Both notebook articles were on the light side today.

A little on Derek Kinder looking like the #3 receiver.

Kinder made several diving catches, but more important, he made all the routine catches as well.

“Consistency, that’s what coaches want,” he said.

“I’ve just been able to play consistently the past few days and do all the little things I am supposed to do. The job is there for one of us to grab and I want it to be me.”

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said of Kinder: “Derek had a slow start [to camp] but has picked it up the last few days. It is encouraging that we feel good about three [receivers] now.”

The issue of consistency was thematic, and next comes finding a #4.

“He made some nice catches in traffic and a couple one-handers on the sideline,” offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh said. “All we’re looking for is someone to be consistent. He doesn’t have to be special yet.”

Kinder’s breakout does not mean that Wannstedt is satisfied with the wideout situation.

“We need one more guy to come through so we can use some of our four-wide receiver sets,” Wannstedt said. “We want to be able to spread people out and do some different things.”

Greg Lee is still not taking contact in practice, to build confidence that the shoulder is fine. I suppose it is a necessary precaution, but he’s going to have to get popped a few times before the first game.

As the season draws closer to its start (a week before the first game on Wednesday), the AP has been doing preview stories for various teams. Their Pittsburgh sports writer, Alan Robinson, did this piece on Pitt. It starts with the variation on Coach Wannstedt taking the Pitt job — the one focusing on whether he wanted to jump right back into coaching and at the college level, etc. The rest of the article, though, is very positive on Pitt’s team, especially Rashad Jennings.

Today was the final scrimmage. The starters were just put in situational scrimmages — 2 minute drills and such. Second and third team got much more action. Apparently really going at it at times.

Coach Wannstedt had some nice things to say about TE Darrell Strong and WR Derek Kinder:

On Darrell Strong:

He’s a guy that can play a lot of different positions because he’s such a good athlete. He was a receiver last year. You guys know better than me. You can put him a lot of different places and he gives you a chance to make a play. I was very encouraged by the way he responded. He got banged up a little bit and came back in there so it was good to see his toughness.

On Derek Kinder:

At the end of spring I felt like we had Greg Lee and Kinder and (Joe) DelSardo (at receiver). Kinder ended up the spring real strong. He had a slow start but has picked it up the last couple days so that’s encouraging. We need one more guy to come through so we can use some of our four wide receiver sets. We want to be able to spread people out and do some different things. It is encouraging that we feel real good about three right now.

I won’t be surprised if Strong is second on the depth chart at tight end. Kinder having some good practices is encouraging, especially since Marcus Furman had stiffness in his back after only one practice at WR. Of some concern, Linebacker Clint Session had his knee scoped. His status is day-to-day.

Wow.

Bob Huggins was ordered Tuesday to resign or he’ll be fired as Cincinnati’s basketball coach, culminating a power struggle with the school president.

In a letter sent by the university, Huggins was given 24 hours to resign, or he would be fired and get a buyout.

Huggins told ESPN’s Jay Bilas that he hasn’t been contacted directly on the matter.

His lawyer received a letter from the university on Tuesday afternoon with the ultimatum.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, associate head coach Andy Kennedy will be asked to replace Huggins in the interim.

Define interim. Believe it or not, Midnight Madness hits October 14. That’s a little more than 7 weeks away. If I’m Kennedy, and if I want that job, I am demanding more than an interim offer.

Can you see Cinci or any school for that matter scrambling to find and hire a coach at this point? If they don’t hire Kennedy, anyone else they bring in won’t be able to do jack. The players can’t practice until October. The new coach would barely have a month before their first game on November 19. You almost guarantee a flushed season. Fans, alumni, students would be braying for blood.

Regardless of whether you like Huggins or not, the way it was handled was pure idiocy. If they were going to do this, at the latest, it should have been done back in May when the crap first went down. They bluffed then trying to get Huggins to leave (and low balled on the buyout) and he called. It took them until now to finally act — and they are still lowballing if you read the letter.

Cinci President Nancy Zimpher has screwed up big time. She will be taking the fall in the next couple of years. To follow this story go to the Bearcats blog, where Brandon is now grabbing local media attention thanks to his other site.

The wife (Cinci alum) is going to be pissed when she gets home from work.

The inaugural BlogPoll debuts. Big props to Brian for the time and effort in putting this project together. You can see every voter’s ballot here, by clicking the green checkmark. Here’s my ballot with my comments from last week.

In the Poll, Pitt is ranked at #24. Apparently, Pitt had one of the lowest variations of rankings from poll to poll. I ranked as having high bias (defined as where you put your team versus where they came out on the blogpoll) for putting Pitt at #15. I’m not surprised where Pitt ranked. To some degree it’s my own fault for not getting around to doing a blogpoll question on the subject of making a case for why a team(s) should or shouldn’t be ranked in a spot. I like to think I could have made a persuasive case to have at least gotten Pitt to #21 with the voters.

Still, this should be an interesting venture.

Another practice notebook piece. The focus is primarily on the receiving corp.

The wideout corps was hampered by injuries to junior Greg Lee (shoulder) and redshirt sophomore Terrell Allen (hamstring), the past week or so. Lee and junior Joe DelSardo were set as starters when camp began, but sophomores Derek Kinder and Kelvin Chandler and redshirt freshman Marcel Pestano were expected to push for playing time. Neither stepped up, despite the increased reps, while frosh Oderick Turner made progress.

“The receivers are getting better, but there’s still a lot of work to do,” Cavanaugh said. “Losing Greg for about a week set us back a bit because he’s just not our most explosive receiver but he’s one of the leaders.

“That left a big hole to fill. … There were signs that some guys would step up. Instead, they reminded us just how young and inexperienced they are, but they’re working hard and getting better every day.”

If Allen could get and stay healthy I would love to see what he could do as a receiver.

Athlon finally put their Player’s Forum story online. This was a feature in their college football preview magazine. Tyler Palko was one of the participants, but he only answered some of the questions.

Do players read the Internet?
Palko: I can’t speak for everyone but I don’t have enough time to read it myself. I try not to pay attention to stuff like that. It ends up being a distraction. To tell you the truth, it really doesn’t matter what anyone else says or feels except for your team and your coaches.
…
Did you enjoy the recruiting process?
Palko: No, I hated it. I just wanted to pick a school and start playing football.

Worth a look.

Finally, USA Today has a story on Coach Wannstedt taking over at Pitt (hat tip Smith). The article starts out and ends with stock material we’ve already heard. The stuff about the steel mills where Coach Wannstedt worked and how much the area has changed, and the ability to eat, drink and schmoose at the Duquesne Club then down to the South Side. The rest of the article, though is pretty good.

Former coach Walt Harris “did a great job,” Wannstedt says of his predecessor, now at Stanford. “We’ve got a good foundation.”

The current players are already enthused.

“Every time (Wannstedt) comes out to the practice field he’s ready to teach,” says Blades, whose father, Bennie, played for Wannstedt at Miami (Fla.), where the coach was on the Hurricanes staff from 1986-88. “My dad told me that whole staff with Coach Wannstedt would do anything to win, and that’s what we want.

“It gives us that much more energy, and we want to learn. On the first day of practice, he ran out clapping his hands and ready to go. I thought he was ready to suit up and hit somebody. Everybody wants to play for a winner, and Coach Wannstedt is a proven winner.”
…
Still, Wannstedt was hesitant about taking the job. He had been away from Pitt and the college game a long time and wanted to be sure he wasn’t acting only on emotion.

“I know the responsibility that comes with being a head coach, and knew the work and commitment it would take to build a top-10 program. And that’s the goal,” says Wannstedt, who was an assistant coach with Pitt’s 1976 national championship team.

“The (ex-coaches) Johnny Majorses and Foge Fazios and ex-Pitt players, all these guys were calling, friends and family members — but at the end of the day, I’m the guy who has to walk in that office and deal with it.”

It also talks about his fast start on recruiting, and how much he enjoys doing the full circuit required of a college football coach today.

“I know I can help them play pro football,” he says. “But for the vast majority, they’re going to have to go out and get a job and have a family and make a contribution to society, and I really believe I can help these kids do that.”

Another refreshing change, he says, is breaking up the 12-month football year with things other than game planning and film grading.

“I spent a month on the road at golf tournaments with alumni, and I loved that,” says Wannstedt, who also has enjoyed interacting with students on Pitt’s campus.

“Now football’s starting, so for the next five months I’m ready to go and start X-and-Oing and coaching football.

“The change has been good for me as compared to the NFL, where you have one month for the draft and the rest is all X’s and O’s. You can only draw up so many blitzes, you know.”

11 days until kick-off.

Apparently this is no longer the offensive line of last year.

With a little more than a week to go before the Panthers play their first game, most of the offensive linemen appear to be in excellent shape, and that’s a big reason why the depth chart at offensive line — which once was in disarray– is shaping up. And rather nicely, at that.

The Panthers’ starting offensive line from left to right is Charles Spencer, Dom Williams, Joe Villani, John Simonitis and Mike McGlynn. This unit mostly has played together since the start of spring practice.

But a bigger concern coming into camp than the starting line was identifying quality depth behind them. Early in preseason camp ,Wannstedt said he wasn’t sure if the Panthers had many legitimate backups and hinted that perhaps one or more true freshmen would make their way onto the two-deep roster.

His tune has changed, however, as the Panthers now have a veteran backup at all five positions. The talented trio of freshmen Wannstedt spoke of are still on the outside looking in. That means Wannstedt likely will be able to redshirt at least one, if not all, three.

