Submit your Pitt football question
Q: Can we expect to see Cavanaugh and Wannstedt open up the offense against a Navy team that gave up 40+ to Duke? I attended Navy and know many of the current players and I can bet my legs that the defense is nowhere near the athletic ability of our skill players on offense.
Ryan Ross, Philadelphia</>
Zeise: Well, that seems to be the plan, at the very least it is the plan to allow Pat Bostick to throw the ball a little more. I think that is the key - you can't go into a game thinking that you can run it without any threat or hint of trying to pass it and expect to have success. I don't have a problem with - and frankly think it is the way to go - to have LeSean McCoy be the focus of the offense and take the bulk of the carries and even carry it more than 30 times. But you have to mix in the pass and do so at times when the defense is not expecting you to pass (i.e. before it becomes third-and-16) and I think the coaches understand this and now that they trust Bostick to make good decisions, they'll let him become more involved.
Q: Paul, The O-Line is by far the weakest link on this team due to the lack of depth & injuries. Frankly, I do not see any signs of improvement this year, or even next year. Your thoughts?
Jonnie Fortune, New York, NY
Zeise: I just can't figure out how there can be this many problems with a unit for such an extended period of time and there doesn't seem to be much that can be done to change it. Otah has played fairly well at left tackle, CJ Davis is steady at left guard, the rest of the line has really been inconsistent - and that is being kind. You'd hope that as Mike McGlynn and Joe Thomas settle back in to their old spots they'd continue to improve and then they'd be able to give the center spot the help that it needs, but I'm starting to think that might be a lot of wishful thinking by the coaching staff at this point. There should be a little more depth next year at some of the spots, but given that they are losing McGlynn and Otah, tackle will be virtually starting over.
Q: Thus far in the season, has there been any player that has surprised you with how well he has played? This season has obviously been dismal up to this point, but there has to be someone that has played better than expected.
Larry Shuttlesworth, Norristown, Pa.
Zeise: Yes - Bostick. I never thought he'd be anywhere close to as good as he's been given what I saw in camp and the fact that he left camp and missed like the first 12 practices. But he's gotten better every snap he's taken and he really has been at least somewhat of a breath of fresh air in a tough season. I really thought that he would be way in over his head under center but that hasn't been the case at all. I also think LeSean McCoy has been a surprise, not because I doubted his talent, but I didn't know he was as tough as he is and as capable of a running between the tackles. He's every bit as good as advertised.