in Pitt Football 151 Words

An Open Letter to Pat and Frank

Don’t change your quarterback fellas.

Because Kedon Slovis is awesome. 

Because he’s making all the right reads.

Because he’s got great pocket presence

Because the offensive line is soooo in synch with him.

Beacuase the recievers are totally on the same page with him

Because he put up 10 points…against a defense that struggled against Boston College.

Because he’s got a 38 QBR against the blitz (probably worse after tonight)

Because the guy who toiled and stayed loyal in your program, who the guys in the locker room totally respect, can’t do better.

Because you’re not wasting your defense on this clown.

Because consistency is soooo doggone important.

No guys.  Give him another chance or five.  He’ll come around.  I’m sure of it.

So are all the fans that are tuning out. Good luck against UNC and Syracuse.

#WeNotMe

Michaelangelo Monteleone

163 thoughts on “An Open Letter to Pat and Frank”

  1. Kedon gives us the best chance to…well, I’m not quite sure.
    See, we didn’t recruit well enough: receivers, linemen, and even coaches. Hey did you check out our punter from ACCC?
    In any event, Kedon isn’t the problem. See, I know. I’m smarter than you and thanks to Heather, I make more than you can count.
    So, cool your jets. We won the ACC last year and that will be my legacy? What’s yours?
    So, go get a life and a ridiculous contract and don’t criticize my low IQ, cuz it works for me.

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Well said, MM! If the two of you want to plant you flag with this guy, well don’t expect much fan support in the future! Slovis should have been pulled after the first half! No ifs or buts about it!

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I mentioned this last night in the game thread. It’s the difference between a coach who knows what he’s doing and has his team’s interest in mind instead of one guy’s feelings, and meatball head Narduzzi.

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    2. In response to Chris Peak, for a reward for staying around you go to Patti. For hope for the immediate future next year it’s Yarnell. But either is a much better choice than Slovis. So we are 0-2 on USC QBs.
      And I agree with the comment above that, although Slovis wasn’t great in the first game and a half before his injury, he has regressed immensely since the concussion.
      Patti can run so he fits the run first concept. But it seems Yarnell can throw. Pick it. Hell, rotate them. Can’t get much worse.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Louisville has the best defense in the ACC.
    I’ll show you the stats.
    Same with Georgia Tech.
    Every week we play the best defense and every week we come up just short.
    But that’s ok, because my players don’t get felonies and so long as Jeff is in town, my doo-do won’t stink.

    Liked by 3 people

  5. How about having to call two time outs in the 2nd half because we couldn’t get the play off on time.—–How about the many players lining up in the wrong place and Slovis having to redirect them to the proper spot.—Anybody think that Cignetti has only about 10 possible plays to call up there in the booth?

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  6. Top disappointment this season isn’t Slovis, it’s the offensive line. Just a miserable performance tonight. The pass protection was basically non-existent.

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    2. Let me politely disagree. No offensive line can block for Slowvis. He takes between
      3.9 – 6seconds on a drop back to
      set his feet! No offensive line can hold their blocks that long.

      Liked by 2 people

  7. This isn’t all on Slovis. The offense was totally disorganized and one dimensional. As mentioned on the last thread the offensive line is a total failure. Huoy falls asleep and doesn’t realize the ball is snapped until Slovis is on the ground. SOP has returned with a vengeance…

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  8. I hate to point this out, but we could easily be looking at a massive implosion to a 4-8 season. Please name me one game we can win the rest of the season.

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  9. This unraveling season is squarely on Narduzzi’s shoulders. Lack of talent development, mediocre recruiting, no offensive development, highly suspect offensive line, after all the hype. Hit the lottery with Pickett, Duzz was too much of a stone head to look beyond Pickett. The Slovis portal move was clearly a grasping at straws whistling past the graveyard move. Program not moving forward, not getting better talent moving into the national discussion. Looking at the rest of schedule I can see 3, possibly 4 more losses. 6 & 6 is not unreasonable. Maybe even 5 & 7. Narduzzi is not worth what he’s being paid, and is in way over his head in most game situations. Can’t believe such a subpar coach is making millions. But we are stuck with him. Makes me ill. Last year was an anomaly. Well POVers, cherish those 2021 memories because that’s the best ball your gonna see for the next 10 years, or at least until we get a real coach. So frustrating.

    Liked by 2 people

  10. I think Kenny KP’s mobility last season made the offensive line look better than it actually was. I also think that KS should not be playing because of the concussion he sustained. My daughter was recently in a car accident and sustained a concussion and the symptoms linger for months. It is hard to believe that the Pitt coaches have so little confidence in the other QB’s on our roster.

    Liked by 8 people

    1. I don’t think it’s confidence in the other QBs. It’s an unwavering commitment to people. Just look at the coaches he has. Position coaches should have been out long ago. Borbly, Powell…

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Great point and in addition I do believe KS suffered a concussion or two while at USC.

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  11. Why is everyone so high on Bart? He just can’t make the tough catches. And Mumpfield is a real disappointment. How many catches tonight?

    Liked by 1 person

  12. What a horrible display of football – the incompetence is amazing. How come other teams will switch QBs when it is obvious QB1 can’t move the ball, but Pitt keeps doing the same thing with the same personnel? I think it is time for a well- written letter to Heather to stick a hot poker up … well you get the idea.

    Liked by 3 people

  16. HbgFrank,

    I don’t think its a lack of confidence, I think the cupboard is bare. Don’t think there is any alternative that is a better option. This really highlights Narduzzi’s inability to recruit across the board. We have lessor talent than our peers. Not gonna change as long captain meatball is in charge. He too arrogant and lacking in self awareness to recognize the poor performance of the team on the field is a direct reflection of his stewardship.

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  17. The season is going down the tubes. At least some assistants will get fired.

    I won’t hold my breath that the school will spend on better ones, so Borbley will be replaced with another Borbley. A lot of fans thought Marion was a clown. Underwood has been a huge downgrade. Mumpfield slips and falls more than any receiver I’ve seen at Pitt.

