Watson, Pickett, and other observations

[pittbb80]

IMO. Duzz has to replace Watson. Aside from then playcalling which I’ll adress, the OC is responsible for the delay of game and procedure penalties This has been an issue for three weeks. It’s inexcusable.

Secondly the play Calling is atrocious and that’s being kind. They never use the middle of the field in the passing game. The long developing pass plays when your OL has difficulty pass blocking are flat out dumb. He makes no attempt to get Ffrench and carter out in space in the passing game. The limited use of play action on early downs to take advantage of a strong running game is criminal And lastly we’ve seen no development of Pickett. He still locks on receivers and never checks down. Some of that is on KP but a lot of that is coaching If Duzz doesn’t dump this clown he’s sealing his fate as a HC.

The defense played well enough to win or at the very least make that game far more competitive than it was Its a shame the OC and KP put them in a hole and in bad positions all day long

With respect to KP we only saw one game where he actually played like a D1 QB. He locks on to receivers and can’t see the field. I was there and there were receivers open over the middle all nite long. He simply has no ability to look off receivers and look at other options perhaps with a different OC he might be OK but I’ve seen little to make me think he’s the answer

Regarding the first half finish. I have no issue with being aggressive at the end of the half. People slamming the staff for playing to win the game are being disengenuous. The same clowns would be slamming Duzz for not showing confidence in his team had they sat on the ball. The blame goes to KP.
That had to be the worst pass I’ve seen in a long time. There also were guys running open over the middle. Just awful.

Overlooked in the mess that is the offense is how well the defense has played They went toe to to with a powerful Clemson offense and held their own. Take away the offensive ineptitude and they essentially held Clemson to less than 30. The D will be even better next year

IMO the one thing Holdimg this program back is the OC. If Duzz dumps Watson this off season this program can continue to grow. It looks like Bates was a significant upgrade. He now needs to adress the other side of the ball.

As an aside nice Pitt turnout last night It’s hard to say how many there were but it was at least 10 k and the fans weee very loud. Kudos to those who attended

 

[paulbl99]

IMO. Duzz has to replace Watson. Aside from then playcalling which I’ll adress, the OC is responsible for the delay of game and procedure penalties This has been an issue for three weeks. It’s inexcusable.

Secondly the play Calling is atrocious and that’s being kind. They never use the middle of the field in the passing game. The long developing pass plays when your OL has difficulty pass blocking are flat out dumb. He makes no attempt to get Ffrench and carter out in space in the passing game. The limited use of play action on early downs to take advantage of a strong running game is criminal And lastly we’ve seen no development of Pickett. He still locks on receivers and never checks down. Some of that is on KP but a lot of that is coaching If Duzz doesn’t dump this clown he’s sealing his fate as a HC.

The defense played well enough to win or at the very least make that game far more competitive than it was Its a shame the OC and KP put them in a hole and in bad positions all day long

With respect to KP we only saw one game where he actually played like a D1 QB. He locks on to receivers and can’t see the field. I was there and there were receivers open over the middle all nite long. He simply has no ability to look off receivers and look at other options perhaps with a different OC he might be OK but I’ve seen little to make me think he’s the answer

Regarding the first half finish. I have no issue with being aggressive at the end of the half. People slamming the staff for playing to win the game are being disengenuous. The same clowns would be slamming Duzz for not showing confidence in his team had they sat on the ball. The blame goes to KP.
That had to be the worst pass I’ve seen in a long time. There also were guys running open over the middle. Just awful.

Overlooked in the mess that is the offense is how well the defense has played They went toe to to with a powerful Clemson offense and held their own. Take away the offensive ineptitude and they essentially held Clemson to less than 30. The D will be even better next year

IMO the one thing Holdimg this program back is the OC. If Duzz dumps Watson this off season this program can continue to grow. It looks like Bates was a significant upgrade. He now needs to adress the other side of the ball.

As an aside nice Pitt turnout last night It’s hard to say how many there were but it was at least 10 k and the fans weee very loud. Kudos to those who attended

Well said , disagree w end of half strategy.....but it is what it is

As an aside , if Pitt had 10k there; gots to be the only stadium in the world that holds almost a million.

