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John McGonigal's Pitt football chat: 08.28.19
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John McGonigal
2:02
Good afternoon, y’all. Welcome to the Week 1 chat. Quick housekeeping note: Now that the season is here, 2 p.m. every Wednesday is when we’ll do the chat. Let’s get to it.
Drk Pitt
2:03
If KP struggles, what do you see as the backup plan?
John McGonigal
2:04
Kenny Pickett’s leash should be considered long. Like, a few blocks long. Offensive and defensive players alike throughout camp have lauded Pickett’s leadership. He spent all of spring, summer and fall learning Mark Whipple’s offense. Add that to the uncertainty over who his backup even is — still no announcement on either Jeff George Jr. or Nick Patti. Now, if he gets hurt, then it gets interesting. George has the experience, but Patti has the future ahead of him. No indication which way Narduzzi would lean.
SaltyRon
2:05
Aside from the Weaver injury, how much improvement do you expect to see from the Pitt defense in Narduzzi's 5th year?
John McGonigal
2:06
Going by total defense, Pitt’s best year under Narduzzi was his first, ranking 39th nationally in 2015. With Weaver, I thought this Panther defense could break into the top 25 or 30. But it’s impossible to put that loss to the side and think the same entering the season. Weaver is that good. However, I still see improvements made in the second and third levels. The secondary will be strong — and deep with Jazzee Stocker playing as a third safety and confidence in all three corners (Jackson, Pinnock, Mathis). And I’m really intrigued by what Kylan Johnson can bring to the LB group. This is still going to be a solid defense. Just not as good as it could’ve been with Weaver.
Panther_nut
2:08
What are Pitts biggest question marks come Saturday night ?
John McGonigal
2:09
The biggest has to be offensive line. Four out of five starters are new. Left tackle Carter Warren has never played in a collegiate game. Right guard Gabe Houy has one start to his name. And they face a 3-4 front on a defense that returns 8 starters. Difficult task to start the season.
Pitt2014
2:11
John, love the chats! Pick and choose.. or answer them all if you’re feeling ambitious. Sack leader (d line), sack leader (lbs), interception leader, more receiving yards - Ffrench, Mack, or wildcard?
John McGonigal
2:12
Woke up feeling dangerous, so let’s get after all four. Sack leader on DL: Patrick Jones
Sack leader at LB: Kylan Johnson
INT leader: Dane Jackson
More receiving yards: Ffrench
Harry
2:14
What is your game by game prediction for the season?
John McGonigal
2:16
Wayyyyy too early to go game-by-game and make predictions. Just too many variables with the introduction of Whipple’s offense and Weaver’s absence, not to mention things happening to other teams. But given Pitt’s alleviated schedule after the first four weeks, I see this as a 6-6 or 7-5 team.
GregBrownsToupee
2:17
Will V'Lique Carter be a regular in the offense or will he be a gadget play guy?
John McGonigal
2:18
Great question. Narduzzi was mum on V’lique during camp. He’s listed as a WR on the official roster, but center Jimmy Morrissey mentioned Carter among the running backs during his media appearance on Wednesday and called him "a great player" ... Suppose we’ll find out more concretely what his role is on Saturday.
Keith C
2:20
John, looking forward to your Pitt chats! What kind of crowd can we expect on Saturday? With Comcast still not picking up the ACC network, I would think that there should be a respectable amount of people there.
John McGonigal
2:21
Thanks, Keith. Not sure if the ACC Network situation will force more people to buy a ticket or watch a stream on Reddit. But 44,000 or so were in the seats for last year’s VA Tech game. Considering this is a night game against an ACC Coastal opponent and the intriguing aspects of this team (Whipple, etc.), expect about the same on Saturday.
Gary77
2:24
Do you think Narduzzi will keep the O vanilla and save the big plays for Penn State?  Getting a keychain made for a potential win has to be a huge motivator, right?
John McGonigal
2:25
After winning the Coastal last year, Pitt is facing the 2019 Coastal favorite in Week 1 … after being picked to finish 4th in the division. Don't think you'll see another Villanova-2016 situation.
willie in socal
2:27
what's an alleviated schedule?
John McGonigal
2:28
Pitt faces the ACC Coastal favorite, the MAC favorite and two ranked teams (Penn State, UCF) in the first four weeks. After that, the Panthers play Delaware, Daniel Jones-less Duke, Eric Dungey-less Syracuse, Miami at home and Georgia Tech minus the triple option. That's what I meant when I said the schedule is alleviated after the first four weeks.
