have a grandson’s birthday party Sat and won’t be at Archie’s that day. Although I do have a grandson named Archie but it’s not his birthday. So I won’t be at either Archie’s that day. ike

    H2P!

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  60. If HCPN goes for it on 4th and 19 and doesn’t make it, few here would be giving him credit for trying to win …”hey, at least he tried something.” That would never happen. What would happen is that he’d be called an idiot for going for it and much derision would be directed towards the playcall on the prior first down, where the drive was effectively killed by some idiot who decided to call a spread formation with an empty backfield and an OL which has not consistently provided decent protection this season.

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  62. I would not of called Duzz an idiot for going for it on 4th and Forbes Ave. because at least we had the ball and an offensive play to try to continue going down the field and win/tie the game. Once we gave them the ball back I feared our D would play down to their 112th(?) level – which naturally they did. :<( Reed is certainly right that the Duzz has no gonads regardless as to what the situation may be.

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  63. A different angle on the 4th and 19 call. I remember looking at the scoreboard and being surprised to see that we still had 3 timeouts.

    Do you mean to tell me that ol DC Narduzzi didn’t decide to call a TO with his defense on the field once to that point? Feels like he calls one “setup the D” timeout every half. Only have it blow up in his face anyway.

    Maddening.

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  64. Here is all you need to know about PN (from earlier this week). Reporter: I understand there’s a competition every week, but might you take a long look at Kenny Pickett this week? PN: Are you asking or are you telling me? (Smiles).

    What a horse’s butt. The most important question to Pitt fans who long for something more than a weekly embarrassing beat-down…. He can’t even have the good graces to anticipate the question (a question shared by nearly ALL Pitt fans) and have a convincing answer. Instead we get arrogant BS.

    Incredibly, he goes on to say “But our run game has been so good that you hate — we can switch it up and then all of a sudden blow something else up that’s pretty good, and then you guys will be going — you’ll be talking the other way.”

    So even if the nooch is screwing up royally, let’s not even consider a change because it might mean our run game will go south?!? A run game that was not good enough to beat a 1-8 team. If he caveated this and said we don’t think Kenny is ready or he is still learning the nuances of the offense or the team still responds to Dinucci’s leadership, I might say OK…

    But if you look at the skillset expected of a P5 QB, he doesn’t have it… In that case, you HAVE to give Pickett a chance. I looked at the post game celebration video after one of the recent wins and if you looked at Pickett, he wasn’t exactly loving life. Could be he is just a Debbie downer. Could also be that he KNOWS he is the better QB and the coach is clueless…. Since the practices are closed, we don’t really know.

    Look, I kind of like PN and I think if he lost the chip on his shoulder and got some real help – like a gameday strategic thinker – he might be OK. His emotional approach can supercharge a team.. But that only works if they believe in the magic.

    Gameday mistakes, no effective gameday adjustments and his ranting and raving on the sidelines during losses destroys the mystique… I think that is what we are seeing this year. None of us want the musical chairs coach of the week. I would prefer to see PN succeed. But if someone can’t get through to him on his self-defeating pride, he is not long for the streets of Oakland….

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  65. Has anybody looked at the CFP Rankings this week? Wow.

    Alabama beat a team (Miss State) by 7 that wasn’t ranked the week before and Bama moved to #1. Miss State moved to #16 after having lost at home to Bama. PSU beats unranked Rutgers at home and moves up 4 spots behind Ohio State. OSU moved up 4 spots after drubbing Michigan State. Michigan State had just beaten PSU the week before. Michigan State is drubbed by OSU in Columbus but only falls 5 spots Washington loses to Stanford at Palo Alto by a TD but drops 9 spots. Stanford moves into rankings. NC State beats BC by 3 after BC lost their starting QB in the second quarter, but NC State moves up 4.

    In the end the CFP doesn’t have much more credibility than the AP or Coaches Polls.

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  66. PittEngineer… I didn’t like the “ are you asking or telling me” comment… I don’t want to call him classless but his need to intimidate someone asking a reasonable question to be asked makes one wonder if he is insecure and uncertain … when he takes that approach he obviously is sending an unspoken message “ Don’t ask me something or push me or I will call you out – embarrass you.” That’s my take on him… Would love to see Reed question him … PN would lose it. !!

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    1. I threw some questions at him in 2016 and two pissed him off so bad he had someone come talk with me after the interview…

      Another question about Voytik’s passing game he wouldn’t answer and another question was “what do you think are the big difference is between offenses in the Big Ten and the ACC.” And he said “There are none, football is football”

      That was the last time I tried to get a straight answer out of him because he deflects any questions where he has to admit any small measure of blame or mistakes.

