FC: Kenny Pickett bails on Peach Bowl….
- Thread starter Midnighter
- Start date
Piling on is not only permitted but encouraged.
According to some, he's the first QB to sit out a NY6 game. Not sure if that's true. I couldn't resist. I went to the Lair to see the reaction. It is decidedly mixed. Some approve. Some are angry, some are real angry. All will be forgiven when he's Big Ben's successor. 
I can't blame him one bit. It's time to get paid.
According to some, he's the first QB to sit out a NY6 game. Not sure if that's true. I couldn't resist. I went to the Lair to see the reaction. It is decidedly mixed. Some approve. Some are angry, some are real angry. All will be forgiven when he's Big Ben's successor.
I won’t mind one bit if any of our guys sit. But, I get it. Biggest season in years for Pitt and their star can’t be bothered. I’d be bummed, but ultimately, it is meaningless.
He's playing the most protected position on the field. He could at least go out there and play a couple of series conservatively then let the back up step in. Oh well, their loss! Great back to back mornings of college sports news!
He's playing the most protected position on the field. He could at least go out there and play a couple of series conservatively then let the back up step in. Oh well, their loss! Great back to back mornings of college sports news!
The birthday that never ends!
I agree that a non-CFP bowl game is meaningless for many of those ready to turn professional. And, for those in Pickett’s position it is purely a business decision. However, it’s still tough for a fan like me to get used to this new world.
Maybe Pickett got stage fright because he's never played in front of a stadium that was more than 1/4 full of warm bodies, (note, not fans, just warm bodies) at Heinz field. And they didn't promise him free beverages after the bowl game if he played the whole game.
Aren’t college players already getting paid? Just another reason to stop following college football - players have no heart.
Why should fans continue to support this garbage sport? My fervent hope is that schools will follow the University of Chicago example and start to realize it really isn’t worth it just to agitate a bag of wind.
I think he is concerned with putting a bad game on film. Michigan State is the best team Pitt has faced all year by a wide margin. The only ranked opponent they beat was the great Wake Forest. I think Pickett is overrated. He is a lot closer to Nate Peterman than to Dan Marino, I wouldn't want to hitch my teams wagon to him at the next level. He threw for 8 yards against Clemson and 55 yards against PSU, that is not NFL material. Even Hack didn't have games that bad in college.
The school and/or Pickett could take out an insurance policy. That has been done before. I personally feel he is not playing because he has hit his peak. A bad bowl game performance could only hurt his draft stock. Pitt is not a very good team, look at the level of competition they play. Only ranked win Wake Forest.
Smart move. The guy is headed to the NFL, he just came off of an electrifying performance in the ACC championship and he is ready to make the cash money! No reason to risk injury or a poor performance in a bowl game. Keep your stock high and make the bread in the NFL. I will say it again.... Pitt made the best out of their season. It may have been a cake schedule, and they may have only played in front of a total of 250K fans total the entre year (maybe), but they got done what they needed to do. Pitt fans should be enjoying every bit of what comes with a winning season and high caliber quarterback. Us on the other hand, the season has been a snooze fest. Seemed like another year of complete disorganization, lack of talent in a lot of different positions, poor game management, the same usual, etc. Grab your milk and blanky because I think next year we are in for story time again. Hopefully I'm wrong!
Great points, JoeBot. It would not surprise me if Narduzzi encouraged Pickett to not play. Narduzzi knows that this is the only game they will play all year against a non-glorified high school team. Narduzzi knows that even with Pickett, pitt will likely get slaughtered. Thus, he wants a good excuse when pitt gets beat 56 - 3. Now after the game Narduzzi can tear his clothes and weep, "it only we had Kenny."
Can not blame him might be a top 10 NFL pick. I bet Pickett would have not sat out a first round game @ND in a 12 team playoff- but who knows.
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Perfect fit for the Lions or Texans who's first round QB picks typically end up as career back ups or worse.
Don't think thats it. Remember he did play at the Beav. They still lost because Nardouchie is an idiot but he did play in front of a big crowd that day.
