For the record, I was not involved in this incident.
The honeymoon is over for Wannstedt. His postgame press conference Friday night was disrupted by two fans who jeered,
“Go back to Miami, Wannstedt!” The coach paused only briefly and seemed to ignore the two hecklers, who appeared to be wearing blue-and-gold gear.
You know, Athens is in the middle of no where. Slow roads and speed traps all around. It’s as bad as driving to State College. The nearest Interstate is about 40-50 miles east in Marietta. Any Pitt fan who made the drive from even Columbus had to be in a less than positive mood before the game because of the trip. I can only guess at how they’d feel after watching the game.
Maybe I’m just seeing negatives, but I thought Ohio’s offense was really bad and one dimensional. So it’s hard to be giving this much in the way of props to the Pitt defense. I mean, I suppose when you compare it to the offense’s performance it looks pretty damn good. Still, Pitt seemed to be hitting more than tackling at times.
Speaking of the offense, it’s never a good sign when it’s the players trying to defend the offensive game plan.
There have been many reasons given for Pitt’s offensive struggles, but one that Pitt players insist is not the culprit is a game plan that, on the surface, seemed rather conservative.
The Panthers’ passing game has been a staple of their offense in recent years, but the Panthers attempted very few passes down the field Friday night. Part of that is the new offensive philosophy — which is based on ball control and a power running game — but the Panthers still seemed to attempt more long passes in the opener against Notre Dame than they did against the Bobcats.
A big issue was the inconsistent play of quarterback Tyler Palko, who threw three interceptions and had two of them run back for touchdowns, but the Panthers’ concerns ran deeper than that.
Palko seemed rattled at times and didn’t look comfortable in the pocket, but he said he just had a bad night and it had nothing to do with learning a new offense. He also said that the Panthers’ game plan wasn’t too restrictive nor was it the cause of any of his problems. He said that the offense would have worked fine if he had played better.
Now, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the memory of those interceptions and near interceptions in the Ohio game, coupled with seeing the “Pontiac/ESPN Game Changing Performance” ads that includes the Palko being intercepted and returned for a TD in a similar manner by a UConn corner, and thinking about the same type of INT in last year’s Nebraska game. I’m starting to think that one of Palko’s weaknesses is making that kind of pass. He doesn’t seem to notice the defender, locks in on the receiver and definitely doesn’t seem to put enough zip on the pass.
Palko is much better throwing balls over the middle or deep. Maybe it’s mechanics, but his throws to the sidelines tend to get some air under them. Like he’s aiming the ball too much rather than throwing.
The only excuse you can provide for Palko is that he had no time. The O-line protection was non-existent. That’s going to be a big problem since Nebraska is the #6 defense in the country at the moment.