A big reason for the improved play of the backups is their commitment to the offseason strength and conditioning program.

The emphasis on speed on the lines resulted in the slimming down of the players. I’m still worried about depth — the drop-off from 1st to 2nd team is still significant. I still expect at minimum one of the freshman to at least move to second team.

Another article on the o-line focuses on the 1st team. Specifically, the attention falls on Tackles Charles Spencer and Mike McGlynn.

After what turned into a spirited afternoon practice that had some Pitt players gasping at the conclusion, McGlynn praised his teammates and Wannstedt’s staff for the intense atmosphere.

“Coach Wannstedt has brought a lot of excitement to the offensive lineman, and he knows a lot about that position,” McGlynn said. “Coach Wannstedt is a great coach. He takes us toward that goal we want to achieve, and that’s to have a great season.”

McGlynn didn’t stop there.

“There’s a different view on our season this year, a different goal,” he said. “This year, we’re all striving for that same goal. I’m not saying anything bad about last year’s team, but I’m just looking at the future.

“I’m just really excited about this year and this group and how we’ve been working.”

Now all they have to do is actually open holes to give the running backs a chance and still protect Palko.

Freshman Gus Mustakas gets a nice piece today.

Wannstedt was impressed by Mustakas’ athleticism enough to consider moving him to center. Defensive tackle was another possibility. The coach also thought Mustakas might make a good linebacker if he didn’t put on enough weight to be a lineman.

“It was one of those deals where you say, ‘Geez, we’ll find a place for him,’ ” Wannstedt said. “Finally, we put him at defensive end because we needed a little bit of help there, and I think he’s found his spot.”

He has found some playing time, too. Mustakas, a freshman, has gotten plenty of reps with the first- and second-team lines during preseason camp.

He’ll probably start out at best 2nd on the depth chart. Considering the defensive end position has some question marks and is one of the weaker places for Pitt, though, he could be starting before the season is at the halfway point.

Other notes say that Coach Wannstedt will wait to decide who to move from tailback to fullback — Conredge Collins or Shane Brooks. Today is the final scrimmage for the team.

A couple things.

The BCS-Harris Interactive group released its list of voters (PDF, Via B&G Sky). It, uh, stretches its credibility when you see Terry Bradshaw, Rocket Ismail, Steve Largent, Boomer Esiason and some of the other names on the list. I mean, I see a Kenny Roda listed. The same Kenny Roda who is a sports talker on WKNR in Cleveland (from Pittsburgh, went to Baldwin & Wallace, totally slurps Tressel and OSU)? Grife!

And yet they will almost assuredly ignore the forthcoming blogpoll.

There are a couple Pitt guys on the list: Foge Fazio and John Congemi.

As the first game starts getting closer, I need to look in on some Notre Dame stuff. Now, maybe, I’m not the right messenger to tell the Domers this, but I think some of the “analysis” is going a wee bit over the edge.

The Notre Dame depth charts are still fuzzy, and that’s largely by design — to keep players hungry, to keep Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt guessing, to keep the media at arm’s length.

First-year coach Charlie Weis hasn’t just put his signature on the Notre Dame football program, he’s imposed a manifesto on it, changed its personality, created a new culture.

I know they have elevated him to super-duper-genius in South Bend, but this is a bit much. Of course the ND depth chart is vague at this point. So is Pitt’s (but I don’t read anybody suggesting some super-secret-masterful plan as the reason).

You have a new coach, new system, plenty of transfers and kids leaving the program, some injuries, position switches and just the unknown of a new season looming. Ever hear of Occam’s Razor? Look into it.

I don’t know, the more I think about it, the last time I remember a top assistant rising to a top job with all the accolades of “super-genius” on offense and a god-like ability to make a QB awesome. Who was that guy?

Hmm.

Totally different. I know. Unfair comparison. Weis is totally different. He’s unpredictable. He’s wild. He’s, he’s —

Yeah, yeah!

Nothing seemed particularly definitive from Coach Wannstedt’s press conference regarding practice today. Mostly positive, but kind of vacuous. There’s probably a reason for that.

On the depth chart:

Right now we’re still juggling a lot of positions, as everybody knows. We haven’t finalized the depth chart yet and probably won’t finalize one for sure until a couple days before the Notre Dame game. Everybody knows pretty much who we’re working and who’s getting the reps, but there’s no need to do that right now. We’ll continue to work as many guys as we can.

Much as I’d like to see a depth chart tomorrow — just to keep things straight — I’m not shocked. Between minor injuries, working in a lot of freshmen, new systems and coaches; how can the depth chart be set at this point.

Coach Wannstedt seems happy with the way the offensive line is shaping, and indicated that if Tim Murphy isn’t a starting tailback or even second on the chart, it will only be because other backs — Stephens and Mason — have been just that much better in camp. Interesting. Mason seems to have really stepped up his performance in the last 3-4 days.

