Very busy today. Personal matters. Lots of stuff at both papers, but I have no time to do a write-up.

I wanted to include this in my last post on the non-con, but was limited by time (mainly the end of Sesame Street). I have no doubt how Pitt will spin the schedule: it must be taken as a whole. That Pitt has such a difficult conference schedule, that it justifies lining up nothing but patsies. I just hope they don’t try to claim this as they did last year:

“By far, it’s the most difficult schedule we will play in my five years here,” Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon said. “The Big East will again pose a tremendous challenge. I’m excited about our non-conference schedule as well. We’re bringing in teams from three of the major conferences — the ACC, SEC and Big 10. I doubt there are many schools nationwide who can say that.”

The other problem for Pitt with this schedule is that there is no margin for a loss on this schedule. Even against Memphis or South Carolina. Those (and maybe Richmond) will be the only good RPI games. Lose any of those games and everyone will and should question the team.

Quick little check on the end of the 2003-04 year RPI for Pitt’s 11 non-con opponents is pathetic:

Loyola-MD – 322
Howard – 321

St. Francis – PA – 249
Coppin St. – 234
Robert Morris – 217
Bucknell – 216

Penn St. – 189
Duquesne – 162

Richmond – 47
South Carolina – 45
Memphis – 32

Two — two teams with RPIs in the 300s! That is inexcuseable. Over half the games against teams with RPI at 216 or lower. Disgusting. Those hideous numbers puts the RPI of our non-cons at: 184.91. For a program like Pitt, that guarantees no non-con national TV coverage (except for the Memphis game). Pitt will take deserved ridicule for this kind of schedule. At the very least the needed to schedule some games against legit “name” mid-majors like Kent St., Valpo and Creighton despite the risk. I hated last year’s schedule. This one is just as bad.

With training camp over with the final scrimmage (Um, what is the real difference between “training camp” and the practices that will be taking place for the next week and a half — I mean other than preparing directly for USF and a #$&*ing spread offense? Shut up and don’t ask such stupid questions!) yesterday, what have we learned?

I’ll come back to that in a later post. Right now, the stories of the day.

No puff pieces today. The primary in both papers is Greg Lee playing in the scrimmage and a bit of tension between Coach Harris and the teams expected #1 WR. Lee said part of the problem in his length of sitting out was that there was a mis-diagnosis in his injury. They originally thought it was in the hamstring, and worked that but it turned out to be in the quad. Harris still thinks Lee was just trying to duck working. This is hardly the stuff of Antonio Bryant prima donna act, but after being spoiled the last couple years by Fitzgerald’s otherworldly level of professionalism and maturity it doesn’t look great. In the other piece, there is a question of double standards asked regarding Tim Murphy’s injury, but not being questioned. Harris dismissed such a question because Murphy is a senior, a “hard-nosed player… [and] a tough guy,” who has proved himself.

Zeise’s notebook focuses on the decision on QB. No predictions. A live panther, named Shasta, was at the scrimmage yesterday for some pictures and video with the coach and players. We can expect to see it on the jumbotron at the games this year.

Bendel notes some of the one-on-one activity during the scrimmage. He also observes that the O-line was makeshift because of injuries.

That leads to Starkey’s column. Depth will be a real issue this year. Pitt is thin at many places, but more so on the lines. Starkey takes Coach Harris to task for the number of misses right in his own back yard.

Derry Area’s Kyle Schmitt is the starting center at Maryland and one of the more respected linemen in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Mt. Lebanon’s Justin Geisinger is Vanderbilt’s starting left tackle and team captain.

Mt. Lebanon’s Bob Whitaker, a 320-pound right guard, was a Sporting News freshman All-American at Kansas.

Thomas Jefferson’s Tyler Reed arguably is Penn State’s best linemen and plays next to North Hills’ Andrew Richardson.

Washington’s Dan Mozes, a sophomore guard at West Virginia, is regarded as a certain NFL draft pick.

