Friday, November 16, 2012

Last Dance






Columbia Lions vs. Brown Bears

November 17, 2012

Location: Brown Stadium 

Kickoff Time: 12:30pm

Gametime Weather Forecast: 48 degrees and mostly sunny

The Spread: Brown is favored by 15 1/2 points





How to Get to the Game

Directions to Brown Stadium


TV/RADIO

You can get free audio on the SideLion PassJerry Recco and Sal Licata have the call. 

Brown is supplying video of the game for $8 if you click here. 

The Columbia student station broadcast is on WKCR at 89.9 on your FM dial.


Lead Stories

I wrote at the beginning of the season that three wins were the baseline expectation for this team, and I predicted they would go 3-7. Most of the other experts agreed. 

That means a win against Brown makes this a successful season that exceeded expectations. 

It would also be an impressive feat against a solid program that has once again produced a winning season despite the loss of several key players to graduation and injury. 

The teams's goals are the most important, but another big story is the individual numbers several Lions could achieve.

The two biggest records to watch are: 

1) RB Marcorus Garrett could become just the second Columbia player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, but he needs to net 99 yards against a stingy Brown run defense. 

2) QB Sean Brackett needs 140 yards passing to pass Craig Hormann '08 and grab second place all time in team history. 

On Brown's end, a big story is the revenge factor as the Lions embarrassed the Bears for their only win last year in the thrilling double OT game in New York. The loss made a very, very good 2011 Brown team look bad in the eye of Ivy League watchers, and unfairly so. 

Some of the players who figured in that game last year both positively, (Tellef Lundevall), and negatively (Jonah Fay), will get their chance to settle scores.

A win would also clinch a 4-3 winning Ivy conference record for Brown, while a loss sends them to the other side of the ledger at 3-4. 


Columbia Keys to the Game


1) Harass Donnelly

Brown's running game continues to be hobbled by injuries and the Bears will need to rely on the pass to score. If the Lions can come close to doing to Brown QB Patrick Donnelly what they did to Cornell QB Jeff Mathews, Columbia can win this game.


2) Use the Pass to Establish the Run

The Bears' run defense is strong, period. But the good short passing attack Columbia has established in recent weeks could help loosen up Brown's front seven just enough to allow some good runs after a while. And if Brackett, in the final game of his career, is finally allowed to run like mad all over the Bears, this game could get really interesting. 


3)  Play Loose

It won't be too cold at game time anyway, but the Lions should come out of the locker room looking like they're having a ball in the sun. The crowd won't likely be too large and the home field advantage CAN be taken away in that environment. 

28 comments:

Lion 58 said...

Brown's line was superior on both sides of the ball- Donnelly had time to throw- Brackett didn't

RedTiger61 said...

Our O-line did not do the job ... the Brown commentators remrked how they were getting manhandled and how undersized they were ... over the next 9 months, the strength coach needs to beef these guys up ... when you have 4th and short and you line up in shotgun formation, it says a lot about what sort of confidence the Coach has in his offensive line ... THIS is the area we need to show IMPROVEMENT !!!

RedTiger61 said...

Also ... thanks Sean B and seniors for 4 years ....

oldlion said...

Defensively we played well enough to win, except for the terrible fourth down TDs. But the OL was the biggest failing. Too small, i.e., too light and not strong. The red zone failures are on the OL. OS, some sort of altercation between Patterson and Carter and a Brown player and coach, seemed to erupt at the end of the game, at least according to KCR.

DOC said...

Anyone watch the game on Brown's TV feed? I may be eating my sour grapes a bit, but the play by play guy and the color commentator's "homerisms" were so nauseating that i had to turn off the sound. A shame that the OL didn't bring their "A" game today. That being said the gains made by Brackett on roll outs or improvised plays in the second half were the only way we could move the ball. Wish we got him out of the pocket more often...

#1 Lion said...

Doc, the O-Line didn't bring their "A", "B", or "C" game the entire year! The ONLY exception was the send half of the Cornell game. Mangurrian, as a former offensive lineman, should be embarrassed!

I was driving back from Boston and was listening to the game from a Brown feed (AM 770)... "This is the most undersized offensive line in the entire league". "They are beau g manhandled out there". The announcers felt worse for Sean Brackett and remarked what cold have been if he has time to throw.

Maybe we should put Childress on the O-Line?

We need 3-4 transfers in key positions... QB, OL/DL, DB, deep threat WR.

Anonymous said...

Hey Doc, how did you get the Brown videocast? I tried everything, but nothing worked. It's either a technical mess or a scam. The printed instructions making you deposit every program imaginable are a farce.

Anonymous said...

More speed in the defensive secondary, more size and strength on the offensive line and two or three speedsters on offense. Connors and Nelligan are outstanding receivers and of course, Garrett is a terrific running back. Fill our needs and we will be very competitive next year. Find a super quarterback and we will definitely contend for the Ivy League Championship.

Anonymous said...

LET'S TURN UP THE RECRUITING LIKE NEVER BEFORE. IT'S TIME TO WIN THE IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP AND WE CAN DO IT IF WE RECRUIT SUCCESSFULLY!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I want to personally thank the 23 seniors who gave their dedication, blood, sweat and tears to this program. You have exemplified the definition of leadership. You have now passed the torch to your younger brothers and I and others are very proud and grateful for your commitment to the cause. May God Bless you all and keep you strong. All of you deserve a world of thanks for your dedication as student athletes. Good luck men you will all be missed.

Anonymous said...

