SB Nation Pittsburgh - Features

Pitt Is Better Off In The ACC, No Matter What Happens Next

2012-05-16T14:00:47Z

It doesn't matter if a school or two leaves the ACC. It's still a great fit for Pitt.

Quick. Sound the alarms. Time to panic. Expansionpalooza is happening again, and we're all doomed.

That's the sentiment you'll get while reading the message boards and Twitter this week. If you haven't heard by now, Florida State is possibly thinking about moving from the ACC to the Big 12.

The rumor has taken on a life of its own. Its origins are debatable, but a lot of the flame-fanning is being done by West Virginia fans on various message boards and blogs. In this day of social networking, a rumor and blog post can turn into a full-blown national story. FSU's Board of Trustees Chairman Andy Haggard made some pretty opinionated and inflammatory remarks regarding his school's place in the ACC. Even though most of his facts were wrong and the fire was seemingly extinguished by FSU's Athletic Director and President, the chatter refuses to die.

As Pitt fans, we're a naturally pessimistic bunch. Just when we get settled in a comfy new home, this happens. It seems like the Big East 2.0 is upon us. Woe is us! Fret not, Pitt fans. I'm here to provide you some logic and comfort. We're better off in the ACC, with or without FSU.

Now I don't believe FSU (or Clemson, because that is even more ridiculous thought) will leave the ACC. But if they were, the ACC is still a huge step up perception-wise for Pitt. While not even close to dominant in football, the potential for ACC teams like Miami, UNC, Virginia Tech, Clemson, and even North Carolina State is much higher than former C-USA schools Louisville, Cincinnati, and South Florida. The ability for the ACC to get back on the national radar is there. Would the Big East, or will the Big East, ever have that chance again? Doubtful.

The ACC also brings TV coverage and exposure unavailable in the Big East. The new contract with ESPN provides even more opportunity for Pitt to be seen in households across the nation. Surprisingly, the ACC also brings stability. Yes, the rumors are out there, but the core of the ACC isn't going anywhere. While a school or two may leave, the base and heart of the ACC is here to stay. I'm comfortable in stating that if the ACC is good enough for UNC, it is good enough for Pitt. Until then, just relax Pitt fans. A year ago the Big 12 was on the verge of collapse with Texas and Oklahoma looking west. What a difference a year makes. And how quickly we forget.

So Pitt fans, there's no need to worry. We're in good company. Better company. Company that isn't halfway across the country (ahem, WVU). Just remember, Pitt fans, in the words of the immortal Stuart Smalley, "We're good enough, we're smart enough, and doggone it, people like us!"

Questions Abound Heading Into Pitt's Football Season

2012-05-16T12:30:08Z

As the team prepares to head into the 2012 football season, several questions remain surrounding Pitt's football program.

How will Paul Chryst handle his first season as a head coach? Paul Chryst will have plenty of challenges in trying to get the team ready to play each week - that much we know. But what I'm interested in are the other things he'll be juggling for the first time. Chryst will need to handle recruiting players, take care of disciplinary issues, and deal with the media on a regular basis, among other things. As a coordinator at Wisconsin, these issues won't be new to him. But as the man in charge, he'll be managing each of those aspects for the first time -- all while trying to lead Pitt's gameday planning. Regardless of what type of an Xs and Os coach he turns out to be, the added pressure of being a head coach is something that shouldn't be taken lightly.

Ray Graham's return from injury. It's easy to forget that Graham is still going to be a bit of a question mark health-wise. He hasn't played a game since late October and while he should be ready for the start of the season, he was unable to participate this spring. Here's the thing -- even if Graham is ready for the team's opener against Youngstown State on September 1, it's quite possible he'll have to shed some rust first.

Will the team start slowly? Pitt's season doesn't start off all that slowly as in past seasons. After that aforementioned Youngstown State game, the Panthers have a big road conference game against Cincinnati followed by a game against Virginia Tech -- arguably the toughest team on their schedule. But that game against the Hokies isn't nearly as important as the one against the Bearcats. If the Panthers drop that first conference game to Cincinnati, they'll be behind early in the Big East standings.

