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September 16, 2013

What Worrys With Savage

Filed under: Football,Players — Chas @ 8:18 am

Let’s put this in context right away. This is not a call for the benching of the QB. Not even close. This is also not a comparison to Tom Savage’s predecessor. While Tom Savage worries me for stretches and at time outright scares me, he does not create the game-long feeling of dread and inevitable disappointment of the QB of the previous few seasons.

This is merely an attempt to try and explain what does make me worry and nervous about Tom Savage when he drops back.

The positives. He is always looking downfield. He has an excellent arm. Solid accuracy. He’s willing to stand in the pocket to throw.

The worrying thing to me is related to his locking in on a primary target. The prime example was the first play and interception. There were three New Mexico players around the receiver, including one in front. That meant there was some much more open somewhere on the field, but Savage still decided to make that throw. He never looked anywhere else on the field.

“I saw the guy there,” Savage said. “I thought his shoulders were turned the other way, and he flipped on the last second.”

But Savage said his mistakes in the first two games won’t stop him from taking chances with his strong arm.

“I need to understand the game, but I’m not going to be afraid to take shots downfield. I have the receivers to do it.”

No one wants him to stop doing it. We’ve been complaining for about 6 years or so about the lack of a vertical offense that stretches the field. So no. By all means, don’t stop taking shots downfield. That isn’t the issue. More interceptions will happen when you do that, but that is an acceptable trade-off.

Devin Street is a fantastic route runner. Very, very underrated in that aspect. Boyd is a spectacular talent. None of that is in dispute.

It is not seeing the whole field and quickly noting if there is anyone else getting open. Justin referred to it as tunnel vision, and in a way that crystallized my concern.

It isn’t just that he is focused on one guy downfield. It’s that his tunnel vision has him oblivious to what is happening around him. When the pocket is collapsing. When a defensive player is closing in on him. He’s not aware of it and that he needs to throw the ball. Or at least step up in the pocket to try and by some time if he is going to wait.

Again, I understand that a vertical passing game requires holding the ball longer while the receiver gets to the spot. And there will be more sacks as well. That does not mean that Savage shouldn’t be checking his other reads. That doesn’t mean Savage should stay unaware of what is happening with the pass protection and whether he needs to adjust.

This was part of the problem at Rutgers. Yes, there was a bad offensive line — but Savage contributed to the volume of sacks and hits he took by being slow to make his decision to throw. By waiting for one receiver to be open.

Pitt’s O-line is improving. I think it is already better than last year’s O-line. But it still has a lot of problems. Especially in pass protection. Savage has to do a little more to help them and himself. Otherwise we will see more of Chad Voytik simply because they are carting Tom Savage off the field.





This sounds a lot like one of my posts a month or so ago.

Despite Savage’s success against New Mexico, there is reason for concern once Pitt again faces a well-coached talented defense.

Saturday the Lobos gave Savage plenty of opportunity to show off his ridiculous arm. The O-line also gave him the time to stand tall in the pocket and throw accurately.

Even on his perfectly thrown passes to Boyd, Savage appeared to stay totally focused on his primary target.

And the other thing… Savage has ZERO escapability.

Without question, Savage keeps his job for now.

But starting this coming weekend against Duke, it won’t be the Lobos anymore.

Here’s hoping that Chryst and Rudolph… and Boyd… continue to provide Savage with the tools he needs to succeed.

And, oh yes… that Wisconsin-like O-line that has looked pretty good and really good in two games now.

Comment by PittofDreams 09.16.13 @ 8:50 am

wow, your biggest problem with the qb is that he stares down receivers?

could be a lot worse..

did you see Drew brees(voytik) out there in the 4th? He can barely see over the line!

Comment by NOPE 09.16.13 @ 8:55 am

DOPE- Yeah, we wouldn’t want Drew Brees out there (or Russell Wilson) playing QB for us, he’s too short.

Comment by 1618mt 09.16.13 @ 9:12 am

The sad thing is that Savage, at this point, is probably not going to change. Surely coaches Bollinger, Chryst and Rudolph have noticed this and pointed it out to him. Surely two weeks between games is enough time to work on it. Surely a game against a lesser opponent is an outstanding opportunity to work on some checkdown skills.

