2013 Boston College Football...From A Spaz to a A Dazz

BigMike · Sep 15, 2013

BigSoxFan said:
Yeah, this was exactly what I thought would happen. Regardless, it's a good experience for the young guys. Next year's game will be closer.

You hope so, but that is very much not a sure thing. They graduate 5 starters on offense 3 or 4 on defense, and Freeze and arguably this includes their 4 or 5 best players (Rettig, Amidon, KPL Freeze, and Williams). Most importantly there is a reasonable chance they are starting a true freshman at QB then.

I was looking at the schedule and the way it is shaping up. BC has 4 opponents this year who may not win a FBS game this year with the exception that Army and Wake play so someone must win

doldmoose34 · Sep 15, 2013

there were some good things in yesterdays blowout and maybe some of us deluded ourselves, I'm lookin at you Bernie, that we could have pulled it out (for the record in the outsider pick'em contest I took BC and the points) but the bottom line is that we didnt have one STARTER that could crack their 2 Deep

this falls back on Football's Grady's outstanding recruiting the past 4 years

I knew we were in trouble on the first play of the game when Lee had a 5 yard lead on Rositanio and the ball tipped off his fingers. FSU and Clemson will be disasters

BigMike · Sep 15, 2013

doldmoose34 said:
there were some good things in yesterdays blowout and maybe some of us deluded ourselves, I'm lookin at you Bernie, that we could have pulled it out (for the record in the outsider pick'em contest I took BC and the points) but the bottom line is that we didnt have one STARTER that could crack their 2 Deep

this falls back on Football's Grady's outstanding recruiting the past 4 years

I knew we were in trouble on the first play of the game when Lee had a 5 yard lead on Rositanio and the ball tipped off his fingers. FSU and Clemson will be disasters

I love the optimism,, but as of today this recruiting class is rated lower than "Football Grady's" first two classes, were in fact way behind 2011, and unless there is some huge shocker it doesn't seem like they are going to add much more this year. There is a ton of buzz this year, because they have their be a dude program, and Daz is on ESPN so much you'd think he was interviewing for a job. Plus they have been open with the Rivals folks, so they love them. But at the end of the day what you can say is this class looks better than the last 2

This staff seems to be better recruiters than the previous staff was, but at the end of the day if this team gets better it is going to be because they are smarter, and better coached than the other teams and not because they have better athletes. Not saying the athletes don't need to be better, but no matter what they do in recruiting they are going to have 5-6 games a season where the other team has better athletes

Clears Cleaver · Sep 15, 2013

any idea when the FSU game time will be announced? I assume it either noon or night?

kenneycb · Sep 15, 2013

It's Parent's Weekend that day so I assume it will be an afternoon game.

Dave Stapleton · Sep 16, 2013

BigMike said:
I love the optimism,, but as of today this recruiting class is rated lower than "Football Grady's" first two classes, were in fact way behind 2011, and unless there is some huge shocker it doesn't seem like they are going to add much more this year. There is a ton of buzz this year, because they have their be a dude program, and Daz is on ESPN so much you'd think he was interviewing for a job. Plus they have been open with the Rivals folks, so they love them. But at the end of the day what you can say is this class looks better than the last 2

I was looking through this year's class and I think the reason folks are optimistic is beyond the rankings. This class has been atypical in many ways and I think that's why folks "feel good" about the class. Look at how this class took shape:

1. BC had 11 committments before June 1. See below for a year-by-year comparison.
2. Of its first 12 commits, 10 were 3 stars, 1 was a 4 star and 1 was a 2 star. By contrast, in the 2011 class cited above, 6 of the first 13 commits were 2 star recruits. There were four 4-star recruits overall but two came very late (Daniels, who prepped and ALJ, a late switch).
3. All but 1 of the 2 stars have come after June 1. This lends credence to the thought that the lower rated guys were "camp offers".

What does this mean? I don't know exactly but it seems like the staff targeted a bunch of players early who they got. They didn't wait for the 4 stars (like Jags) or jump early on low rated kids (like Spaz).

Looks at BC's history of recruiting kids before June 1 (since 2005):

2005 -- 1
2006 -- 3
2007 -- 3
2008 -- 2
2009 -- 1
2010 -- 2
2011 -- 4
2012 -- 1

2013 -- 11

I don't think it's fair to simply look at the aggregated ratings. This seems to be a more balanced class than in years past. Many of the higher rated classes relied on two or three 4 stars panning out. These 4-stars also bumped up the ratings.

