Scouting Dartmouth

Dominick Pierre is having a strong year

Overview

I had high expectations for this Big Green team coming into the season, picking them for third and believing they had an outside shot at a title.

Well, half of that prediction still looks pretty good. Dartmouth could very easily wind up in third, but I just don’t think the Green have what it takes right now to beat Princeton and Harvard.

And the reason for all of this is the passing game. Buddy Teevens’ team isn’t passing well enough on its own and isn’t defending the pass well enough either.

Much of the offensive passing problems stem from injuries, while the defensive issue has me scratching my head because I thought Dartmouth’s linebackers and secondary were a strength of the team.

The good news for Teevens is that when it comes to finding a way to improve the pass defense, it appears playing Columbia is the best option.

But speaking of Teevens, with his team favored by 17 ½ points right now and expectations still high in Hanover… let’s just say his job is in serious jeopardy if the Big Green loses this game Saturday. I suppose Teevens is well aware of that.

Offense

In the offseason I wrote that I thought sophomore QB Dalyn Williams was still on the rise after his Rookie of the Year 2012 season, and that it would be better if he just became the QB on 80%-90% of the plays. That’s exactly what the coaches decided to do, cutting down drastically on the playing time of senior Alex Park in favor of the running and gunning Williams. For the most part, Williams hasn’t disappointed with either his running or his passing. But there have been a few moments where he hasn’t been able to move the offense and it’s hard to explain why. His sketchy 56% completion rate is probably the biggest culprit. But next to Princeton’s Quinn Epperly, Williams is the most dangerous QB in the Ivies right now.

The offensive line is a bit suspect. Pierre is a big guy who often makes his own yards, while Williams scrambles for his big yards.  The Green have allowed an unsettling three sacks per game and there are some penalty issues.

RB Dominick Pierre may be the most dangerous at his position. He’s averaging 122 yards per game and already has seven TD’s. He’s simply a load and no team had even been able to contain him until Bucknell held him to 75 yards and under four yards per carry last week. Was Pierre hurt? I’m not sure, but it’s also hard to get a handle on why he underperformed last Saturday at home.

The receiving corps has been seriously hurt by the injury to Ryan McManus. But sophomore Victor Williams has really stepped up to be the leading receiver so far this season with 316 yards so far. Bo Patterson is the man Williams and Park look for the in the end zone and he had four TD’s. TE Cole Marcoux, who was once a big QB prospect, is coming along at his new position and Pierre is also a frequent target coming out of the backfield.

In general this is a potent offense that can move the ball, but consistency is a problem.

Defense

We knew the Dartmouth defensive line was a big question mark for this team, and indeed the Green have had issues with the pass rush and they have just eight sacks on the season. But the run defense has been decent, thanks to lots of help from LB’s Michael Runger and Bronson Green. The leading tackler is actually a name I was not expecting to hear, but should have, in safety Mike Banaciski. He’s excellent at helping out with the run and has 3.5 tackles for a loss this year.

But the D-line does have some standouts, like DE Corbin Stall who has 2.5 sacks and DT AJ Zuttah, who is a load at 285 lbs. And sophomore Cody Fulleton could be a factor as he gets bigger.

The secondary is definitely suffering a bit from the lack of a real pass rush, but with senior CB Chase Womack back, (he missed one game earlier this season), there will be improvement here. In addition to Banaciski, Stephen Dazzo is a good safety. But when Dartmouth gives up a 1^st down, it’s usually because of a pass.

Special Teams

This has often been a strength for Big Green teams, but not this year. Kicker Riley Lyons has missed seven of nine FG attempts and his average miss comes from 34 yards away. Lyons is a perfect 15-15 on PAT’s, however.

Freshman punter Ben Kepley is okay, but his longest boot of the year is 47 yards.

The longest kickoff return for Dartmouth this season is just 36 yards. Most of the kicks are handled by the WR Williams, whose average is well under 20 yards per return. Patterson is taking most of the punt returns now that McManus is out, and he’s been solid. The Dartmouth kick coverage has been good with no one breaking any big ones all year.

Conclusions

Hmm... a team with troubles staging a pass rush? Sounds like Columbia is just what the doctor ordered for Buddy Teevens. It's easy to look at this team and see that it matches up very well against the Lions.