Surely not.

Take him for what he is gentlemen. It’s only one season. And as Chaz already pointed out, it’s still an upgrade from the last three years. Interceptions and all.

Comment by Atlanta Panther 09.16.13 @ 9:15 am

Nope… no I mean yep… staring down receivers is a BIG problem when you play something better than a pack of mangy Wolves.

Watching the tape, it’s going to be pretty apparent to opposing DCs on how you defend this Pitt team and its quarterback.

The answer is… TAKE AWAY BOYD.

To counter this, Savage is going to have to prove himself capable of making QUICK decisions on whether to throw to Boyd or not… and if the answer is no… how quickly can I locate the other receiver being ignored by the defense.

One thing for sure, Savage ain’t running away from any pressure to buy himself time. This is going to limit his ability to either find anothher receiver or buy an extra second or two to give #23 an opportunity to break free.

The saving grace that might put off this test for Savage for another week is the apparent trouble Duke has with stopping the run… that includes a little someting called a jet sweep.

Comment by PittofDreams 09.16.13 @ 9:18 am

It sounds like Savage is used to playing with a red jersey on, which keeps him safe from hits by the defense. The pocket might collapse, but he will not get hit. He also sounds like he is in practice in that the play is called for a particular receiver to get the ball and he throws the ball to that receiver. Sounds like Savage hasn’t played 1st string in live games in years. 0h. That’s right, he hasn’t. I hope the dust gets knoicked off sooner than later.

Comment by Caw Miller 09.16.13 @ 9:26 am

Even if he doesn’t get better, we are still miles ahead of the last three years. You say he has no escapability, but he rolled out right and threw a great pass on the run for a last second touchdown. When is the last time we saw anything like that?

On the corner blitzes from FSU, he should have thrown the ball away. From my angle, right behind him, on the second interception against NM, it looked like he should have thrown the ball away.

I think there is some truth to what you are saying but let’s not blow it out of proportion. The most important thing is he throws the ball accurately and with zip. We are very lucky he is here. The game should slow down for him as the season goes on. The line should get better, and play action will work with a good running game.

The kid is not going to be Peyton Manning, but he gives us a chance to win.

To me he is the least of our worries.

Comment by gc 09.16.13 @ 9:49 am

Even though the game was over, I am much more concerned with what Gautsche and Gongbay did to us in the last qtr, and what Wiggins did on punt returns and kick offs. Especially when we play Navy.

Comment by gc 09.16.13 @ 9:59 am

@Atlanta Panther. Ditto here. Sit tight and hold on and enjoy the ride with Tom Savage. He is definitely an upgrade from the previous 6 years and he is a gun slinger type of QB with a rifle for an arm. He is going to throw some pics, some at inopportune times; but he is also going to make some big plays with his talented wide receivers that we haven’t seen in these parts in years so we will have to take the good with the bad. H2P!

Comment by Panther Fan in Hoopieland 09.16.13 @ 10:08 am

The career interception leader in the NFL is Brett Favre. Our own Dan Marino is 8th. By percentages, the leader is Aaron Rogers followed by Tom Brady. YA Tittle had the worst single season pecentage (1963 – NY Giants). It was Tittle’s best season although the Giants lost the NFL championship game to the Bears. He set a franchise record for most touchdown passes in one season with 36 and was the NFL MVP. If Mr. Savage has a year like that or career like any of them, I will be very happy.

Comment by Pitt Dad 09.16.13 @ 10:13 am

Well girls I see your at it again. Bitch, bitch bitch. In olden days it would be referred to as crying with a loaf of bread under each arm. A quarterback who threw 3 INTs in a season was no good. Now a quarterback who completes 13 out of 17 is a problem. In all my years of watching football I have never seen a quarterback not stare down receivers. They all do it, some more than others. What I saw at the game was a quarterback that hit his receivers in stride with perfect passes.
As for his only mistake, he was like a batter who decides to swing at the first pitch believing it will be a fast ball and is fooled by a curve. A pass on the first play should have been open but he got fooled as they had it covered. No question he should never have thrown it but the rest of the game he was all we could ask for.

