Late start. Funny thing. Turns out the wife and I forgot to do our city tax forms. Whoops.
Now I haven’t even looked at them, because I don’t think they are worth looking too closely at but here are the stats from the scrimmage (PDF). For the most part, Coach Dave Wannstedt is putting a positive spin on the Blue-Gold Game.
“Overall I was pleased with today,” Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt said. “We have a long way to go but I liked the way some things looked today. Being at Heinz Field was good, the atmosphere was good. We were able to get in about 100 plays and we came out healthy which is very important.”
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“The offense overall looked good,” said Wannstedt. “There was good protection, no turnovers and no fumbles. I was encouraged by the way they looked today. Getting those little things right gives you the chance to win.”
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“As a whole, the defense looked good,” Wannstedt said. “A few guys really showed up to play today. Developing the defensive line is one of our challenges and I was encouraged today.”
Let’s start with the offense, because either the O-line is even more of an adventure than ever, or the D-line with its new-found speed will actually be a factor. The running game went nowhere.
The running game was almost invisible, even on a day the offense ran 115 plays, or far more than it will get in any game next fall. The No. 1 running back, LaRod Stephens-Howling, was limited to 18 yards on 10 carries and no runner gained more than 46 yards.
The offensive line is a work in progress, as was evidenced by the unproductive running game and the defense’s 12 sacks, half of them by senior defensive lineman Charles Sallet. And Sallet, even with his six sacks, said he could have played better — “I should have had three or four more,” he said.
“He made a lot of plays up front,” Wannstedt said.
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“We’ve got a ways to go running the ball,” Wannstedt said.
Even without a running game to support his quarterbacks, Wannstedt said he liked how the offense moved the ball.
“I’ve been involved in springs where, the last week, you’re going backward — you go out for the spring game and the quarterback throws three interceptions, the running backs fumble and the offense doesn’t score a touchdown,” Wannstedt said. “Then you start making excuses. But we played well enough today and did enough good things.”
If the help doesn’t come on the O-line, Stephens-Howling, Collins, Kevin Collier could be complete studs in the backfield and no one will ever know.
“The run game struggled but I hope that’s because our defensive line is playing better,” coach Dave Wannstedt said. “We have a ways to go running the ball. We definitely have to get a lot better at that.”
Collins led all rushers with 46 yards on four carries. Starting tailback LaRod Stephens-Howling rushed for 18 yards on 10 carries and scored twice.
39 of Collins’ yards came on the first carry when the D-line wasn’t set.
And just to add to the concerns, the O-line has no depth.
The defense racked up 12 sacks Saturday in Pitt’s Blue-Gold game, which in part was due to the patchwork nature of the second-string offensive line.
“We don’t have any depth there,” coach Dave Wannstedt said.
Backup center Chris Vangas is out with a knee injury. Left tackle Kevin Hughes sat out a good chunk of spring practice because of pneumonia and bronchitis. Mike DeLuca missed the past week with an injury.
Sophomores John Brown and Chase Clowser have limited experience. Guard Derrell Jones was switch from defense to offense early in the spring.
“Our backup line is inexperienced, and they’re not ready to play right now,” Wannstedt said.
Starting right guard John Simonitis is nursing a sore hamstring and got limited playing time. He was spelled by Dom Williams.
The strength and conditioning coach will have put in extra work with the players on the O-line this summer.
The passing game looked pretty good with Stull and Palko combining for 355 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INT. Consider, though, that CB Darrelle Revis was only on the field for 2 plays before being given the rest of the scrimmage off.
Oderick Turner was the redshirt freshman to step up in the scrimmage, making some very good catches, including a 60 yard TD catch. Unfortunately he also twisted his ankle on the play and was done for the day. Still, it doesn’t appear serious. For now, it looks like he moved ahead of Cedric McGee.
On the side of the defense, there was a common theme in all of the stories about mentioning the way they were decimated by West Virginia.
The other topic, was the oft-cited, need… the need for speed.
Rewind to the Panthers’ 2005 season-concluding, 45-13 loss at West Virginia last Nov. 24. Trailing, 21-13, after 30 minutes, Wannstedt was asked by a sideline reporter what his defense needed to do to slow down the Mountaineers’ assault.
“We need to run faster,” Wannstedt quipped.
The defensive staff, alas, was unable to glean more speed between the second and third quarters.
Five months later, there’s reason to believe the Panthers may be better prepared to offer a more competitive challenge when confronted by offenses adept at getting to the end zone in a hurry.
“We’ll be faster, yes,” Wannstedt confirmed. “With Tommie Campbell and Clint Session, it’s not even close. Those two guys are fast, big-time fast.”
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“Tommie Campbell made a tackle today on (Marcel) Pestano on a reverse, he was sucked all the way inside and turned around and ran him down on the sideline,” Wannstedt raved. “Those are the type of things I was talking about that you don’t have to coach. You want to get guys that make plays where it’s just God-given ability.”
Campbell’s speed on the field was one of the most noticeable and notable aspects of the Blue-Gold game. That and Clint Session looking very good.
A state sprint champion in high school, Campbell, who is 6 feet 2, 200 pounds, moved from defensive back to linebacker this spring and has made an excellent transition. He is probably the fastest player on the Panthers, which is rare for a linebacker.
His speed enables him to make plays from sideline to sideline that many linebackers aren’t fast enough to accomplish.
“Think about it — he was fast for a safety,” Pitt linebacker H.B. Blades said.
“Now he is extremely fast for a linebacker. He is going to allow us to do things that maybe we haven’t been able to do in the past. That speed is something you can’t manufacture. If he keeps working hard he can be a factor for us.”
Another key ingredient to the Panthers newfound speed is senior linebacker Clint Session, who has struggled with injury and inconsistency the past two seasons. Session has always been one of the best athletes on the team, but this spring he finally has put it all together.
Session is this year’s Ed Conway Award winner for defense as the most improved player of the spring and had another good day yesterday.
C.J. Davis took home the award on offense and Kennard Cox on special teams.
For the overall view of spring drills, there seems to be “satisfaction” with how the team is progressing, rather than last year’s high levels of optimism.
“We’re moving forward,” Palko said. “The way you evaluate your team is how you react when adversity hits. We had some adversity last year, and we came out this spring with a different attitude.
“We made some progress in these 15 days (of practice). Now, it’s up to the players, because we don’t have the coaches coaching us in the summer. We’ll see what the maturity level of this football team is when we start preseason camp.”
The article also has a decent summary of impressions on various aspects of the team from spring drills worth looking over.
Coach Wannstedt wants the players to be positive.
Pitt ended spring football practice with a different attitude and renewed enthusiasm for the upcoming season, and second-year coach Dave Wannstedt said that was justified after the Panthers’ performance in the annual Blue-Gold game yesterday at Heinz Field.
“I think the guys can walk off the field and feel good about themselves today,” Wannstedt said. “They can say, ‘Hey, I made a few plays.’ So the players can feel like they have taken a step forward with their performance this spring.
“We feel good about where we’re at today, but we know we’re not where we want to be. We have a long way to go to get there, but this is just the first step.”
Still a lot of work and plenty of questions. Not to mention the seemingly interminable length of time before the opener against UVA.