The only thing that worked on the Brown video website was the charge to my credit card.

oldlion said...

The OL is the biggest area of concern for next year, and it is the one area in which the tall, skinny first years who got so much game experience have their work cut out. On the DL, I have heard that Adebayo may apply for a redshirt year. One person close to the program told me that two other seniors on the defensive side in the front seven may also be eligible for a fifth year.

TableHopper said...

Beef up the O-line?!? He did just the opposite. He made them drop substantial weight including making a few of the guys sick. He has 'formulas' in his head and if your weight, class year, body fat, whatever, is not in the formula, forget it.

They have deep threat and short yardage players but they don't have the class year that fits the 'formula' so they are in the stands wearing jeans or on the sideline.

As far as improvement goes, we only could get better. A lot of the former players used to shake their heads at some of the play calling. We are going in the right direction and that is because the players didn't give up on themselves or each other. I see a lot of these guys near campus and they are good decent guys who in spite of the indignities dished their way, hold each other up. I think the seniors handled themselves with class and know this year's juniors will do the same next year when they get screwed over. But two years down the road he will get to say 'see it was my players who got the winning seasons.'

Anonymous said...

TABLEHOPPER is right on the money. Some players did need medical attention as a result of the insistence that they have a certain weight, fat percentage, etc. This was one of the under reported stories of the preseason and year. Coach M demanded that the OL be small, and he got what he wanted--they got pushed around all year. As best i can determine, the seniors (and juniors) who were exiled to the bleachers on game day handled a bad situation with dignity. Anon

oldlion said...

And just what happened after the game? Voyforums reports that words were exchanged between Mangurian and Estes, and that it spilled over to other coaches and players.

#1 Lion said...

Yes, words were exchanged after the game. Basically, Estes was thanking Mangurrian for keeping such a small (and weak) O-Line. The Brown Seniors wanted to go out on top and they did... by pushing us around!

Mangurrian should be embarrassed with the product he put on the field since he was an offensive lineman himself (now we know why he was 3rd string at LSU).

Yes, THANK YOU to the 23 seniors who stuck it out. To think that some of these guys couldn't have at LEAST played Specilal Teams is a joke. Instead, they were regulated to watching the game in the stands.

Hopefully, Mangurrian learns from his mistakes (which I doubt); and I hope that he will also learn how to coach in college.

#1 Lion said...

We need 5-6 transfers (either through Junior College or D-I schools) - think School of General Studies. Would like to see Childress' brother (6'5" QB who is a Red Shirt Freshman at West Virginia), along with a few others. Maybe even put Chidress on the O-Line to add size. His dad switched from D-Line to O-Line in the NFL. Food for thought...

Anonymous said...

Given the problems on the O-line, how did Scott Ward go from back-to-back all-Ivy seasons to being a backup as a senior? Awfully peculiar.

#1 Lion said...

No, anonymous, not peculiar... Just sad!

Anonymous said...

#1 Lion, was there a significant drop in the quality of his play? Because he does not appear to have been replaced by someone better.

#1 Lion said...

In my opinion, he showed great progression each year; something that all football player aspire (which earned him Ivy-Honors). The only thing I can think of that would keep him from starting would have either been an injury, or illness? That's just me speculating. If he was healthy, then I'm afraid it's inexplicable why he didn't start with the product we had on the field.

oldlion said...

If Estes actually said that to Pete, Estes is a jerk. So much for Jake's claim that Estes is a prince among men.

oldlion said...

If Estes actually said that to Pete, Estes is a jerk. So much for Jake's claim that Estes is a prince among men.

Anonymous said...

Over the years, the Ivies have had key transfers at the skills position from Northwestern at running back (Harvard), some junior college quarterback from Arizona whose name I can't remember (Brown) and numerous others, but I cannot recall our ever having an impact recruit. West Virginia would probably be a first for us, but Childress should be eligible immediately. I like what Fordham did this year--bringing in a star quarterback transfer from UConn the week before the season started. Unfortunately, he sustained a bad injury the following week.

WOF said...

#1 lion, you are way too emotional. Is this the first time you have gone through a coaching change?

#1 Lion said...

I had 3 coaches at CU (Freshmen inclusive). I played all four years and if a coach told my Jr. And Sr. Teammates that they couldn't dress for home games, we would revolt. It's that simple. It's a brotherhood...

WOF said...

I hear you but it is pretty common for the new regime to favor the underclassmen. I don't know all the details as to why he limited the number of kids that could dress so hard for me to judge.

Perhaps I am just desensitized to icing out the Sr class because I lived through it with both Garrett and McAlee.

TableHopper said...

Going back to when the new coach was hired, I repeatedly overheard he told the sophs and above they were all losers and the only way to turn things around is to play new people who have not been tainted. He has let first years break the rules, law, practice schedule and just about everything else while continuing to do everything to frustrate upperclassmen. Even Garrett was told he was lucky to be playing. From what I hear, unless you are a first year they have no voice or opinion and risk being 'put in the seats' as the guys say. The thing is the guys understand a new coach should look at everyone but he ignores talent because he feels the older guys are poisoned left overs. Like WOF said, icing seniors might make sense if they don't have the talent but he shouldn't throw half the team away or publicly embarrass them.

I never played on a sports team so I don't know if this is normal but to me its seems irrational. Whenever I am involved in group work, you put your best people forward even if you don't like them personally. I mean, that is just taking care of business. Keep your friendships separate but respect and encourage talent. Football is completely a team sport and good morale leads to winning.