I'll have grades and second-viewing thoughts up late Sunday.
Say a prayer for Megwa.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Another Clemson roller coaster this time with BC on the wrong end
What a weird game. The defense had its good moments...and its very bad. The special teams had its great moments...and its very bad. The offense...just bad. All that said, we were ahead with nine minutes left. Who knows what to make of it all? Hopefully I'll have some more poignant thoughts after watching it back. And with four games left the division remains in play and I have no idea what BC team will show up week to week.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
75 comments:
Painful to watch this offense. Embarrassing, really. On the upside for Crane, no picks (and no Pick-6's). He didn't have great protection, there were a few drops and fumbles after completions. Even so, he still sucks. His passes are so rushed. Too often, even when he has adequate time, his bounces it at receivers' feet or sails it over their heads, or throws up these prayers that make you hold your breath.
Unfortunately we're stuck with Apon. Again his missed kicks end up being the difference in a loss.
WTF with the last kickoff? And the horrendous kick coverage?
And WTF with the dump passes barely past the line of scrimmage in the middle of the field on the last "drive"?
So much frustration. It's not all Crane's fault, but Puh-LEEZ! This experiment has been a dismal failure. Except for the NC State fluke the Eagles wins have been despite Crane's play, not because of it. I don't know if Davis is any good or not. He really can't be a lot worse. At least we can find out sooner rather than later.
Crane needs to be done. So many passes off the turf, way over heads, terrible decisions in the pocket, terrible decisions running. If a team knocks us out of ACC contention tonight Jags needs to start someone else, even if it means burning a red shirt, next week if HE wants to still be around next year. I had low expectations for this year but this is not even meeting them. Crane is god's gift to DIII qb's who dream of playing DI.
The high snaps, which Crane has to jump up to pull down, throw off the timing of the handoffs on the running game.
The high snaps also rattle Crane when he's looking for a receiver, a skill he is having difficulty mastering.
He's not really an under center, drop back type, so the problems will continue until somebody solves the high snap problem.
eagle1331,
What expectations did you have for this team? After losing 17 players, I predicted the best we could finish would be 9 wins but realistic was 7-8. Now, you add 3 starters being out on defense, and you have an even tougher hill to climb. I never had any thoughts of us winning the Alantic this yar.
Having said all of that, we need to get Davis ACC experience and build for next season as the best we can hope for this year is Boise or Detroit. Also, Billy Flutie needs to be given a shot on field goals. Apo is O for Ohliger all over again. We have not had a decent kicker in about 6 years.
eagle1331
i have to question your judgment if you would even think of implying that jags wouldn't/shouldn't be around next year. the enthusiasm he brings to the program as well as the success last year have earned him a longer time than that. are you one of these delusional fans who expects a team to compete for a national championship every year and if not the coach should be gone? By and large BC loves Jags - he knows his job is to win games, I doubt he is starting Crane if he thinks it is the WRONG thing to do. and seriously, what expectations did any of us have for this year? i HOPED for 9 wins, but more realistically expected 7. that hasn't changed
A trick-or-treating kid came to my front door last night dressed as Crane. I happened to be wearing my Tennant outfit, and I threw a handful of candy over his head.
Put Davis in there. I don't care anymore. I want to see those deep passes that have the velocity of soap bubbles. Maybe they'll connect. Who knows?
Eagle 1, thanks for getting me to crack a smile on this tough day!
I'm now going to go out and have a nice dinner to help boost the economy and then pop in the Miracle in Miami DVD. That always pumps me up.
And speaking of Flutie, I'm flying out for Saturday's game and will attend the Flutie statue dedication on Friday. Should be fun.
A silver lining: We're not Nebraska. Holy crap.
When is it time to start weighing in on Jags? Last week, you blogged that “Jags has pushed the right buttons in the past. He needs to do it now.” Well, I don’t recall Jags ever pushing the right buttons, and the only one I see him pushing right now is the panic button. I know you like waiving the Jags/Logan pom-poms, but you forget that despite inheriting an experienced team with an all-world quarterback last year, BC was two plays (a miracle pass by Matt Ryan against VTech and a dropped Clemson pass) away from being 7-5 and in Boise. This year they have beaten up the likes of Kent State (2-7), Central Florida (2-5), URI (2-8), and NC State (2-6), with only one “big” win over so-so VTech at home and at night. Hooray. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Jags sucks, but I also don’t think he has the stuff of being a good coach, let alone a great one. So I just don't get the man-crush. It was a curious hire for sure given Jags’ unproven track record, but with each game he is looking more and more like an OC wearing the HC headset, which reminds me a lot of (gulp) Dan Henning. The older guys will recall that Henning did just fine steering the ship the first year, and then the wheels really came off in Year Two. There is a definite chance that will happen here, and in spades. Look at the schedule. BC could very well close the ‘08 campaign with 6 straight losses, no bowl and (from what I hear) few good reinforcements coming in next year. That would not portend good things for BC football. I know this post is very negative, but I just witnessed 8 of the more miserable quarters of BC football I have seen in a loooong time. In fact this season has pretty much sucked. The GTech game was horrible, Central Florida was atrocious for a half, UNC was a blowout loss and this game stunk to high heaven except for a couple of big individual plays that almost let us steal it. As for Crane, it’s way, way past time to sit him down and fit him for a gown. He obviously does not have it, there is absolutely no upside to playing him, and he is incredibly boring to watch. I’d rather lose without him than with him. When is the first hoops game?
