|
-----
Notes, Quotes and Slants
-----
|
 |
Pirate
Notebook No. 86
Wednesday, October 2, 2002
By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist |
 |
Retooled defense still needs
work
�2002 Bonesville.net
On a day that promised to provide a measuring stick for the
East Carolina defense, Steve Logan saw his Pirates come up a few football
fields short.
Reconstructed to combat college football's cutting edge
spread attacks, ECU's new, fast and furious defensive approach got bullied
Saturday by a West Virginia offensive line that manhandled the smaller
Pirates from the game's very first snap.
It was one of the more humbling losses in Logan's 11-year
tenure, one that was far more lopsided than the game's 37-17 score. Were it
not for a fumble on the Mountaineers' opening drive and the merciful final
horn, West Virginia could have easily put 51 on the scoreboard, with the
Pirates struggling to hit double digits.
No matter what East Carolina tried in Mountaineer Field, it
failed against a determined West Virginia offense that rushed for 536
record-breaking yards.
Spearheaded by a couple of dueling banjos � Avon Cobourne
and Quincy Wilson � the Mountaineers strummed the ECU defense all afternoon,
trampling over, around, and through the Pirates, who at times seemed the
subject of a sequel to Deliverance.
"Obviously, there are a plethora of things that need to be
corrected as far as run defense is concerned," outside linebackers coach Ted
Daisher said. "I don't know that we're in the right gaps all the time."
The truth is, it would have taken a small army to fill the
gaps opened by the burly West Virginia front. Many of Cobourne's 260 yards
and most of Wilson's 198 were tallied without so much as a touch from a
Pirates defender.
"For whatever reasons, we have played three football games
and our front seven performed as they have been coached and played well,"
Logan said. "This last week we did not handle it well at all. We had a
couple of young men, particularly on the backside flow of our defense, that
just did not do what they were coached to do."
It's true, the Mountaineers' performance was the first of
its kind this season. In fact, there isn't a day in Pirate history that
rivals it.
But the fact that a team can find success between the
tackles against defensive coordinator Tim Rose's new schemes should come as
no surprise, especially when you consider what has already taken place this
year.
Week one gave the first glimpse of the Pirates' holes, even
though Duke managed just a modest 155 yards on the ground. Still, the
Devils owned the trenches and the clock at crunch time, with Alex Wade
battering through East Carolina's two-man defensive line for a 24-carry,
109-yard day.
Wake Forest further exploited that weakness, as seven ball
carriers combined for 181 hard-fought yards, most of which came through the
middle. Common sense suggests the Deacs would have easily eclipsed the
250-yard mark, had coach Jim Grobe not let quarterback James MacPherson air
it out for another 216.
The Pirates did, however, somewhat contain Doak Walker
candidate Mewelde Moore, holding him to 119 yards on 30 carries. However,
that's been the norm for the do-everything back this season, as a young,
unseasoned offensive line has been unable to create room for the Green
Wave's gifted runner.
And with an off week and three game tapes with which to
prepare, Mountaineers coach Rich Rodriguez had more than enough time to
conjure the perfect game plan, which was to ram his runners straight through
the heart of the Pirates' defense.
"Part of it had to do with some misdirection that takes
place in that style of offense," Logan said. "We had given them assignments
to take any misdirection out of their thinking.
"We had misdirection being handled by some other people and
they began to play two games at once. Cutting back on the zone play was
devastating. (We'll) work full pads on Wednesday and give ourselves about
24 live snaps and see if we can't correct that problem."
It will likely take more than a week to repair the Pirates'
Achilles' heal, as just with the pass defense last season, these things take
time. More than one problem exists, with schemes, personnel, youth and grit
all contributing factors.
In an effort to put more speed on the field, Rose has
steered slightly from the 3-4 approach he brought in '99, using just two
down linemen, with four linebackers and five defensive backs. The thinking
was to bring more pressure from the perimeter, to go along with more speed
on the backend.
But just as they eventually found weaknesses in the initial
schemes, coaches have quickly adapted to the new ones. You don't fight
speed with speed -- you pummel it with power.
