Analysis: Football unable to estabish offense

Brown's explosive offense forced the Quakers o play catchup on Saturday. In Saturday's football game against Brown, the Quakers offense realized that the only thing more difficult to overcome than an excellent defense is a dominating offense. The Bears' top-ranked Ivy League offensive squad, which is also ranked No. 8 in Division I-AA, never gave the Quakers a chance to establish their own rhythm and forced Penn to play catchup for 60 minutes. "We were never able to establish a lead," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "They were able to execute their offense. They kept us off-stride enough that we were never able to get totally back into the picture." Although they boasted the Ivy League's leading rusher in Kris Ryan, the Quakers were forced to put their standout sophomore on the bench and the ball up in the air in the second half. Penn ran the ball 28 percent less and gained 155 fewer yards against Brown than it had averaged against its opposition so far this season. "Running game would have made sense if we were able to get out in front," Bagnoli said. "We got behind and when you get behind it takes a little bit out of what you are able to do." Strangely, limiting the Quakers to their passing game might have seemed in Penn's favor after quarterback Gavin Hoffman threw for a school-record 399 yards against Columbia last weekend. Saturday afternoon was a different tale. Down by at least two scores for 60 percent of the game, including most of the final 18 minutes, the Quakers had little choice but to revert to the passing game, something the Bears, unlike the Lions, were in position to defend. "We made some adjustments at halftime," Brown linebacker Brad Grulke said. "We made some plays when we needed to. We switched up a few things." Throwing into constant coverage frustrated Hoffman, as he threw an interception on Brown's five-yard line that could have cut into the Bears' 21-point margin. Grulke's pick started the procession of the Parents Weekend fans leaving the stadium. "We knew they were going to put up points," Hoffman said. "We were not establishing a passing game or running game. We were down by more than 20 points, and I was just trying to force the ball in there and make something happen." The root of this evil for Penn was a fine-tuned offensive machine, one that was averaging 472 yards per game. Even after graduating wide receiver Sean Morey and tight end Zachary Burns, both first-team All-Ivy selections, Brown executed its offensive game strategy without flaw. "I have got some special kids right now," Brown coach Phil Estes said. "We have got a great chemistry going. I think that is the thing that does it. They look to each other to make the big plays." Most noteworthy was the highly publicized trio of James Perry, Steve Campbell and Billy Rackley. While quarterback Perry might have seemed to have the touch of a trained marksman, Campbell's and Rackley's ability to break tackles and run for the hills left everyone in the dust. "We did a lot of crossing patterns," Campbell said. "We knew it would confuse the defensive backs, and it worked. James threw balls that I could catch and that was about it." In five of their 18 combined receptions, Campbell and Rackley tacked on 120 more yards after the catch, with four of the receptions resulting in touchdowns. "The receivers did an amazing job getting open and making plays after the catch," Estes said. "It's always important to us what you do after the catch. That's something that I thought they did an outstanding job of today." None of the receptions was more important than Campbell's 41-yard sprint to the end zone with three minutes left in the third quarter. The score answered a touchdown by Penn's Kris Ryan that had closed the gap to five. The strike from Perry to Campbell turned the pressure up on the Quakers, who were unable to answer until it was too late. However, it would not have been too late for Penn to come back if the Bears' passing game did not have a running game to complement it. Ensuring that even a miracle could not help Penn, Brown's running game earned its keep by running precious seconds off the clock in the second half. "My biggest concern was controlling the clock and keep Penn off the field as much as we could," Estes said. "We were moving the ball methodically down the field and getting the first downs." Carrying the ball 29 times for 128 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Michael Malan kept the game clock moving and gave the Quakers' defense another obstacle to overcome. "If you try to take an angle on Mike and try to arm-tackle him, he will not go do down," Estes said. "He makes big play after big play. It is great for us to have the talent that we have the ability to decide if we want to go down the field and throw it, or if we want to run it, we feel that we can get first downs." Scoring 37 points and racking up 426 yards, Penn's offense showed it was better than Brown's defense. Scoring seven points less than Brown's offense, the Quakers know there is still room.

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