Pitt : Pitt Seeks Solutions to Stopping BC's Dual-threat QB Murphy

Pitt seeks solutions to stopping BC's dual-threat QB Murphy
By Jerry DiPaola
http://triblive.com/sports/college/p...#axzz3CIItOYJk

The quarterback takes the snap from center, fakes a handoff (or maybe a pitchout) and slips a feeble tackle attempt by a confused defensive lineman.
Here comes the linebacker, but the fake worked. He's not sure who's handling the football.
The next thing you know, it's a first down. Or worse, a touchdown.
Quarterbacks have had similar success against Pitt the past two seasons, and Friday night against Boston College, another challenge awaits.
Eagles quarterback Tyler Murphy rushed for 118 yards (9.1 yards per carry) and threw for 173 yards Saturday against Massachusetts. He looks like a candidate to add his name to the list of dual-threat quarterbacks who have antagonized the Panthers in recent years.
Two have run for 100-plus yards (Cincinnati's Munchie Legaux and Duke's Brandon Connette). Four totaled seven touchdowns last season.
Boston College coach Steve Addazio tutored the poster boy for running quarterbacks when he was Tim Tebow's offensive coordinator at Florida. He knows why they can be dangerous.
“Here's how I like to phrase it,” Addazio said. “A thrower that can run, as opposed to just a runner that can throw. I think that helps you, if nothing else, immensely on third down.”
A running quarterback can throw a cloud of uncertainty over the defense.
“The minute you implement quarterback runs,” he said, “on defense, you no longer can get the extra hat (defender). That's the beauty of the QB run. In a conventional, two-back run game, you are always fighting the extra defender, the eighth defender, the seventh defender, the ninth defender. Whatever set you're in.
“When a quarterback can run, that takes that away.”
Pitt also should know this: Addazio will draw up designed runs for Murphy, but he also might order him to throw.
“There's nothing better than a drop-back, pinpoint passer, either,” he said.
The antidote is a defense with speed, something Pitt lacked two years ago when Notre Dame's Everett Golson ran for 74 yards, plus the game-tying 2-point conversion that sent the game into overtime.
Pitt appears to have a better mix of speed and experience on defense this season, with senior linebackers Anthony Gonzalez (a former quarterback) and Todd Thomas (a former wide receiver). Backup linebackers Bam Bradley and Nicholas Grigsby, who play in special packages, also run well.
Whether that translates into greater success has yet to be determined.
“We haven't been tested yet,” coach Paul Chryst said. “We certainly will be this Friday night.”
Chryst said he and his staff addressed the issue, but he also won't over-complicate it.
“You have to play disciplined,” he said, “and you have to get to the football.”
Pitt hopes, finally, it is better equipped to do that.
Note: Chryst said he hasn't asked Tyler Boyd about the amount of pain he is experiencing from his dislocated pinky. “And I won't,” he said. Chryst said the injury might be “inconvenient” for Boyd, but he has been practicing with “good energy.” He also said Boyd will return punts.