Lots of straight stuff from Paul Zeise well worth reading in full. He has his Q&A up.
Q: I think Matt Cavanaugh’s NFL mentality is going to cost this team some wins. Just because you have a lead doesn’t mean you take your foot off the gas. He needs a killer instinct, what’s your take?
Zeise: The goal is to win the game, period. Whether you win by one or 30 it only counts as one win. I agree the Panthers got way too conservative on both offense and defense way too early in the Cincinnati game but by the same token, we’re not even talking about any of it if Revis and Brooks don’t fumble the football. I think it is important to note that Pitt was on a game-over type of drive when Brooks fumbled it late in the game. I mean, if they get a first down there, who knows where the drive leads, but at the very worst the Panthers are punting to pin Cincinnati way deep in their own zone. The feeling in that one was simple — let’s just get the heck out of here with a win and the play calling and prevent defense reflected as much. But the bottom line is, they won the game. The problem I have with Pitt getting so conservative on offense is the Panthers aren’t good at running the football. As such, the short passing game has to be used more than it is in order to compensate for it.
Seems like he was trying to hedge a bit here by talking about how the game could have been put away but for a couple player errors. He only hints that Pitt went into conservative mode on both sides of the ball rather early in the 4th, rather than putting the game away. I put some of the blame on Coach Wannstedt as well. Both have that NFL mentality.
It would have served Pitt and the team better to finish the job early in the 4th, then allowed the second units on both sides to get some time in there. As it stands, back-ups like QB Bill Stull, still haven’t had much of a chance. Something I was hoping would change.
Then there was the chat from yesterday of some interest.
that_guy: Stanton loves to throw quick hitters right off the snap. Pitt has a penchant for playing its corners 10-15 yards off the ball. Can Pitt afford to play its corners within 5 yards of the line to prevent that quick-passing attack?
Paul Zeise: No, I think Pitt needs to play a lot more press man coverage than they do but their philosophy is to keep every play in front and make teams go 70 and 80 yards the hard way. The problem with that is if a guy misses a tackle, well, those five yard gains turn into 20 yard gains. I understand why Pitt plays certain teams like that but in cases where a team has an accurate passer who throw quick strikes, I’d like to see them get more aggressive.
Dear God, that’s a scary prospect to have DC Paul Rhoads adjust to actually have the corners play up a little more. Again, this has been an ongoing source of agony for myself and the majority of the Pitt fans who have watched Paul Rhoads’ defense give up chunks of yards on long drives out of some compulsion to not give up the big play and maybe make a stop.
