Five Things We’d Like To See Saturday

The editorial team at Panther Rants considered compiling a list of 10 things we’d like to see tomorrow afternoon in Pitt’s noon tilt with Georgia Tech, but given the complete ineptitude that was on display against Penn State last week, we felt that may be too aggressive. Truthfully, even a top three may be asking too much. Regardless, here at the five things we’d like to see tomorrow against the Yellow Jackets.

1.       Pat Narduzzi Not Get Flagged For Acting a Fool. We get it: he’s fiery. He’s passionate. He’s intense. He’s…the Naaaaard Dog!!!! He’s also an ass who gave Penn State great field position by not being able to keep his emotions in check. In comes Georgia Tech and Paul Johnson, a coach who, in addition to having a face that looks like a butt, has traded barbs and insults with Narduzzi in the past. Can we please please please avoid a game misconduct penalty this week?

2.       Shawn Watson. In typical Pitt fan fashion, this guy had one big win (the upset of Miami on Black Friday) and suddenly all prior sins were forgotten. Bottom line is this offense isn’t just unproductive, it’s boring. Couple that with Watson’s bizarre and downright idiotic play calling in the first half against the Nittany Lions and these next six weeks are fish or cut bait time. We don’t expect him to be Mike Leach or Norm Chow, because Lord knows he’s never shown even a glimpse of that. At this point, our only hope is for Watson to simply script the game right. Run when common sense says to run and vice versa with the pass. And, if for some reason you find yourself at the opposition’s four-yard-line on fourth down, come up with something better than that 1963 Woody Hayes piece of trash you threw at us last week. 

3.       An Improved O-Line. Although the offensive line has been pretty effective at opening space for the running game it’s been completely awful at protecting quarterback Kenny Pickett. At this point, given that this team probably wasn’t making a run at a national, ACC or probably Coastal title, the primary objective should be protecting the franchise QB. Should they do that, who knows? Maybe a receiver accidentally wanders to the wrong spot on the field and gets open. One can only hope.

4.       Secondary. The pass defense looked shaky in spurts against Albany and then was completely exposed – again – versus Penn State. James Franklin is an unscrupulous clown who isn’t nearly as smart as he believes, but give him credit for continuing to expose our weakness. Should things continue this will be the third friggin’ season of a questionable secondary. The good news is that Pitt plays a run-heavy option offense that was last popular when Dwight Eisenhower was President. The bad news is, in many instances, that hasn’t always mattered. Making average passers look NFL quality is a Pitt tradition which needs to stop.

5.      A Reason For Hope. Most of us don’t have any after last week. Most of us saw last week’s game as a measuring stick – not simply for where Pitt is in comparison to Penn State, but to nationally relevant programs – and have deep concerns about the play calls, player development and recruiting. Pitt need’s a solid performance Saturday, not just for it’s own self-esteem, but to give its fan base, recruits and administration a glimmer of hope that the boat isn’t sinking. One more pants shitting could cause insurmountable turmoil – which is great for snark factories like this one but not-so-great for anyone else.