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Sunday, September 23, 2012

RUNNIN OVER THE BULLDOGS


The most impressive thing about yesterday’s win over Gardner Webb???  The fact that I came so very close to predicting the score of the game is the most impressive thing.  Look it up. First time I think I’ve been that close on both score and who would win. 

As for the game itself, it was nice to see Pitt come out and pound the Runnin Bulldogs 55-10.  The Panthers amassed 626 yards and held Gardner Webb to a total of 127 yards.  There were a few disappointing moments.  Pitt’s offensive line seemed to struggle opening up holes until the second half.  Another disappointing thing that happened yesterday is a trend that must improve if Pitt wants to have a good year.  After piling up over 100 yards in penalties against Virginia Tech, the Panthers again had a bad day with the officials.  Pitt took 9 penalties for 77 yards.  This must improve.  Lastly, the special teams must be fixed.  They should fire the special teams coach….oh wait, they don’t have one!  Let’s hope that Pitt gets an extra coach to take on that responsibility.

Enough with me being an asshole about a good win…let’s look at the good that happened yesterday and there was a lot of it.  Pitt dominated this game without stud defensive lineman Aaron Donald (let’s all pray his knee injury is nothing serious), Hubie Graham, Jack Lippert, and unless I missed something Todd Thomas.

The Panthers also got some nice play from the second team offensive line.  Justin Virbitsky, Shane Johnson, Artie Rowell, Arthur Doakes, and Zenel Demhasaj played nicely yesterday.  They opened up some nice holes and Shane Johnson was pretty impressive.  It also appears they will are really trying to keep the redshirts of Adam Bisnowaty and Gabe Roberts.  Also seeing action was Dan Mason.  This was VERY nice to see.  He deserves it and looked pretty solid. 

Also playing very well yesterday was true freshman Darryl Render and senior Shayne Hale.  Hale had a very nice game with a fumble recovery and a sack.  These two stepping up gives Pitt a little more depth at a very thin position.  I was a little miffed as to why Devin Cook did not play more after his impressive game against Virginia Tech.

Tino Suneri once again played well with 344 yards passing and 3 TDs and 0 INTs.  Mike Shanahan chipped in with 144 yards receiving and Devin Street also had 95 yards catching the football and a beautiful and timely block to spring Shanahan on his 77 yard TD catch and run.

There was a lot of good in this game, but let’s try and remember, it was Gardner Webb.  With a bye week coming up, Pitt should be VERY healthy going into the Syracuse game.  As mentioned previously, Aaron Donald’s knee is very important....a prayer wouldn't hurt people. Since it is a bye week, I will try and update if there is any recruiting news that comes out.  I’m sure all of you heard that Pitt made the final cut of 3 schools of someone certain!!!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

PASSING NOTES ON GARDNER-WEBB


After a big win this past weekend, Pitt will host FCS opponent Gardner-Webb Saturday at 3:30PM on ESPN3.com.  We all know what happened the last time Pitt played an FCS team.  We want to forget that as soon as possible.  Now the Runnin’ Bulldogs are no Youngstown State, but caution must be taken. Pitt must come out focused and ready and pound on Gardner-Webb to keep their momentum going into the bye week.  All Pitt fans want to be reassured that the Virginia Tech game was not a one-time only thing and a sound thrashing will be just what the doctor ordered.

This one will be brief, as wedding plans are starting to take over.  The Bulldogs are 0-3 and play in the Big South Conference.  Their closest loss was a 21 point affair.  They give up a ton of yards on the ground, so Rushel Shell may have a field day.  The strengths of the team is experience on both the offensive and defensive line, so Pitt’s lines will have to pick up where they left off this past Saturday and be ready.

Overall the defense is not good for Gardner-Webb and the offense has not been very productive either.  When the Bulldogs have the ball, Sophomore Lucas Beatty will be under center.  He has 666 yards passing (sorry Lord, but it’s a fact that those are his numbers so far), 1TD and3 INTs.  He has also been sacked 3 times in each game. The running game is in flux, but Senior Kenny Little seems to be taking the load away from Sophomore Juanne Blount.  When Beatty goes to the air, there is no clear cut receiver, but the Bulldogs do have Sophomore TE Seth Cranfill and Sophomore WR Deonte Swinton.  Junior Richard Jules and Freshman Carlton Heard will also be part of the passing game.

