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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate Notebook
No. 21
Monday, October 29, 2001
By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist |
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©2001 Bonesville.net
Pirates Buy Into Logan's
Sales Pitch
Since joining Conference USA in 1997, the league hasn't had a better
spokesman than East Carolina head coach Steve Logan.
And if the Pirates' ten-year head coach ever decides to hang up the
headsets, he might consider a career in sales. Or better yet, he could keep
those headsets and make a living as one of those pesky telemarketers.
After all, Logan does possess many of the necessary qualities.
Relentless. Knows the product. Effectively redundant.
Three games into the 2001 conference slate, Logan seems to have sold his
players on the importance of C-USA football. Accordingly, this year's group
bought into conference play well before the season began.
"Our football players are zeroed in on Conference USA," Logan said. "I
can assure you of that. They have been since last spring."
"It has been a hot topic more so than any other time since we've been in
the conference. This is new waters for us, and new waters for our
university. We need to keep pursuing it at the rate we are, because it is
anybody's ballgame right now."
Junior H-back Richard Alston certainly seems focused on winning a
conference title. The Warrenton native has put up his biggest numbers to
date against conference foes, and notes that the Pirates are a different
team when matched against a league rival.
"It's a different look in this team's eye when we get ready to play a
conference team," Alston said. "That has been our goal the whole time — to
win the conference this year. The guys definitely want it."
It has become a different theme this season for East Carolina, which has
made its name by slaying the out-of-conference big boys, such as Miami,
Syracuse, and West Virginia. The Pirates have a disappointing 1-3
non-conference record, featuring gut-wrenching losses to Syracuse and North
Carolina, both of which currently rank in the Top 25.
But instead of dwelling on the consecutive road losses to the Orangemen
and Heels, the Pirates have reeled off back-to-back conference victories,
and are in excellent position to mount a title run.
"I think a lot of the fans were down after we lost some out of conference
games, and we were heartbroken, too," said junior place kicker Kevin Miller.
"But the number one thing that has kept us going is that we still control
our own destiny in Conference USA.
"It's not going to be an easy road the rest of the way, but we're
starting to play better and better every week. I think that if we take it
one day at a time, then we've got a good shot at winning the conference. And
that's what we are all about — winning the conference."
It is almost as if the Pirates are riding down a similar path taken by
Southern Miss in years past. Senior quarterback David Garrard made that
correlation following the Pirates' 32-11 win over Memphis.
"I think we're doing the whole Southern Miss thing when they came out and
played all of the non-conference games and they were losing them all,"
Garrard said. "Then, when they would get to the conference games, they would
just roll through them."
In addition to selling his team on C-USA, Logan seems to be making an
impact on the fans. Traditionally, the Pirate faithful have filled
Dowdy-Ficklen only for big non-conference showdowns with ACC or Big East
neighbors — like N.C. State or Virginia Tech.
That is a trend that shows signs of slowly, but surely changing. Against
Memphis, the Pirates drew over 38,000, which is the 11th best crowd in
stadium history.
"I hope that there can be some excitement appreciated and generated, and
I'm hoping that is what we are seeing," Logan said. "You know, 38-40,000 for
a Conference USA game should be a routine event here at East Carolina, and
that is what is beginning to happen."
Logan hopes that fans are starting to grasp the prospects of winning a
conference title. Though the Pirates have yet to capture that elusive first
C-USA crown, this season seems to be their best shot yet.
"It's been quite some time since a conference championship of any kind
has been won in this state — not just East Carolina, but anywhere," Logan
said. "Right now we're certainly in the thick of it."
If the Pirates continue to take it one game at a time, churning out
efforts like the one against Memphis, they will be hard to beat down the
stretch.
"We're ready to go into the conference further and just keep winning to
get this conference championship," Garrard added.
The Pirates will have a chance to take one more step tomorrow night when
they travel to TCU.
The Treaty of Bristol
Barely halfway through the first year of a multi-season contract, we can
already declare a winner in the pact between Conference USA and ESPN.
Back in January, it appeared that everybody would benefit from the
agreement, but thus far, ESPN seems to be the one reaping all the benefits.
It should come as no surprise that C-USA has taken a back seat to the BCS
leagues, which have flooded the much desired Saturday time slots. With the
exception of a few non-conference tilts, C-USA has been strategically
delegated to Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday matchups.
That's a small price to pay for ESPN, which desperately wanted to secure
the rights to the league's basketball games.
Instead of being a part of a Saturday football smorgasbord, C-USA has
become a diversion for channel surfers trying to avoid flopping sitcoms such
as Emeril. And since America seems to have recited each episode of Sports
Century by heart, ESPN was more than happy to make room for the fifth-year
league during the work week, filling three solid hours of vacant programming
space.
Though Fox Sports Net didn't have the marketing push that Disney provides
ESPN, C-USA's former network certainly put on a decent show. Pregame and
halftime analysis surrounded the game at hand, not an upcoming Big 12 or
PAC-10 matchup that was weeks in the making.
Fox went out of its way to make C-USA feel at home, providing the league
with the much desired 3:30 showcase each Saturday, and even put its top dogs
in the booth. Joel Meyers and Trevor Matich did a bang-up job calling the
action.
ESPN, on the other hand, gives even its middle tier commentators the
night off when C-USA tees it up. With the exception of ECU's matchup with
Louisville, don't expect the likes of Tirico, Herbstreit, and Corso to make
their mark on league broadcasts.
But then again, that could be a good thing.
The latest straw came when ESPN bumped the Pirates' Thanksgiving Friday
matchup with Southern Miss up to 11 AM, which will have a noticeable affect
on the game's attendance. Pirate fans historically have shown the inability
to find their way to Greenville at times of inconvenience. This would
certainly qualify.
At least the NCHSAA's Charlie Adams is happy. He has been the biggest
opponent of Friday night college football from the get-go. Now, Clinton,
Richmond County, and Douglas Byrd can all expect full houses for their
respective playoff matchups.
Yeah, it certainly seems like everybody wins in this whole
ESPN-Conference USA deal. Everybody except C-USA.
Quieting the Critics
Five games into his senior season, much of the media had written off
David Garrard. After two consecutive weeks of near-perfect football, the
naysayers might want to re-think their assessments.
Since a sub-par performance at North Carolina, which would have been
better had his receivers held on to numerous catchable balls, Garrard has
connected on 32 of his last 42 passes for 441 yards, with two touchdowns
against no interceptions.
But it isn't the numbers that are most impressive — it is the manner in
which Garrard has produced them.
Against Army, Garrard made noticeable strides in his decision-making
abilities. The Durham senior checked most of the plays at the line of
scrimmage, and was extremely accurate, making but one ill-advised throw.
In the Pirates last outing against Memphis, a 20-25 completions-attempts
effort, Garrard again audibled all afternoon while showing enough poise in
the pocket to find his third and fourth options consistently.
In fact, Garrard's star shined so brightly on the Pirates' picture
perfect Homecoming stage that Logan remarked that the effort was perhaps his
protégé's best yet.
"David (Garrard) may have played one of the very best games he's ever
played," Logan said. "He checked our entire offense probably 70-something
snaps at the line of scrimmage.
"I don't recall a play where I was disappointed in his decision. It was
really fun to watch. It is just an amazing thing when a kid grabs a hold of
this offense, what can be done. Right now, he's got a pretty good grip on
it."
Even Garrard, humble by nature, took satisfaction in the performance.
"I'm kind of quieting the people out there that don't think I can make
the right reads," he said.
That criticism has been replaced by a severe case of slackjaw.
Dangerous Holder
Against Memphis, Garrard added another item to an already extensive menu
of duties. With holder William Craft unable to play for personal reasons,
Garrard has stepped in to fill the void.
The move certainly gives opposing coaches extra cause for concern, what
with C-USA's most dangerous run-pass threat now playing on special teams.
Logan certainly likes the prospects, asserting that the Pirates now have a
serious shot at pulling off a fake.
"When David's in there, our fake game becomes legitimate," Logan said.
"We're going to put in a couple of things in down the stretch for David to
handle."
With the indelible memory ECU's 1995 win at Southern Miss still fresh in
the minds of many, Pirate fans will attest that a fake field goal could mean
the difference in going to the Liberty Bowl, or staying home.
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02/23/2007 01:41:27 AM
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