With the season-ending surgery on Jason Pinkston because of injury, it’s time to once again point out how well that change in strength and conditioning program has worked out this season.

A significant portion of the S&C training load is dedicated to drills that serve to reduce the possibility of sustaining an injury. In this regard, a great deal of special exercises are performed during the advanced stage of the warm up, which precedes the primary phase of the workouts, that target the muscles that articulate the neck, shoulders, hips, and knees.

Warm ups prior to training are extensive and minimize the possibility of sustaining a non-contact related injury

That worked out well.

No, I’m not blaming Buddy Morris for this. I’m just observing what total BS it is to think you can realistically condition and train to minimize injury. Especially in football. You can warm up, stretch and condition to avoid many strains and maybe not pulling as many things. Aside from that, not so much.

Look, injuries have been really bad this year. No one can dispute that. The problem has been that the rest of the team hasn’t just failed to respond and show something. They seemed to have rolled over and folded.

That falls on the coaching. The lack of motivating. And simply, a little too much excuse making for horrid play.

“I just think this has been a combination of a couple of things,” Wannstedt said. “We have a veteran guy like Mike McGlynn who, because of injury, had no training camp and hasn’t settled into any one position. We have a fifth-year senior at center who is starting for the first time. Jeff Otah at left tackle is only in his fifth year of playing football and we’ve had three quarterbacks, two of which are freshmen, play in five games and they are giving the snap counts.

“We’ve had penalties … we just need to keep working and help these guys come together as a unit. I think if we can just settle in, we will be fine.”

Coach Wannstedt has been using some of those excuses since training camp. Whatever kernel of truth might be in there, it is a failure of the coaching that this is still happening. Vangas is not a good center, but there is no viable alternative — an even more terrifying thought since he is a senior and won’t be back. Thomas has thus far failed to develop. Otah’s skills are incrementally improving but at such a slow rate to be minimal. There’s no depth or anyone behind the players to challenge.

Even before the injuries, the line wasn’t believed to be that good. Now there is no choice but to play some of the non-injured freshmen linemen.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that if we have to, we’ll play Jordan Gibbs or John Fieger,” Wannstedt said. “The way it’s worked out with Pinkston and Gus (Mustakas), it’s come in handy that their redshirt was available down the stretch.”

Yippee.

Chris Dokish has some analysis of problems in Pitt’s recruiting — or what hasn’t been produced.

Pitt finally has highly recruited players along the offensive line this season, yet the play has not improved. Why are they not producing?

Jeff Otah started two seasons after transferring from junior college, but even though he has NFL size, he has not always played like a future high draft pick. Jason Pinkston and Joe Thomas also were highly recruited, but have yet to live up to their potential in their sophomore seasons. Pinkston was coming along very well until sustaining an injury in the third game of the season. He missed the last two games and will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery later this week. Pinkston, when healthy, may be forced to play the very critical left tackle position next year so his development is crucial. Thomas is one of the biggest disappointment in the program this season, a big talented lineman who has yet to play anywhere near his potential.

Add in a solid but unspectacular C.J. Davis, freshman Chris Jacobson, who has missed the season because of injury, and incoming freshman Lucas Nix, and the program has—on paper at least—five players next year that have all-star ability. There is a sharp decrease in talent after these five, but five talented linemen should be enough. If the coaches can’t get anything out of these five next year, along with jack-of-all-trades John Bachman and Purdue transfer Jason Kacinko, then you have to wonder why not.

[Emphasis added.]

I think the issue has become increasingly and painfully clear that blame lies in the coaching. Paul Dunn may be an alum and a nice guy, but he has done nothing that indicates he should remain. The O-line has remained a visible weakness. There has not been one game in the last few years where it can be even charitably said that the O-line has played “over it’s head.” I’ve yet to think that the line has come close to really being “coached up.” All it has been is cringe inducingly bad.