I suppose it makes sense for the coaches to be a little more cautious in overtaxing James Conner this early.
“Even if you have the wrong guy in the game, it’s still a pretty good guy to have in the game,” Powell said.
Powell relies on Conner to keep him apprised of his energy level. “But I’m beginning to rely on me more,” Powell said.
After a season of inactivity, Conner doesn’t want to let down his teammates, but there is a fine line he and Powell must walk.
No Pitt running back is as talented or as tough as Conner, but none are recovering from cancer, either.
Conner’s 24 carries against Oklahoma State were far from excessive. He averaged 23 per game two years ago when he was the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, and he had four games with at least 30.
I wonder, though, if wanting to keep him fresh and not overuse Conner is just a useful cover to allow the offense to give carries to the other running backs that are waiting. Qadree Ollison got no touches against Oklahoma State, for example.
The bigger issue, though, isn’t the load on Conner so much as the load on the running game.
The passing game has been sorely lacking.
It would be ridiculous to expect the Panthers to morph into a pass-first offense as Pitt opens ACC play Saturday at North Carolina. But the passing game needs to improve, particularly on third down, where the Panthers have struggled. They converted just 4 of 18 on third down against Oklahoma State.
“There’s a lot of improvements we need to make,” Peterman said. “There’s a lot of things we can get better at. We certainly feel like if we would’ve made a couple plays here and there we still should’ve won that game. It’s behind us. We’ve got to move on.”
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Narduzzi also has acknowledged some missed throws and reads and did not sound particularly fond of third-down decisions.
“I’m not going to take anything away from who they [Oklahoma State] are, but we missed some throws and some reads especially on some third and medium calls, where we had a chance to stay on the field and keep them off the field,” Narduzzi said. “We didn’t put the ball where it needed to be on those plays. We missed a play in the fourth quarter to Jester Weah that we have to make.”
Narduzzi said Peterman managed the game well, and “If he continues to do that, we will be fine. You can’t blame one guy. It takes 11 to win a football game.”
I think what has surprised me three games into the season is not even the attempt in the passing game to stretch the field. There is speed at WR in Weah, Tipton and Matthews. Peterman has only 2 completions of more than 20 yards on a throw. He’s only made 7 attempts.
Everyone knows that Pitt has an outstanding running game and an excellent run-blocking O-line. But keeping the receivers constantly in short routes means safeties can cheat up without any risk. Even corners can stay close.
Meanwhile Joe Starkey points out how dependent the defense is on Ejuan Price.
Jarring thought: Where would Pitt’s defense be if Ejuan Price hadn’t been granted a sixth year of eligibility?
It’s almost too frightening to ponder.
Even with Price doing a reasonable Aaron Donald impression, Pitt has surrendered 84 points and 1,046 yards in two games against major college competition.
Next up: North Carolina, which has racked up 104 points the past two weeks.
Coach Pat Narduzzi promises to fix the pressing issues. I’m not convinced he will.
I am convinced of this: Ejuan Price is borderline unblockable.
I wouldn’t go so far as to make the Aaron Donald comparisons that Starkey followed. That is simply not fair. But Price has been the best player on the defense for a second straight year. The D-line, overall, has been decent so far. It is just that the whole defense is so thin. Injuries to Hendrix and Hamlin have really hurt.
It is odd that Price doesn’t generate more holding calls.
Whitehead appears to be in a bit of a sophomore slump. Maybe he has a big game this week.
Also, I don’t recall whether you were specifically a Tino basher, but Tino certainly would have appreciated getting a pass from fanbase on the OC excuse.
I fully agree that the players compete hard and don’t hang their heads when adversity strikes. It’s actually the most encouraging thing I’ve seen so far this year. Although I feel that he altered the defensive scheme a bit late against OSU, I also appreciate that Narduzzi is not afraid to change the plan when he sees it isn’t working.
I am not sure I understand the complaints that appropriate footwear cost Pitt after the lightning delay. Perhaps I missed it but I haven’t seen any player complaints. They basically played the entire fourth quarter after the delay and one touchdown was scored off of one huge play with a few minutes remaining. I didn’t see an appreciable advantage to OSU after the delay.
The REAL issue is the Offensive Line and its struggles to create lanes that enable Conner to get to the Second Level where he does his damage.
