"wildy inconsistant"

[benchwarmer04]

if that doesn't sum it all up as a pitt football fan. go though the schedule last year, and to capt.obvious,(me)it is just staggering to consider. probably, my most disappointing loss,last year,was the last one. the northwestern game was there for the taking-a big stage,and it had all the ingredients for a satisfying win, to set the table for the off season, and this coming year.

you mean to tell me after the starting QB loss(who played the entire year unhurt(and we had no prepared understudy)-and the starting RB loss-the team's deepest position. can you say wtf ?

the coaches had to have been grooming a solid back up QB.why wasn't there one ?. you had 16 weeks to train and develop one. the really glaring gap was never having a defense that was settled and had on the field leadership.

 

[crosbymalkin8771]

All the losses sucked, but the UNC loss stung hardest for me, VT a close second.

The NW game was just bizzaro world. Also got scorched by that RB despite a very strong run D all year.

 

[KanePA]

if that doesn't sum it all up as a pitt football fan. go though the schedule last year, and to capt.obvious,(me)it is just staggering to consider. probably, my most disappointing loss,last year,was the last one. the northwestern game was there for the taking-a big stage,and it had all the ingredients for a satisfying win, to set the table for the off season, and this coming year.

you mean to tell me after the starting QB loss(who played the entire year unhurt(and we had no prepared understudy)-and the starting RB loss-the team's deepest position. can you say wtf ?

the coaches had to have been grooming a solid back up QB.why wasn't there one ?. you had 16 weeks to train and develop one. the really glaring gap was never having a defense that was settled and had on the field leadership.

Not sure the point of your rant. The bowl game was 7 months ago. To your point about the QB, that's more of a byproduct of Paul Chrysts poor recruiting at the position. Consider that Voytik was OK, but Narduzzi has since brought in Peterman, Browne as transfers and MacVittie, Pickett and Patti (assuming he signs.) That's a GIANT talent upgrade at the QB position.

 

[Delpanther]

if that doesn't sum it all up as a pitt football fan. go though the schedule last year, and to capt.obvious,(me)it is just staggering to consider. probably, my most disappointing loss,last year,was the last one. the northwestern game was there for the taking-a big stage,and it had all the ingredients for a satisfying win, to set the table for the off season, and this coming year.

you mean to tell me after the starting QB loss(who played the entire year unhurt(and we had no prepared understudy)-and the starting RB loss-the team's deepest position. can you say wtf ?

the coaches had to have been grooming a solid back up QB.why wasn't there one ?. you had 16 weeks to train and develop one. the really glaring gap was never having a defense that was settled and had on the field leadership.

You can blame Mumbles for the lack of QB depth; the depth at RB was over rated. Behind Conner just a bunch of pedestrian backs.

 

[Revenge Of The Noise]

Too much bumbling coming out of the gate despite a strong start (Aston tripping over something invisible, possibly the Spirit of Pitt Stadium, preventing an easy TD) ... which set a dismal tone that lasted to the very end when Orndoff, with perhaps the best hands on the team, drops a TD pass right in his hands. And of course untimely injuries to key personnel.

Yes, we could blame the defense, which stunk as usual. But everyone knows this is a team with a putrid defense that needs to capitalize on all it's scoring opps to win games. After all, it was a team that scored 76 points and a game and still didn't cover! It doesn't excuse the defense but means the offense needed to deliver.

The details really don't matter though. It showed a general trait of almost every Pitt teams (and coaches): Not adequately prepared for its bowl game. For every decent showing in a bowl I think most of us could name 10 others where Pitt disappointed and lost pretty much due to its own sloppiness and indifference. Going back to the early 80's.

 

[upj87]

if that doesn't sum it all up as a pitt football fan. go though the schedule last year, and to capt.obvious,(me)it is just staggering to consider. probably, my most disappointing loss,last year,was the last one. the northwestern game was there for the taking-a big stage,and it had all the ingredients for a satisfying win, to set the table for the off season, and this coming year.

you mean to tell me after the starting QB loss(who played the entire year unhurt(and we had no prepared understudy)-and the starting RB loss-the team's deepest position. can you say wtf ?

the coaches had to have been grooming a solid back up QB.why wasn't there one ?. you had 16 weeks to train and develop one. the really glaring gap was never having a defense that was settled and had on the field leadership.

ya lost me at "big stage"...

 

[vikings1980]

Tent

 

[Jeffburgh]

All the losses sucked, but the UNC loss stung hardest for me, VT a close second.

The NW game was just bizzaro world. Also got scorched by that RB despite a very strong run D all year.

That game REALLY exposed the LBs, NW has that odd blocking scheme and lived on constantly poppimg their back wide and the LBs just could get through the wash to get outside.

