Thanks to Al Matt and Kevin today for mentioning the financial disparity between East Carolina, and most every university in the country that is aspiring to be at a higher level. Also touched on today in Bonesbille was the fact that the East Carolina town bank tower was likely miss managed and well over budget with I think some $60 million invested for only 1000 seats. I will never set foot in that stadium in those seats. As will most pirate fans. I am also concerned with the current investment in a large barn for our teams to be playing in on the off field to get out of the rain. We have not had that since the 1930s so I do not understand why when we need money that we are investing in such activities even though perhaps every other college has it. The money could be better invested in obtaining and retaining good coaching staff, as well as enhancing the new image and likeness benefits for players. A barn does not do that much as has the basketball practice facility added much to recruiting as evidenced by the lack of results. Steve, Logan wants said you don’t come to East Carolina with the weak heart and I believe that. You come to East Carolina because you want to play at east Carolina and be a Pirate. I ask that only we reconsider what we are doing financially from the perspective that we have a little money to compete with most schools across the country and will never unless we invest our money wisely instead of buildings that really mean nothing. You win on the field, and nothing less.

Those repeating false start penalties undoubtedly have a lot to do with the turnstile platooning that they're doing with the Qs in a desperate attempt to find magic. Every Q has his own cadence, and with enough challenges as it is, asking the OL to adapt to a different style every third or fourth possession is just a bridge too far. Yes re the remainder of the season. The Pirates at home are a mere 1 TD favorite over 1-5 UNCC. One would hope that in-state pride alone would motivate them for this one, but I think that we can safely say halfway through the season that there are no guarantees this year.

Couldn’t agree more. I’m willing to allow Coach some leeway in recruiting based on his ultimate success at that level. The “D” has upped its game, overall. The interior defensive line by itself doesn’t scare anyone, but creative schemes and an upgrade in speed has helped. The most notable failure is the offensive line, who are, collectively, lost in space - no pun intended. At this point, one has to wonder if the Pirates will be able to finish off a single opponent in any of the remaining games. Six games played, and stupid penalties still abound. SMU’s defense had multiple Pirate linemen blocking empty space all game long. Whatever is being taught isn’t being absorbed - with unacceptable consequences. As previously discussed here, it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is when the opponent doesn’t respect your o-line. Add to that, all of the usual growing pains inexperienced quarterbacks have, and it doesn’t look good. IMO, you have to change the run game concept. The RPO isn’t working. You need to install a quick-hitting concept, one that simplifies the blocking and directs the backs to go north and south. The line should be instructed to block what is in your lane, and at least achieve a stalemate. The back has to find a gap and hit it. I also think the quarterback should be under center, half and half. There are a few offensive players for whom the light bulb is on 24/7, regardless of scheme. DK should build off of that, go to a play-action concept, and try to jumpstart the offense. Otherwise, we in Pirate Nation have a long six weeks ahead.

"Lewis picked ECU over other offers from N.C. Central, Old Dominion and The Citadel..." God bless Omarion Lewis, and I wish him nothing but the best, but unfortunately I think that there's a relationship between the recruiting factoid noted above and what we are seeing on the field. If ECU finds itself recruiting more at the FCS level, then they should make it official, and step down accordingly.

ECU fans are much like NY Yankees fans this year, wait till next year and hope they can find a qb who can create some type of offense. I questioned why Gardner Webb was on our football schedule, now I know, that may be ECU’s only win this season. Just have to wait for baseball season, which has been ECU’s most consistent sport team through its past history.

NIL has made an uneven playing field. It’s not lack of coaching it’s lack of talent! Talent cos$$$, we don’t have it, end of story. At lease have salary cap to create the illusion that we can compete, ncaa ruined a beautiful thing!

