Pitt Redshirt Diaries : Matt Cavanaugh

One recruit commits -- is a commitment from an OC next?

Paul Zeise — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:43:00 GMT

Pitt got a commitment from Wilmington Area running back/linebacker Derrick Burns and it was one of the easiest commitments the program has had -- well since Scott McKillop and for the same reason it was so easy for the Panthers to land McKillop all those years ago.....

Family ties -- and not the 80's sitcom featuring Alex P. Keaton.

Burns older brother, Chris, is a redshirt freshman running back (and one of the favorites to win the starting job vacated by LeSean McCoy) for the Panthers. Derrick told my good friend Chris Peak over at Pantherlair.com that he has wanted to follow his brother’s footsteps to Pitt and that's why it was easy to say "yes" when Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt offered him a scholarship yesterday.

Burns, incidentally, was one of a number of junior prospects who visited Pitt over the weekend.

That's very similar to the recruitment of Scott McKillop, whose brother was a freshman at Pitt when he committed and he did so early and was one of the first in his class to commit to the Panthers. McKillop was familiar with Pitt's coaching staff, wanted to play on the same team as his brother and never had any doubt about where he wanted to play his college football.

Boy, if only they were all that easy......

Meanwhile, Dave Wannstedt is waiting to hear about another offer he has tendered -- to California offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. --- who I profiled earlier on this blog --- as he is hoping to lure Cignetti, a Pittsburgh native, back home. The job has been offered now and Cignetti is very much considering it according to one source.

I spoke to Jonathan Okanes from the Contra Costa Times and he told me that based on the digging he did today that signs are pointing to the fact the Cignetti sounds like a "man on the move". In fact, he called Cignetti's house and spoke to his wife, Ellen, who told him he'd have to talk to her husband about the situation then said "he's not taking any calls".

Stay tuned as there could be some movement on this front soon....

The OC search continues

Paul Zeise — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:54:00 GMT

The importance of the offensive coordinator hire is on full display over at Pitt as the search begins to drag into week three.

Not only does this hire have to be the right fit and have the right credentials and a track record of success, it needs to be someone who can generate at least some excitement and help sell tickets. And don't underestimate that last part -- there is no question the pressure is on Dave Wannstedt to hire a coach with at least some pedigree of success and a track record of quarterback development.

That's why the latest guy Wannstedt's radar -- California offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti -- is such an intriguing name.

Unlike Noel Mazzone, who has fallen way down (if not completely off according to several soures) on the list for a variety of reasons and will likely end up as the Browns quarterbacks coach, unlike Walt Harris, who is headed to Akron as I predicted in my last blog post and unlike any of the internal candidates -- Cignetti is a name that would excite people.

He has run successful offenses at virtually every stop, he is an up-and-comer (I believe he is 43) and he has the right resume and background to become a serious candidate as Dave Wannstedt's successor in a few years when Wannstedt decides to retire.

He was the offensive coordinator at Fresno State from 2002-2006 and he had some very good offenses and he also has some experience in the NFL, which seems to be a plus with Wannstedt.

He also has numerous local ties -- a factor that seems to be the be all, end all among some fans and boosters and alumni but I think is highly overrated -- as he's from here, his dad is a Division II coaching legend at IUP and he has plenty of family still here in the area.

All of it would add up to a major development if Wannstedt is indeed able to pull it off.

The question is -- can he?

Cignetti is willing to listen but talking and listening and actually coming are two different things.

One sticking point would be the money as Pitt is not likely to get into a bidding war in these economic times. Pitt will, and has proven it will, pay for the right guy but I have a hard time believing they are going to break the bank for an offensive coordinator at a time when the university executives are taking pay cuts and the university is eliminating positions and downsizing some departments.

That being said, let's look at what it would actually cost Pitt to get into the ballpark to get Cignetti........

Cignetti's base salary is $168,000 at Cal. He also makes $77,000 in bonuses as per the contract of head coach Jeff Tedford, which allows him $250,000 in bonuses for his assistant coaches. That puts him at $245,000. Then there is also an $80,000 talent fee, $10,000 from camps and a maximun total of $69,500 in potential "merit bonuses" available to him based on how well the offense does and how well the team does (example -- if Cal's offense is in the top ten in the NCAA, he receives a bonus of $4,500).....

