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Pitt Game Thread

WindyCityDeac said:
@deacon14 I think most people are voting for "not Mitch" vs thinking Santino is a great QB.
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I'm fine with this, I'm intentionally trying to avoid arguing with the people that have this opinion.

I don't think that's the argument that dixie is making
 
deacdixieboy said:
Now add in Griffis' sacks and fumbles.
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It's hard to take sacks and/or fumble the ball when the only time you are allowed to drop back to pass is when the other team is in a prevent defense.
 
deacon14 said:
Marucci has also been here for a very long time (this is year 3) and did so poorly with his QB reps that he was moved to other positions. Maybe this moment of magic will spur him on to massive unforeseen improvement, but I'm not banking on it tbh.

We tried to throw screens to Key at least 3 times that I remember, and we gained about -10 yards on those plays. If Marucci is QB, FSU is probably going to play 8 men in the box and we're going to have a very long day. To be fair, we're going to likely have a very long day regardless of who is playing QB
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Marucci hasn't been getting 1st or 2nd team reps during the previous two years. His time at safety didn't prepare him for this game.

One of the screens to Key got us an important first down. We also ran a beautiful quick route to him on the 4th and short that set up the game winning touchdown.
 
Griffis has had plenty of time to shine. His play was mainly drizzly and overcast, nothing electric. And now he’s been overshadowed by a forceful thundering win(d) called Hurricane Santino. Time to ride the wave! And other such weather metaphors.
 
wakelaw13 said:
We also ran a beautiful quick route to him on the 4th and short that set up the game winning touchdown.
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This route was awesome play calling. Key motions across, and nobody follows him signaling that they aren't in man coverage. So Key just finds empty space in the zone and Marucci finds him.

I don't know if Pitt was expecting a run or what, but that defensive play in that spot didn't make a lot of sense.
 
deacon14 said:
This route was awesome play calling. Key motions across, and nobody follows him signaling that they aren't in man coverage. So Key just finds empty space in the zone and Marucci finds him.

I don't know if Pitt was expecting a run or what, but that defensive play in that spot didn't make a lot of sense.
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I definitely think they were expecting run, and if memory serves Marucci didn't look at anyone else. I think they saved that play for that moment, knowing Pitt would not respect the pass once they found out he was starting.
 
deacon14 said:
One of the scoring drives that you are giving Marucci credit for here is:

Incomplete pass (with a penalty)
Claiborne 5 yards
Claiborne 2 yards
Claiborne 18 yards
Marucci pass to Ellison for 5 yards
Banks rush for 7 yards
Claiborne 42 yards TD

The other one was:
Pass to Claiborne for 22 yards + facemask (Marucci's second best throw of the day)
Claiborne 18 yards TD
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deacon14 said:
He didn't make many mistakes because Ruggiero literally wouldn't let him. He was only allowed to throw the ball downfield 3 or 4 times before it was desperation time. And once it was desperation time he threw a horrible pick and then got gifted a second chance.

He threw an INT on nearly 10% of his pass attempts. Griffis is currently sitting at 3.6% in 2023.

If we're going to push for Marucci to start, let's do it because of the vibes and not because we genuinely think he's more talented/capable of leading us to win football games by throwing the ball.
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LOL. We all remember when Mitch just completely ignored an open RB for an easy TD. Your boy Mitch couldn't do the basics. You're still sitting here relying on Clawson's practice vibes when it's clear there was something wrong with his QB evaluation.
 
I just re-watched that 4th down play, and I would be mad as hell if I were a Pitt fan. They stayed in a zone with only one defender against two receivers and no one anywhere near the line to gain. There was a safety over top who should have come down and probably just played cover 0 against the two receivers. Instead, the corner followed Grimes and Key went about 5 yards and was wide fucking open. That's way too easy on 4th and game.

ETA: Pitt got away with a clear defensive holding by their LB on Hite.
 
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Unless he dramatically turns things around, the Mitch Pitch will live on for me as the emblematic play of his tenure. I’m still having a hard time understanding how he thought that was a good idea. It said a lot about his mental processing in the field of play during an actual game. And he seems to be an awesome teammate, so I know we all hope he discovers some surprising success here, or finds it elsewhere.
 
PhDeac said:
LOL. We all remember when Mitch just completely ignored an open RB for an easy TD. Your boy Mitch couldn't do the basics. You're still sitting here relying on Clawson's practice vibes when it's clear there was something wrong with his QB evaluation.
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In this entire discussion all I've been talking about is Santino's performance on Saturday, I haven't mentioned Griffis much at all and certainly haven't mentioned anything about practice. I know you're finding fun in trying to dunk on anyone that even appears to be defending Griffis, but maybe read what I'm actually writing.

