COLUMN: Bagnoli shows signs of opening up the passing game

Al Bagnoli's decision to take the ball out of quarterback Steve Teodecki's hands last weekend wasn't much of a surprise. And that was exactly the problem. Going into that season opener at Dartmouth, the Big Green coaching staff was well aware of Bagnoli's fear of having Teodecki lose the game in his first collegiate start. Bagnoli's philosophy of running the ball on first down, running the ball on second down and running the ball on all but the longest third-down situations actually worked for the first half of last week's game. Jasen Scott rushed for 165 first-half yards, while Teodecki's offensive contribution was reduced mostly to placing the ball in Scott's hands. Teodecki's first-half statistics: 2-of-8 for 15 yards. More importantly, the Quakers were within five points of the preseason Ivy League favorite on the road heading into halftime. The Quakers lost a four-point lead in the waning seconds, falling 24-22, mostly because the offense failed to kill any time off the clock, allowing the Big Green chance after chance to score on the exhausted defense. The untested senior quarterback ended the afternoon having attempted only 17 passes, completing seven for 114 yards. Like Bagnoli hoped, Teodecki did nothing to cost Penn the game. He didn't throw any interceptions. He didn't fumble. He didn't miss an absurd number of passes. But he didn't help the team win, either. And that was something Bagnoli tried to fix in Saturday's game against Colgate. By the end of the first half, Teodecki had already attempted 17 passes, just one less than he attempted in the entire game against Dartmouth. His final stats -- 15-of-29 for 151 yards and one touchdown -- hardly suggest an all-Ivy gunslinger. But they do lead one to believe that Bagnoli is slowly letting loose the reigns on his quarterback. Equally significant, Teodecki spread the passes among seven receivers -- a far cry from last week when all but one reception was pulled in by Mark Fabish. Bagnoli and offensive coordinator Chuck Priore also got Teodecki to step out of the pocket by throwing in some bootlegs and quarterback sneaks. It appeared the coaches were trying to fit the offense to Teodecki's strengths -- rolling out, scrambling, passing on the run -- than fitting Teodecki into the offense. Perhaps the biggest disappointment from the Quakers' sideline was the torrential downpour that hit Franklin Field during the first half. The slick pigskin and the slippery turf combined to create near-impossible passing conditions. Reluctantly, Bagnoli shifted his offensive focus to the running game until the skies cleared up. Nonetheless, Bagnoli sent a message to his players and to opposing teams. He is confident in his new quarterback, and he plans on tweeking the system to create a more equal balance between the passing and running games. The play-calling in the Dartmouth game was typical Bagnoli. He has always been very protective of his quarterbacks. He doesn't want to seem them fail too early in their careers. It's not so much his fear that their confidence will be shattered as much as his need to have control. And right now, control means going with those players who have succeeded before -- namely the running backs. Two years ago, when Mark DeRosa was taking his first snaps as quarterback of the Quakers, Bagnoli eased him into the system much the same way. In DeRosa's first game, he only threw 22 passes, 14 of which were completions and none of which were interceptions. Back then, Penn won the game, defeating Lafayette, 22-7. And as everybody now knows, DeRosa went on to earn honorable mention all-Ivy honors that season. In his two years as quarterback, he finished second on the Penn all-time passing chart, just 69 yards behind his predecessor, Jimmy McGeehan. He compiled a 16-3 record as a starter, leading the Quakers to one undefeated season and an Ivy League championship. Bagnoli can only hope that the Teodecki project goes so well.

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