JotCast | Brian Batko's Pitt football chat: 10.24.18

Brian Batko's Pitt football chat: 10.24.18

Brian Batko

2:00

Happy Wednesday, friends. Hard to believe, but Pitt has just two home games left, starting with Duke at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Pat Narduzzi dropped a "period" four times in his Monday press conference this week, a mark I will attempt to surpass in this chat. Go!

OHIO412FAN

2:00

Eventually, as a Pitt fan, if Narduzzi continues to put our average to mediocre teams every year, it will be in the program’s best interest to let him go. Great guy, love the man, but I feel the real point of emphasis over his hire was getting this program back to the elite level. This program has all the tools to reach that, it just needs a coach who recruits HARD, and goes all out and all in to make it happen.

Brian Batko

2:03

I'm not sure I agree with your premise. To me, the point of emphasis was finding stability after Paul Chryst left. Pat Narduzzi very much has provided that. Three consecutive 6-6 regular seasons didn't exactly portend a realistic chance of quickly becoming "elite." Now, does all this mean that Narduzzi is the man to get Pitt to that "next level"? Not necessarily. But if you're Pitt, you can do worse, and you have. The question is whether you can do better, which is one that Heather Lyke will have to consider eventually.

2:04

Also, I don't know that I'm with you when you contest that Narduzzi doesn't recruit hard enough. I think he does. I don't think his shortcomings on that front are a result of not going all in. Overall, he's a very intense dude.

Les

2:04

Wondering why Pickett seems to be regressing? At Wisconsin Bret Bielema is said to be responsible for Russell Wilson's success after he transferred from NC State. We need a QB coach like that who will actually know how to use Pickett's abilities, he is better than what he is showing. Am I off base here?

Brian Batko

2:06

Thanks for the question, Les. I don't think you're off base to believe that. Kenny Pickett might not be the next Kurt Warner, but he sure seemed more capable last year than he's shown so far this season. Which is pretty damning on the part of OC Shawn Watson, given all we were told about how magic as a quarterback developer. In fact, that was touted as his strong suit much more than play-calling or scheming offensive football or anything like that. To me, that could end up being the biggest reason for Narduzzi moving on at the end of the year. It's much easier and, from the outside, more logical to cut bait with your QB coach than the QB you told everyone was the future here.

Larry

2:07

I know Duzz was very cliche about using TE's more frequently. Brian what do you think the chances are this week we see a little more TE involvement?

Brian Batko

2:08

Ehhh only because it's hard to get much LESS involvement than they've had from that spot. I'm just not sure the personnel is there. I thought Will Gragg from Arkansas would make a much bigger impact, and I don't understand why he hasn't. Grant Carrigan hasn't shown anything as a pass-catcher. Pitt's most frustrating position to build depth at the past few years has been tight end, period.

GhostOfIvanToncic

2:08

Is Ms. Lyke regretting the seven-year extension? If so, how many non-bowl seasons would it take her to get to that point? Ten months ago she was "deeply committed" to Coach Narduzzi, but at some point it has to be tempting to install your own pick, particularly if there's no progress.

Brian Batko

2:10

Well, Pat Narduzzi pretty much is Lyke's pick at this point, based on that new contract she gave him. Only she truly knows if she's "regretting" it, but obviously she can't be loving that 3-4 record and some of the beatdowns that have come with it. I think if Pitt misses a bowl this year, Narduzzi's job security becomes a major topic entering 2019. And if they miss one three years in a row, the natives would be VERY restless, something that would be difficult for Lyke to ignore.

Seth from Nanty Glo

2:10

After the Notre Dame debacle I said fire everyone. After looking ahead at the schedule, I say they are going to run the table and be in the title game. If they can stick with the Irish, they can certainly beat every mediocre team that lies ahead. Please change my mind?

Brian Batko

2:11

I'm kinda confused here, Seth. Losing by 5 to the No. 3 team in the country was a debacle? Disappointing, sure, but far from a debacle. Penn State was a debacle. UCF was a debacle. Even UNC was kind of a debacle in its own right. So, you want me to change your mind on being confident in Pitt? Well, as far as running the table, I don't see that happening. The opponents are mostly mediocre, yes, but so is Pitt.

2:12

Period.

Doug in Erie

2:12

Will we witness the unvieling of "Air Pitt" Saturday?

Brian Batko

2:14

Doug ... no. Weather is supposed to be bad Saturday for the Duke game, and if the Penn State postgame was any indication, Pat Narduzzi barely believes a pass can be completed in a drizzle. Turns out, the excuses about the rain that night seem pretty empty when you look at what the passing game has been able to accomplish five games later.

Steve

2:14

Can you square the difference between the coaches praising Pickett as the next big thing at QB early on, but then consistently only calling passing plays that allows him to throw 5 yards down the field?

Brian Batko

2:16

I don't know that I'd say they praised him as the "next big thing" but there was a lot made about his decision-making, interception avoidance, etc. Perhaps they just expected the passing attack to be much more crisp overall, on short and intermediate routes, with Pickett being really accurate all over the field. Shawn Watson's historically been a West Coast system guy, so anyone expecting a wide-open passing offense was probably mistaken, but this unit has been downright boring so far, period.

