Stats Aside, How Do The Panthers Look So Far?

Week 5 of the college football season and our Pitt Panthers are 2-2.  Big East play starts tomorrow and so far, overall, the fan base doesn't seem too impressed.  I thought that this would be a good time to give my opinion on the three aspects of the game so far: offense, defense, and special teams.

I wanted to do this all stats aside.  Sure some statistics will come up, but I want to base this argument more upon what I have seen in the stands and on television, and what I have felt from the team.  Statistics are sometimes misleading, emotions are not.




OFFENSE

I want to start with the offense first because most people think that it is the most important part of the game.  So far the "high-octane" offense has looked anything but.  Right now it looks more like a "bicycle offense" or even a "grocery-store-motor-scooter offense".  Overall, it looks pretty bad.

Starting with the quarterback position, Tino Sunseri has looked out of place in the new offense.  He doesn't seem to be able to make the throws that the plays require.  His timing is off, his touch on the deeper passes looks off, and his zip on the shorter ones looks off too.  Everything just doesn't seem to be falling in to place for this guy.  I've been hard on him in my past articles, and he deserves it I think.  He says that he wants to be a leader and that he wants to take this team to new height.  For goodness sake, his twitter account's avatar is a picture of himself on the cover of EA Sports' NCAA Football 12 rather than the true cover athlete, Mark Ingram.  He has a big head, which is fine.  I like my quarterbacks to be a little cocky and have a swagger to them.  So far, though, he just hasn't backed it up.

Next up is the receiver position.  Statistics and coach Todd Graham's comments aside, I am liking the way that these guys are playing.  The slot guys, Ronald Jones and Cam Saddler, are getting open over the middle and are gaining some yards after the catch.  Mike Shanahan and Devin Street have both proven that they can stretch the field vertically while showcasing some decent hands.  The biggest surprise so far is probably Hubie Graham, a redshirt junior tight end who has been very effective in the passing game.  As a whole I am very happy with where the receiving core sits at this point.  If Tino can get them the ball, this offense will take off.

Sticking with the skill positions, running backs are next.  Ray Graham is a stud and was leading the NCAA in rushing after the first two game of the season.  Since then, though, his numbers have declined.  I attribute this to the play of the offensive line, but I will get to them later.  Graham looks like he is ready to take on the load of being the offenses primary weapon.  He looks fast, quick, strong, and is also doing a good job of catching the ball out of the backfield.  Graham's back-up, Zach Brown, has looked good so far when he gets carries.  He is a much more downhill runner and will most likely be used in short yardage or goal line situations.  He hasn't gotten all that many carries so far, but definitely looks good when he does.

The last position on the field, certainly not least of course, is the offensive line.  With Chris Jacobson's injury, the o-line woes look like they will continue.  To be honest, the line looks awful.  The pass blocking seems okay at times, but last game Tino was sacked during their final attempt at taking the lead from Notre Dame.  Not only was he sacked but the entire defensive line was in his face.  If any of you have ever seen the new "Longest Yard" with Adam Sandler, try to remember the play where he came back in the game after his team hated him.  They all stood there and the the defense take shots at him.  This is exactly what that play looked like.  There doesn't seems to be holes for Graham to run through either.  Any time he does make it past the line of scrimmage, it seems like it was because he squeezed through a tiny gap and made something happen on his own.  I have been hard on Tino Sunseri and his play at quarterback, but every aspect of the game gets better when the offensive line plays well.  So far they have been well below where they need to be and definitely need to improve.

DEFENSE

The defensive line has looked great through the first few games.  Brandon Lindsey (#35 last season has switched to #7 this year), who was originally a defensive end, has move to a "Panther" linebacker spot, but still lines up at the d-end position more often.  He has looked great through four games and seems to be all over the field.  The other guys have also been applying pressure and Chas Alecxih had a great interception return.  As long as they keep up the pressure that they have been putting on the backfield, the defense as a whole will keep getting better because of it.

The line-backing core has also looked solid so far, with newly converted receiver Todd Thomas leading the pack.  Thomas has looked great so far, applying pressure on the outside edge and also tracking defenders down elsewhere on the field.  His speed and athleticism is definitely noticeable on the field.  Look for him and Lindsey to create a great speed pass-rush throughout the season.  Other players like Greg Williams and Max Gruder have also looked good in the run-stopping game.  They have been holding their ground as the second line of defense and have been stuffing runners as soon as they approach them.  Along with Todd Thomas really sticking out, Jaun Price has done a good job too.  He seems to be improving every week and is looking like he will be a huge part of our defense for a few years.  Both of these players are freshman, Thomas being a red-shirt, and are going to be a force to be reckoned with.

At the defensive back position, this team seems as if it has had it's ups and downs.  When they play well, they play very well.  They nearly shut down one of the best receivers in the country, Malcolm Floyd.  They also have let up some big passing plays.  With only one interception though, they need to get some more takeaways.  No one has really stood out so far, but the most disappointing so far has to be Jarred Holley.  It's not that the guy has played bad thus far, it is just that he was such a ball hawk last season that I expected much more out of him at this point.  I'm sure by season's end he will get his hands on a few balls.

SPECIAL TEAMS

On the return side of the game, Ronald Jones has done a good job returning punts.  It is nice to see some solidarity at that position finally.  It is only a matter of time until he takes on to the endzone.  He makes guys miss and seems to be very exciting at this position.  Corey Davis has also been doing a fairly good job at returning the kick-offs.  He is very, very fast.  If he can catch a hole on of these times, I expect him to hit it and hit it hard.  Just like Jones, this guy brings some solid play to the return game.

Now comes the sometimes forgotten part of the team, the kicker and punter.  Kevin Harper struggled in the first few games, missing some close field goals and even an extra point.  He has, though, made some longer kicks and seems to have his act together now.  He has also done a pretty good job on kick-offs, putting the ball near the goal line or in the end-zone pretty frequently.  The punting has been split between Matt Yoklic, Mark Myers, and Tino Sunseri.  Yoklic is the true punter and has been punting when the team is on their own side of the 50-yard line.  He has been a little sporadic so far, but has also had a few good ones.  Hopefully he improves a little.  Myers is looking like the situational punter.  He punted a few times against Notre Dame and pinned the Irish deep in their territory.  He gets a great spiral on the ball when it leaves his foot, usually a sign that the ball will get a good hop.  Tino has been punting out of a little extended shotgun formation, usually used to assure no return on the punt.  He has done a decent job up until this point and I do like this so far.  Lets hope that it continues.

CONCLUSION

At this point in the season I am still excited about where this panther team can go.  Earning the title of Big East Champions is still not out of reach with the first conference game coming against South Florida tomorrow.  The team still has so much up-side that it is hard to count them out quite yet.  A few completions here, a few defensive stops there, and this team is probably in the top-25 rankings.  Coach Todd Graham is still looking ahead to the Big East schedule and I have to agree with him.  The talent is definitely there on this team, there are just some fundamental issues that need to be taken care of.  Look for this team to play much better in the next few weeks.  If they do happen to lose tomorrow night against the South Florida Bulls, don't be discouraged.  This is a good team coming in to Heinz Field.  Even with another loss, the season is far from over.