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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate Notebook No. 20
Wednesday, October 24, 2001

By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist

©2001 Bonesville.net

Logan: Self-respect the Best Motivator

In beating Memphis on Saturday, East Carolina avenged a bitter 17-10 loss to the Tigers that cost ECU a share of the 2000 Conference USA title.

According to several Pirate players, revenge was a hot topic in the locker room in the days leading up to Saturday's showdown, with senior linebacker Pernell Griffin leading the charge.

"Yes sir, there was a little bit of redemption out there," Griffin said. "It felt good to go out and play against a team that you didn't play against last year."

Griffin injured his knee the week prior to last year's tilt, and was unavailable. The Pirate defense struggled in the early going while adjusting to Griffin's absence, but eventually buckled down to pitch three quarters of shutout football.

Though the Pirates did have the services of quarterback David Garrard, then a junior,  the Durham native had one of his poorest career performances, connecting just 18 of 41 passes while throwing two interceptions.

"Last year was definitely a struggle on my part," Garrard said. "Nobody did it to me."

Last season's struggles against the Tigers were the farthest thing from his mind in Saturday's Homecoming rematch.

" I just knew that if I came out today and played David Garrard football that I'd be fine," he said.

Next Tuesday, the Pirates will have another opportunity at redemption, this time against Texas Christian, which put an end to East Carolina's '99 storybook season with a 28-14 victory in the Mobile Alabama Bowl.

Though revenge is likely to be on the minds of some, you can rest assured head coach Steve Logan won't be addressing it during team meetings.

"Revenge is a very poor motivator," Logan said. "It's better to take that kind of emotion and turn it inward, and talk about re-establishing your self-respect and playing the game the way you know you can play.

"Of the kids that played in that game two years ago, not many of them are left. I try to convince our team every week that the team we're playing can beat us. I think that's a better way to look at things."

TCU offers plenty for the Pirates to be concerned about between now next Tuesday, not the least of which is a suffocating defense.

The Horned Frogs currently rank 28th nationally in total defense and 23rd nationally in rushing defense.

"They are a very good football team," Logan said. "Defensively, they're one of the better teams in our conference. Numbers-wise, they're only giving up about 310 yards a game, which anytime you're below 350, you're very, very good."

TCU is particularly stingy against the run, yielding only 107 yards per game on the ground.

Though the Frogs aren't exactly lighting up the scoreboard, Logan says they have plenty of offensive weapons to be concerned about, including quarterback Casey Printers, who starred in the Horned Frogs' '99 victory over the Pirates.

"Offensively, they've still got the quarterback [Casey Printers] that we played against two years ago," he said. "He's just a great athlete, much like the young man over at North Carolina [Ronald Curry].

"He's very hard to tackle and would just as soon run it as throw it. We're going to have to stay in our rush lanes on him."

Due to injuries and a lack of production, Printers has received less playing time of late, paving the way for the emergence of junior Sean Stilley, whose 21-29, 273-yard performance against Army garnered C-USA offensive player of the week honors.

Regardless of who calls the signals for the Horned Frogs, according to Logan, the Pirates have plenty to worry about on Tuesday, the least of which will be revenge.

"They've got their weapons," Logan added. "They're a good football team. We'll see how we handle it."

Pirates Preparing for Tuesday Night Football

Tuesday's tilt with TCU will be the first of three non-Saturday affairs for the Pirates, a result of the new television agreement between C-USA and ESPN.

ECU will end the regular season with a Thursday night clash with Louisville, followed by a post-Thanksgiving Friday feast with rival Southern Miss.

C-USA's previous pact with Fox Sports Net showcased league games on a weekly basis, more often than not during the hallowed 3:30 Saturday time slot.

As for playing on Tuesdays, Logan voiced his opinion during his Monday afternoon press conference.

"I'm not a fan of it, but it doesn't matter anymore because television is in charge," he said. "The one o'clock Saturday afternoon kickoff is over.

"I remember in 1986 and 1987 when I was at Mississippi State and we began to kickoff at 11:30 in the morning [because of television], there were many people who said the end of the world was coming soon and that was the end of college football as we knew it. You hear this every time something new happens.

"I can remember when Thursday night games came out, and now Thursday night games are okay. Tuesday night will be okay after a couple of years — it'll just become a routine deal."

What won't be routine will be the Pirates' daily schedule over the next two weeks. In addition to altered practice times, the players will have to adjust to missed time in the classroom, which will be two-and-a-half days, according to Logan.

"Academically it's not good," he said. "We're going to miss a half-day of class Monday.

"We're going to get excused absences all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday, because we're not going to get back until 3:30 in the morning and I'm not going to even attempt to get them up and get them in class on Wednesday. I'm going to let them sleep. So it's going to be a half-week of shock for academics."

Miller Named C-USA Special Teamer of the Week

Junior kicker Kevin Miller was named C-USA's special teams player of the week on Monday. In Saturday's victory over Memphis, Miller connected on all four of his field goal attempts, and remains perfect inside of 40 yards this season.

For the year, Miller has connected on 11-14 field goals (.786), and ranks 13th nationally in field goals per game.

Return specialist Marvin Townes won the same award last week after returning a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown against Army. Four different Pirates have won C-USA player of the week honors this season.

Surprisingly, however, is the fact that the Pirate offense hasn't produced a weekly award winner, even though the unit ranks first in the league in scoring and second in total offense.

Logan's Big Run-in

Logan has had more than his share of confrontations with the officials this season. On Saturday, the Pirates' head coach had yet another run in, this time of the more literal nature.

When asked about the injury status following the Memphis game, Logan said the Pirates escaped the Tigers virtually unscathed, with the exception of one.

"The referee ran over me one time," he said. "I'll tell you what, he's a friend of mine, and I told him 'you've got to be a better athlete than that.'

"I was out of bounds and being a good guy, and he just ran right over the top of me. But anyway, I'll have to go to the whirlpool."

Do the Math

Openly criticizing the officials can often result in severe reprimands. In 1988, then Duke head coach Steve Spurrier was suspended for his team's home game against North Carolina for questioning an official's pass interference call that set up N.C. State's go-ahead touchdown the week prior.

Instead of roaming the sidelines in that familiar white visor, Spurrier watched from his office, which overlooked Wallace Wade Stadium.

So, when asked about his team's offensive resurgence since the Carolina game, Logan was mindful not to directly point any fingers when he noted that his team also performed well against the Heels, scoring six touchdowns by his calculations.

"We were in a good rhythm that day, too, brother," he said. "We had some folks take us out of it.

"I don't know who that would have been, but I'll leave that up to you all (the media) to write about that. We had six (touchdowns), but only got away with three."

Send an e-mail message to Denny O'Brien.

Click here to dig into Denny O'Brien's Bonesville archives.

02/23/2007 01:41:26 AM
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