....now imagine if they played that 4th quarter with
-2nd-teamer Landry Jones at QB instead of Ben Roethlisberger,
-3rd-teamer Fitzgerald Toussaint at TB instead of LeVeon Bell or DeAngelo Williams
-BJ Finney at Guard instead of David Decastro
-and a hobbled Antonio Brown replaced by Cobi Hamilton for the red zone plays of a drive that Pitt got into the red zone with 3 minutes to go.
Do you think they come back to win that game in the 4th?
Now... look at today.... Pitt entered the 4th quarter down 21-17.
- 5th-year QB Nate Peterman out, and Scout team QB Ben DiNucci forced into action so MacVittie's redshirt could be preserved.
- James Conner and Darren Hall both sidelined with injuries. Limiting Pitt to the seldom-used-this-year Ollison and injured Moss.
- 1st-round draft pick Dorian Johnson out with an injury.
- 1st-team-All-American Quadree Henderson on the bench with an injury for the 2 most critical plays for Pitt in the 4th quarter... 3rd and 4th down from the NW 18 yard line trailing by a TD.
You can't expect a team to overcome those losses of personnel. 3 NFL draft picks knocked out of the game with helmet-to-helmet head shots before the 4th quarter began. It's outrageous that none were called, especially the one to Conner which was a blatant cheap shot.... but that's besides the point.
You can't lose your 3 best offensive players and win. The fact that we pulled ahead 24-21 ANYWAY is a testament to the will and drive of the players that were forced into action.
And Pitt's game today is exhibit 1, 2, and 3 why you will see more and more players skipping bowl games. Peterman, Conner, and Johnson all got concussions today...all on hits that would've resulted in fines if they happened in the NFL.
I won't ever blame a player for skipping a bowl game again. You're one dirty hit.... or even an unfortunate accidental hit... of tossing millions of dollars down the drain.
Biz is lucky nothing happened to him today.
-2nd-teamer Landry Jones at QB instead of Ben Roethlisberger,
-3rd-teamer Fitzgerald Toussaint at TB instead of LeVeon Bell or DeAngelo Williams
-BJ Finney at Guard instead of David Decastro
-and a hobbled Antonio Brown replaced by Cobi Hamilton for the red zone plays of a drive that Pitt got into the red zone with 3 minutes to go.
Do you think they come back to win that game in the 4th?
Now... look at today.... Pitt entered the 4th quarter down 21-17.
- 5th-year QB Nate Peterman out, and Scout team QB Ben DiNucci forced into action so MacVittie's redshirt could be preserved.
- James Conner and Darren Hall both sidelined with injuries. Limiting Pitt to the seldom-used-this-year Ollison and injured Moss.
- 1st-round draft pick Dorian Johnson out with an injury.
- 1st-team-All-American Quadree Henderson on the bench with an injury for the 2 most critical plays for Pitt in the 4th quarter... 3rd and 4th down from the NW 18 yard line trailing by a TD.
You can't expect a team to overcome those losses of personnel. 3 NFL draft picks knocked out of the game with helmet-to-helmet head shots before the 4th quarter began. It's outrageous that none were called, especially the one to Conner which was a blatant cheap shot.... but that's besides the point.
You can't lose your 3 best offensive players and win. The fact that we pulled ahead 24-21 ANYWAY is a testament to the will and drive of the players that were forced into action.
And Pitt's game today is exhibit 1, 2, and 3 why you will see more and more players skipping bowl games. Peterman, Conner, and Johnson all got concussions today...all on hits that would've resulted in fines if they happened in the NFL.
I won't ever blame a player for skipping a bowl game again. You're one dirty hit.... or even an unfortunate accidental hit... of tossing millions of dollars down the drain.
Biz is lucky nothing happened to him today.
