Very interesting matchup for the Panthers this weekend:
1. While Penn State is just breaking in their new offense, Pitt will face a true spread team that's been playing this offense for many many seasons under Coach Gundy in the pass happy, offensive video game like Big 12. Pitt will have several things to think about on d.
2. OKS will utilize a lot of empty sets which presents a multitude of problems for us. Number 1, do you bring in 5-6 rushers which is more than the number of OL you have and leave 5 to defend 5?
3. Number 2 do you go away from your base defense and bring in extra CB/S to dare OKS to run the ball? That means taking out one or two linebackers and hope that your DL can control the OKS OL?
4. I know there's a lot of people that want Pitt to pass more but you could argue that time consuming drives is the best recipe against a team like this. Take the play clock under 10 seconds, grind out yards make them stop your strength and shorten the game. After all you scored 42 pts doing this against PSU mostly grinding the ball.
5. PSU scored 39 pts on us but we made them punt 5 times and turned them over 4 times. That's 9 possessions that were empty. If you net out our two turnovers that essentially 7 empty possessions, I'll take that on Saturday. If you assume that 12 -14 possessions is the norm that's not bad. That leaves 5-7 possessions where you have to hold them to FG's or cough it up on downs.
6. The other thing you have to consider if your gonna bring heat you almost are forced to play bump and run coverage to disrupt the timing of the offense. Do we have enough able CB's to do that if they are sending 4-5 WR's out?
7. This is the game that I worry about from a mindset perspective. Sandwiched between PSU and UNC, does this team show the maturity to come ready to play? First road game as well although this team has been good on the road under Narduzzi.
8. Is this the game where we see some rotations on the DL? I would like to see Watts/Camp see some action in spots. Both have fresh legs and seem to be able to penetrate. With a team that chucks it so much Tyrique might be wasted a little and a quicker penetrating DT might be needed.
9. The OKS QB is a big strong kid so he's not going to go down easy vs the PSU QB who was smallish. One thing to watch for early is if Price is getting into the backfield quickly forcing OKS to double him or chip him which will take away from people going out on patterns.
10. Another difference we'll see is how wide the WR's will line up on the field. This gives OKS the opportunity to run crossing routes which are very difficult to defend, it also opens you up for draws since in enssence your cb's are so far away from the line of scrimmage if the RB breaks contain and gets to the second level you have some big runs.
11. To be honest, I really like the matchup this week but it's a very very tough spot for us. An angry desperate home team is never a good thing and even if you get a lead on a team like this you have to keep at it because of their ability to put up points at a very fast clip. My view is that we're playing a little with house money right now and with UNC coming up I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst.
12. If Ford cannot play, you have to also wonder how much confidence Canada is going to have with his receiving group? Right now it's been controlled passing game to Orndoff and Henderson. Really have not taken any shots downfield. When does he start opening things up?
Pitt82
1. While Penn State is just breaking in their new offense, Pitt will face a true spread team that's been playing this offense for many many seasons under Coach Gundy in the pass happy, offensive video game like Big 12. Pitt will have several things to think about on d.
2. OKS will utilize a lot of empty sets which presents a multitude of problems for us. Number 1, do you bring in 5-6 rushers which is more than the number of OL you have and leave 5 to defend 5?
3. Number 2 do you go away from your base defense and bring in extra CB/S to dare OKS to run the ball? That means taking out one or two linebackers and hope that your DL can control the OKS OL?
4. I know there's a lot of people that want Pitt to pass more but you could argue that time consuming drives is the best recipe against a team like this. Take the play clock under 10 seconds, grind out yards make them stop your strength and shorten the game. After all you scored 42 pts doing this against PSU mostly grinding the ball.
5. PSU scored 39 pts on us but we made them punt 5 times and turned them over 4 times. That's 9 possessions that were empty. If you net out our two turnovers that essentially 7 empty possessions, I'll take that on Saturday. If you assume that 12 -14 possessions is the norm that's not bad. That leaves 5-7 possessions where you have to hold them to FG's or cough it up on downs.
6. The other thing you have to consider if your gonna bring heat you almost are forced to play bump and run coverage to disrupt the timing of the offense. Do we have enough able CB's to do that if they are sending 4-5 WR's out?
7. This is the game that I worry about from a mindset perspective. Sandwiched between PSU and UNC, does this team show the maturity to come ready to play? First road game as well although this team has been good on the road under Narduzzi.
8. Is this the game where we see some rotations on the DL? I would like to see Watts/Camp see some action in spots. Both have fresh legs and seem to be able to penetrate. With a team that chucks it so much Tyrique might be wasted a little and a quicker penetrating DT might be needed.
9. The OKS QB is a big strong kid so he's not going to go down easy vs the PSU QB who was smallish. One thing to watch for early is if Price is getting into the backfield quickly forcing OKS to double him or chip him which will take away from people going out on patterns.
10. Another difference we'll see is how wide the WR's will line up on the field. This gives OKS the opportunity to run crossing routes which are very difficult to defend, it also opens you up for draws since in enssence your cb's are so far away from the line of scrimmage if the RB breaks contain and gets to the second level you have some big runs.
11. To be honest, I really like the matchup this week but it's a very very tough spot for us. An angry desperate home team is never a good thing and even if you get a lead on a team like this you have to keep at it because of their ability to put up points at a very fast clip. My view is that we're playing a little with house money right now and with UNC coming up I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst.
12. If Ford cannot play, you have to also wonder how much confidence Canada is going to have with his receiving group? Right now it's been controlled passing game to Orndoff and Henderson. Really have not taken any shots downfield. When does he start opening things up?
Pitt82
