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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates reboot QB strategy |
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 East
Carolina heads into the home
stretch of the 2015 football
season needing to win its
final two games, starting
with Thursday’s matchup
against winless Central
Florida in Orlando, to
finish at .500 and achieve
bowl eligibility. ...
More from
Brett Friedlander... |
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GAME DAY WEATHER |
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Thunderstorms are
forecast throughout
the afternoon and
evening in Orlando
as East Carolina
visits Central
Florida for a 7:30
kickoff tonight.
Temperature is
expected to be in
the mid-70s at the
start of the game
with a heat index of
81. There is a 75
percent chance of a
shower at the
outset, increasing
to 80 percent by the
end of the American
Athletic Conference
contest. The mercury
will drop slightly
during the game.
Winds will shift
from the
East-northeast to
the north but remain
in the negligible
range at three to
four miles per hour.
(Filed by Al Myatt) |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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Matchup short on prime time luster |
The Thursday night
college football games on ESPN are
scheduled well in advance. That's
why winless Central Florida hosts
struggling East Carolina on national
TV on Thursday night at 7:30. The
matchup has the makings of a ratings
fiasco. ...
More
from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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Doyle plots growth path with Pirates |
Some
recruiters thought Jack Doyle lacked
the weight to handle an offensive
line position at the college level.
But not East Carolina offensive line
coach Brad Davis. “He told me he's
made a living with guys like me,''
Doyle said.“
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More
from Sammy Batten... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Lebo reaches milestone |
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GREENVILLE — East Carolina showed
some of the skills Jeff Lebo
possessed as a player at North
Carolina in handing the sixth-year
Pirates coach his 300th career win
on Monday night in Williams Arena at
Minges Coliseum. ...
Story & photos... |
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Pictured: Freshman
Kentrell Barkley
inbounds for the
Pirates during their
Monday night win
over Charlotte. (Al
Myatt photo) |
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Post-game
audio: Coaches and players... |
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FOOTBALL |
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'Desperation Bowl 2015' |
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 During
the preseason many thought this
week’s East Carolina-Central Florida
game would help decide the East
Division of the American Athletic
Conference. My how the mighty have
fallen. ...
More
from Brian Bailey... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: Ruff Weekly
Presser |
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  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill met with
reporters on Monday at his weekly
press conference (audio courtesy
Pirate Radio 1250; file photo):
Select audio
clip... |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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ECU fortifies front lines |
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  East
Carolina's recruiting class of 2016
has expanded to 15 with verbal
commitments from Mooresville High
School DT Jamil Dukes (left) and
Wake Forest Heritage High School OT
Jack Doyle (right). ...
Thumbnail
sketches... |
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BASKETBALL |
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White, Barkley fuel Pirates in
opener |
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GREENVILLE — East Carolina won its
season opening basketball game over
Grambling State 61-53 on Friday
night at Williams Arena in Minges
Coliseum as Caleb White scored 21
points. The outcome provided Pirates
coach Jeff Lebo with his 299th
career victory.
...
More
from Al Myatt... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Pirates sail into uncharted waters |
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East
Carolina will be entering the realm
of the unknown in several areas as
it hosts Grambling State in its
basketball opener on Friday at 8
p.m. "We don't have any film on
Grambling or anything," said
sixth-year Pirates coach Jeff Lebo.
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More
from Al Myatt... |
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View Mobile Alpha version of this page.
By
Kevin Monroe
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
East
Carolina heads into tonight's American Athletic Conference game at
Central Florida at 4-6 after consecutive losses to
Temple,
Connecticut and
South Florida. In each of those
defeats, ECU led in the 4th quarter but couldn't hold on. The final
quarter has seen the Pirates give up big plays on defense and stumble on
offense. The running game has been ineffective from both the quarterback
and running back positions, and the passing game has similarly
struggled.
James Summers has played nearly all of the snaps over the last two
games, but Blake Kemp will probably see more time tonight. The
Pirates defense has kept them in every game during the skid. The
defenders have given up some explosion plays, but overall they have
played well.
The
Knights are 0-6 in the conference and 0-10 overall. Their head
coach, George O’Leary, resigned midway through the season and UCF is
hungry for its first win.
The Pirates can win
tonight's game if they follow this script:
MOVE THE
BALL
Watching
the ECU offense play lately has been frustrating. The unit has lots of
talent, but injuries and poor decision-making have handicapped
production. Picking up a first down or two has been doable, but
stringing three or more first downs together or a unleashing a big play
downfield rarely happens anymore. The Pirates have some game changers at
every skill position on offense and they have to find a way to get those
guys the ball in space.
Tight end Bryce Williams is one of the best in the country and has
recently been named to the Senior Bowl roster. Wide receivers Trevon
Brown and Isaiah Jones are just two of a group of very talented pass
catchers that can change a game with one reception. Running backs
Christ Hairston, Anthony Scott, Marquez Grayson and Shawn Furlow are
all capable skill players, but the space really hasn’t been there
for them to be effective.
The
Pirates won’t win either of these last two games if they can’t
consistently move the ball offensively. Tonight will be a big test
for the offense coming off a bye week to see what adjustments they
have made.
DON'T
GIVE UP BIG PLAYS
In the
last few games, the ECU defense and special teams have played pretty
well except for the occasional breakdowns that have allowed huge plays
in the second half that have led to defeat. Against Temple it was two
blocked punts in the 4th quarter. In the UConn game it was a 90-yard
touchdown run in the 3rd quarter. Last game, against USF, it was a
67-yard touchdown pass with five minutes to go in the game.
Containing UCF’s running and passing games for 58 minutes isn’t good
enough if the barn door is left open at crunch time. Wrapping up
running backs and staying deep in the secondary will be big all game
long. The Knights have several skill position guys that can score
from anywhere on the field if given enough space.
FINISH
THE GAME
Except
for
the Navy game, the Pirates have
been in every game this year until the very end. The other nine games
were all winnable late in the 4th quarter. The problem has been not
finishing these games off. Getting into an offensive rhythm, taking care
of the football and playing smart, aggressive defense are as important
in the fourth quarter as in the first three frames.
BOTTOM
LINE
UCF
hasn’t won a game but has played a very tough schedule both in and out
of conference. With losses to Stanford, South Carolina, Temple, Houston
and Cincinnati, the Knights certainly haven’t had an easy road. They
want to win for interim coach Danny Barrett and avoid a winless season.
This game isn’t a gimme for the Pirates – they will have to earn it.
With
a week to prepare for this matchup, ECU can certainly get it done if
it can keep the chains moving on offense, avoid giving up the big
play on defense and finish the game without late lapses. Much is on
the line as the Pirates must win this game and the regular season
finale at home against Cincinnati to qualify for a bowl bid.
Tonight’s game is step one.
Send an e-mail message to
Kevin Monroe.
Dig into Kevin Monroe's
archives.
The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30
p.m. Brian's guests this week
were Heather Macy (left), Ruffin
McNeill (right) and Ayden-