How will Pitt handle their trio of running backs? Three running backs (Graham, sophomore Isaac Bennett, and incoming freshman Rushel Shell) are all expected to compete for time. If Chryst wanted to get creative, he could redshirt Bennett and play someone like Corey Davis or Malcolm Crockett as the third back. But if all three play, it will be interesting to see how the carries are split. Graham is the likely workhorse if he's healthy, but Shell and Bennett should get their fair share of attempts.

Aaron Donald's continued dominance? Donald was the surprise of the team on defense last year, racking up 11 huge sacks. Despite the new defense, though, he was playing with experienced defenders Myles Caragein, Chas Alecxih, and Brandon Lindsey. All three are gone and Donald will likely draw some double teams this season. Donald's talent isn't in question, but increased attention could mean he's slowed down a bit.

Tino, Tino, Tino. No Pitt preview would be complete without mentioning maligned quarterback Tino Sunseri. Most fans will agree that Sunseri should be better going back to the pro style offense after dealing with Todd Graham's quirky up-tempo style. However, there's no guarantee that he'll be successful or even adequate. I do believe Sunseri will rebound to have a good season, but that's far from a slam dunk.

For more on Pitt football, check out SB Nation's Pitt blog, Cardiac Hill.

Todd Haley's Rosetta Stone: What to Expect from the Steelers' Offense in 2012

2012-05-16T12:00:44Z

Steelers fans should expect constant three-wide sets and a heavy dose of Isaac Redman in 2012.

Ben Roethlisberger recently likened new offensive coordinator Todd Haley's playbook to the Rosetta Stone -- the ancient, hieroglyph-laden decree stone, not the software Michael Phelps used to learn 14 words in Mandarin.

Obviously, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is being hyperbolic. (And maybe he, like, just learned what the Rosetta Stone even was, what with his newly-acquired bachelor's degree endlessly publicized during pro football's insipid period of hibernation.) Learning a new offense isn't akin to deciphering some strange language that's been dead for centuries. But this does beg the question, what will the Steelers' offense look like in 2012? Here are a few things to expect.

The Steelers Will Live in '11 Personnel'

If Haley has proven anything, it's that he's not married to any particular offensive schemes.

As head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, Haley installed a power running game, working rushers Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones on the perimeter and in between the tackles, respectively. When the Chiefs threw, it was often off of play action; safe underneath routes to wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and then rookie tight end Tony Moeaki masked Matt Cassel's physical limitations, and the quarterback enjoyed a highly-efficient season behind a heroic, 1,400-yard effort from Charles.

With the Arizona Cardinals, however, Haley's attack was essentially a spread offense. Clearly, it doesn't take a football genius to figure out that with quarterback Kurt Warner and receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin on your roster, you throw the football. A lot. But still -- slot receiver Steve Breaston also eclipsed 1,000 yards under Haley, and Arizona's unrelenting deployment of three- and four-receiver sets kept opposing defenses in their sub packages, allowing Warner to consistently beat the blitz behind a deficient offensive line.

Haley isn't Mike Martz with the Chicago Bears -- he's not going to try to jam a square peg through a round hole. Instead, he'll likely field cater to Pittsburgh's personnel, meaning that the Steelers are going to live in 11 Personnel next year -- the base offense will be a singleback, three-wide set.

What's more, fans clamoring for a misguided return to the "Steelers football" of old are in for disappointment. In 2011, Pittsburgh's ratio of dropbacks to rushing attempts was about 3-to-2, and that won't change in the upcoming season. Your team has a top-shelf quarterback and a bunch of young receivers who can fly and embarrass people after the catch; they're going to throw the football.

Early reports suggest that Haley's offense will feature a lot of no-huddle, which Roethlisberger loves. So if a defense lines up in their base package on first down, anticipating the run despite Pittsburgh's 11 Personnel, expect the Steelers to initiate the hurry-up on the subsequent play -- maybe even split Heath Miller out in the slot, drop Roethlisberger back into the shotgun -- and exploit mismatches in zone coverage.

Isaac Redman Will Be Pittsburgh's Featured Back

Of course, none of this is to say that the Steelers are just going to stop running the ball. On the contrary, I think they'll improve in terms of efficiency, although perhaps not in terms of volume.

Including the playoffs, Pittsburgh averaged nearly 4.5 yards per carry last year. Not bad at all. However, excluding Rashard Mendenhall, who has always danced in the hole too much for my liking, that metric rockets up to almost five yards flat.

