Keys to the Game Saturday, November 22, 2014 By Kevin Monroe

East Carolina vs. Tulane

3:30 pm | Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (cap. 50,000) | TV: ESPN3

By Kevin Monroe
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The Pirates will take on a challenge from Tulane today in their first appearance in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in a month. It will also be East Carolina's last Saturday home game this season.  The regular season finale against Central Florida will be played on a Thursday night. The Green Wave is 3-7 on the season and 2-4 in the American Athletic Conference. The Pirates — 6-3 overall, 3-2 in the league — are coming off two straight road losses to AAC foes. Being back home could be just the medicine they need to reverse the trend and reestablish momentum. The good news about last week’s loss at Cincinnati is that ECU got back on track scoring the football, putting up 46 points. It was ECU's first 40-point game since an Oct 4 win over Southern Methodist. Tulane is hungry for a win and can beat the Pirates unless they follow this script:

PLAY THE BALL IN THE AIR

Over the last several weeks, the Pirates have struggled on defense to play the football in the air. Giving up deep passes for touchdowns has happened too often. It’s not usually a matter of good players beating bad players. It has to do with blown assignments and poor technique. Coach Rick Smith has been coaching defensive backs for 30 years, so we know the players are being taught the right things. Taking those instructions into real game situations is a different story. At times the DBs have looked great. Josh Hawkins was named to the Thorpe Award watch list that goes to the nation’s best defensive back because of his 4 interceptions early in the season and his clutch play. Lately the secondary hasn’t been as effective. To win today, they will need to play much better.

SUSTAIN DRIVES

Although the Pirates got back to scoring at a high rate against the Bearcats, they got off to a slow start and had to come back late. Starting out fast and getting into that offensive rhythm that we always talk about is imperative. Piling up first downs and finishing off drives with touchdowns is the ultimate goal. ECU is a quick-strike team, but with its ability to run the football it can also eat clock and score on four-minute drives instead of one-minute drives. Don’t get me wrong, scoring is scoring no matter how long it takes. But sustaining drives shortens the game and reduces the opportunity for Tulane’s offense to make plays.

MINIMIZE THE BIG PLAY

The Green Wave has 16 interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries through 10 games. Tulane’s defenders are ball sharks that see blood in the water and attack when opposing offenses have the ball. ECU's struggles holding on to the football in the loss at Temple opened the eyes of every defense left on the Pirates' schedule. Protecting the football is imperative in every game. Not protecting the football well invites disaster. When ECU is on defense, it must prevent Tulane from making plays of 20 yards or more from the line of scrimmage. Plays of that type kept Connecticut and South Florida in the game in contests the Pirates won. Tulane has the athletes to make explosive plays and ruin the day for ECU. Green Wave running back Sherman Badie already has a 90-yard TD run this season and receiver Dontrell Hilliard is averaging 17.3 yards per reception.

BOTTOM LINE

This game showcases a 6-3 team against a 3-7 team. On paper the Pirates should win easily. However, they have been favored the last two games and the opponents haven’t backed down one bit. Not only have they not backed down, they have taken the fight to ECU. The result has been a pair of losses for the Pirates. It’s time for ECU to come out swinging like it did earlier in the season and not allow Tulane to get up off the mat. To win today, the Pirates will have to play the pass better, sustain drives offensively and minimize the big play. If they can do that, this should be a good day for the home team.

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PAGE UPDATED 11/22/14 03:09 AM.