By Denny O'Brien
©2009 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.

With the World Series settled, there was no major sports television competition for East Carolina and Virginia Tech last Thursday night. It was an opportunity for the Pirates to grab some major attention both at home and abroad.

Despite the 16-3 victory for the Hokies, all was not lost for the Pirates. While the product on the field wasn’t the most attractive ECU has offered, the stage on which it was featured was second to none.

Here are some postmortem musings from the much-anticipated Thursday night showdown — some good, some bad:

—— The pregame atmosphere inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was as electric as ever. Most of the students were in their seats a solid 45 minutes prior to kickoff, and their self-organized blackout was a solid success.

Thankfully very few followed through with the notion of pushing Halloween back several days and dressing as pirates. Just imagine the media ridicule if the stands were filled with Jack Sparrows.

The crowd was loud and proud for much of the first quarter until the ECU offense — not Virginia Tech — put the fans to sleep the rest of the way.

—— The midfield and helmet logos were resounding hits in the sometimes cynical press box. If either is removed in the foreseeable future, it would be a huge marketing mistake. Both logos are highly distinguishable from anyone in the country, and keeping both permanent could generate an opportunity for ECU to haul in some major merchandising money.

You won’t find anyone in the country sporting a Jolly Roger on their headgear — and you have to think it’s a hit with recruits. It’s a significant upgrade from from the florescent mustard lettering that usually adorns ECU’s helmets.

—— It’s time for East Carolina to Goodwill those Grimace suits. The solid purple duds aren't exactly the coolest in college football, and are too simple to a fault. Save for the helmets, ECU looked grossly underdressed compared to Virginia Tech and its stylish throwbacks.

—— With any loss in college athletics, it’s natural to point fingers at the individuals who are paid to deliver results. Certainly some of that occurred in the stands Thursday night, but against the 22nd-ranked Hokies, the ECU staff put the Pirates in positions to make plays.

Had the players executed on the opportunities that the staff generated, they’d be sitting at 6-3 today. The turnovers and costly penalties — whether the calls were bad or not — were hardly attributable to the coaches. ECU’s players also must do a better job of overcoming the adversity when they feel shafted by calls.

—— Speaking of penalties, you have to wonder how long it took Virginia Tech left tackle Ed Wang to get the purple threading out of his fingernails? They remained implanted in C.J. Wilson’s jersey for much of the game, and he never got whistled for holding. Perhaps this partially explains Wilson’s low sack totals for the season.

There is an old adage about offensive line play that if you ain’t holding, you ain’t trying. Wang sure was trying Thursday night.

—— While the coaching staff does deserve credit for a superb game plan, there was at least one head-scratching decision made: the four consecutive runs from Dwayne Harris from the Wildcat formation. For ECU to maximize its success out of that set — especially against a good defense — at some point it must demonstrate an interest in letting Harris throw it.

—— The defense received a lot of praise following the game, and you truthfully do have to credit it for keeping the Pirates within striking distance. The secondary played its best game of the year and didn’t allow the Hokies anything over the top. That said, it’s hard to overlook ECU’s tackling shortcomings, which have been an issue at times this season. On one occasion, running back Ryan Williams broke three tackles in the backfield and dashed for a 46-yard gain.

—— Darryl Freeney is the best pure receiver on the ECU roster. He has the speed to get behind the defense, the athletic ability to make leaping catches in traffic, and consistently hauls in passes with his hands instead of his body. And he always seems open. Getting the ball into his mitts will be key for the Pirates down the stretch.

—— While it’s shortsighted to blame all of ECU’s offensive woes on quarterback Patrick Pinkney, it’s clear that he is responsible for some of them. That was true Thursday night. There were opportunities for Pinkney to make plays in the passing game, but he misfired by overthrowing intended targets on several occasions.

When receivers get separation from defenders, Pinkney must consistently prove that he can hit the mark. If not, defensive coordinators will stack the box and force the Pirates to beat them left-handed. That’s not the desired scenario for ECU down the stretch.