RECAPPING CINCINNATI

Where to begin?  I’ve been a Pitt fan for as long as I can remember.  My first game was a thrilling Pitt victory over a Rod Woodson led Perdue team at old Pitt stadium.  I didn’t even know who Rod Woodson was at the time.  He became one of my all-time favorite Steelers.  Despite my family being a Penn State household and growing up amongst Penn State fans, I stayed true.  All through the years where they were losing in shootouts to bad Temple teams and 1-11 records…so why would I change now?  I won’t.  I refuse to do that.  I will not jump off the Pitt fan base.  I just can’t bring myself to do it.

I obviously was not pleased with the opening TD by Cincinnati on their first offensive play and the turnover that led to a quick 14-0 lead for the Bearcats.  What really drove me nuts was that Pitt was beaten and beaten badly and they should not have.  I’m not saying they should have won, but they absolutely were in that game.  Despite the early deficit, Ray Graham and Rushel Shell look like could be a very nice 1-2 punch this year (not next year) and you have Isaac Bennett behind them….which is a nice luxury.  There was one point where Pitt was actually outgaining Cincinnati despite losing 17-3 at the time. 

I feel like Pitt can be a decent team this season.  Their linebackers must play better and I felt like Shane Gordon had a strong game and their defensive line (wasn’t that supposed to be a strength) MUST start to play up to their capabilities.  The offensive line has had a rough go so far, but in fairness, Cincinnati does have a strong pass rush.

Now…I go back to my opening paragraph…my patience with Pitt has been tested many times over the years, and Thursday night provided two more plays that made me scream obscenities and make my fiancée question our upcoming wedding.  Pitt received a phantom holding call that negated a touchdown and putting them in a bad position in the red zone.  QB Tino Sunseri fired an interception into the end zone that can be best described as a jump ball that didn’t go very high.  The second one actually caused me to tug at my Pitt t-shirt so hard, that it partially tore at the bottom.  I think we all know what it was.  You have 5 seconds to get a play off before settling for a field goal AND you have a timeout.  That is the situation that faced Pitt right before halftime.  Tino dropped back, looked for Mike Shanahan…saw he wasn’t opened….THEN PUMP FAKED AND LOOKED FOR SOMEONE ELSE….YOU DON’T HAVE TIME TO DO THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look, Suneri is not the main reason that Pitt is 0-2, but he is not making the plays he needs to and he is making freshmen mistakes still, as a third year starter.  This can’t happen.  I don’t believe changing QBs will help.  I don’t want a true freshman behind this offensive line.  If they can redshirt Chad Voytik, then they have him and Tom Savage (sitting out after a transfer this season) battling it out next season and Tr’avon Chapman coming in too.  If they don’t redshirt Voytik and he struggles, that puts them in a bad position.  Then you burn his redshirt, just to end up going back to Sunseri.

I think my main problem is that it took a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time for me not to be scared to play someone.  You know that feeling you used to get as a Pitt fan where you went into a game just praying to not get embarrassed.  Old school Pitt fans remember those days of being blown out at Ohio State and games like that. Yea…unfortunately I am there again.  Virginia Tech is next and I find myself praying for Pitt to just hang in there.  That should NEVER be the case.

PASSING NOTES ON....CINCINNATI

It’s time to put the debacle of Youngstown State behind us and focus on Cincinnati.  There is some good news coming out Pitt this week.  The suspended 6 are back at practice and on pace to return.  Tyrone Ezell is obviously the most important player, but getting an injured TJ Clemmings is just as important.  I believe K’Wuan Williams and Todd Thomas are the only players that may not play Thursday in the Big East opener (God, it feels great to say that for the very last time).

The game will be played in Cincinnati at 8PM on ESPN (the real one this time).  Cincinnati is a little bit of a mystery, as the Bearcats were off last week and have a host of new players.  On offense, they must replace a good chunk of their offense.  Isaiah Pead is gone, as is QB Zach Collaros (Pead was the Big East offensive player of the year last year) and the starter under center will be Munchie Legaux.  Not only is Legaux an automatic member of the all-name teams around the country, but his upside is better than Collaros.  The question is how will his accuracy and decision making be when it comes down to game time.  The RB position will be manned by a trio of Bearcats in George Winn, Jameel Poteat (a former Pitt commit), and great punt returner, Ralph David Abernathy IV (I feel like he visited the royal palace with the Griswolds in European Vacation).  The offense returns 5 starters, so they do have a good amount of questions. 

On defense, the front seven is the Cincinnati strength, but they did lose the Big East defensive player of the year, Derek Wolfe.  His slack will be picked up by DE/LB Walter Stewart.  The blitzing attacks will test the Pitt offensive line, so hopefully Ryan Turnley and the boys are building some nice chemistry and hopefully Ray Graham gained some confidence last week.

Make no mistake the short week hurts Pitt.  I am not looking for miracles.  Cincinnati has been picked no lower than 4^th in the pre-season polls for the Big East and some consider them a sleeper in the Big East.  Playing at Nippert Stadium also provides Cincinnati with an edge.  I do think Pitt is a little sharper and gives us a little bit of an improvement over their opener (it can’t get much worse), but I don’t think it will be enough.  Final: Cincinnati – 24 Pitt – 17.  I hope I am wrong.

RECAP OF THE YSU GAME...UGH

Words can’t describe how awful that loss was yesterday.  I'll give it a try though. I started thinking about my life and what days I would rather live over before having to deal with that again.  The day I asked the hot girl in my school to homecoming, she said yes, and then flipped a few days later to go with a friend of mine instead.  That’s one.  The day after my bachelor party last weekend when I puked until 3PM in the afternoon is another one of those days.  I won’t go so far as saying that terrible night in 1992 in October and I won’t go so far as to say the Elite Eight loss to Nova a few years ago either.  It’s up there though.  Make no mistake…this was a BAD loss.

There were a few bright spots.  The Pitt student section was out in FULL FORCE, but how many of them will come back to the next game.  Would you?  I would, but that is because I love Pitt and college football, regardless of how they are doing.  You just can’t expect that blind loyalty from so many.  Ray Graham looked decent and I was very encouraged by one of his last runs.  Graham got up, clapping his hands and shaking his head, as if to say, I’m back.  I have a lot more confidence in him after that run, than anything else he did.  Contrary to popular belief, Tino Sunseri actually looked decent and did not take a sack.  He did miss a couple of big plays, but more times than not, he made the play.

So what went wrong??  You can start and end with the defense. They were terrible. You have to be able to stop YSU and they could not….at all!  YSU did everything and anything they wanted and that was tough to take.  I had concerns about the linebackers, but the secondary and defensive line was supposed to be a strength of this squad and they were not.  They must improve and improve quickly. 

The offensive line concerns surfaced as I felt like there were not as many holes as there should be when you play an FCS team.  They did not give up a sack, but the line has to also take strides.  Lots of Graham’s and Bennett’s success had to do with cut backs and nice moves rather than big holes.

Suspending 6 players before the game also did not help, but the one that hurt the most was Tyrone Ezell.  He is a defensive line starter and would have helped a little bit.  The others are replaceable at this point and time, BUT, it affects the team to see that many of their teammates not be on the same page. Ronald Jones returns punts and kick offs and he was suspended, and we missed the debut of highly touted freshman Rushel Shell.  The other three players were reserves Shayne Hale, Anthony Gonzalez, and true freshman, Chris Davis.  No word on their availability for Thursday, but the most important to get back is Ezell, followed by Shell and Jones.

There is no doubt that the Paul Chryst era has gotten off to a rocky start, but this is Pitt.  This football team is famous for putting their fans on the ledge and then teasing them back.  Is this one of them?  Will they bounce back in Cincy Thursday?  I have serious doubts, but it would be just like them to bring their fans off the ledge before the Virginia Tech game.  Another positive is that Youngstown State is a strong team and very experienced.  10 of 11 starters came back from a powerful offense and it showed.  That is not to make excuses, but at some point, you do have to give the Penguins credit.  Pitt should never lose to an FCS team, BUT YSU did play well and you must tip your hat to them a little bit here.

Passing Notes on....Youngstown State

 

I love college football. Right now I have the South Carolina and Vandy game on and my alma mater's live stats on the computer on another window. In case you are wondering, Clarion University and Fairmont State are locked in a battle to the death, 0-0 in the 2nd quarter right now. I know, I know, try and remain calm.  With that being said, it is time to pass some notes on The Youngstown State Penguins.  I never cheer against Penguins, but this Saturday will be different.    As mentioned in my season preview, these blog posts will be brief and to the point this year, due to my impending marriage in October.  I will give you a moment to allow for swearing and gnashing of teeth.

The season will kick off at 6PM, Saturday, at Heinz Field on the big network of ESPN3.com.  The only other way to see it is to actually buy a ticket (I won’t hold my breath).  YSU is returning from a 6-5 season, where they lost a few close ones and gave eventual FCS champion, North Dakota State, their only loss of the season.  For those of you hoping for a cake walk Saturday night, I wouldn’t count on it.  The Penguins return 10 starters to an offense that averaged 458.6 yards and 36.2 points per game.  Granted this was against mostly FCS competition, but YSU did hang around with Michigan State last year before losing.