 

[Panther_in_Kentucky]

Well said , disagree w end of half strategy.....but it is what it is

As an aside , if Pitt had 10k there; gots to be the only stadium in the world that holds almost a million.

You're an idiot. I was there and at least 10k fans. I'm guessing that number is low. So you are either a closet nitter or a yinzer. Loser.

 

[jtownknowitall]

There were 963 real Pitt fans there and 9148 Nitter Trolls there pretending to be Pitt fans.

Just like this board.

 

[DiehardPanther]

IMO. Duzz has to replace Watson. Aside from then playcalling which I’ll adress, the OC is responsible for the delay of game and procedure penalties This has been an issue for three weeks. It’s inexcusable.

Secondly the play Calling is atrocious and that’s being kind. They never use the middle of the field in the passing game. The long developing pass plays when your OL has difficulty pass blocking are flat out dumb. He makes no attempt to get Ffrench and carter out in space in the passing game. The limited use of play action on early downs to take advantage of a strong running game is criminal And lastly we’ve seen no development of Pickett. He still locks on receivers and never checks down. Some of that is on KP but a lot of that is coaching If Duzz doesn’t dump this clown he’s sealing his fate as a HC.

The defense played well enough to win or at the very least make that game far more competitive than it was Its a shame the OC and KP put them in a hole and in bad positions all day long

With respect to KP we only saw one game where he actually played like a D1 QB. He locks on to receivers and can’t see the field. I was there and there were receivers open over the middle all nite long. He simply has no ability to look off receivers and look at other options perhaps with a different OC he might be OK but I’ve seen little to make me think he’s the answer

Regarding the first half finish. I have no issue with being aggressive at the end of the half. People slamming the staff for playing to win the game are being disengenuous. The same clowns would be slamming Duzz for not showing confidence in his team had they sat on the ball. The blame goes to KP.
That had to be the worst pass I’ve seen in a long time. There also were guys running open over the middle. Just awful.

Overlooked in the mess that is the offense is how well the defense has played They went toe to to with a powerful Clemson offense and held their own. Take away the offensive ineptitude and they essentially held Clemson to less than 30. The D will be even better next year

IMO the one thing Holdimg this program back is the OC. If Duzz dumps Watson this off season this program can continue to grow. It looks like Bates was a significant upgrade. He now needs to adress the other side of the ball.

As an aside nice Pitt turnout last night It’s hard to say how many there were but it was at least 10 k and the fans weee very loud. Kudos to those who attended

You guys sounded loud on TV when it was 3rd down. Good Job!

I agree that we need a new OC. I would say he did a good job in about half the games. That isn’t good enough.

 

[thebadby2]

You guys sounded loud on TV when it was 3rd down. Good Job!

I agree that we need a new OC. I would say he did a good job in about half the games. That isn’t good enough.

He did the same job in every game, it’s just that it only worked against the weak defenses and had no prayer against any decent defensive front.

Watson sucks-bad.

 

[pittbb80]

The other thing I’d add is that KP is a horrible bad weather Qb. Know most qbs don’t play was well in wet conditions but I feared the wet wet here as KP has completely crashed and burned in the wet weather. He looks totally lost

 

[Saboteur]

The other thing I’d add is that KP is a horrible bad weather Qb. Know most qbs don’t play was well in wet conditions but I feared the wet wet here as KP has completely crashed and burned in the wet weather. He looks totally lost

I think he has small hands and that kills you in a mudfest. Rain on turf isn't as big a deal, but mud kills you.

 

[pittbb80]

I think he has small hands and that kills you in a mudfest. Rain on turf isn't as big a deal, but mud kills you.

That’s what I was thinking. But you almost can see it in the way he looks thay he’s not near as confident

 

[Burgh15]

It did look like a pretty solid showing from the Pitt fans, especially considering many of us knew they had zero shot of winning. Still cool to be playing for a conference title.

