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September 14, 2006

Have to give credit to the MSU Football people in their Athletic Department. They don’t skimp on providing transcripts and information. They have transcripts from player press conferences.

After last season, QB Drew Stanton (naturally) thinks this is a better team.

On being a better team now than a year ago last season…
I think we are (a better team now). I think offensively we’re very happy with where we are right now, especially with the young guys stepping up on the offensive line, and some of our younger receivers stepping up, and then the production we got out of A.J. (Jimmerson). He stepped up and had a great game running the ball and catching the ball. I think that the younger guys are starting to step up, and obviously the veteran guys are comfortable with where we’re at right now within our game plan and understanding everything that’s going on. We get into a rhythm, and it goes back to us executing within the game plan – whatever the coaches come up with in the next couple days, and then us digesting that.”

On being better as a total team…
“As a complete team, we definitely are better. Special teams have definitely played a factor for us, that we’ve been able to come out on a positive note. With (Brett) Swenson stepping up, it’s that much easier on the offense and the defense. Our defense has been in some adverse situations and has responded real well. For example, last week, in the first play when I threw that pick, they didn’t give up the touchdown; they came in and held them. Then also in the second half with the fumbled kickoff they did a good job of only giving up a field goal there. Our defense is coming around, they’re doing real well and we’ve got some playmakers over there this year. Offensively, I am happy with what we’re doing. We just have to continually get better, get our timing down. The major thing that we want to do is establish a run.

Strangely, Stanton was asked a few questions about Pitt CB Darrelle Revis, while the guy Revis will be covering, Matt Trannon didn’t get any — directly.

On Pitt being the first road game of the season…
“I wouldn’t say it kicks the adrenaline up, because that happened at the start of the season. Our goal going into the year was to approach every game the same way and not take anyone lightly. Any game you go into the environment is going to be hostile, regardless of if it’s a home game or a road game.”

On people saying he hasn’t lived up to his potential at this point in his career…
“I wouldn’t say it is out of my control, but I can only do what I do when it fits into the team’s plan. People can talk and say what they want to say, but I don’t let it get to me at all. It motivates me a little bit, but I don’t want to get into the situation where it is just me out there trying to prove myself. Like coach says, if we are going to do something, we are going to do it as a team and I will do it with my offensive line, the quarterback and the rest of my teammates out there.”

On how Pittsburgh will approach him coming off a big game…
“I am pretty sure Pitt will have watched our offense and adjusted so I am pretty sure I will be challenged a few times this game. Both of their corners don’t seem very physical – they won’t really come up and hit you – but they do a solid job of tackling. I think we are up for the challenge though.”

Yeah, it’s not Trannon’s fault he’s been invisible the first 3 years when it counts. It’s others.

Not only do they have player talk, the OC and DC for MSU have an interview on the site.

How important is it for MSU to be balanced on Saturday and not become one-dimensional on offense?
“It just depends what Pitt wants to do. If they want to make us one-dimensional and keep letting us do something and not take it away, we’ll continue to do that. I think it is important that we run the football and try to establish something to keep their true nickel, dime defensive backs off the field. We must have success on first down because that can dictate the entire tempo of the game.”

How important is it to have the three-headed attack at running back?
“I think it’s hugely important because in a single-back offense, I don’t think one back can take the punishment that he’s going to take for 65 or 70 plays. Two guys can do it and if a second guy gets nicked, we need to have a third guy ready to play. That’s exactly what happened to us last week. The third guy played an important role against Eastern Michigan. It’s important that A.J. Jimmerson produce when given an opportunity. We really like the three-headed attack at running back.”

The one thing you can say about MSU’s approach to offense under HC John L. Smith is that they have been willing to be flexible with the personnel and what they do. The defense or lack thereof has been a bigger issue.

On defending split end Derek Kinder:
“Pitt has two receivers, Derek Kinder and Oderick Turner, averaging more than 35 yards per catch. Turner has three receptions and two of those have gone for touchdowns. Kinder has 249 receiving yards while averaging nearly 36 yards per catch, so he is a big play kind of athlete.”

The Pittsburgh media has labeled the Pitt offense as one dimensional, so do you expect the Panthers to attempt to establish the running game?
“I think in both of its games, Pitt came out early and tried to run the ball. They threw their play-action pass, caught a break here and there, got a big play and got into the end zone. It looks like they’re just doing what they do best: a little bit of everything.”

They are very wary of Pitt trying to break the big play as has happened in the first two games for Pitt. Hopefully the corners will play a little soft with the safeties dropping back to open up room for some passes to the tight ends and the running game to do something.





