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Iowa Game Thoughts - ndlutz - 09-21-2015 12:02 PM
Pitt got beat by Iowa. Make no mistake about the terminology - Pitt didn't "lose" the game.
I don't really have anything bad to say about the team or coaching staff at this point in time. They went into a hostile environment as underdogs and almost pulled off the win and lost because Iowa's kicker made a 57 yard field goal...a really improbable result.
I can't say enough about Narduzzi so far. I decided during the Iowa game that I was a believer, win or lose.
The things that impress me:
1. Lack of stupid penalties for the most part. This became apparent in the Akron game and carried over to Iowa. This team is well coached. They're not getting hurt by stupid penalties associated with sloppy play. We've seen way too much of this crap throughout the Wannstedt, Graham, and Chryst era.
2. Special teams is a focus. I'm sure Narduzzi and company are paying attention to special teams because I've never seen a Pitt team more disciplined on special teams than they are this year. It's like night and day. Don't think for a second special teams play can't cost you - remember Cincinnati 2009?
3. This defense hits hard and tackling has improved each week. I saw more arm tackles than I would have liked to see during week 1. Week 2 I thought we improved. Week 3 at Iowa, I was pretty impressed, particularly with the DBs. They're wrapping up and they're hitting hard. This is another huge change from previous squads.
4. Peterman & Co. converted under pressure. Remember Tino Sunseri? He never won a game from behind in his long Pitt career. In his first game as the pseudo starter, Peterman brought the team back for a TD drive including 4th down conversion(s) to tie the game. Impressive. I think I was more panicked than the players were at that time. I was glad I was a couple beers deep.
5. Importance of the 4th & inches is overblown. We came back and tied the game afterwards so I'm not sure how you point to that point and say we lost the game there. We could have failed to convert or even converted and turned the ball over on the very next play. I think going for it was the right call but it hardly cost us the game. This is just an excuse to blame somebody.
All-in-all I'm really impressed. I could do without Chaney's love for sweeps, though. What's up with that?
RE: Iowa Game Thoughts - SoCalPanther - 09-22-2015 10:23 AM
Thanks for the summary ndlutz!