After developing ulcers from watching our QB play over the regular season, and with all the current talk about Todd Graham advertising for an alternative at QB for next year, let’s take a look back and see how we got into the fix we are in now.
Early on in the 2010 preseason Dave Wannstedt announced that Tino Sunseri was going to be the starting QB in 2010. He did this by telling us “Its Tino’s time’ in August of 2010 when he set the QB depth chart in stone by cutting out the competition. From August 7th on what we saw was what we got.
Sunseri’s 2010 season was much like the one we just watched him finish. Listed below are his stats throughout his career – his 2010 year is bolded and you can see that, on paper, he looked pretty decent for a first year starter.
| SEASON | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | YPA | LNG | TD | INT | SACK | RAT |
| 2011 | 228 | 357 | 2433 | 63.9 | 6.82 | 66 | 10 | 10 | 55 | 124.8 |
| 2010 | 223 | 346 | 2572 | 64.5 | 7.43 | 79 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 137.0 |
| 2009 | 10 | 17 | 114 | 58.8 | 6.71 | 42 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 154.0 |
That’s on paper mind you. What skews this is that mid-season Sunseri had two monster games against two of the more porous pass defenses in the nation in Syracuse and Rutgers. Take away those two games and Sunseri played stone cold average at best in compiling these stats:
He was 172 of 308 (56%) for 1984 yards with 9 TDs and 8 INTs in the other 11 games. Spread that out as an average per game and he averaged 16 of 28 (57%) for 180 yards with .81 TDs and .72 INTs per start. Combined with much the same type infuriating inconsistency that we’ve seen this season from Sunseri and you can see why we ended up 7-5 even with loads of other talented players on offense.
(Edit: as pointed out by a commenter, Syracuse did have a good pass defense and I was mistaken to call it porous… RU on the other hand pretty much sucked.)
I’m not sure that PITT fans realize just how ineffective he was for the vast majority of 2010.
So, I wasn’t real comfortable with Graham naming Sunseri the starting QB early on this preseason either but two things were different than the year before. One was that Sunseri was the returning starting QB and second he was the only QB on roster with gameday experience. Remember that Pat Bostick had left the squad to pursue other ventures back in January and that Graham actually did have Gonzalez and Myers taking some 1st string snaps in spring practice.
By the time spring camp closed Graham had cemented his choice of Sunseri though. That said, Sunseri played exceedingly well in both the spring practices and in the 2011 Spring Game…
“Junior quarterback Tino Sunseri (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic) posted prolific passing numbers in Pitt’s new no-huddle scheme, completing 35-of-55 for 416 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Gonzalez was 9-of-26 passing for 82 yards with two picks.”
Sunseri did well not only with his arm as stated above but he was running the ball well and, more importantly, was getting the offense set and the ball snapped in Todd Graham’s required 15-18 second no-huddle offense. I know because I sat in the press box and timed almost every play that day.
Gonzalez on the other hand showed just what type of passer he was at this level in that same spring scrimmage and Myers had an injury that precluded him from participating that day.
Sunseri followed that up with solid play in the summer camp. This was why I and other PITT followers were thinking that he’d be able to handle the offense and make the normal jump in production that starting QBs usually make from Year one to Year Two. That can’t be overemphasized, if you look at other QB’s historic year one to year two statistics you’ll find a marked improvement in production, and confidence I’m sure, across the board. There was no reason to think that wouldn’t happen, at least a little, in Sunseri’s case also.
Graham’s choice of Sunseri was correct going into summer camp and the season and I agreed with it. But we all saw as the year went on Sunseri just kept getting more and more uncomfortable with what he was being asked to do even while staff was proportionally simplifying the offense as his comfort level and quality of play declined.
If we look back we see that those first five games of the season Sunseri was still running the hurry up offense pretty much the way Graham envisioned and we were putting points up on the scoreboard. We averaged 31 ppg with Sunseri averaging 21 of 32 (65%) for 208 ypg and had 4 TDs and 2 INTs…all solid numbers, especially with Ray Graham ripping off chunks of yardage on the ground, thus the offense was able to get those quick plays executed in succession.
