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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate Notebook
No. 17
Monday, October 15, 2001
By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist |
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ECU's Title Chances May
Hinge
on Secondary's Improvement
�2001 Bonesville.net
It has almost become a tradition of sorts for a struggling or inexperienced
opposing quarterback to magically come up with a game-of-a-lifetime
performance against East Carolina.
On Saturday, Army's Chad Jenkins became the latest to join that
fraternity.
Against the Pirates, Jenkins completed 21 of 38 passes for a career high
278 yards, including a touchdown. It was the second time in three weeks that
an opponent's quarterback achieved a personal best against the Bucs.
Prior to Saturday, Jenkins had thrown more than twice as many
interceptions as touchdowns, but against the Pirates, the Dublin, Ohio
native often performed like a Heisman candidate � and Heisman talk hasn't
been a topic at West Point since the 'fifties.
To Jenkins, it all seemed too easy.
"Offensively, I thought we moved the ball well," he said. "I don't know
how many total yards we had, but it seemed like we were going up and down
the field on them. We had our running game going and our passing game."
Jenkins' play certainly grabbed the attention of head coach Todd Berry,
whose quarterback-coaching credentials include the mentoring of former ECU
standout Marcus Crandell.
"I thought Chad (Jenkins) played well," Berry said. "We have to continue
to mix things up on offense. I thought we did a good job of mixing things up
today.
"Unfortunately, we committed several turnovers. That's something we'll
get corrected. I was pleased with Chad's performance."
The porous Pirate pass defense has slipped considerably since the season
opener, a 21-19 loss to Wake Forest. Since then, the Pirates have dropped to
104th in pass defense, yielding an eye-popping 270 yards per game through
the air. That's mind-boggling considering the Pirates returned nine starters
on defense, including the entire secondary.
ECU's defensive demise was spearheaded by an injury to Kelly Hardy, by
far the most seasoned performer in a struggling secondary. And though Hardy
has been sorely missed, his absence isn't the sole source for ECU's woes.
The pass rush, which has been virtually non-existent of late, has tallied
just one sack over the past two games. Any pressure the Pirates have been
able to mount has been easily avoided by quarterbacks who have been fleet
afoot.
Syracuse's Troy Nunes, Carolina's two-headed tandem of Curry and Durant,
and Army's Jenkins all seemed at their best when flushed from the pocket. A
quick-to-bite Pirate secondary has often ignored wide-open receivers on QB
roll-outs.
This year's defensive outfit is a far cry from the '99 unit that ranked
9th in pass defense, and head coach Steve Logan knows it.
"We need to contest things better in the back end of our defense," he
said. "If we can get that done, then our team improves instantly."
That may be what it will take for the Pirates to live their dream �
winning the Conference USA championship. With five important conference
games left, many of which are against pass-happy offenses, ECU has little
time to waste.
"Louisville will be a really big game," said sophomore cornerback Brandon
Rainer. "They pass a lot."
And if the rest of the Pirates' opponents study any film, they will pass
a lot, too.
"Sunday Money"
Former NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, who died tragically in a crash at
Daytona in February, appropriately named one of his yachts "Sunday Money."
Though running back Leonard Henry currently plays on Saturday, his
efforts are quickly propelling him up the NFL draft boards. At 9.2 yards per
carry, East Carolina is more than getting its money's worth with Henry.
"He's a great player," Berry said. "He's averaging nine yards per carry.
That's ridiculous. He's a great player. He's an NFL player."
Henry certainly resembled an NFL-caliber back against Berry's Cadets,
carrying the ball 13 times for 156 yards and three touchdowns. Two of
Henry's scores came on lengthy scampers of 28 and 51 yards, respectively.
On both scoring runs, Henry displayed four of the qualities that pro
scouts like to see � the ability to hit the hole, make a move, shred a
tackle, and shift into that breakaway speed.
What's more, at six-foot, 200-pounds, and boasting a sub-4.5 40-yard
dash, Henry boasts both the size and the speed that scouts covet.
"He is a beast that never stops," freshman kick returner/running back
Marvin Townes said. "He doesn't even let an injury slow him down.
"He just runs with power. He may not be the fastest, but when you have
that much power, people are going to respect you."
Henry certainly earned the respect of the Black Knights on Saturday,
including defensive back Brent Dial.
"He had a number of big runs where he got into the secondary pretty
quickly," Dial said. "He's a hard runner.
"I haven't seen the film yet to see what we did to allow him those large
runs. We came in confident that we could stop him, but he still ran well.
That's a testament that he's a pretty good back."
More importantly, Henry has garnered the respect of his teammates. Logan
has often noted that Henry, Townes, and Art Brown make up the best trio of
running backs with whom he's been associated. Much of that is due to Henry,
who has taken Brown and Townes under his wings.
"Leonard Henry is just a great back that works hard on every play," Brown
said.
That hard work should pay off in a big way come draft day in April.
Greenhorns Need Seasoning
Due to injuries to receivers Torey Morris and Aaron Harris, Logan
activated three freshman for the Army game � Garrett Peterkin, Edwin Rios,
and Demarcus Fox. On Saturday, the trio didn't perform like Logan had hoped.
"In practice, they have been very proficient," Logan said. "The games
have been a different story. Our young guys need to contribute, but so far
they really are not doing anything right.
"I'll be on therapy by the end of next week. It's so fast for them, but
hopefully in the next two or three weeks we'll get the game slowed down for
them. They've got to contribute."
Redeeming Return
Marvin Townes didn't look like one of the nation's premier return
specialists in the early going of Saturday's victory over Army. On his first
attempt � a punt return � Army punter Dan MacElroy's punt caromed off
Townes' foot into the waiting arms of a Black Knight special-teamer.
Later, Townes twice fielded punts from inside the Pirates' five-yard
line, a big no-no according to the unwritten rules of football. But before
Townes could be written off, he reeled off a 93-yard kickoff return to give
the Pirates a 21-10 lead.
"When I caught the ball, I had committed to the inside," Townes said.
Next thing I know, there was one guy left and Art (Brown) was leading me.
"When he picked that defender off, the hole was wide open and I hit it.
Then I took the ball down the sideline."
And with him, he took a nice chunk of Army's heart.
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02/23/2007 01:41:24 AM
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