Rare Pick II
Sean Brackett: Simply the Best
In late 2006, I wrote a piece about the amazing ability then-Columbia QB Craig Hormann had for not throwing interceptions.
In ’06, Hormann threw just one pick for every 54 passes thrown. That was the best ratio in the league.
That was when Hormann was a junior with a full year of starting under his belt the previous year.
But current QB Sean Brackett almost matched Hormann’s amazing INT stats last year with only four starts coming into the 2010 season under his belt.
In 2010, Brackett threw just six INT’s overall, or one for every 48 passes thrown. That was tops in the league.
This from a player who was tabbed as primarily a running QB by most of the “experts” following Ivy football last summer.
Meanwhile, I and a few others declared Brackett the best overall QB in the Ivies well before the 2010 season started.
What Brackett actually did on the field made me a prophet.
Here are some of the highlights:
-Led the league in total offense with 2,588 total yards from scrimmage.
-Led the league in TD passes with 19, the guy who came in second had just 12.
-Achieved an incredible 7.2 yards per pass attempt average; leading the Ivies. Just to be clear, a 7.2 YPA is the kind of stat Joe Montana would drool over.
-Ran for more than 500 yards net, but since most of his lost “rushing yards” were really sacks, he actually ran for about 700 yards on the season. Either way, he led the Lions in rushing.
And those stats don’t include how Brackett absolutely was the biggest reason for the wins over Princeton, Lafayette, and especially Cornell. He also did all of this with his best wide receiver injured for more than 90% of the season.
If he stays healthy, Brackett should give the Lions 20 more starts at QB before his college career is over.
What will Columbia do with this once-in-a-generation’s final two years?
Let’s hope that when Brackett graduates, the word “squander” doesn’t come to anyone’s mind.
posted by Jake @ 7:24:00 AM
17 comments
17 Comments:
How about that...and he wasn't even nominated for the Bushnell Tophy. Go figure?
I was astonished that the running QB from Penn was a Bushnell finalist over Brackett. There is no comparison.
Someone said "I was astonished that the running QB from Penn was a Bushnell finalist over Brackett. There is no comparison."
Winning record versus losing record was the difference.
The quality of Brackett has not been seen at Columbia at QB since Witkowski. He will lead us to more wins than Wit (I think he already has). I think if we had pulled out more of the close games last year (like Dartmouth, Yale and Fordham) then he would have been in the running.
Is there a bias against Columbia? dunno, inconclusive. The only way to prove or disprove this is to post wins and then see how our players are rated.
Bottom line is that our Offense is far more exciting and able to score than most periods of my memory. The Defense not so much. I truly believe that all priority must be given to the Defensive Line (as has been discussed at length). Force more second/third and longs and over the course of a game we will force 2-3 more punts and/or the extra turnover/sack/TFL or two....all this can swing the game by 7-10 points (either in terms of a score prevented or a score made by us). Do the math...that's easily 3 more wins last year and maybe the Penn game gets much closer.
Sure we want to add talent everywhere, but we all know the ONE thing that must be done before all others.
Chen '82
I agree with Chen with one exception. On the offensive side they need to improve the game plan and play calling. The best defense is an offense that is consistent and keeps an opposing team’s offense off the field. They need to give these great offensive players a consistent game plan and show the ability to adjust to what is happening. Calling the same play over and over that isn’t work and waiting until late in the second half (which seems to be the norm) just doesn't work.
Chen agrees with last post....and this is not a talent/personnel fix but one that can be done quickly via the coaching. Here again, how many extra first downs and resulting point swing would occur.....?
Combine the two things and we really are in every game
Yes the offense showed some explosiveness against Princeton and a couple of other teams last year, but I could hardly say it was consistently dominating, by any means. I think our play-calling was picked up after those early games, and CU became predictable. Not sure how to improve on that. Hopefully, Brackett has some more receivers to work with and more options to balance the attack
Less wins did not deter the MLB from granting Hernandez the 2010 Cy Young with a 13-12 record last year. They cited his individual ERA, etc.
Who is the new DC?
I am happy to sponsor the meat and potatoes needed to fuel the growth of one of our younger Defensive Lineman by 40 lbs. Not sure how much this entails but have the AD contact me!
Chen 82
cschenhk@yahoo.com
Here is one issue with DL weights. The player who is naturally around 6'4" and 220 or so, who bulks up to 250 or so, generally tends to lose weight during the course of a long season. That's why our DL was less effective as the season wore on; we have a bunch of players who added some weight during the off season but couldn't keep it on. Those players who need to take weight off in order to play effectively ( the Groth type, for example) don't have that sort of problem. The best example of that is the great Alan Page, who used to start every season in the NFL at around 250 and would up at around 220 at the end o fthe year.
Columbia Men's Basketball Team defeated Dartmouth by a 67-60 score at Levien Gymnasium tonight. The Lions are now 5-4 in the Ivy League and 14-9 overall. Noruwa Agho led Columbia with 19 points. Matt Johnson came through with two big threes.
Promising incoming freshman defensive end, Chad Washington, says he weighs 237 pounds and not 220. Also, Hunter Little is 6-5, not 6-4.
Back to the issue of stopping the run and our D-line, I happen to be near Ben Poppeck at the BB game last night. He has the build of a TE, not a rising senior D lineman.
Popeck is 250 and looks like he can carry ten more pounds. I see him playing outside at DE next year.
I agree Popeck moved to DE makes sense. He is one of the most explosive players on the DL and adding to the very talented DE rotation really could be huge. Let the big guys tie up the middle and Popeck’s speed and skill make the tackles / contain from the outside.
One other comment was made about adding/keeping weight on. One thing to remember there is a balance between adding weight and loosing speed. I think if Popeck in general gains too much weight it would be non-muscle and could hurt his performance. In the same context, having a player like Groth losing weight with expectations of huge gains in speed probably is also a mistake and unrealistic. The key for all the DL should be getting stronger while controlling weight. A 300+ or a 270 Groth for example probably would be a bad thing unless he and a huge gain in strength which also is not likely.
Popeck is working like crazy in the weight room, according to at least one of hte coaches. He started the season at 240 or so and lost a lot of weight by the end of the season, I am also advised. I don't think he would add weight without a corresponding increase in muscle mass.
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