We haven't event talked yet about how much Pittsburgh's offensive line improved during the draft, which is basically Steelers blogger sacrilege. As I pointed out after the first round, the Steelers are obviously in love with their new mauler up front, Stanford guard David DeCastro:

If you need proof of how excited the Steelers war room must have been, look no further than the rapidity with which they turned in their pick after the Detroit Lions at No. 23. That was the single fastest pick I've seen in a decade, hands down.

Second-round tackle Mike Adams may not contribute right away, but center Maurkice Pouncey and second-year man Marcus Gilbert have yet to peak and should be improved. When you put the youngsters' collective upside together, this could be the most talented line the Steelers have fielded in nearly a decade.

The draft was also an enormous vote of confidence for halfback Isaac Redman, as Pittsburgh didn't select a runner until the third day. While Redman doesn't have Mendenhall's top gear or his first-round pedigree, he has been the statistically superior rusher over the past seasons (yes, yes -- it's a small sample size), averaging almost a full yard more per carry. What's more, he's a decisive, straight-line runner who can catch and pass protect, too.

If Mendenhall can't get back on the field, and Redman can touch the ball 200 times or more, the previously-undrafted back could break out and possibly play himself into a long-term contract with the Black & Gold. (Take note, fantasy owners.)

We'll translate more of this Rosetta Stone as training camp unfolds this summer. Position battles will reveal themselves (who else wants to play guard?), and preseason never fails to add some intrigue.

For now, though, I expect Todd Haley's offense to be balanced -- by 2012 standards -- and extremely effective. In fact, it could be the best we've seen from Steelers in years.

ACC/Big Ten Challenge Matchup Useless For Penn State

2012-05-15T10:00:32Z

The Nittany Lions draw the worst possible opponent for a supposedly marquee home date.

In a not-so-stunning development, ESPN announced Monday that Penn State will meet Boston College in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for a second year in a row.

Already, some intern in Bristol is probably writing up shot sheets for the entertainment conglomerate to inevitably brand the game between two 20-loss teams from a year ago as something along the lines of "a compelling rematch between a pair of plucky up-and-comers."

In real-world speak, that means "a ratings black hole so deep we're just going to regurgitate it and hope too few people saw the first time to realize it's a rematch."

So as the pair of F-Team announcers assigned to talk about this game for five minutes before ignoring it to drone on about Duke and North Carolina's draws in the Challenge (Ohio State and Indiana, respectively, if you haven't heard) practices different ways to say the Eagles will be looking for the ever-so-cliched "revenge" for their 62-54 defeat in Chestnut Hill last Nov. 30, let's call the event what it is for the Nittany Lions: useless.

To be fair, a lot of it's their own doing. When a team finishes tied for last place with a 4-14 Big Ten record, it has to expect it will be served a hearty helping of disrespect when it comes time for the suits to draw up the schedule. Any expectation that Penn State would get to host a program on the level of a Florida State or N.C. State let alone one from the blue-blood Tobacco Road duo was a pipe dream from the very start.

That said, the Challenge is supposed to help boost member schools' visibility and marketability by offering their schedules if not marquee matchups, at least somewhat compelling games to generate buzz on campus.

A 9-22 B.C. squad does nothing for State College, a town that has a hard enough time getting up for early-season hoops as it is.

Here's a look at teams from the bottom half of last year's ACC standings that Penn State could have faced if the TV executives had an ounce of creativity.

Clemson was 8-8 in the league and 16-15 overall. The Tigers and Lions have not met since 2005, when Clemson won a high-scoring 96-88 affair in State College.
Maryland was 6-10 in the league and 17-15 overall. When the Terrapins visited Happy Valley in 2010, they won in a 62-39 blowout. The game drew a solid crowd of 9,078 on a week night, though, and generated some testiness between the old Eastern rivals when the Twitter hashtag #MDhateweek took off among Penn State fans.
The frequently bubblicious Virginia Tech was 4-12 in conference last season and finished with a 16-17 record overall. The Hokies last visit to the Bryce Jordan Center in 2009 produced a 66-64 nail-biter of a VA Tech win and a rowdy crowd of 11,237.
Georgia Tech (11-20, 4-12) was Penn State's dance partner in 2008, when the Lions won an entertaining 85-83 decision in Atlanta.
Penn State has not faced Wake Forest (13-18, 4-12) in the Challenge and has seen the Demon Deacons just once since 1961.

