Overall, one way to describe the entire unit is Terrible.
Our great defensive line decided not to show up for this game. Maybe Sheard/Romeus aren't as great as advertised, maybe the Utah air slowed us down, or maybe we just really missed Mick Williams and Gus Mustakas. Regardless of the excuse the D-Line needs to make more plays. From a unit that lead the country in sacks last season, we were unable to get one this entire game. Pressure on the quarterback was not consistent and filling holes led to runs which should have been stopped sooner. This group needs to get their heads on straight if we expect to have any success this season because they are the anchors of the group.
The linebackers should immediately have Wanny on the phone with every recruit in the country to see if they want to play here. Max Gruder for some reason has his spot locked up despite not being able to shed tackles, not having any tackles for no gain/loss, and looking lost in pass coverage. The only positive thing you can say is that his pass coverage skills are slightly better than Dan Mason's. I really had high expectations for Mason this year after flashes of brilliance last year. Mason will be a fine run stopper, but his pass coverage ability for a linebacker needs to improve fast if he hopes to succeed at Pitt and make it to the next level. The last spot belonging to Williams/Roberts is a huge hole as well. After 5 years of recruiting here, you would think we would have an above average trio of linebackers, but that is not the case. The one redemption for this group is that everyone realizes we are putting them in no-win situations all of the time. We can not expect our outside linebackers to cover slot receivers all game and be successful. The other move that we aren't adjusting to is when a team puts their #1 receiver in the slot, we are not adjusting. That would be like if we lined Baldwin in the slot and had Max Gruder line up for coverage.
In the secondary, Antuan Reed, and Ricky Gary actually didn't play too bad. Don't get me wrong, they weren't great, but they could have been much worse than they were. I think these guys will steadily improve throughout the season and leave us with less complaints through each game. The same can be said for Jarred Holley. The guy is an absolute play maker. He had the best game of any player on the defensive unit and certainly won't draw any complaints from me. If every player had done their job as well as Holley, we would have won this game. The biggest gripe about this unit is the use of Dom DeCicco. Who thought it would be a good idea for him to continually add more muscle to the point where he can't run as a safety should anymore. The guy is now a linebacker playing in the secondary. He continually is out of position and has poor tackling skills. He hurt his shoulder on a play that he typically goes for. Instead of wrapping up properly, he leads with the shoulder trying to knock the player down with the big hit instead of taking him down securely. With his status unknown for the New Hampshire game we will get to see Jason Hendricks get some extra playing time here. Hopefully the return of Andrew Taglianetti gives this group some relief as he has looked like our best option there so far.
There is much to complain about from this group and the coaching should be included as well. Not breaking from the base defense all game, stating we had too much inexperience, and not having accountability is what killed this team. We can not have the same tired excuses game after game, year after year if we want to become and remain a dominant defense. At some point, the words have to translate into actions and plays have to be made. Either that, or someone has to take the fall for the poor execution whether it is a player or coach.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Post-Utah - The Offense
I had a feeling Pitt would lose a close game against Utah, which is why I predicted a 3 point defeat for the Panthers. I just didn't think that while expecting to lose a close game, I could come out of it with such a negative reaction.
I guess I felt that even if we did lose a close game, our 3 hyped studs (Lewis, Baldwin, and Romeus) would all have great games. What we saw was the staff limit the success of the offensive guys, and the defensive line disappear.
On offense, Tino looks like he can be the real deal. He isn't the best quarterback in the country, but he does have the skill set and tools to be a successful college quarterback. His biggest drawback is the handcuffs that the staff has placed on him, and probably won't ever take off given Wannstedt's usage/trust of quarterbacks.
Dion Lewis and Henry Hynoski did as much as they could in their positions. They made the plays that they were given room to make. The staff did a terrible job using them though as they were forced to run against 8 and 9 man fronts who knew exactly what we were going to do. If we continue to play this way for the rest of the season we won't have to worry about Dion's chase for the Heisman because he will be injured and won't have a shot to pile up stats. He was getting crushed out there.
