COLUMN: Next year looks bleak too

Scott Miller, Commentary Penn had a lot of potential that it did not live up to this year, and the key weaknesses that plagued the team this season will simply return for a repeat performance in 1997. If the Red and Blue want to believe they have a shot, then the entire football squad, and especially the coaches, need to figure out how to maximize the team's collective talents. This year, however, was a textbook example of how to minimize a team's potential. The Offense En route to a 1,000-yard season, tailback Jasen Scott routinely carried the ball 30-40 times every game. Against Princeton, he even set a school record with 45 rushes. Even though Scott is graduating this spring, that trend is not likely to change. Jason McGee and Rick Granata have proven themselves very capable runners in their limited carries. But the running success of Penn is as much a factor of a weak passing attack as it is a testament to the Quakers backs. This season, you have to point a lot of fingers at the coaches. In a conference where results are so reliant on the performance of the skill players, Bagnoli never found a way to effectively use a tremendous talent in Aman Abye. And even when the quarterbacks eventually pulled their games out of the dumps, the plays that were called all-but ignored them. You also need to consider the passing game. It can be argued that there is nowhere to go but up, but consider this: the biggest distraction from the 1996 football squad was the quarterback controversy. With the quick learning and success of freshman Brian Russell and the slow growth of Tom MacLeod, there is sure to be another brouhaha to come in the spring. On the offensive line, only center Mike Soyster and tackle Chris Riley will return next year. The O-line, which has been largely responsible for the success of Scott, will be taking a direct hit. Larger-than-life Sears Wright moves on, as does captain Matt Julien and Mark Fleischhauer. Every team loses seniors, but not every team loses that kind of experience on one line. If the Quakers are going to find success next year, they also need to cure their knack for drawing the yellow flags. Granted the number of false starts and other concentration penalties were cut down by the end of the season, but it took almost half of the 1996 campaign for the number to begin to fall. And more to the point, everybody from the captains on down were causing those penalties -- not just the younger players. The Defense In case you had your eyes shut all season, the defensive secondary was nothing short of atrocious. By giving up huge plays from game No. 1 through game No. 10, this unit showed virtually no improvement over the course of the season. And to make matters worse, they are all coming back. If the Quakers need to improve, the D-backs must somehow figure out how to cover people -- something that should be learned in real game-time experience, but wasn't picked up in 1996. The biggest defensive threat by a long shot was tackle Mitch Marrow. Luckily, he'll be coming back. But the line, which was among the league's best, will only retain Marrow and Doug Zinser. Line coach Jim Schaefer said at the beginning of the season that the 1996 D-line had the potential to be as good as any other in his tenure. And for the most part, they lived up to that standard. But with Chris Osentowki, Tim Foster and Tom Foley leaving, the Quakers will have an inexperienced, unbalanced line for 1997. Special Teams But Bagnoli never tries anything tricky -- and that includes even making an effort to block a punt. God forbid the squad should get an instant momentum shift in their favor by successfully pulling of a fake punt or field goal. On field goals, for the first time, Jeremiah Greathouse looked shaky -- especially from deep. There is really no way to correct that other than kicking a zillion field goals in practice, so why is there any reason to be optimistic? Credit Jeff Salvino for tying the record for number of punts in a season. Shame on the rest of the squad for putting him in that position. On coverage, Penn has actually been decent, even though some big plays were let up, so maybe that will be one of very few shining points for the 1997 Quakers. All factors considered, the 1997 Quakers will need a miracle to stay competitive. I don't think they will sink to the level of Harvard and Yale, but I do believe that they will continue on the path of mediocrity that they set foot on this season.