Narduzzi absolutely has to replace Watson. If he doesn't, he's is hanging his future on Watson and Pickett and based on what we've seen, it won't last very long. They set the passing game a century. Both the play calling and play design have been atrocious when throwing the ball. When you lack talent at certain positions, you have to scheme around it. That's why you see so many different offensive styles in college football. Pitt could seriously find an innovative high school coach or small college offensive coordinator who could devise a better scheme than Watson.

I am with you that the defense absolutely played well enough to win. The offense basically handed Clemson 14 points through three quarters and at some point, you knew Clemson would score more, which they did in the fourth.

I really don't think anyone would've criticized Narduzzi for going into the half with conservative play calling. There was not one person watching that game who truly believed Pickett was going to drive Pitt into scoring position with his arm. Go into halftime down 11 and try to score a touchdown to pull it to within one score to start the half. That was the smart call.

 

[Gregory25]

IMO. Duzz has to replace Watson. Aside from then playcalling which I’ll adress, the OC is responsible for the delay of game and procedure penalties This has been an issue for three weeks. It’s inexcusable.

Secondly the play Calling is atrocious and that’s being kind. They never use the middle of the field in the passing game. The long developing pass plays when your OL has difficulty pass blocking are flat out dumb. He makes no attempt to get Ffrench and carter out in space in the passing game. The limited use of play action on early downs to take advantage of a strong running game is criminal And lastly we’ve seen no development of Pickett. He still locks on receivers and never checks down. Some of that is on KP but a lot of that is coaching If Duzz doesn’t dump this clown he’s sealing his fate as a HC.

The defense played well enough to win or at the very least make that game far more competitive than it was Its a shame the OC and KP put them in a hole and in bad positions all day long

With respect to KP we only saw one game where he actually played like a D1 QB. He locks on to receivers and can’t see the field. I was there and there were receivers open over the middle all nite long. He simply has no ability to look off receivers and look at other options perhaps with a different OC he might be OK but I’ve seen little to make me think he’s the answer

Regarding the first half finish. I have no issue with being aggressive at the end of the half. People slamming the staff for playing to win the game are being disengenuous. The same clowns would be slamming Duzz for not showing confidence in his team had they sat on the ball. The blame goes to KP.
That had to be the worst pass I’ve seen in a long time. There also were guys running open over the middle. Just awful.

Overlooked in the mess that is the offense is how well the defense has played They went toe to to with a powerful Clemson offense and held their own. Take away the offensive ineptitude and they essentially held Clemson to less than 30. The D will be even better next year

IMO the one thing Holdimg this program back is the OC. If Duzz dumps Watson this off season this program can continue to grow. It looks like Bates was a significant upgrade. He now needs to adress the other side of the ball.

As an aside nice Pitt turnout last night It’s hard to say how many there were but it was at least 10 k and the fans weee very loud. Kudos to those who attended

I have no idea if Watson is a good coach. Having said that, I think it’s important to remember that this offense and style was forced on him by Narduzzi. This Matt Canada offense is what Duzz wants

 

[McKee Place]

I have no idea if Watson is a good coach. Having said that, I think it’s important to remember that this offense and style was forced on him by Narduzzi. This Matt Canada offense is what Duzz wants

That was a bold faced lie by the way. Duz said that kind of offense made him "sick" back when he had it. Scores too fast for his taste. Proof of it was hiring a guy to replace Canada not known for that kind of offense in the least, rather than a disciple who truly runs similar, of which there are plenty. Making Watson run a couple of WR sweeps now and then to placate the masses is definitely not the Canada offense.

 

[below0w]

A 59 year old with a history of flaming out at every decent job he's had, hired from a role as a ****ing quality control/QB coach to be an OC for an ACC program. Yeah, that didn't have disaster written all over it from the word go.

Pitt has a decent offensive line in terms of run blocking and two good RBs. When we had success, it wasn't because of Watson's game planning, it was because we ran it down the throat of teams who didn't have the personnel to stop us. The aspects of the team that Watson could control did not improve. He's awful, he never should have been hired but it absolutely boggles my mind that anyone could think he's done a good job.