Comment by letterman 09.16.13 @ 10:28 am

Glad to see that Todd Thomas had a great game as well has matured in the process. Maybe he will take the next step to professional football with his skill level. Imagine that, punishment to encourage self-discipline! Parents today have no understanding of that concept!
Heard about Shai’s injury and can only wish him the best in his recovery! Will mention that a guy named Shady had an injury in HS which made him pick the Panthers because we hung with him. Hard work ahead kid but you can do it!
Savage is a joy to watch and I’m not talking about the look or throw, I’m talkin about he’s not running to sacks or holding the ball forever like some other idiot did waiting to be sacked. Hail to the Panthers. UPone

Comment by UPone 09.16.13 @ 10:49 am

Well girls I see your at it again. Bitch, bitch bitch. In olden days it would be referred to as crying with a loaf of bread under each arm. A quarterback who threw 3 INTs in a season was no good. Now a quarterback who completes 13 out of 17 is a problem. In all my years of watching football I have never seen a quarterback not stare down receivers. They all do it, some more than others. What I saw at the game was a quarterback that hit his receivers in stride with perfect passes.
As for his only mistake, he was like a batter who decides to swing at the first pitch believing it will be a fast ball and is fooled by a curve. A pass on the first play should have been open but he got fooled as they had it covered. No question he should never have thrown it but the rest of the game he was all we could ask for.

Comment by letterman 09.16.13 @ 10:28 am

……………..

Well said, bitch bitch bitch.

Finally, a Pitt QB who can keep a Defense honest with his arm..sets up the run.

Yeah, lets nit pick!

Comment by NOPE 09.16.13 @ 11:01 am

Chas, maybe you and Justin have PTSD, Post Tino stress disorder.

Comment by gc 09.16.13 @ 11:27 am

I will grant you that Savage locks in sometimes – but I don’t see it on every play. He will have to get better at utilizing the TE’s and backs, and not forcing to covered WR’s, but I can’t blame him for wanting to get it to Street and Boyd as much as possible.

Here’s the thing about Savage: he TRUSTS HIS ARM and ability to make throws – and I’m ok with that. Pitt Dad provides some excellent examples of successful QBs who trusted their arm. Of course there are some bad ones too, Jay Cutler…

I disagree though that Savage doesn’t sense the rush – I don’t see that at all. I think he’s done a good job of moving away from pressure and buying time. If anything against FSU, his issue (or the offensive line’s) was recognizing the blitz.

With the line’s improvement and Savage’s willingness to take some shots, I think it is unlikely that he is sacked more times than Tino last year (38), which was a monumental improvement over 2011 (63).

Maybe if our most recent QB was named Marino, I could find more fault. After the last 3 years, I am singing young Mr. Savage’s praises. I enjoy watching him play, I like the offensive overall. Heck, we might actually be able to come from behind once this year!

Comment by Iron Duke 09.16.13 @ 11:41 am

gc – I echo your concerns re: specials and what happened when Gautsche came in. We need a Specials coordinator badly, and good think Gautsche didn’t play the first half.

Comment by Iron Duke 09.16.13 @ 11:44 am

Brett Favre is the most sacked QB ever. Eli Manning holds the season record with 11 followed by Flacco and Roethlisberger each with 9. Still good company for our Mr. Savage.

Comment by Pitt Dad 09.16.13 @ 12:21 pm

Correction – the single season marks above were for the playoffs. The single regular season mark is held by David Carr with 76. Favre is still the career leader.

Comment by Pitt Dad 09.16.13 @ 12:23 pm

Wow, I am so impressed with the football knowledge on here!

– So many of you obviously know what plays were called on every passing down.
– So many of you know Paul Chryst’s play book inside and out. You know the primary receiver on the plays as well as the check downs.
– Best of all, you have some kind of bionic eye. You can see, from the stands, what exactly Tom Savage’s eyes are focusing in on.

You all need to be on the coaching staff because I am sure that since Tom Savage has been at Pitt that Paul Chryst and Brooks Bolinger have never once coached him to look off a receiver. I am sure it has slipped their minds.