Pitt must not miss the bus to the game in order to win this game.  Let me clarify that statement.  I don’t literally mean they can’t miss the bus…I mean they need to not overlook Gardner-Webb.  This game cannot be close!  Pitt must keep their momentum and continue to improve on last week’s performance.  A bad performance by the Panthers and all the negative thoughts from the fans will come right back.  I think Pitt continues to really pound the ball and I do think they come to Heinz Field focused and ready. Final score: Pitt - 49 Gardner Webb – 10.

Monday, September 17, 2012

TINO! TINO! TINO!


WOW!  That’s the big thing I can say right now.  Look, I’ll be honest.  In 2007, I kind of saw the namesake of this blog coming.  Not all the way, but I saw it.  Pitt was playing better and better as the year went on, starting with an upset at Heinz Field of a ranked Cincinnati team (with Wanny coaching from the press box).  They played close with several other key opponents after that, leading up to the Brawl that year. Then when ESPN showed the WVU players in a very celebratory mood with their home crowd getting off the bus….I thought to myself…we have a chance.  This one…I did not see coming at all.

First off…Tino….Tino….TINO!!!!!!  He takes a lot of shit.  He takes tons of it actually.  I won’t pretend I never said anything negative here about Tino…I did. This year, I felt as though he had a few mind numbing plays, but overall, I felt like Pitt had bigger problems.  On Twitter, it became a favorite argument among Panther fans as to just how bad Tino had been.  I was on the side that he was a problem, but not THE problem.  Many felt he was responsible for every disease known to man.  It got ugly on a few occasions. Since he’s taken tons of shit….including here…I’ll be the first to say that he absolutely deservers every ounce of praise that comes his way…including the Big East offensive player of the week that he received today.  Congrats Tino and keep it up!  Just for numbers sake, he was 19 of 28 for 283 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT.  For the record, much to the chagrin of a lot of Pitt fans, the lone INT was NOT his fault.

To take it a step further, Tino has had several instances over his three years, where his receivers were AWFUL.  On third and seven on Pitt’s first drive, he lofted the ball deep.  Just like many times before, it was a jump ball and as many times before a Pitt receiver had their hands on it.  I am so used to Pitt receivers half-assing those chances or dropping the ball, or not wanting it enough, I waited until I saw two replays, before I went crazy about Devin Street holding onto the ball.  Sometimes your receivers must make a play like that (ask Rod Rutherford), and way more times than not, Tino’s receivers have let him down.  They did not on Saturday.  Even better, it happened twice…..Mike Shanahan also came down with a beautiful catch later on another deep ball. Once again….give it up to Tino, he deserves it! I would love nothing more than to see him shove it up mine and everyone else’s ass the rest of the year.

Let’s look at the rest of the team quickly:

·         Shane Gordon, Shane Gordon, Shane Gordon.  The light bulb has gone on there.  For the second game in a row, he was great for Pitt. 

·         Manny Williams first start should absolutely lead to a second start at linebacker and if Todd Thomas is ready to come back, the linebackers may actually become a solid unit.

·         To stay with the defense…the defense line also had a GREAT game.  Aaron Donald was his destructive self; Devin Cook should also get another start; and the light seems to have also gone on for TJ Clemmings.


I guess I’ll put this game in perspective.  Many thought this was Virginia Tech’s poor performance rather than Pitt’s good performance.  The reasons I think it’s more than VA TECH simply playing terrible:  Consider the final score was 35-17 and 14 points for the Hokies came on a 94 yard punt return and an 85 yard catch and run.  Also, Pitt received 11 penalties for 110 yards, while the Hokies only were flagged for 4 penalties and 39 yards.  The majority of VA TECH’S turnovers were forced (tons off pressure from Pitt on Logan Thomas). Finally Kevin Harper had a nightmare of a game, missing two chip shot field goals.  It actually could have been worse for Virginia Tech.