I didn't research enough into Cal's offensive performance rankings to see how many of the incentives he actually reached this year but let's just for arguments sake he got $35,000 of the $69,500 in merit bonuses.

That would put him somewhere between $350,000 and $400,000 in compensation this past year. I don't know that Pitt would go much higher than that or even get that high, though they came up with a very attractive package to bring Matt Cavanaugh to Pitt in 2004 and gave Paul Rhoads a big bump to keep him at Pitt in 2002 -- but that's the price of doing serious business with serious football coaches these days.

The buy-out of his contract -- which runs through 2010 -- wouldn't be an issue as it is only $25,000 and he'd have to repay Cal for all of his moving expenses and that is a drop in the bucket.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that while Cignetti makes a very nice buck - he makes it in the Bay Area, which is far more expensive than the Pittsburgh area. In fact, I did one of those salary relocation calculators on his salary and frankly, $350,000 there is the equivalent of about $210,000 or so here (Actually, 188,000 if he lives in San Fran, 222,000 if he lives in Oakland and 219,000 if he lives in Berkely to be exact) and that is well within the range of what Pitt would pay.

So there is clearly some room for Pitt to negotiate and if they want Cignetti bad enough, the money wouldn't necessarily have to become an issue as he'd be receiving a very nice raise just due to the dramatic drop in his cost of living even if he just got the same salary he's getting now at Cal U.

Pitt could also offer something Cignetti doesn't have right now -- the ability to run an offense without interference from an offensive-minded head coach who many still see as the guy in charge of the offense -- and that is something that is valuable to any coach.

Stay tuned, I expect this search to be coming to an end soon but it is clear to me that the powers that be are taking their time, doing their due diligence and making sure they find the right guy who is the right fit and someone who will at least offer some reasonable hope that the offense will be upgraded next year from what it has been.

Has Dave Wannstedt found his man?

Paul Zeise — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:20:00 GMT

It appears that former Jets wide receivers coach Noel Mazzone has moved to the front of the pack of candidates to replace Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh. In fact all signs -- and several sources as well -- are pointing to Mazzone and he is looking like he could be the guy.

Mazzone was in town over the past two days meeting with Dave Wannstedt and he has the right mix of NFL and college coaching in his background that Wannstedt is looking for. He was an offensive coordinator for 11 seasons at Ole Miss, Auburn, N.C State and Oregon State and he's also tutored a number of top flight quarterbacks, most notably Chargers standout Philip Rivers.

One guy whose candidacy appears to be fading is former Panthers head coach Walt Harris, although Wannstedt and Harris have had some discussions about the job. If Harris doesn't work out at Pitt, don't be surprised if he becomes a serious contender for the open offensive coordinator position at Akron.

The Zips are coached by J.D. Brookhart, who was Pitt's offensive coordinator under Harris from 2000-03 and prior to that he worked in various roles as an offensive assistant under Harris, who hired him 1997.

If Harris were to join Brookhart's staff, which is likely to happen if things don't work out with Pitt, it would be somewhat ironic given that he'd be working under a former assistant and replacing a former graduate assistant (outgoing Akron coordinator Joe Moorehead, who is headed for a similar job at Connecticut, was a graduate assistant under Harris at Pitt in 1998-99.

Stay tuned as an announcement could come early next week.

Pitt's Offensive Coordinator search

Paul Zeise — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:57:00 GMT

Now that Matt Cavanaugh is on his way out the door, who is next for the Panthers?

Obviously any coaching search is going to generate plenty of name-throwing, wishful thinking and flat-out silly ideas and the tough part is sifting through it all and trying to find out who is really a candidate and who is not.....

So with that in mind, let's take a look at some guys who may or may not be candidates and try and handicap the field......

Brian Angelchio

It would be a good hire because........He has been on the staff as the tight ends coach and Matt Cavanaugh's top pupil and right-hand man. Angelichio is very smart, he understands offense, he is, like Cavanaugh extremely organized. He has learned plenty over the past three seasons from Cavanaugh and he would seem to be ready to take the next step in his career and at 36 years old he is certainly a "young-up and comer" and those kinds of coaches seem to have become the rage in both the NFL and college ranks. He's also already on the staff and thus there would be very few changes, if any, to the offense, the schemes and the terminology which would make for an easy transition. Oh yeah, and one other thing -- he has experience as a play-caller as he was the offensive coordinator at Ithaca from 2000-05.

