The walls of Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh's office lend credibility to the fact that he is a detail-oriented and organized coach. There are diagrams of offensive plays and formations and even those of defensive schemes from opponents past and present.

There are charts with statistical analysis and personnel production charts and a video machine that doesn't ever seem to be off, as Cavanaugh is constantly watching and breaking down film of practices and games.

It is a reservoir of extreme offensive football knowledge, all written or compiled by Cavanaugh. Yet every year since he arrived at Pitt in 2005 -- and going back to his days as the Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator -- his ability to coach has been questioned by fans and members of the media.

And the criticisms are always along these lines: His offense is too conservative, he is too in love with the run game, his offenses are poorly designed and his offenses are boring.

Cavanaugh hears these criticisms and he understands them and he understands why they exist. He agrees that sometimes his offenses probably aren't going to be that fun to watch if that's the kind of game plan the situation, personnel or matchups dictate. But he knows that the bottom line is winning football games, and he's certain that if the Panthers, now on a four-game winning streak, continue to win, nobody will complain about style points.

Fans might clamor for the Panthers to incorporate one of the high-octane spread formation offenses that produce Sony PlayStation-like scores, but Cavanaugh isn't going to change his philosophies to appease anyone because he has had a lot of success in his career by sticking to a simple philosophy -- "do what your personnel dictates you can do."

"[The criticism] always goes away if we win games because that's the bottom line in this business, winning," Cavanaugh said.

"If we'd gone to bowl games the last three years and won seven or eight games each year, there'd be a lot less criticism, though there will always be critics or people that want something different and those people you won't please.

"The year we won the Super Bowl [in Baltimore], we weren't lighting it up, but we ran the hell out of the ball and had the best running game in the NFL. And we were taking time off the clock and not turning the ball over and giving up short fields and winning the field position battle every week. And we had a great defense who was always fresh because they'd come out of games and only had played 40 or 45 plays.

"A lot of people discount what you are doing on offense when you play like that, but they don't take into account that you don't want your defense on the field for 80 plays because eventually something is going to leak. It is tough to be out there that long. We'd rather have the offense take the 80 plays and even if it is boring or not too exciting -- if it wins games, that's the bottom line, winning."

Cavanaugh received the brunt of the criticism after the Panthers' 27-17 loss to Bowling Green in the opener. Fans complained that the offense wasn't aggressive enough and didn't put any pressure on the Falcons defense.

Since then, the offense has opened up a bit, taken some more shots down the field and made a few bigger plays than it did in the opener. The Panthers have gone for it a number of times on fourth down since then -- although that falls on the head coach's shoulders and not Cavanaugh's -- and have scored 60 points in their past two games.

Cavanaugh said there is some correlation between a loss and a more aggressive approach, but he thinks what constitutes an aggressive offensive approach is one of the most misunderstood ideas in football. Nothing has changed about his philosophy or play calling. The main difference is that the execution has been better each week.

"You can be aggressive in a lot of ways," Cavanaugh said. "It is all about trying to keep the defense off guard and it isn't always fancy or cute or exciting, but calling plays is really about keeping the defense on its heels. And I know I haven't always been able to do that but I think we are getting there now and I also think it is because we are better equipped to do it."

Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt agrees that the Panthers are capable of dominating a game offensively -- but that doesn't necessarily mean scoring 50 points a game or throwing the ball all over the field. In fact, what pleases Wannstedt the most out of the past two games is the fact that Pitt has won both of them, rushed for more than 100 yards in each and dominated the time of possession.

"I spoke with Bill Parcells about Matt when I was trying to hire him in Chicago, and he said to me, 'Most offensive coordinators say they believe in the run game and want to run the ball, but they really don't,' " Wannstedt said. "He then said, 'In fact, a lot of them don't really understand the run game but Matt does and he really believes in it.' When you look at what we did, keeping the ball for 38 minutes in games the past two weeks, that enables us to control the tempo of the game. Matt understands this and the offense that can run the ball with authority will dominate and dictate the terms of the game.

"Matt has always been accountable, he's always answered questions and he's never tried to promote himself -- it isn't about him. He's in this for the right reasons and he is one of the best teachers these young players could ever have. He knows offense, he understands it and he gives us a chance every week."

Pitt quarterback Bill Stull added: "Matt has forgotten more about offense than just about anybody I can think of will ever know. He's unbelievable in what he knows and what he teaches. And his offense will work and will work in a big way once we get rolling. As a quarterback, my job is easier once we get those big guys up front moving forward and we're running the ball with dominance."

Cavanaugh's offenses in Baltimore (1999-2004) weren't very exciting, but they were annually one of the most dominant rushing attacks in the NFL -- ranked in the top 11 four out of six years -- and they produced wins. The Ravens, with Cavanaugh in command of the offense, were 56-40, made the playoffs three times and won a Super Bowl.

And they accomplished this with a host of journeyman quarterbacks like Tony Banks, Anthony Wright, Kyle Boller, Trent Dilfer and Elvis Grbac.

But Cavanaugh said the idea that he can only develop a run game or an offense that can't produce big numbers is not fair, and he points to the 2006 season as an example. That year, when his best player on offense was quarterback Tyler Palko and the Panthers had a group of young receivers and no legitimate featured tailback, Palko threw for 2,871 yards and 25 touchdowns, and the Panthers averaged about 32 points per game.

That offense averaged more points per game than any Pitt offense since 1981, and the Panthers were in the top 20 in the NCAA in three different categories -- and two of them were related to the passing game (passing efficiency and passing yards).

Still, the only numbers that matter to Cavanaugh from that year are 6-6, which was the Panthers' record.

"Would I like to throw it every down? Yeah, I would, I'm a former quarterback, so why wouldn't I?" said Cavanaugh, who was the quarterback when Pitt won the national championship in 1976. "I don't know that that wins a lot of games for you. So I understand the criticisms, I really do, but it is not going to make me change what I think is the best way to win a game based on what we are teaching and what I think our players can handle. Not to mention how our defense is playing and what the head coach wants.

"All of that goes into the game plan -- what gives us the best chance to win -- and sometimes it is not going to be exciting enough for some fans, but if it is a win, it is a win because that's the bottom line."