    Crazy what happened to Slovis since he got injured versus Tennessee. He has been God awful. Time to cut the cord with him. Patti is erratic put looks like a gamer compared to Kedon.

    Pathetic how soft the offensive line is. These guys get zero push most run plays.

    Defense played similar to how it did versus GTech. Gave the O more than enough possessions then gave up some plays in the fourth.

    I’m so glad my wife bought Elton John tickets in San Antonio next Saturday. I’ll miss this deplorable offense take the field.

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  18. The two red zone decisions by Slovis were killers, just awful. Team not good enough to overcome mistakes. The team whose QB plays better usually wins, it certainly was not our tonight. Additional their D line wore out our O-line.

    Slovis is not a winner, too bad. Time for a change.

    Liked by 2 people

  19. This is 200 percent on Heather for extending King Pat. She needs to go along with her wardrobe of hideous yellow blouses. Just like professor atom counter decided to pack in his chemistry set earlier this year. The writing is on the white wall in black marker. Only those who drink the koolaid are blind. That’s 95 percent of you. Maybe try some Texas water from the brazos. Too scared probably.

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    1. Hu? Pitt won their conference last year. Did Texas? Try to make sense Tex. Texas won’t win their conference anytime soon. Soon being the next decade.

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    2. Tex, OMG FORGET ABOUT THE YELLOW BLOUSES! GROW UP! The color of her blouse has nothing to do with her performance. How can anyone take your opinion seriously when you say stupid, irrelevant things like that???

      Liked by 7 people

      1. Annie
        I dont expect anyone to take anything I say seriously. I’m not a journalist. I’m a fan. You do know the difference? You also know full well I have zero respect for Heather and will demean her in any way possible at every possible chance. Don’t be a hater of free speech. Not spiked by koolaid.

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    3. Lol you harp on the same thing year in and year out if Pitt loses or wins. I understand you are a fan but come on.

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    1. He’s the worst. And we’re STUCK with him. Just like we’re STUCK with Tomlin and STUCK with NUTTING.

      THANK YOU BABY JESUS FOR THE PENGUINS.

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      2. Are you referring to Duzz, Cig or Slovis?

        Maybe all three?

        The only one of those three we may not be stuck with us Cig. The $8 million man would be hard to buyout and Slovis was just anointed as the started going forward by the HC who is literally & figuratively “going nowhere”.

        Heather could fire Cig this morning to help keep the fan base engaged, but she won’t.

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  21. Dude. You think i care about Texas. Where did I graduate from. Where was I born. Where did I grow up. You obviously don’t know me. That’s good. I support IUP more than UT. Give me a break. Y’all think these tiny cuts will bleed me to death. That’s low of you to even think that.

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  22. Did Slovis call a run play on a critical third and five? Third and FIVE. Frank has done this multiple times this year. That is moronic.

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  23. Their defensive line was penetrating so fast that Slovis couldn’t even hit his running backs in the flat. And with 4 fumbles and 2 interceptions did anyone on the offense come prepared to play?

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  24. Well the answer to your question is an obvious NO.

    It’s all on the coaching. I coached multiple sports. I know where the blame lies.

    All on King Pat and his Knights of the Meatball Table.

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  25. to honor the flea’s agent can everyone at least post one positive supportive comment

    I’ll go first, I feel great pride that our qb’s don’t need to run to the sideline on every play to get the play call from Frank, THAT used to be quite embarrassing

    thanks Frank, maybe with KS’s speed that wouldn’t actually be possible when you consider how long it takes KS to read the plays off his arm band along with the realignments that seem to be needed on every other offensive formation pre-snap

    there, how was that flea’sass?

    Liked by 1 person

  26. Ten points in a modern college football game is unacceptable. I don’t know how many games between Power 5 opponents end with one of the teams scoring 10 or fewer points (maybe one of our stat wizards can figure it out), but it’s got to be under 5 percent. And most of those games probably involve severe weather conditions or some kind of powerhouse defense, none of which were factors in tonight’s sorry affair.

    The offensive problems are so many and varied it would take a dissertation to analyze, but Cignetti and Slovis figure prominently in most of them. I’m usually very slow (no pun intended) to call for a QB change, but I think it’s time for Slovis to watch from the bench. Other than Abanikanda, no one did him any favors – especially the offensive coordinator – but he’s showing no signs of emerging from his slump despite facing poor to middling at best competition in every game. At the end of the season, people will be scratching their heads trying to figure out how he put numbers in the first half against Tennessee.

    The biggest indictment of Slovis is that I think Pitt might have won that game if they never threw the ball even once. And I say this as someone who believes a passing first offense is the best route to long-term success for a team like Pitt, simply because they’ll never recruit offensive linemen well enough to thrive with a ground-and-pound philosophy. Wisconsin has shown the limits of that approach and Pitt would be hard pressed to reach even those heights.

    I feel bad for Slovis, though, because he wasn’t put in a position to succeed. Cignetti either needs to trust Slovis enough to let his fling it around a bit and pass on early downs or not use him at all. Instead, it’s the worst of both worlds where he’s mostly passing in obvious situations and the offensive coordinator gives him just enough rope to hang himself but not enough to prove himself. Now, that may be because Cignetti thinks that although Slovis is too limited and he needs to protect him, none of the other QBs are better options. If that logic ever held, it certainly doesn’t after scoring 10 points against Louisville.

    I had low expectations for Cignetti to begin with, but he’s managed to slide under them with room to spare. The only silver lining here is that it takes the sting out of the Georgia Tech loss as an aberration. Pitt will need to score 30 just to stay competitive with Carolina, so Cignetti better be burning the midnight oil.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I have that data for ACC only. Pitt and their weekly opponents with scores are the lead chart in my Up Next articles. In 42 ACC games against P5 teams (28 ACC games, 14 OOC P5 games) 12 have had scores lower than 10 points scored (obvious the loser). That’s 28.6%.

