The Air-Bears are coming.
If we were at war, the air raid sirens would wail tomorrow. As the sleek white bombers with brown trim soared overhead, the citizens of Princeton would be afraid.
Thankfully, peace currently reigns in central New Jersey. The only people who need to worry about the Brown passing game are the members of the Tiger football team, who will take on the Bears tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Princeton Stadium.
"What a challenge," Princeton head coach Roger Hughes said. "Brown comes in here with one of the best — if not the best — offense in the league. They present us with a number of difficulties."
Difficulty number one for the Tigers is stopping the prolific arm of Bears' quarterback Eric Webber. Webber currently tops the NCAA Division I-AA national rankings with 29.75 completions per game. In addition, he ranks fourth in total offense with 323.3 yards per game.
Webber has toiled in relative obscurity in his time at Brown, having sat out all of last season recovering from a knee injury suffered during the 1998 campaign. He began his career at Brown in the same class as quarterback James Perry — who set numerous Brown and Ivy passing records during the 1999 season — and actually served as Perry's backup for a span.
"[Webber] has been very, very productive for us," Brown head coach Phil Estes said. "He knows the offense, he does a great job of distributing the ball."
Target practice
Indeed, Webber has at his disposal some of the best weapons in the Ivy League. The blockbuster among Webber's favorite targets is Steve Campbell, who leads Division I-AA in receptions per game (11.25) and receiving yards per game (114.5). With 230 career receptions, Campbell is on pace to break former teammate Sean Morey's Ivy League record of 251 next weekend.
The Bears' aerial assault is not a two-man show, however. Receivers Chas Gessner and Billy Rackley both have over 20 receptions through four games and are dangerous deep threats.
"Brown is exciting on offense," Princeton defensive backs coach Eric Jackson said. "They do a lot of different things. They've got three very solid receivers. They move the ball around. We're excited for that challenge."
Tall order
The Tiger secondary will be a busy place Saturday afternoon, forcing Princeton's young defensive backs to raise their level of play. Against Brown's spread formations, sophomore strong safety Kevin Kongslie and freshman free safety Blake Perry must be sure to keep the Bear receivers in front of them, lest they give up the big play.
On the outside, sophomore cornerbacks Paul Simbi and Clark Webb will have their hands full. The secondary must remain aggressive, however, lest Webber pick it apart with short passes underneath. Webber has thrown five interceptions on the year, and the Tiger secondary must take advantage of his occasional off-target throws if Princeton is to emerge victorious.
"It's fun to play against the scheme that Brown runs," Kongslie said. "We're excited to get back into Ivy League action."
Despite the youth of Princeton's defensive backfield, the Bears are not expecting a turbulence-free flight Saturday.
"If they have any faults or weaknesses, I haven't seen them yet," Estes said. "Their up-front people are as good as we've seen. I think their secondary is very, very good. It's going to be a big challenge for us. We're going to have to do a lot of different things. Whether it's going to be spreading them out or whatever. It's going to be a challenge."
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