This AP story on practice today, focuses on Lee’s slow return. Matt Cavanaugh is itching to get him and Terrell Allen back.

Junior wideout Terrell Allen is still having some problems coming back from a hamstring injury. He has not been able to do much running the past few days.

“We need to get both those guys back in there and up to full speed,” Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh said. “We have a lot of receivers, but we haven’t been able to establish our depth chart there.

“The injuries have hurt us, and some of the younger guys just haven’t stepped up.” Cavanaugh said.

I wonder if Pitt has a play calling for a 3 Tight End set?

Plus, a little more on Furman’s move to Wide Receiver. He apparently was pushed before he jumped.

“I saw my reps cut a little bit every day, and I actually was going to ask about moving to receiver,” Furman said. “So, I’m looking forward to this move. I know I’ve moved before, but I only go where I can help the team. And maybe I can help myself out a little bit, too.”

Can’t hurt.

I was thinking a little more about the AP Poll. Ray Fittipaldo had a story on Sunday concerning the first set of rankings. Disappointingly, he neither identified himself as a voter this year and did not disclose how he voted. Perhaps it appeared in print only. If any of the Pittsburgh-based readers who gets the P-G can check the Sunday paper to confirm or deny, I’d appreciate it.

For purposes of possible bias breakdown I listed the voters roughly by region. After each writer, I indicated the conference relation based on closest major school geographically (sorry MAC programs).

By region:

National Voters (4)
Chris Fowler, ESPN
Craig James, ABC
Stewart Mandel, SI.com
John Tautges, Westwood One Radio

Northeast (6)
Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Big East)
Aditi Kinkhabwala, The Record, Bergen County, N.J. (Big East)
Neill Ostrout, Connecticut Post, Bridgeport (Big East)
Mike Radano, Courier-Post, Cherry Hill, N.J. (Big East)
Dave Rahme, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, N.Y. (Big East)
Mike Vega, The Boston Globe (ACC)

Southeast (9)
Jack Bogaczyk, Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail (Big East)
Barker Davis, The Washington Times (ACC)
Joe Giglio, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. (ACC)
Jeff Gravely, WRAL-TV, Raleigh, N.C. (ACC)
Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald (ACC)
Joe Person, The State, Columbia, S.C. (SEC)
David Teel, Daily Press, Newport News, Va. (ACC)
Ken Tysiac, Charlotte (N.C.) Observer (ACC)
Adan Van Brimmer, Savannah (Ga.) Morning News-Augusta (SEC)

South (11)
Beau Bishop, WCTV-TV, Tallahassee, Fla. (ACC)
Mike DiRocco, Florida Times Union (SEC)
Rick Bozich, The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky. (Big East)
Gregg Ellis, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Miss. (SEC)
Bob Holt, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock (SEC)
Jimmy Hyams, WNML AM-FM, Knoxville, Tenn. (SEC)
Dan McDonald, Lafayette (La.) Advertiser (SEC)
David Paschall, Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times Free Press (SEC)
Scott Rabalais, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La. (SEC)
Doug Segrest, The Birmingham (Ala.) News (SEC)
Jay Tate, Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser (SEC)

Midwest (16)
Steve Batterson, Quad City (Iowa) Times (Big 11)
Jim Carty, The Ann Arbor (Mich.) News (Big 11)
Herb Gould, Chicago Sun-Times (Big 11 & ND)
Doug Harris, Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Big 11)
Kirk Herbstreit, WBNS-AM Columbus, Ohio & ESPN (Big 11)
Rich Kaipust, Omaha (Neb.) World-Record (Big 12)
George Lehner, WTVN-AM, Columbus, Ohio (Big 11)
Tom Mulhern, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison (Big 11)
John Niyo, Detroit News (Big 11)
Jeff Parson, Wichita (Kan.) Eagle (Big 12)
Michael Pointer, The Indianapolis Star (Big 11 & ND)
John Shipley, St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press (Big 11)
Mark Tupper, Decatur (Ill.) Herald & Review Bee (Big 11)
Graham Watson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Big 12)
Doug Wilson, Bloomington (Ind.) Herald-Times (Big 11)

Southwest (8)
Kirk Bohls, Austin (Texas) American Statesman (Big 12)
Jimmy Burch, Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram (Big 12)
Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle (Big 12)
Joey Goodman, The Lawton (Okla.) Constitution (Big 12)
Tim Griffin, San Antonio Express-News (Big 12)
Iliana Limon, Albuquerque (N.M.) Journal (Mountain West/WAC)
John Moredich, Tucson (Ariz.) Citizen (PAC 10)
Jimmy Tramel, Tulsa (Okla.) World (Big 12)

