All throughout the year there are times that I  wish I would have given someone a different Christmas present.  I ran across one this morning.

For Josh Conklin this would be the perfect gift.

Recognize the voice?

What are some gifts you think the Pitt football program could use?

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.

282 thoughts on “Christmas Gifts We Wish We Had Given”

  3. Dokish is a non athletic over opinionated fool. His twitter is politics and drooling over Kevin Stallings and Narduzzi. He makes Ike look fair and balanced. Love you Ike no ill intended.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. UPitt… All the media covering Pitt football are apologists for Pat Narduzzi. When have you read anything other than on the POV that is critical of anything Narduzzi has done?

    The P-G even forced a writer to modify a headline about Pitt’s recruiting class because it said”…no big names…” in it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I agree 100%. Cream puffs. If he was at a program that put football first he wouldn’t be able to handle it. He would crack. No wonder he is happy. Recruiting doesn’t matter, results don’t matter. No one is firing him just because of past turnover. He is safer than Nick Saban.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Maybe 5 or 6 wins is all I see.
    I’d also like to gift Pitt a 10 win season but thats too big for UPS delivery.

    Like

  7. That is a tough schedule. I see 6 wins at most…maybe another 5-7 year. But we’ll win one of the two big games and Pitt fans will think that’s OK.

    Here’s how the timeline looks before the TV people weigh in:

    http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-18/2018-pittsburgh-panthers-football-schedule.php

    Date TBA Panthers Blue-Gold Spring Game
    Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA Time TBA
    TV TBA

    Saturday
    Sep. 1 Great Danes Albany Great Danes
    Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA Time TBA
    TV TBA

    Saturday
    Sep. 8 Nittany Lions Penn State Nittany Lions
    Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA Time TBA
    TV TBA

    Saturday
    Sep. 15 TBA

    Saturday
    Sep. 22 TBA

    Saturday
    Sep. 29 Knights at UCF Knights
    Spectrum Stadium, Orlando, FL Time TBA
    TV TBA

    Saturday
    Oct. 6 TBA

    Saturday
    Oct. 13 Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
    Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN 2:30pm ET
    NBC
    Buy
    Tickets

    Saturday
    Oct. 20 TBA

    Saturday
    Oct. 27 TBA

    Saturday
    Nov. 3 TBA

    Saturday
    Nov. 10 TBA

    Saturday
    Nov. 17 TBA

    Saturday
    Nov. 24 TBA

    Saturday
    Dec. 1 ACC ACC Championship Game
    Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC Time TBA
    TV TBA

    I’m worried about the Great Danes actually.

    Like

  8. Your worried about Albany while PITT will have the greatest QB since Marino that could have helped PITT to an undefeated season this past year?

    OK bold letters. REED, I WAS JUST JAGGING YOU AROUND, IT WAS ONLY A JOKE. 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Guess what, I’ll settle for 6 wins but I’m thinking more like 7 regular season wins. and a bowl win..

    All bets are off until we see when the other PITT shoe drops. Still think more players leave and PITT gets a few highly rated kids second signing period. No, I won’t rub it in if they get a few 4 stars but you’ll rub it in to me if they don’t. Put it on me, I can take it. It’s all in fun? right? ……… ike 🙂

    Like

    1. Ike, Looking at our prospects listing it looks like any 4* or 5* kids we were in the running for signed early LOIs elsewhere. But maybe we’ll get a flip or someone.

      Remember I said Pickett would be a star QB for Pitt but I didn’t say exactly when.

      He might follow the Peterman model and do well his first real starting year then break out as a JR or SR. But I also wouldn’t be shocked to see a very productive year from him in ’18.

      Maybe a season along the lines of: 2750 yards, 20 TDs & 10 INTs…. Maybe better if we have a good run game and defenses can’t tee off on him.

      Like

  9. Guys, I’m going to be in PGH for a cocktail party on Sat. Jan 6th… Does anyone want to get together for Pitt BB watching meet-up at noon somewhere?

    I’d love to spend the afternoon with some POV friends so let’s do try to arrange something. It will be against Virginia Tech at 12:00.

    BTW this annual party I go to is chock full of Pitt higher-up administration types, past and present and where I get a lot of very interesting behind the scenes info on the university and athletic dept. So I can’t get too tight watching BB or I’ll miss some stuff.

    On the other hand if I’m drunk enough I’ll brace people up with questions like ” Just WTF were you thinking when you hired SP to be the AD again…?”

    I will try to find out details about Narduzzi’s extension though. Something about it seems strange to me. I think the buyout clause on both sides is minimal.

    Anyway, you would be surprised at how many people know about the POV at Pitt and not just the athletic people either.

    Of course we’ll have our POV party on Feb 7th for Pitt’s LOI Day dog and pony show also. That is always fun, and as is traditional the few couple of rounds are on me.

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  11. Well, we could bring back Chryst and get maybe 3 or 4 or we could schedule a lot easier and get 6. Maybe take out OK. State a couple of times and replace them with Buffalo and Old Dominion and they may START to look comparable. If Narduzzi could have played that 2012 schedule he wins 10 easy. 2013 was barely harder and a cake walk compared to 2016 and 2017. If we want to go back to those schedules that is a different discussion.

    Chryst = 9 – 4‘s, 2 – 5s (3 years)
    Narduzzi = 10 – 4*s (first three years, but nothing so far in 4th).

    Win for PC…oh yes…somehow Chryst gets credit for Whitehead and Hall as well.

    Notes:

    1) Chryst had a down PSU, Narduzzi not so much.
    2) Chryst ruined the pipelines to Clariton and the “quips.
    3) Lets look at 2*’s:

    Chryst – 15 in three years.
    Narduzzi – 10 (first three years, none in 4th so far).

    When you look at the 2*s for Narduzzi you see a couple of decent players like Lopes, DiNucci, Jackson and Weaver (so far – jury still out on the kickers), but for Chryst the best he has is Briggs, Caprara, Webb and the kickers.

    4) Reeds blog, so I guess we play by his rules but…ESPN (Scout was similar):

    Chryst = 7 – 4* and above (3 years)
    Narduzzi = 12 – 4*s (first three years, 0 in 4th year).

    Fun Fact:

    If my math is correct, the red shirt seniors in the 2017 team would have been recruited in 2013. In that class we had 9 – 2* players. 5 wins playing one of the hardest OOC schedules in the nation as well as the ACC schedule (not the watered down Big East schedule that Chryst started with) should have been expected considering 2013 to 2015 classes which are the upper classman on this team (2 classes by PC and the cobbled together class of Narduzzi).

    Narduzzi seems to have done too well for his own good the first two years.

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    1. We’ll see how good Narduzzi’s recruiting is this coming season and in ’19.

      I have always looked at who the HC was when the HS player committed… That is who actually convinced him and his parents to be recruited to come to Pitt… Not the HC who inherited him.

      Like

      1. But not the guy that actually convinced him to sign a binding agreement 🤔

        Interesting theory you’ve got there

        Like

    2. Good info. It might upset the Moosehead fan club, but Narduzzi will have this team battling versus an insanely tough schedule. UCF was scheduled when it was coming off an 0-12 season I believe. That is typical Pitt luck, but a new coach is taking over so that will be a factor.

      Like

  12. I really like Pickett, really like him and excited PITT may have a starting QB for more than one or two years. but they better get some depth at that position. It could be nice as well to have an OC for more than one year. Although I’m not so sure about SW.

    EDR, I remember you from scout I believe, you’ve always added to the discussions and have already done so here but this isn’t scout. << Way more content, intelligent and respectful banter. Reed lets us be adults until we become children on some bad occasions. In other words he doesn’t police us 24/7. It’s more like the honor system. Hope to read a lot more of the thoughts in you head. This is from a common contributor, jus saying… ike

    Like

    1. Hi Ike, Yeah, I was on Scout…but have been here since Reed started this up a few years ago.

      Agree, the discussion on here is much more “adult”, I hope I haven’t taken away from that…don’t think I have. Didn’t mean to if I have. My apologies if I have.

      Like

  13. and btw, I’ve thought the same thing. Winning 8 games his first 2 years may hurt Narduzzi more than helped. I said may have hurt him.

    Like

    1. Winning 8 games in two years gave Narduzzi a great start at Pitt. But the fact is that it truly could have been better if our defenses we’re even just adequate.

      We had a great offense in ’16 and possibly the worse defense in Pitt’s modern history. That was in PN’s 2nd year yet the defense was even, almost unbelievably, worse then his first year.

      Pitt fans who are enamored with Narduzzi find every excuse for this last season…the players, Chryst, the schedule… anything but putting the blame directly where it lies which is on Narduzzi’s shoulders.

      Maybe after a full three years at the helm we should look directly at Narduzzi for a subpar recruiting class and, if things stay down with losses next year, the results of playing with starters that are “his” kids.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Reed, I made it known at the fan committee that the PITTPOV blog is a good source of information..and bitterness 😉 and that they should read it to get a feel about how the fan base really feels. Although when I did let them know, it seemed like you were one foot out the door here at the blog. Anyway, Jan 6 sounds like a plan.

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  15. I’m confused, for the last week the consensus seemed to be that Narduzzi’s recruiting was fine.

    Now we are only going to win 5-6 in Narduzzi’s fourth year?

    WTF?

    Like

    2. Yeah, all of a sudden it is a crap class because of all the three-star recruits. Ten of the players were 0.1 points away from being a four-star recruit and it would then be looked at completely different. The D-tackle, Bentley, on Rivals has offers from Bama, Georgia, LSU and Florida but is a three star recruit with a ranking of 5.6. A 5.7 puts him at a four star I believe.

