Pitt- Cuse Thoughts

[4upmc]

Got the win. BUT...sloppy play with all the penalties, dropped balls, poor OL play etc. Whipple called a bad game. Needs to open it up and go down field more instead of sideline to sideline.

Kessman= Awful!!!

They blitzed up the middle all game and the OL plus backs did a poor job. When they gave KP time he was able to step up in the pocket and make good throws. But we need much better OL play.

Why can’t Izzy get a chance? We heard the coaches talk about his ability a bunch. A.J. Davis couldn’t get an extra yard if his life depended on it. Vince Davis has heart but he’s small and was getting blow up trying to pick up the blitz. Izzy has the best combo of size and speed. Carter looked good on 2 runs before he got hurt.

The D did what we expect. They gave up one big TD pass. Other than that played real good. Nice to see Weaver back with 7 tackles and 2 sacks. Kancey is a baller. For those who said he is too small to play the run...Wrong as he was a force in the middle.

LVille game... is going to be tough.

 

[Burgh15]

I have zero confidence in the kicking game. Pitt should have won that game at least 30-10.

Defense was terrific. That DL just gets pressure and we saw some great coverage today as well.

 

[4upmc]

I have zero confidence in the kicking game. Pitt should have won that game at least 30-10.

Defense was terrific. That DL just gets pressure and we saw some great coverage today as well.

Kicking game is horrible. Would like to see the true Frosh kicker get a chance. If not we need to go for any 4th down inside the 50.

Yep great pressure up front and besides one play the coverage was really good. Williams is off to a nice start as a starter in place of Mathis.

 

[gary2]

Got the win. BUT...sloppy play with all the penalties, dropped balls, poor OL play etc. Whipple called a bad game. Needs to open it up and go down field more instead of sideline to sideline.

Kessman= Awful!!!

They blitzed up the middle all game and the OL plus backs did a poor job. When they gave KP time he was able to step up in the pocket and make good throws. But we need much better OL play.

Why can’t Izzy get a chance? We heard the coaches talk about his ability a bunch. A.J. Davis couldn’t get an extra yard if his life depended on it. Vince Davis has heart but he’s small and was getting blow up trying to pick up the blitz. Izzy has the best combo of size and speed. Carter looked good on 2 runs before he got hurt.

The D did what we expect. They gave up one big TD pass. Other than that played real good. Nice to see Weaver back with 7 tackles and 2 sacks. Kancey is a baller. For those who said he is too small to play the run...Wrong as he was a force in the middle.

LVille game... is going to be tough.

Whipple needs to cut the plays with the moving pocket. Krull needs to catch the ball. Pickett needs to work on his touch with pass to the backs. Five men in the backfield needs to be eliminated. Don't like the wildcat when we have an experienced QB.

Discipline needs improved.

We need to be aware of the hash when setting up field goals.

Glad to see the QB sneak today.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

The Punter and PK played awful. The only way to fix that is by putting the guy behind them into the lineup. The Punter/Holder struggles catching the ball at times. We’ve seen it when he is punting and on holds.

 

[4upmc]

The Punter and PK played awful. The only way to fix that is by putting the guy behind them into the lineup. The Punter/Holder struggles catching the ball at times. We’ve seen it when he is punting and on holds.

Agree. We brought in a Kicker & Punter who were pretty highly regarded. Nothing to lose by giving them a chance. Can they be any worse than what we have now?

 

[gary2]

Agree. We brought in a Kicker & Punter who were pretty highly regarded. Nothing to lose by giving them a chance. Can they be any worse than what we have now?

At least try a long kicker and a short kicker.

 

[4upmc]

At least try a long kicker and a short kicker.

45 and out Kessman. Anything else the Frosh should get a chance. The Frosh punter is supposed to have a big leg. I have no faith in our starting K or Punter.

 

[superstein61a]

Got the win. BUT...sloppy play with all the penalties, dropped balls, poor OL play etc. Whipple called a bad game. Needs to open it up and go down field more instead of sideline to sideline.

