Ivy League Football Season Preview | Brown

On the first possession of its second game of 2007, Brown lost tailback Dereck Knight to a foot injury.

He had run for 208 yards on Opening Day, but that misstep put Knight out of commission for the rest of the year. With him went any semblance of a running game.

He wasn't needed then, and there are doubts about whether he's needed now.

Brown coach Phil Estes needs no excuse to pass the ball, but now he has one in senior quarterback Michael Dougherty. At this time last year, Dougherty was 3-for-10 in his career and his biggest accomplishment was making the Principal's Honor Roll at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida.

Estes' public expectations were couched in game-manager language: control the game, trust your receivers, don't make too many mistakes.

Dougherty emerged as one of the NCAA's most prolific passers, finishing the season third in yards and giving the Bears QB output they haven't had since James Perry. (Perry, a '99 Brown grad, has 1,445 more career passing yards than the next-closest Ivy QB).

The 2008 Bears return two top receivers, Buddy Farnham and Bobby Sewall, providing even more reason for optimism. Farnham was the Ivy receptions leader last year, and Sewall's legendary game against Dartmouth (144 yards, four rushing touchdowns, 18 catches, 141 receiving yards and a 41-yard touchdown pass) would make a fine career for most players.

The Bears will win by scoring, not stopping, as they lost linebacker Zak DeOssie to the NFL Draft.

A problem might crop up on special teams. In the past you could pencil in Steve Morgan - who kicked and punted - for an All-Ivy spot, but he's gone. Estes has a fairly good record recruiting kickers; a senior, Robert Ranney, has been patiently waiting his turn.

Still, it may not matter. If the Bears are punting, or going for field goals, they probably won't have much of a chance to begin with.

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