      Like

  16. Information please. Does Pitt have a minimum academic standard that athletes must meet in order to be awarded an athletic scholarship? Is there an NCAA minimum academic standard? If so, is Pitt’s higher than that? Might that have something to do with Clairton and Aliquippa and some big city inner city school athletes not being recruited as heavily? Just curious.

    Like

    1. The short answer to your question is “yes”.

      Pitt has successfully recruited Clairton kids over the past few seasons including Coles (who was dismissed), Webb, Boyd and Mathews. EDR continues to throw out the same unsubstantiated narrative about a hyped “pipeline” that has supposedly dried up due to some unfounded thing that Chryst did or didn’t do to the player, his family, his school or his coach. Apparently it’s just not sufficiently plausible that Henry (Aliquippa), Wade (Clairton) and Raines (Aliquippa) elected to go to WVU, PSU and WVU respectively because they found those programs, coaches, schools, locations or fan support more appealing.

      Notice how nobody had mentioned Chryst before? Yet some have to keep casting blame at a coach 3 full years removed from coaching his last game for Pitt. The not so new guy apparently still can’t be held entirely accountable for his program after very nearly 3 years and several million dollars.

      Like

  17. I am not sure about wins in 2018. Narduzzi and the staff now have more depth to work with, But I do think Pitt on defense will not be a issue as to losses. On offense, stability and no big changes can be a positive as well. Pitt now has a roster that will be the best in years. Maybe not as good a a couple Wanny as to the top 22, but far better in depth. The Florida WR’s Smith and Butler, Ford in the secondary, Pine, Reynolds at linebacker, Jones and Alexandre at DE and Twyman at DT. Warren, Drake, Brown and Pilato at OT. Reeves at TE and Sibley at RB. All look to be players who can really make an impact the season next year.

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  18. It’s a process that takes patience, happy to see the coaching staff realize this as they fill in the gaps with transfers and the younger players. The idea is to keep your head down to the ground and keep moving forward. A 5 win season is no reason to change the process. In fact, it’s more of a reason to keep trucking on.

    Many of the arguments on the POV that don’t come off as disliking Narduzzi would be better received if everything the coach does isn’t totally taken out behind the woodshed and beaten to death… jus my opinion. ike . . ike

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    1. Ike, please point out to me some good things Narduzzi has done since September, because aside from one singular win I really don’t see much at all.

      A 7 loss season, playing a QB who had no talent just because he was Narduzzi’s guy in Browne, losing to a 1 win team in NC ,…Needing over time to win against YSU… Average at best recruiting class…

      Please enlighten me.

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      1. Reed, you’ve been complaining about Narduzzi since the Navy bowl game loss. You can look at the program the way you want. I realize I come off as a fan of Narduzzi and I do think positive. Doesn’t make me right or wrong. There is nothing I can say to enlighten you so I’ll pass on that request.

        Like

  19. A 4 or 5* transfer QB, as we were lucky in securing the last four years. Each of these QB’s are or will be playing in the NFL. No more 3* QB’s who are sought after by the mid-american schools.
    After spring training there will be at least 10 to 15 QB’s who signed with Alabama, FSU, Clemson, Georgia, USC, Auburn, etc., who bought the the story they were the QB’s they were the sought after QB for these school’s when they already had 4 4 and 5* QB’s and the following years would recruit more.
    Pitt has demonstrated that they can give these top notch QB’s playing time and exposure and a shot at the NFL.
    Keep this transfer program up not only at QB’s but at all positions.

    Like

  20. When you have three walk-ons playing significant minutes and contributing alot, there is a recruiting problem. Or, the walk-ons are coached up and the schollie players are coached neutral to down.

    Try this one Richman – The Panthers should partner with the Steelers to conduct psychological testing on potential recruits in order to maximize the mental portion of the game. The Steelers have a strong psychological analysis program. They don’t get bad eggs often. Pitt needs to adopt that. Maybe even have some of our Psych PhD students train with the Steelers group to gain an advantage.

    If I am AD at Pitt, you provide your folks with every advantage. You can determine tendencies psychologically with respect to competitiveness and toughness. I’ll take 3 stars that score high in those two areas. We have been soft. Tell me again the number of plays you recall where our defender actually “popped” an opponent. I have a laundry list of things I would change immediately as part of the program. I have listed many as have many of you.

    Dilly dilly.

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  21. Ike, do you realize just how desperate we have to be to get all these junior college and Community College transfers in on the roster to fill up places that Narduzzi’s recruiting fell through on.?

    Not only is it piss poor planning but embarrassing.

    Like

    1. Aruajo Lopez, Chase Brown, Ricky Town and who else?

      So any roster with 3 or more scholarship JUCO players on a roster at a time is “embarrassing?”

      Settle down chief

      Like

  22. Sorry Reed, I don’t realize that. First you say Narduzzi is filling out his roster with non scholarship players and now it’s embarrassing. Every team does this… Does Texas A&M still use all walkons for their kick coverage teams?

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    1. Nobody is saying that Narduzzi has knocked the socks off of recruiting…nobody.

      I do like that Narduzzi tries to rectify problems in recruiting (both his and PC’s) by going the JC/Grad Transfer/transfer route as opposed to the alternative which was basically nothing like PC did.

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  23. Dear AD Lyke,

    First make our football coach’s buyout as low as possible to make him more valuable to others if we have a sub .500 season again. This will save us from having to pay him after he is fired.

    Second, make sure the next contract he signs with Pitt, if there ever is one, has a rider that he pays back a portion of his salary for ever game under .500 we are at season’s end.

    Third, listen to Richman. He’s not playing around.

    Thanks, Reed

    Like

    1. …but I guess .500 seasons are acceptable.

      Question – Considering the schedules, was 5-7 really worse than the 6-6 schedules that PC had.

      Like

        1. The schedules Chryst inherited his first two seasons were easy. WVU and TCU were replaced with Buffalo and Temple I believe in 2012. Dude lost to YSU, then lost to Akron in this THIRD year. He should have gone 25-13 at worst in his time at Pitt. His attempt to instill discipline in game one versus the Pens backfired big time. Did he ever have the players’ respect?

          I not even a Chryst hater though he’ll always be known as Moosehead to me.

          Like

  24. Ike, don’t be stupid. We ain’t talking about kick coverages. We are talking about glaring problems in depth at key positions.

    You do realize that if Pickett goes down we are totally screwed right?

    Like

  25. Broncos rookie nose tackle Tyrique Jarrett is no longer listed on the team’s practice squad, and he’s not on the 53-man roster, either.

    Sayre Bedinger of Predominantly Orange pointed out on Twitter that Jarrett is no longer with the team, and nobody seems to know why.

    Sayre Bedinger
    @SayreBedinger
    Anyone got any bright ideas as to why the Broncos released Tyrique Jarrett?

    10:58 PM – Dec 19, 2017
    8 8 Replies 2 2 Retweets 7 7 likes
    Twitter Ads info and privacy
    The Broncos have not announced any moves involving Jarrett, and none of the beat reporters have tweeted about the nose tackle being let go. It’s a strange and mysterious situation.

    Jarrett (6-2, 335 pounds) joined Denver as an undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh earlier this year. He recorded 59 tackles and three sacks in 32 games with the Panthers.

    Jarrett was a fan favorite in the preseason and seemed poised to be part of the team’s future at nose tackle. But, for an unknown reason, he’s no longer with the club.

    In confirmed practice squad news, Denver signed defensive lineman Paul Boyette and linebacker Marcus Rush, per the latest roster.

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  26. Reed, your question “what has Narduzzi done this season” imo, is biased. In my mind this was a transitional year. Why cherry pick your arguments against the coaching staff, HCPN has been at PITT for 3 years? Judge him on the whole picture.

    and your payback suggestion is really funny. Happy to have the chippeir side of you back… ike

    Like

  27. Here is what I don’t understand about the nay sayers. Didn’t we know this could have been a down year? Narduzzi tried to fill a hole at QB with a 5 star 5th year senior. That didn’t work out. We may have found a guy who can play in the process. Conner was huge for Pitt on and off the field and it took awhile to get the running game going plus we lost 2 lineman to the NFL. Hall looks ok but I would like to see what some of the other guys bring. Last years line wasn’t great can’t imagine next years could be that much worse. TE and WR shouldn’t be to bad with Tipton back plus some freshman that was talked about highly. D was better and should continue to improve. Yes we should have beaten UNC and VTech but we didn’t. Why can’t we give some continuity and chance to develop?

    Like

      1. So did PITT’s QB in the now infamous bowl game along with Conner, DJ Johnson, a pick on second and goal and a slip down by a wide open Georgie for a TD.. Oh, that doesn’t count… Both sides like I say.

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        1. They lost him 3 weeks ago you goofball. Not in the 3rd quarter. God you sometimes need a good shaking.

          Like

        2. What’s the point about the pick that Peterman threw? Are these excuses for why Pitt lost the game? You forgot the Orndoff drop. Crap happens. I’d say Pitt lost that bowl game because they allowed more than 240 yards rushing. They lost to Navy the season before because they allowed more than 400.

          Speaking of excuses I’m sure you had no problem with the phantom pass interference penalties that Pitt was awarded against Clemson last year or the 3 inexplicable picks that DeShaun Watson threw including two in the red zone. That was probably all part of Pat’s plan.

          Both sides like I say.

