Where to start? There are many areas to be critical of what we saw yesterday and to go into each one would fill volumes. Let’s just say this about the most glaring, the pass defense needs no discussion in my opinion because it is so bad there may not be any resolution to its faults. It’s due to either totally ineffective coaching or our talent level in the linebacker and defensive backfield corps is so bad that there are no alternatives. Either way, I can’t come up with any solutions that are even worthy of discussion.
Graham’s take on this? “I am not going to sit here and make excuses about a new system,” he said. “It’s new assignments, it’s new alignments, but you still have to tackle. Football is football. Let me add that you also still have to cover a receiver once in a while.
Our offensive line play is left wanting also. I’m not about to panic over the seven sacks though as Sunseri was directly responsible for, at my count, five of them because of his indecision and lack of good judgment under fire.
On this subject the Trib’s Jerry DiPaola wrote: “Coach Todd Graham said his junior quarterback needs to quicken his decisions in the Panthers’ new up-tempo offense.
“He’s holding the ball like he did in last year’s system,” Graham said. “Our system is not one that holds the football. It’s 1-2-3, ball’s out. We’re trying to get that across.”
The offensive line had its faults. Sunseri was sacked on back-to-back plays in the third quarter, the latter coming after center Ryan Turnley snapped the ball early and Sunseri and the rest of the offensive line was caught off-guard.
Saddest thing of all about the sacks? This… “We studied a lot of film and saw their (Pitt’s) feet weren’t the greatest,” said sophomore defensive end Michael Cole, who had 2.5 sacks. “We were told to fly off the ball.”
But the best quote though may be from Sunseri himself: “Mistakes happen in the heat of battle. When you’re out there you have to make fast decisions and sometimes you make improper decisions.” Perhaps he can add that last bit as a tattoo written backwards across his chest so when he’s flexing in the mirror it can serve as a motivational tool.
So, it wasn’t pretty but I do think that we can resolve this over the next few games. We lost 43 yards on those seven sacks yesterday as compared to only 10 yards on two sacks against Buffalo. I may be whistling past the graveyard with this because it is predicated on the starting QB being able to improve his decision making and there certainly is no guarantee that will happen.
For the sake of our sanity let’s balance that out a bit with our rushing defense. They have come to play in the first two games giving up 1.5 ypr against Buffalo followed by yesterday’s 2.9 against Maine. I’ve no worries on that front as they also got good pressure on the QB in getting three sacks for -23 yards. Again, the difference was that the Maine QB moved well, kept his eyes downfield for an open receiver and made the right decisions when he felt the pressure.
Add to the positives Ray Graham’s second good performance (28 for122 with a 4.3 ypc average) and we can see that we at least have a nucleus on both offense and defense that we could build upon.
If you want a supporting boost toward your decision to commit Hari-kari before the Iowa game read these quotes, especially the ones from the Maine team. Shanahan is about the only PITT person that speaks truth in these… “We felt like we had some guys open today. Obviously, we hit Street early for a couple of nice completions. We just need to work the entire game to get the open man. We felt we were able to take advantage of some of the things they were doing.” Uh, yeah! So you and 29,000 fans saw the same thing I guess.
Some post-game notes on the PITT website are somewhat positive with this being the most encouraging; WR Devin Street recorded his career high in receptions and receiving yards on the day. His previous high was five receptions (48 yards) against West Virginia on Nov. 26, 2010 and his previous mark in yardage was 82 at Syracuse (3 receptions) on Oct. 16, 2010.
Anyway, if you haven’t punished yourself enough by reading about the game, here are the official stats. But women, be sure to read the last paragraph at the bottom of the page:
“SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Reviewing these statistics by pregnant women may result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, and Low Birth Rate.”
The QB issue is obviously and rightfully a hot topic right now both in the press and in the strong and numerous comments we have on here during Chas’ LiveBlog yesterday. I’m not avoiding it but to discuss it in this piece would make the post a novella. I’m dedicating another article to it alone that I’ll post soon after this one hits the website. There’s a LOT to talk about.
Maine plays New Hampsire, UMass, Rhode Island, etc…..no way to spin this as being inexperience in a new system. On talent alone we should have mashed this team…NO EXCUSES.
