Grife, but I’ve dug a hole in the lack of posting. I knew it was going to happen, but it still caught me off guard. The whole back to school thing for the oldest. The little one demanding lots of extra attention during the day because his big sister is gone and his schedule has changed. Trying to get as much stuff done around the house so the wife won’t kill or divorce me halfway through the football season. I’ve got tons of tabs open and no time to post it all.

Okay, quick hitters to get the numbers down.

*Greg Romeus — DE prototype for Dave Wannstedt. Still raw and learning.

*A slimmer, leaner offensive line. I should care more, but I don’t. As long as they actually can run block and pass protect.

*Mailed in local ‘Burgh column by Mike Prisuta. Dave Wannstedt loves Pittsburgh and being the coach at his alma mater.

*LeSean McCoy is a visionary. Check that, he has vision.

*Followed up by Kevin Gorman in his blog. He gets Todd McShay of ESPN/Scouts, Inc. to rate the pro-prospects of Pitt seniors and LeSean McCoy.

*How about recruiting needs for each team in the Big East according to ESPN/Scouts, Inc.

Defensive tackle
Starter Rashaad Duncan is a senior and Mick Williams, who is expected to line up opposite him, is a junior. Further complicating matters, three of the reserves here are juniors and Pittsburgh failed to bring in any true freshman defensive tackles of note last year.

Running back
There is admittedly some good news here: sophomore Kevin Collier and redshirt freshman Shariff Harris have some upside. In addition, true freshman Chris Burns, out of Willington Area High School in Pennsylvania, was one of the top running back prospects in the nation. So why is running back a need? Sophomore Heisman hopeful LeSean McCoy burst on to the scene last year and he’ll look to carry Pitt to a BCS bowl this upcoming fall. Although McCoy is a sophomore, there is a real chance that this will be his last year with the Panthers. McCoy has a year of prep school under his belt, so he will be three years removed from high school at the end of the season and therefore eligible for the NFL draft. Behind McCoy is senior LaRod Stephens-Howling. With all of that in mind, don’t be surprised to see the Panthers target running backs again this year.

Fullback
Coach Dave Wannstedt will tell you he has the best fullback in the country in senior Conredge Collins. The problem is he’s a senior. Redshirt freshman Henry Hynoski has the size to develop into a dominant lead blocker and effective short-yardage runner, but there are no guarantees. Chris Bova, No. 3 on the depth chart, is a junior.

*Justin Hargrove is buried on the depth chart.

*Freshman Shayne Hale is not ready at linebacker. Hello, redshirt.

*Coach Wannstedt would like another month of practice before playing.

*Foge Fazio will make it a 3-man booth for radio broadcasts with Bill Hillgrove and Bill Fralic.

*Paul Zeise reviews training camp. Hey, big shock, the O-line is still a question mark.

Finally, I left the ‘Burgh before the rise and fall of Mark Madden. Of all the criticisms about him, the one that struck me as most damaging to a sports fan is that aside from hockey and the NFL, he just didn’t care or have much interest in other sports. He was essentially perfunctory about them because he had to, and then just set out to see if he could be counter to the popular opinion to look “controversial.”

He does nothing to dispel that notion as he tackles the issue of Bill Stull being named the starting QB at the end of training camp.

Stull was thus perceived as the starter for 2008 even before the torn ligaments in his thumb had started to heal. Let’s hope that absence makes the heart grow fonder in all situations.

Stull is tough and reliable. Wannstedt often cites his leadership characteristics.

But is Stull really Pitt’s best quarterback? Should the job have been his to lose at camp?

When it comes to pedigree, Bostick has it all over Stull. As a senior at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster, Pa., Bostick was the darling of every recruiting expert. Scout.com rated him the No. 6 quarterback in the country. PrepStar had him at No. 10. Nearly every big-time football school in the nation was interested in Bostick.

Stull, meanwhile, had to settle for making Scout.com’s East Hot 100 when he was a senior at Seton-LaSalle. A fistful of top-notch football colleges wanted him, to be sure. But Bostick, he wasn’t.

Stull came into camp having played in four college games. He’s thrown 28 collegiate passes.

