The Dave Wannstedt Press Conference today, in anticipation of the Virginia game should be an interesting affair. Today’s media discussion seems to be centered on the multitude of problems for Pitt. Not to mention waning media backing of Wannstedt. If you lived in Miami or Chicago, you will recognize this as the second sign of trouble for Wannstedt.
The first line of this article, however, gets to the bottom line.
The list of embarrassing losses continues to grow, while the number of wins over quality teams remains at zero.
Good god, who would have believed Syracuse and Greg Robinson would do it first?
Joe Starkey lists some of the good and much of the bad from what he saw of the game on Saturday.
But if you hold Long even partially accountable for Pitt’s precipitous drop in football, remember that chancellor Mark Nordenberg and executive vice chancellor Jerry Cochran pull the athletic department strings and had a heavy hand in hiring Wannstedt.
I still say Wannstedt deserves 2008 to prove himself — and I saw some positive signs from Bostick — but Nordenberg and Cochran might want to compile a list of coaching candidates not named Charlie Weis, just in case.
And the current coaches might want to keep their best player on the field.
Zeise focuses on the problems on offense.
- The offensive line.
- The wide receivers.
- Eliminating mistakes.
- Establishing an identity.
Through four games, the offensive line has yet to play well. It has been consistent at three things — missed blocking assignments, untimely penalties and failure to create openings for the Panthers’ running game.
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The wide receiver corps has underachieved badly. The unit was supposed to be a strength and was supposed to help carry the young quarterbacks through the early part of the season. Sophomore Oderick Turner was being counted on as the group’s leader, but he has dropped a number of key passes and against Connecticut had several ill-timed, pre-snap penalties that killed what seemed to be a promising drive.
Pitt is also mistake-prone. It had six turnovers and eight penalties against Connecticut. The week before, in a 17-13 loss to Michigan State, it had 10 penalties and turned the ball over three times. Overall, the Panthers are a minus-9 in the turnover margin and 34 of the 51 points they have allowed are a direct result of turnovers, including 14 points on two interceptions that have been returned for touchdowns.
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As for the identity problem, Pitt coaches have talked about playing conservative because of the quarterback situation and have wanted to build around a solid ground game. The Panthers have a talented back in freshman LeSean McCoy, but he did not start the Connecticut game and carried only 11 times. Still, he was productive, rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown.
So far, McCoy has 65 carries for 417 yards (6.4 yards per carry) and five touchdowns.
He split time with LaRod Stephens-Howling against Connecticut and Wannstedt said the reason was because both players are productive and deserve to play. However, Stephens-Howling has 99 yards on 25 carries, an average of 2.5 yards per carry less than McCoy.
Working backwards. LaRod Stephens-Howling is a good back, but he needs an opening. A hole. Something from the O-line to get yardage. McCoy is special. He can and has been doing it with minimal help from the O-line. I don’t think that Stephens-Howling can get much playing time while the O-line continues to be no better than cardboard cutouts.
Mistakes and turnovers. The former is on the coaching. Steadily increasing it seems, suggesting it can’t just be on “youth.” Especially considering who the players are that are making the mistakes and penalties.
Wide receivers is showing that while the talent is there, the loss of Kinder is hitting harder than believed. The lack of maturity and discipline at the spot is glaring. Kinder was a team leader and one of the hardest working players. The guys there right now are relying on their talent and not much else.
The O-line deserves its own post and they have been discussed many, many times.
A bit of an interesting split from Kevin Gorman. His standard news piece focuses on Bostick being the starting QB — and off-limits for interviews — overall a rather soft piece. His blog post, was a long and far more critical of what is happening with Pitt.
In his third season, Wannstedt is still looking for his first signature victory. Pitt players bit their lips Saturday night when asked if they were getting frustrated.
“It’s not really getting frustrating,†middle linebacker Scott McKillop said. “That’s one of the three key words Coach Wannstedt is stressing: Trust. We’ve got to trust that our offense is going to go out there and play well and do their job. They’re not performing as well as they should, but we have faith in them that they’re going to turn around. We’ve got to keep having faith and trust them.â€
Sophomore tight end Nate Byham went so far as to defend the coaching staff without anyone asking him about Wannstedt or offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh.
