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Half
Empty or Half Full?
East Carolina, which
will try to improve
its record to 3-1
for only the second
time since 2000,
will also be looking
to become the first
Pirate squad to
capture a victory in
an Atlantic Coast
Conference stadium since
2006 (21-16 at N.C.
State). A win would end a run
of seven-straight
setbacks in ACC
venues. After similar anemic
second half
offensive
performances against
their last
opponents, both
the Tar Heels and
Pirates are
looking to rebound
from disheartening
losses.
Against Virginia Tech, ECU
fans were
encouraged by an
initial offensive
scoring drive and
the Pirate
defense playing its
best game of the
year, limiting the Hokies
to only 53 yards on
the ground. But the
purple partisans
were
equally disappointed
with the lack of continuity
on offense and a
defense that consistently
let
the Hokies convert on third down
(9-for-20),
allowing Tech
to
own the time of
possession battle by
roughly 14 minutes.
"(VPI defensive
coordinator) Bud
(Foster)
has one of the top
defenses in the
country and you have
to give him credit," ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill said
Monday. "We took what we
learned from that
game and worked on
it. I like the way
our staff fixes
things. We'll bounce
back and learn from
it."
The North Carolina defense
now has a blueprint
on how to pressure
Shane Carden, and
it has an
experienced
secondary that will
be needed to cover
the stable of Pirate
receivers. The
Tar Heels shut down ECU
last season, holding
the Pirates to a
season-low six
points and just 233
yards. The key was
getting to the
quarterback � the
Heels had seven
sacks, their most in
a game since 2000,
which resulted in a
loss of 49 yards.
�We have to recreate
that type of
pressure,� said
North Carolina pass rusher
Kareem Martin, who
was one of eight Tar
Heels who got to Carden last year. �I
think we�re going to
be able to. After
watching film, I see
a lot of things I
like.�
But the Heels have
offensive issues of
their own.
In 2012,
UNC-CH
averaged 40 points a
game compared to
just 23 in three
games this season.
While the Tar
Heels have struggled
on offense this
season, senior
quarterback Bryn
Renner sees today�s
game as an
opportunity to
return to the
offensive standard
set last season. �Every time you step
out, you get on a
little roll, and I
think that�s what
we�re going to try
to do this weekend,�
Renner said at a
press conference
Monday. �For us,
it�s a confidence
builder. How quickly
are we going to
respond?"
That is the same
question Pirate fans
are asking.
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