PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I cant take it another year

I think Paul Rhoads would make a good replacement for Rumsfield at the Department of Defense. They seem to share the same stubborn qualities.

No Reed. He shouldn’t occupy any position the contains the word “defense.”

“Bend but don’t break” isn’t probably the best strategy for the war in Iraq at the moment. If his experience as Pitt’s DC is any indication, insurgents would take over all of the Persian Gulf area in about three weeks.

God, I hate Paul Rhodes. Even making fun of him makes me angry.

Paul, dont let the door hit you if you know what I mean.

How bout Secretary of Transportation since he seems to know hot to get people where they are going in a hurry without any road blocks.

On another note: not sure how to feel about the recent articles about more true freshman playing for the last three games. I’ve stated in the past that I think they should play if it helps the team, and I guess this is a case of that or, more realistically, no depth so they have to play.

I especially like Bynum playing, looking forward to seeing Matthews playing more (but not wanting to see Greg Romeus lose his redshirt – I think he’ll be very good in the future but after only one year of HS ball – he needs an extra year under his belt).

Anyway, will watch the BE game tonight, and hoping Louisville wins as I think it will reflect best for the BE if they are in the title game.

I’d like to see a change as much as anyone but let’s take it easy on Rhoads. I don’t think anyone purposely plans a defense that stinks intentionally. But I have to say, even with the best of DL’s I still wouldn’t like his defenses. It’s a complete mystery to me why he is so highly regarded by other schools and the media. ESPECIALLY the media, which will rip Pitt’s running defense up and down and within the same story will praise Rhoads!!!

I know that we would all like to see a change at DC. Most of us are disgusted at the fact that he is not stunting or blitzing enough. However, someone help me here…. The year that Auburn was interested in Rhodes, didn’t we play an aggressive, blitzing defense that we very successful? If so, is it really DW that is handcuffing Rhodes? Won’t DW force the next DC to play the same bend but don’t brake style?

Hmm…anybody want to argue with me now about how Rutgers has a really good football team?

Man, it’s really embarrassing to lose to a team when they are SO AWFUL. We should never lose to a team like THAT.

I can’t resist the sarcasm, I really can’t.

Rutgers still sucks. You will never convince me that they are an elite team because it is not true. Louisville is suspect, obviously. WVU fumbled away the respect of the conference last week.

Rutgers has less talent but better coaching, at least tonight. They adjusted and their D rose to the occasion with aggressive, confusing defense in the 2nd half. Precisely the things we needed to do against MSU and RU.

And I’ll always suspect Rhoads as a DC after the horrid USF and Toledo losses a few years back when he allowed the team to be victimized time and again by the same couple plays. Not to mention the eggs laid against the Joneses and McGahees, but at least those were legitimate teams. USF and Toledo? No. Since Walt never got involved with the D, there’s only one person to blame.

Yeah, whoopidy shi# Aaron, we can feel so much better now about the Rutgers loss……but So. Fla does suck. No getting around that embarrassing performance.
Rutgers has now experienced something we havn’t in 30 years…a big win against a big opponent on national tv. When was the last time we beat a ranked opponent that didn’t have the words virginia and tech in their name?

Rutgers is for real..get used to it Omar. We have a few good players in ball, a very good team in hoops, but you need to give credit where credit is due…They weren’t on the map 6 years ago and may lose some profile in years to come, but right now, Rutgers is the beast of the east.

With that, I still think WVU will beat them (which will be good for the conference), but I have tremendous respect for Schiano. He had several (better) offers, but wanted to build something special. Good for him and those kids.

Talent is key but coaching and molding that talent is paramount, a good coach can motivate.

Pitt has failed to properly plan and adjust when we play teams with similar talent. Look at MSU, Rutgers and USF, I am not saying we would have won these games, but I think we would have been a bit more competitive if we would have tried something other than the vanilla base defense (bend over but don’t break approach).

Face it, W and Rhodes use a system or scheme that the current players cannot grasp or do not fit into.

We just cannot stop the run or even blitz the opposing qb.

Haven’t these kids ever played football before?

Isn’t the fastest guy on the team playing LB?

Aren’t we a team with speed on defense?

A good coach utilizes strategy to win and adjusts as the game goes along.

Maybe frustration is setting in with me. Let’s see how the UConn game turns out. UConn can run but their passing game is extremely poor.

Let’s see how Rhodes devises a scheme to postion our defense to stop the run and force UConn to beat us with their passing game. Or is it the other way around?

Rhodes must go, period, they named a football practice facility at Iowa State after John Majors, maybe John can give Rhodes a good recommendation to coach at Iowa State.