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  29. Help me keep up. One day Ben Dinucci isn’t a legitimate D1 QB and the next, we are in trouble if KP goes down because we don’t have an experienced backup. If BN was that bad I’ll take my chances with the new guys after camp. The sky ain’t falling any more than it already has.

    Like

    1. WVU has lived and died with their offense, and particularly their passing attack, this season. Their defense was poor. They lost their starting QB, Grier, early in their next to last regular season game against Texas. Grier had thrown for almost 3500 yards and 34 TDs entering that game.

      Like

  35. Tex – If you can tackle em, they’re real.

    Just like the other nights picture…..if you can touch em, they’re real. Same concept.

    I’ll take Town over Binucci as a backup. Mainly because Dinucci isn’t on the roster. Ha! Seriously, I go with the 5 star instead of Dinucci. The next couple of months will tell us all what we have as a backup and as a starter frankly. The mental makeup of yhese kids is so critical to success.

    It’s what you do when nobody is watching!

    Dilly dilly.

    Like

  36. I always said that Dinucci would never start at a D1 school unless by injury. I never said he couldn’t be a adequate backup which he pretty much was .

    Believe me, if Pickett goes down for any length of time we’ll be missing DiNucci greatly.

    Like

  37. Unless you make the argument that if Pickett goes down we lose with DiNucci so you may as well go with anybody else just to see…I still would rather have Ben.

    I guess it would have been nice to just have McVittie transfer and have Town and Ben compete for the number #2 spot.

    Question – If Ben stays, does Narduzzi bring in somebody else…or is it just common sense that Ben left because he was told someone was coming in. I mean they seemed to have two guys visiting just a couple of days after Ben decided to leave…so I guess he was informed that no matter what someone would be added.

    Like

  38. PC imo absolutely stabilized the PITT football program. It wasn’t his coaching or recruiting. It was the small taste of continuity that continues today. He did bring in some good recruits but his coaching lacked to me.

    Narduzzi almost lost to a YSU team this year that had a 3rd year starting QB, Paul did lose to YSU. Why didn’t Paul win 8 regular season games with the weak schedule he was handed to work with?

    This is what transpired and imo and in no way am I trying to be passive aggressive. Some of the comments lead me to think you may not like HCPN. I give Upitt much credit for at least saying it out loud..

    Like

    1. Ike – I can’t stand him and his Gorilla Arms. He is what is wrong with D1 Coaching. A full of himself goober who would be running a bar in Northside telling you how good he was playing at YSU if not a coach.

      Like

    2. What the Chryst? We’re still talking about him?

      Pitt’s SoS the past 6 seasons according to Team Rankings.

      2012 #51
      2013 #43
      2014 #56
      2015 #34
      2016 #21
      2017 #45

      The only outlier there is 2016. It’s certainly not as stark as it continues to be portrayed.

      Like

      1. Barvo / Don’t let the facts get in the way of holding Narduzzi accountable. It is Chryst and Dixon’s fault. We can say that till 2023. Honest to God.

        Oh and Heather, She gets till 2030 because I love free fantas and printed certificates and my favorite a 234 person committee to hire the next bum.

        Like

      2. Even using those stats 3 of the 4 hardest schedules are Narduzzi’s and he won three more games. Even with that said, if you are telling me 2012 and 2017 are even close to comparable I don’t know what to say or that 2013 was harder than 2017 for that matter.

        As far as schedule goes I would like to see the schedules like we have seen the last two years but a nice easy Penn State schedule every 4th year would be nice just to see how that would work for PITT. Penn State can get away with it because they get points for beating Indiana, Purdue and Illinois but we don’t for Syracuse, Virginia or Duke. When we have had easy schedules we never took advantage of it by losing to Youngstown State, Akron or Bowling Green.

        Like

  39. EDR, I’ve said this before. BD and TM were told what was going to happen with QB’s visiting, the door didn’t have a chance to hit them in their asses on the way out. Truthfully, I don’t blame them.

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  40. On the PC vs PN argument. IMO the day PN signed his contact with Pitt. That was his team. Same goes for PC at Wisky. Every win Narduzzi got at Pitt was his win. The games were won on coaching the talent at hand. I get the argument that the players were recruited by PC. But the games were played with PN game plans. Just my thought…but when a coach comes to a team. From day 1. It is his team. Not the previous coaches. To blame or credit the previous coach is just making excuses.
    On recruiting…I remember an interview with Lou Holtz saying he tried to get a few stars out of every class. The rest he hoped for serviceable role players. I think PN is getting the role players. Not the few stars he needs. Weather he doesn’t think he can get them or the recruiting budget doesn’t allow him to invest the time needed to land those players. Idk. I don’t think Narduzzi can do what Iowa Wisconsin or Michigan St does. Win with all three start players. Pitt does not have the structure those schools do. So..imo. Pitt needs to land a few blue chips. On the QB situation. Sorry Reed. I think we are better off with what we have now. Dinucci proved he could lose to a 1-8 NC team. And him sitting on the bench would not improve his skill set. I think we saw his ceiling.

    Like

    1. Because KS isn’t being held to that standard.

      The blind support philosophy allows an incredible amount of leeway for the new coach if his supporters continue to blame the predecessor for failures. It’s the same reason we continue to talk about Chryst after Narduzzi’s third season overall and first losing season. By this time Chryst should be irrelevant and Narduzzi should be viewed as succeeding or failing on his own. However we’re still comparing records, strength of schedule, big wins, big losses and recruiting classes.

      In Stallings case substitute the last few years of Dixon’s time in the support narrative.

      Interestingly Chryst has unequivocally (for any reasonable person) succeeded at Wisconsin. Dixon appears to be doing the same at TCU. Somehow they couldn’t make Pitt fans happy.

      Like

      1. Dorks for AD’s. Another No Name Never Been who makes 300k in there now. PC Hire. BOT all dorks.

        Shows they can and are winniing elsewhere.

        Like

  42. I have mixed thoughts on an easy or tough OCC. Easy means a bowl with little attendance or tough with maybe a better attendance and praise. PSU has used easy and got to bowls forever with no criticism. I say go easy and tune up 2 QBs in the process. The ACC is no pushover FB conference let alone BB.

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  43. Upitt, I know as much about football as you ever will. I realize that Peterman was hurt late in that game that many still piss, cry and moan about. The exact reason I included the other instances that factored into the final score. Which by the way was still very close considering the circumstances.

    How can anyone take you serious when you talk like that about Narduzzi? He isn’t tending bar because of what reason? Yeah, because he’s paid millions by people much smarter than you and I considering what he does.. Why aren’t you coaching baseball?

    Like

    1. You apparently didn’t read what he wrote. Grier was hurt early in WVU’s next to last regular season game. He hasn’t played since. Peterman played against Northwestern and left before the end of the 3rd quarter. Pitt was down 4 at the time.

      Like

    2. Here we go. Because you played ball in 1964 for Derry High school and you haven’t missed a Steelers game since that kidney stone in 1987. These reasons give you more knowledge than myself. Please name me one profession Narduzzi would work and be successful with a personality and bravado he has and never accomplished a thing. You would think he was anick Saban. Saban is more humble and has more class than Youngstown Donny.

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  45. Upitt. I agree with you that Stallings was a disaster from the opening Press conference. Bad choice by an AD who hired a friend about to be unemployed. Letting Dixon go was a huge mistake. Stallings should have been canned after last year. And the bad part about it is he will be there next year. Making the NIT will get him a raise at Pitt where it would get him fired at a lot of schools. Bad part of that is we are a few years away from making the NIT.

    Like

    1. That is the argument for playing a soft OOC. It has merit although PITT than would have 20,000 at the game and probably lose 1 of them at least once every second season for sure.

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    1. They had plenty of time to get their #2 backup some reps & practice before the game. My heart bleeds for them….

      Like

      1. Holgorsen certainly did. That same QB (Chugonov) didn’t play all that well against OU last month and WVU lost by 4 TDs.

        I wasn’t making excuses for them. I was just pointing out that they didn’t seem to have much of a chance without Grier. He and Sills made them somewhat respectable this season. Their defense in 2017 was really bad.

        Holgorsen’s bowl record is now 2-4 including a narrow victory over Fraud.

        Like

  49. Out to Mark (Upitt) …. and here I thought you were living in the land of Texas. It gets a little on the cold side down there so here you are in 76 degrees Florida. << I’m thinking that’s your work base?

    I may have to concede that you could be smarter than Pat Narduzzi? Hanging out in the warm weather jolly-jacking on a blog and message boards all day. I almost think you’re as smart as me. 🙂

    Yeah, you drive me nuts with your negative BS, it’s a little over the top for me. OK a lot over the top but that’s on me not you. You are you and I am me.

    Don’t take me serious and I don’t think you do but others think there may be a bit of a derisiveness between us both. You chill out laying in the sun and having you some fun, sounds like you like making a living that way.. Who wouldn’t?

    One of the cheesiest songs ever but it sure reminds me of you. Happy New Years Mark… you big pain in the ??? your on and off again pal…. ike

    Like

    1. Great tune! Yes. Just work base. Cold in TX. Speaking of taking care of Business. I hope Narduzzi does this year.

      Like

      1. LOL EDR, no offense intended, I’m more of a Neil Young and John Candy fan..

        Not for EDR, Randy Bachman played for another band before BTO, Guess Who?

        Like

  50. Do we know if Pitt will pull a scholarship of any player on their roster? I ask the question because a PSN article from yesterday indicates that Pitt is still pursuing 2018 talent. Since we are at or very close to our 85 scholarship limit I’m guessing that several existing players will be shown the door if Pitt succeeds in adding a fair number of additional recruits for their 2018 class.