      Probably similar across conference.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks for this info! That’s a much higher number than I anticipated. So more than one out of every 4 times an ACC team plays another Power 5 opponent, it scores 10 or fewer points? No wonder people mock the conference …

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        1. Those of us living in the south, have a habit of laughing at the little 10.

          There have been 43 games P5 in the big 10 (30 conference games, 11 P5). (There are 3 big 10 teams that do not have a P5 opponent this year – Indiana, Maryland, and Michigan.)

          In those 43 games, 13 games have had scores of 10 and less including game scores of 9 – 6 and 10 – 7.

          That is 30.2% of Big 10 P5 games have either team score 10 or less.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Make it 25.6% of games that have scores of 10 or less if you exclude the two games that both P5 game were both teams scored 10 or less. (11games divided by 43).

            Liked by 1 person

  27. Cignetti will burn his fingers first before igniting any oil. You have far too much hope. Pitts season is toast. And narduzzi will vacation in Fiji once the folly and fraud ends.

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  28. Just woke up from a disturbing dream. It’s a recurring one: Pitt’s at the SUN BOWL again vs Oregon State and….

    *There will be no bowl game. But watching this team is like watching the Sun Bowl every Saturday.

    The offensive failure must be addressed and Narduzzi must be held accountable for Cignetti.

    Until someone from within makes demands, it’s going to become progressively difficult to ask fans to support this team. No secret, either, that Recruiting’s going to nosedive.

    Liked by 1 person

  29. As pointed out, Slovis is not the same dude post-concussion — looked pretty good vs WVU and okay vs Tenn., but has seriously regressed since then…looks like a deer in headlights most of the time and has ZERO touch on his passes. The kid is shook, so sit him down for a few games to clear his head…seriously doubt that both Patti and Yarnell could be worse than tonight, unless they truly blow, but we need to find that out. Appreciate Duzz giving him ample chances to prove himself…and he has. Nick Saban yanked Jaylen Hurts after he won a national title, for Tua. Why is Slovis untouchable?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Maybe one of the media darlings will ask that question this week, but I doubt it. Duzz made it clear last night that he is sticking with Slovis in his post-game presser.

      Observation from my couch – Duzz looked lost and confused on the Pitt sideline, as did Slovis. Did Cig make the trip? Did the elevator breakdown and Cig never made it to the skybox to call plays?

      The entertainment value of the 7 point 1st half was that I believed Pitt was a better team than what I saw vs GT. I thought the halftime adjustments would ignite a flurry of points and we’d see a Panther win.

      To score only 3 points killed my belief that anything good will come from this offense in 2022 (sorry Izzy). Appeared that Hammond reinsured his lower body part when he quickly limped off the field and never returned.

      The 3 talented players on D (all underclassmen) will be gone next season to the NFL – Kancey, Dennis and Hill.

      I’m sad to report, but next season could be worse, especially if Heather sticks with Duzz and Duzz sticks with the Cig/Slovis combination.

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  30. I awaken at 5 am after one of the more painful losses in recent years (hard to rank them, as we’ve had our share). For whatever reason, the thought that first enters my mind: All of the talk from the players during summer camp about how their goals were the College Football Playoff and the National Championship. Lolololololol, what a joke.

    We have a three headed monster on offense: A terrible OC, an underperforming offensive line, and an awful quarterback. I’ll add a terrible group of receivers aside from Jared Wayne.

    It doesn’t help that we have a head coach who is stuck in the 60s, and thinks that you win college games with defense. (His defenses have mostly stunk by the way).

    Liked by 1 person

  31. Just to clarify a point made above: Pitt is 0 of 3 when comes to USC QBs, not 0 of 2.

    1. Ricky Town
    2. Max Browne
    3. Kevin Slovis

    Pitt is not a good team and will finish the season 6-6 with a minor bowl loss. We might not even get a bowl invite.

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Reed, you are being optimistic with a 6-6 season. I think we do not win another game this season, assuming Narduzzi sticks with Slovis to the bitter end.

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    3. Thanks Reed. Totally forgot about Town. I guess he actually did the least damage of the three though…..

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  33. Let me use a basketball analogy for Slovis. You are stuck with a point guard who can’t shoot, has to look down at his dribble so he can’t pass!

    Pitt will not win another game with SLO at QB.

    Pitt crushed Clarion in basketball so there’s that.

    Today is Sunday and Narduzzi is still a stubborn idiot and an awful HC!

    Liked by 2 people

  34. Saw that Jim Bolla passed away from cancer. Got to meet him several x thru Mickey Martin. Great guy and the glue who held together that 25-4 70s Pitt Badketball team.

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  35. The HC stubbornness comes from two sources – job security (no accountability) and personality.

    Awful HC-ing comes from two sources – lack of prior experience and job security (no accountability).

    Common denominator – job security (no accountability). From where I’m sitting, that common issue will not be fixed anytime soon, so as a paying customer who needs some form of entertainment to have a well balanced life, I must seek other options.

    I get that your team cannot win every year, but this team was set up for success & clearly had other options in both the GT loss and the Louisville loss – our HC seemed to not even consider the other options. In fact, after the game last night he reassured us fans that he (HCPN) would be sticking with Slovis.

    I plan to “consider my other entertainment options”, but unlike HCPN, will not announce my plans publicly.

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  36. Slovis should take a bench seat for a game. If he starts against NC he should have a short hook. He needs to roll out more and if no one is open run. Several situations last night begged for that when the cards sold out to stop Izzi. The receivers also need to look in the mirror. I thought we were sold that this is a very talented group. Don’t think so. Wayne looks like the best, but we barely target him. We can still salvage a nice bowl game out of the season by bearing NC. Looks like a tall order now.

    Liked by 1 person

  37. Need to interrupt this doom and gloom for a reminder. Our No 8 ranked Panther Volleyball team hosts No 2 ranked Louisville today at 1 pm on ESPNU. Hope for a better outcome than last night’s Pitt-Louisville match. Note that No 1 ranked Texas lost this past week so Louisville will be poised to move into that top spot if they beat us. I hate to see that added motivation.