We have the weakest defense (at this point) that I can remember in years. I believe that it will be possible to see some teams throwing for more than 350++ yards agains our ladies.
And I wish I knew what the answer is in the secondary. We read all pre season how good these corners were playing.
I think we will settle in and get better but will Tino be that guy? I sure won’t trust a freshman walk-on to be that guy either.
Great descriptor, Reed.
Also consider if Lidnsey was at DE and Clemmens(a man child) was at the other the havoc the could put on the quarteback limiting the pass defending abilities of our linebackers. Its a thought.
There is a TON of issues that need fixed. Our Linebackers are S-L-O-W and our quarterback is S-L-O-W both with his feet and his decision making process and our corners seem small and confused and our O linemen are LOST at times HOWEVER, the coach seems to be aware of these things and seems willing to play WHOEVER he thinks might be able to correct it instead of sticking with the same personal out of some misplaced sense of loyalty.
Are the other guys any better? Will actual competition wake up the guys that were deemed starters? Beats the hell out of me but at least we are not hearing anything about the players “not fitting the system” or “just wait till he gets his players into the system” Graham is working with what he has and not making excuses. Which is refreshing.
Let’s see how things go in Iowa and against Notre Dame then decide on were this season is headed.
Other than that, I got nothing.
That sounds negative I know, but in a sense I can understand it and don’t necessarily disagree. He was hired specifically to institute the offensive system that was so successful for him in the past and to post winning and championship seasons. To do so effectively he needs to get the returning players on the roster next year playing in that offense this year.
Believe me, I think Graham is dying to win this season also, but if inserting personnel who don’t fit or going back to a pro-set offense delays the implementation of his offense for another year then it’s possible he may not be willing to make the change.
The defense may be a problem due to the high level of changes and substitutions. We may need to “shorten our bench” to use a basketball clique.
Ray Graham had like 105 or 110 yards on his first 19 carries. He finished with 122 yards on 28 carries. The last nine carries didn’t yield many yards. I didn’t see the game so I’m assuming that mighty Maine knew what was coming and stopped the run late in the game?
Certainly Gonzalez is a better runner than Tino. Is he as good as or better passer and decision maker? Does Trey gives us a better running option?
Anderson can run like crazy and his passing is on par with Sunseri’s I think.
We are commenting on a site involving a college team. Couldn’t we at least learn the language basics on a middle school level? It’s team “morale” — not “moral” That’s the “moral” of my story/complaint.
also, on the defense. this is exactly what todd graham said he would do: stuff the run, and get interceptions once the opposition is forced to pass. if pitt gets some ints the scores are a lot less alarming. still, theyll have to sure up the d from this point forward going into a 5 game stretch with 4 being against iowa, notre dame, usf, and utah
Shit hits the fan this Saturday 12 noon. Bring your goggles and keep you mouth closed, could be really, really ugly.
I just hate watching Pitt crap their pants on national TV. Please, please, prove all of my apprehensions wrong this Saturday Panthers.
Pat, I advocate starting Sunseri but keeping Anderson ready on the on-deck circle and the HC keeping a very open mind to making a change if needed.
It certainly would not be ideal for a true freshman to start on the road against a pretty good Iowa team. But my gut feeling is that this kid Anderson has ice water in his veins. I did a lot of reading from the local papers and interviews with his, and opposing coaches, and the common theme was that Anderson just didn’t get rattled no matter what the circumstances were. As evidenced by his numerous late game come from behind wins on the way to the TX state championship.
Who knows but I think Anderson can play at this level if needed.
The fixes that I think would help are: On defense take 2 insipid LBs off the field, go to the 5-2. The zone-blitzes are ineffective and are being telegraphed to the opposition especially when the offense sets and resets. On offense move Nix to left tackle and Jacobson to right. It’s time for Turnley to be a complete center. Teach them how to block and tackle (watch the Ravens), I don’t see it on the field.
Tino is not the answer.
The offensive line is a liability.
The linebackers are not good enough for a 3 – 4 base defense.
Ray Graham is really, really good.
The same can be said for Aaron Donald. He will be Pitt’s best player on defense if he is not already. K’wan is okay too.