The offensive line was terrible. If your name is not Nix or Pinkston, you should be worried about losing your job. The interior of the line could not have looked worse. They didn't get any push for the run game, didn't provide Tino time to pass, and looked exactly how a group of linemen should not. Greg Gaskins might be the worst lineman to ever suit up during the Harris/Wannstedt era. I never thought I'd wish to see Dom Williams return to play guard, but he would be starting on this team if he were here. Ryan Turnley and Jack Lippert need to be given serious looks this week in practice because if this line does not turn around quickly, we will be hard pressed to win 8 games.
The wide receivers were the bright spot of the offense. When they were given a chance to make plays, they did. The nice surprise was Cam Saddler showing some good ability as a slot receiver. His speed will compliment nicely to Shanahan and Baldwin. Speaking of those two, how can we not be using them more, especially in the red zone? As Paul Zeise pointed out, of 17 red zone passes, only 1 was to the end zone. Even if you aren't planning on throwing to Baldwin, having him on the field in those situations immediately draws the attention of 2 defenders away from him giving your offense more room. There were even situations where he was in single coverage and we refused to utilize him, instead opting for the runs against a 9 man front.
Mike Cruz showed again that he is a pretty good player. He has very nice hands, but shouldn't be counted on to block too much. For that, we were using Brock DiCicco who right now looks just as bad on offense as his brother does on defense. His false start penalties and poor blocking prevented us from sustaining drives that could have been a difference maker in the game. The big question I have from this group is, Where was Greg Cross? If he truly was to replace Dorin's role from last year, this is one game and one time we could have used it. I guess we're hiding it for the big 3rd place showdown against WVU in November.
Overall my biggest complaints are with the coaching and the offensive line. We saw Wanny's achillies heel back in full force Thursday night. I don't care if it was his or Cignetti's game plan, but it was awful. An audible, play action, or mis-direction play might not be in the 1990 Chicago Bears playbook, but it should be in the 2010 Pitt Panther's playbook.
Given our redzone opportunities and expansive set of skill players, we should have put up much more than 24 points. This is what we need to realistically expect from this type of team the rest of the season and the rest of our lives as long as we are playing this type of football. Regardless of what the defense does, we will run our standard offense and try to force our will over theirs, even if we are losing all game long.
I guess I felt that even if we did lose a close game, our 3 hyped studs (Lewis, Baldwin, and Romeus) would all have great games. What we saw was the staff limit the success of the offensive guys, and the defensive line disappear.
On offense, Tino looks like he can be the real deal. He isn't the best quarterback in the country, but he does have the skill set and tools to be a successful college quarterback. His biggest drawback is the handcuffs that the staff has placed on him, and probably won't ever take off given Wannstedt's usage/trust of quarterbacks.
Dion Lewis and Henry Hynoski did as much as they could in their positions. They made the plays that they were given room to make. The staff did a terrible job using them though as they were forced to run against 8 and 9 man fronts who knew exactly what we were going to do. If we continue to play this way for the rest of the season we won't have to worry about Dion's chase for the Heisman because he will be injured and won't have a shot to pile up stats. He was getting crushed out there.
The offensive line was terrible. If your name is not Nix or Pinkston, you should be worried about losing your job. The interior of the line could not have looked worse. They didn't get any push for the run game, didn't provide Tino time to pass, and looked exactly how a group of linemen should not. Greg Gaskins might be the worst lineman to ever suit up during the Harris/Wannstedt era. I never thought I'd wish to see Dom Williams return to play guard, but he would be starting on this team if he were here. Ryan Turnley and Jack Lippert need to be given serious looks this week in practice because if this line does not turn around quickly, we will be hard pressed to win 8 games.
The wide receivers were the bright spot of the offense. When they were given a chance to make plays, they did. The nice surprise was Cam Saddler showing some good ability as a slot receiver. His speed will compliment nicely to Shanahan and Baldwin. Speaking of those two, how can we not be using them more, especially in the red zone? As Paul Zeise pointed out, of 17 red zone passes, only 1 was to the end zone. Even if you aren't planning on throwing to Baldwin, having him on the field in those situations immediately draws the attention of 2 defenders away from him giving your offense more room. There were even situations where he was in single coverage and we refused to utilize him, instead opting for the runs against a 9 man front.
