nelsonmuntz
Point Center
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
- Messages
- 44,546
- Reaction Score
- 34,241
Offense
Tino Sunsieri should be a better QB. I was really surprised to see that he only threw for 2,616 yards with 10 TD's and 11 picks. He has good size and a strong arm. He is still prone to mistakes, but I think Pitt has done him a disservice with now his third radically different offensive schemes. Sometimes a program just doesn't work out for a kid, and this feels like one of those times. At another program, Sunsieri may be entering this season to improve his draft spot. At Pitt, he will be lucky to finish out the year. There are even rumors that he might lose his job to a true frosh.
Ray Graham had the fastest "football speed" of any RB in the Big East until Pitt's game against UConn last year. I don't remember ever seeing a player catch him from behind. With a new knee, it is hard to predict how he will be. I expect something like Victor Anderson last year, relying on smarts and skill more than speed, and a shadow of his former ability. Pitt has very good WR's, although I wouldn't consider any of them great. I like Shanahan a lot as a 3rd down receiver, and Street can burn.
Pitt's line sucks. 64 sacks is bloody awful, and when Graham got hurt, the running game collapsed. I don't know how a line got this bad this fast, but it is terrible. I think some of the blame goes to Graham's gimmick CUSA offense. Maybe with a simpler, more straight forward style, Pitt's line will perform, but usually line's get worse the first year under a new coach, not better.
Defense
As bad as Pitt's O-Line was last year, the D-line was pretty good despite big losses from Wanny's last team. Unfortunately, Pitt loses 3 of its front 4, and there are few guys that even saw meaningful playing time coming back. This is a crapshoot, but I expect a big drop from 3.3 ypc and 43 sacks.
Pitt loses all 3 starting linebackers, including Gruder, who was probably the best guy on D last year. Dan Mason is back at MLB, although it is not clear if he is close to his former self, or if he will even play. The rest of this unit kind of sucked last year, if they played much at all.
I hate to see defensive backs among a team's leading tacklers, yet 2 of Pitt's DB's finished in the Top 3 last year. Pitt actually had a CB as its 3rd leading tackler, which is a sign that the linebackers are not doing their job and that the Coach is stacking the line against the run a lot. 2.5 starters are back this year, and Pitt is counting on yet another guy that saw little or no playing time last year.
This defense held it together last year on the strength of a good front 4. Those guys are gone, and this defense looks terrible.
Schedule
Youngstown State and Gardner Webb on the same schedule is ridiculous. VTech is going to clean their clock, and Pitt will lose at ND. Buffalo is not a guarantee if Sunsieri is benched by that point and Graham is not recovered from the knee injury. 4 BE road games is a challenge, and Louisville, the best team in the league, is one of the home games.
Conclusion
Pitt has a first time HC with a first time OC. That is a bad combination, especially for a QB that is on his 3rd HC in the last 3 years. Chryst is not a particularly innovative coach. He just kind of got a rep as a guy that deserves a HC job, and he got one. He may be good eventually, he may not, but I am pretty sure there will be growing pains.
Pitt's biggest problem is that it is a soft team. It was under Harris. It was under Wanny until the last 2 years, and then it reverted back to softness under Graham. UConn's loss to Pitt last year was one of my most frustrating games of the year, because I do not like the way Pitt plays ball and felt that UConn should have won easily instead of getting dominated.
I don't expect Pitt's swan song in the BE to go well. Too many holes on D, and too many question marks on O. Prediction
5-7 (2-5)
Tino Sunsieri should be a better QB. I was really surprised to see that he only threw for 2,616 yards with 10 TD's and 11 picks. He has good size and a strong arm. He is still prone to mistakes, but I think Pitt has done him a disservice with now his third radically different offensive schemes. Sometimes a program just doesn't work out for a kid, and this feels like one of those times. At another program, Sunsieri may be entering this season to improve his draft spot. At Pitt, he will be lucky to finish out the year. There are even rumors that he might lose his job to a true frosh.
Ray Graham had the fastest "football speed" of any RB in the Big East until Pitt's game against UConn last year. I don't remember ever seeing a player catch him from behind. With a new knee, it is hard to predict how he will be. I expect something like Victor Anderson last year, relying on smarts and skill more than speed, and a shadow of his former ability. Pitt has very good WR's, although I wouldn't consider any of them great. I like Shanahan a lot as a 3rd down receiver, and Street can burn.
Pitt's line sucks. 64 sacks is bloody awful, and when Graham got hurt, the running game collapsed. I don't know how a line got this bad this fast, but it is terrible. I think some of the blame goes to Graham's gimmick CUSA offense. Maybe with a simpler, more straight forward style, Pitt's line will perform, but usually line's get worse the first year under a new coach, not better.
Defense
As bad as Pitt's O-Line was last year, the D-line was pretty good despite big losses from Wanny's last team. Unfortunately, Pitt loses 3 of its front 4, and there are few guys that even saw meaningful playing time coming back. This is a crapshoot, but I expect a big drop from 3.3 ypc and 43 sacks.
Pitt loses all 3 starting linebackers, including Gruder, who was probably the best guy on D last year. Dan Mason is back at MLB, although it is not clear if he is close to his former self, or if he will even play. The rest of this unit kind of sucked last year, if they played much at all.
I hate to see defensive backs among a team's leading tacklers, yet 2 of Pitt's DB's finished in the Top 3 last year. Pitt actually had a CB as its 3rd leading tackler, which is a sign that the linebackers are not doing their job and that the Coach is stacking the line against the run a lot. 2.5 starters are back this year, and Pitt is counting on yet another guy that saw little or no playing time last year.
This defense held it together last year on the strength of a good front 4. Those guys are gone, and this defense looks terrible.
Schedule
Youngstown State and Gardner Webb on the same schedule is ridiculous. VTech is going to clean their clock, and Pitt will lose at ND. Buffalo is not a guarantee if Sunsieri is benched by that point and Graham is not recovered from the knee injury. 4 BE road games is a challenge, and Louisville, the best team in the league, is one of the home games.
Conclusion
Pitt has a first time HC with a first time OC. That is a bad combination, especially for a QB that is on his 3rd HC in the last 3 years. Chryst is not a particularly innovative coach. He just kind of got a rep as a guy that deserves a HC job, and he got one. He may be good eventually, he may not, but I am pretty sure there will be growing pains.
Pitt's biggest problem is that it is a soft team. It was under Harris. It was under Wanny until the last 2 years, and then it reverted back to softness under Graham. UConn's loss to Pitt last year was one of my most frustrating games of the year, because I do not like the way Pitt plays ball and felt that UConn should have won easily instead of getting dominated.
I don't expect Pitt's swan song in the BE to go well. Too many holes on D, and too many question marks on O. Prediction
5-7 (2-5)