Perdictions anyone?

I’ll say 24-17 PITT. We’ll get good production out of our passing game, we’ll win the turnover battle and not make much progress in our running game. The defense will do OK, but won’t score a TD this time.

WVU will kill Maryland tonight. Lousiville will win a close game with Miami.

Take all the above with a grain of salt as I really don’t know what I’m talking about.

Comment by Reed Kohberger 09.14.06 @ 11:23 am

I would love to beat a big ten team. It’s the closest thing we can do to stick it to Penn State. I don’t know about anyone else, but when I read Stanton’s transcripts he sounds like another big-headed big ten QB. The Big East needs wins from Louisville, WVU, and Pitt this weekend.

Comment by Chris K 09.14.06 @ 11:33 am

A Cinci win would be big too! Not too much respect from the Spartan blogger over at that AOL blog. He even calls Palko overratted in the “thoughts about msu/pitt” post.

Comment by B.B. 09.14.06 @ 12:38 pm

Positive non-conference results this week will prove that the Big East is a viable BCS conference. Granted, we need to add 2 or 3 more teams eventually – but with big wins over ACC and Big 10 teams we shouldn’t have to defend ourselves for much longer.

Still, it will be difficult for me to root for Louisville.

Comment by Chris 09.14.06 @ 1:24 pm

We need to stick it to them at home. This is their chance to earn the respect they want. I feel this could be the turning point for the rest of the season. If we beat Mi State I think that starts the ball rolling toward the 2 end of the season showdown games against Louisville and Maryland.

Comment by Rex 09.14.06 @ 2:00 pm

oops, last game against wvu

Comment by Rex 09.14.06 @ 2:01 pm

Just an opened question about Pitt Basketball tickets….has the Panther Club dropped the ball on anyone’s ticket requests yet…? They failed to send me notice of the ticket renewals…I’m just getting a bit pissed off, they’ve dropped the ball on my ticket orders both Basketball and Football two consecutive years now….even though they keep raising prices and contribution requirements. No love for a die hard fan I’m finding or am I offbase…?

Comment by Marco 09.14.06 @ 5:28 pm

Marco, I too did not recieve my ticket application. I had to call several times before they finally got one mailed out to me. They claimed all along that my account information was correct and that I should have recieved it the first time. I recieved it last Friday, the deadline for applications to be in. I was given an extra week for their mistake, but I decided not to risk it (especially with these people), and ordered online last week. I think you can order online without even recieving an application as long as you have an online account.

bottom line.. the Pitt ticket office/Panther club is unacceptably bad. what is Jeff Long doing over there??

Comment by Jamie H 09.14.06 @ 5:38 pm

I ordered a number of single game tickets through the Pitt ticket office.. firstly, they never sent me the tickets – and getting a refund was a pain in the ass..
and every single time I ordered tickets from them I ended up standing in line for hours and returning home to find a ticket broker sticking it to my wife!

Pitt cuts no slack for the common fan.

Comment by Chris 09.14.06 @ 11:50 pm

Here’s a question. Does anyone remember whether the seats near the top at the old Pitt Stadium were better than the seats in the upper level at Heinz? I was always down low as a student at Pitt Stadium, so I don’t really remember, but it seemed like it would have been a nicer view. I’ve gone to games at Heinz in the upper level, both near the corner and above the end zone, and I kind of feel like I’m watching from a blimp.

It’s hard to figure out, considering that it’s a newer stadium and only has 9,000 more seats. Is it just wider spacing?

Comment by Bill 09.15.06 @ 7:10 am

I thought this was interesting from Paul Zeise in his Q&A column in the Post:

dorsettditka: Penn State aside, when was the last time Pitt played a Big Ten team and what was the outcome?

Paul Zeise: The Panthers played Ohio State in 1996. It was a close game, Ohio State won 72-0. The best thing about that game was then-OSU coach John Cooper was trying to hold the score down so he only sent eight guys out to return a punt — and they returned it for a touchdown despite being three men down.

I knew about the 72-0 loss but never heard about the punt return. The reason I bring this up is it does show us just how far this program has come from where they were 10 years ago. Not to mention the fact of how difficult or impossible it is in college football to bring a team back from the dead. It all starts with recruits and big time recruits dont come to bad programs. 10 years later Pitt has one of the top ten recruiting classes in the country and has been to a BCS bowl game. Although we arent where we want to be I think the turnaround has been remarkable. Just something to think about.

