Day 2 of Pitt Camp - Exotic Bugs on Trains!!!!

OK, maybe not -- but theories abound that the trains which run on the tracks on the North shore of the Mon river in the South Side carry little critters capable of causing hands to swell and seasons to be lost. Of course, we all know the best players in the world except the perfect player were all produced south of the Mon, or so we're told but esteemed experts on such matters. Those two things may be related, or maybe not but even if they are, there is no way they are as closely related as the three sets of brothers this team has.

And just when things got rolling along, the afternoon session was twittered away due to lightning and had to be moved inside the indoor facility. This caused the tweeters to twit furiously or something like that.

At any rate, the highlight of Day 2 might have been when Pitt marketing Guru Chris Ferris stopped by practice and fielded a number of unsolicited suggestions about the music selection at Heinz Field in between quarters. No truth to the rumor that Neil Diamond will be at the opener to sing Sweet Caroline live between the third and fourth quarters but we in the media offered to take up a collection to make it happen. I think we had about five dollars in the cup once it made it around the room and $4.50 of it was donated by Chris himself.

As for song selections -- well maybe you, the fans, can do better than we did but then again, how many songs can you really work the words "Let's Go Pitt" into and not break the rhythm or flow of it

One member suggested Craklin' Rosie, by that same Neil Diamond, and well, once we tried to sing the chorus, it just didn't work, sing along with me here and see if you can make it work.......

"Cracklin rose, you’re a store bought woman
You make me sing like a guitar hummin
So hang on to me, girl
Our song keeps runnin on....

Now instead of.......
Play it now
Play it now, my baby

The crowd will sing....

Lllletttt's go Pitt

Lllettt's go Pitt, my baby.....

Other suggestions were as follows:

Ice Cube, "It was a good day" -- "Today I didn't even have to use my AK, I'd have to say Let's Go Pitt....."

AC/DC "Back in Black" -- "Let's Go Pitt, I hit the sack, I've been gone to long and I'm glad to be back...."

The Jets "Crush on you" - "How did you know, cause I never told, but you found out, Let's Go Pitt....."

Player "Baby Come Back" - "Let's Go Pitt, any kind of fool could see, There was something in everything about you, Let's Go Pitt, you can blame it all on me, I was wrong, and I just can't live without you......"

And finally, how about a tribute to Michael Jackson......(I'll be there)....

"Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter
Togetherness, well that’s all I’m after
Whenever you need me, LET'S GO PITT
Let's Go Pitt to protect you
With an unselfish love I respect you
Just call my name and Let’s GO PITT"

Now this is a game you can all try at home and hopefully you can come up with better songs to insert the words "Let's Go Pitt" into than we did. If you do, e-mail us here at pzeise@post-gazette.com and the best ones will certainly make a future edition of the Redshirt Diaries.....

What's that? You want to hear about the actual football on Day 2.....

OK, here are some observations, well at least in between watching YouTube videos to try and come up with song selections.......

One position change I forgot to write about yesterday, in a move that I never advocated but happened anyway, Kevin Adams moved from defensive back to fullback and Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said it will be a good fit given his size and ability.

1.) The more I watch Frank Cignetti's approach, the more I like it. He's high energy, he's aggressive and he is demanding - and the players, particularly the quarterbacks seem to feed off that. He is much more animated than his predecessor and he really is a stickler for perfection. The quarterbacks really seem to have taken to him and frankly, they are playing as you'd expect. Bill Stull is steady and makes a lot of good decisions. Pat Bostick has surprised me with his increased arm strength. It is very noticeable that he can throw the ball down the field with a lot more distance and zip than he could last year. And like I wrote yesterday, the best pure passer on this team is Tino Sunseri. I've been as hard on the quarterbacks as anyone, but the more I watch them, the more I think they just may surprise some people, including me.

2.) It could be a mirage -- I mean, they are still playing fantasy football (i.e. they haven't put on any pads) -- but Aundre Wright has been quite impressive catching and running after the catch. And between Chris Burns, Dion Lewis, Ray Graham and Jason Douglas, the Panthers might have the fastest combination of four tailbacks in the country. Those guy are flying around the field, especially Douglas, who like I said is tiny, but my goodness can he make people miss.

3.) Since there is no hitting going on yet, there is no way to make any judgments about the line play or even the linebackers, though I do find it interesting that so far the starting linebackers have been Gruder (not Shane Murray), Gunn and Greg Williams. Gunn is moving well but even he admits he is anxious to get that first full-speed, full contact hit out of the way. And line coach Tony Wise said that a pleasant surprise in camp so far is tackle Greg Gaskins, who is apparently "getting it" more and more every day. He also said he has been extremely pleased with the progress of tackle Ryan Turnley and both developments should be viewed as good news because this team needs some depth beyond the first six guys.

4.) The most underrated coach on this staff, or at least the one nobody talks about but did a great job last year and really is excellent at what he does if you really take the time to watch him is linebackers coach Joe Tumpkin. He is a teacher and a motivator and his guys seem to really respond to him. And like last year, he has a lot of young guys to get up to speed. I watched him explain a simple, yet important technique, to his group this afternoon session (it is the freshmen and reserves) and by about halfway through it even I understood it and watched the younger kids pick it up as well. There is so much teaching of fundamentals that goes on in football during training camp that it sometimes gets lost in the shuffle among those who don't get to watch it but it is pretty impressive to see a coach teach something and the players pick it up and then put it to use in other situations. 

5.) Dave Wannstedt again made a comment about how much better the football team looks -- you know, the Look Test -- than it did when he got there and while he credited strength coach Buddy Morris, it is also a testament to the fact that he has recruited a lot of bigger, faster athletes and it is showing up on the field. This team really looks like a Division I football team is supposed to getting off the bus. In fact, this is one of the best looking teams I've covered since I started covering the Big East many moons ago. I know I was skeptical about the changes a strength coach can make -- believe me, Buddy Morris has really made a mark on this team as they are mentally and physically tougher.

And finally, don't forget to watch Pitt West (Russ Grimm and Terryl Austin (assistant coaches), Tyler Palko, LaRod Stephens-Howling, Gerald Hayes and Larry Fitzgerald are all with the Arizona Cardinals) play at Heinz Field in an exhibition game Thursday night (tomorrow or today depending on when you read this) against the Steelers. 

AND JUST IN CASE YOU FORGOT HOW FITZGERALD FARED IN THEIR LAST ENCOUNTER: