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Game No. 1: ECU 29, App. St. 24 |
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Game
Slants
Saturday, September 5, 2009
By Denny O'Brien |
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Killer instinct AWOL
By
Denny O'Brien
©2009 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
GREENVILLE — East Carolina’s victory over
Appalachian State followed a fairly familiar and frustrating script.
The Pirates, winners by an uncomfortable
29-24 margin, sprinted to an early 24-0 lead and hardly broke a sweat.
Riding the girth of its Goliath-sized offensive line and the legs of running
backs Dominique Lindsay and Brandon Jackson, ECU seemed poised to overwhelm
its smaller in-state opponent.
And perhaps it would have had the offense
not shifted its foot from the accelerator to the brake. That was enough to
give the Mountaineers the momentum to make this physical mismatch a game.
It was an afternoon that was eerily akin to
the 2007 Hawaii Bowl when the Pirates jetted to a 38-14 lead over Boise
State and hung on for dear life. There also were some similarities to games
last season against N.C. State and Marshall when the Pirates had many
opportunities to close out their opponent in regulation but were unable to
nail the coffin shut.
The final outcome understandably brought
both relief and frustration for ECU head coach Skip Holtz.
“You’ve only got 12 of these,” Holtz said.
“The bottom line is you’re trying to win a football game. It’s 1-0.
“Do I wish we would have played better?
Yes. Do we have a long way to go? Yes. Will my temperament in this meeting
room tomorrow be positive, upbeat, and Chuckles the Clown? No. It will not
be. I may kick the cat tomorrow, but tonight I’m not going to.”
Perhaps a better idea would be to use his
foot to kick-start an offense that downshifted into reverse for much of the
second half. After looking like it might eclipse 500 yards, much of that on
the ground, App went from soft to surprisingly stingy.
Once the Mountaineers started loading the
box, the Pirates soon discovered the difficulty that occurs when five are
blocking eight.
“I think we came out in the first half and
we got after them really good with the running game,” said Lindsay, who
finished with 105 yards and a touchdown. “The running game was working
really well.
“I think the second half, we came out a
little complacent. I think they came out with the heart of a champion and
always throwing punches. I think that’s something that we really need to
work on a lot.”
Especially developing a good knockout one.
Credit ECU for landing a series of solid
jabs on Appalachian early. The Pirates set the tone with a physical rushing
attack and a smothering defense that led to an astounding 170 to -11
advantage in total yardage in the first quarter.
The lopsided score and statistical margin
widened even more after Lindsay practically walked through a canyon and into
the end zone from 21 yards. That was with 13:21 remaining before the half
and it was ultimately ECU’s final offensive punch.
From that point forward the Pirates had no
offensive fight.
Much of that can be attributed to the fact
that the Pirates were woefully inept through the air. Aside from a drive
that ended in a 27-yard scoring toss to receiver Reyn Willis, quarterback
Patrick Pinkney had arguably the most unimpressive performance of his
career.
Pinkney completed only 12-of-27 passes for
131 yards and was intercepted twice. He threw behind receivers, overthrew
them, and never truly looked comfortable in the second half.
It’s hardly the type of performance you
would expect from a three-year starter or sixth-year senior. It’s certainly
not what you would envision from the guy who efficiently worked over both
Virginia Tech and West Virginia last season, and who finally has a full
complement of weapons around him.
If Pinkney isn’t better next week in
Morgantown, or the following week in Chapel Hill, it’s hard to envision ECU
returning home with anything other than a 1-2 record. The Pirates simply
can’t be one-dimensional and expect to beat the better teams on their
schedule.
That’s the bad news in the aftermath of
this season-opening win. The good news is ECU sits undefeated, still has a
relatively high ceiling, and the coaches should have the full attention of
the players.
A lot of teams find themselves in much
worse scenarios today. But if the Pirates don’t develop a knockout blow, it
will be very difficult to reach their ambitious goals.
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09/06/2009 03:50:08 AM |
