Well the bad omen started on Friday when as we are walking out the door to head to LAG for our flights I get a text from Delta that our flight was cancelled. Bad weather but not crazy bad in NY. Couldn’t get a flight rebooked and so we decided to stay in NYC and sell our Pitt and Steeler game tickets. Went to a local NYC Pitt bar (Murphys in midtown) to catch the game and where I proceeded to have way too much Scotch:
1. Aside from the Western Michigan game this might be the most disappointing Pitt game I have seen. At least in the WM game the offense played at a high level. In this game multiple phases of Pitt’s game were disastrous. Where do you start? No phase of our game played at any kind of acceptable level.
2. Do we start with the Defense? Where LB took bad angles and run fits on running plays? Or where our DT’s couldn’t get any penetration and were swallowed up? The Defense did get better in the second half, although on 3rd and 4 late in the game MJ needs to play up on his WR and not give him that kind of cushion. WVU next week arguably has a better running attack than Cincy. Better solve these problems quickly. We rarely got Cincy in third and long to unleash any kind of pass rush a credit to them continually being ahead of the sticks.
3. Do we start with the Offense? I mean stats aside on the QB, which were brutal, I’m trying hard to understand what the game plan was? Obviously the coaches must have seen the CIncy dbacks playing a lot of trail techniques to think that back shoulder throws would be the go to throws but one you have to be able to throw it and two you have to have receivers than can stop and turn on that kind of that pass. With Cincy sending in so many blitzers from different angles why not run some crossing routes? Or maybe try more than 1 screen. Didn’t get the offensive philosophy at all.
4. Let’s be honest as well. The OL got manhandled. Obviously we abondoned the run early but aside from CBo’s run there were few gaps to be had. Also I’m not sure I understand why we didn’t get the run game in rythm a little and play action off of it.. Phil’s lack of accuracy throughout the game dictated more of an attempt to run the ball. Where have you gone Rodney Hammond? I mean is he hurt? What’s the deal there? Hammond gets stronger typically as you feed him, but for some reason there’s an unwillingness to give him the ball.
5. Througout all that miserable play, you had a chance to pull it out when Williams made the INT. Had a chance but you kept on going to Means with low % throws? Was it Jurkovec improvising and not throwing it to the right WR or was that the play that was called? I wasn’t there and couldn’t tell on TV.
6. The missed FG was also enormous. Down 3 late is much different than down 6. We can give Sauls a mulligan because he’s been so good, but the miss impacted the game big time.
7. I thought the refs were fine. PJ’s personal foul was extremely ticky tacky but so was the roughing the QB on them. Didn’t think there was obvious missed calls.
8. So OL stunk, the DL and LB’s stunk, the QB was horrendous where do we go from here? Not sure frankly. I trust this coaching staff and I’m sure this performance was not something they were anticipating. AT WVU, UNC at home then at VT. Better figure it out or season could spin out of control.
9. I watched a lot of the UNC game. App State ran and passed on the Tar Heel D almost at will. They were fortunate to win. Not sure the D is any better. Maye makes plays but I don’t trust that team to be lights out.
10. For the first time since I can remember, Alabama looks pedestrian. Texas looked bigger and faster. Good win for the Longhorns. PAC 12 refs are notoriously bad and once again Oregon yesterday was gifted a FG late when a Texas Tech int in the end zone was ruled no catch. Blatantly bad crucial call.
11. I don‘t know but if my QB went 10-32 and I was the HC I’m not sure I’d be so adamant that he’s my qb. I undertsand that the QB position is much different than other positions. I get it, but Collier got replaced fairly early in that game with Z moving over and a freshman (Williams) taking over at right guard so nothing is scared but another game like that and I’d definitely consider a change. Yes the line at times hdidn’t give him time, but he also had clean pockets a lot and some of this throws were brutal. He also broke contain way too early at times. 10-32 is 10-32. Even if you take away the 11 targets for Means he’s still only 10-21. Narduzzi and Cignetti need to sit down and cut that game film up and see if it’s correctable. There are no sacred positions in big boy football.
