Changes need to be made

For the first time in a while, the Backyard Brawl was more than just a rivalry.

The game… For the first time in a while, the Backyard Brawl was more than just a rivalry.

The game was dripping with conference and national implications, with the winner controlling the Big East and having an inside track to a Bowl Championship Series berth.

After the game, two things were obvious: West Virginia was up to the task, and Pitt was not – again.

Too many times in head coach Walt Harris’ six-plus years at Pitt, the Panthers have been ready to take the next step, only to falter.

The Panthers defeated Notre Dame in 1999 in the final game at Pitt Stadium and headed to West Virginia the following week with a chance to make a bowl game. Instead, the Mountaineers slaughtered Pitt, 52-21, ending its season.

In 2000, Pitt had a chance to win its first bowl game and finish the season with eight wins for the first time since 1989.

But rather than use a balanced offense featuring running back Kevan Barlow – who rushed for 272 yards and four touchdowns in Pitt’s previous game – Harris opted to try to pass against Iowa State, and the Panthers lost, 37-29.

The next season, expectations were high for Pitt, but the Panthers started 1-5. Harris tried to install a spread offense, but it failed from the beginning and it took six games for him to realize that. Somehow, the Panthers turned their season around and ended the year 7-5.

The 2002 season was Pitt’s best in 20 years, but it could have been better.

There was the swinging gate incident and missed extra point against Texas A’M. Pitt lost to the Aggies, 14-12. There was Pitt’s inability to get into the end zone against Notre Dame despite getting inside the Irish 10 twice. The Panthers settled for field goals and lost, 14-6.

Pitt started this season as a contender for the national title, but those aspirations went out the window quickly, mainly because the Panthers have some big problems.

Pitt can’t stop the run and it can’t run the football.

What it comes down to are the two most basic things in football – blocking and tackling – and if a coach can’t get his players to do that, than perhaps he’s in the wrong business.

Three times this season, Pitt’s defense has been shredded by a running back for more than 200 yards, and four times, the defense has surrendered over 500 total yards to an opponent. Too many times, guys are trying to make arm tackles – and at times wrist and pinkie tackles – rather than wrap up the opposition, and the result has been big play after big play.

At times, Pitt’s defensive players make the guys on Playmakers look like pros. Against West Virginia, the Panthers’ best tackle wasn’t even made by a defensive player, but by punter Andy Lee.

Tackling is something you learn how to do from day one. It’s not a new phenomenon that has been added to the game of football.

The same goes for the offensive side of the ball. Four times this year, Pitt has rushed for fewer than 100 yards, and that number would be five if Jawan Walker didn’t have a 50-yard run against Rutgers. Twice the Panthers have failed to rush for more than 10 yards, which should be an unacceptable figure, but doesn’t seem to faze Harris too much.

Part of the problem is the offensive line, which oftentimes has missed numerous assignments. But that’s not the entire problem.

In the absence of starting running back Brandon Miree, Harris has continued to start Walker, despite the fact that he has proven he can’t be a feature back.

Walker’s numbers are deceiving. He averages almost four yards per carry, but for every 50-yard run, he has run for no gain five times as often.

He is either not fast enough to the hit the hole or doesn’t know which holes to hit, and too many times against West Virginia, Walker tried to get outside and ended up running parallel to the line of scrimmage.

His backup, Tim Murphy, is a bigger back and seems faster, but for some reason doesn’t get the chance to show what he can do, which comes back to Harris.

Walker has proven that he can’t carry the load alone. Why not see if someone else can?

Also sitting on the bench is 2001 starting running back Raymond Kirkley – he has yet to play this year.

Has Kirkley, who led Pitt in rushing during his freshman season, fallen so far on the depth chart that he can’t find his way onto the field?

Or is Harris trying to redshirt the junior this year so he can keep him around for an extra season?

If so, that has blown up in the coach’s face because, since Pitt can’t run the ball, defenses know the Panthers are going to pass. For the entire second half against West Virginia, the Mountaineers teed off on quarterback Rod Rutherford, making him force the ball and throw three interceptions.

Had the Mountaineers felt threatened by the possibility of the run, then they would have had to sit back just in case, which would have allowed Rutherford more time to look for the open receiver.

Instead, the Pitt quarterback rushed his throws and oftentimes passed into double and triple coverage.

Which leads to another question – if the other receivers are double and triple covered, doesn’t that mean Larry Fitzgerald is in single coverage or – better yet – wide open?

It does, and he was. In fact, if Fitzgerald had been any more wide open, he could have been arrested for indecent exposure.

Harris has the best wide receiver in the country and he needs to find more ways to get him the ball. Fitzgerald has proven that he can catch passes with two or three guys clinging to him. There is no reason he should not have at least 15 balls thrown to him per game.

The Panthers’ problems are fixable, and why they haven’t been fixed yet is a mystery. Including a bowl game, there are three games left in the 2003 season, and this year can still be successful, but not by simply making it to the postseason.

Getting to a bowl game has become a given at Pitt. Just making the Insight Bowl or the Tire Bowl would be step backwards for the program and should put Harris’ job in jeopardy.

Harris needs to get his team to the next level, and the only way to do that is to keep winning. It’s not too late for him and Pitt, but time is quickly running out.

Joe Marchilena is the sports editor for The Pitt News.