Here is a slight rebuttal piece from our reader and commenter Michaelangelo Monteleone aka The Atlanta Panther.

Welcome to Pittsburgh Coach Dave Borbely.  We are mildly pleased to make your acquaintance.  It’s not that we don’t want you here, it’s just that we’re skeptical that you’ll be an improvement. 

To wit the article that Reed posted on Monday did not exactly inspire confidence.  If we remember correctly, he labeled you “Grim Reaper of Maryland QBs”.  If only you coached our defensive line.  In fairness you were only “Special Assistant to the Head Coach” when all those QB injuries happened in 2017.  Still, your 2016 Sacks Allowed ranking of 127th is pretty bad. 

Granted you had a slow-footed quarterback from Pittsburgh Central Catholic behind that offensive line of yours, (and GOD DO WE KNOW WHAT THAT’S LIKE), but still…

That being said, like any good College of Arts and Sciences graduate would do, I’m keeping an open mind.  “Trust but verify” is an old Russian proverb.  “Curiosity killed the cat.” said another.  Three beers and the internet and we shall find the truth, so let’s try to do that now.

We will start in 2010.  That’s when you signed on to coach Louisville Offensive line.  It was, in many respects your best year.  RB Bilal Powell (currently of the New York Football Jets) ran for 1900 yards and scored 11 touchdowns.  The quarterbacks, veteran and savvy as they were, stayed upright in the pocket.  They passed for 2500 yards and 22 TD’s.  Of course this had to be behind an inherited O-Line, and I’m guessing most of them were upperclassmen, because your next year was atrocious.

In fairness you had a freshman quarterback (Teddy Bridgewater) behind that 2011 offensive line. It is likely that he held onto the ball too long.  That would account for at least 1.5 sacks per game by our reckoning.  But regardless of quarterback play, the line’s total of 3.3. sacks per game is two sacks too many in any league.  And your 114th Sacks Allowed ranking was the second worst of your career.  On top of that the running game was mediocre at best.  Your top two running backs combined for 1600 Yds – just over 4 YPC.  It was a rebuilding year in the trenches to be sure. 

2012 was slightly better.    A much improved Bridgewater threw for 3800 yards and 27 TD’s(!)  He was undoubtedly helped by your unit’s 0.9 sack per game improvement (2.4 vs 3.3, good for 84th in the country).  Sure the run-of-the-mill running backs ran for only 1500 yds, but it’s likely that nobody cared because Bridgewater was busy slinging the rock all over yard.  

Now 2013, that was a season to remember.  Bridgewater, by then a junior, threw for 4000+ yards that year.  And the running game was clicking, with Dominique Brown and Sinorice Perry combining for nearly 1900 yards from scrimmage (at 5+ yards a pop), this team was on fire.  And the O-Line. These were your guys!  Handpicked by Coach Borbs!  Trained in your secret stronghold on Planet Mongo.  They were good for 76th in sacks allowed, and you had every right to be proud.  The team finished 12-1 and dominated Miami in the Citrus Bowl.  

And then Charlie Strong went to Texas…and he didn’t take you.

So you took a sabbatical up in Pueblo Colorado, enjoyed the crisp mountain air and rode some superior talent to a DII national championship.  Well played coach Borbs, well-played.

A national championship at any level will do wonders to anyone’s career, and in 2015 you were picked up by Head Coach Mike London of the Virginia Cavaliers.  Ahhh, Mike London.  No coach in recent memory has done less with more.  The Cavs finished 4-8 that year with a plethora of 4-star talent on the roster.

You sir, on the other hand, had a pretty good year.  The line paved the way for 1700 rushing yards, and they protected the QB.   49th in the country in sacks allowed was nothing to sneeze at. As a side note, we played you that year.  Virginia’s rushing stats were 31 carries for 131 yds (4.5 YPC).  But, we sacked your quarterback 4 times, and our two-star wunderkind Mike Capara notched a safety. 

And then Mike London got fired. 

