Calm down, Pitt fans: Baldwin’s time will come

Just for one day, let’s give Dave Wannstedt a break. By now, he and offensive coordinator Matt… Just for one day, let’s give Dave Wannstedt a break. By now, he and offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh have to be sick of it. They’ve got to be sick of hearing about how they’re not using the right players, making the right calls or targeting the right spots in the defense ‘mdash; especially because Wannstedt and Cavanaugh know their players better than anyone else in the country. Wannstedt doesn’t need a break from football, the expectations or even the pressure to get Pitt back to a bowl game. But for one day, everyone needs to lay off the criticism of the play-calling and personnel decisions. It all started after Pitt’s first game, when the Panthers lost to Bowling Green. There were calls for more of Jonathan Baldwin, the 6-foot-5-inch freshman receiver with freakish speed and athleticism. There were calls for more of quarterback Greg Cross, the junior college transfer who was supposed to bring a change of pace on offense. Don’t get me wrong: Those guys should get playing time. And at least as far as Baldwin is concerned, the Pitt coaching staff has done a decent job trying to get him involved. Baldwin caught his first ball on Saturday against Syracuse, and it was a nice one. On third down and nine, quarterback Bill Stull hit Baldwin on a bubble screen. He made a defender miss and went for eight yards, leading to a key fourth-and-one, which Pitt converted. While it was his first catch so far this year, Baldwin has been on the field for a good number of snaps and has been targeted several times. He was targeted again on Pitt’s two-point conversion later in the game and made the grab. It was one of the most important catches in the game, tying the score. But when he’s not open, or the balls simply aren’t getting to him, people blame Wannstedt and Cavanaugh. The coaches are forced to answer more and more of the same questions that they’ve been getting for what seems like an eternity. Why isn’t Baldwin catching more balls? How can Baldwin help expand the offense? Wannstedt, Cavanaugh and the entire city know that Baldwin can make some plays. They also know that down the road Baldwin will probably have to. But it’s a whole lot easier said than done. ‘We’ve got to give him the ball,’ said Wannstedt on Monday afternoon. ‘It’s tough, [though], and the biggest thing with playing some of these young kids is [that] it’s easier after the fact. And it’s easy for somebody else to say.’ He’s right. Some people wonder why Pitt doesn’t just throw Baldwin in every play and target him with every pass. They wonder why there isn’t more of an effort to get him involved. But the answer is simple: inexperience. Baldwin is 19 years old. And he’s still learning. Four months ago, Baldwin was still walking around Aliquippa High School.’ Now a college freshman, he makes freshman mistakes. And it’s not like the other Pitt receivers don’t have talent. Derek Kinder was one of the hottest players in the Big East two years ago, but he tore up his knee last year and lost some of his hype. Kinder, a senior, is Pitt’s best receiver. He’ll continue to be all season. Then there’s T.J. Porter, Oderick Turner and Cedric McGee. All three have made plays. And while they may not be among the elite receivers in college football, they have more experience, are more proven and are more comfortable in the playbook than Baldwin is. So who should be getting the passes? Kinder still needs the ball, and although Turner has had a tough couple games, he needs his touches, too. McGee made a catch that might’ve won the game for Pitt against Buffalo, and Porter showed in that same game that he deserves the ball. So just because Baldwin is athletic and is there, should these guys should be forgotten about? It might be hard to believe, but there aren’t really that many touches to go around. Pitt fans can’t forget that the Panthers are 3-1. That’s not too bad, no matter what teams they played. Go ahead and critique the coaching staff as much as needed, but the truth is, Cavanaugh and Wannstedt know their team better than the fans, students or reporters. They know the capabilities of every player and have a goal for what the team needs to do. And they’re better coaches and decision-makers than most of the people calling them out. It won’t be easy against South Florida on Thursday night.’ Who knows, Baldwin might just show up on the field and make some plays. Then again, he might not. If he doesn’t, there’s likely a reason. But no matter what anyone thinks, that game, and any game in the immediate future, won’t simply depend on him catching balls. Pitt fans should be happy about that. Because if the Pitt football program gets to the point in which it relies on a first-year player to make the difference in the offense, then it’ll be in big, big trouble. –Disagree? Contact Mike Gladysz at sports@pittnews.com