    My wife and I made a previous commitment to meet with another couple at a winery for lunch at 1 pm today. I will be excusing myself to go to the restroom to check the score on my phone so many times, they will think I have a serious gastrointestinal problem. Oh, the life of a sports fan.

    Liked by 3 people

  38. So they must have been blowing smoke when they said it was a close contest between Slovis and Patti, otherwise Patti plays that second half. Either that or Patti is still injured.

    No coach lets almost any QB play that second half after that first half performance. Certainly not one that hasn’t lead a second half comeback or seems to have no confidence, and certainly inspires none. Louisville showing no respect for his abilities. Sometimes the lesser skilled player is more of a gamer, in any case a spark was needed. Why our coaches don’t recognize that is beyond me.

    The Wildcat was fun until the fumble except that Hammond should have handed off a couple times.

    On the throwback to Cunningham, if Alexander stays home instead of running right by Cunningham he blows the play up, maybe intercepts. No situational awareness.

    I know I was screaming at my TV most of the evening, I wonder how many got broken by flying objects.

    That game was reminiscent of the Sunseri era.

    Hasselback is the worst commentator I have ever heard, but he was right about Slovis.

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  39. Was at the symphony last night with the Mrs. – and missing the game should have been some sort of gift. But at halftime (intermission) she said she wanted to bolt. Who was I to deny her?

    Through the innovative feature of YouTubeTV, I was able to get home and caught up to live action using a feature that allows one to see the “key” plays to that point and then the live game kicks in.

    There were 18 of these alleged “key” plays… only 1 or two actually were. So there I was… suffering with the rest of you instead of suffering through the second half of the symphony in a seat with no legroom. (And BTW, I’m 62 and after the one young guy with his date, I quickly realized that the young guy title had passed to me.)

    Maestro, your points above are correct. Slovis has not shown that he can get it done. I don’t buy the pre vs post concussion analysis made by some. I think he is who he is and there is now more “tape” on him in Cignetti’s scheme with this set of skill players. He is the number one reason Pitt is struggling and lost that game. The guy struggles to find an open receiver and lacks the mobility to buy him and the receivers more time. He lacks touch on his passes and downfield throws float.

    Everyone and anyone could see a swap at QB was the right move at halftime. There’s no Tua on the bench or a #1 rated QB recruit on the roster, so one can understand to a point the reluctance to do so. But Im not sure either choice would have yielded better results with Yasir Abdullah in the backfield all night. But Patti’s scrambling ability would have given some reason for hope. And it would have been a great chance to see if if Nate “Joe Cool” Yarnell has some chops beyond what we saw at WMU.

    A real shame that Duzz firmly pronounced Slovis as his starter during the postgame. When he “watches the tape”, he will need to find a way to back off that stance. Desperate times call for desperate measures, Pat.

    He is correct that turnovers killed Pitt last night. But the two picks fall squarely on his QB’s arm and decision-making. Time for a change.

    Liked by 4 people

  41. I had dropped ESPN during its contract dispute with Sling. While it was resolved quickly, I figured that I would wait closer to a game to turn it back on. Well, I had to be somewhere last night and usually would record the game. I decided just to keep up with the score while out and never turned on the sports package on Sling.

    I’m glad that I didn’t and not sure that I will for the remainder of the season.

    This was a winnable season and what a mess.

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  42. Dreadful.
    Just dreadful.
    And the lack of flexibility, of thinking on the run…this is their only job, is it not?
    Heather was bitten when she extended JC.
    She should have learned from that.

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  45. Narduzzi, “defense guru,” knows nothing about offense and could care less, so he turns to the offensive coaching brain trust he has assembled, four out of five of whom are in the fifties or sixties:
    Cignetti, offensive coordinator, retread
    Bobely, offensive line, retread
    Salem, tight ends, retread, and ace recruiter
    Flattop, wide receivers coach, a very poor replacement for Marion
    Powell, running backs and special teams coach, retread, who should have been fired after the Michigan State loss.

    There you have it. Ten points against Louisville.

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  46. Now I’m not saying I disagree with just about everyone, cause I’m not, not at all. From what I remember is that Slovis looked pretty good in the WVU game and first half of the Tennesse game. But, how many times have I read if only Slovis hadn’t got hurt, PITT would have won the game against the Vols.

    So the main question remains, why in the heck wasn’t Slovis pulled? Could it be that we don’t know something that the PITT coaches do?

    Don’t tell me Yarnell either, PITT babied him through a game of lesser talent but on the other hand, if PITT is going to lose anyways?

    My points are,

    What does Heather have to do with last nites loss? Everyone dummy-ed up when PITT won the ACC but her name didn’t come up then. Is this a double standards or just people spittin vitriol against someone they have a predetermined dislike for?

    Is Patti actually available? Do we know if he is? I would have cheered if the ivy league QB came in.

    Our man Hammond who everyone loves fumbled, no mention of that. Why? Because it was our man Hammond who everyone loves that fumbled.

    Can’t wait to read all the 8 million dollar comments, imo, that’s not a good point for an argument against your King– Pat. I choose a bad loss as mine.

    PITT lost another game to a team they should have beat and lost on the road for the first time in 8 games, second in the country before last night. But that’s another story we didn’t hear much about

    No I’m not very happy right now, I’m just not sure what or who the problem is. besides…..

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I hear you on Slovis, Ike. Duzz did say he was their best QB… they are seeing things we aren’t in practice, classroom and in the trainer’s room. But Im in the “on the other hand” side and was prior to last night’s game. Not weeks prior to last night’s game, just going into this one. Slovis lacks the mobility the both Patti and Yarnell have shown. Rolling him out to offset the pressure upfront might be more effective with one of those guys. And doing so couuld help take some pressure off the OL and the running game.

