Remember what I said the last day or so about bias and DC Paul Rhoads not getting any benefit of the doubt from me. Well, this article about tackling and technique nearly killed me. It’s a good article that has a lot of different coaches offering perspectives. Considering for the last 4-5 years the common mantra I’ve been screaming at the Pitt defense is along the lines of “tackle, don’t just hit,” reading any comment from Rhoads was going to set me off.

Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads emphasizes the need to finish plays with your feet, with the concept being a defender should come close enough to step on a ball-carrier’s feet.

“Pretty much the thing we emphasize is take the extra step,” Pitt senior safety Mike Phillips said. “They want you to step on his toes. People think they’re there, but they’re not and they have to arm tackle. The great running backs like (Rutgers running back) Ray Rice and (West Virginia’s) Steve Slaton break those arm tackles.”

Rhoads also preaches to keep those feet moving once a defender has made contact, in order to gain leverage and drive the ball-carrier back. His mantra is for defenders to make the hit with your head high and eyes to the sky.

“If you think you’ve got him and your feet stop, you’re not going to make that tackle because you’ve just got him with your arms and hands,” Rhoads said. “You can’t tackle that way. If your eyes drop and you don’t see your target, you’re not going to tackle him.”

Then, clearly, Paul Rhoads is a lousy effin’ teacher. The final quote of the article sums up the issue.

“I think tackling is a skill that’s taught,” said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, an Upper St. Clair native. “Certainly, intangibles can help you. But tackling’s like blocking, you don’t just fall out of bed and do it. You have to work at it.”

In the time that Rhoads has been DC, the fundamentals of tackling have just never been there. He may be conveying all the passion and energy to the players. But how to tackle hasn’t been there.

From a talent standpoint, the one area where Pitt could withstand a loss to one of the starters would be WR. The depth at WR is something we are all aware. Oderick Turner, Marcel Pestano, Cedric McGee, and T.J. Porter. Throw in freshmen Maurice Williams and Aundre Wright and this is the one area where Pitt doesn’t seem to suffer a terrible drop-off in talent.

Losing Derek Kinder is still a very bad thing. It’s hard to give an objective measurement, because he is a fan favorite. He’s been a scrappy hard-working player who became one of the best WRs in the Big East because of his hard work and focus. Things that endear a player to Pitt (and many other) fans. He wasn’t a highly ranked recruit or given much thought to until his sophomore season. And then he was the sure-handed possession receiver, not the presumed star (Greg Lee).
Forget his ability as a receiver. He is still the best downfield blocker amongst the receivers. He is probably the hardest working player in that group and as a senior set the example and was the natural leader. He will clearly be missed on special teams with his blocking on punt returns.

Hopefully the surgery will go exceptionally well, and Kinder will be able to come back next year as strong as before.

Another late day so time to do this quickly.

Practices are in pads from here on out. It means injuries of the season ending kind, unfortunately, can be expected at some point. It’s simply the nature of contact drills. Derek Kinder went down without contact today. It was his knee and it was X-rayed. Not much else right now.

Look, I’m very biased against Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoads, so at this point, there isn’t much he can say in the pre-season that I won’t want to twist into something that mocks him or is just completely sarcastic. Hardly a revelation, but I was reminded of that when I read the piece on the defense today.

The second is tinkering with the defensive scheme and putting the Panthers’ best players in the best position to make plays.

To that end, the Panthers are using more five-man fronts and also bringing a safety into the box to have eight men committed to stopping the run.

“You change schemes and you tweak schemes and do things like that to address needs, but the No. 1 priority is the ability of the players,” Rhoads said.

“And the ability to stop the run starts with the front guys, and you can see that group looks like a Division I defensive line and we’ll stop the run just because of that. But we’re also trying to do some things to make sure we’re shored up in order to stop the run.”

Last year, the Panthers experimented with safety blitzes and bringing some safeties up into run support.

I suppose I should just be relieved that the idea of eight men in the box is actually being considered. My first reaction after the way the defense has been since 2003, though, was an eyeroll and something to the effect of, “Oh, now you think of that?”

Again, the defense (and especially the defensive coordinator) doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt from me that they will be that much better merely in training camp.
Speaking of not getting the benefit of the doubt, the offensive line also falls into that category.

Q: Every year we’re told the offensive line is improved and every year they struggle. Is that where we are again?