“I think we’re pretty productive when we get the ball in our hands, but I also believe coach Cav calls the plays and he knows what he’s doing. He’s not the coach for no reason. He knows what he’s calling,†Byham said. “Coach Wannstedt knows what he’s doing, for all the people who are doubting my coaches, I don’t know what to say to you guys. I have a lot of faith in my coaches. My coaches are great guys. The game is over. We’re going to start game-planning for Virginia, start practicing for Virginia.â€
Byham did admit to being frustrated, though, that Pitt can’t seem to get its offense, defense and special teams to perform on the same page – which is a direct reflection on the coaching staff.
“It’s very frustrating, actually,†Byham said. “It’s frustrating for all three phases. Last week, our defense played great. This week, there were plays where we were driving and our defense was stopping them. In the second half, they were stopping them and we couldn’t do anything.â€
Byham is one of the guys Wannstedt recruited. This isn’t about whatever remaining holdovers from Walt Harris’ time getting disgruntled. It’s becoming a teamwide issue.
It’s hard not to write this season off on so many levels.
Fields hearing postponed until 10/2/07.
What happened to everyone realizing that at best we’d get into a bowl game this year?
What happened to all that talk about about Schiano’s terrible records when he was turning it around? What about PSU’s 4-7 season before 11-1? All talk?
You people pay lip service to all that is obvious, and then ignore the reality of the situation, and instead expect miracles.
Specifically on this game: I’m tired of hearing all this bullshit about turnovers. We had 2 that weren’t due to the terrible QB play. We have a QB this game is at worst 17-17. Michigan State is a win. You people expect miracles from a team that is in the process of rebuilding and suddenly, due to injuries, has to find a new QB. Maybe a freshman QB can step into a team that is established at all other positions, but its not going to happen on a team that is still fully rebuilding. You people have no sense at all if you expect more.
You people think running Shady every single down is going to get us anywhere? There is only so much trickeration we can do with him. Everyone already knows he’s getting the ball on every down – the only reason that worked was because of the pass. You think that would’ve worked later in the game? Think it’ll work next week? And i’m sure these are the same people that damn Wannstedt to hell for wearing out his top players at Miami and Chicago. Hypocrits.
You people turn on the team and coaches as fast as you can. I don’t know who you expect to come in here and save Pitt football. You think we’re going to get someone better? He has some of the best recruiting classes and best young players we’ve had as far back as we can remember. You think in 2 years you should be dominating teams? You people would rather scrape 1 or 2 “suprise” wins out every year and wallow in mediocrity than go through the pain it’s going to take to actually build a solid team for the future. Go root for Syracuse or UConn.
I would like to remain optimistic, but it is getting harder and harder with each unexpected loss. The fact that people could even begin to make the arguement that Pitt is the worst team in the BE is damning enough.
MSU wasnt horrible… But we had a chance to win and any person that watched that game had to wonder what wanny was doing not putting someone else in at qb. The Smith/Wanny tandem lost the game.
Uconn. UCONN??? are you freaking serious??? we got tooled on. Mccoy establishes himself against MSU, and we rush him 11 times? What pieces of **** are running this team? I have no problem with using LSH, but he doesnt deserve to start. Playcalling was an absolute joke.. when you are down by 17 and run a draw on 3rd and 13 you deserve to be fired. There was no flow to the game.
Yeah, Wanny gets another year, but you are ridiculous if you are feeling positive about wanny. At this point there is no positive reason to keep him around. He has one more season after this year to prove himself. Then fire dave wannstadt.
Can we get a possible coaches list, so i have something to look forward to?
I have been at every home game for the last 7 years. I drive in from Harrisburg (3 hours)& I cheer on this team.
I have lost all hope at this point for this team this year. We are not making a bowl game (again) and we will be lucky to beat any of the top 5 teams in the big east.
I think Wanny has lost the team. They gave up on Saturday after the second U Conn touchdown. I wish you were there to look at the sidelines. They were all dejected and looked beaten. Wanny needs to turn it around and quickly before they bottom out.
I know that everyone is frustrated…but I’m looking at this from a different angle. This Saturday, against Virginia, Pitt under Wannstedt has a chance to do something it has never done, that is, win a game they are not supposed to win.
I see that the early spread is Virginia by 7. I think that this Saturday is a very winnable game for Pitt! We are starting Bostick (so at least we have someone who can throw the ball 5 yards downfield), if they make some improvements on offense and defense, and play somewhere close to what they did last year against UVA, Pitt CAN pull it out. I know it doesn’t look good, but it can be done. I agree, this past Saturday was totally pathetic all around, but it has created what can be a good opportunity.
one thing is for sure: if they play poorly this weekend, this site is going to ERUPT.