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    3. Obviously Ike the coaches think that Slovis still gives them the best chance to win, but unless Patti is still injured how do you not give him a shot? He has had two auditions, one in the bowl game and 2nd against Tennessee. In those he acquitted himself well but got injured both times. If his legs are healthy he may do better behind that porous line. But you are right what do we know, only what we see with our eyes which is a QB that has lost to two of the weakest ACC teams. To win you need to score points, Pitt’s future has not looked as bleak for some time.

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    4. Well Ike, I sure love your enthusiasm! Known the AD long before she became an AD. The two main sports are a struggle again (after a one year hiatus) in football. We still might win out. Time will tell, but it is a bad product to watch, let alone support. Who is responsible for that product? Who hired those leaders? One was a direct hire and one was via an extension, which in operation becomes the hire.

      Basketball remains awful, and hopefully this is the anomaly year and we get to .500! The ACC is down if you go by the number of invites to the dance, yet for many many years, we have under-performed. We have primarily stunk under this leadership in the two biggest college sports and puff out our chests in sports that are secondary financially and reputationally as if it matters. We are reaching for any successes, that’s how starved the fanbase has become. I like volleyball alot and it is an acquired taste, yet acquired more easily when you have a very good team.

      I have not dummed up because we won the ACC last year. I have been congratulatory to the university for its achievement, but am reminded for what it actually was. We were the best team in an awful conference. The NFL draft proves that out if I don’t trust my eyes when watching the conference product. In pre-heather days, we won the bid to the fiesta bowl for winning an awful big east, just to lose to a good utah team by like 30 points. Yes we got there, but no we just weren’t that good. For illustrative purposes only, it’s like the old nissan sentra beating out the yugo and the ford pinto. Was the sentra that good or was the competition that awful?

      The road winning seven game win streak, although correct, was the result of one very good year, again, in a terrible conference. For much of his coaching career Nardstop hasn’t had more than 7 wins in a regular season. See what I did there with a stat? Only three times has he won more than 7 games. I could probably also argue that the Bowl loss last year was an away game since it wasn’t played in the burgh.

      Hammond is injured. I think you may see him scratched again next game. That said, statistically he has the best yards per gain average per touch when compared to the other two running backs believe it or not, and he is injured. To me, he remains the better running back. Time will tell.

      I love your passion as I do everyone else here.

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  47. Thanks MM.
    GT and Lou are not good football teams but they found a way to beat us because we went back to playing B10 football.
    Offense minded teams will club us into submission.

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    1. Next up – UNC

      They have a pretty potent offense and a FR QB that may win ACC POY.

      Cuse has improved their O as have the Blue Devils.

      UVA beat GT

      Miami looks like the weak link to get Pitt to 5 wins.

      Oy vey!

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  48. I have stepped aside because there is no reason for me to rehash what has been said on the POV>> I agree with 99% of the comments. Pitt football is a total train wreck.

    When I look ahead at our schedule given the current non ability of our pathetic coaching staff
    to “turn things around” I see nothing but a huge wall blocking any progress.

    So, what happens? well we might get lucky and go to some toilet paper bowl where we will probably lose…..we will (I AM POSITIVE ABOUT THIS) definitely lose some of our commits and that includes Minchy. Pitt will see a mass exodus to the transfer portal which will absolutely destroy us for the next 3-4 years (can we beat BC in Football??). We will fire assistant coaches and hire more has-beens or “up and coming” coaches who we can get for a nice cheap price THINK PIRATES BASEBALL). Duzzi will not be replaced because the buyout would be enormous>>>>and last but not least and I am sure that I am right — when conferences realign Pitt’s chances for a decent spot to land in will be totally crushed. Who would want to add a junk team like Pitt???

    As I approach 80 I am somewhat (to put it mildly) depressed with the thought that my alma mater will not have a decent team in the next 5 or so years. I DESPISE negativity but it is important to think about the real world. So, to end the diatribe>>Duzzi gives us hope by saying that he will stay with SLOVIS ….Heather you will have a very empty Acrisure Stadium>>>BRING BACK FANTA!!

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    1. Thumbs up on your post. I am also nearing 80, and for the most part have bailed out on Pitt FB and Pitt BB, life is getting shorter and there are there a lot of things to do in the meantime (I am now in Paris for a month) — two of most horrendous hires in Pitt history. And we are stuck with them, thanks to Heather.

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    2. Totally agree with your comments on conference realignment. Posted my thoughts on the importance of this season after the GT loss. Important to not only maintain momentum and continue building the program but to put a winning product on the field so that there are enough TV eyeballs on Pitt to make Pitt an attractive target as conference realignment evolves. Based what I see happening this season with between 4 & 6 wins we get left out in cold. No one will want to add Pitt to their conference.

      And as an added bonus recruits are going to go elsewhere. If you think you have a shot at the NFL you are going to go to a successful winning program to maximize you chances. Not a mediocre program that has no national interest. Very upsetting that we are in this position.

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  49. I will go in a different direction for blame. First, it is the ACC’s fault. Had the conference put out a better product over the past five years, Pitt would have had no choice but to be rid of the Nardstop and the rookie AD. Because the ACC has been down, it provided an opportunity for the Nardstop to win more than he should have and somehow convinced the rookie AD that we won because of Nardstop, not because of poor competition. These poor decisions and lack of decision-making accumen caused the issue.

    Second, the transfer portal and nardstop. The portal can be a wonderful tool if used properly (depth or a target that fits). Unfortunately, Nardstop promises a player the “lead” for a starting position and that the position is theirs unless they play themselves out of it.

    Third, Cignetti is Watson, with less personal baggage. Quality family. Clean living. 1960’s coaching philosophy. Not conducive to winning, let alone championship, football.

    Fourth, the Oline “is improving”. If I read that 100 times on here, I might be under-reporting. Improving is not beating rhode island.