The list goes on.
…
But the overriding factors are Pitt’s failure to attract enough talent and to develop the talent on hand.

He doesn’t actually make the point except on Mozes, but he is indicating with these players that Pitt hasn’t looked for the diamonds in the rough at the line. Pitt can’t get the blue-chip linemen yet.

Starkey credits Harris for finally realizing the importance of the lines by the hiring of a new tackle and tight end coach and a new strength coach. The problem, he thinks, is that it might already be too late for Harris. The pressure on Harris is already big. Pitt is going to have to win 2 of its first 3 games, to start bringing it down. No small task.

It hasn’t been posted on the site officially as of yet, but Pitt releases its non-conference schedule today. Just like last year, it’s full of patsies.

This season’s non-conference schedule is similarly constructed, with 9 of the 11 games at the Petersen Events Center and no games against quality opponents on the road.

Pitt opens Nov. 20 with a home game against Howard. The Panthers also play home games against Robert Morris (Nov. 24), Loyola, Md. (Nov. 27), St. Francis, Pa. (Dec. 1), Duquesne (Dec. 4), Coppin State (Dec. 18), Richmond (Dec. 23) and Bucknell (Jan. 2).

They will play in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, facing Memphis Dec. 7. The only road game during the non-conference schedule is Dec. 11 at Penn State.

Three teams — Memphis, Richmond and South Carolina — played in the NCAA tournament last season.

Next week the dates for the Big East schedule will be released. This sucks. It’s not just that they are facing bad teams, it’s the sheer volume of absolutely horrid teams. These are teams that are in the 200s of RPI at best. Once again, the non-con will absolutely kill the RPI.

The scrimmage was played. Coach Walt Harris answered questions afterwards (PDF version and Stats).

Harris still hasn’t made a decision on a starting QB. He seemed to have declared training camp a draw. Not clear when he will decide. Judging by the stats, I guess this time Palko got the protection (5 of 8, 0 INT and sacks, but only for 23 yards) and Getsy was running for his life (2 of 6, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 64 yards).

Kirkley looks to be the starter at RB, but only because Murphy has been banged up. Harris obviously has questions about Kirkley’s mental part, “he’s got to be a better football player. That would be the most important area he needs to improve.” Hardly a ringing endorsement.

Greg Lee played today. He looked pretty good (judging by calling his performance “standout” in the question itself), but Coach Harris really implied that Lee was nursing his quad or hamstring to stay out of practice, “Obviously he must have got himself in the right frame of mind.” Subtle.

Usually I save the puff pieces for last, but this just doesn’t make sense. Both the Trib and the P-G do stories on the new Strength Coach, Mike Kent. Plenty of player raves about the guy and how he motivates them. Kent stresses lower body fat, flexibility at the hips, and more shoulder and hand strength. He came here from Louisville, which joins the Big East next year and has become a respectable program.

So why do these puff pieces bother me? Well the big story of camp and again yesterday were the sheer number of injuries to Pitt players. How about the entire starting interior O-line being out of practice yesterday with injuries. Guard Rob Frederick is going to be out for a while. Whatever the MRI showed, Pitt hasn’t told the press yet. Two more WRs, Kevin Chandler and Jason Gaffney were injured and didn’t practice yesterday. The number of players out with injuries yesterday was 15.

Now, I’m not blaming Kent and his program. I happen to agree with lowering body fat and increasing flexibility. And considering I have bum shoulders, I can’t argue with doing anything to strengthen them. I am wondering why no one is asking if the Pitt conditioning program may have anything to do with the volume of injuries. Whether it is some sort of adjustments to the new regimen, and the players’ bodies hadn’t fully adjusted to the changes before practices and hits started. Or if it’s something else. It at least seems like a legitimate question.

At first, I was writing off the injuries as not a big deal because most seemed like minor dings and kids learning about playing through and with pain. Now, with some of the players out a week or longer, you have to wonder and worry.