Fortunately for you, the University of Maryland needed a Line Coach in 2016.  You had all the right credentials.  You had coached an offensive line, you were unemployed, and you had a pulse.  (The financial troubles of the Maryland athletic department have been well documented).  And yet, as if to prove all of your doubters wrong, your linemen went out and blocked for 2600 yards.   The team had two halfbacks, averaging 9.2 and 7.7 yds per carry respectively, and a line that probably loved to beat the snot out of their opponents. 

But Good God man, what happened to your pass blocking?  Four sacks allowed per game?  127th in the country?  Yes, Perry Hills was from Central Catholic and I’m sure Tino Sunseri was his idol while growing up, but sweet Jesus Dave, if you do that here we will run out-of-town on a rail.

And so here you are.  Pittsburgh.  A drinking town with a football problem.  Reunited with your old pal Shawn Watson. 

As luck would have the situation is not unlike Louisville in 2011.  Watson, has a talented young and untested young quarterback at his disposal.  You have a fair-to-mediocre offensive line.  It could be argued that 2018 Pitt has a more talented stable of running backs. 

And 2011 was not a bad year.  Seven wins in the Big East.  But putting up 21 points per game again is not going to cut it in the 2018 ACC.  

And so, the vast majority of us will go into this season with low expectations.  We will likely be proven right. 

But a select few of us (Dr. Tom … ahem) will go into the season guarding a faint flicker of optimism.  Maybe Watson can dial-up that old Louisville magic one more time.  Maybe Pickett is the real deal.  Maybe his bones are made of rubber and even though all signs point to him being sacked at least three times per game, he will bounce up each time, stronger than before, and more ready to throw the ball.  Maybe.  Either way, we know you will do your best. 

And we hope that Pat and Shawn can get the most out of you as a coach also.  Because if you can produce results anywhere close to mediocre, you will be an upgrade and a welcome one at that.

Here is a spreadsheet of your historical work and the QBs and RBs whom you have worked with.  (Note: this graphic obviously works best if you click on it to expand.)

Ming

 

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.

115 thoughts on ““Trust But Verify” – Pitt’s New Coaching Motto”

  2. I love the effort when anybody gives it a go here to take the load from Reed. However, the article lost it’s credibility IMO right off the bat with, “Granted you had a slow-footed quarterback from Pittsburgh Central Catholic behind that offensive line of yours, (and GOD DO WE KNOW WHAT THAT’S LIKE).

    I’m no PCC apologist but MD’s QB in 2016 was Perry Hills. That’s the same Perry Hills that the season before, BROKE THE SCHOOL’S SINGLE GAME RUSHING RECORD with 170 yards against No. 1 Ohio State. Ohio State? They’re pretty good, no? In fact, OSU was 12-1 that year.

    And the ONLY “slow-footed quarterback from Pittsburgh Central Catholic” that Pitt has EVER had was Dan Marino. As I remember, he was pretty good. If you’re referring to Tino Sunseri, being “slow-footed” wasn’t his problem. Yeah, he has some problems but being “slow-footed” wasn’t one of them. Maybe you were referring to the late Joe Felitsky?

    I sort of glossed over the rest of the post after the above. So.. I’ll just give you the benefit of the doubt that it was great!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. First of all Marino was pretty fast till the knees got blown and avoided the rush pretty well for a lot of years.
      Secondly Tino was slow. Probably set a sack record and certainly was no running QB. Picked up very few needed third downs with his legs.

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        1. Sunseri’s sacks were from “pocket presence” issues, not a lack of speed. Agreed, he wasn’t a running quarterback but while Marino was agile in the pocket, he was no runner either following his first knee injury.

          My main issue? Why take ANOTHER shot at Sunseri (in bold letters, no less) in an article about the new OL coach? It’s just unnecessary and doesn’t further the point of the article. It’s just plain petty.

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          1. Same reason people still complain about Pitt Stadium, Haywood, Fraud, Pederson, Barnes all left us with anger and negativity. Sunseri was the face of Pitt Football for four frustratingly mediocre years. Maybe unfair, but it won’t be the last time. We beat dead horses better than any other fans, because we have more than most.

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  3. Well played. You are an artiste Michelangelo,

    No doubt the guy has experience, and he does prove my premise that the players are more important than the coaches. Maybe Strong should have taken him to Texas.