    Like

  51. jrnpitt…I read the same. We would be fortunate to land 1 or 2 from that group. Serious talent still out there.

    Like

  52. Finishing strong in this recruiting class will help me maintain a POVitive attitude…like my hero Iek.

    Like

  54. I for one loved when PITT plays a tough schedule but I’ve changed my mind. The ACC is a tough schedule so the OCC should be easier so the kids win some games, gain confidence and hopefully get to a decent bowl game. It works for the Pedo’s and that’s how Shiano got Rutgers on the map. PITT should use that blue print. Winning games should attract more talent and additional fans.

    Like

    1. What is tough about the ACC schedule?

      This season Pitt played GT(A), UVA(H), Duke(A), Syracuse(A), NC State(H), VT(A), Miami(H), UNC(H).

      Next season Pitt plays UVA(A), Duke(H), Syracuse(H), VT(H), GT(H), Miami(A), UNC(A) and Wake Forest(A).

      Other than Miami and VT who have improved recently under Richt and Fuente, the remainder of those programs typically top out at 7 or 8 wins.

      I expect Pitt to have a winning record every year against that type of ACC schedule. So far they’re 2-2-1 in that regard.

      Like

      1. All those teams made a bowl game accept SU. I expect them to win those games also but they just don’t. I’m still waiting on a victory against NC. That would be great. I love PITT be they have a knack of losing to programs I consider inferior.

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  55. Anybody who is predicting a 5 win season for the Panthers in 2018 who isn’t immediately following that up with a call for his firing is a Narduzzi apologist personafied.

    Last season’s outcome was directly related to the success or failure of our QB(s). Browne was a bust, DiNucci was no better, then we found our Ace QB at season’s end. We lost valuable time and the opportunity to develop Pickett in the process. We also had a lack of leadership issue that IMO is sorting itself out with the debut of Pickett on offense and a host of guys who are finding their rhythm with first time reps on the D.

    What I witnessed, against a better team with much to lose, in our win over Miami, was a team that is discovering their own potential. Meanwhile we here on POV ignore any analysis of this recent “on field performance” while we prefer to focus on the 2018 recruiting class, and it’s supposed impact on next season’s results?

    The recruiting class that determines this coming 2018 record will be the 2016 class more than ANY other gtoup of recruits. That is because about a half dozen of those guys are going to be starting on our defense and that defense is going to be good, even without Whitehead. The wildcard being Paris Ford, who could make that defensive secondary even better than good, if he lives up to his press clippings.

    Leadership, attitude & want to spells the difference between a 5-7 team and a division champion. If the team that beat Miami ahows up next season than the Panthers should be 8-4 regular season at worst.

    Leadership: when a true Freshman QB after his 1st start states in a matter of fact way that he always considers himself the best player iut there when he steps on the field? I want rhat guy at QB, IF he can back that talk up. Against Miami he did. Add George Aston back in the mix and we’re good on the O. On defense, pick the new faces who you think bring some leadership to the table, Reynolds, Weaver, Jones, Hamlin, Camp, Watts, maybe even the fresh out of the wrapper 4⭐️, Paris Ford challenges this team to seek greatness. No leadership issues going into 2018 with this team.

    So screw the ruff schedule, if this team isn’t winning at least 8 games while seriously challenging for the ACC Coastal Crown, I say Narduzzi’s seat warms up big time. If winning an ACC Championahip is the goal of this coach, then year four is time to poop or get off the pot! No more excuses.

    This is HIS team now. If he can’t get it done in 18, he better well be getting really close, and that means winning a weak Coastal Division, IMO.

    Oh, I almost forgot, the gift I wish I had given,,,,

    Season tickets to FAU Football gift wrapped for Upitt, with the hopes that it results in a budding bromance with him & Lane Kiffin while waning Upitt’s attachment to his alma mater at the same time. Addition by subtraction.

    Like

    2. Dr. T, I agree. I also think Narduzzi “Picketed” several players in last years class that should have been playing. As Pittastic posted yesterday, Pitt is not in a position to red shirt our most talented athletics just because they don’t have the experience. Get the best talent on the field and adjust your game plan to take advantage of those players.

      Like

  56. I’m definitely for easing up on the OOC schedule. Besides stacking wins, it makes it easier to get more players in to develop depth. Especially with a risk averse coach.

    Like

  57. Dr. T. Really tough schedule next year. How do you get to 8 wins, even of the team improves from this year?
    I struggle to get past 6.

    Like

    1. I think he’s talking about expectations of PN for year 4, not predictions.

      UVA(A), Duke(H), Syracuse(H), VT(H), GT(H), Miami(A), UNC(A) and Wake Forest(A)

      Pitt should go 6-2 with that schedule (5-3 minimum). They have PSU and Albany at home. They have ND (who enters nearly every season with big expectations only to disappoint) and UCF (who has to replace a head coach) on the road.

      Like

        1. Did you forget who I am? I’m one of the realists who thereby qualifies as a “pessimist” in some conflation within the beautiful blue sky in Ike’s head.

          I am talking expectations and what should be considered reasonable in year 4. Notice I stated “should”. I was still following along with Dr. Tom’s post.

          I personally believe that Pitt will struggle again next year, particularly on offense. I anticipate a conference split and a 1-3 OOC. I would love to be surprised.

          Like

          1. Let’s see your “Pitt Pessimist ” card, you shouldn’t leave home without it.

            Huh, I just realized that old American Express commercial’s tagline is a double negative phrase.

            ” Don’t leave home without it” should have been “Leave home with it

            Like

    2. We can beat any team in the Coastal (except for that voodoo hex that UNC has on us apparently) but even the Tarheels,,,,,beatable. The crossover, Wake Forest ain’t no Clemson from the Atlantic. There’s eight right there. The Great Danes are not. Nine.

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  58. That’s a good point PittPT, A big problem for Narduzzi is getting the backups playing time in all the close games barring injury. But these schedules are made far enough out that it’s unknown what type of team PITT actually scheduled until the season prior. I can go for a few cupcakes for a few seasons and then see where they are.

    The point concerning WVU is that many thought and or think there football program is so much further ahead of PITT, which they aren’t. Sometimes football fans can be like the creepy neighbor peeking out the window to see what’s going on next door.

    To early for me to make a real prediction for next year. I can tell you all this, I’ll still look at how the games play out and transpires to the final score. Although wins have to come this year if the team can remain a team now until then and through the entire season… ike

    We All We Got
    We All We Need
    H2P!

    Like

  59. I’m sick. Severe cough, congestion, perhaps fever. I am reading the narrative between Upitt and Ike. It’s funny. I have to watch because I might have broken a rib coughing. Thanks for the entertainment and helping me feel a little better.
    I’m fading in and out, will check back later!

    Like

  60. Next year’s results will depend directly on how good the O-line plays.

    The defense should be better, but unless we have a running game an adequate protection for Pickett.

    We won’t beat the better teams. With the schedule, not many warm up games.

    I laugh at the guys that say we should beat most of our coastal foes every year when we are no better or worse than any of them.

    Like

    2. Pitt’s ACC record against their 7 annual opponents:

      Duke 4-1
      UVA 4-1
      GT 2-3
      Syracuse 4-1
      Miami 2-3
      VT 2-3
      UNC 0-5

      Strangely UNC is 5-0 but has never beaten Pitt by more than a touchdown.

      Like

    3. I’ve witnessed first hand Pitt beating the likes of GT, Clemson & Duke. The win against penn state last year was epic, no less the Miami win a month ago.

      On any given day, this team can compete with the best. What the Panthers lack is the attitude of a Championship program. That being, putting in the grind during all of those times when the stadium lights are off. Every game has to be prepared for the same as getting ready for a trip to Death Valley. When that mindset clicks with a team amazing things can happen.

      The magic occurred with UCF this past season. A solid team that just git caught up in it’s own momentum and the belief in the ability in themselves to produce somwthing special. It’s rare to witness from a middling also ran, but it’s great to be a part of when it happens.

      Watched “Remember the Titans” over the weekend with the family, that’s not made up BS, that’s how it occurs. Who wants it more? When the answer is, the Panthers, that’s when championships get collected.

      Like

  61. Well, I have heard that DiNucci’s departure caught Narduzzi completely by surprise… As in one day he said he was staying then less than 48 hours later he goes public that he’s leaving.

    Agree w/the Doc above. Just to be clear I haven’t once called for HCPN to be fired, even after this last 5 win season. But I’m not as optimistic as Tom is about the team next year.

    I have major worries about the offense especially now that O’Neill has left. As I have said before I think the OL will be a huge problem in both inexperience and talent level…And because I don’t think our OL coach is all that great.

    Our RBs are average and our WRs & TEs not much better. Watson isn’t a very good OC imo so there is going to be a ton of pressure for the offense to score points. I don’t think we’ll be winning any shoot out games.

    Even as our D played better at the end of the year I not one who thinks that the ending of one seasons, no matter how good it is, keeps momentum going into next year. We were 3-1 with a win over #2 Clemson at the end of 2016… Then went 1-3 to start ’17.

    Anyway, I look at that schedule and get nervous about making 6 or more wins.

    Like

  62. Reed has made many good calls the past year or so. No he never called for Narduzzi to be let go. I don’t think he really likes him all that much but that’s a different story. Conklin on the other hand? 🙂

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  64. With Pickett at QB, Aston back, and a second year with the same offensive coordinator, even if not a great one, I full expect an improved offense next year. 8 wins or bust…?

