Things I Like and Stuff I Don't

Off The Schneid! 

Things I Liked and Stuff I Don't - Tar Heel Edition

Yesterday's Pitt football win yesterday got both the Panthers - and me - off the Schneid in Chapel Hill. The Panthers are now 1-7 in Chapel Hill and I am 1-3. 

Off the Schneid... its an odd phrase. 

The term has its origins in cards, namely gin rummy and a related game in Germany called skat. In that game, a Schneid is a failure to score at least 30 points... whatever that means. And yes, its short for Schneider, a german name kind of like Smith or Jones. 

Its also used over there as a slang term for someone who's a poor wretch. 

Can you imagine being that Schneider guy? 

I'm thinking some clever young anchor from the early days of ESPN - somebody like Tom Mees, Bob Ley or Chris Berman came up with it as a term to be used in sports... you know, back in the days when ESPN was fun and not a corporate, souless behemoth run by suits. As a suit approaching retirement, I say that with full respect. 😉😉

Here are some reflections on yesterday and as usual, in no particular order:

The First Drive - With apologies to those of you who watched the game on TV and saw this multiples times, I must say that Konata Mumpfield's catch inside the 10 yard line was simply spectacular and ... Sunday worthy. The manner in which he adjusted to the ball - behind him and a little high, on the shoulder pad... wow. If you did not see it because you were dipping your chip in salsa, go back and watch that on YouTube - either the condensed or full game replay. Magnificent.

What followed that catch... hmmm, not so good. Having Poppi Williams - all 165 lbs of him - cover the right edge against 270lb Desmond Evans was not going to work on the handoff to Reid. And it didn't. Perhaps the thought was to get the snap off quick with who we had on the field... catch them on their "heels" 😏? 

So the play didn't work and they brought Daniel Carter in. Logical move in short yardage, right? While the annnouncers thought he should have caught the swing pass from Eli - instant six if so - I thought Eli hurried that one just a bit. Half second later and its a TD. Actually could have waited a full second longer and caught him at the goal line. He was wide open.

Bartholomew was wide open in the end zone on 3rd and the pass was batted. Pass was flat and not a bullet (put a bookmark there for later) and the Tarheels make a play.

So we blow a great oppoortunity and settle for three. Right in front of the vast majority of Panther fans in attendance. Sigh.

The Return of Sean Fitzsimmons I saw #55 rumble from the sidelines into the game and immediately got fired up. He had a rough start - overmanned and lost his helmet on the first defensive play, but really came on and finished strong. 

Once he got going, the entire unit was more effective and Carolina's running game was held in check for much of the second half. Stuffed the holes and I lost count of how many QB pressures he helped happen. I had forgotten he's a thick AND speedy dude. Would have been nice to have him in tandem with Sam Okunola.

And The Return of Rodney Hammond, Jr. Really glad he's back... one nice run for 6 yds and hoped he could get in the endzone. Historically, I'd wish to see him help us run the clock with a lead late, but don't know if that's part of the Kade Bell "score, score, score" philosophy. But he will make an excellent complement to Reid as we enter more turbulent waters going forward.

Ben Sauls is Money - How nice to see him just get more and more reliable after a tough first year.

Caleb Junko Scares Me everytime he kicks. And yes, I realize that he averaged over 50 yds on three punts yesterday. 45 yard avg excluding the one line drive that had a long bounce and roll. I know, its just me.

Eli Is Still Coming - He had a very good game. Not excellent, but very good. The pick six - a flat, slow throw that was telegraphed so bad I was yelling "noooo!" as he turned to throw right.... as did the folks around me. We knew it was a bad idea. It was a... well, freshman mistake. And he's a freshman. That throw needs to either be a dart or tossed with an arc that only Poppi could catch. A lesson for the next time.

The next time came in the second half. Same route, same throw... and dodged a bullet this time with an inomplete pass. That throw to Bartholomew - was that his only target on Saturday? - called for threading a needle I guess and the defender made a play. But it perhaps should have been a bullet going through traffic and it didn't look like that from where I was sitting... right in front of it. And already mentioned the timing of the throw to Carter.

But dang he is steady and poised for a freshman. And he is coming... and you better hide! Find out what he needs to stay at Pitt and get it for him, Alliance412!

The "No Punt" Strategy - When was the last time your team went for it on 4th down six times in one game? Yeah, I can't remember either. It was clear that UNC respected the Pitt offense and felt the best way to beat Pitt woukd be to keep Eli and Desmond off the field. Those stops in the red zone had to deflate the Heels - none bigger than the one at the Pitt 8 yard line with 9 minutes left and trailing by a TD. 

HUGE play by the Pitt D... the first time all game that I felt like we might just have this game in the bag. 

Yes, it was fun to watch Kyle Louis sack Jacoby Criswell with just over a minute to go, but at that point, Pitt had a 10 point lead. And btw, hats off to him for eluding a sack until then... and staying in the game. He took some shots as well. 

