1. Great road trip. Easy drive. Probably 75% PITT fans on the PITT side of the field.
The die hards stuck through the rain. Plenty of Lets Go PITT chants throughout the game. Great PITT crowd overall.
2. Strength coach Dave Andrews was on the field a lot right next to Narduzzi. Saw the two of them talking to the officials. Maybe this guy is more than a strength coach. You can tell he was a former player at O$U. I never remember seeing former strength coaches on the field talking to the HC or officials.
3. Coach Powell. He was right in Boyd's face on the sideline after one of Boyd's punt returns. Boyd caught the ball and side stepped a few people and never got up field at all. You could tell Powell wanted him going more North/South. Narduzzi had to come over and clap his hands between them as Powell and Boyd were both amped up. Intense coaching I guess.
4. Receivers. Need to step outside of Boyd. Didn't see much separation all game long. Say what you want about the QBs, but it's not like guys are running wide open.
5. Great defensive improvement. Defensive line played great. Jarrett and Blair were names that stood out. I am amazed in the improvement in our secondary. There were times I saw the ball in the air and thought it would be a big play, but the DBs recovered and PLAYED THE BALL. I think we only had one PI all game.
6. Running Backs. Need to get better at catching the ball out of the backfield. Noticed a few dropped screen passes during the game. Overall I think Akron picked up on the dump off passes and adjusted, but for some reason Chaney kept calling them.
7. The QBs. Where to begin. They both need to work on their mesh point with the running back. Both quarterbacks had issues with that on Saturday. Those read plays just look awkward.
I would personally stick with Voytik. He was 6 of 8 and didn't play bad. Once the line gets healthy I think the sacks will go away.
Petermen really benefited from the up tempo offense right before half. He admitted this in his postgame interview. I noticed earlier in the half both QBs had to look over to the sideline and get the signals multiple times before each play. That really affected the rhythm of the offense and slowed us down. You could tell during the no huddle that all the skill players looked to the sideline. Then the QB just relayed the protection to the lineman. Much better flow.
Voytik probably has more natural ability than Petermen. Especially as a runner. Petermen looked like TINO on that fourth down play. Deer in headlights and he froze. Against a better team a play like that will lose a game.
However, Petermen is probably more familiar with Chaney's offense. Without the no huddle Voytik has to get the play from the sideline, check the wristband, communicate the play and then make calls at the line. I would have loved to see Voytik in the hurry up before half. Get rid of all the pre snap verbage and just let him play. Petermen is more comfortable running the offense, but that doesn't mean he is a better QB. Just more familiar with the plays/verbage.
I'll go ahead and say it right now. I think this "competition" is rigged. Clearly Petermen is Chaney's guy. Chad isn't getting a chance. When Chad played he made some nice throws to Boyd with very tight coverage.
I remember against YSU that Chad played the first 2 series. Just handed the ball off and short dump off passes. Never had a chance to get in rhythm. Chris has even mentioned this on his radio show. I thought Chad was starting to get in rhythm against Akron then BOOM, in comes Petermen. I'll never understand it.
I also think Chad is a better option in the run game. With Conner out we may have to start going to some option game. You saw some against Akron. Clean up the running back/QB exchange mentioned above and we might have something with Chad. Petermen doesn't bring much as a runner. He looked like Tino on that fourth down while Chad was able to run for a 1st down on one play.
Chad should be the guy. He lead this team all last year. Great games on the road against UNC and Miami to finish the year. All the players spoke highly of him during camp. Really unfortunate the Chaney/Petermen politics may be playing a role. We can't keep playing yo-yo with the position moving forward.
The die hards stuck through the rain. Plenty of Lets Go PITT chants throughout the game. Great PITT crowd overall.
2. Strength coach Dave Andrews was on the field a lot right next to Narduzzi. Saw the two of them talking to the officials. Maybe this guy is more than a strength coach. You can tell he was a former player at O$U. I never remember seeing former strength coaches on the field talking to the HC or officials.
3. Coach Powell. He was right in Boyd's face on the sideline after one of Boyd's punt returns. Boyd caught the ball and side stepped a few people and never got up field at all. You could tell Powell wanted him going more North/South. Narduzzi had to come over and clap his hands between them as Powell and Boyd were both amped up. Intense coaching I guess.
4. Receivers. Need to step outside of Boyd. Didn't see much separation all game long. Say what you want about the QBs, but it's not like guys are running wide open.
5. Great defensive improvement. Defensive line played great. Jarrett and Blair were names that stood out. I am amazed in the improvement in our secondary. There were times I saw the ball in the air and thought it would be a big play, but the DBs recovered and PLAYED THE BALL. I think we only had one PI all game.
6. Running Backs. Need to get better at catching the ball out of the backfield. Noticed a few dropped screen passes during the game. Overall I think Akron picked up on the dump off passes and adjusted, but for some reason Chaney kept calling them.
7. The QBs. Where to begin. They both need to work on their mesh point with the running back. Both quarterbacks had issues with that on Saturday. Those read plays just look awkward.
I would personally stick with Voytik. He was 6 of 8 and didn't play bad. Once the line gets healthy I think the sacks will go away.
Petermen really benefited from the up tempo offense right before half. He admitted this in his postgame interview. I noticed earlier in the half both QBs had to look over to the sideline and get the signals multiple times before each play. That really affected the rhythm of the offense and slowed us down. You could tell during the no huddle that all the skill players looked to the sideline. Then the QB just relayed the protection to the lineman. Much better flow.
Voytik probably has more natural ability than Petermen. Especially as a runner. Petermen looked like TINO on that fourth down play. Deer in headlights and he froze. Against a better team a play like that will lose a game.
However, Petermen is probably more familiar with Chaney's offense. Without the no huddle Voytik has to get the play from the sideline, check the wristband, communicate the play and then make calls at the line. I would have loved to see Voytik in the hurry up before half. Get rid of all the pre snap verbage and just let him play. Petermen is more comfortable running the offense, but that doesn't mean he is a better QB. Just more familiar with the plays/verbage.
I'll go ahead and say it right now. I think this "competition" is rigged. Clearly Petermen is Chaney's guy. Chad isn't getting a chance. When Chad played he made some nice throws to Boyd with very tight coverage.
I remember against YSU that Chad played the first 2 series. Just handed the ball off and short dump off passes. Never had a chance to get in rhythm. Chris has even mentioned this on his radio show. I thought Chad was starting to get in rhythm against Akron then BOOM, in comes Petermen. I'll never understand it.
I also think Chad is a better option in the run game. With Conner out we may have to start going to some option game. You saw some against Akron. Clean up the running back/QB exchange mentioned above and we might have something with Chad. Petermen doesn't bring much as a runner. He looked like Tino on that fourth down while Chad was able to run for a 1st down on one play.
Chad should be the guy. He lead this team all last year. Great games on the road against UNC and Miami to finish the year. All the players spoke highly of him during camp. Really unfortunate the Chaney/Petermen politics may be playing a role. We can't keep playing yo-yo with the position moving forward.