The offense is a multiple set system that is highlighted by Junior QB, Kurt Hess.  Hess has lots of help in this offense from returning Senior Tailback, Jamaine Cook.  The offense isn’t just a well oiled machine.  The Penguins have a tremendous ability to avoid the big turnover and back breaking sack.  ALL of last year, YSU gave up 9 sacks and only turned the ball over 13 times!  Pitt will have to do something about that in order to keep YSU from gaining confidence in this game.

The 13^th ranked Penguins did have a lot of trouble on the other side of the ball.  The unit returns 6 starters from last year and appear to have made some coaching changes to help those struggles as well.  I don’t expect them to have as big of problems and the strength of the defensive is on the line.

The keys to the game should be pretty obvious for Pitt.  They will have to start early, create a turnover and Aaron Donald and company will need to get pressure on the backfield of YSU all night long.  If the defensive line can control the line of scrimmage, I think Pitt can do a lot of damage.  The Panthers do have some injury problems.  I expect Ray Graham will play, but they want to avoid giving him more than a few touches.  I think they sit Todd Thomas (for a while) and K’Waun Williams.  I do expect Jared Holley to play.

I am concerned mostly about the inexperienced Panther linebackers ability to read the multiple set offense.  I think YSU will have some good offensive movement, but the Pitt defensive line will prove too much.  I do expect some fireworks, but Pitt will win 41-21.  Don’t be shocked if the Penguins hang around.  This is not a gimme.  Enjoy Saturday!  If you are in the area, check out the game, as the weather is expected to be dry as of this writing.

PASSING NOTES ON.....PITT!

Yes, it is the first preview of the season, so obviously we are going to pass notes on the Pitt Panthers themselves!  It is the season preview of Pitt. I do have some news to pass along on myself first before getting to the team and it will affect the blog a good amount this fall.  I am getting married and my fiancee and I will be getting hitched on Friday, October 12th of this year....or as you know it, the day before the Louisville game.  I am already looking at all of  my twitter followers to keep me posted as I feel like the day after will be VERY hard to follow the game on TV (by the way, you can follow me on twitter @BrunoPittsburgh). All that being said, I will still do my previews, updates, and recaps, BUT, they will probably be much shorter and brief this season.  It is just a sacrifice I have to make for one year.  So, all ten of you will have to have some patience.

Now, let's get on with the preview of the team for 2012.

Now that "those we do not speak of" are gone to burn in desert, we have Paul Chryst "our savior". As mentioned on this blog, I do understand the fan base wants to put on their Nike sneakers and drink some kool-aid and end it already, but I do like this staff overall.  I would LOVE to see a better recruiting process, but I am hoping this will come with the staff's "comfortable" approach to recruiting.  Landing a couple of BIG guns out there would absolutely do wonders (I'm looking at you DJ and Foster).  Make no mistake though, Pitt hired this coaching staff more for their coaching ability than recruiting.  We will see a return the pro-style offense and the defense will move to a 4-3 style. 

Let's start with the offense!  We are all hearing a few things that go along with Chryst's version of the pro-style offense.  He does love to run, BUT one thing that is being talked about is that this staff (unlike those we do not speak of) will cater to the talents of the players in the system, rather than trying to just jam in the system all at once.  Just trying to jam people into a situation is like The Real World or whatever piece of garbage show E! is putting on this week...it's fun to watch, but it always ends badly (side note...I haven't paid attention to The Real World in a LONG time, but The Soup does a great job of keeping me up to date). Wisconsin's offenses averaged a shit load of points, so it is not a boring, low scoring offense by any means.  It will NOT be a throwback to the Wanny era, so please  hold yourself back from talking about how boring this will be.  I'm going to list the positions and just give a few thoughts on each and away we go:

QBs - Tino is your starter, despite a late camp push by true freshman Chad Voytik.  Now, the big question is, if something were to happen with Tino (injury or struggles or mop up time) will the staff turn to Voytik or Trey Anderson?  With what has transpired in camp, I say they turn to Voytik.  My feeling is that Tino will be better with the move to pro-style, BUT, I would not expect a all-conference for him.  He'll still hold the ball too long and make a bad pass or read once or twice per game, but I feel like people will be more pleased than pissed (oh hell, what am I talking about, this is the Pitt fan base and if Tino finished in the Heisman voting this year, they would still find something wrong).

