Narduzzi is extremely lucky

[Pittfan85]

that chryst left him such a strong base on offense.

Without being left behind the offensive line and Connor, ollison, and boys, in all likelyhood given how horrific the defense has been, pitt would have been winning 4 games or less the last two years.

The defense has progressively got worse. There have been no signs of improvement. I was willing to give a pass in year one and two, but year three you need to see some progress.

Also, again, I would feel better if pat adjusted his system, at all. It isn't working, and hasn't worked for three years now, but he stubbornly continues to leave overmatched corners on superior receivers. For the love of god, run a zone or bring safety help over at some point....that isn't that hard to implement.

In any case, narduzzi lived off of chryst's offensive recruits these last two years, and now that they are gone, we have seen none of his offensive recruits step up, and his defense is still abysmal.

He gets this year and next, but if they have two 4 wins or less seasons he should be gone.

 

[sibleyfan91]

The gospel from Michigan State was that he'd need a few years until the defense was decent. The question may be that it might never be decent in the ACC. It was decent for the Big Ten and got blistered in bowl games.

But either way he needs to be kept in place longer than a couple more years. Pitt would hire someone worse and recruiting would be destroyed for 2-3 more years (again).

It's not going to be easy to watch for three next year or so unfortunately. The bad QB situation this year killed this season. And with a brand new QB (almost certainly) next year it will be uncertain as well.

 

[Farnox]

Well Chryst didn't do him any favors on defense.

 

[PittGuyYessir]

It worked at Michigan State because they found some 3stars that developed into NFL cornerbacks and the Big10 doesn't have the high powered spread offense we see almost every week now. The defense will never work without elite cover corners, and we don't have them on the roster currently.

 

[Pittfan85]

Well Chryst didn't do him any favors on defense.

And that is why I was willing to give a pass in year one and two, but by year three, you should be starting to see improvement from your own recruits and it hasn't happened.

 

[Pittfan85]

It worked at Michigan State because they found some 3stars that developed into NFL cornerbacks and the Big10 doesn't have the high powered spread offense we see almost every week now. The defense will never work without elite cover corners, and we don't have them on the roster currently.

I don't think it will work in the ACC. There is too much speed at the WR position to continue to run single coverage. Unless you have darerrell revis and Richard Sherman, you are constantly gong to get burnt.

 

[thebadby2]

Well Chryst didn't do him any favors on defense.

Generally Chryst did leave a good foundation for the offense with OLs and RBs, but he also whiffed completely on the most important offensive position. That cupboard was so bare the first thing Dooz and Chaney had to do was get an emergency grad transfer (Peterman) and get a D2-level QB to flip his commitment to Penn a week before LOI day. Chryst also left deficits at WR.

Defensively, wow. Most MAC teams had better personnel than Dooz inherited.

 

[TD_istheman]

that chryst left him such a strong base on offense.

Without being left behind the offensive line and Connor, ollison, and boys, in all likelyhood given how horrific the defense has been, pitt would have been winning 4 games or less the last two years.

The defense has progressively got worse. There have been no signs of improvement. I was willing to give a pass in year one and two, but year three you need to see some progress.

Also, again, I would feel better if pat adjusted his system, at all. It isn't working, and hasn't worked for three years now, but he stubbornly continues to leave overmatched corners on superior receivers. For the love of god, run a zone or bring safety help over at some point....that isn't that hard to implement.

In any case, narduzzi lived off of chryst's offensive recruits these last two years, and now that they are gone, we have seen none of his offensive recruits step up, and his defense is still abysmal.

He gets this year and next, but if they have two 4 wins or less seasons he should be gone.

BINGO

 

[Pittfan85]

Generally Chryst did leave a good foundation for the offense with OLs and RBs, but he also whiffed completely on the most important offensive position. That cupboard was so bare the first thing Dooz and Chaney had to do was get an emergency grad transfer (Peterman) and get a D2-level QB to flip his commitment to Penn a week before LOI day. Chryst also left deficits at WR.

Defensively, wow. Most MAC teams had better personnel than Dooz inherited.

Yeah, when you have biz, Connor, ollison, Boyd, Dorian Johnson, jp holtz, etc on the team you have a great base.

QB was bad, and kudos to narduzzi for finding peterman. Defense was also bad.

By this point however, narduzzi has had three years to recruit defensive players and a qb. He hasn't. He also hasn't brought in anyone on the same level offensively as chryst had.

