Usually I won’t do this. I generally allow myself to at least wait to react to a game after I sleep on it. Sometimes you write things too quickly that are purely coming from the emotions of the game — this is not one of those times.
I’m pissed. Every person who I heard walking out of Heinz Field at 12:05 this morning (!) felt similarly. First, the actual game before things completely fell apart…
I expected the score to at least be in the 30’s, and I knew the defense was going to be it’s typical self while under Rhoads. I’m done complaining about the entire defensive side of the ball because it’s a dead complaint. Either Rhoads is fired or we’re going to have this for a long, long time. I will hand it to the Navy offense, though. QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada is very smart and runs the triple option very well. You had to expect the triple option was going to torture our defense and it certainly did.
We also knew that the Navy defense wasn’t too great. I’m encouraged by the way that Bostick, McCoy, and Conredge Collins played. I don’t know what to make of it against a defense of this caliber…who knows.
The real problem here is with the coaching. I was fine with Pitt playing for overtime. Once we got there, though, I agreed with nothing else. The first OT is what it is – we scored then they scored (albeit on only one single play). We managed to hold Navy to only a field goal in second overtime. Obviously the thought is, “Great, the worst that can happen is we kick a FG of our own and go to a third overtime.â€
That final drive started out well with the 16 yard pass to Pestano. 1st and goal from the 9. Who better to give it to than the guy who has already carried the offense all day, LeSean McCoy. Smartly, we give it to Shady which is good for 6 down to the three yard line. Next play is McCoy for a yard to the 2.
At this point, the coaches fall apart. We don’t know what to do – pass, throw, crap our pants? They choose option #3. It takes so damn long to get a friggin’ play call in that we don’t break the huddle until the play clock is at 8 seconds. Bostick gets the snap (play clock at 3) and throws an incomplete pass to Nate Byham, but Byham gets flagged for illegal motion anyways.
Why do I bring this up?
1. We have a timeout left to take. When we haven’t even broken the huddle at 10 seconds it might be wise to take it. Instead, it was never used and it’s floating out there in “what if†land as we speak. Maybe Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts offense can keep their composure and hurry to the line to get a play of quickly. Instead, we’re the Pitt Panthers. Our QB is a true freshman, and the entire offense in general is young – probably not the best group to attempt to pull this kind of thing off with.
2. Using that timeout keeps Byham from getting flustered and being called for a penalty.
3. Lastly, what was up with the play call? Was Shady’s seven yards on the last two plays not good enough? Had Conredge Collins not proven himself enough yet during the course of the game? And if you are going to pass, why not in some type of spread formation?
In reality, it’s an incomplete pass with a declined penalty – 4th and goal from the 2. I don’t know how I feel about going for the win as opposed to kicking in the chip shot field goal. I do know, however, that IF YOU’RE GOING TO GO BALLS TO THE WALL, THEN GO BALLS TO THE WALL! DON’T GO HALFWAY BUT TRY TO TIP-TOE YOUR WAY AROUND IT! If you’re not going with Shady or Collins on 3rd down, then at least go on 4th. If you think you’ll fool them with a pass play, DO NOT THROW IT TO A TIGHT END IN THE BACK CORNER OF THE ENDZONE. It is perhaps one of the worst play calls I’ve ever seen. A jump ball in the back corner has an amazingly low chance of being caught, even if we threw Larry Fitzgerald in there. Strong isn’t even our best receiving TE. NOTHING ABOUT IT MAKES SENSE.
What now? I’ve tried to keep from saying it, but all of the coaches need to go. Wannstedt, Cavanaugh, Rhoads, and every other coach beneath them. Gone. The season is over. The best we’re going to finish is 3-9, and I could easily see us losing out and finishing 2-10. You want Wanny around for next year, the year we’ve been waiting for? I can’t see how any team can keep their coach if they finish with 2 or 3 wins, Pitt being no exception.