Kenny P.
2:30
Will I competently move the offense on Saturday night?
John McGonigal
2:30
I think you will, faux Kenny Pickett (?)
Chris
2:32
Would it benefit Pitt to blitz Saturday and get to Perkins, or keep him in the pocket and let a strong secondary do its thing?
John McGonigal
2:33
I’d go with the latter. Make Perkins beat you through the air and through the air only. He threw for north of 2,500 yards, but he’s a far better runner. On the ACC Network media conference call, analyst Tim Hasselbeck said the same. That’s Pitt’s best bet to contain the dark horse Heisman candidate.
Doug in Erie
2:35
Almost every "talking head " is picking UVA to win. Are they that good or is Pitt's reputation that bad?
John McGonigal
2:36
Think it’s just a product of the Bryce Perkins hype and a few lingering questions surrounding Pitt. Now, for ACC Network analyst Jon Beason to say that it’ll be a “tall order” for Pitt to “have a chance” against UVA is, uhm, interesting. The spread is UVA -2.5.
JayScazzz
2:39
Game prediction for this Saturday?  Sadly, I think Virginia wins....
John McGonigal
2:39
I’ll actually be making my game prediction on the North Shore Drive podcast this week. Recording tomorrow (Thursday morning) with our new Penn State beat writer Mike Persak. We’ll be previewing the Panthers and Nittany Lions, making Week 1 and College Football Playoff picks and looking at the college football landscape as a whole. Podcast will drop Thursday afternoon/Friday morning. Tune in here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-shore-drive/id14744023...
Darnell Dickerson
2:41
The most disappointing aspect of camp has to be Rashad Weaver's injury.  But what, in your opinion, has been the most pleasant surprise over the past month? Thanks, John!
John McGonigal
2:43
Staying on the defensive line, if you don’t know Jaylen Twyman’s name, well, you will soon enough. The redshirt sophomore DT has impressed everyone in the facility with his film work, work ethic and skill. He solidified a starting spot for himself and pushed senior Amir Watts and Keyshon Camp into a battle for the 2nd first-team role. That was a bit of a surprise.
bringback76
2:45
What is stopping Pitt from being ranked in top 10 to 20 on a consistent basis like stanford, wisconsin, northwestern, Iowa etc ........
John McGonigal
2:46
Recruiting, bowl success, there are a lot of factors. But those four examples you offered all have stability. Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured coach in FBS. Pat Fitzgerald has been at NW since 2006. David Shaw has 5 double-digit win seasons in the 8 years he’s been there. And in terms of leadership, Barry Alvarez has been at Wisconsin forever. Recruits, high school coaches, etc. know those guys will be around. As Narduzzi enters Year 5 — with six more years left on his deal — Pitt is hoping to establish that stability, too.
Guest
2:49
How do you think Pitt's running backs will do this year ? ...... looks like some backs with different skill sets.
John McGonigal
2:52
Pitt’s RB room is super interesting. AJ Davis should be considered the lead back. Todd Sibley said he loves the area of the field within 5 or so yards of the end zone; he’s got the size to get those short touchdowns. True freshman Vincent Davis is 170 pounds and comes from an air raid scheme, so he can catch the ball when Whipple affords those opportunities to RBs. Mychale Salahuddin has talent, but could still be rusty. And V’Lique Carter’s role is up in the air. RB coach Andre Powell has a lot to play with.
Pope
2:55
Any big recruits going to be on the sideline Saturday?  Do you agree that Narduzzi needs to recruit more 4 stars to really compete for the ACC championship and not the "paper championship" Coastal division?
John McGonigal
2:56
To compete with Clemson for the ACC crown year-in, year-out, Pitt fans better hope there are some five-star guys interested. Clemson is one of the top programs in the country. Look no further than last year’s CFP title game. They can be beaten with 3-star guys; Pitt proved that in 2016. But not on a consistent basis.
PittGuy
2:57
How much will Will Gragg see the ball Saturday?
John McGonigal
2:58
He's the #1 tight end right now, but it's tough to say how much work Gragg, Nakia Griffin-Stewart and Grant Carrigan will get on Saturday. Pitt has All-American CB Bryce Hall to deal with, so perhaps attacking the middle of the field is in its best interest.
Imma Man! Im 40!
2:59
I'll hold your beer: Pitt won't be 0-4 at the quarter turn of the season.
John McGonigal
2:59
I don't think so either, Mike Gundy.
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