Stuart: I too appreciate your loyalty and passion, but this truly represents a low point under Wanny’s tuteledge. His services, and those of his staff, have not come cheap to the Univeristy, and we all have the right to expect more from a guy that keeps putting together “great recruiting classes” only to follow up with failure on the field. At this point, I’m less concerned with “who could we get that was better?” and seriosuly wondering “who could we get who would do WORSE?”. IMO you can get blown out at home by UConn for a lot less money and hype. We’re not even seeing incremental improvement at this point, and thats unaccpetable.
It’s another rare occasion that I actually agree with Starkey, but also conceed that its probably best to keep Wanny around for another year, not because I think that there’s going to be some kind of dramatic improvement, but because at that point there are no more excuses. I’m not a big fan of flushing coaches down the toilet too early, only to have “firing remorse”. It also sends the wrong message to anyone who might be willing (insane enough?) to consider the job in the future. Whoever inherits this mess will probably have another few years of work ahead of them, and if they have talent, I’d like to see somebody… ANYBODY… succeed around here. This isn’t the NFL – there isn’t just a small handful of proven coaches that can get it done. Every year, some previsouly unknown punk coach from some small, unsung school rises from obscurity into the spotlight by turning a low-mid level program around. Louisville? Rutgers? Utah? I’m not looking for a National Championship – thats unrealistic – but for the love of God, I’d like to at least be competitive in a relatively weak BE conferrence and go to the Tire Bowl every now and then!
I would like to see some staff changes ASAP. Rhodes needs to go, and I’d seriously think about sending “coach Cav” packing as well. We have no O-line – I get that – but you have to find a way to be productive with what you have. Even Walt managed to accomplish that with some degree of success. I don’t miss Harris, or the fact that he was mired in mediocrity, but shouldn’t we hold Wanny and his crew to the same standard? In truth, I’m not sure that even with staff changes the team would get much better, but its hard to imagine them being worse, and it sends the message that this type of performance will not be tolerated.
At the end of the day, we’re 2-2 with a lot of football left to play. Unfortunately, the expecations are clear at this point, and I only hope that this season can at least serve an educational purpose if not as a springboard for next year.
All I look for is an honest effort–play hard for 4 quarters, play smart, fundamental football, be competitive. I just wanted to see some signs of improvement from last year–everyone has been talkig about 2008 as being the “real test” for Wannstedt. But in one week, this went from a “gritty, improving team” to arguably the worst team in the BE. TEMPLE gave UCONN a much tougher game–how much more needs to be said than that.
That is why I enjoy our basketball team so much–we never have the most talent, but we rarely get outworked, and play hard the whole year.
We have to take a good hard look at the OL and DL–it all starts there. Are we looking for the right players–are we playing the right schemes?
Someone needs to be accountable for this yearly ineptitude!!!
I don’t care how far any of you drive or how much you love or whatever: be realistic. No QB while trying to rebuild everything else at the same time, means you’re going to lose. Wait until we get a decent QB that has seen the playbook back, and the younger players with talent grow up. I don’t understand how we’re expecting everyone to be amazing when we all agreed that A) walts players on the line were not good recruits and B) the young lineman with talent are still young. After 3 games we expect sophomores to be 5th year seniors? 2 and 3 star seniors to be NFL prospects?
I too want us to win, but was realistic coming into the season. And when i saw the QB go down, I knew it was time to realize what was really going on.
Instead all of you were telling me I was an idiot for not knowing that we’d destroy UConn. How’d that work out for you? Now the flavor of the week is Wanny sucks, its all over, armageddon. I’m sorry if i’m not buying what you are all selling. I’ll stick with reality and reason instead of flip-flopping and whining.
And it doesn’t matter what plays they called – this was a loss. We could trick them 1 series. You must be slow if you think we could do it over and over and over again. Never going to happen. You run a draw on 3rd and 13 when you think it would be worse to throw the other team the ball. Its not Marino back there people.
Anyone on that sideline would be dejected and quit – you have a moron throwing the other team the ball on every down, why the hell are you busting your balls on every play? When the offense picks back up when Stull gets back, the defense will improve its morale too. Just don’t expect it to be the steel curtain. Remember, the keyword here is reality. Stop with ridiculous expectations and then all the belly-aching when they’re not met.