As for me, I’ll still go to every home game. What I won’t do is make anymore road trips. It’s not worth my time or money to go to places like Morgantown to see this train wreck. I’ll be at every home game, sure, but I’m done cheering and booing. I will simply go, sit, and watch. I stood and cheered for all four hours of tonight’s game with the 30 foot long Oderick Turner sign in section 530. The sign is done for the year; nothing personal against Oderick, it’s just not worth it anymore.
Finally, sorry for any misspellings, grammatical errors, awkward sentence structures, and those caps I used a few paragraphs back. It’s almost 2:00 in the morning and I’m cold and unhappy. Less than a month till Pitt hoops…go team.
Update: 1:59 am — Didn’t see Chas’ post until after I published mine. Sorry for any repetition you might see.
You must realize when someone doesnt have the tools to complete the task. Wanny, Cavanaugh, nor Rhodes has the football intellect to be successfull head coaches and the latter two cant make it as offensive or defensive coordinators.
We pay Wanny 1 million a year for this? The next time I get a call from the university asking for money I will tell them to get it back from Wanny.
Sad to say but I am debating renewing my season tickets. My purchase was more sentimental anyways as I live in the South and rarely get to the games.
1) Bostick looked better and more comfortable as the game went on, seems to be improving and gaining confidence.
2) McCoy, enough said
3) Nate Byham coming in to his own.
4) The team went down 7-0 quick and it would have been easy to quit but they played hard and never gave up.
WOW, what else can you say?
TWICE in the game he caught a short pass on THIRD AND SHORT and, instead of taking a hit and trying to make a first down, STEPPED OUT OF BONDS SHORT OF THE STICKS. With that amazing effort, why in the heck was he the intended receiver on the last play? I completely agree that we had to go for it – it was a sign of desperation, of no confidence in the defense, kind of like UConn did to us last year – but the time out management was bad and the fact Strong was even in the game was wrong. I even thinnk that if Strong went for the ball he’d have drawn a Pass Interference penalty on the cover guy.
By the way, Navy’s one penalty of the game – 3rd quarter hold – the Offensive Lineman who was guilty of it didn’t see the field again.
All that being said, the read and react defense did just what I thought it would. Another loss in the litany on the shoulder of Rhoads.
What a stupid statement….how bout just owning up to it and saying thats on me, it was a bad call and my players deserve better. Has this guy ever taken responsibility for a loss? Instead all we hear is the same old bullshit…well we practice and prepare good, I dont know what happens on gameday? What a load of BS.
Wanny is worse than Majors II or Hackett. No more time, no more excuses, time for a change.
Wow, now thats brilliant.
I don’t think we win another game this year.
Thanks for the memories Wanny!!!!
we are looking 2-10 dead in the face. this team has far too much talent to be 2-10. but i really fear that last night will be a complete killer to the psyche of the team. i suspect they will get crushed on the road against the likes of UL, Rutgers, and my God can you imagine how bad WVU is going to run up the score? Cincy, USF…Syracuse at home…L, L, L…
Wanny will have to resign. at this point, i cant even imagine that he would be able to rehabilitate his image with the program by moving into administration with the damage he has inflicted.
nordy better get on the ball…hire an aggressive AD and clean house in the football office. this program is headed for the abyss…
Tim Mason
Class of 1998
And to add, how about the last time Pitt had the ball in regulation with the clock running out, Pitt calls a timeout with a moving clock on 4th down to punt!!!! Giving Navy extra time which they were able to get in postion to try the last second field goal.
And considering Navy’s FG kicker, Pitt should had taken their chances with the 3rd OT.
Wow, I have given DW and staff evey benefit of the doubt uop till thiis point..no more. They got to get rid him this season.
I’m glad you made the point about Gattuso. I hope like hell that he doesn’t get dragged down with this ship if there is a housecleaning, because I think the DL play has really improved. I think you almost have to look at it independently of the numbers because the schemes called by Rhoads are so bad…from what I’ve seen, the line play on defense has stepped it up. I think those kids and Gattuso deserve a lot of the credit for that.
I think the same can really be said for a lot of these kids…many of them are doing the best they can within the confines of a system that is really hanging most of them out to dry.
If ther is no improvement by this time next year, then we can talk about DW resigning/fired.
