Defense smothered Wake Forest

[President Stache]

For anyone doubting Narduzzi's defensive genius, no one expected Pitt to play THAT well on D.

Wake came in with all the accolades, they couldn't rush the ball and finished with below 300 yards, shut out in the second half and 5 sacks and 4 ints later we are ACC champs.

Narduzzi made Clawson look confused. Showed he was really the ACC coach of the year!

 

[Cap pitt]

Not in the first qt. wf scored 3 TDs in first 3 possession, then the Pitt D stuffed them and beat up Hartman, he took a beating, H2P

 

[CaptainMurphy]

Took a little while but our D adjusted quickly. Key was getting penetration to the mesh point and a few hits on Hartman. He's a good QB but his accuracy was shot after that. He puts a lot of air under the ball.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

Went from teetering on getting boat raced to 13 straight stops/takeaways.
Gonna take some time for the old timers to wrap there minds around all of this.

 

[paschuler1970]

Went from teetering on getting boat raced to 13 straight stops/takeaways.
Gonna take some time for the old timers to wrap there minds around all of this.

"old timers"..... hmm...

 

[NCanton Panther]

For anyone doubting Narduzzi's defensive genius, no one expected Pitt to play THAT well on D.

Wake came in with all the accolades, they couldn't rush the ball and finished with below 300 yards, shut out in the second half and 5 sacks and 4 ints later we are ACC champs.

Narduzzi made Clawson look confused. Showed he was really the ACC coach of the year!

PN’s defense and defensive philosophy is a popular topic of discussion and rightly so. The ole DB’s on an island press coverage.

I think it comes down to one major factor, you better get pressure on the QB or the defense can be setup for failure.

 

[TFBaum]

Credit where credit is due. The defense was young and the coaches kept coaching. The defense won the Clemson and WF games.

 

[rmf05]

Their last TD was amazing. An absolutely perfect pass with an amazing catch in the face of great pressure and perfect coverage. Even the best teams only pull of plays like that maybe once or twice per game. That was an amazing drive. We really started to turn the corner even as they were moving the ball. They just couldn't sustain it, even with their fine talent and coaching. I don't think MSU or ND will be any better.

 

[CaptainMurphy]

Their last TD was amazing. An absolutely perfect pass with an amazing catch in the face of great pressure and perfect coverage. Even the best teams only pull of plays like that maybe once or twice per game. That was an amazing drive. We really started to turn the corner even as they were moving the ball. They just couldn't sustain it, even with their fine talent and coaching. I don't think MSU or ND will be any better.

That was my thought early on as well. They were scoring but we were making them work for it, at least a little. I thought that was a good sign since we usually make great defensive adjustments at the half. Turns out we made those adjustments in the 2nd quarter.

 

[Burgh15]

The defense did a heck of a time making adjustments. It's amazing what a pass rush can do for a defense.

 

[President Stache]

PN’s defense and defensive philosophy is a popular topic of discussion and rightly so. The ole DB’s on an island press coverage.

I think it comes down to one major factor, you better get pressure on the QB or the defense can be setup for failure.

Yeah, but that literally is the reason for press coverage is to create an extra second for that. At the same time if the db whiffs on a slant that’s wide open

 

[JokePa]

Defense has come a long way this year. See if they can generate any pressure against a real OL like MSU has

 

[Parkview57]

I think it comes down to one major factor, you better get pressure on the QB or the defense can be setup for failure.

This is true for any defense, college or pro.

 

[NCanton Panther]

This is true for any defense, college or pro.

Nah, without any pressure on the QB, the DBS on an island press coverage with no safety help is more setup for failure. and quick strike failure, than other defensive schemes.

 

[TempleBAPittMPA]

Went from teetering on getting boat raced to 13 straight stops/takeaways.
Gonna take some time for the old timers to wrap there minds around all of this.

They went from Wake Forest to Sleep Forest.

 

[Parkview57]

without any pressure on the QB, the DBS on an island press coverage with no safety help is more setup for failure. and quick strike failure, than other defensive schemes.

ok, the offense in four/five wides , can align their fastest/ best receivers in the slot and run them straight down the field anytime they want. I mean anytime. Unless the defense has 4-5 corners in the game all the time this is gonna be a huge mismatch , so I contend corners on an island is much ado about nothing.

 

[TempleBAPittMPA]

I contend corners on an island is much ado about nothing.

Unless it's Revis Island.

 

[Parkview57]

Bottom line, any championship defense must be able to pressure the QB. If its Narduzzi's or Wanny's, two different approaches for example, but both need pressure to succeed, Wanny needed four great rushers, Narduzzi needs two great corners and the 7 up front find ways to pressure, imo

 

[NCanton Panther]

ok, the offense in four/five wides , can align their fastest/ best receivers in the slot and run them straight down the field anytime they want. I mean anytime. Unless the defense has 4-5 corners in the game all the time this is gonna be a huge mismatch , so I contend corners on an island is much ado about nothing.

Hey I’m no high level student of the game and realize all defenses have their weaknesses and a good offense/good QB is going to identify and exploit whatever those weaknesses are. I just think the press coverage is more susceptible to getting exploited by a decent to good QB if you’re not getting any pressure on that QB. My main reasons for saying that are that good WRs are generally going to be better than good DBs coupled with the fact that everything is stacked against DBs with how defensive holding and pass interference are called whereas WRs can usually get away with most anything.

Now having said all that, I always find it interesting watching a Pitt game on Saturday and then a Steelers game on Sunday where their DBs are similarly getting abused when there is no pressure on the QB. Difference with the Steelers is they’re mostly in some type of zone coverage. I don’t usually pick it up live but when they then show the replays you see how a receiver ends up sooo wide open because DBs stay in their zone area and no one transitions to pick up the receiver when he’s heading from DB’s zone to another.

Bottom line, WRs usually have the advantage over most DBs and if you’re up against a good QB and an OL that gives him time, the defense is going to have it’s work cut out for them.

 

[Parkview57]

Bottom line, WRs usually have the advantage over most DBs and if you’re up against a good QB and an OL that gives him time, the defense is going to have it’s work cut out for them.

Agreed. Were I HCPN I would mix it up a little more, but pressure is always a key, for sure.

 

[FIVE4PITT]

The defense was feeling Wake out in the first quarter made some defensive adjustments and footwork on the defensive line at the LOS against the Wake offensive line. It made a big difference in the gaps and blitz lanes. Dennis played a great game and the defensive line rotation wore them out.

 

[NCanton Panther]

Agreed. Were I HCPN I would mix it up a little more, but pressure is always a key, for sure.

That’s what I always thought, why not mix it up, particularly based on game time and score situations.

I always just figured college practice limitations didn’t allow enough time to get players adequately versed in multiple defensive schemes.

 

[Teh Teh]

The defense did a heck of a time making adjustments. It's amazing what a pass rush can do for a defense.

Yeah adjustments! Was fantastic. Hopefully Marion can add some wrinkles in the offense for the bowl game too

 

[JokePa]

Not in the first qt. wf scored 3 TDs in first 3 possession, then the Pitt D stuffed them and beat up Hartman, he took a beating, H2P

yeah, I mean, football is a game long right?

We held them to 200 some yards below their average and 20 some points below their average.

Pretty darn incredible

 

[sonofabit]

That 10 minute gentlemens’ agreement to end the game didn’t sit well with many fans. Dazed or not WF didn’t give it the ol’ college try. But still, a defensive gem.

 

[hoclaw]

From the WMU game on, the Defense improved as the season progressed. As I posted a few weeks
ago, the short yardage defense has been spectacular; the goalline stands-just amazing! And the good news,
folks, is that most of these student athletes return next year!

 

[MajorMajors]

Regarding the Pitt corners being on an island, on the AJ Davis INT, he had safety help deep.

On the Hallett pick-6, he had the underneath coverage while the corner was staying downfield of the WR…

So, on at least two plays, our corners had help! 😊

Go Pitt.