Who else is playing their backup QB right now in the big east? Yes, yesterday, we were the worst team in the Beast. Next week we will be too.
Adam, I’m an idiot? I’m right more often than not. Let’s all hear when you’ve been right. And wake the fuck up, Bostick came in and threw 3 picks – if we put him in earlier we’d win, not throw 6 picks? And now you want to get the RB killed and a crappy QB to throw another INT on third and long? Maybe we should have you coach. One of us defitely is a fucking idiot…
Even rutgers had setbacks….1-11, 5-7, 4-7…we’re starting from scratch here people. PSU had shittier records than us recently, and turned it around. You are all acting like a bunch of pounting little girls – demanding ponies and then crying when you don’t get them. Start being realistic about this.
FOR FUCKS SAKE HAVE YOU PEOPLE PAYED ATTENTION TO ANY OTHER TEAM? ND CAN’T FUCKING WIN WITH THE BEST QB EVAR AND BETTER OLINE RECRUITS THAN US. What would give anyone the idea we’d win against UConn? Or against Virginia?
DW did and does not like Bosticks throwing motion which is why Smith started and continues to be favored.
No more bashing of DW here, but it is truely amazing how many key injuries follow him from Chicago to Miami and now Pitt.
I’m done being “realistic.” You want to be realistic? Then let’s face the fact that Pitt is a program that is 1-4 versus UConn. We consistently find ways to lose despite landing recruting classes ranked much higher than Schiano ever had at Rutgers. We have developed a tradition of losing. I lived and cheared through the 70’s and 80’s and attended Pitt during the early 90’s (thank you, Paul Hackett for staring this mess.) I also drive 3-4 hours to games and brainwash my children to be Pitt fans (God knows they wouldn’t be if left to view this team without guidance.) As a season ticket holder who spends hundreds of dollars several times a year to see the games, I have EVERY right to demand some semblance of respectability. Either that or get rid of the program. There is no honor in representing such a tremendous University with such a horrendous team. I have been a Pitt Fan for more than thirty years. When you can make that claim, you can begin to question my loyalty. I have no desire to root for or spend my money on such a poor product. I wish for two things: Somebody build me a stadium on campus and bring me a team I can be proud to cheer for!
3-9 here we come. I’m hoping for a win at VA or Navy. S.O.P
Teams full of freshman and sophomores, and mediocre upperclassmen don’t win games with a retard or freshman QB. This is like ND fans assuming they’d go 11-1.
I don’t know what crappy records with crappy teams has anything do with next year. Rutgers was 10-25 before going 11-2, with many embarassing losses. We still have no talented upperclassmen, and nothing that resembles an experienced QB.
It would be very bad for next year if Bostick played all this year and Stull did not. Who knows what would happen with the QB situation. I’m praying thats not true.
Realistic is not expecting much from 2 good recruiting classes and no QB. 2 years and we should be good? You people want to run off a coach before he even has a single decent upperclassmen. You think Meyer or Carroll are going to abandon their jobs for this mess and these retarded fans that expect you to win in 2 years starting from scratch? Good luck with that. Rutgers, USF, UConn, and Syracuse should be laughing at us for having fans like this.
This UCONN loss doesn’t even crack the top 10, so keep this in perspective as we watch the next 2 months or so of football unfold. These games still have to be played for a reason.
Those of you that may have played on a bad football team at some point in your life know that you have to get your ass kicked before you learn to get better. It’s a natural progression, and for that reason, Stuart is right to emplore us to focus on the recent plight (and flourishing) of Rutgers, etc al.
Palko, Blades, Revis…that’s 3 more than ‘decent’ upperclassmen. and wanny can’t squeeze 7 wins out of them and go to even a mediocre bowl?? you think you’re realistic…i think you’re a wanny sycophant and apologist.
Remember Stuart. We are talking about UCONN.. And Im not even saying we have to beat UCONN.. but the playcalls and decision making show wanny is just plain struggling.
Dude. You are the only person i know who thinks Wanny is doing a good job… Playcalling and our different packages are a complete joke.
Running a draw on 3rd and 13 so your QB doesn’t stand back there and get his shit beat in or toss another INT in a game you have no chance of winning means nothing. DO YOU THINK WE HAD A FUCKING CHANCE? YOU THINK A PASS PLAY ON THAT DOWN IS WORTH 21 POINTS?
