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Pantherlair publisher Chris Peak and I had this discussion the other day -- this training camp has flew by. I can't believe it is already over, but it is and the Panthers are now just a few days from being in "game week" mode. Wednesday is Pitt's first practice of Utah week, which means, the season is actually going to begin. In fact, as I sit here and type I am in the press box at Heinz Field watching the team go through a practice prior to FanFest tonight.

Again, I just don't know what happened to the past three weeks but sure enough, training camp is over so let's look at what we know about the Panthers now as compared to a few weeks ago:

** Tino Sunseri will be just fine at quarterback. I don’t think anybody expects him to be the second coming of Dan Marino, nor does he need to be. All he needs to be is competent and make good decisions and he is more than capable of doing that. He started camp very strong then tailed off but the past few days he seems to have picked it up a little bit. Again, the number one question I get is about quarterback and my answer has not changed based on anything I’ve seen in training camp – Tino Sunseri is good enough to give the Panthers a chance to win.

** The offensive line is not going to be great and may not even been good. I’m not sure what that means though, because like Sunseri, if the line is just competent, the Panthers will have a chance. I have some real concerns about the interior of the line, however, as the one thing that seemed clear to me was near the end of camp when the defensive line really turned up the heat, the offensive line couldn’t handle it. The defense really dominated the offense the past few days at camp during live work – and mostly because the offensive line couldn’t handle the heat. I know, I know, I’ve heard the spin – Pitt’s defensive line is excellent so it is not fair to judge the offensive line because a lot of teams will struggle with Pitt’s defensive line. Two things on that – this was a defensive line WITHOUT Greg Romeus and with Jabaal Sheard playing limited snaps and two, I’m think the defensive lines of Utah and Miami will be pretty darn good. In short, I think the offensive line, to quote the head coach, is a “work in progress” but I’m not sure how high the upside is with that unit. Alex Karabin and Greg Gaskins deserve a lot of credit for how hard they worked to earn those spots – but again, working hard, being a great student, doing all the right things, being a good teammate, those things are all nice and very admirable. However, the only thing people really need to know about those two is can they block someone when it really matters and to me, it is without a doubt still the biggest question facing this team as the season begins.

** Even scarier than the questions about the starters on the offensive line is this – where is the depth?  If ever there was a team that needed to be extremely lucky with injuries at a position this is it. As much as we talk about some of the limitations of Alex Karabin – he’s like Mike Webster compared to whoever the second-team center is right now. I would assume it would be Jack Lippert, but he has a long, long way to go before he is ready to play that position at a level high enough to give Pitt a chance. And while Gaskins has been somewhat inconsistent, he’s never even been challenged by Ryan Turnley during camp, not even a little bit. I’m not sure what that says about what the coaching staff thinks about Turnley’s ability to help this year, though he appears to be the first lineman off the bench if someone gets hurt. Beyond those two – what happens if Jason Pinkston goes down or for that matter Lucas Nix? I’m not sure we really want to find out, so again this is a very precarious situation. The best I can tell is that the offensive line really needs to stay healthy because if there are any significant injuries.  

** The defense should be dominant. It really should. I had a lot of questions about the secondary and even the linebacker corps but Ricky Gary and Tristan Roberts have filled in and plugged holes nicely and Antwuan Reed is, I think poised to have a pretty big year. But beyond that, a huge development has been that Dan Mason looks to me like he is ready to be the next great middle linebacker at Pitt. And not just a playmaker who makes a zillion tackles, but a guy who will set the tone by knocking somebody from the other team out with a big hit. He’s an emotional player, a bit of a trash talker and a guy who lays it on the line every play – he is exactly what the doctor ordered to take this defense to the next level. One other guy who really can play is Myles Caragein, who, along with Jabaal Sheard, was among the best two players at camp. I also think the Chas Alecxih is going to surprise people with his production. He is a lot better player than most people know and always seems to be in the right place at the right time. We’ve talked a lot about defense ever since Dave Wannstedt arrived but I really think this unit has a chance to become one of the best in recent Pitt history.
** All told, I see an 8-4, or perhaps 9-3 team that goes to a decent bowl game. If it wins nine, that would make three regular seasons in a row of nine wins. That means the program is clearly on solid footing and in great shape and headed in the right direction. But the words “next level” were used when Dave Wannstedt was hired and while the program is better now than it was at the end of the Walt Harris era, I’m not sure that it has reached the next level yet given some of the concerns this team has with regards to depth at certain positions.

** The weather is looking bleak for FanFest as th sky jjust fell out and it is pouring down rain. In fact, the rain is coming so hard and the wind is blowing that it appears as if the rain is hitting horizontally. But fear not – if you are coming to FanFest you won’t get wet as there is a very large tent set up on the patio under the scoreboard with all the tables set up and there is also the Great Hall, which is under the grandstand, so there are plenty of places for players and coaches to sign autographs and stay dry.

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