Rocky Mountain (4)
B.G. Brooks, Rocky Mountain News, Denver (Big 12)
Bob Hammond, Laramie (Wyo.) Boomerang (Mountain West/WAC)
Shawn Harrison, Logan (Utah) Herald Tribune (Mountain West/WAC)
Joseph Hawk, Las Vegas Review-Journal (Mountain West/WAC)
Mike Prater, The Idaho Statesman, Boise (Mountain West/WAC)

West (7)
Paul Arnett, Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Mountain West/WAC)
Todd Harmonson, The Orange County Register, Santa Ana, Calif. (PAC 10)
John Blanchette, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash. (PAC 10)
Aaron Fentress, The Oregonian, Portland (PAC 10)
Ray Ratto, San Francisco Chronicle (PAC 10)
Jon Wilner, San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News (PAC 10)
Scott Wolf, Los Angeles Daily News (PAC 10)

Roughly based on where the papers are located and the strongest team(s) closest:

ACC – 8
Big East – 7
Big 11 – 12
Big 12 – 10
PAC 10 – 7
SEC – 11
Mountain West/WAC – 6

Of further possible interest, check out this semi-confessional/defense from an AP voter.

That brings us to the purpose of this little confessional. I’ve been one of those stupid media-types. Not just once or twice, but more like 12-14 times serving on the “AP Poll Board” during the 1980s and ’90s.

The commitment is not an easy task. It starts now, in mid-August, and continues every week through early December, then again after the bowls for the final poll. Each voter puts together a top 25, every Saturday night or Sunday morning, and submits the ballot to AP.

If you’re thinking it must be fun, you’re wrong. It’s serious business, requiring constant awareness, preparation and analysis. Every voter knows the nation is watching. Nobody wants to be embarrassed.

Also, nobody wants to get booted. Which has happened.

One guy from Raleigh, N.C., already found himself on unofficial probation. He put Louisville as his No. 1 team. Not smart. Four went with Texas, but at least the Longhorns are No. 2. Tennessee figured to have some No. 1 votes from this part of the world, but no.

Back in New York, the AP folks look at those ballots as they are tabulated. If they see something that doesn’t pass the smell test, they make phone calls. If a Florida voter had ranked Tennessee ahead of Southern Cal, that would’ve been OK. But if that voter were to put Florida or Florida State as No. 1, alarms would go off.

The weekly ritual continued beyond voting. As soon as the poll came out, I checked it closely. You have to be brave sometimes and stand up for your feelings, but normally you don’t want to be more than three to five spots off for any team, even in the gray area toward the bottom. Also, you don’t want to see your teams wasted among “others receiving votes.”

That’s because being an AP voter isn’t simply a chore. It’s an honor, a challenging responsibility, and it always was a nice feeling when the invitation would come to take part again.

He almost makes it seem like they are picking the Pope.

The lead story for the beat reporters was Greg Lee’s return to practice.

“It’s not 100 percent now, so I’m going to slowly get back in the groove of practice,” Lee said. “I’m a little bit rusty. (Being out) threw off the timing between me and the quarterbacks, my reaction time to blocks and stuff like that.”

Lee had not practiced since Aug. 11, when he was injured while making a tumbling catch during a receiving drill.

And of course, the chance given to the other receivers.

Coaches were hoping that one positive to come out of Lee’s absence was extra reps — and thus a chance to improve — for the young receivers who are trying to break into the lineup.

There was plenty of extra reps to go around, but none of the young receivers have stepped up and played consistently enough to warrant more playing time.

That puts more pressure on Lee to perform — and stay healthy — because the Panthers’ passing game has suffered without him.

Lee, though, seems to think they just need some experience, and they will do better. As long as Lee’s injury isn’t lingering, the 10 days off won’t really hurt him or the team. There’s still 11 days to September 3.

The other story, of course, was moving Marcus Furman to receiver. Furman, without fail, said all the right things.

“Now that I’ve switched positions again, I think it might make camp a little more fun, more challenging,” Furman said. “It’s something I’m looking forward to doing. Hopefully, it won’t take me too long to learn it.”
…
“If I can get my routes down and figure out where I’m supposed to line up, I think I’ll be OK,” Furman said. “There are a lot more formations now than there were (last year) under coach (Walt) Harris — tons more. With my experience at the H-back, it shouldn’t be too hard to learn them all.”

Wideout Greg Lee doesn’t think the transition will be too difficult for Furman.

“Just getting the plays down and stuff should be his only problem,” Lee said.

Furman also saw another benefit to his new role.

“I do less pass-blocking, which might not be a bad thing for me because, you know, I’m kind of brittle,” he said, grinning.

Furman will still be returning kicks. Between him, Tommie Campbell and Darrelle Revis Pitt has some good speed for returns. Call it a hunch, but I think after the coaching staff reviewed Allen Richardson’s work last year he will not be returning anything. They just need to have enough good blockers.