 

[sibleyfan91]

Recruiting needs to be backed by the school and boosters with ANY coach. Only the really elite ones can swoop in like a Meyer in tOSU and just dominate. Franklin is as effective as he is at PSU because of the juice behind him. They tripled down on spending to bring the program back quickly after sanctions. Pitt is giving their coaches none of the juice needed. They likely never will either, so the only alternative is to let a guy settle in and try to grind out successful years and build a tradition. The way Pitt has been doing it, dumping coaches every 3 years or so, basically since Sherrill, is proven to fail. Only wth Harris and Wannstedt, who were kept around somewhat longer, did any traction start to occur. I realize that's no guarantee of success either, if championships are the measuring stick. But dumping the coaches regularly does not work for sure.

 

[ThePanthers]

Why aren't the kids Chryst recruited that should be the redshirt junior, redshirt senior and senior leaders panning out?

 

[Farnox]

And that is why I was willing to give a pass in year one and two, but by year three, you should be starting to see improvement from your own recruits and it hasn't happened.

This is why you give 5 years to Narduzzi. His first class was a scramble to get kids but he has now had two
full recruiting years. These kids are now freshman and RS freshmam. More athletic but lacking experience.
If this defense looks like this in two years then we have a problem. Right now, growing pains.

 

[bwh05]

I don't think it will work in the ACC. There is too much speed at the WR position to continue to run single coverage. Unless you have darerrell revis and Richard Sherman, you are constantly gong to get burnt.

Well look, we're playing a run defense in a passing league, even in passing situations, and we don't have teams like Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Northwestern on the schedule. There's a reason more people don't play that coverage on 3rd and 11.

 

[sibleyfan91]

Well look, we're playing a run defense in a passing league, even in passing situations, and we don't have teams like Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Northwestern on the schedule. There's a reason more people don't play that coverage on 3rd and 11.

I fear like many that you guys are right. Narduzzi is a bright guy, almost has to realize how different the offenses are in our league, so his unwillingness to alter the scheme is the top reason to be suspicious he is just biding time here like Chryst before returning to the Big Ten. With Michigan State having plateaued it will be even more interesting to watch.

 

[joeydavid]

You forgot- And no competent QBs.

Without Peterman you likely have the same 4-6 win team.

that chryst left him such a strong base on offense.

Without being left behind the offensive line and Connor, ollison, and boys, in all likelyhood given how horrific the defense has been, pitt would have been winning 4 games or less the last two years.

The defense has progressively got worse. There have been no signs of improvement. I was willing to give a pass in year one and two, but year three you need to see some progress.

Also, again, I would feel better if pat adjusted his system, at all. It isn't working, and hasn't worked for three years now, but he stubbornly continues to leave overmatched corners on superior receivers. For the love of god, run a zone or bring safety help over at some point....that isn't that hard to implement.

In any case, narduzzi lived off of chryst's offensive recruits these last two years, and now that they are gone, we have seen none of his offensive recruits step up, and his defense is still abysmal.

He gets this year and next, but if they have two 4 wins or less seasons he should be gone.

 

[cpc247]

that chryst left him such a strong base on offense.

Without being left behind the offensive line and Connor, ollison, and boys, in all likelyhood given how horrific the defense has been, pitt would have been winning 4 games or less the last two years.

The defense has progressively got worse. There have been no signs of improvement. I was willing to give a pass in year one and two, but year three you need to see some progress.

Also, again, I would feel better if pat adjusted his system, at all. It isn't working, and hasn't worked for three years now, but he stubbornly continues to leave overmatched corners on superior receivers. For the love of god, run a zone or bring safety help over at some point....that isn't that hard to implement.

In any case, narduzzi lived off of chryst's offensive recruits these last two years, and now that they are gone, we have seen none of his offensive recruits step up, and his defense is still abysmal.

He gets this year and next, but if they have two 4 wins or less seasons he should be gone.