When you break down the class in this fashion, it makes one confident that there was a strategy and it has paid off. They target and go after kids they want. They were able to succeed early after a 2 win season.

Now go win 6 games and keep the momentum into next year.

WayBackVazquez · Sep 16, 2013

Dave Stapleton said:
I don't think it's fair to simply look at the aggregated ratings. This seems to be a more balanced class than in years past. Many of the higher rated classes relied on two or three 4 stars panning out. These 4-stars also bumped up the ratings.

Haven't we gone through this before? That's simply not true.

This year's class has thirteen 3-star recruits (including a kicker) and one 4-star.
2011's class had nine 3-star recruits and four 4-stars.
2010's class had fourteen 3-star recruits and two 4-stars.

How are those classes more reliant on the 4-stars panning out? Are you actually saying that these classes would have been better if Kevin Pierre-Louis, Steven Daniels or Connor Wujciak had been replaced with lesser-ranked recruits?

Dave Stapleton · Sep 16, 2013

Side point. My main point is the timing of the recruits and the reliance on 2 stars.

WE have not been through this before. That is a very different approach and explains the positive feeling around the program. BC has succeeded in the past on recruiting solid 3 star players supplemented by 2 stars who blossomed (Raji, Constanzo). The number 4 star recruits who have made an impact on the program are few.

Captaincoop · Sep 16, 2013

That game on Saturday pretty much crushed my optimism for this team. My positive spin had been that there is some decent talent in the starting lineup, but that we lack depth. But our starters on both sides of the ball got absolutely dominated by a mediocre USC team that I feel confident will lose 4-5 games this year.

Not only that, but the coaching staff put the white flag up early, running goal line formation from our own 20 yard line down 21 in the third quarter, etc.

This is a really, really bad football team.

BigMike · Sep 16, 2013

Dave, I do hope you are right. I hope this class does work out and they manage to find 8-12 legitimate ACC starting players from this class, with 3-4 future NFL guys on the list. Right now the class looks ok given the circumstances, but it is year one, so we will give the staff a pass assuming they make it to signing day

If we are sitting he this time next year, and the class is 1 4star, 13 3star, and 8 2star that it is going to be extremely disappointing regardless of when they signed.

In terms of committing early. Yes that can be viewed as a good thing. It seems to indicate they were high on the staff target list. On the other hand a lot of the big gets are the guys you need to fight tooth and nail for 9 months to get to come (ie Keuchly, Herzlich)

FelixMantilla · Sep 16, 2013

Clears Cleaver said:
any idea when the FSU game time will be announced? I assume it either noon or night?

Announced as a 3:30 start.

Dave Stapleton · Sep 16, 2013

Captaincoop said:
That game on Saturday pretty much crushed my optimism for this team. My positive spin had been that there is some decent talent in the starting lineup, but that we lack depth. But our starters on both sides of the ball got absolutely dominated by a mediocre USC team that I feel confident will lose 4-5 games this year.

Not only that, but the coaching staff put the white flag up early, running goal line formation from our own 20 yard line down 21 in the third quarter, etc.

This is a really, really bad football team.

I know that I am clearly one of the more maroon and gold colored glasses fans on here but I think it is difficult to give up on the team after their 3rd game with the new staff having traveled cross country and facing a team that was talented backed into a corner. This USC team was not the same team that lost to WSU.

This is going to take a few years to build for sure but I still think they can manage 6 wins this year, take a step back next year, and then show something the year after. That sucks but it's the reality.

The offense is challenged for sure but what you saw with the defense was depth more than talent. BC's D hung with USC until they began running out of LBs. During Addazio's interview post game he noted that they were without a mic during most of the 2nd half. Did KPL get hurt?

Do they have a chance against FSU? No way but I think you will see a significantly better performance than we saw on Saturday.

Captaincoop · Sep 16, 2013

Watch what USC does the rest of the way. I watch that team every week, and have for years - IMHO, they are not likely to turn a corner and end up 10-2 or something. They just happened to run into a horrendous BC team this weekend.

If there is a team in the ACC that BC is going to beat other than Wake Forest, I don't know which team that is.

Can maybe beat Army and/or New Mexico State, but I don't see them winning more than 4 games, and can easily envision a scenario where they lose out.

Not really Addazio's fault at this point, but it is amazing how little talent BC has. And next year could be worse.

