(This is a weekly series of articles entitled “Monday Morning Quarterback”. I will try to post them two days after the football games are played so as to have our wilder emotions under control by then. It will be my take on the positives and the negatives we saw happen and a chance for commenters to agree or disagree and to add their own thoughts.)
Coming off a nice win against a fellow ACC member team in Boston College we PITT fans are feeling pretty good right about now. The only long lasting problem that arose during the game is when Artie Rowell, our Center, went down for the season with a torn ACL. Other than that it looks and feels like the team will have nothing but positive ramifications of that win.
POSITIVES
The one thing we can all point to is that, unlike sometimes in past season, we soundly beat an opponent where the odds were close and we were playing in their backyard as it were. Yes, the 30-20 score aside we beat the BC squad up and down and bettered them in every phase of the game. This wasn’t a pushover team either. They will win more than they lose this season so for me a real positive is that we didn’t feel overconfident coming of a big 62-0 the week before.
Another good thing that happened is that James Conner had two monster games in a row. Last season he had a singular two game set where he ran for over 100 yards and that was against New Mexico State (119) and then Duke (173). Other than that he was way less productive during the regular season having done this for yardage: 27, 1, 28, 3, 35, 102, 26, and 22. Does anyone actually think we’ll see that type of low production again from Conner this year? Not me.
The fact that Voytik met his first real quality opponent as a starter and didn’t stink out the joint is a real plus also. His first INT on the season, happening in our territory and taken back to our 29 yard line, was quickly negated by a strong defense that held BC to a missed FC attempt. So he learned that mistakes happen and they aren’t always fatal. He really has to learn to look off a receiver though. Plus he showed he can make correct decisions on when to scramble and pick up big yardage. On this play you can see that he dropped back and tried to stay in the pocket but the pressure happened so quickly he had to tuck and run. It was a good decision and something to build upon.
NEGATIVES
I kind of had to think about this for a moment because at first glance everything seemed to go as correctly as a normal win should. Opponents will make good plays every so often no matter how good PITT is and that is to be expected.
I guess the fact that we had tacklers whiff on the BC QB during his 1st quarter 51 yard TD run. I remember reading after the game that a PITT defensive player stated that ‘we were in the correct positions but just didn’t make the tackle’ but I’ll disagree. Watch the tape from the beginning and see that Vinopal moves up on the fake and chooses the wrong lane to try to tackle the QB. Ironic that the announcers were praising him right before the snap. He played a good game overall though…. except for…
We gave them an easy TD on a 48 yard pass play where the receiver was left uncover deep down field. First off the BC QB had loads of time to set up for the throw, our DL pressure was way too late. Secondly our Safeties rambled around elsewhere and allowed WR Shakim Phillips to run, skip and jump on a deep slant from right to left where he caught the ball and break-danced his way into the end zone. At first look it seems L. Pitts screwed up and he did but he also should have had help on that play.
Then we bungled the onside kick BC attempted and made after they scored the above TD to bring the game to 30-20. I hate to put us fans through this again but watch the replay and see that first Vinopal whiffs on the ball then how Gonzalez and Webb get blocked out of the opportunity to cover also. It appears that Vinopal thought the ball didn’t travel 10 yards but that shouldn’t have changed his responsibility to get it at all.
That’s it – three thumbs up and three thumbs down. How did you see it?
That was not a small defensive line that BC ran out, and they got pushed all over, up and down the field. Just a dominating performance.
Looking more like Wisconsin East everyday.
Pairing this kind of ground game with a developing QB is a nice luxury to have.
A little nervous for a part of the first quarter, but Pitt stayed focused and workman-like, which is really a hallmark of the HCPC area. It’s nice to see the players having fun with it though while at the same time working hard.
Reed, if you look at the T. Murphy run video again, look closely at the :04/:05 mark. Reggie Mitchell fires in off the corner, read it perfectly the whole way and had both arms wrapped around Murphy’s waist and he slipped right through the tackle. It wasn’t Vinopal who missed the tackle (he was fooled completely). We had it contained perfectly for a 3 yard loss and the tackle didn’t happen.
Great stuff all around. On to the FIU “Golden” Panthers on Saturday.
H2P
Iowa game set for a noon kickoff on either ESPN or ESPNU.
HCPC : I really appreciate that you guys found a way to win yesterday. Do you see our game?
Tomlin: Obviously.
Winslow did a good job as well. His second (I believe) should have been downed around the 5 or 6 yards line. Too often I see teams allow the ball to bounce, only for it to finds its way into the endzone for a touchback. If the returned is out of the way, catch the punt!
Great game Friday night and plenty of room for improvement for this team as the year progresses. HTP
That’s AP getting tossed to the ground like a rag doll.
The bowl ban is lifted from PSU immediately, and the Nits will get their full complement of scholarships replenished for next year.