Zeise: Well, the line did improve some last year from the year before and now, with basically the same group back, you’d think it would improve again. But that’s just it — I’ve now covered this team for six seasons and the line has never been anywhere close to as good as it was my first season — 2002 — so I have learned to take a wait and see approach. Again, I think Jeff Otah will be good, I think C.J. Davis is solid and it looks like Joe Thomas is starting to live up to his pre-college hype. The center spot is struggling, but Chris Vangas is working hard to become more consistent. Jason Pinkston had a great spring and is talented, but he is still basically a first-year starter, so he could have some growing pains. The wild card to it all is Mike McGlynn — he must get healthy and prove he can play either guard or center at a high level. If he does, it really solidifies some things.

In Kevin Gorman’s blog notes from practice today (and there’s plenty of goodies), he is of the opinion that John Bachman at Center appears to be a “failed experiment,” and it will be Chris Vangas or Mike McGlynn when he’s healthy. Bachman has just showed no connection with any of the QBs as fumbled snaps was a big problem again today.

LaRod Stephens-Howling gets a piece today, and I like the goal RB Coach David Walker sets versus the 1,000 yards rushing.

Walker, however, would prefer if Stephens-Howling used a minimum average of 5.0 yards per carry as a benchmark, instead of a 1,000-yard season.

Bill Stull’s hurt thumb (banged it off of a helmet in practice) kept him out of practice today. Not broken, but with a couple stiches on the top. Stull not being out there contributed to the QB-Center exchange problems with Kevan Smith as the only scholarship QB out there. Well Maurice Williams went under center but he was recruited to be a WR.

Freshman RB Shariff Harris has continued to impress in practice, and Coach Wannstedt admitted that he won’t be going be moving Harris to the defense.

“I really thought that Shariff Harris did some good things today,” Wannstedt said. “He got a lot more opportunities today in practice and I really thought he did a heck of a job. He’s got more explosion, and he’s strong. He’s a big back who can run. The big thing is, as with most of these freshmen, he just needs to learn what to do.”

He had more praise for Harris after today’s practice.

On The Battle at Running Back:

Shariff Harris is more explosive and might be the strongest of all the backs we have. I thought Conredge Collins did some nice things. He can come out and make some plays. He is off to a good start. He is more mature, in better shape and he is hungrier.

On Depth at Tailback:

For the first time, we have a few guys back there. We are going to have to run the ball so that is a good thing. We have to go through the offensive line. It will take a couple days. Skill spots, you can form somewhat of an opinion before they put the pads on, but with the offensive line, it takes a couple days.

Of course, that still requires an offensive line to block and open up some holes for the running game to really matter.

Last year I didn’t go to football Fan Fest, but this year I’m pretty sure I’ll be there. This year it’s on a Thursday — was it on a weeknight last year or is this new? Doesn’t it seem like a better idea to have this on a weekend?

2007 Pitt Football Fan Fest is set for Thursday, August 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Heniz Field. Admission is free and open to all fans. 2007 Fan Fest will again offer fans the opportunity to get team autographs and get their first look at the 2007 Pitt football team.

Fan Fest will not only include the opportunity to get autographs but also the chance to purchase season tickets and official Pitt merchandise. Outside Heinz Field, families can enjoy games and activities while kids test their skills in the Jr. Panthers Training Camp. Also, on Art Rooney Ave and into the Gate A plaza fans can watch the one-hour Savran on SportsBeat telecast and see the Bendel and Benz live radio broadcast from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

I’m definitely most interested in the open practice.

They’re also giving every incentive to have you donate blood. If you do give blood, you’ll get a tour of the Pitt locker room, tickets to the Grambling State game, and a chance to win a few other things.

Have to admit, I didn’t have a chance to watch the Saints exhibition game last night. Read through everyone’s comments later so, I almost feel like I did see it. Despite a statistically mixed bag and harsh self-criticism from Tyler Palko —

“Tyler did a pretty decent job for his first time out there with a significant amount of snaps,” New Orleans coach Sean Payton said. “His first interception was my fault. I thought he hung in there.

“He needs to learn how to protect the football better. In his first night, there are some things he did OK and other things he needs to work on. Those reps for him will be valuable to learn from the tape.”

Palko finished with 172 yards and a touchdown on a 17-of-25 slate. He showed his grit with a team-high 47 yards rushing on four carries. He also threw two interceptions, including one in the endzone.

“When you don’t come out with the win, it’s hard to feel good about it,” the rookie out of Pitt said. “I’d probably give myself a C-minus or D. We didn’t win and that’s not a good thing.

