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November 13, 2013

Next Day’s Starting Pitcher

Filed under: Football,Opponent(s) — Chas @ 8:23 am

Momentum? Momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher.

Possibly Earl Weaver’s greatest quote that doesn’t include a string of expletive deleteds.

I thought about that quote shortly after Pitt’s win over ND. The euphoria of the win still lingering in the air as I left Heinz Field. Hearing people talking about how this could carry to the next game and so on. Reading it the next day in various comments. Then seeing it become a short piece.

As Chryst pointed out after the game and again at his news conference Monday, whether or not the Panthers seize the momentum they gained Saturday is yet to be seen.

“It was a good night, and something we can move forward with,” Chryst said. “The thing that I was most proud of is the way the guys kept playing. You look at that tape and compare it to previous games, and it wasn’t a different team, wasn’t different guys. We just made some plays at the right situations and found a way to win.”

And another.

There are still several days before Pitt plays UNC. And in football, I find it harder to buy into the idea of momentum when there is so much time between each game. As Coach Paul Chryst also pointed out, the team made plenty of mistakes in the ND game. They overcame them. And Notre Dame definitely made their share of costly gaffes.

Then there is the opponent. UNC. They were a trendy darkhorse pick in the ACC, before a horrid start to the year. They lost their starting QB for the season. Now they’ve won 3 straight and nearly knocked off Miami before the winning streak. (Yes, those three wins came against teams that are a combined 10-20.) Arguably they have some momentum on their side as well (if you buy into it).

Their defense is finally playing with something approaching a plan. The offense has picked it up to be along the lines of what was expected.

The Tar Heels did lose their starting quarterback, Bryn Renner. This only changed their offense as Marquise Williams has taken over. While Renner was a passing QB, Williams is much more of a mobile QB. Even before Renner’s injury, Williams was being used regularly in the offense.

This is not a UNC team with a feature back. Including Williams, they have five players with more than 35 carries on the season. By the same token, none of their backs has 300 yards for the season. They run it nearly as often as they throw it, just not with any one particular back.

As an aside, North Carolina continues to lead the country in dragging out scandals to insane lengths while pretending to be pristine. Remember the football scandal? No, not with the rental cars, guns and dope. That’s basketball. No, not the academic one that enveloped the entire athletic department (and is still meandering through questions and scapegoats). I mean the agents-runners-coaches stuff. Yeah, the one that helped do in Butch Davis. It’s still puttering along.

A fourth person is expected to face criminal charges Wednesday stemming from the football scandal at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Orange County DA Jim Woodall said that the person, who is coming from out of state, is scheduled to appear at the Orange County Courthouse Wednesday at 2 p.m. The indictment, which was handed up by a grand jury six weeks ago, is currently sealed.

Georgia-based sports agent Terry Watson, Georgia real estate agent Patrick Jones and former UNC academic tutor Jennifer Thompson already have been charged with violating the North Carolina Uniform Athlete Agents Act, which prohibits giving money to college athletes.

Putt-putt-putt.

Other things. Ray Vinopal has had a decent week. ACC DB of the Week. Claiming to have tuned out all negativity, he now has to tune out all the positive stuff.

Tom Savage made Coach Chryst happy on Saturday. And, hey, he’s a good teammate. The only thing I question from the Starkey puffer is this portion.

The book on Savage — at least the copy I received — was that he could make all the throws but wasn’t real keen on the contact thing. Possibly a pretty passer who disintegrated the instant he got smacked in the chin.

That book was dead wrong.

Savage, as it turns out, willingly accepts his beatings and sometimes even seeks them. Like the maniacal, motorcycle-riding Cage in “Ghost Rider,” he has some daredevil in him.

I’m sure there were some with hyperbole who made that claim, but no one who actually remembers Savage made that claim. It’s not “the instant he gets smacked,” but if you pressure him and hit him over and over in game after game he gets shaky. Like just about any other QB. That was the story from his Rutgers days, and it sure was the story for stretches this season. His toughness and willingness to take hits was never in question.

In the Notre Dame game, he only took a couple hits. Go figure he stood up in the pocket. Moved better and had his feet set. Amazing what not fearing for your life can do for your game.





The weather is going to be beautiful, one less excuse for a poor turnout. Students need to be loud against our new rivals.

