ON THE SIDELINES: Young secondary got burned by Morey

Sean Morey became the thirdSean Morey became the thirdreceiver in as many weeks to goSean Morey became the thirdreceiver in as many weeks to goover 100 yeards against Penn. Two hundred and forty-eight yards -- that seems to be the magic number for the Penn secondary. For the second straight Saturday, the Quakers allowed an astonishing 248 yards in the air to the opposition. What is equally upsetting to Penn is that for the third week in a row an opposing wide receiver has gained over 100 yards. Columbia's Dennis Lee (four receptions for 109 yards), Lehigh's Deron Braswell (7-for-131) and Brown's Sean Morey (7-for-191) repeatedly embarrassed the Quakers. The glaring weakness that is Penn's secondary is not a stunning development by any means. With the Quakers playing five sophomores in the defensive backfield regularly, it is no wonder opposing teams have chosen to pick on the pass defense. Back in September, Bagnoli used excuses for his young secondary by insisting they would need time before fully adjusting to their increased minutes. But following Penn's 27 -21 loss to Brown, Bagnoli was at a loss for an explanation. "I wish I had some answers, but I don't have any," Bagnoli said. "It is different kids so it is not just one kid getting burned. Right now, it is pretty obvious that they are struggling because we continue to give up way too much yardage in terms of throwing the ball." While the 248 total yards that Brown's quarterback Jason McCullough heaved against the Quakers is troublesome in and of itself, what hurt Penn most this past weekend and what has plagued Penn recently is the big play. Braswell ran by two Quakers to score a 54-yard touchdown last week, and Morey out-ran the double coverage provided by John Bishop and Bruce Rossignol for a 44-yard strike to the end zone on Saturday. Once again, Bagnoli threw his hands up in dismay with Penn's inability to control Morey and other long-ball receivers. "We keep giving up big plays, and we just cant do that and beat people," Bagnoli said. "At this point, I don't have any more answers because I don't have any more kids. We are out of kids, and I don't know what else to do to be honest with you." Four times in third-down situations McCullough dropped back to pass and rung up the Penn defense for big numbers. Clearly McCullough's favorite target on the day was Morey, whose 171 receiving yards rank fifth-best on the Bears' all-time list. The first half provided the Quakers with no indication that Morey was about to explode. For the first two quarters, Bishop, James Finn and Larrin Robertson combined to hold Morey to three receptions for 43 yards and two dropped passes. The second half was a completely different story, though, and it didn't matter which defensive back was covering Morey. The illusive sophomore made one great catch after another including the 19-yard game-winning touchdown reception with 33 seconds remaining over the outstretched arms of sophomore Chris Parsons. Although the last-minute touchdown was the final nail in the coffin, the play that set up that score was a controversial penalty involving the Penn secondary. On that final touchdown drive, Brown faced a third-and-16 situation at midfield when sophomore Joseph Piela was flagged for defensive pass interference, giving the Bears a first down. "It is the classic no call," Bagnoli said. "It is just a rotten shame that the game gets determined by that call. It is just a flat-out rotten shame." With what Bagnoli claimed to be good, tight coverage, McCullough managed to turn something into nothing by scrambling away from several pursuing Quakers. McCullough's mobility outside the pocket kept Penn guessing all day long and forced the defensive backs to hold their coverage longer. The safeties also had to be aware of McCullough's scrambling ability. On eight rushes, he totaled 62 yards on the ground. "He is a pain in the neck to play against because it is really hard to contain the kid," Bagnoli said. "He runs all over the place and really hesitates you on the pass rush, and it is very difficult for your kids to tee off because they end up chasing him all the time."