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John McGonigal's Pitt football chat: 10.09.19
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John McGonigal
2:01
Good afternoon everyone. Pitt has its first off week, but the chat doesn't stop. Drop your questions, and I'll do my best to get to them.
Abbeykaydaddy
2:03
Thanks for the chat! I was wondering at what point does Coach Narduzzi rein these guys in? I know he’s a players coach but the lack of discipline is disturbing and will cost them a crucial game (as it almost did at Duke). Stupid penalties such as the ridiculous one by Maurice Ffrench for UC. He then gets into it with a teammate on the sideline. Paris Ford gives up 14 points by himself by muffing a punt and then taking an UC on the extra point thereby flipping field position. You don’t see things like this at Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State.
John McGonigal
2:05
The penalties are a legitimate problem. On average, Pitt is being penalized for 83.2 yards per game this year. Only three teams — Cincinnati, Oklahoma and Tulsa — are more undisciplined. Now, the officiating has been questionable at times. Narduzzi said after the Duke game that he and the staff will continue to submit penalties they feel are bad calls to the conference office — but he also admitted that the team has to become more disciplined. It can’t get away with being penalized 15 times in another ACC game.
PITT94
2:06
With Duquesne now offering enough scholarships to count towards a bowl win, PITT needs to stop playing YSU, Ohio, etc and schedule Duquesne/WVU every year.  (Nobody under the age of 55 remembers a relevant PSU game)  

Keep it regional!  Agree? Thoughts?
John McGonigal
2:07
Would love to see Pitt play West Virginia every year, or at least consistently. And sure, why not play Duquesne? Think you’d get more people in the seats for that than Ohio.
Darnell Dickerson
2:09
Hi John. I enjoyed your mid-season rankings. Win or lose, you deserve an "A" for your first season covering PITT! While it was nice to register a conference win on the road against the Dukies, Saturday's game revealed ongoing warts with the Panthers. Most importantly, was the third second-half collapse in a month (UCF, Delaware, Duke). Conditioning could be an issue along with the players taking their foot off the pedal. But the big finger is pointing at Duzz and Whipple for failure to make in-game adjustments. It's like they have a game-plan for the first half...then fail to adjust as their opponents make necessary adjustments. Objectively, Duzz has probably been outcoached in every games this season. What says you?
John McGonigal
2:11
Appreciate that, Darnell. As far as being outcoached, I agree that Narduzzi’s made some suspect calls this year (which is maddening for fans, I’m sure). But I’m not sure halftime adjustments (or a lack thereof) are the worry here. I think defensively, for the most part, the coaching has been rock solid with Randy Bates. Offensively, when Pitt went up 21-0 to UCF and 26-3 to Duke, it felt like both times the Panthers were internally struggling with what to do: Try and run the ball (which hasn’t worked) or ignore it and throw it (which doesn’t take time off the clock). Also, Pitt ran a successful four-minute offense against Ohio, but I’m looking forward to seeing how Whipple operates the offense in that situation against an ACC team. How does he go about killing off a game with the lead? Maybe we just end up with crazy finishes instead…
team
2:12
Who on the PITT team might we see playing on Sundays either in 2020 or 2021?
John McGonigal
2:14
Getting a few questions about 2020 NFL draft prospects, so I’ll answer them all here.
2:15
Guys who could leave early and get selected: Jaylen Twyman, Paris Ford, Taysir Mack, maybe one or two more. Twyman in the midst of a breakout season, Ford leading the team in tackles & Mack on pace for 1,000 receiving yards. Do they leave? Tough to say with 7, maybe 8, games to go. But the underclassman evaluation forms guys submit are always helpful — and if they’re guaranteed to get picked, that’s hard to turn down.
Seniors with solid draft prospects at this point in the year: Dane Jackson, Damar Hamlin, Kylan Johnson. Jackson might not light up the Combine, but he’s savvy and is frustrating CB to throw at. Hamlin has led Pitt’s secondary this year, and Johnson is like a bullet blitzing / tackling. Not sure any of them crack the first few rounds, but who knows?
cnp
2:18
hypothetical: UNC beats VA, Pitt beats UNC and there's a threeway tie at the top of the coastal. What is the next tiebreaker?
John McGonigal
2:21
After record against each other, the next tiebreaker in a three-way tie is winning percentage within the division. For the record, there are eight tiebreakers for a three-team or more tie. The eighth is a random draw. Wouldn’t that be something?
econ
2:23
Why is John Vardzel getting so much playing time over other scholarship WRs?
