IMO, there is very little enthusiasm for Pitt football this spring. Spring camp is underway and this board is pretty dead. I admit to being among those with a lack of interest. Last season put a damper on whatever enthusiasm I had for Pitt improving in the future and becoming a legit perennial top 25 team. The current level of mediocrity just doesn't hold my interest and I have dropped into the show-me something really good on the field mode before my interest will return.
Spring Ball Enthusiasm?
- Thread starter DC_Area_Panther
- Start date
Agree mostly .
The O-Line scares me and Pickett didn't impress last season. Will see.
https://triblive.com/sports/pitt-line-coach-dave-borbely-starts-working-on-his-jigsaw-puzzle/
The O-Line scares me and Pickett didn't impress last season. Will see.
https://triblive.com/sports/pitt-line-coach-dave-borbely-starts-working-on-his-jigsaw-puzzle/
Well, when you lock the media out and have a very average team, that's what you get. I miss the days of reading spring practice updates from the PG and trib by their bloggers. Gave you an inside look on who performed well, performwd bad, how young kids were developing etc.
Now it's who cares what you find out, show up on Saturdays in the fall, that's your only contact with the team. Not sure how that's a good strategy for PITT who desperately needs more support and needs to grow their fanbase. I don't care what other programs do, be different.
Now it's who cares what you find out, show up on Saturdays in the fall, that's your only contact with the team. Not sure how that's a good strategy for PITT who desperately needs more support and needs to grow their fanbase. I don't care what other programs do, be different.
I think its there. we are all excited and awaiting Chris and Jim's updates.. Staff keeps things under wraps so it's hard to get really excited about hearing info that you probably know isn't coming..
With spring ball, it seems more focused towards laying a foundation and experimenting with personnel moreso than position battles and preparing for season. I get more excited about August camp than spring camp. IMO, a player can have a great spring and yeah, it may carry over a little but by august, freshmen roll in, months seperated from spring ball, it's all but forgotten..
With spring ball, it seems more focused towards laying a foundation and experimenting with personnel moreso than position battles and preparing for season. I get more excited about August camp than spring camp. IMO, a player can have a great spring and yeah, it may carry over a little but by august, freshmen roll in, months seperated from spring ball, it's all but forgotten..
If there is any program in America that should be opening it's door wide for the fans, it's Pitt IMO. The fan base is meager compared to most programs. (Please no responses re: the struggle of urban-based universities that compete for sports dollars with professional teams like Miami and USC...just really tired of that argument.) Even if that is a major problem, so much the more should Pitt be doing anything to reach out to it's fan base. I just don't like the way this staff locks everything down. You would think they're developing some sort of breakthrough offensive and defensive techniques that will shock the football world. But we've seen that definitely has not been the case based on the mediocre product on the field. It seems to me that Narduzzi likes to assume the role of a media curmudgeon in the mold of Nick Saban. Saban can get away with his boorish behavior because he wins. Narduzzi on the other hand, should be as accommodating and polite as possible to the media that continues to cover his team despite it's raging mediocrity.
As I wrote in another thread this would be a prime year to have had some buzz, because all the other local teams are down. Steelers probably will actually do fine, but the AB fiasco has people down on them. The Penguins look like a team with serious issues past the top 3-4 players and seem destined for a quick out. The Pirates suck as always. This would have been a great year to have some reason for excitement for Pitt football going into spring and summer. Alas no.
One thing that should have been done was announce that the starting QB job was an open competition, even if in Duz mind it absolutely isn't. A QB competition always increases interest. Of course, the fact that it really SHOULD be an open competition is another story.
One thing that should have been done was announce that the starting QB job was an open competition, even if in Duz mind it absolutely isn't. A QB competition always increases interest. Of course, the fact that it really SHOULD be an open competition is another story.
Using rivals rankings, Wanny brought in one class in the top 25, 2006 was #21. In fairness to you, there were two other years under wanny where they were just out of the top 25, #26th and #28th, I believe..
That 2006 class was top heavy with players like Otah, Malecki, Scorin Dorin, Byham and pinkston but out of 27 players, I count about 10 who made a contribution (and im being generous). way over 50% were true busts, probably closer to 66%..