Will Pitt now run the table and win the Big East?  NO!  Will they now go on to a 2-10 season?  I don’t think it will be either one.  I think they will continue to improve, but there are some tough teams left.  I am worried about my 7-5 prediction at the beginning of the year, but I could see them still doing that.  It would be nice to see them bounce back and receive a bowl bid out of this season.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

PASSING NOTES ON.....VIRGINIA TECH...AND ACC NEWS

I have two memories of the Virginia Tech Hokies and neither one has to do with Lousaka Polite.  The first one was an away game that was on ESPN and the Hokies were pissed off about the 38-7 whipping Pitt gave them the year before.  All I can remember is the analyst on ESPN, in the pregame (and his name escapes me), saying that after last year and the quotes in the paper Virginia Tech needs to (and I’m paraphrasing here) “find the toughest guy on Pitt….that’s Gerald Hayes by the way….and smack him in the mouth and see how tough he is.”  They then cut to a shot of Hokie fans holding up newspaper clippings of Panther player comments from the aftermath of the 38-7 game the year before to the Hokie football players as they were walking into Lane Stadium.  It didn’t help.  Pitt won that game.
The second one occurred when I lived in the DC metro area and I ventured out to a Dave Matthews concert in the area with some friends.  We were tailgating and stumbled upon some Virginia Tech girls.  Pretty buzzed, I approached one with a VT hat on and said, “ahhh, Va-Tech huh?”  She immediately snapped at me and decided to give me a 2 minute lesson on how no one from Virginia Tech likes to hear the school referred to as “Va-Tech.”  I turned and looked at my friends through glassy, buzzed eyes and turned back around to her and put up my hand in a high five fashion, and yelled out, “VA-TECH IT IS!”  She was not amused.
Unlike those stories, this season’s game between the Panthers and Hokies will probably not end with me giving high fives or smiling.  It very well could end with me in a drunken haze though.  VA-TECH rolls into Heinz Field for a noon kickoff (on ESPNU) ranked number 13 in the country and as always has a very strong defense.  Not exactly what the doctor ordered for Tino Sunseri and company.
VA TECH is 2-0 with a victory over Austin Peay and an OT edge over unranked Georgia Tech at home.  So, the question can be asked, how good are the Hokies?  Unfortunately for the Panthers, they are probably a team that will only improve as the season wears on this year.  On offense they are led by Junior QB, Logan Thomas.  Thomas has 442 yards and 2 TDs through the air and while his accuracy can be a problem from time to time, he does have big play ability and can run.  The Hokies have handed the ground game over to two freshmen running backs.  Michael Holmes and J.C. Coleman lead VA TECH with 94 and 54 yards respectively.  Holmes has rushed for 2 TDs.  When Thomas airs it out, he has three receivers that he favors.  Senior wide outs Corey Fuller, Marcus Davis, and Dyrell Roberts are all favorites, since Senior DJ Coles went out with a knee injury (while Coles’ injury is less serious than first anticipated, he will probably miss almost all of this season).  Davis is also a threat once or twice a game to run the ball.
The Hokies line is a little bit of a weak spot and they are replacing a lot of players on offense.  They have also struggled early in games and that could be a place where Pitt could capitalize.  They will have to jump on VA TECH early and often.  The weather will be nice and the Hokies are a big name, so Pitt is hoping for a big crowd.
Stop me if you have heard this before….VA TECH has a solid defense. Yes, this year is no different. They return 9 starters this year, although they are without linebackers Bruce Taylor and Tariq Edwards.  Taylor is expected back this week (which is a treat for Pitt) and while both have been out, Junior Jack Tyler has filled in VERY nicely.  Also leading the way for VA TECH will be Junior DE James Gayle and Junior CB Kyle Fuller.
The positives for Pitt are that they are coming off a nice rest after a Thursday night game, it is expected to be a decent crowd (by Pitt standards anyways), there will be a number of recruits there, and they are another week more experienced in the Paul Chryst era.  Also, sorely missed linebacker Todd Thomas was in full pads today, as was CB K’Wuan Williams.  Both would be nice to have back, but the smart money says the Panthers will only get one of them……I doubt it will be Thomas.  They will probably want to be cautious with him.  He would be a welcomed edition if he is inserted (as would Williams).
My prediction for this game??  Yea…it could be ugly.  It has been a while since I have feared Pitt taking the field against someone, but this is one of those times.  The Panthers MUST show up and show some heart.  It is absolutely a game where Pitt fans would be happy with improvement and a close game.  It would at least show that maybe they are headed in the right direction.  I do think Pitt jumps out early and keeps it close for a half.  VA TECH is just too strong and unfortunately, I believe may poor it on with their dynamic special teams and defense.  Final score….Virginia Tech 38 Pitt 10…..yea, that bad.  Sorry.
Hey…if you want some good news, there was some today.  Notre Dame is joining the ACC in all sports, but football.  While they are not a full member, they will also play 5 games per year against ACC opponents…and they will not have a say in who they schedule, as they will have to play everyone.  That signifies that ND could be joining full time down the road, or at least gives the ACC a leg up on the competition when they decide they have to join a conference.  With conferences going to more games within their own divisions and leagues, ND’s schedule flexibility is dwindling by the year.  That is good news for Pitt.  They are not the powerhouse they used to be, BUT, they are still a BIG name and provide big ratings.  Speaking of ratings, this could lead to renegotiating the TV deal and making ACC teams 1-2 million dollars richer.  That should appease those that were not happy with the original deal (I’m looking at you Clemson and FSU).  One more piece of good news….the conference also decided to raise their exit fee to approximately $50 million.  That will make it extremely difficult for anyone to leave for the extended future, making the ACC strong and committed. 

