The answers have varied, ranging from "our offensive line can't protect
anyone"
to "John Thompson can't coach his way out of a wet paper bag". Many a
message
board participant has tried to shine the light on the exact cause of
ECU's
current football predicament.
First off, I don't think Coach Thompson is that bad of a coach.
I don't
think he's qualified to be a head coach, but I don't think he's
that bad
in terms of X's and O's. I do think, however, that his sideline
antics, like
calling time outs when games are long ago decided, have hurt his
reputation.
Sidebar: I won't be surprised if Thompson eventually gets canned at
season's
end, primarily due to the "Louisville Episode".
Back in early 2002 when Thompson was hired, many folks, including I,
were
excited about his hire, and espeically his "supposed" Florida
recruiting
connections that were supposed to land top-notch players to Greenville,
however
after two seasons of recruiting, it's painfully evident that ECU is
landing
Division I-AA players, and not even the best of those.
If you look at the current Division I-AA Poll, each school listed in the top
12 can
come to Greenville and beat ECU. That's how far the 'Ship has fallen,
folks.
Such is life when you're a Division I-A football program on the east
coast 1)
not affiliated with a major conference, 2) not a service academy with
nationwide
appeal, or 3) not residing in Florida.
To be continued...
PREDICTION TIME: Tulane @ East Carolina
Tulane ranks #77 in total defense, East Carolina #116.
Tulane ranks #89 in rushing defense, East Carolina #116.
Tulane ranks #52 in passing defense, East Carolina #91.
Tulane's leading rusher is Jovon Jackson -- 103.7 yards per game
ECU's leading rusher is Chris Johnson -- 49.3 yards per game
If you can't run the the ball, nor stop the run, you're not going to
win games.
Tulane has only allowed 72 yards per game when facing the cupcakes of
its
schedule, and whether folks want to hear this or not, ECU is a cupcake.
Based on that, and given the fact ECU is having offensive line
difficulties, and
that now DeMarcus Fox -- the Pirates' leading receiver -- is suspended,
I think
Tulane gets its first win in Greenville.
Tulane - 27, East Carolina 21