It would be a bad hire because........Well, if Matt Cavanaugh was the problem (and I am not saying he was but in reading my E-mails and listening to the buzz around town, his popularity was clearly not going to put him into a position to run a successful mayoral campaign around here) -- is it wise to hire a Matt Cavanaugh clone or at the very least, one of his protégés? Also, his lack of quarterback experience is not good given the crop of quarterbacks the new coordinator has to work with. Development is clearly critical.

It could happen because......Again, he is on the staff, he does have some experience as an offensive coordinator and it would be a very simple transition. It would also be a very cost-effective way to fill a spot, and given that the University is in some financial turmoil and currently has an unofficial hiring freeze, well this would be a bottom-line friendly hire.

It won't happen because......Angelichio doesn't have quite enough experience, particularly in developing and working with quarterbacks. In fact, he has no experience developing quarterbacks and that might be a fatal flaw in his resume.

Odds....Probably less than 20 percent, but the good thing about being the guy on the staff looking to be promoted is the longer the search goes on, the more other candidates fall through, the better your odds are at getting the promotion.

Alex Van Pelt:

It would be a good hire because........Do we need to even ask this? I mean, all together now..."HE'S A PITT GUY"...He's one of the most prolific passers in Pitt history, he has stayed close to coaching since he finished his career. He currently is the quarterbacks coach of the Buffalo Bills and he has expressed interest in jobs at Pitt in the past. He is young enough that he could grow into the role of offensive coordinator and perhaps someday become the successor to Dave Wannstedt. He also has a lot of experience coaching and developing quarterbacks and well, let's just say that's a big plus given what the new coordinator will inherit at that position.

It would be a bad hire because........In looking at his resume, he has never called plays before or coordinated an offense. That is not to say he couldn't get it done or grow into the role, it is just saying that he hasn't done it before. He also has only one season as a college coach and by the looks of his resume half of it or at least part of it was as a volunteer -- meaning, his experience recruiting is minimal.

It could happen because......Van Pelt has some of the right people in his corner if he wants the job, he is a Pitt guy and that seems to trump a lot of shortcomings and he would come at a fairly reasonable price tag (translation, he's a young up and comer and those are always very good on the bottom line!!)

It won't happen because......Although he is an intriguing name and seems to be a fairly good offensive mind -- Dave Wannstedt is not usually in the risk-taking business when it comes to hires (see defensive coordinator position last year) and he favors and values experience a great deal.

Odds.....I'd say 50/50 but he'll have to convince Wannstedt he is able to call plays

Walt Harris

It would be a good hire because........Walt knows offense. Walt really knows offense and he's also excellent at developing quarterbacks (and for those critics who say "if he's so great, tell me how many QB's he got to the NFL?" I'd say, how many of those guys had a prayer of playing in the NFL to begin with and how many of them did he turn from journeymen to very, very good college quarterbacks) and the ability to develop quarterbacks is going to be a big component of this hire. Walt is well known in these parts and he would certainly turn this offense into something explosive very quickly.

It would be a bad hire because........Forget the silliness of the fact that Walt was pushed out because the program needed to get to the next level -- and now he'd be asked to help get the program to the next level.........Can you imagine Walt Harris, who never met a vertical passing route he didn't like co-existing with Dave Wannstedt, whose idea of opening up the offense is running a sweep instead of off tackle? I just don't see it working out -- Walt is very aggressive in his play calling, Dave likes it to be more conservative. Walt loves the pass and wants to pass every down, Dave loves the run and wants to run, well, a lot. This just doesn't seem to be a match made in heaven.

It could happen because......There are apparently some influential people talking to Wannstedt about at least considering the possibility and he is at least thinking about it. That doesn't mean it will happen, but stranger things have gone on in the past.

It won't happen because......It is not like Walt Harris doesn't still have some baggage left over from his time and while he is cordial with the people at Pitt, he didn't exactly leave on the best of terms, either. It would be awkward at best and frankly I just don't see much precedent for a college coach returning to a place for a lesser job, particularly after he had essentially been fired by said place.

Odds.....I'd say less than 10 percent and that is probably way too high. I just don't see it happening, despite all the scuttlebutt about it, though if it did, boy would that be fun.

