Not sure how to handle this one.
The offense was fantastic. The O-line gave Savage plenty of time and opened up holes for the running game. James Conner now appears to be the primary running back — even if not listed as the starter. Tom Savage had an absolutely brilliant game. Accurate throws. Looking off his receivers a lot more. Devin Street and Tyler Boyd are possibly the best 1-2 WR combo in the ACC. And Kevin Weatherspoon’s abrupt and clutch emergence as the 3d WR. The playcalling was aggressive and smart for most of the game.
It feels like that doesn’t begin to do their performance justice.
And that’s because…
Defense and special teams did so much to nearly undo everything the offense did.
Starting with the defense. It was a defense that had 4 interceptions — including one returned for a TD — and forced three 3-and-outs and a 4-and-out when Duke tried and failed on 4th down. Yet it could barely hang on to the game.
Giving up 424 yards (323 passing & 101 rushing) to the Duke back-up QB. Helped Pitt to a 20-point and 23-point lead only to let the lead dwindle back down to single digits just as quickly. And it wasn’t because the defense was tired. Pitt held the ball for nearly 13 more minutes than Duke.
The defense lost focus for large stretches. Not being disciplined in their assignments when facing a team that could spread them out and have the QB run. Just like the Florida State game, where they looked confused and lost.
After Pitt went ahead, 51-28, with 3:18 left in the third — the Panthers’ largest lead of the game — the defense responded by allowing Duke to score on a 75-yard touchdown pass on the first play of its next drive, giving the Blue Devils hope and keeping them within striking distance.
“I wouldn’t say [I’m] frustrated,” defensive lineman Aaron Donald said. “There’s disappointment at times when you give up a first-play drive for 75 yards and let them score. But we stayed together and we kept fighting and we came out with a win. I’m happy with that.”
Pitt’s defense seemed to turn a corner last week when it shut down New Mexico’s option rushing attack. But against Duke’s spread, Pitt defenders had trouble defending the Blue Devils in the open field, similar to the struggles they had in the opener against Florida State.
“Last week we did a better job of, maybe, assignment football,” Chryst said. “When they take a defense and they spread you apart, there are components, there are options. If one guy is off on his thing, whether his eyes are wrong or doesn’t defeat a block, [it doesn’t work].”
A lot of blame should go on the players, but the coaches are the ones that prepare them. And they are the ones that kept deciding to send out Ray Vinopal to play free safety.
The defense has me terrified at this point. The side of the ball that has all the veterans. That has the experience. The weak spots on the defense, though, are being picked at with regularity and the coaching staff is showing little ability to do anything to adjust to or mask the problems.
Then there are the special teams.
Not included in that total, however, are Duke’s 211 return yards that, combined with other special-teams mistakes, nearly cost Pitt (2-1, 1-1) its first ACC victory.
It started when freshman kicker Chris Blewitt missed an extra-point attempt — the Panthers’ fourth in the past eight seasons — after the first touchdown.
Then Duke defensive tackle Sydney Sarmiento blocked a 24-yard field-goal attempt that wasted a 19-yard interception return by safety Jason Hendricks to the Duke 42.
It got worse just before halftime when Duke’s Jamison Crowder, who scored two other touchdowns from scrimmage on run and pass plays, returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown. That turned what had been a 27-7 Pitt advantage into a 30-28 lead.
And every Pitt fan started flashing back (“Over Macho Grande?” “No. I don’t think I’ll ever get over Macho Grande.”) to December 2009 against Cinci.
The game appeared to be slipping away with 4:29 left when punter Matt Yoklic dropped a snap at the Pitt 30, setting up Duke’s final touchdown and the second by quarterback Brandon Connette.
“Our coverage units, special teams in general, all four phases,” coach Paul Chryst said, pointing out one of the areas where Pitt needs to improve.
