in Pitt Football 227 Words

Status of Reed’s Involvement in the POV

Fellow POVers, I have to apologize for not being able to contribute much in the way of writing lately. With this being the first holiday season after our son’s death you can imagine that I’ve other priorities right now. Thanks for understanding and let’s give Mike and Rich major kudos for taking up the slack.

On another note, I know we have strict commenting standards on the POV and very few comments get held by WordPress for moderation – good for you all. However, after getting feedback from a few readers I’ll ask commenters to refrain from using words and phrases that, in this day and age, are demeaning to others.

“Midget” and “Retard(ed)” are but two and I’ll ask that commenters acknowledge and understand that some readers and commenters do have children, or other friends and relatives, with dwarfism and sever special needs. Please don’t use those words or any other words or phrases that are hurtful to others.

Is this political correctness? I don’t really care, but to proof read closely what you are putting up in the comments section is certainly the correct and civil thing to do…and civility has been what separates The Pitt POV from other blogs – hasn’t it?

Thanks for everything and especially thanks to Rich and Mike for their sterling writing and dedication to this venue.

Reed

87 thoughts on “Status of Reed’s Involvement in the POV”

  1. Completely understood and thank you, Reed. for the time you are able to give us.

    I’d like to echo a post that Lastrow made in a previous thread concerning the tailgates. While it is nice to hear folks thank us and show appreciation for setting up the tailgates, we do it because we enjoy it. It is so rewarding to see everyone laughing and having a great time.

    When I mention to non-fans that we tailgate before every Pitt home game, their comments show that they envision 6 or so people sitting around a card table, eating some snacks and drinking a beer or two. When I show them some of the group photos from the tailgates, with 30 to 40 people in the picture, they are blown away. And I tell them that there are always 10, 20, even 30 additional people who show up for at least part of the tailgate but for some reason miss the group photo.

    So THANK YOU to all of you who participate and make it all worthwhile! Can’t wait for next season. In the meantime, hope to see some of you at the Pete and, especially, at Hemingway’s Cafe prior to a basketball game this winter!

    Liked by 7 people

    1. Thank you thank you thank you!

      I don’t think anyone realizes the joy and camaraderie that your efforts setting up R5A weekly does for all of us, especially us out of towers !!

      I came back for Syracuse soley to see everyone at 5A. I had an offer to play South Hills Country Club which I grew up next to and had never played on that day but turned it down to tailgate with yunz all. Game was secondary.

      It’s getting harder and harder to make the trip from Maryland, a trip that used to be a walk in the park!

      Thank you again and my apologies to all for Pitt Mens Basketball. I should have known better.

      Liked by 5 people

  2. And thank you Reed. Please believe that although most of us cannot fully understand the hurt of losing a child, we all hurt for you and respect you for the contributions you continue to make to YOUR blog. And your continued reminders to us to remain civil are appreciated. Lord knows there is plenty of incivility around and you don’t need to look far to see it. This blog is a totally refreshing departure in that respect. And finally, my cudos as well to Mike and Rich. They both do a terrific job!!

    Liked by 4 people

  3. Also, my apology to Reed and MM for the use of the word midget to describe Pitt’s secondary. Did not realize in my anger at Pitt performance that it was offensive to some. That Pitt secondary is offensive to many!!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Thank you Reed and the others! I’ve yet to be to a tailgate, but love being on here and bantering all things Pitt – especially on game day.

    As a father of a son with Down Syndrome, I appreciate others being kind and reminding all of us to be considerate of others. Not easy all of the time.

    Hail to Pitt and hail to this group – one and all!

    Liked by 8 people

  5. The best part is that duzz has matched pop Warner . It must gall Reed to realize the much loathed Duzz will eclipse the winningest Pitt coach

    Liked by 3 people

  6. On the topic of civility, I know that we frequently disagree on this forum, sometimes strongly. But since I started attending Fran’s tailgates several years ago, I have never, ever heard an argument at those tailgates. That amazes me! There has got to be something about that atmosphere that brings out the best in us. I don’t know what it is but I love it.