Kessman= Awful!!!

They blitzed up the middle all game and the OL plus backs did a poor job. When they gave KP time he was able to step up in the pocket and make good throws. But we need much better OL play.

Why can’t Izzy get a chance? We heard the coaches talk about his ability a bunch. A.J. Davis couldn’t get an extra yard if his life depended on it. Vince Davis has heart but he’s small and was getting blow up trying to pick up the blitz. Izzy has the best combo of size and speed. Carter looked good on 2 runs before he got hurt.

The D did what we expect. They gave up one big TD pass. Other than that played real good. Nice to see Weaver back with 7 tackles and 2 sacks. Kancey is a baller. For those who said he is too small to play the run...Wrong as he was a force in the middle.

LVille game... is going to be tough.

Solid win. Defense was exceptional , just the one blown coverage. Offense needs to improve. I agree, still too many dropped passes. And some sloppy silly penalties that need rectified - leaping, spinning the ball after a turnover, several illegal formations

Play calling today - I wouldn't say it was the best but at the same time Syracuse runs that funky 3-3-5 so it is harder to take deep shots and go over the middle all the time with that.
While he got conservative in the 4th quarter, I didn't mind it because it was clear that the only way Syracuse was going to do anything on offense is if we gave them a few turnovers and a short field. That said, I thought trying a deep shot off play action on 1st down when Syracuse knew we were going to run would have been nice to see. But the bottom line is getting the win

2-0

 

[cpc247]

Played bad. Still had game in hand for a long portion. 1 or 2 plays (catches) make this a no contest. Need to play better against louisville, but 2-0.

H2P

 

[gary2]

45 and out Kessman. Anything else the Frosh should get a chance. The Frosh punter is supposed to have a big leg. I have no faith in our starting K or Punter.

At the end of last season Kessman was punting some. I don't think Pat was thrilled with our punter either.

He did praise him pre game, saying he could be all league if he kept it up.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

I like pickett but at this point in his career I’d quit calling passes to the backs, it’s just not gonna happen.

do a quick screen to a crossing we or something but the passes to the backs, just rip those pages out if playbook and throw em away.

 

[PITT4UDAD]

Got the win. BUT...sloppy play with all the penalties, dropped balls, poor OL play etc. Whipple called a bad game. Needs to open it up and go down field more instead of sideline to sideline.

Kessman= Awful!!!

They blitzed up the middle all game and the OL plus backs did a poor job. When they gave KP time he was able to step up in the pocket and make good throws. But we need much better OL play.

Why can’t Izzy get a chance? We heard the coaches talk about his ability a bunch. A.J. Davis couldn’t get an extra yard if his life depended on it. Vince Davis has heart but he’s small and was getting blow up trying to pick up the blitz. Izzy has the best combo of size and speed. Carter looked good on 2 runs before he got hurt.

The D did what we expect. They gave up one big TD pass. Other than that played real good. Nice to see Weaver back with 7 tackles and 2 sacks. Kancey is a baller. For those who said he is too small to play the run...Wrong as he was a force in the middle.

LVille game... is going to be tough.

Kessman... hmmm.

Maybe give the kid from Belle Vernon a shot...

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

If anything, use another kicker on shorter field goals.

I know that’s not ideal but not crazy. Kessman from the right hash, shifter field goals, isn’t even close.

 

[PITT4UDAD]

Cam Guess ...

 

[ThePanthers]

Got the win. BUT...sloppy play with all the penalties, dropped balls, poor OL play etc. Whipple called a bad game. Needs to open it up and go down field more instead of sideline to sideline.

Kessman= Awful!!!

They blitzed up the middle all game and the OL plus backs did a poor job. When they gave KP time he was able to step up in the pocket and make good throws. But we need much better OL play.

Why can’t Izzy get a chance? We heard the coaches talk about his ability a bunch. A.J. Davis couldn’t get an extra yard if his life depended on it. Vince Davis has heart but he’s small and was getting blow up trying to pick up the blitz. Izzy has the best combo of size and speed. Carter looked good on 2 runs before he got hurt.

