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Game 2: UAB 17, East Carolina
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The Slants of the Game
Sunday, September 10, 2006
By Denny O'Brien |
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Recovery won't be easy for
deflated Pirates
©2006 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
BIRMINGHAM It's too soon to predict the
impact of East Carolina's 17-12 heartstomping loss to UAB on Saturday.
But I suspect that a partial answer will
arrive sometime around the conclusion of the Pirates' home opener against
Memphis next Saturday night.
At that point the Pirates' record heading
into the anticipated showdown with West Virginia will be known. A 1-2 mark
and impressive performance against the Tigers could at least provide some
hope before national title contender West Virginia rolls into town.
A third-consecutive loss could signify
another rotation of a downward spiral from which a recovery would seem
difficult.
"They're fragile," Pirates coach Skip Holtz
said after a fumble into the end zone snatched a victory from his team.
"I think they're all fragile right now," he
said. "They're 0-2, and they've worked a lot harder, and yet they don't have
anything to show for it. That's frustrating for everybody in that locker
room.
"We've been close... we've had our
opportunities. We just haven't made the most of them."
ECU certainly didn't make the most of the
gift UAB desperately tried to deliver. Twice the Blazers fumbled inside the
Pirates' ten-yard line, which firmly kept ECU in the game.
But no opportunity was squandered more than
the 56-yard strike James Pinkney fired in Phillip Henry's direction on 4th
and 15 with around a minute to play. In what is certain to be relived in
slow-motion for the next seven days, victory was painfully poked out of
ECU's grasp.
In the near term, Henry's reception and
subsequent fumble left the Pirates mentally and emotionally deflated. How
long the hangover of Saturday's disappointment lasts remains uncertain,
though it's tough to deny the possibility that it could easily extend into
October, if not longer.
What we do know is that East Carolina has
more talent at the skill positions than what it fielded in 2005. From
overall skill to numbers, the cupboard is stocked with more options that can
make a significant contribution this fall.
That much has been evident in the season
opener at Navy as well as in the battle against the Blazers, with Pinkney
spreading the ball to nine different receivers in each game after spending
much of last year locked on Aundrae Allison.
What also is clear is that the obvious
upgrade in talented skill players somehow has come at the expense of
experience up front. The Pirates are especially young along the offensive
front, and that is evident each time Pinkney drops back to pass or hands the
ball to an ECU runner.
At times Saturday it seemed as if UAB's
front seven was a member of the Pirates' offensive huddle. That's a trend
that must change if East Carolina has any designs on contending for the
conference crown and postseason bowl.
Judging by the way the Pirates ran the ball
in the second half, there is reason to believe they can evolve into a team
that is at least serviceable on the ground. The big challenge for the squad
is keeping its mental and emotional health stable enough for the physical
mistakes to be corrected.
"The characteristics of this team that have
impressed me the most has been their hard work, their resilience, and the
way they come out and they work every day," Holtz said. "I've talked about
that since the day I got here.
"The intangibles that were built a year
ago, those are things that we're not going to lose. We've got ten left. It
hurts to be sitting here at 0-2 when you've been competitive in both and had
your opportunities to win."
That's true, and it can't be overlooked
that ECU's chances far exceeded Henry's late fumble.
Twice the Pirates were forced to settle for
field goals after driving inside the UAB five-yard line. Thrice more the
Blazers laid the ball on the turf, but once again the Pirates were unable to
make those miscues hurt.
If anything, that's a sign of youth.
But the promise with youth is that progress
generally is more measurable from game to game than with a veteran club.
That's under normal circumstances.
What occurred in Birmingham was far from
normal and recovering from it isn't exactly a chip shot.
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02/23/2007 02:03:44 AM |
