Bennett8111: Since Wannstedt has ALWAYS had the same tags apply to him in any job, IE: unimaginative, conservative offense and poor game day preparation amongst others), shouldn't this be addressed by either the Pitt athletic department or sportswriters face to face with him as it is SURELY driving fans away in droves.I still am in shock that he punted not once, but twice from the 34 yard line and he had the best kicker in the Big East sitting on the bench...net gain, 14 yards!

Paul Zeise: Wannstedt has heard all of these criticisms and he's heard them for years. It is nothing new but like I try to explain nearly every day -- he is who he is and he has a philosophy that he believes very strongly in. There is nothing that will change that and it will either work or it won't. It is hard to ask a guy who has built a philosophy over 30-plus years as a coach and player to change what he does and what he believes in.

pittfan16142: I heard a lot about Chris Burns in the scrimmages. Is there any chance of him playing or will he be redshirted?

Paul Zeise: No, he is redshirtting unless someone gets injured -- and he should. There is a very good possibility that the Panthers will lose both Stephens-Howling and McCoy this year and if so, Burns would have an opportunity to be the featured back for four years. That is one position Pitt does not need to burn redshirts in order to get a young guy on the field -- they are fine at tailback.

MPM: How many plays do you expect see Greg Cross in on against Syracuse?

Paul Zeise: I would be surprised if it were more than say five or six. That just seems to be the vision this staff has for how to use him. I don't think I believe any more that they have whole packages installed for him -- it seems like they have some individual plays built in for him and they'll use them situationally and not necessarily sequentially like they did with the Wildcat and McCoy last year.

frustrated_fan: Paul: Do you think that the team is improving? It is difficult for me to tell since the opposition has been relatively weak. Also, do you rate Bill Stull as anything but average at best? Do you believe he is considerably better than Bostick?

Paul Zeise: I think Bill Stull is not much different than what we thought he'd be -- gritty, resourceful, a leader --a guy who can make enough plays to help a team win but probably can't carry an offense. Nothing I have seen from him would suggest that analysis is incorrect. He's a solid player, not a great player. As for comparing him to Bostick, to be honest, I think that is a tough comparison because we haven't seen Bostick play now that he is a year older, he's lost that weight, gotten stronger and physically in much better condition. I think he can become a good quarterback in the future. As for is the team improving -- yes, I think the team has played better - especially on defense -- in each game.

panther_pride: Does the Pitt coaching staff believe they are doing a good job? If so they are in the minority. When things are working out isn't normal and necessary to change your approach / tactics? Why can Wannastedt and staff seemingly see they need to change things up and raise the bar?

Paul Zeise: I would think that they would say given that they have won more than they've lost, they believe they are doing a good job of getting this team ready to play every week -- but they are not undefeated so they are not satisfied. That's what coaches say when asked to evaluate themselves. And like I said, I think the talent is in place and the team is playing much better on defense so it is too early to write this team off -- especially coming off the second biggest win of the Wannstedt era. In fact, one way to look at it is this -- they are 5-4 since Navy game last year and three of those five wins rank as Wannstedt's biggest wins -- so maybe the tide is turning (though another way to look at it is the Bowling Green loss might be his worst loss....).

ConservativeCav: Why was Elijah Fields taken out of the game last week in favor of Dom Decicco? Did he get hurt, was he being disciplined? When Pitt went to the dime or nickel, they actually had Taglianetti in there instead of Fields

Paul Zeise: Fields started cramping up and so he was pulled for health reasons and he wasn't able to get the cramps worked out, which is why he was done for the final three series. I think he will get the start again this week but coaches want to get both he and DeCicco into the game so it won't shock me if they split time.

PittDC: Did Ransom has a bad as game as it looked on Saturday?

Paul Zeise: No, he did OK. It was probably the game he has struggled the most in of the three he had played, but he wasn't terrible. He's still swimming a little bit, he's still learning -- I'd cut him some slack because I don't think Murray is quite 100 percent yet so he's going to have to play. He didn't make many plays, but the reverse is true as well - I don't think he had many opportunities to and he did make at least two big tackles that I can think of.

pitt13: Would Pitt have any interest in Jay Paterno as head coach? His Spread HD offense is exciting. And how much time does Wannstedt have left? He is not that good of a coach.

