2019-2020 Pitt Super Panther Sports Thread (With a New Logo)

[willeyeam]

WRs did not help him out one bit though

[skullman80]

I assume the throwing the ball on every down the first two series was because they thought/knew virginia was going to stack the box to stop the run.

However.. the o-line was no good and pickett stunk so passing didn't work.

The 2nd quarter with the short passes and up tempo seemed to work pretty well, then Virginia just brought pressure down after down after half time and Pitt had no counter adjustment. Pickett running for his life every down, and then when he did have time to throw he was badly off target or his receivers dropped the good balls he did throw.

The crowd wanted a big win... stayed loud till the 4th. It sucks cause attendance was going to be bad next week anyways, but now it's going to be basically non existent for an 11am home game against Ohio.

[Freddy Rumsen]

The analyst on the call was pointing out how Pickett kept running into sacks.

[Dickie Dunn]

WRs did not help him out one bit though

Some really horrific drops and a lot of their route running, especially by Taysir Mack, had a bit of “he can’t throw it to me anyways” in the effort. Just completely lazy and piss poor.

Speaking of piss poor, Narduzzi seriously decided to burn one of Vincent Davis’ four redshirt games by playing him late it the fourth quarter while down 16 and the game was already over? Guy is an idiot and will never lead this program to anywhere but where it currently is.

[slappybrown]

I know it’s irrational and not something that is even knowable, but if Mack catches that pass instead of dropping it I believe they win this game.

[Dickie Dunn]

UVA’s leading tackler was a TJ grad who Narduzzi didn’t bother to recruit. That seems poetic.

[Stoosh]

UVA’s leading tackler was a TJ grad who Narduzzi didn’t bother to recruit. That seems poetic.

This has long been a sore spot among the TJ contingent on Panther Lair.

If I remember correctly, he wanted to go to Pitt, but Narduzzi didn't recruit him because they already had commitments from three players he saw as LBs in that class - Cam Bright, Kyle Nunn and Albert Tucker.

[Stoosh]

Some thoughts...

1. Extremely frustrating game to watch. Extremely frustrating because this was a winnable game and just like previous years under Narduzzi...and Chryst...and Graham...and Wanny...and Walt, Pitt lost this game because they were their own worst enemy. I know this happens to every team to some degree, but it just seems to happen way more often to Pitt. Mack and Ffrench were beating DBs deep and Pickett is routinely overthrowing them by 5-8 yards. Mack and Griffin-Stewart had throws hit them square in the hands and they drop them. Christodoulou gets a punt blocked.

2. Two UVA touchdowns directly resulted from mistakes that gave UVA short fields - the blocked punt and the interception by Gahm, right after Mack drops what would have been a long catch.

3. On every passing play Pitt ran in the second half they saw some sort of blitz, forcing Pitt to keep a RB in to block. Pickett didn't help matters by bailing out of the pocket early, rather than looking to the area where the blitz came from or just throwing the ball away. I know it's a new offense, but that was his 16th start at this level. He's a third-year QB. He should know by now to get rid of the ball or step up in the pocket.

4. Maybe this is me being spoiled from the last few years getting to watch Connor and Ollison, but Davis and Sibley need to get through the damn hole. I know UVA has a decent front seven so that probably plays into it as well, but Davis & Sibley both seemed a bit too hesitant at times when they'd hit the line.

5. I thought the pass protection in the first half was decent (especially compared to the turnstiles they were last year), making Pickett's inaccuracy in the first half all the more frustrating. I thought Carter Warren had a good game. I'm not sold on Ulizio at RT.

6. Will Gragg is listed at 6'4", 245 lbs but I'm not sure I've ever seen a TE who is worse when it comes to taking contact.

7. I like Patrick Jones a lot but Partridge really needs to get him to learn to a few outside-in moves. He was constantly getting taken wide on his pass rushes.

