Pitt Players Praise Narduzzi's Coaching Style, LINK!

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

If Pitt wide receiver Tyler Boyd felt good about the team scoring 42 points in the first half against Louisville, coach Pat Narduzzi quickly set him straight. “He came in trippin', ” Boyd said of Narduzzi's halftime talk in Pitt's locker room. “The game ain't over. It's still 0-0,” Boyd said quoting Narduzzi, who was upset that his defense already had allowed 24 points. Boyd thought about his first-year coach for another second and figured there was no other conclusion after Pitt had won its eighth game, 45-34. “We're just well-coached.” Ejuan Price smiled when a reporter asked about his head coach's attacking style — whether it's devising the game plan, the immediate call on defense or his halftime speech. “You've been around him, he's crazy,” Price said. “Coach Narduzzi's crazy.” The result of all the craziness is Pitt will take an 8-3 overall record — and the ACC's third-best conference record (6-1) — into its regular-season finale Friday against Miami at Heinz Field. It will be televised by ESPN2.


Tough vs. the run
It might be difficult to credit the defense for the victory. Louisville threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns while trimming a 25-point to eight in the fourth quarter. But the Pitt defense is designed to stop the run first, and that worked nearly to perfection. Louisville gave up on its ground game, giving backs Brandon Radcliff and Reggie Bonnafon only nine carries that netted minus-2 yards. The week before, against Virginia, Radcliff rushed for 146. Mix in 58 yards lost after seven Pitt sacks, and Louisville ended up with minus-1 yard rushing. That's the best job defending the run by Pitt since Rutgers was held to minus-3 in 2002.


‘Sitting ducks'
Price had five of Pitt's seven sacks and made it sound easy. “They were holding onto the ball,” he said of Louisville quarterbacks Kyle Bolin and Lamar Jackson. “You would think they would throw it away. It seems like they were sitting ducks.” Jackson, the more mobile of the Cardinals' quarterbacks, replaced Bolin in the second quarter. “He made people look stupid on film,” Price said of Jackson. “I said, ‘That's not going to be us. Just make sure he doesn't scramble.' ”Pitt sacked Bolin three times and Jackson four.


More sack stuff
Pitt is fifth in the nation and first in the ACC with 37 sacks, five more than No. 1 Clemson. Penn State and Arizona State are first with 44. … Woodland Hills graduates Price (11½), linebacker Mike Caprara (five) and defensive tackle K.K. Mosley-Smith (one half) have recorded 17 of Pitt's sacks. … Price's total is a half-sack more than Aaron Donald had in his senior year (2013), but Price is playing in a differently designed defense.


What's going on?
Narduzzi wasn't happy with kick coverage. Louisville returned only three (two punts and a kickoff), but two set up scores in the first quarter. Jaire Alexander had an 18-yard return on a punt, leading to a field goal. Traveon Samuel brought back a kickoff 41 yards to set up a touchdown. “Probably the most disappointing thing was the way our special teams played,” Narduzzi said. “Our coverage teams have been a lot better than that. We have to clean that up this week. “We try to cut stuff back as the season goes on, but I have to add some special teams periods (in practice). I don't know what's going on.”


Peterman keeps it clean
Quarteback Nathan Peterman is fourth in the ACC in passing efficiency (145.5) with only four interceptions among his 266 attempts. After two picks in the first quarter of the Iowa game, he was intercepted once once in the subsequent 35 quarters. Backup Chad Voytik played for the first time since the Georgia Tech game Oct. 17 and carried once for 2 yards.


Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Great post Cap!

How could s player not want to play for HCPN

 

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

Great post Cap!

How could s player not want to play for HCPN

Thanks "NCS9", It is Jerry Dipaola of Triblive that does a great job on reporting on Pitt, good, bad, or indifferent but does not take cheap shots like Kook&Baloney to gain attention?

What one knows is some of these Pitt Players have been under 3 Coaches now, like Price, and they can see the difference in coaching. What I really love is how Narduzzi pays attention to every detail and talks about what needs corrected and is never satisfied. What a Coach!

I had to wait until I saw the way he was coaching the Pitt Players and it did take the 10th and 11th Games to see a Complete Team on Defense & Offense, but I am certain now he is a Very Good to Great Coach right now, and we will see within 3 ton 5 Years if Coach Pat is an Elite Coach? I suspect he is and I also feel he will stay at Pitt a long time.

I knew after I saw on the USC Board when USC fired Sarkanian and Penn State Posters were pushing Narduzzi name in hopes he leaves Pitt!!!

I also watch the Michigan Penn State Games and Pitt Louisville with some Penn State Fans and all they kept saying is how bad Franklin is and how Penn State should offer Narduzzi $5 Million to go to Penn State!

All I know is those on BWI are worried and hate seeing Pitt's Narduzzi coach up these Pitt Players, and how some Pitt Posters that are Naysayers and Pederson Promoters only come around and post when Pitt loses and complain about Pitt, and most know whom those Posters are now.