Receiver Terrell Allen participated in some non-contact receiving drills but was not wearing pads. He has a leg injury.

Here’s a decent story on Pitt great Tony Dorsett, his respect for the game of football and what a classy guy he is.

I don’t watch exhibition NFL games. Sportswriters for the Dolphins have no choice. Apparently that Dolphins-Steelers game was painful. One view, Wannstedt was lucky to get out.

Saban did say he feels the Dolphins are “more capable” than what they showed in Pittsburgh.

That’s probably true, but perhaps only because it’s almost unfathomable Miami could be any more clumsy and inept than it was on offense. The Dolphins’ average possession lasted four plays. Somewhere in Pittsburgh, no doubt, Dave Wannstedt breathed an escapee’s prayer of thanksgiving.

It is, after all, Saban’s headache now.

Another suggests that it’s deja vu all over again:

Man, it was ugly, and it made you wonder if the Dolphins have made any significant improvements to their offense, specifically their line, over the offseason and three exhibition games.

Could we possibly be right back where we started last year with a porous line and a coach undecided on the lesser of two evils at quarterback?

How much longer before Saban is running his fingers through his hair and wearing the same deer-in-the-headlights look as Dave Wannstedt?

You can’t tell me Coach Wannstedt isn’t smirking just a little.

This just doesn’t say a lot for the performance of the receiving corp.

On changing Marcus Furman’s position:

We made one position change. There are still two or three positions we are trying to figure out who gives us the best chance to make the most plays. We moved Marcus Furman to receiver. Today we spent a lot of time on our four wide receiver sets. It actually looked pretty good. He can catch the ball. He’s been a receiver before. We are just trying to get a little more experience at the receiver position.

The running back position is a little heavy. That’s a nice problem to have. We have some numbers. The way (LaRod) Stephens is playing and the way (Brandon) Mason is playing, we have some depth there. It was the combination of the depth we have at running back and wanting a little more depth and experience at receiver. That was the reason for the move. He (Furman) can catch. He’s fast and smart. It gives us a chance to use some formations at receiver that we might not have been able to use – the three or four wides. He’ll continue to work on special teams.

Now don’t get me wrong, this is not illogical. Furman had the best hands of any of the RBs last season. Anytime he was in the backfield, it was 50-50 that there would be a screen or toss to him — he was 3rd on the team in receptions last season. He’s not exactly Jerome Bettis at 5’9″, 185 pounds. He also did a fine job as a kick returner when given the chance.

What I am saying is that it means none of the other receivers have made any progress to gain the coaching staff’s confidence at this point. Ballard, Chandler, Kinder, McGee, Pestano and Turner are all 6′ or more and maybe one of them has gotten to the 3rd WR — assuming Terrell Allen is still out. At a minimum this has to be a wake-up call. In such a 4-wide set, Pitt would have 2 WRs at 5′ 9″ or smaller (DelSardo is 5′ 7″). Much as I love their hearts, desire and hands — size matters (dear god, discussing things this way may be how it started for the Boi from Troy).

New coaches or not, Furman is a Senior and a very loyal player. I just don’t see the coaching staff jerking him around to get the others to step up (well, maybe a little). At the very least, it suggests that Pitt will sooner go to 2 WR and 2 TE sets before going 4 wide.

On some good news, Greg Lee returned to practice doing everything but tackling.

For season ticket holders who need extra tickets or are Panther Club members but not season ticket holders, individual game tickets are available starting tomorrow.

A piece on Freshman Offensive Lineman John Brown, Jr. playing at Pitt with the shadow of his father — the TE who caught Marino’s pass in the ’82 Sugar Bowl to beat Georgia. For a companion story, Aaron Brown, Brown, Jr.’s brother is a senior safety at Burrell High.

With no practice yesterday, Coach Wannstedt decided to give the players a day off, before a two-a-day today, the focus of the articles is a little different. Josh Lay gets glowing reviews for his performance in practice.

Last year at this time, Lay was barely a member of the team as he was trying to finish his summer school work just to get eligible. This year, he has come to camp focused and ready to play.

The difference — he now has a sense of urgency.

“I’m a senior, man, that’s all it takes,” Lay said.

“This is my last time through. There isn’t another chance for me to get to where I want to go. Knowing that, I take the field every day with the idea that it could be my last game or practice or whatever.[“]

Lay has a young daughter and aspirations to play in the NFL. Obviously I hope Lay plays well and makes it, but if I was an NFL person I’d be clipping this piece to consider if Lay will become one of those players who only performs in his contract year.