If you are using that as a measuring stick of being optimistic or not, well I think that's a tad foolish..
Check out that class, in hindsight of course, and tell me that this is the success on the recruiting trail that we should strive for.
https://pittsburgh.rivals.com/commitments/football/2006
On paper, true, never really high. But there were more higher profile local recruits, and we would actually get some of them, which always amps the thinking somewhat.
Agree about the QB, that has some neutered.
As for Steelers, Pens, etc never saw much of a significant factor either way for Pitt. Might have drummed up some local media interest, but most of that is damning with faint praise at best anyway.
I think Scout gave some of Wanny's classes an even higher rating, but they always seemed to overrate our guys for some reason. I believe either the 2006 or 2007 class was way up in the top ten on Scout. But you're right, those classes had a ton of reaches and even more busts that never lived up to their rankings.
There are big picture ceilings but Pitt should try not limping home to finish nearly every year for once to bump up preseason interest. When's the last time that happened? 02? 09? Mostly relied hiring new coaches or AD's to get interest.
the '07 class was 26th (rivals rankings) and again, multiple 4 star players including Bostick (who we were all excited about), McCoy, Jacobson (Local guy), duhart, tucker and wright, cant say I was too excited about them but my memory is bad. Again, some decent 3 stars with caragein, Lindsay, Hyno (who I loved) but a ton of reaches..
https://pittsburgh.rivals.com/commitments/football/2007
I just don't get this narrative from some that our wanny classes were so high and now they suck when in reality, there is very little difference spanning from Wanny to graham, to chryst and now to duzzer.. Posters on here act like we were bringing in top 10 classes and now we are on the wrong side of 50. The truth is, at best, we were mid 20's to mid 30's and now, we are mid 30's to low 30s.
People got hopes of glory from a 26th rated class but now that it's in the mid 30's, we are relegated to 5 - 8 wins. that's what im reading here. that's outlandish..
"Let me tell you all about my ex-girlfriend - who I'm totally over - and all of the reasons why I don't care about her anymore."
A
anon_vmuicqnzlyp3u
Guest
I just don't think there is anything to get excited about. We limped down the stretch. Watched a QB struggle thru the season. Watched an offensive line that was mediocre at best( and that is being kind.) We still have questions on said line and QB. Lastly, couple that with the level of recruiting we had, it is difficult to be excited.
I’m genuinely excited about the defense.
The offense? I can’t recall a bigger unknown than this upcoming offense. We have no clue on 90% of the offense. Qb, RBs, wrs, o-line. I mean, we know what? Morrissey is good when healthy and Mack and Ffrench can play wr at this level. That the only things we actually know at this point. The rest is a huge unknown.
A
anon_vmuicqnzlyp3u
Guest
I guess the defense is pretty solid but I am still not excited. I like the corners but the LB's are a concern to me. I like the DLine as well
The LBs are a big concern to me too. After what we’ve witnessed the last few years with playing defense, numerous times giving up career numbers to opposing qbs, it doesn’t take much for me to get excited.
Pretty solid? That excites me. I don’t need steel curtain, I need a few three and outs and holding a spread offense to under 400 yards passing by halftime.
The problem is that, while it may be delusional that people expect a contender from Pitt football, the expectations are the expectations. That's the norm in this region. We compete for attention with other teams, pro and college, that set a higher bar of expectations. And that forms the reality the program is beholden to.
Most of us interested enough to hang out on Pitt message boards, won't ever tune out. But the majority of the region will, and have. They have voted with dollars and attendance, or lack thereof.
You could have stopped your post after the first 9 words.
This is what happens when you run closed practices, don't have any stars, are below .500 over the past few seasons, haven't won a bowl game in years.
Pitt gives out nothing. The media really has nothing. So we as fans, really have nothing to zero in as far as talking points. It would be nice to know say who at RB is getting reps and how they look. How the WR's look. How the young QB's look. How does Paris Ford look and is he "getting it". Of course, how the OL looks and who is at TE. And who is working at the LB spots? I mean, there are an awful lot of topics that could be discussed, but there is less leaks here than the Manhattan Project.