“There were some things I was not happy with. When you turn the ball over twice and you don’t win, it hurts.”

— Palko seemed to have won some people and has support from within the organization.

“I thought Tyler did a fine job,” said Brees. “Every young quarterback is going to make mistakes. What I liked is the way Tyler responded. He keeps on improving, and he’s going to get better.”

Palko finished 15-of-27 for 172 yards and was sacked twice. Still, he had mobility and escape instincts to finish with 47 yards, turning losses into positive yardage.

The kid who threw for 66 touchdowns at Pitt, second only to NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino, suggests he’s a work in progress. But with Brees and Payton in his corner, he appears to have a better than decent shot to hang around and do some good if opportunity calls.

In the NFL, you never know when that opportunity might arrive. Obviously, the number one prayer offered by all Saints fans is directed toward the continued health, and well being, of No. 9.

In the case of Tyler Palko, living in a climate of a savvy coach and quarterback, the rookie could not be in a better position.

And he knows it.

That was one of the reasons Palko signed with New Orleans. Palko being kept by the Saints was echoed by one of the Saints beat writers.

Tyler Palko is going to be the No. 3 quarterback. This is just a prediction. Nothing official. But the rookie from Pitt is a favorite of Coach Sean Payton so he would have had to play really poorly to blow his opportunity. On the contrary, though, Palko played well. He led the Saints to two scoring drives, including a picture-perfect 2-yard touchdown pass to Robert Meachem on a fade route. All in all, Payton had to be pleased with his effort. Payton won’t like the interception he threw in the end zone but he had to love the way the rookie competeted and led the offense. Those are the kind of things Payton wants to see out of his young signal caller. As Drew Brees said last night, he was benched three times as a young quarterback for throwing interceptions. Decision-making will come in time.

Some weren’t as impressed and don’t think much of Palko’s game.

Free-agent quarterback Tyler Palko took over for Brees in the second quarter, and while his name rhymes with the immortal Shane Falco of “The Replacements” fame, the kid doesn’t have much of an NFL future.

(See strength, arm.)

The writer of that comment (Larry Holder of the Sun Herald) provides a neat little lesson in information and quote manipulation. From the Sean Payton quotes (take a look at the top of the post for the full quote) earlier it seems that he was reasonably happy with with Palko’s performance in the bigger picture. Now, how did Holder treat it in his notes on the game?

Saints coach Sean Payton said Palko did a “decent job.”

“He’s got to learn to protect the football better,” Payton said. “He did OK. Those reps are valuable and he will learn from them.”

It’s not at all uncommon. It’s just something to watch. Always much easier in two or more paper towns.

Glad I got that TE’s post off when I did, because the house lost power for almost 24 hours. Plenty of townships are in a state of emergency because of the rain/wind/other natural disasters. I was going to go over to McKnight Road until I saw on KDKA that it was covered in a foot or two of water — ugh. Hopefully all of you readers out there in the Pittsburgh area are doing well after an ugly day.

Another place that knows a little too much about rain and wind damage is the City of New Orleans, Tyler Palko’s new home. Palko, who turned 24 yesterday, is going to have an opportunity to take some big steps towards the Saints’ third-string QB job. Once Drew Brees plays the first quarter, Palko will be next in line to play against the Buffalo Bills’ defense tonight.

He’s going to get a lot more playing time than he did against the Steelers on Sunday — it’s expected that he’ll play deep into the second half.

“I just want to know what I have with a player, and the only way I can do that is play him,” Payton said. “I’m anxious to see his development, his progressions, his ball security, how he handles his decision-making and seeing if we can move the ball while he’s in there.”

He knows what he has to work with in order to impress the coaches.

“It’s exciting, but your window of opportunity is very small,” Palko said. “So you have got to make the most of it when you get your chances. . . . Here (at camp), you’re kind of like an afterthought. You have to continue to have the mentality of getting reps and stealing reps — watching Drew and Jamie, really taking from that.”

On Sunday, Palko was 4-for-8 for 53 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. He also almost got teammate Robert Meachem killed while leading him over the middle with a pass.

Dorin Dickerson continues saying all the right things in this AP story about his move from WR/RB to Linebacker.

“I told my friends, if I could do it all over again, I’d like to play middle linebacker (in high school) and have like 200 tackles,” Dickerson said. “It’s better than scoring touchdowns, it’s the same thing. As long as we win, that supersedes everything.”