Let’s all hope and pray.

Rutgers made great adjustments after halftime, when it looked like they were going to run out of the stadium. A swarming 6-8 man rush totally confused UL and constant pressure made the passing game and the running game not existent. Something that others (Pitt) should learn from. Schiano has been at Rutgers for 6 years and the NJ papers have been calling for his head until this year. It takes time to build a program. Even though DW took over a ‘well stocked’ 8-4 team – they put in a system that the players weren’t geared for.

What does USF have to do with anything I said? I never said anything about that game. I said back when we lost to them, and I’m saying now, that losing to Rutgers this year is NOT an embarassment. So, I don’t know where you’re getting this USF business from, Jon. Yeah, that was an embarassing loss, without question. But considering everyone and their mother on this board (sans Reed, probably) was going on and on and on about how the team should be shot for losing to Rutgers, I felt my sarcastic comments justified.

And Omar, stop being ridiculous. To say, after that game that Rutgers sucks is just denial. Look, you can say that Louisville was “suspect” all you want, but Rutgers beat a team that irregardless of your opinion:

– Was a consensus #3 team in the country prior to losing;
– Had the #2 offense in all of CFB (note: Rutgers only allowing them to grab one or two first downs in the entire second half);
– and had a pretty good D with speed and a big front (which Rutgers ran over in the second half after realizing that Louisville was playing them the same way everyone but UConn has played them this year).

The way you say it makes it sound like they were playing Florida International or something. Face it, Omar. Rutgers is undefeated, and they are in first place in the Big East. Even freaking Herbstreit on the telecast last night, a guy that had been bashing the Big East for two years straight any chance he got, gave kudos to the conference’s depth and progress last night because RU won. Greg Schiano has done a masterful job rebuilding that program. To say they suck is just crazy-talk, man.

Now, Pitt needs to work to right the ship this year. I’m not arguing that. But to say that Rutgers sucks, and not to learn from the way they’ve handled business this year would be foolish. Wanny should take a good look at what Schiano is doing, even with the in-game stuff, and learn from it, as Mark said.

I’ve felt this all along: Virtually everyone on Rutgers’ defense is fast enough to play running back. They are phenomenal and capable of chopping down anyone.

Aaron…I’m with you on saying that anyone who does not see that Rutgers is a very good, Top 10 calibur football team, at this point in the season, is not dealing with reality. Where I differ with you is where you say that DW should take a good look at what Schiano is doing. DW was doing it long before Schiano ever had a coaching job. DW is trying to get to where S is with his personnel. Did anyone notice how many times they talked about the RU defense being small, but quick, and the overall speed of the RU defense. Pitt is close, but we are not there yet and it will take at least two more recruting classes to get there (this one and the next). I am as frustrated as the rest of you with our defense, but I do see improvements over last year, and expect to see improvements next year. They are small increments, but over a four or five year period, the change will be drastic. No, I am not pro Rhodes, I think he needs to go because I don’t think that he is a good game day coach. He never turns the defense loose, he’s too conservative in his play calling. It’s time for a fresh approach. But, I remain a firm beliver in the DW system (speed, speed, speed), and we will have a defense like you saw last night from RU within a few years.

College Football is subjective. We will not know who the best team is because there is not a playoff. I do not think Rutgers, or Louisville for that matter, would have any success versus California, Florida, USC, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas or even Penn State for that matter. The only team in the conference that had a chance versus those teams is WVU because the offense cannot be stopped. Their offense is prolific and many teams have not seen anything close to it. Rutgers sucks, you will not convince me otherwise. Until they beat a real team this will be my opinion. Pitt does not count because we stink. The whole country was lamenting the fact that Louisville might play for the national championship, therefore saying they were a consensus top-3 team is not accurate. The big east just lost its best chance to play for a national championship, therefore I am not happy about Rutgers dream season.

Define “sucks”.

You could argue that they’re not elite, that would be reasonable. You could say you think they’re overrated. You could even make a case that they’d be below average in some other conferences, and you’d find some people that agree with you. But stubbornly maintaining that they “suck” places you squarely in left field all by yourself.

Listen guys, I simply do not feel like Rutgers is a quality team. Perhaps sucks is not the correct word. Everyone knew at the beginning of the year that Louisville was a bit overrated. After Micheal Bush went down they have been grossly overrated. They were playing at home and caught a few breaks against WVU. Then they went on the road in a very hostile environment and lost to Rutgers, barely. Rutgers win does not make them a great team or a great program. Are they having a great season, sure. But they are not a good team. They have way too many flaws and their opponents have not been able to exploit them. I will concede that they are undefeated. Good for them.

