Mano-A-Mano: Is the Glass Half-Empty or Half-Full?

In this week’s Mano-A-Mano, football writer John Phillips and Associate Sports Editor Mike Tony debate the state of the Quakers’ offense.

John Phillips: It’s one thing to have an off week, where a team comes out flat in the first half. But as Billy Ragone said after the game on Saturday, the team hasn’t put together a full game, two solid halves, yet.

A comeback is great, but really, they were two yards away from losing a game on Saturday that — if this team hopes to compete with Harvard and Cornell — they should have dominated. Slow starts are less of a worry than an inability to play a cohesive, clean 60 minutes, which is what this team has shown.

Mike Tony: It’s true that Penn’s offense has yet to play a complete game, but I’ll take at least one guaranteed interval of dominance when it counts against a solid (not to mention scholarship) William & Mary defense and a Columbia ‘D’ that came in ranked No. 7 in the FCS in sacks per game.

The Quakers had to adjust to the loss of Joe Holder and overcome a practice week in which an unusually high number of players were kept from contact preparation.

Against a vastly underrated Lions’ defense and with their own defense reduced to a turnstile, Ragone impressed with yet another fourth-quarter comeback. It’s comforting to know he can flip the switch when he needs to. Ragone hasn’t thrown a pick since the opener and he’s utilizing more of his weapons each game. This offense is on the rise even factoring in all those sluggish starts.

JP: To win the Ivy and beat Harvard — who has been demolishing its opponents — one half isn’t going to cut it. If Penn plays an identical first half against Harvard or Cornell, the deficit will be much larger than three points. After this week, we know the defense can’t be relied upon.

Bagnoli knew going into the week he would have to prepare with who he had available, and his original game plan clearly didn’t work.

Putting Lyle Marsh into Holder’s role when Cameron Countryman wasn’t getting the job done and hurrying up the offense worked very well. But it shouldn’t take until you’re down 10 points with 10 minutes to go in the fourth to make those adjustments. When it takes that long for your coach to make the right adjustments, the team’s going to follow suit.

MT: The Quakers only had one complete game at this point of their 2010 Ivy Championship season, and that was against a Bucknell squad far weaker defensively than any of the Penn’s opponents in 2012. Complete games are hard to come by regardless of coaching preparation. Ragone has gone to Marsh through the air earlier in games this season, and he spread the wealth to lesser-targeted receivers like Mitch King and Ryan Allen under constant pressure.

The ‘O’ has momentum in spite of its injuries and schedule at this point. That’s really all you can ask for.

JP: A complete game doesn’t mean a perfect game — it just comes down to effort. For the first half, the team didn’t have that spark, that energy that’s needed to stay competitive. This team, with its inconsistent effort, could come out flat and lose to Yale, but very easily get riled up to play Harvard, keep it close and maybe even win. It’s not a question of personnel. It’s about the soul of this squad, and so far, every result points to a difficulty maintaining energy on offense.

MT: I’ve seen enough Penn football over the years not to question the Quakers’ effort. Channeling that effort effectively is another matter. The ‘O’ has shown enough resiliency under the gun in both Ivy games to convince me that that side of the ball, soul included, is on the right track. Potency is more essential than consistency at this point of the season, but that will change soon. Given Yale’s recent struggles, New Haven is the perfect place for the complete game we’ve all been waiting for.

Verdict? This week against Columbia should’ve marked Penn’s first complete game. But as John described, Bagnoli didn’t make the necessary adjustments in time for that to happen. J-Phil wins — the offense has to get it together, and fast.