Keys to the Game Saturday, September 19, 2015 By Kevin Monroe

East Carolina at Navy

3:30 pm | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000) | TV: CBSSN

By Kevin Monroe
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East Carolina will face Navy today in Annapolis in week three of the young season. Navy is 1-0 after a 48-10 rout of Colgate two weeks ago. The Midshipmen had a bye last week, giving them time for extra preparation for their debut game in the American Athletic Conference. The triple option look that Navy brings is always tough to defend and you can be certain the Middies will have had plenty of time to design means of exploiting any vulnerabilities the Pirates present.

ECU will have to be sound defensively, tackle the football well and play with energy and excitement offensively. Penalties and turnovers will also be a huge factor in the game. Road conference games are always the toughest games on the schedule to win.

In order to meet the challenge, the Pirates will need to follow this script:

STOP THE RUN

When you play Navy, you have to be ready to strap on the big boy pads because the Middies are going to line up and run the ball right at you. They are rock stars when it comes to the triple option and have been running it forever. With just one game in the books, they are ranked 3rd in the NCAA and 1st in the AAC with 367 yards rushing per game. The Midshipmen had 9 rushers against Colgate that averaged over 5 yards per carry. The stampede was led by running back Chris Swain's 126 yards on 11 carries. Second-leading rusher DeBrandon Sanders had 66 yards rushing on just 3 carries (22 yards per carry). Only 6 passes were attempted in the game for a total of 67 yards and one of them was a 50-yarder. The run game is Navy's 1st, 2nd and 3rd option. Stopping the run is a lot to ask of the Pirates, but if they at least contain it, they win.

BE DISCIPLINED

Every ECU defender will have a specific responsibility against the triple option. Somebody has to be responsible for the quarterback, another player or two is responsible for the pitch man and yet another is responsible for the dive play. If all execute their assignments, the option doesn’t work. The problem with that theory is that you are relying on 11 guys to all be disciplined, and if just one guy isn’t, the play can go for a big gain. The goal of the Middies offense is to fool and/or block a few guys so that their play gains 5 yards or more. Undisciplined football will get you beat against the good triple options team like Navy. Middies senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds is very experienced and skilled at running this scheme.

SCORE EARLY AND OFTEN

Navy really struggles playing catchup football. If it gets behind by two scores or more, it’s hard for its offense to keep up. The Middies count on just plugging along and getting first downs by running the clock. They have no problem winning low scoring games. Blake Kemp and the ECU offense need to get on top early and stay ahead. It will be important to get Christ Hairston back on track running the football in order to put pressure on the Navy defense. The Pirates are supremely talented on the offensive side of the ball, and they need to show that against the Midshipmen today.

BOTTOM LINE

Expect a tough game in the first half. It always takes a while for opposing defenses to figure out what Navy is doing. It’s very hard to simulate that offense in practice using scout team players. If they can get the Middies in some 3rd and long situations and force them to throw the football, the Pirates can take control of the game early. However, if they allow Navy to eat up the clock and pile up first downs in the early going, it could lead to a long day on the field.

Stopping or containing the run is the first priority, and that is done by being disciplined on defense. If the Pirates can do that and get their offense in a sustained rhythm early, they will win this game. If not, hang on, because things can get out of hand in a hurry against the Midshipmen.

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PAGE UPDATED 09/19/15 03:12 AM.