In much the same way I sense when I’m drunk.
A few hours after the game ended, Pat called me. He was one of the few of our group to make the game. After he railed on our group’s overall piss-poor attendance, he asked what I saw on TV.
I saw a defense that couldn’t handle the option. It just couldn’t seem to grasp the concept, much the way this team struggles with the idea of a spread offense. If it’s a QB that has the ability to run, then the team just hesitates and lets other team take control. A hallmark of the Paul Rhoads defense at Pitt. The inability to deal with a mobile QB.
A straight running attack, they are showing signs of handling. A passing offense, no problem. It’s when the QB can take off with the ball or toss it to someone else on the run that the panic sets in. Again, this has been a long-term issue at Pitt that predates Coach Wannstedt. The one consistent factor — DC Paul Rhoads.
He didn’t disagree, and complained of the fact that Pitt’s defense made no adjustments. Unlike Michigan State, which realized by the end of the 1st quarter, “Hey, Pitt is shutting us down when we just hand-off or drop back, but when Stanton rolls out or even gestures like he’s going to take off, the defense freezes and opens things up.” They could just keep gashing Pitt over and over for sustained drives that ate the clock much the way the first couple of drives Pitt had in the 1st quarter.
On the other side of the ball, the MSU defense caught on to the fact that the Pitt O-line could not handle any sort of pass rush. They were willing to risk a 10 yard run just to keep coming at Palko. It became even easier when they took the lead, and forced Pitt to pass more.
Everyone makes the point that we should be happy that we are 2-1. Look, I came in to the game expecting a loss….I can’t believe we were favorites. But if you told me at the beginning of the season (when my expectations were very low) that we would get beat by a mediocore (at best) MSU team by 21 or so, and the way they beat us is by running the same damn option that kills us every year, I would still be pissed off. Stop with the we should be happy BS (I don’t care how bad we did last year) because that was not a good team that just ran all over us. I will always be a Pitt fan…I sat through us getting slayed at the hands of Ohio State 72-0 back in ’96…if I can make it through that then you know I’m dedicated. If we were 1-2 right now and we put up a good effort against each team, I wouldn’t even complain…..but this game today showed me that no progress has been made on defense.
I know its one game, I know there is a whole season left….but it’s the same damn defense as last year….that is what depresses the hell out of me, not so much that we lost.
Oh, and I was right at halftime when I said that MSU wouldn’t go 3 and out again. I don’t think they did anyway, I stopped listening after it was over in the end of the 3rd.
If Pitt simply could have figured out how to stop the option, they would of had a very good chance of winning that game. You can look at all the issues Pitt has, but all of them are pretty damn small compared to the way the defense reacts to the option.
Let’s put it this way – Pitt will need seven wins to get to a bowl game this year. They have two down already. Looking at the remaining schedule, it appears like we’ll have to coax five wins out of eight games between now and the WVU and Louisville games.
The schedule between now and then, though, is favorable.
The Citadel, Toledo, at Syracuse, at C Florida, Rutgers, at S Florida, at UConn
Now, looking that over, I see at least three wins just waiting to be grabbed. The Citadel is a win. Syracuse (even on the road) will be a win. And one of the Florida games (hopefully both), will be a win.
If we can get those three wins, we’ll have to win two of the following games: Toledo at home, UConn on the road, or Rutgers at home. Which I think is definately possible. If we go 7-3 before the two juggernaut games, the pressure will be off for the year, in my opinion, because we’ll be back in a bowl, and will be loose for the two toughest games of our season.
Just trying to put it all in perspective, because otherwise, we’re all just crying over one Saturday’s worth of spilled, rotten milk.
Aaron, The reason everyone is so upset is not that we lost. Pitt fans can deal with losing. We were humiliated by a team I would call average at best and they did it on our home field. Remember it was 38 to 10, forget about those last 2 garbage td’s to make it look closer. Had we lost a close game or a last minute field goal, we could deal with that but there is no way an avg team like this should come in and score 38 un answered pts. Absolutely pathetic.
Aaron, this wasnt a loss this was an embarrassment, the qb ran for over a hundred yards and we never even got one good hit on him. Being dominated by an avg team is not easy to move on from.
I listened to the game on the internet, and have to admit I knew it was a lost cause halfway thru the 2nd quarter. But, In reviewing the schedule for the rest of the year I see three pretty sure losses (Louisville, WVU and Rutgers). I had a bad feeling about MSU when I saw them on the schedule, specifically due to Stanton. I do not believe they are an average team though – I think MSU will end up with a winning record this year, and will surprise some teams in the Big Ten.
Maybe we steal a win from one of those three, maybe we lose a game we should win – who knows? What I do know is I’ll still follow the team and wish them well. This is what sports are all about, wondering how the team and games will play out. I know the reasons for the frustrations – and the post-game posts are pretty darn accurate.
As for the big picture – my gut tells me we’ll see a different level of play over the next few years, and if DW can keep this team’s head up we might even have a season that will be fun to live through (unlike yesterday afternoon).
It’s pretty sad when MSU is calling option plays on 2nd and 19 and getting 18 yards, setting up an easy 3rd and 1.
Drew Stanton isn’t even particularly “fast”, he is just shifty and makes great decisions when it comes to pitching on the option, faking the pitch, or just keeping it and avoiding tackles.
Just wait until we play WVU again, who run a very similar offense to MSU, but have a much faster QB in White and heisman candidate running back in Slaton. I hope it doesn’t get as ugly as it did last year.
Second, Pat, maybe I just have a hard time rooting against the Big Ten.
(For everybody else out there, that ludicrious statement was just intended to make Pat foam at the mouth, and in no way reflects any type of affinity to Big Ten teams at large… especially Michigan State.)
Assignment defense is difficult to learn in the era of zones. That’s why the option is such an effective gadget play. Hell, it even works great on PlayStation. Even Ohio State struggled a little when Texas unveiled an option attack last Saturday. However, good defensive coordinators SHOULD teach assignment defense. ESPECIALLY when @#%*@#! West Virginia is in your conference (Ryan M is right: that’s EXACTLY what the Mountaineers are gonna throw at us in November).
So, once again, I agree with JC on Paul Rhoads. Actually, I think that JC and I have agreed on Rhoads for years now (ECH, welcome to the club). Rhoads, like his mentor Walt, doesn’t adjust. He doesn’t teach fundamentals like assignment defense and tackling (I don’t know who taught Pitt to tackle so well against Virgnia, but based on ten years of frustration, I can guarantee you that it WASN’T Paul Rhoads.).
So, once again, for at least the sixth year in a row now, I’m going to have drop a “FIRE PAUL RHOADS NOW!!!”