    So he has coached in the Big East, ACC and B1G, mostly at bottom feeding schools.

    He has the most critical job at Pitt this year, putting together an O-line with a lot of unknowns, the most on the team. He has to protect a talented rookie QB, because if he doesn’t, it will be a very long season.

    I guess the question really is; is this the best Pitt could do? Will he be a Stallings, who went backwards with four seniors and totally failed with his new guys, or will he be like Canada who got the most out of what he had after a marginal career?

    There seems to be no mention of the great future pros that he helped to mold, although nice of him to mention Joe Moore, our GOAT line coach. Also no mention of his recruiting prowess.

    The cupboard is not bare, we have some young big guys on the roster, 3 stars that really need coached up.

    Hope he is the guy to do it.

    I wonder how the strength and conditioning is going. The most important thing for 3 star guys.

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  5. Dan Marino was not slow when he first came to Pitt. He played baseball too and was also drafted in baseball. Dan was a terrific athlete but his knee injuries did slow him down at Pitt and Miami, but the real killer was his torn achillies late in his career at Miami.

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  6. Nice writeup very well done. As to the new OL coach who knows how successful or unsuccessful he will be for Pitt. I do know one thing however if Narduzzi hired Jesus to coach the offensive line there would be far more critical assessments of the hiring than there would favorable comments. I mean really guys who has JESUS coached for in the past ? And my guess is they really got an inexperienced coach in JESUS for slightly above minimum wage.

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  8. Among my unspectacular “life – work” was a stint as a public school English teacher. This was a very well written piece of work, Atlanta Panther – thank you!

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  9. gc, here is a comment I made on the first OL coach article… I agree 100% re: coaching up the young OL. I don’t think these new OL players are as talented as the ones we have had for the last 4-6 years so Borebly’s teaching skill are going to be under a microscope.

    “Position coaches have more influence on players careers than either the HC or the Coordinators do – position coaches are the guys who are charged with turning HS players into effective college players.

    If they don’t do their jobs well it screws the players under them and thus the whole team when it comes to putting their position’s kids out on the field as starters and two-deep players.

    If makes a big amount of difference if a position coach is good or not.

    That is why I have been clambering for a true QB position coach on staff for a long time. We never do that and our recruited QBs never pan out… so fans think they weren’t any good in the first place. But the truth is, in most cases, those young QBs weren’t coached properly in the beginning when they came to Pitt.

    A good case in point was Adam Bertke – when he came to Pitt he had all the physical skills needed to succeed at this level but no single position coach to teach and mold him from his true FR year onward. I watched him in full practices and scrimmages and felt he could have been a good starter for us… But the staff was sold on Voytik, Peterman and DiNucci so Bertke didn’t get the good coaching and practice snaps to compete.

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    1. don’t believe we had a QB coach since ’13

      The OL coaching is critical this year because I see the OL as the biggest question mark, by far

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  10. Off topic … but I believe this tweet from today’s PG pretty much says it all

    Craig Meyer@CraigMeyerPG
    This is related to a story I’ve got running today, but Ryan Luther leads all Pitt players with 36 offensive rebounds.
    Luther hasn’t played in a game since Dec. 9.

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    2. post-game:

      As Boston College charged back, Stallings elected not to call a timeout as a way to try to calm down a young and potentially rattled team.

      “They’ve been coached on what to do,” he said. “I’m not going to tell them something brilliant in a timeout I haven’t already tried to think of to tell them. I probably should have used one there in the first half but didn’t.” *********

      I really think Stallings is Derek Belling it (old Pirates fans will know what I mean)

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Are you insinuating an, “Operation Shut Down?” As much as I don’t like the KS, I think he is completely ashamed of this crap show and is trying his hardest to make chicken salad with chicken substitute.

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  11. Following up on Reed’s comments I think we are too sanguine when some player leaves after s ophmore year, like our two recent QB’s, and land in DII or lesser football schools
    We take solace in thinking they weren’t that good to begin with when the issue was the lack of attention and training as well as the difficulty in getting another school to see your potential.

