PRE-GAME ANALYSIS
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Keys to the
Game
Friday,
November 16, 2012
By Kevin Monroe |
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For the seventh
straight year,
Kevin Monroe, color analyst for the Pirate
ISP Sports Radio 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 to the task as a member of the
broadcast team and as a former star
defensive back for the Pirates (1995-99).
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ECU at Tulane
Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012 • 3:30 pm
Mercedes-Benz Superdome (cap. 72,003)
TV: WITN
By
Kevin Monroe
©2012 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View the Mobile Alpha version of this page.
East
Carolina can defeat Tulane on Saturday if it performs well in these
key aspects of the game:
SCORE
EARLY AND OFTEN
East
Carolina needs to get out of the blocks quickly. Rarely have the Pirates
scored touchdowns this season on their opening drives after getting the
opening kickoff. With kickoff return yards having been hard to come by, the
Pirates usually start inside their own 20-yard line to begin the game. If
ECU can get into its offensive game plan quickly by feeding the ball to
Vintavious Cooper on the ground and spreading the football around through
the air, it will establish the trend for the rest of the game. Tulane is
giving up almost 40 points per outing. The Green Wave is also allowing 228
yards rushing and 253 yards passing, an average yield to their opponents of
481 yards. Keeping the chains moving, keeping Tulane’s high-powered offense
off the field and scoring touchdowns in the red zone are going to be very
important on Saturday.
BRING THE HEAT
Through ten games, Tulane's opponents have gotten through the Wave's
offensive line for 26 sacks, an average of more than 2.5 sacks per contest.
Tulane has only one senior on its offensive line. East Carolina must get in
the face of senior quarterback Ryan Griffin and make him hurry the football
and make bad decisions. ECU has 15 sacks on the year (1.5 per game), led by
Darrell Johnson with 2.5 and Gabe Woulard with 3.0. Getting good pressure up
front will be the key to affecting the Green Wave's passing game and forcing
turnovers. Tulane has 27 giveaways season-to-date, an average of 2.7 per
game.
PROTECT
THE BACK END
East
Carolina is giving up 254 yards passing per game and has yielded a total of
19 touchdowns to its foes. The defensive backs have been plagued with
injuries, with cornerbacks Jacobi Jenkins and Leonard Paulk among the
wounded. Those injuries have opened opportunities for Josh Hawkins, Rocco
Scarfone, Adonis Armstrong and others to get some valuable game action. The
good news is that a lot of players have logged playing time — the bad news
is that they haven’t always played well. As a group, the secondary had a
good game two weeks ago
against Houston. Considering the 16
interceptions that Griffin has thrown, a solid pass rush and solid play in
the secondary by the Pirates is bound to lead to some interceptions.
BOTTOM LINE
Though the
2-8 Green Wave has struggled this season, it has talent on offense and can
pull off the upset if the Pirates don't come to play. With Tulane having
become somewhat conditioned to losing, ECU can establish a bit of dominance
early if it inflicts some discouragement on the Wave. Cooper and the running
game can provide leverage to the ECU passing game. The Pirates' pass rush
will set the tone defensively. If East Carolina brings it’s "A" game, it
should be a pleasant day for Pirate fans.
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Kevin Monroe.
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11/16/2012 01:27:47 AM
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