John McGonigal
2:25
Our weekly practice access is limited to warmups and light individual drills; 7 on 7s aren’t open to reporters, so it’s tough to say where he’s separating himself on a daily basis. But Jimmy Morrissey, a former walk-on himself, told me earlier this year that Pitt doesn’t treat its walk-ons any differently than scholarship players — and if you deserve to play, you’re going to play. He’s not playing a lot and has one catch. But seems like the case here with Vardzel.
Gary Busey
2:26
How much would your pay for Chark in an auction fantasy waiver wire system? How must is too much?
John McGonigal
2:27
No one cares about your fantasy team, Gary.
9NC
2:28
John - Who do you see getting healthy for the Cuse game? Also, what do yo umake of the VA-Miami game?
John McGonigal
2:29
Well, running back AJ Davis and cornerback Jason Pinnock making the trip to Duke was a good sign. Narduzzi also said he expects freshman back Vincent Davis to be back. But on the Monday of Delaware week, he said Pinnock would play against the Blue Hens, and he didn’t. So we’ll see there. And give me Miami 24-21, just because.
CGV
2:31
Pitt's helmets have TTG on the visors and the "turnover hoop" has TTG on the backboard - is TTG an acronym?  If so, what does it stand for?
John McGonigal
2:33
TTG is indeed an acronym. It stands for: Trained To Go.
Jon
2:35
Now that they face some easier defenses, do you see Pitt’s rushing game becoming a viable weapon in the second half or is it going to remain just a change of pace feature of the offense?
John McGonigal
2:37
At this point, I think it’s the latter. AJ Davis has shown glimpses, but Pitt doesn’t have a James Conner, Qadree Ollison or Darrin Hall this year. They do need to establish something remotely decent to keep defenses honest though.
FleeceJohnson
2:38
Do you think too many true freshmen are burning their redshirts to play bit roles?
John McGonigal
2:38
If the freshmen are cool with it, then why not get some playing time? I can’t say if too many are burning redshirts if the guys want to play.
JR
2:40
Will Pickett get another year of eligibility given he played in two games as a fresh???
John McGonigal
2:42
He played four games as a freshman (made two starts), and the four-game redshirt deal can’t be retroactively used. So unless they change that rule (which I can't see happening), he can’t get another year of eligibility.
CapitolMAN
2:43
Gabe Houy has struggled with both penalties and run blocking. Will Jake Kradel start against Syracuse?
John McGonigal
2:44
We didn’t get to talk to him this week. But that will be my first question to Pat Narduzzi at his Monday press conference.
H2P man
2:45
Coach Whip really seems to subscribe to establishing the passing game early in the game as opposed to getting the running game going. Is that just who he is or is there a reason for it?
John McGonigal
2:45
That’s largely who he is. In five years at UMass, Whipple's offense averaged out to be a top-25 team nationally in passing attempts per game.
SaltyRon
2:47
With Paris Ford getting ejected for his "helmet" hit on the Duke receiver, is there any appealing process in college football despite the referee confirming that he was ejected for targeting?  Looked to me like a shoulder to helmet hit, which does happen when the offensive player lowers his head to secure a catch.
John McGonigal
2:48
Ron, you might be salty to know that there is no appeal process for targeting calls/consequences.
Duzzy of a Coach's Decision
2:49
Why is Pitt bearing the brunt of so many terrible ref calls?  ACC refs leave a lot to be desired anyway, but sure seems like we get the short end of the stick on nearly every questionable call.  Is it because we're the new kids on the block?  Something more nefarious?
John McGonigal
2:50
Think it’s as simple as refs making bad calls.
Monk
2:51
Are there any young guys - soph/frosh standing out so far who look promising for the future?
John McGonigal
2:52
When he had room to work with, I liked how Vincent Davis ran. Haba Baldonado and Devin Danielson are doing well on the DL. And redshirt freshman Erick Hallett has shown his versatility in the secondary.
Retire21
2:53
Kenny's injury may pay off in the long run because it showed Patti could ultimate successor?
John McGonigal
2:53
In my opinion, a spot start against Delaware isn’t enough to prove Patti will be Pickett’s successor. It was an encouraging performance, but also against an FCS foe. And they really should’ve scored more than 17 points.
Exiled in the south
2:54
Is it driving Narduzzi bonkers that Pitt has to throw 40-plus passes to win? Are the running woes due to a poor offensive line or not having a solid, proven back for the first times in years? Or both?
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