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    1. Indeed wwb had a snide take like this just last fall with regard to Bertke and perhaps Voytik. Then it became two of Coach Pat’s own QB recruits (MacVittie and DiNucci) that transferred out

      In 2018 it will be true sophomore, and 1 game starter, Pickett playing behind an inexperienced offensive line with a new coach, new starting receivers, and no QB coach. An interesting season awaits…

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  12. Granted you had a slow-footed quarterback, Pittsburgh Central Catholic behind that offensive line of yours, (and GOD DO WE KNOW WHAT THAT’S LIKE)

    Hey come on now, our best and most famous QB EVER is from Pgh Central Catholic.

    That would be my bud….Daniel Constantine Marino.

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    1. no, he was DB / WR … but also filled in admirably at RB (due to injury) during the Central’s state championship run (QBed by Emel’s favorite QB)

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  16. Atlanta..thanks for providing the good read. We seem to get a name leaked at who they are interviewing and shazaaam that person is hired and it’s always someone who Duzz is familiar with. Seems to be another journeyman who has the most important job on the O in my opinion. Hoping for the best and expected Some ole Pitt. How did Jackie and Johnnie put those 70’s staff together with mostly young and up-comers, many who went on to become re-known coaches. With Duzz it’s who you know-not who you blow…..Apologies if that offended anyone.

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    1. Pitt was It….back then BigB. Now we’re not.

      Guess I and some of us were very fortunate to a part of that ‘it’ back then.

      Of course it is something we have all been trying to recapture in the last 35+ years.

      The Never Ending Quest for the Golden Panther !

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  18. We need to start over and go back to the days of being the Western University of Pennsylvania..Let.s go WUPS..Time to open a big can of WUP A$$…..

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  19. Tino could run pretty well. It really was his brain that didn’t process the game very well. Tino and DiNucci were very similar to me. If the play was a design run he could make it work but standing in the pocket, if the first read was covered…sack.

    I would guess that maybe 20% of the schools out there have two QB’s the staff would be happy to use going into the season with. No 4* or 5* QB that is any good is going to wait his turn or get passed and stay as a backup this day and age. That time has passed. We saw it with Palko, Flacco and Getsby (sp?) and we saw it last year with much worse QB talent.

    I follow Miami and they are no different over the last 15 years.

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  20. Hey Emel on Bulger, it was the other way around. PITT did not recruit Marc very much or if at all. It’s why the sisters went to wvu as well. The family has a PITT grudge.

    So we heard from PITT with their press release on Dave Borbely and Reed with his great take and a nice write up from AP. So we got the whole story.

    Myself, I’m fine with the hire after a day or so reading and thinking about DB. Not overly inspired but who was PITT ever going to get? <<< I’ve been preaching that for a good while now. It’s exactly how I got myself into trouble with Barnes. I figure I had to like him and give him a chance with all the bitching I did about “the steve”. So I gave Barnes a chance and he sucked too.

    I can hardly wait until Stalling’s replacement is hired and you better believe I’ll be watching the reaction very closely. Not that I don’t want KS gone myslef but I know better than to expect someone Upitt will really like. Man was that team not a team again last night? Total court chaos, what a mess.

    Back to Dave Borbely, he truly is not a bad hire, when it comes to an O-Line coach I like the idea of an older rough and tumble type of a guy drilling basic line blocking to the young pups on PITT’s O-Line. Plus every-time DB lost his job there was always someone there to hire the guy. His resume is decent enough for me… . .ike

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    1. Didn’t know that they had a Pitt grudge, knew his old man went and played QB for Notre Dame.

      As far as Otis, that guy is the world’s worst coach, makes Ralph Willard look like Adoph Rupp.

      Boston College hadn’t won an ACC road game for 3 freakin years, or 23 games until last night.
      And it was an UTTER ROUT !

      Pull the plug on this fraud please Heather….do your JOB !

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    2. An older rough and tumale kind of coach….kind of like Pitt’s last 2 defensive coordinators before Matt House. And they weren’t too bad as I remember !

