(10-27-2016 09:46 PM)Shannon Panther Wrote:  Tonight was a lot going on in Pittsburgh. The Penguins were home, so there is 18K and Bon Jovi was at Soldiers and Sailors Hall. He probably had 3-5K there.

Did you just use Bon Jovi as an excuse for crap attendance at a college football game? lmao

No offense, man. but that's funny.

(10-27-2016 10:47 PM)L-yes Wrote:  

(10-27-2016 09:46 PM)Shannon Panther Wrote:  Tonight was a lot going on in Pittsburgh. The Penguins were home, so there is 18K and Bon Jovi was at Soldiers and Sailors Hall. He probably had 3-5K there.

Did you just use Bon Jovi as an excuse for crap attendance at a college football game? lmao

No offense, man. but that's funny.

Somebody bought those tickets. It wouldn't have been me, but I am sure a lot of middle aged women skipped the game to go see him.

For those who need the history lesson, here's CrazyPaco's rundown on the whole Pitt stadium saga:

http://csnbbs.com/thread-704316-post-111...id11187499

(10-27-2016 10:45 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(10-27-2016 10:40 PM)Lenvillecards Wrote:  

(10-27-2016 03:56 PM)EvilVodka Wrote:  Pitt has had a week off...VT is on the road...

I think Pitt wins tonight in a close one!

Pitt 36-31

I'll take VT 39-36.

A little slow, but amazingly accurate!

I'm either psychic or psycho, I'm not sure which.

(10-28-2016 07:17 AM)H.U.S.T.L.E. Wrote:  For those who need the history lesson, here's CrazyPaco's rundown on the whole Pitt stadium saga:

http://csnbbs.com/thread-704316-post-111...id11187499

Obviously leadership is critical when certain circumstances arise and it appears Pitt was bankrupt in this department at a critical time in history.

That's great that Petersen houses food courts and offices but there is no reason amenities can't be housed in a football stadium complex. The contemporary on-campus stadium is a multipurpose facility if nothing else.

Pitt has a long term problem that came out of mismanagement and clean-up providing a short term gain in exchange for irreversible decisions.

I get that we're only here because we're looking at things through the lens of football, but I think it's abundantly clear that Pitt was able to do a lot more for its overall student population and athletics department by demolishing Pitt Stadium. It's not just that the Petersen Events Center is there and also "houses food courts and offices."

As Paco said, if Pitt Stadium isn't demolished and their Olympic sports don't get the shot in the arm that was the result, there's a decent chance Pitt is in the AAC and not the ACC right now.

Pitt really needs to get out of its contract at Heinz Field. Come on, Pitt has a major academic medical center. These days that's like having a license to print money. I know it's different pockets but there's no way Pitt's hurting for money these days.

(10-28-2016 01:03 PM)H.U.S.T.L.E. Wrote:  I get that we're only here because we're looking at things through the lens of football, but I think it's abundantly clear that Pitt was able to do a lot more for its overall student population and athletics department by demolishing Pitt Stadium. It's not just that the Petersen Events Center is there and also "houses food courts and offices."

As Paco said, if Pitt Stadium isn't demolished and their Olympic sports don't get the shot in the arm that was the result, there's a decent chance Pitt is in the AAC and not the ACC right now.

It's amazing that they can field a competitive football team. Their fan support last night was Temple level and we all know what happened to Temple.

(10-28-2016 03:31 PM)L-yes Wrote:  

(10-28-2016 01:03 PM)H.U.S.T.L.E. Wrote:  I get that we're only here because we're looking at things through the lens of football, but I think it's abundantly clear that Pitt was able to do a lot more for its overall student population and athletics department by demolishing Pitt Stadium. It's not just that the Petersen Events Center is there and also "houses food courts and offices."

As Paco said, if Pitt Stadium isn't demolished and their Olympic sports don't get the shot in the arm that was the result, there's a decent chance Pitt is in the AAC and not the ACC right now.

It's amazing that they can field a competitive football team. Their fan support last night was Temple level and we all know what happened to Temple.

Finding $120 million AND the land to build on it, are pretty substantial obstacles for building an on-campus football stadium ... and would be for anyone.

Pitt did a good job NOT being junior partners in the Steelers new stadium (and frankly, if weren't for Pitt, the Steelers wouldn't have that stadium either).

I think Pitt will be just fine. They are in a power 5 conference, have a crap ton of college football history and tradition, have a very good coach that shows passion for his team and players, and are building a consistent winner. Fans will follow ...

Regarding their fan support last night - you could also say it was at Miami Hurricane historical levels too.