Hopefully this team and it’s fans are learning how to win.

I know I want to see another “Happy Dance”

Comment by gc 11.13.13 @ 8:38 am

Chas… Excellent stuff as usual.

And you’re absolutely right about questioning the “claim” presented in Starkey’s piece.

Seems Mr. Starkey took some literary license to tie his story angle to Savage’s collision with Tuitt.

The negatives on Savage at Rutgers were limited to difficulty in reading defenses, tendency to take sacks and throw interceptions.

Ya, there might have been something said by someone somewhere that Savage might get a little gunshy after taking repeated hits… but that was never something heard from the mouths of avid Rutgers fans.

Maybe Starkey should produce his source for the “Book on Savage” he claims to have been handed.

Comment by PittofDreams 11.13.13 @ 8:42 am

The “Happy Dance” should be repackaged as the Official “JOIN THE PARTY” Video sent to Pitt Recruits.

Comment by PittofDreams 11.13.13 @ 8:47 am

With the threat of Conner and Bennett and Savage hitting his checkdowns, the O-line is looking a lot better. Also Boyd has become a second possession receiver, so Savage has more options. Should need them all on Saturday against a strong defense.

We still need to win the turnover battle.

Plenty of good, cheap tickets on Stubhub. Bring the whole family, neighborhood, fraternity, co-workers. Fill those seats.

Comment by gc 11.13.13 @ 9:06 am

Chas – Really good insight..Loved Earl Weaver and I played golf in a charity program with him.
His best quote (Jim Palmer’s) on every visit to the mound when a pitcher is struggling “Babe Ruth died 40 years ago, throw strikes!”

You should of heard what he said about Danny Murtaugh!

I think NC actually has a much more dangerous offense than ND!

Comment by Dan 72 11.13.13 @ 9:31 am

“Plenty of good, cheap tickets on Stubhub. Bring the whole family, neighborhood, fraternity, co-workers. Fill those seats.”

Very true. Clubs seats for $35, lowers on the 50 for $16, and uppers on the 50 for $5.

No reason not to go… Unless you’re stuck in Boston.. ugh

Comment by BostonsCommon 11.13.13 @ 9:43 am

Nice piece on Aaron Donald:

link to espn.go.com

Comment by Pitt Dad 11.13.13 @ 10:10 am

I can’t recall anyone saying Savage was gun shy. What I heard and saw was that Savage’s short passing game was inaccurate and save a few completions that really hasn’t changed.

He still passes to the wrong shoulder or into the ground in some cases. Almost uncannily like his predecessor did on the same passes.

Even more than the passing game I think our running game has to be the key to wins here on out. We are currently 5-1 in games where we rushed the ball more than 30 times.

If you want to see just how poorly we have played in certain aspects of the game then check this out:

link to stats.ncaa.org

105th on total offense; 106th in running offense and 69th in passing offense.

Defense is a bit better with only one category over the 100th Mendoza line in our Red Zone defense at 107th; 42nd in total defense; 63rd in rushing defense;a respectable 43rd in passing yards allowed.

We truly do need to put complete games together to winn ballgames. Neither unit can carry the other one to victory against decent teams

Ouch – I hadn’t realized it was so bad.

Comment by Reed 11.13.13 @ 10:26 am

exactly, any QB getting hit 10 times a game (and more) is going to get antsy, gunshy, get a case of happy feet, whatever you want to call it. it’s just what evolution has given to us. here i am in this situation i’ve been in before a thousand times and bad things have happened a thousand times… get outta this situation! now! run run run! takes a big dose of will to overcome the fight-or-flight reaction when the “fight” option is not actually fighting back at all, it’s standing there and throwing a ball and taking a hit.

Comment by deepelemblues 11.13.13 @ 10:37 am

Pitt Dad – thanks for that link. It was a great article on a great player. What stuck out to me was this:

“Donald soaked it all in and began dominating, but college recruiters were not nearly as enamored with him. He got plenty of looks. But only three schools offered scholarships — Akron, Toledo and hometown Pitt. Donald grew up a huge Pitt fan, so the offer was “a dream come true,” he says. He committed after his junior year.”

Anything in that excerpt look familiar to PITT fans who are bitching about Chryst’s approach to recruiting? The PITT staff and DW saw what type of player, the desire he had to play ball he was and what his true skill set was and grabbed him as soon as possible.