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  21. when you think about it …. the fact that Pitt is ranked 319 (of 351) in FG% and 321 in Offensive Rebounds is about as pathetic as it comes

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    1. Yea but…..he’s an offensive genius and the latest (unless Christian made some fake complimentary comments after last night’s game)….is…..’he runs good stuff’ per Clemson coach post-game.

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  23. Reading some of KS’s post game comments show glaringly to me at least how bad of a coach he really is…

    On one hand he states that he didn’t call a timeout during BC’s late first half run because they know what to do and nothing he can say would be that ingenious for him to convey to his players.

    And then he laments on the lack of leadership…

    “In their defense,” Stallings said, “I go back to the second half when we played West Virginia and we’re down big in the second half and we come roaring back (to lose a close game). But they had Ryan Luther. Ryan led them and was an escape for them.”

    So which is it coach? Are they experienced enough to not need your counsel when things start falling apart or do they need you to lead them because they are without leadership?

    You can’t have it both ways Coach Otis.

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    1. Exactly, Otis is an utter joke. If nothing else and you saying nothing, you call a Timeout, to try and slow the run or momentum the other team has going on.

      And if you’re playing a bunch of freshmen, you use the TO as a teaching experience. although based on the lack of learning how to box out the opponents and actually rebounding the ball, as basic basketball skill. Either this clown has no coaching skill AT ALL….or he doesn’t care and is just collecting a paycheck.

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  24. Good writing
    It’s a lost art
    This coach won’t lose pitt any games so why worry
    I’m more worried about the basketball state. All articles should be about exposing the hiring process and what it led to. And more importantly what to do next.
    That’s far more serious than hiring a Ming look alike.

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    2. What a freaking joke she is.

      Otis hasn’t won a ACC game all year. The wrestling hire sucks. Football
      Went 5-7. Baseball is a abortion and she shoots a video with the Panther in a tux. Further proof no one at Pitt cares or is serious about winning. All jokes.

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  26. Well written article, however, sacks allowed don’t mean squat.

    It is a product of QB play, style of offense, play calling against certain defenses, talent, etc.

    This past year…

    Miami 93
    Auburn 103
    Wash State 126

    I would take their sacks allowed in exchange for their records.

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    2. That is ridiculous.

      Every one of those teams have major strengths to overcome those sacks. Pitt has not and probably won’t this year either.

      All you have to do is look at our 2016 offense where our quarterback was sacked only 10 times. That’s what a good offensive line will do for an offense.

      You have Peterman getting sacked 4 or 5 times a game back then and it’s a whole different offensive output.

      My God, talk about stats lying sometimes.

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  27. I’m sick enough about the Pitt basketball failing program that i’d hope you guys focus your basketball comments on those basketball threads. Having to read anything concerning Pitt basketball is something that should be required for only the emotionally disturbed. And I haven’t reached that point as of quite yet.

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    2. Who the hell are you to ask that? We can talk about what we want as long as it’s not politics. As long as you’re listening, I think Stallings needs to go at the end of the year. There’s absolutely no hope and we need to accept that. What do you think, jrnpitt? Would you to like to comment on basketball?

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  30. Agree that sacks allowed can be misleading, like if your RBs don’t pick up a blitzer or the QB doesn’t kill a bad call and go to the alternate play…

    And would you guys feel better if Watson’s title was OC/QB Coach? Because that’s what he is. What does Watson do during practices and meetings? He coaches the QBs …

    Go Pitt

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      1. I could be wrong, but I would guess the majority of college teams have the OC also act as the QB Coach.

        Obviously Watson’s QBs, with one exception, didn’t do so well last season. Bringing in Browne, and then investing so much time in him during the spring and fall practices, was a major mistake and ended up ruining the season. Watson made poor decisions, or at least failed to sway Coach Duzz.

        I suspect things will improve this season for two main reasons – one, Watson will be investing first-team time on Kenny Pickett, who we’ve seen has the talent to be a QB playmaker; and two, Watson will not be trying so much to fit his ideas into Canada’s legendary Pitt offense.

        Go Pitt.

