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Game No. 3: UNC-CH 31, ECU 17 |
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Game
Slants
Saturday, September 19, 2009
By Denny O'Brien |
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All not lost for ECU
By
Denny O'Brien
©2009 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
CHAPEL HILL — It’s easy to sit and pluck
the problems that have plagued East Carolina during a disappointing 1-2
start.
In Saturday’s
31-17 loss to No. 24 UNC-Chapel Hill
on Saturday, almost all of the Pirates’ faults were exploited by a
determined Tar Heels team that was eager to avenge
the 34-31 loss it took in Greenville
back in 2007.
The secondary that was torched by West
Virginia quarterback Jarrett Brown last week was singed again by an equally
sizzling T.J. Yates. The Tar Heels’ triggerman completed 19-of-24 passes for
227 yards, seemingly had an eternity to find open targets, and had one
stretch during which he connected on nine-consecutive attempts.
At times Yates, just like Brown, closely
resembled a Heisman contender.
When the ECU offense was on the field, the
overall yardage production was essentially the same as it was against the
Mountaineers. The Pirates finished with only 247 total yards and struggled
to make plays that netted any significant real estate.
It was a statistical storyline that hardly
fit a game in which the Pirates were down only one score with a handful of
minutes to play.
“It’s frustrating, and it’s hard to lose,”
Pirates Coach Skip Holtz said after the game. “Especially for a football
team that has such lofty goals for themselves and such high expectations.
“We came in here with the expectation not
only to compete, but the expectation to win. There is no moral victory in
coming out of here and saying it was close, or any of those types of things.
It’s a very down locker room right now.”
ECU’s mood is certainly understandable
considering its success last year and the preseason aspirations that
naturally followed it. With the amount of experience returning on both sides
of the ball, along with some key additions, it would seem only appropriate
to set the bar higher this season.
But as reality is quickly setting in on
2009, it’s clear that the Pirates won’t be able to deliver on some of the
preseason talk. The non-conference schedule has proven to be more difficult
than anticipated, which was amplified by the fact that East Carolina clearly
was at a competitive disadvantage against the Heels.
In the aftermath of this two-game skid, it
is important that the Pirates not allow it to snowball into additional
losses against more underwhelming opponents. With the Conference USA slate
set to begin next week against Central Florida, the level of competition
will be significantly lighter most of the way out.
Though visions of perfection and BCS
busting are off the table, the business of repeating as C-USA champions is
still in play. And when you consider the historical perspective of the Holtz
era in Greenville, there is no reason to believe the Pirates won’t brush
themselves off and make a serious run at another league crown.
In both 2006 and 2007 the Pirates stumbled
to 1-3 starts before rebounding and nearly taking the C-USA East Division.
Last year, ECU collected itself from an especially frustrating three-game
skid to win the title with, at best, a patchwork bunch.
There simply is no denying that Holtz and
his staff have proven their ability to regroup and refocus the troops at
times when they might seem emotionally fragile. Just like there is no
denying that there are positives that can be extracted from the North
Carolina loss, as well as a foundation on which the staff can continue to
build.
For starters, the ECU coaches deserve
credit for a more innovative offensive game plan than what had been
demonstrated to date. There was an obvious emphasis on placing the ball into
the hands of the Pirates’ most prolific playmakers, and the element of
predictability wasn’t nearly as prevalent as we’ve witnessed before.
Dwayne Harris occasionally lined up in Wild
Buc formation, threw a pass on an end-around, and the Pirates displayed a
multitude of formations to the talented Tar Heels’ defense. Though the plan
didn’t deliver overwhelming statistical success, the level of difficulty was
significantly higher given the caliber of opponent the Pirates were facing.
If you had to rank the top defenses East
Carolina has faced during the Holtz era, it would be hard not to place this
Chapel Hill bunch at the top of the heap. The Heels are big, fast, and
aggressive, and completely overmatched the Pirates’ veteran offensive front.
Truthfully, you couldn’t compile a bunch of
defensive all-stars from ECU’s conference opponents to match the group from
North Carolina.
Defensively the Pirates must improve
significantly, but in fairness they have been playing without a couple of
their key components. It’s hard not to envision ECU improving significantly
on the back end when starting safety Levin Neal and cornerback Emmanuel
Davis return.
In the end, that likely will serve as
little consolation to a team and fan base that thrive on beating ranked
opponents. That Saturday’s loss came against one from the same state — and
against which
the deep-seeded animosity stems from
heated political battles — has to hurt even worse.
But when the Pirates host Central Florida
next week they will still firmly control their destiny in C-USA and a
potential return to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. There is still plenty riding
on the season for ECU.
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09/20/2009 03:10:23 AM |