Noel Mazzone

It would be a good hire because........Of all the candidates we've heard about through various channels, he seems to have the best resume on paper. He was an offensive coordinator for 11 seasons at Ole Miss, Auburn, Oregon State and N.C State so he has a lot of experience preparing for plenty of different styles of defenses and has recruited in a number of different regions. He also is a former college quarterback and before he was promoted to his first offensive coordinator job, he was a quarterbacks coach for several years at Minnesota, TCU and Colorado State. He tutored Philip Rivers at N.C. State so he does have a history of mentoring a big-time quarterback.

It would be a bad hire because........He has spent the past two seasons in the NFL with the Jets as a receivers coach and so this job could be just a temporary stop while he looks for another shot at the NFL. He has been somewhat of a nomad so there is a history of jumping jobs and because he is not a "Pitt guy", well he really has no ties here.

It won't happen because......He'll get offered another position in the NFL. He also might not have enough of the "right" people pushing for him.

It could happen because......Like I wrote earlier, if you just look at resumes he clearly has the best one of the known candidates -- or at least people who have inquired or have been reached out to or are just rumored to be interested. And at 51 he is older, more mature as a coach and he has that "safe hire" in the Phil Bennett kind of way to him. We all know Wannstedt loves experience and Mazzone has plenty.

Odds....Perhaps 4 to 1 against, maybe a tad higher. He has that "not a Pitt guy and very few ties to Wannstedt's career" thing going against him. But his NFL experience is a plus as his background as an offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach.

Chan Gailey

It would be a good hire because........Like Mazzone, he obviously is qualified for the job and he obviously has a proven track record as an offensive coordinator. He is a former quarterback, he has run offenses in the NFL and in college football. He has obviously had success recruiting in the past and he has ties to this area with his work as the Steelers offensive coordinator during the mid-1990's.

It would be a bad hire because........He was fired at Georgia Tech in large part because his offenses were not very good and thus the team didn't win enough. He was also most recently presiding over one of the worst offenses in the NFL as Kansas City's offensive coordinator and given his NFL ties and his extensive NFL experience, he'd be a short-term gap stop at best as he would most certainly be looking to move forward again quickly.

It could happen because......Gailey and Wannstedt are good friends and well, he is currently unemployed, but again, it is hard to see this one happening. Wannstedt will reach out to Gailey, if he already hasn't, but more than likely it will be to get some recommendations for some younger coaches who Gailey has worked with or knows.

It won't happen because......At this stage in his career it is hard to believe Gailey would want to come back to college for anything less than a head coaching job. Pitt would also not be willing to pay enough to make it worth his while. That's not to say that Pitt is not going to pay for the right guy, but it is hard to imagine a guy who was once making more than $1 million a year at Georgia Tech settling for much, much less than that and adding all the hassles that come with being a college football coach. He could make as much or more with less head-aches coaching in the NFL as an assistant.

Odds....I'd say less than 5 percent.

Charlie Taaffe

It would be a good hire because........Experience is second to none. He's had success at a number of different stops and he's a proven track record as a good offensive coordinator. He's creative, he's coached just about every position on offense and he has plenty of experience against many different styles and schemes of defenses. He also has the requisite "HE ONCE WORKED AT PITT" as he was an offensive assistant with the Panthers under Wannstedt in 2006.

It would be a bad hire because........He is not a spring chicken and his offensive philosophy would not seem to be a good fit with what Wannstedt is looking for. He has coached in the CFL for a number of years and even at Maryland, his offenses were wide open and extremely multiple and that's not the pro-style kind of guy Wannstedt is looking for.

It could happen because...... He and Wannstedt are friends and Wannstedt respects him as an offensive coach and as we've said, Wannstedt favors experience.

It won't happen because......He already has a job -- he was just hired as the offensive coordinator at Central Florida.

Odds....I'd say less than 2 percent, though it wouldn't be unprecedented for Wannstedt to cherry pick a UCF assistant a month after he got hired. See Tumpkin, Joe.

Greg Gattuso

It would be a good hire because........Gattuso has more experience than anyone on staff at crafting an offense, calling plays and being an offensive coordinator and anyone who watched his offenses at Duquesne would know that the Panthers would become exciting overnight. He was aggressive as a play caller, imaginative and his teams put up big points. He actually joined the staff as an offensive coach.