Seeing a lot of wasted Running Plays where there is absolutely NO WHERE for Conner to go. This was evident not just against Oklahoma State but also Penn State.
I see there being a few reasons for this.
One is the Blocking Schemes that have been instituted as part of Canada’s Offense.
Another has been the Plays being called. For instance, the Sweep with Conner that was clearly READ by the OKSt Defense and clearly NOT blocked by the Pitt O-Line.
And of course, the lack of an EFFECTIVE Passing Game is also not helping matters.
Bottom line, Canada’s Offense and the way it’s performed so far has NOT exactly set the table for Conner to be the Conner.
They have been doing a nice job on the jet sweeps.
Also if the sledding inside is tougher, another reason to spread the carries.
For whatever reason, they are not getting it done in the fourth quarter.
I guess you are willing to admit that Clemmings and Rotherham had a lot to do with Conner’s record setting year. They created some pretty big hole to run through.
Myself, I find this one a statement game and I’m happy that we have it right now to get this team refocused on their preseason goal. Are the Panthers there yet, to be taken seriously as contenders for a weak ACC Coastal Crown or not? Now matter how well or poorly Pitt plays in OOC contests, that question isn’t going to be answered by playing Villanova, PSU, OSU or Marshall. This one on Saturday begins that quest and answers that question in the affirmative with a win.
If these guys are really ready then they play some inspired football on Saturday. We saw what that looked like a couple weeks ago. This team is learning how to win. They can learn from both positive and negative example. Last week was definitely a negative example. If they get that worked out this week in preparation and come out against UNC like they did against PSU, with a serious fire in their belly attitude, then the Tarheels are going to have their hands full with some very angry Panthers.
The Pursuit truly begins in 51 hours.
No one gives us a chance vs Clemson so opportunity for the biggest upset since 13-9.
To clarify the experience statement, the problems people have are on defense (depth) and the passing game on offense (inexperience at WR and playing in a new system). I was only referring to the general complaints about the team, not the overall makeup.
The QB situation isn’t ideal and, as I said on another thread, Voytik probably is a better fit for Canada like NP was a better fit for Chaney. It is what it is though and next year there should have better competition at the position.
Teams are loading the box against him so its tough sledding, even if he was at 100%. That’s why Henderson is killing people on the sweeps — keep it going!
vs. GA: 474 total yards, 289 rushing
vs. IL: 309 total yards, 182 rushing
vs. JMU(FBS): 495 total yards, 209 rushing
Just like Narduzzi needs players to fit his scheme, so does Gene Chizik.
Illinois just lost to Western Michigan 34-10.
But I think the Plays and Blocking Schemes then and last year with Chaney (who I was not a big fan of) were better suited for straight ahead Power Football.
Hopefully, Pitt will get a Passing Game going with either Peterman or Stocker or whomever and that will help open things up.
Pitt (Chaney) made the mistake of trying to pass against NC last year despite NC having the worst run defense in the ACC and it resulted in defeat. Let’s not make the same mistake against NC 2 years in a row. Run that ball again and again until NC shows they can stop our running game.
Enjoying these ACC road trips. Did UVA 2 yrs ago and V Tech last year.
After watching the secondary get torched last week and Maddox himself giving up almost 400 yds it’s hard to feel real good about this one…
Somehow, some way Pitt tied the game at 38 points. A game that could have easily been a rout. Who knows what might have been without the two hour delay and the wet field without appropriate cleats. Certainly OK ST had to be feeling the pressure. The fact that we were in the game to the very end says a lot about the character of the team and the coaching staff’s ability to adjust to adversity.
The defense did rise to the occasion and forced a fumble and got a defensive score. Something that has been pretty rare for Pitt.
Weah caught and ran for a very long touchdown. Henderson continues to make great plays. Tipton showed he has skills that are sorely needed.
The good news is that the offense is good enough to improve and to play better in the fourth quarter. We have guys that can and will make plays. Our O-line should get better each week, open more holes and protect Peterman better. Although he hasn’t had a great game yet, he has potential to have several this year.
It is unfortunate that we don’t play UNC later in the year. However, if we can figure out how to win on Saturday, things will be looking pretty bright again.
My game plan would be to run 60/40 Conner/Ollison, and don’t be afraid to throw some play action on 1st and 2nd downs.
Hopefully, we learned from our defensive mistakes and adjustments have been made.