Mike Cruz showed again that he is a pretty good player. He has very nice hands, but shouldn't be counted on to block too much. For that, we were using Brock DiCicco who right now looks just as bad on offense as his brother does on defense. His false start penalties and poor blocking prevented us from sustaining drives that could have been a difference maker in the game. The big question I have from this group is, Where was Greg Cross? If he truly was to replace Dorin's role from last year, this is one game and one time we could have used it. I guess we're hiding it for the big 3rd place showdown against WVU in November.
Overall my biggest complaints are with the coaching and the offensive line. We saw Wanny's achillies heel back in full force Thursday night. I don't care if it was his or Cignetti's game plan, but it was awful. An audible, play action, or mis-direction play might not be in the 1990 Chicago Bears playbook, but it should be in the 2010 Pitt Panther's playbook.
Given our redzone opportunities and expansive set of skill players, we should have put up much more than 24 points. This is what we need to realistically expect from this type of team the rest of the season and the rest of our lives as long as we are playing this type of football. Regardless of what the defense does, we will run our standard offense and try to force our will over theirs, even if we are losing all game long.
Acquired Apathy
For the past 10 years, as a Pitt football fan, I could really never understand why we never had more of a rabid/passionate fan base. We have had many reasons to see great crowds with tremendous enthusiasm, but we never found them.
After the past few seasons I can finally understand why this attitude exists. It always seems that when a Pitt football team is ready to take the next step forward, we end up stumbling.
In 2004 with a top 10 team and the most legitimate heisman contender we have had in 30 years, we lost at Toledo in a game where we were up by a couple of scores in the 2nd half.
With the introduction of Dave Wannstedt, the return of Matt Cavanaugh, and keeping defensive guru Paul Rhoads, the Panther faithful were excited to see what this coach could do with a team coming off of a BCS berth. What we had was a slaughter at Heinz Field at the hands of Notre Dame. While this could have been overlooked due to the introduction of then hot coaching prospect Charlie Weis introducing his offensive dominance, we then saw the Panthers fall in overtime to Ohio University.
In 2008, the Panthers were starting the season after preventing our hated rivals from West Virginia from playing in the National Championship. We were introducing a monster recruiting class and had things lined up to make a play for the Big East title with the last coaching wizard, Rich Rodriguez, leaving for Michigan. What we had was an opening day loss to Bowling Green, giving us our 3rd loss to a MAC team in our entire history. Things did not get better as it took a late 4th quarter comeback to defeat the Buffalo Bulls at home. The season ended with a truly embarrassing 3-0 loss at the Sun Bowl where the Pitt offense hit rock bottom.
In 2009, Pitt had a chance to earn more respect than ever by going undefeated in the Big East and earning its first BCS bid in 5 years. On a cold November night, Pitt lost to a lowly WVU team in a game that fans claimed "Didn't mean anything". That game was followed up by one of the biggest collapses in Pitt football history as a huge 1st half lead was squandered away against Cincy. That allowed the Bearcats to finish undefeated and pushed Pitt back to 3rd place in the Big East.
This season with Brian Kelly gone, a top 20 ranking, 2 great offensive weapons, a vaunted defensive line, and a quarterback fans have been screaming for the past 2 seasons, Pitt was in a position to take that long awaited step forward. You will hear excuses that losing a close game to Utah is not that big of a deal. Those people making that excuse do have a point. The bigger issue is that Pitt had a chance to win the game, but passed instead taking the safe move to play for the tie. When we did take a chance, our first play in over time resulted in an interception leading to a loss.
Now those are just the issues since I've been a Pitt fan starting in 2000. I can see how fans who have been around much longer than myself can lose hope and simply go to root for the team, but not expect too much. Honestly that is the point where Jones and I are right now. We will be at every game as we always have been, we will be cheering our hearts out for the Panthers, but we won't be expecting championship after championship as it won't happen with this program.
