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John McGonigal's Pitt football chat: 12.09.20
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John McGonigal
2:00
Good afternoon everyone. Thanks for joining the weekly Pitt football chat. Plenty to talk about with Pitt’s regular season finale tomorrow night at Georgia Tech. Let’s get it going.
H2P man
2:02
Any idea if next years coastal schedule will be the rotation that was supposed to have been this year OR the originally scheduled 2021 rotation? Thanks!
John McGonigal
2:06
Good question. Nothing firm on this yet, but in a vacuum, it would make sense to adjust the rotation based on what games were and weren’t played this season. If the ACC honored the 2020 games that weren’t played and stuck to the remaining Coastal rotation, then Pitt would host Georgia Tech, Miami and Duke and travel to North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Would Pitt host Clemson and travel to Syracuse for the previously scheduled 2021 crossover games? Who knows? I’m sure Heather Lyke and the athletic department would like to keep that home game against Clemson for ticket sales, assuming all fans are allowed back in the seats in 2021.
V. Fontaine
2:07
Let's say that Pitt doesn't get a bowl game invite. Is there any rule that says they couldn't contact say a PAC-12 school and offer to come out for a game between Christmas and New Year's?
John McGonigal
2:10
I’m not aware of any rule that would keep Pitt from doing that. And if there is, look only to the Big Ten to see how rules that were made a couple months ago can change. The thing I’d wonder is, would the players want to play a random game in Pittsburgh in December? This year — from worrying the whole season would be canceled to weekly COVID testing to a four-game losing streak — has been draining on Pitt’s players to begin with. I appreciate thinking outside the box. But in my mind, adding a meaningless game just for the sake of it wouldn’t do much good, aside from getting young players reps.
DJ
2:11
The Duke's Mayo Bowl is Big 10 vs. ACC.  Doesn't Pitt vs. Penn State make for an interesting albeit lower tier bowl matchup?
John McGonigal
2:14
It would be very interesting. Only problem is, I don’t see a world in which Penn State accepts playing Pitt in its worst season in decades. I’m not saying James Franklin would run from a matchup, but what’s the upside to playing Pitt in that scenario? Even if it’s their only bowl bid, how many extra practices would the Nittany Lions get out of it after playing a Big Ten West team on Dec. 19. If stadiums were allowing max capacity crowds, this would be a different conversation given the financial issues all Power Five athletic departments are dealing with now. But this seems like wishful thinking.
Barry J.
2:16
What has been the three biggest disappointments this  year, not including the record, and how can they be fixed?  The play of the office and replacing the offensive coordinator is one, now what are the next two?
John McGonigal
2:20
The production offensively is definitely one of them. Averaging 25.6 points per game in the ACC isn’t good enough. Is it bad enough to get Mark Whipple fired? We’ll find out soon enough, I suppose. As for the other two, I’d say the big plays allowed defensively and the missing pieces. Pitt gave up far too many plays downfield in winnable games against N.C. State, Boston College and Miami. And it was disappointing to see a season with promise weakened by injuries (Damarri Mathis, Lucas Krull, Wendell Davis) and understandable opt outs (Jaylen Twyman, Paris Ford). Pitt isn’t changing its defensive scheme. It’ll bank on younger players in the secondary with more experience now helping limit the big plays allowed in 2021. As for the absences, there’s not much the Panthers could do this year. We never saw them at full force, and that’s a shame.
SDWC
2:23
If Whipple remains I can't expect more than a .500 record next year. He's not changing his philosophy.  They have to establish and commit to somewhat of a run game.  Even the Steelers are showing 50 pass attempts a game is not a good idea.  It's time to maybe shelf the pro style look and think about spread or read-option.  I think you need a blue chip QB to run a pro style and most college QBs are athletes that are serviceable passers.
John McGonigal
2:27
I’d have to see a finalized 2021 schedule before addressing the .500 part of this. I get the frustrations. But Pitt implements a lot of spread concepts. It’s not an ancient West Coast system despite its inefficiencies. And I disagree that you need a “blue-chip” quarterback to run a pro-style system. Kenny Pickett will likely be on an NFL roster this time next year, and he was a three-star prospect, for what it’s worth.
Matt
2:28
No way Whipple is back next year, right?
John McGonigal
2:31
I know it’s not popular, but I can see a scenario in which Whipple stays. Maybe Pitt hangs 35 or 40 points on Georgia Tech, beats a bowl opponent handily and that points per game average rises. The N.C. State and Boston College losses were on the defense and special teams, not the offense. Plus, not having Kenny Pickett for the Miami game cost Pitt a real chance at upsetting a top 15 team. That should be Whipple’s pitch, if he has to make one. But if you’re a frustrated Narduzzi — or a frustrated Heather Lyke, pushing for a real change to be made — then Whipple would be the one that makes the most sense.
SDWC
2:32
Can Kessman improve his accuracy enough to get a job at the next level?
John McGonigal
2:34
Anyone with a leg like Alex Kessman should at least get a training camp look. He’s converted 12 field goals of 50-plus yards and spent four years kicking at a difficult NFL venue for kickers. On the flip side, missing short kicks is a non-starter and something NFL head coaches won’t tolerate. So he’ll have to improve from inside 30 yards to have any shot at sticking around.