Bostick threw 252 passes while starting most of last year. His stats weren’t great — eight touchdowns vs. 13 interceptions, 5.95 yards per attempt — and he had some frightening moments.

But, given Bostick’s pedigree, one would assume that he took last year’s experience, incorporated it into his vast talents, and benefited from it.

Instead, it seems to have been assumed that Stull somehow got better by not playing.

Stull has, by all accounts, had a dynamite preseason. Maybe he does deserve the job. This season is too crucial to Wannstedt for such a decision to be made cavalierly, that’s for sure.

But Bostick’s ability is too massive to be blithely dumped to one side. That’s also for sure.

Recruiting rankings? He’s fallen back on that to justify whether Bostick should be considered the starter?

While somewhat acknowledging that all reports from the coaches to the beat reporters that were there, were that Stull was the best QB in the camp, he makes it seem that the decision was made without careful consideration. Apparently based on Wannstedt’s declaration after naming Stull the starter that the choice was obvious.

Perhaps even more shocking than the weak argument, is that Madden actually went wishy-washy. He backtracked to say that he is rooting for Stull and actually believes in Wannstedt. Huh? Maybe it just sounds a lot better on the radio.

Okay, blogger cultural exchange time. It’s been a while since we had one of these. Bowling Green may be in the MAC. They may have a stadium that seats 24,000 (115th out of 119 1-A). That doesn’t mean they don’t have passion and pride. Bowling Green these days is known as the place where Florida coach Urban Meyer got his first HC gig. Greg Brandon took over after Meyer and is still there entering year 6. BGSU is expected to be one of the top teams in the MAC and, um, they actually went to a bowl last year.

So, Orange, the proprietor of Falcon Blog and I exchanged questions and and answers ahead of this week’s season opener. You can see my answers to his questions, here.

1. The GMAC Bowl — 63-7 (loss to Tulsa)? What the hell happened? It wasn’t just 44 days off, what happened to the offense? I know the defense was iffy last year, but geez. I assume the team and coaches are using that as motivation for this year, but is there a fear of a hangover or carryover for that? In general, how’s the mindset of the team?

Ah, yeah, ahem, cough cough. Loosen collar. About that. Certainly, not our proudest day, that’s for sure. In fact, it was one of the worst defeats we’ve ever had, and it was in a bowl game. To answer your question more specifically….what the hell happened? Well, we just came out as flat as I have ever seen us. I think we turned the ball over four times in the first quarter, and then our starting QB got injured, and Tulsa kept its foot on the gas pedal the whole way and our guys are done, and you mix all that together, and you have a debacle.

I think that everyone associated with the program would like to make it to a bowl game and erase that memory. But, I don’t think it is weighing on their minds. The whole thing had a Playstation feel to it, and we know we weren’t that bad, and it was so one-sided its easy to recognize it as an aberration. I’m not personally worried about a hangover. I think our guys are ready to bounce back.

2. You have 9 starters returning on defense (at least, according to Phil Steele). At the same time, the defense has allowed more scoring each year under Greg Brandon. Is there pressure on 2nd year DC Mike Ward to get this fixed? Will the defense actually be improved this year and how? Which players on defense do you see poised to be playmakers?

Most of the pressure on this year’s team is to win a MAC Championship, which has not happened here in 14 seasons, and not at all in the Meyer/Brandon era, despite having some pretty good teams. I don’t think the pressure is any more than that. In fact, if there was recent pressure on anything, it would be to bring special teams around, but that’s another story. Coach says the defense is looking improved, with improved playmaking. Most Falcon fans would be happy to see some tackling. We have been very poor at stopping the run, which is a problem in college football. Supposedly, we are going to benefit from the seasoning these players got two seasons ago when they were rushed into action to fill a hole in our recruiting. We’ll see. I have my doubts.

On the plus side, almost no one plays D in the MAC, and if we can move the ball, then we can still win a championship.

Furthermore, our defensive line–already thin–has been weakened further by, well, legal problems you have noted below. We also lost a really good young LB to grades.

Our playmakers are our CBs, Antonio Smith and Kenny Lewis, our LBs John Haneline and Erique Dozier, DE Diryal Briggs (pash rusher) and S PJ Mahone (pass stealer).

