Pitt Targeting Frank Cignetti Jr. for OC

Its looking like a stronger and stronger possibility that the new offensive coordinator for the Pitt football team will be current Cal OC Frank Cignetti, Jr. as Dave Wannstedt has formally offered him the job, the PG is reporting. It seems unlikely that this sort of info gets public unless there is a very, very good chance that Cignetti is going to accept the offer.

I have to say, I am very, very impressed by Pitt's willingness to look outside the immediate Pitt and/or Wannstedt family for an excellent offensive mind. Cignetti does have local ties, which probably boosts his candidacy a little bit, but after watching the Matt Cavanaugh error era for 4 years that doesn't really do a whole lot for me personally. They could bring in a guy from the North Pole who's never even seen Pitsburgh, and if he knows how to run an effective, efficient offense and how to utilize skill positions, I'd be elated.

The reason why I'm as jazzed up about this as I am is because Cignetti has had a chance to learn under Cal Coach Jeff Tedford, and also under Fresno State coach Pat Hill. These two schools have both run very good offenses over the past several years, and have succeeded with systems that got the most out of their players, as opposed to the Matt Cavanaugh system, which got the least out of players and consisted of 3 passing plays: 1)Fade pass to Jonathan Baldwin, 2) Bubble Screen, and 3) Fade Pass again to Jonathan Baldwin.

In all seriousness, though, look at how well these systems were able to prop up players. Cal never has the top players coming into their school due to academic standards and because of the allure of USC, but they still are always cotending for 8 and 9 win seasons and turning guys like Aaron Rodgers into first round picks and utilizing skill players like JJ Arrington and DeSean Jackson in the proper ways. Its refreshing to think about, actually. Let's just hope it happens.

Cavanaugh Is Gone!

Just three days after the infamous SB43 Riot and just one day after an ominous statement from Chanceller Nordy that makes it clear Pitt is going to punish the worst offenders from Sunday night's anarchy, joyous rioting has commenced yet again on the streets of Oakland.

I mean, if the news that Matt Cavanaugh is O-U-T as the Pitt OC isn't worth rioting, then I just don't know what is. Oh that's right, a SUPER BOWL! (Sorry, I just can't stop slipping that into every day conversation. "Ryan what's the answer to question 5?" "We won the Super Bowl!" That's essentially been me the last 3 days in class.)

Seriously, though, if SB43 gave me a feeling of 10 on the 1-10 scale, this is a solid 7 on that same scale. I'm so fired up I really would be ready to riot again if someone was leading the way. (Re-reading that threatening message from the Chancellor...) I mean...I'd be ready to riot for the first time ever I'm so fired up. Yeah...that's it.

To be honest, though, doesn't this all seem a little bit weird? Aren't offensive assistants in the NFL typically guys who are just breaking into coaching? And then there's this downright awkward quote from the Wannstache as reported by Paul Zeise in the Post-Gazette
"'We all know Matt's a great coach and I'm sure a lot of other people out there will be interested in giving him another opportunity,' Wannstedt said. 'It wouldn't surprise me if people had an interest in him, but at this point, I have nothing to say about it'"

I mean that's a strange thing to say about a guy who is moving to a new job without getting canned. Giving him another opportunity? I have nothing to say about it? Just a strange couple of sentences there. Something is very fishy about all of this.

My personal conspiracy theory: Cavanaugh was actually never going to be retained despite what Wanny was saying immediately after the Sun Bowl. But because of the respect that Cav has within the program they didn't want to fire him and gave him some time to try and find another job. I'm sure he was looking for a job as QB coach or something in the NFL or even an OC at another school maybe, but after 4 seasons of dreadful coordinating, no one was biting. So, instead of being fired and having literally no job whatsoever he called up his old pal Rex Ryan and, hat in hand, asked for an offensive assistant job with the Jets.

I mean why else would he possibly want to make this move? It's crazy. To go from calling plays and making all the offensive decisions for a major college football program to a lowly offensive assistant position in the NFL just doesn't happen without there being more than meets the eye. Of course, I'm not certain that it will be the "offensive assistant" title that Cavanaugh holds when the season starts. If he ends up as the QB coach, I will rescind what I just wrote, as that's probably an upward move for him. But regardless, I would've thought he'd be fine with staying here as the OC if things really were fine between him and Wanny.

