No phrase fills me with more dread in relation to a Paul Rhoads’ defense then “facing the spread offense.” What further fills me with dread is the fact that there is a belief that Pitt is better ready for it. Spread offenses, no matter what variation, are predicated on speed and athleticism. The defense has to be able to move and respond quickly.

“The challenge we have as defensive coaches is to understand the differences and figure out how to defend them. Certainly what West Virginia does, and the pace with which they do it, presents a lot of challenges for us.”

The Panthers have struggled against the spread in the past, but have had more success recently. Against South Florida this season , the Panthers were dominant in a 31-17 win. At the end of the 2004 season, the Panthers had a similar effort against South Florida and held the Mountaineers to only 13 points the week before.

Rhoads said the difference in his defense’s play against the spread recently is not one definable thing, but a combination of things. Clearly the coaching staff has a better idea of how to attack it now that its popularity has grown so much. And the players have had a chance to play against it more and are able to recognize plays quicker.

No mention of what happened against Utah’s spread offense.

The difference between the spread offenses that Pitt was able to stop last year and this year versus times when they couldn’t — one dimension.

Last year WVU had suspended/kicked-off their top WR Chris Henry. The passing game was severely limited making them more like an option team. Against South Florida the past two times, the Bulls have had no passing game. Below average WRs also made them much more one-dimensional and easier to defend.

While this WVU team is very run oriented — both RB Slaton and QB White — they have been very efficient when they do pass. Add in a more dominant offensive line than USF, and this could be very scary when the defense is out there.

Coach Wannstedt had his press conference today.

On defending WVU’s offensive scheme:

They’re very explosive. They’ve got explosive players, number one. They’ve got guys that can run. And they put a lot of pressure on the defense. But you also need to credit their defense and their special teams. I think if you ask any coach `What are the most important factors in winning a football game?’ everybody’s going to talk about turnovers. Well the other thing that you should talk about, at least I do, is running the football and stopping the run. If you can’t do those two things, you really are going to struggle in my opinion. They’re leading our conference in both of those categories. Their defense does a very good job of playing the field position thing. They haven’t had to move the ball the length of the field a whole lot. They’ve played on a short field. They’ve caused some turnovers. They’ve played real good defense, and I think that has contributed to the success they’ve had on offense.

On WVU’s 3-5-3 defense:

The thing that makes it tough is you don’t see it every week. It’s kind of like playing a wishbone team on offense. We used to play the wishbone teams when we were at Oklahoma State and Miami. We always felt like that was their biggest advantage, besides having real good players. It was an offense that you had to try to simulate with your scout team players and work through defending some things that you normally would not. In the NFL it would probably be the run and shoot in the old days. It was different. That’s really how I kind of look at their defense. It’s not that they’re doing anything that we haven’t seen before or don’t have answers for. That’s not the issue. They’re not doing anything different than anybody else.

Coach Wannstedt was about as close to the vest in what he said in the press conference as I’ve read this year. The only tidbits were that LaRod Stephens-Howling will likely be doing some kick returning and that they have worked on some other things on defense. Otherwise, he says they are ready to play today.

As far as other things regarding the Backyard Brawl, the game notes are available (PDF). The depth chart doesn’t show anything significant.

At not getting to attend Pitt.

Yesterday I noted that one WVU player from Pittsburgh, Vaughn Rivers, seemed to be doing the most talking about being bitter Pitt didn’t recruit him. I wondered about his teammate they referred to, Eric Wicks, why he wasn’t complaining. Looks like I just needed to be a little patient. Today it’s Wick’s turn.

In his mind, Eric Wicks has a couple of scores to settle Thanksgiving night.

For one, there’s that personal thing with quarterback Tyler Palko being 3-0 in head-to-head competition.

In 1999, Palko steered West Allegheny past Wicks’ Perry Traditional Academy in the PIAA Class AAA semifinals, 31-14. In 2001, he did the same thing to Wicks’ then-undefeated mates, 28-14. Then, last Thanksgiving, with Wicks and West Virginia needing a victory to cinch the Big East title and a BCS berth, Palko willed Pitt to a 16-13 victory, completing four third-down passes in the drive before bulling the final 2 yards for the winning touchdown.

“He can talk all about those games,” Wicks said. “I’m trying to get him back in this game.”

Secondly, and most important to Wicks, there’s that Pitt 0, West Virginia 1 tally. That’s how many scholarships each school had available in 2003 for a certain defensive back from Beltzhoover and Perry.

