It's fitting that East Carolina is celebrating the
50th anniversary of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium this season. At a school
steeped in passing tradition, we could be witnessing the best
quarterback-receiver battery in the program’s history.
Continuity between the two clearly is a factor in
their production.
“It’s experience, and not having the quarterback
battle like we had (last year) has helped us out a lot,” Hardy said.
“I’m not necessarily going to say that he looks for me, but we know
each other. I know that if he puts the ball out there, I’m going to
catch it.
"That’s
the faith that he’s got in me. We have trust and faith in each
other, and that helps out a lot.”
So does the fact that Carden doesn’t have to lock in
on Hardy each play. Carden completed passes to ten different
receivers, making it impossible for ODU to key on Hardy.
Carden
finished Saturday with an ECU single-game record 447 yards.
The lack of receiver depth had become a worry after
the dismissals of Jabril Solomon and Justin Jones from the team, but
that concern, at least for the time being, can be put to rest.
Junior Danny Webster registered one of his best games
ever in an ECU uniform, hauling in eight passes for 79 yards and a
score. He also demonstrated that he is more than just a possession
receiver who can move the chains.
Senior Reese Wiggins also looks more dependable than
in years past, and newcomers Davon Grayson, Cam Worthy, and Isaiah
Jones each look like capable options.
“People were worried about our receiver depth,”
Pirates coach Ruffin McNeill said. “I thought we answered that
tonight. We feel good about our receiving corps.”
Given the good mix of experience and youth here, this
group should only improve as the season progresses.
It would be an understatement to say that linebacker
Ty Holmes’ 26-yard touchdown rumble off a fumble recovery to open
the second half was the differentiator in the Pirates’ victory
Saturday.
Given the way the ECU defense was otherwise playing,
it was the equivalent of a 14-point swing — the difference when the
final cannon fired.
“That was a big play,” safety Damon Magazu said.
“That really sparked the entire team, not just the defense, and got
the whole team rolling together. He comes up with big plays when we
need them.”
It was the type of play that you thought might swing
the momentum in the Pirates’ favor for good. And for a moment it
looked like it would.
On the ensuing possession, the ECU defense stiffened
for the first two plays, only to let Monarchs quarterback Taylor
Heinicke scramble for 15 yards on 3rd and 10. It shattered any brief
momentum the ECU defense had and returned the game to track meet
status.
It also prevented the Pirates from putting the
Monarchs away early.
One of the overlooked details of ECU’s win Saturday
was the play of its special teams. Though only one game into the
2013 season, it’s clear that coordinator Kirk Doll has constructed a
very tight unit.
It certainly doesn’t hurt that place kicker Warren
Harvey and punter Trent Tignor both are back. They provided great
height and depth on their kicks, enabling the Pirates’ coverage
units to corral the Monarchs’ return specialists.
As a result, ODU’s best starting position was its own
35-yard line.
The only glitches Saturday were a 41-yard field goal
attempt that Harvey pulled left and a kickoff that he sailed out of
bounds. But given how this kicking tandem operated, there doesn’t
appear to be much that needs fixing here.
It’s hard to find much fault in an offense that
racked up nearly 500 yards and 45 points. But the Pirates' inability
to manifest much of a ground attack could be cause for concern.
Some of that can be attributed to the fact that ECU
didn’t make much of an attempt to do so. Of the Pirates’ 76
offensive plays, 17 were designed runs, the type of imbalance that
will hurt them against more talented defenses.
Even when ECU did try to run the ball, it didn’t find
much room to operate. Returning 1,000-yard rusher Tay Cooper
averaged only 3.2 yards per rush while carrying it only 12 times.
Neither statistic is ideal.
One of the catalysts to East Carolina’s offensive
surge last year was coordinator Lincoln Riley’s development of a
running game. It kept opponents off balance and made the Pirates
more difficult to defend.
There’s nothing wrong with employing a pass-first
mentality, especially in this age of the spread offense. But the
ability to complement that philosophy with a solid running game is
generally a necessity to go far, regardless of classification or
conference.