NEWS: Paul Chryst spoke about Pitt’s offense being capable of an upgrade, all the bodacious numbers aside, at his weekly press conference Monday on the South Side. Even the running game, which has averaged, um, 344.4 yards.
VIEWS: Well, yeah.
Because, as Chryst tried to put it carefully in respecting the three teams over whom the Panthers have run roughshod: “The numbers are misleading on a lot of things. We can be cleaner. We can do a better job of the receivers blocking, we can do a better job getting through the second level, getting on our pulls. I mean, there are a lot of things we can get better at in the run game.”
One of those, of course, is James Conner maintaining possession inside the 10. But beyond that, the offensive line needs to show it can handle the season-long loss of center Artie Rowell (though Alex Officer did quite well in the W at Florida International), Manasseh Garner needs to establish a legit threat opposite Tyler Boyd, and throwing to the tight end more often wouldn’t hurt.
Check that: Throwing to anyone wouldn’t hurt. The passing game under Chad Voytik has averaged a comparably paltry 101 yards, and this despite the occasional big play from Boyd deep downfield. He hasn’t been bad — 29 of 50, five TDs, two picks — but he hasn’t exactly built up reason to believe he could win a game, if needed.
And Chryst, who understands quarterback better than any position, no doubt has noticed. It wasn’t by accident that he benched Voytik for a series in Miami, as the coach acknowledged Monday: “It was a hard game. Chad never got into a great rhythm. There were some things that I thought we could be doing to help him get into a rhythm. And I love the way that he competes. … I think there are times when you have to take what the defense gives you. I thought that he just needed to sit back, see the game, and realize that it’s just a game. You don’t need to make it more than it is.”
As I wrote from up in Boston, Voytik’s finest moment of the season came in that 80-yard, 57-second drive for Pitt leading into halftime. He was cool, composed, hit a couple good plays, got the job done.
I didn’t share this until now, but here’s a question I asked him at BC about that drive:
Kind of like that.
I’ve been a Voytik skeptic since his arrival, in large part to his lack of height but also because … man, you just keep waiting for Pitt to get its own Christian Hackenberg. But I’ll also respect that the kid comes across as a winner and if, as Chryst suggests, he plays within himself, he can be part of the solution.
• Ray Vinopal and Darryl Render represented the defense Monday, and Render might have summed up best the growing — but hardly overbearing — good feeling at Pitt:
• I’ll cover Pitt-Iowa with a full column Saturday.
September 16, 2014
News/views: Pitt can’t pass on passing
by Dejan Kovacevic • News/views • Pitt
Chad Voytik breaks loose for a 32-yard touchdown run Saturday at Florida International. — PETE MADIA / PITT ATHLETICS
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
NEWS: Paul Chryst spoke about Pitt’s offense being capable of an upgrade, all the bodacious numbers aside, at his weekly press conference Monday on the South Side. Even the running game, which has averaged, um, 344.4 yards.
VIEWS: Well, yeah.
Because, as Chryst tried to put it carefully in respecting the three teams over whom the Panthers have run roughshod: “The numbers are misleading on a lot of things. We can be cleaner. We can do a better job of the receivers blocking, we can do a better job getting through the second level, getting on our pulls. I mean, there are a lot of things we can get better at in the run game.”
One of those, of course, is James Conner maintaining possession inside the 10. But beyond that, the offensive line needs to show it can handle the season-long loss of center Artie Rowell (though Alex Officer did quite well in the W at Florida International), Manasseh Garner needs to establish a legit threat opposite Tyler Boyd, and throwing to the tight end more often wouldn’t hurt.
Check that: Throwing to anyone wouldn’t hurt. The passing game under Chad Voytik has averaged a comparably paltry 101 yards, and this despite the occasional big play from Boyd deep downfield. He hasn’t been bad — 29 of 50, five TDs, two picks — but he hasn’t exactly built up reason to believe he could win a game, if needed.
And Chryst, who understands quarterback better than any position, no doubt has noticed. It wasn’t by accident that he benched Voytik for a series in Miami, as the coach acknowledged Monday: “It was a hard game. Chad never got into a great rhythm. There were some things that I thought we could be doing to help him get into a rhythm. And I love the way that he competes. … I think there are times when you have to take what the defense gives you. I thought that he just needed to sit back, see the game, and realize that it’s just a game. You don’t need to make it more than it is.”
As I wrote from up in Boston, Voytik’s finest moment of the season came in that 80-yard, 57-second drive for Pitt leading into halftime. He was cool, composed, hit a couple good plays, got the job done.
I didn’t share this until now, but here’s a question I asked him at BC about that drive:
Kind of like that.
I’ve been a Voytik skeptic since his arrival, in large part to his lack of height but also because … man, you just keep waiting for Pitt to get its own Christian Hackenberg. But I’ll also respect that the kid comes across as a winner and if, as Chryst suggests, he plays within himself, he can be part of the solution.
• Here are this week’s official media notes for the Iowa game.
• Ray Vinopal and Darryl Render represented the defense Monday, and Render might have summed up best the growing — but hardly overbearing — good feeling at Pitt:
• I’ll cover Pitt-Iowa with a full column Saturday.
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