Aug 31 2009
Today Dave Wannstedt spoke about the depth chart and two things became abundantly clear -- 1.) He went way out of his way to try and make sure everyone who didn't win their respective competition for a job stayed happy (he used a lot of phrases like "they are all going to play") and 2.) He really is holding his breath and hoping that the quarterback play is going to be better than what we've seen in training camp.
But first, let's talk about the only real entertaining part of the entire thing and that was a somewhat entertaining exchange between the ultra-agressive WXDX morning guy Tim Benz and Wannstedt about the "training hours" issue. That issue is of course brewing up at Michigan, which is not a surprise because Rich Rodriguez has not exactly done a Dale Carnegie impression since he arrived in Ann Arbor about 20 months ago.
The exchange was just about to get interesting when Benz asked his second follow-up question, something like "did you see any evidence of this kind of cheating at West Virginia when Rich Rodriguez was there."
Unfortunately, Wannstedt didn't bite and blew the question off (the entire exchange was of course whitewashed off the official transcript which is provided by the athletic department) and when Pitt sports information director E.J. the D.J. Borghetti jumped to the front of the room it was clear there would be no more questions heading down that road.
Whether you like Benz's style or his show, you should be glad he's around these parts because there are just so few guys left who aren't afraid to throw a few fastballs high and tight during an interview, no matter who is receiving the questions. Benz knew he had no chance of getting his questions answered and frankly, when you ask questions like that about controversial subjects 99 times out of 100 you probably won't get an answer and often you will get a media relations type to jump in.
But those questions are important to ask because maybe, just maybe, the person you are interviewing will actually answer them and hand you some good stuff to write.
So now that we got journalism 101 out of the way, here are some of my other thoughts about the developments today...
1.) In the end, Chris Jacobson just made a few too many mental errors for Dave Wannstedt's comfort level. Joe Thomas is a senior, is more experienced and is just not going to make the kinds of mental mistakes that have held Jacobson back. He is getting better, he is getting closer and I do believe he'll get a shot this year. But for now, Thomas will be the starter and Jacobson will be a highly-talented player who is struggling to get on the field.
2.) It says everything you need to know about what is holding Elijah Fields back that he earned Wannstedt's praise for having "two good days in a row". Fields should play a lot Saturday but that is a long way from now and as it is he'll be part of a three-man rotation, with Dom DeCicco and Andrew Taglianetti, for two safety spots.
3.) Shayne Hale should be the third defensive end but he isn't Brandon Lindsey is. Why? It is simple, Hale can only play on one side (I'm fairly certain it is the right) and Lindsey can play both sides. Hale, like Lucas Nix (who can only play right tackle) and Jacobson, has tons of talent and should be a big-time player but he has some work to do in terms of learning some things and becoming more versatile in order to get on the field.
4.) Dan Mason will play a lot Saturday and will continue to get more playing time each week provided he's productive and doesn't make too many mental errors. Wannstedt said simple -- he's the real deal.
5.) The fourth receiver spot is going to be a situational work in progress all season. There are fast guys, small guys, a tall guy, quick guys, guys who run good routes all competing for that spot so the player who wins the job will be the one who gives the Panthers the best matchup against the defense they are facing.
Aug 29 2009
Pitt announced Friday night that redshirt junior Gilbert Brown, the team's most experienced player, had been suspended from the university of the fall semester. This is a big blow to the Panthers, who were counting on Brown to be the starting small forward. Brown averaged a modest 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds as a reserve last season, but his minutes and production were expected to jump big time now that Sam Young is in the NBA.
Now what for the Panthers?
I say this is a huge opportunity for Nasir Robinson, the sophomore from Chester High near Philly. I actually thought Robinson deserved more playing time last season because he made so many good things happen in his limited number of minutes. I understand why didn't play more -- Jamie Dixon had a senior-oriented team and didn't want to mess with the chemistry -- but Robinson in now way looked overwhelmed when he played as a freshman.
Dixon used him only as a power forward last season, but he said it was his hope to play Robinson at small forward in the future. Well, the future is now for Nasir. He's not similar to Brown in the way he plays, but that's OK. While Brown is a top-notch defender and good in transition, Robinson is a scrappy player with a knack for getting loose balls under the basket. And he was great at the transition game when he had opportunities last season. The biggest key for Robinson will be getting better on defense and at the foul line, where he is well below average.
I think Robinson will be just fine as Pitt's starter, but this really hurts the team depth. As I mentioned above, Brown was a really good defender. With so many young players this team is going to struggle on defense in the early going.
This also might speed up the process for some of the freshmen. Does this mean someone like JJ Richardson, who looked really good at the Greentree summer league, has to come along quicker than expected? Richardson can play both power forward and small forward. Does he play a role in the rotation as a true freshman instead of taking a redshirt?
We shall see. This development certainly makes September and October critical for the Panthers. The season opener is a little more than two months away.
Aug 29 2009
A lot of people ask me what the Big East has to do to gain respect and why haven't people given the conference props for winning in BCS bowl games. The answer to both questions are simple -- win regular season games against real opponents and don't lose to inferior opponents and bowl games, for whatever reason, only matter if SEC teams win them.
So with that in mind, let's look ahead to this season and analyze the Big East's non-conference schedule. And keeping with our very popular theme of lists, let's breakdown the Big East's non-conference schedule. As you will quickly see, the Big East could go 40-0 in its non-conference schedule and while it would be a great accomplishment - and this gets back to scheduling -- I'm not sure what it would do perception-wise because there are so few quality wins to be had.....
Five biggest games (as in, games against highly-ranked opponents and thus games if the Big East wins them it would be a big deal).
1.) Syracuse at No. 9 Penn State - This is the highest ranked team any Big East team plays. And there is no, OK, almost no, well, let's be real, no chance Syracuse is winning it. But a win here would be a huge deal because it is the bottom of the Big East against the team who I think will win the Big Ten. Again, as noted football historian Deuce Skurcenski would say, "this game has NC written all over it-- no chance...."
2.) South Florida at No. 18 Florida State - Beating the Seminoles these days doesn't mean nearly what it once did but that being said, this is still a huge game for the Big East and in particular the Bulls. For one, FSU is the second-highest ranked team the conference plays but even more importantly, the Bulls must begin to change the perception that they are a distant fourth in the state of Florida among programs.
3.) Pitt versus No. 23 Notre Dame - If Pitt is indeed one of the top teams in the Big East, they've got to win this game at home in order to avoid the "that conference's best teams can't even beat an overrated outfit like Notre Dame...." tag. I also happen to think that if you look at Notre Dame's schedule, they could easily come into this game 8-1 (which means they'll be ranked in the top ten and have the national media fawning all over Charlie Weis again) and at the very worst should be 7-2.
4.) Louisville at No. 19 Utah - The Cardinals should be at or near the bottom of the Big East. Utah should be at or near the top of the Mountain West. You want to shut up the "Mountain West is better than the Big East" crowd Cardinals? Go win this game. In some ways this game probably should be no. 1 because there has been so much talk lately of the Mountain West that the Big East would benefit greatly from this victory, particularly since it is on the road. Unfortunately, I think, this is a NC game (to use that Deuce-ism) as well.....
5.) Connecticut vs. No. 21 North Carolina - Rentschler Field can be a tough place to play and frankly the Tar Heels, while improving, are still not quite there yet. This would be a big win for the Big East because again, UConn I think will be near the bottom of the Big East and it wouldn't shock anyone if the Tar Heels appear in the ACC title game. Connecticut also could gain some big points with a win over Notre Dame but that game is on the road and I think the Huskies will be big underdogs, so this is a no-lose situation for the Big East.
Those five games, I think are what we would call perception changers -- at least the first four would be -- and the only game which the Big East team might be favored is Pitt-Notre Dame. So again, you have to win them.
Now, this next set of games I would classify as even more important than the first five because these are games which are winnable games against teams from other power conferences. These are the kinds of games the Big East needs to start winning because it speaks volumes about the depth of the league versus the depth of other leagues.
1.) Cincinnati vs. Illinois - This a very good game for the Big East because I think Illinois should be near the top of the Big Ten. This is also big for the Big East because it is constantly being treated as if it a step-son to the Big Ten. And by the time this game is played - Nov. 27 - the Bearcats should have some things solved on defense which means they really do have a good chance to win it.
2.) South Florida vs Miami - The Hurricanes are rebuilding, there is no more denying that and frankly are probably a year away. Much like beating the Seminoles, a win here by the Bulls puts at least a little dent in the "fourth-city" status South Florida currently is stuck with.
3.) West Virginia at Auburn -- A win in an SEC stadium is a win in an SEC stadium. And this would be a big one for the Mountaineers, who I think will be favored in it. Again, perception changes once reality changes and that starts with winning these kinds of games. The Mountaineers also play at home against Colorado and while that will be a nice win on national television, the Buffalos are a long way from where they were when they had that preacher coaching them.