    Fifth, what I said years ago about pickett is the same as what i will say about slovis, albeit with a slight difference. In his first 4 years pickett didn’t have patience and would not wait for the “window” as his receiver came open. He held it and ran. He missed the window. Same with Slovis. He misses the window too, but instead, panics and throws into double coverage instead of waiting to get hit. The difference here is Slovis is now gun shy from getting hit early and often and as such, makes bad decisions and throws to get rid of the ball, not caring about the result other than he didn’t get crushed. As an example, his int near the endzone. If you watch, Bart AND the rb are coming into open windows and he misses them because they weren’t open when he panicked. He actually had time.

    Sixth, “we’ll look at the tape and lock the gates (arms) so we can get better”. We can always rely on number one again, because the ACC is bad, so we can still win the coastal. We actually can if we beat UNC next week. How’s that for positive.

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  50. Looks like we are nearly unanimous that Slovis should have been replaced last night. If through their day in and day out practices, our coaches are convinced that Kedon gives us the best chance to win a game, when would you replace him? At halftime when the score is tied and it’s still anyone’s game? Surely not when we are ahead 10-7? How about when we are down 14-10 and need a score for the win?

    Some made comparisons to Dabo replacing DJ yesterday. Clemson was down two scores when he switched to Klubnik. Even then he kept DJ in for 4 more possessions after falling behind by two scores. By Dabo’s standard we should have replaced Slovis when we went down two scores. Do you bring a backup off the bench with 4 minutes remaining in the game and needing a miracle? Really easy to second guess. I still think the coaches are doing the best they can with what they’ve got.

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    1. You pull the QB and go to your backup with 4 minutes left when you know your QB can’t win this one and your plan is to use him next week so you don’t get him hurt. If the backup pulls off the miracle, say hello to Lou Gehrig.

      H2P!!!

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  51. The absolute negative thing about the team is the turnovers. You will never win when QB’s throw interceptions and RBs drop the ball. Some are inevitable, tipped balls, helmet on the ball, but unforced errors cannot be tolerated if you want to win.

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  53. If you can not be accurate then you need to be able to run from the QB position in college football.
    It enables first downs and takes pressure off the running backs.
    It can also allow the qb to get away with staring down 1guy if he can get separated during the scramble.
    The coach is really poor.
    His staff is weak.
    Fortunately, for me I was enjoying an evening out and when I returned I immediately turned off the game.
    Heather has 2 big expensive problems on her hands.
    Can’t remember the line from Scarface, but something to the affect you made the mess Frank so you clean it up.
    Tony killed the guy .

    Liked by 1 person

  54. Pitt Football season is over. I will Not watch Slovis again period!

    I’ll be back for Syracuse just to see everyone in Red 5A. Just joined a new golf club. I’m going where my $$ goes.

    Liked by 2 people

  55. Hindsight is 20/20, but if Narduzzi took the risk to make Marion OC maybe Addison doesn’t leave and who knows but it is looking like the safe approach is a total bust.

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  56. Just look at the receiver situation: We should have had Addison at the prime guy, Mumpfield as the Ju Ju type second option, Wayne as the over the middle reliable third guy, and Bart as the improved Freshman All American TE to throw to. Instead, we have Mumpfield as the prime deep threat, Wayne as number two and Bart, an often injured, non-impactful TE who is not performing at the anticipated level. Bub Means was recruited to be a reliable back up, but isn’t even seeing the field, and Bartley leaves as a disgruntled back up with locker room issues. Could this evolved group of receivers match up to what was anticipated? I don’t think so. It is not all Slovis’ fault..

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    1. No certainly not all his fault but the two awful decisions leading to two drive killing interceptions were his fault, no one else to blame. Like the guy said last night he is not seeing the field which is the most disappointing thing, I thought his experience would make his reads and decision making better. No doubt the porous line and average wide receivers are making it tougher, but he has also been his own worst enemy. Quarterbacks must finish touchdown drives, not end them with poor decisions even taking field goals away.

      Also, still no deep balls which is what he was supposed to be good at. Again the line and receivers a factor but….

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    2. Clearly Addison surveyed the situation and clearly diagnosed what a sh$t show this season was gonna be and decided to leave to protect his draft status and potentially improve his chances of being drafted early. He made the correct decision. Pretty smart kid. The real question is if Addison could see what was coming, why couldn’t our coaching staff or the wise all knowing all seeing Narluzzi?

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  58. It’s time for a QB change … should have happened at the bye, to be honest. Concerns pre-season about the offense are being validated.

    I hate the west coast offense so much. Leave it behind like most teams have.

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  62. Tyler Boyd, longest tenured Bengal at 7 years just caught a beautiful TD pass.
    What say you UPitt?

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  71. Last night was awful…I expect it will look a lot WORSE next week in Chapel Hill. The Heels had an extra week to game plan for Nard dog (as if they need it}

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  72. …just cancelled my hotel room in Charlotte for the ACC championship game….oh, last year was so much fun. 2021 was a very good year.

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  73. I wish Pitt Football had half the guts and intensity (and coaching)
    of the Ladies Volleyball team.

    They got punched in the face by Louisville …. Smiled and gave it right back. Made my weekend! H2P

    Liked by 3 people

  74. What an emotional roller coaster of a volleyball match against Louisville today! Pitt dominates the first two sets and is leading in the third set for what looks like a Pitt sweep. Louisville comes back in the third set to stave off the sweep. They then dominate in the fourth set. In the last set Pitt takes an early 3-0 lead but Louisville and Pitt tie at 11. Pitt then pulls away to a 15-12 win. Credit Louisville for not buckling under pressure in that third set. Pitt should move up in the standing this week but will not jump ahead of Louisville.

    Pitt and Louisville play again on Friday, November 18th in Louisville for what will be the ACC title. Louisville is expecting OH Anna DeBeer back by that match which may tilt the match in Louisville’s favor. Time will tell.

    This weekend Louisville and Pitt played each other twice. Pitt won the much more important one of the matchups! Hopefully that will brighten everyone’s weekend!