BigMike · Sep 16, 2013

Coop isn't wrong in that this is a bad football team, but come on. Army should be a 24-28 point underdog at BC, and NM St is actually the worst team on the schedule this year. There is no chance they don't win at least 4 games, and if they do somehow win less than 4 that is a firing offense.

And they finish the year with the mediocre (at best) end of the division, NC ST. and Maryland are both very medicore teams at best. And Syracuse is no better than BC. Now they may lose all 3 of those games, but any of the 3 are winnable with a well coached game, and well executed gameplan

WayBackVazquez · Sep 16, 2013

BigMike said:
Coop isn't wrong in that this is a bad football team, but come on. Army should be a 24-28 point underdog at BC, and NM St is actually the worst team on the schedule this year. There is no chance they don't win at least 4 games, and if they do somehow win less than 4 that is a firing offense.

And they finish the year with the mediocre (at best) end of the division, NC ST. and Maryland are both very medicore teams at best. And Syracuse is no better than BC. Now they may lose all 3 of those games, but any of the 3 are winnable with a well coached game, and well executed gameplan

I guess you;re going to be able to make a ton of money on that game, because you're about 10-15 points off on your line prediction.

Captaincoop · Sep 16, 2013

berniecarbo1 said:
That's why I think they go 6-6 and play in the Independence Bowl against someone like Wyoming or Colorado State. Their schedule has three monsters on it, (USC, FSU and Clemson), three tough games (UNC, Va Tech, NC State) three pick 'ems (Maryland, Syracuse and Army) and three gimmes (Villanova, NM State and Wake). They win the gimmes, they win 2 of the three pick ems and 1 tough and they have 6 wins. I used to think they would go 8-4 but that ended on Saturday. 6-6 and bowl berth against a mid range MWC team is light years away from losing to Duke and Wake at home. This is going to take baby steps. 3 years from now we can start to judge where the program is heading long term.

I'm not judging where the team is heading long term at all. But right now, they absolutely suck. Not in a 6-6 kind of way. This is one of the worst teams in any BCS conference.

edit: I guess I just don't know what some people are watching. So far two of the "gimme" games have happened, and the "gimmes" were in both games (Villanova was leading us at halftime of a home game!). If Wake didn't fumble twice in the first quarter and lose both of them, we very well may have lost that game. And Wake looks like the very worst BCS-conference team this year, IMHO.

New Mexico State is always bad, and this year looks no different, so we should win that game. But nothing is a gimme for BC right now.

And I agree that Army is a pick 'em....how sad is that?

BigMike · Sep 16, 2013

BigSoxFan said:
Why? They beat us last year and we have the same lousy players this year. Spaz wasn't the reason we gave up 34 points to that team, it's the fact that our guys lack talent and athleticism. We shouldn't be favored by that much against anybody.

Coaching played a big part. Army was awful last year, Stony Brook blew them out, Temple blew them out. BC showed up last year like they had never seen the option, and were not given game tapes. Completely and utterly unprepared. On the other hand, Army could not cover Amidon, and couldn't match up with Andre Williams. yeah maybe 24-28 is to high, but it should be at least 17. Wake is a 4 point favorite at Army this weekend, and army is one of those teams that has a more significant home field/ road performance difference than most. Ball St already hammered them this year. If BC doesn't beat them handily then someone is asleep at the switch

doldmoose34 · Sep 16, 2013

I watched a bit of the Stanford Army game Sat, they're going to be a lot tougher then you think. That said I still think we beat them, NMS, Maryland and or 'Cuse/Rolly Clown College even 5 wins this year is light years from the fucking horror show last year was..

and back on recruiting, the problem isn't the 'stars' remember Hinds and Crossen? ToBY's 5 stars from Jersey (were they Bosco boys?) who never set foot on the field. My problem is the fact we have guys out on the field who should be playing at Bryant or Bentley yet they were recruited by coach Cookie's and Naps. Look I like Silvia's husstle and hitting but if he and Rositaino are the best we have at safety, we are fucked

Dave Stapleton · Sep 16, 2013

I understand that everyone seems to extrapolate what is seen most recently over a broader timeline but let's step back a bit. Army was not faster and more talented than BC last year. The team was utterly unprepared and the play calling was a comedy of errors.

This team will obliterate Army.

And then go onto to have a solid 6/7 win season.

Sincerely yours,

Baldwin in the maroon and gold colored specs.