“I wanted to go [to Pitt], but I didn’t really get recruited as far as them offering me a scholarship,” the junior strong safety said in advance of the Backyard Brawl between the 13th-ranked Mountaineers (8-1, 5-0) and Pitt (5-5, 4-2). “So I got a little grudge. A hard edge. It’ll help me play better.”

This has to have been a fun week for WVU fans. Keep reading all week long about how your team’s players wanted to go to Pitt, and had to settle on being a Mountaineer.

Well, Hoopies can take solace in the fact that their Center, Dan Mozes, seems to know not to express any grudge against Pitt for not recruiting him — and he’s the only one that I regret Pitt not pursuing given what an excellent offensive lineman he has been.

Although Mozes said his Washington neighborhood is split between West Virginia and Pitt fans, he tries to keep the “Backyard Brawl” in perspective.

“Naw, you never hate any team,” he said. “We still have another team (South Florida) to play after Pitt. But you can’t like any of your opponents, no matter who you play.”

He’s wrong. You can hate teams.

Nothing like playing to your strengths (Windows Media, about 2 MB).

If that doesn’t work, go straight here.

From the opening paragraph previewing Pitt in Street & Smith’s preview guide:

Jamie Dixon is the toughest interview by far in the Big East coaching fraternity. He never seems at ease, and he offers nothing in the way of news or insight.

Now they try to make it seem like a positive in the next paragraph by comparing that to the way Pitt has played defense — giving nothing away. A bit tortured, but I think we all know that Dixon has been one of the more boring, coachspeak personalities when talking to the media and fans.

Or as reader and Pitt News writer Keith puts it:

For every Bobby Knight, there are 100 coaches who always want to say the right thing in their press conferences. Instead of another press conference full of “We gave our best effort,” or “They just outplayed us,”…

Instead, Keith considers if Dixon interviewed a media person about Pitt and Dixon.

JD: So we aren’t ranked in the top 25, no big deal, but why is everybody sleeping on Pitt this year?

Me: Well, you’re unproven as a head coach. Last year’s team was horribly inconsistent and there is no one to blame but, uh, you. It’s time for you to prove your worth as a head coach.

JD:We did make the NCAA Tournament last year, and losing in the first round isn’t that bad.

Me: You’re right, it isn’t. A lot of good teams lose in the first round, but like all the losses last season, it was the way you lost and the way it was handled that was disturbing. Pitt’s defense, which was their trademark in years past, failed at key times. Chris Taft was allowed to loaf, free throw shooting stunk. You lost to Bucknell! To the public, you never seemed to care.
…
JD: And there is nothing wrong with this year’s team. Sure we might be young, but that’s not going to be an excuse.

Me: You’re already considering your excuses? Look at Syracuse’s team, they are a lot like Pitt — a young team with a veteran point guard — and they were preseason ranked in the top 25. The difference? Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim. The Orange beat Texas Tech, 81-46, looking better versus a Sweet 16 team from last season than Pitt did against Saint Peter’s, who lost its first game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament.

JD: So I’m not Jim Boeheim, but I do have the best winning percentage among Big East coaches.

Me: I am not saying you are a bad coach; you may end up a great coach. I’m just not sold yet.

For the record, Keith was nice enough to e-mail me in advance, asking if I minded him lifting the Syracuse/Pitt/Boeheim/Dixon comparison I tossed out last week.

Dixon’s job is in no immediate danger. But fan support and confidence is. A lot of people are already negative to him, and a lot more are on the fence. Once that is lost, short of at least coming close to winning it all (a la Tommy Tuberville and Auburn football last year) that doesn’t come back and will eventually get the coach fired.

I’ve long maintained that Dixon’s discomfort and/or unwillingness to be more engaging in large settings would become a major issue for him in terms of job security and fan support.

From the opening paragraph previewing Pitt in Street & Smith’s preview guide:

Jamie Dixon is the toughest interview by far in the Big East coaching fraternity. He never seems at ease, and he offers nothing in the way of news or insight.

Now they try to make it seem like a positive in the next paragraph by comparing that to the way Pitt has played defense — giving nothing away. A bit tortured, but I think we all know that Dixon has been one of the more boring, coachspeak personalities when talking to the media and fans.

Or as reader and Pitt News writer Keith puts it:

For every Bobby Knight, there are 100 coaches who always want to say the right thing in their press conferences. Instead of another press conference full of “We gave our best effort,” or “They just outplayed us,”…

Instead, Keith considers if Dixon interviewed a media person about Pitt and Dixon.

