Is "play not to lose" built into PITT coaches contracts

[usf2pitt]

I feel like I am watching Wanny again. Did anybody think for a second that NC was not going to score a TD on that last drive? How in the world do we lose these big leads against PSU and NC-- the kids-- minus the secondary-- are playing great, but these 4th quarter collapses are on the coaches.

For the love of Pete, can we just have a coach that would rather go down swinging than trying to protect the lead-- it never works. That said, HTP

 

[TD_istheman]

I feel like I am watching Wanny again. Did anybody think for a second that NC was not going to score a TD on that last drive? How in the world do we lose these big leads against PSU and NC-- the kids-- minus the secondary-- are playing great, but these 4th quarter collapses are on the coaches.

For the love of Pete, can we just have a coach that would rather go down swinging than trying to protect the lead-- it never works. That said, HTP

Wanny had a tighter D, and recruited better, but the rest of what you say is true.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

Someone needs to send an email to the coaches telling them that they need to try to win.

 

[sherepower]

Someone needs to send an email to the coaches telling them that they need to try to win.

Their offensive play calling late in the last 3 games sure looked like they turtled up to me.
What someone should send to whoever is calling the plays late. Is a request to throw away that flare to Connor on 3rd and 8. Right in the garbage can.

5 times we ran it late in the game on 3rd down. Not once did we get a yard

 

[BuffetParrothead]

Wanny had a tighter D, and recruited better, but the rest of what you say is true.

I can tell you that I had a much better time watching games, and was more optimistic during a game that we had a chance to win the game playing WannyBall!
We never had great QB's but during those days we went deep a lot and had a tough D ( better CB's ) even though we gave up some big plays to lose a few key games.
Today it seems like our opponents are unstoppable and only a big mistake on their part will be necessary for Pitt to win!
Narduzzi needs to change things up, get more aggressive, teach our CB's that at some point they need to play the ball and not the receiver, put in a QB that can complete a basic 10 yd simple pass, and find a receiver that's capable getting loose and making a deep reception. Tell the D line that they're allowed to pass rush and pound the opposing QB. At this time its not considered "bullying." It will be soon so get your hits in now!

 

[DruidTM]

Hey I saw people who call themselves Pitt fans on Facebook commenting on the PC today who seem to believe that ANY time the opposition makes a completion it is a broken coverage ....smh.... No sometimes the reciever makes a play even if the DB is literally climbing on him... But what do I know?

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

I guess they thought turtling was a better alternative to throwing an incompletion or an interception - which, given our talent limitations, was much more likely than picking up the first down.

At least that would be my thought process.

By the way, if I were going to email a coach, I would send it to the defensive side of the ball and I would ask silly things like why on earth did we have a back up linebacker covering their best receiver on fourth-and-nine and the game on the line?

That was puzzling to me but I'm not an expert.

What's also puzzling to me is why people can't seem to forgive the coach whose unit has struggled in the last five minutes of the last three games but it simultaneously willing to give a free pass to the coach whose unit has struggled for all 60 minutes of all three games?

I just don't understand that thought process...at all.

 

[sherepower]

I guess they thought turtling was a better alternative to throwing an incompletion or an interception - which, given our talent limitations, was much more likely than picking up the first down.

At least that would be my thought process.

By the way, if I were going to email a coach, I would send it to the defensive side of the ball and I would ask silly things like why on earth did we have a back up linebacker covering their best receiver on fourth-and-nine and the game on the line?

That was puzzling to me but I'm not an expert.

What's also puzzling to me is why people can't seem to forgive the coach whose unit has struggled in the last five minutes of the last three games but it simultaneously willing to give a free pass to the coach whose unit has struggled for all 60 minutes of all three games?

I just don't understand that thought process...at all.

No doubt the offense has been fantastic the last 3 games. Which makes me shake my head why change up your play calling late in the game. When your creativity was working the whole game.

I cannot understand how some people cannot see how conservative the play calling gets when the game is on the line.

Problem is who is responsible for the play calling in these situations. Is it Canada or the head coach? Love to find out

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

BTW, I absolutely agree that Pitt got too conservative down the stretch. That's not my point.

You have a fifth-year senior quarterback and you need to give him an opportunity to make a play. Pitt DID give him a few shots but they were low percentage out routes and he's not good enough to make those throws and his receivers are not good enough to make those catches.

I cannot say this emphatically enough, he has NOBODY to throw to. When you are at the game live or watching the game on television and they show the "all 22 camera," pay special attention to how little separation there is between our receivers and the opposing defense.

It's positively striking how little separation we are creating and that is a big problem. Having said that, I do believe that some of these young receivers can become good players in time but they don't yet run their routes well enough to create separation.

Also, and I just can't say this firmly enough, the problem is very clearly on the other side of the ball.

When your team scores 36 points on the road, you should win. However, you can't win whenever the opposing quarterback records an astonishing 194.6 QBR.

To put that number into some context, Johnny Football won the Heisman Trophy in 2012 because of his eye-popping 172.9 QBR rating over the course of that season.

On Saturday, Trubisky easily bested that number. The week before, Mason Rudolph had a 169.5 QBR. Penn State's Trace McSorley recorded a 152 QBR against Pitt.

These kids are all good quarterbacks but we are making them all look like Heisman Trophy candidates and none of them are even close.

Again, for contextual purposes, this past Saturday Rudolph had QBR of 84 and McSorley had a QBR of 101.7.