 

[joeydavid]

Pitt ran the ball all over 2 top 20 rush defenses- saying it only worked against weak defenses is you trying to continually put Pitt down. Miami and Clemson are top 2 defenses in the country not " a decent defense" and unfortunately Pitt needed to shuffle their line in those 2 games.

Pitt needs to adopt the B1G approach in scheduling no-one OCC so people like yourself who think beating no-ones make you think they are better.

He did the same job in every game, it’s just that it only worked against the weak defenses and had no prayer against any decent defensive front.

Watson sucks-bad.

 

[PittHOFs]

The analysts on College Game Day said Clemson’s vulnerable down the middle of the field. And of course Pitt has an OC/Qb who couldn’t do it. Terrible game plan!

 

[Cap pitt]

IMO. Duzz has to replace Watson. Aside from then playcalling which I’ll adress, the OC is responsible for the delay of game and procedure penalties This has been an issue for three weeks. It’s inexcusable.

Secondly the play Calling is atrocious and that’s being kind. They never use the middle of the field in the passing game. The long developing pass plays when your OL has difficulty pass blocking are flat out dumb. He makes no attempt to get Ffrench and carter out in space in the passing game. The limited use of play action on early downs to take advantage of a strong running game is criminal And lastly we’ve seen no development of Pickett. He still locks on receivers and never checks down. Some of that is on KP but a lot of that is coaching If Duzz doesn’t dump this clown he’s sealing his fate as a HC.

The defense played well enough to win or at the very least make that game far more competitive than it was Its a shame the OC and KP put them in a hole and in bad positions all day long

With respect to KP we only saw one game where he actually played like a D1 QB. He locks on to receivers and can’t see the field. I was there and there were receivers open over the middle all nite long. He simply has no ability to look off receivers and look at other options perhaps with a different OC he might be OK but I’ve seen little to make me think he’s the answer

Regarding the first half finish. I have no issue with being aggressive at the end of the half. People slamming the staff for playing to win the game are being disengenuous. The same clowns would be slamming Duzz for not showing confidence in his team had they sat on the ball. The blame goes to KP.
That had to be the worst pass I’ve seen in a long time. There also were guys running open over the middle. Just awful.

Overlooked in the mess that is the offense is how well the defense has played They went toe to to with a powerful Clemson offense and held their own. Take away the offensive ineptitude and they essentially held Clemson to less than 30. The D will be even better next year

IMO the one thing Holdimg this program back is the OC. If Duzz dumps Watson this off season this program can continue to grow. It looks like Bates was a significant upgrade. He now needs to adress the other side of the ball.

As an aside nice Pitt turnout last night It’s hard to say how many there were but it was at least 10 k and the fans weee very loud. Kudos to those who attended

I second that

 

[PittFathead87]

Not saying whether Watson is good or not. I have no idea. But do you honestly think he doesn’t realize that he needs to throw the ball more? They did that at Wake because they were stuffing the run. He did what his players were capable of doing.

Two points.

They can’t pass the ball because the OL (including TE and RB) were terrible on pass blocking and Pickett holds the ball way too long.

I don’t think people realize how much it hurt Pitt when their starting C and possibly best lineman went down. It totally weakened the line at 3 positions. Against two of the top defenses in the country. If you watch a lot of these plays over again (although why would anyone want to do that) you see our C and Gs sometimes completely miss blocks on pass plays. As in they don’t even touch the guy and he blows right by them. When you haven’t played the position since HS and you’re now forced to play it with only two weeks practicing there AND you’re lining up next to a first time starter, you’re going to get crushed. No amount of coaching can overcome that.

KP and the OL were below the line from the PSU game on, so Watson and Narduzzi played to their strengths and they won the conference. Their C got hurt and it killed the cohesion on the line. Season over. They may look better in the bowl game after more practice, but you really need a whole summer to get that timing unless you’re an absolute stud.

Again, I have no knowledge as to whether he’s a good coach or not. Neither does anyone on this board. By winning the conference and taking 5 of 6 against ranked teams he may have done an outstanding job.

