Pitt's defensive front is still the best element of the team after falling to 3-2 in its 31-30 loss to Boston College on Saturday. We've seen how the secondary has struggled for Pitt, but it's the Panthers' defensive front that can mask those problems during games against good quarterbacks.
After only registering two sacks against N.C. State at Heinz Field two Saturdays ago, Pitt recorded six sacks on Phil Jurkovec at Alumni Stadium on Saturday. Those sacks were the most assertive Pitt's defense was in the entire game, as Boston College never scored on any drive when it was sacked.
Patrick Jones, a defensive captain, recorded three sacks in the game, bringing his season total seven. That's the best in the country with the next closest player at 5.5 sacks. Part of what defensive line coach Charlie Partridge said has led to that kind of production is how serious Jones takes each practice, film session and team meeting.
"He's really serious," Partridge said Tuesday of how Jones treats practices and sessions throughout the week. "A lot of guys are looser in meeting time and have fun with each other. And that's fine, our meeting rooms are designed so that we can have a lot of back and forth and conversations. But when things get off track, I can count on Patrick to shut things down before it becomes a distraction. He's extremely serious, he wants to be coached, he's fun to be around and he's operating at a really high level for his own personal development."
Jones corroborated that message by saying that attitude is something he's developed since joining the team.
"It's something I developed by being here," Jones said on Tuesday. "I try to focus on my craft every day. When I come here I take it seriously like a job and that's something I profess to other people. That's how you should always take the game. If you do, that's how you get a bigger paycheck later."
Part of how Jones studies to improve his game is by watching the edge rushers who make the bigger paychecks in the NFL.
"I watch so many people," Jones said. "I watch film all the time to get my moves from players like T.J. Watt. You can see the best pass rushers in the other rooms here at this facility and it's the opportunity of a lifetime. I tune into Chandler Jones a lot. He's a great ball player. Him and T.J. Watt are my favorites."
Jones isn't alone in learning from the Steelers, as Partridge mentioned how he and other Pitt coaches would have conversations with Mike Tomlin about how the Steelers work to get more one-on-one pass rushing opportunities for Watt and company.
"It's interesting to get a chance to spend some time with coach Tomlin and talk some scheme about their favorite pass rush schemes," Partridge said. "One of things he said was that he does everything to get Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree their one-on-one opportunities. When you have multiple guys like that, and like we have Jones and Rashad Weaver where they can produce, it makes it fun. And even in the secondary, there were things we were doing on the back end that forced them to hold the ball and allowed Weaver to come in and just take the ball away."
Weaver has also been a major contributor for the Panthers' pass rush with 4.5 sacks, tied for fifth most in the country. Having him and Jones firing off the edge together is a challenge that helps with team schematics and gives more opportunities for Jones to get one-on-one matchups and play like he's in the zone.
"There are so many factors where he'll get into the zone," Partridge said of how Jones can lock into an intense focus during games. "Sometimes it's the offense passing more or how many one-on-ones he's getting. That happens with Weaver on the other side and our inside guys pressing the pocket. It gets harder to double-team him. There's no doubt he gets into a zone. It's a combination of a lot of factors but it's a combination of a lot of factors. On any given game we see what they do and the schematics, and how much production he gets will vary. But the level is play is really exciting because he has a lot of room to grow."
As Pitt searches for answers to rebound after back-to-back losses by a single point, Jones sees urgency among his teammates as a good sign for how they'll work at their craft moving forward.
"It's actually been pretty positive because guys realize we have to pick it up," Jones said when asked how the team has reacted to their recent losses. "I'd say we're acting with a sense of urgency trying to get back on our feet because we know how big this week is."
Now as the Panthers prepare to face No. 13 Miami, they know that urgency is important. Especially when preparing up front to attack and contain the Hurricanes' athletic quarterback, D'Eriq King.
"It's going to be a challenge just how every ACC opponent is going to be a challenge," Jones said when asked about preparing to face King. "You have to treat every opponent with the utmost respect. Of course King's a ball players so we have to bring our A-game." "That's something we'll have to be on and keep him contained."
• Pitt had a stat adjustment to its Boston College box score as it was originally credited with five sacks and Tuesday was adjusted to six sacks. This accounted for a missed sack by linebacker SirVocea Dennis, bringing the team total to 25 on the season, the most of any team in FBS football.
The total also brings Dennis, who was the ACC linebacker of the week, to two sacks on the year. That's third best on the team, but it also brings his tackles for loss to 6.5 on the season, also good for third best on the Panthers. That also means he's tied for sixth in the country, as both Jones and Weaver are tied for fourth with seven tackles for loss.