RBs - This is where Chryst excels with his offenses and Pitt has some good ball carriers.  They will ease Ray Graham back into the lineup and he will be spelled (more so in the first month of the season) by Isaac Bennett, Rushell Shell, and Malcolm Crocket.  Now, everyone wants to see Shell and you will, but they will most likely ease him into the lineup as well.  There is not much to hate about this position.  I am excited for Shell, like everyone else is, BUT, if Ray Graham comes back healthy, this group will give Pitt fans hope in every game.

WRs - The starters will be Devin Street and Mike Shanahan.  Cam Saddler will come in for 3 WR sets and after him they will use a combination of Ronald Jones, Josh Brinson, Brendan Felder, and even true freshman Chris Wuester is pushing for time.  This is a deep position for Pitt and one that will do well in the better suited pro-style offense.  If one of the top 2 players go down, there is a pretty steep drop off between the top 3 receivers and the next group right now.

TE - There will be a lot of use in this offense for tight ends and the ones getting the bulk of the playing time are Hubie Graham, Drew Carswell, and true freshman JP Holtz.  I like this group a lot, BUT, they are very thin.  No injuries can happen here.  Two injuries would be devestating.

OL - I'll make this one simple.  BEFORE left tackle, Juantez Hollins was suspended for the year, I kept saying to myself....they might be serviceable, BUT, they cannot afford any injuries or suspensions....BOOM....Hollins is gone for the year.  I still think they will be serviceable.  They will be better in the running game than passing.  They WILL struggle with pass protection and with Tino at the helm, there could be some long games.  I like the inside with Chris Jacobson, Ryan Turnley, and Ryan Schlieper.  The tackles will be good in the running schemes, but will struggle with pass protection.  I like Cory King and Matt Rotheram, but they are VERY inexperienced.  After that...when the first tackle (Adam Bisnowaty) and guard (Gabe Roberts) are true freshmen and are the first two off the bench.....UGH!  Let's all stop for a moment and PRAY for a healthy year out of the offensive line.  A few injuries and this could get really ugly.  Not because I don't think Roberts and Bisnowaty can't do the job, but they are true freshmen and that is scary for such a physical position.

Let's move on to the other side of the ball.  The 4-3 will also NOT be like the Wanny era.  They will bring much more pressure on the line of scrimmage and leave the corners on an island a good amount, so the secondary will be important.  Let's take a look at that side of the ball.

DE - I was initially worried about this group, but after hearing reports in camp, I think they will be VERY solid.  Your starters will be TJ Clemmings and Jack Lippert (who was a nice surprise in camp) and the backups will be Brian Murphy, Shayne Hale, and Devin Cook.

NG - Besides saftey this position probably has the least amount of drop off between the starter and back up.  Tyrone Ezell will start and will be backed up by Khaynin Mosley-Smith.  They can also slide Ezell over to DE and start Mosley-Smith if there are some injuries on the outside.

DT - The big man will handle this position and will not come off the field very much as Aaron Donald returns to wreck the opposition's backfield.  He will be backed up by true freshman Darryl Render, which could turn into a problem if something were to happen to Donald.

WLB - The weak side linebacker position seems be Nicholas Grigsby's to lose, BUT he is trying to hold off Manny Williams. 

MLB - The man in the middle will be Shane Gordon and the back ups will be Joe Trebitz and team favorite Dan Mason.

SLB - The strong side will be Todd Thomas' job once he is healthy, but right now Eric Williams is in his place while he heals and Emmanuel Rackard will back him up it seems.

LBs as a whole - This is an athletic group that lacks experience, but will be helped by a good defensive line that will eat up a lot of blocking.  I think they can be good, but they are a question mark.  Also...freshmen Bam Bradley (who Pitt fans are going to love) and DeSean Rippy are also pushing for playing time.  They do need Thomas back sooner rather than later.

CBs - This was a strength and now has a little question mark with the transfer of Lloyd Carrington and an injury to K'Waun Williams.  They are still a good group, but they were VERY strong before a couple of days ago.  The starters will be Williams and Lafayette Pitts (when Williams is healthy and he should be soon).  The backups will be Cullen Christian AND two true freshmen in Jahmal Pardner and Ryan Lewis. 

Safties - OK - this group is plain out nasty and are the deepest group on the team.  We are monitoring an injury to starter Jarred Holley, who, when healthy should be a starter.  That being said, Andrew Taglianetti, Jason Hendricks, and Ray Vinopal will ALL play and play a lot.  Anthony Gonzalez is also pushing for time  here, but with those four, it will be tough to crack the lineup.

The kicking game is in good hands with Kevin Harper (at kicker) and Matt Yoklic (punter).  Harper did struggle last year, but his leg is strong and he has been better in camp this year.