Yes, UConn. A team with a QB that has played more than 1 game. You people act like this is the worst loss in football history. Let me fucking help you. It wasn’t the worst loss this year – that would have been App State over Michigan. IT WASN’T EVEN THE WORST LOSS OF THE WEEKEND – that was SU over LU. A shithole team, worse than UConn, beats a one loss team last year with THE BEST QB IN THE NCAA. We didn’t even have a capable fuckign QB. Are you people all seriously retarded? Fucking ND with real Oline recruits (look at their ratings from HS – go back and do it – do some research before i hear anymore garbage) and a better QB that us is 0-4 and got beat worse than we did against the same team.
There were no plays, packages, or magic fucking beans that were going to deliver a win last week against UConn. Get over it.
I watched the Grambling game and wrote ‘gee, that QB doesn’t look to good at all, even though we win. we’re in trouble…’
Then comes the MSU game and i write ‘gee, see, i told you so, pretty bad…that other kid is terrible too though, we’re screwed and will lose next week…’ Yet people still predicted a cake-walk for us….
Then we lose as i predict…and STILL some people are talking about winning next week. The other half are pissed at the coach instead of being pissed at themselves for being so dumb as to not realize what they saw with their own eyes. OUR FUCKIGN BACKUP QBS HAVE NO EXPERIENCE AND HAVE SCORED MORE POINTS FOR THE OTHER TEAM THEN A) THE OTHER TEAM HAS SCORED FOR THEMSELVES, OR B) WE HAVE SCORED FOR OURSELVES.
We have no capable QB right now. That is it. Its not coaches, playcalling, the weather, anything. Our crappy teams lost in the past because they were crappy. You people refuse to understand we’re losing now for different reasons than the last few years. You all just look at the scoreboard and see an “L” and whine about anything someone else tells you to. Its a joke and does nothing to help this program. You think running off a coach because of an injury is a good way to improve your program? Go root for some other fuckign team. Don’t try to ensure Pitt sucks forever.
I’m not a Wanny lover or apologist or any of that bullshit. I watch the team, see whats going on, and think for myself. I see thats not an accepted thing here.
And as far as Wanny goes, I’m with Stuart. How can anyone be calling for his scalp after 27 games? He is going about rebuilding this program in the proper way, and we all hope that he gets through these growing pains. Wanny has to deal with circumstances he did not create. Maybe he should have had better contingency plans. But Bostick had his anxiety attacks, Stull got hurt and Smith played terribly. Pitt’s coaching staff did not create any of that, they are just trying to deal with it. We still have no idea of how good or bad Pitt is in ’07. I do not think the season is lost just yet, but there are good reasons to be concerned. The players on the o-line, the receivers and the entire defense needs to pick up their effort. Why can’t Rhoads & Cavanaugh win third downs? It is beginning to mystify me. Is that just coaching?
Bostick made two nice throws that impressed me. One was the TD when he rolled and bought time and made a quick release and a perfect pass to Turner. The other was when he gently lofted a ball over a defender and over the head of Darrell Strong right in to his hands. Nice touch!!!
I stayed to the end. There were only a few thousand people still there and it looked so incredibly empty. It reminded me of the crowd at the Pitt-Temple game I attended at the Linc (Eagles home field) in 2004.
We are all disapointed by Pitt’s record and we fear the worst. But support the program. Show up and boo if you like. Despite what we’ve seen, the program is going in the right direction. In the end, the most talent usually wins out. Here’s hoping this coaching staff figures out how to best utilize that talent.
And to the poster who said Pitt should give up football. That’s a terrible suggestion. As a student, even the 1-10 team of my freshman year produced many good times and memories. There are many benfits to a university of fielding a football team, even one that is not successful in terms of wins and losses.
Let’s go Pitt!!!
Hail to Pitt!!!
In the MSU game, at half time, he knows Smith sucks. He has two choices: throw in the towel and put in Bostick who obviously needs several series to get ready for college football (as was proven) or run the Wildcat shit and try to scrape out a win, and keep Smith in there for passing, which you need to do. Smith was the only option. Bostick was folding.
In the UConn game, you start Bostick and give up to begin with because he’s not ready for it (as was proven), or play Smith and hope he doesn’t kill you so bad and/or hope he plays more like Grambling. At least you’re not quitting on the first play. Hope he keeps it close and you can pull something out at the end. Didn’t work, we got our ass handed to us, put in Bostick so he gets his experience he needs to play in college games. Now he’s the man.