We will be saying the same thing about the next coach if we keep replacing coaches every few years. Coaching college football is about build long term depth at every position and when one guy leaves they're is an experienced replacement.That never happens with multiple changes in coaches look at any other program in the same cycle of coaches as us. For the turn over we have had we are ahead of others. Need to keep getting guys like Hamlin/Ford even if they don't play right away so that they are the "normal" player on the roster. Not guys that are forced to play cause we have no one else. Some of it is recruiting but most of it is consistent recruiting not change change change. Narduzzi is getting run out of town by half this board but the reality is if we let him recruit like he has so far for another 4 years Pitt will fix ALOT of its own problems. IE depth, ie winnning agaisnt lesser talent, redshirt won't hurt players, better recruiting cause players will want to play with good players, players get awards as they develop IE Donald...to many things go well.... look at the Wisconsins, Iowas, Georgia Techs, and TCU's. Those coaches aren't top 10 coaches but the roster can achieve top 10 results.

 

[Pittfan85]

We will be saying the same thing about the next coach if we keep replacing coaches every few years. Coaching college football is about build long term depth at every position and when one guy leaves they're is an experienced replacement.That never happens with multiple changes in coaches look at any other program in the same cycle of coaches as us. For the turn over we have had we are ahead of others. Need to keep getting guys like Hamlin/Ford even if they don't play right away so that they are the "normal" player on the roster. Not guys that are forced to play cause we have no one else. Some of it is recruiting but most of it is consistent recruiting not change change change. Narduzzi is getting run out of town by half this board but the reality is if we let him recruit like he has so far for another 4 years Pitt will fix ALOT of its own problems. IE depth, ie winnning agaisnt lesser talent, redshirt won't hurt players, better recruiting cause players will want to play with good players, players get awards as they develop IE Donald...to many things go well.... look at the Wisconsins, Iowas, Georgia Techs, and TCU's. Those coaches aren't top 10 coaches but the roster can achieve top 10 results.

The problem is, I highly doubt narduzzis system will ever work here in defense.

The coach at my division 2 school was more adaptable than him. In the years I followed them, they changed the offense from a power based pro style attack to a spread/read option offense based on the personnel. He had been at the school coaching for 25+ years but still adapted as he went.

I don't expect massive changes each year, but my god, our corners can not hold in single coverage, and to continue to put them on an island. Y themselves is ludicrous.

 

[wbrpanther]

that chryst left him such a strong base on offense.

Without being left behind the offensive line and Connor, ollison, and boys, in all likelyhood given how horrific the defense has been, pitt would have been winning 4 games or less the last two years.

The defense has progressively got worse. There have been no signs of improvement. I was willing to give a pass in year one and two, but year three you need to see some progress.

Also, again, I would feel better if pat adjusted his system, at all. It isn't working, and hasn't worked for three years now, but he stubbornly continues to leave overmatched corners on superior receivers. For the love of god, run a zone or bring safety help over at some point....that isn't that hard to implement.

In any case, narduzzi lived off of chryst's offensive recruits these last two years, and now that they are gone, we have seen none of his offensive recruits step up, and his defense is still abysmal.

He gets this year and next, but if they have two 4 wins or less seasons he should be gone.

So what does this tell you about how much Chryst left him on defense. He gets 5 years minimum. No more blowing things up every 3 or 4 years.

 

[DiehardPanther]

You forgot- And no competent QBs.

Without Peterman you likely have the same 4-6 win team.

Correct - Narduzzi and his staff landed Peterman, so he deserves credit for that.

 

[pittdoc57]

Generally Chryst did leave a good foundation for the offense with OLs and RBs, but he also whiffed completely on the most important offensive position. That cupboard was so bare the first thing Dooz and Chaney had to do was get an emergency grad transfer (Peterman) and get a D2-level QB to flip his commitment to Penn a week before LOI day.


.

Nah, he didn't. Turns out Hornibrook looks like a very nice QB. It's just too bad he decommitted from here and followed Chryst to Wisconsin. The real problem is that Narduzzi couldn't keep him here. Hornibrook was a PA kid, to boot.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

Turns out Hornibrook looks like a very nice QB.

It also helps when you're playing nobody, and stepping into a much better situation.

 

[cpc247]

People are going to be mad about this but Chryst really was great with QB's. People will complain about Chad and Tino (who had his best year under Chryst), but coached, game planed, and adapted to what he had. Even when with the designed Qb run to help the horrid short passing game. Tom Savage looked good. Obviously Hornibrook would have been a fan favorite who probably starts as a RSFR (which Pitt fans would love). Watson hasn't shown that he is a "QB guy". Jimbo fisher, chryst, clemson coordinator etc we need those guys to be in our program. Also when is the last time a pro style qb won a national championship other than alabama?