After the past few seasons I can finally understand why this attitude exists. It always seems that when a Pitt football team is ready to take the next step forward, we end up stumbling.
In 2004 with a top 10 team and the most legitimate heisman contender we have had in 30 years, we lost at Toledo in a game where we were up by a couple of scores in the 2nd half.
With the introduction of Dave Wannstedt, the return of Matt Cavanaugh, and keeping defensive guru Paul Rhoads, the Panther faithful were excited to see what this coach could do with a team coming off of a BCS berth. What we had was a slaughter at Heinz Field at the hands of Notre Dame. While this could have been overlooked due to the introduction of then hot coaching prospect Charlie Weis introducing his offensive dominance, we then saw the Panthers fall in overtime to Ohio University.
In 2008, the Panthers were starting the season after preventing our hated rivals from West Virginia from playing in the National Championship. We were introducing a monster recruiting class and had things lined up to make a play for the Big East title with the last coaching wizard, Rich Rodriguez, leaving for Michigan. What we had was an opening day loss to Bowling Green, giving us our 3rd loss to a MAC team in our entire history. Things did not get better as it took a late 4th quarter comeback to defeat the Buffalo Bulls at home. The season ended with a truly embarrassing 3-0 loss at the Sun Bowl where the Pitt offense hit rock bottom.
In 2009, Pitt had a chance to earn more respect than ever by going undefeated in the Big East and earning its first BCS bid in 5 years. On a cold November night, Pitt lost to a lowly WVU team in a game that fans claimed "Didn't mean anything". That game was followed up by one of the biggest collapses in Pitt football history as a huge 1st half lead was squandered away against Cincy. That allowed the Bearcats to finish undefeated and pushed Pitt back to 3rd place in the Big East.
This season with Brian Kelly gone, a top 20 ranking, 2 great offensive weapons, a vaunted defensive line, and a quarterback fans have been screaming for the past 2 seasons, Pitt was in a position to take that long awaited step forward. You will hear excuses that losing a close game to Utah is not that big of a deal. Those people making that excuse do have a point. The bigger issue is that Pitt had a chance to win the game, but passed instead taking the safe move to play for the tie. When we did take a chance, our first play in over time resulted in an interception leading to a loss.
Now those are just the issues since I've been a Pitt fan starting in 2000. I can see how fans who have been around much longer than myself can lose hope and simply go to root for the team, but not expect too much. Honestly that is the point where Jones and I are right now. We will be at every game as we always have been, we will be cheering our hearts out for the Panthers, but we won't be expecting championship after championship as it won't happen with this program.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Pitt vs Utah Preview
Well today is the day. Our Pitt Panthers will kick off the 2010 season in Salt Lake City. This is one of the premiere non-conference games and will be a huge starting point for the victor in this game.
No longer can Utah be looked at as a non-BCS underdog ever since their undefeated season a few years ago with Urban Meyer at the helm. Since that point, Utah has been a force in college football. They have played well enough and garnered enough support to earn them a spot in the PAC-12 meaning, they are now a BCS school.
Leading into the game you have heard all about the superstars for Pitt and the great home field advantage for Utah. We also are waiting to see how new comers such as Tino Sunseri and the back 7 for Utah fare in their first action as starters.
For Pitt to win this game, they need to have a balanced, successful, offensive attack. Utah has a very good defensive line which could cause many problems. The weakness of this Utes team will be in the secondary. We finally get to see the true trust level of this team as Tino is the first quarterback that Wanny has recruited long term for himself. If they let Tino throw as much as Bill Stull towards the end of the season, Pitt should be in good shape tonight. If they hold him back, Pitt is in trouble. Utah knows that we are going to run the ball all day long. A 1 dimensional offense will allow Utah to hide their secondary playing directly into their strength. A few successful passes will push them back a bit allowing more room for the running game. Without the respect for the pass, we will see the Panthers struggling in the run game. Due to this, Pitt should not expect to run the ball all game and expect to win.
