In Paul Ziese’s Red Shirt Diaries he reports that because of an injury Mark Myers may slide into the #2 QB slot this week. Apparently Trey Anderson has tendinitis in his throwing hand, which he got by constantly patting Sunseri on the back while saying “Keep doing what you’re doing, Tino. Don’t worry about my playing time.”
Actually it was this as quoted in the P-G: “Anderson has tendinitis in his throwing wrist. Dodge said it is an old injury that has become inflamed and so Anderson needs to rest it.“
This makes an for interesting situation because now Myers could be one snap away from seeing extended playing time, depending on the severity of Anderson’s, and in turn, Sunseri’s injuries.
Which harks back to the issue that we (well, DRW and I mostly) have been discussing on here so much lately; if that comes to pass (pun intended) does Graham modify his offense to fit Myers, or have Myers try to play in this current offense as fielded, or does he switch Gonzalez back to QB and retain the offense also?
Or… even if Sunseri doesn’t get injured does the staff create packages for Myers to avoid the read-option and still get a look at playing time as QB2? That would be something I’d like to see because just like everyone else I’m looking forward to seeing him in actual action.
Exciting things to consider. If it is a short duration (few series) for Myers’s window of opportunity then Graham should play right to his strengths which is to have him in the shotgun and pray the OL holds up long enough for the receivers to get open and for Myers to stay upright to get the ball to them. This is the problem that has been dogging our passing game since (before and) after the USF game.
If Myers is needed for more than a few series or a even whole game then Graham has a tough decision to make with how he approaches playcalling. As I’ve stated, I’m of the mind that Graham will think going forward with the offense as installed is as much, if not more, important then getting a win or two. I don’t see Myers thriving in the triple read option that the current QBs have to run so things would probably have to change to accommodate him.
So, something that hasn’t been talked about much is that changing the passing game at this point back to a more traditional set for fitting someone with Myers abilities means changing horses in mid-stream for the OL. Since spring practice they have been executing on one set of coaching and directions – it would be interesting to see if they could handle a major change in approach at this point.
Ziese also makes a point to ask point blank about Myers’s travails this season…
So today, I asked it very direct – “why isn’t Mark Myers being given a shot”? I can’t ask it any more directly than that. The answer was equally as direct. “Mark Myers continues to be a viable option on our football team but quite frankly, he wasn’t the best option [for the back-up spot] at the start of our season and as we have continued through our season,” Dodge said.
He said simply put, the team started camp with Sunseri as the starter and Myers as the back-up and Trey Anderson came in and “lit it up” and won the job as the back-up quarterback over Myers. He said once that happened and camp ended, there is just no way to get enough reps for more than two quarterbacks and as a result, Myers has gotten very little work and the work he has gotten, he hasn’t seized the opportunity and made a case for a longer look.
Ziese expounded on that in his Q&A today:
“Q: The question I have is how far off is Mark Myers at quarterback and does Graham ever state what’s preventing Meyers from being in the rotation, I mean he can’t be any worse then Tino or Trey can he?
Sean Farr, Pittsburgh
ZEISE: Mark’s sense of urgency and focus was lacking for much of the summer and into camp and as a result coaches felt like he didn’t seem particularly that interested in truly competing for the job. So he fell way down the list — Todd Dodge thought that moving Trey Anderson ahead of him would be a wake up call during camp and light a fire under him. It didn’t work and he became the odd man out.”
Sounds like Myers has snapped out of it. Interesting times my friends…
P/S: Read the whole Red Shirt Diary for today – lots of good info.
Okay, so Clubhouse Cancer is a bit dramatic. My point is that it is being IMPLIED that he was not HAPPY and did/said/performed or lacked performance that resulted in him getting in the coach’s doghouse. And, one can IMPLY that this is not a POSITIVE in the lockerroom.
My point…he’s a good KID from all reports and wouldn’t be the type to bitch or moan or give up or simply “did not put time in” like the coaches are implying.
No, he will never be much more than a capable game manager .. but more importantly, he and Myers are just not fits for Graham’s system. They were recruited for another system .. pure and simple.
Don’t let any facts get in the way of a good story. Ben Howland did not run a fast break offense at NAU and certainly never made his reputation as a fast break coach.
At NAU he recruited good shooters and ran a motion offense which was modeled after Rick Majerus’ offense at Utah. Yes they took a lot of 3 pointers but only because that’s what they were good at. He did NOT run a fast break offense. In fact, his offense was much like the motion offense he installed at Pitt and Jamie still runs today.
Further Howland has ALWAYS preached defense and rebounding.
LOL!!!
Bye bye, Moammar. It was not nice knowing ya.
Has probably allready decided to do that, so, no use in playing him.
Good luck to him, and you. Guess there is nothing else for you to say.
Thanks for your same comment day after day for the last 2 months, appreciate them, best of luck to you and yours!!!!
Just sayin.
For some reason, I was taken by how tall Marino was .. maybe because he walked in with his wife who is not that tall. I saw Marino play quite a few times at Pitt but never live in his street clothes.
You seem to think that these reports are slurs on the kid’s character or something but they haven’t been couched in those terms at all – from any of the PITT staff, the beat writers or others who had seen him practice.
They are just statements of what actually happened with him and I for one have taken pains to counter any negativity in what I write with the explanation that he pretty much got screwed by circumstance when Graham arrived and it is understandable if it effected him… just like it probably would any other young player.
Remember, Myers is 19 years old and this is probably the first major disappointment he’s had in his sporting life. Add to that the fact that in reality he probably could of burned up the practice fields with his play and still not come out of training camp in the top two because of what the HC wants in his QBs… that has to be very disappointing.
