Mano-A-Mano: Splitting up the carries

Last week we discussed which part of Penn’s offense should be the focus (see story), and after Saturday’s game, football columnist Karl Bagherzadeh said the Quakers should go with the run game. In this week’s Mano-A-Mano, football writer John Phillips and Senior Sports Editor Megan Soisson debate how Penn’s backs should be used.

John Phillips: The Quakers have a ton of RBs, and if they plan to run the ball every game as often as they did against Dartmouth, that’s not a bad thing at all. But the distribution of the carries seems off to me. Jeff Jack had the brunt of the carries for the Quakers — including 18 on Saturday — but wasn’t productive, averaging just 2.9 yards per attempt.

Why not let Lyle Marsh or Spencer Kulcsar, backs who have proven to possess big play potential, get more carries and see if they can jump start the ground game?

Megan Soisson: I’m honestly not sure if I can even attempt to explain half the personnel decisions Al Bagnoli and his staff makes, but heck, I’ll give it a go.

Bagnoli explained after the game on Saturday that Colavita was pulled in the first series with an injury, and Marsh was bruised up going into the game so he was limited. Jeff Jack became the go-to back by default, but I really don’t see Jack as Penn’s number one guy. He’s at his best when he’s coming in as a second or third option replacing Colavita or Marsh to give the Quakers a set of fresh legs.

So his 2.9 yards per carry Saturday is likely a result of him carrying the ball too much. I would have liked to see Marsh do more, but he was productive when he needed to be — and if that was because Bagnoli was being cautious, then that’s great play calling on his end. Marsh had just two carries, one of which was a 51-yard dash to the end zone.

JP: If you want to give Bagnoli credit for his timely use of Marsh, that’s fine. But I don’t think the lack of carries for Marsh is simply due to injury. If you go back to the ’Nova game, Marsh had just five carries to Jack’s 14. Surely in that game, Jack ran the ball well, but it’s starting to become a trend, regardless of Marsh’s health.

I’d love to see more of Marsh, especially based on his versatility in the pass game, but I think the Quakers did not plan on possibly losing Colavita. Last year at this juncture, Colavita had rushed the ball 57 times. Being without him has clearly thrown the coaching staff through a loop, and giving Jack the carries that Colavita would usually receive is their first attempt at navigating a strange land without No. 33.

MS: We have to remember that Marsh sat injured almost the entirety of the past two seasons. He entered this season completely healthy, but I have to imagine the coaches are still playing it safe. His carries are definitely down, but with Colavita likely not playing against William & Mary, I expect to see more from Marsh.

We don’t know the extent of Bam’s injury, but against a non-conference team there’s no reason to risk his health even if he feels ready to go. This week the coaches will have the chance to factor his absence into the game plan, and then I think we’ll have a better indication of how Marsh and Jack can be used better.

JP: I really hope you’re right and that the coaching staff can establish some sort of balance with the current platoon. Marsh deserves a shot, but if Bagnoli doesn’t yet think the Jack as RB-1 ship has sailed yet, maybe one more game in which Jack is unable to handle the load is enough to lead to a change — or give Colavita enough time to get healthy. At this point, the offensive isn’t in a position to be picky.

MS: And there’s really no need to be picky given the options available beyond Marsh, Colavita and Jack. Ragone isn’t too shabby of a rusher, either, as we know. Hopefully we’ll see a rhythm established this weekend.

Verdict: Even if the coaching staff is being cautious with Marsh, they’re going to have to let him loose sometime soon. Give this one to John. Jeff Jack obviously can’t carry the load on his own.