Pitt lost to Iowa in dramatic fashion. This feels like the norm, but it was different this year. First off, it was Pitt that came back in the fourth quarter after a rough start. Second, Pitt is still finding its footing without James Conner. Third, the defense, while not perfect, forced Iowa to earn every single point. There were no gimmes, no luck other than the 57 yards FG, and it ended up a hard fought contest between two good football teams.
I can live with that. There was no choke or horrific mistake. Sometimes you play a good football team and you lose. Instead of looking back, I want to look forward. What can Pitt do during the bye week to prepare for a tough road game against Virginia Tech? Here’s my list.
1) Commit to Nate Peterman as QB.
Peterman appears to be the starter going forward and if you want him to grow, he needs to know he has a long leash. Peterman has made a few mistakes so far this season and he can’t be looking over his shoulder every time he makes one. The reason two QB systems rarely work is both guys are afraid of screwing up. When you’re afraid of screwing up you play too safe and the result is a stalled offense. QBs need to gamble sometimes and Peterman has shown he’s more adept at that. Commit to him as the starter and give him room to take chances without fear of retribution.
*edit* Minutes after posting this, Narduzzi confirmed Peterman is the starter going forward. I’m 1/1!
2) Improve the defense’s ability to recognize and cover screens
The defense has done a phenomenal job against the run (only 93 yards per game, an average which would drop to 68 ypg without a 75 yard run by YSU late in the 4th) and they haven’t given up a touchdown through the air against Akron or Iowa. The Achilles heel thus far has been screen passes. This is to be expected as an aggressive defense leaves itself open to misdirection. The problem has been that the defense is biting too hard.
On most of the screen passes I looked at, a defender is just barely out of place to make a play because he was too aggressive. Hit the tape hard on screen passes and help the defense recognize the cues (OL giving up too early, how a WR approaches the CB, etc) and the results will be even better.
3) Find what running plays work without Conner
One maddening thing from the Iowa game was how often Chaney called toss sweeps even when they didn’t seem to work. I don’t know if he thought this was a flaw in Iowa’s defense or if these were the plays he thought the RBs and OL would execute the best. Regardless, the sweeps didn’t work. Last year during the bye week, amusingly enough before VT, the offense installed the read option and it played a huge role in defeating the Hokies as Voytik had 100+ yards on the ground.
Now is the time to look at the tape and find wrinkles or tweaks; how to use the RBs should be goal #1. Pitt is a running team even without James Conner. An extra week of rest will help Chris James and Qadree Ollison get healthy. Not to mention Virginia Tech is giving up over 200 yards per game on the ground, so now’s the time to work on it.
I’m not against toss sweeps; if there’s a fixable reason they didn’t work then do it. If power running with 2 TEs works, do that. I have no preferred offense; I just want whatever will score. What will help a QB still finding his way that’s prone to mistakes is a running game that takes the pressure off.
4) Consider player changes
I always try to avoid being critical of players. I don’t always succeed, but these guys are often 19 or 20 years old with more pressure on them than most of us can imagine. I will just say there’s a player or two that I believe shouldn’t be a full time starter and that a talented backup is available. I believe that the tape of the past three games will show the coaches exactly where those changes should be made. That’s all I’ll say.
I will never hold back on criticism of coaches I feel is warranted. When you’re paid 6 figures at a public position, you’re fair game.
So, what do yinz think? What changes should the coaches make during the bye week?
Hayden Moore. Remember the name.
But news is he’s going to be OK.
Replaced by Redshirt Freshman Moore who did play in at least one game already.
But WOW. Great Game. Two Good Quarterbacks. But Moore is a little SPECIAL.
Memphis’s defense MADE THAT ONE PLAY…..to win the game. Something I mentioned above Pitt’s did not do.
Much work to be done.
Unfortunately on O, our new OC Chaney undid all the nice work our previous staff built up (and prior to all the key injuries). It appears that Chaney intended to abandon the run – I’m not trying to start a conspiracy, just stating my opinion.
Now, I also think OC Chaney thought we had a few WR’s – most D1 programs do. He was caught off guard on that fact.
To answer Justin’s question, what change would I like to see – J.Whitehead playing both ways and even returning punts and KO’s. Other than the Maddox return against YSU, I have seen nothing from the return game. I would also would consider trying T.Boyd at the CB position, replacing Pitts (playing both ways, of course).
HTP!
Which was pretty inspired and hard hitting all game long, IMO.
Now let me get this right, you call yourself a Pitt fan? You have a peculiar view of reality if that’s the case.
Last year Conner ran for 150, this year we had virtually no running game.
They were both losses but I am a little more encouraged this as I was completely disgusted last year leaving Heinz.
I think this year’s problems are much more fixable. The running game should come around. NP should get better, stop the interceptions.
The defense will definitely get better as the season rolls on, more big plays to come.
The question is will we get better fast enough?
That makes VA a must win, hopefully we will get more than a meager crowd. Then GT which should be a real test of our defense. Another must win at Syracuse. If we can stop Marquis enough and beat NC we will still have a chance for seven wins, splitting the next four. ND, Duke, Louis, and Miami.
That coach is a stud. UH is going to be solid.
NP had time to throw all game and not once during the IOWA game did I notice our offensive line being manhandled.
I think IOWA is the best run stopping team that Pitt will face all year (VT will be a close second).
Conner had 150 last year on IOWA but virtually all of those yards came in first half when IOWA mistakenly thought they had to worry about our passing game.
As I had said in a previous post, IOWA made one defensive adjustment in that game by widening out there D ends and we couldn’t run all second half and lost the game.
I thought our showing this year was much better (especially because it was on the road) and I am very excited to watch us feast on those turkeys in Blacksburg, VA.
The running game will be better in this game and we will need to close out the road win.
Ollie will be ready.
because the people we have, have all proven that they all suck already.
“I am getting excited about the defense also but we didn’t really do all that well against Iowa last week when we gave up 27 points, 258 yards passing, 105 yards rushing and 22 first downs. Perhaps the more disappointing aspect of our defensive game was that Iowa scored on three TD drives of 81, 74 and 80 yards… then took the ball with 0:52 seconds on the clock and moved 31 yards for the winning FG.
Let’s not get overly excited about our defense until we play a lot better than that.”
That’s all I’m saying – and then you question my “fan hood” – geez!
3 seasons BEFORE Fuente got there.
2011 2-10
2010 1-11
2009 2-10
Memphis went 10-3 last year.