The mockers of the Pitt Script, Defenders Chryst never needed a Special Teams Coach, and kept saying Pederson was the Best Ad Pitt ever had, and cannot find a better one.....now the Mockers on PITT are being mocked and run away when confronted, and not one is a man to admit they were wrong!

Well, all I have to say is........Pitt Is it!

 

[KiwiJeff]

Thanks "NCS9", It is Jerry Dipaola of Triblive that does a great job on reporting on Pitt, good, bad, or indifferent but does not take cheap shots like Kook&Baloney to gain attention?

What one knows is some of these Pitt Players have been under 3 Coaches now, like Price, and they can see the difference in coaching. What I really love is how Narduzzi pays attention to every detail and talks about what needs corrected and is never satisfied. What a Coach!

I had to wait until I saw the way he was coaching the Pitt Players and it did take the 10th and 11th Games to see a Complete Team on Defense & Offense, but I am certain now he is a Very Good to Great Coach right now, and we will see within 3 ton 5 Years if Coach Pat is an Elite Coach? I suspect he is and I also feel he will stay at Pitt a long time.

I knew after I saw on the USC Board when USC fired Sarkanian and Penn State Posters were pushing Narduzzi name in hopes he leaves Pitt!!!

I also watch the Michigan Penn State Games and Pitt Louisville with some Penn State Fans and all they kept saying is how bad Franklin is and how Penn State should offer Narduzzi $5 Million to go to Penn State!

All I know is those on BWI are worried and hate seeing Pitt's Narduzzi coach up these Pitt Players, and how some Pitt Posters that are Naysayers and Pederson Promoters only come around and post when Pitt loses and complain about Pitt, and most know whom those Posters are now.

The mockers of the Pitt Script, Defenders Chryst never needed a Special Teams Coach, and kept saying Pederson was the Best Ad Pitt ever had, and cannot find a better one.....now the Mockers on PITT are being mocked and run away when confronted, and not one is a man to admit they were wrong!

Well, all I have to say is........Pitt Is it!

I don't read this part of the site much, but your last paragraph seems like it's made up, or at least uses hyperbole in extremis. Were there actually posters writing what you attribute to them? People actually wrote nobody could ever be better than Steve? Best AD we ever had? That doesn't sound real. I suspect nobody could admit to being wrong on something if nobody actually wrote it. Nevertheless, glad you posted th original post. Coach doing a great job.

 

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

I don't read this part of the site much, but your last paragraph seems like it's made up, or at least uses hyperbole in extremis. Were there actually posters writing what you attribute to them? People actually wrote nobody could ever be better than Steve? Best AD we ever had? That doesn't sound real. I suspect nobody could admit to being wrong on something if nobody actually wrote it. Nevertheless, glad you posted th original post. Coach doing a great job.

My Post was mine, not earlier TribLive at all. Yet, last week Jerry DiPaola did write that Barnes listen to the coaches ulike Pederson!

Sorry, but we did have Posters on the Lair that promoted Pederson and said he was not the problem!

 

[deepelemblues]

Pitt getting back in the top 5 in sacks nationally makes me very happy

 

[#99HUGHgreen]

What one knows is some of these Pitt Players have been under 3 Coaches now, like Price, and they can see the difference in coaching. What I really love is how Narduzzi pays attention to every detail and talks about what needs corrected and is never satisfied. What a Coach!

Well, all I have to say is........Pitt Is it!

Good Captain

As you may recall, I was saying these exact same things about Narduzzi prior to the beginning of this season. It was one of the reasons I stated Pitt could realistically win 9 or more games this year (in Pat's first season). Paying attention to details, being able to speak to specific problems on the field and to specific ways to correct them were the things neither Wannstedt nor Chryst were able to do and frankly why their teams were mediocre.

If you can't express the problems on the field or how to correct them, how do you ever get better? The answer is that you don't (well maybe you can get a little better with vey good recruiting).

Additionally, aside from maybe a handful or self motivators, football players on the team need leadership and the right motivation from their coaches to bring out their best. Players must come to understand that excellence really is is in the details. And while Pitt is not an excellent team just yet (they still need some better players and need to get a little more consistency on both sides of the ball), they are certainly moving in that direction under Narduzzi's leadership.

He has high expectations for his players and pushes them to meet those expectations. He has proven coaching up is a real thing (I never imagined Caprara could play half as well as he has). He never shied away from stating (and believing) this team could do better in his first year (as previous coaches have done). He is dialed in on game day. He wears his passion and conviction on his sleeve. He's got his kids playing with more guts and less fear. He understands that you have to "believe It" before you can "do it."

I was a believer from the start that with Narduzzi, Pitt Is It

or should I say, Pat Is It for Pitt!

 

[KiwiJeff]

My Post was mine, not earlier TribLive at all. Yet, last week Jerry DiPaola did write that Barnes listen to the coaches ulike Pederson!

Sorry, but we did have Posters on the Lair that promoted Pederson and said he was not the problem!

Saying he was not the root of some problem is not the same as saying he is the best AD ever and cannot be replaced. I am not going to argue with you any further on it, but it sounded like hyperbole, and you confirmed that it was. That's fine, but that will also explain why nobody would admit to saying the hyperbole.