And as I wrote in another thread, it is now or never for this program to start getting its act together and winning. What you mentioned above, not this year, not the next, but soon when Ben is gone (does anyone really trust the Steeler's management to make some bold draft picks) and when Sid and Geno is gone, both the Steelers and Pens are going to be bottom level franchises. This city will be hungry for a winner, and Pitt BB and FB need to be in a position to take advantage of this.
When Pitt FB was last great, the Steelers were winning 4 of 6 Super Bowls. When Pitt BB was a top 10 program, the Pens and Steelers were winning championships.
Well a few things.
1) Scout really hyperinflated those classes because one of their national "gurus" was a Pitt fan and a local. So he always rated kids high.
2) I think Rivals really under ranked some of our recruits (Pinkston was a 3 star for example) which kept our Rivals class rankings down.
3) If you go by offers, we can talk about so and so being recruited by a P5 school, but those guys, Pinkston, Dickerson, Byham, Nix, et al were being recruited by the LSU's, Florida's, Notre Dame's, Ohio State's and Penn State's, you know, schools where now we just throw up our hands with a surrender if they come after the locals.
4) Wanny sold the program and was more media friendly.
Well, reporting on Pitt is either "WOW, LOOK AT THIS!" or "meh...Pitt".
For instance, last fall, we heard about how Pickett hadn't thrown an INT for weeks but we now know that had to be a joke. I think we have this sycophantic, Pitt-centric, internet media that is making inflated claims and downplaying failures to sell subscriptions or gain more access. On the other side, Ron Cook and company.
To be honest, Pitt is its own worst enemy for a lot of reasons. Access won't really improve things because you have to be good enough and interesting enough that you need a venue bigger than a conference room table for your press conferences before anyone really cares.
agree, the expectation is to make the Orange Bowl (or the BCS before).
But reality is they've won 1 BE (4 way tiebraker) and 1 Coastal (probably its weakest ever) in 20 yrs. I guess I'm saying if you want to be interested, lower the bar- temporarily- if it makes you feel better. Otherwise you're in Bucco land.
It's a good point. I've complained on media but i think the grizzled columnists and talk show jerkasses are anti Pitt (or pro PSU mor accurately)... but the actual beat reporters are probably too positive. The Pickett gushing early last year for example. Also the beat guys covering Pitt basketball are / were honestly far too kind. The basketball team has been a disaster, and still stinks. You see March madness and the perspective of how far off Pitt is from that world in just a few short years, really we should have been slammed much harder than we gave been. The region being horrible for basketball has been the saving grace there. But point is, the beat reporters themselves are happy to please, or maybe just happy passing along the pablum from the SID. EJ & co may love that...but that isn't a great thing, because we get no meaningful info, bad or good. May as well be no coverage at all... which sometimes you get the idea is what Pitt prefers. Pitt simply doesn't seem to want focus on sports, bottom line... seems to be shame there, subconsciously or not.
I generally am supportive of Duz but this is one area that I think hes dead wrong on. For the most part spring and fall camp practices should be open to the public......and press.......This team needs all the free pub and stories it can get.......
I'm not certain that explains the media blackout for spring ball. I think this is just an example of Narduzzi being, well, Narduzzi. His act is getting old.
The greater point about Pitt athletics is true. But only to an extent. I think the University wants to have success but not at the expense of some of the embarrassments of the past.
I know I am excited as ever. Think this could be a special year if Pitt starts out good. It is tough getting minimal press coverage, but the message boards at least create some discussion. Just anticipating what Whipple will do, what Pickett can do to fulfill what fans were expecting last year, a solid defense, and a division that can be had, is enough to create enthusiasm for the regular season. Maybe some fans will 'get in the mood' by attending the spring game.
I agree w/ the limping. Miami game was a disgrace even if there was no Ollison. Clemson... whatever... they blew everyone out. Bowl game... holy crap.
But don't diss the OL. 2x 1k yd rushers w/ a QB that struggled to complete a pass. They were NOT mediocre. Only appeared that way when Morrison went down.