I ramble I know. But maybe KP isn’t any good at throwing over the middle. Needs more work and needs a TE to throw to.

 

[thebadby2]

I have no idea if Watson is a good coach. Having said that, I think it’s important to remember that this offense and style was forced on him by Narduzzi. This Matt Canada offense is what Duzz wants

The fact that you think this is even remotely close to the “Matt Canada offense” is telling.

 

[DiehardPanther]

The fact that you think this is even remotely close to the “Matt Canada offense” is telling.

That is true. Canada had the luxury of having more talent.

 

[gary2]

I think he has small hands and that kills you in a mudfest. Rain on turf isn't as big a deal, but mud kills you.

agree he seemed to be holding the football at its end

 

[Black_Man_Panther]

This Matt Canada offense is what Duzz wants

OK... Then he better recruit a QB. One that can play opening day next year.

 

[thebadby2]

That is true. Canada had the luxury of having more talent.

He did have better players. But that was just the one obvious way his offense was so superior to this one. I wouldn't expect you to have any clue as to what's actually going on when you watch a football game. You've made it clear over the years you don't get it.

 

[Gregory25]

The fact that you think this is even remotely close to the “Matt Canada offense” is telling.

What does it tell you?

 

[steelcurtain55.]

What is Canada's offense?

 

[Gregory25]

What is Canada's offense?

#pre-snapshiftingjetsweepmotioninginsidezonerunningthrowingonlyoutsidethnumbersandrarelyfurtherthan10yardsdownthefield!! Offense

 

[DiehardPanther]

He did have better players. But that was just the one obvious way his offense was so superior to this one. I wouldn't expect you to have any clue as to what's actually going on when you watch a football game. You've made it clear over the years you don't get it.

LOL - okay Vince Lombardi.

 

[NJPSU]

What is Canada's offense?

Against Penn State...a lot of shovel passes.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

I don't know what you call it, but you never knew what was coming with Canada and he created wrinkles (and used them) off his successful plays.

Yeah, Watson runs a jet sweep. He runs the same damn jet sweep over and over again. He might have Canada's playbook, but the play calling is completely different.

Pickett's best throw is the slant. You could see it right away last year against VT and Miami. They rarely throw it now. That's on the coaches.

Pickett is slow to process and often late when he makes his decision. Maybe because he's young and maybe because he's just not a quick decision maker. Take it out of his hands if this is the case.

 

[McKee Place]

Not saying whether Watson is good or not. I have no idea. But do you honestly think he doesn’t realize that he needs to throw the ball more? They did that at Wake because they were stuffing the run. He did what his players were capable of doing.

Two points.

They can’t pass the ball because the OL (including TE and RB) were terrible on pass blocking and Pickett holds the ball way too long.

I don’t think people realize how much it hurt Pitt when their starting C and possibly best lineman went down. It totally weakened the line at 3 positions. Against two of the top defenses in the country. If you watch a lot of these plays over again (although why would anyone want to do that) you see our C and Gs sometimes completely miss blocks on pass plays. As in they don’t even touch the guy and he blows right by them. When you haven’t played the position since HS and you’re now forced to play it with only two weeks practicing there AND you’re lining up next to a first time starter, you’re going to get crushed. No amount of coaching can overcome that.

KP and the OL were below the line from the PSU game on, so Watson and Narduzzi played to their strengths and they won the conference. Their C got hurt and it killed the cohesion on the line. Season over. They may look better in the bowl game after more practice, but you really need a whole summer to get that timing unless you’re an absolute stud.

Again, I have no knowledge as to whether he’s a good coach or not. Neither does anyone on this board. By winning the conference and taking 5 of 6 against ranked teams he may have done an outstanding job.

I ramble I know. But maybe KP isn’t any good at throwing over the middle. Needs more work and needs a TE to throw to.

I think this is a good post overall. I don't know good or bad he is either. But I suspect the truth is further to your argument than the other folks just mindlessly clamoring for Pitt to get rid of him.

I think it's great that he and they took lemons and made a little lemonade. I definitely didn't expect more than 4 wins. He got a great deal out of what, if we're honest, are two fairly pedestrian backs.