We’re not winning a single game running shady every down. Other teams can run their back every down because they have a line that can open holes for him. Our back would have to open holes for himself every down, and they’d know he was coming and pound the shit out of him every down. We’d get him killed. You have to have a running and passing game. What is still hiarious is that half these people that are calling for him on every down are the same ones who damn Wannstedt to hell for wearing out his players in the pros. I’m sure when Shady gets hurt these will be the same people that blame him for that too. Hypocrits, the whole lot of em.
There is nothing else to say here, i’m talking to a wall. It seems most of you deserve to suffer through losing seasons forever.
“Pat Bostick will start at quarterback this week. He had a good day at practice yesterday, so he’ll start it off. I think it’s best to let him know up front that he will be the starter. He’ll take all of the reps with first group and we will try to prepare a gameplan that enables him to have success, while also enabling us to score enough points to win the game. The most important thing at this point is protecting the football. We’ve given up 44 points in the last two games and 34 of those 44 points came off of turnovers. We’re going to continue to run the football. LeSean McCoy will start at tailback this week, but LaRod Stephens-Howling will be a major part of our gameplan and what we’re doing on offense. ”
Bostick and Shady start. The coaches aren’t inflexible. Is everyone going to expect a win or resignation still?
Wanny has never won as a head coach and there is a reason, face it, he can’t coach, and he did not walk into a dire situation, face it Pitt has talent.
Does anyone remember Foge? He had a few top ten recruiting classes.
Hell, you can give dw 3 more years, we will never go to a bowl game, as a bit of info, Pitt lost a recruit to WVU Eric Rodemeyer ( not sure on the spelling of his name), he was a two star oline recruit, he is starting on their oline and knocking people on their asses.
When Paul Dunn left Kentucky, Kentucky’s O-line really developed.
Face it, after the Ohio U game in 05 Chas called it, we are stuck with this clown at least until 08, the talent excuse just doesn’t work anymore, it’s the coaching.
This team has slid in the last 3 years and it will slide further, we are going to be lucky to beat Navy or win another game.
The UCONN game was a dismal performance by an ill prepared team.
UVA is going to kick our ass and sadly I am going to be there to witness this.
I’m sure everyone is going to unload on me, but dw has no clue, he is lost and so are we, the frustration continues for us all.
I’m sure the standard response will be wait till next year or the year after that.
-Keeping the best player on either team on the sidelines.
-Throwing on first down….a lot.
-Jumping off sides on 4th and short, when the whole stadium (except that guy apparently) knew they weren’t going to hike the ball.
-False Starts by receivers. That is a new one for me.
-What the hell was with that squib kick or whatever it was? Or did the kicker just slip?
-Having Smith attempt a pass in Pitt territory with 30s left in the half.
-Having Smith attempt a pass.
Watch the game again because there were so many hidden jokes you probably missed the first time around.
The metric I use to rate Pitt is how long it takes the fans to boo. It was 3 plays. Getting a personal foul after that INT was pure perfection.
As bad as things are, firing Wanny would be devastating to the program. I know, it’s depressing. We couldn’t anyway. We don’t have that kind of money. We aren’t Alabama. Rhodes on the other hand…….
No, what needs to happen is for Paul Rhoads to be fired the microsecond after the final game … unless it’s a bowl game (don’t laugh). Because if we were to somehow make a bowl, it will be because the D of the MSU game is really our D, not the D I saw on Saturday night (aka, the D of 2004-2006).
After some sober reality, I think (hope…pray) that the D simply was full of itself after the MSU game and did not come to play. They stood on their heels and were not aggressive. I happen to hate Rhoads and think that is his fault, because that’s his coaching style. But maybe it’s just young, immature players. We have to hope so.
If so, and the D improves, I saw enough of Bostick to hope the O will become proficient and let us steal some games. Do I think we should beat UVA? No, not normally. But UVA finally had a good game, and is apt to be looking at us next week just like we looked at UConn. Now it’s up to the coaches to take advantage of that.
