DENNY O'BRIEN: Quick fix unlikely for offensive front

Pirate Notebook No. 281
Monday, September 11, 2006

By Denny O'Brien

East Carolina has five days to stitch together a more sturdy offensive front. Judging by the ease with which Navy and UAB busted through it, that may not be enough.

Game Center: UAB 17 ECU 12

Complete C-USA Scoreboard

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Two games into ECU's dangerous 12-week gauntlet, the Pirates have answered the most burning question that hovered over both spring and fall camp. Can they overcome the loss of three starting offensive linemen?

Despite possessing a significant size advantage up front, East Carolina was pushed around in the offensive trenches during both of its opening contests. That led to an abysmal rushing effort against a small Navy defense — and sent quarterback James Pinkney to the turf on almost every possession against UAB.

"We didn't particularly protect the passer very well (Saturday)," Pirates coach Skip Holtz said. "But we ran the ball better.

"You know, it's almost like feast or famine. Boy, it would be great if we could protect (Pinkney) and run the ball. It seems like we've struggled doing that with a young, inconsistent offensive line."

In ECU's case, an improved ground attack meant a not-so-spectacular 96 yards rushing and 3.6 yards per carry. What's more, a hefty portion of those yards occurred on draws and misdirection when the box wasn't stacked.

Where the Pirates struggle most is in short-yardage situations when the entire stadium expects a run. Good teams are mostly successful in that scenario, but ECU has been unable to prove that it can mount any push.

That was most obvious when the Pirates twice failed to produce touchdowns from inside the Blazers' ten-yard line.

"It's hard to win when you get field goals inside the ten," Holtz said. "We got down there and we tried to throw it one time. Then we tried to run it in — and again, we couldn't push it in."

That's eight points the Pirates couldn't haul back to Greenville, which was more than enough to produce a victory and give them a leg up in the Conference USA race. As it stands, ECU is a worrisome 0-2 and facing a schedule that isn't going to lighten anytime soon.

That leaves little time to mend an offensive line that has been suspect from the start.

Offensive coordinator Steve Shankweiler has built a solid reputation for his ability to mix together a competitive offensive front even when the ingredients are unproven or sparse. He's validated that ability over the years when his units follow a poor effort with a strong showing.

With so much youth and so little time, it's no given that improvement will occur at a fast enough rate for ECU to regain the momentum it created at the end of last season. In fact, it seems more unlikely given that success up front is largely contingent on chemistry.

Though the solution to ECU's futility along the offensive front should take time, an explanation of its roots doesn't.

Among the names that compose the two-deep chart, six are freshmen, one is a former walk-on, and another a converted tight end. Toss in a converted quarterback and a Division II transfer if tight end is factored into the mix.

None of the linemen on the current depth chart were signed to play the position during John Thompson's disastrous tenure. That explains the huge gap between the number of freshmen and seniors, which is a ratio of 2:1.

It also emphasizes Thompson's complete mismanagement of the program, not to mention the importance of AD Terry Holland's astute decision to cut ties when he did.

For the second straight week, Holtz faced a critical late-game decision: onside kick, or pin the opponent deep.

Against Navy, the Pirates coach opted for the onside kick largely because of the Midshipmen's clock-milking offense. But Saturday he chose the latter, to which he attributes the solid performance of the defense and his confidence in defensive coordinator Greg Hudson.

"I thought the defense played well," Holtz said. "I thought the defense was aggressive, I thought they got after it, they flew around.

"And there at the end of the game, I said to 'Hud', I said we can kick the onside kick, but we've got to have a touchdown. So, if we can kick it deep and stop them, he said put it on us — we'll stop them."

Hudson was proven right, as the Pirates produced a quick three-and-out and preserved plenty of clock for a comeback.

Holtz has experienced almost everything in nearly 20 years of coaching. But what occurred in the closing seconds of ECU's loss at UAB broke new ground.

Facing 4th and 15 with just over a minute to play, Pinkney dropped a perfect throw into the hands of receiver Phillip Henry. With an improbable victory well within sight, the former walk-on receiver sprinted 56 yards towards the end zone — but he needed one more.

"I've never lost a game like that," Holtz said. "It's heartbreaking. I've never lost one like that.

"I've seen something like that happen before where the ball was punched out from behind when the guy was running for the end zone. But I've never seen it on the last play of the game like that."

For the ECU fans sitting in cavernous Legion Field, Henry's fumble was a painful reminder of Art Brown's near-touchdown against North Carolina in 2001. The major difference was the timing of the two fumbles (Brown's occurred with enough time to recover), which only magnified the heartbreak against UAB.

The flight from Birmingham had to be one of the most difficult of Eric Graham's career. In a split second, the senior offensive tackle saw his hopes for a C-USA championship potentially fumbled away.

But despite any temptation that may exist for finger-pointing within the ECU locker room, Graham says that won't happen on his watch.

"Everybody's human," Graham said. "People make mistakes. Everybody made their share of mistakes (Saturday).

"Nobody is going to look at Phil and just be like, 'Phil, it's all your fault'. There were about 60 plays before that."