View from the East Thursday, October 11, 2012 By Al Myatt

Pirates seek grasp of elusive momentum

By Al Myatt
©2012 Bonesville.net
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East Carolina has had a long week to contemplate a 40-20 loss at Central Florida. The Pirates got out to a 14-0 lead in the Thursday night encounter with the Knights. After a 75-yard touchdown drive and a 76-yard scoring pass from Shane Carden to Justin Hardy on the first two possessions, ECU led 14-0.

Then UCF made a U-turn with the game's momentum on a 99-yard kickoff return by Quincy McDuffie and the Pirates never quite recovered. The outcome dropped ECU to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in Conference USA. The course of the loss to the Knights has influenced the Pirates' preparation and thinking going into a Homecoming matchup with Memphis at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

"Getting back on the winning track is important," ECU coach Ruffin McNeill said Wednesday morning. "Making sure we learn from the Central Florida game about momentum and keeping it and if we lose it, get it back. Making sure all three sides (offense, defense and special teams) understand that they work together. ... They all depend on one another."

Some personnel adjustments apparently have been made on coverage teams. ECU also had a kick returned for a score in the Texas-El Paso game although it came with the Pirates safely ahead and didn't impact the outcome to the same degree.

McNeill advocates an attacking mentality that also applies to coverage teams.

"Be the hammer, not the nail," cites the ECU coach.

McNeill said the Pirates have had good practices getting ready to face a Tigers team that got its first win, 14-10, over Rice last week. Memphis is under the direction of first-year coach Justin Fuente.

The loss at UCF will have some value if ECU learns something from it. The Pirates appear to have an easier schedule in the league for the remainder of the season compared to the Knights. UCF hosts a Southern Miss team which has yet to play like a traditional Golden Eagles team. UCF also must make trips to Marshall, UTEP and Tulsa. ECU has Marshall at home, has already beaten the Miners at home and does not play the Golden Hurricane (5-1) during the regular season.

"There's a lot of football to be played," McNeill said after the loss in Orlando.

The second half of the 2012 schedule appears much more manageable than the first half, but the Pirates will have to do a better job of controlling the elusive quality of momentum than they did in the short week following the home win over UTEP.

Four of ECU's last six games are at home and the combined record of the two teams the Pirates will face on the road, UAB and Tulane, is currently 1-9.

Homecoming special for Ruff

ECU is 47-10 in homecoming games since 1955 and has won six straight of the alumni gatherings.

McNeill remembers homecomings from his playing days as a Pirate strong safety in the late 1970s.

"My parents (Ruffin Sr. and Bonnie) coming up (from Lumberton) and bringing food for my roommate, Charlie Carter, and I," McNeill said. "They always seemed to enjoy it. They came to every game I played and even away games, they would travel. They'd leave school on Friday and travel to where we were. My dad's coming up. It's always a festive environment. Parents and the festive environment. It was the same feeling."

McNeill's mother passed away in 2007 when he was at Texas Tech.

"My mom was the rock and my dad, everybody knows how I feel about him," McNeill said. "It was very tough on us when we lost mom. Those memories always come back. The positive memories come back. When I'm walking or during a game I always wear (Mom) on my sweatband so she's there in my heart, in my memory and spirit. She's there watching over the Pirates."

Watching film

It takes McNeill two to three hours to watch a game tape even though the time between plays is edited out in the versions he sees.

He may spend five to six minutes watching one play from different angles as he looks for tendencies from individual players.

"I run it back and forth to see if I can see something that will help the offensive or defensive staff," said the Pirates coach.

He watches film from practice with the same degree of scrutiny.

"I run it back each time to watch each guy," he said. "I may watch each guy a couple of times. It takes a while."

I remember seeing Frank Orgel, an assistant in the Pat Dye era, doing the same thing with a film projector sitting at a desk in the football office and projecting the image on a wall. Orgel sat about two feet from the images in the darkened room.

No wonder he wore glasses. The technology has improved significantly.

The story goes that Dye once had to cut a postgame radio interview short after a comeback victory so he could find Orgel, his college teammate at Georgia.

"I've got to go find my defensive coordinator," Dye said. "I fired him during the game and I've got to hire him back."

Davis with unbeaten Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are 5-0 and although rookie quarterback Dominique Davis from ECU hasn't thrown a pass, his presence in the NFL helps the Pirates with recruiting.

"It does," McNeill confirmed. "Even the guys who were here before the current staff — Chris Johnson, C.J. Wilson, Linval Joseph. Big Steve (Baker) is still on the roster with the Cardinals and Dwayne (Harris, Cowboys). Those guys are still hanging in there. It always helps (recruiting) because the kids have their dream of playing in the NFL. We talk about academics and getting a degree but you also have to let them know that they have the same chance of going to the next level as anyone else."

McNeill permits NFL scouts to observe a portion of practice every other week. They are also allowed to evaluate film.

Different diets during delay

A story on Yahoo Sports revealed that UTEP coach Mike Price bought barbecue for his players from a girl scout booth at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium during the 80-minute weather delay in a 28-18 ECU win over the Miners on Sept. 29. Price said he had gotten his players turkey legs one time during a delay in a game at New Mexico State.

"We got some UTEP money into the Greenville economy," said McNeill with a chuckle. "Mike is one of those guys who will do things out of the ordinary. I got a kick out of that."

The Pirates got some fortification, too.

"We had some energy bars that Coach (Jeff) Connors had," McNeill said. "We had some bananas that we normally have at halftime for energy. We had some Powerades, trying to make sure we were hydrated. We didn't get barbecue sandwiches."

ECU's cuisine may have been more effective under the circumstances as the Pirates put up 21 decisive points after the delay.

Recruiting objectives

The Pirates staff put in some time on the recruiting trail after the Thursday night game at UCF before reconvening with the players on Sunday night to get ready for Memphis.

"We're always trying to replenish and stack the offensive and defensive lines," McNeill said. "We're making headway there. With the defense being a 3-4, linebackers are a premium. Also, finding DBs who can cover on the back end. Offensively, we're always trying to get a running back. We try to make sure we keep speed at the wideout position. You always have to sign a quarterback in this offense."

Birthday a working day

Tuesday marked McNeill's 54th birthday.

"Practice, work," he said of how he spent the occasion. "It seems I'm always working because it's always during the season. I spent some time with Erlene (wife). I watched Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai. I watched it by myself. I'm a big movie buff. I love watching movies. ... I had some leftover spaghetti."

Maybe the Pirates can get their coach a belated birthday gift, a momentous win over Memphis.

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