4.) Pitt at N.C. State - Go on the road and beat a solid ACC team and it provides more mounting evidence that the Big East is as good as if not stronger than the ACC.
5.) Cincinnati at Oregon State - I'm thinking the Bearcats will manage to score more than zero points against the Beavers. But a win up at that stadium, where teams like USC struggle, would be a huge deal, particularly since the Beavers will again be a fairly strong Pac-10 team.
Finally, these games are perception changers in the wrong way-- meaning, these are must wins and if the Big East team loses in these games it is a big deal in terms of negative publicity. And obviously this list doesn't take into account the stream of I-AA's and rent-a-win like opponents which litter every team's schedule, but a loss in any of those games is an absolute killer in so many ways.
1.) West Virginia vs East Carolina -- The Big East is trying to erase the perception that it isn't much or at all better than Conference USA, the WAC and the Mountain West. That's why these kinds of games are so important -- WVU, who will probably be in the mix to win the Big East cannot lose to a Conference USA team especially at home.
2.) West Virginia vs. Marshall -- See above, and then add the fact that the Mountaineers certainly don't want to have to hear the "not even the best team in West Virginia" nonsense.
3.) Cincinnati vs. Fresno State -- Again, you are at home, you are playing against one of the non-BCS darlings of the national media from a conference, the WAC, which people are constantly trying to compare to the Big East. You have to win this one.
4.) Louisville vs. Southern Mississippi -- Another one of those Big East-Conference USA matchups and it takes place on Big East turf. I don't think the Cardinals will be very good, but you can't tell me they have fallen this far that they would lose at home.
5.) Rutgers at Maryland - A lot of people think the Scarlet Knights might just win the Big East. If that is the case, it would certainly be an awful loss if your conference champion couldn't even beat a mid-level, mediocre team like Maryland from a mediocre conference like the ACC. Again, no excuses, the Scarlet Knights just have to win.
Those 15 games, I believe, will tell the true story of the Big East. Yes, there are other games which will factor in, but those fifteen games we will keep an eye on because it will tell us a lot about the relative strength of the conference.
Now, here are a few more schedule-related lists.....
These teams have scheduled appropriately for what the Big East is trying to accomplish, which is gain respect by winning games against the other BCS conferences or teams who are at that level (like a Utah or Notre Dame). In other words, these teams get it -
1.) Syracuse - Yes, a rebuilding team probably shouldn't start the season with three Big Ten opponents, but the Orange have exactly the formula and model Big East teams should use when scheduling its five non-conference games -- they play three BCS-conference opponents or their equivalents (Minnesota, Northwestern and Penn State), a solid MAC-level school (Akron) and a rent-a-win team (Maine).
2.) Cincinnati - Again, three BCS conference opponents or their equivalents (Oregon State, Illinois, Fresno State), a solid MAC-level opponent (Big Ben's alma mater) and a rent-a-win team (SE Missouri State).
3.) Connecticut - All together now -- three BCS conference opponents or their equivalents (Notre Dame, Baylor, North Carolina), a solid MAC-level team (Ohio) and a rent-a-win team (Rhode Island).
These teams have some good games scheduled but still need to do a little bit better than this. In other words, these teams almost get it....
1.) Pitt - The Panthers play two BCS-level opponents (Notre Dame, North Carolina State) and though Navy is not an easy game (I suppose there is some punch line which goes "especially when you decide to throw two fade passes from the 2 instead of handing the ball to your second-round draft pick, 1500-yard running back and ask him to run behind your first-round draft pick left tackle......), it is a game which there is more to lose by losing it than is to be gained by winning it. Also, not sure the wisdom of playing at Buffalo given Pitt's recent history on the road against MAC teams. Either way, the schedule is better than most teams in the other five leagues but not good enough for a Big East team given the stated goals of this thing.
2.) West Virginia - Like Pitt, the Mountaineers schedule (Liberty, East Carolina, Colorado, Auburn and Marshall) is not bad, but it is not great, either. That is especially true given how well WVU has played in the past six years -- it is time to upgrade this to the three-one-one formula and play someone like Virginia Tech instead of East Carolina.
3.) Louisville - This is dangerously close to falling into the third category, but the Cardinals stayed out of that embarrassment because they only play one Division I-AA and because they do play at Utah and against an SEC team (Kentucky). They also have only one Division I-AA team (Indiana State, without Larry Bird by the way) and Southern Mississippi is usually a solid team. The one game which needs to be better is Arkansas State, a Sun Belt team, because there is already a rent-a-win opponent on the schedule.
These teams need to be scolded by commissioner Marinatto because these schedules are embarrassingly bad and in some ways, hurt the credibility of the league. In other words, these teams DON'T get it.
1.) South Florida - As good as the games against Miami and Florida State, the Bulls schedule is offset by the other three games (Wofford, Charleston Southern and Western Kentucky), which are embarrassingly bad. Is that two Division I-AA teams and a bad Sun Belt team who was in Division I-AA (I don't call them FCS and FBS teams, sorry) three years ago? Are you kidding me? Someone needs to tell Jim Leavitt that his team is no longer a I-AA team and thus, he should stop scheduling like one.
2.) Rutgers - Greg Schiano has done a marvelous job of pulling Rutgers out of the basement, but they are still a long way from the top of the steps and frankly the Scarlet Knights lack credibility in a lot of ways. And part of the reason is they simply don't play anybody in their nonconference schedule (and then they beat 6-6 teams in nothing bowl games and brag about it) and this year's schedule is an embarrassment, whatever the reasons are. I mean, my goodness, they play a duck (Howard), an airport (Florida International), a railroad (Texas Southern), the worst of the three service academies (Army) and their "big game" is against a mediocre ACC program (Maryland). That isn't going to cut it by any stretch of the imagination and like we said, it is a disaster if the Scarlet Knights lose to Maryland.
And finally, for the record, let's look at the non-conference schedules of the Big East teams since the "new Big East" conference was formed in 2005 and we'll do it in two ways - won-loss records (only teams in Division I-A's records count) and by the following ranking system:
BCS-level opponents (teams from the five other BCS leagues and Notre Dame) (4 points)
Mid-Majors, for lack of a better term (Mountain West, Conference USA, MAC, WAC, Navy, Army) (2 points)
Low Majors (Sun Belt) (1 point)
Division I-AA (-2 points)
So, with that in mind - let's take a look at who is playing who in the Big East ---
First, let's take a look at non-conference opponents’ records by winning percentage (2005-08). By this measure, Pitt has played the toughest schedule in the New Big East era.
1.) Pitt - 105-94 (.528)
2.) Cincy - 103-93 (.526)
3.) Syracuse -114-111 (.507)
4.) USF - 95-92 (.508)
5.) West Virginia - 98-100 (.495)
6.) Louisville - 90-113 (.443)
7.) Rutgers - 82-104 (.441)
8.) UConn - 80-103 (.437)
Now let's look at non-conference opponents by ranking system based on where teams came from (2005-09, a total of 24 games per team). Note: Cincy played six non-conference games last year because they played at Hawaii so with that in mind, we are giving them a pass for playing Eastern Kentucky so that every team has the same amount of non-conference games for comparison's sake.
1.) Syracuse - 70 points (15 BCS, 7 Mid-Majors, 2 Division I-AA)
2.) Louisville - 53 points (11 BCS, 5 Mid-Majors, 5 Low-Majors, 3 Division I-AA)
3.) (tie) Pitt - 52 points (10 BCS, 10 Mid-Majors, 4 Division I-AA)
3.) (tie) West Virginia - 52 points (10 BCS, 10 Mid-Majors, 4 Division I-AA)
5.) Connecticut - 50 points (11 BCS, 8 Mid-Majors, 4 Division I-AA)
6.) Cincinnati - 42 points (7 BCS, 12 Mid-Majors, 5 Division I-AA)
7.) South Florida - 40 points (10 BCS, 4 Mid-Majors, 4 Low-Majors, 6 Division I-AA)
8.) Rutgers - 37 points (6 BCS, 11 Mid-Majors, 1 Low-Major, 6 Division I-AA)
Looking at those numbers, it is clear that outside of Syracuse, the Big East has a lot of work to in terms of putting together better schedules. This is a spin-free, excuse-free reality that the Big East cannot run and hide from. If the conference wants more respect, it needs to upgrade the non-conference schedule across the board and then go and win those games.
Like I said, Syracuse hasn't done much else right the past four years, but the Orange have been the model program for the Big East in terms of putting together non-conference schedules. They play a lot of BCS-conference teams and very few Division I-AA teams.