Um, yeah. Who’s in charge of special teams? No, really. Who is in charge? It’s not listed on the “Coaches” page aside from one graduate assistant. I mean, I can understand not wanting to take the “credit” but usually someone is given the job. I have to assume it is the head coach. It might be time for him to put a little more time on that aspect. [EDITOR NOTE: Not sure how I missed this factoid, but it seems that special teams coach is “by committee” per Sam Werner of the PG: “Chryst said this morning that he isn’t going to revisit the concept of coaching special teams by committee (Chris Haering is sort of the de facto coordinator, but really all of the coaches work with the special teams units)…” Hopefully he revisits it after this year, because this approach hasn’t looked any better in year 2 than in year 1.]
Now on the silver lining front, Pitt didn’t lose the game. Pitt, when it has close games in past years has not handled that well.
We have to be better at closing out a game,” Chryst said.
“We need to work on some stuff,” said defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who had a sack and another tackle for a loss. “We got a win, so we’re going to be happy about the win, but I’m kind of disappointed as far as letting them score 55 points on us. I’m real disappointed in that part.”
Street, who has been around long enough to have seen some devastating losses, said he couldn’t help but think about Pitt losing leads against Iowa in 2011 and Notre Dame last year.
“Those close games, we couldn’t finish,” he said. “Today was a true test. I think it’s a good indication of where we’re at. Wins and losses come a dime a dozen, but effort can’t be matched.”
Then he added: “Of course, we have to get better.”
Pitt was 3-9 the past 3 years in games decided by 7 points or less (including those come from ahead losses to ND, WVU and Iowa). This time they at least hung on and did enough.
Now from the Duke side. Duke Head Coach Dave Cutcliffe saw that kind of offense Pitt ran back when he was the head coach at Ole Miss.
Back when Duke coach David Cutcliffe was coaching in the SEC, with SEC-sized players, he would run an offense similar to the one Pittsburgh used to shred Duke’s defense for 598 yards, he said. The Panthers ran the ball effectively to set up big passing plays, an age-old strategy that worked all day.
Due to the Panthers’ success on the ground, Duke safeties were cheating up and letting receivers get behind them. That happened on consecutive plays to safety Dwayne Norman, who was beaten on a 67-yard touchdown pass to Devin Street and a 69-yard toss to Tyler Boyd.
“Young men are fighters and competitors, and if they come out being successful running the ball on you, everyone wants to stop the run,” Cutcliffe said. “There are people that are pass-first, and there are people that are run-first, and you can’t cross over in that circumstance.
“When you’re in a deep zone, you’re trying to keep it all in front of you. You get mesmerized if you’re not careful at safety. I don’t have to see the tape to know you get mesmerized at safety with the play-fake. They’re big, they put that ball in there, and by the time you think it’s past, it is past. Well that’s too late with a guy that runs as well as their guys do.”
Duke — despite all the points their defense gave up — has to be wondering “what if” after 4 turnovers that led to 14 points. Cost them drives and possibly their own points.
Defense, wow. Regarding House, and regarding my questions a few weeks back. Doesn’t anyone else see what is wrong, and can’t they go to him in the meetings and give suggestions. Is he out there on an island??? Shouldn’t he be getting input from everyone??
If Vinopal shouldn’t be the whipping boy, as someone suggested, then he has to do one thing. Get off the field. Sorry, maybe a nice kid, maybe a standout in the community. Wonderful. As for football and him, yikes.
Overall, I’m actually pretty happy. Won a game on the road, offense spectacular, all the scoring aside, I’ve seen us lose many a game like this.
Lots of work to do, but 2-1. Next up, UVA, see what happens.
Why?
Because it would break the 2 win 2 loss streak we’ve been on for OVER A YEAR NOW.
That being said, I think there is a spark of hope – if only a spark. Leading up to the Duke game I read that the team was focused on creating turnovers. Well gentlemen, they created four of them. As bad as the defense was, without those turnovers we don’t win the game.
So here is what I’m getting at. Pitt focused on turnovers in practice and the defense went out and created turnovers in the game. This shows me that if the team is to some degree coachable. They can improve.
