Panthers prepare for Big East rival Syracuse

Walt Harris is still waiting for his team to improve on the minor details of the game, which… Walt Harris is still waiting for his team to improve on the minor details of the game, which he feels are the reasons that the Pitt football team is not performing at its full potential.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We’re capable of playing a lot better,’ Harris said. ‘I know our football players are going to make a better effort to try to get all the little details, and we’re going to do a better job of making it more clear, so there is no area where we slip up.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ As Pitt gets set to take on a physical Syracuse team this weekend, the emphasis will be on improving the blocking, particularly the run blocking.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We need to improve on the details and run the ball to have a chance against [Syracuse],’ Harris said.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Offensive tackle Rob Petitti and Harris both said that the problem with blocking is not that the whole offensive unit is breaking down, but that it is one player getting beat or missing an assignment that is causing the problem.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It seems like there is always one guy missing his block on each play,’ Petitti said. ‘When we get that taken care of, when we are blocking all 11 guys at a time, we’ll be able to start running the ball.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers’ coaching staff has been receiving criticism for their halftime adjustments. But Harris felt that adjustments were not the problem in the second half against Rutgers this past weekend. He said that Pitt got conservative with its play calling, while Rutgers came into the second half with nothing to lose.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘[Rutgers] was way behind, so they threw caution to the wind,’ Harris said. ‘We were much more cautious, so we lost some of our aggressiveness. We’ll be fine. We’ve just got to get better, and our players have got to want to get better. We’re not that far away.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt’s defense has given up over 2,000 yards over the past four games. While those numbers may be startling to some, Harris finds that worrying about the statistics is counterproductive, and said that his focus is on improving.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ This week, Harris will look to improve the defense by going back to the basics and focusing on the details. He believes that the defense has good schemes, coaches, and players, but might have been thinking they were a little better than they actually are.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I don’t know if we paid attention to the details as much, and it [has] haunted us,’ Harris said. ‘Now I would think that our players know that if you’re really focused, and really trying and working on trying to play like you practice, we can do it. If you don’t, we’ll struggle.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Another struggle the Panthers have faced lately has been their field goal kicking. Last season place-kicker David Abdul was a freshman All-American, but this year has not been nearly as accurate. Abdul has only made 40 percent of his field goal attempts this season and has missed all four of his kicks over the past two games. Despite Abdul’s recent lack of production, Harris says that he has not given up on his kicker.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We believe in David [Abdul]. We thought David kicked the ball better this past game than he did versus Notre Dame,’ Harris said’ ‘We shortened the field goals a little bit so it wouldn’t be a strain, and now he’s got to get it done. He’s got to do the technique that has proven for him to be successful. If he doesn’t, then the chances of being successful aren’t very good.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Harris added that there is a chance backup place-kicker. J.B. Gibboney may see some action if Abdul is not hitting the ball like Harris knows that he can.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers come home this weekend and will square off against the Syracuse Orangemen.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We’re good enough to get it done, ‘Harris said. ‘We’re just going to have to be more physical this week.’