Instead, the Lions draw the same dreadful team they won their only true road game of the entire season against, this time at home, where theoretically they'll have an even bigger edge. Even with the darkest tint of blue-and-white sunglasses possible, it's hard to distinguish a reason to get excited about this game.

And if you think that hurts fans, try talking to the excellent Penn State marketing team that will have to try and sell tickets to this snoozefest they've had forced into their laps.

Unfortunately, that's what happens when broadcast barons, not the schools themselves, get to make schedules. The network's bottom line is the only one that counts.

Pitt-Penn State Rivalry Not The Same Without Joe Paterno

2012-05-07T10:00:08Z

Conference affiliations and Joe Paterno's passing have changed the dynamic of a once-great in-state feud.

The future of the Pitt-Penn State football series wiggled its way back into the news cycle last week when new Nittany Lions coach Bill O'Brien told Scott Brown of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he'd like to see the game played on an annual basis after the two teams meet for a home-and-home deal in 2016 and 2017.

The schools have not met on the gridiron since 2000, when the Panthers downed the Lions 12-0 at Three Rivers Stadium, and ever since, media members, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ron Cook in this 2000 column, have chided former Penn State coach Joe Paterno for it.

Paterno will mention how Pitt betrayed him when it joined the Big East basketball conference in 1982 rather than join Penn State in an all-sports Eastern conference. He can't help himself. He has to mention it every Pitt-Penn State week ... [H]e is a small man when it comes to Pitt. It doesn't matter that Pitt didn't join the Big East until after Penn State had applied and been rejected. He blames Pitt for ruining his dream. That's his story and he's sticking to it.

"One of the most disappointing things in my life that happened at Penn State was that ... It was a bitter pill to swallow. I was disappointed. There's a little frustration on my part."

That's the only reason the Pitt-Penn State series is going on a long hiatus.

Of course, it's unwise to trust the opinion of one who talks in absolutes. Cook's narrow focus here and over the course of the last 12 years ignores the many obstacles both schools face in scheduling each other as members of different conferences that have nothing to do with the late Nittany Lions' leader, who passed away in January.

But Cook and Co. pounded away at that message for so long up until Paterno was fired on Nov. 9 in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, that by that point, Paterno had become Pitt's rival, far more so than Penn State at large.

Make no mistake. Pitt-Penn State was an excellent rivalry long before Paterno took the reigns at Penn State in 1966, and there have been plenty of unforgettable on-field moments that will always define it far more than one man.

The media's obsession with casting Paterno as an omnipotent villain, solely responsible for the series' suspension over the last decade-plus, however, has produced almost an entire generation far more familiar with Paterno's alleged refusal to continue the series than his participation in it.

Now, with Paterno gone, who on either side can generate the level of contempt from the other side necessary to fuel a spirited feud?

O'Brien can't. He hasn't pounded Pitt to the tune of 23-7-1 over the years and hasn't denied the Panthers a national championship, as Paterno did when he led the Lions to a 48-14 victory against No. 1 Pitt at Pitt Stadium in November of 1981.

New Pitt coach Paul Chryst can't, either. The former Wisconsin offensive coordinator is an enigma in central Pennsylvania, where gigantic names like Alabama's Nick Saban, Ohio State's Urban Meyer, Nebraska's Bo Pelini and Wisconsin's Bret Bielema roll through on a regular basis.

Without Paterno, the series is simply devoid of polarizing characters capable of stirring the pot.

Sure, proximity will always play a part in agitating both sides. Western Pennsylvania's loyalties will always be divided and competition for bragging rights will always get the blood going.

Times have changed, though. Given the choice between beating each other in what amounts to a mid-September exhibition and taking down a conference rival in late November with a conference title on the line, fans on both sides will take the latter in a heartbeat.

Paterno was the man who added the extra meaning to the rivalry after both schools' Eastern independent days ended in the early 1990s. Without him in the picture, there's little left to distinguish this in-state rivalry from any other.