Ranking Dave Wannstedt's Games as a Pitt Coach

1. 12/1/07 at West Virginia W 13-9- Is there any question that this is number one? Of course not. Just a masterful performance in a sign of things to come in 08 by the Wannstache. And don't forget, the Panthers weren't just playing against the Mountaineers, they were playing against all the referees and Mike Tranghese in one of the most crooked and shady games I've ever seen.
2. 11/28/08 vs. West Virginia W 19-15- Beating your rival is never easy, especially when they are at least as talented as you are (I'd argue probably more talented, at least at the skill positions), and it's especially difficult when they are desperate for revenge after the aforementioned 07 monumental upset.
3. 9/20/08 vs. Iowa W 21-20- This was one of the most underrated and underappreciated games of Wanny's career. It took me most of the season to realize just how good this Iowa team was. While Shonn Greene had a nice day, he was at least somewhat contained, and certainly didn't kill Pitt.
4. 10/2/08 at South Florida W 26-21- The Bulls were highly rated at the time, but this win gets downgraded because of how badly the Bulls collapsed at the end of the season. Still, it was a hell of a win and got fans legitimately fired up.
5. 10/20/07 vs. Cincinnati W 24-17- People forget about this game. Cincy came into Pitt as a ranked squad, and after Wanny's career started off about 0-for-10 against ranked teams, the Panthers pulled off a monster win behind terrible quarterback play and just riding Shady until he couldn't do it anymore. This win gave us a preview of how Wanny visualized his program winning games.
6. 11/1/08 at Notre Dame W 36-33- Few games caused as much celebration, but let's be honest, Notre Dame was a crappy football team this season. Still, without Billy Stull to at least stabilize the offense, this was a surprising win.
7. 9/2/06 vs. Virginia W 38-13- This game gave a lot of us hope at the time. It doesn't matter that a little later on in the season the Panthers absolutely collapsed. A dominating win over an ACC team is a good win.
8. 11/8/08 vs. Louisville W 41-7- This was one of the most surprising games of the year. Not surprising because Pitt romped over Louisville, but surprising because Pitt romped over Louisville despite Shady being smothered.
9. 10/18/08 at Navy W 42-21- This wasn't exactly a sexy win, but with every Pitt fan holding their breath after the 07 debacle agains Navy, it was encouraging to see Pitt control the Navy offensive scheme.
10. 9/1/07 vs. Eastern Michigan W 27-3- In Bill Stull's lone start of the 07 season, Pitt dominated Eastern Michigan to get the season off to a great start until...well you know.
11. 12/6/08 at Connecticut W 34-10- They more than dominated UConn in the second half, but in all honesty, this was a pretty lousy game because of the terrible first half. If UConn didn't trot out a couple of corposes to play quarterback, this might have been a game.
12. 9/8/06 at Cincinnati W 33-15- With the Panthers looking like they turned a corner, Pitt dominated the Bearcats to keep the River City Trophy or whatever the hell that thing is called. A win over a bowl team was a big one for Pitt, regardless of what bowl they went to.
13. 10/15/05 vs. South Florida W 31-17- This game was a nice win for Pitt because the type of speed USF always boasts had long been a problem for Pitt teams. It also continued something of a second half comeback for Pitt.
14. 11/16/06 vs. West Virginia L 45-27- The best loss of Wanny's career. It's pretty sad this comes in as high as 14. Sure they lost by 18, but the talent on that field wasn't even comparable. Wanny gets the bonus points for having a halftime lead thanks to the magic of Darrelle Revis. Pitt losing was next to inevitable, but I think this set the tone for Pitt knowing they could hang with WVU in 2007.
15. 11/12/05 vs. Connecticut W 24-0- Granted this was a bad UConn team, but still, a shutout is a shutout is a shutout.
16. 10/22/05 vs. Syracuse W 34-17- This Syracuse team was god awful, but in 05, we'd take a win any way we could get it. Still, it's hard to get too excited over this one.
17. 9/30/06 vs. Toledo W 45-3- A ho-hum, blowout win over a MAC squad. Hard to get too excited.
18. 9/6/08 vs. Buffalo W 27-16- After the Week 1 debacle against Bowling Green (see below), it was just nice to get any sort of a win. Buffalo turned out to be a half-decent squad, but the problems Pitt had in this game were very concerning.
19. 10/13/06 at UCF W 52-7- Blowing the doors off of an undermanned UCF squad, even if it is in Orlando, can only get me so excited.
20. 11/22/08 at Cincinnati L 28-21- As frustrating as this game was, Pitt made pretty decent adjustments to Cincy, and Wanny kept the troops focused and they mounted something of a comeback. Not a bad loss considering Cincy's nice season.
21. 12/31/08 Sun Bowl vs. Oregon State L 3-0- Yeah this game furthered my already serious alcoholism problem, but losing by 3 points to Oregon State is no shame. I mean on one hand the D was a work of art out there. Wanny's decision not to overrule Cavanaugh on some of those terrible play calls definitely docks him big time.
22. 10/7/06 vs. Syracuse W 21-11- Another terrible Syracuse team, another game that was closer than it should have been. This seems to be a theme for Wanny against the Orange for some reason.
23. 9/23/06 vs. Citadel W 51-6- As you'll see, romps over lowly I-AA squads don't inspire me too much.
24. 9/24/05 vs. Youngstown State W 41-0- Ditto.
25. 9/8/07 vs. Grambling State W 34-10- Ditto, except this score was too close for my taste, hence why it goes last. I'm no fan of playing these schools.
26. 11/3/07 vs. Syracuse W 20-17- Yet another close Cuse game. This Pitt team wasn't very good with Bostick at the helm, but LaRod went off yet again against the Orange.
27. 10/21/06 vs. Rutgers L 20-10- Hard to fault Wanny too much for this one, as this was a special, team-of-destiny type of Rutgers team. This was the beginning of the end for the 06 Pitt team, as they came in on the cusp of the Top 25, and never recovered from this close loss.
28. 10/8/05 vs. Cincinnati W 38-20- This Bearcat squad was pretty lousy, and Pitt had every reason to beat them. I can't reward Wanny too much for that.
29. 9/15/07 at Michigan State L 17-13- Not a terrible coaching job because the quarterbacks were unbelievably terrible after the loss of Billy Stull in the EMU game. This will forever go down as the Kevan Smith game.
30. 9/27/08 at Syracuse W 34-24- This talented Pitt team should have blown the doors off of Syracuse, and instead struggled to beat the Orange, needing a 4th quarter comeback to do the job.
31. 11/17/07 at Rutgers L 20-16- Again, with Greg Schiano pulling the strings on a decent, if not spectacular, Rutgers squad against a badly struggling Pitt team, it's hard to be too upset with Wanny.
32. 9/17/05 at Nebraska L 7-6- The game where I became convinced Greg Lee was never going to be an NFL receiver. He caught a pass downfield and was wide open for a score, and all of a sudden started running a 4.9 40-yard dash and was caught from behind before he could score, costing Pitt the game. Not really a huge blemish on Wanny's record, but this was an incredibly frustrating game to watch.
33. 11/24/07 vs. South Florida L 48-37- I was just impressed Pitt put 37 points on the board against the quick USF defense.
34. 11/25/06 vs. Louisville L 48-24- This was an excellent Louisville squad, so it's hard to fault the coaching, as Bill Cowher couldn't have got the Panthers to a win in this game. However, I remember this game and remember thinking that the Panthers didn't even bother to show up, despite the 24 point output.
35. 9/16/06 vs. Michigan State L 38-23- The Spartans were just too much team for our Panthers in this game. No shame in that, but it was another example of a Panthers squad that had talent but just couldn't really put it together against good squads like MSU.
36. 10/27/07 at Louisville L 24-17- Another frustrating game in a season full of them for the 07 Panthers. With even mediocre QB play, the Panthers take this game.
37. 11/4/06 at South Florida L 22-12- The Panthers were obliterated by the USF D in this game (just 214 yards total). Completely unimaginative playcalling (imagine that) sank the Panthers as they just couldn't match up with the speed the Bulls brought to the table.
38. 9/30/05 at Rutgers L 37-29- A coming-out party for Rutgers. With Pitt's season on life support, the Panthers didn't even bother showing up for the first half, falling behind 27-0 before making a furious, but fruitless comeback. This is something that continues to happen under Wanny even to this day, and is definitely an alarming trend.
39. 9/3/05 vs. Notre Dame L 42-21- Remember all the hype for this ball game? Wanny's first game as coach, College Game Day was in the house, Tyler Palko and the Panthers were coming off a Big East Championship and a Fiesta Bowl bid...and they get just obliterated by Notre Dame. Complete and total buzz kill.
40. 11/3/05 at Louisville L 42-20- Pitt's defense got debacled in this one, giving up well over 400 yards of total offense in this one. Michael Bush had just 16 carries but went for 115 yards in a game that the Panthers managed to keep it close, trailing just 22-20 at the half, before getting obliterated the rest of the way.
41. 9/22/07 vs. Connecticut L 34-14- Now we're starting to get to the ugly games. This game wasn't nearly as close as the score indicates, an indicator of just how much of a mess the 07 team became immediately after losing Stull.
42. 9/29/07 at Virginia L 44-14- Virginia got up 30-0 on the Panthers in the first half and coasted to an embarassingly easy win over our Panthers. Wanny's crew didn't show up yet again, an alarming trend that sunk the 07 Panthers.
43. 11/24/05 at West Virginia L 45-13- To not show up at all against your rival is just embarassing and completely inexcusable. Yes, we all knew that WVU was going to win this one 99 times out of 100 given just how toxic the chemistry on this Panthers team was. I think the statisticians from this game are STILL trying to tabulate the rushing yards for Pat White and Steve Slaton.
44. 10/25/08 vs. Rutgers L 54-34- The 08 Panthers were starting to chug along, things were looking good, we were hoping we could make a run at the Big East, we had a game against a Rutgers team that was falling apart and... BOOM! Mike Teel turns into Peyton Manning and absolutely toasts Aaron Berry and Jovanni Chappel all day long. Just absurd.
45. 8/30/08 vs. Bowling Green L 27-17- There was a fair amount of excitement for the start of the 2008 Pitt season in mid-August. People were fired up for Shady McCoy, fired up to have (we thought) a competent quarterback, and fired up after the 07 Brawl upset. And they lay an egg against a MAC team they should have run circles around. A very disappointing showing for Pitt and for the Wannstache.
46. 10/10/07 vs. Navy L 48-45- We're officially in the dregs now. This game made me want to pull out a rifle and take aim at Paul Rhoads (by the way Iowa State, congrats on your new head coach...no seriously I look forward to Rhoads putting great game plans together for Oklahoma and Texas Tech and keeping things close and then giving up 50 points to Baylor). Anyway, every half decent team eventually slows down the Navy triple option, yet Pitt could just run over. And this is without mentioning that in OT Matt Cavanaugh, with Pitt almost at the goal line, called a Pat Bostick lob into the end zone on fourth and goal when Navy had spent all day running scared from Shady McCoy.
47. 11/11/06 vs. Connecticut L 46-45- Another game that made me want to throw up all over the place. DJ F-Ing Hernandez turned into Tim Tebow in this game. Hernandez threw for 4 touchdowns and ran for 130 of the Huskies 317 rushing yards. You know how many TD's Hernandez would throw for in his career? 6! You know how many rushing yards he has in his career? 306! They turned him into a receiver this season for god's sake! I'm about to black out...(deep breaths)... okay I'm good.
48. 9/9/05 at Ohio L 16-10- The official worst game in the Dave Wannstedt era! This was not a good MAC team, yet they took Pitt to overtime somehow then Tyler Palko, who clearly had wagered heavily on the Bobcats, tossed a lollipop int that was housed for an OU win. And even better, the only TD of the game for Pitt was LaRod's kick return for a TD! I mean how does something like this happen?

