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BAILEY'S
TAKE ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the
Anchor Desk
Tuesday,
November 9, 2010
By Brian
Bailey |
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Time to bounce
back and forget
By
Brian Bailey
©2010 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
The Pirates need a big
dose of amnesia in preparing for Thursday night’s game at UAB.
Seventy-six points certainly put a big black eye on a season that finds
East Carolina in the bowl picture and still with at least a slim shot at
a conference title.
Saturday’s weather went
right along with the Pirates' second half meltdown. Both were absolutely
miserable, and both got worse as the night grew longer.
Everyone knew that East
Carolina was most likely in for a shootout against Navy. This ECU
defense had struggled against the run all year. The Pirates, though, can
score with anyone and this was a shootout for at least a half.
Turnovers turned the
shootout into one of the biggest blowouts in Pirate football history.
The disturbing part is that a couple of the fumbles looked to come from
more of a lack of concentration and execution than from a big hit.
It’s either a great time
for a short week, or the worst time. When is the last time a defense
gave up 76 points and then had to turn around and play a game on the
road five days later?
“I look at this as a great
opportunity for us as a football team,” said ECU coach Ruffin McNeill.
“The glass is always half full, and usually more than half full with me.
We have the chance to be able to come back after an adverse situation.
Saturday was an adverse situation.”
McNeill reflected on the
miserable afternoon.
“There will be some tough
things that happen in these kids’ lives," he said Monday. "There is
always the opportunity to come back from it. I’m really anxious to get
started with practice again tonight and to get back into the film. It’s
a great opportunity for us as a football team.”
For the Pirate players,
the “76” may prove to be a constant reminder of what can happen.
“It hurts my pride,” said
Pirate defensive lineman Josh Smith. “I’ve never been this embarrassed,
not just for myself but for all of us. I think the short week is a good
thing. It gives us a chance to get it out of our head and move on.”
ECU linebacker Dustin
Lineback had similar thoughts.
“We have to keep our heads
up,” said Lineback. “We have to throw it out the door and move on to the
next one.”
Holland on Big East
Last week the Big East
Conference announced plans to expand by two teams.
East Carolina Director of
Athletics Terry Holland knows how important this expansion is. He also
says that Pirate fans have to continue to be patient.
“They (Big East) have to
establish the process on how they are going to go about their
selection,” said Holland on Saturday. “Certainly it’s something that a
lot of schools are very interested in and certainly our name is going to
be thrown around. It is something we would have to look at.”
Holland says he knows that
the Pirate Nation wants to help out in any way possible. For now,
though, it’s a case of the old saying of ‘keep on keeping on.’
“There’s nothing anyone
can do right now. They don’t even have a process. If you tried to do
something now you would just be shooting in the dark and having the
chance of hitting another Pirate," joked Holland.
"I don’t think there is
anything they can do other than what they always do and that’s fill up
the stadium and create a great game day atmosphere," he added.
BB
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