Paul Zeise: Isn't it Galen Hall who came up with this spread offense thing at Penn State? And no, Jay Paterno would be a disaster of a head coach -- which is why even the most hard core Penn State Kool Aid drinkers -- the ones who think Joe Paterno invented football and has never made a mistake or done anything wrong -- are not in favor of him becoming the next head coach up there. Wannstedt has I think three or four more years on his contract (I think it is through 2012) but again, I'm not going too far out on a limb when I say I don't think he'd survive a fourth year in a row without a bowl game.

Latif_Grim_s_Poetry: Did you ever read any of Latif Grim's Poetry? It was pretty good.

Paul Zeise: Um, no -- is there some web-site where it is on display?

the_Pitts: I feel like there is a conspiracy and the Panthers purposely took a sack in the second half while running the wildcat offense just to shut people up.

Paul Zeise: They weren't running the wildcat. They went way out on a limb and called a waggle pass and the defensive end didn't buy the fake and stayed home - it was a lesson in good disciplined defense. And even the touchdown run wasn't the wildcat -- it was just a spread formation that they've used before without Cross in there. Like I said -- I'm beginning to think the wildcat package doesn't really exist ...

Memory_of_Terrelle: Don't you think that if Cross comes in they need to throw? The defense will be prepped for him to run.

Paul Zeise: No. Not really. If you block it right and you have a great player to operate it, you can make any play call work. I mean, seriously -- everybody on the planet for the past three seasons has known Pat White was going to either hand to Slaton or fake a hand-off to Slaton and tuck it and run. And West Virginia has killed people doing that. It wasn't because people didn't know what was coming it was because they couldn't stop it. If Cross came in and they had a package of different running plays and read option plays for him, I'm quite sure he could move the ball down the field.

panther_pride: Relative to Wannstedt's coaching philosphy; are you saying you can't teach an old dog new tricks? If that is the case it is a matter of time before he is dismissed. Simply because it AIN'T WORKING. Agree.

Paul Zeise: I think you can teach an old dog new tricks but it is tough to do sometimes. And to this point it hasn't worked, but again, he's coming off a very big win and I do think the team has improved from the first game to the third game, so let's see how the season plays out. There is no question that with the schedule the Panthers play, this team could end up 9-3 or something, despite the loss to Bowling Green -- then, everything changes about the perceptions of the direction of the program. I'm simply saying, have a little more patience.

the_Pitts: Why doesn't Stull throw across the middle more to his TEs? It seems like he can get 10 to 15 yards every time on those plays.

Paul Zeise: Those plays are there to be had indeed, particularly against the defensive fronts that Pitt has and will face. But those passes also don't seem to be a priority as this offense seems to favor shorter passes and passes that go sideways, like wide receiver screens, bubble screens, passes to the fullbacks, circle routes to the tailbacks etc. etc......

Latif_Grim_s_Poetry: I know Bill Stull gives Pitt their best chance to win this season, but is there a possibility that the offense has struggled because Bill Stull is just not a good quarterback and we just have to deal with it this season and hope for better play from Bostick or Smith next year?

Paul Zeise: Yes and no. I think Bill Stull is fine. He hasn't been great, but he is getting more comfortable and gaining confidence and he hasn't made many fatal errors -- like throwing "pick six passes" -- that being said, he has to play a lot better than he has if Pitt is going to improve on offense and I think he is capable of that, so as with everything else, just have a little more patience and see what happens here over the next few weeks.

Latif_Grim_s_Poetry: If we had gotten Bill Stull more work 2 years ago when he was Palko's backup, would we be seeing a more improved Bill Stull?

Paul Zeise: Yes, yes, you nailed it, that's the answer -- had he been in the game to hand off three times in the blowout loss to Notre Dame in 2005 or had he been used to take a knee a few more times in some of those early wins in 2006, he'd be playing like the second-coming of Dan Marino right now ... More work, more work, gotta get Stull some work, Stull needs work ...