It would be a bad hire because........Gattuso hasn't coached offense in a few years and like Angelichio hasn't called plays at the Division I level. His style of offense would also give Wannstedt stomach cramps as he was very aggressive in his approach to play calling and used a variety of spread formations and whatnot.

It could happen because......Wannstedt hired him once as an offensive coach, why not twice?

It won't happen because......Gattuso isn't likely to pursue it as he is ready to take the next step and become a Division I defensive coordinator. And even though it would be a promotion and nice raise, well, would you rather work with the talent that he has to work with on the defensive line or try to make sense out of a LeSean McCoy-less offense?

Odds.....Less than 1 percent, but hey it makes as much sense as some of the other names we've heard thus far!

Lance Harbor

It would be a good hire because........Did you see how unbelievable the West Canaan offense was after he finally took over play calling for Bud Kilmer at half-time of their last game? It was unstoppable. The oopty-oop, the hook-and-ladder to Billy Bob -- his imagination and creativity were exactly the jolt this Pitt offense would need. He is also a former quarterback and would have been a star at Florida State had he not blown out his knee, so he has the right pedigree and he's about 37 years old right now, so he is certainly a young-up-and-comer.

It would be a bad hire because........All of his experience is at the high school level and even though he'd open up the fertile recruiting ground in the plains in Western Texas to Pitt, he doesn't really have any ties to this region or the Eastern seaboard so he'd have a long way to go to really be able to contribute much in recruiting.

It could happen because......Stranger things have happened and he does apparently come from a family of football stars!!!!

It won't happen because......Harbor already said he'd want to bring his own staff, which would include quarterback coach Jonathan "Mox" Moxon, receivers coach Charlie Tweeder and Billy Bob as offensive line coach. Wannstedt won’t give the new guy that kind of power in terms of hiring staff. Harbor would also want to hire Miss Davis as the the team's academic advisor and well that has a few in the administration very nervous, though marketing guy Chris Ferris sees endless possibilities in Davis in terms of boosting the program’s image as well as ticket sales with an aggressive marketing campaign…..

Odds....Less than 5 percent, or roughly the same as some of the other names being thrown around.....

Zeise's Sun Bowl Good, Bad and Ugly

Paul Zeise — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:04:00 GMT

Well, here it is, and without further delay, the final edition of "The Good, Bad and Ugly" for the 2008 football season.

A 9-4 record was a nice first step for Pitt’s program getting on track so it is hard to get too wrapped up in the season-ending loss from a big picture perspective. It was a season that brought a lot of joy to Pitt fans, some exciting wins and really helped establish the program as one on the rise in the Big East and one which is one the verge of becoming an annual contender for the conference title. There were far more positives this year than negatives and now the Panthers must fill some holes in order to take the next step.

By the same token, there is no doubt these Panthers left us with the “could have been more” feeling, particularly considering all four losses were to teams who did not have better players than Pitt. There is no disgrace in losing to Cincinnati and Rutgers, two bowl teams who played better than the Panthers, but the losses to Bowling Green and Oregon State MINUS its two best offensive players are disappointing in many ways.

Getting upset is a part of football but if Pitt is ever truly going to get to where it thinks it should be it clearly has to get better in a few areas and it needs to become far more creative on offense. This offense once again in the Sun Bowl proved it is not very good at adjusting from week to week to what the defense gives it. Yes, it is tough to call plays when the quarterback play isn’t very good - but that’s especially true when you continue to call the same plays week after week even after said quarterback has demonstrated he can’t make the throws necessary for those plays to work (for instance, can Pitt please take the deep fade patterns out of the play book until there is quarterback under center who is actually capable of throwing that pass……).

That being said – let’s look at the Good, Bad and Ugly from the Sun Bowl, which was a 3-0 yawner won by Oregon State over your Pitt Panthers and a disappointing end to a very good season……

THE GOOD: Pitt’s defense played well, albeit against a crippled offense devoid of playmakers, and the Panthers defensive line did indeed beat up the Beavers offensive line and won the physical battle with the Beavers. Pitt also tackled well and the corners and safeties made a lot of good plays in pass coverage. Two seniors who had excellent games were Eric Thatcher and Austin Ransom who both actually had what might have been their best game of the season.