    Liked by 6 people

  7. Pitt fans are like prisoners. You don’t argue w your fellow prisoner. We’re all in the same cell supporting Pitt major athletics, usually mediocre and always poorly coached! Nothing to argue about …. Lots to console each other.

    Liked by 3 people

  9. Like all Reed I offer you and your family best wishes on the first T-giving without your son. It will be tough to find much to give thanks about, but you’re in our thoughts and prayers.

    Best also to MM and Rich for all that they do to allow us Pitt fans to vent our frustrations and not take it out on our families or the dog.

    Best wishes to everyone on the blog at this holiday season.

    Liked by 4 people

  12. Will throw my two cents in on the the Red5A comments.

    Its a big reason I make the drive up from Virginia…win or lose, Pitt football is best experienced and shared with friends. Thanks to Wolfe and Fran for providing the vital infrastructure that enables that to happen.

    Its been a bit of a disappointing year, given the hopes and expectations following a truly wonderful season last year. A few mistakes avoided and we might be planing for another trip to (woohoo) Charlotte. Will be very hard to watch the Tarholes go there instead.

    My OneDrive reminded me yesterday that a year ago was both Light-Up Night in dahntahn as well as the night Pitt clinched the Coastal. K-man with a keg of Barolo and Fran with a Cheech & Chong sized cigar. What a difference a year makes.

    Lets hope for a win against the Canes and a bowl game that is not in Detroit, El Paso or Charlotte…would be nice to congregate again before our thoughts turn towards next season.

    Liked by 7 people

  14. PITT needs to be the 1st school to offer that 4-Star QB recruit who the Florida Gators just with-drew their offer… PITT “ the university of 2nd chances!!!!” We Want You!!!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thanks Fran, hey buddy. PSU will put “Rory” Gallagher at WR like Terry Smith.

      What are we going to do after Saturday night is over.

      So you guys think Narduzzi has a big head on him.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. “commit” certainly has a far different meaning than it did a few years ago. Who has the biggest bag of NIL money now?
      Sad how these “improvements” to college football have all but destroyed the game in terms of integrity—both the players and the teams.

      Like

  17. Jester Weah, star sprinter caught from behind and cost PITT a big game.

    Good one Jack!

    Right you are JoeL, PITT again shooting itself in the foot with just a few plays this past year. Yes, PITT had many bad plays this year but just a few were killer. Correct me if I’m wrong here but I believe PITT held the lead going into the 4th quarter 3 of the games they lost.

    PITT fans are understandably upset with Narduzzi for either the Cignetti hire, his stubbornness in changing QB’s or both. Imagine this team that moved the ball and scored points while controlling the clock? Again, correct me but I think PITT is up there or leading the country in TOP?

    If PITT wins 9 games though, that is still is better than an OK season. When will some of you people realize, Narduzzi is here to stay or until he says it’s time to go? Not a bad thing for one of PITTs winningest coaches of all time.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Leader in the clubhouse for post of the day, Ike.

      That said , if we did have 9 wins I’d still have that whistling by the graveyard feeling, if ya know what I mean…

      Liked by 2 people

  19. Tomlin is one of the Steelers most winningest coaches and he won’t have a losing season until this year. But a coach is judged by championships. Tomlin only has one with cowhers players.

    In college you can say final rankings since there’s no real playoff yet. And narduzzi has had only one top 15 final rank.

    Unfortunately he is here to stay given his buyout.

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  20. My rant tonight,….

    I’ve been thinking about a Pitt fan/alums realistic expectations from someone who’s seen it all for 50+ years…..

    I don’t expect Pitt to win every game in our two major sports. I know better. However, I expect Pitt to compete hard in every game and play with discipline and the appearance of a well coached team!
    That hasn’t happened in BBall since
    Dixon and in Football since a long long time. That Pitt is in the upper tier for penalties in football every year (and may be #1 in bonehead penalties!) upsets me greatly. When I see wide open receivers in our secondary due to blown coverages it’s embarrassing to watch. I’m not going to even mention our QB.

