Monday, August 06, 2007

Back to School



Sorry for the lack of posting Friday. I was in New York for my sister's wedding and actually saw a guy in a SuperFan shirt randomly on Lexington Friday afternoon (don't BC fans have jobs?). Now I am back just as the team is officially back. I will have more stuff throughout the week and ramp up as the season approaches. Steve Conroy had a good piece in the Herald on the Five Questions facing the team with practice ahead. I'll put my own twist on it with the 3 Main Goals of "two a days".

1. Set the offensive line. This theme has been beaten to death by everyone (including me) but with reason. The offensive line has been the foundation for this most recent peak of success. We now are anchored by one stud and four question marks. And we are installing a new scheme and a position coach who wasn't part of spring practice. I have concerns, but think three weeks is enough time to come together. Regardless of the scheme, you have a strong group of teachers and some smart kids. It might not be pretty against Wake, but I think they will be ready. I'll have more on the offensive line and zone blocking this week.
2. Expand the playbook. Much has been made about Ryan having more flexibility under Logan. However, the team only worked with a portion of the offense last spring. During the summer they were able to work in more, but this will be the first time everyone (coaches and full roster of players) will be together. I expect Logan to use everything he's got and hopefully find some carries and passes for underutilized guys.
3. Get special teams in order. This area was one of my running complaints about the TOB era. Now we enter the season with a Special Teams coach who is splitting duties. This gives me some concern. I think our return games with Smith and Tribble will be strong. I don't worry about Ayers' punts. I do worry about our punt protection and punt coverage. Kickoffs and field goals...who knows? A lot is going to be asked of a true freshman in Bennett.

I think these three areas will all work themselves out by December. They always do. But if they are not cleaned up in August it could cost us an early game given our tough opening schedule.

9 comments:

BCDisco said...

"by December"? The season will be over with by then. Did you mean September?

ATL_eagle said...

No. I meant December. If heathly the team should be well rounded by bowl time. However getting ready by Wake will be a challenge.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

I'm wonder how much playing time A.J. Brooks,and Jeff Smith will get at tailback.

Honey said...
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DuchesneEast210 said...

hahaa, I had off on Friday & did some errands off lexington Ave, wearing my superfan shirt! sadly i never owned one while at bc, but i finally picked one up at the football home game last year vs. maryland. anyways, if the guy you saw was asian, it was me. great blog btw. i read it almost everyday.

ATL_eagle said...

DuchesneEast210, you're the one I saw. I am assuming there weren't any other asian superfans on Lex on Friday. I almost said something but I had a tired and hungry todler with me.

Unknown said...

Reminds me of the time I was flying thru Narita Intl Airport near Tokyo a couple of Decembers ago. I was wearing my fleece vest with the school logo on it and was standing on the moving sidewalk trying to wake up after a 13 hr flight. Then I saw this guy wearing the classic maroon champion sweater with gold Boston College on the opposite sidewalk going the other way. We must've seen each other at the same time cuz we both brightened up and yelled out "GO EAGLES!" at the same time, to the consternation of our fellow travelers.

DL said...

I picked up the Adidas Matt Ryan jersey and was wearing it around NYC the day of the basketball game at Duke. Quite proud of the fact that someone in Dean and Deluca said, "Ya, Matt Ryan. Nice."