COLUMN: Brown has formula for success

The winning formula for Ivy League football may have revealed itself. Start with a mobile, strong-armed quarterback, add several big, physical receivers and make them the focal point of your offense. Brown's aerial attack Saturday was anything but unexpected. James Perry has put together the best passing numbers in Ivy League history. The past several years, a game against the Bears has served as the test of any team's secondary. And most of the time, that secondary has lost -- big. Penn's secondary has been criticized in recent seasons. With Perry passing for 440 yards against the Quakers, similar blame could fall on the Penn defense again. The reality is that the Penn secondary may not be any better than the rest of the league, but it certainly isn't any worse. Brown is simply redefining the standards of an Ivy League passing game. Penn quarterback Gavin Hoffman is just a sophomore and his arm strength and passing accuracy may prove to be as good as Perry's in two years. However, even if that were the case, he still wouldn't have all of the tools that Perry has to run a prolific passing attack. What separates Perry and Brown from the rest of the Ivy League quarterbacking club is their receiving corps. Their size, even more than their excellent speed, make it nearly impossible for Ivy League defensive backs to shut down this offense. Steven Campbell is 6'3" and 220 pounds. Billy Rackley is 6'0" and 200 pounds. These two Brown receivers combined for 18 receptions for 336 yards. "With the receivers that we have, it makes it an easy job in the system that we run," Perry said. "Steve makes great plays and the yards after catch is through the roof." In comparison, Hoffman's top wide receiving targets, Rob Milanese and Brandon Carson, are 5'10" and 5'11" respectively. The responsibility of covering the two physically imposing Brown receivers fell upon defensive backs Joey Alofaituli and Anthony DeSalle. Alofaituli supports 175 pounds on his 5'10" frame, while DeSalle checks in at 5'11" and 180 pounds. Brown carried the advantage of a mismatch from the start. Two of Perry's other receiving options Saturday were Bears freshman Chas Gessner and sophomore tight end David Brookman. Gessner, who caught two passes, measures in at 6'5" and 200 pounds. Brookman is an inch shorter than Gessner, but weighs 240 pounds. An offense that can run timing routes with physically imposing receivers, as Perry did so often Saturday, is devastating in this league. The Brown quarterback took quick three-step drops and lofted high passes towards the sidelines or corners of the endzone. And he just let his receivers battle for the ball. More often than not, big, physical receivers are going to win those battles. Even Brown's starting secondary would match up unfavorably. Their four starting defensive backs measure up at 5'10", 5'10", 5'11", and 6' tall. What is even more devastating for Ivy League defenses against a team like the Bears is the adjustments they have to make. Saturday, Penn made the necessary adjustments to try to defend against the Brown passing game. The Quakers tried different defensive schemes, including zone packages, looking to incorporate the help of safeties Eric Bunn (6'0" and 190 pounds) and Hasani White (5'11" and 190 pounds), who match up more favorably against the Brown receivers. But then the middle of the field opened up. And Perry, Campbell and Rackley began dissecting the Penn with routes over the middle. Perry even got the backfield involved in the passing game. Tailback Michael Malan and fullback Michael Borgonzi combined for eight catches. When the two got into the defensive backfield against the Quakers, they too presented matchup problems for the Penn backs. Both Malan and Borgonzi check in at 5'11" and both weigh more than 200 pounds. Obviously, the size of the receivers doesn't matter if they can't catch the ball. But Brown has found big receivers who can run and catch, and in the meantime has redefined passing game excellence in the Ivy League. "We knew coming in that the onus was on us, the d-backs," Alofaituli said. "All week the coaches put in a really good scheme for us. We came in with confidence but we knew we were up against good competition in their receivers and Perry. A combination of a few blown assignments and that they just made some great plays kind of set us back" The coaches may have put together really good schemes. But for the Quakers to shut down the passing game, execution would still have needed to be perfect. And that will never happen. Maybe Penn needs to follow suit, recruiting bigger receivers to punish the rest of the Ivy League defensive backfields. Or if the Quakers are happy with their receiving corps, maybe it's time to raise the standard on the other side of the ball, and go find some big, physical defensive backs.

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