On Defense, I expect Pitt to play very well. Pitt has done well against most versions of the spread. This shouldn't be like the Fiesta bowl where all of the misdirections and lack of defensive adjustments leads to a dejected Panther fan base. What we should expect to see is the defensive line controlling the line of scrimmage, stopping the run, and putting pressure on the quarterback. Our main weakness will come from the outside linebacker position and cornerbacks. Dan Mason should be in store for a great season, but if we do not see improvement from Max Gruder and the Williams/Roberts tandem, we are in trouble. We also need Ricky Gary and Antuan Reed to provide consistent, adequate play. We saw our corners struggle ever since the departure of Revis. I don't think any fan is ever expecting to have a cornerback like him year in and year out, but consistency at the position will go a long way in helping the team reach their goal of a Big East Championship.
For this game I don't see Wanny opening anything up offensively since we are opening in a hostile environment with a sophomore quarterback starting his first collegiate game. This over-reliance on the run will pose problems for the offense as our new interior linemen will most like struggle with Utah's front four.
On defense Pitt will hang and play well keeping us in the game. The defensive line will be as good as advertised and be a menace all season long. The linebackers and secondary will have their mistakes, but they will provide enough for Pitt to play solid defensively and remain one of the top units not just in the conference, but in the country.
My prediction:
Pitt 27, Utah 30.
No longer can Utah be looked at as a non-BCS underdog ever since their undefeated season a few years ago with Urban Meyer at the helm. Since that point, Utah has been a force in college football. They have played well enough and garnered enough support to earn them a spot in the PAC-12 meaning, they are now a BCS school.
Leading into the game you have heard all about the superstars for Pitt and the great home field advantage for Utah. We also are waiting to see how new comers such as Tino Sunseri and the back 7 for Utah fare in their first action as starters.
For Pitt to win this game, they need to have a balanced, successful, offensive attack. Utah has a very good defensive line which could cause many problems. The weakness of this Utes team will be in the secondary. We finally get to see the true trust level of this team as Tino is the first quarterback that Wanny has recruited long term for himself. If they let Tino throw as much as Bill Stull towards the end of the season, Pitt should be in good shape tonight. If they hold him back, Pitt is in trouble. Utah knows that we are going to run the ball all day long. A 1 dimensional offense will allow Utah to hide their secondary playing directly into their strength. A few successful passes will push them back a bit allowing more room for the running game. Without the respect for the pass, we will see the Panthers struggling in the run game. Due to this, Pitt should not expect to run the ball all game and expect to win.
On Defense, I expect Pitt to play very well. Pitt has done well against most versions of the spread. This shouldn't be like the Fiesta bowl where all of the misdirections and lack of defensive adjustments leads to a dejected Panther fan base. What we should expect to see is the defensive line controlling the line of scrimmage, stopping the run, and putting pressure on the quarterback. Our main weakness will come from the outside linebacker position and cornerbacks. Dan Mason should be in store for a great season, but if we do not see improvement from Max Gruder and the Williams/Roberts tandem, we are in trouble. We also need Ricky Gary and Antuan Reed to provide consistent, adequate play. We saw our corners struggle ever since the departure of Revis. I don't think any fan is ever expecting to have a cornerback like him year in and year out, but consistency at the position will go a long way in helping the team reach their goal of a Big East Championship.
For this game I don't see Wanny opening anything up offensively since we are opening in a hostile environment with a sophomore quarterback starting his first collegiate game. This over-reliance on the run will pose problems for the offense as our new interior linemen will most like struggle with Utah's front four.
On defense Pitt will hang and play well keeping us in the game. The defensive line will be as good as advertised and be a menace all season long. The linebackers and secondary will have their mistakes, but they will provide enough for Pitt to play solid defensively and remain one of the top units not just in the conference, but in the country.
My prediction:
Pitt 27, Utah 30.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The 2010 Season is here
We are inching ever so close to the kickoff of the season. In a little over 2 days, the most anticipated season of Pitt football in the last 25 years will take place.
