At least, they are the narrative at this time.
The consistency theme is for Pitt’s performance from game to game.
Dave Durham is ready to get off the treadmill.
Pittsburgh wins a big game and loses the next. The Panthers falter one week only to come roaring back seven days later. It’s a pattern that’s plagued the program for years as the seasons hovering around .500 have piled up.
The senior defensive end hopes part of his legacy is being part of a group that stops the trend. Time is running out, though Durham is optimistic Pitt has finally started to figure it out after last week’s rousing 21-16 win over Virginia Tech.
“What truly great teams do, they come back and win the next week and get better the next week and they’re hungry and they’re never satisfied,” Durham said.
The way Durham looks at it, the victory over the Hokies didn’t snap a three-game losing streak for Pitt, it marks the start of a second-half surge. He hopes, anyway.
It has been oh, so predictable… afterwards. Yet every damn time it happens it surprises me.
As for the discipline part. Well, that is always the theme for a team facing a triple option.
“You have to cover all the options,” Chryst said, pointing out practice will be more crucial than ever this week.
Can the option offense’s nasty cut-block schemes, sometimes aimed dangerously at a blocker’s ankles, be avoided?
“You have to stay low, use your hands and move faster,” Pitt defensive tackle Darryl Render said.
Can defensive players resist the well-intentioned temptation to wander from their lanes, leaving a hole that even an average runner can find?
“There is no secret to beating an option team: discipline and accountability,” defensive end David Durham said. “You can’t get away with doing your own thing.”
“They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.” Whoops, sorry lost the train of thought there. Though, defensive lines have been known to feel that way after about 3 1/2 quarters of cut blocks.
So, what’s the upside to preparing for Georgia Tech’s offense?
Because Georgia Tech only has a few packages it runs plays out of, Chryst said Pitt won’t have to worry too much about frequent personnel changes on defense. Most of the time, the Panthers will be able to go with their base defense.
“It’s a different style of game this week you anticipate playing, but it’s going to come down to the same things,” Chryst said. “When you get those opportunities, you need to be ready to make the play and you need to make the play.”
That is assuming the base defense can make the plays and get the stops.
For Georgia Tech, they will be without their leading running back, Zach Laskey.
A shoulder injury has dealt Georgia Tech B-back Zach Laskey an unfortunate cut.
Laskey, who has Pittsburgh roots, will not play in the Yellow Jackets’ game Saturday at Pittsburgh because of an injury suffered in Tech’s loss to North Carolina. After Monday’s practice, coach Paul Johnson said he is ruled out for the game.
Laskey was born in Pittsburgh, but grew up outside of Atlanta. That seems to be about as deep as his own roots to the area goes. He’s not their leading rusher, though. That honor goes to their QB, Justin Thomas. Which you would expect in the triple option. Still, it is a bit of a blow for GT. So much so that they may burn the redshirt on a freshman more than halfway through the season.
Speaking of burned redshirts, what’s up with Adonis Jennings?
Freshman wide receiver Adonis Jennings has played in the past three games but has recorded only two receptions for 17 yards. He won’t be able to redshirt this year. “I think you try to consider that before you even put him out there,” Chryst said. “You just try to keep finding ways. It’s got to fit for him and the team, obviously, but you keep finding ways. If he can help you, then you put him out there. I think at the end of this year, we’ll look back and Adonis certainly will have enough snaps, and it won’t be a wasted year.”
Against GT, the real opportunity should be for the offense. The Yellowjackets defense has had issues. The defense has held teams to under 20 points only twice so far. They have allowed more than 30 points three times. They aren’t necessarily abysmal on defense. But they haven’t been particularly good.
I called for Thomas or Bradley to be MLB for this one. Don’t think they read this stuff. My guess is Galambos is hurt. But I also like Grigsby, if I recall he played some MLB in the bowl game and was a difference maker.
The Linebackers are going to be CHASING the entire Game.