It looks to me like Pitt, West Virginia and UConn are almost where they need to be but they all could stand to add one more BCS-conference team to their non-conference schedule.
Cincinnati and South Florida have to do much better than they done. I know both have shown they are afraid to play big games on the road and that is a start, but they still play too many patsies and/or mediocre teams.
And like we said at the start, Rutgers scheduling has been an absolute embarrassment and is a big reason why their "success story" is viewed nationally as lot more fiction than fact. Yes, they have won more games recently than they used to but a close look at their schedule reveals a lot of those wins came against inferior competition. I mean, when the most impressive thing on your resume is a 4-0 record against Pitt -- a team which has defined mediocrity has missed bowl games in three of the last four years and is one game below .500 against I-A competition in that time - you haven't even come close to arriving as anything more than slightly better than mediocrity.
I was of the belief that commissioner John Marinatto should become a much heavier hand about getting teams to play better non-conference schedule but after doing this exercise, I think that needs to happen sooner rather than later because it is worse than I thought.
And I think he should get involved and let certain teams know they need to do better than they have even if it means playing some tough games on the road or playing a team like Notre Dame at a neutral site with twice as many seats as yours. (As an aside, I find it comical that Rutgers wouldn't play Notre Dame at the new Meadowlands but had no problem signing up to playing Army there. Of course, as we have discovered the reality is that is par for the course because the Scarlet Knights seem to make a habit on taking the path of absolute least resistance when it comes to finding non-conference opponents.)
I think even taking a one-and-done road deal now and then if the right one presents itself is not a terrible thing to do, particularly if you can win some of those games. And before you buy into the typical football coach and athletic administration whining about “well we need to have a balanced schedule and we don’t need to take bad deals” -- take a look at Florida State’s non-conference schedules in the 1980s and early 1990s when they were trying to build their national profile and see how that worked out for them.
The Seminoles played anybody, anywhere and when teams wouldn’t give them return trips to Tallahassee they said “fine, we’ll just come to your house and beat you”, which is why they went from a no-name former female college to a team which finished in the top 5 like 13 or 14 seasons in a row. They played at LSU six times from 1979 to 1989, no return trips, they played at Nebraska in back-to-back years, they played at Ohio State in back-to-back years, they played at Michigan in 1986 and 1991 with no return trips to Tallahassee.
And guess what – FSU won the overwhelming majority of those games and that’s how they gained respect and became one of the top programs in the nation. They didn’t make excuses about “well we can’t take a bad deal because it will hurt our perception”, instead they said “we’re a nobody and want to be a somebody so we’ll play whoever we can, wherever we can and then when start winning those games people will have to give us respect.”
That’s the attitude the Big East should take and until they do start playing better schedules and beating top teams and on the road if need be, the perception of the Big East will continue to be that it is a mediocre league behind the other five power conferences.
I understand that winning games, getting to bowls and playing at home is important to building a program, but my goodness some of these programs in the Big East wonder why they don't get respect and yet, you look at their non-conference schedule and realize they didn't beat, or play, anyone with a pulse.
It is something which needs to change.
Aug 27 2009
Camp is now officially over and quite frankly, it isn't a day too soon as there just isn't much left to dissect about this team.
I think it is a good team, but I'm not sure it is a great team and I don't know that we will really know much about it until week 4 -- unless, of course, it somehow manages to lose one of those first three games.
Not surprisingly, Bill Stull is the starting quarterback. It apparently was a surprise to some people out there because I wrote it last week and had a bunch of people e-mail me to tell me how wrong I was and how it was still an open competition. I suppose that was just a lot of wishful thinking by some of Pitt's most faithful fans but I'm not sure why this was really even that much of a question.
Look, I can't say it any other way or any clearer-- this was never a truly open competition, particularly after the spring. I even wrote going into the spring -- Tino Sunseri would have to be so ridiculously good to even get in the discussion that it wasn't realistic to think it could happen.
Dave Wannstedt has a certain comfort level with his fifth-year senior and thus, it was not going to be easy - or perhaps even realistic -- for any of the other players at that position to beat him out.
To quote Dave Wannstedt "it is what it is" now let's move on. Again.
Seriously, what more can be said or written about the quarterback position? What is done has been done and frankly it is time to accept reality and move forward.
As an aside -- If you want a detailed play-by-play of Stull's performance in camp versus the other guys, check out the Pantherlair fan site, which is published by Chris Peak, the often imitated and original guru of the up to the minute detailed practice reports, as Chris did a marvelous job of tracking every rep the quarterbacks took this camp. And while I am at it, I also think another valuable resource if you want to follow the team is Chas Rich's clipping service because it is a compilation of just about everything written about the Panthers you could find on the web.
But back to the Panthers, I really believe it is this simple -- barring major injuries, if Stull plays well, which he is capable of doing, Pitt has a chance to have a special season and if he doesn't play well, I could easily see an underwhelming 7-5 type of season from this bunch and that would certainly bring a lot more questions than answers about the future of this program.
I don't think 7-5 or worse will happen as I happen to think this team will win at least eight games, but there are certainly at least six games on the schedule which Pitt could lose if it doesn't play well and well, we've seen in the past this team play poorly and lose games it shouldn't.
And beyond the quarterbacks, left guard and safety are still to be resolved and the rest of the starting lineup is pretty much what we figured it would be. I'll be interested to see what the actual rotation of tailbacks looks like once the games start but I have a sneaky suspicion early on we will see all three (Chris Burns, Dion Lewis and Ray Graham).
Now, on to more important items of business -- the response to my lists of a day ago was so overwhelmingly positive and the amount of feedback filling my inbox has been so great that I've decided to take another "let's think outside of the box" approach to today's blog and look at an issue which has been recently caused some discussion and is worth looking at a little closer.
Joe Bendel, the superb former Pitt beat reporter and host of the Joe Bendel Show which can be heard on Fox Sports radio 970 each day from 3 to 7, put together his all star team of Pitt players from 2000 until now (he called it his "all-decade team") and asked a very interesting question - could this team beat this year's Florida team. I had a number of discussions with Joe about this subject in the past week and asked him if I could take it to you, the Pitt fans, for a further discussion because it really has been thought-provoking in a couple of ways.
First, let's look at Bendel's all-decade team......
OFFENSE
QB -- Rod Rutherford
RB -- LeSean McCoy
RB -- Kevan Barlow
WR -- Larry Fitzgerald
WR -- Antonio Bryant
TE -- Kris Wilson
OT -- Jeff Otah
OG -- Charles Spencer
OG -- Bryan Anderson
C -- Jeff McCurley
OT -- Rob Petitti
DEFENSE
DE -- Greg Romeus
DL -- Mick Williams
DL -- Tyre Young
DE -- Bryan Knight
LB -- Gerald Hayes
LB -- H.B. Blades
LB -- Clint Session
CB -- Darelle Revis
CB -- Shawntae Spencer
SS -- Josh Lay
FS -- Ramon Walker
P -- Andy Lee
K -- Conor Lee
Joe said the two players who seemed to draw the most support for being on the team who were omitted are Tyler Palko and Scott McKillop.
As much as I like Tyler Palko and respect what he did at Pitt, I agree with Bendel and think that if you honestly look at body of work and overall production for an entire career, the choice would have to be Rutherford, if for no other reason than he had a better record (his teams were 17-9, Palkos were 19-16) and he had better numbers. Yes, I know part of what held Palko back was his teammates and he didn't have Larry Fitzgerald but the "what ifs" are fictional and almost always a losing argument (I mean, playing the "what if" game, maybe David Klingler would have been a great NFL quarterback had he been drafted by the 49ers instead of the Bengals, but he wasn't so we are left to go by what we saw from him) and we must deal in reality.
The McKillop versus Session argument is much more interesting to me because it brings to light what intelligent and sensible people clearly understood about the differences in the categories I created and the reasons for my lists yesterday -- What is it that you are looking for when you pick a team like this? Because there is a big difference between "NFL prospect" and "great college player" More often than not, the two are one in the same but in the case of a player like Tim Tebow, are they really?
Is it athletic ability and NFL potential we are judging this team on?
If so then Session (who was a fourth-round pick) is your man.
Is it production and consistency as a college player, not too mention hardware?
Then McKillop is your man.
One argument I would make in favor of Session and Blades for that matter is this - neither one of them played behind a legitimate NFL defensive lineman and the defensive lines during their era were not very good at all and that's a big factor in looking at their careers (and probably makes you appreciate Blades for what he had accomplished even more).
But despite that fact and after thinking about this one for a while I think you'd have to go with McKillop over Session just because he was a first-team All-American and that is a big piece of hardware to ignore.
For that matter the Tyre Young question is similar -- the guy really only played one stretch of about seven games and yes he played those games at a high level and yes, he was an unstoppable force, but his body of work is so limited it is hard to judge him against some other players who had longer, more productive careers.