Mitch Griffis is also not a good QB. I don't know why you seem to think I believe that he is. But what I saw from Marucci doesn't fill me with anywhere near hope that things will be better than they were with Griffis. In fact, if they go with similar play calling that they were with Griffis, I'd wager it's going to be somehow even worse.

If I were the coach and all three were healthy, I think my choice at this point would be to play Kern but to go with a very conservative, run-heavy offense and hope that Clawson's quality D can win us a few more games.
 
wakelaw13 said:
I just re-watched that 4th down play, and I would be mad as hell if I were a Pitt fan. They stayed in a zone with only one defender against two receivers and no one anywhere near the line to gain. There was a safety over top who should have come down and probably just played cover 0 against the two receivers. Instead, the corner followed Grimes and Key went about 5 yards and was wide fucking open. That's way too easy on 4th and game.
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Yeah, I give Ruggiero the credit for that play happening. Sniffed out a zone and just took advantage of it. Marucci obviously made the pass, but it was about as easy a read as exists in the game of football
 
DeacDaddy said:
Unless he dramatically turns things around, the Mitch Pitch will live on for me as the emblematic play of his tenure. I’m still having a hard time understanding how he thought that was a good idea. It said a lot about his mental processing in the field of play during an actual game. And he seems to be an awesome teammate, so I know we all hope he discovers some surprising success here, or finds it elsewhere.
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That truly was amazing. I mean he was way over the LOS. I could see if it was close, but he was way over and the "pitch" was clearly forward. From all accounts, great kid, smart kid, hard worker, etc, etc., but his ability to make good decisions under the gun has been terribly lacking.
 
deacon14 said:
I understand that Marucci made some impressive plays at the end that led us to winning the game, and I'm very happy he did. But I'm not sure I understand anyone that is clamoring for him to be the starter moving forward.

Marucci's final stat line was 12/21 for 151 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs. He rushed the ball 6 times for 9 yards. During his first attempt at a game winning drive, he threw a pretty terrible INT on a first down when we were already nearly in FG range and had plenty of time. If Pitt's QB wasn't an absolute buffoon, he doesn't get a second chance at winning the game and the narrative here is very very different.

Both Griffis and Kern are more than capable of doing what Marucci did on Saturday, which was mostly hand the ball to Claiborne and Ellison. You can argue that the risk-averse run-based offense should be what we do moving forward regardless of which QB it is, but I don't see a meaningful reason that we should do it with Marucci instead of either of the other 2.
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i'm not super cised around marucci's prospects either, but he does seem to have have a significantly better pocket presence than our other qbs (at least griffis).
 
Wake QBs as golfers:

Griffis - Driving range hero. Can hit the fade and the draw. Hits the ball picker just for the fun of it. Lots of fun and always drives the cart. Shoots a 95 from the white tees.

Kern - Long drive champ. Can’t shape the ball, but hits absolute bombs. Has all the potential in the world, but can’t seem to put together a full 18 holes. Prefers to walk 9 alone.

Tino - Never in the fairway. Dresses like Ricky Fowler. Famous for saying things like “that tree is 90% air”. Still manages to shoot an 82.
 
Kudos to deacon14 for presenting a reasonable argument.

That said, this Board has has closed the book on Mitch Griffis after 5.5 2023 games (which seems unfair, but it is what it is), and there is no reversing course among the loudest here. He is dead to them. He's a punching bag.

FWIW, feel like Norvell (0-4 against Clawson) and FSU (no one of the FSU roster has beaten WF) really want to beat WF, and beat WF badly. It's personal for them. They have heard about WF current streak against the Noles all off-season. Unlike most seasons for the Noles, the game against WF has been circled and used to stoke the Noles for months.

So, fear that WF will take it's lumps whether the Great Santino or Mitch Griffis or Sam Hartman or Norm Snead starts. Agree with deacon14 that there is a slight chance the game would be less ugly with Griffis starting, but don't see it making a difference.
 
Pilchard said:
Kudos to deacon14 for presenting a reasonable argument.

That said, this Board has has closed the book on Mitch Griffis after 5.5 2023 games (which seems unfair, but it is what it is), and there is no reversing course among the loudest here. He is dead to them. He's a punching bag.

FWIW, feel like Norvell (0-4 against Clawson) and FSU (no one of the FSU roster has beaten WF) really want to beat WF, and beat WF badly. It's personal for them. They have heard about WF current streak against the Noles all off-season. Unlike most seasons for the Noles, the game against WF has been circled and used to stoke the Noles for months.

So, fear that WF will take it's lumps whether the Great Santino or Mitch Griffis or Sam Hartman or Norm Snead starts. Agree with deacon14 that there is a slight chance the game would be less ugly with Griffis starting, but don't see it making a difference.
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5.5 games is half a season. He’s not a freshman by a long shot. Are we just supposed to shit away a whole season when there is actual talent on this team?
 
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