There are
plenty of stories to follow this week, as East Carolina gets set to
kick
off the 2006 season against Navy on Saturday. It’s Skip Holtz's
second year, and the first ever match-up between ECU and Navy on the
gridiron. There are new recruits, injuries, the stories seem endless.
However, as
far as the outcome of this weekend's ball game, size may be the biggest
story.
It has become common knowledge that athletes at the service academies
(Army, Navy, Air Force) are generally smaller. For coaches at
these academies, the recruiting base is smaller, thanks in large part
to
that whole military service idea that comes along with attending such
an academy. Often, the players that are interested are undersized
by current Division 1-A standards, and the coaches understand that
comes with the territory. They also understand that they get more
disciplined, dedicated players in return.
For East Carolina, this Saturday's match-up presents a rare size
advantage. Over the last several years, the Pirates have had to
battle to overcome their size deficiency. On Saturday, it will be just
the opposite.
Under fifth-year head coach Paul Johnson, the Midshipmen of Navy have
perfected the art of playing small. Johnson is known for his
spread option running attack, and Johnson’s Navy teams have led the
country in rushing, in two of the last three years. The Mids have
not been ranked lower than third in the country during the Johnson
era. Navy is 26-11 over the last three years, making three
straight bowl games (won two) after going 3-30 in the previous three
seasons.
The Midshipmen have also become known for a swarming defense. It’s not
uncommon for Navy to play a 3-4 defense in an attempt to neutralize
their size disadvantage. This gets some quicker, more agile,
players on the field, and allows the Mids to utilize a speed
advantage.
So, how do the Pirates take advantage of their size advantage?
Senior offensive lineman Josh Coffman thinks it lies in
fundamentals. “Despite us having the size advantage, they have
the leverage advantage. We have to get our pads under theirs even
though we're bigger, everyday we work on getting our pads low, and
trying to be technically sound.”
Coach Skip Holtz has spent two weeks trying to get his team ready for
Navy, but even he still has concerns. “They do a great job of
trying to neautralize their weaknesses which is their size. They
don’t stay up high and block you, they're going to cut you, their going
to get at your knees and your ankles and roll around on the ground, and
try and tie you up and occupy you with what they do.” So what do
you do to try and counter that? “You’ve got to work on it, it’s
very hard to simulate. There’s no secret formula to say well this is
how you negate it, you do this. You just have to make sure you
solidify your ends and try and put a hat on a hat and try and move the
ball” said Holtz.
ECU kicks off the ’06 season this Saturday in Annapolis, Md. The
Pirates hope the scout team has put together a close-enough impression
of the speed at which Navy attacks. Of all the stories we will
follow this weekend, the size difference is definitely the biggest!.