7. Good: The interior DL was making life miserable for Perkins in the second quarter. Camp's injury seemed to hurt quite a bit because he was probably the most disruptive of the defensive tackles out there. Hopefully that's not a long-term thing. I thought Alexandre played a good game, and Baldonado looks capable of making an impact as he gets experience. I thought the LBs were decent; I like what Kylan Johnson and Phil Campbell bring on the edges. That looks like an upgrade over Zeise and Idowu. Mathis and Ford looks really good at DB. The defense as a whole looks quicker and I think they'll be capable against most of the other ACC teams they play this year.

On offense, I thought Tipton had a good game and it was nice to see him get a TD. I can see Davis and Sibley becoming good backs with a little more urgency.

All in all, this team really has its work cut out for it. Saturday will be interesting because of the wonky-ass 11am start time, and Ohio is good enough that they certainly can't be overlooked. I hate saying this but with the UPS and UCF games looming, they really need to beat Ohio and Pickett needs to have a good game.

[Stoosh]

Oh, also, Rashad Wheeler was wearing #37 last night and was playing fullback. This wasn't just in jumbo/goalline sets; he was lead blocking and in on some pass protection. No idea whether this is permanent for this year.

[Stoosh]

More fantastic news.

I don't think anything official has been said yet, but a guy on Panther Lair who is usually correct on these things just posted that Keyshon Camp is out for the year with a torn ACL. The same poster had the Weaver injury news before it broke so I'm inclined to believe him.

I know they have depth at DT to absorb this and I did see Danielson, Green and Bentley in there on Saturday along with Watts and Twyman.

But this still stinks. Camp was very disruptive up front in the first half and he gave them some additional flexibility because he was also lining up in certain formations at DE.

[willeyeam]

Damn it

[skullman80]

I got a "come back" ticket offer from Pitt since I attended the home opener. 10$ tickets in the lower endzone. 11am kick off is awful, but it's tempting to go just to see how many people actually show up, and if they can beat Ohio (who is not a pushover).

[Dickie Dunn]

You’re probably gonna be there alone.

[Stoosh]

Narduzzi press conference is going on now and Camp is listed not just on the depth chart but also as a starter. This isn’t the first time they’ve listed injured players on the depth chart for an upcoming game so hopefully it’s nothing as bad as an ACL tear.

Edit: Narduzzi said during the press conference that they’re waiting on one more evaluation injury-wise. Assumption is that it’s Camp and they’ll update once they hear more. Poop.

[Morkle]

Does Pitt go 0-4 to start the season? That was the talk today if they go 0-4 does Narduzzi coach next year?

[Troy Loney]

If he isn't, I think its safe to assume that Slappy is EJ Borghetti irl.

[Dickie Dunn]

He shouldn't be the coach next year.

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

he will be the coach next year. will pickett be the qb? I sure as hell hope not

[Morkle]

We're into his recruits now right? There really hasn't been any type of major leap into the success that he keeps touting.

[count2infinity]

https://triblive.com/sports/tim-benz-pi ... -narduzzi/

[Dickie Dunn]

Oh ya. We're well into his recruits, who are either not good or never really improve.

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

benz is actually right

[Morkle]

I don't think I'm saying that I want 8-10 wins every year, Benz called it out, that this is another coach in the long line of coaches that are just there, coaching to the middle of the pack. I still have a very hard time understanding how we're in the middle of 2 big-time schools, and we can't recruit our area well to the point of even getting the higher tier guys not good enough to go to either program.

You'd figure they would even get lucky and get a big-time recruit (that shows it on the field), but that hasn't happened really either, with Narduzzi.

[Freddy Rumsen]

Paris Ford is going to be that guy this year.

But being mediocre is a Cathedral decision at Pitt. They want to be a 7-5 program and that is why we have that.

[Morkle]

IMO, they've always gone bargain basement hunting, I appreciate that they've gone to places like Florida and southern states to recruit, but they've seemingly punted on focusing heavily around here too. It's just weird.