Talk about your good news/ bad news for Pitt fans

Pitt Panther fans the world over received some sort of reassuring news today when coach Dave Wannstedt informed reporters that he expected sophomore sensation LeSean McCoy to stay at Pitt for next season. While I would feel a lot more certain if Shady himself said it (again), Wanny claims that McCoy and his family have made their decision.

However, we also got some horrifically, tragically, dreadfully bad news to go along with the news of Shady's return. That's right, just when you thought it was safe to watch a football game again, the revolting coordinator, Matt Cavanaugh, somehow will still have a job next season, and it won't be as a towel boy. Nope, it'll be as the offensive coordinator for the Pitt Panthers. Again. Ughh....hrmmm...I'm not feeling too well...stay with me for a second .............................................. okay I'm back. Sorry about that. I had to throw up a little bit. It's all good now. Anyway, in case you can't quite tell how I feel about our offensive offensive coordinator (no I didn't make a mistake there by typing offensive twice- I literally mean that the man's play calling offends me) here is a photo I used to lead the column following the Pitt Sun Bowl debacle:Yup, I'm certainly no fan of the man. Of course, it wasn't without logical justification from the Wannstache himself. "Matt has forgotten more about coaching quarterbacks than most of the other guys out there will ever know." That's reassuring isn't it? I never really understood how that is supposed to be a compliment. "Yup, the guy's a great coordinator isn't he? He forgets a lot of things." Well then, he must be good!

Truth be told this might help explain Cavanaugh's play-calling. I mean, this actually makes sense, doesn't it? He clearly has had some sort of very serious head injury that makes him forget things, so much so that everything he's forgotten is greater than what others know. Say if his knowledge, on a scale of 1-100, was once a 70 (I know hard to believe but stay with me), and the "other guys" as Wanny called them have a knowledge of 50. Well, now Cavanaugh's knowledge is clearly down around a 10, meaning he has literally forgotten more than other guys know. Wonderful. Very reassuring.

I Want To Buy The Domain Name FireMattCavanaugh.com

I can't even logically react to how awful that Sun Bowl game was yesterday. I mean, 3 to F-Ing Zero!?!?!?!?! If Matt Cavanaugh (pictured above) still has a job next week, I'm going to lead an open riot down the streets of Oakland. I've written it before, and there's a good chance I'll have to write it again: Cavanaugh is a TERRIBLE offensive coordinator and isn't qualified to call plays for a pee wee football team, let alone a major college football squad. I know Wanny gave Cavanaugh the benefit of the doubt in the past, but the difference then was that Wanny himself was crapping the bed as a coach, so he couldn't really act all high and mighty. Now? He has this Pitt program going in a very promising direction with a 9 win season, and yesterday with the chance to pull off a 10-win season, a top 15 ranking, and build excellent momentum going into the offseason, his coordinator craps the bed for three hours on national television. Wonderful. Just what we bleeping needed.

I can't understand this moron's play-calls. That's what really bugs me. I mean, with Jason Pinkston out against a very good D-Line, why would you call downfield pass patterns for a young raw receiver that require Stull to spend a day and a half in the pocket? What part of that is logical? And that's not even considering a few other facts that were evident before Pinkston got hurt. 1) Stull has a weak arm, 2) Stull is not accurate, 3) Stull is TERRIBLE, 4) Jonathan Baldwin cannot make plays in traffic, 5) Everyone and their F-ing mother knows Cavanaugh loves to call those useless bombs while ignoring the very effective tight ends and possession receivers Pitt has. and 6) You have one of the best running backs in the country, a guy who doesn't need a defense on their heels. He just needs them to back off a little, which can be accomplished by just completing short, easy patterns.

I briefly considered watching the DVR of the game to see how many incomplete downfield bombs Stull threw and to try and get a rough measurement on how many miles he missed his receivers by, but it turned out that my DVR was embarassed to have such a "game" on its memory, so it did me the courtesy of erasing it. Honestly, I was thrilled.

Somehow I've gotten 3 paragraphs in without mentioning the fact that Shady was basically ignored for the first half of that football game on yet another stroke of genius by Matt Cavanaugh. Seriously, we knew Oregon State was going to gear up to stop the run eventually, so why on that first drive, with the Beavers playing more honestly than they did the rest of the day, did we not just pound Shady at their 7 man front for about 10 plays in a row? There's no way OSU was going to stop him there, because they didn't yet realize that Bill Stull had transformed into the worst quarterback in college football. Yeah Shady was ineffective in the second half, but that's because OSU knew the only way Stull was going to complete a pass was if all 11 defenders fell down, and even then it was 50/50 at best.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how Matt Cavanaugh was an offensive coordinator for two NFL teams. Sure they were the Ravens and Bears, two teams that never have good offenses, but how could it possibly happen that this guy has lured three different head coaches into thinking he can be a coordinator? Is he some sort of crazy stalker guy who takes compromising photos of people and then blackmails his way into good jobs? This really seems like a much more logical reason than him being qualified for the job.

I haven't even touched on the fact that he has made pretty much zero progress as a coach with these offensive guys. I don't really know how much coaching he is supposed to do, but I'd have to assume that he is at least somewhat involved in the coaching of the skill position players, though probably not the line. If that's the case, then not only is he a terrible play-caller, but he's also a terrible coach.

Seriously, has Bill Stull made any progress whatsoever this year? Hell no! I think he's actually much worse than he was when I saw him in spring ball last year.

Has Pat Bostick, a blue chip 5-star recruit, progressed even the slightest bit? Hell no!

Is Jonathan Baldwin any different than the player he was 4 months ago? Hell no! All Baldwin does is run straight downfield and hope he can blow past his defender. He can't make plays in traffic, he can't run routes, he can't block, he's still the same player he was in high school.

Has Cavanaugh used Dorin Dickerson and Nate Byham as security blankets to help Bill Stull because of the mismatches they create with the linebackers? Hell no! I can't decide if this one is because Byham and Dickerson haven't been developed properly or because Cavanaugh's IQ as a playcaller is the same as Dickerson's uniform number, but either way, they aren't being used right.