That being said, I can't in good conscience take him off the list because he was so ridiculously good in that stretch -- he was as big of a reason for Pitt's 2001 turnaround as any, be it scrapping the spread or the schedule getting a little lighter in the second half of the season -- that he needs to be on this team.
One other change I'd probably make is I'd have put Chad Reed at center just because he was such an intelligent player and really was a big part of an awfully good offensive line (probably the best since I've covered the team). Reed was a tough guy and he was an excellent player at that position, and like Bendel, he was a machine and whose production has never been matched by any of those who followed in his footsteps.
In short, the only two changes I'd probably make are McKillop and Reed for Session and McCurley.
The more interesting question to me is this one (which, by the way, Joe raised and clearly got under the skin of some of his callers) -- how would that team fare against the 2009 version of Florida or even Texas, Oklahoma or USC?
Honestly, I'm leaning towards agreeing with Joe and saying that Florida, with Tim Tebow as the X-factor, would probably win a close game but I believe Pitt would beat the other three for a variety of reasons ranging from a lack of belief in Big 12 defenses to USC's inexperience at quarterback.
But this is one I'd like to hear from you about -- what do you think -- Could Florida 2009 beat Pitt's All-Decade team or not? And are there any players you think should be on the team who are not?
Let me know what you think at pzeise@post-gazette.com.
Aug 25 2009
The practices are getting less physical and more technical, which means, the end of camp is near.
The next week there are two goals -- (A) continue to get the timing down with the passing game as well as with the blocking and (B) get the guys who are banged up back into the mix and allow the guys who have been going for nearly three weeks now their legs back.
The practice yesterday, for instance, was in shorts and shoulder pads, meaning there was no hitting and not much activity for the defense.
And because of that, one could say the practice was designed to make the offensive players smile, the defensive players scowl and the heat was enough to make tears well up in the eyes of one player who got sick. I suppose I could say something clever like "I know something you don't know, nah, nah, nah" but that would be silly and immature and I for one cannot imagine an adult taking that kind of approach with other adults......
So now that camp is over, or for the most part over, let's have some fun -- which the offensive players reportedly had yesterday -- and look at some rankings (based on my observations, and for the record, no, Tennessee will not be ranked) to consider as we move through the season.....
Let's start with the 10 MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS on this team in order.
(And think about this before you say "WHAT" to some of these selections -- value means this - (a) a good player (b) at a key position where either depth is thin or there aren't many alternatives ready to step in and play.)
1.) Jason Pinkston - This one is not even up for debate and there isn't even a close second. Jason has become and excellent tackle, he plays the left side and if he is hurt, there isn't anyone on this roster that I've seen who could even come close to the level of production and protection he's provided. In fact, I think we saw some of this in the Sun Bowl when he was out and it looked like a jail break coming from the left side on almost every play. He is the one guy this team simply cannot lose for any extended period of time.
2.) Jonathan Baldwin - I know, there are plenty of receivers on this team who are capable. But there isn't another one in Baldwin's league. He is the one guy who can make defenses find him and roll to him and defend him on every single play. He is a game-changer and a guy who can go up and get the ball regardless of how bad it is thrown -- and given how the quarterback on this team throws the ball some times, well that is an important thing. He is a threat to score a touchdown on every play. Without him the offense loses a lot of firepower and trust me, this is an offense that needs all the firepower it can get.
3.) Nate Byham - Brock DeCicco is not ready, he needs to redshirt, Mike Cruz needs to decide if he really wants to play football and Dorin Dickerson is not a traditional tight end and he's not capable of doing the things Nate can do, in blocking and other areas not related to catching the ball. Nate is simply an outstanding and physical tight end and based on what we've seen from the offense without him in there (he's missed some days with a concussion) he is indispensible.
4.) Aaron Berry - Yeah, I know, he didn't play well all the time last year. And while there are some young corners with talent on this team, Berry is the only true lock-down corner on this team and the only player with that "takes away half the field" ability. If he is not healthy, a lot of what this team likes to do on defense goes out the window because he's the only corner who can man up just about any receiver and do so from press coverage. He has played extremely well in camp and I'd expect a big year from him.
5. and 6.) (tie) Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard - Yes, I know the team could piece together some combination of Shayne Hale/Brandon Lindsey and Nate Nix and survive but the drop between these two and whoever is behind them is significant. Unlike the younger guys, these two are no longer just pass rushers, they are complete defensive ends, they are football players.
7.) Dom DeCicco - Pitt has three safeties who are ready to play and contribute. One is tough yet a bit undersized, the other is big and athletic but not particularly reliable for a lot of reasons. DeCicco is a smart football player, who always knows his assignments and is big and athletic - thus giving the coaches some flexibility in how they use him.
8.) Mick Williams - The team would certainly be in good hands with Myles Caragein and Gus Mustakas handling the tackle spots if Williams were to get hurt. But neither of those guys bring what Williams does, which is the ability to create havoc on every single play. Williams has also developed into the vocal leader of this defense.
9.) John Malecki - Similar to Williams, the team would certainly survive with Joe Thomas stepping in at right guard and Jacobson at left guard. But the bottom line is, neither player is as consistent as Malecki and the jury is still out on whether Jacobson is even really ready to play as he is still making some inexperience mistakes. It is certainly not a question coaches would want to be forced to consider.
10.) Adam Gunn - His versatility and experience -- he is a sixth-year senior and he can play all three linebacker spots -- make him invaluable to this team. The linebackers as a unit are extremely young and inexperienced and he is the one player who really knows what he is doing out there and can help the other two get to where they need to be. That's especially true early in the season when the youngsters on that unit are still trying to figure out where to line up and what to do.
Pitt's 10 BEST players regardless of position ......
1.) Mick Williams - The guy is a machine and he's been a nightmare for the offense this entire camp, or at least until he was given lots of reps off and started to dial it down a little bit.
2.) Jonathan Baldwin - He has certainly become a legitimate wide receiver and not just a fast guy who is tall and runs down the field.
3.) Gus Mustakas - - Probably a surprising choice to some, but not his coaches or teammates. But in terms of knowing what he's supposed to do, executing it and understanding his position, he's one of the most football smart players on this team and when healthy, he'll be extremely productive as well.
4.) Aaron Berry - For years it has been said that if he ever dropped the silly off field stuff and all the other nonsense he got mixed up in, he could be a really, really good football player. We've seen that this camp and he has by a lot been the best defensive players in this camp.
5.) Nate Byham - He's been slowed by a concussion, but he is the prototypical NFL tight end, the complete package who catches, blocks and does all the little things to help an offense.
6.) Jason Pinkston - If I did this list about a month from now, it wouldn't shock me if Pinkston was much higher on this list. He is a guy who is developing into an excellent left tackle and as he settles in and plays more (remember, he missed all spring) he will only get better.
7.) Jabaal Sheard - He's a natural athlete and he's got just enough of a nasty streak to make him dangerous. He is quick off the ball and has excellent instincts, he'll make plays that a guy his size shouldn't just based on his athletic ability.
8.) Greg Romeus - If this were a list of top NFL prospects, he'd be No. 1. He is everything the NFL is looking for -- a 6-foot-6 guy who can run and sack the quarterback. He, like Pinkston, is one who will continue to rise up this list as he gets more experience but he is still a little bit green and still in need of some refining and consistency.
9.) John Malecki - A good old fashioned football player, Malecki is the heart of this offensive line - a guy who'd you have to cut his leg off to keep him out of the lineup. He's physical, he's got a mean streak, he is a smart football player and he has developed into a very good offensive guard.
10.) Dom DeCicco - I remember his first few games last year when he struggled, mightily. Forget about that as he has developed into an excellent safety and a guy who is legitimately the quarterback of the defense. He's always in the right place and he is athletic enough to make the play once he gets there.
Ok, now let's look at the 10 BEST ATHLETES on this team.....
1.) Jonathan Baldwin - Shocking I know, captain obvious, but here is a guy who is 6-foot-5, runs a 4.37 40-yard dash, has a 42-inch vertical leap and bench presses more than some of the linemen. The other day before practice he was throwing footballs about 60 to 70 yards, punting them about that far and even kicked a 37-yard field goal. Then yesterday he was THROWING fade passes into garbage cans stationed in the back corner of the end zone from the center of the field and he was more accurate than some of the quarterbacks he was having a friendly competition with......He has been referred to as an athletic "freak" by his teammates and coaches and to steal a quote from the movie "Catch Me if You Can" - "I concur...."
2.) Greg Cross - The fact that they haven't figured out how to use this guy is one of the great mysteries that I've observed since I've been covering this team. I was talking to some of the players who said you should see this guy play basketball. He is actually developing as receiver and there has to be some way to take advantage of the things he can do.