NFL Draft Results: Pittsburgh Steelers Select David DeCastro, Let The Draft Come To Them

2012-04-27T03:32:04Z

The Pittsburgh Steelers let the draft come to them and snagged Stanford guard David DeCastro, one of its most talented players.

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Stanford guard David DeCastro with the 24th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

This is just another draft day slam dunk in a long line for general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin. After position runs on defensive backs and defensive linemen, DeCastro — the third offensive lineman selected after tackles Matt Kalil (No. 3) and Riley Reiff (no. 23) — was just sitting there at 24, low-hanging fruit for Pittsburgh to pluck.

Once again, the Steelers let the draft come to them, and it paid off big time.

DeCastro is a strong, athletic, nasty road-grader — one of the highest-graded talents at any position in this draft class. He has the potential to be Alan Faneca reincarnate, pancaking opposing defenders in the run game and excelling at stifling interior blitzes in pass protection.

Stanford's offense — a pro-style attack if there ever was one at the collegiate level — incorporated lots and lots of guard movement. This means pulling on counters and screen passes and relying on DeCastro's athleticism to engage linebackers and safeties at the second level. Can you imagine him working in tandem with center Maurkice Pouncey, another athletic big man on the inside? This is going to mean big things for Pittsburgh's attack going forward.

If you need proof of how excited the Steelers war room must have been, look no further than the rapidity with which they turned in their pick after the Detroit Lions at No. 23. That was the single fastest pick I've seen in a decade, hands down.

Make no mistake, Pittsburgh nabbed one of the most talented players in the draft at a position of need. DeCastro starts from day one. I expect him to line up opposite Ramon Foster at whichever guard spot he feels most comfortable, with Doug Legursky being the swing / interior backup.

It's a good day to be a Steelers fan.

Poll

What grade would you give the Steelers' first-round pick?

A

215 votes

B

15 votes

C

2 votes

D

1 votes

F

0 votes

233 votes | Poll has closed

Why It's Not Wrong To Criticize Marc-Andre Fleury For The Penguins' Elimination

2012-04-23T12:15:01Z

Yes, criticizing Marc-Andre Fleury for his performance against the Flyers can make you sound ignorant, but that doesn't make you wrong.

Seemingly every argument about Marc-Andre Fleury's performance in the 2012 NHL Playoffs has followed this pattern:

Fan: "Fleury has played really, really poorly in this Flyers series. He has to be better."

Media / Other Fan: "If you think Fleury is the Penguins' only problem in this series, you're crazy."

That's not a counterargument. Pointing out that Fleury wasn't the Penguins' only problem in their six-game elimination at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers is not a viable response to criticism of Fleury's play in this series. No rational Penguins fan would even begin to argue that Fleury was the Pens' only problem in the Flyers series, and to reiterate this fact in response to Fleury-criticism serves to merely state the obvious and deflect arguments from ignorant trolls whose blind Fleury blame doesn't actually merit a response.

Saying "Fleury wasn't the only problem" does not address the concerns of the rational majority of Penguins fans who have argued, with full knowledge of the Penguins' other glaring problems this postseason, that Fleury's play was also atrocious. Even if we take into account Fleury's calm two periods in Game 4 and a dominant third period in Game 5, his overall performance in the Flyers series was unacceptable by NHL goaltender standards, let alone by the standards of a supposed 'clutch' franchise goaltender making over $5 million a year.

Critiques of Fleury's play, no matter how rational, are frequently met with defensive responses from media members and fans hesitant to throw the Pens' goalie under the bus for a number of understandable, if fallacious, reasons. Here are the four main reasons why almost any criticism of Fleury (or any goalie) is met with instant skepticism from knowledgeable hockey people in a way that criticism of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or Kris Letang rarely inspires, and why these reasons are not valid defenses of Fleury's play:

1. The goalie's poor play is rarely a team's only problem. Goaltender success is often synonymous with a team's defensive performance (look at the St. Louis goalies' save percentages this year), and as we've already mentioned, this most certainly was the case in the Penguins/Flyers series. However, stating that Fleury wasn't "the only problem" is redundant and self-evident (can any one person truly be the sole cause of a series outcome, in any sport?), and this does not in any way alter the fact that Fleury's play was, independently of his subhuman defense, still roundly unacceptable.