JD: So we aren’t ranked in the top 25, no big deal, but why is everybody sleeping on Pitt this year?

Me: Well, you’re unproven as a head coach. Last year’s team was horribly inconsistent and there is no one to blame but, uh, you. It’s time for you to prove your worth as a head coach.

JD:We did make the NCAA Tournament last year, and losing in the first round isn’t that bad.

Me: You’re right, it isn’t. A lot of good teams lose in the first round, but like all the losses last season, it was the way you lost and the way it was handled that was disturbing. Pitt’s defense, which was their trademark in years past, failed at key times. Chris Taft was allowed to loaf, free throw shooting stunk. You lost to Bucknell! To the public, you never seemed to care.
…
JD: And there is nothing wrong with this year’s team. Sure we might be young, but that’s not going to be an excuse.

Me: You’re already considering your excuses? Look at Syracuse’s team, they are a lot like Pitt — a young team with a veteran point guard — and they were preseason ranked in the top 25. The difference? Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim. The Orange beat Texas Tech, 81-46, looking better versus a Sweet 16 team from last season than Pitt did against Saint Peter’s, who lost its first game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament.

JD: So I’m not Jim Boeheim, but I do have the best winning percentage among Big East coaches.

Me: I am not saying you are a bad coach; you may end up a great coach. I’m just not sold yet.

For the record, Keith was nice enough to e-mail me in advance, asking if I minded him lifting the Syracuse/Pitt/Boeheim/Dixon comparison I tossed out last week.

Dixon’s job is in no immediate danger. But fan support and confidence is. A lot of people are already negative to him, and a lot more are on the fence. Once that is lost, short of at least coming close to winning it all (a la Tommy Tuberville and Auburn football last year) that doesn’t come back and will eventually get the coach fired.

I’ve long maintained that Dixon’s discomfort and/or unwillingness to be more engaging in large settings would become a major issue for him in terms of job security and fan support.

That has to be the attitude of Coach Dixon as he mixes and matches players to see where the chemistry is, and how the various players fit together.

Jamie Dixon appeared relaxed and quite content for a coach with so many questions to answer.

“How did you think the new players looked?”

“What was the reason for starting a freshman point guard?”

“Who will be in the lineup for the next game?”

Dixon answered them all the best he could following Pitt’s season-opening 82-71 men’s basketball victory over St. Peter’s on Saturday at Petersen Events Center.

“We’re going to play a lot of guys this year,” he said.

If Saturday’s game is any indication, Dixon will be true to his word. A total of 10 Pitt players saw at least 11 minutes of action, including all three freshmen.
…
“This was the first time in a game situation for a lot of these guys,” Dixon said. “We’re going to play young kids. This is the year, and we did it some last year. You’d like to be experienced every year, but that’s just not possible.”

And no where is the team deeper than at the guard positions.

“We have a lot of guards so it is very competitive at practice,” Fields said. “Right now it is still up in the air, so I have to go do the same things in practice in order to be able to start the game on Wednesday [against Robert Morris].

“It meant a lot to start. I was happy to be out there with the first five and hear my name called, but like I said, it is up in the air because everybody has been playing good practice. It is really going to come down to who plays defense better, so I have to continue in practice and, hopefully, I’ll keep on starting.”

Fields played very well in his first game, which was encouraging. But it was still one game. The far more encouraging thing is his attitude and saying exactly the right things. No one whether they started last year, or comes in as a heralded freshman can assume he will be starting. Fields has grasped that and appears ready to lead by example until it is time for him to be the full team leader.

Next up for Pitt is Robert Morris, against whom Pitt is 24-0.

That has to be the attitude of Coach Dixon as he mixes and matches players to see where the chemistry is, and how the various players fit together.

Jamie Dixon appeared relaxed and quite content for a coach with so many questions to answer.

“How did you think the new players looked?”

“What was the reason for starting a freshman point guard?”

“Who will be in the lineup for the next game?”

Dixon answered them all the best he could following Pitt’s season-opening 82-71 men’s basketball victory over St. Peter’s on Saturday at Petersen Events Center.

“We’re going to play a lot of guys this year,” he said.

If Saturday’s game is any indication, Dixon will be true to his word. A total of 10 Pitt players saw at least 11 minutes of action, including all three freshmen.
…
“This was the first time in a game situation for a lot of these guys,” Dixon said. “We’re going to play young kids. This is the year, and we did it some last year. You’d like to be experienced every year, but that’s just not possible.”

And no where is the team deeper than at the guard positions.