Would Pitt have won even 6 games if they hadn't lucked into being blessed with the impossible-to-screw-up, NFL-ready Shady McCoy? Hell no!

Should Matt Cavanugh still have a job? Hell no!

The Panthers Are El Paso Bound

I've been taking some time off due to a busy few days, but I'd be remiss if I didn't offer a big congrats to the Pitt Panthers football squad. It's been a long time coming, but the Dave Wannstedt era is finally starting to bear some fruit, and the schools first 10 win season in 27 years could very well be that fruit. The Sun Bowl, while no BCS Bowl, is one of the best bowls the Panthers have been to in many years, with really only the 04 Fiesta Bowl squad getting to a better bowl.

I can't really offer much in the way of analysis just yet, as that game is over three weeks away and I don't have nearly that kind of motivation, but I needed to at least bring it up. Also, look for regular posts to return sometime on Thursday, and I hope to kick it in into overdrive over the next few weeks with no classes to hold me back and all.

Pitt-UConn Game Preview: Panthers Have a Lot to Play for

When Dave Wannstedt leads the troops onto the field in Storrs shortly, the Panthers will be playing for the right to be considered one of the best Pitt teams of the last 20 years and the breakthrough squad of the suddenly promising Wannstache era. Think about it: A win over tha always pesky Huskies and the Panthers not only have just their 2nd 9-win season in 25 years, but they also are set up for a shot at 10 wins in a solid bowl game (assuming the Sun Bowl is their destination). Others on the team will also have some things to play for as well: LeSean McCoy will be playing for a shot at the Big East Offensive Player of the Year. It Pitt wins and Shady goes off for a big day, expect him to take the award away from UConn's Donald Brown. If the Panthers lose or McCoy is sluggish, Brown figures to be the winner. Scott McKillop likely has the Big East Defensive Player of the Year Award well in hand, but he could cement the award with yet another double digit tackle performance. And there are a few others on the roster that are playing for All Big East status and are borderline as of now. And of course, all the seniors are playing for this one. To go out on top. Of course, it doesn't get much sweeter than a Senior Day win over the hated Mountaineers, but after 3 years of frustration and underachieving, you know these guys want to say they put up 10 wins on the board and get a trip to a highly reputable bowl like the Sun. I mean, Charlotte (the next bowl down the list) is nice and all, and Birmingham... well I mean I guess it would be warmer there than here, but El Paso and a shot at 10 wins against an excellent Oregon State team is what they want.

Anyway, let's get to the details:
Panther Offense
After Billy Stull's late season regression, it's become very apparent that this offense is only going to succeed against good teams if Shady can be effective running the ball. I think by this point we know what we will see out of Cavanaugh as far as a game plan, as well. He will try to stretch the field a few times with Baldwin he'll throw some bubble screens and underneath routes hoping to catch a blown coverage assignment, and he'll give us a healthy dose of Shady while ignoring the vastly underrated LaRod Stephens-Howling, a talented player who could be a very effective weapon if the Panthers would use him more. But at this point, Cavanaugh clearly has no desire to change, so that's our game plan, regardless of who we are playing. So it all falls on the talented McCoy to carry the load and lead our squad to victory, and on Stull, who needs to at least have an OK game in order to reassure some very anxious Panther fans.

Huskies Defense
Because the Huskies O is so focused on ball control and long, churning drives, the Husky D is typically asked to prevent similar results from the opposition, and to help them convincingly win the time of possession battle. They have failed in that regard more than once, though, and despite having one of the top backs in the country, they have been outrushed multiple times. The Huskies D will be hurt by the loss of Greg Lloyd (yes, it's THAT Greg Lloyd's son) and his spot at middle linebacker is apparently being filled by a walk-on as another middle linebacker is also out, which is pretty much a death sentence when playing against a future first-round pick running back. While their linebacker corps is a little weak for this one, they have a highly disruptive defensive end in Cody Brown, who has 10 sacks and will be playing his last home game. They also have a solid secondary led by corners Robert McClain and Jasper Howard that could give Bill Stull some fits, especially given his recent performance.

Huskies Offense
If you think the Panthers rely heavily on LeSean McCoy to run their offense, then you are in for a bit of a shock when you see this UConn offense. They run the ball over 40 times a game on average and Brown gets the bulk of those carries, his future in the NFL be damned. They had a QB carousel this season that was essentially the opposite of the Cincinnati squad. That team won because they kept plugging in QB's who could win, no matter the circumstances. This UConn team has managed to string together 7 wins in spite of a dreadful series of QB's who've thrown 3 times as many picks as touchdowns. So long as they keep DJ Hernandez from taking any snaps, I think Pitt fans can breathe easy when the Huskies keep the ball with the QB. The Huskies also know that they will have a few weeks, at least, to rest up, so if they get the chance and if he is effective I am sure the Huskies will have no qualms about pounding Brown well over 30 times.

Panthers Defense
Everything filters through Scott McKillop, and he doesn't usually disappoint. He will need to string together a good game to slow down Brown, and the same goes for the dynamic tackle duo of Mick Williams and Rashaad Duncan. Because of UConn's dreadful "passing" game, there's little to really be concerned about with our woefully inconsistent secondary, and I'd expect Elijah Fields to see some playing time up in the box because of his size and the lack of downfield play I expect to see. Greg Williams and Austin Ransom will be important factors as well today. Both have played better than we could have expected from them given the circumstances, but they still have their struggles, and I expect UConn to attack them early and often with their stud back. How they respond will go a long way toward determining this game.

The Bottom Line
The Huskies have lost 4 of their last 6 games, and while the seniors would obviously like to go out on a surprising home win, it would probably have little impact on their bowl game, so the Panthers have at least as much reason to fight for this one. However, the Panthers have had a lot of trouble playing UConn, and are 0-2 in Rentschler Field. Then again, Cincy had always struggled against Pitt, too... Panthers 31 Huskies 21

How Sweet It Is: Panthers Win the Brawl

I typically reserve my thoughts on specific games that occur over the weekend for my weekly "Weekend Recap" column, but I had to make an exception just this once. I mean come on, it's the Brawl! I just couldn't contain myself until Sunday night/ Monday morning, this is just too special. After watching the Panthers spend the first two years of the Dave Wannstedt era getting run over, around, and through by the Mountaineers, it has been a glorious sight the last two brawls to shut those Hoopies up. And although last season may have been sweet because the Panthers W knocked our rivals out of the National Championship and ended up costing them their coach, thus causing the Mounties more pain than ever before, this win is an even better feeling, at least for me. Last year, after the win, the season was over, and after the celebrating ended, and the fires in Oakland were put out, the Panthers were still 5-7 and staying home for the holidays yet again. This year, though, the Panthers just nabbed their 8th win of the season against the hated Mountaineers, are more than bowl-eligible, will likely slide into the low end of the top 25, and have put themselves in position for a pretty good bowl game if they can win in UConn next weekend. The Dave Wannstedt era, while it is still very much a work-in-progress, has finally delivered some of the fruit that was promised when he arrived on the scene in 2005. There are still times when Wanny and his BFF Matt Cavanaugh will leave Pitt fans scratching their heads with play calls and gameday decisions (like that maddening goal-line opportunity yesterday just before the half), but Wanny has shown he can win, as an 8 win (at least) season is nothing to sneeze at. And, if the Panthers can get another win to give them 9, this would equal the most successful season the Panthers have had in a year since Dan Marino was throwing the ball around back in 1982, as the only other 9 win season since then was Walt Harris' 2002 squad. And to be honest, I'm not sure I can rationally discuss a possible 10-win team yet, so let's not go jinxing it all up just yet.

