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Pitt’s Task of Stopping the ACC’s Top Rushing Quarterback Malik Cunningham

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Eli Kosanovich is sneaky fast, according to Deslin Alexandre, but he’s not Malik Cunningham. It’s fair to say there isn’t a quarterback on Pitt’s roster like Cunningham.

Cunningham hasn’t been the most consistent passer this season, but there isn’t a better quarterback in the ACC when it comes to extending plays with his legs — or just taking off on designed rushing attempts.

“I think he’s a really good dual-threat quarterback who can run the ball,” Alexandre said Wednesday. “They’re really high up in overall running offense. I think he’s averaging 90 yards of running, so just to be able to do that, it makes you a good quarterback.”

Cunningham has thrown for 968 yards and three touchdowns (along with three interceptions) on 84-of-135 passing attempts. Among starting quarterbacks in the ACC, he averages the second-fewest passing yards per game (193.6 yards), ahead of only Georgia Tech’s Blake Sims.

But like Sims, as Pitt learned in a 26-21 loss to Georgia Tech, Cunningham is an elite rushing threat.

Only Israel Abanikanda and Syracuse’s Sean Tucker average more rush yards per game in the ACC this season. Cunningham has racked up 457 yards and nine touchdowns on just 71 carries this season — averaging 91.4 yards per game.

Louisville has designed 43 rush attempts for Cunningham this season, and he’s racked up 185 yards after contact — 2.94 yards after contact per attempt. He’s also forced 17 missed tackles.

Cunningham is able to take contact, but he’s a bigger threat in open space. He’s forced 17 missed tackles. He’s also recorded 15 rush attempts of 10 yards or more and nine rush attempts of 15 yards or more.

When a play breaks down and a defense can’t contain him, he’s turned 20 scrambles in 121 yards.

Sep 26, 2020; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Rashad Weaver (17) and defensive lineman Keyshon Camp (10) sack Louisville Cardinals quarterback cduring the third quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

“There are some designed runs,” Pat Narduzzi said Monday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “They’ll run some zone read where the tight end’s hooking the end and the tailback is going to wrap up around, try to get up on your safety or your support player and it’s a designed keeper. Which is a tough play to defend.

“We worked on it last week, obviously, in practice. And we practiced twice last week on some of that stuff. But it’s really — I mean, the quarterback keepers, at least we’re expecting run.

“It’s when he drops back, and he’s got threats out there at the receiver spot and the tight-end spot. And then you’re in coverage and all of sudden he takes off running. That’s what really scares you. And, again, they got designed quarterback draws, as well.”

Narduzzi pointed to Sims’ success on the ground, in regard to losing concentration and contain when Sims dropped back in the pocket and suddenly took off on the ground, as a weakness shown on tape this season. He said that Pitt took poor angles when attempting to tackle.

When it comes to Cunningham, Narduzzi said that Pitt will need to take better angles. But perhaps more importantly, it’s about anticipation. Don’t go where he is, he’s too quick and agile, go to where he’s going to be.

“He’s super athletic, and everybody has to run our gaps,” Shayne Simon said Tuesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “He’s like the leading rusher right now, so it puts stress on everybody. There’s an extra blocker on the field, there’s an extra gap that gets created, but a dynamic rusher like him, we have to make sure that we all stay in our gaps, all stay in our fits.

“It’s tough, but at the end of the day, if you run through your gap and do your assignment, the ball kinda finds itself. You find the ball. So, once you get there, you gotta make the tackle.”

It’s been two years since Pitt last met Cunningham, a Sept. 26, 2020, matchup at what-was-then Heinz Field, and Narduzzi feels like Cunningham has only grown more confident since that afternoon.

It was one of Cunnigham’s poorest performances at Louisville, completing just 9-of-21 passing attempts for 107 yards and a touchdown to three interceptions. He only racked up three yards on the ground as he was sacked seven times on the afternoon. Alexandre didn’t record a sack that afternoon, but he was part of the defensive line that brought pressure all day.

“We definitely watched that film,” Alexandre said. “They do it a little bit differently than what they did two years ago, but not that much different. We just watched that film, see how we can learn and apply it to the same team we’re about to face now.”

Cunningham has certainly grown since then, but he’s still not one of the elite passers in the conference. According to PFF, Cunningham has made five big-time throws and seven turnover-worthy throws this season. His average depth of target is about nine yards downfield, and as a running quarterback, his average time from snap to throw is 3.17 seconds.

Cunningham has dropped back 50 times this season, and he’s been sacked 10 times. He’s tough to contain once he’s out of the pocket, but he doesn’t offer a massive threat with the deep ball. He’s completed 6-of-22 passing attempts 20 yards downfield, for 194 yards and a touchdown to two interceptions.

This isn’t to discount Cunningham’s arm, which has enough pop to make a variety of throws, but his strength is getting into open space and making defenders miss. Randy Bates has Pitt’s defense focused on execution, which comes down to alignment and assignment.

“At the end of the day, it’s back to the basics,” Bates said Tuesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “Tackling, getting off blocks, attention to detail. It comes down to alignment and assignment about nine times out of ten. So, those little things make a huge difference, way more than all those fancy defenses.”

There’s a threat in deploying an aggressive pass rush against Cunningham, but Alexandre said Pitt’s defense plays an aggressive style. That’s just the mindset. There will be eyes on the quarterback, of course, and it’s about the balance of getting after the quarterback while also containing him.

“That’s something we always think about, no matter who we play,” Alexandre said. “Just to be smart. We respect them, but we still gotta play our game.”

Sandy Schall, Coldwell Banker
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SRS
SRS
1 year ago

Don’t over rush the ends, take a Lesson from Alabama’s Defense against Auburn and listen to the commentary of their game. The announcers mentioned the two good DEs from Alabama were Coached not to Rush more than 3-Yards deep into the backfield to keep the QB in the pocket, let him come to you instead of going after him and break contain with a juke.

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