In the Blue-Gold Game, neither QB was particularly impressive, but Stull definitely seemed to have a firmer grasp on what he was doing. That makes sense since this is now his third season learning from OC Cavanaugh. Kevan Smith, is still struggling with things. The most glaring is locking in with his eyes on his primary receiver. Even with the internet feed, you could see his eyes follow just one receiver when he dropped back. Elijah Fields noted that when he talked about his interception after the scrimmage.
Fields followed quarterback Kevan Smith’s eyes, broke on his pass and returned an interception 53 yards for a touchdown Saturday in the Blue-Gold Game at Heinz Field.
“I usually can catch Kevan staring a receiver down,” Fields said. “So, I just went on a guess and just broke on it. And it was right there. It felt like high school again. Once I see the end zone, I don’t let anything stop me.”
Hopefully the light for Fields stays on. He says he has a much better understanding of the defense and his role out there. That the game is slowing down for him once more.
I guess the coaching staff is not satisfied with anyone at the Center position right now. Something that makes me nervous.
Mike McGlynn has been Pitt’s starting right tackle the past three seasons, but he sat out spring drills with a shoulder injury. As a result, sophomore Jason Pinkston has been the first-team right tackle and has filled the role admirably.
Pinkston’s emergence at tackle might mean McGlynn could be moved to shore up the center position, which is shaky. That could mean McGlynn would move to center or he could move to guard with junior C.J. Davis shifting to center.
“We have to look at getting the five best offensive lineman out there,” Wannstedt said. “And really, Mike McGlynn gives us the most flexibility to move someone because he is the leader of that group and he can play a number of positions for us. He has the most knowledge of our offense.”
McGlynn is the long-snapper on punts, but this is a little different. Spring practices won’t decide the depth chart for the fall, but you would hope that by the end there’s an idea of where players will be lining up. That they won’t be changing the positions after the final scrimmage of the spring.
It’s hard not to see how LeSean McCoy won’t be competing for the starting tailback job — or at least rotating with LaRod Stephens-Howling. Stephens-Howling looked good out there, but Shane Brooks won’t get much playing time if he puts the ball on the ground, regardless of how well he runs and how good he is at catching the ball out of the backfield. Kevin Collier had a nice run for 28 yards, but only 26 on 11 carries after that.
Nice that DT Gus Mustakas and OT Jeff Otah won the awards for most improved players in the spring. It’s all line play right now.
The defense looked much better then the offense overall. Not a complete shock with the QB position still unsettled. I’m a little worried about the corners right now. I think they will improve and get a lot better — high ceiling and all of that. Right now, though, they are not looking that great. Aaron Berry had a gift interception. He was behind Kinder who went high to try and get a pass from Stull. Kinder was able to get one hand on it while trying to stay inbounds. Berry didn’t go up for it or try to break it up. Instead he stood flat-footed behind Kinder and when the ball tipped off of Kinder’s left hand it went right to Berry.
Maybe it’s because he didn’t want to level a teammate in a scrimmage. Maybe he felt his position was wrong to make a play on the ball (which was probably true). All it looked like he was going to do was shove Kinder out of bounds if he came down with it.
Kevin Gorman’s blog post on the game has lots of nuggets on the Blue-Gold game, and he ends with a little blast to AD Jeff Long:
The past eight days have been a public relations disaster for Pitt athletic director Jeff (Not For) Long, who moved the marquee home game (Navy) from a Saturday to a Wednesday night so it could be televised on ESPN and then charged admission to a scrimmage.
I’d be more forgiving if Long hadn’t issued a news release at 3 p.m. on Good Friday so that he wouldn’t have to answer for changing the game. Or if he hadn’t sat alone during the Blue-Gold Game in a coaches’ box, with a glass window separating him from having to deal with members of the media in the adjoining press box.
For an athletic department so desperate to sell season tickets that it’s practically giving away a second seat (at $10) to first-time buyers (of the $199 package), this was a poor way to promote the football program.
And an even worse way to answer for it.
I noted the timing of the release last week. Gorman seems more annoyed about the avoidance of dealing with the media rather then the more populist perspective that sitting alone and sealed off also kept him away from the fans and general public.
“Even so, the change is a considerable one in that Wannstedt is temporarily abandoning his preferred Cover 2 scheme in favor of 4-4 fronts with frequent blitzes, which he despised because they often allowed big plays.”
Note the phrase “…. which he despised because they often allowed big plays.” All seemingly on the ground by the RBs the last two years which is what usually does not happen. Most times if a big play happens off the blitz it’s a completed pass play for long yards.
Maybe this staff has some confidence in the defensive backfield to make this switch and allow for some blitzes (finally!). We can’t let opposing QBs sit back there all day. It got to the point where an opposing RB wasn’t even staying back to block on passing plays.
I think our defense will be much improved this year in any event.
The P-G’s write-up on the blue-gold game was largely uninformative and as usual (these days at least), irritatingly partisan. True, Gorman has the benefit of reporting for the Tribune. But regardless, Paul Zeise might want to read a column or two from the “other paper†to reevaluate his concept of “field-report,†and his role as “journalist†(when not ‘beat-writing’ in his office).
Is it me, or did the Chat Transcripts seem to vanish?
…”When Kennard Cox got his hands on a pass, Eric Thatcher gave all the kiddies in the stands a treat when he screamed “C’mon man! You gotta catch that SHIT! 
LOL, good for Thatcher — if I had a dollar for every interception missed by Cox, well… I wouldn’t be rich but my pockets would be pretty deep with material evidence accounting for dozens of blown opportunities; many off the finger-tips, but an equal number thrown at him as if he were a receiver, horribly mishandled, either sailing between or in-out the hands.
As the 07 season gets underway, I don’t see him ahead of Berry, and I don’t see him taking field time away from some of the younger talent on the team (i.e., J. Chappel). Nor do I think he should, either. chiefly because, whereas he’s an experienced CB capable of his assignments (covering his man), he’s yet to demonstrate that he can maintain his focus and handle the football in situations with clear turn-over ramifications. And at this point in his career, it’s a bit of stretch to think he’ll simply develop these skills and take his game to a higher-level.
I hope he proves me wrong, but there’s too much potential and talent at the position to waste otherwise.