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Win lose or draw, I love watching our VB team. They make mistakes like every other team but use those mistakes to summon their courage and conviction. They play with emotion but are not emotional!
      What a joy to see them in Blue and Gold!

      Liked by 1 person

  75. One more point and it has been mentioned earlier.

    Slovis has not been the same qb since he sustained a concussion in the Tennessee game. I do believe while playing at USC he also sustained a concussion.

    I’m no doctor but a concussion is a traumatic brain injury that affects your brain function.

    Effects are usually temporary but can include headaches and problems with concentration, memory, balance and coordination.

    Who knows but again he doesn’t appear to be the same qb pre Tennessee.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Or he could just suck like he did at USC when each season was worse then the one before, then got replaced by a freshman.

      This was discussed many times in articles on here starting right after he transferred. He was not that good then and he is a mediocre at best QB now.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I have no argument to dispute that, I just offered my observation, suck is a derogatory term, I would have stated he regressed or something else. My thought process is a bit different from yours and a bit deeper.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Right on Reed…. Slovis did not have a bad game! This is the way he played, at USC and now at Pitt. Pitt has no chance to win another game with him at QB

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  76. I’ll post up a MMQB article around noon tomorrow.

    Started watching the full game on recording about 90 minutes after it began and was really tempted to go to ESPN to check the score…glad I didn’t because I’d have turned off the TV and gone to bed.

    Very, very poor showing.

    Liked by 1 person

  77. Slovis was playing more than acceptable QB before he got hurt. Now he’s not? Another question has Narduzzi suffered a recent concussion and doesn’t know when it’s time to take your underperforming QB out of the game.

    Also, some of those illegal procedure penalties may be on Slovis as well, and when half your line doesn’t move after the ball is snapped, who do you blame. Maybe this young man is still loopy, ore could maybe even have the living out west too long syndrome?

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Ike – Slovis’ play last night was not acceptable to my eyes. For several games he doesn’t see open receivers, which you can see when you are in the stadium.

      I chose not to go to the ville yesterday and I’m glad I passed. The commentator pointed out several plays where Slovis threw to the wrong read.

      My take was he had one read and did not look elsewhere. The team around Slovis played bad as well and the coaches, well that has been debated on here over and over again.

      We’ve seen this type of effort before and after last season, you’d think this team was set up to be really good based on returning personnel and just maybe the coaches were turning the corner to consistent winning ways.

      Slovis must look really good in practice and QB 2 & 3 must struggle mightily to get what we are getting. Some guys play better when it is game time – when they get a chance and do well, that should earn playing time (Yarnell) when the starter struggles. Our starting QB has struggled alit the past 3 games.

      As bad as the first half was, there was also recent history with GT. Slovis should have been benched.

      Pitt usually wins a game it shouldn’t and loses one it shouldn’t. This season we have two loses in the books that many feel should not have happened. Is the win over wvcc a “shouldn’t have” and could the win that shouldn’t happen have a twin?

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  78. Gordon, those two interceptions were nowhere near the receivers. This could also be bad route running. The passing game is so bad it is hard to determine where the problem lies.

    BTW, I think that Narduzzi is just outsmarting all of us by losing to Lousville so that he can sneak up on UNC.. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The first one he passes on a wide open guy in the flat then threw it too short, the second was just up for grabs, the rush made him panic, shouldn’t have been thrown at all. Both pretty inexplicable for a guy with his experience.

      Liked by 1 person

  79. If I have a problem with Slovis, it’s his demeanor. He needs to show some emotion out there and not look like a deer in the headlights. But I wish there was a way to calculate his average release time so see if he is really holding it too long. From what I saw yesterday, Louisville’s defense was coming fast and hard, and there was no blitz pick up. That one play in the second half with Huoy asleep and getting Slovis smoked told me much about the poor OL play.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. He certainly doesn’t act like a leader, not sure why he seems to be directing guys that out of position. If they really don’t know where they are supposed to line up on so many plays that is a big problem. Just my opinion but all of the shifting seems to be more of a distraction to us rather than them.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Totally agree VOR, Slovis is uninspiring and never shows any emotion. Can’t lead a team that way.
      A shame that a season that looked so promising last winter has taken this turn.

      I’ve usually supported Narduzzi when most were calling for his head. I still believe he can succeed here at Pitt but he needs to agree to some “rules.” One of which is that loyalty to your players is good, but can’t take priority over the success of the team. And if the OC wasn’t calling for a new QB in the second half then he is a crappy OC (no matter what kind of a play called he is or isn’t).

      Liked by 1 person

  82. Look, it has been obvious all season that Slovis isn’t quick enough to look past his first target in any called pass play. It has been evident, to me at least, that he has lost whatever confidence he had in himself and his offense.

    Is this season’s losses all on him? Of course not. But his play and leadership has not raised the quality of play of those 10 guys on offense.

    Take a look at the USC comment thread Bernie posted. What we are saying on here isn’t any new opinions fans have toward him.

    Liked by 1 person

  83. Perhaps we should have our social media specialist investigate any “portal people” before we recruit them in the future.

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    1. Absolutely! Pitt changed their recruiting practices to do actual & formal background checks of recruits due to the fallout from the 2010 SI article. Apparently that was only for football players – as seen by zero, or very few, arrests of Narduzzi’s players.

      BB might be a completely different story though.

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  84. I think in general people get enamored by the institution that these kids come from. He comes from (fill in the blank…USC, ND, Bama, etc.) he must be good. Not always the case.

    Liked by 1 person

  85. I don’t think many will argue that Slovis has not played well (I do agree that he does not appear to be the same QB that we saw before the concussion), but it is not his fault that the coaches won’t pull him. I place the greatest blame with the coaches. Even if Slovis practices better than the other QBs, the coaches have to see that he is not getting it done in the game and bring in Patti or Yarnell to give the team a spark.
    What was that definition of insanity……?