This happens a week after when yet another victim had come forward of a child predator who was enabled by the schools VIP …. because the large profits are certainly more important than a group of fatherless boys.
Would have like to see Conner with 25 carries and the other RB get more carries but I understand that PC will stay with a back when he is hot. Just don’t want him getting dinged up too much before the meat of the schedule is here.
Pittsburgh: I’m not quite ready to declare the Panthers a playoff contender, but they have been pretty darn impressive to start the season. Pittsburgh ran all over Boston College in a 30-20 road victory Friday night. Tailback James Conner ran for 214 yards, and star receiver Tyler Boyd caught two touchdowns. If quarterback Chad Voytik continues to provide a steady hand, the Panthers might be a real sleeper in the ACC.
H2P!!!
My guess is that JC doesn’t see more than 15-18 carries this Saturday … at least I hope he’s not needed for any more.
Positive: I know we’re squeaky clean Pitt, but can’t we embrace Durham as a bad-ass intimidator? Durham can be our bad boy on defense and if he hurts us with the occasional penalty maybe that’s evened out with his intimidation of the opposing offense?
They would make a resonable non-con opponent for us
They still claim to be the victim and that
the culture of the Football Program was not at fault. What has changed in the case that justifies the NCAA to change their initial sanctions?
Another reasons for University’s to form their own league and dump the NCAA.
From Friday night: positives
Kicking game
Running game and controlling the clock
O-line
Defense
Negatives:
QB TD run….defensive breakdown
TD pass….wide open….defensive breakdown
Onsides kick….offense team does not have to wait for the ball to go 10 yards!
Defensive lapses could cost us a game against a better opponent.
Net 2-0…..we are happy…beat FIU….and get to the real test Iowa!
Go figure.
How come these 3 co-conspirators are still awaiting trial ???
If they were convicted, there’s no way sleaze Mitchel could make that recommendation.
Funny how that all works.
You mean they haven’t paid the fine yet ?
Next they’ll be reducing that and Paterno & Creepy Valley State will get the 112 tainted wins back.
After all money is much more important than kids lives being ruined. And rapes performed with the sanction of University so-called leaders.
This is really vile.
Thought he played very well for being the 2nd game and on the road.
Yes, there wide receivers open whether over thrown or dropping the balls.
That will be a concern with better qb’s and better offenses.
I’m hoping we’re only seeing a little bit of the playbook, and it opens up as needed, and as the season goes along and the players, especially Voytik get more and more comfortable with it.
Considering in years past, I wouldn’t have been surprised with a dog fight against Delaware and a loss at BC, so
2-0 starting out pretty well, some things to work on, but overall, excellent start!!!
I don’t remember any.
H2P
On 3rd & 9 from about the Pitt 21, he broke a high tackle of a blitzing BC LB and scrambled 28 yards to almost midfield. PITT’s first big play of the game.
On a drive that led to the first score of the game.
TS #1 would have fallen down and went into fetal position.
TS #2 would have tried to stay upright and find someone, but wouldn’t have been able to avoid the blitzer and would have been overwhelmed by then another tackler or two.
So while Chad doesn’t have the gun of TS #2, he has more intangibles. He can make a play for you when there is no play there or if it’s a busted play with poor blocking like the aforementioned.
He could become a very dynamic player.
He is a former member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group.[3]
and later as chairman of the international law firm DLA Piper.
DLA Piper is the largest law firm in the world measured by revenue.[4]
Smells of a whitewash.
It will probably be back in place in time for our visit to Creepy Valley.
You can obviously see how this is trending.
So far that hasn’t been the case, but then again it hasn’t been needed either. But sooner or later some team is going to put the handcuffs on our running game and he’ll have to take the offense on long drives downfield.
So far he’s played well for his first two starts and if his progression continues he’ll be fine. I’m real glad we have a few more games before we get into the meat of the ACC schedule though.
Good MMQ article. But I’d like to call “Myth- Busters” on your comment about Voytik needing to learn “to look off a receiver.” Seems to me this look-off-a-reciever – or maybe more accurately a “defender” – is largely myth.
Watch the QB the next game you watch and you will see that they very very rarely “look off” anybody. Sure you will see Brady and Manning look to one side of the field to draw the safety that way, but you don’t see that in college ball. Hell, the Pitt QB is lucky to have enough time to just see if the primary receiver is open…
But every time there’s an interception, the QB “stared down the receiver…” Well, guess what, they “stare them down” on the completions too.
Now the ability to go to a second receiver, when the primary guy is covered, is different. And we did see CV do that on the short TD pass to TB.
Go Pitt.
Chryst mentioned that he was proud the way defense stiffened afte the interception, but I saw too open receivers on 1st and 3rd down (especially the 1st down) that were missed by their QB. To me, that open receivers was by far the biggest negative, in a night of few negatives.