If Pitt is playing Rutgers, it must be time for the mentor-pupil stories.
Greg Schiano was a still-green, barely 30-year-old when Dave Wannstedt took a shot on him.
Wannstedt put a whole NFL position group under his charge a year later, and today, if the perpetually time-crunched Schiano happens upon some bonus chat time to call a buddy, “Dave,” the Rutgers coach said, “is one of them.”
Not that any of that means Schiano is going to tell Wannstedt who his starting quarterback will be Saturday.
“Nope,” Schiano affirmed with a wry smile and a promise that friendship won’t trump gamesmanship. Not this week.
Isn’t it interesting that Coach Wannstedt can also recognize young, ambitious coaching talent? Pitt position Coaches that are meeting with general approval include Brian Angelichio (TE) and Aubrey Hill (WR). Think maybe he should consider that approach a little more with the present staff?
As for the starting QB. It is expected that both Mike Teel and Jabu Lovelace will be playing. Teel will likely start, but expect plenty of Lovelace.
While Scarlet Knights starter Mike Teel is a pocket passer who ranks second in the Big East, backup Jabu Lovelace is a rushing threat who has gained more yards this season than any Pitt running back not named LeSean McCoy.
Teel has started every game this season, but pulled himself after the second series against Army last Friday because of a thumb injury. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was non-committal as to which quarterback will start when Pitt (4-5, 2-2) visits Rutgers (6-4, 2-3) at noon Saturday.
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Lovelace, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior, could pose a more dangerous threat between the two. Consider: The only player to rush for 100 or more yards against the Panthers this season is Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, who had 122 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
When Lovelace is playing, Pitt has to fight through blocks to close the extra gap. But, without Teel, Rutgers loses a dimension of its offense in passes to game-breaking receivers Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt.
“When a quarterback is carrying the ball in that position, there’s not enough bodies,” Rhoads said. “You can’t put enough people in there, so somebody’s got to get off a block. You’ve got to disrupt something to make a play. When he’s in there, that’s what you’re concerned with. When Teel’s in there, you’re concerned with everything.”
Not enough bodies? When did Pitt start spotting the other team an extra player? That may explain some things.
Schiano, like Wannstedt is a big proponent of speed on defense. Unlike Wannstedt, however, Schiano likes aggressive blitzing schemes. Facing a freshman QB, expect plenty.
The Scarlet Knights under Greg Schiano play a defense that thrives on blitzing and a lot of movement by the linemen. So Bostick will be under fire.
But, in a sense, so will the Panthers as a whole. Pitt (4-5, 2-2) finds itself in a must-win situation if the Panthers want to go to a bowl game.
The Scarlet Knights rank No. 1 in NCAA Division I-A in pass defense (153.2 yards per game) and 13th in pass-efficiency defense (103.9 passer rating against) and average 2.5 sacks per game.
How well Bostick and the offensive line handles the Scarlet Knights’ pressure likely will determine the outcome. Pitt failed that test the past two years with Rutgers amassing 10 sacks and forcing four turnovers against Pitt in those games.
Pitt is of course planning to run the ball a lot. Shocking. Not exactly revealing a secret wrinkle in the offense.
“They are an attacking defense,” Bostick said. “And they do it out of a lot of different looks. It really jumps out how aggressive they are and their willingness to play that aggressively and to do certain things that many other teams aren’t very comfortable with doing.
“Some of the things they do are identifiable, but they give so many different looks and they will blitz from many different looks. We have to be able to get them blocked and then beat their man coverage. That’s not an easy thing to do.”
Bostick said the thing that has impressed him the most about the Scarlet Knights is they seem to play defense without fear and trust their blitz packages.
Rutgers is willing to risk the big play. They are also willing to gamble with blitzes versus runs. Counting on the speed up front to recover in such cases.
“It’s seems Bostick knows he will be running for his life come Saturday afternoon. Blitzes cause panic, and it appears the panic is already beginning to settle in on our rookie QB.”
… is pretty much a crock of crap. While you read that article as ‘panic settling in’ I read that as good preparation and awareness of what he will face. And while he will probably face lots of pressure – the one thing Bostick has done very well with since taking over the starters job is not panicking while back to pass. He might not have a great game today – but I’d be surprised if he reverted to his first action form.
And, yes – PITT has the screen play – over, and over and over. As a matter of fact sometimes that seems to be the only play they run in the passing game.
Screen passes to WR aren’t the same as a legitimate screen to a running back. When have you seen that screen used this year? Cavanaugh hasn’t figured out that WR receiver screens don’t work on any other team but ours. Of course, most teams don’t play ten yards off the receivers like our defense. Those screens work in practice, because he’s going against our DB’s. Furthermore, it appeared to me that Bostick panicked plenty today. Of course if you don’t want to call it panick, you are free to simply call it lack of ability. Either way, this kid is never going to be a decent D-I QB. Poor mechanics, weak arm, lack of foot speed, spells we need a legitimate QB. in my eyes. You are only fooling yourself if you believe Bostick is the answer at QB for Pitt. As happened today, as soon as Pitt gets a decent QB in the system, Bostick will be out. He will be remember as a burst just like D. Dickerson.
Also, I was surprised, but have to give the coaching staff credit for making that change to Smith in the second half. It was a bold move considering his history earlier, and the difference in HIS play was like night and day when compared to his earlier showing. Makes me realize even more that us fans have no real idea what goes on in the practices.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say Bostick is finished as the PITT QB though – a lot can happen over the next couple years. One thing I would do if I was DW – everything I could to convince Stull that his services are valued and needed at PITT (even though he is a relativce unknown quality at QB).
