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By Bill Contz
For the Mirror
PITTSBURGH -- Here in the Steel City two teams, one college and one pro, share the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex as their practice facility, a venue which lists Water Street as its address.
Based on recent performances from Pitt's Panthers and Pittsburgh's Steelers, local fans now openly question whether or not both clubs are taking on water.
Striking similarities exist between the two, and most are well, downright offensive.
Let's start with these team's offensive coordinators -- gents I'll refer to as the C&C boys -- the Panthers' Frank Cignetti Jr. and the Steelers' Matt Canada.
Each deploys an ineffective array of jet sweeps, short dump-offs and bootlegs which frankly, fool no one.
You have to wonder if these guys meet for early morning coffee in the facility's cafeteria to openly debate who is more responsible for underutilizing their existing personnel.
The "ick" sound is needed to pronounce both starting quarterbacks, Kenny Pickett and Phil Jurkovec, and fans have become accustomed to using that same "ick" sound as a descriptive for the play witnessed from both quarterbacks this season.
Recent opponents also offer up some similarities.
Pitt crossed the state line last weekend to visit West Virginia to rekindle what locals deem the Backyard Brawl, a rivalry game in name only between pedestrian local D-1 schools who now call different conferences home.
Some 48 hours later, Cleveland's Browns ventured west to visit Acrisure Stadium. Since both contests aired in prime time, viewers nationwide were treated to two of the worst offensive displays in recent memory.
Phil Jurkovec forever endeared himself with the Pitt faithful by calling them "pathetic" for booing during a loss to unranked Cincinnati. He then followed up that PR nightmare by completing 8-of-21 throws in what people now refer to as the meltdown in Morgantown.
With both teams calling Acrisure home. it's a "sure" bet fans will continue to express their displeasure regardless of Jurkovec's assertion if this inept offensive play continues,
And it's not like WVU and Cincinnati are locks to nail down a spot in this year's CFB playoff. Despite being a 7-point underdogs, the Bearcats, thanks largely to Jurkovec's 10-for-32 effort, dominated the contest.
Brimming with confidence. Cincy promptly returned home and dropped a 31-24 decision to Miami (native of the MAC conference, not the current ACC frontrunner).
Meanwhile, Canada's offense has helped the Steelers post 22:37 and 24:32 times of possession in their first two games (both at home, no less).
For an outfit that excelled in the meaningless preseason, it has averaged less than 10 points so far in 2023. Worse, the Steelers have failed to generate 400 yards of total offense in any of their previous 36 games. Oh, Canada.
The icing on that cake may have been the Steelers ran exactly zero plays inside the red zone versus the turnover-prone Browns.
I defy anyone to name any NFL club -- including expansion teams -- that ever accomplished that even during their inaugural seasons.
Better execution is absolutely needed from both Jurkovec and Pickett while the schemes the C&C boys dial up merit some very serious rethinking.
In a town known as "the city of bridges," hardcore football fans better be prepared for continued choppy waters.
Contz was a starting offensive tackle on Penn State's first national championship team in 1982 and played six NFL seasons with New Orleans and Cleveland. He published a book in 2017, "When the Lions Roared: Joe Paterno and One of College Football's Greatest Teams." He resides in Pittsburgh.