I have no delusions of this team.  It is a new system and even with what I believe will be a better transition to this system (since half the team was recruited to play in this system anyways - unlike last year), and the schedule is not a murder's row.  I would say the best this team could do is 9-3 and that is catching some breaks and REALLY staying healthy.  It also could go so very wrong and despite a lot of good players and playing in a weak conference (FOR ONE MORE YEAR), the Panthers could finish with a 5-7 record. I don't think either happens.  I am saying 7-5 and a minor bowl, BUT, I am very excited for the future as Paul Chryst seems to be the anti-those we do not speak of.

ENJOY THE YEAR!

Time for some Hynoski's...

It's been a while and since college football is gearing up for training camp in a few weeks, I thought I'd give a little Hynoski edition of the blog.  Obviously, these are a few lines on recent events..kind of like a few 1 to 2 yard plunges.  Of couse, like Hyno would do, some could ramble on a little longer.  Here we go:

- Pitt starts camp in a few weeks and of course the fan base is ready to jump off a bridge about recruiting.  I'm not pleased about it either, but I feel like the staff is getting their feet wet and will get better and better at this aspect.  Results on the field would help tremendously and signing day is a long way off.  Some wins would convince some recruits to possibly come Pitt's way.  I'm not too worried about this because I feel like I was ready for some recruiting losses.  We hired Paul Chryst and his staff for their coaching ability first.  Wisconsin has won BIG with some very ordinary recruiting classes.  One aspect that really gave me hope was that Pitt's offensive line improved greatly throughout spring ball in the running game.  Hopefully that will continue and Pitt could have a good season, which could lead to some more recruiting wins. The schedule is very favorable.

One thing that can't hurt is the announcement that in less than 1 year, Pitt will be headed to the ACC!!!!!!  I can't be more excited about this one.  Fantastic news! They are only paying 2.5 million more than the 5 million dollar exit fee as well.  Doesn't sound impressive until you realize that WVU paid 20 million to get out just one year earlier.

- Allllllllright, let's look at the Penn State scandal, shall we?  Every time I find myself feeling somewhat sorry for some of my Penn State friends, they shoot off their mouths.  I can see reasons to not give them the death penalty, but the fan base's constant insistence that they should not receive anything and then opening their mouths about other programs....leads me to just want it more.  The recent news about the possibility of Paterno's statue coming down has led to a steady stream of cult members lining up to take a picture.  The scene is sickening up there.  You think they don't deserve the death penalty?  Just look at these kool-aid drinkers lining up and throwing the number one sign up just like thier idol.  It's stomach turning.  I don't agree with Mark Madden often, but he summed it up best.  Just SHUT UP ALREADY!  Maybe put away the PSU gear for a while.  Show some humility. They deserve every bad thing that comes their way and if they get nothing....I'm sure those road games next year (and in the coming years) will be TONS of fun.  We all know how respectful some of the Big Ten student sections can be and hopefully they are in rare form when PSU visits. The Nitters' arrogance needs to be reminded of what they are to the rest of the country. If they receive nothing, I hope they are ready to take the most hated team torch from Notre Dame.

- OK, so the Penguins didn't sign any big free agents or pull of any blockbuster trades....B-O-O....H-O-O!  God, no one gets entitled more than Penguins fans.  Don't win the Cup and you suck...don't pull of THE big move of the off season, fire Shero!  What a joke.  Let's see what they look like with some of the younger defensemen ready to step up and Sid actually being healthy this off-season first.

- As a junior in high school, I remember sitting in my parents' basement in October of 1992 in stunned silence after that awful loss for the Pittsburgh Baseball Club, so this little run they are on is something special.  I keep waiting for that losing streak, but praying it never comes.  Maybe I'm wrong on this, but living through the last 2 decades clinging to every game, every day...I don't give a shit about the playoffs for the Pirates.  Look, it would fun and great to see them get in, but I just want 82 wins!  That's all I really want right now.  Playoffs would be a bonus, but I just want that losing streak broken first!  They need to go 30-40 the rest of the way to get there...I have a good feeling.  The trade deadline should be very interesting. Let's Go Bucs!

BEST PITT NEWS ON SIGNING DAY

Check out the links below for the best run downs on today's letter of intent signings for your Pitt Panthers'  football team.  Looks like a solid class considering all the turmoil:

1. Panthers' Prey has a nice write up of this year's class.

2. Pitt Blather was updating throughout the day as well.

3.Chris Peak, as always, did a great job today as well.

4. Pitt Script came in with a nice rating system of today's recruits.

Still waiting on Paul Zeise's write up as of right now and Cardiac Hill's summary of the day's  events.  Check in with all of these sites as they do a fantastic job giving you (and me) a good idea of what Pitt has coming in for next year.