Captaincoop · Sep 17, 2013

BigSoxFan said:
I admire your optimism and wish I had it. My problem with this program is that I see absolutely zero difference makers on this team (outside of Freese, of course). Amidon is probably the closest thing we have and he got completely shut down by a mediocre USC team. And he's gone next year anyways. There literally isn't a single player on the team that makes me excited to watch BC football. I used to have guys like Ryan, Herzlich, Kuechly, Blackmon, etc. to watch even when TOB disappointed me. Right now, I'm following this team out of obligation, like a Catholic who goes to church every Sunday because he "has to". Let's hope that changes and some of these new kids next year start to bring some excitement because we are boring as shit right now.

I'm in the same boat - not looking to argue with the guys who are positive about this team, I'm actually jealous that they're able to feel that way. Because things look pretty hopeless to me.

If Daz is going to turn this mess around, we can't be sitting here for three years saying he doesn't have the horses yet. Him and his staff are going to have to coach up some of the guys they have and somehow get them to be DI contributors. That's what great coaching staffs do - Tom Coughlin absolutely did it here in the early 90's, after inheriting an empty cupboard from Cowboy Jack. In year 2, he was competitive with two top ten teams (Penn State and Miami) despite still having no talent. In year three, he won 8 games with guys like Jason Pohopek starting on defense - very little athleticism, but well-coached and tough. That should be the expectation for Daz, too. Take some of these Spaz leftovers and salvage them.

kenneycb · Sep 17, 2013

Go to BC...if you walk in the Quad by Gasson an hour before kickoff, the place is a ghost town. They could do so much more for a game day experince if they opened up the campus the way USC does. BC is beautiful campus and a great place to be on a Fall afternoon if they allowed the place to be utilzed in a simlar fashion. They want to bring sprirt back and get the crowd back into the place, they should allow middle campus to be opened as a picnic area on gamedays. The band could assemble under the Eagle statue in front of Gasson and start getting the crowd ready. The Eagle walk could start there and you would have people on campus all the way from Gasson down to the stadium. The deal would be very simple. Middle Campus would be open for game day experiences but you could not park on campus or in the neighborhood. You would either take the shuttles from the remote lots or you take the T. Open up campus 3 hours before kickoff and close it down a 1/2 hour after kickoff. No picnicing after the game. It would be cheap and it wouild instill some spirit back into the experience. I was thinkig about this on Saturday when I was walking around the USC campus before the game. But I know that will never happen.

The one problem with that is we basiclaly have no greenspace anymore since they built Stokes. There's a small area in front of O'Neill, both sides of Linden Lane and a small area where the Dustbowl used to be. Other than that it's pretty much all concrete.

Return of the Dewey · Sep 17, 2013

berniecarbo1 said:
You would either take the shuttles from the remote lots or you take the T.

I'm from CT and took my wife and 3 kids to game last year. Parked downtown and took T back after the game. The B-line hasn't changed since I went to school 20 years ago...it still sucks.

Dave Stapleton · Sep 17, 2013

One of the biggest changes this year is the availability of a one day parking pass on the Brighton Campus for $40. It is a short walk to the main campus and seems like a great option. I've known folks who bring a portable tailgate to the game and simply set up shop as Bernie suggests. The police presence so far this year has been remarkably different than the past so I don't think they would hassle folks who do this. This new parking option should help that. They've also opened up hospitality areas where you can grab a beer and something to eat pre-game. I understand they also have TVs. The reaction has been somewhat mixed (bad foot choices, etc.) but these two developments seem to be a good start.

I know folks are more despondent that looking to argue, that's why I was tongue in cheek in my response. I would suggest that I am not overly optimistic at this point but rather .... "I don't know". I saw some good things in the first two weeks and also week 3 and I am not willing to let the USC game totally determine where I think this team will end up. I also think that having Don Brown as DC gives us a convincing win against Army.

I will finish by giving some encouragement in the coaching department .... so far in 3 games BC has only 1 fumble and 1 interception and only 5 penalties for 45 yards. That's pretty impressive.