3. On paper it looks like BG uses a two back system with Turner (6-2 227 pounds) being the power back and Geter (5-7 167) coming in as the change-of-pace or small speedy back. Is this accurate and how effective will they be with the offensive line being the most inexperienced unit on the team? How much of a concern is the offensive line, generally?

Actually, the last word is that Turner has been moved to WR, where he may or may not even be on the two-deep. His time at RB came last year only because Geter was injured, Bullock was unproductive, and we needed to establish the run. And, he helped to salvage our season. Now that Geter is back, he was moved to WR. (At the time the decision was made, Eric Ransom, a JUCO RB was also around, but he is injured again). I think we were all suprised that Turner was moved and asked to learn a new position at this point in his career. So, as of now, the rotation appears to be Geter as the main back, Bullock between the tackles, and Turner as “slash” type (know you get that one) back who is dangerous in numerous ways, even as a passer (he was recruited at QB).

The offensive line is a huge concern. We graduated some really good players, and we have young players coming in. They seem to have potential, but they are young. And, the line has been an unwavering constant during the entire Meyer/Brandon period. Our hope is that by spreading people out, throwing the ball quickly, and then running to the gaps that are created, we can neutralize this until the line gels.

4. Greg Brandon’s been at BG for the past 5 years and only 1 losing record after following Urban Meyer. To an outsider, the Falcons seemed to have been rebuilding the last few years. Is that an accurate statement? What are the expectations like for BG this year? And is there concern (or hope) that Brandon will move on from BG with a strong season?

The expectations are high. They are not as high as they were at the end of last season, due to things like Tulsa, losing a top LB, and the loss of D-line depth. Still, most observers pick BG to win their division. And Falcon fans are pretty much expecting the same thing. Because, to our perspective, we have been close to winning–not rebuilding–for the past few years. For example, Meyer left a really good team, and BG won the division and lost the MAC Championship on our field to a Big-Ben led Miami team. The next team was also very strong and underachieved a little, but won the GMAC Bowl. The team the following year, well, that team was a tragedy, lots of talent and underperforming a lot. The following year we were poor, and then last year we were better. I think we would only view that season two years ago as a rebuidling year. The rest have been years when our teams have been strong and good enough to win our division, at least.

If Brandon wins enough, it is inevitable he will move on. He just signed a contract extension last year, which he earned. However, those are one-sided deals, and I’m sure he has a buy-out in there that would be loose change to a bigger school. Falcon fans have the same feelings about Brandon that most teams have about their coach–highly ambivalent, and generally unfairly disdainful. My opinion is that he is a good coach and we could easily do worse. If he does end up making a career here at BG, then I think he is capable of winning the MAC.

5. Which players should Pitt fans be paying special attention in the orange and brown? Why?

We’ve covered a number of players above. On offense, WR Corey Partridge is probably our best skill player, when healthy. I have not seen anyone cover him consistently. Also, WR Freddie Barnes had a quiet 82 catches last season. Our KR Roger Williams is the first decent KO returner we have had in years, and our kicker Srinisi Vrvilio has shored up was what a disasterous postion. Finally, just to repeat one, PJ Mahone, who was an all-state RB in Elyria, has a spooky knack for making interceptions.

6. Extra question, Orlando Ray Barrow. Huh?

Three armed males entered an apartment at the Enclave Two on June 2 and demanded the residents give them marijuana.

The three residents, who all were international students, replied they had no drugs.

The armed males continued to search the house, but nothing was reported stolen.

University student and football player Orlando Ray Barrow was arrested for aggravated burglary and abduction in relation to the robbery.

He was found with an airsoft gun in his possession.

Uh, yeah. Not a proud day for our program. No one wants to see that. If the allegations end up being true, we’ll all certainly be very disappointed. All I can say is that our program handled the situation the right way and that’s good. We had a tough off-season for this type of thing, and all Falcon fans certainly hope we are not compromising the pride of our program to get players.

Thanks again to Orange. He will be coming to the ‘Burgh with his son to see the game this weekend. A spirit of support and a painful morning drive that shows the kind of loyalty you have to respect. If you see a father and son walking around in orange and brown, be nice.