Angry Eagle,
I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one thinking we could drop all the remaining games and not even get an invite to Boise. Actually, I do not think the potato lovers will have us back after we "insulted" them and then beat their crummy team on the smurf turf.
I had a feeling today's game would go down the way it did because of how we imploded last week and how Clemson looked good last week. I really expected them to fold after Bowden left, but they played hard and had Spiller back.
As for Crane, how bad can Davis be? I fully agree that Crane needs to leave. Turnovers aside, he played like complete crap today. His throws were terrible and his instincts were all wrong. The proof here was in the final drive. He is not a a good leader or motivator. If Jags does not play Davis against ND, I would say he might be headed into Dan Henning country. Although in fairness to Jags, at least last year's squad and won 11 games. Henning took a team that should have won 9 or 10 and went 6-4-1 in his first year. Nice reference though.
Eagleinexile, recall that the team Henning took over had just lost Glenn Foley, Pete Mitchell, et al. to graduation. Jags in contrast inherited a team with experience across the board, with serious leaders on both sides of the ball. That said, all I am doing is asking whether it's time to question whether this was a good hire or not. I am not bashing (yet).
angry:
We were down 17-0 at half and came back. In part because of the punt block and the fake punt that Jags called. Those are some of the right buttons. That said there were issues today. Now Jags has to turn it around. If he doesn't I'll point out the missteps.
How bad can Davis be?
Very
Sounds like Jags has pictures of you.
Angry:
Go back to your own blog.
Lighten up, I was joking. But in my view you do give this coaching staff a free pass for some reason.
Angry:
Jags is 1.5 years into his tenure. It's a little early to throw him under the bus don't you think? If two years from now we still don't have a placekicker, if the Oline only has one good side and if the QB stinks, then you can point the fingers. Now Jags is still playing the hand he was dealt.
Blogs are a forum for debate. Blogs are a forum for the exchange of opinions. I am not throwing Jags under the bus or calling for his firing. That would be ridiculous. What I am saying is that, with 22 games of evidence, we can at least start opining about whether the ship is moving in the right direction, and whether the decision to hire him was a good one. It's hard to do that when the webmaster is loath to remotely criticize him, and then gets pissed off when someone calls him out on the carpet. Re-read your post from last week. You didn't touch the guy, despite the fact that his team got absolutely waxed in all phases of the game and looked totally unprepared. That said, I will now keep my head down, stay on message and resume goose-stepping with the other sycophants.
Angry:
I gave Jags a D last week and said all aspect of the game were bad. Look at the header of the blog. There are highs and lows to this ride. I try to keep perspective even with TOB. Even after the "we're up aren't we?" Miami loss I didn't call for his firing. I don't care about staying on message. I leave this open to everyone. I try to stay evenhanded and hope others do too.
any news on Megwa?
hi everyone,
i was at the game tonight and was very disappointed overall, as was everyone else. first off, the bc home crowd was really lame. the traveling clemson fans were louder, showed more cheer (they had something to cheer about), and were in to the game from the get-go.
we came out so flat. it was pathetic, especially considering we lost last week. i think we all can agree that the first quarter was maybe one of the worst quarters of football we have played all season.
our offensive line was not good today. it was really frustrating seeing the clemson d-line in our backfield play after play. while i was happy at first to see crane throw the ball out of bounds as he rolled right, after the 10th or 11th time (ESPECIALLY THE LAST PLAY OF THE GAME ON 4th AND 4!!!!) i was sick of it. our o-line needs to provide a shaky qb like crane a little bit more time to make his reads and deliver the ball with accuracy. on the other hand, crane needs to step up in the pocket. its ridiculous. he rolls out right way too much.
why do we not use the I-form or single back? why are we always in shot-gun? if we need to gain a yard or two on third down, we should be in the i-form or goal-line.
special teams are awful. i cannot remember the last time we could consistently make a 35 yard field goal. thats extra pressure on crane, the o-line and the D. we left 6 points on the foot of apo tonight. kickoffs: i dont need to say anything.
i am worried about nd, at night, on national television.