Captaincoop · Sep 17, 2013

Yes, there have been few mistakes by our team, which is definitely a good sign in terms of coaching. Some of that is also the super-conservative playcalling on offense, but overall definitely a good sign.

doldmoose34 · Sep 18, 2013

Bernie, what you are describing at SC is what Bates is trying to start on campus, and to what Stape said, I think 've said it over and over about being at Town Hall meeting #2 when Daz spoke, I suggested to Jim O'Neil, the head of ticket sales, who was the BCAA rep at our table about opening up lower Brighton for game day parking, probally along with people at every other tables as well. Now since I can usually pull a pass from work, I didnt buy one there but i know of friends who have been running a stealth tailgate at More by dropping tables, supplies and one guard on Comm Ave, and setting up in an open area. we've i mean they've done that for years and it always works out

Captaincoop · Sep 18, 2013

BigSoxFan said:
Definitely true and one of the few bright spots for this team. We're definitely a more fundamentally-sound team although it would be hard for any new coach not to improve on the last couple of years. Regardless, I like the potential of Don Brown's defense once he gets some more talent in there. I'm more concerned about the offense and the offensive line. We're light years away from being where we need to be in that department.

They need to seriously upgrade the speed on the defensive side, too. I love Don Brown's approach, but you can't blitz Clemson and Florida State without faster LBs and some really quick defensive backs to prevent huge plays. Everyone knew that USC would have a talent advantage on the Eagles, but to see their fourth and fifth string running backs (one of whom is a former LB who just converted this summer) leaving our starting defense in the dust on mid-range passing plays...that was disheartening.

Captaincoop · Sep 18, 2013

UConn didn't have five star or even four star players on its defense last year. But it did have enough speed to play a more aggressive style of D.

Scheme entirely notwithstanding, BC is really slow. The Clemsons and FSUs could run off-tackle from a goal line formation against us all day and still rack up big plays.

Dan to Theo to Ben · Sep 22, 2013

FelixMantilla said:
Announced as a 3:30 start.

and nationally shown. (ESPN2 everywhere else, ABC locally)

http://www.bceagles.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/092213aaa.html

Captaincoop · Sep 27, 2013

Over/Under on Rettig passing yards tomorrow - 100.5

Deathofthebambino · Sep 28, 2013

I am truly worried for BC today. I think that Florida State is playing like, and might very well be, a top 5 team in the country. Their defense is the real deal top to bottom, and this freshman qb is a true stud, to go along with 3 running backs that can come in and break one at any time. They are at least a 2-3 td's better than Southern Cal, who just stomped on BC. Look out, it could get ugly.

I would probably bet that over on Rettig though. I mean, they are pretty much not going to have a chance to do anything but throw the ball in an effort to keep it close. Not sure how he doesn't get to 100 unless he turns it over repeatedly or gets benched or Amidon doesn't play.

BigMike · Sep 28, 2013

Deathofthebambino said:
I am truly worried for BC today. I think that Florida State is playing like, and might very well be, a top 5 team in the country. Their defense is the real deal top to bottom, and this freshman qb is a true stud, to go along with 3 running backs that can come in and break one at any time. They are at least a 2-3 td's better than Southern Cal, who just stomped on BC. Look out, it could get ugly.

I would probably bet that over on Rettig though. I mean, they are pretty much not going to have a chance to do anything but throw the ball in an effort to keep it close. Not sure how he doesn't get to 100 unless he turns it over repeatedly or gets benched or Amidon doesn't play.

This is such a bad matchup for BC. The strength of the FSU defense is the secondary and rush.

I think BC is going to try and pound them, and fail, but they may keep trying. I think the staff knows they are overmatched and will try to shorten the game.

Real question is will they try to play the attacking defense?. Because if they try to cover FSU in man all day, they will give up a ton of big plays

My silly prediction, BC wins the time of possession battle, and is outgained by 300+ yards

RedOctober3829 · Sep 28, 2013

I'm impartial as a college football fan. But, you have the #8 team in the country in your building on a beautiful day and the stadium looks half empty. That is pathetic.

SoxScout · Sep 28, 2013

Shitty tickets were $50+ on Stubhub, I would have gone otherwise. Even looked this morning.

edit: looks like a pretty full crowd now.

Ed Hillel · Sep 28, 2013

RedOctober3829 said:
I'm impartial as a college football fan. But, you have the #8 team in the country in your building on a beautiful day and the stadium looks half empty. That is pathetic.

Relax, the kids were still tailgating.

Ed Hillel · Sep 28, 2013

Go for it.

Running all over them and kicking the FG. Not a fan.

SoxScout · Sep 28, 2013

Jesus, that was a beast drive by Williams

FelixMantilla · Sep 28, 2013

Well, that was quick.

Ed Hillel · Sep 28, 2013

Mystic Merlin · Sep 28, 2013

That PI call was awful. The throw was 10 yards OOB.

FelixMantilla · Sep 28, 2013

PITBULL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2013 Boston College Football...From A Spaz to a A Dazz

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