Am I too, optimistic? Maybe. But at this point, what choice do we fans have? I’ve got to give House an company a chance to focus the players on their assignments or tackling, or both; because they aren’t going to fire him before Virginia.
Fear the worst. Hope for the best. Hail to Pitt.
PS – If Vinopal is the starter, how bad are the backups???
The other thing that I’ve sensed is that this team is really starting to play like a TEAM! Even the emerging Freshmen stars are all about playing for the betterment of the team rather than dwelling on their own personal highlights. That my friends is how a winning program develops and I think that is because Coach Chryst is fostering that kind of team family atmosphere. Sure looks like they’re having fun out there now!
I sincerely hope that recruits like Henry and Nicholsen are paying attention, we sure could use their help next season on the D.
Have no idea what to expect from the Panthers going forward, still a ton of unanswered issues and they will continue to be tested by tougher competition going forward. Exciting to watch though. A lot more fun than last year!
Hail to Pitt!
Changing the subject – We are now 9th in ESPN’s ACC power rankings. A win against the Cavs doesn’t push us any higher though, because Virginia is right behind us at #10.
1) Vinapol, after getting beat all day for long passes, long TD’s and missed tackles. Recovers Duke’s onside kick when they had built some momentum.
2) For all the ills of the defense and they were many and well documented on this site, Gonzo comes up with the game winning points, the points that got PITT to 58 points, with the INT return for a TD.
PITT is starting to get some consistency on offense, it’s very important we score a lot of points this week as well, against a middling Virginia team.
Plus it’s homecoming !!!
VeV !
1) tall guy with big arm
2) 2 really good, playmaking WRs
3) a pretty good freshman RB, and
4) no D
In other words …. Pitt is last year’s WVU
Plus that’s where he’s going to play in the NFL, DE.
Plug Tyrique Jarret at 340 lbs at NT along with Ezell at DE, Donald at DE and do a 3 man line with Price as a hybrid standup DE/LB where he kind of excelled as a true freshmen. He’s not big enough to go into a 3 point stance against a behemoth OT.
You could also switch into a 4 man front when the occasion demanded it (a running attack team) and plug in LaQuinten Smith, Daryl Render or Devon Cook as the extra linemen. All 3 have some playing experience and all 3 showed some promise.
These are some options available to House, or is he just going to keep trotting Durham & Murphy out there the whole season ? And let the defense continue to struggle ???
Maryland of the ACC (at the moment). (38-0)
The toothless must be getting restless in Morganhole. lol
EMel that sounds so very good mail the idea to
house becuse he is to dumb to think of it him self
Todd Orlando, who Pitt passed over for defensive coordinator, currently has the No.15 defense in the country at Utah St
But unless there’s major improvement (and so far it’s been the same defense giving up gobs of points since the Compass Bowl)..don’t see us keeping it close against Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Miami. If we beat Virginia 6-6 looks like a good possibility, maybe 7-5. If Chryst truly wants to be a great head coach, he’s going to have to go outside his safety zone and hire a real defensive coordinator.
Once again, Frankcan, who threw the biggest stink of this board about House’s hiring, is right on the money.
Most of us would be satisfied by 6-6 or 7-5 after the chaotic summer. Overall, Pitt football is on an upward trajectory and generating real excitement.
Tino must have lost his twitter password.
which means todd would not fit here.
15th ranked D or not.
Hail to Pitt!
he posted to day i think you will like it.
give it a look buddy .
don’t know if NC can keep up with our offense even if our D is still putrid
Miami and GT will absolutely kill us though if positive changes aren’t made
And, ya, how about the Hoopies?? 0-39???
Double ouch.
I really like the idea of going to the 3-4 defensive scheme, putting both Ezell and Donald at the DE positions and getting Price back into the LB spot again. I’d love to see opponents try to move Tyrique Jarret out of the middle at NT while Ezell and Donald are causing all kind of mischief around the ends.
Can you imagine Virginia’s OC’s expression the first time House trots out that new defense come Saturday. That would be a major quizical WTF look on his face if there ever was one.
