Lets Bust Some Myths about the Spread Offense

Ok I always loved hearing that "Pro Style" QB's cannot play the spread offense. Who was the star QB's at Texas and Oklahoma the past few years before this season? Oh yes I remember, their names were Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy. What are they doing these days? Well damn Bradford is with the Rams and McCoy is with the Browns. But I thought spread QB's doesn't translate well to the NFL. Lets go a step further, what style of offense does the Saints, Patriots, and Colts run? It looks eerily similar to Spread Passing attacks of the college game from the Big XII Conference. Look people "Pro Style QB's" can thrive in the Spread Offense. Not every spread style QB is Cam Newton, Terrell Pryor and Pat White.

Pro Style RB's can come from a Spread Offense as well. Mark Ingram is a fine example of this as well as Rashard Mendenhall. You can also play power football from the Spread. Has anyone heard of the "Pistol" formation. Its where the QB is 5-7 feet behind the center with the HB right behind the QB. Newer innovations have a FB on either side of the QB. You could basically run the Steelers and the Pitt Panthers bread and butter "Power O" play out of the Pistol. An even newer innovation is the "Diamond Pistol" where you have 2 RB's on each side of the QB and an HB behind the QB. You can run a Wing-T misdirection or a Jet Style misdirection out of the Diamond Pistol. And the thing is NFL prospects can thrive in an offensive philosophy like this.

Lets look at the SEC for example; their top schools consistently at the top of the recruiting rankings and they all run Spread style offenses. Auburn runs a Jet Style Misdirection type running game. Alabama runs a Pistol, which is a power set out of the shot gun. Florida runs a Jet Style Power running set. And even LSU runs a spread style offense. Oklahoma and Texas of the Big XII run a spread passing attack and both of them are consistently at the top of the recruiting rankings. And guess what, all of those schools are sending kids to the NFL every year. Big OL like Marquis Pouncey from Florida translated well going to the NFL. Where is Pouncey going? Oh yes, the Pro Bowl. How many rookie Centers made it to the Pro Bowl?

Too many people assume based on nothing. Ok WVU liked to have a smaller OL. That does not mean that Pitt with Graham is going to do the same. Just because WVU thrived with a QB like Pat White does not mean that Pitt with Graham is going to do the same. People that base everything on what WVU did the past few season, does not watch college football. Or they would know more about the National Scene.

There is so much you can do out of the Spread and its the same with a Pro Style attack. You can be pass happy with a Pro Style attack the same way you could run power sets with the 2 different styles.

Pitt fans need to relax a little and enjoy this ride. Its going to be a fun ride.

Oh Boy; UPitt's Coaching Search More than a Disaster

I'll start this off by saying that I was on the side of getting rid of Dave Wannstedt. I know that the kids loved him and he was one hell of a recruiter. But in terms of wins and losses he wasn't getting the job done. When you have a 2 game lead-in the conference- and does not go to a BCS Bowl, a change needs to be done.

Now onto the frustrating stuff. When you fire man like Dave Wannstedt, you need to bring in a coach that you believe will do a better job than Wannstedt. And most of the time that requires you to open up the check book. If Pitt really wants to go to a championship level, Big East and National, you have to act like a Florida, Alabama, and Ohio St.

I've been reading some of these candidates resume's and some are wow candidates, and for the wrong reasons. I read Greg Roman's resume and the first thought that popped into my head is he could make a decent Offensive Coordinator someday. No joke. How is this guy even worthy of an interview?

I understand the lovefest for Tom Bradley. He's been a DC at Penn State for years and practically ran that program for the past 5-6 years. He's a proven recruiter within the state of PA. I get all of that. But when I watch PSU games, I notice his bend but don't break defense, his defense gave up 37 points to a Florida team that hasn't been as good as in past years. Fact of the matter is, we'd be getting the same style of team-on the defensive side of the ball- as we had with Wannstedt.

But here is where the fun starts. Pitt apparently offered him 1.6m dollars a year but wasn't willing to agree with him on Bradley's Assistant Coaches. Again, if he want to reach the next level we need to open up the pocketbooks.

I have no idea how much Tulsa's Todd Graham would require or Mario Christobal would require. But when it comes time to offering contracts to them or their assistants, pay them.

There is no reason why Pitt's HC shouldn't be the highest paid coach in the Big East. Should have at least looked at a Mark Richt, Gus Malhzaln, or even a HC within the Big East or ACC. Offer big time money and move on.

But instead of big time candidates, we're talking about Stanfords Greg Roman. Stop being cheap Pitt.

If we want to go this route, lets leave the Big East and become the MAC's 14th team. We're thinking like a MAC school right now, when we should be thinking like a Big 10 or SEC school. Pitt has the money, now use that money.

Whats Next for Pitt

Everything that could have gone wrong for Pitt since the resignation(firing) of Dave Wannstedt has gone wrong. From the vetting process to that fateful day for Mike Haywood.

John Seibel of 93.7 The Fan sums it up perfect on his facebook fan page;

"how is it that from the days prior to his hiring up to this very second, i have known more about michael haywood than the "search committee" that was supposedly vetting him? i'm not surprised by this story, yet those who hired him are."

This has to go back to the AD Peterson. How didn't a search committee or Peterson himself not know about Haywoods past and the fact that he had a kid with a women in her 20's.

Then I read a blog out of the NY Times and it looks even worse for Peterson. Learning that coach's are unwilling to work for him is very discouraging.

He(Peterson) was pushed out of Nebraska for almost the same reason. He attempted to ruin their traditions. And he went though a coaching search debacle almost as bad as here at Pitt. Its time for Peterson to go.

The worst part of this is now he isn't even "trusted enough" to make the next coaching hire. What a mess that has been created.

Mike Haywood just might have been a great hire for Pitt. We'll never know this. What we do know is he ruined his career whether or not the charges are true. And to be frank it doesn't look good for Haywood. It has been reported that the Police had to pull him off of the victim. He is facing Class D Felony charges for Domestic Violence, which carries a 6 month to 3 year sentence if found guilty.

I have no idea what's next for Haywood. The damage has been done for his career. I guess the NFL, CFL, or AFL are likely coaching destinations. I can't foresee too many college coach's willing to give him an assistant job. Hiring him at the college level would be devastating for recruiting. What parent is going to let their kid be coached by an alleged women beater.

Now the recruiting class that has looked to be the best during Wanny's tenure has been gutted. There are 7 recruits left and only a month away from signing day. The new coach has a lot of work to salvage what is left and work on bringing kids here. He may have to bring in JUCO kids.

The next coach is certainly going to have his hands full recruiting the 2012 class as well. Juniors in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation are seeing whats currently happening at Pitt as well. I'm not sure if they want a part of this program. And I can't blame them.

Steve Peterson created a mess by his actions and lack of researching candidates. Something has to be done about this. And to be honest, as much as Dr. Mark Nordenberg has done for the University, his job shouldn't be secure as well.

What a mess.