Last week, captain Brandon Copeland called a meeting with his defensive line, which had failed to record a sack through the first two games of the season.
“It’s embarrassing,” Copeland said after last Wednesday’s practice.
As the leader of the unit, Copeland shouldered the blame for the defensive line’s tough start to the season.
“I haven’t been happy with the way I’ve played,” he said. “I need to earn the right to talk to my team.”
Saturday against Dartmouth, Copeland and junior Dan Wilk set the tone early for the Quakers, getting two sacks on the first drive of the game.
The rest of the defense followed suit, playing with renewed vigor for much of the game, thus allowing the Quakers to jump out to a sizable lead.
Copeland had a forgetful game by his standards, recording just two tackles other than the sack.
“My granddad has always preached to me, ‘Once people know about you, every year is going to be harder,’” Copeland said.
This is surely true for Copeland entering this season. In every game the Quakers play, opposing coaches are going to know where he is and they’ll have a game plan for him. He recalls times which he’s been triple-teamed.
Still, Copeland makes no excuses. Regardless of the amount of respect another team shows him, he still expects to contribute.
“It comes with the game, it comes with the territory,” he said. “But the great players make plays.”
While he is the captain and the best defensive player on the team, the Quakers’ Ivy hopes don’t rely on him averaging a sack per game.
The defense needs to think of the attention that Copeland receives on the pass rush as an opportunity for them to make plays. They need to go into contests expecting for open gaps due to the offense shifting its attention to the strong side to fend off Copeland.
One of the biggest numbers of the Dartmouth game was 49 — the number of yards the Big Green lost on sacks and tackles for loss. The Quakers took advantage of the attention shown to Copeland and put the pressure on Dartmouth.
When the defensive line gets a good push, it helps the secondary, which has proven to be the biggest concern on the defensive side of the ball.
And ultimately, that unit’s success comes back to Copeland. The senior has never been one to lead the team in sacks, but he still makes plays. He’s averaged 48 tackles per year over the last two seasons with eight of those tackles being for a loss.
That’s why the Dartmouth win is such a good sign for the Red and Blue. If the defense can force that type of pressure when Copeland isn’t a huge factor, then they’ll only be that much more stifling during the games in which he’s able to break loose.
The very fact that Copeland feels the need to earn his team’s respect — despite what his track record — is the very reason why he’s so successful.
He’s going to make plays. The great ones always do.
JOHN PHILLIPS is a junior English major from Philadelphia. He can be reached at dpsports@theDP.com.
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