I think we’ll see some real gems like Donald out on the field over the next few years from players who weren’t highly recruited by other schools because I trust that Chryst has a detailed plan and is sticking to it.

Comment by Reed 11.13.13 @ 10:43 am

Isn’t it funny how everything works so much better when you can run the ball. I can’t emphasize enough how important that is.

We don’t have to have >200 yards in rushing but enough to keep the defense honest. The other part of it is that when you are running the ball well, it means that you usually aren’t too far behind … and you don’t have to pass nearly every play, again not allowing the defense to tee off.

Lastly, running the ball keeps the other offense off the field … thus helping your own defense.

Comment by wbb 11.13.13 @ 10:49 am

Syracuse and NC looked real good in their last games. Not going to be easy but maybe NC does not like the cold.

Maybe hear from recruits soon as HS football winds down.

Comment by Frank MD 11.13.13 @ 10:54 am

I’m very excited to see how Pitt comes out and performs on Saturday. As much as I like our big play potential through the air with Savage airing it out to Street and Boyd, the running game is the most crucial component for offensive success. A number of things affect the running game and I think that Savage hitting on some shorter throws early in the game certainly helped. Heck, even giving Boyd a carry and having him come in motion for a potential jet sweep helped the running game IMO.

I’ll be interested to see how UNC defends AD. ND double and triple teamed AD on some plays and anytime that happens, someone else, especially a LB, should have a opportunity to make splash plays. Yet we barely heard the LBs name for much of the game. We’ll see how UNC approaches AD and whether someone else can get some pressure on their QB.

Overall, I think UNC has some very nice talent. Their mobile QB obviously causes some concern and their TE is a matchup nightmare. Pitt will need a complete game, especially on special teams, to win. HTP!

Comment by JAM05PITT 11.13.13 @ 11:14 am

Great game plan & play calling against ND. I still would like someone to explain to me how the OL made a 100% improvement. Not complaining!! Extremely proud of the Panthers!! Winning is great & most importantly I think all Panther fans have gained confidence in PC. The ND game was the first time I saw what PC & staff are coaching actually play out on the field. The passing game designed for quick releases to help the OL & let the playmakers be playmakers. Then the running game became effective & hard hitting!! I hope the Panthers play w/the same passion & game plan the remainder of the season!! Hail To PITT.

Comment by DC33 11.13.13 @ 11:22 am

I think we saw the real Paul Chryst offense for the first time this past Saturday. Lots of high-percentage passes. A solid dose of the running game. Very few mental errors. Long, clock-chewing drives. A couple of long passes to break it open. I think as the O Line matures, Chryst is going to get more out of his running game, and that will be fun to watch, but right now we have enough to be successful as long as the players execute.

I’d also like to chime in on defense, as painful as it was to watch the defense adapt to House’s zone scheme in the beginning of the season, I’m starting to think it was a case of “short term pain for long term gain”. I’m still not a huge fan of the soft zone, but what I noticed against Notre Dame was a lot of man in the early going and then a switch to zone later in the game. The great thing about forcing the defense to learn the soft zone early, is that now they have got it down so that when it’s time to call it, there is some confidence that they can execute. Hopefully House’s game plan is just as solid this week against NC.

Comment by Atlanta Panther 11.13.13 @ 11:42 am

DC33, hate to see it but would think that the injured ND D-line had a lot to do with our O-line’s improvement.

Last year’s ND’s defense was obviously better, but the fact that we were able to get a first down on the final drive would seem to indicate a worn-down unit … but on the plus side, our Oline may well be improving.

If nothing else, the team has played the 2nd half much better the last 2 games than they had all year.

Comment by wbb 11.13.13 @ 11:56 am

wbb…wondered the same thing about ND’s D-Line and the noticable improvement in our O-Line. But how would ND’s backups measure up with some of the starters on teams like Navy and ODU? Those teams seemed to get plenty of pressure on Savage. I really don’t know, but I would tend to think their current skill level would at least be somewhat parallel. So, I am hoping that equates to our O-Line actually getting better.

