Seated in front of a group of reporters eager to challenge him and get to the bottom of Pitt's offensive problems, the man in charge of that unit sipped on a bottle of water.
The water was cool; Pitt offensive coordinator Jim Chaney appeared to be the same. Asked if the running back situation worries him, Chaney said, “Worry me? No. I wish it was all solved, but right now all three of those kids (Qadree Ollison, Chris James and Darrin Hall) are out there competing. We'll see how it plays out.”
Yet, Chaney is aware that — with ACC Player of the Year James Conner out for the season — Pitt has been unable to generate a ground game against its toughest opponents (Iowa and North Carolina, both losses). And No. 8 Notre Dame rolls into town Saturday for the most difficult test to date.
“Typical Notre Dame team,” Chaney said. “They got athletes all over the field.”
If Pitt is forced into a shootout with the Irish, whose talent level may exceed its 2012 team that played for a national championship, that could become a cause for concern.
“Because of our inability to be explosive and to score points, any margin of error is very minute,” Chaney said.
The run offense is ranked in the middle of the pack nationally and in the ACC (68th and seventh), which is out of step with the coaches' smashmouth philosophy. Two elements are missing.
• A running back who can seize the starting job and not let go
• A deep passing game
HINT: WHITEHEAD!
Chaney benched Ollison against North Carolina, even though he averaged nearly 6 yards per carry in the first quarter.
“We're looking to find a hot hand. We weren't getting the explosive runs we needed,” Chaney said, “and Q made a couple of mistakes in protections that worried me a little bit.”
Ollison was clearly upset with the decision, but Chaney said the two have reconciled their differences.
“He was animated,” Chaney said. “He gets a little spirited, as do I. We're fine. We had a good conversation (Monday). He's a good kid.”
Chaney said he still trusts Ollison, a redshirt freshman who is Pitt's leading rusher with 716 yards.
“Sure I do,” he said. “Kids make mistakes, you learn from them and you move on.”
Meanwhile, Pitt has been largely unable to throw the ball downfield, with Tyler Boyd, whose yards-per-catch average is off 38 percent, seeing regular double teams.
HINT: WHITEHEAD!
“Receivers got to win, quarterbacks got to throw it and the line's got to protect,” Chaney said. “Everybody wants to push the ball down the field, but it takes time for people to run down the field.”
HINT! WHITEHEAD RUNS FAST AND CAN CATCH THE SHORT PASSES AND RUN WITH THE BALL TOO!
The problem hasn't spread to the tight ends. J.P. Holtz and Scott Orndoff have combined for seven touchdowns among their 24 catches. “Nate throws nice passes. We run nice routes,” Holtz said.
HINT: ORNDOFF CAN THROW DEEP TOO?
Chaney said a similar cooperative spirit exists on the coaching staff, and he appeared to shrug off an incident at the end of the first half when coach Pat Narduzzi was caught by ESPN cameras yelling at his offensive coordinator after several seconds ticked off the clock. Narduzzi said there was an issue with the headsets.
Chaney said Narduzzi's message was: “ ‘Be on the same page, make the timeouts, get the communication right and clean it up.' We all live and learn. I think we are on the same page, and we get along really good.
“He sees the big picture. It's always good that the head coach looks at it from a little different dimension. (Narduzzi) being a defensive guy, he gives good input as to what they are doing structurally on the back half to help me out with play calls.”
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
The water was cool; Pitt offensive coordinator Jim Chaney appeared to be the same. Asked if the running back situation worries him, Chaney said, “Worry me? No. I wish it was all solved, but right now all three of those kids (Qadree Ollison, Chris James and Darrin Hall) are out there competing. We'll see how it plays out.”
Yet, Chaney is aware that — with ACC Player of the Year James Conner out for the season — Pitt has been unable to generate a ground game against its toughest opponents (Iowa and North Carolina, both losses). And No. 8 Notre Dame rolls into town Saturday for the most difficult test to date.
“Typical Notre Dame team,” Chaney said. “They got athletes all over the field.”
If Pitt is forced into a shootout with the Irish, whose talent level may exceed its 2012 team that played for a national championship, that could become a cause for concern.
“Because of our inability to be explosive and to score points, any margin of error is very minute,” Chaney said.
The run offense is ranked in the middle of the pack nationally and in the ACC (68th and seventh), which is out of step with the coaches' smashmouth philosophy. Two elements are missing.
• A running back who can seize the starting job and not let go
• A deep passing game
HINT: WHITEHEAD!
Chaney benched Ollison against North Carolina, even though he averaged nearly 6 yards per carry in the first quarter.
“We're looking to find a hot hand. We weren't getting the explosive runs we needed,” Chaney said, “and Q made a couple of mistakes in protections that worried me a little bit.”
Ollison was clearly upset with the decision, but Chaney said the two have reconciled their differences.
“He was animated,” Chaney said. “He gets a little spirited, as do I. We're fine. We had a good conversation (Monday). He's a good kid.”
Chaney said he still trusts Ollison, a redshirt freshman who is Pitt's leading rusher with 716 yards.
“Sure I do,” he said. “Kids make mistakes, you learn from them and you move on.”
Meanwhile, Pitt has been largely unable to throw the ball downfield, with Tyler Boyd, whose yards-per-catch average is off 38 percent, seeing regular double teams.
HINT: WHITEHEAD!
“Receivers got to win, quarterbacks got to throw it and the line's got to protect,” Chaney said. “Everybody wants to push the ball down the field, but it takes time for people to run down the field.”
HINT! WHITEHEAD RUNS FAST AND CAN CATCH THE SHORT PASSES AND RUN WITH THE BALL TOO!
The problem hasn't spread to the tight ends. J.P. Holtz and Scott Orndoff have combined for seven touchdowns among their 24 catches. “Nate throws nice passes. We run nice routes,” Holtz said.
HINT: ORNDOFF CAN THROW DEEP TOO?
Chaney said a similar cooperative spirit exists on the coaching staff, and he appeared to shrug off an incident at the end of the first half when coach Pat Narduzzi was caught by ESPN cameras yelling at his offensive coordinator after several seconds ticked off the clock. Narduzzi said there was an issue with the headsets.
Chaney said Narduzzi's message was: “ ‘Be on the same page, make the timeouts, get the communication right and clean it up.' We all live and learn. I think we are on the same page, and we get along really good.
“He sees the big picture. It's always good that the head coach looks at it from a little different dimension. (Narduzzi) being a defensive guy, he gives good input as to what they are doing structurally on the back half to help me out with play calls.”
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