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  66. The back and forth between Ike and Upitt reminds of the Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtin bit on SNL where Akroyd always ended up calling Curtin an ignorant slut. Very entertaining. I’m semi-optimistic for a 7-5 season. O-line is an unknown. Some of the redshirts have possibilities to be decent. If they perform the offense should be decent. I think the receiving group has to be better. With Tipton coming back we’ll have another good possession receiver but still not much in the way of a deep threat. Somebody has to step up. Maybe one of the recruits can play like Boyd did. Finally why the disdain for Watson. He kinda had his hands tied with bad Oline and poorQB play. I thought play calling in Miami game was very good. Mostly because Pickett could make plays the other two couldn’t. He may end up being a bad OC but it’s too early to call for his head. The OC is always the least popular coach.

    Like

    1. Besides the new recruits , I’m hoping Weah’s production will be taken up by Aaron Mathews and increased Tight End production. Mathews looked to have better hands than Weah to me. He seems to get in the coaches doghouse at times, though.

      Like

  67. Gifts that Pitt could use:

    A couple of highly ranked recruits to round out this recruiting cycle that ends in February. A middle LB and an RB with exceptional speed would be on my wish list.
    I like Huff’s idea: develop a psychological evaluation process to be used in evaluating potential recruits
    A vision and plan for the next 15 years of Pitt football that could be easily articulated to the fan base; that would provide us with incentive to commit a little more as fans knowing that the Pitt leadership is committed to sports improvement.
    Introspection – the coaching staff takes a week away to talk about what has worked over the last three years and what has not worked well. The result being a plan to best use the roster talent in 2018. This might involved new schemes on both O and D.
    A coaching staff that eases up on the closed practices in an effort to work with the media (including Blogs) to get the fan based a little more familiar with, and stoked on, the 2018 team.
    Acquire more land in and around Oakland, including land that is not contiguous with the existing campus that could be used in trade for contiguous land. Negotiate purchase options on key parcels including the VA hospital, if practical, on the top of the hill.
    Health – without a ton of depth, the squad needs the gift of health in 2018 to have any chance of winning 8 games.
    Few to no dismissals before Summer/Fall camp. Losing projected starters right before camp hurts teams with less depth more than stacked teams.

    There are many more gifts that Pitt could use…

    Like

    1. Done.

      Realist
      “a person who accepts a situation as it is and is prepared to deal with it accordingly.”
      “a person who recognizes what is real or possible in a particular situation : one who accepts and deals with things as they really are”
      ” a person who tends to view or represent things as they really are.”

      Pessimist
      “a person who tends to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen.”
      “a person who is inclined to expect poor outcomes”
      “a person who habitually sees or anticipates the worst or is disposed to be gloomy”

      So just to confirm, you see realists and pessimists as essentially the same?

      Like

      2. A friend of mine once said to me, “You must’ve been quite and idealist in your youth.” I replied “huh?” He said, ” A cynic is a disenchanted idealist.”

        I pondered it for a minute and concluded.

        “You are quite right about that my friend.”

        Dave D

        Like

  69. Although our modern notion of ‘being realistic’ is much closer to standard pessimism, i.e. downplaying the good things and seeing the bad as inevitable.

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  72. Reed, I hope you are surprised by our “average” RBs from this years recruiting class. One of them, either AJ or Todd Sibley are going to have a lifht go on for them. Just a matter of time, one of them will be special.

    Like

  73. Not sure about either AJ or Sibley being able to light it up. And even if your correct about the possibility of AJ or Sibley being able to light it up we will have to overcome the Narduzzi/Watson MO of playing experience over talent.

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  74. Hey all,

    First off, I hope you Christmas, Hannakah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice season was incredible (did I miss any holiday? Oh well you can bring it up next year in the airing of grievances during Festivus 😉 ).

    Second of all and I ask this sincerely…I see likely another 5 win season next year (and while I am not trying to single out Ike but that is the only one I saw while leafing through the responses above) and some of you stated you will take 5 or 6 wins next year.

    When do we actually start to hold the current head coach accountable for his performance? Several people said to expect a down year in year 3. Ok fine, but 8 wins in the first two years without his recruits and now year 3 was a down year.

    I am not going to be as accepting as some of you on this MB. He needs to win 8 again next year for me to say he has a shot of being our long term coach. There has to be growth in the program. It is now his team, his recruits, his system, his program.

    Therefore the results are his and reflect his ability. Otherwise we can use the well it’s only year 1 billion, let’s give just one more year.

    of course, it may be because I have such lofty expectations of this program (a top 10 every 7 years and a top 25 every 3 to 4 years).

    Now on to a positive to end my sandwich post ( you know good thing, bad thing, good thing).

    May you all have a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year.

    Dave D

    Like

    1. DaveD – I generally agree with you and many others who hold the Pitt coaches accountable for the win loss record, as the football and basketball coaches are each paid roughly $2 million a year.

      That said, without full commitment of the Pitt BOT/Admin it won’t matter if you hold them accountable.
      Get rid of Narduzzi (I’m not advocating this, as I like some of the things he’s done. He has a some areas where his boss should demand improvement for sure) and you will replace him with something similar. Pitt, in it’s current version of commitment to sports, can’t attract anything close to Urban, Nick, or Dabo.

      To me, Step #1 is full commitment of the BOT/Admin. This could change the paradigm. Among other things, full commitment means developing a long-term plan for the football/BB programs, sports facilities, campus improvements, alumni and fan engagement, and eventually wins/losses. Get everyone pulling in the same direction and the recruits, fans, and highly regarded coaches will take notice and want to come and be a part of it.

      Pitt, as a university does some things right. But, in football (aka alumni/fan relations), the missteps over the last 35 years or so are numerous.

      Out here there are a lot of Nebraska fans. Recently, and before Nebraska hired Frost, I heard a Nebraska fan say: if we screw up this hire, we risk becoming Minnesota, Pitt or one of the other once proud powers that have not won much in 30 years… Ouch!

      Like

    2. Dave. I would caution you not to underestimate the power of a potential great QB like Pickett
      He alone may be worth 3 wins in 18. I like Pitt to have a very good season next year.

      Like

  76. DD, If you haven’t figured it out as of yet Narduzzi is our long term coach even if he has 5 game win seasons the next two years. He sure won’t be highly sought after by other if that happens to be the case. And IMHO Heather is not going to fire him.

    Like

    1. It’s not that I haven’t figured it out. I was more critiquing our acceptance of less than mediocrity. I won’t even argue your point.

      It’s the fact that we are now admitting that we are accepting less than mediocrity with 5 wins for a coach to be our long term CEO.

      I guess we should’ve just made Wanny “Coach for Life” because at least with Wanny we had the ability to screw up a kickoff return for the chance to win a conference. (Although I doubt he could’ve maintained a viable team to in the ACC, but hell I sure would like to have seen him try 🙂 ).

      Dave D

      Like

  77. As long as we are talking coaching, one does have to wonder where the Pitt FB program would be if HCDW was now entering his 13th season at the helm…He was recruiting 4 and 5 Star kids to a dying Big East Conference. What might he have accomplished recruiting kids to the ACC?

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  78. Once upon a time some dunce said “Let me make this perfectly clear” so here goes…… For the past three years I’ve often said that 2018 would be the time for Narduzzi to start producing wins instead of good games. Although it may be one year to early to expect bigger things considering the difficult schedule PITT faces and the still youthfulness of the team they must get back to a bowl this coming year.

    I still feel that another shoe will drop on the team as there has not been any disciplinary action taken against any of the players yet and I do believe there was an incident after the Miami game. That could take away any momentum going into next season. We will see. I think I said it’s too early to predict but I may have said (CRS) 6 wins in the regular season but it just may be another 5 win season if the breaks don’t go their way.

    I suppose that the way many of you want to look at it, that I have given Narduzzi a complete pass. I don’t believe I have because I’m the real realist as I know that miracles shouldn’t have been expected before Narduzzi settle the ship down. Then what happens? More rocking of the boat by the young knuckleheads who couldn’t maintain. Not only that but PITT’s leaders were the ones doing the rocking.

    Not too much went right this past year and a young team can’t overcome sloppy play.

    So to summarize how I really feel. It’s Narduzzi’s time to put up this coming season and field a well coached team that doesn’t beat themselves and play quality football.

    If anyone on the POV believes they are TRUE REALIST, this just in. You’re not. There is only a handful in the world.

    https://anuschkarees.com/…/optimism-vs-pessimism-vs-realism-how-to-be-a-happy-realis

    Like

  79. lets try this

    On all my other posts about optimism at least one person commented something like: “I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist”. Is realism better than optimism? What does it mean to be a realist anyway? Although our modern notion of ‘being realistic’ is much closer to standard pessimism, i.e. downplaying the good things and seeing the bad as inevitable, a true realist is someone who makes completely unbiased judgements and who doesn’t see things through any kind of filter, neither a positive nor a negative one. In principle, the realist’s way of thinking should be the most objective one. However, from a psychological point of view, a completely unbiased perspective is neither possible nor productive (at least not always). What counts is knowing when to think like a realist and when not to, something optimists are particularly good at. If you’re a die-hard realist, read on to find out how to get the most out of your ‘need for objectivity’ 🙂

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  82. A realist doesn’t look for excuses every single time something goes wrong. He just accepts that a negative happened , takes an honest look at it understanding the resources he has to fix it, then busts ass to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

    A pessimist just thinks “Well, sh*t happens” and figures its cursed and as such we can’t avoid those things in the future.

