By
Al Myatt
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
There has been significant discussion about a proposal
before the NCAA Football Rules Committee which would allow defenses 10
seconds to substitute players when the 40-second play clock has started
on each down.
If the offense snaps the ball before the play clock
reaches 29 seconds, it would be subject to a 5-yard delay of game
penalty.
East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill has been a defensive
player, assistant and coordinator for the bulk of his life but he's
siding with the offense on this one.
"It's ridiculous," McNeill said this week. "Leave the
game alone."
One argument advanced by some, including former Pirates
assistant Todd Berry, who is now head coach at Louisiana-Monroe, is that
defenses can't get fatigued or injured players off the field without
using a timeout. A CBSsports.com report said Berry had an asthmatic
player on his defensive unit and didn't have a timeout to get him off
the field when he was beset with breathing difficulty. There has been a
sentiment expressed that the game will be safer when tired players can
be taken out if the proposal is passed.
Ruff isn't buying it.
"Let me give you an example and I'm a defensive coach,"
McNeill said. "I've been on defense all my life but here's a number for
you. Three games last year, we ran almost 300 plays. The (North)
Carolina game, Middle Tennessee and the Tulane game. It was 101 one
game, 99, 98 plays. The five offensive linemen did not come out of the
game for one play. We didn't sub them so I don't want to hear that about
substitutions. ...
"I'm totally against it and I'm a defensive coach."
It appears that some coaches are for the change that
would limit the hurry-up offenses such as those operated by Baylor,
Oregon and the Pirates. The safety factor is the means to allow teams
whose style of play doesn't mesh with the fast-paced offenses to justify
the proposal. Reports have stated that Alabama coach Nick Saban and
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema favor the substitution modification.
"You've got to adjust your strategy and your coaching
style," McNeill said.
Fans generally like offensive shows. Air Force coach Troy
Calhoun, who chairs the rules committee, has indicated that he has moved
his position toward the status quo. Calhoun said he hasn't seen any data
to support the claim that the change to a 10-second substitution period
would make the game safer.
"You should have that package in already if you know a
team is going to be hurry up and be ready for it defensively," McNeill
said. "That's how we handle it here and we face it every day in
practice. What I would suggest is that you've got to practice against it
to know how to play against it. We practice against it every day.
"My other suggestion is watch our film. Our five
offensive linemen — we don't sub for them. I don't want to hear about
tired and all that. ... We're going to try to run 100 plays a game.
We're not into running anything less than that."
That's some indirect testimony to the effectiveness of
Jeff Connors' conditioning program at ECU, too.
Staff going forward intact
Successful programs are oftentimes able to maintain the
same personnel on their coaching staffs. Although ECU offensive
coordinator Lincoln Riley had some conversations with North Carolina and
Notre Dame after the Pirates averaged 40.2 points — tied for eighth in
the Football Bowl Subdivision with Clemson — during a 10-3 season in
2013, the 30-year old decided to stay in Greenville.
Riley noted the reassuring effects of staff members
remaining in place despite outside interest after the Pirates were 8-5
in 2012.
"That's the plan," McNeill said when asked if his staff
would stay together for ECU's entry into the American Athletic
Conference next season. "People come after our guys all the time. I've
got really good teachers and really good coaches. They're great people.
It's a compliment, but having a staff together is big. Continuity is a
key. I know that Coach (Jeff) Compher (athletic director) and our
administration will help me do that.
"These guys love East Carolina. They want to be here.
They want to work with me. We'll do all we can to make sure we continue
that continuity. It's key."
Riley has grown during four seasons at ECU, refining the
system he learned at Texas Tech and adapting it for peak efficiency with
the Pirates.
"It's really fun to watch," McNeill said. "I've known
Lincoln since he was 18 and Brandon (Jones, offensive line coach) since
he was 18. Their wives, Caitlin and Latoya. I've known them. Marc
Yellock (defensive line coach). I've seen him grow as a coach. I've
grown. The older guys can grow. You see it and it's really neat to
watch."
Spring practice starts March 20
Filling graduation voids and tweaking systems will be
among the priorities when spring practice starts March 20. The spring
game is scheduled for April 12.
The Pirates will host a clinic April 3-5 for high school
coaches.
"We'll have some neat speakers coming," McNeill said.
"Dave Magazu from the (Denver) Broncos is coming on that Saturday. We've
got a former Pirate, Terrell Williams. He coaches in the league. He's
going to speak on that Friday. Of course, our staff will speak, too."
Magazu's son, Damon, finished a
stellar career at safety for the Pirates in 2013, making an interception
in
the 37-20 Beef O'Brady's Bowl win
over Ohio at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The elder Magazu coaches
offensive line for the Broncos. He was with Denver coach John Fox with
the Carolina Panthers as well when the younger Magazu was playing on the
high school level at Providence.
Williams was a member of the ECU team that defeated
Stanford 19-13 in the 1995 Liberty Bowl. The former Pirate nose guard
was defensive line coach at Purdue and Texas A&M before joining the
Oakland Raiders in that capacity.
The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. This
week's topic was
East Carolina
baseball with guest
Billy Godwin, ECU's
head baseball coach:
