By
Denny O'Brien
©2009 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
Harris Poll

For the fourth year in a row, Denny O'Brien is a member
of the voting panel
for the Harris Interactive College Football Poll,
commissioned by the Bowl Championship Series. As a
service to readers of this site, O'Brien's ballot will
be published in this space each Monday throughout the
season.
The
Harris Poll is a component of the BCS Standings.
The first 2009 BCS Standings, which also take into
account the USA Today Coaches Poll and an average of
several
computer service rankings, will be released on Oct. 18.
A senior
columnist for Bonesville.net, Bonesville The Magazine
and The Pirates' Chest, O'Brien was nominated to the
Harris Poll panel by Conference USA.
O'Brien's
ballot below was filed in conjunction with a trail run
this week by Harris Interactive in preparation for its
first official poll of 2009, which will be released on
Sept. 27.. |
Denny O'Brien's Harris Poll Ballot
(Trial ballot,
09.20.09)
1.
Texas
2. Florida
3. Alabama
4. Penn State
5. California
6. Ole Miss
7. Miami
8. Louisiana State
9. Southern Cal
10. Florida State
11. Ohio State
12. Texas Christian
13. Oklahoma
14. Boise State
15. Virginia Tech
16. Washington
17. North Carolina
18. Brigham Young
19. Houston
20. Kansas
21. Cincinnati
22. Oklahoma State
23. Georgia
24. Nebraska
25. UCLA |
View this Week's Complete
Harris, AP & Coaches Polls |
|
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It’s easy to get fixated
on the statistical rundown for the East Carolina offense. Outside of the
numbers the Pirates posted in the first half of the opener against
Appalachian State, the yardage and scoring tally isn’t too impressive.
Through three games, the
Pirates are averaging only 22 points, 268 total yards, and have
struggled both throwing and running the football. A go-to running back
has yet to emerge and the veteran offensive line doesn’t seem to have...
well... jelled.
The Pirates again
struggled with their second half scoring against North Carolina, netting
only a 22-yard field goal with 6:21 left to play. But there is no
denying that some positives emerged in the second half against an
aggressive and tough Tar Heels defense.
Against North Carolina's
collection of defensive all-stars — many of whom should land on NFL
rosters — the Pirates pieced together a pair of impressive second half
drives that chewed large chunks of clock.
“We got some things going
offensively and put a couple of drives together,” East Carolina Coach
Skip Holtz said after the game. “What we lacked as an offensive football
team is some of the big plays. That was really again one of the
differences in this game.
“In the second half we had
about a (13) and a 15-play drive and it resulted in three points. That’s
a lot of offensive plays to only get three points on the board. We come
out and we throw a little screen to Jamar Bryant and he picks up eight
or nine yards. They come out there when it gets down to one score, they
throw the same screen and it goes for 60.”
The Pirates have clearly
missed that home run threat since running back Chris Johnson became the
NFL’s fastest man on turf. That said, you can’t completely pin the
Pirates’ lack of big-play potential on a shortage of breakaway speed.
One thing the Pirates
don’t seem to do too well is block in space. Opposing defensive backs
and linebackers are shedding blocks on the perimeter too easily and
limiting ECU’s short passes to just that — short gains.
At the very least, East
Carolina proved itself more effective at moving the chains in the second
half against an outstanding defense on Saturday. If the Pirates can
build on that trend, it will provide the defense the rest it needs to
remain fresh late in games.
And if the Pirates can
find a way to mix in the occasional long ball, you should see the
statistical numbers make a complete 180.
Quiet along the defensive
front
The strength of the East
Carolina defense heading into the season was well-publicized. The
Pirates returned a veteran defensive front filled with All-Conference
USA performers and a couple with NFL potential.
But so far that group has
produced only three sacks among them, all against Appalachian State. At
West Virginia, the ECU defensive front spent its share of time in the
Mountaineers’ backfield early, but quarterback Jarrett Brown’s strength
and speed enabled him to elude the rush.
Facing immobile
quarterback T.J. Yates on Saturday, it stood to reason that the Pirates
would get him onto the carpet. Other than a couple of quarterback
hurries, Yates’ uniform was relatively clean.
By design, the Pirates
aren’t a blitzing defense and thus rely on their talented front four to
apply pressure. Credit the North Carolina staff for scheming around
ECU’s strength.
“I thought they did a
really nice job with the game plan,” Holtz said. “They didn’t drop back
much and hold the ball.
“When you look at them,
when they turned and threw the ball down field they maximum protected.
They slipped one guy down the field and protected with seven, even eight
guys sometimes so that you couldn’t get there and then threw it down the
field. When they didn’t maximum protect, the ball is out of Yates’ hands
in a hurry.”
While the numbers might
draw criticism on the Pirates’ defensive front, the bigger question mark
right now looks to be with the ECU linebackers. Though Jeremy Chambliss,
Nick Johnson, and Chris Mattocks are unquestionably scrappy and tough,
they look especially slow and struggle with shedding blockers and
defending underneath routes.
ACC should confess mistake
The Atlantic Coast
Conference should take the high road and confess a critical officiating
blunder in the East Carolina-North Carolina game on Saturday. An apology
to ECU coaches and administrators would seem appropriate, too.
With the Tar Heels leading
the Pirates by a touchdown with more than two minutes remaining, ECU
defensive end C.J. Wilson was whistled for a late hit on Yates. The
result was a first and goal from the ECU seven-yard line.
The replay quickly
revealed that Wilson was clearly pulling up and that Tar Heels fullback
Anthony Elzy blocked him into Yates. It was an obvious block in the back
that should have generated 2nd and 22 from the ECU 24.
While it’s easy to say
that the play had no bearing on the game’s outcome, such an assertion is
completely short-sighted. Had the Pirates forced a couple of ensuing
incompletions, it would have set up a 41-yard field goal attempt by
Casey Barth who had previously shanked one from 38 yards out.
Had that scenario occurred
it still would have been a tall order for ECU to drive the field against
the tough Tar Heels 'D.' But at least it might have generated the
opportunity.