This describes a recent ECU football article that was written by i want to write about ECU football: Cleaning up mistakes has been Pirates’ top priority. It discusses how the Pirates have made clean plays since the beginning of this season, with the offense and defense both playing well. This is linked to their new coaching staff taking over.
Pirates Struggles in 2013
In 2013, the ECU Pirates football team had to make a lot of changes in order to try and improve their performance on the field. One of the top priorities for Head Coach Scottie Montgomery was to clean up the team’s mistakes, which has been their main focus during the offseason. “We’re very eager to make this our season,” Montgomery said. “We can’t do it if we’re making stupid plays happen.” The Pirates have made wholesale changes both on offense and defense with hopes of securing a perfect 3-0 season start. Their most significant addition is at quarterback where Marquise Williams, who transferred from South Carolina, steps into the starting lineup. Other key players include running back Jalen Hurd, defensive end Bjoern Werner and cornerback Trey Jerome. Defensive coordinator Rick Smith has implemented new schemes designed to create more turnovers and touchdowns Khalid Wooten Curtis Chargois Cody Hollister Darrin Heard Track Players Janell Robinson Davonte Lambert Michael Williams Defensive Line Cameron Heyward Victor Johnson Cornerback Jarius Wright Offensive Line Depth Chart (2013) Quarterback Marquise Williams Running Back Jalen Hurd Wide Receiver Silas Redd Center Jon Feliciano Guard Richie Dennis Tackle Adam Bisnowaty Tight End Joseph Scelfo Kicker Brent Bowden Defense Khalid Wooten Curtis Chargois Cody Hollister Darrin Heard Track Players Janell Robinson Davonte Lambert Michael Williams Defensive Line Cameron Heyward Victor Johnson Cornerback Jarius Wright Offensive Line Depth Chart
Pirate’s Bounce Back Win Against FIU
East Carolina continued its recent dominance over FIU by routing the Panthers 26-10 on Saturday. ECU has now won four consecutive games and holds a 7-2 record overall this season.
Head coach Scottie Montgomery has made it a priority to clean up mistakes and that was abundantly evident against FIU. ECU held the ball for over 36 minutes and didn’t put any points on the board until midway through the second quarter. The Pirates then went on to score 31 unanswered points in the second half en route to their ninth straight win against FIU.
One of the biggest contributors to ECU’s success this season has been running back Dennis Smith Jr., who currently leads the nation in rushing yards with 1,490 yards and 14 touchdowns on 166 carries. Smith Jr. helped carry the load for ECU with 17 carries for 117 yards in Saturday’s victory against FIU.
Dorian Johnson also had a strong performance for East Carolina Saturday night, racking up 82 receiving yards on six catches. Backup quarterback Adrian Krupa had his best game of the year, completing 12 of his 18 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns in relief of starter Shane Carden (concussion). Krupa ran for 49 yards off eight carries as well.
The Pirates will have their work cut out for them next week when they travel to Tallahassee to face Florida State in an important ACC matchup. However, East Carolina should be able to take care of
2011 vs. 2012 Streaks
In 2011, ECU football experienced a stretch of play that was inconsistent with both their desired goals and expectations placed on the program. While poor play cannot be entirely attributed to one factor, cleaning up mistakes has been the Pirate’s top priority in order to improve overall gameplay.
Since late fall camp, players and coaches alike have said that this year’s team is much more coordinated and self-sufficient due to an emphasis on fundamentals. To date, there have been far fewer penalties committed and just one turnover forced when compared to last season (both stats for Week 1 were unavailable). In addition, opponents are averaging only 4.8 yards per carrying through three games—
Fewer Field Goals Made, More Flappers
Since the beginning of the season, ECU football has emphasized cleaning up their mistakes in order to become a more consistent and successful team. In the past six games, the Pirates have made just 21 field goals compared to 44 last year. However, they are still ninth in the C-USA in scoring with 31 points per game.
“We’re focusing on making fewer mistakes,” said ECU head coach Scott Satterfield. “We’ve been working hard this week on technique, footwork and ball security.”
Satterfield know that if his team can keep playing at their current level, they can begin knocking off some teams that were thought to be better than them early in the season. With two games left in Conference USA play, ECU still has a shot at clinching a spot in the conference championship game.
The biggest key for this team will be avoiding turnovers and giving themselves good field position through strong defense. So far this season, ECU has been able to score when they need to because of their capable offense. With five players averaging over 10 yards per carry and two running backs with double-digit touchdowns, it’s clear that Satterfield’s offense is going to put up points no matter what.
ECU Starting to Make Mistakes, but Still Pulling Through
East Carolina has been struggling this season, but the Pirates still have a chance to make the playoffs. One of the reasons for their struggles is that ECU has been making too many mistakes. However, despite facing numerous adversity, the Pirates are still hanging in there. ECU’s top priority has been fixing its mistakes, and so far they’ve been doing a good job.
One of ECU’s biggest problems this year has been its accuracy on offense. The Pirates rank 116th in the country in scoring offense, putting up just 19 points per game. This is largely due to ECU’s low accuracy on passes. ECU ranks 127th in passer efficiency rating (plus-5exploration arithmetic), meaning that their quarterbacks are averaging under 5 yards per attempt. This is disastrous for an offense, as it makes it very difficult to score touchdowns.
Part of the reason for ECU’s inaccuracy on passes is their problem with receivers catching the ball. Out of 107 receivers targeted by ECU quarterbacks this year, only 61% have caught a pass (84th in the country). This lack of reliability from receivers is partly due to ECU’s poor passing game mechanics; 49% of all incompletions thrown by ECU quarterbacks this year have come when they’re trying to throw short passes (<10 yards past the line of scrimmage). Another contributing factor is injuries; eight different receivers have missed at least one game this year because of injury or suspension.
Score at the End of One: ECU FO117, FIU 6
ECU had its fair share of mistakes throughout the game, but it was FIU who capitalized on them the best. The Panthers scored on a 36-yard pass from Quinton Flowers to D’Angelo Brewer in the first quarter and then easily held off the Pirates late in the game. Finished with just 206 total yards and 16 net passing yards against FIU’s 377 total yards and 183 net passing yards. There were also several big penalties that hurt ECU’s chances. Josh Moore was called for two personal fouls which led to 14 points for FIU, while Jamal Carter received two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that caused another 14 points. Overall, scoring at the end of one proves to be a problem for ECU as they continue to make too many mistakes – costing them valuable points.
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