The bye wasn’t just an important time for the Pitt coaching staff to work a new starting quarterback into the starting lineup, there were adjustments to be made — offensively and defensively — and players to get back from injuries.
Unfortunately for Pitt, it seems as though Pitt exited the bye week with even more injuries than when entered.
“It wasn’t as good as you want it to be (in getting healthy),” Pat Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly news conference. “I’ll leave it right there.
“It wasn’t as good as you want it to be. In the open week, you’re not happy, and we got some guys banged up last week in the open week because we went out there in shells and played football, which is what we needed to be. I didn’t want to be soft. We needed to go out and play football and execute and try to get better fundamentally. So, we got a couple of guys even more banged up last week. Hopefully, we’ll be ready to go. We didn’t do ourselves any favors in the open week.”
Matt Goncalves and Ryan Jacoby, who were slated to be opening game starters at left tackle and left guard, respectively, are out for the season. Rashad Battle hasn’t played in a game yet this season, and it seems unlikely that he’s going to return at this point — especially with three No. 15s on the roster right now.
Jake Kradel, Devin Danielson and Bangally Kamara didn’t travel to Blacksburg, Va. last month. Kamara has missed two-and-a-half games now, suffering a lower-body injury that forced him out of the West Virginia game. Kradel has missed back-to-back games with an undisclosed injury, and Danielson missed the Virginia Tech game with an undisclosed injury of his own.
Narduzzi doesn’t typically answer questions regarding injuries, unless an injury is season-ending (as was the case with Goncalves and Jacoby), so there isn’t much of an update on any of the three individually — or any of the knocks that Pitt picked up during the bye week.
Kamara will slot back into the lineup, when and if he’s able to return to the lineup this season, and his absence has allowed some younger outside linebackers to establish themselves in the meantime. But his ability to play Star or Money gives Pitt opportunities.
Danielson is one of the three sixth-year seniors who have rotated heavily in the lineup this season, and once he’s healthy, he should be back in the mix. And without any younger defensive linemen really stepping up this season, his spot in the rotation is safe.
There is a decision to be made when it comes to Kradel’s spot in the lineup. But Narduzzi is just waiting for Kradel to get back on the field at this point in time.
“Just worried about getting him back first, and then we’ll figure that out when the time comes,” Narduzzi said. “If we sit there before he’s totally back, whatever that is, by that time, there might be somebody else out there, and the plan changes. So, you don’t make decisions until you know exactly where everybody is and where we are.”
Terrence Moore has played as he’s stepped into the starting center spot over the last two weeks, and it seems likely that with struggles at guard this season, Kradel could slide into the right guard spot — where Jason Collier Jr. and BJ Williams have struggled this season. But it remains to be seen what Dave Borbely will decide. Or when Kradel will be healthy.
The Panthers are substantially over- subbing on defense. Their starting 11 are as good as any in the ACC. Some of the angles and the lack of contain on the ends is either lack of experience, or, it’s lack of speed and athleticism. The corners and safeties are well set, but the front seven needs to be more established with less hype and favoritism given to certain players. Waiting till your 1-4 to change qb’s is ridiculous. Most of the problems this season were due to poor coaching decisions. The only legitimate excuse for failure is unforseen o-line injuries. Cignetti… Read more »
If you think Pitt’s starting 11 on defense are as good as FSU, Clemson, or most ACC teams, I gotta bridge to sell you.
LOL Coming out of an off week worse injury wise than you started just proves to me any more that Narduzzi is dumber than I thought, can’t even run controlled workout around the banged up players now with a heavy schedule the price will be paid. He is doing a good job of screwing this roster up . The A.D. better be paying attention.