This piece looks at the freshmen who will have a shot to get on the field. No real shocks.
Tommie Campbell (safety) from Aliquippa, Craig Bokor (defensive tackle) from Hopewell, LaRod Stephens-Howling (tailback) from Johnstown, Rashad Jennings (running back) from Virginia and Bill Stull (backup quarterback) from Seton-La Salle could play key roles this season.
Now the question that bubbles just under the surface, with all the talk of deciding on the starting tailback and what the depth chart in the backfield will look like, is will the new offense work?

Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko gets excited every time someone asks him about the Panthers’ new offense, especially the part about establishing a running game.

“I think this is a great offense,” he said, “this is an offense that puts a lot of pressure on defenses because there are so many different things we can do. We need to establish a run game, and if we do, we’ll be tough to stop.”

That wasn’t the response most people thought Palko would have since the offense is far more dependent on the power-run game than former coach Walt Harris’ quarterback-friendly, pass-happy system.

But it didn’t take long for offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh to convince Palko — along with the rest of the team — that while the offense is powered by the run game, it is also dependent on the pass.

“If you look at the best passing offenses out there, almost every one of them has a good running game as well,” Cavanaugh said. “We want to be a multiple offense, we want to give multiple looks and we want to be able to beat a defense in a variety of ways. But our quarterbacks are still going to throw the ball their share.

“It’s just that the run game sets everything else up. If you can run the football, you can do pretty much anything you want because you put the defense back on its heels. But obviously we have an experienced quarterback in Tyler and we want the ball in his hands, too. There’s room to do both, we just want to be balanced in everything we do.”

The tight ends are going to see a lot of work in this offense for multiple reasons. Cavanaugh likes using the TE position for catching and blocking; there is tremendous depth and talent at the TE; and the lack of depth and consistency to date at the WR position after Lee and DelSardo. The latter may create some weird numbers by the end of the year concerning ball thrown to the WRs versus the TEs, unless the other receivers start showing something.

Still, the good news is that the players (at least publicly) are buying into the system. Really that shouldn’t be a shock. The offensive line gets to be more aggressive and push forward more. Running backs get more chances. Tight ends will see more action than just being a decoy or blocker. And with Palko buying into it, thinks are good.

Still needs to produce, though.

From Florida, they cribbed some things from his other press conferences about the Dolphins and going back to the college game.

He might not be the leader of choice in South Florida, but former Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt is held in high esteem in Pittsburgh.

Heinz Field, where the Dolphins played Saturday’s exhibition game, is Wannstedt’s new coaching home. His new team, the University of Pittsburgh, shares the venue with the Steelers.
…
So while the coach said his focus remains on his future in college football, the Dolphins’ visit to his new city gave him a chance to talk about his former team.

Specifically, he spoke optimistically about the return of tailback Ricky Williams, who abruptly left the team last year shortly before the coach’s final season with the Dolphins.

“I’m glad he’s doing well,” Wannstedt said. “I was the guy that made the trade for him. I know what kind of football player he was. I expected him to come back and, hopefully, stay on that track and have success. I think he’ll be there for a long time.”

Wannstedt, who said he didn’t expect to attend Saturday’s game, said Friday that he hoped to see some of the people within his former organization. He also said he remains in contact with veteran linebacker Zach Thomas and defensive end Jason Taylor.

“I dropped them all a note in the middle of summer,” Wannstedt said. “I’ll follow those guys. They’re the best. Guys like Zach and Jason, that’s the reason you coach — players that work like that and are committed like that, people that you can trust week in and week out. That’s what makes it fun.”

From a media criticism point, the article never claims he was directly interviewed about it, but it sure implies that the writer sat down and talked to Coach Wannstedt directly, rather than took the material from a press conference held on Thursday.

On the high school front, blue-chip recruit Darrin Walls gets a piece. Nothing particularly new in the story. He’s got a top 3, and Pitt is just outside of it. As we have been saying, the longer he takes to decide, the better the chance for Pitt to sneak in there — especially if Pitt has a good season.

The other thing is quickie snippets on 4 high schoolers to watch. 1 is a junior this year, and the other are all Pitt commits — Kevan Smith, Jason Pinkston and Dorin Dickerson. Nice.

You know, I just don’t know how to characterize the AP top-25 poll at this point. Technically, it means nothing. It doesn’t help decide a national championship, so a good argument could be made that freed of the greater importance, the writers who vote can engage in stronger homerism and more easily fall prey to regional biases. Of course, working against that is the fact that most of the writers make their ballots public, so they still have to answer for them — unlike, say, the Coaches Poll.

Be that as it is, the AP pre-season poll is out and Pitt is ranked #23.

Useless aside, for all the talk of the West Coast Bias, the North East teams probably have it roughest when you look at how they determine where the voters are.

SCHOOLS ELIGIBLE – All NCAA Division I-A teams (119 for 2005). Teams on NCAA probation are eligible to receive votes.