Sunday, September 9, 2012

RECAPPING CINCINNATI


Where to begin?  I’ve been a Pitt fan for as long as I can remember.  My first game was a thrilling Pitt victory over a Rod Woodson led Perdue team at old Pitt stadium.  I didn’t even know who Rod Woodson was at the time.  He became one of my all-time favorite Steelers.  Despite my family being a Penn State household and growing up amongst Penn State fans, I stayed true.  All through the years where they were losing in shootouts to bad Temple teams and 1-11 records…so why would I change now?  I won’t.  I refuse to do that.  I will not jump off the Pitt fan base.  I just can’t bring myself to do it.

I obviously was not pleased with the opening TD by Cincinnati on their first offensive play and the turnover that led to a quick 14-0 lead for the Bearcats.  What really drove me nuts was that Pitt was beaten and beaten badly and they should not have.  I’m not saying they should have won, but they absolutely were in that game.  Despite the early deficit, Ray Graham and Rushel Shell look like could be a very nice 1-2 punch this year (not next year) and you have Isaac Bennett behind them….which is a nice luxury.  There was one point where Pitt was actually outgaining Cincinnati despite losing 17-3 at the time. 

I feel like Pitt can be a decent team this season.  Their linebackers must play better and I felt like Shane Gordon had a strong game and their defensive line (wasn’t that supposed to be a strength) MUST start to play up to their capabilities.  The offensive line has had a rough go so far, but in fairness, Cincinnati does have a strong pass rush.

Now…I go back to my opening paragraph…my patience with Pitt has been tested many times over the years, and Thursday night provided two more plays that made me scream obscenities and make my fiancĂ©e question our upcoming wedding.  Pitt received a phantom holding call that negated a touchdown and putting them in a bad position in the red zone.  QB Tino Sunseri fired an interception into the end zone that can be best described as a jump ball that didn’t go very high.  The second one actually caused me to tug at my Pitt t-shirt so hard, that it partially tore at the bottom.  I think we all know what it was.  You have 5 seconds to get a play off before settling for a field goal AND you have a timeout.  That is the situation that faced Pitt right before halftime.  Tino dropped back, looked for Mike Shanahan…saw he wasn’t opened….THEN PUMP FAKED AND LOOKED FOR SOMEONE ELSE….YOU DON’T HAVE TIME TO DO THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look, Suneri is not the main reason that Pitt is 0-2, but he is not making the plays he needs to and he is making freshmen mistakes still, as a third year starter.  This can’t happen.  I don’t believe changing QBs will help.  I don’t want a true freshman behind this offensive line.  If they can redshirt Chad Voytik, then they have him and Tom Savage (sitting out after a transfer this season) battling it out next season and Tr’avon Chapman coming in too.  If they don’t redshirt Voytik and he struggles, that puts them in a bad position.  Then you burn his redshirt, just to end up going back to Sunseri.

I think my main problem is that it took a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time for me not to be scared to play someone.  You know that feeling you used to get as a Pitt fan where you went into a game just praying to not get embarrassed.  Old school Pitt fans remember those days of being blown out at Ohio State and games like that. Yea…unfortunately I am there again.  Virginia Tech is next and I find myself praying for Pitt to just hang in there.  That should NEVER be the case.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

PASSING NOTES ON....CINCINNATI


It’s time to put the debacle of Youngstown State behind us and focus on Cincinnati.  There is some good news coming out Pitt this week.  The suspended 6 are back at practice and on pace to return.  Tyrone Ezell is obviously the most important player, but getting an injured TJ Clemmings is just as important.  I believe K’Wuan Williams and Todd Thomas are the only players that may not play Thursday in the Big East opener (God, it feels great to say that for the very last time).