Again, to you and to DRW… I watched him practice on more than one occasion and even I, a by no means expert fan, could see that his head was elsewhere compared to the other two QBs. I’ve written on here before that the family was going to take a long hard look at Myers’s future at PITT. These factors are why there was speculation that he would transfer before the camps and, truth be told, was entirely understandable.
DRW is correct (yeah!!) in stating that if Myers stays at PITT as the third string QB in this offense he’ll get zero coaching and preparation for a future in football. All the staff’s energies have been and will be with QBs fitted to the offense ahead of Myers on the depth chart.
Players transfer all the time when they aren’t happy with what they are getting at one school – especially QBs when they are faced with an offense that wasn’t what they signed up for. Doing so is no indication of anything but the player and his family looking out for his best interests and there is nothing wrong with that at all. I won’t be surprised one bit if he goes after this season.
But to think that writing about this now is some sort of conspiracy or smoke screen is ludicrous. What it is is newsworthy and timely.
Dan the Man has a nice array of Pitt gear on his website.
Is this another one of those cases like Big Ben not starting till his senior year?
I think I read somewhere the kid who started over Myers went to some Ivy League school, so…….
He probably had high hopes of competing with Tino in a pro style offense. Then the guy who recruits him gets fired and the new guy changes the system to one he’s not comfortable playing. My guess is more of a defeated/disappointed attitude rather than a bad attitude.
Graham then brings in a kid who’s a “better fit” and Myers finds himself out in the cold. At least he stuck around and tried to contribute in some way by punting. He could have been a total quitter but he’s hung in, which does speak to his character and upbringing.
Like Reed said, if he decides to transfer after this year, there’s nothing wrong with that. I’d wish him well – as long as we don’t have to face him at some point that is.
You mean like Trey, Tino & Gonzo led their HS teams to their respective state HS championships?
He’s(Andrew Holland) the 3rd string QB on UPenn Quakers team.
Didn’t take a snap in his first two years.
Finally got to take a few snaps this year.
Since the starting QB at Penn is also a junior and all Ivy league this kid will never play.
Also the 2nd string QB is a soph.
Well at least Andrew is getting a great education from a great school.
Apparently all this stuff doesn’t mean a hilt of beans wbb as far as whether someone will be a good college QB.
“Marinatto said again that Pitt and Syracuse, who are contractually bound to the league for the next two seasons, will not be allowed out earlier.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “We have no intentions of doing that. Period. Exclamation point. End of sentence.” ”
We can only hope he falls into a bowl of linguine ala Captain McCluskey.
Finito Marinatto
We Are State Penn !……haha
I told everyone once we were all born in the wrong era for PITT Football.
I give you the 1910 PITT PANTHERS Undefeated &
UNSCORED ON.
Record 10 – 0 – 0
WP 100%
PF PA APD
353 0 35.3
Games
Polls
Coaches
Roster
Draft Picks
Awards
Date Opponent Score
Oct 01 Ohio Northern University (W) 36 – 0 all-time
Oct 08 Westminster College (PA) (W) 18-0 –
Oct 15 Waynesburg University (W) 42 – 0 all-time
Oct 22 Georgetown (W) 17 – 0 all-time
Oct 29 Ohio St. (W) 71 – 0 all-time
Oct 29 Ohio Medical (W) 71 – 0 all-time
Nov 05 West Virginia (W) 38 – 0 all-time
Nov 12 Washington & Jefferson (W)14-0
Nov 19 Carnegie Tech(W)
(W) 35-0
Nov 24 Penn State (W) 11 – 0
Just caught your comment about Jamie Lee and Marino at the fundraiser.
So you’re near a hot-bod movie star and instead you’re fixated on how tall Marino is?
LMAO – a true blue and gold Pitt fan for sure!
But like wbb, I was struck by one thing– his hands. For a relatively dimunitive guy (heigth and girth), his hands were as big and strong as freaking linebacker. I have an average hand size and I would say firm, professional grip…but man, I couldn’t forget those hands all day!
My wife and I are at dinner at a waterfront location in Tampa and I spot Franco Harris at the next table. In my business, I deal with C-Level types, and I’m typically not afraid to talk with anyone, even other sports figures.
But it takes me a while to “decide” on the right moment to approach him. I walk to his table and say, “Are you who I think you are?”
What an idiotic thing to say!!!
He smiles and says, “Well who do you think I am?” My intelligent response, “Franco?” He says, “You might be right.”
I then realize what a doofus I sound like and apologize for the dumb questions. We laughed and had a nice conversation for a few minutes. No matter how old or experienced you get, you always seem to revert to a being little kid when in front of your personal heroes.
EMel, you’re missing the point about the Ivy Leaguer who preceded Myers in high school. You were tring to make the point that this guy had no business playing instead of Myers (ala Rothlisberger) .. but I am making the point that since he led his team to the state title, he most certainly did.
Another: I watched a Pirates game from the broadcasting booth with Bob Prince – he was a college classmate and friend of my dad’s at PITT. Yes, he drank like a fish during the game.
I also got drunk as hell with William Defoe once but that’s non-PITT related.
Does anyone in this conference really deserve a BCS bid?
10/26/2011 WVU OCCUPY HEINZ
If anyone has a big Twitter following, then feel free to run with it. Red shirts with “10/26/2011 OCCUPY HEINZ” (in black). Decide on a gathering point, seating location,etc. Get some Let’s Go chants rocking in the 1st quarter. Stage a walk out with 5 minutes left in the 1st quarter. Something along those lines.
I hear he ran the spread in high school before he became an indestructible killer.