Offense disappointing in second scrimmage
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Coach Dave Wannstedt begins the player evaluation process today in Pitt's first scrimmage.
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The second scrimmage of Pitt's 2010 training camp is in the books and it is clear the Panthers still have some work to do on offense in order to get ready for the season.
The Panthers went about 100 plays and scored only one touchdown, and even the lone touchdown was a fluke. It was a high-flying, wobbly pass from Pat Bostick to Greg Cross that the defensive back overran and Cross made a nice adjustment to come back and catch it.
But as these things usually go, it isn't yet time to panic for two reasons. One, the defense for the first time looked like it was in midseason form and the defensive line, without Greg Romeus, was as dominant as it was last year when it led Division I in sacks. Two, the offense was working on some things schematically which are a little different than the unit's bread and butter.
Pitt usually operates best out of two backs -- fullback Henry Hynoski and tailback Dion Lewis -- a tight end and two receivers but Wednesday in the scrimmage, the Panthers were in one-back with three receivers almost exclusively and the results were pretty unsuccessful.
"There is definitely disappointment," Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti said about the offense's performance. "I saw things out there today that can lose football games, I saw inefficiency in the run game, I saw inefficiency in the pass protection, I saw inefficiency in the passing game, I saw turnovers, penalties, dropped balls -- all the things we talk about in terms of playing smart and minimizing mistakes, those mistakes all showed up today.
"Now, from a schematic standpoint, we played it a little bit different. What we wanted to find out today is could we go out there in a one-back set with three receivers and could we run the ball and could we pass the ball. And the answer to that question today is, we weren't very effective. We did not play well enough to help our team win today."
Cignetti was particularly unhappy with quarterbacks Tino Sunseri and Bostick because neither had a good day and more important, both missed some throws which should have yielded big plays. Sunseri was 6 for 17 with 36 yards while Bostick was 5 for 15 for 48 yards.
First Published August 19, 2010 12:00 am