So without further ado, here are some of my random thoughts from yesterday's game
-Thank the good lord for LeSean McCoy. That man is an absolute beast, and I still find it very difficult to believe he is going to pass up the NFL for another year, but it gets me all kinds of excited nonetheless. If this team didn't have McCoy and had spent the season substituting LaRod Stephens-Howling, Kevin Collier, Shariff Harris, and Chris Burns in for McCoy, this squad would be about 5-6, and hoping to knock off UConn next week to grab a spot in the International Bowl or something like that. And you've got to tip your cap to Wanny for getting McCoy to come here despite all the negative signs around the program at the time. I have no idea how the 'stache does it, but he is one tremendous recruiter.

-Speaking of recruiting, would it kill Wanny to find a better QB? Bill Stull scares the living daylights out of me, and I just really don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think he may have even regressed from some of the earlier games this year. I thought he showed some progress in 4 games in a row at midseason against Syracuse, South Florida, Navy, and Rutgers, and was even solid against Louisville after missing the ND game, but was dreadful against Cincinnati and nearly cost them the game yesterday against WVU. I mean at no point was he a guy who you could rely on to win the game for you, and his deep balls have consistently been miserable, but he was at least showing signs of being a good game manager until crapping out the last two weeks.

-My prediction for yesterday's game: Pitt 20 WVU 17. The Final Score: Pitt 19 WVU 15. That's pretty good.

-As I suspected, Phil Bennett clearly studied the game plan that Paul Rhoads put together in last season's Brawl. That Pitt defense, with the exception of that one absurd Pat White run, put the clamps on the vaunted Mountaineer run game, and dared White to beat them with his limp noodle throwing arm. White did an okay job throwing the ball around, and while his receivers had a few key drops that hurt them, White also very predictably made some very bad decisions as well. I also liked Jovani Chappel's quote after the game where he indicated that the Panthers basically knew what the play was going to be on Chappel's pick based simply on how the Mountaineers lined up out of the huddle. Not sure, but that might be an indication you don't have enough passing plays in your playbook.

-Hey, did you know Pitt had a ridiculously talented tight end? Because I sure didn't until I saw Nate Byham have the second best day for any Pitt offensive player yesterday with 4 big catches. So where the heck has this been all season long? I mean, for a struggling QB, isn't a good tight end often times a cure-all and a great security blanket? How has Matt Cavanaugh not called Byham's number more often and more consistently this season for Billy Stull. I mean what's the difference between hitting Byham underneath for 7-8 yards and him getting hit immediately and dropped and Bill Stull tossing one of his 50 bubble screen passes that typically go for about the same, and often don't even do that well.

-Speaking of Matt Cavanaugh, I know we will be coming off (at least) an 8 win season this year, and hopefully more, so there is no chance anyone on the coaching staff is let go, but I still don't think he's a good offensive coordinator. He tries to be too cute and tries to out-think his oppsosition too often. When your team stinks and you don't have enough talent at the skill positions to execute, I completely understand this mentality, as it gives you a way to make up the talent difference, but when you have a future NFL starting running back in your backfield, a deep, if not spectacular, corps of wide recevers, and the aforementioned underrated and underutilized tight end, the cutesy crap isn't necessary. The Byham case I just talked about is one example of this, but situations like the goal-line situation just before halftime yesterday are what really drive me crazy. That drive started with 4:27 to go in the half. The Panthers marched from their own 43 down to the 2 in about 3 minutes. On the drive, either Shady or Stephens-Howling had accounted for all but 4 yards on the drive. Yet, after going to Shady once for a yard on 1st and goal at the 3, Cavanaugh, instead of giving to his goal-line ace McCoy, went for the fade pattern in the end zone, which was promptly intercepted by West Virginia. How is that playing to Pitt's strengths? Is there any way that if you give that ball to McCoy 2 more time he doesn't get in? I mean WVU could have put 22 men on the field and stacked them all in the box, and I still don't think Shady gets denied twice. When you have Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress, or even Rod Rutherford and Larry Fitzgerald for that matter, the fade pattern can work when you are that close, because those receivers know how to play a fade, and those QB's know how to throw one (in Rutherford's case, I think that was the only pass he actually knew how to throw). But when you have a below-average QB with a history of making mistakes and underthrowing throwing to a true freshman wideout who, while wildly talented, is still learning how to play receiver at the college level, a fade pattern into double coverage probably isn't the best option.

-I was wildly impressed with the way Greg Romeus, Jabaal Sheard, Mick Williams, Rashaad Duncan, and the rest of that D-Line played yesterday. Sure Scott McKillop ended up with the big tackle numbers, as he always does, but those D-Linemen were the ones who made the plays. They were smarter than last week against Cincinnati, and instead of going for the big play sack and risking White or Devine breaking free if they got the ball past them, they instead were just as content at getting containment and stopping any chance of screens or outside runs around end. I think all four of these guys have what it takes to play on Sundays some day, and Romeus and Sheard both look like they could be pretty high draft picks if they can keep maturing.

-The Pitt secondary has taken a lot of heat this season, but I think they all did a pretty nice job yesterday, even the much-maligned Aaron Berry and Dom DeCicco. Berry, who has legit NFL talent, still looks like he is relying too much on his natural ability and not enough on smarts and technique, but I think maybe yesterday talent was enough to keep the Mountaineers at least in check. And DeCicco, who had a very nice interception that no really talked about, had probably his best game of the season. Too often he has been caught out of position or has come over to help too late in plays, but I didn't see any of that yesterday, and he also looks like he might finally be using his monstrous size to give him an advantage back there.

-I'll be back tomorrow night with the Weekend Recap, and will probably have a few more things Panthers to add, along with my typical coverage of the Pens, Steelers, Pirates and Pitt Basketball.

The Weekend Recap

I wrote about half of what follows on the way back from the city of Queens...err the Queen City, Cincinnati, this morning following a wildly disappointing Saturday night performance from my beloved Pitt Panthers football squad. The remainder was pieced together in the waning minutes before the Sunday night return of the one and only Jack Bauer and on Monday afternoon.

It was a very erratic weekend in sports for us Pittsburghers. We reached a nice little peak Thursday, and it had the makings of a spectacular weekend if some things broke right Saturday, but that wasn't in the cards. What follows are the usual impressions from the weekend that was in Pittsburgh sports, with this particular weekend recap spanning a fourth day in Thursday.

-As I said, we hit a nice and easy high Thursday night with a pair of wins by our pro teams as the Steelers dispatched the Bengals in a pretty comfortable win. Though it wasn't the sexiest or most impressive win I've ever seen, they made few mistakes and the defense looks downright terrifying right now. The Pens were going at it with the Thrashers at the same time, and they put together a nice 3-2 win, with Sid the Kid piling up 3 points (1 goal 2 assists) and Dany Sabourin continued his solid, steady play of late. Friday night continued the upward trend, as the Pitt basketball team coasted past Akron in an 86-67 romp. Sure, the score was a little close for a game against a MAC team, but from the first-hand accounts I've received and the info on the stat sheets, it wasn't anywhere near 19 points type close. Sam Young had a solid 26 point effort and DeJuan Blair added the first of two weekend double-doubles. All day Saturday saw the traditional annual WPIAL Championship games at Heinz Field that bring with them a second tradition, the destroying of the already crappy Heinz Field surface. Saturday afternoon brought the Pittsburgh weekend to a crescendo with a very predictable walloping of IUP by the Pitt basketball team. From there, though, it was all downhill. The Penguins dropped a tough game against the frisky Vancouver Canucks, 3-1. And then of course, Saturday night saw the Cincinnati Bearcats take control of the Big East Championship race in a 28-21 win over our Pitt Panthers in one of the biggest games in recent school history. The final result did not give a good enough indication of the game, though, as Cincy was clearly the better team on that field, as the Panthers were outplayed, outcoached and outmaneuvered in a disappointing finish to the Pittsburgh games for the weekend.