Tackles preferable to touchdowns? Dickerson insists he’s sincere in saying he would rather play defense than offense.

“I had a lot of time to think about it before they even asked me,” Dickerson said. “I said, “You know what, linebacker might not be that bad a position.’ I was kind of excited, actually, that he (Wannstedt) asked me. I said, “You know whatever works for the team, I’ll do it.’ I guess that’s the best position for me to play on this team and I’ll do to the best of my ability.”

Dickerson and the linebackers have stood out so far, though, as Wannstedt said Thursday, the defense is traditionally ahead of the offense in the early stages of preseason camp.

He’s also smart enough to admit he still has a lot to learn.

Over on the offense, T.J. Porter is also having a great start to camp. He’s probably a player of extra interest these days since he had a bit of a struggle adjusting to the team. Leaving briefly and having some flare-ups in practice.

This was what Pitt expected from Porter when he arrived last summer. Not the petulant player who left the team for a day the first weekend of training camp. Or the one who later stormed off the field after a tussle with Darrelle Revis.

Not the one who, in his own words, was “acting up.”

Now, Porter is battling to become the starting split end opposite All-Big East flanker Derek Kinder. Of the six candidates, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said Porter “might be the most dangerous guy with the ball in his hands.”

…

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound sophomore adds a different dimension to a diverse receiving corps, with an explosive burst and the ability to shake defenders out of their shoes. It’s why he will again return kickoffs and is in contention, along with cornerback Aaron Berry, to return punts.

The Pahokee, Fla., native understands that earning a starting job will depend not so much on athletic ability, but his maturity level.

“It’s all about maturing,” Porter said. “Last year, I didn’t realize the importance this had to do with my life and my future. I just realized that this is it. This is something you can’t play around with.

“They can’t sit there and wait on one player to get his act together. It’s about the team. It was either get with the program or get left (behind). I got set back a couple days and was behind the eight-ball from there on.”

It’s always great to see kids start to get it, before blowing their chance.

The potential at WR and TE is so big. Pitt just needs to be able to get it to them. That has a lot to do with both getting Bill Stull ready and having an O-line give Stull enough time. It won’t do any good if they can’t get the ball.

Not hearing much in the recruiting.

Pitt has finally finished with hiring staff. Brian Regan will take over as Program Assistant/Video Coordinator as Brandin Knight moved up to Director of Basketball Operations.

Regan, a Pittsburgh native, had been a top assistant at Colgate for the past 5 years. (Geez, does anything point to the difference in programs and pay scale than going from a top assistant at a D-1 Patriot League team to lowest paid rung on a top Big East program?)

Regan actually began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Pitt under Paul Evans from 1988-1990.

Andy Katz at ESPN.com notes some of the non-com scheduling and notes Pitt playing Duke thanks to an assist from Dayton.

Pitt wanted to play Duke and got the Blue Devils in their second home court at Madison Square Garden. But for this to occur, Dayton had to agree to move a game at home against Pitt even though it wasn’t on the same date (two days later). So, the credit goes to Brian Gregory of Dayton for doing; he didn’t have to accommodate Pitt.

It’s appreciated. Though, I’m guessing Dayton wouldn’t mind another home-and-home at some point in the future as part of the consideration.

Coach Dixon was in California this past week. Presumably to see his family, but while he was there he joined a slew of top coaches in attending the Harold Pump Foundation Celebrity Dinner. The charity event which also included a golf outing and coaching clinic is sponsored by the Pump Brothers who are backed by Adidas in their summer basketball activities. Of course the Pumps are also (sometimes notoriously) involved in ticket brokering, coach searches, and coaching clinics.

“They’ve brought everything together under one roof like a good corporation would do,” said Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon. “What they’ve done is used their contacts in one area to help them in other areas.”

Consequently, the Pumps now run one of the premier summer teams (the Pump ‘n Run Elite), one of the best search firms (Champ Search), one of the largest gatherings for coaches and athletic directors (the Collegiate Business Conference) and a charity aiding cancer research that hosted a dinner last Thursday night in the same room where the Golden Globes are annually held.

(Harold Pump, Dana and David’s father, died of cancer in 2000.)

Among those attending the $400 per plate event emceed by Rich Eisen were college basketball figures like UCLA’s Ben Howland, Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt, Kentucky’s Billy Gillispie, Southern Illinois’ Chris Lowery and Nevada’s Mark Fox. That was to be expected.