I think this is making a mountain out of a mole hill.

This whole fan support thing is a little overblown. The attendance on Thursday was 40,000 which isn't great but is still better than several ACC schools. If Pitt played in BC's stadium or even a GT sized stadium without yellow seats it wouldn't look that bad. The stadium is just too big for a city school that hasn't been great in 30 years. I'm not sure being on campus would make that much of a difference, the student section is almost always the most full part of the stadium.

(10-28-2016 03:31 PM)L-yes Wrote:  

(10-28-2016 01:03 PM)H.U.S.T.L.E. Wrote:  I get that we're only here because we're looking at things through the lens of football, but I think it's abundantly clear that Pitt was able to do a lot more for its overall student population and athletics department by demolishing Pitt Stadium. It's not just that the Petersen Events Center is there and also "houses food courts and offices."

As Paco said, if Pitt Stadium isn't demolished and their Olympic sports don't get the shot in the arm that was the result, there's a decent chance Pitt is in the AAC and not the ACC right now.

It's amazing that they can field a competitive football team. Their fan support last night was Temple level and we all know what happened to Temple.

We had 30K today, and we're working on building a stadium on campus, but I appreciate your support.

(10-29-2016 10:46 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  

(10-28-2016 03:31 PM)L-yes Wrote:  

(10-28-2016 01:03 PM)H.U.S.T.L.E. Wrote:  I get that we're only here because we're looking at things through the lens of football, but I think it's abundantly clear that Pitt was able to do a lot more for its overall student population and athletics department by demolishing Pitt Stadium. It's not just that the Petersen Events Center is there and also "houses food courts and offices."

As Paco said, if Pitt Stadium isn't demolished and their Olympic sports don't get the shot in the arm that was the result, there's a decent chance Pitt is in the AAC and not the ACC right now.

It's amazing that they can field a competitive football team. Their fan support last night was Temple level and we all know what happened to Temple.

We had 30K today, and we're working on building a stadium on campus, but I appreciate your support.

Good for you. Better 30 years late than never.

Damn straight.

L-Yes, I agree with you that Pitt needs an on-campus stadium to reach its potential. It needs about a 45,000 seat stadium and it would be just fine. Also, nobody is more critical of Pitt's arrangement with the Steelers/Heinz Field than I am.

Also, I think Steve Pederson was such a divisive figure in the history of Pitt athletics that he ultimately did more harm than good - and he did do a lot of good things here. However, he also did a lot of terrible things that will take years and years to repair – if they can ever be repaired.

He had a lot of lapdogs that would've defended him to the death but those people were clearly and conclusively proven wrong when he was fired. He just continually divided up an already small and fractious fan base and you cannot do that at a program like Pitt. Nowadays, they often lash out at people like me for basically pointing out the obvious reality that he was fired for all of the reasons he should've been fired for years ago.

However, you are overstating your case here.

Talking about 1500 people at the game or 20,000 his credibility altering. There were a solid 35-40K fans at the game, which was relatively about what I expected. I have been disappointed in the crowd many times over the years but Thursday night was not one of those times.

It was a really nasty night and the Stanley Cup champion Penguins were playing just a few miles away at PPG Paints Arena. Whether anyone likes it or not, the Penguins are always going to be more popular in Pittsburgh than minor league football. That's just reality. The Hillary Clinton fundraiser concert by JBJ was just another side bar.

The problem is the stadium seats 70,000 fans and if any if those seats are empty they show up in the way of bright yellow highlighter pens.

That said, fan apathy is definitely a problem for Pittsburgh. I'm sure it's also a problem in other cities that have multiple pro sports teams with which to compete for money. I'm sure fan apathy is an issue in Boston when the Eagles are not that good, in Miami when the Hurricanes are not that good and in Atlanta when the Yellow Jackets are not that good. Pittsburgh is no different than those other comparably situated cities in that regard.

That is bad for the local university but it's obviously very good for the average sports fan in this market.

In the last month or so I have been to a major-league baseball game, an NFL game, some major college football games, and some NHL games. And the best part is I never drove more than 20 minutes to go to all of those things.

That is awesome and I would not trade it for the world! However, the flipside to that is when your team is not that good and you get crappy weather, people are going to stay at home or choose other options - because they can.

I don't think that is a question of leadership but rather circumstance and I don't know how you ever overcome it short of the Steelers and/or the Pirates and/or the Penguins leaving town – which would be a far bigger disaster than having a poor fan showing at a college football game?

I think you just have to accept that it is what it is and move on. I do think a smaller on or near campus stadium is an inevitability. I think they have to have one and everyone knows it – even if some refuse to admit it. However, I also think that is very far off in the distance and not worth discussing right now.

