After Syracuse...the home stretch

After a week off, the Panthers took a full 30 minutes to realize they were back on the field Saturday against a depleted Orangeman squad. Special teams play, if one can call it that, threatened to keep the Orangemen in the game. Muffed punts, horrendous decisions on kick-off returns and general ineptitude made the first half way too uncomfortable. The best coverage of the first half was undoubtedly provided by Coach Wanney, who was seen stalking several players from the special teams as they came off the field.

As we approach the home stretch, several areas of concern remain.

Defensive End wide-out theory. Teams continue to have success running straight up the gut of the Pitt defense. I can't help but think this is due to ends Sheard and Romeus lining up a good fifteen yards from the offenses center. Pitt's ends seem to be in "sack mode" on every snap. Subsequently Pitt's defensive line in reality consists of two defensive line man. Sheard and Romeus are lined up so wide, the burden of stuffing the run falls squarely on Pitt's interior linebackers in the second level. As noted in the first quarter, this can result in 60 yard runs if the linebackers are successfully blocked.

Lewis and Baldwin. It also seemed as though Pitt intentionally avoided using their two best playmakers in the first half. Lewis had very few touches in the first half and Jonathan Baldwin was thrown to only once. Get your best players the ball.

Tramp on the opponents neck. Perhaps it's the pro mentality of the Coach, but Pitt tends to take it's foot off the gas as soon as they get a lead. This is college football guys. The way the system works, you've got to run up the score on opponents you're expected to beat to keep the pollsters on your side.

All things considered however, it's obvious that better recruiting has upgraded Pitt's talent level to the point that this program finally is back to a potential BCS bowl bid on a more consistent basis however.

Now, for the homestretch.

8 Man Fronts

Excellent point made in the Q & A with Paul Zeise in todays Post-Gazette concerning Pitt's insistence on trying to run in the second half against 8 man fronts. Perhaps this is where the lack of confidence in Bill Stull is hampering the Panther offense in the second half. Needing to spread the defense, they seem a bit reluctant to put the game in Stull's hand:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09274/1002058-214.stm?cmpid=pitt.xml

Validation

Nice to see the article in the Tribune-Review today hit on the same points as my Sunday post.

N.C. State Loss

Several things to note from yesterday's game:

Once again, the Panther's run game went south after the half. This has become a disturbing trend from all 4 games of the season thus far. Either the opposing teams are making great adjustments or Pitt is losing focus at the half.

Once again, the defense has become offensive. More troubling, the players heralded as stars in the pre-season (Berry, Sheard, Romeus, Williams, et al.) have looked horrible. Aaron Berry continues to have brain cramps and Romeus and Sheard continually end up 10 yards behind the play. Coverage and Containment should be the words of the week in practice. Pressuring the quarterback should not be the goal on every play. Stopping the run works just as well.

Finally, it's quite obvious this team lacks the "killer instinct.". Giving up big leads late with soft coverage and super/ultra conservative play calling is a sure way to allow a comeback.

N.C State

Perhaps the biggest question of the young season will be answered this Saturday in North Carolina. Pitt's offensive line has been hyped since the first days of camp as a line of experience and talent. Potential. Any offensive line that has to face the likes of Pitt's nasty front 4 in practice daily can't be all bad, right? This Saturday Pitt's O line will see a case of body double. N.C. State touts an equally athletic and "nasty" pursuing-type defensive line. Creating holes for Dion Lewis and keeping Bill Stulls jersey clean will be the major challenge. Perhaps we should pack the red no. 11 jersey, just in case.

Rankings of 9/21

Once again the Panthers appear as "others getting votes" in this weeks AP poll. Mind you the Panthers are 3-0 for the first time since 2000 and are trailing several teams with one loss. Even more mind-boggling is the fact that teams who have yet to realistically suit up for their first game (i.e. Penn State) are riding the tide at No. 5. Considering that Penn State has so far played their "toughest" game against the likes of Temple (who hasn't beaten Penn State since Bill Cosby was a teenager), it seems as though the rankings are little more than a beauty pagent for the major BCS teams.