It's midway through the season. Pitt is 5-1, despite having a majority of their games on the road. The team has dominated the 2nd Half in nearly all their games, especially the 3rd quarter (as Peak's informative article explains). Defense has been unexpectedly stout, especially after halftime. Offense has been slowly ramping up, incorporating more down-field throwing, and more passing/creativity on 1st down. Kids are playing w/ a swagger we Pitt fans haven't seen....in forever.
One major reason? Confidence.
Confidence, or 'playing w/ confidence', is tough to quantify. I'm a numbers guy. I'm also a guy that likes to challenge lazy, media-driven narratives. But, confidence has seemingly been the missing ingredient for Pitt since Reagan was still in office. And, now under Narduzzi, they have it.
Confidence has been shown in numerous instances. Narduzzi isn't afraid to take shots at PSU. Narduzzi isn't afraid to go after any and all, highly or not, recruited players. Narduzzi is attempting to even poach committed guys from prestigious schools. Narduzzi isn't afraid to say that his staff makes the best adjustments at halftime. Narduzzi's team, particularly on defense, is playing fast, aggressive, and swarming to the ball. Do yourself a favor: When you watch the next Pitt game, count how many guys eventually end up at the ball carrier. It's a lot - a hell of a lot more than last year. A defense, without confidence and swag, can end up playing on their heels, waiting for bad things to happen. Narduzzi first noticed this - and set out to correct it - in the bowl game last year. He's commented on how often this team would wait for bad things to happen....which then caused bad things to happen. The celebration *before* the 4th quarter is a sign of a team that is excited about the thought of winning the game, not terrified at the thought of losing a game.
Here's another that I want you to think about: Imagine a defensive coach, being hired at a school that has seen lots of turnover, coming into a program where a starting QB is entrenched and has had success.......who then, after only a game or two, decides that another QB, a guy who hasn't played more than a couple of games, who doesn't know the rest of the team, who doesn't have any sort of resume to quell second-quessing or inspire *confidence* from the fans or, more importantly, his teammates....is better to lead an offense and a team. That doesn't just take confidence....that takes balls.
And, it's worked. Brilliantly. It's cliche to say that a team adopts the mentality of it's coach. But, as last year's team was sometimes 'sleepy' and hesitant, this year's team is energetic.....and confident. That cliche holds in the case of Narduzzi.
It's a big difference. It cannot be quantified. But, it's apparent.
SPII
One major reason? Confidence.
Confidence, or 'playing w/ confidence', is tough to quantify. I'm a numbers guy. I'm also a guy that likes to challenge lazy, media-driven narratives. But, confidence has seemingly been the missing ingredient for Pitt since Reagan was still in office. And, now under Narduzzi, they have it.
Confidence has been shown in numerous instances. Narduzzi isn't afraid to take shots at PSU. Narduzzi isn't afraid to go after any and all, highly or not, recruited players. Narduzzi is attempting to even poach committed guys from prestigious schools. Narduzzi isn't afraid to say that his staff makes the best adjustments at halftime. Narduzzi's team, particularly on defense, is playing fast, aggressive, and swarming to the ball. Do yourself a favor: When you watch the next Pitt game, count how many guys eventually end up at the ball carrier. It's a lot - a hell of a lot more than last year. A defense, without confidence and swag, can end up playing on their heels, waiting for bad things to happen. Narduzzi first noticed this - and set out to correct it - in the bowl game last year. He's commented on how often this team would wait for bad things to happen....which then caused bad things to happen. The celebration *before* the 4th quarter is a sign of a team that is excited about the thought of winning the game, not terrified at the thought of losing a game.
Here's another that I want you to think about: Imagine a defensive coach, being hired at a school that has seen lots of turnover, coming into a program where a starting QB is entrenched and has had success.......who then, after only a game or two, decides that another QB, a guy who hasn't played more than a couple of games, who doesn't know the rest of the team, who doesn't have any sort of resume to quell second-quessing or inspire *confidence* from the fans or, more importantly, his teammates....is better to lead an offense and a team. That doesn't just take confidence....that takes balls.
And, it's worked. Brilliantly. It's cliche to say that a team adopts the mentality of it's coach. But, as last year's team was sometimes 'sleepy' and hesitant, this year's team is energetic.....and confident. That cliche holds in the case of Narduzzi.
It's a big difference. It cannot be quantified. But, it's apparent.
SPII
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