If they can’t, if they allow the team to fall apart again, then all the assistants have to go, starting with Rhoads, next with Dunn. That’s my final point … the biggest disappointment with the team is the OL. Because it is NOT a young, inexperienced group. They are all fairly well rated recruits (except maybe Vangas) so they have pedigrees, and they’ve all had some PT. So what the f**k is the problem? I gotta conclude it’s Paul Dunn.
1. If a coaching change is made at the top, who takes over? I’m not sure this is exactly a marquee job, what with the apathetic fan base and a market dominated by the local pro team, not to mention the University that hasn’t exactly been known to throw bags of money at its coaches. I’m just not sure we’re getting a high-profile candidate if one’s out there.
2. I think the team we see from here on out will be markedly different than the one we watched against MSU and UConn. The absolutely abysmal QB play cannot be underscored. When it gets to the point that snapping the ball to your tailback on each play despite your weak o-line is still a better option than letting the QB handle the ball, that speaks volumes.
All Bostick needs to do is manage the game and the improvement should be noticed immediately. There has to be at least the threat of some sort of balance via a passing attack. McCoy is incredibly talented, but he can’t do it all himself and he needs some sort of help from the passing game or else the kid is going to be dead come the end of October. If Bostick can be just as effective as Stull was in the limited time we saw him, it’ll improve the situation substantially.
3. It’s easy to say Wannstedt should’ve played Bostick against MSU but we will never know how that would’ve panned out, so I’m not going to speculate on it.
4. Scott mentioned this above. “Palko, Blades, Revis…that’s 3 more than ‘decent’ upperclassmen. and wanny can’t squeeze 7 wins out of them and go to even a mediocre bowl??” You have to be careful with that. For all of Revis’s talent, he did not make Kennard Cox a more reliable corner last year, nor did he make Sam Bryant a competent safety in Eric Thatcher’s absence. Blades could not compensate for the regression of Clint Session, the limitations of Brian Bennett and some defensive linemen who couldn’t penetrate into the backfield and clog up the middle to stop the run. And Palko’s talents could not overcome the problems created by an offensive line that got pushed backwards and failed to offer any real resistance to a pass rush, even against average opponents. Those guys did the best they could, but they can only do so much on their own. Wannstedt has had talent in certain positions, but it takes talent across many to build a solid program.
5. A Pitt team with an effective Pat Bostick will definitely have a chance against Virginia, because I think (or at least I want to think) that Saturday’s performance was an aberration.
… stop crying all over this blog. Be a ghost for a while. You’re comments aren’t remotely on subject and you sound like some b*tch hung-up on a guy you can’t win over; your tantrums invite (not quell) meaningless insult-comment at whatever your site you covet… So you might as well get over “stuart†already. I don’t think there’s a beef with you here (not from what I can see in the above). But ‘wakeup’, you’re mutually antagonistic and so forth, part of the problem you wish to resolve, or seemingly not at times. Backwards, ass backwards…
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…. nevertheless concur with pitt fan 4 life, though:
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“Stuart, we all appreciate your loyality to the team but its getting old already… i look at this blog everyday and you are constantly bitching and are posative that what you say is correct. This blog is about opinions so you really do not need to commment on everyone elses constantly and Im sure im not the only one that thinks you need to jump off of DW’s gun…” Comment by pitt fan 4 life 09.24.07 @ 10:22 pm
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DW aside, I second the motion.
Stuart, you really should consider what you decide to comment on. You are damned entertaining and I’ve grown to enjoy your perspectives. In addition, you do your homework and to your credit, supply legit information. But FCS man, it’s not your GD blog. And it does grow rather tiresome when your comments are so constant that half the posts (sometimes more than half) are yours. It’d be a courtesy (to me, and without doubt, those who’ve thrown you criticism above) if you’d cut down a bit.
I’m not exactly trying to deter you, either, — not anyone for that matter — from sharing your point of view. This site, though (Chas’ site, for the record) never appealed to, nor invited, nor broadcast interest in an audience inclined/ predisposed to real-time Instant Messenger conversation/ services.
I said it above: you’re good; a welcome addition to those leaving comment in the past year. So don’t stop, of course, but attempt some restraint no matter how adamant you feel. Really, its become redundant to the point where it’s hard not to jump your comments and ignore whatever your standpoint (valid, or not) regardless of the topic(s) at hand.
Just my point of view here, take it, leave it.
Joshua,
Yes, I think Pitt has a chance.
