By By BRIAN HAINES
Sports Writer
GREENVILLE — Offense will be the focus for both East Carolina and SMU this Saturday when the two teams kickoff at 8 p.m. at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
SMU (2-2, 1-0) has been getting notoriety for its increased production behind promising true sophomore quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell in second-year coach June Jones’ run-and-shoot system.
The Pirates offense has been getting its fair share of attention, too, although it’s more for their lack of explosiveness and statistical rankings.
So far this season, ECU’s 114 rushing yards per game ranks 93rd in the nation out of 120 FBS teams, while its 184 passing yards per game is the 89th best in the country.
As a unit, East Carolina’s 298.8 yards of total offense per contest has it at 110th place, and its 21.5 points per game is 94th best in the country.
None of that sounds promising for a team that features a sixth-year senior at quarterback in Patrick Pinkney, a host of capable running backs and a veteran, beefy offensive line.
Amidst all the negatives is one glaring positive: They are still winning games.
The Pirates head into Saturday’s matchup holding a 3-2 record and are leading Conference USA East with a perfect 2-0 record. ECU’s only two losses came to West Virginia and then No. 24 UNC.
The Pirates defense buckled for two games when safety Levin Neal and corner Emanuel Davis were injured, as they were victimized by the deep ball for a stretch. However, with Neal and Davis back, the Pirates’ defense has been playing up to par. All this team needs right now is a more fluid offense.
East Carolina coach Skip Holtz said he feels that improvement is obtainable. Holtz noted that in ECU’s last game, a 21-17 win over Marshall on the road, the Pirates pieced together touchdown drives of 80, 76 and 68 yards.
Holtz also stated that most high-scoring offenses get a boost from other units.
“When you look at a lot of other teams that are scoring points, they are not driving 80 yards seven times to score,” Holtz said. “What they are doing is getting a short field, getting turnovers, scoring on defense or running back a punt. Let’s say the offense drove the field and scored 21 points, but then the defense set up one score and maybe the special teams blocked a punt to set up another score. All of a sudden you look and you have 35 points…. There is a lot more that goes into point productivity that just offense.”
It may sound like Holtz is working a spin when he talks about his offense, but he is under no illusions about where his unit stands. Holtz very much knows the offense needs to step up.
“We have to get better; we have to get a lot better on offense,” Holtz said. “We are not where we need to be.”
Fair or not, Pinkney has been the focal point for the unit’s struggles. On the season Pinkney has hit on 55 percent of his passes (88 of 159) for an average of 177 passing yards per game. Pinkney is also averaging an interception per game.
Some of the low passing totals can be attributed to drops, but more importantly, the Pirates just don’t really have a home run hitter on offense that can scare the daylights out of a defensive coordinator.
East Carolina’s run game has been sturdy, and looks a lot better with a healthy Dominique Lindsay. However, neither Lindsay or Brandon Jackson are viewed upon as being that “speed” back that can take a handoff 80 yards. They are more grinding backs that have 30 and 40-yard run potential.
Wide receiver Dwayne Harris is looked upon to be the playmaker, as ECU uses him out of the wildcat, and loves to throw screens to him. But while Harris has been the most productive player on offense, he has only one play longer than 40 yards this season and has not reached the end zone on any punt or kickoff returns.
“We don’t really have (a home run hitter) right now. I don’t think Dwayne has been that much of a home run hitter. It’s not like he has a couple of 80 yard touchdowns in his back pocket,” Holtz joked. “He’s been very productive for us, don’t get me wrong. Very productive. … I just don’t think we have been as productive as we would like to be in our passing game with the big plays down the field.”
Lack of big plays has killed the Pirates’ offense this season. Harris is the holder of the team’s longest play this season, a 47-yard reception, but it’s the only play the unit has had that was longer than 40 yards all season.
That’s a scary fact when you figure that ECU is at the midway point in the season. Love him or hate him, the blame for lack of big plays cannot be placed squarely on Pinkney.
“What we are lacking offensively is more big plays,” Holtz said. “You go back to a couple of deep balls that we dropped. If you could add one 50-yard play, or one big play a game, then all of a sudden there are seven more points and you are averaging 28 points per game and 350 yards (of total offense). Just one big play, that’s the thing we have really been missing.”
On the positive side, Holtz said that he has been encouraged when he looks at game film.
“When I sit down and look at the film and look at how close we are to making that one big play, whether it be in the run or in the pass … I feel a whole lot better watching the film,” Holtz said.