Back to the rest of the news. Freshman Darrelle Revis is now in the mix to pull down a starting position at cornerback. Darrell Strong already looks good at the TE position. Coach Harris has done a fair amount of personal coaching . Safety Tez Morris tried to thin out the WR depth even further when he knocked out Joe Stephens with a hit as Stephens lunged at a tipped ball.

Now this is an awesome resource. The Helmet Project (via FanBlogs). An ongoing work in progress attempting to replicate and show the football helmets for all teams — pro and college. Right now the sight goes back to circa 1960. The Big East section has Pitt helmets going back to the mid-60s. Like This.

Cool place to click through.

Maybe Darrelle Strong would have had a chance to be a starting QB this year — simply by the odds that Palko and Getsy may both be mauled by opposing defenses. Judging by what the latest Walt Harris quote collection (PDF version) says, the line looks incredibly fragile and inexperienced.

Whatever is wrong with Guard Rob Frederick’s left foot, “It’s not day-to-day, it will be awhile.” That means Charles Spencer will have to get the hang of the position really fast. Plus Center Justin Belarski suffered back spasms today. He missed most of last season because of injuries.

Should be another fun day for the whole offense with tomorrow’s scheduled scrimmage.

Thomas Smith, a senior defensive end, comes in for today’s puff piece. He’s a tough guy, he knows how to play through and with pain, a bit of a throwback, a plain tough football player, a leader by example… Oh, you know the storyline.

Despite more injuries, the stories today were quite upbeat. The move of Darrell Strong from QB to TE seems to be the reason. Despite all the early talk about his strong arm, he can have a more immediate impact as a TE. Linebacker H.B. Blades, played on the same high school team as Strong, and had lots of positive things to say.

Zeise’s notebook leads with Strong moving to TE. Now for the bad stuff. Freshman RB Brandon Mason tore ligaments in his thumb. He will be out an undetermined period. At this rate, all Kirkely has to do to win the starting tailback job is not get hurt. Cornerback Josh Lay, who got a late start because of academic issues, will likely be out for a while with a hamstring injury. More dinged up defensive players — J.J. Horne and Kennard Cox. Harris was unhappy with the way the defense played, they lacked intensity.

Bendel’s notebook led the ailing left foot of Guard Rob Frederick. The positive, being that the X-rays were negative. Now he will have an MRI to see why it is hurting. Bendel thinks Mason won’t return from his thumb ligament surgery until late in the season, and will end up red-shirting. Kirkely looked good running the ball, but was it all him or did the defense let down.

Okay, now I’m concerned about the number of injuries. The Walt Harris quote list is up for the day. Add Freshman RB, Brandon Mason, to the injured list. Mason has to have surgery on Thursday (actual injury not stated). The players are just dropping. OL Rob Frederick apparently doesn’t have a break in his foot, but now is going to get an MRI to figure out what the problem is.

In the one piece of very good news. Freshman Darrell Strong has asked to go from QB to Tight End. This is excellent. He was a blue-chip recruit as a TE, but wanted to play QB. He came to Pitt over Auburn because he would be given a chance to play QB. Apparently after going through enough QB meetings, he concluded that he couldn’t run the offense. Expect him to be on the field this season.

Guess what today’s theme is?

Seems everyone who is involved, covers or cares about Pitt football has become converts to the need for good linemen and some depth at the position. It almost seems like a group epiphany. Except of course being bludgeoned with the evidence of seeing the 2003 season hardly makes it a revelation.

Soooooo…

The defensive line vows not to be blown off the line, not allow gaping holes, get to the quarterback more than once a game, and remember how to tackle. Well, actually they just vow to stop the run. How? Experience it seems.

Safe to say that both Palko and Getsy are holding their breath regarding the X-ray this morning on left guard Rob Frederick’s left foot. He suffered a stress fracture in that foot last year costing him 10 games. The piece concludes with a list of who the likely starters will be on the 0-line, and just how short on experience and depth there is behind each position. Yeep!