The defense plays hard and is generally effective, but the offense's inability to do anything puts a lot of pressure on the d, and it wilts in the 4th quarter. The OL particularly has been just killing them, and the many play-calls off tackle that are doomed to failure aren't exactly helping, nor, last night, was the play-calling at the end of the 1st half, when ECU had clawed back to within 4, had the ball in a perfect 2-minute drill situation, and they went conservative, playing keep-away, instead of trying to get to at least within FG range. ...and yes, the Q situation is a big piece of the issue, but until the OL gets a lot better, it hardly matters who's under center. Coach rightly praised Sowell after his performance at wideout, but when he says "He’s just a redshirt freshman so he’s going to be here for a long time,” I have to wonder; why won't he leave early, like it seems so many other exceptionally talented Pirates do? The university released Montgomery after three seasons and a .250 winning percentage; when they brought in Coach Houston, they surely envisioned a far cry better than .442 after 5 1/2 seasons in.

Coach knows best. I think he has now determined who will be his steady QB.

Lack of talent

ECU is a 12 point dog; winning this one at home on national TV would go a long way to leaving a poor season start in the dirt.

I don’t suggest MG will come around. He does have better RPO skills. Flinn has better pocket presence. I’m saying alter the offensive set away from RPO for Flinn. I think he could be more effective from under center, with Harris and Bond in the I-form. I completely agree with you about MG coming in on the goal line. All that did was tell Rice that Garcia was going to run the ball.

Where the evidence that MG will come around? There is evidence that AF can do something if they can establish a run game to help him out. The Pirates' penchant this season for disappearing late in the game is becoming thematic; last night it happened particularly on offense. Bluntly, that move to replace AF with MG when they were driving (late in the first half, I think) was profoundly boneheaded; they ended up getting points only because of the pass interference call. ...totally inexplicable. Questions abound in Pirate Nation.

Sadly, this year is a bust. Too many “new” guys trying to find their way in a very competitive environment. The athletes ECU can recruit, by and large, require more time to climb the learning curve than major conference players. With that in mind, some thoughts on how to move forward. Alex Flinn clearly has some talent. And, he is a wonderful example of what a “student-athlete” should be. However, he’s also inexperienced at a position which exacts a high price for poor decision-making. You can’t just throw a screen pass because it “was called”. Unfortunately for the Pirates, and we fans, the situation isn’t going to change this season. The offensive line isn’t consistent enough to sustain Flinn through his learning curve, as the O-line has their own issues with inexperience. Let’s face it, Mason Garcia was supposed to be The RPO Guy. Big, strong, definitely a run threat, and has a howitzer for an arm. On paper, he had better credentials than Ahlers. Well, Garcia has been a bust. Not physically, but mentally. We knew mistakes would be made. But, I don’t think any of us thought “the moment” would be too big for him. Sadly, it seems to be. Unfortunately, the offense has been recruited to support and succeed with a QB like Garcia, not Flinn. Flinn is willing, but he doesn’t have the physical skill set possessed by Garcia. What we do have, is Javious Bond. He knows how to go north and south. The O-line has shown they can give him a seam to squeak through. Flinn, imo, could benefit from a quick-hitting, I-formation run attack, with Harris and Bond/Gunn/Edmonds behind him. Flinn could be a sneaky good pocket passer with Johnson, Sowell, and Calhoun to play pitch-and-catch in the short/medium range attack. Otherwise, bite the bullet, and play Garcia through his misery. Make the RPO work with the QB who is built for it. Defense… still a work in progress, with a few players who haven’t learned how to play under control. The Pirates must stay committed to the mission. Overall, the defense has progressed much further than the offense. Coaching decisions… so you choose to kick the field goal and not go for the first down on a 4th and two, inside the five yard line. Okay. Then you GO FOR IT on a 4th and goal, and don’t kick a field goal that would GIVE YOU A LEAD when the team really didn’t need to come up empty. As Arsenio Hall would say… HMMMM? Finally, can we PLEASE just kick the ball into the end zone on kickoffs. No more cutesy placement kicks, that somehow don’t get covered very well.

2-6 on 4th down is the main (and most unusual) stat on an otherwise ECU should win results sheet. I didn’t get to see the game, but that is a crazy number of times to go for it in a close game unless your punter got hurt. Rice was 0-0 on 4th down.

From my observation, it looked like ECU played well enough to win against Marshall and App state, until the fourth quarter. We obviously miss Holton and Harris from last year, but I thought that we had them covered. I hope we do not have a letdown against Rice. LET"S GO PIRATES!!!