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Game
Slants
Saturday, September 28, 2013
By Denny O'Brien |
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Offense humbles Heels
By
Denny O'Brien
©2013 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
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CHAPEL HILL – The last two
weeks probably weren’t the easiest for Lincoln Riley.
After
a frustrating 15-10 loss to Virginia Tech
two weeks ago, the East Carolina offensive coordinator was the target of
scrutiny from the media and fans alike. Seems like everybody took their
shots at the Pirates’ OC.
His play calling was
questioned. His offensive philosophy was examined. Many were read to abandon
his pass-heavy spread.
After the Pirates’
dominating 55-31 victory over North Carolina
in Kenan Stadium, my hunch is those opinions have changed. Riley could run
for mayor of Greenville and win as handily as the Pirates did against the
over-matched Tar Heels.
From the Pirates' opening
possession, Riley's up-tempo attack toyed with a North Carolina defense that
was thoroughly humiliated in front of its home crowd. You have to believe it
was a vindicating afternoon for ECU's young offensive boss.
And that's an understatement
when you look at the final offensive tally. In addition to the Pirates' 55
points, the offense collected 227 yards rushing, 376 more passing, and held
a more than 12-minute advantage in time of possession.
Those numbers would have been
even more inflated had ECU not taken a merciful knee on its final series.
“Obviously, it worked,”
Pirates quarterback Shane Carden said about Riley's offensive plan. “When we
came out, we knew we wanted to be much more balanced. We had gotten into a
little too much run here, a little too much pass there.
“I thought we did a really
good job running the ball. The offensive line played outstanding. They
played physical in the running game and passing game. I had plenty of time
back there to throw.”
At times it seemed like
centuries. Carden again demonstrated that when given the time to run through
his progressions, he can be a near-flawless tactician. His protection
allowed him to distribute 32 completions to 12 different receivers for 376
yards and three scores.
But as good as the Pirates’
offensive line was in protecting its captain, it was even better at opening
holes for running back Vintavious Cooper. All he did was carry it 35 times
for 186 yards, while snagging eight passes for 70 more.
Most of that production can be
credited to the excessive bullying North Carolina's defensive front
experienced. The Pirates’ front pushed the Tar Heels around, carved gaping
holes, and essentially dictated the flow of the game.
Riley was able to expand the
playbook as a result.
“We want to be in that 90
range, plays wise,” Pirates head coach Ruffin McNeill said. “I thought
Lincoln did a great job of blending his calls. He had a great game plan
coming in. We were able to throw the football, but also run the football.”
To summarize, ECU did
essentially anything it wanted.
Screens? Those generally went
for 12, 13 yards.
Runs off tackle? Cooper weaved
around and pummeled through the Tar Heel defense.
Play-action? Carden repeatedly
sucked the wind out of the North Carolina crowd.
The deep ball? Davon Grayson
and Lance Ray asserted themselves as capable vertical threats.
Heck, about the only thing
that kept the Pirates from scoring was the Kenan Stadium clock. It was the
only salve for a thoroughly dismantled Carolina defense.
Give Riley credit for much of
that, if not all of it. Outside of lining ECU up in wishbone formation,
there wasn't much that he didn't try in this Pirate offensive party.
Saturday's win over North
Carolina is no doubt the feather in Riley's relatively young coaching cap.
Regardless of what happens during the remainder of his promising career,
he'll always be remembered by ECU fans for what his offense did on the last
Saturday in September in 2013.
That was a complete
embarrassment of hated North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He earned a lot of
mileage with that.
View box score and statistics on ecupirates.com
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Read game recap on goheels.com
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09/29/2013 07:23:32 AM |