Seriously?

Comment by notrocketscience 09.16.13 @ 12:31 pm

They may have been mangy wolves. However, they are a Div 1 program, and a Mountain West conference member.

I’m happy we finally did to a team, what was expected and what the fans were hoping for.

What if this had been a 17-16 nail biter??
What if we lost??

We certainly don’t want to get over hyped, but, they looked pretty good against a lesser team. That hasn’t always happened lately with Pitt.

I didn’t like the defense so much in the second half, and would have been happier with a few more scores (keeping the foot on the gas pedal).

Overall, hard to complain about this one.

Comment by Dan 09.16.13 @ 1:14 pm

When Savage has been good, namely long out patterns and curls in the middle of the field he has been outstanding. When he’s throwing clueless passes into triple coverage he looks awful. That’s what you get with a rusty QB learning a new system. He also seems to be a bit of a gunslinger without a conscience, which can be good (e.g., Favre) or bad (e.g., Cutler).
Time will tell and all we fans can do is hope the interceptions drop dramatically because this team won’t win consistently if it keeps losing the turnover battles.
I haven’t seen many quick slants to WRs nor did the TEs seem to have much of a role except for around the goal line in the first two games. Bollinger/Rudolph may be developing their playbook in real time, but it seems that Holtz, Orndorf, and Garner are going to waste if the TE position isn’t targeted 8-10 times a game.
T. Thomas was very good on defense last week, but he may be the worst special teams LB I have ever seen play football. They need to find some speedy tough guys who want to make a name for themselves on special teams (like Taglianetti did) or Pitt will lose at least one game this year solely because of special teams breakdowns.
Also, Bluitt may have an accurate leg, but so far he hasn’t shown he has a big leg on kickoffs, which I find really disappointing based on his pub.

Comment by Taxing Matters 09.16.13 @ 1:16 pm

I hope some of you got to hear Boyd speak after the game.

Reporter asked him about the touchdown catch at the end of the half.

“We want to score there, we’re not taking a knee. We want to score and score, then score some more”!!!!

Thank you Mr. Boyd.

Comment by Dan 09.16.13 @ 1:22 pm

Here’s hoping Devin Street breaks all the Pitt receiving records and then Tyler Boyd stays long enough to break all of Street’s.

H2P

Comment by Pitt Dad 09.16.13 @ 2:27 pm

sorry you guys are nuts. savage has an NFL arm. yes he will throw picks as he throws the ball downfield. We haven’t hasd a guy with this kind of arm since danny. ( I am not counting flacco as he never played). compared to Tino, Stull and even palko he can deliver the ball downfield better than any of these guys. he is not slow. he threw that td to Boyd on the dead run. enjoy this kid. he is going to the NFL.

Comment by titleman 09.16.13 @ 2:58 pm

He isn’t going to check down then leave a back
in the pocket to block. No use him peeling off if
they aren’t going to look that way.

Comment by Tackle Made by Hugh 09.16.13 @ 3:26 pm

Savage has a solid arm, and he looks like he doesn’t suffer from Sal syndrome, but his delivery isn’t quick. He is an improvement at the position and for this I am thankful, now let’s play a little D and see if we can’t win 6 or 7.

Comment by spiritofsection 22 09.16.13 @ 4:11 pm

Chas sorry your remarks should not even be dignified with a rebuttal. The kid has not played in three years. When he was an 18 year old freshman he hrew alot of interceptions. This should not even be mentioned all freshman do.
Against N>M. the second interception was a great throw but his own man overplayed the ball. knocking it up int he air.
The out patterns and the pass over the middle to Boyd were better throws then Ben can make now.
Most college QB’s lock in on a receiver ‘s and interceptions are part of a college QB’s learning curve as he moves on.
Let’s compare Marino’s college record. When you have a strong arm you take risks.
Fresh yr. 58.6% com. 10 TD 9INT
soph 51.8% com 15 TD 14 INT
Jun. 59.5% com 37 TD 23 INT
sen 58.5% com 17 TD 23 INT
Also Marino played behind one of thest offense lines in the history of college football and had 2 all-american wide recievers.
Not one year over 60% completion rate. Savage is going to need to step it up to meet Dan’s senior interception numbers.
Tino,Volychik, and the rest of the DII qb throw only safe passes/ high percentage rates, low numbers on the scoreboard.
Just stop the uniformed crap.
We are blessed to have Savage who will improve during the year and it is my guess just as I saw Adams as a top 15 pick Savage will be the highest QB pick out of the ACC.
So let’s put this to rest