It was already being blamed for poor Pitt fan attendance - a week before he bailed
Has a QB this year had a bad game against MSU’s pass defense. Hell, playing against them might increase his draft position.
I get it. Meaningless for teams that are fixtures in the rankings. But for Pitt, which hasn't finished in the top 10 in 40 years, it means more. It would be a feather in Duzzy's cap to take the sorry a$$ recruits that he manages to convince to live in the slums of Oakland for 6 years to end up ranked in the top 10 in the final polls. And it would mean $$ for Pitt football as well. And might help Duzzy get a real P5 coaching job some day as well. Lots of potential losers by Picket not dancing around in the pocket for one last pitt game......
dooz has lost the locker room. First the offensive coordinator bailed. Now Pickett. Be right back.
dooz has got this.
dooz has got this.
You let me know the next time you're prepping for a $30 million job interview how you handled it. I have zero issues with anyone that does this. If your end game is to make it to the NFL and get selected as high as you can, you make the move right for you. The NFL will see this as a plus as it's someone looking to get better for them.
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For Pickett it really comes down to risk verses reward. Right now he’s projected around 27 in the draft. If he plays and has an outstanding game combined with a Pitt win he will move up to 19, maybe 18 in the draft. Is it worth the Risk?
I not only think it’s a setback for Pittsburgh, but for college football as a whole because in time this will render all bowl games (including playoffs and NC games) meaningless.
Some day a 26 year old Sargent is going to look at a Field Commander and say “sorry sir, but I have a 100k (starting pay) gig waiting for me in 11 months, so I will not participate in these very risky military exercises.”
My point, I know it’s a sport and there are big dollars at stake, but it’s also a slippery slope.
I not only think it’s a setback for Pittsburgh, but for college football as a whole because in time this will render all bowl games (including playoffs and NC games) meaningless.
Some day a 26 year old Sargent is going to look at a Field Commander and say “sorry sir, but I have a 100k (starting pay) gig waiting for me in 11 months, so I will not participate in these very risky military exercises.”
My point, I know it’s a sport and there are big dollars at stake, but it’s also a slippery slope.
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I don't think he's overrated and I think he would light up MSU pass defense. He can run too. He's come along way since we played them. You are right, the Clemson game was not good, but perhaps it was pretty early in the season. If you watch him, the game as really slowed down for him. Keep in mind, Pitt's run game is pretty bad. They were one dimensional and he had a lot of success.
These two things are not mutually exclusive:
1. Pickett is doing the right thing, a perfectly understandable thing, by skipping the bowl game.
2. For skipping the bowl game, Pickett is fair game for message board idiots (like yours truly) looking for cheap laughs.
I think back to what Saquon did in the Fiesta Bowl against Washington a few years ago (2018?). I think we can agree that Saquon could have/would have been more prone to injury given the position that he plays and the use that he got. Penn State was able to strike a balance by giving Saquon some reps/using his skills but not using him as they had during the season. It worked out okay. I think a QB, if he has the interests of the team in mind, could play some limited reps, help out, but not place himself in harm's way too much.
Pickett is doing the right thing for him…he doesn’t owe Pitt or their fans anything more. In four years starting for the panthers, he threw 81 TD passes…42 of those came this year. He peaked at the right time and is cashing in while he’s the hot ticket. I suspect he’ll have a decent pro career as a part-time starter / back-up (like a Teddy Bridgewater), but it doesn’t really matter what he does in the nfl…he has a chance to get paid now and set up his family for their future.
I suspect Pickett will go much higher than 27 or even 19. QB starved teams always get suckered into spending way too much draft capital on the position. Some GM will talk himself into taking KP (and/or others) way higher than he should simply because he’s a QB.
I agree with you. If New England goes deep in the playoffs or makes it to the Super Bowl with Mac Jones who I believe went 15th last year, your assessment of his draft placement is probably 100% accurate. Probably a top 5 Pick.
‘Forever a Pitt Man’ -
Maybe Pitt should offer him a free beverage if he stays until the end of the season.
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