    In basketball, Capel’s lack of discipline and coaching is on display every game! I’m just weary of it all! I know most of you are also.
    I watch a 100 games a month of both sports and I may see mistakes here and there but not every game like at Pitt. Either our coaches can’t coach or they can’t teach!

    All I want is well coached. Pitt teams. That’s my request to Santa this year!

    Liked by 2 people

  22. Ike – narduzzi is Marty shottenheimer without his grace.

    Yes – were stuck with Duzz ball for the next ten years thanks to our AD.

    Like

    1. Duzz isn’t even close to Shottenheimer, not in attention to detail, not in knowledge

      not by a long shot in anything

      so not sure where this comes from…

      he did have an idiot owner that canned him so no parallel there either

      ?

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  23. NO GORILLA ARMS TERMS PLEASE. USUALLY A REFERENCE TO. ETHNICITY OF COACH PAT. AND MINE. SORRY FOR THE CAPS. MY BLUNDER AGE RELATED I GUESS

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  24. Marty for his winning the division. Generally always a winning season. Generally a favorite to win the division each year. But a boring brand of football. And never winning anything of significance. But overall a good coach. Many people in KC were happy with him. Many were also glad to see him go.

    Just like many here in Pittsburgh are happy with Narduzzi. But Pitt will never truly win with King Pat. They will never sniff a 12 team playoff with this coach.

    Game day coaching: C plus
    Game day planning: B minus
    Hiring staff: C minus
    Management of program: B plus
    Recruiting: C
    Development of players: B minus
    Media relations: D plus
    Fan relations: F

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  25. I’m not a huge Narduzzi fan. However, to say they won’t sniff a 12 team playoff when they would’ve been in one LAST YEAR is a bit much. In the era of NIL and free transfer I think anything is possible. Imagine if Pitt got Bo Nix instead of Slowvis.

    Like

  26. Duzzer

    Game day coaching: C minus
    Game day planning: B but trending up
    Hiring staff: C plus with wide range of data points
    Management of program: B plus
    Recruiting: C
    Development of players: B plus in most areas outside on the field focus and penalty avoidance
    Media relations: D, and they aren’t challenging enough of him, though maybe they get uninvited if so
    Fan relations: hard to judge or compare so C minus, his loyalty to Pitt comes through well

    Like

  27. Thanks Reed. Having watched Pitt FB and BB since 1960, we lack one big thing – Consistency.
    There are occasional good popup years but …

    Like

  28. I’d be loyal to the school that pays me millions as well. No other school would pay this kind of money based on these results. And he’s smart enough to know it. He can retire from Pitt. No sec school will be calling him…ever for anything more than linebacker coach.

    And good to point out discipline. Narduzzi gets my respect for managing a clean program. But how can his choir boys and kitten savers off the field act like criminals and delinquents on it. His staff doesn’t discipline the behavior and doesn’t stress the mental and emotional aspect of the game enough.

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  29. I think the NCAA knows that things are out of control with NIL, super conferences and TV money. And they don’t know what to do about it. By increasing the number of playoff teams, they can hope that some “clean” programs, and maybe lesser budget programs, sneak into the playoffs every year. The only real hope for college sports at this point is to have some federal legislation passed to set fair rules for everyone.

    Like

  30. First off there are no guarantees in sports. Look at USA soccer yesterday. Look at the LA Rams, champs last year 3 wins and las in the division so far this year.

    The difference for Pitt is that Slovis has not been what was hoped, but a huge reason for that is that he was brought in to throw bombs to Addison. This can not be overstated. Imagine him instead of Mumpfield turning those short passes into long gainers and first downs. Imagine Wayne going up against the 2nd team of defenders. Imagine Izzy when everyone has to pay attention to Addison. The domino effect of this plus the injury bug caused by starting with WV and Tennessee explains the results.