The game will be played in Cincinnati at 8PM on ESPN (the real one this time).  Cincinnati is a little bit of a mystery, as the Bearcats were off last week and have a host of new players.  On offense, they must replace a good chunk of their offense.  Isaiah Pead is gone, as is QB Zach Collaros (Pead was the Big East offensive player of the year last year) and the starter under center will be Munchie Legaux.  Not only is Legaux an automatic member of the all-name teams around the country, but his upside is better than Collaros.  The question is how will his accuracy and decision making be when it comes down to game time.  The RB position will be manned by a trio of Bearcats in George Winn, Jameel Poteat (a former Pitt commit), and great punt returner, Ralph David Abernathy IV (I feel like he visited the royal palace with the Griswolds in European Vacation).  The offense returns 5 starters, so they do have a good amount of questions. 

On defense, the front seven is the Cincinnati strength, but they did lose the Big East defensive player of the year, Derek Wolfe.  His slack will be picked up by DE/LB Walter Stewart.  The blitzing attacks will test the Pitt offensive line, so hopefully Ryan Turnley and the boys are building some nice chemistry and hopefully Ray Graham gained some confidence last week.

Make no mistake the short week hurts Pitt.  I am not looking for miracles.  Cincinnati has been picked no lower than 4th in the pre-season polls for the Big East and some consider them a sleeper in the Big East.  Playing at Nippert Stadium also provides Cincinnati with an edge.  I do think Pitt is a little sharper and gives us a little bit of an improvement over their opener (it can’t get much worse), but I don’t think it will be enough.  Final: Cincinnati – 24 Pitt – 17.  I hope I am wrong.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

RECAP OF THE YSU GAME...UGH


Words can’t describe how awful that loss was yesterday.  I'll give it a try though. I started thinking about my life and what days I would rather live over before having to deal with that again.  The day I asked the hot girl in my school to homecoming, she said yes, and then flipped a few days later to go with a friend of mine instead.  That’s one.  The day after my bachelor party last weekend when I puked until 3PM in the afternoon is another one of those days.  I won’t go so far as saying that terrible night in 1992 in October and I won’t go so far as to say the Elite Eight loss to Nova a few years ago either.  It’s up there though.  Make no mistake…this was a BAD loss.

There were a few bright spots.  The Pitt student section was out in FULL FORCE, but how many of them will come back to the next game.  Would you?  I would, but that is because I love Pitt and college football, regardless of how they are doing.  You just can’t expect that blind loyalty from so many.  Ray Graham looked decent and I was very encouraged by one of his last runs.  Graham got up, clapping his hands and shaking his head, as if to say, I’m back.  I have a lot more confidence in him after that run, than anything else he did.  Contrary to popular belief, Tino Sunseri actually looked decent and did not take a sack.  He did miss a couple of big plays, but more times than not, he made the play.

So what went wrong??  You can start and end with the defense. They were terrible. You have to be able to stop YSU and they could not….at all!  YSU did everything and anything they wanted and that was tough to take.  I had concerns about the linebackers, but the secondary and defensive line was supposed to be a strength of this squad and they were not.  They must improve and improve quickly. 

The offensive line concerns surfaced as I felt like there were not as many holes as there should be when you play an FCS team.  They did not give up a sack, but the line has to also take strides.  Lots of Graham’s and Bennett’s success had to do with cut backs and nice moves rather than big holes.

Suspending 6 players before the game also did not help, but the one that hurt the most was Tyrone Ezell.  He is a defensive line starter and would have helped a little bit.  The others are replaceable at this point and time, BUT, it affects the team to see that many of their teammates not be on the same page. Ronald Jones returns punts and kick offs and he was suspended, and we missed the debut of highly touted freshman Rushel Shell.  The other three players were reserves Shayne Hale, Anthony Gonzalez, and true freshman, Chris Davis.  No word on their availability for Thursday, but the most important to get back is Ezell, followed by Shell and Jones.

There is no doubt that the Paul Chryst era has gotten off to a rocky start, but this is Pitt.  This football team is famous for putting their fans on the ledge and then teasing them back.  Is this one of them?  Will they bounce back in Cincy Thursday?  I have serious doubts, but it would be just like them to bring their fans off the ledge before the Virginia Tech game.  Another positive is that Youngstown State is a strong team and very experienced.  10 of 11 starters came back from a powerful offense and it showed.  That is not to make excuses, but at some point, you do have to give the Penguins credit.  Pitt should never lose to an FCS team, BUT YSU did play well and you must tip your hat to them a little bit here.