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GAME DAY WEATHER |
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Conditions look good
for East Carolina's
3:30 p.m. kickoff at
Navy today. The
temperature for the
start of the game is
expected to be 80
degrees under sunny
skies with a heat
index of 83. The
forecast is calling
for 64 percent
humidity with
south-southeast
winds at 11 miles
per hour. The
temperature is
expected to drop
slightly to 76
degrees by the end
of the game and the
humidity will rise
to 75 percent with
south-southeast
winds dropping to
eight miles per
hour. (Filed by Al
Myatt) |
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FOOTBALL |
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ECU takes Swamp lessons to Navy |
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 East
Carolina took on a talented program in a difficult environment
under tough conditions and had a chance to win at Florida last
Saturday night until the ball slipped out of quarterback Blake
Kemp's hands on a 2nd-and-10 play at the UF 13 in the final
seconds. ...
More from
Al Myatt... |
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BASKETBALL
RECRUITING |
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Recruiting push starts with
backcourt |
 Guards
Shawn Williams (left) and Elijah
Hughes (right) each entertained
offers from a number of schools
before verbally committing to
join East Carolina basketball
coach Jeff Lebo's recruiting
class of 2016-17. ...
Thumbnail sketches... |
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Greg Vacek's Monday
Infographic |
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24 |
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31 |
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East Carolina's historical frustration
against SEC teams was prophetically summed
up by the Gainesville Sun's pregame 'Picks'
headline: "Different teams, same result."
The prediction by columnist Pat Dooley ahead
of the Pirates' Saturday matchup at Florida
was on the button as ECU fans experienced
another SEC 'Ground Hog Day' ...
Details and data from Greg Vacek... |
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Costly slip but Pirates moving
on |
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 GAINESVILLE,
FL � A wet ball after a day of
rain proved to be a deciding
factor Saturday night. East
Carolina was driving when
quarterback Blake Kemp lost the
handle in the closing seconds on
a 2nd-and-10 at the Florida
13-yard line. Alex McCalister
recovered for the Gators to
preserve a 31-24 win for the
tenants at Ben Hill Griffin
Stadium ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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Pictured: East Carolina coach Ruffin
McNeill contemplates the action
during the ECU-Florida game. (Al
Myatt photo) |
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Ruff post-game audio |
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  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with reporters
Saturday night after the
Pirates' loss at Florida
(recorded by Al Myatt):
Select audio clip... |
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View Mobile Alpha version of this page.
By
Kevin Monroe
�2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
East
Carolina will face Navy today in Annapolis in week three of the young
season. Navy is 1-0 after a 48-10 rout of Colgate two weeks ago. The
Midshipmen had a bye last week, giving them time for extra preparation
for their debut game in the American Athletic Conference. The triple
option look that Navy brings is always tough to defend and you can be
certain the Middies will have had plenty of time to design means of
exploiting any vulnerabilities the Pirates present.
ECU
will have to be sound defensively, tackle the football well and play
with energy and excitement offensively. Penalties and turnovers will
also be a huge factor in the game. Road conference games are always
the toughest games on the schedule to win.
Article continues after the
following ad...
In order to meet the challenge, the Pirates
will need to follow this script:
STOP THE RUN
When you
play Navy, you have to be ready to strap on the big boy pads because the
Middies are going to line up and run the ball right at you. They are
rock stars when it comes to the triple option and have been running it
forever. With just one game in the books, they are ranked 3rd in the
NCAA and 1st in the AAC with 367 yards rushing per game. The Midshipmen
had 9 rushers against Colgate that averaged over 5 yards per carry. The
stampede was led by running back Chris Swain's 126 yards on 11 carries.
Second-leading rusher DeBrandon Sanders had 66 yards rushing on just 3
carries (22 yards per carry). Only 6 passes were attempted in the game
for a total of 67 yards and one of them was a 50-yarder. The run game is
Navy's 1st, 2nd and 3rd option. Stopping the run is a lot to ask of the
Pirates, but if they at least contain it, they win.
BE DISCIPLINED
Every
ECU defender will have a specific responsibility against the triple
option. Somebody has to be responsible for the quarterback, another
player or two is responsible for the pitch man and yet another is
responsible for the dive play. If all execute their assignments, the
option doesn�t work. The problem with that theory is that you are
relying on 11 guys to all be disciplined, and if just one guy isn�t, the
play can go for a big gain. The goal of the Middies offense is to fool
and/or block a few guys so that their play gains 5 yards or more.
Undisciplined football will get you beat against the good triple options
team like Navy. Middies senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds is very
experienced and skilled at running this scheme.
SCORE EARLY AND OFTEN
Navy
really struggles playing catchup football. If it gets behind by two
scores or more, it�s hard for its offense to keep up. The Middies count
on just plugging along and getting first downs by running the clock.
They have no problem winning low scoring games. Blake Kemp and the ECU
offense need to get on top early and stay ahead. It will be important to
get Christ Hairston back on track running the football in order to put
pressure on the Navy defense. The Pirates are supremely talented on the
offensive side of the ball, and they need to show that against the
Midshipmen today.
BOTTOM
LINE
Expect a
tough game in the first half. It always takes a while for opposing
defenses to figure out what Navy is doing. It�s very hard to simulate
that offense in practice using scout team players. If they can get the
Middies in some 3rd and long situations and force them to throw the
football, the Pirates can take control of the game early. However, if
they allow Navy to eat up the clock and pile up first downs in the early
going, it could lead to a long day on the field.
Stopping or containing the run is the first priority, and that is
done by being disciplined on defense. If the Pirates can do that and
get their offense in a sustained rhythm early, they will win this
game. If not, hang on, because things can get out of hand in a hurry
against the Midshipmen.
Send an e-mail message to
Kevin Monroe.
Dig into Kevin Monroe's
archives.
ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill met with
reporters on Monday in his weekly
press conference. (Audio courtesy of
Pirate Radio 1250; file photo by Al
Myatt:
The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Brian's guest this week was ECU
defensive line coach Marc Yellock
(right):