Sidenote: those at the game probably noticed that pretty much the entire 500 level of the student seating was glaringly empty. Yet Pitt sold standing room only tickets to the public. Would have liked to see them allow those standing to fill in those seats, or for a sold out game like this — figure out some way to sell those seats if the students aren’t going to buy them.

Comment by JCE 11.13.13 @ 12:26 pm

I don’t have a great feeling about Saturday, mainly because UNC is very athletic. If you ranked the ACC teams on speed an athleticism, to me UNC is behind only FSU, Clemson, and Miami. That doesn’t make them a good football team, but it does make them a potentially bad match-up for Pitt.

That said, Pitt has been a solid home team so far under HCPC Ignoring the YSU game last year (conveniently), they have yet to lose at home to an unranked opponent, and have beaten 3.

Should be a good one!

Comment by Iron Duke 11.13.13 @ 12:28 pm

It took Wanny 2-3? years to get to a bowl.. and he was handed a program that was in decent shape…granted he still needed time to get his players and system in.

PC took over a program that was a mess… Haywood, Graham, players leaving…left over wanny guys.. etc. Yet he has made a bowl game, and barring utter collapse he should do it again.

Maybe Im drinking some kool aid.. but if you look it took Jim Haurbaugh 3 years to get Stanford national attention again, and he took over from good old Walt Harris.

Comment by Snala The Panther 11.13.13 @ 12:55 pm

I’ll have some of what you’re having Snala.

I also think we all need to become Wisconsin fans, because if all goes to plan we’re just one coaching search away from doing it all over again…

Comment by Atlanta Panther 11.13.13 @ 1:55 pm

FYI — under current scenario, Wanny’s 2nd team would have received a bowl bid at 6-6 .. and they played in a much tougher conference than the past 2 years. In 06, 4 BE teams were ranked and 3 of them finished in the final Top 12 BCS rankings.

Comment by wbb 11.13.13 @ 2:30 pm

ESPN article concerning Pitt recruits

link to insider.espn.go.com

Comment by Frank MD 11.13.13 @ 2:42 pm

@Dan 72

So what did he say about Danny Murtaugh?

H2P Stick it to the Tarheels

Comment by pmdH2P 11.13.13 @ 3:00 pm

OK, I am back to learning about the mascots of our new ACC opponents—and they keep having one name for the team and something else for a mascot. What is that all about?

So, they are the Tarheels, but the mascot is a Bighorn Ram. Duh?

H2P Stick it to the Tarheels

Comment by pmdH2P 11.13.13 @ 3:06 pm

Frank MD, didn’t know Henry was a Pitt legacy but if you’re a good athlete from Aliquippa, it is not surprising that you have a relative that played for Pitt.

If nothing else, we need to maintain the Aliquippa and now Clairton pipepline.

Comment by wbb 11.13.13 @ 3:12 pm

pmdH2P, might be a problem with a costume looking like a black bottom of a foot

Comment by wbb 11.13.13 @ 3:18 pm

@wbb

Good point. But, it would show some spirit to have a sticky foot as your school mascot.

H2P Stick it to the Tarheels

Comment by pmdH2P 11.13.13 @ 3:33 pm

105th on total offense; 106th in running offense and 69th in passing offense.

That’s really weak. The rushing at 106th would leave one to believe this past games slightly better rushing might have been due to the one big ND lineman being tossed out of the game and the giant nose guard being somewhat hobbled, think they said it was his first game back after missing several with a knee.

A good rushing attack was what Wisconsin is/was known for.

Better start teaching the linemen and especially the RB’s…..how to Dance better !

Comment by EMel 11.13.13 @ 4:15 pm

I wish we had an AD with these kind of smarts: link to espn.go.com

Comment by PittHW 11.13.13 @ 4:49 pm

Pitt fans are bipolar mental cases. We lose a couple close games that we should have won and all I hear is Pitt sucks, the coach is dumb and dresses like a slob and we are an embarrassment to the University and should drop football altogether.

Now we win one game, one frickin game people, and Pitt is it again?!?! I don’t think so.

As Coach Chryst mentioned already, “you look at that tape and compare it to previous games, and it wasn’t a different team, wasn’t different guys. We just made some plays at the right situations and found a way to win.”

I love Pitt Panther Football! But we will be lucky if we’re bowl eligible come 11/29. The ND win was great, and in my mind will not be deminished if we fail to win another game this season. But this team is young and unpredictable. And in case you haven’t noticed we are not very good.