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        1. I hold out little hope for Pickett and I believe so does Narduzzi. That is why he went out and got Towns someone with skills far beyond Pickett who like Savage got the run around by coaches who recruited another5* and for whatever reason Towns dropped to backup. When your #1 QB in country you want a chance to show it.
          Eason from Georgia has transferred, so has Kelly Christ from Stanford – would you take Pickett over them.

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  31. haha….had go back and read the rest of Atlanta Panther’s article.

    Loved the Planet Mongo reference. Wryly written, enjoyed it .

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  32. Just like O-lines can make QB’s better. Some QB’s make O-lines better.
    A guy that can avoid the rush, knows how and when to step up into the pocket, knows when to throw the ball away, run for a third down pick-up, scramble well, and look down field when scrambling, helps the O-line.

    The pure pocket guys like Manning and Brady had great O-lines and rarely got touched vs Big Ben who could shed tacklers and buy his own time. Us old guys remember Fran Tarkenton who nobody could tackle.

    What you don’t need is the quarterback who holds the ball too long and takes a sack rather than throw the ball away. Or the QB with happy feet that takes off too early. Or the guy that can’t feel the rush coming.

    We saw some of the best line play ever two years ago, too bad we didn’t have a defense to match. They gave Peterman time to throw, opened holes for Conner and Aston and did some intricate maneuvers on the jet sweeps.

    We start with a clean slate, with the new guy. Hope he is a work of art and not a piece of work.

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  33. A QB that beats the blitz with a quick pass makes a team think before they blitz again. That really helps the O-line.

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  34. Agree with jrnpitt put the bb comments on a BB site. Even without the ugly present, pumpkin pushers are not my bag! On football now if only we could have asst.coaches like Majors I and Sherrill brought in, they are now sprinkled all over the NFL and Media as head coaches and pundits. Some like Jimmie Johnson have already hit their zenith and cashed out. We wish for a Mike McCarthy Marvin Lewis, you look back it was a hatching factory here in the late 70s early 80s for successful HCs.

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    1. I disagree and it pisses me off that you think we can’t talk about basketball on a football thread. Who are you to police this blog? Give me a f***ing break!

      Like

  35. But football doesn’t matter now. It’s stable. Basketball is losing $20 million a year. That’s the elephant in the room. Our chancellor has no clothes.

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    1. That’s right Tex

      Just last night alone, announced attendance was a meager 2,835 of 12, 508 capacity 23%
      @ $45 per ticket, with 9, 673 empty seats, Pitt’s lost revenue on seats alone was $435,285.00

      Add in lost revenue on refreshments, souvenirs, pitt garb, etc and your over 1/2 Million ($500K)

      We’ve had at least 10 home games with these low attendance numbers = $ 5 Million Dollars
      ($500K at 10 games = $5 million dollars) (those games were Montana, Santa Barbara, Lehigh,
      High Point, Mt. St. Mary’s, McNeese State, Delaware St., Towson St., NC State & BC) (and
      some of these games play to as low as 19% of capacity not 23%, so losses are higher in these
      10 games)

      Per the ACC’s own website Pitt’s other 5 ACC Home games have avg’d 5,033 (40% of capacity)
      Ticket prices were higher for some of these games, but let’s just say they were $45 per ticket as well.
      7,475 empty seats @$45 per ticket = $336,375. Add in the misc. revenue and we’ll be
      conservative and say we lost $400,000 per game at 5 games = $2 Million Dollars

      **So in actuality Otis is not costing us $2 million per year….he’s costing us well over $7 million Dollars per year, more than likely…..well over $10 million + per year **

      In a purely business sense, you have to cut your losses and college bigtime sports is a business.

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      1. And those are the hard numbers. Soft numbers like damage to brand, perception, future recruiting are also high.

        Ticket sales, concessions, parking, merchandise. Those are hard facts.

        When Pitt wins on campus, Oakland businesses win.

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  36. The financial losses from basketball will impact football and all other sport programs at Pitt. 70 percent of our ACC check is subsidizing basketball right now.

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  37. Narduzzi is optimistic on the Grad transfer and Brown is here now going through S&C, spring ball fall camp. Drake is now in his second year of S&C spring ball and fall camp as well. If the Ol is Ok and not a major issue. good things are in store.