In addition, Sunseri was beginning to get what Todd Graham had been screaming in his ear since spring camp and started taking off and running with the ball when he saw an opening. Magee started calling run plays for him and we were getting good yardage out of his rushes.
However, the last of those five games was our big win against USF where afterward Sunseri walked into the press room and, speaking of the offense, crowed “I told y’all we were close!!’. Boom! Kiss of death really…
Then we went up to New Jersey and things began to fall apart. We got waxed by the USC of the East due largely in part to just flat out terrible QB play and Sunseri began his downward slide. Save the UCONN game as an aberration, just as we saw in 2010 with his play against SYR and RU, his passing numbers leveled out at the Mendoza line of mediocrity.
But more importantly than that it was the beginning of his not being able to emotionally handle any in-game pressure at all, from defensive linemen closing in, to just being able to manage the game from the QB position, to running an effective two minute offense. Even in games where his stats show up well, as in this last game against Syracuse, his all around play killed us.
He began making fundamental errors that any starting QB in high school knows not to make. Taking sacks instead of throwing the ball away, throwing passes that fall short of the first down marker, missing wide open receivers while rolling out… on and on. Those actions were carryovers from his 2010 play and didn’t really start showing up this season until we got into the meat, and pressure, of our BE schedule.
This is what is so maddening to the staff and the PITT fans; his inconsistency in play is magnified when he is needed the most. Some believe that Sunseri isn’t physically able to succeed at this level. I wholeheartedly disagree with that. He has shown that he can make all the necessary throws but one, he can’t pass deep with any accuracy whatsoever. OK, the staff can gameplan around that. But, even at different times in the same game he’ll complete some passes that make you sit up and take notice, then follow up with blowing an easy pass that kills any momentum we may have.
It isn’t his physical abilities that hound him; it is what he can or can’t do mentally and emotionally out on the field when asked to be the leader a QB has to be. He just can’t do that on any regular basis at all. That terrible inconsistency shows up on the grand stage when he plays a great game followed by other just horrid games and on the smaller stage when he can’t seem to be able to follow even the simplest directions on fundamental play from the staff.
So now, between the regular season and our bowl game, people are calling for his head on a platter, preferably served at a school far, far away. I’m not convinced at all that he should either quit or transfer to play elsewhere. The staff doesn’t seem to want that either as this quote from a JUCO QB, Deon Anthony, who we are trying to get to PITT, states:
Anthony said Pitt coaches are showing considerable interest. “They were saying they need a quarterback who can move in the pocket and run the read-option,” he said. “They don’t have the quarterback with the athleticism they need to run the offense. (Dodge) said they have a starter, but if I work hard, there will be competition.“
As much as the fans may not like it, unless Coach Dodge was referring to Chad Voytik which I strongly doubt, that starter is Tino Sunseri until someone unseats him. This is how it should be IMO. Regardless of how Sunseri played over the last two seasons the staff will not go into 2012 without any real gameday experience on the QB roster. That would be a risk not worth taking when you have a two year starter here already. That isn’t to say Sunseri should automatically start again… no, no, a thousand times no! That means that for the first time in three years a PITT head coach has to actually and honestly open up the QB competition to all comers and find the one who best fits what the HC is trying to accomplish on offense. Not just choose one by default.
To do otherwise is taking a risk that is not only unnecessary but could be a complete disaster. Think about 2007 then take McCoy out of that season and that is what could happen in 2012 should Ray Graham not come back and we have no experienced QB.
Even though Graham substituted QBs more than his predecessor did, he just didn’t get any back up QB enough experience to rely on next year should Sunseri transfer. That could potentially be a huge mistake depending on how things shake out over the offseason.
Whether it is a JUCO transfer, a true freshman in Voytik, a returning roster QB not named Sunseri or Sunseri himself, Graham has to start someone who legitimately wins that starting position. Next season sets that tone for his tenure here. Screw up the QB position for 2012 and he may be looking for employment somewhere else soon after.
In my opinion, Tino is too slow, has limited range with his passing ability and does not make good judgment decisions when under pressure. If he is able to overcome one of the flaws mentioned above, maybe he should keep his position until someone demonstrates that they can do a better job at quarterback than Tino.