But others floating around were Joe Montana, Mike Tyson, Penny Marshall, Tommy Hearns, Bill Russell, Bill Walton, Magic Johnson, Chris Mullin, Paul Pierce, Baron Davis and countless additional stars who, on the surface, benefited professionally in no obvious way with their presence.

During the events, Billy Gillispie was one of the clinic speakers. One of his issues of discussion was using more of your bench to keep all the players still involved and think a little like football coaches.

Toward the end of his session, Gillispie talked about how in his early years as a head coach at UTEP he really only played seven players because he believed he only had seven good players. But what he realized going forward was that regardless of how much the talent level increased on his roster — first at UTEP and then at Texas A&M — his instincts were still to play no more than seven or eight guys.

“So the problem wasn’t the players,” he said. “The problem was me.”

Gillispie noted that if you’re only playing seven guys, nearly half your roster isn’t playing. Over time that group becomes disenchanted and ceases to feel like a part of the team.

His solution: Create special teams for basketball, things like a team that specializes in blocking out during crucial free throw situations or a team that specializes in defending inbounds plays under its own goal with less than eight seconds on the shot clock — the idea being a group of players that might otherwise have no chance to get on the court will suddenly take pride in a particular aspect of the game the same way a fourth-string tailback takes pride in covering kickoffs or a third-string quarterback takes pride in holding for field goals.

“You just make up reasons for people to be a part of the team,” Gillispie said. “I think it helps team chemistry.”

Considering the number of player who will be vying for playing time on Pitt’s roster this year, this kind of  idea might be one Coach Dixon might feel like considering.

Chris Vangas gets a little coverage. The senior center is of course hoping to win the starting job.

After three seasons as the primary backup at the University of Pittsburgh, however, Chris Vangas is eyeing the starting center spot this fall. But before he even took a snap during training camp, the Panthers fans had Vangas as a bridesmaid once again with classmate Mike McGlynn or junior C.J. Davis moving to starting center.

“I’ve got all the confidence in the world in Chris,” offensive line coach Paul Dunn said. “He’s done everything that he can to prepare himself for this season. So, I feel very strong about the way he prepared in the summertime. Buddy Morris describes him as a warrior, and I would have to concur.

“He’s going to give you everything that he has, and that’s anything a coach could ever want. And Chris has played some football here. He just hasn’t been a starter, so that’s probably why he’s being overlooked. But that’s not by us. We think very highly of Chris, and his work ethic can’t be overlooked.”

Okay. Um, it wasn’t the fans moving him down the depth chart at Center. It was Coach Wannstedt saying that McGlynn might be moving to center to get the best  starting 5 O-linemen on the field. With McGlynn out of the practices still, it’s not like Vangas (or Bachman) have exactly done anything to seize the job according to what the beat writers are writing.

I think most fans would like to see Vangas step it up and win the job. That would mean the chance for some actual depth with the O-line rather than living in complete fear after every snap.

Not having McGlynn in practice means the O-Line looks as shaky as ever, and it seems the center position hasn’t exactly been looking good so far.

But center exchange problems have been frequent, which highlights the Panthers’ biggest need — finding a center. And, with fifth-year senior Mike McGlynn recovering from shoulder surgery, the coaches have not had a full group. That’s made it tough to shuffle players around and find the five best linemen.

Left tackle Jeff Otah, who did not have a good day but is expected to have a big year, is the one player who is set in his spot. Right guard Joe Thomas, who started most of last season, also is expected to step forward.

That leaves unsettled spots at left guard, center and right tackle until McGlynn, clearly one of the five best linemen, returns. C.J. Davis also seems to be one of the five best players, so he’ll either be the left guard or center and Jason Pinkston is likely going to be a starter. That all could change if senior Chris Vangas, penciled in as the starting center, proves he can handle the job.

Please do.

Just one of those days where there was little time to get to the computer. So, covering all that was quickly.

The starting safeties have want to prove they are healthy, an asset and won’t be a liability to the team. Between the safeties and the linebackers, no wonder everyone says the d-line looks good. At least the d-line seems like a known quantity at this point. Throw in replacing Revis at one of the corner spot, and I guess it’s a good thing the run defense was so bad last year. Statistically it will be hard to be worse so improvement can be claimed.

John Malecki is now playing with a healthy shoulder, and looks good too.