I’m serious guys, email those suggestions to Coach House TODAY!
lots open at 7:30 for very wary tailgating.
stage ae opens at 9:30.
morning madness at 10:30.
pitt band plays a pregame concert at 10:30 near entrance a.
and marches to the stadium at 11:30.
and let’s not forget the 40′ duck tethered close to the clemente bridge.
Looking over whisky offense last two years Chryst was there, they put up boat loads of PTs but gave up tons of points. I’ll take a 10 win season with great offense if it means have a crappy defense
The defensive staff consists of the least qualified DC in the BCS along with 2 assistants with a collective experience of 3 years … plus guy taken out of retirement.
This is a unit with 8 returning starters; they should not be great but should at least be serviceable.
That the offensive staff surrounding PC all have great qualifications while the defense has very little is a total disaster … and all Pitt fans that care should be enraged.
All I have to say is that Savage better fill the air with footballs against Virginia, because our defense ain’t much.
i know there are some who dont like what i say
but you know Wbb is a fair man.
and what he says is fact house was a bad hire.and what makes me mad is if we had a serviceable D not even a great D just average we could win 9 games
this year.
but with house it will never happen.
That being said, I must be smoking the same stuff because I honestly feel pitt can play with anyone on this schedule. It will require many points to win most of these games if the defense doesn’t improve. I can see this team winning 9 games this year. If this defense can improve in the smallest of ways, pitt can have one lose going into November
Of course I could walk out of Heinz on Saturday afternoon complaining about another pitt lose. But with all the complaining I do, I also find myself seating in the same seat hoping for a pitt win for the past 15yrs.
When we run into teams that can bring the pressure, then things will change. Look what pressure did to a 2-time SB winner last night
that we could do it.
but not with the D playing the way that they do.
so i think you are right 5 wins is abought right
but you see that is why i am mad becuse the offence
is good enough but the D is not.
and it did not need to be that way all that he needed to do was hire a good DC and who knows were
we would have been maybe 9 wins a great season thrown away with a bad hire.
We can win six games, maybe seven just with our offense. If by some miracle our ragtag bunch of under-qualified defensive coaches can pull this defense together we might win 8 or 9.
They played 3-4 just 2 years ago under Fraud, and that defense did pretty well for the most part.
Also, you can’t switch schemes midstream.
transfer from kansas he is 6 foot 3 290 pounds what
do you think should chryst give him a call.
i guess kansas was to flat for him.
kansas said bye bye go any were but the big 12.
who knows maybe chryst will call him.
Pitt must beat Virginia to have a chance to win 6 games. Great to be excited after beating Duke and NM however
Pitt will be mauled by any team with a decent QB. Be it
coaches and/or lack of talent the performance by the D
year to date is abysmal. Beating Virginai is the key to a 500
season.
********
Pitt is ranked last in the ACC in total (445 yards per game), passing (251) and scoring (41 points) defense and next-to-last against the run (194). Pitt is the only team in the conference to allow a score every time the opponent moves into the red zone (15 chances, 11 touchdowns, four field goals).
Tribune Review
@ Caw Miller – I agree. Hopefully he was out of position. If that was the scheme, we have bigger issues.
We can all speculate, and then kick around the final record that we except the Panthers will have come December but at this point in the season, it is all BS.
As I always say, “that’s why they play the games”! So just show up for Homecoming and let’s see what Pitt puts out there for our football enjoyment come Saturday.
Hail to Pitt!
Here’s my game plan let’s see if you can agree.
Kickoffs:
Blewitt Kicks the ball through the end-zone every time.
Other team gets the ball at the 25 yard line. I think we can live with this.
Punts:
Yoklic Punts the ball “Out of Bounds” as far as he can.
No return No harm.
I know this seems “INSANE” to some but it’s much better than what we do now or have for years.
Thoughts?
Senior, experienced, from what I remember, a pretty good kicker the past couple years.
Don’t know his stats, but seems like a lot of his punts were short, low, line drives.
Didn’t start raining till the end.
Suprising.