I think I know what most people are thinking and I don't want this to be a bash Narduzzi thread, but an inquiring mind has to ask if Narduzzi's hand is forced to change his defense schematically a bit going into next year. I obviously dont see a complete overhaul but if we realistically look at what the defense was this year and whats happened in the portal for next year so far, i think changes have to be made for it to be a more successful season.
Narduzzi's defense absolutely MUST have a good pass rush from the front four and it MUST have excellent cover corners if it is to be successful. With that said, pitts DL really struggled to put a pass rush together this year and a bunch of those guys are gone now anyways. And when you have the lack of NIL funds that pitt has, finding difference making DL in the portal is going to be EXTREMELY hard to do, because pitt needs multiple of them and every team in the country is looking for the same thing. Pitts DE group doesnt appear at this time to have a difference maker AND theres no depth.
Which brings me to the back end of the defense. Gandy is transferring. And what this scheme requires of DB's is already extremely difficult (honestly sometimes ridiculous) WITH a disruptive front 4. Take that away and I just dont see how you can expect success on the back end since, again, it doesnt appear that there are difference makers back there either.
None if this is meant to be insulting to current players on the roster, its just a realistic view of how i see the x's and o's going into '25. All of this is to say, fans generally view Narduzzi as stubborn and unwilling to change. He made a huge change on the offensive side of the ball with hiring Bell. Is his hand forced to change defensively this upcoming year or does the defensive ship presumably sink deeper?
Narduzzi's defense absolutely MUST have a good pass rush from the front four and it MUST have excellent cover corners if it is to be successful. With that said, pitts DL really struggled to put a pass rush together this year and a bunch of those guys are gone now anyways. And when you have the lack of NIL funds that pitt has, finding difference making DL in the portal is going to be EXTREMELY hard to do, because pitt needs multiple of them and every team in the country is looking for the same thing. Pitts DE group doesnt appear at this time to have a difference maker AND theres no depth.
Which brings me to the back end of the defense. Gandy is transferring. And what this scheme requires of DB's is already extremely difficult (honestly sometimes ridiculous) WITH a disruptive front 4. Take that away and I just dont see how you can expect success on the back end since, again, it doesnt appear that there are difference makers back there either.
None if this is meant to be insulting to current players on the roster, its just a realistic view of how i see the x's and o's going into '25. All of this is to say, fans generally view Narduzzi as stubborn and unwilling to change. He made a huge change on the offensive side of the ball with hiring Bell. Is his hand forced to change defensively this upcoming year or does the defensive ship presumably sink deeper?