The D did what we expect. They gave up one big TD pass. Other than that played real good. Nice to see Weaver back with 7 tackles and 2 sacks. Kancey is a baller. For those who said he is too small to play the run...Wrong as he was a force in the middle.

LVille game... is going to be tough.

Good summary.

 

[gary2]

I like pickett but at this point in his career I’d quit calling passes to the backs, it’s just not gonna happen.

do a quick screen to a crossing we or something but the passes to the backs, just rip those pages out if playbook and throw em away.

Seemed to have little problem passing to Carter before he transferred. Remember a big one to AJ against UVA in last season's opener too.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

Seemed to have little problem passing to Carter before he transferred. Remember a big one to AJ against UVA in last season's opener too.

He’s not good at it and our backs aren’t good at it either.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Went to the driving range at halftime
Doesn’t seem like I missed much - just more ugly play

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

I like pickett but at this point in his career I’d quit calling passes to the backs, it’s just not gonna happen.

do a quick screen to a crossing we or something but the passes to the backs, just rip those pages out if playbook and throw em away.

The TD pass to Wayne was a thing of beauty. Stepped up a little in the pocket and lasered one right on the money for the TD.

Pickett needs to stay in the pocket. When he rolls out or gets happy feet too quickly, it usually ends up a 2 yard pass to the RB or worse. Need much more of that kind of play and less roll out

 

[gary2]

The TD pass to Wayne was a thing of beauty. Stepped up a little in the pocket and lasered one right on the money for the TD.

Pickett needs to stay in the pocket. When he rolls out or gets happy feet too quickly, it usually ends up a 2 yard pass to the RB or worse. Need much more of that kind of play and less roll out

Agree - Occasionally as he scrambles he will hit someone that gets wide open. Think Turner last week.

Kenny is much better throwing with his feet under him and getting body into the throw.

 

[docpanther26]

Whipple needs to cut the plays with the moving pocket. Krull needs to catch the ball. Pickett needs to work on his touch with pass to the backs. Five men in the backfield needs to be eliminated. Don't like the wildcat when we have an experienced QB.

Discipline needs improved.

We need to be aware of the hash when setting up field goals.

Glad to see the QB sneak today.

Everything in this statement is true. Every ounce of this is a repeat of last year, you could not tell they worked on anything over the past year.

We need to identify an offense quickly, won’t be able to win sloppy next week.

 

[TheChair]

Got the win. BUT...sloppy play with all the penalties, dropped balls, poor OL play etc. Whipple called a bad game. Needs to open it up and go down field more instead of sideline to sideline.

Kessman= Awful!!!

They blitzed up the middle all game and the OL plus backs did a poor job. When they gave KP time he was able to step up in the pocket and make good throws. But we need much better OL play.

Why can’t Izzy get a chance? We heard the coaches talk about his ability a bunch. A.J. Davis couldn’t get an extra yard if his life depended on it. Vince Davis has heart but he’s small and was getting blow up trying to pick up the blitz. Izzy has the best combo of size and speed. Carter looked good on 2 runs before he got hurt.

The D did what we expect. They gave up one big TD pass. Other than that played real good. Nice to see Weaver back with 7 tackles and 2 sacks. Kancey is a baller. For those who said he is too small to play the run...Wrong as he was a force in the middle.

LVille game... is going to be tough.

FWIW, I think Carter is the guy. It is rough that he got hurt today. But, he has the right combo and seems to understand what he is doing (which I guess is Izzy's biggest issue).

 

[JD1976]

We had 4 (maybe it was as many as 5) illegal formation penalties today with only 6 on the line of scrimmage. How on earth do you have more than 1 of those?

 

[gary2]

We had 4 (maybe it was as many as 5) illegal formation penalties today with only 6 on the line of scrimmage. How on earth do you have more than 1 of those?

Wasn't one on a punt?

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

Wasn't one on a punt?

Yes. There were 2 I believe on punts (I think one was offset due to block in back on Cuse). And the kicker is the first happened immediately after the same penalty was called on 3rd down.