    A crazy optimist, of which we have some on here, looks at the situation and says “That’s in the past and can’t happen again and besides it isn’t our fault that happened on our watch”.

    Like what we have in Pitt fans who believe that any good player who leaves is automatically going to be replaced by someone who is better, or it was the schedule that made us into a losing team or… anything but the owner of the problem himself as being the cause.

    We read that on here last preseason ad nauseam when fans were just sure that any Narduzzi kids just had to be better than any Chyst player…

    Like

  83. A true realist is a realist 24/7 365, not when they think they know a certain subject more astutely than others. Read the psychologist thought on the subject above. It makes sense.

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  84. It’s very hard to be a “true” realist. It takes a 100% unbiased mind to do so. So, do we have any unbiased opinions on the POV?

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  86. I have been reading this blog since it launched and never commented as I don’t enjoy sniping back and forth with people I don’t know (and things usually get out of hand).

    Thank you Reed for this blog and I do hope it continues for a long time. I comment now because in all this back and forth about recruiting and coaching, both of which matter immensely we have now moved back into optimist/realist/pessimist but the painful point I truly believe is we are at the best we can be, because regardless of coaches we can’t get more than occasional blue chip recruit.

    I graduated in 1995, while a student I did not attend games after freshman year, when carrying the fraternity standard onto the field as a pledge was required as it just was not worth the time to walk up that hill. I care WAY more now that I have long graduated, probably too much. I was also a pretty decent high school football player, I loved/love Pitt but the hard truth was/is, if I or any of my sons were a 4 or 5 star recruit there is no way Pitt would be the choice. This has nothing to do with OCS as it was an equally pathetic game day experience when I was there. That matters I don’t see anything changing that. I don’ t even think the town would support Pitt if they won 10 games three years in a row, but that does not matter because they won’t.

    I remember the 90’s very well, if you guys don’t see or believe that Pitt is light years better than they were then I don’t know what to say but that does not mean that going up can happen. All I really expect is for Pitt to be competitive in every game so it is worth my time walking up the hill. For the most part (save Ok State this year) that has been the case since Chryst and Narduzzi have been coaching.

    Maybe I should expect more from them and the University but I truly believe if Pitt fired Narduzzi and hired Saban for 20 million, the recruits and results would be the same. We can pop 8-10 wins every couple of years but as a realist getting to crummy bowl game most years is enough.

    Like

    1. Nice to have a new perspective on things. Please post more often pittpride26.

      The 10 win thing is about once every 3 decades though. 🙂

      Like

  87. lol yeah the first link didn’t take….but it does show what I looked up

    Splitting hairs Reed? Is that the realist talking? 🙂

    Seriously, if someone would have a bias how can they be objective as hard as they try? I realize that I have a favorable bias toward Narduzzi and I may be more apt to be patient and optimistic. << That shoe fits me.

    Like

  88. I’m a realist – Pitt is mediocre
    I’m a pessimist – Pitt will never win the ACC championship in either football or basketball
    I’m an optimist – eventually I will die and I wont have to care about Pitt anymore

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m not ready to die yet…but I’m close to not caring about whether Pitt wins or loses. Especially with the current abortion the muckety mucks have created with basketball.

      Like

    2. I’m a realist, I know I will die. I’m a pessimist, it will probably be painful. I’m an optimist, you’ll go first TX.

      Like

  89. Welcome pittpride26…keep posting. If you are local I hope to meet you at a tailgate. The more the merrier. Regarding the topic this thread morphed into…ask yourself this: do people see you as you see yourself?

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    1. Thanks last row, I live in California and have not been back since 12-0 at Three Rivers in 1999, way too long. I have promised my oldest son a Pitt/Steelers weekend (as right or wrong I got him hooked on both). Timing may be right in 2018.

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      1. And to the second part that is too deep for me! As it pertains to Pitt, I actually think most people outside the state of PA see them in a much better light than most of us. Keep in mind that I live in melting pot so all they know around here is Pitt beat 3 top 5 teams in the past two seasons. They have no idea they also lost to a 1-9 one and went OT with an FCS school. There is nothing wrong with wanting to average more than 7-8 wins a year but wanting something doesn’t mean it will happen.

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        1. Living in Vancouver, Canada where there is little College football talk, I can say that the only time someone has said anything to me about PITT football was the wins a couple of years ago against the Nitters and Clemson where a few guys texted me “you must be Sh^8ing yourself”. Which was actually unfortunate because I taped the Clemson game because I presumed we were going to get smoked. Still not a good place to be…a full commitment is needed like others have said.

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  90. I’m back from my Christmas trip to Columbia & found this article while waiting for the grandkids to get up. Christmas morning. (When they were young, oldest <10, they were up & about at 6:00am. This year, earliest at 10:30am.)

    http://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-spt-siriusxm-acc-radio-1219-story.html

    SeriusXM announcing a channel 321 (according to article & also available on the SeriusXM app) dedicated to the ACC. Channel scheduled to start in early 2018 & will cover ACC basketball, football, Olympic sports, talk & coaches shows, media days etc.

    No $ were quoted but a few bucks to the ACC & PITT (by extension).

    SeriusXM also announced same type of arrangement with the Pac-12 & SEC.

    I listen to Serius XM in car & I believe wbb & Erie Express also listen.

    Like

    1. I listen to Channel 84, an all college sports channel called ESPNU , but Pitt comes up very sparingly , as one might imagine..

      Like

  91. I think people see Pitt better than Pitt fans see themselves. We are a pessimist bunch given 35 years of futility…thats reality. Being an optimist is foolish at this point given the facts. A tough schedule next year. Few if any elite recruits over the past 4 years. An inexperienced QB. 2 coordinators that are borderline incompetent. The nation remembers the upsets. Pitt is typically good for one each year. But when was the last time you saw a Pitt team play on New Years?

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    1. It was 2005 when Pitt got smoked by Utah and that was the only time in the 26 years I have been associated with Pitt. That was my point. For Pitt to play on New Years Day will be based on good fortune rather than coaching. (and make no mistake that 2005 team lucked into the Fiesta Bowl, and despite the closeness to my home I did not for a second consider going because I watched that team and knew they would get smoked).

      I agree with Reed to win titles you need elite players and I just do not see how Pitt gets them. The difference is I don’t think it is because of the coach. That does NOT mean we can’t have an occasional 9 or 10 win season and above average bowl every few years and I actually think that is where the program is. As I said maybe I should expect more but I don’t. I know for not posting before I am very wordy, work is beyond dead!

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      1. When I was freshman Pitt started off 5-0 ranked #12 (Van Pelt,Martin, Gilbert, Hamilton). Got waxed 42-7 by Notre Dame and finished 6-5. After that 5-0 start Pitt went 9-30 over the rest of my years there, 9-30!!!! Which is why when I read how bad things people think we are right now I grin. I cannot even fathom what blogs would have been like if they existed back then!

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        2. I feel bad for the students and players from those years. Football was given no chance to succeed by Chancellor O’Conner and it is despicable how the university let football sink. No visionaries at all in understanding what sports brings to a university. It was bad with Nordy, but at least he wanted to be competitive on the cheap. Pitt from 1990-96 didn’t care one bit but gladly stuck its hand out to collect a check from the Big East. There are actually Pitt fans who were OK with how things went down in those years.

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  92. Nice to see you posting pp26, keep the comments coming. You put down in writing, what is in your mind. Bob Dylan.. (paraphrase) What else can we do but keep the faith… Here’s the Dylan song, a good one to fall asleep to…

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  93. lol, right Emel. One thing I will never ever debate is ones personal taste in music. Consider yourself lucky you found something to put you to sleep besides a pill… 🙂

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  94. PP26- I feel your pain and share your perspective. 7 wins in my four years at Pitt,4 of which were in my senior year. But I, along with a number of my friends from that time, still watch every game and make at least on trip a year from the NYC area to see a game. This year we saw the Oklahoma State debacle. We liove our annual fall weekend even though our favorite drinking holes are long gone.

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    1. Let me guess…..Froggy’s on Market Street(Downtown). And of course the old ones on S. Bouquet and of course the the Keg (CJ Barney’s) and the Decade. Only one still around in that vicinity is Peter’s Pub, I believe.

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  96. Pessimists. Optimists. Realists. All of the above. Please answer this question “Yes” or “No”..

    If Pitt goes 5-7 next year, Narduzzi will be 26-24 in 4 years. Is that your definition of “successful”?

    I know all the “reasons”. I know many have different perspectives. I’m just looking for a simple “Yes” or “No”.

    I’d like to hear from as many of you as possible.

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  97. Canada hasn’t been officially fired yet….but here’s something from SEC Country, that suggests after their Bowl Game….he could be let go.

    https://www.seccountry.com/lsu/report-ed-orgeron-leaning-toward-replacing-offensive-coordinator-matt-canada-bowl-game

    Maybe they can take Watson and we can hire Oh Canada back. He and Pickett could provide a very
    dynamic offense…possibly. With those WR’s we got coming in, the one is a bigger version of Q-Tip

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  99. I would so like to see a Watson for Canada trade with LSU having to pick up $1 million of his remaining two year contract with LSU. Pitt could pay him the additional 550K he was due from LSU, Wishful thinking for sure.

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  100. By the way there would be room for Canada as the 10th coach. Make him the OC and Watson the QB coach. More wishful thinking!

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    1. I don’t know Upitt, lot’s of smoke down in the bayou about this. Plus, Canada was asking to be interviewed for HC openings about a month ago. I think he wants out.

