Virginia QB David Watford has more interceptions (6) than touchdowns (3). His total passing yardage is only 57 yards more than what Tom Savage threw in the Duke game. At the same time he hasn’t had to do too much. The BYU affair was a wet, downpour of a mess. Oregon destroyed them and against VMI there was limited point in passing when you are rolling up over 300 yards on the ground.
Still, this passing game from Virginia has been conservative to say the least.
David Watford completed 47 passes in Virginia’s first two games this season, versus Brigham Young and Oregon. None gained more than 20 yards, a conservative approach that left fans, and perhaps players and coaches, far too cranky by September standards.
Which explains Watford’s reaction to his 38-yard touchdown connection to Tim Smith in last week’s 49-0 pasting of VMI.
“A breath of fresh air,” Watford said Monday at Scott Stadium as the Cavaliers continued preparations for their ACC opener Saturday at Pittsburgh.
And guess what people are thinking about for Saturday.
A breath that needs to become at least an occasional breeze, a breath that could become gale-force against the Panthers.
Last season Pitt ranked among the nation’s top 25 in scoring defense, total defense and pass defense. With eight returning starters, including three in the secondary, that group figured to be an asset in 2013.
Not yet.
Under new coordinator Matt House — he succeeded Dave Huxtable, who took the same position at North Carolina State — the Panthers (2-1, 1-0 ACC) are 122nd, next-to-last, in pass efficiency defense. Only Florida International (0-4) is worse.
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So if Watford, Smith and other receivers such as Darius Jennings and Dominique Terrell, not to mention tight end Jake McGee, are determined to go vertical with the passing game, now is the time. McGee, for example, leads the 2-1 Cavaliers with 14 receptions, none longer than 11 yards, with a paltry 5.8 average, less than half his 13.4 norm of last season.“That’s something we really look to do,” Watford said, “that vertical passing game. … Letting the guys go make plays. … I know Tim can make that play. He’s done it numerous times in practice. Just to be able to do it on the field, in a game where it actually counts, that’s the most important thing. We’re definitely looking to do it more. Not just with Tim, but with Darius, Dominique and all of our wide receivers, because they’re all home-run hitters.”
Watford’s assessment of his teammates is predictably kind, but the truth is, none has emerged as a consistent deep target at any point in his career. A first-time starter this season, Watford is another variable in the equation — he needs to become more comfortable with the longer routes at his disposal.
“I can’t lie,” Watford said. “I have struggled with that, just being able to stretch the ball downfield. And it’s not that I lack the confidence, or we don’t have the playmakers. It’s just something you have to work on. People see it on Sundays (in the NFL) or Saturdays (in college games), people just throwing the ball and people catching it.
“But there’s a lot more behind it than that. … There’s a lot of work that goes into it. We’ve definitely been working on it, and that’s something we’ve been really stressing these last couple of weeks.”
I’d be okay if they try to stretch the field more. I’m more concerned about short and medium passes to the tight ends or running backs that will call on the linebackers to be in coverage. Frankly, the bigger concern has been quarterbacks that move on the ground.
In the last two games, over half the rushing yards were generated by the quarterbacks. Being unable to stop quarterbacks running with the ball has contributed significantly to a rushing defense that is ranked in the lower quarter of 1-A.
Not to worry, in the first three games, Watford has only run the ball for 48 total yards. Even against the overmatched VMI, he only ran for 30 yards.
It’s just that I can’t help but worry that Virginia is going to look to be a little more active with Watford on the ground rather than deep.
On running the read option, a look Virginia showed for the first time in last week’s victory over VMI: “(It) wasn’t the same kind of read (in high school). I was keeping it either way. It was a designed run, so I would just fake it and keep it, and I’d have a pulling guard (to follow). So it was a much easier read. But now, I’ve had to learn how to read the defensive end, just his body language, his eyes, and stuff like that. I feel a lot more comfortable with it now than I did at first. We’ve continually repped it in practice.”
Watford rushed for 791 yards as a senior at Hampton, 379 as a junior. But with 48 yards in three games this season, and 42 in 10 games as a freshman in 2011, Virginia fans have yet to see the speed he displayed in high school, a subject that he discussed recently with teammate Daquan Romero, a Peninsula District rival at Phoebus.