Steelers
-I predicted in this space last week that the Steelers would crush the Bengals, and while the score certainly wasn't close, the Steelers didn't put together quite the performance that I was expecting. Sure, the defense looked pretty darn good, but even though everyone is laying accolades all over them for winning that game, I personally wasn't satisfied. They clamped down on the Bengals' ability to move the ball, but one sack is pretty weak considering they were going against one of the worst offensive lines in football. But the D isn't what worries me.

-Nope, it's the O that is really vexing me these days. Big Ben was reasonably efficient, and Mewelde and Willie combined for nearly 100 yards, but this group is nowhere near in sync right now. Parker and Moore both broke off a couple of longer runs that boosted their numbers, but neither one was nearly effective enough running the ball, and while Gary Russell looks like an okay short-yardage back, he looks incapable of going any further then about 3-4 yards on a carry. Meanwhile, Ben still looked like he was having issues with getting the ball downfield and stretching the defense. The short yardage passing game was mildly effective though, and I think that we will see more of the underneath stuff to Mewelde Moore, as he was most dangerous in these types of plays.

-It was encouraging to see Santonio start making a difference out there. It was one of the best games he has had all season, and refreshses the hope I have in him becoming a legit offensive focal point. Of course, he did come down with a concussion from a ridiculously vicious hit by Chris Crocker to potentially further damage what has been something of a disappointing season from our young wideout.

-A few weeks ago in my live blog of the Steelers-Redskins game, I called for a new punter to replace Mitch Berger because of the two bad hamstrings that were causing him to shank far too many punts. This was not quite what I had in mind, though. I don't think I have ever seen a punter with such a bad performance at any level of football. I've seen numerous high school punters who can routinely boot it at least 35 or so yards, so I find it awfully difficult to accept that Paul Ermster is really the best that the Steelers can do. I mean that guy is indescribably bad. If he is still on the active roster for this Sunday's game in New England, I'm calling for an immediate coup d'etat against Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert (sorry, I added this reference after watching 24: Redemption and just couldn't help myself). I mean I love what those guys have done here and think they are both among the best around, but at some point, you've just got to cut your losses and move on.

-I like Marvin Lewis, he seems like a pretty nice guy, he has a solid (but overrated thanks to Ray Lewis' greatness) defensive mind, and could be one of the better defensive coordinators in football, but he is no head coach in this league. That ridiculous decision to kick a field goal when down 20-7 was one of the most boneheaded decisions you will ever see a coach make. After their first possession, it took them all game to get back to that point, and Lewis' decision meant that they were going to have to do it two more times after the field goal to get into the game. If the Bengals are going to get their organization going in the right direction again, they are going to have to get rid of Lewis and soon.

-Much has been made of the different style the offense has taken the past few games, and almost all of it has been criticism, and most of that has fallen on the broad shoulders of Ben Roethlisberger. I think that is mostly unfair. Certainly, he has not been the force he once was due to injury, but on Thursday night I thought he demonstrated a new kind of efficiency and effectiveness that we had not really seen previously in the mastery of the underneath stuff. Really, the big issue facing the Steelers now is not that Roethlisberger's shoulder is keeping them from playing their usual style of offense. The problem as I see it is that while the passing game can adapt, the running game cannot. The two most talented players at the running back position are both juking, jiving speedsters who work well in space and at making people miss 1 on 1, yet the Steelers continue to plunge both forward into the line hoping that the maulers on the O-Line can open a hole for them to scurry through. Moore and Parker are never going to be consistently effective runners right at opposing defenses, and yet this is the strategy that is continually employed.

Pitt Football
-Well, Saturday night was about as crappy as it gets for me. Sitting in the icy cold at that dump that the University of Cincinnati calls a stadium watching my team get outplayed all over the field while 30,000 idiot Cincinnatians (is that the right word? Ehh I don't really care enough to look it up) scream in excitement. And then, having to trudge back to your car through the frigid temperatures while people all around you taunt you for wearing Pitt clothing. It's a miracle I'm not writing this from the computers at an Ohio prison right now.

-Bill Stull is just totally and completely underwhelming, isn't he? He does just enough to make you say, "Yeah okay I guess he's better than Bostick" but he might be throw the worst deep ball that I have ever seen. It's not even consistently bad. By that I mean that sometimes he'll under throw Jonathan Baldwin by 10 yards, causing him to slow up and get hacked like Shaquille O'Neal as he tries to make a Larry Fitzgerald-esque catch, and then sometimes he'll throw it 20 yards over poor Baldwin's head, and sometimes he'll even throw it to a guy along the sidelines but throw it to far to the outside and it will be uncatchable out of bounds. You know the old addage applied to fast receivers about how you can't overthrow them? I think Bill Stull could find a way, and his arm isn't even that strong!

-It also remains a mystery to me as to why the Panthers don't utilize Nate Byham and Dorin Dickerson more underneath and why they don't send Derek Kinder and Oderick Turner and whoever else more underneath as well. They throw WAAAAAAAAAAAY too many deep balls (for the obvious reason given directly above any number of deep balls is probably too many) and Byham was open on a number of plays 5-8 yards from the line of scrimmage in front of Stull and they just didn't want to look his way. It's completely insane. And Derek Kinder should not be trying to out-run one-legged people at this point he's lost so much speed from his ACL surgery, but he has very good hands and would make for an excellent option going across the middle, but he seldom does.

-I have become convinced this season that Dave Wannstedt can definitely be a success on the college level, but I remain very much unconvinced by Matt Cavanaugh. He had a very good game plan against Notre Dame when they had to throw Bostick out there and he has done a decent job in some other games as well, but he was a mess early in the season, and just when I thought maybe he was figuring it out, he goes and calls a game like he did last night. I mean, look at the way the Bearcats attacked Pitt's defense with the quick screen type stuff early on in the game because they knew Pitt's D-Line would rush upfield. In his four years here, has Cavanaugh ever come up with that kind of creative game plan? Hell no. He doesn't play to his strengths enough, and seldom seems to tailor a game plan according to a defense's weaknesses, and while those are common things to see at the NFL level, it's next to impossible to have a consistently dangerous offense when you operate that way in college football. I'm not calling for Cavanaugh's head (yet) as many folks have over the past few seasons, but I think the one thing standing between the Wanny era and consistent success is the lack of an imaginative offensive coordinator.

Pitt Basketball
-DeJuan Blair continued his declaration of war on all small schools, as his monster season continued to march onward with back to back dominating performances Friday and Saturday. A friend of mine who went to the IUP game said it was one of the most dominating 21 minutes he had ever seen a college player put together. As he put it "The IUP guys looked like they were going to (soil) themselves every time DeJuan crashed the boards." Only he didn't use the word soil. You figure it out.

