| 26 August 2010
Although this summer has had much (understandable) hype for the offensive stars, there's a fair chance that Pitt's BCS dreams will rest on the shoulders of the defense. If it's a Dave Wannstedt defense, then it's success lives and dies with the defensive line:
Today, Pitt's defensive line - bolstered Wednesday by the return to practice of All-Big East end Greg Romeus from back spasms - looks to be one of the deepest positions on the team.
"I feel good about our kids," said Gattuso, now the assistant head coach/defensive line. "I like our matchups. We are confident in our game.
"We have depth and the young guys are ready to play. We feel like we can play eight or nine guys, 10 if we have to."
Much of the rest of the article focuses on RS junior Brandon Lindsey and his battle to see the field. I have to admit, I've largely given up on Lindsey developing into a big-time player. It's not like he's a bad player, he's second string, but the expectations were so high for him coming out of high school. Couple that with his flashes of brilliance and you have a recipe for disappointed fans. He still has two years left and by all accounts had a very good camp, so I'll be rooting for him to solidify his status as heir apparent to Romeus at RE.
Speaking of which, as the above article notes, Greg Romeus is back. And apparently, he hasn't missed a beat:
If you are worried about defensive end Greg Romeus (back spasms) and his availibility for the Utah game, don't be. Today at practice he apparently got a little bit feisty - so much so that he had to be restrained after getting into a fight with scout team quarterbacks. "He must be back, he's fighting our scout team quarterback," Bennett said. "He's mad, so hell, I'm glad!"
That rush of air you're feeling a sigh of relief coming from Wannstedt's South Side office. The Panthers can't afford a slow start like season. Romeus is needed early and often if they're going to escape their brutal non-conference with 3-5 wins.
Also of note, K'Wuan Williams will definitely not redshirt this season and Aaron Donald will almost certainly see playing time as well. I hate to burn Williams' redshirt, but corner is a position of desperate need. At defensive tackle, I'll gladly take a true freshman who can break the two deep at any position.
The with the cornerback competition settled, the focus turns to determining who's "just ok" enough to play strongside linebacker: Greg Williams or Tristan Roberts. Right now Roberts seems to have the lead, but Williams is coming back with a strong couple of practices. I've gotten the feeling that the coaching staff has had enough of Williams' unsteady performances and were really hoping that Roberts could take the job away. But apparently, no one has distinguished themselves enough to hold the job. I'm expecting an all-conference season out of sophomore Dan Mason, so hopefully he can mask some of the deficiencies to his right.
But none of that matters if they can't defend their opponents' offense schemes. As for their first defensive test of the season, Pitt feels confident it can handle Utah's high-octane spread offense:
The Panthers will play seven full-time spread teams this season in 12 games and at least three others who will use some version of the spread or wildcat in a limited way.
That is not much different than last season when they faced seven spread teams and Navy, a triple-option team.
But that does not mean Pitt will stop Utah's offense when the teams meet for the first time since that Fiesta Bowl. The Panthers, however, will be much better prepared for it than their staff was in 2004.
"Four, five, six years ago, we were all trying to figure out how to simulate the spread offense and the speed of the offense and what they do and, now, it just seems like it is easier to prepare for in a lot of ways," Gattuso said.
"Now, it is easier in preparation, but it is not easy in execution because the spread offense is going to make one guy make a tackle, that is the whole goal of that offense. If someone from defense is going to make a play it is going to be one guy, not two or three.
"They are just good at finding gaps and holes and putting your defenders in tough situations. But we're used to it now, we know how to prepare for it. It is still a tough offense to prepare for, but we're comfortable with it now and like I said, we know how to simulate it now."
7 days.
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