DENNY O'BRIEN: Overhaul of run 'D' a long-term project

Pirate Notebook No. 254
Friday, September 23, 2005

By Denny O'Brien

PIRATE TALK

Replay Thursday night's Pirate Talk with Denny O'Brien and guests: Voice of the West Virginia Mountaineers Tony Caridi, Brian Bailey & Carlester Crumpler:

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It doesn't take Knute Rockney to identify the most glaring weakness within the East Carolina football program.

That much could be determined by anyone who witnessed the Pirates' 44-34 loss to Wake Forest last Saturday.

Because if there is one defining characteristic about the Pirates over that period, look no further than their inability to contain the run. And if Wake's dominance over the Pirates physically is any indication, any notion that a quick mend is on the horizon should have been laid to rest Saturday.

"I thought (Wake) played extremely physical," Holtz said after the loss to the Deacons. "I was really impressed with the way that they came off the ball.

"I think the bottom line in this game was they won the battles up front. They won the battles on their offensive line and was able to control the line of scrimmage. I think they've got a couple of excellent backs. They do a great job of running their zone scheme."

Only the Mountaineers do it with more bulk along the offensive front, more talent in the backfield, better speed on the outside, and more depth in the bullpen. That Jason Colson has been relegated to third-string duty is a testament to the strength of WVU's stable.

He was the starter against the Pirates in last year's season opener, an offensive bloodbath in which the Mountaineers erupted for 479 yards on the ground.

While it would be a stretch to expect a carbon copy by WVU on Saturday, it's more unlikely that the Pirates will complete a 180 overnight. If ECU's issues are one part tactical, they are 11 parts personnel.

But since repairing the former relies so heavily on the latter, any progress the Pirates make will be incremental until more experience and talent enters the fold.

Don't be so quick to pin all of East Carolina's defensive woes on the defense itself. Following Wake's 407-yard rushing explosion, Holtz commented about the Pirates' inability to sustain drives and keep the defense rested.

The problem, he says, doesn't stem within ECU's skill personnel, but instead rests on the hefty shoulders of his offensive front.

"We've got a couple of players," Holtz said. "There's no doubt. I don't question James Pinkney's toughness. I didn't do that off last year's film.

"I think Aundrae Allison is a player and I think Chris Johnson is a player. I think those guys are big-time players, and we're trying to get the ball in their hands. ...We've got some skill players, but I don't think we've got the nucleus up front. We're not where we need to be up front right now consistently enough to be a really good offensive football team."

Because the Pirates struggled to maintain any momentum on the ground in the opener against Duke, Holtz and offensive coordinator Steve Shankweiler made wholesale changes within the offensive line.

Gary Freeman moved to center, while Eric Graham was shifted over to guard. Guy Whimper made his first start at left tackle after spending much of his career on the defensive side of the ball.

"Hunter Wood is awfully light at center, and we felt like that was a weakness for us (against Duke)," Holtz said. "We moved Eric Graham into guard and Guy Whimper up to be the starting tackle. Matt Butler was starting at the other guard.

"The main purpose for the change was to get a little bit more bulk up inside and get a running game going. When we looked at it a week ago, that was where our biggest weakness was. It seemed like we were always one man away. I thought the one time when we got in two backs there in the third quarter, put a drive together and went right down the field running the ball, without throwing the ball, was a pretty encouraging sign. We've just got to get to where we can do that a little bit more consistently."

With Allison certain to receive much of the attention from opposing defenses, questions about other potential options surfaced following the Pirates' victory over Duke. Those questions may have been answered against the Deacons with the emergence of 'H' receiver Robert Tillman, who snared seven passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.

Heading into the season opener against Duke, there was a bigger question Tillman answered � his academics.

"It's nice to get him back," Holtz said. "For the Duke game, he only played about four or five plays because he had some issues off the field that he was trying to get addressed. Some eligibility issues.

"I was a little bit worried to give him a lot of work. So, we had to move Phillip Henry over to the H position � to Robert Tillman's position � because we didn't know if we were going to have Robert Tillman this year or not. He got cleared the week of the Duke game, and at that point, it's a little too late to move everybody back to where they were when you started."

Tillman provides the Pirates with another big-play threat who can both stretch the field and create excitement in traffic with his nifty moves. But it's his niftiness in the classroom that may have provided ECU with the bigger boost.