12. I am hanging my hat on the fact that this coaching staff has historically been able to right the ship always but man yesterday was a bad look. It’s rare when so many phases of your game just stunk. It’s going to be a long week as we anxiously wonder if this is who we are or wether yesterday was an aberration.
Pitt82
1. Aside from the Western Michigan game this might be the most disappointing Pitt game I have seen. At least in the WM game the offense played at a high level. In this game multiple phases of Pitt’s game were disastrous. Where do you start? No phase of our game played at any kind of acceptable level.
2. Do we start with the Defense? Where LB took bad angles and run fits on running plays? Or where our DT’s couldn’t get any penetration and were swallowed up? The Defense did get better in the second half, although on 3rd and 4 late in the game MJ needs to play up on his WR and not give him that kind of cushion. WVU next week arguably has a better running attack than Cincy. Better solve these problems quickly. We rarely got Cincy in third and long to unleash any kind of pass rush a credit to them continually being ahead of the sticks.
3. Do we start with the Offense? I mean stats aside on the QB, which were brutal, I’m trying hard to understand what the game plan was? Obviously the coaches must have seen the CIncy dbacks playing a lot of trail techniques to think that back shoulder throws would be the go to throws but one you have to be able to throw it and two you have to have receivers than can stop and turn on that kind of that pass. With Cincy sending in so many blitzers from different angles why not run some crossing routes? Or maybe try more than 1 screen. Didn’t get the offensive philosophy at all.
4. Let’s be honest as well. The OL got manhandled. Obviously we abondoned the run early but aside from CBo’s run there were few gaps to be had. Also I’m not sure I understand why we didn’t get the run game in rythm a little and play action off of it.. Phil’s lack of accuracy throughout the game dictated more of an attempt to run the ball. Where have you gone Rodney Hammond? I mean is he hurt? What’s the deal there? Hammond gets stronger typically as you feed him, but for some reason there’s an unwillingness to give him the ball.
5. Througout all that miserable play, you had a chance to pull it out when Williams made the INT. Had a chance but you kept on going to Means with low % throws? Was it Jurkovec improvising and not throwing it to the right WR or was that the play that was called? I wasn’t there and couldn’t tell on TV.
6. The missed FG was also enormous. Down 3 late is much different than down 6. We can give Sauls a mulligan because he’s been so good, but the miss impacted the game big time.
7. I thought the refs were fine. PJ’s personal foul was extremely ticky tacky but so was the roughing the QB on them. Didn’t think there was obvious missed calls.
8. So OL stunk, the DL and LB’s stunk, the QB was horrendous where do we go from here? Not sure frankly. I trust this coaching staff and I’m sure this performance was not something they were anticipating. AT WVU, UNC at home then at VT. Better figure it out or season could spin out of control.
9. I watched a lot of the UNC game. App State ran and passed on the Tar Heel D almost at will. They were fortunate to win. Not sure the D is any better. Maye makes plays but I don’t trust that team to be lights out.
10. For the first time since I can remember, Alabama looks pedestrian. Texas looked bigger and faster. Good win for the Longhorns. PAC 12 refs are notoriously bad and once again Oregon yesterday was gifted a FG late when a Texas Tech int in the end zone was ruled no catch. Blatantly bad crucial call.
11. I don‘t know but if my QB went 10-32 and I was the HC I’m not sure I’d be so adamant that he’s my qb. I undertsand that the QB position is much different than other positions. I get it, but Collier got replaced fairly early in that game with Z moving over and a freshman (Williams) taking over at right guard so nothing is scared but another game like that and I’d definitely consider a change. Yes the line at times hdidn’t give him time, but he also had clean pockets a lot and some of this throws were brutal. He also broke contain way too early at times. 10-32 is 10-32. Even if you take away the 11 targets for Means he’s still only 10-21. Narduzzi and Cignetti need to sit down and cut that game film up and see if it’s correctable. There are no sacred positions in big boy football.
12. I am hanging my hat on the fact that this coaching staff has historically been able to right the ship always but man yesterday was a bad look. It’s rare when so many phases of your game just stunk. It’s going to be a long week as we anxiously wonder if this is who we are or wether yesterday was an aberration.
Pitt82