VOTING BREAKDOWN – By state (1-3 schools – 1 voter; 4-6 schools – 2 voters; 7-9 schools – 3 voters; 10-12 – 4 voters) plus five voters each representing a region (East, South, Midwest, Southwest, Far West) and four national voters for total of 65 voters.

That means in Pennsylvania, there is only one voter. Same for New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. I’m not saying they are wrong with the geographic spread (though arguably Ohio State really benefits from having all those MAC teams raise the number of voters to 3 in the state).

Here’s the list of AP voters for 2005. The Pennsylvania vote comes from Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Fittipaldo is the beat reporter for the Pitt basketball team. Note that both Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler of ESPN College GameDay get votes this year (though Herbstreit gets his as a member of a local Columbus, Ohio radio station).

Not a lot this morning.

An article on Bill Stull’s inevitable assumption of the back-up QB position even if he wasn’t particularly thrilled with his own work.

“We’ll see how it looks on film,” Stull said. “I’m not too happy with myself. I missed a couple things, here and there. But we’re all still learning.”
…
Stull said he is beginning to feel comfortable with the Panthers’ offense. The biggest challenge, he said, is tackling the playbook.

“There’s so much verbiage, so many different motions, so many different plays and formations,” he said. “It’s definitely the hardest thing.”

After the scrimmage, the players had the night off from meetings. The coaches remained at the South Side complex to break down videotape from the workout.

“They’ll let us know (today), how we did and everything,” Stull said.

I’m guessing Stull is feeling pretty good about coming to Pitt and backing out of his verbal to Kentucky. I wonder if he’s sending Joe Flacco a thank you card?

In a notebook of quick hits, Thomas Smith’s knee surgery went as expected, there are banged up players and the Dolphins are in town for an exhibition game.

In a bigger notebook piece, the suggestion is that Rashad Jennings will end up at the tailback with Tim Murphy as the fullback, just so they are both available in the backfield.

The ESPN College GameDay advance team was at practice to film some stuff.

An ESPN crew was at camp yesterday morning to film interviews and do some preparation for when ESPN GameDay sets up at Heinz Field for the Sept. 3 opener against Notre Dame. Former Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard interviewed Tyler Palko and H.B. Blades and also acted as a defender on receiver Joe DelSardo for a piece about the Panthers’ passing game.

I’m guessing the production people would have preferred Greg Lee — but for the injury — though, Howard probably preferred how he compared to the shorter DelSardo.

Otherwise, there are some banged up players but no significant injuries.

Tight End Eric Gill gets a puff piece. It talks a little about how he came on strong during the second half of the season and how he only had 2 catches in his first 2 seasons.

He was a starter in all 12 games a year ago, but, while he played in all 26 games combined in 2002 and 2003, he did not start any.

Uh, that’s because Pitt still had Kris Wilson. Wilson went in the second round of the NFL draft for a reason. The piece has a lot of comments from TE Coach Greg Gattuso and Gill seems very excited about the coming season. He should, Matt Cavanaugh’s style of offense tends to use the TE a lot. Just ask Todd Heap.

Pitt commit Jason Pinkston gets a puff piece, starting with his being a junior fireman, his moving to defensive tackle for his senior year of high school and the bad stuff with his one older brother. It’s a shorter version of a story that appeared in the competing paper a couple weeks ago. The earlier story is a little deeper.

Today was a scrimmage, Coach Wannstedt had comments afterward (as opposed to telling everyone to f–k off?).

On the scrimmage:

We ran the ball okay today. It was a good day. We wanted to take advantage and take a good look at the running backs today and we did that. I thought the whole group played well. We protected the ball. I think we had one penalty. So that was smooth. The only negative thing was the couple interceptions. I think there are two sides to that. Number one, we can’t turn the ball over. We can’t throw interceptions. But our secondary is playing well right now. You know, if you want to throw the ball on us, there’s a good chance we’re going to come down with it. Josh (Lay) is continuing to have an outstanding camp. He has come out everyday and really performed and made plays. But overall I’m happy with the effort. We got everybody in there. Everyone got some work. Heck, we had a nice little crowd. It was about as nice a crowd as we can get. Some ex-coaches were here. Coach (John) Majors was here. Coach (Foge) Fazio was here. Coach (Louis “Bimbo”) Cecconi was here. So we covered the last 50 years of Pitt football. (laughs)

Stull would appear to have the backup QB job (no shock). The RB position looks to be Jennings and Murphy, with Stephens as the change-of-pace. Wannstedt’s exact words, “I get excited every time we hand the ball to LaRod Stephens. He kind of gives you that feeling every time he touches the ball that he may go the distance. So I think he helped himself today.”

Tony Barnhart at the Atlanta Journal Constitution seems to think Pitt will do better than ND in the short term — and that Domer fans and alum expectations will be the bigger problem long term for Weis.

Looks like parking will be a real problem for the opening weekend. There’s this damn rib fest.