I think the administration at Pitt is doing everything it can to try and right the ship in football. We'll get better crowds when we start winning games like the one we played against VT on Thursday. It was there for the taking but we ultimately caved.

Step one was to eliminate losing games like we did to Bowling Green in 2008. I think we're pretty much there. Now we need to take the next step and start winning games against other similarly situated programs, or even those slightly better than we are.

We missed on chances against UNC, OK State, and now VT. We took advantage of beating PSU, so we're 1-3 in these games. Next week we'll see if we can get a win vs. a Miami team I think is probably in that group too.

My bigger concern regarding Pitt is to find some corners that can play this press coverage defense. Virginia Tech basically ran the same play – the back shoulder fade – over and over and over and over and over and over and over again and we could not stop it.

And, really, why would they run anything different? Those plays are known as "50-50 balls" but in that game they were really "85–15 balls." And, in the rare event that we actually defended the pass, there was no threat whatsoever that would we would intercept it, so they would just throw it again on the next down.

It would be one thing if it was just Virginia Tech, but if you look at the passing yardage against Pitt this year you will find that every single quarterback we play looks like a Heisman Trophy candidate.

That's a problem and it needs to be addressed.

We still have to play Miami, Clemson, Duke and Syracuse. All four of those teams can throw the football and we will definitely give up 30+ points per game to each of those teams. The question will be if we can score more than that? You have to understand that Pitt has scored 36 points in each game this season and is still just 5-3. We would be 4-4 had Penn State not dropped a sure touchdown pass at the end of that game.

Pathetic pass defense.

I don't disagree with you on the defense. It needs to get better. I'm not sure that's possible this year, though, because the philosophy is not going to change and the players are not likely to magically get a ton better.

I'm not sure that I can buy into changing the defensive philosophy, either. When you hear Narduzzi talk about his defense, the idea is basically that the corners are going to be in 1-on-1 situations a lot because in college, QBs are not likely to be able to repeatedly throw deep fade routes successfully. That's where we're weak, as we've seen over and over again this year. It's hard to argue with that philosophy - I will take away things that can really hurt me (run, short, easy passes) and leave myself vulnerable to something that's a lower percentage play - deep fades.

Unfortunately, this year we've seen our CBs getting toasted on those low percentage passes a lot. It's been for a variety of reasons but I think that height has been one of the biggest factors. Maddox is our best cover corner and when you watch him play he's in good position most of the time on these passes. He just can't defend them when they're thrown in good position to a 6'3"+ WR. Lewis has similar issues. Webb is just out of position a lot and he doesn't have the physical tools to re-adjust. It sure seems like #2 is chasing the ball carrier on big plays all the time.

So we lose Maddox and things get even worse. Now we have inexperienced players coming in and they're getting roasted even worse. Now we're out of position AND not making plays. The good news is that Hamlin is big and athletic enough to make some plays - he just has a lot of catching up to do in order to get in the right position. I thought Motley was playing pretty well before his injury and Jackson hasn't been all that bad either.

Anyway, I think this is all going to work itself out. Unfortunately, it may not happen this year. Still, I don't think we would be better off switching the scheme around because I think we'll just get toasted in another way and at least currently we're getting toasted on rather low percentage throws that could break differently for us depending on the game.

(10-31-2016 09:59 AM)Dr. Isaly von Yinzer Wrote:  My bigger concern regarding Pitt is to find some corners that can play this press coverage defense. Virginia Tech basically ran the same play – the back shoulder fade – over and over and over and over and over and over and over again and we could not stop it.

And, really, why would they run anything different? Those plays are known as "50-50 balls" but in that game they were really "85–15 balls." And, in the rare event that we actually defended the pass, there was no threat whatsoever that would we would intercept it, so they would just throw it again on the next down.

It would be one thing if it was just Virginia Tech, but if you look at the passing yardage against Pitt this year you will find that every single quarterback we play looks like a Heisman Trophy candidate.

That's a problem and it needs to be addressed.

We still have to play Miami, Clemson, Duke and Syracuse. All four of those teams can throw the football and we will definitely give up 30+ points per game to each of those teams. The question will be if we can score more than that? You have to understand that Pitt has scored 36 points in each game this season and is still just 5-3. We would be 4-4 had Penn State not dropped a sure touchdown pass at the end of that game.

Pathetic pass defense.

Reminds me of when oppsing RBs would have career days (200+ yards) with the phrase 'all Rhoads lead to the endzone' for the former DC.