If he’s out, then converted d-lineman Charles Spencer is in. Spencer, the subject of an early puff piece, turned out to be struggling with the conversion. He’s still learning the position.

Zeise’s notebook is all about how thin the line is after the starters. Pitt will have 2 practices today, one tomorrow, and 2 on Wednesday to wrap up training camp. Then it’s fanfest on Thursday.

Bendel’s notebook is short — no decision at QB and WR positions are still open.

Quotes from Coach Harris after this evening’s practice. No decision on who will be the QB to lead off the quotes; OL Rob Frederick will have an X-ray tomorrow; very thin on the O-line; and he’s worried about all the injuries — especially at WR.

Sunday has become that day spent catching up on a lot of other things, so let’s do this quick and dirty.

Direct quotes from Coach Walt Harris (PDF Version) regarding the first scrimmage of the year (stats — for what they are worth — here). Nothing especially revealing. He wants to name a starting QB before the end of the week.

The Pooch Punt will rise again. Josh Cummings, who kicked well, had 2 pooch punts in the scrimmage. The offense struggled at times. Especially the line in front of Palko who couldn’t seem to protect him. Getsy had the better day, but most of Palko’s problems seemed to be that he was always on the run. Here’s something I didn’t want to read:

Neither player had much of a chance to show what they can do consistently because both spent much of the day running from defensive players. The offensive line struggled mightily against what was mostly a patchwork defensive line.

Reads to me that both QBs will get to start at this rate, after the initial starter is carted off on a stretcher.

Bendel’s report stressed the number of injuries making this scrimmage a hard to judge event. In the notebook column, defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads singled out Charles Sallet as the best player on defense to date. Houston Texans GM Casserly and former Pitt coach Foge Fazio were at the scrimmage.

Puff piece on Offensive Lineman Rob Petitti.

Starting with the notebook columns today as both deal with injuries and attempts to return. From Zeise, leads with Greg Lee and Marcus Furman returns to practice. Neither, though, could make it to the end of practice. Josh Lay and Tim Murphy both sat out practice with injuries. With Murphy trying to make it as a tailback, there is not a lot of depth and a noticeable drop in talent at fullback. With Murphy and Furman dinged and not practicing, freshman Brandon Mason has looked good competing with Kirkley for the starting RB.

Bendel’s notebook deals with most of the same topics. He notes that Furman had to leave after a big hit from Darrelle Revis.

A week ago, columnist Bob Smizik’s first Pitt football column of the year pretty much suggested that Harris will be coming in for a fair amount of abuse. He does another piece against Harris — this for the calling out the injured players as being soft.

Suppose Lee responds to Harris’ challenge and resumes practice. Then suppose he does further damage to his injury, which had been described as in the hamstring and/or quadriceps area. What does Harris look like if, say, Lee’s hamstring is torn and he is lost for the season?

A talk in the coach’s office would have been a more prudent approach. Nothing was gained by publicly embarrassing Lee.

Harris’ stance is particularly puzzling because of what has transpired in football in recent years. Too many players are dying on the field, usually because of the heat, and too many programs are being blamed because of the way they treat their players. Lee’s injury is not life-threatening. But if the deaths of Kory Stringer of the Minnesota Vikings and Rashidi Wallace of Northwestern have taught us anything it is that coaches and trainers need to be sensitive to the condition of the athletes in their charge.

Now here’s the annoying thing. Smizik actually makes a halfway decent point. But since it came from him, it can easily be dismissed as Smizik just looking for something to rip on Walt.

Two other articles. One on Darrelle Revis and his efforts to get his grades up over the summer to avoid having to go to prep school. It will be interesting to see where he is on the depth chart at the beginning of the season and by the end. Harris seems to want to downplay the expectations.

The must read article for the day concerns the scrimmage today. A good rundown on a lot of position battles, and a lot of expected decisions regarding who will be the starter. The exception, though, is the QB battle.