 

[Jeffburgh]

Too much bumbling coming out of the gate despite a strong start (Aston tripping over something invisible, possibly the Spirit of Pitt Stadium, preventing an easy TD) ... which set a dismal tone that lasted to the very end when Orndoff, with perhaps the best hands on the team, drops a TD pass right in his hands. And of course untimely injuries to key personnel.

Yes, we could blame the defense, which stunk as usual. But everyone knows this is a team with a putrid defense that needs to capitalize on all it's scoring opps to win games. After all, it was a team that scored 76 points and a game and still didn't cover! It doesn't excuse the defense but means the offense needed to deliver.

The details really don't matter though. It showed a general trait of almost every Pitt teams (and coaches): Not adequately prepared for its bowl game. For every decent showing in a bowl I think most of us could name 10 others where Pitt disappointed and lost pretty much due to its own sloppiness and indifference. Going back to the early 80's.

This. It was long odds they pulled it out if Peterman had not gotten hurt, they had mucked the game up long before he did.

 

[pittdan77]

if that doesn't sum it all up as a pitt football fan. go though the schedule last year, and to capt.obvious,(me)it is just staggering to consider. probably, my most disappointing loss,last year,was the last one. the northwestern game was there for the taking-a big stage,and it had all the ingredients for a satisfying win, to set the table for the off season, and this coming year.

you mean to tell me after the starting QB loss(who played the entire year unhurt(and we had no prepared understudy)-and the starting RB loss-the team's deepest position. can you say wtf ?

the coaches had to have been grooming a solid back up QB.why wasn't there one ?. you had 16 weeks to train and develop one. the really glaring gap was never having a defense that was settled and had on the field leadership.

You have three NFL draft picks go down in a meaningless bowl game with injuries, you lose, and you want to rant about why the backup's weren't good enough?

 

[JoseLind13]

Petermen's durability was a great luxury last season, which obviously limits game experience for back-ups... until DiNucci entered the game, I had just assumed he was an afterthought in the depth chart as Stocker had been listed #2 most of the year and we knew MacVittie's redshirt was being preserved and as getting rave reviews as a QB of the future. Now, Brown steps in as #1 and DiNucci opens camp as #2 and MacVittie is among the "others" on the depth chart. It will be very interesting to see how this unfolds this summer/fall.

 

[Revenge Of The Noise]

You have three NFL draft picks go down in a meaningless bowl game with injuries, you lose, and you want to rant about why the backup's weren't good enough?

As multiple mentioned, the game was pretty much a lost cause all throughout even when the players were healthy.

Whatever the nebulous phrase "they weren't ready to play" really means, it's clear they really weren't. Northwestern got a big break when Pitt failed to score a td after a good first drive (due to an unforced blunder). But overall NW played harder, hit harder (up to and often after the whistle... and were getting away with it, so tip the cap) ... and had Pitt on its heels. And at the end of the game you could tell the win meant a great deal to them and their fans. So NW deserves some credit.

But Pitt needed to feel that way. Pitt was the better team and if properly prepped and matching NW intensity, shouldn't have been much of a contest. But too often Pitt's bowl attitude is somewhere been meh and yecch.

 

[pittdan77]

Too often Pitt's bowl attitude is somewhere been meh and yecch.

Won't disagree but I think sometimes the team leaders, or the guys that are about to audition for the NFL, create that attitude. Let's face it, when was the last time a Pitt bowl game even meant anything?

 

[Revenge Of The Noise]

Won't disagree but I think sometimes the team leaders, or the guys that are about to audition for the NFL, create that attitude. Let's face it, when was the last time a Pitt bowl game even meant anything?

Other than the 3 playoff games, what college postseason games do?

And since that's the case, why do our opponents typically come out with so much more gusto and crispness?

A stray dog of a game on occasion does no harm but when the norm is bad effort and dismal defeats across several post seasons, it definitely adds to the overall woes. Gotta wonder if it would have been better to just turn it down and take the team on a private trip to "reward" them.

The last really decent effort from a Pitt team was ironically, the first Compass bowl. Those guys seemed to have a chip on the shoulder and executed competently. And I'd challenge anyone to think of a bowl game that could have meant less than the Compass bowl! Which i guess was clearly the attitude adopted for the next couple. Not by our opponents though of course.

 

[Saboteur]

if that doesn't sum it all up as a pitt football fan. go though the schedule last year, and to capt.obvious,(me)it is just staggering to consider. probably, my most disappointing loss,last year,was the last one. the northwestern game was there for the taking-a big stage,and it had all the ingredients for a satisfying win, to set the table for the off season, and this coming year.

you mean to tell me after the starting QB loss(who played the entire year unhurt(and we had no prepared understudy)-and the starting RB loss-the team's deepest position. can you say wtf ?

the coaches had to have been grooming a solid back up QB.why wasn't there one ?. you had 16 weeks to train and develop one. the really glaring gap was never having a defense that was settled and had on the field leadership.

Menopause isn't easy is it?