ME2001, where can I buy the drugs you are on?
Say what you will about last night, but Cavanaugh runs that crappy vanilla offense that just doesn’t work. Last night it worked because our line was just simply bigger and better than Navy’s D. Further, I don’t blame Strong for not reaching for the stick. I blame Moron Matt for twice designing third down plays that don’t go past the first down marker.
And Rhoads…I’m convinced he must have compromising photos of Nordenberg.
I will not get down on the players because I know in my heart that for the most part they give it their all. But you can give your all, but that is negated by bad leadership/management. Such is the case with my beloved Panthers.
The frustration/despair I feel inside this morning has nothing to do with the players, but everything to do with coaching. I give in to any hopes of Wannstadt leading Pitt to the Promised Land.
There is a reason he was fired in his two stints as an NFL head coach, he is a bad head coach. Some coaches are meant to be HCs; Wanny is not one of them.
Any HC with any sense knows you play not to lose at home, and play to win on the road. It is as elementary as hot is to cold. It is clearly evident that Wanny is deficient in the abstract thinking needed to be a HC.
Wanny is steadfast in his belief that his system is right, and that if the players execute it success will follow.
He fails to see the urgency of it all. Yes, proper execution of the system in a theoretical sense means success. But just as in life, belief in a theoretical proposition does not constitute success from said proposition.
There needs to be a balance in coaching, a balance of concrete, and abstract. While it is not bad to approach coaching from the concrete presupposition of one’s stated philosophy, it becomes fatal in the face of continued adversity when one fails to bring in abstract coaching philosophy.
Holtz was right when he stated that you need to attack an option offense, and that Pitt had the bulk up front to do so. Instead there was not initiative for Wanny to do so because once again he failed to think in the abstract, but rather clung to his concrete proposition that if the players executed his system the team would win.
It is the job of the HC to give the players the best chance they can to win. Can we honestly say that Wanny has? The answer to this rhetorical question is no. We as fans are in a no win situation. If Wanny stays most likely there will be no elevation of the program, if he goes what of the recruits who have come?
I could go on and on, but I think it best for me to look in the direction of the BB team.
What the…!! He should be fired just for saying something that stupid. How many times has Pitt run that pass play in a real game situation? Zero. How many times has Pitt attempted a 2 point conversion? Zero. Bostick has never thrown that pass in a game ever. It’s a tough play that you use when you have tall experienced receivers that can execute it. That play by an inexperienced freshman to a very mediocre TE, having never been executed before was an outrageous risk. Run the ball! The more I think about the botched last two plays the more ticked off I get. Clearly the coaches had not even thought about what they were going to do, kick a FG if 3rd down failed or try again on 4th down. They then choose two very ill fated pass plays when anyone with a brain would have run McCoy or Howling or Collins twice. That fade route didn’t fool anyone…
If DW stays and gets a contract extension no one will go to the games or buy tickets. I’m not going to donate money and sit in an almost empty stadium to watch a poorly coached team self destruct, will you?
Once you lose that core support, you are finished, last night nailed the coffin shut for DW, yes even the die hards see it. It’s Chicago and Miami all over.
That was a game they had to win, he is a horrible coach and just cannot assemble a competent staff.
I can’t wait for his next press conference and his explaination of what happened, wait until USF, UC, WVU, UL and Rutgers eat them alive. I think SU is going to beat us too.
It’s beyond frustration because we have talent, its too bad we don’t have a coach who knows how to mold talent and translate talent into performing at a high level on the field of play.
Good coaches find a way to win, poor coaches find a way to lose, DW is a loser, DW’s past head coaching history was a complete failure, and sadly history is repeating itself right before our very eyes.
I think ME2001 has a point. The economics involved and Pitt’s stingy budget history do not do much to support the notion that Wannstedt will be let go. He’s got two years remaining on his deal and I believe he’s the highest-paid employee of the school. I have a hard time believing they’re going to pay Wannstedt $2 million-plus to go away AND pay a new coach to come in…not if they expect to replace Wannstedt with anyone of any sort of repute.