2. Criticizing the goalie makes you sound like a 'beginner' hockey fan. Complaining about the goalie is tantamount to yelling at the Penguins to shoot more: it instantly makes you sound like a novice hockey fan who doesn't truly know what he/she is talking about. However, that doesn't alter the fact that sometimes the goalie does play poorly, and sometimes the Penguins do need to shoot more. Just because these arguments seem overly-basic and happen to overlap with the rallying cries of frustrated casual fans doesn't instantly invalidate them when they are obviously true. I myself often hesitate to argue that the Penguins need to shoot more even in games when it's clearly the case, simply because yelling "Shoot it!" makes you sound like that drunk mulleted dude in your Consol balcony section whose understanding of hockey consists of nothing beyond spilling his drink when the Penguins miss one pass on a power play. In our self-conscious desires to avoid making these arguments and risk seeming ignorant about the sport, we sometimes ironically allow ourselves to overlook extremely evident truths, such as Fleury's noticeably terrible series.

3. Players and coaches never criticize the goalie. This is an unwritten rule followed throughout hockey at any level, essentially from Mites on up. Basically, skaters and coaches all understand how hard the goalie's job is, they understand how their own play affects the goalie's, and deep down, everyone's secretly thankful that someone else is in goal. It's the same reason why goalies can usually join intramural teams for free; goalies are always in demand and always automatically respected because no one wants to have that job, and understandably so, given the goalie's uniquely conspicuous ability to affect the outcome of a game.

As a result, players and coaches will almost never publicly blame a goalie no matter how poorly they perform (good luck finding any Penguins player saying one negative word about Fleury's performance in these playoffs.) This doesn't mean that goalies should be automatically absolved from blame; on the contrary, the fact that players and coaches will never blame their goalies is all the more reason to disregard their comments when evaluating a goaltender's performance. Of course Dan Bylsma is going to say he has full confidence in Fleury, because no coach in the NHL would say anything else about their goalie, ever (except for the ultra-rare instance of John Tortorella on the Lightning saying it was time for John Grahame to "Make a f***ing save," a comment so rare as to be historically memorable).

We aren't Penguins players or coaches, and we don't have to worry about an unwritten hockey code or about our teammate's confidence when evaluating Fleury's performance. We can judge his performance as dispassionate, objective observers, and by any estimation, both statistical and in a straight-up visual sense, Fleury performed horrendously in the Flyers series. Post-game comments from Fleury's teammates should not convince us otherwise, because, again, no one ever publicly criticizes their goalie.

4. Expectations for goaltenders in the NHL are at an all-time high. Goaltending in the NHL leaguewide has arguably never been better than it is right now, and as a result, expectations for goaltenders are at an all-time high. As we've stated several times, people have deflected blame from Fleury's atrocious .834 save percentage and 4.63 GAA by citing the Penguins' wholly-incompetent team defense against the Flyers, and pointing out the all-too-frequent occurrences where goals just simply "weren't Fleury's fault." This notion isn't untrue in a vacuum, but look around the rest of the playoffs and you'll see superhuman performances by Craig Anderson (stopped 41 of 41 shots in Ottawa's Game 5 win at Madison Square Garden), Pekka Rinne (allowed three goals on 84 shots in the Predators' Game 3 and 4 wins over Detroit), Jonathan Quick (stopped 87 of 89 shots in the Kings' Game 2 and 3 wins over No. 1-seeded Vancouver), and even playoff newcomer Braden Holtby (.946 SV% though five games against the defending-champion Bruins).

Certainly no goalie's defense in these playoffs has abandoned them quite like Fleury's, and the SV% statistic often functions at the whim of the quality of the shots in question, but still, the difference between the aforementioned goaltenders' performances and that of the supposedly-clutch, franchise goaltender Fleury is so unbelievably staggering, it leaves almost no room for interpretation. Yes, many of the goals Fleury allowed weren't "his fault," but elite goaltenders league-wide frequently stop shots that wouldn't have been "their fault" if they'd gone in. No one would've blamed Craig Anderson if he'd allowed two or three goals in that Rangers game, but he didn't, and as a result, he almost single-handedly willed the Senators to that crucial victory with virtually no offensive support.