Holy cow! 9-0 is not a good team. Pitt, then, has absolutely no chance at becoming a ‘good’ team because I doubt we’ll see 9-0 any time soon. And guess what, I’m OK with that. Are we so firmly entrenched in “winning is the only thing” and instant gratification in terms of a National Championship that we can’t appreciate the good qualities of an opponent?

Come on, if you can’t see the talent Rutgers has, the desire in which the kids got after Louisville (and Pitt and others) and can’t compliment them on going into each game with the thoughts they could win – no matter what circumstances they found themselves on the field (again, something PITT kids dearly need to learn) – then you will never be able to be objective with Rutgers.

All they have done is what the coaches have asked of them, and won. Sounds pretty damn good to me. I don’t give a rat’s ass if they could beat any team out of conference, their job is to beat their conference opponents and they are doing it! Oh, and the sentence “They have way too many flaws, and their opponents have been unable to exploit them” is a gem. That’s what it’s all about man, in football and in so many other things. Using your strengths to cover your weaknesses.

I guess it’s what we expect as fans. I’ll bet my mortgage PITT won’t win a National Championship in the next ten years. I just don’t think it’ll happen. But, I do believe we are going to be very excited about watching PITT play football over that time period. College championships (especially in this BCS system) are very subjective, and really only feel great for a short time (just ask the Steelers). And, while that might be a good goal for a team to shoot for, if we don’t concentrate on building a good program and winning the individual games first we’ll never get there.

I’ll settle for what I always have wanted from any hobby I have (which is what being a fan is really). Make me want to be interested, care about it, and feel something if they win or lose. But I’ll never get so wrapped up in it that I feel hatred or anger if we don’t win a championship – or get to the point where I can’t recognize and congratulate an opponent for what they have done. I’ve got way too many more important things to worry about that that.

PITT – 24
UCONN- 14

SORRY ABOUT THE RANT ABOVE – DIDN’T HAVE ANY COFFEE YET.

The season isn’t over. Rutgers still has a few opportunities to be exposed. If Pitt can’t get to 8-0 or 9-0 once in the next 10 years then I am wasting my time. With the schedule that we play there is no reason that it can’t happen once in 10 years. Why should I congratulate Rutgers? I didn’t congratulate WVU until they kicked Georgia’s ass in the Sugar Bowl. If Rutgers gets an opportunity in the BCS and performs as well as WVU did, then I will congratulate them. Until then they are a mediocre football team that is taking advantage of an exceptionally weak conference.

Everyone do me a favor before they go off on my opinion again, please look at Rutgers schedule. link to sports.espn.go.com

Are you seriously going to tell me this is a legitimate top-10 team with a schedule that pathetic. Cincinnati will give them a game next week and I would not be surprised if they lose.

First, I didn’t say we wouldn’t be 9-0 in the next ten years, I said anytime soon – care to disagree with that based on what you’ve seen so far in the last two years? My opinion is that we probably won’t get a National Championship in the next ten years, and as I said that really is OK with me.

Second, I guess I’m basically questioning what your benchmark for a ‘good team’ is. Personally, I don’t think we have to compare Rutgers to other conference teams to see that they are good (and how good is good to you?). Are they Top 10? Maybe, maybe not, but I think they certainly should be considered for it. And theorizing about schedule strength means nothing, the goal is to win the games you have scheduled. I’m so sick of hearing national pundits say in one breath “Who does the Big East play?” when criticizing WVU/Louisville/Rutgers and asserting that a one loss team is better. Then they turn around and say that “Every week is a playoff and you have to win out”. Well, you can’t have it both ways guys.

What will really matter to the media, when all is said and done, is how the top three BE teams do in the bowl games. If I’m not mistaken the BE has BCS tie-in for a few more years anyway so we’ll have a chance to continue to schedule harder games and to grow.

You and I will have to just disagree about Rutgers – it seems that for you a team has to be great to be called good. I’m content with a team actually being good to be called good.

I think Pitt should be 8-0 or 9-0 in 2008 or close to it otherwise the current staff has failed to live up to expectations. Until there is a playoff in college football we have to compare BE conference teams to other conference teams. That is how the system works. Schedule strength would mean nothing if we had a playoff, we do not. This is why college basketball is so much better than football. If you get a shitty seed and feel disrespected you can do something about it. In football you can’t. All we can do is argue about it until we are blue in the face. I think Rutgers is smoke and mirrors, you do not, therefore we can agree to disagree. I have no problem with your opinion and appreciate the debate, however I will not change my mind until said change is warranted, i.e. versus WVU and in a BCS bowl.