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Bailey's
Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
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By Brian Bailey |
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Offense takes some heat for
porous defense
�2005 Bonesville.net
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The East Carolina coaches knew
it was coming.
The Pirate players knew it was
coming.
For that matter, everyone in
purple and gold across the state knew it, too.
Wake Forest was going to run
the ball, then run the ball, and then run the ball; and then, just for good
measure, the Demon Deacons were going to run it again.
Unfortunately, that�s how the
game stacked up. If the Pirates could have even slowed down the Wake rushing
game, this one might have had a different outcome.
Deacs exit stage right.
Mountaineers enter stage left.
Guess what West Virginia likes
to do?
�That�s the challenge we
have,� said Pirate Coach Skip Holtz at his weekly luncheon on Monday. �I
know we can play better then we did at Wake Forest and still get beat this
week. I think West Virginia is a good football team. We�ve got a lot of work
to do, but I don�t think you can just blame the defense.�
Give Holtz credit for stepping
up and defending his defense, which stayed on the field for what seemed like
hours on Saturday night.
�I think a good part of our
problems on defense centered on the offense,� Holtz said. �We have got to be
able to control the ball a little bit more and make some first downs.�
Holtz was especially upset
with his team�s performance on third down, and with so many short series in
the game.
�With seven 3-and-outs (three
downs and a punt), you�re not going to win many games,� Holtz said. �I�m
still in awe that we scored 34 points in the game with seven 3-and-outs. I
don�t think I�ve ever coached a game where we had seven 3-and-outs.�
�Our offense and defense work
in tandem,� Holtz continued. �When we can hold them to a 3-and-out and then
control the football on offense, that�s when we�ll find success.�
On the road again
The Pirates hit the road for
the second straight week this week.
Groves Stadium is a tea party
compared to the atmosphere at Mountaineer Field.
West Virginia fans are known to be as rowdy as any in college football. This
is a tough trip, as the scores from the last couple of times East Carolina
has traveled to Morgantown indicate.
�We are planning on working on
a lot of different things to combat the crowd,� Holtz said. �This will be a
culture shock for many of our guys who haven�t been there before. We will
work crowd noise this week, silent count, and other ways to communicate with
the crowd noise going on. We will have to work in silence, where the
quarterbacks and receivers work through signals as you talk through your
hands. Otherwise, it will be difficult to communicate in an environment like
West Virginia.�
Elite stats for Allison
Aundrae Allison certainly has
turned in back-to-back All-American performances. After snaring 10 passes
for 164 yards and a score in ECU's season-opening win over Duke, he had 8
catches for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns in Saturday night�s loss at Wake
Forest.
Allison is now 3rd in the
nation in receptions per game, and 4th in the country in receiving yards per
contest.
Allison enjoys the individual
stats, but his goals are more team oriented.
�I just try to do what I can
to help our team,� Allison said after Saturday night�s loss. �We just didn�t
do enough to win this game. We just have to go back and work harder.�
Wide receivers coach Donnie
Kirkpatrick was a guest on my radio show last night. He agrees that Allison
is something special.
�He�s got a chance to play on
Sundays,� Kirkpatrick said. �He really is a special player.�
Kirkpatrick said he hopes to
incorporate several other receivers into the game plan over the next couple
of weeks. Robert Tillman stepped up in the Wake Forest game.
�I think Tillman will be
good,� said Kirkpatrick. �I think he�ll become our second big play guy, and
then Bobby Good will fit in there when he gets back from his injury.�
Good tweaked his hamstring
injury last week and didn�t make the trip to Winston-Salem.
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02/23/2007 01:32:04 AM |