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  86. So weird seeing the Steelers run a college offense and Pitt run a pro offense. Neither works in the parallel dimension. Let’s keep the college offense in college and the pro one in the pro’s.

    Liked by 2 people

  89. “Yes, there are two roads you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on…and it makes me wonder”

    Road 1: Duzz does Duzz and starts Slovis at NC, getting thumped 24-3 at halftime. Hearing the howls, he’s forced to go to Patti or Yarnell if Patti is still hurt, and either one gets pounded as we have to play catch-up on the road and UNC ‘pins their ears back’ and blitzes us into a 38-3 *ss beating. Putting Slovis back into the game as Patti/Yarnell is scraped off the turf, he leads Pitt to a staggeringly meaningless touchdown in the last minute of the game while UNC is already partying, and then uses this as his rationale for Slovis starting next week. Yay!

    Road 2: Duzz is visited by an other-worldly presence one night this week and is told to bench Slovis and go with Patti/Yarnell, and by the way dumb*ss (the presence’s words, not mine), stop giving the ball to Izzy every first down right up the middle…people who don’t even watch football are predicting that now. Patti/Yarnell have a few hiccups but generally play with confidence and gusto, leading Pitt to a hard-fought and much needed confidence boosting road-win. Throwing on first down, Pitt manages a few deep plays, and using fake play-action/draw plays on 2nd-3rd down to give him a chance, Izzy busts a few long ones again and the band plays HTP! (a guy can dream still, can’t he?!)

    Liked by 5 people

  90. It was brought up several times above about the Slovis concussion and its possible after affects. After the first quarter against Tennessee I thought we could beat anyone in the country. Now is there another win on this table? Is the coveted Beef O’Brady Bowl in our future?

    We are going to need at least 30 points to beat UNC this Saturday and I don’t see how this offense could produce that .

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  91. A possible glimmer of hope?

    Pitt has shot itself in the foot too many times to win.

    If (a huge if) Pitt can stop making turnovers, start making plays (making interceptions, recovering fumbles, not falling down before picking up the first down, and most importantly stop taking stupid penalties, it could win a few games.

    While this doesn’t seem at all likely especially since the O-line needs to protect better, Slovis needs to make better, faster decisions and receivers need to get open and make catches. Also defense needs to make more stops.

    Simple right?

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  93. After reading all the comments, what more can be said other than what was a promising season with a seasoned team that was preseason ranked has collapsed. When players do not know their assignments; which side of the LOS to be on; what is the snap count; and commit foul after foul then we should know that the season has been wasted along with all of Pitt’s potential this year to build a stronger fan base.

    The excitement about Yarnell’s potential after the Western Michigan game simply dissipated with our coaching staff hammering a square peg into a round hole. Don’t lambast this 80 year old fellow but it seems obvious that Nick Patti might not be Marino or Pickett II but he has been faithful to Pitt and played decently when used. What about the Dartmouth QB who transferred to Pitt? Maybe ACC play is too much for him but at least he did well in the Ivy League and perhaps has more confidence than the current starter.

    What really saddens me in a simply horrid personal year (only sibling died of Covid in a memory unit in May and our second of four sons died of a heart attack at age 53 in September) was the hope of Pitt finally getting its football act together. Being a Pitt fan is like the long journey of riding over several Niagara Falls in a barrel multiple times. We are a totally beaten up fandom.

    There was the thrill of Game Day for the opening game of this season with a packed stadium. It appeared that Pitt really had changed the dialogue about its program. Even usually caustic sports writers were saying that Pitt was the better program now than Penn State. Bang, that balloon was popped in short order. Heather Lyke must be sleepless at night while wondering how to resurrect this program while she is prodding the basketball program back to relevance. She certainly has done a fine job in her hiring and support for both men’s and women soccer; volleyball; baseball; and other sports. Pitt has its two major sports fumbling around to become as good as the non-revenue sports.

    For what it matters, I do like Narduzzi’s dedication to his players, their families, academics, and responsibilities. I cannot say anything really bad about any of his coaches but it is honest to say that we are not seeing the results we hoped to see. When this horrid season ends, it is time for some serious discussion about what can be done both ethically and financially to rectify this situation.

    I, too, am fearful of watching the beat down that is likely against NC, Syracuse, etc.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. First, OLB, I’m very sorry for your personal loses…..any death of a loved one is very difficult, but when it’s a son or daughter it has to be so much harder.
      Otherwise, your post is my favorite on this subject. And I totally agree with you on Narduzzi’s positives. In order for him to be successful though, someone has to remove the stubbornness from his brain, at least when his decisions are so universally perceived as….stupid? ridiculous? mind-boggling? “say what?”
      If he is fighting his staff to keep Slovis on the field then it’s ALL on him. If his staff isn’t fighting back then it’s a problem bigger than Narduzzi.

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  94. A bunch of comments that wordpress wouldn’t transfer over. Actually two that gave me a message that said “this comment has already been submitted, yet it didn’t show up”. You guys were lucky as it was some of my worst material ever.

    One snippet was a retort to my friend Ike. He mentioned that the POV favorite, Hammond, was not lit up for fumbling. I will mention this, only because it is fact. Hammond averages more yards per touch than Izzy and Flea this year. I know, right! One would think that Izzy is blowing away his competition, but quite the opposite is true per touch. Hammond is the better all around back statistically thus far, and he is playing through a leg injury. Izzy should hit 1000 yards for the season next week which is awesome, so is that a reprieve for the OL or is the OL still bad? I will go with the latter. The OL is bad and I think the Izzy had some big games against 3 poor defenses to the tune of 640 yards (URI, WMU and VT).

    Never thought I would say this about K8, but last night, his lack of running may have caused the steelers the game on his third interception. He could have easily matriculated the ball down to the 10 and given them one last chance for victory. I may have mentioned the last few years that he struggles throwing the ball going to the left. He was nowhere close to accurate on his last interception. Needs to get his td/int rate flipped around before he gets a bad rap, like Peterman did.

    Liked by 1 person

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