Bonesville: The Authoritative Independent Voice of East Carolina

News & Features from ECU, the AAC and Beyond

  • Home
  • News & Features
  • Recruiting
  • Photos
  • Audio
  • Roundup
  • Comments
  • Legacy Archives

• ECU 2022 Football Schedule
• ECU 2022-23 Hoops Schedule
• ECU 2023 Baseball Schedule

— Recruiting Thumbnails —
Football: 2023 • Hoops: 2023-24

Insights from Brett: Pirates find silver lining in adverse situation

October 13, 2016 By Brett Friedlander Leave a Comment

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

The decision was a no-brainer, really.

Considering the loss of life, property and electricity throughout Eastern North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Matthew and the threat of further devastation from rivers and lakes that are still in the process of rising, there was no way ECU could have — or should have — played its home football game against Navy on Thursday.

But then, even the most obvious courses of action aren’t always taken when money and a certain four-lettered television network are involved. Just ask the ACC, which despite deplorable conditions caused by a killer storm bombarding our state, decided to risk the safety of its participants and fans by playing games at N.C. State, North Carolina and Duke as scheduled Saturday.

It should be noted that the decision to postpone Thursday’s game was made much easier by the fact that both ECU and Navy coincidentally had the same bye week, making the logistics of rescheduling nearly seamless. But that doesn’t change the fact that athletic director Jeff Compher and his school’s administration should be congratulated for having the foresight and courage to make the right choice and put recovery ahead of recreation.

Football is, after all, only a game.

And yet, even though it was the right thing to do and done for all the right reasons, postponing Thursday’s game until Saturday, Nov. 19 was the best thing that could have happened to coach Scottie Montgomery and his reeling band of Pirates.

“You don’t want to say it’s a good thing with everything going on,” Montgomery said on Tuesday. “But it’s beneficial for us right now.”

ECU would have been put at an incredibly unfair competitive disadvantage had it had been forced to play Thursday because of the difficulty it had in getting home from last Saturday’s loss at South Florida.

An already short week of preparation promised to get even shorter when the Pirates’ team plane was diverted to Richmond because of the storm, forcing them to make the rest of the trip by bus. They only made it as far as Roanoke Rapids before the hurricane-force winds and torrential rain forced them to spend the night. The team didn’t get back to campus until midday Sunday.

Once there, Montgomery and his administrative staff had to concentrate on finding alternate housing for 26 players that live in low-lying areas in danger of flooding.

By the time all was said and done, the team would have had less than three days to devise and install a game plan, then prepare to execute it against a team coming an upset of then-sixth ranked Houston.

The fact that Navy runs a triple-option attack that has traditionally given ECU fits under the best of circumstances only made the potential task all the more daunting.

“I don’t want to say we didn’t want to play the game, because we want to get back out on the field and have an opportunity to show the world what kind of team we really are,” senior cornerback Dashaun Amos said. “But because we still get to play the game later in the year and we didn’t lose a game, we’re not that mad about it.

“Not only does it give us more of a chance to prepare better, we also get a little more rest on our bodies. That’s also another positive.”

Chief among those recovering physically is quarterback Philip Nelson, who was knocked out of his second straight game with an undisclosed upper body injury after being sacked in the third quarter at USF.

Montgomery said Nelson likely would not have been available had the Navy game been played on Thursday. Now that he has another full week to rest and recover, he’ll have a much better chance of playing at Cincinnati on Oct. 22.

Almost as important as the physical healing is the opportunity ECU has been given to regroup and regain some of the confidence that has been shaken by its unsightly and unexpected four-game losing streak. Montgomery and his staff can also spend extra time at practice working to correct glaring problems on their kick and punt coverage teams, as well as shoring up a defense that has taken a major step back since its strong early start.

Despite its current 2-4 record (0-2 in the AAC), there’s still plenty of time left to turn things around and win the six games necessary for bowl eligibility. Though the circumstances are the worst imaginable, the Pirates have been given the best possible scenario for making that turnaround happen.

“We don’t like negative events,” Amos said. “But any kind of negative event is a bonding thing for us. We look to each other for comfort and help.”

Just as the community around them is doing in the face of a much more serious, real-life crisis.

Related

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Filed Under: News & Features

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent News & Features

VIEW FROM THE EAST: NORTH TEXAS
The new American

Basketball News
ECU rally falls short

ECU Recruiting News
More help is on the way to ECU secondary

Basketball News
Porter leads Shockers past Pirates

VIEW FROM THE EAST: FAU
The new American

Basketball News
Pirates rally past Tulsa to snap losing streak

ECU Recruiting News
Portal delivers blue chipper RaRa Dillworth

VIEW FROM THE EAST: CHARLOTTE
The new American

Basketball News
Owls pull away from ECU in second half

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review (UPDATED)
Pirates tap transfer portal for more talent

More News & Features

ECU Schedules

  • ECU 2021 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2020-21 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2021 Baseball Schedule

ECU Recruiting

  • Football Recruiting Class of 2021
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2020
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2019
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2018
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2017
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2021-22
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2020-21
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2019-20
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2018-19
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2017-18
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2016-17

Past Football Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2014 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2013 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2012 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2011 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2010 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2009 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2008 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2007 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2006 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2005 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2004 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2003 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2002 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2001 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2000 Football Schedule
  • Historical Schedules

Past Basketball Schedules

  • ECU 2019-20 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2018-19 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2017-18 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2016-17 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2000-2015 Basketball Archives

Past Baseball Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2001-2014 Baseball Archives

Recruiting Class Profiles

ECU Recruiting News
More help is on the way to ECU secondary

ECU Recruiting News
Portal delivers blue chipper RaRa Dillworth

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review (UPDATED)
Pirates tap transfer portal for more talent

AAC Early Signing Review
New members dive into AAC recruiting wars

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review
First wave of recruits just the beginning

ECU Recruiting News
Brown finds way to ECU through portal

ECU Recruiting News
Transfer safety McDaniel destined for ECU

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates land coveted Spartanburg quarterback

ECU Recruiting News
Swift ECU recruit ‘in a class of his own’

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates win out for Georgia prep linebacker

ECU Recruiting News
Linebacker with pedigree charts path to ECU

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates find a gem in Palmetto State receiver

ECU Recruiting News
Official visit swayed North Mecklenburg star

ECU Recruiting News
Physical Georgia receiver poses tough matchup

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates project lineman Durant as center

ECU Recruiting News
ECU spotted potential in Conley lineman

ECU Recruiting News
ECU lands fleet-footed Georgia defensive back

ECU Recruiting News
‘Football town’ helps draw Short to Pirates

ECU Recruiting News
ECU targets edge rushers

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates aim high for interior line talent

ECU Recruiting News
Well stocked Pirates enter fray for O-linemen

ECU Recruiting News
ECU faces uphill battle in hunt for tight ends

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates cast wide net for wide receivers

ECU Recruiting News
Loaded Pirates still courting running backs

ECU Recruiting News
ECU targets quarterbacks of the future

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, February 3, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Thursday, February 2, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Writer Archives

  • Bonesville Staff
  • Brian Bailey
  • Sammy Batten
  • Bethany Bradsher
  • Brett Friedlander
  • Al Myatt
  • NFF
  • Greg Vacek
  • Danny Whitford

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, February 3, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Thursday, February 2, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, February 1, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, January 30, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, January 29, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, January 28, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, January 27, 2023

More Web Roundups

Copyright © 2023 Bonesville.net · Website by Seaport Webworks. · Log in · Privacy Policy