Comment by pittisit 09.16.13 @ 4:16 pm

note that the very first thing HCPC did in the offseason was to move the two starting OTs from last year to guard …. and even before that, he moved Clemmings from DE to OT.

It didn’t take a nuclear physicist to realize a major weak point from last year (actually the last 2 years)

Comment by wbb 09.16.13 @ 4:26 pm

OK, so everybody is praising Boyd for his last second TD catch before halftime, the next Fitzgerald, right? But Savage has zero mobility, tunnel vision and can’t avoid a rush, REEAALLY!?? I was at the game and I’m pretty sure that Boyd didn’t produce that play all by his little self.

WATCH THE CLIP.

link to pittsburghpanthers.com

Sure looks like to me that Savage avoided the defensive tackle that penetrated the pocket, which considering that he was locked onto the downfield receiver with his tunnel vision, how in the world did he see the defender in his peripheral vision (that he doesn’t have)???? Then he scrambled to the right and ran away from pressure, how can a guy with cement shoes and zero mobility possibly do that???? Then while in a full run Savage rifles the ball to a place in the endzone where only Tyler Boyd can come down with it. Maybe Savage isn’t so horrible after all?

I’ll taake Tom Savage everyday of the week over the other guy(with the same initials)that used to play for us at this position. That play would have NEVER EVEN HAPPENED with that OTHER guy in there.

Savage throws a good tight spiral that gets there quick, and HE CAN throw downfield. With continued game experience and solid coaching helping him to reduce his deficits, Tom will be just fine playing QB tor the Panthers going forward.

Yeah, so I’m agreeing with a lot of other guys who are protesting the subject of this thread, we are lucky to have the option of Savage at QB for us. Now go out and prove us right Savage, and send the Blue Devils with a second solid performance on Saturday.

Comment by Dr. Tom 09.16.13 @ 4:34 pm

Send the Blue Devils “back to hell” with a second solid performance on Saturday.

Hail to Pitt!

Comment by Dr. Tom 09.16.13 @ 4:37 pm

Pittisit, Savage has a nice arm but he is no Dan Marino. That kid at Florida St is better as a freshman than Savage will ever be. That being said we are better off this year than last and I don’t think I’d get carried away and call us “blessed”, but he should help us do OK. The highest QB pick in the ACC this year is a lot like being elected mayor of Wilmerding.

Comment by spiritofsection 22 09.16.13 @ 4:40 pm

wbb, I think you are seeing the biggest area of future potential on our team. The first series against Fla. St. our line moved one of the best defenses in the country 80 yards backwards. They weren’t strong enough or experienced enough to sustain it but that is the future this coach is trying to build. We aren’t geographically able to recruit the fastest team but we can compete in the trenches. Blocking and tackling wins football games and I see a time under this coach when Pitt does both pretty well.

Comment by spiritofsection 22 09.16.13 @ 4:50 pm

“It isn’t just that he is focused on one guy downfield. It’s that his tunnel vision has him oblivious to what is happening around him. When the pocket is collapsing. When a defensive player is closing in on him. He’s not aware of it and that he needs to throw the ball. Or at least step up in the pocket to try and by some time if he is going to wait.”

he didn’t have tunnel vision in the TD throw to boyd

just what are these examples of tunnel vision

are you sure you weren’t just having a hallucination and thinking tunnel vision tino was still out there

savage made 1 bad pass and you have to just make up crap to find things to worry about, savage does not have a worrying degree of tunnel vision

he also has seen the football field in a live game situation 2 times in 3 years he’s not going to improve his flaws significantly in just 2 games

Comment by deepelemblues 09.16.13 @ 5:38 pm

i will take savage over that kid we had last year
what ever his name was any day of the week.
must you bitch at every thing.
savage is the best QB pitt has had in the last 6 years or would you like to have thoes QB back not
me.