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  103. Naduzzi always goes all out to improve the roster. I sure hope he’d do the same with his staff and bring Canada back and shift Watson to QB coach. And Pitt wouldn’t have to pick up the full tab, which would silence our pretentious fans who don’t think an assistant coach should make a million a year. It’s a win-win.

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  104. Some of you are clueless. Every programs gets walkons. It has zero to do with the strength of the recruiting class. Do you follow any college football outside of Pitt?

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  105. Canada wants to be a head coach. That’s where the real money is.

    Pitt won’t get 9-10 wins until they schedule three patsies a year.

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  106. Ever hear of the Burlsworth Trophy? Look it up.

    I guess Arkansas. Penn State, Oklahoms, Wisconsin, etc. can’t recruit because they had walkons at key positions. Very successful walkons.

    Every program knows kids slip though the cracks so they give kids a shot. Nothing to lose.

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    1. Nothing wrong with walkons per se. But when a HC has to turn to transfers at key positions…and transfers from JUCO and Community Colleges no less, that means there are glaring holes on the roster that recruiting hasn’t filled well enough.

      Those schools you mention have strong (and very well funded by specific donations) walk on programs. Pitt doesn’t have that.

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      1. Those JC kids that are walk ons aren’t to fill glaring holes. They are just typical walk ons the staff is taking a chance on. As every school does. Irrelevant to recruiting arguments. Obviously they take kids in positions where numbers may be low. That is common sense.

        Now, grad transfer and a JC given a scholarship are to fill holes. Again, many schools do it.

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  107. Pitt has three seniors invited to the NFL Combine; Weah , Maddox and Windslow. Remember that only true seniors are invited, not those who declared early.

    https://247sports.com/college/pittsburgh/Bolt/Three-Pitt-Football-Players-Get-Invited-To-The-2018-NFL-Combine-112810212?utm_source=247Sports%20Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=171228_053236_Pitt%20Panthers&utm_content=Image&liveconnect=05-23-55-F8-0C-EF-75-BE-22-07-F8-54-A3-9A-DD-3A171228_053236PittPanthers

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      1. I agree. Maybe someone will take a chance on Weah based on speed and size, but the Pitt NFL train is making a pitstop this year.

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        1. I don’t know. Sammie Coates was a third round pick by the Steelers. Similar collegiate production to Weah. Similar measureables. Similar reputation for not always catching the ball.

          I doubt Maddox will be drafted, but I have always thought he’d make a good slot corner. Perhaps he follows the path of Pitts and Lewis.

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  108. I think it is a good thing that the coaches are looking at walk-ons and transfers to make the team better.

    Is it a sign of inadequate recruiting, maybe, but nothing wrong with Aston beating out scholarship players and excelling. Morrisey a little different in that he struggled as did the O-line. Somewhat surprised that he beat out Dintino or that they didn’t move Officer back to center, since he played there the previous year. Morrisey should be better next year with a year under his belt.

    Who can argue with Savage or Peterman being strong transfers?

    Browne didn’t work out. I think if we had a weak OOC, Pickett may have started from the getgo, but facing PSU and OKST with a weak O-line would have been a disaster and not good for Pickett or Pitt.

    Our transfers overall did not do what we had hoped for last year, but should be a lot better this year.

    This is a new era in football where players come and go a lot more than they did in the past.
    I think Narduzzi has done a pretty good job of adjusting to the opportunities.

    Hopefully he gets better at attracting 4 star true freshman, but you have to make the best of what you have in the meantime.

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  109. Wrote a comment yesterday at 4:00 pm acknowledging that this is the first year Narduzzi has to be held MORE accountable. 5-7 would be very disappointing and probably unexceptionable depending on just how the season unfolds.

    That said, something absolutely terrible would have to happen for him to be going anywhere. With PITT, that’s always a good possibility. Although I never have believed that what has happened in the past has any bearing in today’s world. PITT has to beat the teams and games they are favorite in and a couple games were they are slight underdogs.

    A poor coached team is no longer to be exonerated for youth and inexperience. It’s put up time… ike

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  110. The Christmas gift I wish I would have given? A do over for Taleni, Blair, Whitehead, Bookser and Wirginis. If all those young men played the entire season we may have seen the record flipped to 7-5? but who knows?

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  111. I was watching an NFL game the other day, and it was amazing how many in the lineups came from small schools. Clearly, they could have played, maybe after some development, in major programs such as Alabama and Clemson if they made it to the NFL. It just goes to show you that recruiting is not an exact science and it is very hard to measure the size of a player’s heart.

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  112. When I was young I was a Pitt cheerleader, always stated “wait til next year.” Now, after waiting 40 years, I’ve come to the realization that the Panthers don’t need cheerleaders, they need solutions! We are the definition of MEDIOCRITY!!!

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  114. By the way, 85 scholarships in college, but a team can carry up to 120 on the roster.

    A coach not having tons of walk ons is an idiot.

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  115. After watching crappy bowl games in empty stadiums, I wish they would eliminate most of them.

    8 wins or no bowl game.

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  116. EDR, finally a topic I want to comment on. I love Vancouver.

    About 10 years ago, I stood on the International Pier just walking over from Gastown, the oldest (but best) section of the city …. and stared in awe as I viewed (from left to right):

    a modern large city
    a large park filled with trees, trails, etc
    a large marina
    biplanes landing on the bay for refueling
    a large ocean liner, as well as boats of all sizes, scattered around the bay
    seals sunning themselves on the rocks on the opposite shore
    and snow-capped mountains in the background of almost everything listed above

    I was probably standing there with my mouth open for 10-15 minutes

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    1. We lived in Seattle for twenty years and went up to Vancouver probably twice a year for long weekends. If you are there anytime from mid-July to the end of September, it might be the best place on earth.

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      1. I ran the Coast Guard Search and Rescue Operations Center in Port Angeles for four years encompassing
        Seattle, the Straits of Juan de Fuca and down the coast to Portland. That is some of the most beautiful places on earth and some amazing cities.

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    2. Yea Vancouver BC is a very unique city. I too was very impressed with it. And so apparently was the wealthiest man Howard Hughes who lived there on the Top Floor(s) of the Westin or Hilton Hotel.
      Truly a gorgeous skyline.

      Stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel which was ultra cool and all the large Cruise ships docked in the back.

      Even at this time, Vancouver had the 2nd largest Chinatown in North America. This was before Hong Kong reverted back to China. Now Vancouver is supposed to be like Hong Kong East. Most natives can’t even afford the property costs, from what I read.

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    3. Yeah, Vancouver Island is cool too. Granville Island & the Public Market is a nice place. Went there in 2000.

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  120. Virginia playing Navy in Military Bowl just like Pitt did in 2015. UVa took opening kickoff for TD just like Quadree did in 2015. Navy dominated the rest just like they did in 2015 …. only its even worse this time

    Navy currently winning 35-7 mid 3rd quarter and has yet to throw a pass. (and note that UVa coach Mendenhall is making nearly twice what HCPN is)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Was watching and thought the exact same thing. One big difference the Navy team that beat Pitt finished 11-2 and was nationally ranked. This one was 6-6.

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  121. My gift for PItt in ’18 is to see more signs like the one I saw posted in someone’s tweet. At the Miami / Clemson game a Clemson fan had a sign which read: “Miami. We understand. Pitt happens.” Here’s hoping that Pitt happens to PSU, ND, or both. – Hobie

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    2. Wait, Joe Knew,sick and self-delusional, maybe you have the combined outlook of Ike and Upitt .
      (Sorry guys, Too easy, I couldn’t resist)

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  125. ACC bowl teams are dying from turnovers. They beat BC last night, and VT just turned over the ball with a 1st & goal at the one in a 7-3 game. Now OK St is driving.

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  126. Most walk-ons are kickers, followed by wide receivers, cornerbacks, running backs, tight ends, linebackers.

    We have em at LB, RB, Center and kicker. Having one is not terrible. Having 4, is. That was the point. Imagine 4, “0” stars being offered a schollie? You all would flip. Actually it isn’t a bad idea to have a walk-on surrounded by a bunch of 4 and 5 stars. I think Aston thrived because of our offensive prowess last year. I thought he would struggle this year because of the talent, or lack therof, surrounding him.

    As far as juco’s, we are taking a flier on a couple of those because of prior serious injuries, Similar to McCoy. If it doesn’t work out, it is a short term investment. C’mon now fellas.

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  127. Generally, walk-ons and transfers are a sign of poor recruiting and holes in the depth chart. They are typically stop gap measures taken by the staff. Solution: 20 recruits each year with 10 4 stars or above. An avg star rating of 3 over the past 10 years only gets you 6-6 seasons and a crappy bowl.

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  128. From the recruiting link above:

    3 – Prospects that don’t have their priorities straight.

    “A number of coaches shared how some recruits are more concerned with the brand of their uniform, or how they look and how good the facilities are way more than they are about whether the school carries their major, or their options after graduating. This also stretches to Division III commits who asked coaches to send them a National Letter of Intent on the morning of signing day so that they could put it on their Twitter, SnapChat or Instagram which is becoming increasingly common.”

    This is so true and why we spend so much wasted money on facilities wars. If you have ever been to the Southside you’ll see that we have a huge weight room and very fancy facilities to go with it…yet for as much as we spend on that I was told that Pitt actually lags behind most other P5 schools in this area…again because we don’t get donations specifically for the facility ”upgrades”.

    BTW I’ve been in those buildings through the last three HC’s upgrades and aside from cosmetics – showing off trophy, wallpapers and Wall of Fame stuff – they are pretty much the same…except this year the NCAA has allowed schools to provide more than one training table meal per day so the dining facility is getting worked on.

