As the NFL considers what punishment is deserving of the Titans' blatant violations of the league's COVID-19 protocols, Pitt prepares for its first road game by using other team's mistakes as examples of how fragile the team's bubble is to even the smallest of mistakes.
Pat Narduzzi even referenced the COVID-19 outbreak inside the White House as evidence to his players that everyone involved has to stay vigilant in following the team's protocols.
"You look at what happened with the White House, one guy gets it and the thing spreads," Narduzzi said on Thursday. "That's the scary part because all you need is one and all of a sudden it reaches out and the next guy gets it. So we need to keep being safe. We feel safe and we want to keep that. But also it's the city of Pittsburgh. As much as we all whine and complain that we don't have fans and all that, you have to get credit to the governor. He's just trying to keep everybody safe and not open it up and act like things are normal, because it's not normal."
Pitt gradually improved in its monitoring of COVID-19 and the involved protocols as its season continued. In its first game against Austin Peay, Pitt had seven players unable to participate due to COVID-19 complications. In the team's second game against Syracuse that number dropped to three players. In the team's last two against Louisville and North Carolina State have had zero players forced to miss the game because of COVID-19 complications.
When asked about the Titans' players who recklessly practiced at a high school field while they were supposed to be in quarantine, Narduzzi said that was another reminder of how selfishness can ruin a season for an entire team.
"Yeah that's an issue," Narduzzi said of the Titans' actions. "Our guys aren't at any high school fields that I know of. I'm knocking on my desk here but we don't have anyone in quarantine. We'll continue to do the right things. But it's a constant reminder. I'm the babysitting head coach. The details and accountability of doing it together is so important that we take care of our bubble. One bad move, one selfish move could get us in trouble and then we won't have a Thursday morning, we'll have to call the chancellor and it won't be fun anymore."
After playing four consecutive home games to start the season, Pitt now must prepare for its first road game against Boston College at 4 p.m. this Saturday at Alumni Stadium. The team plans to fly the morning of the game, stay in a hotel that will only have the team's players and staff, and take every precaution to make sure Pitt maintains its streak of having no players missing a game due to COVID-19.
"Not really," Narduzzi said when asked if he thought his players were worried about traveling for their first game during the pandemic. "I'm not concerned about it and I don't think our kids are either. Nobody's said they're not sure about getting on that plane. We've had none of that. Our kids feel safe and that's what's most important. We went through our times when we were on edge when someone tested positive. Ultimately, it's always a scary thing, but I haven't heard anybody worry about it since way back."
When the team gets to Boston, Narduzzi has instructed the players to treat every person they might encounter as if they've tested positive for COVID-19 and noted that even the people serving the team food are following the strict team protocols.
"Our kids feel safe, I feel safe, but there's always a threat out there," Narduzzi said. "I just tell them that everybody's got it. Just stay away from everybody. So we're going to be really safe about it. Nobody else is staying at our hotel except us. So when we go to meetings we won't bump into them. We're not going to get COVID-19 in a pre-game meal. The people who serve us are wearing gloves and masks and so are we. Only time we don't wear a mask is when we eat."
Combined with the test of the team's first road game is the challenge of rebounding from the team's first loss last weekend to N.C. State. Narduzzi said he feels confident his players are focused this week, but that no coach can ever be too sure about what's going on in their players' minds.
"I don't think so," Narduzzi said when asked if his players' confidence is down or losing last week. "You never know. Nobody's 100 percent sure. I'm not concerned about it and I don't think our kids are either. I've given up as a head coach in trying to evaluate their demeanor. The only thing I saw different was that they were locked in right away on Sunday. I feel really good about that because they were serious. Any time something hurts you try to ignore the pain. Other than that, there were days I thought they were flat and they killed somebody and there's others where I thought they were sky high and they came out flat."
"When you try to read feelings, it's really hard," Narduzzi continued. "You just don't know what's in their minds at times at any level. You can sit there for years and there's times at pre-game you feel they're not ready and you try to evaluate but you don't know. There's calms before the storm but sometimes you have no idea what's going to happen."
We'll get to see how focused his team is Saturday.
• Narduzzi acknowledged a significant reason why freshman running back Israel "Izzy" Abanikanda hasn't gotten a larger share of carries in the team's run game. Specifically it's because he still has to grow in his pass protection.
