I know, “now?” Well, I don’t want to forget about these little things.
The draft combine is underway. There are some Pitt players in attendance, beyond Darrelle Revis. ESPN’s got a list of top players by position with point scores (1-100, though 30 seems to be the lowest number for any of the attendees) going into it (Insider subs.).
- Adam Graessle gets tied in a group of 3 punters at the bottom with a score of 30.
- At QB, Tyler Palko was listed at 11th with a score of 45 (Luke Getsy clocked in at 30).
- For Inside Linebackers, H.B. Blades goes in with a grade of 61 for 10th.
- Darrelle Revis is the second ranked CB at 91. Leon Hall of Michigan is ahead with a 95.
Whoever helped edit and check the list must be a Virginia fan. Every Virginia Tech player finds themselves coming from Virginia Polytech Institute.
Then there is the looming time of Spring Practice. It starts March 17 for Pitt, and ends April 14. Whee. Tom Deinhart at the Sporting News has a superficial look at the priorities on offense and defense for teams in the Big East.
OFFENSE
1. QB Tyler Palko started the past three seasons. He’s gone. The battle will rage.
2. Dave Wannstedt wants a better ground game. But the best running back options may not arrive until August: LeSean McCoy.
3. Every starter but the center returns on the line, but depth must be augmented to help the ground game.DEFENSE
1. The linebacker corps must be overhauled with the departure of H.B. Blades.
2. The line must improve and get stronger after the team finished next-to-last in the Big East in rush defense and last in sacks.
3. Darrelle Revis bolted early for the NFL, leaving a big hole at a corner spot.
Scary that he’s actually understating the priorities with the linebackers. Really, you could just put in big 42-point font size under defense: HELP!!!
God help us, the one thing that could allow Rhoads to keep his DC job for another year. Expectations for the defense will be so low, that anything above completely sucking could be perceived as progress.
