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Game
Slants
Saturday, September 29, 2012
By Denny O'Brien |
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Offense flashes progress
By
Denny O'Brien
�2012 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
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GREENVILLE � Maybe a
stadium-clearing storm is just what the East Carolina offense needed.
Or maybe it was the presence
of a Conference USA defense.
Whatever the catalyst, the ECU
offense finally found its ignition switch, piecing together productive
drives and piling up yardage by 10- and 20-yard chunks in a 28-18 win over
Texas-El Paso.
After weeks of idling in
neutral, the Pirates were in need of finding an offensive pulse, something
to kick-start an otherwise dormant bunch.
And with the thick of the
conference slate on deck, they couldn�t have picked a better time.
Especially after last week�s offensive dud against North Carolina.
Though the final score hardly
indicated an explosive offensive output, the relative progress of a unit
that struggled through its first four games couldn�t be overlooked.
�It was very important,�
Pirates Coach Ruffin McNeill said about the offensive productivity. �I think
you�ll see Shane (Carden) get more comfortable and get faster with
everything as he goes. One of the biggest things this week was no
hesitation.
"We�ll continue to see guys
developing around him. I thought we did a good job of running the football.
It was good to get the offense going.�
No doubt, much of the Pirates�
offensive surge can be attributed to the establishment of a dependable
running game. Vintavious Cooper provided much of that, gaining 154 yards on
23 carries, including a 24-yard jolt that that pushed the Pirates' lead to
28-10 with under five minutes remaining.
The nimble feet of quarterback
Shane Carden delivered 63 more yards and two scores. Combined with 258
passing yards, Carden contributed 321 yards of total offense in only his
third start for ECU.
At times Carden even
approached his position as if he were a tailback in persistent search of the
century mark.
�I want to fight for this
team,� Carden said. �I feel like when I fight for those extra yards and the
line sees that, they respect that. I think the rest of the team does. too.
�A lot of my running is coming
off of other guys playing well. Cooper was running hard, which opens it up
for me.�
While Carden is deflecting
some of the credit, he might as well aim some of it at Lincoln Riley. East
Carolina's offensive coordinator demonstrated more versatility in the
playbook than we�ve witnessed in recent weeks, and his calls seemed to keep
UTEP off balance.
The Pirates hardly resembled
the exclusive Air Raid operation that was ushered into the program with the
current coaching regime. At times Saturday night, ECU could have been more
appropriately labeled the Run Raid, a dynamic rushing attack that amassed
217 yards and three scores against the Miners.
The Pirates did much of their
work on a slippery field, amid a driving rainstorm, and after enduring a
90-minute weather delay. They did it with a healthy variety of plays, often
turning to pages in the playbook that haven�t seen much light this year.
There were zone reads.
Screens. Roll outs. Long passes.
The offensive line protected.
Receivers got open. And Carden didn�t seem to hesitate as much as he did
last week in Chapel Hill.
The end result was 475 yards
and 28 points, an all-out explosion when compared to the Pirates� first four
games. It could have been much more had Carden not thrown two red zone
interceptions.
If there is one criticism of
the ECU offense, it is the trio of interceptions Carden threw in the course
of the game. Perhaps some of that can be attributed to a slippery football
and instructions from the staff to not hesitate on throws.
Even so, that�s an area of the
ECU offense that needs cleaning up. A duplicate statistic next Thursday
night at Central Florida could deliver a major setback in the Pirates�
Conference USA title quest.
For now, East Carolina can
take satisfaction in its 2-0 C-USA start and the fact that it is in firm
control of its postseason destiny. That�s a good position for ECU, and it
wouldn�t be there without a resurgence from the offense.
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09/30/2012 06:43:52 AM |
