Audio: Brian Bailey
Show |
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The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Brian's guests this week were WNCN
sportscaster Todd Gibson (left) and
Fayetteville Observer sportswriter
Sammy Batten
(right):
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Infographic: Dowdy Disappointment |
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24 |
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Good teams find a
way to win and P.J. Walker helped
Temple demonstrate the finer points
of that adage Thursday night at
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The Owls QB
connected with Robby Anderson three
times on the decisive drive that
lifted the Owls to a comeback
victory over East Carolina. ...
Details and data from Greg Vacek... |
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Ruff post-game
audio |
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ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with reporters
after the Pirates'
Thursday night loss to
Temple
(recorded by Al Myatt):
Select audio clip... |
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FOOTBALL |
Payback not officially on agenda |
The
symmetry of tonight's Temple-East
Carolina game compared to the two
teams' 2014 matchup is pretty
remarkable. A year ago, the Pirates
were a ranked team playing on the
road. This year, the Owls (6-0) come
in for a 7 p.m. kickoff at
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium ranked No. 22
by the Associated Press and No. 24
in the coaches poll. ...
More
from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL |
Season arrives at crossroads |
No game last
season sticks in the craw of
East Carolina fans more than
the Senior Night loss to
Central Florida in which the
Pirates pried defeat from
the jaws of victory by
allowing the Knights to
score on a 51-yard Hail Mary
pass as time expired. But
that wasn’t the most
damaging loss of 2014. ...
More from Brett
Friedlander... |
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By
Brian Bailey
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
The East Carolina football season is
down to four games.
There have been plenty of highs and probably just as many lows for this
ECU team, which stands at 4-4 heading to the final month.
This past week’s Temple game was a microcosm of the season to date.
There was good and there was bad. There was winning football and there
were plays that led to
the 24-14 loss to the 22nd-ranked Owls.
Teams seem to be figuring out the two-quarterback system the Pirates are
using. It’s a tough call for first year offensive coordinator Dave
Nichol. Teams are stuffing the run with James Summers in the game. Those
same teams are daring Blake Kemp to air it out.
Both quarterbacks have shined at times. Both have also struggled to
produce consistently, especially with the game in doubt in the second
half.
Coach Ruff recognizes the key element and it really hasn’t changed.
“Execution, making a routine play,” said Ruff at his Monday news
conference on the ECU campus. “We talk about it each week, y’all have
heard it for six years: routine plays, execution.”
The Temple game exploited that lack of a consistent, second half attack.
Add in the turnovers and problems in the punting game, and a great
defensive effort by ECU was wiped out in the loss to the Owls.
Story
continues after the following ad...
The Pirates have yet to have a bye week. The long season is taking its
toll. The weekend without a game was a welcome relief.
“Long weekend,” said McNeill. "It was needed, by coaches and by players.
It was good to get away from it for a little bit, take your mind off
things, but it’s good to get back around the players yesterday. Players
are resilient. They took this one hard, just like I knew they would. We
have to get ready right now for Connecticut. They are on the clock, and
Bobby’s (UConn coach Bob Diaco)doing a good job there. This league, and
I’ve talked about it before, is top to bottom, you better have your big
man clothes on.”
McNeill took time out to address two of the big keys to the loss to
Temple.
The Pirates were penalized nine times for 99 yards. The Owls were worse
with 12 penalties for 114 yards. Laundry littered Bagwell Field on just
about every play it seemed.
“I thought we hurt ourselves,” said McNeill. “I liked the hype, but
doing some things that we needed to do and we’ll address that. It was
disappointing. And the kids can watch that on film, and they were
disappointed when they saw.”
ECU's special teams, most directly the punt team, really struggled
against the Owls, with one punt deflected and another blocked.
“We have to make sure we concentrate on the details," said McNeill. "The
rules are – we were told not to jump over the shield. So we’re to start
using that, but at the same time, we have to make sure we are designed
to kick the ball in (a certain) direction or angle. They did a good job
of that, and at the same time, we didn’t.”
The old adage says, 'You just have to keep chopping wood.’
Ruff knows that first hand, and shared his philosophy in what was his
shortest weekly presser of the year:
“Three things we talk about as preparation, and that started last night.
Making sure we’re continuing that preparation. And it’s very important
to make sure of that, and to hone-down on those things even harder than
we’ve done. I don’t know if that’s even possible, because we’ve
emphasized that a bunch, but not to hurt ourselves, stop ourselves.
"Again, it will always be
dedication to the team concept. Making sure everybody embraces their
role. Making sure everyone continues to keep their eyes forward. If
you’re looking forward, that’s where you’re going. If you’re looking
backwards, that’s where you’re going. I told them last night; we’ve got
to get our gearshift in drive. We’re going that way. There’s no reverse,
we’re not looking back. Looking forward and you’ve got to.”
Onward and upward. Next stop is UConn.
BB