That was a rough one. We left countless points on the board and Chris Crane looked more like Quinton Porter than Matt Ryan. I feel for the D. They had a very good effort and the offense wasted it.
I'll have more coherent thoughts and grades late Sunday.
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so...frustrating...I miss Matthew Ice
As much as I want to say we shouldn't blame this one on the defense and Chris Crane played horribly, our D gave up way too many first downs on third and long situations.
Amen to that Squid. Happened on both of GT's TD drives.
Very disappointing game today. The D played well especially considering the fact they had to defend a shorter field due to Crane's turnovers. I know we really don't have any other options but I question if Crane can be our QB. It appeared that most of his throws were poorly thrown balls - even on some completions. He seemed to have a problem leading our WRs. He threw it behind them a lot and it didn't allow them to gain YAC unless it was a dump-off to one of the RBs. Isn't this the stuff he should of been working on all summer? Granted I know its different in game situations but he simply could not make a good throw (even the TD pass could of been picked).
he missed a lot of wide open guys
on the 2nd down play before his TD pass he had gunnel wide open in the end zone and sailed the ball over his head. there were a bunch of other missed throws as well but that's the one I remember most
the INT when he threw behind the receiver was another lousy pass.
That was the worst passing performance of my 15 years following BC. Everything the media said preseason about our offensive struggles came glaringly to light.
Crane was terrible not only in his throws but in his body language during and after incomplete passes. I think the legend of Steve Logan took a real hit today as well.
I don't know about Logan's rep taking a hit, seemed like there were chances, but Crane couldn't execute.
As for the D, only giving up 17 points when we gave up 3 turnovers doesn't seem like a bad effort, especially when we took it away 3 times. The O lost us this game.
I don't see how Logan takes any kind of a hit today.
His quarterback wasn't executing, and his best running back got injured in what, the second quarter?
We lost for a lot of reasons, but Steve Logan isn't one of them.
Logan has had two years to work with Crane and it seemed like we did not complete a pass over 20 yards....
the underneath routes on 3 and long were positively TOB-Bible esque....
don't get me wrong, I love the new regime but really since the 8-0 start last year we have not exactly looked great.
We know Logan likes to air it out, so the fact that we threw only one deep ball all day tells you he has little confidence in Crane. Crane made some bad decisions and I would have liked to see him run with the ball more when he was out of the pocket instead of rushing inaccurate throws when he had some open field in front of him. The worst part to me was that his throws all looked terrible. Too fast, too high, too low, behind receivers. He has to be able to make the easy throws to open guys. I was surprised we didn't try the option more, given his struggles. I'd like to see some other QB's get some reps the next two weeks, not so much because I think they can do better now, but because we can't go into next season with someone completely lacking in experience like this.
Can anyone explain why that was called a safety? It looked to me like he was pushed back into the endzone and his forward progess would have been around the 1 yard-line.
Defense looked really good to me, so thats a huge positive. It was nice to see some guys with the speed to get to the QB after last year always being a step or two slow. I love Akins at CB for run support against an option attack and blitzing.
Surprised to see Flutie throw such a lousy pass given he apparently was campaigning to get into the mix at QB before.
If Crane can just be adequate, even only slightly subpar, I think the rest of the team is good enough to have another great year. I have serious questions after today that he can do that, after feeling pretty good about him last week. Hopefully he can make significant strides in the next few weeks.
any update on Haden?
I don't understand how some of you can be so critical of the defense. They only allowed two plays over 20yards and they had to defend a short field on numerous occassions.
Also, do you realize they gave up nearly 30 fewer yards to GT than to Kent State?
I'm not being overly critical of the defense. I blame the most loss on the shoulders of Crane. Yes, the defense played well throughout the game. However, the big knock against it is that it gave up huge 3rd down and long conversions to GT which set up both of their TD drives. Spaz sets the defense loose on the first two downs and they wreak havoc. Spaz plays conservative containment on third down, so BC loses all aggressiveness, which results in many of these conversions. The defense played stellar most of the game, but did give up these huge conversions.
Don't think third down conversions were the problem: our defense held them to 3-for-12.
GT's best plays were the broken plays made by the quaterback. that is what led to the long 3rd down conversions. That was by far the best offensive play that they had.
I think Crane hurt himself in the thrid qurter. He wasn't stepping into his passes and the QB option completely disappeared. and where was Smith at the end of the game?
Bravesbill, 3 of 12 on 3rd downs is about as good as it gets. Even USC and Florida give up a few 3rd down conversions each week. I'll bet that Georgia Tech gets more yards and probably more points against the rest of the teams on their schedule.
And yet 1 3rd down conversion was on a 3rd and 20, which got GT deep into BC territory for its first TD. And another on 3rd and 7 at the end of the game. I have no problem with BC giving up 3rd down and short conversions. But giving up 3rd and long conversions is a killer. There is no excuse for that.