“I just have to trust my speed,” Watford said. “(Romero) was just like, `Just trust your speed, like we were in high school.’ Because in high school I would trust my speed, I would split defenders and make people miss and just run. But now I’m trying to find holes and lanes instead of just running. My coach is telling me the same thing: ‘Just run. You’re fast for a reason, so just run.’ ”
Which means Pitt defensive coaches won’t have too much tape on Watford running the read option. Which, given the work by DC Matt House to date, is hardly inspiring. Speaking of hardly inspiring…
One note on the defense: safety Jason Hendricks hinted that some of the defenses struggles could be tied to the transition to new defensive coordinator Matt House‘s scheme, particularly with the linebackers.
“The linebackers, they have different jobs, different fits, the language is a little different, but I think the guys are working hard to get better at it,” he said.
Now let’s take this with some context. There are a lot of factors in the defensive struggles, but this is the first time I recall a player even getting at any significant differences between this year’s scheme and last year’s. Hendricks (echoing Chryst) also said that a lot of the issues can be traced to guys trying to do too much. Basically, they see a teammate they thing is out of position and they go over to try and help, but really all that does is make two guys out of position.
“I think people are just worried about other people,” Hendricks said. “You need to worry about your job and your job only. If you do your job, then the person next to you is going to do their job.”
House has a scheme?
I don’t know. This is just my thoughts (and biases) right now, but that makes me think that House is trying to be too clever by half. Rather than work from what was in place last year under Huxtable, DC House is trying to show how smart a football mind he has and change things — down to the terminology — that just made things more confusing.
As much as the offense benefits from new guys at new spots, the offense clearly has improved in no small part because of the continuity of the coaches and what they wanted to do. Guys who have been practicing and learning the same system going back to last year. Even if they didn’t get on the field.
and both Vinopal and Gonzalez saw PT last year
not exact words there was moore go look it up.
on feb 18th nor from red shirt he said my positional focus will be the safeties hank will do the CB.
and besides the LB what looks like shit the safeties
read it and weep.
Joe D would state: fast fast fast
( 11.05 100m fast )
but above it says the D struggles is becuse of the scheme of the D . so we have had a camp and 3 games
and the LB and safeties still dont get it
i think the same as above he is being to cute
he is trying to be to smart he sucks.
Who knew !
Comment by FRANKCAN 09.25.13 @ 3:10 pm
lmao….Frankie.
But remember Mattie is ALWAYS home by 10 pm.
From Chas’s post UVA’s offense appears pretty pathetic. At least until Saturday.
“So it was a much easier read. But now, I’ve had to learn how to read the defensive end, just his body language, his eyes, and stuff like that. ”
Oh that’s just great, cause our Defensive Ends are usually on the ground, looking skyward or hopelessly out of position.
I think these kids are playing hard, but they don’t seem confident of their assignments.
Go Pitt.
you never want to blame the coach my god it could not be the coach why becuse he has 10 years experence well guess what he has all most no experence.
if he had 10 years i might blame the kids but he does not.
no way these kids are messing up on purpose .
you normally only see the kind of space guys have had in the middle when the LBs are blitzing
but house doesn’t blitz so…
time to drop the awful zones and go man-to-man if they beat us vertically a few times then they do better than not being able to stop the opposing offense ever because the middle of the field is wide open for them
In this case it’s the defense and there has been NO continuity at all. It’s like PC brought into an entirely new DC with an entirely new scheme and according to the players, even new terminology.
This is totally absurd. It could be justified if PC had brought in some good to very good DC who had some sort of track record, with this type of defense.
The guy he hired after putzing around for over 2 months before just promoting someone from the current staff with less than 10 year’s coaching experience COMBINED, has confused 8 returning starters for no apparent reason. OTHER THAN TO PUT HIS PERSONAL STAMP ON THE DEFENSE.
Sorry that is a pile of crap and PC needs to sit this twerp down, before the season is ruined.
Because the offense will have some games when they turn the ball over, not exactly light it up on offense and there are not many New Mexico’s and Duke’s left on the schedule.
Had the House version of this defense been used against Ole Miss in the Bowl game, the Rebels would have scored 50-60 points, perhaps more.
Again if you were bringing in a completely new proven DC, I could see PC signing off on the changes. But not some unproven kid from the current staff who was hired, I guess to provide some continuity. If it wasn’t for continuity, what was the reason he was given the job.