-Sam Young's play at the small forward continues to be, as I put it last week, a work in progress. He is still downright lethal when he gets around the paint, and he is obliterating everything in sight defensively, but he is doing an awful lot of lurking out on the perimeter right now. His three point shot looks like it is slowly coming around, but give me the ticked-off, driving to the hoop, crashing the boards Sam Young any day of the week, even if it means we are basically playing three power forwards at the same time.

-Jermaine Dixon spent most of the weekend cooling off as he had just 9 points in 2 games after pouring in 20 in the first two. I think this puts his starting job very much in doubt for whenever Gil Brown gets back to 100%, but Dixon figures to have at least a few more games to prove himself before that happens.

-I am very much looking forward to that Pitt game on Friday, and no I am not referring to the Backyard Brawl (though of course I am looking forward to that one as well), but instead I'm talking about the Pitt-Texas Tech basketball game Friday night in the finale of the Legends Classic. The Red Raiders run a run and gun style of offense, and were involved in a ridiculous 167-115 win over some school called East Central that set back defense in the game of basketball by about 15 years.

-It was also just announced that the Panthers cracked the top 5, slipping past Duke and UCLA and into the number 4 spot in this week's poll. That gives the Big East the numbers 2,3,and 4 ranked teams in the country. Care to debate that ACC?

Penguins
-It's a little hard to believe that the Pens are already at the quarter pole of their 2008/09 season isn't it? I think that's because it feels so much like this team is still trying to find a definite identity and still trying to round itself into shape with so many new pieces.

-Your NHL Goals against Average Leader right now? Mr. Dany Sabourin!
Of course by the time someone clicks on this, that could easily change, but there's no denying Sabo has been a very nice surprise this season, and yet again Ray Shero is justified in a highly questioned move by trusting in Sabo to be the backup this season.

-I know it's not Friday yet for links, but I just wanted to post another link to update you on the NHL All-Star Balloting race. At last check about a week ago, Sidney Crosby was in 4th place and Geno in 5th place for the forward spot behind those three Canadiens who are completely undeserving. Sid was trailing 3rd place by about 111,000 votes and Geno was trailing 3rd by about 140,000 votes. The latest results show some progress though. Sid is trailing 3rd by about 80,000 votes and Geno is trailing by 122,000. Still, though we can do better Pens fans. Sid and Geno both deserve this All-Star game start, and let's show these Montreal losers what real fans are. I'm not asking for much just a few votes a day here.

-It's looking like Ryan Whitney may be getting back into the lineup sooner than most people expected, as he has begun practicing with the Pens. It will be VERRRRRRRRY interesting to see what Ray Shero and company decide to do with the suddenly overcrowded blue line that we have known was coming for months. Originally the conventional wisdom was the Goligoski would be up here only until he didn't have to be anymore, but he has been very, very good, and I think it would be a huge surprise to see him sent down at this point in the season. Still, Shero has known this day was on the horizon for some time now, and I'm sure he has an idea crafted in his head. I expect Whitters to be brought along slowly though even when he does return to the ice, as a foot injury can be a tough one for a skater to overcome, especially a Pens defenseman, with all the shot blocking that they do. I expect he will need some nights off early in his return.

5 Big Questions for the 2008 Pitt Panthers

The follow up portion of my article from a few days back "5 Bold Predictions for the 2008 Pitt Panthers." No sense wasting time on a drawn-out intro, I think you get the idea.

1. Quarterback?
I think every true Panther fan fully understands this question with just the one word mentioned above. I originally had a question just about Bill Stull above, then thought about putting a question about Greg Cross and the Wildcat, and THEN I thought about putting a question about Pat Bostick and Kevan Smith, so I figured that just having a QB question in general was the best way of tackling this puppy.
The only thing that kept this team from 8 wins last season and a bowl berth was the quarterback position. However, last season wasn't a total loss, as it did gives serious seasoning to Pat Bostick, irrevocably proved that Kevan Smith should transfer to a D-II school and that the offense needed a quarterback who is a running threat to execute the Wildcat package. Fast forward to the present, with a healthy Bill Stull, a more mature and fit Bostick, a still terrible Smith, an athletic and versatile Greg Cross, and an undersized Tino Sunseri and suddenly things are very interesting at the quarterback position this season.
The questions, though, are still prevalent despite all of this. Who will start? Can they stay healthy? How will Cross be used? Why is Smith still allowed to practice with a D-I football team? Will Bostick and Sunseri take redshirts this year? Will Cross take a redshirt if he can't get it done? Who's the backup? Did last season's offense set the game of football back 30 years or 40? All of these are pertinent as we approach the season, but the bigest one of all is: Just how good is Billy Stull? A lot of fans seem to forget this, but people were very skeptical going into last season about Stull being good enough to lead this team. He played well in the opener, got hurt, missed the rest of the year and is now thought of as a sure thing to be a competent major college quarterback. What am I missing here? Don't get me wrong, I like Billy and think that he will be good and maybe even very good this year but by no means do I consider that to be a slam dunk.

2. Has Dorin found a home?
For the past two seasons, one of the most maddening things for Pitt fans to witness has been the constant shuffling of Dorin Dickerson among several different positions. It was especially perplexing to see him making efforts at linebacker a year ago when he obviously should have been playing a skill position. For the third time in as many seasons, though, Dickerson and the coaching staff are claiming they have found a permanent home for their Jack-Of-All-Trades-Master-Of-None talent, and this year it is tight end. Dickerson is instantly probably the fastest and most athletic tight end in college football, but it seems likely that he will be more of an ofensive playmaker then your traditional tight end. Expect to see him in the backfield, the slot, the tight end spot, and maybe even split out wide this season as the Panthers try to find a way to get Dickerson on the field. But after being mostlyunremarkable in first two years, can Dickerson finally find a home and stay there long enough to establish himself?

3. Seriously, how good is the offensive line?
Perhaps the most important question for the Panthers in the coming season. If Stull plays well and McCoy plays great, but the offensive line struggles, will we even be able to tell if the first two things are happening? That's the conundrum for any offensive players. They appear to have the talent, as detailed in my 5 Bold Predictions column, but boy are they green. Joe Thomas looks like a below average tackle, but he could maybe turn out to be better then we think. Jason Pinkston has all the talent in the world, but he's had attitude issues and is raw. The guards are more solid though, and Rob Houser appears to be a good anchor, so the question mostly comes to the men on the outside. Should be interesting.

4. Which incoming freshman will sit? Which will play?
Jonathan Baldwin will likely play, maybe even as the third receiver (and a potential starter if Derek Kinder is unable to go in the opener), and the same could be for defensive back Jarred Holley who appears to have done quite well thus far and may be the third corner (meaning a spot in the dime or even nickel) when the season opens. There are also talks that Lucas Nix may be forced into action because of a lack of depth at the tackle position, but this seems like a horrific idea to me to waste a redshirt year on a tackle who may not play a meaningful snap all season. I would rather keep him fresh on the scout team, and if someone underachieves or gets hurt, then remove the redshirt and let him try to earn PT, but to have him as your 3rd/4th tackle seems asinine. Chris Burns is another interesting debate. The Panthers are deep at tailback, but by all accounts, Burns has been excellent, and likely has earned the right to play. However, he likely would do nothing more then take meaningless snaps, and I think he will end up redshirting, with Kevin Collier, Shariff Harris, and even LaRod Stephens-Howling as the mopup guys. I think Shayne Hale is a virtual lock to be redshirted. Of course, Cam Saddler will take a medical redshirt. Other then that, I don't think anyone is worth mentioning as a potential player this season. Baldwin is almost certainly going to be an impact player from day one.

