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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 |
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©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."
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02/23/2007 01:41:26 AM
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