The problem is definitely the defense. That's what we should be talking about, not whether or not the offense should run more fly routes while protecting leads.

 

[88Pitt88]

I guess they thought turtling was a better alternative to throwing an incompletion or an interception - which, given our talent limitations, was much more likely than picking up the first down.

At least that would be my thought process.

By the way, if I were going to email a coach, I would send it to the defensive side of the ball and I would ask silly things like why on earth did we have a back up linebacker covering their best receiver on fourth-and-nine and the game on the line?

That was puzzling to me but I'm not an expert.

What's also puzzling to me is why people can't seem to forgive the coach whose unit has struggled in the last five minutes of the last three games but it simultaneously willing to give a free pass to the coach whose unit has struggled for all 60 minutes of all three games?

I just don't understand that thought process...at all.

I'm guessing it is because most view our strength as being the offensive side of the ball, which I would say is definitely fair. I think, that despite the fact that our defense had three 4th down and 6's or more on that final drive and couldn't make a play in any of those instances, most of our fans would like to have seen our offense at least put up a few first downs, or low and behold, actually make it a three score game when we had the chance. Frankly, I really can't fault these people, when over the last three games our defense has shown it couldn't stop a pee wee team!

Our coaches are not idiots, they knew this as well, but they wanted to believe that someone on either side could make a play to win it. They should have more than enough painful information now, to make the right decisions next time and try to put the game away on offense.
Everybody on NC knew Pitt would run it right into the middle of the line on 1st and 2nd down and then try some safe pass on third down. Our coaches could have tried a play action pass on 2nd down, and I gaurantee all NC's linebackers would have bought the fake and a little curl to the tight end would have been wide open behind those backers. We need to trust Peterman and Orndoff to make that play. Until we do, all our games will be closer than they need to be, or we will suffer through more losses like NC put on us.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

To draw a parallel, when Pitt lost to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl, the final score was 3–0.

However, following the game, people were not irate with the defensive coordinator that he allowed Oregon State to score 3 points when we needed them to shut out the Beavers.

That would've been incredibly twisted logic – kind of like we are seeing now.

Nope, they were upset with the offense that we didn't score at all. That was in my view a very justified frustration. You need to be able to do something during the course of 60 minutes to justify your having a job and everyone putting in all that hard work.

This whole thing just feels like an insane double standard and I can't in good conscience go along with it.

What Conklin has trotted out there the past few weeks has been worse than anything I ever saw from Matt House and people treated that dude like he was the worst coach of all-time.

As I have said for years now, I'm not really into finger-pointing at coaches as reasons for losses. I think it's usually a talent issue or an execution issue that falls on the players.

However, if we insist on scapegoating someone, it cannot be the guy who's unit has been productive while we give a free pass to the guy who's unit has been a complete embarrassment.

 

[sherepower]

BTW, I absolutely agree that Pitt got too conservative down the stretch. That's not my point.

You have a fifth-year senior quarterback and you need to give him an opportunity to make a play. Pitt DID give him a few shots but they were low percentage out routes and he's not good enough to make those throws and his receivers are not good enough to make those catches.

I cannot say this emphatically enough, he has NOBODY to throw to. When you are at the game live or watching the game on television and they show the "all 22 camera," pay special attention to how little separation there is between our receivers and the opposing defense.

It's positively striking how little separation we are creating and that is a big problem. Having said that, I do believe that some of these young receivers can become good players in time but they don't yet run their routes well enough to create separation.

Also, and I just can't say this firmly enough, the problem is very clearly on the other side of the ball.

When your team scores 36 points on the road, you should win. However, you can't win whenever the opposing quarterback records an astonishing 194.6 QBR.

To put that number into some context, Johnny Football won the Heisman Trophy in 2012 because of his eye-popping 172.9 QBR rating over the course of that season.

On Saturday, Trubisky easily bested that number. The week before, Mason Rudolph had a 169.5 QBR. Penn State's Trace McSorley recorded a 152 QBR against Pitt.

These kids are all good quarterbacks but we are making them all look like Heisman Trophy candidates and none of them are even close.

Again, for contextual purposes, this past Saturday Rudolph had QBR of 84 and McSorley had a QBR of 101.7.

The problem is definitely the defense. That's what we should be talking about, not whether or not the offense should run more fly routes while protecting leads.

I hear what your saying.

However, he was 12 for 16 for 165 yards at one point during the game. To say he is not capable of making throws is not accurate. Why not go to what was working during most of the game? Roll outs, Play action, a quick 3 step drop and hit a slant. Plays that have been working well. Over the last 3 games.

If they are selling out to stop the run late in the game. Henderson playing in the slot should be a very easy pitch and catch to get 5 or 6 yards on 1st down. Especially, if he is being covered by a linebacker. Just like UNC did with Switzer.

Tipton showed he can get the job done. Orndoff has shown the ability to make plays.

Instead they went to that flare pattern to Conner on 3rd and 7 multiple times during the last 3 weeks. Late in the game. On top of that quick out to Ollison multiple times lol. You know what the results are for those plays. Not good!

 

[sherepower]

I also understand the defense has been a disaster. Which makes it even more clear to me. As a staff. You have to know your offense is moving the ball at will against every team you have faced so far. Clearly your strongest part of your team. Why change what you were doing late in games?
It was clear your best defense was your offense. So why not continue to be creative like you have most of the season?

It looks to me our staff feels to put the game on our defense late in games. Sadly, a blind man could see our defense cannot stop anyone with a passing game