Better competition exposed the Pirates mistakes, resulting in an all too familiar, “could of won that one” lament. Credit App State with not panicking, making great adjustments on defense, and exposing the weaknesses of the Pirates defensive schemes. The Pirates defense was on the field for 39 minutes. Unless the Pirates are scoring buckets of points with their 21 minutes, we will see the same result again. This game had a familiarly eerie feeling. Last year’s Pirates were experts at finding a way to lose. I think the 2024 Pirates are much improved. However, if your gunslinging offense has no room in the playbook for a little bit of ball control, you risk hanging the defense out to dry. Given the complete rebuild of the offense, there is more to like than not. The Pirate mission remains the same, eliminate mistakes. Don’t beat yourself. It’s a necessary step in the journey back to success.

Garcia for his career including the two games at ECU has thrown 11 TD's and 11 Interceptions. This trend will need to stop if we want to continue to win. He is obviously physically talented with a strong arm but he has the bad habit to force the ball into overly tight spaces and double coverage situations. I think with more time he will get much better at decision making. The D has been outstanding so far and has bailed us out several times in the first two games when we gave the opponents a short field. Without question were are a far better team than last year with superior overall talent and speed, but with so many new faces and new schemes on offense the team and coaches are still trying to figure it all out.

Do any of you experts watch college football??!! Fla St? GT!? Michigan!! Very fortunate to win their opener against Fresno. We are WAY better than last season on O. Happy with turnovers no, but I say it’s a pretty damn good team that can overcome that and win! Can it continue and have success, not likely but, I don’t believe it will. This guy at QB has played his second game in two years. Easy their melons. I think we have a bright future ahead!!! Go Pirates!!

7 interceptions and 2-0 points to weak opponents. With the exception of Temple , turnovers from here out means loss. Hope we can remedy turnover problems!

I don’t disagree with your point about JG. I thought surely Coach Baker would use Harris as a decoy out of the RPO, and allow Garcia to use his legs (with some strict instructions on ball security), putting maximum pressure on ODU while protecting the ball. That Coach Houston clamped down his own offense to the point that getting a first down was next to impossible speaks volumes. Being the second game, Pirate Nation has a right to be concerned about the level of sloppiness displayed by the offense. Some OL can’t seem to line up properly, and the ball being snapped when no one is ready for it, are just a couple of examples. Clearly, the interceptions are the biggest problem. That must be cleaned up. The Pirate defense won’t be able to cover 3-4 big mistakes each game. But, I’ll look at it with an optimistic eye, and point out that last year, we would not have gotten the win… so there’s reason to be hopeful.

"The well-traveled quarterback inspires confidence despite his turnovers..." Please; meaning no offense, this is demonstrably untrue. With a couple of minutes to go, and ECU at midfield, needing only one or two first downs to put the game away, three consecutive runs up the middle puts the lie to the above assertion, at least as far as the coaching staff is concerned, and it is somewhat understandable, given Garcia's penchant for throwing picks. The defense had a good game, but it would be dishonest not to admit that ODU shot themselves in the foot with crucial penalties, time after time, that were immensely helpful to ECU's cause. The Pirates are now heading into a significant three-game gauntlet in which it's not likely that they'll survive multiple interceptions in any of them. If Garcia starts the Ap game, then it must be while wearing a very short leash.

Pirates gotta establish a stronger running game.

How can a fan find a depth chart - just nice to have.

Overall, I give the Pirates an A, but only because of the efforts of the defense. Far too many turnovers. The defense, most likely, WILL NOT be able to overcome that type of performance by the Pirate offense going forward. NS was clearly overmatched against the Pirates. That’s not going to happen again. Having said that, I believe interceptions are going to be a part of the future for the Pirates. This Garcia has no problem pulling the trigger, most probably encouraged by JDB. You can’t operate an offense designed to put maximum pressure on the defense without some risk. The accuracy must improve, and this week’s practices will provide a hint as to Garcia’s ability to do that. For a kid who didn’t play last year, and won the job after what has been reported as a very spirited competition, JG gets a passing grade. If the Pirate defense proves to be what BH/MH think it is, Pirate Nation could be in for a fun season.

Our young men looked good last night, but remember last years team looked good against GW. ODU should give a real measure of our improvement; ODU should have beat Chicken of Carolina in Columbia if not for those two fumbles inside their own 10 yard line. Five turnover need to be corrected; that will lead to a defeat against ODU who is appearing to be a tougher opponent than it did on paper 24 hrs. ago . GO PIRATES ARRGH.

Very nice report, I really enjoy reading Sammy"s work. Thank You

Ian sorry for the inconsistencies during the past month. I was ill and took some time off to recharge/recover. Should be back to a normal schedule now. Thank you for being a loyal Bonesville.net reader. -Greg

I could not agree more. Let’s give NS credit for 1-1/2 quarters of spirited play, coupled with some 1st game jitters by the Pirates. By halftime, the game should be decided, in favor of the Pirates. Anything less will be interpreted as an ill omen, and Pirate Nation would be right to do so. In this moment, I BELIEVE the glass is half-full. GO PIRATES!!

"...as soon as that ball kicks off on August 31st, virtually every snap of the season, there’s going to be some level of chaos." Coach is saying the right things, but if this is in fact the case vs. Norfolk, then Pirates Nation is in for another very long season. ECU cannot admit it, of course, but inarguably their first game in effect should be no more than a scrimmage vs. the JV; anything less than a decisive win will be a major red flag. Even after Norfolk, ECU's schedule this year is soft, with the exception of the Ap-Liberty-UTSA stretch, and Army. Here's hoping for a semblance of an offense this year, and a similar d to last year.

Hey, Ian: Greg has COVID. So do I. It's been a challenging couple of weeks around Bonesville. We hope to be back on the regular schedule soon. Thank you for touching base. — Danny Whitford, Editor