East Carolina has been proving all season long that Shane Carden can throw the ball and that he has many targets to throw to. Opponents are looking to stop this dynamic pass threat and thus rendering the Pirates’ offense useless and upsetting the 18th-ranked team in the country.
In the words of the great Lee Corso: “Not so fast my friend!”
ECU has a game-changer by the name of Breon Allen. This senior running back has been working hard and now it’s his time to shine. Allen is a very dynamic back with the speed and moves that enable him to be a great go-to guy when the pass game stands still.
If you didn’t know, Allen has a total of 504 rushing yards that currently ranks third in the American Athletic Conference. His best performances have come in big games and when the Pirates have needed it.
For example, Allen reeled off his best performance of the year against North Carolina with 211 yards and a pair of touchdowns. More importantly, Allen was the factor that helped boost the Pirates over South Florida with his 124 yards and a score.
Outside of those two games, Allen hasn’t really had to do that much because Carden has torched the defenses and stacked up a bunch of yards, but the recent close call against the Bulls is the perfect example of how Allen will help this offense sustain drives and score points moving forward.
Time and time again, the USF defense put pressure on Carden, forcing him to throw the ball earlier than he wanted to and his timing was off and the pass would fall incomplete for one reason or another. Allen would then reel off a big run and the offense would get rolling again.
If ECU wants to continue to storm through the conference, I think it needs to give Allen more touches. Having this type of weapon can really help your already powerful offense while taking the pressure off of Carden to be the top playmaker.
Defenses are going to be scheming to beat Carden, Justin Hardy, Isaiah Jones and the rest of the fast receiving corps. I don’t have any problems with giving some of that load to a capable Allen to carry.
Much like the Greek mythological creature Hydra, if you cut the head off of the snake, more appear. That is the factor and playmakers that the Pirates have; take away one, there are more to step up and beat you. That is what Allen means to this team.
I believe that the running of Allen is what pushed the Pirates out of their funk as they took control of the game and eventually won in Tampa, and will do much of the same in the future en route to a conference championship.
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