As a redshirt senior we should be seeing consistent performances or at the very least outplaying the other QBs in camp. Sunseri is easily having the best camp and he is doing everything that Wanny claims to want out of a QB. Stull is throwing picks and Sunseri isn't. Stull is having trouble completing passes and Sunseri is thriving. All we ever hear is how the QB position in our offense is about being a "game manager", last time I checked throwing picks is not a part of that.
What the real issue is in this battle is how far is Wanny going to take it. Handing Stull the job before camp is par for the course with Wanny regarding Stull. In Spring Camp Stull performed the exact same way is performing in camp now. His confidence is completely shot from the injury last year. Like I stated in yesterday's column how does Stull lose the starting job? His last game played he was benched, he had an atrocious spring, and now he is putting together a string of bad practices.
I feel like Wanny will want to take this QB battle to the absolute last second possible. He isn't a guy who will take a guy with more seniority starting job. Will Sunseri even get a chance to work with the 1st team in camp might be the better question. Sunseri is already the defacto backup after taking over Bostick, which says to me that Cignetti is handing out playing off of merit in the 2nd and 3rd team.
All this being said I think if Stull stinks up the joint during the Tuesday scrimmage and Sunseri plays well the pressure will be too much. Wanny is super stubborn about player selection but he can't be foolish enough to continue to deny Sunseri first team snaps. If Stull is the opening day starter without a 180 degree change in his play he will be booed off the field after his first mistake, right or wrong. This whole QB situation has evolved so quickly, I never would have predicted this level of change in tone from the media.
We will find out what type of coach Wanny is over the next two weeks. Handling this badly will be an absolute disaster for Wanny and his public image.
4 comments:
I agree that Stull is really falling down on the job - however I wonder how you can say "Sunseri is easily having the best camp". I read all these reports, and have acquaintances that watch every practice and don't come to that conclusion - you've conveniently left Bostick out of the equation. As a matter of fact, Bostick is tracking better statistics at this point than both Stull and Sunseri.
Just yesterday, in the first real practice to test the QB's passing game, Bostick had 4 TDs thrown with one INT and Sunseri had one TD and two INTs.
All that may be beside the point in a week or so however as Sunseri is doing better as the time goes on - and Stull isn't, which shows a pretty steep learning - and achieving - curve for the rsFR. Plus, Sunseri has gotten more 1st team snaps at this point than Bostick, but that could even out especially if Stull continues to not impress.
But, if we fans are being honest about wanting a true open competition - it would be wise not to turn a blind eye to Pat Bostick as he may well be right there with the other two when the dust settles.
Either way - I think this whole situation signals good things in the long run. IMO it means Frank Cignetti is at least willing to entertain the idea that Bill Stull might not be the best QB for PITT when the opening game rolls around.
Rkohberger, do you believe most of what you type? The more I read on here and on the other sites it seems as if you feel this staff and team is infallible and anyone who disagrees with what they are doing doesn't know what is going on. I'm not trying to make this a direct attack, I just think we need to look at this objectively.
Bostick hasn't had a chance with the 1st team yet so I feel it is completely unfair to evaluate him just yet. If Wanny really wants a guy who can "game manage and make plays when he has to with experience" then Bostick is the answer, not Stull or Sunseri (based on the above mentioned criteria).
Wanny finds guys early on who he loves and follows them blindly as they fail. Guys like: Thatcher, Turner, Berry, Stull, Thomas, Ransom, Murray, and Gunn.
At some point the best players need to get the majority of the time because they deserve it and not due to injury. Shady only got the reps he did because LSH was hurt before the MSU game. Nix played early last year when Thomas was struggling due to an injury.
This coaching staff is leaving a lot to be desired and it almost seems as if they are doing these even if it means failing because they want to say "I told you so" when a guy does step up and play well.
I would love nothing more for us to be successful under a guy like Wannstedt. A guy who loves he university and bleeds blue/gold is what could make this a special program. Instead we just see the same things over and over every year without any change as we finish at the middle of the pack or slightly below.
It's time for Stull to go and time for the experience factor to be downplayed significantly.
Danny - How strange that you open your rebuttal to me the way you did - and then agree with everything I posted.... and which part of my closing paragraph - "Either way - I think this whole situation signals good things in the long run. IMO it means Frank Cignetti is at least willing to entertain the idea that Bill Stull might not be the best QB for PITT when the opening game rolls around." is a blind endorsement of DW's decision making. Again, I agree with your sentiments.
As to your assertions that Shady wouldn't have played and 'only' got PT because LSH was injured, that's been disproved time and again - go back and do a minimum of research and you'd see that McCoy had 31 touches in the first two games that year compared to LSH's 21... and in the opening game LSH had 16 carries compared to McCoy's 10 - with no injuries involved. Then DW was already giving McCoy more carries starting in the second game before LSH got hurt. My God - let a coach ease a kid into the lineup and you believe something terrible is happening.
And just who do you think should have overtaken those players you mention - Thatcher, Turner, Berry, Stull, Thomas, Ransom, Murray, and Gunn? Especially Berry, Thomas and Ransom. Jacobson can't even beat out Thomas so far this year - he never could have earlier. Ransom did an fine job last year, but you would have played whom?? And who would you have started in place of Berry? At what point did you want to replace Berry with someone else? Ransom? Jacobson? He would have been eaten alive last year.
Here's the bottom line with how I approach PITT football - I don't pretend to know more than those closer to the program than I am. That includes personal friends who are involved in the football program, who have close and unique views as to the inner happenings, and whose judgments I trust. It also includes the coaching staff, although I do feel that the make mistakes regularly - as does anyone in that profession.
But what really cracks me up is that posters crow about personnel decisions two years past when viewing the situation in complete hindsight, which is the easiest thing to do.
I've stated very clearly on those other boards you mention that I feel Bostick should get the starting job in 2009 - and haven't changed my opinion yet based on camp...every time I read camp reports I read he's thrown more TDs than anyone else - how does that blindly follow what DW wants to happen?
So yes - I do believe what I write, and I actually think, and do some research, before I start typing - which is more than others do apparently.
My main point was in your last paragraph of your first post here. I haven't seen anything that indicates the coaches are going to entertain the idea that Stull is the guy.
Wanny said the he's keeping the "status quo". After the last 3 days of practice something needs to happen.
I am pulling for Bostick 100 percent in this battle, but he's not even getting the 2nd most reps with our 1st team. Unless something drastically changes the rest of this week, Bostick looks like he is going to be the 3rd quarterback which is something I don't get.
Bostick has what the coaches are looking for, Tino has plenty of upside with a lack of experience, and Stull is not the answer.
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