Variety of topics in the papers.
The team has moved on to focus on the next game (though the headline used for the AP story makes it seem as if the team is actually still dwelling on ND).
Trying to focus his team on Friday night opponent Ohio University and away from one of the school’s worst opening-game losses ever, Wannstedt said nothing can be gained by talking any more about the then-No. 23 Panthers’ confidence-shaking 42-21 loss Saturday night.
Notre Dame, verboten.
“We watched the Notre Dame tapes, and I brought them back in here at 7 p.m. on Sunday night and I personally gave them a scouting report on Ohio University, and that was it,” Wannstedt said Tuesday. “And I said, ‘I didn’t want to hear another word about that game.’ I think it’s my approach, and the assistant coaches, and the leaders on this team, how quickly we turn it over and move on and learn from it.
“Right now the feeling in our stomachs is not good, and the only way to make it feel good again is to win.”
You know, that is true. The last time Pitt lost a home opener this badly was in ’96. A 34-0 drubbing by WVU. Before that, you have to go all the way back to the grim days of 1967 and a 40-8 loss to UCLA.
The lack of a pass rush by the defense was noticeably missing from the ND game. Coach Wannstedt was asked about that and what changes were possible.
“If you look at the defenses I’ve run over the last 15 years, we’ve always just lined up and kicked people’s tails across the board up front,” he said yesterday at his weekly news conference. “We’re going to get there. Now, are we there right now? Can we do that right now? Not today, which means we’ve just got to adjust and do some things to help ourselves [generate a pass rush].”
Generally, doing things to help a pass rush means blitzing more. The Panthers rarely blitzed against the Irish and, because their defensive front was overmatched, they weren’t able to put much pressure on Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn.
As Pitt (0-1) prepares to play at Ohio (0-1) Friday, Wannstedt said blitzing is one way to jump-start the pass rush, but there are other options as well.
“The obvious answer is to blitz, but you can also defend,” he said. “We defended. We weren’t getting to the quarterback so we rushed three and we covered everybody to the point where he had nowhere to throw the ball, but he escaped and ran for the first down. We covered because we can do that well.
“But you can also blitz and take those chances. I think we’re capable of both. We had both in the game plan and we’ll pick and choose and mix it up as we go on. A lot of it has to do with experience, just being experienced enough to do that.”
I was surprised by the lack of blitzing by Pitt. I expected some more aggressiveness from the defense. It reads to me, that he wants to be more aggressive. Perhaps with more play by Thomas Smith and Clint Session returning to action this week, there will be more blitzing and attacking on defense.
There was a brief article about Coach Wannstedt’s handling of his players’ off the field stuff — Kicker Josh Cummings and Tight End Eric Gill.
Wannstedt said yesterday that while he believes strongly in discipline and player accountability, he must deal with each case individually. He said there are too many questions about Gill’s case to make a judgment about it, and Cummings was disciplined based on university and athletic department procedures.
“Josh was dealt with immediately, thoroughly and aggressively,” Wannstedt said.
I think he handled the Cummings matter properly, given its occurrence and immediate publicity and handling in the off-season.
The Gill stuff is troubling because there would appear to have been some attempts to cover it up by Gill and his father. It came out the day before the ND game. I don’t think it was a distraction, but it called for more action. At the very least, naming him team captain for the game — and letting him keep it — was a mistake.
Defensive End Chris McKillop has a nasty gash in his head because, well, because he must like playing concussed.
Above McKillop’s left eye is a large, black and purple bruise and a gash that took three stitches to close. The sophomore defensive end sustained the injury when he was dog-piled in the end zone after a Notre Dame touchdown.
“I wear my helmet so loose, so when I fell on the ground, it came up toward my eye,” McKillop said, wincing. “An offensive lineman fell on me, and it just sliced me open.”
Good plan, keep the helmet loose in a violent, jarring game. No worries.
What were those old commercials where the concussed football player said, “I’m Batman.”? Snickers? Part of the ‘Not going anywhere for a while’ campaign?
One of the few surprisingly good things from the ND game was Ray Kirkley showed some speed and got in the rotation at tailback.
When Wannstedt ordered many players to lose weight over the offseason, Kirkley wondered how it would affect his running ability. But after dropping 15 pounds — he checks in these days at 213 — Kirkley is happy with the results.
“Earlier in my career, I thought that heavier backs could take the punishment better,” Kirkley said. “But I’ve realized that I’m a lot quicker now and I can still take the punishment. I can run around people now. But I can still break tackles and run through people, too. Losing the weight is definitely working for me.”
Kirkley’s speed to the outside is a fine compliment to Jennings’ inside power style.
Just finding enough touches to figure out who should be playing more will still be an issue.