    Face it, Addison is a generational talent, like a Dorsett, Marino, Fitzgerald, unfortunately he won’t go down in that legendary category because he didn’t finish at Pitt. His numbers should never go up at the stadium like the others.

    But of course Narduzzi and Cignetti are to blame (sarcasm for the tone deaf) although I do agree with Dan regarding the penalties which does have something to do with coaching.

    Liked by 1 person

  31. Narduzzi has done better at Pitt than many many coaches. He gave us a spectacular year in 2021. He screwed the pooch hiring Cignetti, that’s on him. If he doesn’t make an OC change after the season it could cost this program for years to come with lost offensive recruits and transferring players. He’s avoided a large number of transfers out in previous years. We shall see.

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  32. Some saw Slovis for what he was and had hope. We all know now. He’s flat out lousy.

    I’d be interested in coach Dans take on coach Capel and his grades. I’d have to think they would be D’s and F’s across most categories. At least narduzzi got some B’s. That’s good for a mediocre student.

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  33. You could give Cignetti Marino, Dorsett, Fitzgerald and Addison and he’ll still average 24 points per game, LOL.

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    1. True. His name means a lot to an Indiana boy like me. But I knew right away that he was a safe pick. When was the last time a safe pick worked out. Take the risk for jimminy 🦗’s

      Like

    3. While funny not based on fact, when has Cig had a superstar? Even mighty Clemson struggles without a star QB, a good coach can adjust only so much when you go from the ultimate elite player to an average player.

      Take for examples the Steelers with and without Polamalu/TJ Watt.

      Not really a surprise that Pitt faltered in the fourth without Kancy and Izzy.

      It’s not always about coaching.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Talent does win the day but bad coaching can always muck things up. Elite coaching can win you games like navy vs CFU this past weekend. That elite coach used the players mental toughness and discipline to win. Something narduzzi doesn’t comprehend.

        Like

      2. For the sake of argument, say Cignetti was Pitt’s OC last year with the same exact players that Whipple had. Does anyone on here actually believe…

        Pitt scores over 40 per game. Heck, even 35 per game?
        Pitt has the same successful year.

        The answer to both is…NOT A FREAKING CHANCE.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. So Pitt has averaged 30 points per game this year. That is with all of the issues. Say Addison adds 7 points per game? Remember that KP and Addison were healthy all year.
          This year Slovis, all receivers and many linemen missed games.
          Cig may not average 40 but he would average enough. You win games by scoring one more than the other guy.
          I’ve seen more poor play by individuals not executing plays than I have poor play calls, missed blocks, dropped passes, underthrown passes, fumbles, penalties. Some of this may be attributed to coaching but how much?
          Would another coach have done better sure, but others would have done worse.
          It just strikes me as funny that when things go well for Pitt it is because of players, when they go poorly it is the coaches.

          Liked by 3 people

          1. Coaches get total credit for last year and this. The talent is down on offense at WR and QB but I don’t believe it is 10 point per game down. They should certainly be doing better against ACC teams.

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            1. A passing offense is always going to score more than a running offense. Last year’s was one of the most prolific ever Pitt. A hard act to follow especially when one of the most talented guys in the country leaves and another graduates. Three of the starting offensive linemen and all receivers miss multiple games. Two of the receivers are portal guys and it is a new offense for everyone.

              UNC is having a great year and Louisville and even GT aren’t chopped liver.

              While the season is disappointing it is not the cluster$%^& that people are making it out to be. While unlikely, Pitt could make it nine wins which would be the first 9 and 10 including a conference championship since…

              Beat Miami, H2P

              Liked by 1 person

  36. Pitt has few boosters and a HC and OC that won’t get you to the pros. Very easy decision for most elites.

    College football has an equity problem. An expanded playoff may help to some degree but the solution is a semi pro league. Let’s just cut to the chase.

