A couple player puff pieces today about learning.
Punter Adam Graessle gets a piece talking about learning to be a smarter punter, not just booming it.
“They don’t just want me to try and kick the air out of it every time,” Graessle said. “Obviously, that’s what I’d prefer — just boom it every time. I’m being asked to do some more directional kicking and I’ve also had to work on my hang time, getting the ball up in the air high enough that there isn’t a return.
“That’s the NFL mentality — a shorter kick that is high and placed is better than a long kick that is in the middle of the field and returned. I know I am becoming a better player because of it and I know that I should be quicker to adjust, but it right now is just a consistency thing.
“My best days are ahead of me. I just need to work through some things. I haven’t had the kind of season I would have liked this far, but there are still three games and I’ll get it together.”
Wannstedt said he knows that Graessle, who also kicks off, has had to adjust and has been somewhat inconsistent, but he believes Graessle is an NFL prospect.
“Adam is doing fine. I have no problem with how he’s played and what he’s done. There is always a comfort level and a period of adjustment and he just had to fight through some things,” Wannstedt said. “The thing we want to work on next is getting the ball inside the 10-yard line when we’re close to the 50. But I have no problems with how Adam has come along.”
Graessle’s punting average isn’t much different from last year. The issue is net yards after the return. Pitt is middle of the pack in punting because the punting unit allows a second worst 7.2 yards/return in the conference. Some of that, obviously is on the punt coverage, which hasn’t been much more than average.
Freshman Left Tackle John Bachman also gets a piece about getting playing time this season. It’s impressive that he was actually hesitant to let the coaches play him and burn his redshirt year by starting to give him time in the Cinci game.
“The coaches discussed how they wanted to get me in to get some experience,” Bachman said. “It was kind of up to me … well, I’m not sure how much it was up to me. I always told the coaches, if they call my number, I’m not going to say no.”
Still, before he gave Wannstedt a final answer, Bachman called his parents.
“I told them they needed to get some tickets for the away games now, too,” he said, laughing.
Mostly, Bachman wanted to get some advice from his father, David, who played football at Colgate in the late 1970s. Bachman did not want to burn his redshirt year if it meant getting minuscule playing time in the final half of the season.
“At the same time, if I get 20 or so plays a game, that’s 100 plays I wouldn’t have had,” Bachman said. “It’s a risk I’m taking. But I’m not thinking about anything negative right now. It’s all positive, all (about) how can I get better and how this can help me.”
Bachman’s dad gave his OK, and the new plan went ahead.
“Without him supporting it, I wouldn’t have felt right about it,” Bachman said. “I know the coaches are supportive, but I needed some … I mean, he’s my dad. That’s another level of trust. So, his support put me over the edge.”
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If he needed any more proof he made the right choice by opting to play, Bachman got it by looking at his dad after the Cincinnati game.“He had a smile that he couldn’t get off his face,” Bachman said. “He loved it, seeing me out there.”
Then there is the Paul Zeise Q&A. He warns us that there will be none next week because of the Thursday game.
Q: Why does Pitt always seem to come out flat? Who is to blame – coaches or players?
ZEISE: I don’t think a lack of emotion or intensity – or being flat – has been the problem at all. I think a lack of focus seems to be the issue – as they have made blunder after blunder in the first quarter of the past few games. And I think that the team is prepared and ready to play, so I blame the players. Coaches spent all week preparing to block Syracuse’s all-world safety in punt protection and he goes out and blocks a punt. Erik Gill catches a pass and doesn’t cover up the ball and fumbles, Tyler Palko overthrows Gill in the endzone and it is picked off – these are all mistakes made by players. Intensity, however, has not been the problem. They’ve come out and played hard, they’ve just made too many mistakes for their own good.
Q: Why was a small back like LaRod Stephens-Howling in the game down in the goal line situation on a wet field?
ZEISE: Good question and we haven’t really gotten a good answer for it. To me, it made no sense. The coaches felt with his speed teams would have to respect – and worry about – an outside run and that in itself would loosen some things up in the middle. I’d rather see them put Jennings in there and let him move the pile. It will be interesting to see what happens in the future in goal-to-go situations with the running backs because Stephens-Howling and Jennings could provide an effective one-two punch if used correctly. And I think it is safe to say Jennings’ talents dictate that he should be the tailback in the goal line offense.
Pitt can’t afford to come out flat against Louisville, and Coaches Wannstedt and Cavanaugh have to show more logic in how to best use their players.
