20 thoughts on this Monday morning after a loss...
1. Pitt’s offense wasn’t going to pick up where it left off in 2021, not after losing Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison. I think we all knew that. But I think it was reasonable to expect an effective offense - just one with a different approach. Sure, a Heisman Trophy finalist and a Biletnikoff Award winner are gone, but with a little more balance in the offense, maybe the offense could be effective in a different way and not so reliable on two guys. That hasn’t quite worked out, for a variety of reasons.
2. Real quick, though, let’s have another moment of reflection on just how good Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison were. They did a whole lot of heavy lifting for this offense and this team last season. I think we all appreciated how good those two were, but if there was anyway to demonstrate just how good their performances were, it’s watching the offense without them this year.
3. And those two guys - not Mark Whipple, not Brennan Marion - were the biggest offseason departures from the offense. I don’t think I can stress that enough. Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison with Frank Cignetti and Tiquan Underwood would have this team sitting pretty. Shoot, simply having Addison back would probably be enough for 4-1, at least, and maybe 5-0.
4. Enough about that. Back to 2022. Where are the problems with the offense? They’re all over the place. The running game is the emphasis but isn’t consistent enough to be the foundation of the offense. The ineffectiveness of the passing game lets opponents load up to stop the run and the offense hasn’t been able to take advantage of that focus to find success in the passing game. The quarterback looks indecisive, but some of that is due to the receivers not executing.
5. When I think about this offense, I often find myself coming back to the receivers. I’ll say off the top: I spent plenty of time this offseason talking up the additions of Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means. Some of that was based on my observations; some was based on what they did in their previous stops; and some - most - was based on what I was hearing from the Pitt coaches and people around the program. They were supposed to be pretty good. Thus far, they haven’t been.
6. I think there’s some basic stuff at work here. A month ago in the Monday press conference after the win over West Virginia, Pat Narduzzi said something really interesting about the receivers not being sharp enough, and how that was leading to Kedon Slovis holding the ball too long waiting for them to get to their spots. I think about that a lot, especially how Narduzzi said that his initial impression in the game was that Slovis was holding the ball too long, but he changed his thought after watching the tape and seeing what Slovis was seeing - simply put, that the receivers weren’t doing what they needed to do.
7. So I think that unit has been a disappointment. I still think Mumpfield and Means - and Jared Wayne and Jaden Bradley - can do a lot more than they have. Even Wayne had a bad drop on a first down pass in the Georgia Tech game, so no one is without blame here. It’s not fair to hold those guys to the standard of last season, but they can be better than they have been. And they need to.
8. This isn’t to absolve Slovis. I do think he has been indecisive. I think there are probably times when he waited too long for his receivers to come open as opposed to anticipating. Maybe he doesn’t feel like he can trust them, but that has to be resolved sooner than later. It’s just very disappointing that Pitt is coming to the halfway point of the season and still doesn’t really seem to have a lot of cohesiveness in its offense.
9. Some of that is due to the Slovis injury. Pitt has played five games and Slovis has missed 1.5 of them. Throw in the Rhode Island game, when virtually half of Slovis’ pass attempts were behind the scrimmage, and you’ve basically got 2.5 games - again, out of five - where the starting quarterback wasn’t really getting any live work with his receivers. Is it any surprise that when Pitt entered ACC play and tried to throw, the passing game looked disjointed and out of sync?
10. I promise I’m going to stop complaining about that Rhode Island game plan some day, but it won’t be today. Just a total missed opportunity that was made even more crucial when Slovis wasn’t able to play in the second half against Tennessee or at Western Michigan.
Continued...
1. Pitt’s offense wasn’t going to pick up where it left off in 2021, not after losing Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison. I think we all knew that. But I think it was reasonable to expect an effective offense - just one with a different approach. Sure, a Heisman Trophy finalist and a Biletnikoff Award winner are gone, but with a little more balance in the offense, maybe the offense could be effective in a different way and not so reliable on two guys. That hasn’t quite worked out, for a variety of reasons.
2. Real quick, though, let’s have another moment of reflection on just how good Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison were. They did a whole lot of heavy lifting for this offense and this team last season. I think we all appreciated how good those two were, but if there was anyway to demonstrate just how good their performances were, it’s watching the offense without them this year.
3. And those two guys - not Mark Whipple, not Brennan Marion - were the biggest offseason departures from the offense. I don’t think I can stress that enough. Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison with Frank Cignetti and Tiquan Underwood would have this team sitting pretty. Shoot, simply having Addison back would probably be enough for 4-1, at least, and maybe 5-0.
4. Enough about that. Back to 2022. Where are the problems with the offense? They’re all over the place. The running game is the emphasis but isn’t consistent enough to be the foundation of the offense. The ineffectiveness of the passing game lets opponents load up to stop the run and the offense hasn’t been able to take advantage of that focus to find success in the passing game. The quarterback looks indecisive, but some of that is due to the receivers not executing.
5. When I think about this offense, I often find myself coming back to the receivers. I’ll say off the top: I spent plenty of time this offseason talking up the additions of Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means. Some of that was based on my observations; some was based on what they did in their previous stops; and some - most - was based on what I was hearing from the Pitt coaches and people around the program. They were supposed to be pretty good. Thus far, they haven’t been.
6. I think there’s some basic stuff at work here. A month ago in the Monday press conference after the win over West Virginia, Pat Narduzzi said something really interesting about the receivers not being sharp enough, and how that was leading to Kedon Slovis holding the ball too long waiting for them to get to their spots. I think about that a lot, especially how Narduzzi said that his initial impression in the game was that Slovis was holding the ball too long, but he changed his thought after watching the tape and seeing what Slovis was seeing - simply put, that the receivers weren’t doing what they needed to do.
7. So I think that unit has been a disappointment. I still think Mumpfield and Means - and Jared Wayne and Jaden Bradley - can do a lot more than they have. Even Wayne had a bad drop on a first down pass in the Georgia Tech game, so no one is without blame here. It’s not fair to hold those guys to the standard of last season, but they can be better than they have been. And they need to.
8. This isn’t to absolve Slovis. I do think he has been indecisive. I think there are probably times when he waited too long for his receivers to come open as opposed to anticipating. Maybe he doesn’t feel like he can trust them, but that has to be resolved sooner than later. It’s just very disappointing that Pitt is coming to the halfway point of the season and still doesn’t really seem to have a lot of cohesiveness in its offense.
9. Some of that is due to the Slovis injury. Pitt has played five games and Slovis has missed 1.5 of them. Throw in the Rhode Island game, when virtually half of Slovis’ pass attempts were behind the scrimmage, and you’ve basically got 2.5 games - again, out of five - where the starting quarterback wasn’t really getting any live work with his receivers. Is it any surprise that when Pitt entered ACC play and tried to throw, the passing game looked disjointed and out of sync?
10. I promise I’m going to stop complaining about that Rhode Island game plan some day, but it won’t be today. Just a total missed opportunity that was made even more crucial when Slovis wasn’t able to play in the second half against Tennessee or at Western Michigan.
Continued...
