3 players to watch for Louisville football & Pittsburgh this weekend

Louisville football – Malik Cunningham

Malik Cunningham being an important player? Geez, anything else you want to say “Captain Obvious”?

Every week Louisville takes the field, Cunningham is going to be one of, if not the most important players on the field for Scott Satterfield. This week will be no different.

However, when going up against a defense that currently ranks no. 1 in rush defense, no. 3 in total defense, no. 4 in sacks, no. 5 in total passing efficiency  defense, no. 2 in turnovers forced and no. 1 in tackles for loss, Cunningham’s play will become that much more important to Louisville’s chances of winning.

That means that the mistakes Cunningham was guilty of making against Miami can’t rear their ugly heads or else they’ll come against a defense capable of taking advantage of them. My hope is that Satterfield will come out with an aggressive game plan that looks to use the speed advantage he has on offense to connect on big plays down the field. That wasn’t the case against Miami, but could and should be against Pittsburgh.

Cunningham has shown the ability to connect on plays down field at a high level as well as an improved ability to throw accurately on the run, both of which are very encouraging signs for the offense. If protection is there, Cunningham should be able to sit back and hit his receivers all day long – but it’ll be what he does under pressure that defines his impact on the game.

Protecting the football will be key no. 1, followed closely by making accurate throws and not forcing things just because there are players in his face. I expect a lot of designed roll outs with players in motion in attempt to keep Pittsburgh guessing, and if the offensive line can give Cunningham time to look down field he should be able to connect with his trio of receivers.

Cunningham will need to get the ball out of his hand quickly, whether that be in the pocket or out, not force throws or take sacks unnecessarily (aka, get rid of the ball), and trust what his eyes see downfield.

Pittsburgh – Paris Ford & Damar Hamlin

So picking two players to watch isn’t how this works technically, but when talking about Pittsburgh you can’t not include Paris Ford. And when you talk about Ford you can’t not mention his partner in crime Damar Hamlin.

Louisville’s in for arguably their toughest test of the Satterfield era when it comes to dealing with Ford and Hamlin, both of whom will be playing on Sunday’s before long.

Ford can cover, has great eyes and is a very disciplined and sound play, is a nasty hitter has great pursuit, and is a turnover machine. Whether it be playing the passing game or coming up in run support, Ford is everything and more you could ask for.

I expect to see him play in run support a lot this weekend, especially considering how important Javian Hawkins will be for Louisville, as well as follow around Tutu Atwell attempting to keep him from breaking big plays.

Dealing with Ford will be tough enough, but when you add in Hamlin it becomes that much more of a challenge for Scott Satterfield. While Hamlin isn’t quite the player that Ford is in run coverage, he’s a more than solid tackler and is great at bringing down players in the open field. Where he thrives mostly is playing in pass coverage in three and four receiver sets.

Hamlin finished the 2019 season with 10 credited pass breakups and one interception, showing just how dangerous he can be. I expect to see Narduzzi line him up on Atwell and Braden Smith on multiple occasions.

These guys are going to be lurking for interceptions on Saturday, and with nine combined over their careers, they’ll be more than capable of taking advantage of any Cunningham slip ups.