      Watch any presser he gives and he won’t take any hard questions without give deflective answers crouched in jokes or humor like “you guys (meaning the media) are like you’re in high school and you have one girlfriend and she isn’t pretty enough so you want to go get another girlfriend…”

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  67. —I find the 4th down call debate amusing. In my mind, there was zero chance of either call working. The game was lost by the calls and execution that got us to 4th and 19…

    —Coach Duzz ruined this whole season with poor decisions. Bringing in Browne – who clearly didn’t fit this offense – torpedoed the season. A slightly better offense wins 2 more games to this point.

    —Coach Duzz missed his chance to play Pickett against average defenses where he could have found some success.

    —At this point, if Coach Duzz waits and plays Pickett against the really, really good Miami defense — it will be so typical Pitt…

    Go Pitt.

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  69. My faith in duzz is dwindling by the minute with every crappy answer he gives in his pressers. I was so excited for this season coming off big wins against psu and clemson, but after seeing browne against ysu I knew it was going to be a tough season.
    Even after the rice game I felt 2 and 10 was the only way they’d finish the season, so they have exceeded my expectations. No qb = no chance. Pickett needs to play now. We need to see what he can do because as much as I don’t want another grad transfer qb if we don’t play Pickett you have to get one.

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  70. My faith in duzz is dwindling by the minute with every answer he gives in his pressers. I was so excited for this season coming off big wins against psu and clemson, but after seeing browne against ysu I knew it was going to be a tough season.

             Even after the rice game I felt 2 and 10 was the only way they’d finish the season, so they have exceeded my expectations. No qb = no chance. Pickett needs to play now. We need to see what he can do because as much as I don’t want another grad transfer qb if we don’t play Pickett you have to get one.

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  71. Reed,

    Did you happen to see when ziese was interviewed after game he said they were unprepared and we’re lackadaisical. Remember when you lost it after the ysu game when someone said they let up. This is a poorly coached team.

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  73. BTW I still love duzz and think he is doing a good job under difficult circumstances this year. Kenny must not be ready and he knows DiNucci plays below the line. Really DiNuccis antics his Flutie impersonation may get him killed this week.

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  74. I commented earlier that I had low expectations of this season, that said, they weren’t met and part of that is while I had low expectations of the season, I had higher expectations from Narduzzi.

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  75. The suspensions that came out before the season worried me (Blair and Taleni). Then Ashton getting hurt coupled with breaking in a new qb I was cautiously optimistic. Not knowing had bad Browne really did suck.

    Before the games started I predicated 8 wins. I did mention that I thought the season would be really good or really bad. After the OK State game I knew the dumpster fire scenario of 5 wins or less was a guarantee.

    I guess I thought the defense couldn’t get worse and it has.

    The lossing sucks but the way Narduzzi is handling it is not helping. I watched the press conference and needless to say felt like if I were in that room I may have to smack the guy.

    When Diploia asked him about Pickett playing and Narduzzi says are you asking or telling just drove me nuts. Then the getting new girlfriend concept etc. What a jerk. How about when the one reporter you can here enters the room half way thru the conference and Narduzzi has to make sure he calls the guy out for being late.

    If i feel like this I can only imagine what 18 year old kids and their parents feel like.

    The Chancellor said Athletics was the front porch. Well he better take a look fast because it has a blue tarp over the shingles and its pulling away from the house. Then again that makes it like a lot of front porches throughout Western PA.

    I am just so down I hate to even post.

    Ugh!

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  76. Our defense while improving can not have the burden that the offense and special teams put on them by their giving up 17 to 21 points and bad field position so often.I believe I saw that Pitt yielded 17 points/game last 2 games then gives up 34 against NC because of reasons stated.

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  77. If Nar-douche’ has any brains he plays Pickett. If the kid has more talent than Tino Lite than he has to get him experience or PITT will be in the same boat next year.

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  78. Agree with Titleman on QBs; Nard knows Nooch is not the future but he doesn’t think KP is ready, none of his quotes anywhere are a ringing endorsement of Nooch. Nard does not like to play freshmen anywhere if he can avoid it. He blew KP redshirt on one play that earphone head could have done, much like Dixon did to Luther. That said I expect the run to be stuffed by VT and KP should hit the field by the start of the second half – unless VT sh*ts the bed early. I do not want another grad transfer, most are unimpressive and don’t work out, bite the bullet and go through growing pains like KS is doing,

    I do have a question regarding to Pitt’s last 3 timeouts. We used a timeout when Whitehead was injured on a play that gave NC a first down. I have not seen an explanation – was this charged to us for faking an injury because the clock was stopped for the first down and a timeout was not necessary.

    Nard is conservative but the 4th and 19 is somewhat of a no brainer as to Pitt’s offense. I took it as Nard not having confidence in his defense to stop NC and he wanted more yardage to play with. Lack of offense and defense ability to make stop I think was his reasoning though he wont admit it. -rkb

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  79. The ONLY time you go for it on 4th and 19 is if you are PLAYING Against Pitt. The success rate on 3rd and 15 and above and 4th and 10 and above must be huge against our porous, soft defense.

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