NFL Pittsburgh Football

To go along with Louisville's 2006 Big East Football Championship, and a nifty pair of Big East Golf Championships, Louisville is also this years winner in the 2007 NLF Draft among Big East teams. The Cardinals were able to land four players on NFL teams in this years draft. They were followed by Pittsburgh and Rutgers with three each, Syracuse and Cincinnati with two each, South Florida and Connecticut each had one player drafted, and dammit I'm missing someone here. Let's see....oh yeah, West Virginia with zero players drafted. Ugh!

Another sign that the Big East is crawling out of obscurity, this was the first year since 2004 that the Big East had two players drafted in the first round. The 16 players drafted this year also compares favorably to 11 Big East players being drafted in the 2006 NFL Draft.

Next years draft should consume more high profile players from the Big East with the likes of Brian Brohm, Steve Slaton, Mario Urrutia, and Pat White all eligible.

Previously at the Fanhouse:

West Virginia Shut Out in the 2007 Draft
College Eye for the NFL Guy: Dan Mozes
College Eye for the NFL Guy: Brandon Myles
College Eye for the NFL Guy: Brian Leonard
College Eye for the NFL Guy: Tanard Jackson
College Eye for the NFL Guy: Darrelle Revis

NFL scouts think they know him, but they're wrong...

Darrelle Revis, cornerback, Pitt

WHAT NFL SCOUTS ARE SAYING

ESPN.com ($): "A tall, well-built cornerback with impressive athleticism for his size. He is instinctive and does a great job of reading opposing quarterbacks' eyes. Displays better than average ball skills. Shows toughness and aggressiveness in press coverage. Fills hard versus the run and has developed into a reliable open-field tackler... Lacks elite quick-twitch athleticism. His hips are fluid but he doesn't display ideal lateral quickness. He will struggle to match-up one-on-one versus NFL's quicker and faster wide receivers... He displays adequate man-to-man cover skills but we feel he's better suited to play in a zone-heavy defensive scheme."

The Sporting News Pro Football Draft Guide: "Must improve his technique. Often uses a sidepedal instead of a straight backpedal and struggles to transition out of it without losing steps."

Pro Football Weekly 2007 Draft Guide: "A good-sized, physical press corner in the same mold of Patriots S Eugine Wilson, Revis might turn out to be a better safety than corner with the way he likes to hit."

PROBABLY GETTING DRAFTED

Middle of the first round according to just about every projection. Somewhere in the 15-23 range. The Sporting News is the only publication to put him (late) in the second round.

GUY WHO WATCHED HIM FOR THREE YEARS SAYS

Until he agreed to leave his position as Baltimore Ravens Offensive Coordinator, Matt Cavanaugh was widely reviled in Baltimore and the scapegoat for the never ending offensive struggles of the Ravens (well, not by all). Cavanaugh landed on his feet to be the offensive coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh under his old friend, boss and fellow Pitt alum Dave Wannstedt.

Cavanaugh's first year as Pitt OC didn't exactly vindicate himself. The Pitt offense which had been a high scoring group the year before struggled mightily and QB Tyler Palko had a horrible year under Cavanaugh. It looked like a lot of the complaints against Cavanaugh were valid.

The only thing holding out right vilification was that the Ravens still didn't make much progress on offense under new OC Jim Fassel. Of course progress appeared to be made and a lot of the struggle were excused for learning a different system and the player talent issue.

The Ravens, even after spending money on the offense, including bringing in Steve McNair, has looked almost like it has the last few years regardless of the OC.

This year, Pitt's offense is significantly improved. Tyler Palko is one of the most efficient passers in the NCAA and all facets of the offense are much better then last year. Scoring, red zone efficiency, passing, running, blocking, receiving, and O-line are all improved. Matt Cavanaugh, while not taking credit for these things directly, is clearly involved in causing the improvements.

Hmm. The constant has been Ravens' HC Brian Billick. A fact that hasn't escaped Billick, and realizing that the focus and blame was increasingly falling on him decided to fire Jim Fassel. The action can only be described as a power struggle that has descended to a "He said. He said" battle of who meddled, interfered and sought more power. Billick as the head coach ultimately won the battle, and now takes control and direct blame responsibility for the offense.

Now, I'm sure Matt Cavanaugh won't say a word against Billick. He won't say, "I told you so." He won't do anything publicly. I do imagine, though, he is laughing just a bit. In private. At home. With the curtains drawn.

Wanny would make the late Steve Irwin proud.

In 2002, then-Dolphins Head Coach Dave Wannstedt hung a lobster trap in Miami's locker room to remind the team about a "trap" game.

The Dolphins were playing Minnesota that week but faced arch rival New England the week after.

Well, the lobster trap didn't work. Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss torched the Dolphins defense and Miami lost. Fans and media caught wind of the lobster trap in the locker room and ridiculed Wanny relentlessly for it.

The infamous "lobster trap" game became just one of many Dave Wannstedt jokes.

Fast forward four years.

Dave Wannstedt is now the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh and the Panthers faced UCF last night in a "trap" game.

Yup. You guessed it.

A mouse trap was hung on a wall in Pitt's locker room and a sign next to it read, "Don't fall into the trap."

I would hate to see if Pitt played a AA school like Appalachian State or someone of the sort. What would Wanny put in Pitt's locker room?

A bear trap? How about one of those nets that hang from a tree like you see in cartoons and pirate movies?

I have to hand it to Wanny, though, because the mouse trap worked. Pitt beat UCF 52-7.

A rumored trade went down today as the SF 49ers sent Kevan Barlow to the NY/NJ Jets for a draft pick to be named later. Jets RB Curtis Martin (Pitt '95) has been on the "physically unable to perform" list. Barlow (Pitt '01) was losing his starting job in SF to Frank Gore.

While it's hard to label a RB drafted in the 3d round a bust, there is some sense that Barlow was something of an underachiever for the '49ers. Not to mention a malcontent and fingerpointer at others for not suceceding to the level expected.

Both Barlow and Martin are natives of Pittsburgh and used football as their escape from abject poverty and violence. Both were also arguably underappreciated during their time at Pitt. Barlow was the last 1000 yard rusher at Pitt and the last Pitt player to rush for more than 200 yards in a game (272 yards versus WVU in 2000). Curtis Martin was the 6th leading rusher at Pitt all-time (2643 yards in a 3 year career).