Amazingly, this is one of the few years in recent memory where we are favored to be the best of the "local 3". With the pressure mounting, the team and the fans are getting anxious to start the season.
We have returning sensations Jon Baldwin, Greg Romeus, and Dion Lewis. All three should have great seasons, being able to expand on what they were able to accomplish previously. My only hope is that people do not have unrealistic expectations of what each can accomplish.
Greg Romeus will be seeing more double teams than ever given the hype as well as the departure of Mick Williams. That does not mean he can not be a force this season. I am hoping that he can earn double digit sacks and continue to be a menace of a pass rusher.
Dion Lewis will have the chance to continue his great Pitt start as he will be the anchor of the offense. Lucas Nix and Jason Pinkston provide great consistency and have the skill to seal the edge giving Dion room to run. There is some concern replacing the entire interior line, but the staff seems confident in Karabin to replace Robb Houser. The Cat Basket has always been a fan of Chris Jacobsen since his KO days and feel he will be able to step in right away. Greg Gaskins and that right guard spot continue to be a huge question mark for Pitt. If the interior line is able to provide adequate run blocking, Dion should be able to at least reach last years totals.
Jon Baldwin is a major part of the offense and is one of the biggest weapons we have. He will be counted on to help Tino Sunseri make the transition from backup QB to starter. His numbers should increase as he will be the primary target for most passing plays as well as with the departure of other receivers who were big targets last year. A new quarterback often locks into the first target during the early portion of his starting career, so don't be surprised when you continually hear Sunseri to Baldwin.
If those three players have big years, Pitt should be able to make a run for a Big East title. This is the year where a 9-3 team can win the Big East. Losses to Miami and Utah won't be devastating, but a split is needed if we are hoping to gain some respect as a major program returning to glory.
Personally I see the Panthers finishing 9-3 with 1 Big East loss and 2 non-conference losses. Hopefully a 6-1 Big East record is enough to push us forward to a BCS game against a beatable ACC team.
Amazingly, this is one of the few years in recent memory where we are favored to be the best of the "local 3". With the pressure mounting, the team and the fans are getting anxious to start the season.
We have returning sensations Jon Baldwin, Greg Romeus, and Dion Lewis. All three should have great seasons, being able to expand on what they were able to accomplish previously. My only hope is that people do not have unrealistic expectations of what each can accomplish.
Greg Romeus will be seeing more double teams than ever given the hype as well as the departure of Mick Williams. That does not mean he can not be a force this season. I am hoping that he can earn double digit sacks and continue to be a menace of a pass rusher.
Dion Lewis will have the chance to continue his great Pitt start as he will be the anchor of the offense. Lucas Nix and Jason Pinkston provide great consistency and have the skill to seal the edge giving Dion room to run. There is some concern replacing the entire interior line, but the staff seems confident in Karabin to replace Robb Houser. The Cat Basket has always been a fan of Chris Jacobsen since his KO days and feel he will be able to step in right away. Greg Gaskins and that right guard spot continue to be a huge question mark for Pitt. If the interior line is able to provide adequate run blocking, Dion should be able to at least reach last years totals.
Jon Baldwin is a major part of the offense and is one of the biggest weapons we have. He will be counted on to help Tino Sunseri make the transition from backup QB to starter. His numbers should increase as he will be the primary target for most passing plays as well as with the departure of other receivers who were big targets last year. A new quarterback often locks into the first target during the early portion of his starting career, so don't be surprised when you continually hear Sunseri to Baldwin.
If those three players have big years, Pitt should be able to make a run for a Big East title. This is the year where a 9-3 team can win the Big East. Losses to Miami and Utah won't be devastating, but a split is needed if we are hoping to gain some respect as a major program returning to glory.
Personally I see the Panthers finishing 9-3 with 1 Big East loss and 2 non-conference losses. Hopefully a 6-1 Big East record is enough to push us forward to a BCS game against a beatable ACC team.
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