Given coach Graham’s coaching experience I am expecting to see a much improved Pitt offense in 2012 regardless of where Tino ends up playing.
HTP!
I may be mistaken, but I think he was Had this happened, Graham would have had a viable backup that could have replaced Sunseri.
When Gonzales missed all of training camp, there was no way to catch him up and that is why he switched positions. The coaching staff said on numerous occasions that he is too good to keep off of the field. I have no doubt that he would have been our starting QB from about week 4 on and don’t be surprised if he opens next year as our QB1.
Is his arm that bad or did TG want more WR so much that he is stuck in that position?
What type of QB is TG looking for? Jones seems to me as a Pat White type of player (run/option).
Is TG looking for a QB style of the OKEE State QB (strong arm, quick trigger)?
Since we Pitt fans haven’t seen how TG offense is suppose to look like, I’m not sure what Style of play he needs, but it looks to me that Jones should be another option at QB other than Wildcat formation.
However, a simple “No” would have been a sufficient answer.
Att/Comp Yds Avg TD Int
Utah 16/28 184 6.6 1 1
New Hampshire 24/34 275 8.1 2 1
Miami 8/15 61 4.1 0 0
Florida Int 15/23 169 7.3 1 0
Notre Dame 27/39 272 7 1 1
Syracuse 17/24 266 11.1 4 0
Rutgers 21/27 307 11.4 3 1
Louisville 13/24 123 5.1 0 0
Connecticut 20/28 220 7.9 1 2
South Florida 11/16 142 8.9 1 0
West Virginia 28/46 284 6.2 1 1
Cincinnati 14/23 158 6.9 0 1
Kentucky 9/19 96 5.1 1 1
FBS Total Defensive Ranking
Utah 24
New Hampshire N/A
Miami 21
Florida Int 65
Notre Dame 30
Syracuse 13
Rutgers 62
Louisville 15
Connecticut 22
South Florida 20
West Virginia 2
Cincinnati 70
Kentucky 74
To be fair, if we’re throwing out Syracuse (which actually had a pretty good pass defense statistically) and Rutgers as the highs, let’s throw out the lows like Miami and Kentucky. I’m not sure what was accounting for “monster games”, but if it’s TDs, let’s recognize that Pitt had been a predominantly running team under Wannstedt. LeSean McCoy and Dion Lewis led Pitt in TD scoring for a reason. Let’s also account for some of Tino’s interceptions last year. Jon Baldwin was a great deep threat, but he also failed to “play defense” and knock down some underthrown balls. I realize underthrown balls are Tino’s fault, but a good receiver should do everything they can to knock those down and Baldwin failed to do so in the 2010 UConn (noted by the TV announcers) and WVU games. I also believe Shanahan missed a catch on a good pass in the 2010 Cincy game that went through his hands to a defender that killed a red zone opportunity. There was also an interception against Rutgers where Ray Graham mishandled an inside screen/shuffle pass that went straight to a defensive lineman. That’s four picks that were easily preventable. Also one of the biggest criticisms of Sunseri in 2011 has been the sacks. Somehow he didn’t have the problem last year and my perception is that people were more concerned about the offensive line play throughout the season last year.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……yes we do Reed. He stunk last year other than as you pointed out against the horrendous defenses of Syracuse & Rutgers (who finished last in the worst BCS conf. by far) Remember we had an 8-4 Uconn team representing us in the Fiesta Bowl. I’m sure the fine folks in Tempe(or wherever they play it now) were overjoyed at getting Uconn. Yeppers.
A, a, a there was something about the 2011 Spring game and these skewed stats. Oh, that’s right, there was no blitzing allowed and the QB’s weren’t allowed to be sacked or even pressured.
Or something akin to that.
Sounds like the Uconn game, doesn’t it.
Comment by MariettaMike 12.09.11 @ 8:34 am
You must have missed my post from the other day.
Sunseri will more than likely have a good game or better against SMU. Why you ask……because SMU’s defense is almost as horrid as Uconn’s.
