Saturday Roundtable: Brackett busters

The sun is shining in New York and the Quakers are looking to spoil Columbia's homecoming today and improve to 2-0 in the Ivy League. And there's that 16-game conference winning streak on the line. The Lions are 0-4 this season, but they're offense is led by talented quarterback Sean Brackett. The question for this weeks roundtable: Columbia QB Sean Brackett isn't just leading the team through the air, but he's the Lion's leading rusher as well. What does Penn need to do to contain the Light Blue's main threat?

Bradford Blackmon: When you think of a Penn defense one of the things that comes to mind is dominating. That doesn't necessarily come from having the most talented players on the field, although that certainly helps. It comes the prep work done throughout the week by Coach Priore and his staff. He's gonna have his defense knowing every play the offense runs before they run it and that's what will help them out today to stop Columbia's dual threat QB. The blitzes he creates are team specific and the coverages that go with them are designed to fill the voids left by the blitzers. Columbia will make some plays but what people might not know is that's part of the defensive scheme, make them go where we want when we want and then close the door.

Kevin Esteves: Well, I don't think the Quakers have to devise a complex plan here. Sure, Brackett is the team's main threat, but even as Columbia's rushing leader, he averages just 3 yards per rush (and 45 yards per game). I would worry about his passing game much more — he averages 193.5 yards per game through the air (4th in Ivy League). So sure, send a few blitzes Brackett's way so he doesn't get too comfortable in the pocket, but the focus should be on the secondary and how it will prevent those big plays that have been burning Penn this year.

Brian Kotloff: I agree with Kevin. Brackett is no Billy Ragone when it comes to scrambling. Though I don't have the benefit of seeing game tape, his rushing total probably reflects a poor offensive line that forces him to break the pocket more than his running ability. Anytime your quarterback is your leading rusher, that's a bad sign for your offense. Brackett's been sacked 14 times and has thrown five interceptions this season. That likely means one thing: heavy blitzing. Kevin is justifiably worried about the secondary, but the best way to shut down a downfield passing game is to throw off its timing. So I expect the Quakers to bring the heat just like last year, when they sacked Brackett five times, so that the QB doesn't even have time to look for receivers deep. If that gives Brackett running room, so be it -- his long rushes from the past three years are 33, 25 and 20, minimal damage compared to a big pass play.

Calder Silcox: Another week, another agreement with Kotloff. I haven't seen anything too convincing out of Penn's secondary to know that they aren't going to give up the big play or two that could be a real problem. I'd rather rely on the guys up front in Penn's defense to shut things down. Let Brandon Copeland take it to the weak Lion's o-line and get in Brackett's head early and often. Columbia will be amped up for Homecoming, especially at the start, so Penn must set the tone on both sides of the ball from the get-go.

Megan Soisson: I remember I had a similar concern going into this game last year. Of all the Ivy quarterbacks, on paper, Brackett seems to be the closest to Billy Ragone. I wondered what it would be like for the Quakers to get a taste of their own medicine, but then Columbia rushed only 44 yards total. Like Brian mentioned, the defense sacked Brackett five times — twice by Matt Hamscher — and he only netted 8 yards on the ground, with 43 yards lost. Penn knows how to beat this team and shut down rushers, and I do think the legitimate concern is a long pass play. If the Quakers are dominating the game like last year, a 57-yd. touchdown pass isn't a huge deal. But if Columbia comes out of the gate quickly with a downfield bomb, the game totally changes.

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