 

[TheChair]

We had 4 (maybe it was as many as 5) illegal formation penalties today with only 6 on the line of scrimmage. How on earth do you have more than 1 of those?

Freshman WRs.

 

[4upmc]

FWIW, I think Carter is the guy. It is rough that he got hurt today. But, he has the right combo and seems to understand what he is doing (which I guess is Izzy's biggest issue).

Looks like he can be the physical tough runner we need...what AJ has not been. Still think Izzy can be a big factor in time.

 

[4upmc]

Cam Guess ...

Yes give him a chance. What’s the worst he can do… miss every FG attempt like Kessman?

 

[gary2]

Yes give him a chance. What’s the worst he can do… miss every FG attempt like Kessman?

Isn't Sauls the backup place kicker?

 

[4upmc]

Isn't Sauls the backup place kicker?

Correct I got the names mixed up with the Frosh Kicker & Punter.

 

[Pittisit4me]

Same Pitt team as last year. All defense, no offense. Lack of discipline and stupid mistakes galore. Anyone really hoping that this team makes a leap forward is doing just that- hoping. We will win few games on the remainder of the schedule if we duplicate today's effort. I think I have seen enough under the current regime to know that these type of efforts are the norm and we are not going to have a breakout season. Hate to say it but 6-4 seems about right.

 

[docpanther26]

Today’s lack of real offensive production and lack of discipline, not to mention special teams, will not win us another game with our remaining schedule...outside of maybe Boston College.

 

[docpanther26]

I need to add, not trying to be negative, we just have to click on all cylinders to win these games.

 

[ThePanthers]

I need to add, not trying to be negative, we just have to click on all cylinders to win these games.

So you are saying unless we play perfect we are going 2-9?

 

[Jeffburgh]

The TD pass to Wayne was a thing of beauty. Stepped up a little in the pocket and lasered one right on the money for the TD.

Pickett needs to stay in the pocket. When he rolls out or gets happy feet too quickly, it usually ends up a 2 yard pass to the RB or worse. Need much more of that kind of play and less roll out

That is one of Whipples tricks he has taught KP, to slide a few steps to the right to change the angle on the throw to beat the coverage on the skinny slant. KP does that every couple games.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

Some of you need to stay clear of bridges for a few days..... sheez.

 

[Pittisit4me]

Some of you need to stay clear of bridges for a few days..... sheez.

Come on Gunga! I respect your opinions. Do you really think we beat a Louisville team next week with the kind of effort we put forth today? I am just trying to keep it real. We can't miss every field goal or take peronal foul penalties to ruin great field position. I am happy we won, but the Cuse may well be the bottom of the barrel in the ACC.

 

[gary2]

Come on Gunga! I respect your opinions. Do you really think we beat a Louisville team next week with the kind of effort we put forth today? I am just trying to keep it real. We can't miss every field goal or take peronal foul penalties to ruin great field position. I am happy we won, but the Cuse may well be the bottom of the barrel in the ACC.

I am glad we did not win big and get a big head.

The mistakes will have us focused. Louisville gave up 40.

A focused Pitt gets the job done next Saturday.

 

[Pittisit4me]

I am glad we did not win big and get a big head.

The mistakes will have us focused. Louisville gave up 40.

A focused Pitt gets the job done next Saturday.

Gary, I agree we need focus. I just don't know why, under this regime, the type of game we played yesterday is more the norm. You can probably count on one hand the number of games the team has played relatively mistake free football in the four plus years the Duzz has been here. I have no doubt we can beat Louisville, but, you can't put the whole thing on your defense like yesterday. We know it is our strength, but, Louisville has more offensive talent than Cuse, and they will score some points on us.

When we play good teams, we might need to score 27 points or more. I don't think this team is capable of that. The east west garbage that Whipple is running is fooling no one. We appear to be an incomplete team again. All defense, coupled with a semi-impotent offense and special teams that can be anywhere from good to absolutely horrid.