Obviously, expecting Fleury to post shutouts or even a 90+ SV% behind the Penguins' defense this series would've been unreasonable, but even taking into account the poor defense, Fleury consistently failed to make exemplary saves that elite-performing goalies in the NHL Playoffs make with moderate regularity. Plus, given the Penguins' offensive output and the Flyers' own defensive deficiencies this series, there's no telling what an additional one or two big saves might've done in the Penguins' losses; simply subtracting a goal or two from the final scores and saying "The Pens would've lost anyway" is fallacious, since it assumes that the outcome would've played out exactly the same regardless of the score, it fails to take into account the Penguins' team confidence & momentum, and it disregards the Flyers' ability to play a more defensive system when they have a bigger lead (though this only noticeably occurred in Game 6).

The bottom line is, we can criticize Fleury's performance in the Flyers series without absolving the Penguins' defense, without sounding like a whiny, ignorant fan, and without starting some giant meta-debate about Fleury's "clutchness" or the Penguins' ability to move forward with him as their franchise goalie. We know Fleury can play better because we've seen Fleury play better all season long, and numerous times in the past. We know the Penguins can win a Cup with Fleury as their goaltender because they literally won a Cup with Fleury as their goaltender. But none of this changes the fact that Marc-Andre Fleury simply didn't play well enough in the Penguins' series against the Flyers, and if we're going to shower him with well-earned praise for his fantastic third-period performance in Game 5, we absolutely cannot ignore his inconceivably poor performance throughout the rest of the series.

Fleury didn't initiate the Pens' collapse against the Flyers, but he also did little to nothing to prevent it, and given the unprecedented state of elite goaltending in the NHL these days, his performance as a supposedly franchise goaltender was unacceptable. Sure, that drunk mulleted dude who knows nothing might scream the same thing (in his own words), but that doesn't make you both wrong.

After Playoff Exit Against Flyers, The 2012 Penguins Will Be Remembered As A Failure

2012-04-23T12:01:09Z

The Penguins failed in the playoffs, and no one person is to blame. The team will face tough decisions this offseason.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have lost in the playoffs before. 24 times, to be exact. It will happen again. However, this year's team won't be remembered like other teams that bowed out early in the playoffs. This team is different that the team that lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning last year, the team that lost to the New Jersey Devils in 2001, or the one that lost to the Montreal Canadiens in 1998. This team will be remembered for its failures. It will be remember like the 1993 team that lost to David Volek and Islanders. Maybe it reminds you of the team that lost to the miracle Florida Panthers in 1996. What did those teams have in common? Promise.

This Penguins team had the chance to be something truly special. Evgeni Malkin's MVP season went to waste. Sidney Crosby was finally healthy and ready to compete for another Stanley Cup. James Neal had a breakout season and hit the 40-goal mark. Players like Jordan Staal, Pascal Dupuis, and Chris Kunitz had career seasons. Marc-Andre Fleury posted a career high in wins. This Penguins team was talented and stacked. And it failed.

Crosby and Malkin were not the $8.7 million centers they normally are during this series. Give a lot of credit to the Flyers, especially Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux. Speaking of Giroux, I hope Pittsburgh fans get used to the kid, because he's a true star. Staal did his best to carry the Pens, but poor defensive play, netminding, and discipline were the downfall of this team. What's that you say? Chris Kunitz just took another dumb penalty? Shocking!

A lot of people will blame coaching, as they always do. A lot of people will blame the goalie, as they always do. A lot of people will blame Paul Martin. However, the blame cannot be placed on just one aspect of the Pens' game. That's probably the most frustrating thing about the Penguins' elimination. The entire team, from top to bottom, failed in one way or another. The long offseason will allow time for reflection and adjustments. The Jordan Staal contract situation should be interesting, as will the current makeup of the defensive corps. Paul Martin was virtually a healthy scratch the last two games. And it would be unfair of me to neglect mentioning the play of Simon Despres and Brian Strait. Those guys played brilliantly in tough situations. Dan Bylsma put a lot of faith in them for both Games 5 and 6. That might be the one positive to take away from this series.

I doubt Ray Shero will make any major changes. Disco Dan is here to stay. So is Marc-Andre Fleury. However, the Penguins may need to adjust their defense and style of play, because it looks like the Flyers are here to stay as well, with a roster just as talented as that of the Pens. Maybe that was the problem all along: the Flyers are just a better team. We have a whole offseason to stew on that thought.