3.) Buddy Jackson - Remember him? We almost forgot him, too. But he is still on the team and in case you need a refresher on his athletic credentials read this article......
4.) Elijah Fields - This is not shocking either. His athleticism is never a question. It is everything else that holds him back.
5.) Jabaal Sheard - Again, he's not nearly as hyped as the other defensive end on this team, but he is an athletic specimen just the same. And like I said, he can do a lot of things that a guy his size should not be able to do.
6.) Dorin Dickerson - Another combination of size and freakish speed. He can run, he is one of the three or four fastest players on the team and he is strong. All you need to know about his raw athletic ability is this -- the Sporting News recently ran a list of the best NFL prospects in the nation and Dickerson was on it even though he's barely seen the field in his career and has done very little in terms of production.
7.) Myles Caragein - Probably a bit of a surprise to some of you, but this kid was a state wrestling champion in high school and he is both extremely quick and he is very strong. He has great feet and great hands and is going to be a very good player for this team. I also often joke that if there was a steel cage match involving the entire team and only one player was walking out, my money would be on Myles.
8.) Greg Romeus -- Another player they use the work "freak" with and often. He is 6-foot-6, runs like the wind, can dunk a basketball reverse, forward and everything else.
9.) Cameron Saddler - He is small, but he is lightning quick and he has all of the "you can't coach that" instincts and ability to change direction stuff which electrify crowds and lead to big plays. Watching him return kicks is fun.
10.) Mike Shanahan - Stereotypes of white receivers can be hard for a player to overcome but this kid has and here is the bottom line - he is extremely athletically gifted. He was a big-time basketball player, he has a great vertical leap, he is fast and he has the best hands on the team. I don't know that he has dropped a pass this camp -- even after he broke a bone in his hands. I've seen him twist, bend, jump, dive and roll to catch passes - his balance is incredible.
And for all you draft geeks out there -- the 10 best NFL prospects regardless of class on this team --
1.) Greg Romeus - There is such a premium placed on pass-rushing defensive ends in that league and Romeus has every tool they are looking for. He'll go to the combine and I would expect he'll be one of those guys who opens a lot of eyes. It won't shock me if this is the last season we see him in a Pitt uniform.
2.) Jonathan Baldwin - What more can we say? The only thing I can see which might hold him back from being a first or second-round pick is bad quarterback play but even these quarterbacks have had little trouble finding him and getting him the ball. Like Romeus, he'll be impressive in a combine.
3.) Jason Pinkston - Dave Wannstedt once said "Jason can be a good defensive tackle, he'll be a great offensive tackle" and I believe him. Pinkston's injury history could be the one thing which holds him back, but simply put there aren't many athletic left tackles out there who can move as well as he does and who are as strong as he is.
4.) Nate Byham - Like we said before, a prototypical NFL tight end with good size (6-4, 265), strength and speed and he's an excellent blocker. He should be one of the top tight ends in next year's draft.
5.) Mick Williams - Size will hurt him, but I've seen his name on plenty of draft prospect lists because of his explosiveness and his first step. He is also deceptively strong and he moves extremely well from sideline to sideline considering his size (6-1, 280) and the position he plays.
6.) Dorin Dickerson - Once again, you can't coach his speed and his athleticism. He is viewed by NFL teams as an H-back/fullback/tight end and while he has not shown much in terms of production in his time at Pitt, his potential is what is being measured here and by NFL teams. I was a little stunned to see his name on some of the "NFL prospects" lists but consider this - if he got an invite to the combine, he'd clearly turn a lot of heads just with his 40-time alone (he runs like a 4.39 or so).
7.) Jabaal Sheard - If he were a couple inches taller he'd be higher on this list. Regardless of that, he will be a legitimate prospect for the same reasons Romeus is regarded so highly - there simply aren't enough pass rushing defensive end types out there. And unlike Romeus, who is a defensive end, I think Sheard could probably play that pass rushing outside linebacker position in a 3-4 defense like the Steelers.
8.) Aaron Berry - No question he has to have a big year, but the bottom line is lock-down cover corners are as valuable as gold in the NFL and there just aren't that many out there. If Berry can finally be the player he should have been two years ago, there is no question he'll get drafted, particularly if he runs as well at the combine as he is capable of.
9.) Ray Graham - Ok, we are going way out on a limb here, but not really. Yes, he hasn't played a college game yet but, again, he does so many things on the field that (I hate this cliché by the way) "you can't coach" that a couple of years in the weight room and with some experience, I expect him to be a big-time player for Pitt. And in terms of NFL prospects - he has breakaway speed, the great feet, seems to have good vision and he is good size already.
10.) Elijah Fields - This is a player who still doesn't get it. But, if in the next two years, the light comes on and he decides to focus on becoming a player who lives up to his potential, a player who doesn't take plays -- heck, for that matter whole days -- off, a player who listens and does the things he needs to do and who avoids some of the immature silliness off the field that seems to follow him - in other words if he commits to becoming the player he should be, he'd jump way up on this list. He is a safety with the size, speed and athleticism that should have NFL teams drooling over him but instead he's been an underachiever who is starting to run out of both time and chances get it right.
Now, finally here we rank the TOP TEN YOUNG PLAYERS on this team based on our observations. These are guys who haven't played or have played very little we can't wait to see develop and get a chance to play
1.) Ray Graham - He is exciting to watch and he can make defenders, good defenders, look silly with his ability to change directions. He has some things to learn in terms of blocking and whatnot, but let's face it, nobody will ever accuse LeSean McCoy of being a great blocker but that's not what he's paid to do and that's not what fans pay to see him do, either.
2.) Dan Mason - The first day I saw him in pads I said "he certainly looks the part". Then I saw him knock a few people into next week and I said "he certainly plays the part, too." He is a true freshman but there is no way they are keeping him off the field.
3.) Jarred Holley - He has very quietly moved his name into the discussion for playing time in the secondary. And every time he is in the scrimmages or 11 v 11 drills, he seems to make plays - and big plays as well. He is certainly knocking on the door.
4.) Cameron Saddler -I don't know that he'll ever be a big part of the receiver's package just because he's 5-foot-7 and heck, these quarterbacks struggle to accurately throw the ball to 6-foot-5 Jonathan Baldwin. But as a kick returner, as a slot receiver who takes reverses and/or end arounds or catches some swing or screen passes in the flat -- he is an exciting player. He can make guys miss and he is so low to the ground, he changes direction without breaking stride. He's a lot of fun to watch when he gets the ball in the open field.
5.) Dion Lewis - He doesn't quite have the flair of Graham and he's not quite the breakaway threat, but he is a good, tough, inside runner (I think he is better than McCoy at hitting the hole and moving the pile in short yardage) and he does make some people miss and turn what appear to be short runs into first downs. He is a tough player and a guy who I think will be a threat to go for a 100-yard game every week.
6.) Mike Shanahan - I wasn't a believer last year. I am now. He really is good and at his size, he will give Pitt a chance to do some different things in the passing game down the road. He has great hands and he runs great routes.
7.) Devin Street - He's extremely young and won't see the field this year but he's 6-foot-3 and he's fast and from what we've seen he catches the ball extremely well. With a year in the weight room and the conditioning program he could become an excellent player and reliable option as soon as next year.
8.) Tyrone Ezell - Like Mason, he certainly looks the part as he is a big, physical player already. He won't see the field because defensive tackle is a deep position and they don't need him to. But at 6-4, 270 pounds, he is already a kid who looks like he could contribute in a pinch. The thing that impresses me about him, however, is he is deceptively fast and we've seen this on some plays when he's chased screen passes and made the tackle on the running back all the way over on the sideline.
9.) Juantez Hollins - Ok, we are going way out on a limb here. He is very, very raw and he has a long way to go in terms of learning how to play tackle and learning techniques. But you can't coach size (he's 6-foot-5, 275 pounds already) and good feet, which he has. Give this kid a couple of years in the weight room and with Tony Wise coaching him up, I think he can become a top tackle.
10.) Shayne Hale - He's been hurt for a lot of camp so it is hard to gauge where is at right now, but what we saw in the spring was a defensive end capable of rushing the passer as well as playing the run and making tackles. He has a lot of ability, but he still has a long way to go to be ready to become the kind of dominant defensive end coaches think he can be.
Hope you enjoy these lists, even if you don't agree with them. We'll see if we can come up with more rankings and stay tuned as our list of top 20 "Let's Go Pitt" songs will be posted sometime in the next few days.
Aug 23 2009
OK, it has been a few days since I've updated this blog on Pitt camp and mostly because it has been an uneventful few days. The coaches were getting ready for the scrimmage, the players were getting a little bit of a rest and frankly, there just isn't much new or interesting to report until yesterday's scrimmage.....