In games against their 6 toughest foes, their defense has given up an average of 34 ppg and 450 ypg.
Don’t even be surprised if Sir Tino is the BBVA Compass Bowl MVP. And we then can expect wbb and a vary few others, to be on here all winter, next spring and next summer singing the praises of our talented senior QB. We don’t need no stinking 5th year senior transfer QB or JUCO QB, we got Sir Tino ! haha
Houston only put 37 on SMU and Tulsa only put 38 on the Ponies. And both of those teams actually have real D1 QB’s. But hey anything can happen.
Maybe Daddy Sal can work some Alabami magic in Birmingham for Sonny boy.
I really do think this will be Tino’s last game ever played as a Panther and he should do well. Plus, SMU’s D is as crappy as UConn’s.
Are you forgetting that Pitt will (hopefully not, but probably…) send out the worst QB in program history since 1973 — and maybe ever — and arguably the worst QB playing in D1-A football?
Just wondering…
I can agree with our defense holding SMU to 17, but not with a 4-TDs blowout. But that said, I hope you’re right!
I still can’t believe how many sacks he took for being a fairly mobile/athletic guy…just doesn’t add up, especially if you consider how many he just ran right into. Sad, but I really wouldn’t put it by him…maybe his dad put him up to it?
Remember, Tino practices well, but as noted above, chokes under pressure. Tino is our 2012 back up QB. He’s not going anywhere but to the end of the Pitt bench, IMHO.
What TG has to commit to do, or else he is in for a major fan mutiny come next season, is to determine through competition in camp who the QB “is” in Pitt’s longterm future and then bite the bullet and play him right from the start of the season.
This is not the best way to bring along a freshman QB right out of high school (Voytik) but unless we pull a rabbit out of a hat, Voytek is the guy on paper that has all of the tools in the box necessary to run Graham’s offensive system. I just wish he was taller.
Pay the dues to get Voytek game experience right from the get go. If it means we drop a couple early games due to his inexperience then so be it.
The “It’s Tino Time” experiment is totally O V E R !!
Comment by Imma Man! Im 40! 12.09.11 @ 12:46 pm
Welcome to Pitt Blather Imma Man. I used to post on the PG-Smizik so I recognize your name.
Agree with the latter part of your stmt. However Billy Daniels was the QB in 1973 (I think) and he was much better than Sunseri. The only guy that was worse than Sunseri, that I can think of was the infamous Wayne Adams in 1977, who fumbled his way to infamy in Pitt history.
Sunseri took most of those sacks because he knew the only way he would be yanked out of a game was if he threw interceptions, IMO. Like he was yanked after throwing 2 picks in the 3rd quarter of the Maine game. Therefore if he thought he might throw a pick due to his lack of accuracy, he just ate the ball. He doesn’t trust his own arm.
And you can not run a spread offense like that. Can’t spread the field vertically and a too frequent inability to throw accurately. And we’re not even talking about the mental part of the game. You’re right Dr. Tom, Tino Time is Over…….hopefully.
After all, it isn’t I who is crying out for Sunseri to either transfer or quit the team as many other PITT fans are – I just wanted to provide background on why we need someone with a legitimate push for the staring job in 2012.
But this topic is discussion #1 among the local media and PITT fans. At this point you can’t talk about PITT football without discussing the QB position. It is news now and will be news up until spring practices start.
Even thought Chas and I don’t discuss what we are going to post beforehand it isn’t a coincidence that we both chose the QB issue to discuss. Obviously we did it because this issue is vitally important to our team’s future success.
If you think that’s piling on feel free to turn the channel.
Barco – I acknowledge your correction and have edited the piece. However I wasn’t trying to show anything but what exactly I wrote and that is aside from two good games last year Sunseri played rather poorly.
Interceptions are not Sunseri’s problem and I have never discussed that as being a negative in his game. Quite the opposite in fact, I have written about his good INT ratio and have posited that the main reason why Graham kept playing Sunseri and kept stating that he “gives us our best to win” was due in large part to Sunseri not turning over the ball.