Comment by FRANKCAN 09.16.13 @ 7:26 pm

Well I guess we wouldn’t be Pitt fans if we were clenched up about something now would we?? Lol.

As Deep mentioned above, I think it is only fair to point out that prior to the FSU game, Savage only had 320 pass attempts as a D1 QB and it had been what like 1,000 days since the last one?

Tino had over 700 pass attempts before Chryst, Bollinger & Co got a hold of him.

How about we wait until he hits the 100 or even 50 pass attempts mark before saying what he is or isn’t?

Drew Brees had more pass attempts yesterday than Savage has had in the past 3 years combined.

Just curious, does anyone know if Chryst scripts any plays at the start of a game?

Comment by CNorwoodAZ 09.16.13 @ 7:28 pm

Did anyone watch Freebeck play this past week? I thought he looked OK, but I don’t know…he is a senior now, but when he was a freshman he sucked…I noticed several problems with his play last week. He holds the ball a quarter inch too high on the strings. This will cause rotation issues with his passes. I also noticed that he squints his right eye during passing plays. This will prevent him from seeing the whole field. Lastly, he also has an annoying habit of scratching his nuts just before the snap. This will prevent high-fives with his teammates….Sorry guys, I just wanted to get an early start on this….

Comment by HbgFrank 09.16.13 @ 7:31 pm

Savage is sort of like watching a young Terry Bradshaw, who also had a cannon for a arm and also had problems reading defenses and forcing throws.

Terry got better after more game experience, so you would have to think so will Tom.

However, no risk no reward. With a dink & dunk QB, Boyd’s first catch doesn’t happen and of course Boyd’s TD catch doesn’t happen.

Risk gets reward.

You also get stung once in awhile with risk. (ie. interceptions)

Bradshaw’s TD to Interception ratio wasn’t great but he did have the habit of making the big throw at the big moment, which led to 2 Super Bowl MVP’s for the Bayou Bomber.

Another NFL QB who was known to take risks, to the point of his nickname being the ‘Mad Bomber’.

Can you name him ??

Comment by EMel 09.16.13 @ 7:57 pm

lol Hbg

No I didn’t notice any of that. (especially the ball scratching)

Comment by EMel 09.16.13 @ 8:00 pm

I think some are just so use to seeing a QB for PITT with limited arm strength, that they aren’t use to someone having the audacity of throwing the ball 40 yards on the dime.

And they’re use to PITT’s OC having to call all these dink & dunk passes to cover for the QB’s lack of arm strength and lack of accuracy of anything over 20 yards.

PC & JR aren’t game planning a dink & dunk type of west coast bs offense because of a candy armed QB. And if you’ve noticed 33% of the passes aren’t going to the RB’s as they did in seasons past. Or the length of the QB’s arm.

How long has it been since PITT had two 100 yard rushers one game, on so few rushing attempts ? Stretching the field vertically has to have some effect on that as well.

Comment by EMel 09.16.13 @ 8:09 pm

EMel like i said savage is the best pitt QB in the last 6 years or more.
would you want the outhers back not me savage will
do just fine thank you.

Comment by FRANKCAN 09.16.13 @ 9:02 pm

I have no problem with Savage (yet). He is no Tino nor is he Danny. I understand Chas and Justin’s evaluation. Savage has tons of alent around him (Street, Boyd, Garner, Connor etc). No need to lock into a primary receiver with those options.

BTW – Boyd is going to make a lot of QB’s look good in the next 10 years . He just might be Savage and CV’s ticket to a shot at the NFL.

Comment by Pitt Fan in Atlanta 09.16.13 @ 11:06 pm

Was the “Mad Bomber” Daryl Lamonica? Anyway, was overall mostly pleased with the boys on Saturday. I think the next 2 weeks will be a real good indicator of where this team is and what type of year we can expect. I forgot what it was like to see a pass over 30 yds completed live. Wish I would have got to see Freebeck, have been checking to see if his team was on TV, must have missed it. I can live with the excessive ball scratching if the results are there…

Comment by Pap76 09.16.13 @ 11:42 pm

I have to laugh when posters start comparing Savage to Marino and Farve based on the fact that they all throw a lot of INTs. Really? When Savage starts throwing tons of TD passes also that will be a bit more valid.