“We have a lot of guards so it is very competitive at practice,” Fields said. “Right now it is still up in the air, so I have to go do the same things in practice in order to be able to start the game on Wednesday [against Robert Morris].

“It meant a lot to start. I was happy to be out there with the first five and hear my name called, but like I said, it is up in the air because everybody has been playing good practice. It is really going to come down to who plays defense better, so I have to continue in practice and, hopefully, I’ll keep on starting.”

Fields played very well in his first game, which was encouraging. But it was still one game. The far more encouraging thing is his attitude and saying exactly the right things. No one whether they started last year, or comes in as a heralded freshman can assume he will be starting. Fields has grasped that and appears ready to lead by example until it is time for him to be the full team leader.

Next up for Pitt is Robert Morris, against whom Pitt is 24-0.

A pretty interesting article about Sam Huff, the first Mountaineer football player to have his number retired. A bit stock on that, tough-guy football playing hurt/in pain and such, but somewhat entertaining.

The Hoopie website has an article talking about the best of the Backyard Brawl — highlighting Pitt’s 16-13 win in 1982. They also have a poll on which Backyard Brawl was the best of the last 25 years. It’s close, but I picked the 1997 triple-OT win by Pitt down in Morgantown over the 1989 31-31 tie (Pitt was down something like 31-7 before storming back to get the tie — in the days before OT in college). Pop over there and vote.

WVU Coach Rod is not worried about the ‘Eers being ready for Thursday.

“It’s just the rivalry,” Rodriguez said. “Everybody will say what’s at stake. But outside of just a Pitt-West Virginia game, that in itself is enough motivation for both programs.”
…
“As a coach you have to be careful about putting too much emphasis on one game, because it is just one game,” Rodriguez said. “But our guys understand it, even our young guys. Pitt is Pitt and Pitt-West Virginia is going to be a very intense game every year.”

Another piece on Clint Session’s difficult season. Similar story this past week.

A story, ostensibly appearing to be about the overall depth at tight end, really concerns itself with defending Erik Gill’s less than spectacular season.

Gill’s receptions are down — he has only 17 catches in 10 games, which means if the Panthers were to beat West Virginia and get to a bowl game, he’d likely finish with less than the 25 he had from a year ago. But his yards per catch are up — 18.6 this year vs. 17.3 last year — and he accounts for a bigger percentage of the passing offense because the Panthers have thrown less this season.

The Panthers also have two other talented tight ends that he has had to share the ball with.

“Erik has been a real team player for us,” said Pitt tight ends coach Greg Gattuso. “I think there is an unfair perception that he isn’t having a good year because of his catches, but people don’t realize that with Steve [Buches] and Darrell [Strong] both being such good players, we have had to spread it around a little more. If you add the catches that all three have together, the tight ends are actually a much bigger part of it than they have been in a long time.

“To Erik’s credit, he’s never complained or said, ‘This is my senior year.’ He’s just come to work every day and he’s done a fabulous job developing his blocking. That’s the biggest improvement in him — he’s a much better and more complete blocker than he was last year.”

Gill gets very defensive about the issue of dropped passes. No discussion is made of the of fumbles he has had.

A kind of stock article from a WV paper about the unneveness of Pitt’s offense in Coach Wannstedt’s first year.

The problem is that Pitt is trying to run the ball with personnel recruited by former coach Walt Harris to throw it. The results have not been pretty.

While Wannstedt’s defense ranks seventh in the country against the pass and No. 26 overall, the offense is No. 94 in rushing, No. 74 in passing and No. 92 overall.

Call it trying to put a square peg in a round hole. But Wannstedt knows that for the good of the program, that’s what has to be done.

“The only way we’re going to win a championship around here is if we play great defense and special teams, but we also have to run the ball,” Wannstedt said. “I think if you look at the stats right now and ask who the two best teams in our conference are, it’s West Virginia and Louisville. And both of those teams are at the top of every rushing category on offense.
…
So far, the Panthers have tried a mix of tailbacks and still are generating only 116 yards per game. And it’s actually not getting any better. The last two games the Panthers played resulted in two of their lowest rushing outputs of the season — 62 yards in a loss at Louisville and 76 in a win over Connecticut. There has been only one game with over 150 yards rushing and that was against Division I-AA Youngstown State.

Don’t worry, though, Pitt will keep on pounding that ball.

Speaking of coaches, and coaches speaking. Former Pitt Coach, now special assistant to the AD, Johnny Majors is in Little Rock, Arkansas speaking to the Little Rock Touchdown Club today.