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PRE-GAME ANALYSIS
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Keys to the
Game
Saturday,
November 22, 2014
By Kevin Monroe |
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For the ninth
straight year,
Kevin Monroe, color analyst for the Pirate
IMG Sports Network, provides “Kevin’s
Keys to The Game.” In his weekly breakdown of
what East Carolina must do to beat its
upcoming opponent, Monroe brings a unique
perspective as a member of the
broadcast team and as a former star
defensive back for the Pirates (1995-99).
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East Carolina vs. Tulane
3:30 pm | Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (cap. 50,000) |
TV: ESPN3
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GAME DAY WEATHER |
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After experiencing the
arctic plunge last week in
Cincinnati (27 degrees at
kickoff) and miserable,
rainy conditions the
previous game at Temple, the
East Carolina football team
may feel like it has
returned to a tropical
paradise as it hosts Tulane
for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff
today. The temperature is
expected to be 51 degrees at
the outset of the American
Athletic Conference contest
with clear skies, low
humidity (22 percent) and
slight wind (South, one mile
per hour). By the end of the
game, the mercury will have
dipped to 42 degrees with 33
percent humidity and south
winds at six mph. There is a
zero percent chance of
precipitation, according to
the forecast. (Filed by Al
Myatt) |
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American Football
Schedule |
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SATURDAY |
SMU at UCF, 12 pm (ESPNN)
Tulsa at Houston, 3 pm (ESPN3)
Tulane at ECU, 3:30 pm (ESPN3)
USF at Memphis, 4 pm (ESPNN)
Cincinnati at UConn, 8 pm (CBSSN) |
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BASKETBALL |
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Transfers pace Pirates |
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GREENVILLE — Florida
State transfer Terry
Whisnant made four
of seven attempts
from behind the
3-point line and
scored 16 points to
lead East Carolina
to a 92-51
nonconference
basketball win over
Virginia-Lynchburg
at Williams Arena in
Minges Coliseum on
Thursday night. ...
Story, photos and
audio... |
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Pictured: The East
Carolina bench
reacts after walk-on
Peyton Robbins
scores a basket in
the final minutes of
the Pirates' 92-51
victory over
Virginia-Lynchburg
on Thursday night at
Minges Coliseum.
Thirteen ECU players
scored in the rout,
five of them in
double figures.
(Photo by W.A.
Myatt. ©Bonesville.net) |
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FOOTBALL |
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Losses set stage for
Tulane's arrival |
Saddled with a two-game
losing streak under adverse
conditions in the rugged
American Athletic
Conference, East Carolina's
football team has been
looking forward to returning
to competition following a
layoff from a Thursday night
game at Cincinnati on Nov.
13. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL SPECIAL
FEATURE |
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Fifteen Questions for B.J.
Tyson |
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 Bunyon
Devell (B.J.) Tyson, Jr., is
off to a good start in East
Carolina's basketball
program. Two games into the
2014-15 season, the 6' 3"
freshman is averaging 17.0
points, 5.5 rebounds and
leads the Pirates in steals
with seven. He is playing
23.5 minutes per game. Tyson
has hit nine of his 10 free
throws (90 percent) and 12
of 22 field goal attempts
(54.5 percent), although he
has made just one of seven
behind the arc. ...
More from W.A.
Myatt... |
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Pictured: Freshman
guard B.J. Tyson has
hit the court
running after
attending East
Carolina for a year
before joining the
roster this season.
The Wadesboro
product leads the
team in steals and
is second in
scoring. (ECU Media
Relations photo) |
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FOOTBALL |
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Justin Hardy deserves better |
Justin Hardy has been
snubbed. East Carolina's spectacular
receiver will most likely set the
all-time NCAA record for career
receptions this week when the
Pirates host Tulane. Hardy needs
just four catches to break the
record set by Ryan Broyles of
Oklahoma in 2011. ...
More
from Brian Bailey... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
  The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guests were prep
football coaches
David Wojtecki,
Bobby Curlings, Paul
Cornwell, Sport
Sawyer, Scott
Gardner:
Replay
show... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: Coach Ruff Weekly
Presser |
 ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill spoke
with the media at his weekly
press conference on Monday
as the Pirates prepare to
host Tulane on Saturday
(courtesy of Pirate Radio
1250; file photo):
Select
clip... |
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View Mobile Alpha version of this page.
By
Kevin Monroe
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's
2014 football schedule
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.
Send an e-mail message to
Kevin Monroe.
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archives.
11/22/2014 03:09 AM
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