What we are seeing out of Tom Savage is exactly what was reported by Justin and I after watching Savage in multiple practices and scrimmages in both the spring and summer camps. Great arm and accuracy on the deeper passes but combined with tunnel vision and hesitation in the whole passing game.

It isn’t “rust” that is making this happen. Believe me, I saw Bollinger and Chryst dramatically trying to get Savage to check off on his receivers during practices since the spring and it hasn’t taken hold. Personally, I believe that negative trait is going to bite him in the ass when it comes to facing faster defenses who are not at New Mexico’s poor level.

Savage will make us stand up and cheer for sure with his deep completions but in few cases do those individual plays win ballgames. They do act as a factor to open up other aspects of the offense and that is a good thing, but the play to play passing game’s success is completions that move chains for 1st downs or give us short yardage on 3rd downs. Against a good defense in the FSU game we were 2 for 8 on 3rd down conversions and 0 for 1 on 4th down. That ain’t going to cut it against the better defenses we’ll face folks and we have to improve on that.

To really make our passing game effective it is imperative that Savage be able to run through his progressions. We are hearing a lot of fans bemoaning the fact that our TEs are not being utilized as they should be. That is true but it isn’t the staff’s playcalling that is cutting them out – it is Savage not looking past his primary receiver. The TEs aren’t called to pass block on every passing play, they have been running their routes but Savage hasn’t see them. They are too good of a resource not to utilize by doing better at checking off.

Look, it is still too early to say that Savage will be ‘good or bad’ on the season at this point. He certainly hasn’t been bad out there and he’s made some very good plays obviously and is exciting to watch. But in discussing the PITT football team you have to start with the QB position and Chas, Justin and I are expressing some real concerns we have about how Savage plays the position overall, especially because he is doing the exact same things he did at RU and at PITT since he came here.

I love having a different QB this season and am still looking forward to watching Savage play each week because he makes things happen with the deep ball and there is no doubt in my mind at all that he gives us the best chance to win games. I just have real concerns that his overall game might be left wanting when we start playing our tougher ACC opponents and ND and I hope that he can correct those his problems so that his better physical talents can be maximized.

Comment by Reed 09.17.13 @ 6:54 am

Reed, you may be absolutely correct in your analysis, but the critique is poorly timed. Can’t we as fans enjoy one victory, without immediately focusing on a perceived negative? Can’t we at least wait until he screws up to criticize the flaw? Can’t we be happy with what he is good at before jumping on a potential weakness?

Let’s not root for him to fail to prove your prediction that we would miss Tino’s production.

The good news is he can learn and get better at looking off the receiver and checking down to secondary and tertiary receivers. It’s only the second game. He can learn to be more stealthy with his hand offs.

The good news is that he has a strong and accurate arm. This can’t be learned, you have to be born with this talent. You can learn to throw the ball away when necessary.

Hopefully he is in the film room seeing the things you are speaking of.

At Rutgers he had no offensive line to give him time to look to secondary receivers. As he plays behind what looks like a good and improving line, he will get better at refining his game.

Let’s root for him to succeed.

Where I disagree with you is that it is not to early to say he is going to be good, it is just a matter of “how good?”

Comment by gc 09.17.13 @ 8:56 am

what? savage has been sacked 4 times in two games. 3 of which came against fsu who is one of the top 5 most talented teams in the country. that’s really not a high number. also, ive seen savage scramble out of pressure several times including the last second td versus new mexico. I think that is an issue but not even close to the level you are arguing.

also, I will live with some interceptions if he is going to stretch the field like he is. those are explosive plays in the passing game that pitt hasn’t had in years and that in term is creating explosive plays in the running game. however, if there are going to be interceptions, they MUST eliminate turnovers in other areas. fumbles and muffed punts are unacceptable. if they don’t have those turnovers vs new mexico that’s probably 10 more pitt points and 6-10 less new mexico points. they can survive an int versus duke and Virginia. they cannot survive and int, a fumble, and a muffed punt against them and surely not against the better teams they’ll play.