And once opposing ball carriers squirt through the Pirates'
line, daylight and real estate have posed the biggest obstacles. ECU's
linebackers have sometimes found themselves out of position to make plays,
but such mistakes should be expected from an inexperienced group.
There also seems to be a lack of toughness and swagger, the
kind that Jeff Kerr wore on his sleeve. While the Pirates' young backers
possess more talent than ECU's former defensive leader, none carry with them
the large chip he had on his shoulder.
In all fairness, though, few players do.
Quite frankly, there are too many issues to suggest that a
simple solution can solve the Pirates' defensive woes. More than likely,
this is something that will have to run its course.
Running game sputtering
Leonard Henry's absence is hurting much more than originally
anticipated.
With a veteran offensive line returning, Logan and offensive
coordinator Doug Martin figured the Pirates wouldn't miss a beat on the
ground. But the different running styles possessed by successors Art Brown
and Marvin Townes have been difficult to adapt to, which is prompting ECU's
offensive braintrust to seek changes in the Pirates' ground approach.
"We've got some subtle changes that we need to make," Logan
said. "For us, it was a work in progress.
"For instance with Leonard Henry, going back to his junior
year where he had 800 yards running and finally, as we got enough
information and definition on film, we changed the angle of departure of our
offensive line and we gave Leonard one cut, that's it. Every time we found
him running on film east-west he got in trouble.
"Once we got him coached to be a north-south guy and to use
his 215 pounds to his advantage, he jumps up and runs for 1,500 yards. We
don't have that now � we've got two guys that are more Junior Smith-type
running backs and we have to change some subtle things on the offensive line
and play checks at the line."
Fixing the running game would help the Pirates on a couple
of fronts. It would ease the burden on first-year quarterback Paul Troth,
while keeping the Bucs' offense on the field, giving the defense much-needed
rest.
Troth
on the money
Troth enjoyed arguably his best day under center, despite
the absence of a serviceable rushing attack Saturday. The sophomore
quarterback made few mistakes against a lightning-fast West Virginia
defense, en route to a 23-for-33, 207-yard day.
He did, however, throw two interceptions, but both were
tipped by Pirates receivers into the waiting arms of West Virginia
defenders.
"One of the good positives coming out of the West Virginia
game, when it became apparent that we could not run the football � which is
something else we are going to address � knowing that we were going to throw
it every snap, Paul was 69 percent complete," Logan said. "(That) was
another piece of the puzzle for Paul to put in his resume as we go down the
journey.
"I was really encouraged with the way he was throwing his
intermediate passes. He got his footwork messed up a couple of times on
some long balls. He has a better long ball arm than he showed Saturday. He
held on to the ball a little bit too long, taking too many steps with a
five-step throw, and suddenly the play does not express itself properly. We
can get that corrected."
Troth's maturity was evident by his refusal to lock in on
one receiver, often checking to his third or fourth option before delivering
a strike. That's the type of play you'd expect from a fifth-year senior �
not a true sophomore.
Onsides kick timely
The element of surprise has always been a part of the Logan
package. So it should have come as no shock to those close to the program
that the Pirates attempted an onsides kick following Kelly Hardy's 80-yard
fumble return.
"It was an audible and a great time for the call," Logan
said. "You get a surprise touchdown like that and everything was right � we
just don't make the play.
"Little Donnie (Whitehead) needs to make that play. We had
everything positioned properly and didn't get away with it."
Often applauded for his riverboat gambler approach, Logan
has been questioned by some who compared Saturday's call to last season's
Syracuse game when the Pirates tried an onsides kick after taking a second
half lead against the Orangemen.
The fact is, the circumstances were much different this time
around and the timing of the call was impeccable. With West Virginia
already enduring an early-game emotional swing, successfully executing the
kick would have driven a stake into the Mountaineers' heart.
That's exactly what happened to Texas Tech in the early
moments of the galleryfurniture.com Bowl. Off hand, it's tough to recall
any second-guessing back then.
Send an e-mail message to Denny O'Brien.
Click here to dig into Denny O'Brien's Bonesville
archives.
02/23/2007 01:46:54 AM
----- |