 

[joeydavid]

The only reason Hornibrook is on the field is there's no other competent QBs on the UW roster. He's lower level QB who isn't asked to do much and the Badgers have played a Junior College level schedule.

Nah, he didn't. Turns out Hornibrook looks like a very nice QB. It's just too bad he decommitted from here and followed Chryst to Wisconsin. The real problem is that Narduzzi couldn't keep him here. Hornibrook was a PA kid, to boot.

 

[Jpripper88]

We will be saying the same thing about the next coach if we keep replacing coaches every few years. Coaching college football is about build long term depth at every position and when one guy leaves they're is an experienced replacement.That never happens with multiple changes in coaches look at any other program in the same cycle of coaches as us. For the turn over we have had we are ahead of others. Need to keep getting guys like Hamlin/Ford even if they don't play right away so that they are the "normal" player on the roster. Not guys that are forced to play cause we have no one else. Some of it is recruiting but most of it is consistent recruiting not change change change. Narduzzi is getting run out of town by half this board but the reality is if we let him recruit like he has so far for another 4 years Pitt will fix ALOT of its own problems. IE depth, ie winnning agaisnt lesser talent, redshirt won't hurt players, better recruiting cause players will want to play with good players, players get awards as they develop IE Donald...to many things go well.... look at the Wisconsins, Iowas, Georgia Techs, and TCU's. Those coaches aren't top 10 coaches but the roster can achieve top 10 results.

But we are recruiting in line with finishing middle of the pack in our conference. 6-6 to 8-4 type results.

 

[DiehardPanther]

But we are recruiting in line with finishing middle of the pack in our conference. 6-6 to 8-4 type results.

Pitt is a 7-6 or 8-5 type program. Some years 1 or 2 games above that, and some years 1 or 2 games below that.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

I don't think it will work in the ACC. There is too much speed at the WR position to continue to run single coverage. Unless you have darerrell revis and Richard Sherman, you are constantly gong to get burnt.

It's often forgotten that not only has the ACC had some good receivers, they've also had some outstanding quarterbacks, too. Far too often, ACC quarterbacks had "career days" when they played against Pitt's pass defense. I'm too lazy to research it, but I'd guess that guys such as Jameis Winston, Teddy Bridgewater, Deshaun Watson, Brad Kaaya, and the other ACC quarterbacks had some of the best games in their careers when playing against Pitt.

 

[Jpripper88]

Pitt is a 7-6 or 8-5 type program. Some years 1 or 2 games above that, and some years 1 or 2 games below that.

Then they will get the commensurate amount of support for that and lose a lot of fans, if they accept that as their ceiling.

 

[DiehardPanther]

Then they will get the commensurate amount of support for that and lose a lot of fans, if they accept that as their ceiling.

That is the reality for a large majority of schools playing D1.

 

[sibleyfan91]

That is the reality for a large majority of schools playing D1.

Problem is many of those are the only game in town so will still draw well. In WesternPA there are multiple high achieving pro teams and higher effort major college programs all around us. High levels of success are the norm for sports fans in Western PA. Closer to Cleveland where i originate, Pitt would look better in comparison (though tOSU dwarfs all).

Pitt for better or worse has a higher bar it must achieve. Or will continue being ignored, or worse, mocked like this year.

So the question should be asked again if Pitt should bother.

 

[DiehardPanther]

Problem is many of those are the only game in town so will still draw well. In WesternPA there are multiple high achieving pro teams and higher effort major college programs all around us. High levels of success are the norm for sports fans in Western PA. Closer to Cleveland where i originate, Pitt would look better in comparison (though tOSU dwarfs all).

Pitt for better or worse has a higher bar it must achieve. Or will continue being ignored, or worse, mocked like this year.

So the question should be asked again if Pitt should bother.

I do not disagree with you. Pitt, BC, and GT are in the same boat.

 

[jt0716]

Well Chryst didn't do him any favors on defense.

I know right....offense is good, it's because he had chrysts kids. Defense is bad it's because narduzzi sucks

God I hate Pitt fans

 

[PittMiamiRivalry]

People are going to be mad about this but Chryst really was great with QB's. People will complain about Chad and Tino (who had his best year under Chryst), but coached, game planed, and adapted to what he had. Even when with the designed Qb run to help the horrid short passing game. Tom Savage looked good. Obviously Hornibrook would have been a fan favorite who probably starts as a RSFR (which Pitt fans would love). Watson hasn't shown that he is a "QB guy". Jimbo fisher, chryst, clemson coordinator etc we need those guys to be in our program. Also when is the last time a pro style qb won a national championship other than alabama?