They may need to give Wannstedt an extension to help recruiting. Most coaches don’t get to this point on their contract without an extension and some recruits may see it as a red flag – it could mean Wannstedt’s a lame duck.
I’m not defending Wannstedt here. It’s just the way it is with the university and the economic factors that are going to come into play. The media isn’t talking about the economics because it’s not what people want to hear and it’s probably over most of their heads anyway.
As many have said above, the guy has brought in players who were generally more highly-regarded by the recruiting services than were the players Harris brought in. He’s elevated the program in that sense, but they need to start getting results on the field.
Look at the way it happened with Rutgers and Schiano; it’s the same sort of thing. Schiano was recruiting very well from the start, but was only 12-34 after four seasons heading into the 2005 season. In an effort to save his job, he acquiesced to the request of the administration and made some staff changes, assuming the DC role himself. That following season – his fifth – he rewarded the school with a 7-5 record and a bowl appearance. In 2006, he went 11-2 and finished second in the Big East. He’s 3-2 now and likely headed for another bowl game.
The calls I have a problem with are the ones made at the end of double overtime. Why, with 2 plays remaining, the ball on the 2 yard line and a win in reach just 2 yards away, and you have very good running backs in your backfield, and a large offensive line… why, I ask, do you run 2 pass plays instead of 2 running plays????
I think this exemplifies why Wannstedt will never be a winning coach. A winning coach would pull his offense together on the sideline (which he had 2 opportunities to do) and throw this challenge in their faces…â€You have 2 yards to make, on 2 plays. If you want to be winners, you’ll give everything you have on these next 2 plays and you’ll get it done. We’re running 2 dive plays right at them. Give everything you’ve got, do your jobs, and let’s win this….â€
Instead, Pitt ran back to back passes, and lost. I played college football myself, and I guarantee you, every player on the Pitt team is wondering why they ran 2 pass plays instead of 2 runs. And beyond that, they’re now questioning the quality of their head coach and his ability to make their team a winner. As a player, you know when your coach’s play calling lets you down. You know when your coach fails to hold up his end of the deal. Wannstedt’s play calling at the end of the game was a complete let down to his team. Even if Cavanaugh suggested those 2 pass plays, Wannstedt should have jumped in and said “no, we’re running itâ€. That’s where a head coach earns his stripes….and shows whether he’s a winner. Wannstedt, I’m afraid, is not a winner.
To be a winner, you know the game, you know how to motivate, you know how to win. You make play calls in situtations like last night that reflect your ability as a coach and a winner.
The corner fade pattern is a trendy play call. Wannstedt reached into his pocket and all he could pull out was a trendy play, rather than one that reflected someone with knowledge and coaching ability of a winner.
I think this exemplifies why Wannstedt will never be a winning coach. A winning coach would pull his offense together on the sideline (which he had 2 opportunities to do) and throw this challenge in their faces…â€You have 2 yards to make, on 2 plays. If you want to be winners, you’ll give everything you have on these next 2 plays and you’ll get it done. We’re running 2 dive plays right at them. Give everything you’ve got, do your jobs, and let’s win this….â€
This is the type of intensity a coach must bring. Dave W will never bring this. This is why I loved Bill Cowher and why he was a winner.
Perhaps he saw the writing on the wall in respect to DW and left while the gettin was good!!!
Hey Wannstedt…next time try the “single, double, triple reverse, fake and go, fly pattern”. We ran that in my back yard against Jimmy and Paul when I was a kid, and it worked every time!
Here is proof that the man is an idiot. It was a bad call and it failed. That opinion is universal. Yet he wants to do it again because it “worked in practice”. This team has some real talent but they are led by fools.
“Dear loyal Dolphin fans, our current record after 5 games is 0 Wins – 5 Losses. We assure you, however, we’re moving this team in the right direction. If we still had Dave Wannstedt here, after 5 games we’d probably be 0 Wins – 9 Losses”
step 2: Go back to the mustard and blue uniforms
step 3: Fire Wanny, Cav, and Rhodes
step 4: hire a new coach, move Dorin Dickerson to
WR or at least make an attempt to use him
and bench the upper classmen that can’t
get the job done
step 5: give away free tickets, at least try to
get Heinz field half full because
our current situation is disgraceful
I can’t believe Wannstedt called a corner fade pass on our last chance to win. That’s not Pittsburgh football.
