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Keys to the
Game Saturday,
November 22, 2014
By Kevin Monroe |
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East Carolina vs. Tulane
3:30 pm | Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium (cap. 50,000) | TV: ESPN3
By
Kevin Monroe
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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.
E-mail Kevin Monroe.
PAGE UPDATED
11/22/14 03:27 AM.
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