But let me say i think the fact that Pickett, the receivers, the OL were bereft of even basic passing, route running, and pass blocking ability casts a pall on Watson (and Narduzzi). Those are musts in

I don't know what you call it, but you never knew what was coming with Canada and he created wrinkles (and used them) off his successful plays.

Yeah, Watson runs a jet sweep. He runs the same damn jet sweep over and over again. He might have Canada's playbook, but the play calling is completely different.

Pickett's best throw is the slant. You could see it right away last year against VT and Miami. They rarely throw it now. That's on the coaches.

Pickett is slow to process and often late when he makes his decision. Maybe because he's young and maybe because he's just not a quick decision maker. Take it out of his hands if this is the case.

Yes, i said in another post that I think it's an injustice to call those wide receiver runs a "jet sweep." We don't have any deception, no intricate pulling, no alternate short hand off to Astin, like in 2016. Now, we just hand it off to the WR going by, no special blocking, utterly predictable.

The sad thing is when the news broke Canada had left, I had a feeling similar to when the Pirates lost in the championship game to Atlanta in 92. Each time I knew something special was over, and that the Pitt admin, like the Pirates, would never really try to get it back. Watson replacing Canada was basically the equivalent of the Pirates trying to replace Barry Bonds with Will Pennyfeather.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

What if they call slant, post, dig, etc and the qb just attempts the flat route?

Is that on the coaches?

 

[pittbb80]

What if they call slant, post, dig, etc and the qb just attempts the flat route?

Is that on the coaches?

That’s a good question. In one game I’d say no that’s on the qb. But over the course of the season that’s on the coaches. It seems to me if a player doesn’t execute the plays it’s rhe coaches job to get the player to improve or sit the player until they get it

 

[paulbl99]

What if they call slant, post, dig, etc and the qb just attempts the flat route?

Is that on the coaches?

Does every passing play have a flat route....just askin’

 

[McKee Place]

If the player repeatedly won't or can't run the plays and the team cant compete as a result, and coaches are never going to even try the backup, it's on the coaches.

If i suck at my job and have supreme assurance I'll never be replaced, there is no incentive to get better. I might say all the right things about getting better but deep inside, what's the motivation? Besides that, maybe I just don't have it in me, even if I am motivated. Either way it's folly to keep pushing me out there.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

What if the starter clearly brings more to the table than the backups?

There is a trend here and it's not just at the qb position.

 

[McKee Place]

What if the starter clearly brings more to the table than the backups?

There is a trend here and it's not just at the qb position.

Obviously that's a bigger problem. I'd hope the AD is asking that question

 

[pittbb80]

Obviously that's a bigger problem. I'd hope the AD is asking that question

Why would the AD be involved ? Haven’t we leaned from the past what happens when ADs mettle in coaching decisions ?

 

[pittdan77]

Pitt ran the ball all over 2 top 20 rush defenses- saying it only worked against weak defenses is you trying to continually put Pitt down. Miami and Clemson are top 2 defenses in the country not " a decent defense" and unfortunately Pitt needed to shuffle their line in those 2 games.

Pitt needs to adopt the B1G approach in scheduling no-one OCC so people like yourself who think beating no-ones make you think they are better.

What two "top 20" rush defenses did Pitt "run all over"?

 

[steelcurtain55.]

What two "top 20" rush defenses did Pitt "run all over"?

I don't know the rankings but where do Clemson and PSU rank?

 

[pittdan77]

I don't know the rankings but where do Clemson and PSU rank?

Clemson finished 3rd in "rush defense". Miami was 24th. GT was 47th (@4.51 YPC). Penn State finished 71st.

Most of Pitt's opponents weren't very good at stopping the run.

 

[DiehardPanther]

What if they call slant, post, dig, etc and the qb just attempts the flat route?

Is that on the coaches?

What impressed me the most about Walt Harris was the precision within his passing game. He was meticulous with the timing and yardage of the routes. I’d bet that if we had these same players under Walt in his heyday that we’d get much better results in the passing game. To me - that is coaching.