A couple of weeks ago, prior to East Carolina's football game against Temple, coach Scottie Montgomery got a bit of advice from his mentor and former boss David Cutcliffe. The message was one of patience, a commodity that isn’t always abundant in college sports, especially when things aren’t going well. And things can’t get much worse than they are with the Pirates right … [Read more...]
Insights from BrettPirates paying dearly for breakdown in discipline
Of all the disheartening, lopsided losses the East Carolina football team has suffered this season — and there have been a lot of them already — Saturday’s 34-10 clunker against Temple before another sparse gathering at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium probably ranks as the worst yet. Yes, the opener against James Madison was bad. But at least the Dukes were a national champion last … [Read more...]
Insights from BrettEmpty seats are ominous signal
You can learn a lot from the numbers on a football postgame stat sheet. All you have to do is look beyond the obvious. That’s why, as telling as the impressive numbers posted by East Carolina quarterback Thomas Sirk and the even bigger numbers allowed by the Pirates’ defenseless defense might have been, the most significant figure from Saturday’s loss against South … [Read more...]
Insights from BrettGlimmers of hope alive, for now
It’s said that winning cures all ills. And it does, even if only for a short time. So take a deep cleansing breath, East Carolina fans. The Pirates have won a football game, on the road no less, against an American Athletic Conference rival — meaning that at least for the next few days they’re perched atop the East Division standings. We all know that’s not likely to … [Read more...]
Insights from BrettSchedule change handicaps limping Pirates
East Carolina has no one to blame but itself for all the opposing receivers it has left wide open, its inability to run the ball and most of the other self-inflicted wounds it has suffered during the first three games of the 2017 football season. But in a statement of how bad things are going for the Pirates, they can’t even catch a break with the things that are out of … [Read more...]