    Here is the latest big planned change for athletics;

    The largest of the projects okayed by the property and facilities committee is a $13.8 million plan to upgrade facilities and infrastructure to support network broadcasts as required by contract with the ACC, Pitt officials said.

    The work involves construction of a broadcast studio, media control rooms and other facilities at the Petersen Events Center, as well as fiber connectivity and light and power upgrades at the Petersen Sports Complex, Fitzgerald Fieldhouse and Trees Hall.

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  132. Re: Matt Canada leaving LSU…
    As a Pitt fan here in bayou country, some may recall my posts earlier this season that Canada was not getting a positive reception in these parts. Guess that hasn’t improved, although surprised at the one-and-out possibility.

    Maybe with LSU’s consistently highly rated recruiting classes, either Canada got exposed or the recruit rankings are way over-rated. Either way, it is difficult for the LSU athletic gurus to justify paying a huge salary to Canada and winding up with offensive stats worse than last year.

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  133. Gotta chuckle a little bit Reed as I read your note/update regarding facilities. From an Administration standpoint, it reflects negatively on Pitt. Why on earth would Pitt waste their time with a facilities committee approval? It shows Pitt has no coordination or pulling in the same direction to achieve an objective. The Facilities Committee should have signed off on the actual ACC contract that stipulated the upgrades when we joined.

    What would have happened if the Committee said “NO”. The answer is, nothing. They couldn’t say no, so why have them say yes. Too many employees need justification for jobs. It is a colossal waste of time. Pitt agreed to it as part of joining ACC. Securing some bogus administrative approval is stupid. It already should have been approved prior to joining ACC. We can’t be that disorganized.

    This shouldn’t be a feather for heather. It was required as a stipulation.

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    2. These ppl all have to justify the big salaries they are pulling down. So they have to make it appear, they actually do something. Ever work for the Federal, State or Local Gov’t ? Same thing.

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  134. Guessing this is another anchor to the Steelers and Heinz Field. In this case it’s all good. It’s an investment pure and simple.

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  136. Reed,
    Can you confirm that Pitt’s recruiting academic requirements are greater than the NCAA’s? I remember when they did that unilaterally way way back. If that is still the case then we can not take the administration as serious about football (and athletics in general) until they end that stance.

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    1. So is Wisconsin’s, but they manage to have a Top 20 team every year. And sometimes Top 10.

      Realizing that the dynamics in the BigJoke are much different than they are in the ACC. In regard to having to have many Top 25 type teams to fill their many Jan 1st type bowl games.

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  138. Yep Pittman4ever. Creepy Valley State probably killed that along with Ohio Fake.

    ACC is not doing too well in Bowl Games so far…1 win and 3 losses. UVA got sacrificed to Navy like we did a couple years ago. Only ACC Bowl win in the lowly Quick Lane Pizza Bowl over a MAC team.

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    1. Also, everyone’s favorite coach, Mike Leach, got blasted. Dude seems to always lose the Apple Cup and his bowl game by large margins. Maybe if he wore Pirate gear on the sidelines that’d all change.

      No excuse for Virginia to lose that bad. I always enjoy seeing VTech get beat.

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    1. Army had 440 yards on the ground and 46 minutes in time of possession in their game versus San Diego State. 4 pass attempts.

      Navy had 452 yards on the ground and 42 minutes in time of possession in their game versus UVA. 1 pass attempt.

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  141. Ike, One thing to always keep in mind with blogs like this… Everybody has presuppositions with regard to Pitt’s ‘status’ that influence their ‘opinions’. People try to come across as objective (and I think Reed in particular makes an excellent effort at this), but even he is influenced by his Pitt-experiences due to interactions he has had which shape his opinions, as with all of us. If people didn’t like the Narduzzi hire, they will go out of their way to prove they are right (singling out last year’s record instead of his 3 years as coach) or maybe Narduzzi pissed someone off due to his bumbling of press conference or practice privilege protocols, so we slant events a certain way or emphasize stars by looking at 3 vs 4 instead of 3.1 vs 3.7 vs 4.1, etc. to spin the ‘facts’, and the list goes on and on. This stuff is human nature, and frankly that’s OK, as your take is equally valid as the Nancys most times, it’s all in good fun, as long as we’re not personal in our opinions of the players, coaches and each other.

    With regard to our OC spot, I still am not sure how I feel about it. I wouldn’t take Canada back in that position even if it were realistic (and I don’t think it will ever be); he was as good a fit for Pitt for one year as Chaney was a bad fit for one year, and maybe neither experience is indicative at how good or bad either OC is. The reason I’m ‘up in the air’ about Watson is what he had to work with at the QB position, so I think next year, provided Pickett is as good as he looked to be and stays healthy, will be more telling about him. If Pickett gets injured, then I think he’ll be hard to evaluate as an OC for another year. And if Pickett does get injured, will I regret not having DiNucci as a backup? No, not really, and I doubt the JUCOs will be any better than him, but I’m not sure how much worse they can be either.

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    1. 1618mt, How can you say Reed is objective about Narduzzi when after the Miami win, he did no post-game Sunday podcast or a MMQB (Good, Bad, Ugly) as he did every other week? Instead, he went immediately to a season summary? He just couldn’t do a whole blog article where he had to be positive towards the staff.

      You will note that I didn’t offer any comments on this blog or the previous one about the blog topic. It has become hilarious how subjective he has become even to the point that he scrutinizes every sentence PN says in his pressers.

      We all have our opinions about everything Pitt FB, and our minds are pretty well made up … one way or the other. And if Reed wants to continue his full court press .. fine! It’s his blog. But I don’t think there is much objectivity here, whether its Reed or anyone else.

      Reading PittPOV these days is like reading CNN or Fox News …… pick your poison.

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      1. Canada hit the perfect storm in his one year at Pitt. Good OL, QB and a great college RB.

        I give him credit for putting players in a position to succeed and his play selection at critical times in a game were good. He surprised the crap out of PSU with the offense thanks to the closed practices.

        He would not have come close this past year.

        Look for changes to the offense over the off season. Watson stopped trying to force Canada’s exact offense at years end. A mistake the staff made at the beginning of the season.

        Having a good QB is huge for Pitt. This past year was a disaster. Amazing how different a team can look when a QB can make all the throws and steps up in the pocket.

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  143. I hope they use that 13.8 million to change the camera angle at basketball games. Instead of showing the private box side of the court all the time switch it to the student section.

    Whoever pays for those court side private boxes need to get their rear ends in the seats.

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  144. WWB – That’s what I love about this blog. It IS both Fox and CNN, so I get both sides and can make up my own mind. From where I sit, Reed has been pretty objective about this coaching staff. Some people just don’t like it. We all have our little slant our view going in. Of all the blogs I read, this is the best by far, the most knowledgeable and where the posters argue like family. I love it. If Reed is too negative in some eyes, then folks should come back on with reasoned arguments about things like assistant coaching staff quality, luke warm recruiting (both nationally and relative to our ACC competition), in game play calls and decisions and clock management, player development or lack thereof, etc. I think Reed would happily publish a well reasoned article on the virtues of the coaching staff based on response to some of the above. It would lead to a great discussion and a good family dinner table argument. I can’t write it because, so far, I agree with Reed’s assessment. Trust me, I don’t want to. I’m sick of mediocrity and turnover and I want him to be good.

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    1. see, we can’t eve be objective about Reed’s objectivity. I’ll point this out again …. after Pitt’s best win this year, Reed didn’t even offer any post-game analysis/article as he he did after every other game.

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  145. 1618, that is exactly what I have been trying to say. I understand that there has been a progress going on down at PITT and I have been on board with it. Others not so patient which is fine by me. I’m pretty much considered a simpleton when I post positive things, while some consider themselves the R word (not getting into that again) which is just not true. For the reasons you posted there is a certain bias towards Narduzzi which is also fine by me.

    Hell, one guy came out of his self imposed retirement to call me out for a dumb comment. By in large, I really don’t consider the back and forth “sniping” per say. It is actually pretty mild around here for the most part. Some I bug more than others which is all good by me. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea but I don’t go out of my way to be so. ike

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  146. NRS – I say the same thing about the football TV coverage. If the TV “infrastructure” can’t be moved from the home side, flip the field and put the team, band and students on the other side – which dramatically improves what the audience will see from a Pitt perspective.

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  147. Wbb, Reed was in North Carolina over Thanksgiving visiting a 102 year old Aunt who happens to be the last remaining member of his original family, and who pretty much raised me after my parents died when I was a teenager…so I get down there once or twice a year and spend every minute I possibly can with her.

    Then on Sunday I was on the road all day driving home, and when home spent a belated Thanksgiving with my wife and kids so the very last thing on my mind was sitting down to write an article about Pitt football so I posted one I had drafted earlier with some updates to it for the Miami game and said this:

    “So without a doubt I feel that Friday’s game was shot through with positive and euphoric memories made that way by good coaching on the sidelines and strong and effective work from the Panthers on the field of play.  It all came together for a 24-14 upset at Heinz Field that was made all the better because it was done against a strong ACC team that has pretty much had our number in recent years.”

    And Jesus Christ, why should I feel that I have to churn something out because you may be waiting for it? Really, why should I even consider that given the crap you throw my way every chance you get?

    Why in the world should I take any time at all for ingrates like you who shoot thier goddamn mouths off about something when you don’t know jackshit about the situation? I am so damn tired of readers like you who sit back and take pissy little potshots at me and my efforts on here.

    In other words go screw yourself…

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