The Miracle Worker: Phil Estes
There may be no greater evidence of the talents of Brown Head Coach Phil Estes than the 2012 season.
Estes and the Bears lost dynamite QB Kyle Newhall-Caballero and a host of great receivers to graduation. He lost RB Spiro Theodosi four games into the season to yet another injury. His team has lost deflating games to Harvard, Princeton, and Penn and bounced back each time with wins the following weeks.
In a word, Phil Estes perseveres.
He perseveres despite weak administration support and the poorest facilities in the Ivies.
How is he doing it this year?
Offense
First, he's getting a pretty good season out of QB Patrick Donnelly who's throwing for 226 yards per game and has a decent 12 TD's to 9 INT's ratio.
He's getting a great season from big WR Tellef Lundevall who's grabbing more than seven passes a game for a 10-yard average per catch.
He's getting a super season from an offensive line that has allowed just 11 sacks and has somehow helped the Bears average 138 rushing yards per game despite the lack of a star runner.
Not too shabby.
No, the 21 points per game average is not the kind of number we're used to seeing from the juggernaut Brown offense. But it's solid.
The running back who appears to be the go-to guy on the ground these days is senior Jeffrey Izon, who has been getting eight or nine carries per game since Theodosi went down. But don't sleep on Jordan Reisner who exploded against Cornell for 193 yards a few weeks ago.
The other big offensive weapon is WR Jonah Fay, a senior who averages a healthy 13.7 yards per catch and has three TD's. He may be especially motivated Saturday to make up for a crushing drop against the Lions last year that probably cost Brown a TD.
Defense
This is a much improved unit and it's not like last year's Bear defense was bad.
Brown has the second best rushing defense in the league, despite giving up a ton of yards to Dartmouth's Dominic Pierre last week.
The stars on the defensive line at Michael Yules and Ross Walthall, who have 23.5 tackles for a loss between them and Yules has five sacks.
The Brown linebacking crew is the real deal. Steve Zambetti, Adewole Oyalowo, and sophomore rising star Daniel Giovacchini who has 56 tackles and 12 tackles for a loss.
The Bear defensive backs are not too shabby either. AJ Cruz is finally a senior and still one of the best if not the best DB in the Ivies. He has help from Reed Watne and Anthony Franciosi who are also seniors.
In short, if this team has the Brown offense we've been used to seeing the last several years, the 2012 Bears would probably be 8-1 and playing for a title. This defense has done little to let the club down.
Special Teams
Kicker Alex Norocea is probably the best in the Ivies. He's a perfect 24-24 on PAT's and 9-11 on FG's with a 46-yarder and a 4-5 mark on kicks of 40 or more.
But after that, the usually fearsome Brown special teams aren't very special this season.
Punter Nathaniel Meyer is just average, kickoff specialist Grant Senne usually doesn't kick it inside the 10, and the punt and kick returners haven't really lit up the field this year.
9 comments:
What Columbia team will show up on Saturday? Is it the unit which played such a great second half against Cornell? If it is, I like our chances.
Brown lost at running back not only Theodosi for the year but also standout Katchmer for the year as well as Reisner who ran for 130 yds against Cornell (broken wrist), Izon was hobbling around on the field last Saturday and the only other rb left Taulbee was out some 3 games with an ankle issue...yes, Estes has had to manufacture an offense every Saturday....maybe on Sat. he will have run out of the scotch tape....
For a miracle worker, Estest sure has had trouble against Columbia... at least in recent years.
Listen to Sean Brackett on Ivy Talk Radio
Season 2, Episode 10 - November 14, 2012
by InsideIvyLeagueFootball
in Sports
on Wed, November 14, 2012
The 10th and final episode of Inside Ivy League Football for the 2012 season features interviews with Penn head coach Al Bagnoli and Columbia senior quarterback Sean Brackett.Episode Guide:4:45 - 28:25 ~... more
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/insideivyleaguefootball
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Noticed that Brown had one sack against Cornell compared with Columbia's six. A bit of apples and oranges, but maybe it suggests Brown's rush isn't too strong and Brackett will get some time to throw on Saturday. Then again, Brown gave up zero net running yards in the game (in part because Cornell went to the pass early and stuck with it for 50+ attempts). Interested to see if CU can grind out some yards on the ground.
Noticed that Brown had one sack against Cornell compared with Columbia's six. A bit of apples and oranges, but maybe it suggests Brown's rush isn't too strong and Brackett will get some time to throw on Saturday. Then again, Brown gave up zero net running yards in the game (in part because Cornell went to the pass early and stuck with it for 50+ attempts). Interested to see if CU can grind out some yards on the ground.
Voy forum post suggested that Mangurian be considered for coach of year honors....seriously?...in a season where CU lost by historic margin.
Not in this lifetime.
Although there is no coach of the year award, if we win the Brown game, it will be a tribute to the coach, his staff, and most of all his players to go from the absolute depths of ineptitude against Harvard and finish off the season with wins over two good teams.
Kind of like last year, except with a more breaks.
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