LaRod Stephens-Howling’s local paper notes he has competition as the starting tailback from LeSean McCoy, Shariff Harris and Kevin Collier.

Confirmed, the Pirates September 8 game against the Chicago Cubs will remain at 7:05 pm and not be moved to a 3:35 start. No conflict with the Grambling game.

While we keep hearing about the 3 tight ends for Pitt, there is a fourth who walked-on initially as a linebacker and has earned a scholarship. Dustin Walters gets some love from his local paper in Maryland. As does TE Coach Brian Angelichio — also a Maryland native.

Paul Zeise observes that the O-line looks bad.

It is only the first day in pads and, as most coaches say “the defense is always going to be ahead of the offense early” (a line used by Dave Wannstedt today, but the defensive line absolutely dominated the offensive line in this morning session. And it wasn’t even a close battle.) That’s not a good sign, but it is early. And as if watching the defensive line run past the offensive line and blow up just about every play the offense tried to run wasn’t bad enough, the offense’s problems were compounded by the fact they had far too many fumbled snaps.

…

There is far too much skill on this offense for it to be wasted because the Panthers can’t block anyone — which is an old story with this team. I think the pieces are in place for the offensive line to be fairly good, but that remains to be seen.

On the bright side, the D-line looks good. Of course if the O-line is doing nothing then it still remains a question about how good the D-line really is. It can be a vicious circle that will drive me crazy for the next several weeks until they actually play a meaningful game against a team with some legit talent. I’m thinking, maybe the September 15 game against Michigan State.

Plenty from Kevin Gorman’s blog. He agrees that the defense dominated the offense in the 1st team practices.

LeSean McCoy gave everyone a scare when he went down while making a move. Kevan Smith continues to struggle to get a handle on the ball on the snaps. Almost want to see him get some time with the 1st team just to determine how much is him and how much is the guys snapping it to him.

Aundre Wright has looked good, and might make a push to break into the deep and talented WR rotation.

Even with the loss of Steve Buches, our group of tight ends is possibly the deepest position on the team. Senior Darrell Strong and sophomores Nate Byham and John Pelusi are all going to see playing time — it just depends who will see the most.

Right now the depth chart looks like it is going to be Byham as the starter with Strong and Pelusi each seeing some time on the field.

“Nate came in as the No. 1 guy in the rotation, but we’re going to use all the tight ends,” tight ends coach Brian Angelichio said.

“They all do things a little bit differently. We’re going to use all of their strengths wherever they can help us win football games.”

Pelusi is generally considered the best blocker of the bunch, and Strong, who led Pitt’s TE’s with 15 receptions, 171 yards and three touchdowns in 2006, is thought of as the best pass catcher and route runner. So what is Byham? Darrell Strong has that answer:

Nate is a mixture of me and Pelusi, just a little lighter.

It looks like most of the times that Pelusi and Strong see action will be in two tight end sets.

“I don’t see Nate coming off the field very often,” Wannstedt said. “I don’t see any scenario, unless we go no tight-end, where Nate will be standing next to me [on the sidelines].”

We rarely hear such a straightforward sentence from Wannstedt, but it’s a welcome change. Byham is their man right now, and he says he is feeling some pressure. As long as he can contain it and turn it into productivity then the pressure isn’t all bad. He says even if he were to be dropped to the 2 spot on the depth chart, he’ll still “feel comfortable in [his] role.”

Strong, who the article is mainly focused on, is trying to move forward and forget past actions. You might recall him throwing up his middle finger after a TD at South Florida.

“I’m past [those incidents] right now,” Strong said. “I’m trying to go out this season and surprise myself and everybody that’s around me. I’m definitely looking forward to this season, especially since it’s my senior season.”

He missed two games because of the incident. Meanwhile, sophomore John Pelusi was redshirted last year because of a knee injury, which he says feels fine now. In 2005 as a true freshman he played in 11 games.

Overall, the TE corps looks like it’ll be a solid group — not only this year but with two sophomores, the future looks good too.

“You can put any three of us out there, and we’ll get the job done,” Strong said.

“Having all three of us is not only good for the team, but it gives the coaching staff a lot of options,” Pelusi said.

Awesome.

Kevin Gorman at his Trib. Blog has the latest on Pat Bostick, and it’s good news.

“There’s probably a high likelihood he’ll be there as early as this weekend or early next week at the latest,” Pat Bostick Sr. said when reached at his Lancaster home by telephone this afternoon.