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  38. The general feeling is he has coached at to many good programs to not know his stuff. Reed had his info on how the 2016 Ol produced and had 2 four stars as starters. But on Rival a poster had this as his OL for Maryland. In 2016, Maryland started 3 former walk-ons on the offensive line with 2 other kids that were true sophomores. 2 of the 3 walk-ons were seniors and the other quit football. Maryland is not the program that has talent up the kazoo here. I do think he is an upgrade over Peterson.

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  39. Just go to recent posts right below recent comments. The basketball article is just one below this article. Keep them to themselves.

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    1. Pitts basketball financial losses directly impact Pitts football and hiring decisions. You think football now has the money to hire top notch coaches. They don’t because the shite storm which is pitt basketball is burning through $20 million per year.

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    2. The hiring of football coaches is impacted by Pitt’s budget. Pitt’s budget has a $20 million dollar hole right now because of basketball. Its sucking every dollar we get as an ACC member. Those who complain about this coach need to understand the reality. He’s the best available that Pitt could afford.

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  40. Thanks Chet, I’m with you in the belief that good things are in store for our FB team. Thanks also for that clarification on MD’s 2016 OL. Nard Dog is hiring coaches who he thinks will make a difference IMO; not just has been ‘yes men’.

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  41. I have no problem with mixing sports or metaphors. It is all good. The latest thread is the current thread. Few go back to previous threads. If you don’t like a comment, don’t read it. For instance, I don’t read a lot of the longer memes from certain guys. Most of the time I pass on a lot of guys cause I know what they are going to say before they say it. This isn’t a text book.

    Liked by 1 person

  42. I’m sure guys pass on my stuff. One guy said he didn’t agree with a word I said. He’s entitled to his opinion.
    But when you tell guys how to behave, they are more likely to do the opposite. Unless you can bring the hammer down like Reed.

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  43. The issue of Pitt BB is that Stallings buyout is simply beyond the capacity of the athletic department to eat. After next year, The 4 million buyout is doable. And that can be negotiated to be paid over a multi year period. the majority of the ACC payout is going to BB. Next year the hope is the team will be better and the fans will show up more. I do have a hard time understanding how this deficit can be that large with the size of the program. But a really good hire and Pitt being relative in the ACC can be a money maker for the athletic department.

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    1. Scenario 1: A Pete at 90% capacity is roughly 11,000 paying customers
      Scenario 2: A Pete at 40% capacity (I’m being generous) is 5,000 paying customers

      the avg ticket price is higher on games near capacity. More concessions and merchandise are sold when the team is winning.

      I assume the avg spent by customer in scenario 1 is $90 (ticket, parking, concessions, merchandise)
      I assume the avg spent by a customer is scenario 2 is $65

      The difference in attendance per game is 6,000
      Thats 108,000 lost fans over an 18 home game schedule

      11,000 fans spending $90 over 18 ganes is $17.8M
      5,000 fans spending $65 over 18 games is $5.8M

      Thats a difference of $12M

      That doesnt include the losses Oakland businesses are taking. It doesnt include the damage to Pitt’s brand equity. It doesnt include lost donations to the program.

      Its easily a $20M sink hole per year.

      Stallings buyout can be negotiated down and his payout can be spread out over several years.

      Like

  44. These losses are directly impacting sports across all programs at Pitt. Pitt runs a break even sports department. Its well in the red now.

    These losses mean layoffs, loss of scholies, facilities without proper upkeep, recruiting budgets slashed, and Pitt going for the cheapest hires (see Ming above).

    But Heather will probably give herself a raise.

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  45. I remember Paterno saying he couldn’t play us because he needed more home games to pay the bills.
    How do you pay the bills with an empty Pete, after it was the cash cow for the first ten years?

    It may be a good business decision to fire Stallings, but only if you get a coach that will generate immediate results in attendance and that requires a winning program.

    Face it we are screwed, maybe a death spiral. What coach is going to want to come here all things considered. They should have given Jamie a million dollar raise and carte blanche to hire the best recruiting staff, and named the court after him. They are going to spend a lot more now, or live with an empty Pete for a long time.