Which only leads you to question the management capabilities of the guy who hired him.
And if the Defense doesn’t get any better, as in sooner rather than later, that now questionable skill of the Head Coach will again be brought to the forefront.
It’s insulting to those of us who went to this school when they actually took football seriously, you know the football they’re still trying to make us believe they’re striving for.
That is the point of the constant reminders at Heinz Field of all the past 9 National Championships and all the great players of the past, isn’t it.
Trying to convince us, they’re still serious about making PITT football relevant again.
Well relevant programs don’t hire unproven, non-qualified kids like House to be coordinators, to use them as nothing more than a laboratory experiment.
For somebody like him, he should be at a D3 school like Case Western or CMU running his experiments on them, not us.
Oh and I imagine Cornhole had to sign off on this hire as well.
And that certainly figures….doesn’t it.
Evidence is mounting that players are having a difficult time adapting to all of the changes he’s implemented since replacing Huxtable.
Both Post Gazette and Trib running with the story angle that House’s schemes are confusing to players, especially the linebackers.
Ridiculous to think it’s the players when after weeks of practice in the Spring, a month of training camp and three games… players still don’t have it down.
No getting around it, it’s either the scheme implemented by the coadh or the inability of the coach to effectively teach to his players. either way, IT’S THE COACH.
Some have said that Chryst might actually be the one behind House’s schemes.
I don’t think so.
Chryst is anything but a micro-manager. He’s the type of guy who if he hires you for a job, he gives you the freedom to do it the way you think best. That being the case, he’s also willing to let you fail, learn from your failure… and figure your own way out of the mess.
This is not to say that Chryst won’t step in if he sees House and the “D” struggling beyond the point of no return.
That point could be coming soon if it’s not already here.
Contrary to Chryst, House is a stubborn guy who seems bent on showing everyone just how smart he is. Remember this is a guy who NEVER PLAYED college football.
Too bad House doesn’t seem to realize that being smart sometimes means relinquishing some of the things you have your mind set on doing in order to achieve results.
Bottom line… House looks to be a coach who is more set on running his idea of a good defense instead of one that the players on this year’s team might be best suited for and comfortable executing.
That’s a real shame… considering the athleticism and experience of the players that House was handed.
It’s the closing paragraph that gets me though. Here it is:
“And let me conclude by just saying this. I think these schemes were important, but Monte Kiffin coaches a disciplined defense. His defenders tackle well, fly to the ball, read their keys properly, and take good pursuit angles. If you do those things, you will have a good defense, no matter the scheme.”
At this juncture, a scheme change seems unlikely. There is a chance, I hope, that old House of Cards can get them flying to the ball, reading keys and taking good pursuit angles, oh yea and tackling soundly. Hail to Pitt.
Isn’t it also on the DC to motivate his charges ?
(ie. the players)
And if the DC see’s someone ‘dogging it’ shouldn’t that DC replace that person with another player who isn’t ‘dogging it’ ?
I saw four interceptions, thats LBs and secondary recognising the offensive scheme and flying to the ball, that showing “instinctive play”.
I saw huge gains both in the Duke running and passing game, with our guys not being around the ball when they should have been. That’s a combination of coaching schemes not being effective and players being out of position within those schemes. Combination of Coaching+player issues=shitty results.
I saw poor tackling, that’s poor technique, more a player not finishing the play than coaching, unless the coaches condone such poor technique, which I don’t think that they do.
So the defenses problems right now are a combination of players ability and upside potential, desire, coaching techiques and the players comprehension of that coaching so they can play instinctively without over analysis when they have to play fast.
Very complicated set of circumstances to deal with, with no simple solution, such as “fire the coach”!
Will this defense be able to get it together. Will know more about that in about 2 days.
I was one of the ppl defending the coaches on the TT week long hiatus. Really glad they worked that out, as the LB situation would be even worse now. TT had 10 tackles against UNM and looked like the only one who knew how to defend the read option.
Without the gift thrown to Gonzo for that INT TD, we most likely lose that game.
As far as ppl agreeing with me or Frank or anyone else. While it’s nice sometimes to be agreed with, this blog is for sharing everyone’s ideas and thoughts (i think). Being agreed with is not a pre or post requisite.
Actually glad we have a lot of differing opinions on here or it would be kind of boring.