Bostick Sr. declined to elaborate on his son’s unexpected departure, other than to call it a “non-football-related issue” and ask that the family’s privacy be respected.

“It has nothing to do with homesickness or missing his girlfriend,” Bostick Sr. said, rebuffing rumors that circulated on the Internet Tuesday. “He wouldn’t have elected to leave, I can guarantee you that. He was very excited for camp for many reasons. Physically and mentally, he was ready for football.”

That jibes to some degree with the earlier news from Lancaster — at least as far as not being a deeply serious issue.

Deep breath. And relax.

It’s been way too serious here, the last couple of days. That has to stop.

If you aren’t reading Every Day Should Be Saturday, at this point, I don’t know what to tell you. This, though, is the must read as the ladies from Ladies Dot Dot Dot help choose appropriate drinks before watching your favorite team. Orson offered up the Morellitini for Penn State, but here’s the Pitt entry.

Clare – Imp ‘n’ Arn (Pitt)
No Pitt Panther tailgate is complete without three things: 1) Portable beer pong table, 2) ‘DVE blasting from your car speakers, and 3) Imp ‘n’ Arn. The Imp ‘n’ Arn, in its classical form, is a shot of Imperial whiskey chased with a pint of Iron City, but the gameday Imp ‘n’ Arn doesn’t stand on ceremony. It’s a slug of warm rotgut whiskey from the plastic 750 ml bottle your buddy’s been carrying around for three hours in his pants pocket and a red Solo cup of whatever macrobrew you’ve got in the keg. It doesn’t taste good, but it gets you riled up for THE WANNSTACHE.

Friendly: 2
Fiesty: 7
Compliant: 5

Here’s the lead-in for the Hoopies:

OK, Mountaineers fans, let’s clear the carburetor off the kitchen table and start making drinks. We’ll limit the ingredients to things you probably have around the house: grain alcohol, buckshot, a handful of Sudafed, and a block of Velveeta.

Today’s must read.

Someone has definitely been coaching-up LeSean McCoy on his cliches to the media.

“Coach Wannstedt, he wants a lot of things from me, as far as catching the ball and running between the tackles. I’m just going to do everything I can. Hopefully, I’ll do it the best I can,” McCoy said.

…

“It’s different. It’s special,” McCoy said. “We’ve got a lot of great guys on the team. Guys are bigger and faster, and everything is so much quicker. You’ve got to make that right decision at the right time. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck.”

…

“They’re some great guys, talented,” McCoy said. “To say I can compete with them is too far ahead of me. I’m just a freshman trying to do my job and help my team out.”

That’s just plain impressive from one interview. I’m (sniff) so proud.

For every McKenzie Matthews who leaves the team early in camp and it served as bad foreshadowing, there is a T.J. Porter who seemed ready to run but returned and will be looking to be trying to climb the depth chart this season.

To extrapolate whether Pat Bostick is one or the other right now isn’t going to work. Right now, there’s nothing clear. You have a 50-50 chance I suppose. This, though, from Lancaster is encouraging.

Bostick could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but a source close to the quarterback said that Bostick’s decision to leave Pitt and return to Lancaster was for purely personal reasons, and not due to any particular problem.

“He’s going through some of the things we all went through as college freshmen,” the source said.

If that’s all, it’s going to make the angst and columns bemoaning Joe Flacco transferring a couple years ago look silly.

Given the likelihood that Bostick will be away from the team for at least a week, he has little chance of being the starter. That, of course, might make it easier for him to return with at least some pressure off of him as he adjusts.

At this point, it’s Bill Stull #1 and Kevan Smith #2.

Stull worked with the first group in the morning; Smith worked with the second group in the afternoon, and Wannstedt said this is not likely to change.

“We are going to keep Kevan with the second group,” Wannstedt said. “It is not a big thing because both groups are running the same plays, but Billy at this point deserves the opportunity [to play with the first group]. He is a little further ahead, and we want to make sure [the veterans] are working with the more experienced quarterback. It is not just best for Billy Stull, it is the best thing for our football team right now.

“I’m not concerned [about the quarterback position] because we just have to coach Billy up, and he has the ability to play and be an excellent player. And Billy came out of the spring as our starter, so let’s not lose sight of that, either.”

I think Stull will be fine as the starter. He’s got the mentality and kind of approach that OC Matt Cavanaugh and Coach Wannstedt want from the QB. He’s not a risk-taker, he plays within the system and has had two years to learn the system.