    They need another Ben Howland.

    Liked by 1 person

  46. So, let me get this straight:
    Basketball is losing money faster than Elton John at a hat show
    We get blown out by a team that hasn’t won an away conference game in years,
    We have a terrible record in both men’s and women’s hoops,
    Baseball is an eyesore,
    As is wrestling,
    As is women’s soccer,
    And football has a losing record and hadn’t won a bowl game in forever and has embarrassingly small crowds at Heinz,

    And yet Heather-the-presenter is making videos with the mascot?

    Fiddle, fiddle, fiddle while athletics burns, burns, burns.

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  47. To gc above. Calling KS childish names and regurgitating sos over and over is ok, I just think they should be saved for basketball articles to make them much more easier to identify and to stay the hell away from from. It’s just a suggestion. ike

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  48. Heather knows she will be firing KS.

    I suspect whether that happens in a couple weeks or after next season will ultimately be decided by Pitt’s attorneys and CPAs…

    If a buyout can be done without hamstringing the athletic department’s future budgets, it will be done shortly…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  51. Atlanta Panther took his minutes and used his heartbeats to write an article on the new OL coach to stimulate discussion….I am not policing nor do I care what anyone comments on in any thread at anytime. The tangent paths we take make it an interesting journey to say the least…. but we one of our own provides us with material wouldn’t it be nice if we all commented on the subject of the thread and thank the author for their time and effort.
    You and I can complain n comment all we want on KS and Pitt BB anytime on any thread but shouldn’t we be courteous to the author and subject material ?

    Like

    1. the article was very informative, and as wee seen here, AP uses stats to back his opinion. Everyone does it … pro and con. And if you are pro something, you accept it … or if you aren’t, then you reject it. Look at the adamant denial by Reed above when presented with the facts that prominent teams had an excessive amount of sacks this past season …. yet, he fully supports his data of the high sacks amount that Maryland incurred. And I’m sure he thinks his reasoning is 100% correct.

      We all do it, and I do it quite often and, like Reed, think my data is just as, and at times,even more relevant . That is the give and take of this site.

      Meanwhile, I apologize for all the basketball posts I wrote above. It was not my intent to be discourteous to Atlanta Panther or anyone else. We have often had multi-subjects blogs as Pitt/sports news breaks and I don’t have an issue with it. However, it obviously is an issue to others and I’ll try be more respectful

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  52. well, I guess we don’t have to worry …… from ESPN article about College BB corruption:

    Regardless what happens with the criminal cases, sources with knowledge of the FBI investigation told ESPN this week that the clandestine probe could result in potential NCAA violations for as many as three dozen Division I programs, based on information included in wiretap conversations from the defendants and financial records, emails and cell phone records seized from NBA agent Andy Miller. His office was raided on the same day the FBI arrested 10 men, including four assistant coaches, in late September.

    “It’s not the mid-major programs who were trying to buy players to get to the top,” a source told ESPN. “It’s the teams that are already there.

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  53. Hey UPitt ,,, check this out. Heather is a genius

    Gavin Williams@GavWill13

    For those who are not members here, @Pitt_MSOC has the number 5 ranked incoming class in the entire country. Hat tip to the guru of Pitt soccer @ALoBeadling13 for the find.

    Like

      1. This last exchange between you two is exactly why I love this blog. Although you disagree, and even irritate each other sometimes, you follow the rule (that is posted in bold above the comments area) to “Keep it Civil”…but you go beyond that to keep it light-hearted and funny too. Thanks guys!

        Like

  55. How about the POV golf outing?

    So I can comment on how silly it is to call PITT coaches adolescent names to the point of complete redundancy. So when I say that I think PITT football can win 8 games next year and he says, but Otis the traveling rockport shoe salesman is ripping off PITT because Heather is a puppet with no guts? Gotcha. Just wanted to know if my comment fit the guidelines

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  56. wbb – good call, looks like you’re right about Pitt Men’s soccer, from one of the worst power 5 programs in the country, to a big improvement in only Vidovich’s 2nd year, to the #5 class apparently in the country. I believe to his credit, that was Barnes’ hire.

    Like

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