Emel may have a good point about Sunseri’s opting for sacks instead of throwing a possible INT. He is correct that Graham yanked Sunseri directly after those INTs in the second game of the season. I know that Graham hates turnovers with a passion and talks about that being ‘the decider’ in his decision making in the past.
“You must have missed my post from the other day.
Sunseri will more than likely have a good game or better against SMU. Why you ask……because SMU’s defense is almost as horrid as Uconn’s.
In games against their 6 toughest foes, their defense has given up an average of 34 ppg and 450 ypg.
Don’t even be surprised if Sir Tino is the BBVA Compass Bowl MVP. And we then can expect wbb and a vary few others, to be on here all winter, next spring and next summer singing the praises of our talented senior QB. We don’t need no stinking 5th year senior transfer QB or JUCO QB, we got Sir Tino ! haha
Comment by Emel 12.09.11 @ 10:50 am ”
I did miss your post. Ouch! Oh, my what can we do here?
Let’s give Coach Graham some credit here and hope he has a backup plan or a starting quarterback ready after spring training. I don’t think Todd wants to have to answer questions about how Tino…
I do think that with all the angst about Sunseri’s play in the latter half of this season we tend to forget that he has done some good things also.
That said, a starter or a back up shouldn’t be awarded those positions based on what they have done in the past but, just like in business, it is the future potential that needs looking at.
In my opinion it is throwing the baby out with the bath water to dismiss Sunseri so easily and, as I’ve written above, I’ll be very surprised if the coaching staff feels the same way the fans do.
We need to be able to know that we have someone on the roster who can be there if needed and has played at the college level. Sunseri has the background to be that player. It doesn’t have to be a starting role although there is just as much chance of that happening as not I think depending on what transpires over the offseason.
But we just cannot go into the 2012 games relying on a true freshman who has never taken a college snap and three returning roster QBs who are just about as inexperienced. If we pick up a transfer that would be great but that in itself is no guarantee of success – as we know from the Greg Cross experiment. Remember how the fans were calling for him to be the starter?
They were still booing him at the end of 09.
Remember the awkward Bill Stull’s parents, non-interview during the Irish game at Heinz Field in November?
We dissed Bill Stull right up to the day he graduated, despite him having a solid 09. He did what he was asked to do that year (and in 08) which was hand off to Dion (Shady in 08), throw some dumpoffs, and chuck the occasional bomb to Baldwin.
Stull wasn’t great, but he had top flight NFL talent at back and receiver those two years.
If I recall correctly, we cheered when Tito would get into games in 09. Sackseri was touted as a more athletic QB with a stronger arm at the time.
Honestly, with his popgun arm and minimal athletic ability, Stull would be an even bigger disaster in this offense.
Miami is one thing; it was his third carrer start against a team that did have some talent. A bad game there at least makes sense.
Kentucky, one the other hand, was his 13th start, and a bad team to boot. Sunseri should have shined in that game, or at least given a sign that he was progressing. Instead, he kept on regressing, which is exactly what happened this season also.
In this quick “one, two, go” passing scheme he’d have done well I think. Stull was a smart QB and he’d have picked up what was required of him better than Sunseri has IMO.
PITT fans underestimated Stull’s arm. He could make the throws needed but he also suffered, much like Sunseri, from inconsistency. Stull would have completed more deep balls this season.
I don’t know if Stull would have made a great difference this year or not but he didn’t wilt under pressure like Sunseri has in 4th quarter pressure situations and he certainly would have kept his composure enough not to make those crucial mental mistakes over and over as Sunseri has done this year.
Put it this way, in hindsight, which is always 20/20, I’d take my chances with Stull in this offense over what we saw Sunseri do this season. It’s very debatable though…
YEAR TEAM CMP ATT PCT YDS AVG TD LNG INT RAT
2009 PITT 209 321 65.1 2633 8.2 21 79 8 150.6
But really, my point isn’t that Sunseri is a ‘good’ QB, because I really don’t think he is or even that he should keep playing… it’s that we are going to need him on the roster next year if we want to avoid a total disaster. This year was disappointing for sure but, contrary to some fan’s beliefs it certainly wasn’t a disaster. Going into Graham’s second year with no viable starting QB just because Sunseri pissed people off may well be one.