I believe that Pitt has found a punt returner for next year in T.J. Porter. He averaged 14.3 yards per return, he broke a couple of decent ones and he really gave Pitt a chance to have decent field position the entire game. He is becoming one of Pitt’s most reliable players and he really is a guy who needs to become a more prominent priority in the passing game as well.

Dorin Dickerson had two catches on the final drive. He is a also guy who needs to become a much bigger priority in the passing game because he has proven he can do something with the ball when they throw it to him.

THE BAD: I know it was tough sledding with the lack of the passing game but LeSean McCoy, particularly in the second half, went back to his dancing ways and trying to make too much happen on every play. There were a number of times he could have made three or four yards had he just followed the play instead of trying to dance around and make something bigger happen.

Yes, you have to live with his dancing some of the time because it leads occasionally to a big play or two. But the bottom line is moving forward and great running backs understand that three or four yards is a good thing more often than not, especially in a game when your offense can’t get going. This is an area he still needs to improve, though he is clearly going to face stacked defenses every week next year unless the passing game shows a pulse. He also gets a lot of credit for keeping his head up and keeping his head in the game when it was clear that Oregon State was selling out to stop the run and clogging all of the running lanes because they had no fear of Pitt’s passing game.

The offensive line, particularly at tackle, was clearly overmatched.

Chase Clowser made the defensive end he was playing against from Oregon State – Victor Butler, who was named the MVP of the game by the way – look like DeMarcus Ware from the Cowboys and Joe Thomas looked like a guy who decided to take the month of December off. It didn’t help that instead of stepping up into the pocket to make throws Pitt quarterback Bill Stull continually retreated into the danger zone, but the protection breakdowns were a part of the offensive problems.

Pitt’s receivers this year have impressed me with their resiliency, their grit, their hard-nosed attitude – but against Oregon State they played soft and seemingly uninspired. Like Joe Thomas, they looked like a group who took a month off and viewed the trip as a vacation. They weren’t crisp with their routes and they didn’t do very well getting off the Beavers’ press coverage.

Greg Williams became a much better player this year, one of the most improved on the team. He also had Pitt’s best chance to score – and dropped an easy pick six. I know, I know, defensive players are on defense because they can’t catch – that’s a cop out.

Great defenses make big interceptions and turn games around by making big plays and this defense, as good as it was this season, had far too many opportunities to make big turnovers and dropped the ball.

That is one reason I am not jumping for joy about the “tremendous” defensive effort Pitt had – stopping a team with a very average quarterback that is missing its two best players is something any defense worth a grain of salt should do. What separates the great defenses from the good are they are able to make game-changing plays and Pitt’s defense made very few – and there a number of others to be made and the Panthers failed to make them.

THE UGLY: It would be easy to sit here and write a three-volume novel about Bill Stull’s performance but what good would that do? He didn’t play well by any measure, he knows it, he said as much and there isn’t much else to say about it. We know his limitations as a quarterback and he clearly his worst day, which is not a good combination and that’s about all that needs to be said about it. Pitt needs to get better play at quarterback if the Panthers really want to get to the top of the Big East next year and that is something that everyone, including the coaches, knows and acknowledges.

However – as I wrote at the start of all this – as bad as Stull was --- I have to also point the finger at (a) whoever drew up the offensive game plan and (b) whoever made the decision to keep Stull in the game as long as he did.

In fact, as bad of a day at the office as Stull had at the office, I think it is fair to ask – who had a worse day – him, Clowser or the play callers and decision makers who left them in the game and did little to change things up in order to help them out?

For instance, I’ve been a critic of fans who are always crying for Greg Cross to get in the game – but if ever there was a game that cried out for something different, and if ever the team had enough time to put together a few packages for a guy with his talents, this was it. Particularly when you consider that the Beavers defense in their last game gave up 65 points and like 400 yards rushing TO A SPREAD OFFENSE TEAM.

Let me state that again – a team gets ripped by a spread offense running the ball. Pitt has a quarterback who you recruited to run similar spread schemes. Pitt had almost ONE MONTH to prepare said quarterback and offense for a few packages like that.

And the best Pitt could come up with to try and take advantage of some of the holes in the Beavers defense is throwing up their hands and throwing deep fade patterns which have no chance of hitting their mark? And at what point would Pitt’s coaches acknowledge that not only was Stull struggling, he just wasn’t comfortable in the pocket, was flinching every time he was getting a rush and it wasn’t his day? What would it take? A change should have been made in the third quarter – and heck if the only play Pitt worked on for a month was a deep fade (and that is what it looked like) – why not put Kevan Smith in since he at least has the strongest arm of the quarterbacks…..