First of all, who isn’t a contender in the ACC right now? Georgia Tech has beaten Notre Dame and Samford. They’ve lost to BC and now Virginia. With the exception of maybe Duke, UNC and NC State, there’s no conference more wide open right now than the ACC.
As far as Pitt goes, don’t put too much stock in one loss to UConn. The offense completely bottomed out that game thanks largely to Smith, and he’s no longer a factor. Bostick showed in the second half that he can make some good throws, so I’m going to assume that he’s going to provide more to balance things out than Smith ever was able to over the past three games. He can’t possibly be any worse. This was an offense that was so bad at QB they decided a better option was to limit themselves by snapping the ball to the running back, despite the lack of a solid o-line and the fact that everyone knew McCoy was getting the ball.
We’ve only seen what this team can do with a competent QB for two full quarters, and that was in the first half of the EMU game. Stull was efficient when he was in there and the offense was moving the ball well. He was clicking at a 67% completion rate (14-for-21) and he was averaging 12.5 yards per completion in that game. He distributed the ball well.
Pitt has not seen that kind of balance through the air since Stull got hurt. So if Bostick can at least give them what they expected Stull to give them, they will have a chance to beat Virginia. Bostick showed enough the other night to convince me that they should be able to put more on his shoulders than they ever did with Smith. He doesn’t need to perform miracles. He just needs to make some good, smart throws and force UVA off the line of scrimmage a bit. If the defense plays the way it did in the three games prior to UConn, it’ll help keep UVA off the scoreboard.
Yes, because I’m 100% positive we’ll get absolutely objective analysis from the guy who writes for http://www.firedavewannstedt.com.
If Pitt fans don’t know about Wannstedt’s somewhat sketchy history and coaching tactics, they’ve been living under one of Pittsburgh’s many bridges for the last three years. We know all about it and unfortunately, we’ve seen some of those patterns here as well. The hope is that they don’t continue.
Pete Carroll was laughed out of the NFL because he was such a poor head coach, yet no one says that about him now. He took over a USC program that had stagnated through most of the 1990s and elevated them into the defining program of this era of college football.
Conversely, Charlie Weis was the alleged NFL mastermind who even insinuated early on that he could outcoach pretty much anyone in college football. He had some initial success and is now struggling. While much of that is due to roster turnover and Notre Dame likely won’t be down for long, the fact is that for all the commotion made over his reputation, his coaching has not made this current team any better.
Wannstedt could end up being Pitt’s own Pete Carroll just as easily as he could wind up being another version of Al Groh or Chan Gailey. Both Carroll and Weis are proof that NFL coaching reputation may not matter much when it comes to the game at this level.
It’s obvious to me that Kevan Smith lost the team. Let’s see what Bostick can do. From Gorman’s trib article yesterday (link to pittsburghlive.com)
“I have a lot of respect for him coming out like that, being a true freshman in the fourth game of the season, in the situation he got put into the game,” sophomore tight end Nate Byham said. “I think the whole team is going to have a lot more respect for him after that. He showed that he’s the player he was hyped up to be and talked about before. I’m not going to lie; he wasn’t really showing that. That makes us a lot happier, gives us a lot more trust in him.”
“We were losing, and everyone was getting frustrated. He actually took over the huddle,” said Darrell Strong, who led Pitt with six catches for 73 yards. “Even though he’s a true freshman and he had four seniors in the huddle, he came out there and led us down the field and got us a touchdown. He definitely showed character by being a leader.”
And as for the Carroll connection, he had immediate success in the second half of his first season and carried it through to the next season, and the season after that, and the season after that. What do you think Carson Palmer looked like before Carroll and Chow (yeah, you’re forgetting the Norm Chow part of the equation, aren’t you?) came to USC? Probably a hell of a lot different from his Heisman season. With Palko, on the other hand, it was the inverse. And I have some more news for you: CAVANAUGH IS NOT NORM CHOW!! WANNSTEDT IS NOT CARROLL!!!!
And have we also forgotten when the last road win was? A Central Florida team that had yet to realize its promise, last season. South Florida, UConn, both bad losses. I’m not convinced a single game can be won on the road this season. Bostick has a lot of proving to do to me.
After Saturday’s disgusting performance I can’t even claim to have any hope for the future as long as Dave is the head coach. I would gladly take Walt Harris back in a heartbeat, at least we would win every other big game with him and even in our losses we remained competitive.
Dave is over his head as a head coach, at any level, and it’s time we ask him to step aside.