"Izzy, we want to put him in the game but only when it's a run," Narduzzi said. "When you're a tailback there's two major parts; Carry the football and protect the quarterback. If a tailback comes in and the defense knows he can only carry the football, defenses will pick on that. He's got to be sound in protection. Izzy would've got 10-20 more reps last week but he let Kenny [Pickett] get hit from a guy screaming through B-gap. We have to be sound in protection. We focused on that this week and we'd like to see improvement. Todd Sibley's done a great job there, I love that kid. He's done a great job on special teams and had a good week at tailback."
• Narduzzi offered praised to backup quarterback Nick Patti, who has been the team's scout quarterback in preparation for Boston College quarterback, and Pine Richland graduate, Phil Jurkovec. Jurkovec is a larger quarterback listed at 6-foot-5, 226 lbs. and is tough to bring down, which has led to the Panthers' live practices that allowed their defense to tackle Patti so they're prepared to face Jurkovec.
"Nick Patti has done an incredible job," Narduzzi said. "He's been our scout quarterback for the last few weeks. We got a lot of hard cadences from him and we've hit him. He's my scout team player of the week right now. Nick Patti's done an incredible job, he can move and can run, he's a leader. We have the right guy in that spot and that's always critical every week determining who's playing what on the scout team. He has gotten hit quite a few times."
Narduzzi further acknowledged the challenge Jurkovec presents as a moving target, saying his defense has to be prepared for extended plays and locking onto receivers when Jurkovec scrambles.
"When he scrambles we have to lock on," Narduzzi said. "We have to lock onto his receivers, whether it's your zone or your area, we have to force him to throw into very tight windows. Phil has an arm, he's a competitor and he's tough. He's the key of the game for our defense."
• Narduzzi maintained his stance on not opening up on the team's injuries, saying that no injury suffered by a player is too significant.
"Game time decision for everybody, even me," Narduzzi said. "My calf was a little sore last Saturday so we'll see if I can go. If somebody was really out, I would tell you. But nobody is like that, so we're good."
Whether or not that means if players like tight end Lucas Krull or Mike linebacker Wendell Davis are due back after missing multiple games, nobody can be sure. But the best guess is that those players do have injuries that have them sidelined and Narduzzi expects them back at some undefined point in the season.
• After Pitt suffered several pass interference penalties and Narduzzi openly complained about those calls and the lack of offensive pass interference calls against N.C. State, Narduzzi said his team has prepared for similar challenges this week but that he does plan to talk to the ACC officials before the game against Boston College.
"I'm going to ask the officials if they're going to call offensive pass interference," Narduzzi said. "And if they tell me they're not calling it, I'll tell them that our guys are going to push off too. So I may just have that conversation for the first time ever. I thought about asking, ' what are you guys calling today and what are you not calling?' But unfortunately I'm only talking to the referee, the umpire and the other guys are just going to do what they want to do out there."
Narduzzi offered further detail about how defensive backs coach Archie Collins is helping the Pitt secondary avoid being called for pass interference and the challenges of avoiding being pushed off against by opposing receivers.
"Teams will continue to exploit that," Narduzzi said of receivers being able to push off defensive backs. "I feel like we were pretty good in coverage. We'll see if we're successful and we've got coach Sanders teaching them how to keep watch for a 220 lbs. receiver doesn't just stiff-arm your shoulder and push off for a back-shoulder fade. It's tough to run with a guy and keep up with him while looking for the ball and then knock down his hands when he tries to push off. We've worked our tail off on it and we have to be better against it. But there's certainly no doubt that fades and posts will be thrown deep. I always feel that way when you have to stop something, you know they're coming and you have to face it."
Narduzzi also said that part of Pitt's cornerbacks performing better against deep passes involves winning at the line of scrimmage, noting the importance of knocking off the timing of routes between quarterbacks and their receivers.
"I've coached defenses for a long time and they'll always take shots at our corners," Narduzzi said. "People know how to dictate where people are. We know how to dictate Cover 1, which is something Boston College likes to run, that you have to take shots at those corners. But we have to win at the line of scrimmage. If you win at the line for the first ten yards, then you have a chance to win down the field. But if you just run with a guy at the line with no hands on and not making sure he has to run around you, then you'll have issues. We have to mess up the timing of the throw. They can be two yards open and you'll see an overthrown ball, but that doesn't mean it wasn't covered. That can still be great coverage because the cornerback won at the line and threw off the timing and that's why the pass was incomplete."