He probably invited the whole team out after the game for some foo-foo fluff swirly lattes and group huggies.
Defense F—: Can’t, wont’ or is unable to attack….no effort on the part of our D to get inside Navy’s decision cycle and disrupt some plays….Navy’s QB was permitted to make his choices almost every time….the look first and react basis on PRs defense continues to produce a D this is tentative, SOFT, and permits the opponents Offense to dictate that game…..DW wonders why we have so few turnovers by our D this year…..well here’s your answer…
Offense B-: took adavantage of an under-manned Navy Defense…but hey…we need such an effort..RBs loooked solid..Bostick is slow afoot….his footwork dropping back into the pocket needs a lot of work….he’s very raw…as a true freshman is expected to be….but something good is there…I think once he gets thru the crucible that’s goning to be the rest of the season….we will have a much improved QB and RB corps…as to Strong the TE….he really pussed out on several key plays….he looks lazy and uninterested….he should have made the sticks on those two short passes….Even if Bostick is freshman….I’d have called him out the next time he stuck his nose in my huddle…..
Coaching….is there enough letters in the alphabet below F to accurately access our coaching staff….no guts…no killer instinct….total failure to inspire…I’ve said it before…spare the talk about injuries…we are too far into this the Wanny Era for this team to look this bad…
Navy gets much slower and smaller players that pitt wouldnt dream to look at recruiting.
This game shows that coaching was the reason for the loss.
The coaches have the superior athletes and should be able to stop Navy’s defense. The offense did half decent, but Cavanaugh’s play calling was a joke. He did better than previous games which moves him up from a 0 on a 1-10 scale to a 1 or 2.
There is just excuse to lose to NAVY….
we were outcoached in every area of the game.
Fire Paul Rhoads RIGHT NOW. it cant get any worse than it already is. they could do better without a coordinator.
Thank God we honored Curtis Martin. One of the great individuals in Pro Football and we have shunned him all the time up to now. The fans love Curtis. Please continue to honor him and I know he feels that we treated him poorly, but lets make it up to him now….
You beaat me to it on two points as to why DW will be EXTENDED:
Too much $$ to fire DW
Recruiting
There is a third, by bringing in a new coach we’re still looking at a 2-3 year rebuilding plan
It also indicates to any potential candidates that they better get the job done in 3 years or you will be gone. That is not the reputatution you want when trying to hire a coach.
I’m also with Rex in that I’m not trying to defend DW, just looking at the situation and making my opinion of what is going to happen. And I’m able to make this analysis DRUG FREE!
Replace the name Rex with Stoosh in my post above.
Maybe I need to be on drugs…..
Strong lazily goes out of bounds on a third down and 2 instead of getting hit. IF ITS THIRD AND 2 – YOU BETTER GET TACKLED INBOUNDS DYING FOR THE LAST TWO YARDS. His “momentum” didn’t carry him out of bounds – his laziness and mediocrity did. We have 2 capable tight ends – I have no idea why he is even in the game. And to throw to him on the last play…unbelievable…
Strong is worthless, I would have benched him after his shuck and duck tactics.
Did anyone see this…Shady (was told to by coaching staff) pounded his chest before the 4th and 2 play, and this, DW figured would make Navy (all engineers with 3.0+ GPA’s) fall for the Wanny trickery! No ball fake to Shady, just a 2 step drop and heave..I have no problem going for it on 4th and 2 but that may have been the worst call in Pitt history. Since 1962 I have been a fan
of Pitt Football thru the best and worst times.
I F’n QUIT!!!
Of course, it may be too late for that now. I mean, does anyone really want to even talk to Wanny now? How much juice is he going to have with recruits this off-season with what could be a 2-9 record??? Little bit of a credibility problem at this point, Dave…
Dark days indeed.