Comment by Rex 09.15.06 @ 8:07 am

Rex, PITT’s history in football has been like a sine curve with decades being tickmarks between feast and famine. It goes back to the 1920s and 30s when we were really THE football powerhouse. Famine again in the 60s – then top of the heap in the late 70s and early 80s. Most people don’t believe it when you tell them PITT has nine National Championships – but we do, only the last was so long ago it’s ancient history in this day and age.

Its good to be on our way back up. I truly believe that we will see some very good football out of PITT in the next few years.

Here’s a foolish article in the PG today…

link to postgazette.com

…comparing Getsky to Palko in the context of ‘what if Getsky stayed?’. Her assumption that DW would have pulled Palko for Getsky is a reach, and she seems to think that Getsky’s leadership skills are better. I like Getsky and am glad he’s done well at Akron – but I wouldn’t trade Palko for him ever.

Comment by Reed Kohberger 09.15.06 @ 9:10 am

Anyone watch WVU last night? The whole first quarter I kept thinking, how the hell is Pitt going to beat WVU! They looked beatable after that, and they seemed to be prone to fumbling last night, but at this point I’m just hoping Pitt doesn’t look any worse in the BY-Brawl than MD did last night.

Comment by B.B. 09.15.06 @ 11:04 am

MSU was one of the games I originally picked Pitt to lose. My only concern is our running game. Our running game is still suspect but I am hoping it will improve this week.

Overall, I like our chances in this game, I’m still hearing MSU’s top two RB’s are very banged up and hopefully about 55,000 people will turn out and cheer our team to victory.

My prediction for this one is: Pitt 28 MSU 27

Comment by jimbo b 09.15.06 @ 11:37 am

I don’t think that WVU’s defense is as good this year as it was last year. They seem particulary vulnerable in the middle of their secondary. Their running game is first rate, of course. Their passing game is just plain bad, don’t believe that hype about how they “don’t throw because they don’t have to”. Did you see the one called pass play down the side line, where White threw it up like a punt (a bad one at that)?I think that a team with a really fast defense (such as Miami) would handle them easily. I think Pitt has enough on both sides of the ball to beat them, but it will be a strugle. As for MSU vs. Pitt… Pitt 27 – MSU 17.

Comment by Frank 09.15.06 @ 12:32 pm

Pitt 31 MS 21

Comment by Rex 09.15.06 @ 12:36 pm

Here is a link to cut and paste to your browser with a little more on why it is not a foregone conclusion that a league havinging it’s own network will work in the long run. This article is by David Jones and was run in the Harrisburg Patriot News:

link to pennlive.com

Comment by Frank 09.15.06 @ 12:46 pm

For a little more background on how much power Comcast throws around: Three months ago, I moved from a town 6.5 miles from where I live now. At my old house I had “Comcast Carlisle”, which carried Fox Sports Pittsburgh on it’s regular channel line-up. As many of you know, they carried a good dozen or so Pitt BB games last year. My new house is on “Comcast Harrisburg”, which negotiates it’s own contracts with Fox Sports for the FSP channel. Guess what…negotiations broke off a year or two ago, and now there is no FSP on my regular or digital channel line up, nor according to Comcast do they have plans to add it. So even if the Big 11 Network makes it to your cable provider, it may be here today and gone tomorrow. I’m pretty sure ESPN and ABC will always be a part of any TV package, Cable or Dish.

Comment by Frank 09.15.06 @ 12:58 pm

I watched the WVU-MD game also and had a couple of thoughts:

1) Slayton might be as good as Dorsett was (I know, that’s a hard thing to think, but he truly is a great back).

2) As bad as PITT got beat by WVU last year – we might match up pretty well with them this season. Their strength is speed, and with our new emphasis on speed, we might be able to keep them in the 17-28 point range, with a chance to win.

3) The Big East is aquitting themselves against non-cons very well so far this year, and we (the BE)actually got some compliments from the announcers last night.

Comment by Reed Kohberger 09.15.06 @ 1:36 pm

Call me pessimistic….but I hope I’m not the only one worried about Michigan State. I know this team has a tendency to play to their opponents level, but they also have one of the most explosive offenses in the country IMO. MSU runs slip screens and bubble screens from their shotgun like nobodies business.

Pitt’s D is fast now, but we still have “some” trouble stopping the screen. I’m hoping we win a close one, but I could see MSU piling up big numbers against us.

Commence flaming

Comment by Ryan M 09.15.06 @ 3:14 pm

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