Not a one. When the beat writers are this critical, it is over.
Here we go again.
You might be hearing those words frequently when the topic du jour is the Pitt defense.
Why? Because just when the Panthers seemed to be turning the corner after a miserable 2003 — a season in which they yielded 402.6 yards per game, including 185 rushing — they’re fading fast.
Their 29-17 loss to Connecticut two days ago exposed deficiencies in stopping the run (Cornell Brockington smoked them for 185 yards) and getting to the quarterback (no sacks). UConn had 395 total yards and managed 25 first downs — 11 more than the Panthers.
A week earlier, Division I-AA Furman amassed 423 yards and 38 points in nearly pulling off an upset.
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The question is: Can the Panthers stop the run?
“Our run defense is designed great,” sophomore middle linebacker Clint Session said. “Sometimes, a guy on defense makes a bad read, and that can hurt the entire defense.”
Similar words were spoken last season, and the Panthers struggled mightily.
And that was the nice way of putting it. Bendel was trying to find anything nice to say, but there wasn’t much. It comes back to this question. “Where are the Panthers going?” The answer isn’t one we like.
Paul Zeise at the PG writes what everyone who has paid attention for the last couple years thinks.
But truth be told, Palko was the least of the Panthers’ problems Thursday night. In fact, he and his receivers — who are slowly coming around — are among the few areas that probably would qualify as a bright spot.
And if Palko wanted to, he could have put some of the blame for the loss on his head coach, but that is not his style.
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Pitt’s problems are deeper than a young quarterback making mistakes and a coach making a questionable decision. The problems are the same as they have been the past two or three seasons.
The offensive line doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Palko had little time to throw and often was forced to scramble for yards, dump a short pass to one of his underneath receivers or throw on the run. He was sacked four times, but it could have been more.
“They got pressure on us with four down linemen,” Palko said, when asked if he felt like he was running for his life. “Our [linemen] are fighting, and you won’t hear me say a bad thing about them.”
The Panthers also had trouble running the ball. Pitt was credited with 82 yards rushing, but 49 of those came from Palko’s scrambles. The running backs contributed 19 carries for 33 yards, 16 on one run.
The Panthers also couldn’t stop the run, especially in the second half. Huskies sophomore Cornell Brockington ran 31 times for 185 yards and a touchdown, and got 124 of his yards after halftime, when Connecticut was trying to protect the lead.
When asked why Brockington was able to run wild in the second half, Pitt linebacker Clint Session explained, “We thought we had the game wrapped up at half [Pitt was trailing, 13-10], so we came out flatter than we should of.”
The fact that the defense thought it had the game won — even though it was trailing — is another sign that the Panthers’ problems run deeper than a young quarterback.
He’s right. And I keep thinking about what Collier wrote:
If you can get past the spectacle of a quarterback intentionally sliding to a stop in his own backfield on third down, you can write this off to Harris’ penchant for outsmarting himself. But if you’re Tyler Palko, what are you thinking — this guy will let me throw it from my own end zone, but not into theirs?
Pitt gets pinned deep. Palko behind a bad offensive line and green receivers is to throw the ball. But when Pitt drives down the field in the 2-minute drill, Harris goes ultraconservative then makes the excuse that Palko is an inexperienced QB? Not-My-Fault-Walt is back with a vengeance.
I was surprised that there were not many columns on this game, but Joe Starkey — who has bent over backwards at times to be fair to Harris — declares Harris to be toast.
Fifty years and a day after Willie Mays gave us The Catch, Walt Harris gave us The Slide.
That is how Walt’s cowardly call near the end of the first half Thursday will come to be known in Pitt football annals. The Slide. It could double as The Headline for the program’s current state — and it was, to be sure, a fireable offense.
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The Slide wasn’t Walt’s only mind-twisting maneuver, but it was perhaps the signature move of his coaching career, sort of in the way Al Campanis’ “Nightline” appearance proved to be a signature move.
One can only imagine what Pitt chancellor Mark Nordenberg, vice chancellor Jerry Cochran and athletic director Jeff Long were thinking when they saw The Slide.
If it wasn’t something along the lines of, “This is unacceptable,” then they’re as out of touch as the coach.
Starkey also caught Mark May losing it, like Lee.
Let’s face it, the only way Harris keeps his job is if Pitt runs the table. I won’t bet against my team, so I’m not willing to put money on what I think of that proposition.
I’ll give one other reason for why it will be good for Pitt at this point to fire Harris. It goes back to things I’ve read on message boards, and a Q&A with PG beat reporter Paul Zeise:
Q: It appears that Pitt’s assistant coaches are not up to par. Why can’t coach Harris get better assistant coaches surrounding him?
ZEISE: Money. It is as simple as Pitt has a hard time attracting top assistants because Pitt doesn’t pay assistant coaches particularly well. Pitt’s assistant coaches are among the lowest paid in the Big East and even, from what I understand, are looking up at such storied programs like Central Florida in the salary department. That’s ridiculous…
As an excuse for Harris, it is about the last one left in the chamber, and if you read the rest, even Zeise doesn’t find that sufficient. If Pitt fires Harris and gets anyone with a name or any juice, they are going to have to pony up money for the assistants. That can only help Pitt with coaching and recruiting.
I really don’t take any joy in saying Harris must go. Not because I’ve been trying to defend him and give him more time to get it right. I have no problem giving in and admitting when I’m wrong — I’m married, you quickly get used to it. It means Pitt is not winning. It means the program is going the wrong way. At this point, you look at the team and you look at recruiting and the only conclusion is this is the end of Harris as the head coach at Pitt. They play out the string and move quickly in December.
I’ll still be at the games cheering and hoping, but this is not a good year for Pitt football.