Need to STAY FRESH.
Again, if true… absence of Galambos COULD mean the ability to Cover Ground LATERALLY is PREMIUM.
Or is there an injury to Galambos?
Those of us who have been complaining about the EMPTY MUSTARD Seats at Heinz during PITT Games have it ALL WRONG.
The answer is NOT a New PITT Stadium.
PITT simply needs to change its colors to BLUE and MUSTARD.
That Steve Pederson. What a Genius?
We had those guys if not for that late pass.
“You have to cover all the options,” Chryst said, pointing out practice will be more crucial than ever this week.
Can the option offense’s nasty cut-block schemes, sometimes aimed dangerously at a blocker’s ankles, be avoided?
“You have to stay low, use your hands and move faster,” Pitt defensive tackle Darryl Render said.
Can defensive players resist the well-intentioned temptation to wander from their lanes, leaving a hole that even an average runner can find?
“There is no secret to beating an option team: discipline and accountability,” defensive end David Durham said. “You can’t get away with doing your own thing.”
Well coach and team talk the talk.
We’ll see if they can walk the walk.
ikr
Cause we’ve heard the talk all too often in the past.
We’ve been suggesting the pants of the uni’s be the same color as the seats at Heinz for the last 3 years.
did he really say that ? haha
And how Boyd got thrown to 70% or more of the time.
Burning Jennings redshirt seems and seemed ludicrous.
Even Adonis is quoted as saying he thought he was going to be redshirted and seemed to be alright with it.
I don’t understand it at all.
Either way, obviously Jennings is REALLY REALLY Good as far as HIS POTENTIAL.
That;s why when he surprisingly committed I immediately said Jennings has a little “Megatron” in him.
He does.
But what do I know?
We are likely going to start fall camp next year with TWO WRs on the team that have ever started a college football game. Jennings, Weah, Wuestner, et al need to play now and PLAY A LOT.
Sounds good to me too.
@ GC – I believe our offense can score often and early with the sophomore trio of Conner, Boyd & Voytik leading us. Our OLine is the key to a win this week IMO.
CV can be an effective passer is he takes what the defense gives him … somthing, for some reason, many on this site has frowned upon in the recent past.
Here is an interesting truth and I think it really shows how poor our passing game has been.
This year Boyd has
2014: 36 catches for 514 yards (14.3 ypc) and 5 TDs
2013: 34 catches for 526 yards (15.5 ypc) and 5 TDs
Looks almost the same doesn’t it and you wonder why fans are talking about Boyd being ‘wasted’ this season. Here is the huge difference. At this same point in last season our #1 target – Devin Street had this:
2013: 35 catches for 645 yards (18.4 ypc) and 4 TDs, which is so much higher than our #2 & #3 receivers, Garner and Holtz this season.
Garner and Holtz this year:
2014: 23 catches for 251 yards (10.9 ypc) and 3 TDs.
Everyone thought in the preseason that Boyd would take up at least some of Street’s slack and really put up the receiving production that we need to win but that absolutely isn’t happening. If anything it is lessening.
This isn’t playcalling either, this is Voytik not being able to get the ball out of his hands and to any receiver on a consistent basis. You can bet a dollar that in every game this year, save VT & the read-option (which he could still have passed out of), the staff dialed up Boyd’s numer many, many times.
As a matter of fact the staff has called as many running plays for Boyd this season as they did all of last year because that is the ONLY way they can guarantee the ball gets into Boyd’s hands.
My fear is that Voytik is getting even more gun shy as the season progresses. This game will tell me a lot because the staff has pretty much said that we’ll go back to the normal offense which means more pass attempts, Voytik has been averaging 26 per game against D1 opponents, than against VT. If he can do the job and get that ball downfield for passing 1st downs then I’ll feel much better.
Kinda makes me sick the more I look at our offensive production this season. Even without that ‘big arm’ of Savage’s we should still be racking up passing yards with Boyd, Garner and Jennings out there. We can bitch about House and the “D” as much as we want but they are winning games for us.
HCPC should have fun game planning with this offense going forward – so unpredictable. Chad does need to pass well, which I believe he can. We know he can run. Patience – this team is young…
HTP!
Watching Pitt-Virginia Tech on Thursday and then West Virginia-Baylor on Saturday was like viewing two different sports, such was the higher level of speed and athleticism in the WVU game.
That comparison means nothing to me.
And even more so, who gives a shit what the hoopies do and who they play. They’re dead to me unless they’re playing us. Let’s worry about Ga Tech eh??
Jennings: His red shirt was burned for next year. He’s clearly the second best receiver on the team and even if he’s not getting targeted on passes the more he’s out there the better. He’ll be the clear #2 next year so it’s best to get the jitters out now and get used to running routes against real defenders.
DE: Soto is slow and unproductive. I would target him all night if I was GT. If I were House, I would replace him with Blair or Durham. There is no reason for Soto to be in the game.
Voytik: He has worse passing stats than GT QB Thomas who runs an option offense. Pathetic. Just let that sink in. Voytik’s passing is a disaster. He’s thrown for fewer TDs (10 to 9) than Thomas, fewer yards than Thomas (1099 to 1090), and more interceptions (6 to 3). Voytik is the biggest liability on this team.
Not saying this is your opinion (perhaps it is that of Smizik) but does higher scoring automatically mean a higher level of speed and athleticism? IMO it does not. Completely different styles, both with pros and cons.
At LB, Gonzalez, Grigsby/Bradley and Thomas give us plenty of speed to handle the option. If they stay on their assignments they’ll be fine.
The last time Pitt played WVU, they lost 21-20 at Morgantown to a team that included Smith, Austin Bailey. The next game they beat Clemson 70 to 28
That same trio the next year in their 1st games in the B12 rang 70 points on Baylor and 50 points on Texas … they ended the year by being crushed by Syracuse in the bowl game.
You think it’s possible Soto has outgrown DE and needs to move inside? Listed at 6’3, 270..
Same as QB, when you look at the depth chart at Pitt, if I was DE looking for immediate playing time, how could I not consider Pitt. Especially when I see Rori Blair out there performing as a true freshman.
Soto.. Hez Trehan, Brandon Roy, Maclean… not much in the cupboard.
Shareef Miller has to see that, right?
Don’t get me wrong, I like this current coaching staff and the type of young players they now have on the field, but at some point, as Durham stated, you have to “stay hungry”. Mediocrity will continue with this team until the leadership on this team, be it the coaches or the players, or best yet, a synergistic combination of both, make a dedicated commitment to excel to the next level.
That loss to Akron was unacceptable, anyway you cut it. This team should be at least 5-2 right now. They are not due to poor preparation and a laxidasical attitude towards the game against the Zips.
This early schedule set up perfectly for the Panthers and they pissed it away with that three game losing streak. Now they sit at 4-3 but are right there competing for the division title going forward, anyway? This game either confirms that this squad is unprepared to handle that challenge or confirms that they just might be turning the corner necessary to be competitive in the ACC.
As I mentioned before, to turn that corner depends much more on the mindset and attitude of this team than it does on analysis of their past statistical accomplishments. Those stats produced a 4-3 result against average to poor opponents. Keep that going the same way over the next few weeks and the Panthers will be sitting home come bowl time.
Aspirations to be winners needs to be conceptualized in the mind first, only then can you get the body to endure the efforts required to realize that concept and actually transcend to the next level thereafter.
I don’t see that team mindset entrenched in this squad’s psyche yet and because of that mental deficiency, I say we lose on Saturday.
SOP, if that occurs, unfortunately. I so hope that I’m mistaken about this, but I just don’t see the same team that lost to Akron just a few weeks ago transformed right now into that “winning attitude” juggernaut of a team, necessary to truely compete for the ACC Coastal division title.