Shemp

2:16

Any heath updates on Mack?

Brian Batko

2:17

Not so much, Shemp. He was not practicing in the half hour we got to watch yesterday morning, but he was in uniform doing some rehab work. I think it's far from a slam dunk that he plays, but I also won't be surprised if he's back. Sorry, but call it 50-50.

Mike Darnay

2:18

Not necessarily a question at all -- just wanted to say hi and wish you well, my friend

Brian Batko

2:18

I disagree.

Pat

2:18

How likely is it that Kenny is less mobile due to an injury, and how likely is it due to design to finish reads and stay in the pocket? I think it is a missing weapon that has really hurt PITT this year.

Brian Batko

2:19

I don't think he's hurt at all. If anything, he might've gotten burned trying to run too much earlier in the season, and now he's trying to avoid that, consciously or not. But I'm with you, he really just doesn't look like the same guy who made all those plays against Miami last year.

Jim

2:19

Hey Brian, the ND would have been great to get. That being said, do you believe in the "home cooking" angle in South Bend? Pitt sure seems to have some bad luck there in that department, regardless.....

Brian Batko

2:20

Hello, Jim. Emphatically, respectfully, absolutely not. I think there's an old movie quote that goes something like "Losers whine about the refs, winners go home and" - actually, nevermind, I'm gonna stop there.

Phil

2:20

I believe ESPN gives Pitt less than 1% chance of winning the Coastal. Either I am an eternally doomed Pitt optimist or that number sounds very low. How good of a position do you think they are in to win the division compared to the other Coastal opponents?

Brian Batko

2:22

Well they're 2-1, which is much better than 1-2, or 1-1, or even 0-3. But it's hard for me to give them much better odds than that 1 percent, when you consider there's a chance they need to go undefeated the rest of the way to get it done, and that three of those games are on the road, and that they lost to UNC, and that they don't have Quintin Wirginis, and that they can't throw, etc. etc. etc. Period.

Jack Straw

2:23

Do you see any reasonable scenario in which Narduzzi doesn't get one more year? If so, please explain. Further, if he gets that year, what do you think it takes to keep the job longer?

Brian Batko

2:24

No, I don't see any scenario in which he's gone after this season. Even if they lose out, which is also possible - maybe just as possible as winning out - I don't think you'd see a change. A 3-9 record is bad but not a death knell, even following a 5-7 campaign. At the very least, you need to make a bowl game next year. The schedule lightens up a bit, so being in contention for the Coastal title all the way to the wire is probably a reasonable expectation too, but keep in mind, it'll be a team replacing a whole lot of seniors.

2:25

(Not to suggest that Narduzzi will be calling them a young team, but yeah, he'll probably be calling them a young team, because they will be a young team)

Pitt2020

2:25

Every year Pitt sports has a build up and seems like they'll have a great year...but every time leads to disappointment. Already given up on the FB season, should i set low expectations for MBB?

Brian Batko

2:25

You definitely should

GhostOfIvanToncic

2:25

Best / most memorable sporting event you've ever attended in-person (as a fan, not as a reporter)?

Brian Batko

2:27

Great question, GoIT. I wish I got more like this, honestly. Does the 1998 King of the Ring at Civic Arena count as a sporting event? (Hi, Tyler Batiste.). My dad took me to that, we sat in the second row, and Mankind was an absolute madman. As a reporter, Pitt-Clemson two years ago was pretty damn unforgettable.

Shemp

2:27

This chat is slow, period.

Brian Batko

2:27

Sorry, Shemp

Pat

2:28

Hi Brian, I think that Pat Narduzzi should be jevaluated on his ACC record this year and there has been much “rush to judgement “. If he wins 4 or 5 down the stretch hasn’t it been a pretty good year from an honest perspective? Even 3 wins isn’t a disaster, but insufficient given its year 4 for him. What say you?

Brian Batko

2:30

Pat ... is that you? But I agree. Some fans/readers have wanted me to write pretty scathing takedowns of this program at times this season, but guess what? They've never been more than one game under .500. They've never lost more than two in a row. They've actually won MORE games in-conference than they've lost. I don't think they'll win four of the next five, let alone all five, but I'm willing to let it play out. And of course, that would be considered a good year if Pitt finishes 8-4 or even 7-5 with this schedule.

Wedz4heizman

2:31

Two close games recently, but I've got some serious concerns about clock management and play calling late in the game. I'll start with my clock management issues and ask for your thoughts. Against Syracuse he ran the ball and played for the tie in regulation. We won but instead of getting two chances to win to (regulation and overtime) we only got one. Against ND he called his last timeout on 4th and1. I know it was an important play but we needed that timeout on offense or possibly to get one more stop on defense. Your thoughts.

Brian Batko

2:31

How many more wins does Pitt have left in it?

1 (0% | 0 votes)

2 (20% | 5 votes)

3 (60% | 15 votes)

4 (12% | 3 votes)

5+ (4% | 1 vote)

0 (4% | 1 vote)

Total Votes: 25

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