Home Cooking In past visits to Kenan Stadium, I have seen calls and non-calls so mysterious they can only be explained as the will (or phone call) of John Swofford. So, I came in there seeing ghosts. Every replay.... particularly Desmond Reid's dive into the pylon... had me on edge. Is it a concidence that - aside a a dearth of holding calls on UNC's OL - the home cooking never really materialized Saturday now that Swofford is retired? Hmmmm...

Where The Heck Was The Pitt Band? - Yesterday would have been a perfect day to play Sweet Caroline - whether you like the song or not. Is this a Joan Gabel move towards fiscal responsibility? Anyone know? We missed them...and had room for them...

The Stadium and Surrounding Environs I mapped out an entry and exit strategy for the game to maximize the game-day experience of Chapel Hill while allowing a quick getaway - win or lose. Those of you who are imagining me taking a stroll on the quad... meandering past the famous wishing well... or stoping by "the corner" in dahntahn Chapel Hill (where basketball championships are celebrated)... well, that would be a bad guess.

I parked on Raleigh Road, just north of the stadium and right off of Rt 501 - a main artery to get in and out. 

Great decision - write it down if you ever plan to go for a game there. It has toilets and while full of powder blue people, we were warmly welcomed by them. Humble... almost apologetic and happy to see us. James Madison and losing two top QBs will do that to one I suppose. 

But a sincere "Bless Their Hearts" to the folks we met. One excitedly accepted an IC Light Hail To Pitt Can from me and really enjoyed it. Pairs well with a Bojangles biscuit I'm told.

Our walk to the stadium was efficiently straight and rather flat... took us right past legendary Carmichael Hall - the predecessor to the Dean Dome. Where Michael Jordan, James Worthy and the like ruled the court. And yet, kinda understated... you could mistake it for something else if you didn't know. A quick walk past and still no sight of Kenan Stadium... but the lacrosse stadium was really nice. 

Up some steps and there was the gate into the stadium. For you old schoolers, it was about half of the distance from the Syria Mosque to Pitt Stadium trudge. Like UVA's and Duke's gridirons, this place sits down into the ground... its far from some sort of campus beacon.

This is just my IMO and take it for what its worth, but it doesn't match up well to AreYinzSure Stadium. Field Turf to start. Did you see how many referee timeouts for injuries were called? All that black tire rubber in the turf gets hot - my car said it was 88 outside when we left the game. Inside the stadium was a turkey roaster. A place like this - when there are plenty of Field Turf surfaces surrounding it - deserves grass.

Scoreboards are undersized, faded and grainy. Hard to see the far end of the field plays on those things. They don't even deserve to be called Jumbotrons. Nothing jumbo about them.

Classic college stadium concourses... No game action on screens. Heck, no screens at all. Restrooms undersized and no ventilation. Bench seating was recently replaced with individual seats... the person who chose the powder blue color actually did the program a solid because most of the fans wear that color to games, making it hard to see a mediocre turnout as we saw on Saturday. 

These folks could take a lesson from Duke - correction, another lesson from Duke after last week - hahahahah... Duke's re-do of Wallace Wade Stadium is exactly how you do it. And we have Red5A folks who can back me up.

But I guess what I am trying to say is we have it pretty good for Pitt home games... and no, that's not clickbait for our resident stadium experts to offer up thoughts on what constitutes a nice stadium. 

As you can see in the shot on the left, we witnessed a pleasant co-mingling of both sets of fans in the concourse at halftime. And all were rewarded with this wonderful thing called a breeze. The vibe was chill - not the one gets at a Brawl for certain. 

Celebrating Julius Peppers - I don't know the grades some of our Pitt legends made while attending... and it might be hypocritical if I did... and please don't deflower my innocence by telling me... but I'd love to know how much it cost to get a D back then at UNC.

Mack Brown - Its got to be his last year, don't you think? I've always felt no one has done less with more than him at UNC. I saw the video clip of him sneaking up on Duzz during pre-game and putting a playful bear hug on him. I liked that. 

And Pitt is Ranked! - Its a start, but means nothing if Pitt doesn't keep winning. Voters are just looking for Pitt to stumble. 

Up next - Battle of the Scripts - Pitt is still reeling from it's last game versus the Bears... in 1966. Pitt holds a 3-2 edge in the series and is 2-0 in Pittsburgh. I think their unis are great and am looking forward to seeing how our offense can perform against their D.

The Return Of Richard Hefner The accountant and ex-PittPOV statistician extraordinaire formerly known as Pitt-CocksFan is cleaning up his property after Helena in western South Carolina. He wanted everyone to know he's doing fine... was thinking of skipping this year's annual conclave known as the Hefner Brothers Go To Pittsburgh due to the storm... next weekend for the Cal game... but said he just couldn't miss it. See ya there, Rich!

And Finally... thanks to my Buffalo Bills-loving neighbor Ralph, who came along for the ride. Although he committed the faux-pas of wearing pro sports clothing to a college event, he was great company... knows his football, enjoyed the Pitt IC Light and kept me in check. Generally.