Mhmpitt
2:35
Any reason to believe offense will be better next year??  Think D will be just fine..
John McGonigal
2:39
I can’t sit here and honestly tell you yes. Kenny Pickett will be gone. So will Jimmy Morrissey, Bryce Hargrove and DJ Turner. Lucas Krull will return from injury, so maybe he’s a revelation at tight end. Jordan Addison, Taysir Mack, Shocky Jacques-Louis and Jared Wayne will all be back. But it will come down to who’s throwing them the ball and how he handles filling Pickett’s place.
Jock Sutherland
2:40
Hi John. Thanks for the chat.   Great to hear about Pitt’s upcoming recruitment class.    Which of the incoming recruits has best chance of making an impact next season...if any.
John McGonigal
2:46
This recruiting class is shaping up to be Pat Narduzzi’s highest-ranked group in his Pitt tenure with three 4-star prospects on defense. It’s normally difficult for a defensive lineman to get early playing time, but Naquan Brown is more of a hybrid outside linebacker / pass rusher. He would need to put on weight, but maybe he could provide a spark in third-down packages. Malik Newton is a talented back with an offer from Clemson, so perhaps he acclimates himself well, picks up pass blocking assignments easier than Pitt's current young backs and plays. It’s early, though, and a lot will be determined by how they perform in spring ball.
CouchDuzz12
2:46
John, 2 part question here - 1. If Pitt was a Christmas song which one would it be (my vote is Santa Baby) and 2. Is there any chance PSU has spies in the program reporting to Franklin and helping recruiting. Thanks and happy Christmas
John McGonigal
2:48
If we were talking about the 2018 Pitt team specifically, I’d say “Run Rudolph Run” by Chuck Berry. But as a program, let’s go with “Wonderful Christmas Time” by Paul McCartney. Beloved by some, subject of criticism by many. Has its ups, has its downs. As for the second part of your question, uhm, no.
Michael
2:49
Most underrated Christmas movie?
John McGonigal
2:51
Elf. No, I’m just kidding. Elf is good, but just a little overrated in my eyes. As for underrated, Four Christmases is one. Danny DeVito is great in Deck The Halls. And I recently watched the new one on Hulu, Happiest Season. Pretty solid.
Timmy
2:51
What’s the best question you’ve been asked this offseason?
John McGonigal
2:52
This one.
Fuggedaboutit
2:52
What kind of cookies did your family leave out for Santa?
John McGonigal
2:53
OK, I was loving the Christmas questions, but this one’s a little weird.
The answer, though, is sugar cookies, the best kind of cookie.
Let's get back to football questions to close this thing out.
James
2:53
John, thanks for your coverage of Pitt football this year. You've seen a lot of this team so I have a hypothetical question for you. If you were given the ability to make one coaching ADDITION to help the Panthers, which position group would they focus on? And also, who would it be? We've seen former HC Jerry Kill as a "special assistant" at VT and TCU.
John McGonigal
2:57
Thanks for following along, James. And this is a fun question. Let’s see. It would have to be on the offensive side of the ball. On defense, I think the coaches, the system and the talent (thanks to both recruiting and development) have been good enough that you don’t have to really mess with it. But if we’re *adding* to the offensive staff, let’s bring in someone younger who can complement Pitt’s older, seasoned staff. Maybe former Penn State/UMass tight end Adam Breneman, who’s now a grad assistant at Arizona State. He’s a smart guy, and Whipple coached him at UMass. Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky, now an analyst at ESPN, has a good gig and he’s pretty busy. But in this hypothetical maybe you could have him review tape remotely and provide pointers as an outside voice. Gets him coaching experience, too. Former Pitt quarterback Max Browne didn’t work out here, but he’s a bright guy as well. Could maybe relate to Pitt’s younger quarterbacks. Someone like that.
TD
2:59
I get the frustration of the Offense and the tendency to blame the OC.  But in the games they won, the offense played well.  I see the execution and the drops and penalties as the bigger culprit.  The lack of a physical OL to be the biggest issue.  I think they addressed the OL in this upcoming recruiting class.  But the drops have been awful and defensively the large chunk plays have killed them, even with Ford and Hamlin.  What's your assessment??
John McGonigal
3:01
You’re right. The offense was adequate / acceptable in losses to N.C. State and Boston College. The drops have killed the Panthers this year, just like they did last year. The offensive line execution hasn’t been good enough, which could be fixed next year or could be worse. The six offensive linemen they plan to sign next week won’t factor in as it’s almost impossible for a true freshman lineman to start. And the chunk plays allowed failed them against NCST, BC and Miami. Those were three winnable games Pitt lost because of the defense and special teams. Win two of them, and you’re looking at a very different season.
3:02
That's all the time we have this week. Thanks as always for joining the Pitt chat. A reminder to listen to The North Shore Drive podcast on Apple, Spotify, etc., where I previewed the Pitt-Georgia Tech game with colleagues Craig Meyer and Nubyjas Wilborn. The chat will be back next week even though Pitt isn't playing. Maybe we'll have a clearer postseason picture for the Panthers by then. Take it easy, folks.
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