5. Can Wanny learn to coach on Game Day?
Dave Wannstedt has proven to be an excellent face for the university, a great recruiter, and a superb model for his players, but on Saturdays, there is no denying that the 'Stache has struggled. He has been developing as a collegiate coach over the last few seasons, and he outcoached Rich Rodriguez up and down the field in the Backyard Brawl. The Wildcat formation proved that he can adapt and is willing to deviate from his power pro style offense. It will be intersting to see if he can utilize that offense a little better with Greg Cross at the helm and maybe using Dorin Dickerson as well. Having Phil Bennett on the defensive side of the ball will also bring questions, as he is a new face, and while Paul Rhoads had issues at times during his tenure, he had a lot of good results, and certainly his unit often fared better then Matt Cavanaugh's. Many have said this is a make or break year for the coach, and while I don't necessarily agree, I do wonder how much longer he will be able to land elite recruits while putting up mediocre records as a coach. Anything less then 8 wins will be something of a disappointment for many Pitt fans, but any bowl game would at least be a step in the right direction.

5 Bold Predictions for the 2008 Pitt Panthers

5 Bold Predictions

By midseason, the offensive line will be very good.
There is no question that the single most maligned unit on the roster coming in to this season is the Panthers’ offensive line. I am here to tell you, however, that things are not nearly as bleak as they may seem. In fact, when you closely examine things, there is quite a bit of talent here, and after the unit is given a chance to jell (perhaps the most important thing for a line’s effectiveness), this could be the best group we have seen in quite some time. Wanny knows the offensive line game well, and he has recruited some real studs at this position, and it is about time we started seeing the fruits of this labor. The interior line appears mostly set, with center Rob Houser and guards CJ Davis and John Malecki. My anonymous source within the program (that’s right I have a source!) informs me that Houser has been excellent so far in camp, and that the coaches are expecting big things from him this season. Davis is a steady if unspectacular veteran of the line who could be challenged by heralded redshirt freshman Chris Jacobson, and John Malecki, a converted defensive tackle, has a real nasty streak and could be an excellent road grader for the run game. The real questions though, are on the outside. Promising sophomore Jason Pinkston looks like he will be given every opportunity to win a starting tackle spot, and I don’t expect the coaches to keep his talent on the sidelines. Pinkston is also a converted defensive tackle, and if he can stay healthy and remain well-behaved (he has had some off-field issues that have been mostly hushed up) he could be an excellent left tackle. The staff is confident he will grow into that role, and the biggest worry is likely opposite of Pinkston, at the probable right tackle slot. Old hand Joe Thomas is on top of the depth chart now, but he has been nothing special thus far and could definitely lose out to either one of two young guns, Lucas Nix and Jordan Gibbs. I would hazard a guess though that Nix would have to be darn near perfect to win that tackle spot and forfeit his redshirt season, as few things benefit a young lineman more than a year to just sit and learn. All in all, this line has as much talent as any corps in the conference, and the key appears to be the play of Pinkston. If he matures into the force many think he can be, Shady will have holes to drive Mack Trucks through and Bill Stull will have all day to sit back and throw.

The tight ends will be just as important to the passing game as the wide receivers.
I know, I know, on the surface this statements seems crazy for the artist formerly self-proclaimed as Wide Receiver U, but here are some things that we know to be true about the Panthers offense right now: 1) They currently consider Dorin Dickerson to be a tight end, even though he is probably the best all-around athlete on the team and is built like a wide receiver 2) The tight end position received more attention then it had in decades last season 3) Bill Stull is an accurate and smart quarterback but does not have great arm strength and will likely look underneath a lot 4) Nate Byham was a highly recruited tight end coming out of high school and had a very good sophomore season, and 5) The Wide Receiver position is nowhere near as deep as we thought it would be, and could even be called the shallowest it has been since Johnny Majors was running things. So, what do all of these things add up to you ask? I say they add up to Nate Byham getting 35 or so receptions, Dorin Dickerson getting 25-30 (as well as some reverses and handoffs as an H-back), and John Pelusi getting 10-15 receptions. So simple math means… 80 receptions for the tight ends? I know it still seems crazy that the wideouts won’t easily outdo that, but also factor in that LaRod Stephens-Howling could be split out in the slot at times as well, and that the backfield is backed full with talent needing carries, and maybe you are starting to see my point. In fact, I even considered making the statement that the tight ends would catch MORE passes then the wide receivers before I realized that was a little TOO bold. Still not biting? Well I’m sure the big reason behind that is skepticism over my fifth claim above, that the wide receiver position is shallow this year (Indeed, I wasn’t too sure myself when my buddy made this claim last week) but do the math. By all accounts, Derek Kinder is still not 100% and may not be ready to play every down in time for the opener, Maurice Williams is long gone, TJ Porter is also injured (though he is expected to be ready for the opener), Cedric McGee has never been anything more than the third or fourth option, and we likely will see at least one of the true freshman duo of Jonathan Baldwin and Audrey Wright get the redshirt, and the other likely will have only a minimal impact. That leaves Oderick Turner as the only sure bet to snag 30+ passes (although I think that Kinder will get there as long as he’s good for at least 9-10 games).

Shady will improve upon last year’s numbers and make a trip on the award circuit this December.
I know that it certainly isn’t bold to say McCoy will go for 1500+ yards and 15 TD’s this year (both of which I think he will reach and surpass), as those are numbers are probably more expectations then bold predictions, but I’m also going throw these predictions out there for the talented tailback. He goes for more like 1600-1700 yards, wins the Doak Walker Award, is named First Team All-America, gets nominated for at least one national player of the year award (though probably not the Heisman unless Pitt wins the Big East), and is the Big East Offensive Player of the Year. I think that qualifies as bold, no?

The Panther defense will be the best in the Big East and avoid any “Paul Rhoads specials.”
Okay I need to explain this one a bit. First, the “Paul Rhoads Special” is the name myself, some friends, and my Dad developed for those games in years past when Rhoads and his defense would be chugging along through the season just fine, ranking near the best in the conference statistically, and then out of the blue, and usually against an overmatched opponent, they would show completely unprepared absolutely crap the bed (Think the Navy game last year or the UConn game from 2006). Under new coordinator Phil Bennett, we should expect much more consistency from our D. As for being the best in the conference, I think that title is well within their reach. They have the spectacular Scott McKillop returning as the heart and soul of the unit, and I fully expect another monster season from him. The defensive line should also be a major strength again this year, despite the loss of the incredibly unlucky Doug Fulmer for the season. Tommie Duhart, Greg Romeus, Mick Williams, and Gus Mustakas will be the anchors on the line, and all are expected to have big years. The secondary is the big question mark, though, but is also the area with the most total talent, as well as the spot with the most people vying for playing time. I think Aaron Berry will grow into a top-flight college corner this season, Jovanni Chappel will be a sound starter opposite him, and Dom DiCicco and Elijah Fields will both have big years from the safety position.

Pitt will beat WVU. Again.
C’mon, it will be Senior Day, the air of invincibility that surrounded the Mountaineers for a few years is most assuredly gone, and I have the Panthers pegged at 9-2 heading into this game, and they could maybe even have a shot at a Big East Title, or at least a share of one. Do they need any more reasons for confidence? I don’t think so.