I mean, seriously, I’ve written this before – this team has to be about 3-for-3,456 in connecting on fade patterns and deep fade patterns, yet fans all want to blame the guy throwing them – why not blame the guy who keeps calling for them? Or better yet, the guy who has the power to veto those play calls and for whatever reason continues to let them happen? Where are the shorter passes, the slants, the quick outs, heck even the bubble screens we all love so much, the tight end routes, the bootlegs, the waggles, the throws out of the backfield to Conredge Collins --- how about anything at all different than chucking and ducking deep fades which have no chance of connecting.

Did we see one reverse? One attempt at a trick play of some sort one attempt to switch things up on Oregon State’s defense? It was almost like the coaching staff said ‘well the game plan didn’t go well, our quarterback is struggling so let’s throw up our arms and start throwing deep fades and run up the middle so we can go home.’

You watch bowl games – 34 of them to be exact -- and every team except Pitt clearly (a) looked at film of the defense they were going to be facing and (b) put in some very specific plays that they know would work against that defense and most of the time for big plays. You want to talk about certain players taking a month off that’s fair but I’m wondering what the offensive coaching staff did for a month because the utter lack of creativity, imagination and inability to adjust to a struggling quarterback on a windy day was really scary. In other words, where was plan B?

Further – when you have a mediocre quarterback playing poorly, which Stull was for the final month of the season, why do you only hand the ball to your best player, LeSean McCoy, three times in the first 15 offensive plays? Why is McCoy off the field on the third series and every third series after? Why does Pitt take its best player out of the game so often?

THE REALLY UGLY: And finally – on the drive when Pitt finally got something going – the second drive of the second quarter – the Panthers did it by running the football. Pitt went from its own 16 to Oregon State’s 37 – a drive of 47 yards. The Panthers ran the ball seven times on that drive for 36 yards, which by my math is more than five yards per carry – and the only pass was the 11-yard wounded duck from Stull to Cedric McGee on the sidelines.

So let’s review – seven rushes for 36 yards (5.1 yards per rush) – to get to position where Pitt could start thinking about scoring some points. And that of course begs this question -- why did Pitt on third-and-3 decide to throw one of those deep fades and follow it with another pass on fourth-and-3?

If the Panthers coaches knew they were going to go for it on fourth (which we based on comments about how those decisions are made, we can assume they did) – is it against the law to run the ball twice and keep the drive and momentum alive? I mean what was the problem – was running the ball working too well?

I was amazed watching the USC-Penn State game that down and distances like third-and-three and third-and-two can actually still be running downs these days because after watching Pitt for a season I thought they had become mandatory passing downs…..

The same can be said about the offensive line – yes Chase Clowser struggled and Joe Thomas was not very good at blocking for both the run and the pass. But exactly whose decision was it to continue to watch two bullfighters allow defensive ends to run right past them instead of trying something else?

I mean, why did Pitt recruit Lucas Nix, then decide to burn his redshirt for like 15 or 20 mostly meaningless plays and then not play him in this game when not just one but BOTH of the tackles were awful.

Same thing with Chris Jacobson – why not move Bachman to tackle and throw him in there after John Malecki got hurt or try some other combination once it became clear the line was in trouble? You mean to tell me that either of those guys would have done worse than the debacle we witnessed? Once again – if ever there was a game that cried out for giving Lucas Nix and Chris Jacobson a chance to show whether they can be the guys of the future this was one.

And one other thing – I can’t kill the 58-yard field goal attempt because at that point it was out of desperation but it really made no sense. And the clock management and game management in those final minutes was very bad and cost the Panthers one more legitimate chance to score – and in a 3-0 game it only one takes one scoring drive to win.

Consider, Pitt had all three of time-outs and a third-and-9, Pat Bostick in the game at the Beavers 41 and about 2:35 left. The Panthers also had all three of their time-outs – which meant if they passed the ball on third down even if it was incomplete the clock would be stopped with about 2:28 to play. Pitt could then pooch punt and try to pin Oregon State down inside the 20 or maybe even 10 and with three time-outs have a chance to force the Beavers to punt from the shadow of their own goal line (or depending how good the punt was, perhaps even from in the end zone).

