11:07: Fumbled hand-off exchange. Now Cinci is inside the 20. Just an overthrow away from a TD as the defense blew coverage. Jeez. Effin hell. This is why you can’t just sit on the ball. H.B. Blades is cramping up for the second time.
11:00: The defense wasn’t even in prevent. It was just soft and gooey. 2 minutes or so to go down and score. 26-15 Pitt. 4:35 left. Onside kick failed.
10:54: Frustrating in the last quarter. Pitt has gone too conservative. Conent to kill time on offense. No sense that they are even trying to do more than maybe kill a couple minutes at a time.
10:15: Revis! Having a horrible night handling the punts. Fumble, turnover to Cinci at 17. Not good since he was quoted saying Pitt can’t turn the ball over, then tried to backtrack saying he didn’t mean to put it on the offense. I guess, he was putting it on himslef.
10:05: Safety, when Cinci QB Davila shovel passed in endzone. 16-0 Pitt. Nothing like the other team screwing up to help make the cushion better. Gets the Jugular by a 55 yard TD pass to Kinder. Not even good pass interference effort. 23-0, despite flubbed snap and hold.
9:51: Anyone getting the feeling that there was a pretty good halftime chewing out by Coach Wannstedt?
9:46: 5 yard pass, 75 yard run for a touchdown 28 seconds into the second half. Palko to Kinder. 14-0 Pitt. Looks like Kinder has more speed then given credit going into the season.
Halftime: 7-0 Pitt. With, I’m frustrated to say, a little luck.
Wannstedt at the end of the half, very frustrated by the O-line. Essentially says the team doesn’t seem to have its mind in the game. Erp.
Hope you took the under on this game. It’s hard to have clear thoughts when you grind your teeth so hard because the play calling crew is driving you to distraction.
Does the whole team just tighten up on the road? The whole team looks a lot slower and less sound in tackling and on the lines.
9:15: TD to Oderick Turner!! That will work. 7-0 Pitt. 1:49 until halftime.
9:14: Big interception by Cox on a screen. Defense got pressue to blind Grutza to the coverage. Now Pitt needs to do something with it.
9:10: Palko to Kinder!! Looked like a face mask at the end as well. Palko made a great throw across the field to Turner, but just broken up at the end. Once more the O-line doesn’t hold against the blitz
9:00: That lack of depth on the O-line — I don’t see Simonitis back in there — is an issue, but what’s the excuse for the defense and special teams play? Cinci is willing to blitz more and is not losing on that gamble.
8:48: Crap. The call wasn’t bad to QB draw, but he was still short before the fumble. Pitt is not looking like the same team on either side of the ball.
8:42: T.J. Porter has shown a good burst to get the needed yardage on the end around and the screen.
8:36: Defense is in Rhoads’ “bend but don’t break” mode. I’m dying.
8:30: Pitt’s pass protection for Palko is not looking good. Okay, scratch that. The whole O-line seems to have gone back to last year.
Trevor Matich is a hideous color commentator. “Good” Palko or “evil” Palko? Grife.
3 holding calls in 1.5 games on Otah.
(2) Missing LS-H big time
(3) Where are the tight ends over the middle (still unanswered from last season)
(4) We’re fortunate Connie Selecka can’t hold a pass
(5) Must do something with the first possession of the 2nd half, or at least get a couple first downs to pin them back.
(6) It does look much like last year. *sigh*
The defense seems to have gone soft with the lead. This team needs to learn to dominate.
(and Revis needs to learn to hold onto the ball).
These announcers are the worst in the history of sports. I really dislike Rod Gilmore.
Bottom line, got a win in BE play, on the road, on Friday night, on ESPN2 and beat the spread.
Palko’s stats are going to be outrageous if his receivers keep making him look great – his yards per pass so far this year is very good. The YAC is good also, and overall I believe we can keep winning. However, the running game certainly is not what we hoped it would be and I’m not sure how you fix that with the personnel we have.
My prediction of 28-10 wasn’t too far off either.
The review policies are bullshit, but the Cincy coach helped us by using his last timeout on the 4th and short review – should have kicked.
Q: do I appear HAM?
Sh*t, since http://www.pittblather.com, I’ve had near nil success publishing comment; that is, whatever I submit fails to appear within a reasonable time frame — i.e., as with tonight, I commented @ 8:30P at the conc. of the 1st Qtr. and, as with ALL comment submitted in the past, per par, I’m inclined to believe that my “contribution” to an “open/live thread” during a live broadcast will appear in AM, completely after-the-fact and thus irrelevant.
So why go to the trouble to post? A: Though I’ll remain a reader, fan, and advocate of PSB — as I have since ’03 — , I can’t think that I’ll be too terribly motivated and thus inclined to post much in the future — at least under the circumstances at hand, as described.
Last, because my email to you regarding the subject went w/out reply @ gmail.com, my statement is submittd here-now for this reason alone. I can hardly believe for a second that the above problems encountered are “intended” on your behalf, so no need feel obliged to publish this note. Instead, email me back explanation, if you will.
That’s it. –Neil
Quick Out: the gm. was sloppily played and, in many respects not so thrilling to watch as I’d’ve thought. But, for the record, take note: my prediction — Pitt 35-UC 17 — was near bull’s-eye to the final: Pitt 33-UC 15 . Hence bragging rights!
No hard feelings. Cheers
