Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 by Adam Wagner
I Can Throw a Better Spiral Than Kevan Smith
Apparently Dave Wannstedt has finally realized what every fan has been able to see for two weeks. Kevan Smith is not a D-I quarterback. The kid has no business being on a field with even an average team like Connecticut, as he feels pressured way too easily and not only makes stupid decisions but looks silly while doing so and becomes rattled extremely easily.
At one point early in Saturday’s game, for instance, probably shortly after an interception, Smith rolled out of the pocket and did not have a UConn player within eight yards of him. He had a receiver wide open about ten yards down the field . . . and he essentially threw an eight yard spike/bullet. That is not a throw that a college QB messes up. There was no pressure, there was no coverage. There was just a man, a football, and a lot of green space. It’s a throw that he should have been pulled after making.
Smith was, however, left in the game until the end of the first half due to Wannstedt’s excellent decision-making abilities. He proceeded to commit an awful looking fumble at the end of the half as, again, he was in the open field without anyone near him. He had a clear shot at the first down as long as he could keep his feet moving, but then, inexplicably, the ball just popped out of his hands. Again, this was not a turnover that a college quarterback can afford to make. It’s an easy play that must simply be executed, particularly against a team that could barely beat Temple.
The two major questions that must be asked are why didn’t Wannstedt pull Smith for Bostick sooner and why didn’t Wannstedt go to LeSean McCoy more?
Considering that Bostick threw for 230 yards (albeit with three picks) and received a standing ovation upon entrance into the game, it only seems natural that he should have started from the beginning. Even in his second college appearance, he looked about four times more comfortable than Smith in the pocket despite neither one of them appearing to fully comprehend the playbook. Bostick is simply the best chance for Pitt to win right now, something that should have been more important to Wannstedt than the perceived experience advantage that Smith brought. He should not have hesitated to pull the scared Smith for the potentially just as scared Bostick. Bostick, however, was willing to take chances (and achieve a 66% completion rate, double Smith’s) while Smith simply seemed as if he wanted to escape the field and the fans back to his nice spot on the bench.
As for McCoy, he had the longest pass in the first half, an 18-yarder, and compiled 70 rushing yards on 11 carries. The kid is obviously an elite running back and should have been given the ball more often than he was. He manages to find holes behind an obviously struggling offensive line and turn nothing into four and six yard runs, therefore taking pressure off of the quarterback. Also, he does not go down when he is tapped like LaRod Stephens-Howling does. McCoy is the best player Pitt has and should be on the field every down.
It doesn’t help that Wannstedt and offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh insist on running the idiotic “Wildcat offense” in which the running backs take the direct snap and then either throw or hand the ball off to each other. There was one instance Saturday where they tried to use the offense coming out of a television stoppage and Kevan Smith was just standing ten yards out for about thirty seconds, thereby fooling absolutely no one. The wildcat should be used in desperation, not as a base offense. Eventually a team must get the job done by just doing it.
There is so much wrong with this team right now that they should schedule a game with Notre Dame.
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