If Pitt does win the game against the Yellowjackets, then, “Whoa Nellie” we just might have a new player in the ACC coming to town.
Sorry, I don’t see it happening. Go ahead Pitt, prove me wrong!
Well stated, Dr. Tom. I like this team as well, both the players and the coaching staff, but really all it boils down to is proving it on the field.
Most players and coaches (not all,) whether they are from the SEC or the MAC, will say the right things during the week to reporters. Ultimately, you have to walk the walk come Saturday. Hopefully, Pitt can build off of the Va. Tech win and finish strong.
I have two endzone seats ( Sec. 522, Row F, Seats 20 & 21 on the aisle) and a Red 5 (closest garage to the stadium) parking pass if anyone wants then for GA Tech…for free.
The seats are nice and you get a great bird’s eye view of all the open PITT receivers who aren’t getting passes thrown to them!
I can’t make the 9 hour drive three weekends in a row if I ever want to have sex with my wife again and honestly would rather see the Duke game in person.
The first Blatherer to post an email address gets them – I’ll transfer the tkts via email and then I’ll overnight the parking pass and hardcopy tickets.
Hang in.
Keep the faith.
2 weeks of wins and I’ll be asking you what flavor of Kool-aid would you like to drink.
We can beat these guy’s.
H2P
If these Panthers have finally decided to stop beating themselves, then they can concentrate on beating their opponent. The 62-0 beating that they handed out to Delaware was a glimpse of the attitude required for EVERY game. I haven’t seen it since.
Give me 4 quarters of “take no prisioners” “rock em, sock em” Pitt football, then win or lose, I’ll be buying the Koolaid for all in the house!
Show me!
It worked thinking they’d lose against VT.
Then I and most of us will be pleasantly surprised if we happen to win.
The key to enjoying PITT football and maybe all PITT sports, have low expectations.
For PITT to be competitive in this one, it’s back to feeding “The Beast.” Looking for Conner to get the Ball A LOT.
How successful will he be?
Well if he doesn’t get 150 PLUS and 2 TDs… it’s going to be a LONG Day for Home Team.
The SECRET SAUCE might be some timely specially-designed Pass Plays to get the Yellow Jacket Defense thinking about something else besides stopping #24.
The question then “Is Voytik up to the task?”
Factoring into the answer is that Chad looks to be a little BEAT UP as a result his performance against the Tech School from Virginia.
If the answer is “No”… then we may just find out if a Quarterback not named Chad can complete a pass to a Tight End.
– a 330pm game
– a name opponent
– its not a weeknight
– weather should be good
– no conflict with with a baseball game
– we won our last game
– this game can set Pitt up for a first place showdown with Duke the following week
Students and out-of-towners should find all of the above attractive.
I agree with the recurring theme above that this game is about mindset. Its not about the talent – we have more upside in that category.
I will be surprised if this is a high scoring game. I think there will be a number of stalled drives – or “bend but don’t break” defensive stops…depending on one’s perspective.
We have a distinctive edge in Chris Blewitt though and I think it will be key. If we avoid mistakes….I think we win 23-13
Reed – I will make the 6 hour drive. Embracing the genius of “AND” this time by bringing the wife and pointing her in the direction of Robinson Town Center mall. I’m not suggesting you do the same – 9 hrs is a haul. But if they win Sat, its something to consider for the Duke game, which would be our most important matchup since joining the ACC.
I hope they win – if for no other reason than to cure Dr. Tom’s funk. I don’t like it when he’s that beacon of optimism we count on to keep us going. We win and I will drink one in your honor, Doc.
should read
when he’s NOT that beacon of optimism
I’ll be up for the Duke game though.
your name is now “Joe Blow” as far as PITT is concerned.
Sam Werner ? @SWernerPG
#Pitt LB Nicholas Grigsby says he and Bam Bradley will alternate at middle linebacker vs. Georgia Tech this week.