Wannstedt's decisions in Pitt's loss under scrutiny
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Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt on his team's playcalling: "Every call stops with me."
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At his weekly news conference Tuesday, Dave Wannstedt wasn't granted the luxury of previewing Pitt's game against Division I-AA power New Hampshire -- instead, he spent most of the time answering some version of the following question:
"Should you have been more aggressive against Utah, and did you play not to lose instead of to win?"
Wannstedt, perceived as conservative with an antiquated philosophy on offense, seems to face these types of questions more than others -- and it doesn't help that his recent teams have made a habit of losing close games.
In fact, the Utah loss was the Panthers' sixth in a row by a touchdown or less; in the past five losses, this was the fourth by three points or fewer. The previous time the Panthers lost by more than a touchdown was against Rutgers, 54-34, on Oct. 25, 2008 -- a span of 20 games.
That would suggest Pitt has been talented enough to win most of those lost games, but for whatever reason, the team has not been able to accomplish enough for the liking of an increasingly impatient fan base.
And Wannstedt again faced questions for two important decisions which, fair or not, gave his critics more ammunition that he is too conservative in his approach.
The first was the decision to protect first-year starter Tino Sunseri by running Dion Lewis, despite the fact that the Utes stacked their defensive front and made it clear they weren't going to allow Lewis to beat them.
As a result, the Panthers in the first half were a one-dimensional offense that earned only 63 rushing yards on 18 carries (3.5 yards per carry) and just 43 yards passing.
The strategy looked even more questionable in the second half as the Panthers, who had fallen behind, used the pass to come back and tie.
The best drive of the game, for instance, was a three-play, 63-yard touchdown drive. All three plays were passes to receiver Jon Baldwin and included a 2-point conversion pass to him.
The flip side is that Lewis is a Heisman Trophy candidate who had 1,799 yards rushing last year -- the engine that fueled the Panthers' offense -- so there was no reason for Wannstedt and company to expect him to carry them again in that game.
And as Wannstedt explained again Tuesday, with a first-year starter at quarterback making his first start on the road, it was imperative to get the running game going in order to take some pressure off of his shoulders.
"We're a balanced offense," Wannstedt said. "For us to win games and score points on offense -- you have to throw to score points and run the ball to win games. It is a very touchy situation when you have a young quarterback, three new offensive linemen, a new receiver in there and a new tight end.
First Published September 8, 2010 12:00 am
