East Carolina Pirates 2009 Football Betting Preview

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East Carolina 2008 Record: (9-5, 6-2)
East Carolina 2008 Bowl: Liberty Bowl vs. Kentucky (L 19-23)
East Carolina Coach: Skip Holtz (29-22 at East Carolina, 63-45 overall)
East Carolina Offensive Coordinator: Todd Fitch and Steve Shankweiler
East Carolina Defensive Coordinator: Greg Hudson
East Carolina Returning Stats Leaders:

• Rushing: Jonathan Williams, RB, 380 yards
• Passing: Patrick Pinkney, QB, 2,675 yards
• Receiving: Dwayne Harris, WR, 654 yards
• Tackles: Nick Johnson, LB, 102
• Sacks: C.J. Wilson, DE, 10.5
• Interceptions: Emanuel Davis, CB, 4; Van Eskridge, S, 4

Notable East Carolina Returning Players: C Sean Allen, OT Terence Campbell, LB Jeremy Chambliss, G Cory Dowless, DT Linval Joseph, CB Dekota Marshall, DT Jay Ross, OT D.J. Scott, CB Travis Simmons, WR Alex Taylor

East Carolina Key Losses: LB Pierre Bell, S Leon Best, OT Stanley Bryant, LB Quentin Cotton, TE Davon Drew, DE Marcus Hands, CB Jerek Hewett WR T.J. Lee, S J.J. Milbrook, DT Khalif Mitchell, RB Brandon Simmons, DE Zach Slate, RB Norman Whitley

I was on the money with East Carolina last season, correctly picking them to win the conference title. Skip Holtz’s team exceeded almost everyone’s expectations by beating two ranked BCS conference teams in back to back weeks to kick off the season and the Pirates managed a small coup by keeping Holtz in town after he interviewed for a number of major college positions during the offseason. The Pirates return 16 starters from last season’s team and will look to defend their championship this fall.

The offense was given a significant boost this offseason as senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney was granted a 6 th year of eligibility due to injuries at the beginning of his career. Pinkney’s return is huge as he threw for 2,675 yards and 13 touchdowns last season and improved noticeably as the year went on, including a 296 yard outing against Kentucky in their bowl game! Pinkney will also have a solid corps of receivers to throw to, led by junior Dwayne Harris, who caught a team high 58 passes for 654 yards last season. The offensive line looks especially strong as well and all five starters from the bowl game return. The Pirates have had some injury issues the last few years so there is a ton of experience available in the two deep. Led by senior 2nd team C-USA center Sean Allen, the Pirates’ O-Line should be one of the best in the conference. The only concern on offense is at tailback, where leading rusher Norm Whitley was suspended in the spring and his status is still up in the air. Junior Jonathan Williams was the team’s leading rusher with 380 yards, 5 touchdowns and a 5.1 yards per carry average when his season ended early in the year due to a suspension as well so he will be another solid option should Whitley not return. There are a lot of talented backs available to take over and I expect someone to step up and give the Pirates a much improved attack compared to last season’s middling 125 yards per game on the ground. Overall, this is a very experienced and balanced offense which should definitely improve upon 2008’s 23 points per game average.

The defense also looks quite stout entering 2009. The defensive line returns three starters, highlighted by senior end CJ Wilson, whose 70 tackles and 10.5 sacks earned him 1 st team C-USA honors last fall. Expect the Pirates to have a strong pass rush from their front four once more. The linebackers also look good, led by senior middle linebacker Nick Johnson, whose 102 tackles in 2008 was best on the team. Their experienced front seven makes me believe that the Pirates will definitely be improved against the run. In the secondary, senior Van Eskridge was a 1st team C-USA choice last fall after racking up 97 tackles and 4 interceptions. Expect him to be the anchor of a rebuilding secondary which should be fairly strong despite the loss of two starters. 2008’s nickel back, junior Travis Simmons, did have two picks and 30 tackles last year and I expect him to seamlessly step into the open cornerback position. Overall, East Carolina looks to be improved against the run and solid against the pass. After only allowing 21 points per game last fall, it would be very impressive for the Pirates to improve any further but that’s what I’m calling for them to do. Expect the ECU defense to be the best in Conference USA.

The schedule is even more difficult than last season’s gauntlet. This year, the Pirates have to travel to West Virginia, North Carolina and Virginia Tech in the non-conference slate and WVU and Tech will be out for revenge. That might be the toughest non-conference list in the country! The conference schedule is also fairly tough as they draw a trip to Tulsa out of the West. The good news is that they have three home division games and the most important game of the season is at home against Southern Mississippi on the season’s final day. After suspension and injury didn’t derail their conference championship push last season, I don’t think a tough non-conference schedule will be a detriment if the Pirates can stay healthier and better behaved this season. Expect ECU to be in the C-USA East race all the way down to the season’s final day and I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if the Pirates won their 2nd consecutive division title.

East Carolina Big Games: Sept. 12th @ WVU, Sept. 19th @ North Carolina, Oct. 3rd @ Marshall, Oct. 27th @ Memphis, Nov. 5th @ Virginia Tech, Nov. 15th @ Tulsa, Nov. 28th vs. USM

East Carolina’s Strength:

Those dreams will not end as long as Coach Skip Holtz is on the sidelines. Coach Holtz has led the Pirates to three straight winning seasons and number four is on the way thanks to a dominating defense. Defensive end C.J. Wilson is a monster and tallied 10.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles-for-loss last season. With the return of tackles Linval Joseph and Jay Ross, both of whom are capable of tallying a sack or two, nobody is going to have much time to do anything in the backfield. The linebacker corps will miss Pierre Bell, but Jeremy Chambliss and Nick Johnson are back. Johnson is the leader of the defense from his middle linebacker position and if somebody gets past the front four, Johnson will make sure they do not make it much further. The secondary is just as talented as the rest of the defense, led by safety Van Eskridge.

East Carolina’s Weakness:

The offense returns quite a few players as well, most notably quarterback Patrick Pinkney, who was granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA. Having his steadying presence in the pocket should help out an offense that was consistently inconsistent in 2008. Without 6-4 receiver Davon Drew, Pinkney lost one of his favorite targets, but Dwayne Harris is back and Alex Taylor is ready to emerge as a consistent receiver. The offensive line returns just about everybody, but they need to do a better job protecting Pinkney and making holes for the ground game. As bad as the offense was last year, there is plenty of potential this year.

Our Prediction for the 2009 Pirates:

The key will be finding a running back. Brandon Simmons and Norman Whitley are gone and Jonathan Williams, who played in just seven games in 2008, is the team’s top returning rusher. However, Brandon Jackson, Dominique Lindsay and J.R. Rogers are the top candidates to take over the job. Jackson has the most potential and Lindsay is a bigger back, but Rogers is a versatile playmaker who can do the most damage. The coaching staff may use all three of them, or even more, but it would be beneficial if somebody could emerge as their go-to-guy.

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