    Pitt will never be part of that unless the BOT is abolished.

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  37. Narduzzi’s recruiting job consisted of finding a lower rated player who was a lot better than his ranking showed. Now the ante has been upped to a point where these recruits have to play good but not too good. When USC and Notre Dame are stealing your recruits what does that tell you? Tells us a lot of things but what it doesn’t tell us in that Narduzzi can’t recruit!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Agree. I think we’re lucky somewhat because even those dolts on the BoT realize the money and being in the ACC is good enough to not risk blowing it up like in the past.

      Like

    1. They sit around and talk about how Pitt can become a make believe Ivey league school.

      How Pitt can become a lessor version of penny state. 🐄

      How Pitt can become an elite in both academics and athletics. PLEASE!

      How Pitt can fool fans and alumni into gifting. 🐑

      The BOT is the heart of the rot. It’s far too big. Far too rigid. Far too restrained and conservative. No risk taking. No entrepreneurial spirit. Nothing that made this country great. 🇺🇸 They are cowards and sheep. Some might even be Nitter sabatuers. 🕵️‍♂️

      Best thing that pitt can do is go private and fire all these BOT bureaucrats who feign loyalty to Pitt. We fans and alumni can all then own stock.

      Pitt stock opening at $25 per share.

      Pitts future is in privatization and the divesture of its massive real estate fortune. It cannot continue to be an education for everyone. Specialization is key.

      But I’m the Musk of today.

      BTW – only a dotard buys a worthless company for $40 billion.

      Pitt has tremendous value and upside.

      Call out to Cuban.

      Like

  42. Pistol Pete’s son is supposed to be a decent WR at CC. We are in need of WRs.

    We need Walt Harris and Fran to talk to Pistol Pete about the kid coming to Pitt. I would look forward to rooting for Pistol Pete Junior.

    Dave Havern and Pistol Pete at the POV tailgate would be awesome. Maybe we play some 7 on 7…. Scooter would be open all day. I’m seeing some back-shoulder fade passes to Commander Reed…
    😊

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Major think how difficult it will be for Pitt to recruit on the O when Slovis announces he will be returning to Pitt for another season?—-Rumor on the Lair is that there are 2 additional decommits coming shortly. Add to that the number of potential transfers announcements coming particularly from the Pitt O when the season ends. Hard to believe Pitt FB is in this situation less than one year after winning the ACC Championship game.

      Like

  43. PP died a long while ago after playing a pickup game with friends. Right after telling one friend… I don’t want to end up a fat old couch potato or something like that.

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  44. WAY off topic: Tonight the Capel Cats tipoff at 8:30 at The Pete against one of the worst teams in the East >>Farleigh Dickinson (known as Farly Ridiculous in Noo Yawk.) The FDU Knights have are you ready>>>>>>>>>>had losing season in 14 out of the last 17 years. WHOA
    FDU is a team with no player over 6ft 8″ and as far as shooting % fugedaboudit. On ACC Network.

    Like

    1. I wonder if we’ll go down double digits in this one? 😦

      anyone watch Capel’s last post game presser? he’s heading south early and fast, this year he has less excuses yet he is grasping onto them with Hugley’s injury

      the loss of Dior and Hugley’s injury will be his excuse for failure this year, what does he have planned for 2023?

      Like

    1. By chaos you mean bad D, turnovers galore, erratic shooting, pick and roll left and pick and roll right offense every time down the court, bad shots and three almost seven footers that miss bunnies because they don’t just slam the ball, lol…..but I still watch.

      Like

  46. So Minchey committed to ND. Is that the mighty ND that lost to Marshall and Western Ivy league Stanford this year? Maybe they’ll upset USC and shut down our very own Addison and save their season?

    If you go on recruiting sites you will see that in 2022 the big rap against ND is “brrr; ’tis too cold for me. I have to stay there when the season’s over.”

    Guys, ND is a AAA player development team that Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State keep their NIL eyes on.

    Liked by 2 people

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