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FOOTBALL |
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Reformulated defense may
surprise |
We’ve all
heard that offense sells
tickets, so it shouldn’t
come as a great surprise
that earlier this week, East
Carolina – which already
ranks first in attendance
among programs in non-“Power
Five” conferences –
announced that it has
surpassed the 20,000 mark in
season ticket sales again
this year. ...
More from Brett
Friedlander... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Eye patch symbolizes blind
spots |
Season openers have provided
some special moments in the
career of East Carolina
football coach Ruffin
McNeill. In his first start
at strong safety for the
Pirates at N.C. State in
1977, he made a
touchdown-saving tackle in
the final seconds of a 28-23
win. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL SPECIAL
FEATURE |
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15 Questions
for Davon Grayson |
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 Davon
Grayson (6-2, 196)
looks to rebound in
the 2014 East
Carolina football
campaign from a knee
injury that ended a
promising true
freshman season in
which he had 18
catches for 176
yards and four
touchdowns in six
games. The sophomore
outside wide
receiver is from the
talent-rich
Tidewater Virginia
area, by way of
Kings Fork High
School. ...
More from W.A.
Myatt... |
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Pictured: Devon
Grayson is back in
form after rehabbing
from an injury last
season that cut
short a spectacular
start in his
freshman campaign.
The Suffolk, VA,
product is listed as
East Carolina's
starter at the "Z"
position (outside
receiver) for
Saturday's opener
with N.C. Central .
(ECU Media Relations
photo) |
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FOOTBALL |
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'Intensity' changes for Ruff & Co. |
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The summer seems to
drag each year, unless you’re at the
beach enjoying the fun in the sun.
The East Carolina Pirates' version
of that fun in the sun comes in
August, in preparing for the
upcoming college football season.
...
More
from Brian Bailey... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: The 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
guest this week was
ECU offensive
coordinator Lincoln
Riley (right):
Replay
show... |
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Audio: Coach Ruff
Presser |
  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
addressed the media
at his inaugural
weekly press
conference of the
2014 season on
Monday (courtesy of
Pirate Radio 1250):
Select
clip... |
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FOOTBALL SPECIAL
FEATURE |
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Offensive encore ready to
roll |
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About a year ago, East
Carolina offensive
coordinator Lincoln Riley –
in our annual pow-wow that
would be better titled,
"Please coach, open up and
tell me what you really got
there" – told me several
things that played out
almost prophetically.
...
More from Ron Cherubini... |
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Photo: Fifth-year East
Carolina offensive
coordinator Lincoln Riley,
pictured along the sideline
at Southern Miss in 2012,
spoke recently with
Bonesville's Ron Cherubini
about the talent on his unit
heading into the 2014
season. (Bonesville archive
photo by Al Myatt) |
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View the Mobile Alpha version of this page.
By
Kevin Monroe
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's
2014 football schedule
The first game of the
year is all about fundamentals. No matter the season, the coach or the
players, there are certain things that have to happen in order for a team to win. Strategy and schematics are
important, but none of that matters without blocking, tackling and
protecting the ball.
If East Carolina
wants to open the season with a victory tonight over the North
Carolina Central Eagles, it must execute effectively in some key
facets of the game.
MANAGING
TURNOVERS
The Pirates must
take care of the football while on offense. Quarterback Shane Carden
has a host of talented receivers led by senior standout Justin
Hardy. Throwing and catching seems easy enough, but this will be
ECU's first test of the season and the Eagles are sure to show them
a few disguises on defense that they haven't seen in the preseason.
Defensively, the
Pirates will need to force NCCU into a minimum of 3 turnovers. The
Eagles will have a pair of talented quarterbacks, junior college
transfer Quinn Billerman and sophomore Malcolm Bell, at the controls
of a spread offense similar to the one employed by the Pirates.
Senior running back Andre Clark is a big, athletic runner who could
cause problems for ECU. Getting a good rush up front will be the key
to forcing turnovers.
CONTROLLING THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE
The Pirates are big
and strong on the defensive line behind Chrishon Rose, Freddy
Pressley and others who will need to get a great push to free up
linebackers Montese Overton and Maurice Falls to rush the
quarterback. When ECU has the ball, the offensive line must prime
the running game by opening up holes for running backs Breion Allen
and Chris Hairston.
BLOCKING AND TACKLING
Football at it's
most basic core is all about blocking and tackling. The team the
maintains its blocks up front and secures it's tackles down field
will win the football game. This will be the first live test for
either team and these fundamentals will set the tone for the
matchup.
BOTTOM LINE
The Pirates will be
double-digit favorites and should cruise if they take care of the
football, take command of the trenches and focus on fundamentals. It
should be a great night in The Fick.
Send an e-mail message to
Kevin Monroe.
Dig into Kevin Monroe's
archives.