Latif_Grim_s_Poetry: Will Bill Stull ever be as good as David Priestly?

Paul Zeise: Yes, he could be, at least I think he can become better than Priestly from the standpoint that he is more consistent in his play that Priestly was. I think Priestly was very inconsistent. When he was good, my goodness, he was scary good (and no, Bill Stull at his best would not be better than Priestly when he was at his best, but the problem was, we didn't see his best all the time or even a majority of the time) -- he was unstoppable at times. But when he was off, he was awful -- and that's likely as much of a reason that the Panthers were on a roller coaster ride when he was their quarterback. Some days he was great and others he was terrible -- there didn't seem to be many days when he was in between.

panther_pride: 5-4 since Navy won't get you into the rankings and certainly not into a decent bowl game. If this team continues to be mediocre for the remainder of the year can Wannstedt survive?

Paul Zeise: I understand 5-4 since Navy is nothing to write home about -- except the fact that Pitt was 2-9 in the 11 games leading up to and including the Navy loss. My point was that the Panthers have improved and have started to play better and that is a trend that, we need to wait and see if it continues.

panthermax: Did Murray play any snaps against Iowa? Where does he stand now?

Paul Zeise: No he didn't. He is not expected to start but he will play. How much is not yet known, but like I said, I don't think he is 100 percent yet so he will be limited.

Brian: I have been a bit disappointed in the defensive line this season. Expectations were high, to say the least. Can you give any insight as to why they might be under-performing?

Paul Zeise: I don't think they are under-performing. In fact, I think the line has played fairly well -- heck in the fourth quarter against Iowa the defensive line dominated and is probably the biggest reason the Panthers held on to win. I think if you look at relevant numbers -- sacks, hurries, pressures - the line is ahead of where it was last year and will continue to improve.

ConservativeCav: If you dont throw down the field, the LB's and safeties will move closer to line of scrimmage to stuff the run!!!

Paul Zeise: I know this -- and that might explain why LeSean McCoy is not finding much room to run these days.

Jon_from_J_town: Paul, are the receivers not as good as we sometimes think that they are? I watched a few deep throws on Saturday and it was readily apparent to me that this team is lacking a big time playmaker at the position. I know Baldwin is a little while off yet, so are we a season away from having the big play threat to soften defenses?

Paul Zeise: I don't see why Baldwin is a year off. For instance -- that flea-flicker play was tailor-made for Baldwin. If you want to tell me "he can't run routes as crisp as he needs" or "he is not a great blocker yet" or "he is trying to learn the little things" as the reason he is not playing as much as people would like -- fine. I'll except that, the kid is learning the finer points of playing a receiver. But guess what -- that doesn't mean there aren't certain plays you couldn't use him for. And that flea flicker required a receiver to do two things -- run fast straight down the field to the endzone and perhaps outjump a defensive back for the ball. Which is why it made no sense that TJ Porter was the guy who they threw it to. If you have a 6-foot-5 guy that can run and jump --- why not design some plays to use those physical attributes? That, I think is what is frustrating to many. As for the rest of the receivers, I do agree that they are all fairly ordinary in that they don't get much

ConservativeCav: Maybe Wannstedt cam hire Joe Walton as Offensive Coordinator. It would bring back the days of the Steelers when the chant was "Wheres the O Joe"

Paul Zeise: Yes, just as long as he brings Bubby Brister with him.....

Jon_from_J_town: Paul - your opinion on the O line so far? My observations have been that there have been very few holding and false start penalties. I have been impressed with the pass protection to this point.

Paul Zeise: I agree, the offensive line took a beating in training camp and rightfully so, but it seems like it has gotten better each week and frankly it is playing cleaner than it did last year (cleaner meaning, less mistakes and penalties) -- and even Joe Thomas has done fairly well. He hasn't been great, but he has been improving as has the line. I think this is a good question to end on as our time is up because if there is a theme of this chat today it is -- have a little more patience and see how things develop. I have a feeling -- just a feeling -- that this team is going to continue to improve each week and might be on the verge of turning the corner. The line is an area that could happen.