And because Pitt could stop the clock after first, second and third down, the Panthers would have been able to take possession at about midfield or better (especially given the way TJ Porter returned punts) and there’d still be about 1:55 or so to play. Then all of the sudden, when Bostick hits Dorin Dickerson with one of those passes in the middle of the field, the Panthers are back in legitimate field goal range – not 40 yards away from it.

Again, there is no guarantee Pitt would have stopped them (though they did) but with three time-outs, the ineptitude of the Beavers offense and the way Pitt’s defense was playing – I’d take my chances with the defense forcing a punt and giving the offense one more chance. That’s especially when the other option is throwing a virtual “Hail Mary” and kicking a field goal from a distance that even the best kickers in the world are probably, what, oh I don’t know, say 25 percent or so from, especially since it is also a distance that is realistically out of Conor Lee’s range.

This is meant to be no disrespect to Conor Lee, he is a great kicker and I believe he’ll kick for an NFL team some day, but a 58-yard field goal when there is actually some game left to be played reeks of utter desperation, panic. It should have been an absolute last resort – but it wasn’t, it was basically the Panthers throwing their hands up and giving up, something this team hadn’t done all season long.

Think about it -- Instead of fighting for the entire 60 minutes and trying to extend the game as long as possible, Pitt ran the ball up the middle on third-and-9, got one yard, then let about 20 seconds run off the clock before wasting a time-out to set up the long field goal. Then the Panthers stopped the Beavers on three consecutive plays – but after third down Oregon State was able to let the full 40 seconds run off the play clock before they called a time-out then punted – but they were punting from the 40 instead of say, their own 10 – and thus Pitt took over at their own 11 with only 53 seconds and no time-outs.

All in all it was just not a good day at the office for Pitt but good teams can find a way to win a game like that when everything isn’t clicking. But not only did the Panthers not win, I’m not sure they were given the best opportunity to win by the offensive coaching staff who should share some of the blame for not being able to come up with even one point for the first time in 149 games…..

Forget the "Script" call them the "Pitt Condors"!!!!

Paul Zeise — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:57:00 GMT

The Pitt athletic department offered vouchers worth the face value of the ticket which could be put towards the price of one of the discounted season-ticket packages to all of those fans who bought a single-game ticket to Saturday’s opener versus Bowling Green.

The idea was simple --- give fans a chance to take in the game-day experience and look at the product once before committing to the full season ticket plan. It was a solid plan with one flaw -- in order for it to work, the actual team on the field needed to cooperate.

Luckily for the athletic department, the reviews of the tailgate party on the "Great Lawn" as well as the "World’s Largest Family Bash" on Art Rooney Ave. have been extremely positive because any fan who is basing their decision on the actual game and the performance of the Panthers offense is more than likely not only not going to buy a season ticket – they are asking for a refund of their $25 for Saturday’s game as well.

Based on the overwhelming feedback in e-mails, on fan message boards and fan blogs, that is not necessarily just because Pitt lost to another Mid-American Conference team – the Falcons prevailed 27-17 – it is because the Panthers played a very stale, very boring, very antiquated style of football that frankly just isn’t very interesting.

Simply put, the Panthers aren’t very creative and they aren’t very fun too watch.

And given that they are not a winning program right now, either -- nor have they been since 2004 -- there is no amount of slick marketing and packaging that can overcome the deadly combination of boring football being played poorly.

Marty Blake, who, as general manager of the defunct Pittsburgh Condors ABA, said it best when he was asked about why it was so hard to get fans interested in the team, which eventually folded because of money problems:

“You can sell a lot of things in this world,” Blake told the Post-Gazette in a 2000 interview, “but you can't promote a funeral."

In other words, bad football is a bad thing but boring bad football is the death of a program and given that the Panthers under Wannstedt are one of the most boring teams on the planet this is shaping up to be a very, very long season for the team, the fans -- and especially the school's marketing guru....

Blake, also, incidentally, renamed that ABA team the Condors (they were originally named the Pipers) because "the Condors were a dying bird and that was a dying franchise...."

Are you thinking what we're thinking?

A few more offensive performances like Saturday and the marketing department might want to consider another logo change for the Panthers to something which resembles this: