This is the highest scoring offense in Pitt history......and with a mediocre QB and a subpar WR core. I know some of you may not want to admit it but Canada is having one of the best seasons a coordonator has ever had here.
Guys, Matt Canada
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Have you been out of the country, just waking up from coma, or just had a religious revelation.....Pretty saw it in Penn State
.......OKSU.............then UNC...........then Marshall.......and now Virginia........thank you for waking us all up, but most knew it and not just any average Joe!
You don't have to tell me. I was singing his praises when everyone else was blaming him because our defense could not stop anyone.
I think Canada is one of those guys that likes to be a coordinator and likes that he makes good money without the rest of the BS. Maybe his mind will change but he and Narduzzi are friends and he'll likely be here for at least four years.
I have to admit it's very odd after all these years of offenses that couldn't get out of their own ways to have a team that can put up points like this week after week. And yes, the numbnuts here crying about him when he was hired were just that - numbnuts. His track record said he'd be fine here - but no one knew it would go this well.
I have to admit it's very odd after all these years of offenses that couldn't get out of their own ways to have a team that can put up points like this week after week. And yes, the numbnuts here crying about him when he was hired were just that - numbnuts. His track record said he'd be fine here - but no one knew it would go this well.
I have watched Pitt for a lot of years. I cannot remember a more creative and exciting offense in like forever.
I am very excited to see what he can do with a more dual threat type QB. Hopefully, McVittie will be it.
Now all we need is for the defense to pick up where they left off in the 2nd half of the Virginia game. Shame the defense has been really bad. Because the offense has exceeded my expectations
I am very excited to see what he can do with a more dual threat type QB. Hopefully, McVittie will be it.
Now all we need is for the defense to pick up where they left off in the 2nd half of the Virginia game. Shame the defense has been really bad. Because the offense has exceeded my expectations
You were the only one.
How are you always right? It's like the 8th wonder of the world.
Obviously I wasn't the only one. However, there was an alarming percentage of our fans who were blaming that dude for our losses and I think it's important that we hold their feet to the fire so that they are slightly less insane the next time.
Yeah, I know its quixotic but I'm an awfully stubborn guy and I get sick to death of all the coach scapegoating. I think it hurts the program and I'm instinctively protective of the program.
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I am happy to admit that I was wrong and eat crow. I have been really impressed thus far.
The emoticons are a bit off (or difficult to accurately interpret) for us older guys . . . but your observations are very good.Have you been out of the country, just waking up from coma, or just had a religious revelation.....Pretty saw it in Penn State
I predicted a modestly good year . . . not exceptional . . . but forward looking. We are on track with a good way to go! I like this staff and sense you do too.
Well, part of it is that the defense often lets the other team score quickly. Pitts offense does get a lot of possessions in which to try to score.
And no, an offense that consistently scores a bunch in the first half, and then goes missing in the second half isn't a good thing. It was part of the problem.
But yes, the offense has been more consistent the past two games, so that is a good thing.
And no, an offense that consistently scores a bunch in the first half, and then goes missing in the second half isn't a good thing. It was part of the problem.
But yes, the offense has been more consistent the past two games, so that is a good thing.
The difference is the offense was imperfect, the defense was bad.
People complaining about an imperfect offense while completely ignoring a bad defense is severely flawed/dishonest analysis.
Canada WAS too conservative late against North Carolina and probably Oklahoma State too. However, pointing the finger at him as THE reason why they lost – as many were doing at the time – is like blaming former Pitt DC Phil Bennett for Pitt's 3-0 loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.
That just wouldn't have made any sense then and blaming Canada for our defensive ineptitude doesn't make any sense now.
People complaining about an imperfect offense while completely ignoring a bad defense is severely flawed/dishonest analysis.
Canada WAS too conservative late against North Carolina and probably Oklahoma State too. However, pointing the finger at him as THE reason why they lost – as many were doing at the time – is like blaming former Pitt DC Phil Bennett for Pitt's 3-0 loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.
That just wouldn't have made any sense then and blaming Canada for our defensive ineptitude doesn't make any sense now.
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Once I saw PSU followed by OKSU and the UNC, there was no doubt, Oh Canada know what he is doing as an OC and has his Players believing in in him, his system and themselves. We shall now see if VT, Miami, and Clemson Fast Defenses can stop Pitt Offense in about 11 days?
Sometimes you eat the crow and sometimes you can order it for others and watch them eat it!
Slowly, all the feathers, everything.
Uhhh.....DVY is right more often than not. And he is correct in this case. Pitt fans were ripping Canada for a pass defense that plays at a D2 level. Pretty dumb assessment from some Pitt fans
You seem to be defending the stupidity??
wait, people were ripping Canada for our Cbs getting beat deep every other pass play? Really? I mean come on, that makes zero sense. Maybe someone said it but they should have been immediately mocked and disregarded. I cant for the life of me believe that this was shared by more than one or two people.
Oh, it was a lot more than just a handful of people and it was infuriating.
Here I am watching our offense move up and down the field on every team we're playing for long stretches of time; and I am watching our defense get torched all game long. And yet after the games all people wanted to talk about was the OFFENSIVE play calling?
It was bizarre i'm sure we will see it again the next time we lose.
Look, this team is still shorthanded on both sides of the football from a talent perspective. We can all see holes of various sizes throughout the roster. As such, Pitt is not going to win the ACC Coastal Division this year.
Don't get hung up on that, it's small potatoes. Think more long-term.
In the long-term we have an offensive scheme that is giving opposing defenses a lot of trouble and will continue to do so - especially as long as Henderson is here running that jet sweep. Ffrench and Tipton are going to to be good too.
Also, on the other side of the ball, all these young DB's are going to develop and get stronger and better. We are going to develop some pass rusher's too beyond just one guy.
We are going to increase the team speed on the D and people will be shocked what a difference of me. We are probably still a year or two away from that but when it gets here, it's going to be incredible.
The future is very bright. Enjoy the ride.
I fully expect the rest of this season to be up and down but we are going to get there – I have no doubt about that.
Here I am watching our offense move up and down the field on every team we're playing for long stretches of time; and I am watching our defense get torched all game long. And yet after the games all people wanted to talk about was the OFFENSIVE play calling?
It was bizarre i'm sure we will see it again the next time we lose.
Look, this team is still shorthanded on both sides of the football from a talent perspective. We can all see holes of various sizes throughout the roster. As such, Pitt is not going to win the ACC Coastal Division this year.
Don't get hung up on that, it's small potatoes. Think more long-term.
In the long-term we have an offensive scheme that is giving opposing defenses a lot of trouble and will continue to do so - especially as long as Henderson is here running that jet sweep. Ffrench and Tipton are going to to be good too.
Also, on the other side of the ball, all these young DB's are going to develop and get stronger and better. We are going to develop some pass rusher's too beyond just one guy.
We are going to increase the team speed on the D and people will be shocked what a difference of me. We are probably still a year or two away from that but when it gets here, it's going to be incredible.
The future is very bright. Enjoy the ride.
I fully expect the rest of this season to be up and down but we are going to get there – I have no doubt about that.
I think you guys are mixing up arguments.. I could see people questioning some of the second 1/2 play calling from Canada with that Ok state and especially UNC game.. That's different than criticizing the offense for scoring too quickly though..
People were doing both. People were blaming Canada for the loss at North Carolina. Not one or two people – many, many people. At the same time, there was almost no criticism of Conklin whatsoever. I found that very strange and said as much.
Also, as I said earlier, I do not disagree with people who complained that our play calling was too conservative down the stretch in both of our losses.
Those are fair, salient points.
What I disagreed with was the notion that Canada was somehow equally or more responsible for the losses as the defensive failures. A lot of people were trying to make that case and I did not/do not agree with that at all because it wasn't even close.
Also, I don't necessarily blame Josh Conklin for the losses either. He made some strange decisions in those set backs but I don't know how many of his choices were truly his and how many were his boss's idea?
Also, I am not in the camp of believing that every loss is a referendum on the coaching staff and that people must be held accountable after every single disappointment.
Just because a team makes a good play on you – or North Carolina's case 45 consecutive plays on you – does not mean that the coach did not do his job.
Sometimes it's just a matter of the offense making a better play than you make.
Sometimes it's a matter of one or more of your players breaking away from the scheme or not following instructions.
Sometimes it is just bad luck.
Sometimes it is a combination of all of those factors.
I am not into coach scapegoating. At least not without all/most of the information.
Those are fair, salient points.
What I disagreed with was the notion that Canada was somehow equally or more responsible for the losses as the defensive failures. A lot of people were trying to make that case and I did not/do not agree with that at all because it wasn't even close.
Also, I don't necessarily blame Josh Conklin for the losses either. He made some strange decisions in those set backs but I don't know how many of his choices were truly his and how many were his boss's idea?
Also, I am not in the camp of believing that every loss is a referendum on the coaching staff and that people must be held accountable after every single disappointment.
Just because a team makes a good play on you – or North Carolina's case 45 consecutive plays on you – does not mean that the coach did not do his job.
Sometimes it's just a matter of the offense making a better play than you make.
Sometimes it's a matter of one or more of your players breaking away from the scheme or not following instructions.
Sometimes it is just bad luck.
Sometimes it is a combination of all of those factors.
I am not into coach scapegoating. At least not without all/most of the information.
yeah, our defensive coaches are getting a pass here and I am not getting it, at all. Our players, especially our de backs, are getting burnt at an alarming rate.. I get that Duzzi's system puts these CBs on an island and all but to see what we are seeing is beyond embarrassing. Not sure why Conklin isn't getting raked thru the coals
This is really what was happening and what was fair.
I think it was more so people defending HCPN and his defense/personnel choices more than anything. People want to cover up or not allow criticism of Narduzzi, so, in turn, many have given Conklin/the D far more excuses than they deserve. I think the perception of the sunshine pumping crowd is that if the D is criticized (even if it is unbelievably fair and concerning) it is criticizing HCPN and then the sky is falling.
Whatever, Ive been defending him from the UPS game as well. It is pretty obvious he put together the perfect scheme for this imperfect team
That's be cause most here realize Narduzzi is running the show on defense.
Chryst and Walt usually were the target when their offenses sputtered.
Someone WILL come after Canada this offseason...it may be UGA again, who took the turd Chaney off our hands last yr.
What island is that?
The CB's should be on an island ( not a nice one ) since they're having a lot of trouble playing CB.
Maybe try to play the ball once in a while and not run thru the receiver. That will allow the guys with the striped shirts to leave the yellow towel in their pockets. I heard the officials are incurring shoulder injuries throwing flags during PITT games! Its killing their slow pitch softball careers.
Fyi I'm all in for " O Canada" hes crushing it. The jury is out for the D coordinator.
Thankfully the " death star" Tyriqe Jarrett has stepped up big in a few games.
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I was just kidding a know a lot of people defended Canada (I did as well) and a lot blamed him.
I also don't think he got conservative I think he called plays that worked all game. I think a lot of that had to do with fatigue. I think our line and Conner were winded late in those games. Maybe he could have done a better job realizing that and calling a short pass on 1st down but I think that may be nitpicking and wasn't him going "conservative"
I also don't think he got conservative I think he called plays that worked all game. I think a lot of that had to do with fatigue. I think our line and Conner were winded late in those games. Maybe he could have done a better job realizing that and calling a short pass on 1st down but I think that may be nitpicking and wasn't him going "conservative"
This is a solid post there smf. He should be in consideration for coordinator of the year. Really if you look at what he is doing with what he has, it's outstanding
You do know he was fired from NCSU because he wouldn't stop looking at other jobs, right?
What's neat is this is a very unique offense. It's a power running offense with a fullback one play and a jet sweep/spread-type attack the next. I wish we had Boyd or another elite type receiver to see a more vertical passing game. It's fun to watch.
We weren't moving the ball up and down the field in the second half of either of our losses, that's for damn sure.
The defense is way behind the offense from a personnel perspective. That's the Chryst legacy as much as that strong OL and stable of backs is. We know this in every game we play. We know that no lead is safe in the second half where we can't pressure the QB and cover down the field. So we know that we need to score on most possessions. And it wasn't sudden stellar defense that stopped us. It was going in the tank and playing not to lose offensively. No doubt in my mind we could have kept scoring on those weak defenses at OkSU and UNC had we kept calling the offense aggressively. I don't think that was Canada, I think that was the head man. I think he he felt he could get enough pressure on the QB that we could get stops when we needed to, and that would mask the weak coverage. He was wrong-and what's disturbing is, he made the same mistake twice.
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