So here seven observations and/or thoughts about camp thus far....
1.) I received some criticism via e-mail that I wasn't "paying attention" enough to this so-called quarterback controversy, even though I reported EXACTLY what Dave Wannstedt said earlier in the week which was "Bill Stull is our starter." I'm not sure how many different ways he could say it but that's exactly the mindset that he has and has had and frankly I've seen nothing in the past four days that makes me believe it will change. Yes, he and Tino Sunseri were "splitting reps" but they were splitting reps (while Pat Bostick was throwing the ball to trainers and managers and cheerleaders and anybody else he could find to catch with him) because the coaching staff is trying to figure out if Tino is ready to be the back-up quarterback - which would give them the luxury of redshirtting Pat Bostick and have him around for two more years. This wasn't a competition for the starting job in the truest sense of the word, though had Sunseri shined and jumped off the page with his play he might have had a chance to overtake Stull.
Quarterback controversies are fun, unless, like this one they bore us all to tears because we were all pretty sure the fix was in from day 1 and this was never a true competition involving two guys on an equal ground trying to win the job. I can't make it any clearer than this one. I suppose I could be wrong. I highly doubt it based on everything I know and have been told.
Bill Stull will be the starter, get over it and move on.
2.) Dave Wannstedt yesterday said that whether or not Ray Graham is ready to be trusted in a game must "still be evaluated". Translation -- he's a true freshman who fumbled a few times early in camp and turnovers get you beat. From what I've seen Dion Lewis is indeed the most consistent of the running backs but only because he's been here six months longer than Graham.
But let me say this -- if you have an offense which looks like it will really struggle to throw the ball and make big plays in the passing game -- without some sort of play-action or other misdirections in the backfield -- you better have a "home run" hitter in the backfield and Graham is clearly that. In fact, he had the five-tweeter twitting play of the day yesterday on his first carry when he took it 65 yards for a touchdown -- then topped that and probably had a few more twits tweeting with a 24-yard screen pass in which he made about nine of the 11 defenders -- the first team defense by the way -- look rather silly trying to tackle him. There is no question that this kid needs to play and play a lot along with Lewis but it will be interesting to see if he has earned enough trust (never mind the fact that the other two guys he is competing with have never played in a game either) to get on the field. He is the most explosive back and the one who is the biggest threat to take it the distance every time he touches it. LeSean McCoy fumbled a few times as a freshman but his upside was far too high to keep off the field. Hopefully Graham will be given the same consideration.
3.) Speaking of freshman who need to be on the field, thankfully Dan Mason has apparently earned enough trust that he will play in a game. I've said this a few times to people I've talked to -- if I listed the top 15 or 20 hits I've seen this camp so far, he'd have about eight or nine of them. I know he's a freshman and it is a lot to put on him, but I hope at times this year we see him in the middle playing alongside of Adam Gunn - who can play both outside positions -- because I think that he can be a game-changer.
4.) The right tackle position is the only shaky position on the offensive line and mostly because the starter is a sophomore (Lucas Nix) who needed a lot of work but spent the past four or five days watching with a leg infection. And even before he got hurt he was swimming a little bit, though trying to block Jabaal Sheard would make a lot of guys look shaky. There is no question, however, that Nix needs to get back and work his tail off over the next two weeks in order to get ready to play. If he does come on, the line will be pretty good as the other four guys, and in particular Jason Pinkston and John Malecki, are playing really well. And that is regardless of who emerges at left guard because both Chris Jacobson and Joe Thomas have played solid throughout camp.
5.) The nagging injuries are starting to pile up and that probably is a sign that it is time to start dialing back the hitting and contact at practice and rebuilding guys legs. Dave Wannstedt admitted the other day that the Panthers have hit more in this camp than in any of his previous four camps and he said the reason is because it is the only way to evaluate running backs. I understand the rationale, I just hope he has a team left standing by the time the season rolls around.
6.) I haven't spent a lot of time talking about the secondary but Aaron Berry has played -- I know, it is only camp - a lot like a guy on a mission and a lot like a guy who realizes that his clock is ticking and his time is running short if he really wants to try and get to the NFL. And Dom DeCicco has played extremely well also. The only issue with the secondary is, if Elijah Fields can't do the things he needs to do in order to become the starter -- and as right of now, he isn't, and Andrew Taglianetti is -- the secondary is comprised of DeCicco (6-3) and three guys who are right around 5-foot-10. That could be a problem when the Panthers face a team with tall receivers - and we've seen some of that at camp as Oderick Turner (6-3), Mike Shanahan (6-5) and Jonathan Baldwin (6-5) have all at times been able to take advantage of their size advantage over Pitt's corners. Still, I think the secondary will be a strength of the team provided the pass rush is as good as we think it is because the one thing all four of the starters do very well is tackle, so there shouldn't be a lot of yards after the catch and if the pass rush is good, there shouldn't be a lot of opportunities for deep balls a la the Rutgers (from last season) debacle.
7.) There are a lot of really good football players who will have a hard time getting on the field because there is so much depth at some positions. That says a lot about more about how well Dave Wannstedt and company have recruited than any star rankings or recruiting rankings could ever tell us. I mean, even though Jabaal Sheard has been hurt, Justin Hargrove got hurt and Tony Tucker is AWOL and looking like he is probably going to be headed elsewhere -- the pass rush from defensive ends hasn't missed a beat thanks to guys like Shayne Hale (who by the way has missed a few days with a concussion-like thing) and Brandon Lindsey and heck yesterday even Nate Nix stepped in and got to the act. Think about this -- the first season Wannstedt was here they were converting running backs, using true freshmen and walk-ons and trying to find anyone who had a little bit of size and speed -- like Chris McKillop - to try and field a defensive line. And if they had an injury to any of the "starters", forget about it. Now, that isn't the case and despite a rash of some injuries and a possible defection, a freshman like Tyrone Ezell -- who looks like he is going to be a good one and who is physically big enough to play right now -- will certainly be redshirtting and spend a year in the weight room and working on his technique, which is what you'd like to do with your freshman linemen.
Aug 22 2009
The Associated Press released the preseason top 25 this morning and here are a few of the highlights:
*Florida is the most overwhelming No. 1 in the history of the AP poll, which was started in 1950. The Gators received 58 of the 60 first-place votes, or 96.7 percent.
*Texas received the other two first-place votes.
*Florida topped the 2007 USC Trojans for most first-place votes. USC received 62 of 65 first-place votes in the '07 preseason poll.
*Florida is the preseason No. 1 team for the third time. The Gators were also No. 1 to start the season in 1994 and 2001.
*Florida is the 20th defending national champion to start the next season atop the poll.
*Florida is one of five SEC teams in the top 25. The Big 12 also has five teams ranked.
*The Big East does not have any teams in the top 25. Pitt is the closest to cracking the poll. The Panthers begin the season No. 28.
*Notre Dame is in the rankings again for the first time since the final poll of the 2006 season. The Fighting Irish begin the season ranked No. 23.
Here is the complete top 25:
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Alabama
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Mississippi
9. Oklahoma State
9. Penn State
11. LSU
12. Cal
13. Georgia
14. Boise State
15. Georgia Tech
16. Oregon
17. TCU
18. Florida State
19. Utah
20. BYU
21. North Carolina
22. Iowa
23. Notre Dame
24. Nebraska
25. Kansas
Aug 19 2009
Aw shucks, you mean there is no chance that those of us who cover Pitt or any other Big East team will be asked to go to El Paso again any time soon?
Is that a promise? Can we get that in writing?
Oh, I know it is a bad development for the Big East to lose the Sun Bowl because it can use every mid-level bowl it can get for the teams who finish in the top half of the league but since I don't work for the Big East or Pitt, well that doesn't matter and the bright side of it is that nobody - namely me -- from this neck of the woods will be sentenced to a week in El Paso again any time soon....
Now don't get me wrong, the people of El Paso were nice enough and the people who organized and volunteered the bowl were unbelievably cordial and hospitable and the stadium is kind of neat as it is set in the mountains, but truthfully, the only thing worse than the weather there was the food and there is something undesirable about visiting a city which, as part of its welcome speech, the visitor's bureau must make sure to tell you to not go to the next town over if you want to stay alive because there are Mexican drug cartels jockeying for position.
Of course, there is probably some punch line out there that the people of El Paso have about never wanting to see the Big East come back to town after having to endure the stink-bomb laid there by the Panthers in December, but again, when it comes to a return trip to El Paso, better those who cover the ACC than me....
And just in case you forgot how far that game (not too mention Pitt's offense) set football back, here is a refresher.....
On a more serious note -- the big question is what does this mean for the Big East's bowl lineup?
