Well, maybe Coach Wannstedt will get some results from moving DC Rhoads off the secondary to working with the linebackers. Shame it took the guy having to be moved, to figure his responsibilities as a DC extend to more than pass defense.
That is why Rhoads is stressing that his linebackers know not only their duties, but also those of the players in front of them and behind them. By making his players more accountable, he is putting a premium on the defense being more disciplined and, as a result, more effective. But he’s not just focusing on the linebackers. The defense is now spending more time operating as a unit.
“Coach Rhoads is the heart and soul of our defense,” fifth-year senior defensive end Chris McKillop said. “It shows because last year we would break meetings and go into our individual groups. Now, at least two or three times a week the whole defense meets together. You have a feel for where people are going to be.”
With all four starters returning on the defensive line, the Panthers are expecting a greater push up front. Nevertheless, Rhoads is preaching for his linebackers to be more aggressive instead of reading and reacting to plays.
“When we’re moving laterally, trying to dissect plays, you’re not pulling the trigger,” Rhoads said. “We want those guys to be physical and hard charging, and I think they’re showing that. In doing that, we’re freeing up defensive linemen sooner, we’re getting off blocks sooner and that’s allowing the guys up front to play, and the guys up front are playing awfully well.”
How the hell did this guy hold on to his job this long? Ostensibly in charge of the whole defense all this time, and only now thinking that maybe “read and react” or “bend but don’t break” defenses may not be the best idea.
Have to move on from this, or I’ll just start repeating the same rants about Rhoads.
Gene Collier notes that despite the game for Pitt expected to be a lopsided affair (I think the line is around 20), Pitt is under pressure not to have a bad night.
But somehow — and this is the one remaining beauty of college football — this Pitt-EMU fender bender is fraught with pressure. For Pitt, it’s a must win, as there is but a small handful of wins available on a schedule heavy with Big East obligations and road games at Michigan State and Virginia.
“There’s a lot of pressure, whether you’re a player or a coach,” Panthers safety Mike Phillips said yesterday on the South Side. “You can’t have an off night. In other sports, you can get away with one here or there. But it drives you to do your best.”
Uh-huh, and as it happens, there are few people under any more pressure anywhere in sports than a safety in a major-college football program, where simple mistakes can take you out of a game in a climate where one loss is often fateful.
Good bit after that with Mike Phillips talking about how his broken ankle happened and coming back from it.
Of course, Pitt has a very good history against MAC teams. Especially at home. On the road recently has been a different issue, but that isn’t really a concern for this game.
