NEW ORLEANS — The retention of quality assistants is
a critical element to any program’s long-term success. Retaining
Lincoln Riley as its offensive coordinator is looking paramount for
East Carolina’s near future.
If you had to select one individual within the program
who improved the most during the course of 2012, it would have to be the
Pirates’ offensive boss. He has successfully evolved the offense beyond
his Texas Tech Air Raid roots, thanks to a strong commitment to the run.
In
Saturday’s R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl,
Riley demonstrated more playbook creativity with a multitude of
formations. The diamond backfield introduced a new wrinkle to the ECU
offense, and it also helped get the Pirates back on track after a slow
start Saturday.
When Pirates head coach Ruffin McNeill announced that
Riley would be his offensive coordinator, it was a fairly big gamble for
numerous reasons. His age, inexperience as a program’s chief play
caller, and exposure to only one offensive system were fairly big risks
on which to pin a program’s future.
After many ups and downs over the past three years, the
decision is looking to be a shrewd one. Much of that can be attributed
to Riley’s willingness to expand the playbook to best utilize his
personnel’s strengths.
Tight ends, for example, had a very limited, if any, role
within Mike Leach’s pass-heavy operation in Lubbock. And about the only
time you saw a quarterback tuck and run was amid heavy pressure.
Not only does Riley leverage the tight ends he inherited,
he’ll utilize two of them for max protection sets. The read option and
quarterback draw also have become a critical piece of an offensive
system that is much less predictable than when Riley and his offensive
lieutenants arrived.
Has some of East Carolina’s offensive success been the
product of the mostly miserable defenses it faced during the second half
of the season? Absolutely. But dismissing the Pirates’ offensive strides
because of the opponents they faced is short-sighted.
If Riley hadn’t adjusted the offensive approach to
include new formations, more play-action, and to utilize quarterback
Shane Carden’s legs, chances are ECU would have lost one or more of the
games it narrowly won.
After the first third of the season, Riley faced mounting
criticism after his offense struggled to get off the ground. His
response is one of the reasons ECU finished with eight wins this fall.
Spark plug
The value of having at least two capable running backs
can’t be overstated. East Carolina demonstrated that Saturday.
With starter Vintavious Cooper struggling to find holes
early, Riley turned to backup Reggie Bullock, who responded with 104
yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. He provided the Pirates with a
needed spark that helped them close an early 28-7 gap.
“I thought Reggie was back in form,” McNeill said. “He’s
missed some games because of injuries the last two years, but whenever
he’s played, he’s been productive. He got on a roll tonight, and I think
that’s why Lincoln (Riley) was staying with ‘Reg’.
"He
earned the reps and did a good job. He took the ball all night long and
ran well and blocked well. He really had a good night.”
Though he ended his ECU career on a personal high note,
it’s unfortunate that his career was shortened by injury. Bullock proved
again Saturday that, when healthy, he added an explosive dimension to
the Pirates’ running game.
Costly drops
There’s no debating that East Carolina’s defense had a
hand in Saturday’s bowl loss. A really big one.
But perhaps the Pirates would have overcome their
defensive shortcomings if their receivers had been a little more
sure-handed. Two drops in particular proved critical to the game’s
outcome.
The first came when Reese Wiggins dropped a sure
touchdown deep over the middle with no defender in site. The second
occurred when Jabril Soloman dropped a potential one in single coverage
in the red zone.
Several other bobbles derailed drives and extinguished
the Pirates’ offensive momentum.
“Our guys generally make routine catches,” McNeill said.
“Shane did a great job of delivering the football. A lot of things may
have been off given the timing of the game. It was a pretty exciting
game, but those drops were unusual for our receiving corps.”
Though the Pirates were successful moving the ball
against the Cajuns’ defense, they were unable to sustain any consistent
rhythm. Dropped passes were a huge reason why.