However IF, and that’s a big IF they play as a team for 60 minutes and get a few turnovers and have some luck they can win. But please, I don’t want to hear any nonsense that just because we beat ND that we should be expected to run the table in the next three contests, P L E A S E!

Comment by Dr. Tom 11.13.13 @ 4:56 pm

@Comment by Frank MD 11.13.13 @ 2:42 pm any big committment news in that Insider article or is just a rundown or who was at ND?

Comment by PittHW 11.13.13 @ 5:09 pm

I expect Pitt to run the table after beating ND!

Just kidding…UNC will a very tough game

Earl Weaver on Danny Murtaugh…”The Irish must be lucky because I let that stupid f’n Irishman beat me twice!” Note – Earl is Irish

Comment by Dan 72 11.13.13 @ 5:49 pm

We should win on Saturday, North Carolina is a basketball school.

Comment by alcofan 11.13.13 @ 7:17 pm

@alcofan – so is Pitt, thank God.

Comment by TVax 11.13.13 @ 10:48 pm

Sounds like Earl was not really Irish.
More like a transplant from England/Scotland.
ScotchIrish.

Danny actually played in the Major Leagues and led the league in Stolen Bases. And finished on the Top 10 of the 1949 MVP award.

As they say in Ireland….f*ck Earl Weaver. lol

Comment by EMel 11.14.13 @ 3:57 am

Only the good die Young. (Billy Joel) Murtaugh was 59.

The idiot Weaver died on an Oriole Cruise(ship) at Age 84 or so.

More than likely with his foot in his large mouth !

Comment by EMel 11.14.13 @ 4:02 am

Just as I thought….I smell an Englishman ! haha

link to surnamedb.com

Comment by EMel 11.14.13 @ 4:08 am

O-line getting a little love in the paper this morning. Important for them to have a big game on Saturday. A good running effort will slow down the pass rush.

Comment by gc 11.14.13 @ 7:16 am

Our rushing game was more timely than it was actually good against ND. Only four plays really stuck out. Those two short TDs by Conner and those two desperately needed solid runs by Bennett to get the 1st down and seal the win at the end of the game were quality plays, but the reality is that we had a 2.7 YPC average and that won’t cut it for winning games.

I love to give credit where it is due so I’ll say the OL played well on Saturday. Regardless of how the ND line was banged up, and remember all we every hear from the media is that ‘every two-deep ND player would make the starting lineup at PITT’, you play against whoever is in front of you. The OL did that and did it well. Good for them.

Something that is really bothering me is that Savage hasn’t been able to complete his deep passes consistently like he was doing in the beginning of the year. If we take away Street’s fantastic 43 YAC run after his catch on the 63 yard TD pass play we have a 20 yard pitch and catch completion. The next longest pass was a 17 yard completion to Boyd.

It isn’t like we have cut those deep route plays out of the offense either. Savage has been inaccurate on the deep routes lately and that is worrisome to me as he has been really very good at that type of passing game. Those deep completions effect how the defense sets up also.

The deep game has been his bread and butter and I just think it is kind of strange that it has almost completely disappeared over the last four games. In the three games previous to ND his longest completions were 21, 28 and 17 yards.

IMO we really need deep completions in the game to augment the other plays we run on offense. Thank goodness that he’s been more accomplished in the shorter game over that time period.

I’ve said before that I think we need to go deep at least two times per half. If he complete 50% of those plays we are in good shape.

Comment by Reed 11.14.13 @ 8:22 am

It would be nice to see more deep passes, I agree. But it’s probably not a coincidence that his deep passing game disappeared at the same time as his interceptions.

Comment by PittHW 11.14.13 @ 12:42 pm

The deep passing game has disappeared because they were trying to save Savage’s life.

You need at least 4 seconds for guys to get deep downfield or longer. When they get better at pass blocking or come up with a some better blocking sheme, I would imagine you’ll see it again.

Remember Savage was pretty shell shocked for several games.

Comment by EMel 11.14.13 @ 3:48 pm

Emel – good point but I though there were numerous times in the ND game where Savage had the time to throw deep as ND’s front pressure wasn’t that great every play.

Comment by Reed 11.15.13 @ 8:17 am

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