And that is what we’ll have if we put all of our eggs in one QB’s basket and that player either goes down with injury or flat out just can’t play at this level.
I always have to laugh a little when I read fans say that Sunseri “isn’t a D1 QB” because obviously he is; he just isn’t a very good one. He’s rated #41 in the nation in passing…
…and he ran for 84 times for 491 yards for a 5.8 ypc average (taking sacks away). Another thing to consider is that Sunseri protected the ball really well this year with a low INT ratio. All that doesn’t make up for the mental errors he makes but it is ludicrous to think Sunseri shouldn’t be on a D1 roster.
I’ll stick by my contention that had Ray Graham not have been injured we’d have won at least eight games this year – even with the exact same level of play we got from Sunseri.
So, Sunseri wasn’t a total flop out there but I’ll agree that if possible a change has be made. He’s a human lightning rod for every complaint PITT fans have right now. I’m just very worried that there will be a knee jerk decision made by either Graham or Sunseri based on the emotion of the present and we end up with something that we will dread later on.
I’ll say this again – PITT fans better watch out what they wish for. The grass ain’t always greener on the other side as we saw so well with Greg Cross’s transfer in.
Fans were jumping up and down for him to play and never actually believed the reports that he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn passing even those few times he could remember how the play was supposed to be run.
So I have about zero confidence that some savior of PITT football is going to transfer in – I just don’t feel it. What I would really want to happen is either Gonzalez upgrades his passing well enough to start or the Graham play Voytik as the starter and let him play the season out… with Sunseri as backup if needed.
Lets see what we have without Sunseri at this point;
– Anderson. We saw what he did out there. Could possibly suffice if given the #1 job early on and gets all the QB1 snaps from spring until the season starts. I’m doubtful and sure wouldn’t stake a season on him though.
– Myers. Even if he’s still on the roster, which I have my doubts he will be, Graham would have to change systems and make the offense even more simple for him to handle. Not a great prospect and, up to this point, doesn’t have the trust of the staff to play QB.
– Gonzalez. His passing is subpar and would have to get much better for him to fleet up to QB1. If that came around though he’d be a serviceable, maybe good, QB I think. Its a lot to ask.
– Ronald Jones. Would be a great running QB but, like Gonzalez, his passing would have to get much better to even be considered a D1 QB. Plus, Jones is going to be a huge part of our offense next season in the slot and in the Wildcat so it would be better to use him there if possible.
– Some unknown kid already on roster This may never happen but if we get in dire straights the staff could look at E. J. Banks as they have had him at scout team QB all year and he’s opened some eyes with that. Very long long shot and may never even practice as a QB.
Not a lot to look forward to, eh?
I do think that us fans better be prepared that not only is Sunseri back on the roster next season but that he actually plays some QB for us again. Making a change just to make a change isn’t good decision making, making a change because you honestly think something better is going to happen is. If we don’t get a decent starting transfer in, and/or one of our back-up QBs don’t progress into a starting role and if Voytik isn’t ready… all of which can easily happen, then we’ll see Sunseri again – if he doesn’t transfer first.
So -do you really want to trust the offense to any one of those players above who not only don’t have much talent but also don’t have any experience at QB? I’d play them to see how well they could do in actual games maybe as long as I had a back up that I know can function at this level – and Sunseri can. That’s actually what Graham tried this season.
As hard as it is to believe the staff really did feel that Sunseri, given who we had on the bench, was the best chance for us to win. Unless we get another QB who can take his place, either Voytik or a transfer, that situation won’t change.
But I’ll say one thing right now – if Todd Graham goes into 2012 with only those four QBs, Anderson, Gonzalez, Myers and Jones, on the roster, even along with Voytik, then I’ll call for his firing myself. If he can’t get an established and experienced QB transfer in he has got to try to keep Sunseri on the team IMO.
With Baldwin on the field last year, Sunseri was actually able to complete a few deep passes, because Baldwin usually won a jump ball contest. The Rutgers game was a prime example.
Street haven’t shown that he can catch those, or least till last week’s game.
And without any legit deep threat, it was a lot easier for defenses to guard against everything else.