I was at the game today -- only a few rows off the field. There was a real lack of energy and zip by our players --- and by the fans too...Crane was bad, but the receivers seemed bad too many times..looked like a lot of drops...there was a real lack of crispness in execution by all. Seems it could be a coaching issue to me and, quite obviously, a lack of "A-level" talent on O. The D was not filled with energy and attack either..
Eagle0407, the safety truly was a safety. I was sitting in the endzone seats. Crane was stumbling around cluelessly and got dropped.
Unbelievablly poor passing today. The two quarterbacks I saw play in a local high school game last night were both better than Crane was today.
Sure, there were a couple of drops, but so many throws at receivers' feet, behind them, over their heads, etc., etc.
I agree Logan must have no confidence in Crane's ability to throw downfield. Unfortunately he can't seem to throw short passes well either.
We are in big trouble. It does not seem to be a case of merely needing some fine tuning. I didn't see the Kent State game, but today he looked God-awful.
The defense played great. Given the number of times our O gave the ball away, the short field GT often started with, and what looks like a potentially potent GT offense, our D should get a lot of credit. for holding them to only 17.
It was clear on replay that the safety was a safety as well. He had a lot of time to get the ball off or at least throw it away. But he just sat there basically and took a sack. What in the world was he thinking?
By the way sir, I must commend you and BC Interrupted for testing the laws of the The Coulter/Krugman Award (CKA)curse. You all pooh poohed it away and thought BC was above it all. Looks like you guys got bit in the ass.
Awful. The three things that I was most concerned about in the beginning of the season bit us in the ass:
1. Crane
In addition to the problems noted above, this kid was telegraphing his passes BIG TIME. He doesn't check off anyone. As soon as he gets the ball in his hand, he stares at the receiver he wants to go to and stays locked on to that receiver far too long.
2. Pass D
Whoever is the left CB needs to play a lot better. That tall GT receiver twice got a first down on 3rd and very long and, each time, had a huge cushion.
3. Kicking Game
You can't miss a 30y field goal. That thing was a gimme. Additionally, although the kickoffs were better, we're still not getting the ball deep enough.
Could be a long year, guys.
Hello Mod34b - "only a few rows off the field. There was a real lack of energy and zip by our players --- and by the fans too."
We can all share in this a little bit. I didn't see the energy among the fans either from my vantage point in front of the TV.
I had trouble giving away 50 yard line tickets with parking for the game - pathetic. (I live in SC but have season tickets) Many BC fans have the wrong impression of which games are important and which opponents are tough. Sure they'll turn out for Vitginia Tech and Clemson - how about Georgia Tech - they may go all the way to Tampa.
Let's get back to work and beat them in a remach!
The radio broadcast noted a "sell-out crowd of 44,500," but both articles in today's paper make mention of 40,106. Which was is? Were we really unable to fill Alumni for our home opener against an in-conference rival?
Now I am really concerned about BC offensively. Iowa flipping State lit up Kent State for 48 points. On the other side of the coin, I feel very good about the BC defense as ISU allowed 28 points and 410 yards to Kent State. I know it is not exactly kosher to compare different games, but we should be able to match lowly ISU offensively.
As for the crowd at Alumni, why is everyone so shocked? It is one of the worst environments for college football I have every experienced. I go to one game a year there and I always laugh at how pathetic the crowd is and how lethargic they are. It's just not big-time college football and is a key reason BC can't get the prize recruits. We basically get the players that value academics and living in a big city. Which is not a bad thing at all but is why we probably will never play in a BCS game.
This is a transition year, bottom line. That was obvious before the season even started.
old heightsonian-
It was a sellout, but there were about 4,000 no shows. I imagine the hot humid weather and predictions of torrential rain later in the day kept some folks away.
I hate to say it, and I think the students hav been a lot better since we joined the ACC, but many students who have tickets rarely go into the games in the first half, and many dont go in at all. When I was at BC I would say it was a majority. Shea Field and the Mods are a lot of fun and can be very enticing. I would put a lot of money that it wasnt weather that kept the 4,000 fans out, it was a lack of Busch Light, Beer Ponf, and Flip Cup.
the 4000 empty seats were season ticket holders playing flipcup?
because the student section was absolutely jam-packed - you couldn't even move or breathe. i think student turnout was AT LEAST 95% - I have only experienced it that crowded twice before: FSU last year, and VTech the year before.
There was NO problem with the student section yesterday. I'm the first person to criticize my fellow students when we deserve the criticism, but I thought we were great yesterday.
Tough loss...was very pleased with the D but at the end of the day, a lot of criticism has to fall on Crane . An awkward transition is to be expected, but rudimentary and pivotal passing plays were butchered, which was the biggest gripe I had.
