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Analysis of Pitt status quo

PITT 76

Scholarship
Apr 9, 2022
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What a difference a day makes! On Friday night, Pitt expectations were high. Take care of business by just controlling the rest of the Coastal, expect some possible turbulence from North Carolina and Miami, and play a good game in the ACC championship while upsetting the Atlantic Division champ. If things fell right, Pitt might be in the playoff discussion.

A funny thing (actually not so funny) happened on the way to the stratosphere: that hot air balloon sprung a leak and came plummeting to earth.

Georgia Tech benefitted from a coach' s firing, and that Ramblin Wreck team rallied behind an interim who appears to be a better coach than Collins was. GT came to play; Pitt did not.

Pitt's offense definitely needs an infusion to get off life support.

I like Cignetti, I really do. But c'mon, Coach, you've got to do better than that. The play-calling lacked inspiration, to put it mildly.

Passing game: Pitt finally had an offensive pulse in the 4th quarter. A sense of urgency in the passing game made Pitt finally look competitive. Where was that the rest of the game?

Certainly, this group of receivers is not as clutch as last year. The Biletnikoff winner and Taysir Mack are sorely missed. Jared Wayne is good, but recovering from injury. (Sorry about that bold type; I don't know how to get it off.)

Mumpfield is adequate, but thusfar is not a replacement for either of the 2 aforementioned departees. Means is tall, and fast, but his hands are suspect. J. Bradley showed potential last night. I'd like to see more of him. Bartholomew is talented. Cig needs to call his number a lot more often.

As for the QB's, sheesh and OMG. Slovis can make all the throws, but he isn't living up to potential. Yes, he needs better blocking, but he also needs to know when to throw that ball and do so with a quicker release. That ball just doesn't come out of his hands quickly enough after he's chosen his target. Instead of getting it off quickly, it seems like he's a MLB pitcher going into his wind-up. Maybe that's some hyperbole, but it takes a long time for that ball to get out of his hands. Maybe Yarnell needs to get a bit more game time because he seems to have a good head. And no maybes here, Cig needs to open it up more.

The offensive line must have gotten fat reading the preseason reviews. Just because they're upper classmen doesn't mean they can perform well unless they work harder. Frankly, they're a disappointment.


The running game was pretty good before Hammond and Abanikanda suffered injuries. V. Davis has nice speed and when a hole is opened, he can look quite good. Unfortunately, Davis is also a liability. If the RB can't hold onto to the ball, he is going to cost a team games. His 2 fumbles were crucial.

The defense has the potential to be good, but potential is just an empty bucket until you fill it. Yes, it's another spot where injuries have hurt, but it's a far cry from the elite unit I expected it to be. Sirvocea is a star, just a great player. His bookends have been lacking. I can tell Kamara has athletic ability, but he does seem to be making mistakes as to where he's supposed to be.

On the upside, it's one game. If Pitt runs the table and GT doesn't, the Coastal crown is still within reach.

Pitt needs to get healthy. The OC Cig needs to become more innovative. Every player needs to buy into the fact that they need to work harder and play more as a cohesive unit.

Just as an aside, stop with the constant barrage of celebrations. Making a tackle is an expectation, not a reason for jubilance. Yes, if one makes a momentum changing play, then one can show joy. But all this happiness while losing the game over simply doing something that the player should be doing anyway on every play is over the top. Get a grip, fellows. Act like you've been there before.

I'm normally a negative-averse person, so I hope I didn't bring everyone down. On the contrary, I still have hope, but the team and coaches need to modify their mindsets.

In closing, Pitt can still do well. It's not too late. Tighten up team; let's play some football for the rest of the season.
 
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