ADVERTISEMENT

ANYONE still think Pickett is our best option?

Watching warm ups before the game I could not help but notice the ball coming out of Beville's hand with much more velocity than KP. I thought tonight might be the game that we see him in a series or two but noooooooo!

You can't blame KP anymore than the OL. We can not run block at all and BC's defense stinks.

I don't think we would have wanted to see him in that game unless we were up 30 and in that case, it would have been Patti.
 
You want him to perform like Marino.

Personally I'd take any of the three QBs that Walt Harris once had on the same roster (Rutherford, Palko, and Flacco.)

Yeah Pickett hasn't had a ton of help. He's tough. He tries hard and can run. But he's also pretty mediocre touch throwing down field and it limits their options.

Picketts running ability is way over rated. By today’s standards he’s average

IMO his biggest issues are locking onto one receiver and not seeing the files (he lacks field vision) and he has little to no pocket presence. He’s also very streaky in terms of accuracy with no apparent reason for sudden lapses in play. We saw that against Duke and UNC where he game out and played well and had poor second half’s.

this is a junior quarterback we are talking about. He’s likely reached his ceiling and is unlikely to improve in the area that limit his play and this team

people point out he had good stats. But Wayne had a pretty nice day as well yet I don’t see anyone pointing out the good plays he made or the plays Shocky made. They are pointing out the drops and fumble

yeah KP piled up the yards but when it came to crunch time he failed to get the team in the end zone
 
Pickett would be just fine if the supporting cast was half decent. A better OL with a decent running game and some receivers and TE's who can catch the ball would take much of the pressure off of Kenny to try and win it all by himself.

TE's who can catch the ball? How about a few WR's who can catch and not fumble? Pickett is the last problem with this offense.
 
  • Like
Reactions: upj87 and TD_6082
Picketts running ability is way over rated. By today’s standards he’s average

IMO his biggest issues are locking onto one receiver and not seeing the files (he lacks field vision) and he has little to no pocket presence. He’s also very streaky in terms of accuracy with no apparent reason for sudden lapses in play. We saw that against Duke and UNC where he game out and played well and had poor second half’s.

this is a junior quarterback we are talking about. He’s likely reached his ceiling and is unlikely to improve in the area that limit his play and this team

people point out he had good stats. But Wayne had a pretty nice day as well yet I don’t see anyone pointing out the good plays he made or the plays Shocky made. They are pointing out the drops and fumble

yeah KP piled up the yards but when it came to crunch time he failed to get the team in the end zone
Pickett would lead an undefeated season if he started for Clemson.
Coaching, running game, OL and receivers (and defense) all play into how a QB performs. Results drive perception.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: CaptainMurphy
Pickett would have lead an undefeated season if he started for Clemson.

Coaching, running game, OL and receivers (and defense) all play into how a QB performs. Results drive perception.

You aren't wrong.
 
He’s decent enough.

Not nearly at the top of the list of our biggest problems.
Actually he’s up there on that list.

A QB needs to be able to make plays with his arm and his legs. Pickett doesn’t do either. He’s not gonna beat you from the QB position-and that’s reflected in our anemic touchdown totals. We have one of the least dynamic offenses in the country and have for 3 straight years now.

Let’s put it this way-no opposing defensive coordinators are game planning to stop Kenny Pickett from burning them.
 
Yeah Pickett hasn't had a ton of help. He's tough. He tries hard and can run. But he's also pretty mediocre touch throwing down field and it limits their options.

This is pretty much right on the money.

While one can’t blame Kenny for the drops or the less than stellar protection or running game... and while he does play hard, he also struggles with the deep ball, he does miss seeing wide open receivers frequently and he does stare down the receivers he throws to much too often.

He’s also been responsible for a number of really bad INTs and fumbles that ended up being costly in games and he’s been abysmal in the red zone (where dropped passes were almost never the issue).

Is Having 2,700 passing with only 9 INTs and only 10 passing TD considered acceptable for a starting D1 QB? The truth is everyone on the offense side of the ball has looked pretty bad this year... including Kenny.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lilspainishflea
Yes but he was really the only play there. Hopefully Beville can pass him on the depth chart.

I think the only player capable of passing him on the depth chart is Beville, but he needs to put a lot of work in this offseason to get there. He has the talent, but needs the knowledge. I don’t fault the staff for not getting him in the game with the pass protection issues. I think he is someone who can get an early look if he has a strong spring and Pickett continues his lack of production.
 
people point out he had good stats.

It's not even close to good stats if you look at yards per attempt/adjusted yards per attempt, arguably the most important measure of a quarterback.
 
This is pretty much right on the money.

While one can’t blame Kenny for the drops or the less than stellar protection or running game... and while he does play hard, he also struggles with the deep ball, he does miss seeing wide open receivers frequently and he does stare down the receivers he throws to much too often.

He’s also been responsible for a number of really bad INTs and fumbles that ended up being costly in games and he’s been abysmal in the red zone (where dropped passes were almost never the issue).

Is Having 2,700 passing with only 9 INTs and only 10 passing TD considered acceptable for a starting D1 QB? The truth is everyone on the offense side of the ball has looked pretty bad this year... including Kenny.

This is on the money.

I thought the Manning camp would teach him a lot but the kid consistently stares down receivers then throws behind, or high, or low. Then the drops too of course. He had a mediocre year at best. This is why Vegas has us at 5.5 wins this year. Everyone saw we had nothing on office.

Even a simple side screen to the WR, he should hike and look the other direction then turn and throw. He is too easy to key on. He does make plays with his feet, and should use that more as a weapon to find receivers.

He will improve, no doubt, as I keep saying it’s near impossible to start 30
Or so games and not improve. And obviously if we start a new QB the same learning curve will be there. But honestly with the exception of a TE we have the weapons. He should be doing better more consistently
 
Pickett would lead an undefeated season if he started for Clemson.
Coaching, running game, OL and receivers (and defense) all play into how a QB performs. Results drive perception.
Pickett would be a walk on qb at Clemson and wouldn't last pass tryouts of the next season because he can't throw on time consistently or complete the intermediate throws that offense requires. Period. Pickett has the arm strength but NOT the anticipation needed to be great
 
Pickett would be a walk on qb at Clemson and wouldn't last pass tryouts of the next season because he can't throw on time consistently or complete the intermediate throws that offense requires. Period. Pickett has the arm strength but NOT the anticipation needed to be great

Terrible comparison as Clemson's QBs were rated #1 nationally, #11 nationally, and #5 nationally, plus they have the #13 QB committed for next year.

Very few teams are going to compete with that. Pickett does some things I really like and some things I really don't like. He'd certainly look better if we could actually run the ball or our receivers could catch and/or not fumble. I think he's in the middle of the pack talent wise in the ACC. He's certainly good enough to be a scholarship QB at most ACC programs.
 
Pitt has no running game. I think Pickett looks a lot better if teams had to respect the running game and there weren't as many 3rd and long situations. If I had to look back at what I thought of the kid before the season compared to now, I'm not as worried about the position. At least in comparison to the rest of the offense.

Pickett isn't super accurate. That is most noticeable on his deep balls, but even on intermediate throws he can be off. His receivers rightfully took flack for drops, but some of those were high or well outside their body even though they were open. I think that is more of an issue when he needs to make longer passes or into tighter spaces. So long downs are an issue, as is the redzone when the defense has less real estate to defend.

But that doesn't mean he can't be a decent college QB. It would be nice to adapt somewhat to his strengths. Watching that Cowboys - Bears game last night, Trubisky had an impressive 23 yard TD run off of a read option out of a 4 wide single back set. Pickett might not be as fast as Trubisky, but that could freeze defenders dropping into zone or catch them if they turn to run in man.
 
This is on the money.

I thought the Manning camp would teach him a lot but the kid consistently stares down receivers then throws behind, or high, or low. Then the drops too of course. He had a mediocre year at best.

Even a simple side screen to the WR, he should hike and look the other direction then turn and throw. He is too easy to key on. He does make plays with his feet, and should use that more as a weapon to find receivers.

He will improve, no doubt, as I keep saying it’s near impossible to start 30 or so games and not improve. And obviously if we start a new QB the same learning curve will be there. But honestly with the exception of a TE we have the weapons. He should be doing better more consistently

Oh how I wish that were true.

I hate to say it but Kenny is looking more like Tino than I’d ever thought was possible.Two years and not much improvement. He has shown he can lead his team to victory on occasion when they are behind (something Tino had never done at Pitt)... and he has taken fewer sacks... but too frequently the offense he lead has underachieved and been the reason for a loss.

I get people are worried about a learning curve with a new QB (like Beville), but sticking with Pickett very likely means another season like the kind we’ve seen this year. Is that something any of us really want to go though again? I think Kenny makes a solid gutsy back up. I just don’t think he is consistent enough to be a very good starter.
 
Last edited:
Oh I get it.

Pickett = Trevor Lawrence

Who Knew........
Oh no you do not...he did not say that...

He implied------- Picket + Clemson talent + Clemson Coaching = Undefeated Season...

agree or disagree but don't make stuff up...
 
Pickett isn't super accurate. That is most noticeable on his deep balls, but even on intermediate throws he can be off. His receivers rightfully took flack for drops, but some of those were high or well outside their body even though they were open. I think that is more of an issue when he needs to make longer passes or into tighter spaces. So long downs are an issue, as is the redzone when the defense has less real estate to defend.

But that doesn't mean he can't be a decent college QB. It would be nice to adapt somewhat to his strengths. Watching that Cowboys - Bears game last night, Trubisky had an impressive 23 yard TD run off of a read option out of a 4 wide single back set. Pickett might not be as fast as Trubisky, but that could freeze defenders dropping into zone or catch them if they turn to run in man.

You're not wrong about some of the finer problems with his game but Pickett was 29th in passing yards per game. He's not a first round pick but that tells me he wasn't the worst problem, either. But I go back to my original comment. Pitt's offense will continue to be pass happy under Whipple but it was completely one dimensional without an adequate run game.
 
You're not wrong about some of the finer problems with his game but Pickett was 29th in passing yards per game. He's not a first round pick but that tells me he wasn't the worst problem, either. But I go back to my original comment. Pitt's offense will continue to be pass happy under Whipple but it was completely one dimensional without an adequate run game.

Agreed. The lack of run game has a lot to do with the O-line. They aren't going to line up and run power and iso down the field. But they had some success with the jet sweeps, screens as de facto runs, but those are less effective in the red zone. The wildcat worked at times too, and I think that works a little better down there. I just thought that using Pickett's ability as a runner would be another wrinkle that they ought to try to establish a run game, especially in the red zone. IMO that is the #1 thing that they should be looking at to improve this offense so that they can turn a few more FGs into TDs.
 
Agreed. The lack of run game has a lot to do with the O-line. They aren't going to line up and run power and iso down the field. But they had some success with the jet sweeps, screens as de facto runs, but those are less effective in the red zone. The wildcat worked at times too, and I think that works a little better down there. I just thought that using Pickett's ability as a runner would be another wrinkle that they ought to try to establish a run game, especially in the red zone. IMO that is the #1 thing that they should be looking at to improve this offense so that they can turn a few more FGs into TDs.

Keep in mind, this team was three scores from winning ten games. For all of the problems, one or two breaks the other way and this team is probably ranked.
 
You're not wrong about some of the finer problems with his game but Pickett was 29th in passing yards per game. He's not a first round pick but that tells me he wasn't the worst problem, either. But I go back to my original comment. Pitt's offense will continue to be pass happy under Whipple but it was completely one dimensional without an adequate run game.

If we factor in that Kenny had the 10th most passing attempts in the country and that he is in a tie at the 101 spot for TDs (he had 10), we can see how it paints a more accurate (and unfortunately much less impressive) picture of his season.

Again, Kenny does give great effort (at least most days when it is not raining) but sometimes that’s just not enough. If he had a little better vision and a little better touch, he’d probably now have 10 more TDs and nobody would be saying anything about him, because Pitt his team would have 9 or more wins right now.

The team’s Achilles’ heel this season was the entire offense and Kenny was their leader. It just wouldn’t be fair for us to pretend he was the bright spot just because he threw the ball significantly more than almost every other QB in D1.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pittbb80
ADVERTISEMENT