Comment by pk 09.17.13 @ 9:38 am

Reed, you’re on the money.

As you know, I related Savage’s tendency to have tunnel vision and susceptibility to being sacked in the weeks before Florida State.

Despite the hopes of some posters above, he’s never going to be mistaken for being nimble of foot.

But if Savage somehow succeeds in increasing his awareness and is able to put to action what Chryst and Rudolph are trying to get across… it’ll be awfully fun to watch.

Comment by PittofDreams 09.17.13 @ 10:24 am

By the way, love the “newbies” to the blog who come on only to criticize without knowing the history of many of the regular contributors here or really offering anything original themselves.

Comment by PittofDreams 09.17.13 @ 10:28 am

cg – I’m certainly not rooting for anyone to fail to make a prediction of mine come true. I’m well equipped to be wrong on them all on my own.

I like having Savage on the field and, unlike some other fans, don’t at all like what the alternative would be so I yell and scream for him to succeed every time he drops back to pass.

I do think it is a bit ironic with your statement about “enjoying a victory” without criticism and I suspect both Bill Stull and Tino Sunseri would agree that will never happen with PITT fans.

Comment by Reed 09.17.13 @ 10:30 am

I say WELCOME, newbies. Nice to have some different points of view than the same old voices. Don’t be scared off by the squatters here (especially the ones that like to self-congratulate, or feel their opinion is more important because they post all day long…)

Comment by JCE 09.17.13 @ 10:53 am

JCE,

Not against newbies at all. Everyone is a newbie at some point.

But bring something original instead of just coming out of the gate to criticize those who do.

By the way, a little self-congratulation isn’t so bad when you’re also willing to admit when you’re wrong.

I guess you would call that self-degradation?

Comment by PittofDreams 09.17.13 @ 11:22 am

We saw Savage play aginst arguably the best defense on the schedule, and the worst defense on the schedule.

So far, he is pretty much what I thought he’d be. But it is too early to compare him to anyone; let’s talk about this in November

Comment by wbb 09.17.13 @ 12:35 pm

No doubt. Original thought is always welcome, but I would dare say there are a few regular posters here who practically beg to be criticized!

Comment by JCE 09.17.13 @ 12:37 pm

JCE – here’s a novel idea. Why don’t you gather your senses, talk to people, find out as much as you can about the football program and its players and then make a post of what you find that is worth reading?

Right now it seems that all you are doing is taking potshots at others who are willing to do their homework and express their personal opinions based on that on here.

This isn’t a silly assed message board but the best venue for detailed discussion of PITT football on the web. You can certainly pick and choose the comments you’d like to read but the sniping, given that it is from someone who doesn’t contribute all that much, is a bit misplaced.

Comment by Reed 09.17.13 @ 8:57 pm

Reed you carried water for tino for 3 years and quite frankly he sucked.Now in an attempt to justify your tino worship you are taking unwarranted shots at the successor. A deep threat qb is a gamechanger. he makes the secondary respect the deep ball something we never saw with your boy toy tino. The td pass at haltf time was 45 yds on the noney on the dead run. Not many D1A qbs can even make that throw. Enjoy ythis kid he will make it in the NFL. while tino wis slinging macaroni in the Strip district.

Comment by titleman 09.18.13 @ 7:17 am

Reed, I find your insightful and fact-based analysis highly disturbing. This new guy is tall and obviously has a great arm. Any fool knows that as long as you can see over the line and throw a great deep-ball you are going to have tons of success in the NFL. That’s why David Carr and Tim Couch are all-pros and Drew Brees is riding the pine. And I don’t know how Peyton Manning succeeded, because he throws to his tight-ends way too often.

Comment by Atlanta Panther 09.18.13 @ 11:25 am

Yes AP I really miss the Tino the Turtle era. He sucked. Savage is good . deal with it.

Comment by titleman 09.19.13 @ 7:46 am

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