By
Denny O'Brien
©2011 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
With much of East
Carolina’s two-deep chart returning next fall, it’s no stretch to
predict the Pirates’ return to the postseason.
Most of the defense is
back, which should translate into another step forward there. And if the
defensive staff can find suitable replacements in the secondary, the
Pirates could return to the caliber of defense that carried the program
to consecutive Conference USA titles in 2008 and 2009.
The offense is slightly
different story.
With Dominique Davis
departing, the Pirates are nearly back to square one at the quarterback
position. He takes with him 25 games of starting experience in ECU’s
spread offense, and his leadership is an intangible that everyone within
the locker room unanimously insists the Pirates will miss.
Regardless of who breaks
the huddle in East Carolina’s opener, he will be making his first career
college start.
His success would be
greatly aided by a more reliable running game. That’s an area in which
the Pirates struggled throughout the season, and it even forced the
staff to give a recruited tight end a decent load of carries down the
stretch.
Without a reliable running
game, opposing defenses are likely to adopt Marshall’s defensive
blueprint for containing the ECU spread. On Saturday, Marshall’s game
plan literally was to send a herd after Davis on nearly every play.
“They did a great job all
year,” Pirates Coach Ruffin McNeill said of Marshall’s pass rush. “They
were the first team to bring pressure against us last year. They are
doing a great job with it. They do it out of odd man fronts and out of
even man fronts. They brought a lot of pressure and blended in coverages
very well.
"I thought they had a very
good game plan and baited us into some throws.”
If the Pirates can’t find
more consistency between the tackles next fall, more of that is certain
to come. And a relatively green quarterback without the support of a
capable rushing attack is the perfect recipe for turnovers.
With a long off-season
ahead, the Pirates’ most immediate challenges are two-fold. Finding a
quarterback and developing a running game should top the priority list.
Big kicks
Michael Barbour’s 57-yard
field goal in the second quarter was the longest in Joan C. Edwards
Stadium history. That was until he nailed one from 58 yards with time
expiring in the 2nd quarter to give the Pirates a 20-17 halftime lead.
Barbour’s 58-yard boot
tied the ECU all-time record held by Jeff Heath.
Following the game,
McNeill said he felt good about Barbour kicking from long range when the
Pirates were moving towards the locker rooms.
“We felt going toward the
field house, with the wind, he was good from the 50-plus range,” McNeill
said. “We determine that in pregame.
“We know on the opposite
end, we knew he was good from the 30-yard line. What I go by is yard
lines. Get the ball to the 30. But going towards the field house, we
felt from the 40 in, he was good.”
Barbour missed later from
52 yards, noting that he got his foot a little too far under the ball.
Red zone threat
The return of receiver
Justin Jones has been a fruitful one. Over the past two games, Jones has
produced four touchdown receptions, including all three TDs against
Marshall Saturday.
All four scores occurred
from close range.
“You see the last two
games what Justin would have meant to us all season,” McNeill said.
“Justin has been one of those guys who we counted on being a primary
weapon for us offensively.
“It wasn’t a good year for
him. He had knee surgery and then wrist surgery after that. Then he had
to get back into the swing of it. These last two games, you see what
Justin brings to the table for our quarterbacks.”
Jones’ presence has been a
missing element to the Pirates’ red zone package for most of the season.
His return to the lineup certainly paid dividends there.