I'd say that basically unless there is a rabbit to pull out of the hat that we haven't heard about yet, the whole "we're in a better position to negotiate than we were four years ago" line coming out of the powers that be in Providence is starting to look more than a little bit suspect.
As it stands, the Big East has a BCS spot, a Champs Sports spot and if they hold onto their old bowls a Meinecke spot, a PapaJohns.com spot, a St. Petersburg spot and an International Bowl spot. That's not exactly an upgrade over what it had with the Gator/Sun thing other than Notre Dame can only take the second team's spot once in four years.
And if that is what the line-up really looks like, in a year when the Irish don't qualify for the BCS and thus end up in the Champs Sports Bowl, the second place team will go to Charlotte to face an ACC team but the third place team in the Big East will end up in either Toronto, Birmingham or St. Petersburg against some MAC or Conference USA school.
That's not a very attractive lineup and speaks volumes about the work left to be done by the conference to continue to build itself up and change the perception of the programs in it.
And of course, Pitt selling a few tickets to bowl games over the next few years wouldn't hurt, either.
Now, why am I writing about the bowl lineup during camp -- because today was a very uneventful day, that's why!
The players were beat up coming out of the scrimmage yesterday and needed some rest and thus they got the morning off, they came out for one practice in shorts and shoulder pads and did very little hitting. And anyone who had even a minor bump or bruise was held out and received treatment and rest.
That being said here are some interesting nuggets to chew on as we move to Saturday's scrimmage. That is the second scrimmage of camp and the one which, well, players who are trying to make a move know that if they don't get it done by or on that day, they won't get another chance because after that day the depth chart will be formed and the coaches attention will turn towards getting ready for Youngstown State. (are you listening Tino Sunseri, Ray Graham, Manny Williams.......)
1.) Dion Lewis is in full command of the starting tailback job. Like I wrote the other day, he's been the most consistent, he's been the one who has been the full package of power and speed. Ray Graham may be the best of the bunch eventually and he has cornered the market on the "wow" factor, but he's still got some work to do to show he can be the guy on every down. I'd say Saturday's scrimmage is extremely important for him and for Chris Burns as they jockey to the be the second tailback. (Click the above link if you want to see a preview of Lewis)
2.) Jason Pinkston is starting to really come into his own. In one of the earlier diaries, I wrote that the battle between Pinkston and Greg Romeus has been an epic one each day and it has been. I remember when they moved Pinkston from defense to offense Wannstedt made the comment "he'd be a good defensive tackle, he'll be an NFL-caliber offensive tackle" and we're starting to see this. Meanwhile, on the other side of the line, Jabaal Sheard has looked like Lawrence Taylor and mostly because he's faced Lucas Nix and Greg Gaskins. It is a big difference, though Nix was starting to catch up before he had this little setback with an infection. But there is a reason we've written a ton about Sheard and not as much about Romeus -- because Pinkston is more than holding up his end of the deal.
3.) The lineup is pretty much set with a couple of exceptions. I know, I know, the competition keeps going all season long and you must prove yourself every day......blah, blah -- let's be real here. The depth chart doesn't change much after the first week of camp unless there is a rash of injuries or someone really stinks and needs replaced. From what I can tell, the open competition remains at these and only these spots -- Left Guard (Chris Jacobson versus Joe Thomas); Kicker (Kevin Harper versus Dan Hutchins); Defensive tackle (Gus Mustakas versus Myles Caragein); Free safety (Andrew Taglianetti versus Elijah Fields).
The other positions where there may have been competition at the start of camp seem to be closed -- Max Gruder has solidified his spot at weakside linebacker, Jovani Chappel will be the corner opposite Aaron Berry, Adam Gunn will be the middle linebacker, center Robb Houser has silenced any talk of John Malecki moving to center, and yes, Bill Stull is the starter at quarterback (although so as to avoid drawing the ire of the gatekeepers of anal retentiveness and technicalities I should add the phrase "for now" to that last one......).
As for depth -- Ricky Gary will be the third corner, though he is really getting pushed by the underclassmen like Jarred Holley and Antwuan Reed and Gaskins has passed Jordan Gibbs and would currently be the first tackle off the bench on both sides of the line.
Aug 19 2009
Those five words were spoken today by Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt after the scrimmage.
And with that, the quarterback "competition" was put to rest. Bill Stull is Dave Wannstedt's guy so it is time to move forward.
The only comments I will make is this -- Pitt did indeed win eight games (Pat Bostick started the Notre Dame game) with Stull at quarterback and the only of their four losses you could pin on him was the Oregon State loss. Two of the other three losses (Bowling Green - way too conservative early - and Rutgers - a really bad defensive game plan) probably fall more on the coaches shoulders than anything else and it was Cincinnati's year and they seemed to get every bounce in that game.
Now, Stull wasn't great in those losses but he wasn't the reason they lost, either. There is no question that the Panthers can win with him at quarterback, particularly if he improves some from where he was at in the second half of last year.
But like I said, when the head coach says "this guy is our starter", that's good enough for me to move forward. I would assume that Bostick will be the back-up because I have a hard time believing that they would throw a redshirt freshman to the wolves in the middle of a game or halfway through the season if the starter is gets hurt.
So with the quarterback position settled (at least in the mind of the only person whose voice matters.....), here 10 other observations/analysis from today's scrimmage......
1.) This was about as dull of a scrimmage as I've witnessed in all my years of covering this team but that was probably by design. If you don't want the quarterbacks to compete in a live setting, the easiest thing to do is call a bunch of running plays, screens and other safe passes. And on top of that there was like 15 players, hurt and the defensive line, at least the first unit, seemed to be going at about 3/4 speed - and they played without Mick Williams, who has been a one-man wrecking crew this camp.
The only two memorable plays was a 22-yard touchdown pass from Tino Sunseri to Jon Tisak on a beautifully designed and executed roll-out play. Sunseri had a lot of pressure and dropped the pass perfectly over the defense and into Tisak's arms. The other was a hit by Aaron Berry on Chris Burns. That probably says a lot, too - the biggest hit leveled by the defense was by Berry, who is a physical player, but on that defense I'll venture to say when they play for real, well, he won't be the guy laying the biggest licks on teams.
2.) Dion Lewis is the best running back on this team right now and barring injury, I think he'll be the guy who starts the first game. He's been more consistent than the others and he's shown in every live scrimmage that he can not only make people miss, he can shed tackles and outrun defenders. I'd say this, though -- it won't shock me if when Ray Graham catches up physically (remember, Lewis enrolled in January so he has had a six month head start in the weight program and whatnot and it has shown), he turns out to be the best of the bunch. He fumbled a few times today, but he also showed the kind of escability and ability to change directions that we read about so much when he was still in high school. Chris Burns will be a steady contributor but I don't know that his upside is that of the other two.
3.) Adam Gunn is coming along nicely. Of course everyone was concerned about his neck and his mental state but he made a number of tackles today and he was in on a lot of plays as well. He probably won't dominate the way Scott McKillop did at times, but there is no question he can be a very good player this year. The same can be said about Max Gruder. He's smart, he's intense and he wants to get better.
4.) The decision at left guard will come down to this -- do you want the more experienced player, the one who makes less mistakes and the one who will likely be steady and consistent (Joe Thomas) or the younger guy who still makes some mistakes but has a lot more upside and could become a dominant player some day (Chris Jacobson). I could be convinced either way given the other questions facing this offense, but I almost always favor the younger more talented player to the older player if it is close (and it is very close) because there is a lot more room for improvement with the younger guy.
5.) The kicking game is in good hands. Andrew Janocko is an excellent holder and both Kevin Harper and Dan Hutchins were perfect today. I was one of many who thought the kicking game could be a trouble spot but I'm not any more. I think Harper will ultimately get the kicker job and Hutchins will be the punter. Hutchins doesn't have the leg of last year's punter Dave Brytus, but he is more consistent and did a nice job of placing a punt inside the 2 today.
6.) One of the most underappreciated players on the defense is safety Dom DeCicco. He really is coming into his own as a leader in the back of the defense and they are using him in so many ways. He is big, he is physical, he can cover and he can blitz and tackle -- he is the whole package and he just gets better every day.
7.) Greg Gaskins has had to fill in at right tackle the past few days as Lucas Nix heals from some kind of infection in his leg and you know what -- he has been pretty good. I didn't think he would pan out but I've changed my opinion on him and can see why coaches recruited him. He moves well and while he is inexperienced, he certainly wasn't intimidated by Jabaal Sheard or Shayne Hale or anyone else.
8.) Defensive end Brandon Lindsay could start for a lot of other teams. He is fast, he is quick off the ball, he sheds blocks and gets to the quarterback. He is a classic pass-rushing end. He would be a big-time player for a lot of teams -- and yet, he is going to have a hard time getting many snaps on this team. That should tell you everything you need to know about how deep this defensive line is.