Having actually attended the game, I thought the crowd was decent considering the threat of severe weather and exceptional heat. Student section remained full throughout.
As an aside, keep in mind the emotional loss UCF suffered yesterday: definitely could carry over as they make the long trip up the coast to the heights in two weeks...
Gotta agree with Grav: the play on the field aside, students brought the A game yesterday for what has to be considered a "second tier" ACC opponent.
Occasionally criticism is warranted (like Basketball attendance last season), but not yesterday at Alumni.
It's too bad that the freshmen had to start with a loss... hopefully it doesn't dampen their enthusiasm, which has been very evident in the first weeks of this semester. Freshman turnout was HUGE at the game watch party for Kent State, and at the game yesterday. I think last season had a huge impact on the incoming class.
Reading this makes me miss Matty, but puts a smile on my face anyway:
Falcons QB throws TD on first NFL pass
Ryan, Atlanta off to hot start against Detroit in Week 1
Associated Press
updated 2:35 p.m. ET Sept. 7, 2008
ATLANTA - Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan threw for a 62-yard touchdown with his first NFL pass Sunday.
Ryan, the third overall pick out of Boston College, hooked up with Michael Jenkins on the third play of the game against the Detroit Lions.
After two runs by Michael Turner, Ryan hit Jenkins on a slant down the left side. The receiver beat cornerback Travis Fisher, hauled in the ball at the Detroit 45 and raced to the end zone without being touched. Jenkins also pulled away from safety Gerald Alexander, who got over too late to help.
Ryan took off down the field to celebrate, actually knocking over center Todd McClure as he raced toward Jenkins.
Yeah, Modwhatever and the other dissenters need to isolate the terrible game from the actually great environment at the game.
We were consistently loud on defense and there were numerous cheers throughout. Attendance wasn't perfect...but there had been threats of, you know, a hurricane, basically, blasting Massachusetts the whole week. There were rumors the game was going to be postponed. (Too bad they didn't come true...)
Our defense was good, but I agree that those third and long conversions were deadly. Failing to get any points over those two late turnovers at the end of the first was another heartbreaker. I'm not willing to sell off the rest of our season, there's still a lot of games to play.
Good to hear the game environment was good in spite of the outcome. I asked because Mark Blaudschun has a track-record of fudging numbers to support his general disdain of Boston College. I suspected this was another case of that, until I read the same attendance figure in the article by Dan Shaughnessy P'11.
I was at the game, and first off, I think that the student section was great!!! Having attended quite a few college games at other stadiums, but never at Chestnut Hill, I will say that the atmosphere was not quite up there in comparison.
To the game, Crane just looked like he couldn't handle the speed of the game...like he was one step behind all the time. I hope he can come around after this one.
I thought that the defense was great as advertised. Two of the longest GT runs came from broken plays due to the pass rush. If there is a weakness, I think it is in the secondary, where once the QB is flushed, someone needs to come up with a tackle.
I think we got a bit spoiled last year, and I agree that Crane was terrible in this game, but I'm not ready to throw the towel in on the season just yet. We have a couple of games that we should be able to gain some momentum going into the meat of the season.
GT defense looked faster than I thought they would.
leaving the fan malaise aside, the bigger point is that the team does not seem to play with gusto and does not seem to be crisp in execution at all.
two side notes:
1. did the band drop "Sweet Caroline." I did not hear it and was glad of it. Why copy the Red Sox???
2. the sailig team was honoed at half time. some pretty impressive accomplishments by the BC sailors.
No, the band played Sweet Caroline. I believe it was toward the beginning of the 4th quarter but I know they played it (the student section was singing it!)
Why copy the Red Sox???
They were playing Sweet Caroline when I was a student. And that was in the mid to late 90s.
The Sox don't exactly have a monopoly on Neil Diamond.
Well, the Sox oughta. That song, and Neil Diamond in general, are astoundingly lame. I hate to hear it at a FOOTBALL game. Maybe at a dog show, or an ad for Branson, Missouri. The other thing I thought was out of place was playing "Livin' on a Prayer"--especially considering we were ahead 16-10 and in control of the game at that point.
The crowd was a bit flat, other than the students, who acquitted themselves well as usual. Part of that was that much of the crowd is OFTEN flat. It's still a "down-in-front" scene, and quite possibly always will be. Another part might be that the team was relatively flat: while there were bright spots and good plays, it was an ugly, sloppy game to watch in general. (God, Crane was brutal.) But the final part was that it was really freakin' humid. That heavy air breeds lethargy. Someone mentioned that the team seemed listless too. The weather could be part of that, but I also have it on good authority that a fair portion of the team was sick. That explains a lot of the outcome to me--when push came to shove, the defense was just plain gassed. I am hopeful we won't see again this year the D's inability to shut the opposition down when it mattered most.
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