And Walt was great with receivers and QBs.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

I know right....offense is good, it's because he had chrysts kids. Defense is bad it's because narduzzi sucks

God I hate Pitt fans

I'd say defense was best in year 1 and much worse since then.

Offense stinks now , too.

 

[jt0716]

I'd say defense was best in year 1 and much worse since then.

Offense stinks now , too.

I realize what happened on the field the last 3 games I have no reason to say this, but I don't know for sure the defense is the biggest problem. Stats certainly say they are horrible, but with whitehead back and Hamlin playing, I think they will show improvement.

The team certainly stinks, however this offense is killing them. When a D provides as many t.o. as they did against Tech and the offense shows nothing for it, it demoralizes everything

With that said, my argument certainly isn't with anything you've said. My reply was to the guy that said they had a nice offense with chrysts recruits and a bad defense with narduzzi is just bashing to bash, imo

 

[thebadby2]

Nah, he didn't. Turns out Hornibrook looks like a very nice QB. It's just too bad he decommitted from here and followed Chryst to Wisconsin. The real problem is that Narduzzi couldn't keep him here. Hornibrook was a PA kid, to boot.

Yeah, he did. Hornitoad would've started in Chryst year 5 at the earliest.

In what universe does that make up for the big bag of nothing PC brought in at QB through 3 full classes?

Oh yeah, Travon Chapman. He would've been great if he hadn't assaulted that girl and gotten the boot. After all, he really tore it up at Akron. So much so they moved him to WR in this, his 5th year.

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

I do not disagree with you. Pitt, BC, and GT are in the same boat.

Yup. Tech had 40K for Saturday's game.

 

[thebadby2]

I realize what happened on the field the last 3 games I have no reason to say this, but I don't know for sure the defense is the biggest problem. Stats certainly say they are horrible, but with whitehead back and Hamlin playing, I think they will show improvement.

The team certainly stinks, however this offense is killing them. When a D provides as many t.o. as they did against Tech and the offense shows nothing for it, it demoralizes everything

With that said, my argument certainly isn't with anything you've said. My reply was to the guy that said they had a nice offense with chrysts recruits and a bad defense with narduzzi is just bashing to bash, imo

The D was also on the field for 35 game minutes in 95 degree heat with very little capable depth to rotate in.

The D is not good to be sure, but they don't even have a chance to be mediocre when they're on the field all game long.

The D is very young. This was going to be a tough year for them no matter what. The O is breaking in yet another new OC, the young QBs aren't ready, and this year's stopgap grad transfer didn't pan out. On top of that we lost the entire right side of our OL, our stud RB, a very good pass receiving TE, a beast of a blocking TE, a solid, experienced receiver who was an excellent blocker, and a versatile, do everything H back.

So at he end of the day, the results this season, while disappointing and even embarrassing, are not surprising-at least not to any rational Pitt fan. Narduzzi's recruits are all freshmen and sophomores, and are just getting into the field. So the idea that he was supposed to fill the gaps on this roster in 2 full recruiting cycles is absurd.

Narduzzi deserves his share of criticism on a few levels, namely for being a defensive guru who has been responsible for some of the worst defenses in all of college football these past 3 years, and for being stubborn and inflexible. But the jury is still very much out as to his recruiting.

 

[jt0716]

And Walt was great with receivers and QBs.

What does 15-20 years ago have to do with today

 

[Parkview57]

The D is not good to be sure, but they don't even have a chance to

.....build any semblance of success.

I will also add that the schedule was extremely poorly construed for a program with Pitt's problems, so it has been hard to gain any traction. Playing at number 4, home vs 8 and then facing GT (or Navy for that matter) is an easy way to lose 3 in a row.

 

[Pittfan85]

Yeah, he did. Hornitoad would've started in Chryst year 5 at the earliest.

In what universe does that make up for the big bag of nothing PC brought in at QB through 3 full classes?

Oh yeah, Travon Chapman. He would've been great if he hadn't assaulted that girl and gotten the boot. After all, he really tore it up at Akron. So much so they moved him to WR in this, his 5th year.

So, I assume then you are willing to say PN has completely failed at recruiting a QB? They both had their good transfer, and that is it.