9.) The fullback position in this offense is the biggest change I see from last year. I can't recall many runs and throws to the fullbacks during this camp or today and maybe that is a sign that Cignetti wants to get the ball to the best players or the most dangerous players and he doesn't think the fullbacks would qualify as that. Who knows what the reasoning is, it is just fairly clear that there isn't a lot installed so far to get that position involved in carrying and/or catching, the ball.
10.) Jonathan Baldwin is indeed human as he dropped a touchdown pass today. It was a fade pattern, a catch he has made probably in his sleep 1,000 times but he just didn't hang on to it. That being said, if the quarterback, apparently Stull, can get him the ball, he will be one of the most dangerous weapons in the country. He is a big, big-time talent who spent the offseason making sure his work ethic matched his talent and that means he's a nightmare for opposing coaches.
And finally, this one is for you collegesportsfan since I know how much you love the hair bands.......
Aug 17 2009
First let's channel Arsenio Hall and start with things that make you go hmmmmmmm....
Think about this the next time you are sitting next to a ring -- If a player is related to someone who works at Pitt and thus receives the family member free tuition deal -- is he still a walk-on because, well, since he technically isn't on scholarship and thus he doesn't count against the 85 scholarship limit well, yes that would qualify him as a walk-on wouldn't it? Or would it qualify him as a partial walk-on? Or because he is a defensive back and chases receivers a run-on?
Think about it for a minute -- these are deep thoughts to ponder........
That being said, it was a dog-day of an afternoon (hold your silly Michael Vick jokes....) and Pitt SID E.J. Borghetti (oh I know he has a much more official sounding title than SID but it is far too long for me to try and write out) and I got into a very philosophical discussion about hair bands and well then he started putting in some requests for YouTube videos on my blog......as if this is open mic night around here or something.
To quote Joe Pesci "Hey E.J., funny how? You mean, I make you laugh? I'm here to amuse you? What's next, are you going to have Pitt marketing guru Chris Ferris calling me to tell me to play more Neil Diamond?"
On second thought, buddy, because you work so hard to make all of our jobs so much easier (and because you will soon be trying to spin and manage a full-blown quarterback controversy and thus will need all the amusement you can get) ....here is your request (now don't say I never did anything for you.....)
Now that we've got that silly portion of our blog out of the way, and believe me I can assure this blog has been far more entertaining than anything we witnessed at practice.
And with that in mind, here is another request of EJ's. Again, the guy thinks it is open mic night, like we don't have anything else to do around here.....Here, here you go - you can even sing along with this one.....
OK, I swear we'll talk about football today, though it was a rather uneventful day because half of the team was in the training room getting ready for tomorrow's scrimmage. Now I'm all about lists (and mostly because they are easy and don't require much thought) ---- which, here is a shameless plug to remember to keep your "Let's Go Pitt" song suggestions coming to pzeise@post-gazette.com because the top 20 will be posted at then end of the is week - so let's do the top 10 things which need to be answered -- with my attempts to answer them ----- by tomorrow's scrimmage.....
So here we go -- important questions to ponder when watching and/or reading about tomorrow's scrimmage......
10.) Is Mendy Nestor the real brains of the Media Relations office?
I'm leaning towards saying yes, though we all know who the Wizard behind the curtain making all things go really is.....
9.) Would EJ rather deal with cleaning up the mess left by quarterbacks who throw five touchdown passes in a game then tell a national television audience how proud of his team he is........or the looming quarterback controversy of this year's team?
I'm guessing the former, particularly since that guy could leap PacMan in a single bound (hey another video for you EJ).....
8.) Can Dan Mason become a legitimate part of the linebacker rotation this year? What a serious question? Are those even allowed?
I say he not only can, he will. He is that good and more importantly he is physically ready to play. He is big, he is fast and today when I was conversing with the real Pitt guru (other than myself, of course), Chris Peak from Pantherlair and we both concluded that Mason has probably made the most big plays of any linebacker not named Greg Williams during this camp. That is not to say guys like Max Gruder and Adam Gunn haven't been good and haven't made a lot of good plays, it is just that Mason seems to be the leader in those big, game-changing plays you like from linebacker.
7.) Which quarterback......
Stop. Just stop. Please. For one day, just stop it!!! Don't force me to answer it.........
6.) Is Chris Jacobson ready for prime time?
Well, that's a great question. I'm going to say this -- when he knows what he is doing, this kid is going to be a beast. He is aggressive, he has a mean streak in him, he is physical, he loves to attack and loves to battle. The problem is, sometimes he is battling air because he doesn't always know his blocking assignments. But he has two more weeks to get it done and he is learning and getting better every day. I will be very interested to see him play tomorrow at full speed and with no coaches on the sideline.
5.) Which receiver will step out and make something big happen?
I'm assuming the phrase "other than Jonathan Baldwin" should be attached to it because some of the things that guy is doing at practice are just stupid. I mean, he has made some unbelievable catches and he has made a lot of good players who are trying to guard him look flat-out silly. Today, for instance, he made a leaping one-handed grab of a fade pattern that I couldn't do justice too if I wanted in trying to describe it. So let's take him out of this mix. I think the most likely candidate is Aundre Wright who is special running after he catches the ball. He really can get it done and make people miss. I'd say Mike Shanahan but he is out with a hand injury, which is a shame because he was starting to really come into his own.
4.) Is there a running back ready to make a step forward?
Assuming Dion Lewis has finally caught his breath from the shot he took courtesy of Manny Williams on a screen pass (easily the five twitters tweeting, or maybe it was five tweeters twitting, hit of the day), I think he is the one guy who has been consistent at making things happen every day. But he hasn't separated himself from Chris Burns and Ray Graham, so this is a big day for all three. I really think the coaching staff would like to have a depth chart in place by the end of Saturday's scrimmage and will use tomorrow's to get the framework of one together and from that point moving up and down will be tougher.
3.) Will Dave Wannstedt, and/or Phil Bennett show some mercy on the offense and take about five of their starting front seven, and in particular Greg Romeus, Mick Williams and Jabaal Sheard off the field for a few plays?
That is a great question. I know this, there are times when I feel bad for the running backs on this team (the quarterbacks are for the most part hands off, so they aren't getting hit) because the defensive line and linebackers and even safeties have just been teeing off on them. I think Williams has been the most impressive of the group so far but Sheard hasn't been far behind. It really has been rough for those guys on offense and I think that is yet another testament to the job of recruiting Wannstedt has done, at least on defense. I don't know if the defense will be any good (I have a sneaking suspicion it will be great) but there are a lot of big, fast and physical guys on that side of the ball and it is quite impressive (and a lot of fun) to watch them fly around the field and hit people. I'm just glad I don't have to be one of those guys wearing a white uniform every day because that doesn't look like fun. On the bright side, if the offense and offensive line does catch up to the defense before the end of camp, it will mean that the offensive line is ready to take on just about any team it sees because this defensive front matches any on the schedule in terms of size, strength and speed.
2.) Why won't they go back to the SCRIPT?????
Stop!!! I've told you before, this subject is silly and off limits! I refuse to address it until, well, the next e-mail comes to me from the crowd known as the "International and Irrational Group of Script Defenders United to hold on to a so-called Tradition which is only 30-years old and thus Ignores the First 70 Years of the Program" (known as the IIGSDUT30IF70YP for short)
1.) What player will come out of nowhere and emerge as the "scrimmage" star?
Every year there is one or two players who just really jump out and stand out during these training camp scrimmages. I'll give you a couple of names who I think could be that guy (the parameters are, this is going to be a reserve, usually a redshirt freshman or freshman):
Jarred Holley - He has had a good camp and today had a pretty big day. He's one of those guys looking to move up the chart.
Dan Hutchins and/or Kevin Harper -- Both guys have kicked extremely well this camp -- one of them needs to emerge as the placekicker and I'm sure they'll have some chances to show what they can do against a live rush.
Shayne Hale - Now that Justin Hargrove is a tackle, Hale should get plenty of reps at end and will likely move into the rotation. That's good news as he always seems to make something happen.
Jason Douglas - Given his size, it is hard to believe he is seriously in the mix for the starting tailback spot, but the kid has some ridiculous speed and when he turns on the jets, he can make even the best player look silly.
Manny Williams - Though he is not receiving the hype that Mason is, he's had plenty of jarring hits and has climbed the depth chart. He makes a lot of big plays because of his athleticism.
Ed Tinker - He is a great looking athlete and he has made some big plays this week. He is not only fast, he is also is strong and capable of breaking tackles.
What's that EJ, you want another video? How about one from your era......
(Hey if we can't have some fun with all this stuff, what is the point? This is football for goodness sakes....and for the record we at Redshirt Diaries think the world of EJ and his fine staff on most days.......)
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