You gave the team a D, not Jags, and when you went anywhere near him you wrote in the passive, and all writers know that is a way to soften content. I invite the other readers to re-read that post and weigh in on whether they think you treated Jags lightly. Meanwhile, I have a pointed question for you: if you were to grade Jags on his coaching this season, what would you give him? In my view, they have had one good game plan (VTech) in eight, and are 1-3 against decent teams. In light of that, I would give him a C (compared to B+/A- last year), with demerits for choosing/sticking with Crane.
First home game I attended in awhile - even though I have season tickets on the 50. I give them to my daughter usually, but I'm up from SC this weekend.
Not only is the team flat, so are the fans. Stadium was half empty at kickoff - didn't "fill up" until well into the first quarter. Many empty seats around me. Apon looked bad in the pre-game warmups - didn't know Bennett was suspended until game time. I don't know what's going on there, but he should have been given a chance to kick field goals this year long ago. Our kicking game is pathetic, as is our kick coverage team, and our kick receiving team - so we lost this game because of the kicking game. Offense is not playing well - is it all Crane? Defense looks very good at times, and then very slow and bad. As I said after the UNC game last week - I hope it isn't so, but is this the first indication of a problem with this staff? Same question this week, only this is the 2nd indication. Take the kickoff to open the 2nd half - if as a coach you're going to allow a pathetic kick at least kick it to the fattest guy on the field, not out of bounds.
I don't know what to think right now. We have some very good players on this team, but I see zero improvement. Can only keep our fingers crossed now.
Why not Davis? He musn't be playing very well in pracrice. Too late to play Tuggle - hell bring in Flutie or Boek. It ain't happenning with Crane - and I was one of his biggest defenders. More good blocking would be helpful, and better snaps - no improvement at all.
Angry Eagle,
It is way, way too early to question Jags. I can name dozens of highly successful coaches, including Frank Beamer, that had rough years before they rose to greatness. If in year 4, Jags is struggling, then we start to question him, but not in Year 2 when he does not even have his own players fully in the system.
By the way, I believe next year will be even more of a challenge than this year. We lose several key players on defense and will have to break in a new QB. 7 wins will be a good year next year. I think the tide starts to turn in Year 4 when the offense will be very experienced and the defense gets used to life without Toal, Raji, Brace, Herzlich, etc.
I know this is frustrating, but we were spoiled under O'Brien. It is very rare for a small, academic, non-state school to have the kind of success we have had. Hang in there and give Jags some time.
big jack-- i could not agree with you more. very little improvement overall. it doesnt help that we have lost three starters on D. which team shows up for nd?
I disagree Eagleboston, coming into the season I viewed this as a critical year for program continuity, very much like 1995 was. The ACC has a bunch of average teams, and we had a relatively experienced squad outside of the QB position, particularly on defense. Yes, we lost Dunbar, Tribble and Silva, but we were gaining Toal (since injured) and Raji, 2 flat-out studs, and returning a lot of other solid players. If we end up 5-7 overall, 2-6 in conference, with an even weaker team returning next year (I agree with you there), it could be a slippery slope for Jags and the program. We all saw how quickly the great foundation Tom Coughlin built came crashing down with a bad hire. To quote a fellow Bostonian, George Santayana, "those who choose to ignore history are doomed to repeat it." This could be 1995 all over again, and as much as I hate to say it, we could find ourselves pining away for the good ol TOB years.
Angry:
It's impossible to say in year 2 - with a college program - that a coach is or isn't the answer. Are there bad signs? Yes, especially the inability to find a kicker and the refusal to play Davis. Are there good signs? Yes. The young defensive backs look promising (especially Fletcher) and so do the young running backs. Our pass-catchers, when given a chance, seem to be pretty good. This team's problems really revolve around one player, not systemic issues. If Chris Crane was a conference average QB, we'd likely only have one loss at this point (UNC). There are other issues to be sure, but it is fair to point to Crane (and TOB's inability to recruit any other QBs) and say that his struggles overshadow the struggles of the rest of the team. He has been that bad (NC State not-withstanding).
And Joe Grav, at this point it doesn't matter how bad Davis has been in practice. He needs game experience and this team needs to see if he can provide a spark. Practice provides neither of these things. And if it's not Davis, it should be Johnson or Boek or Tuggle. But to say that sticking with Crane is the unquestionably correct move is being naive. I don't care what sources or access you may have. In-game experience is a unique situation that cannot be approximated by practice. We need and, more importantly, this team needs to see Davis on the field. Establishing that he's not the answer is just as important as establishing that he might be. And, to be fair to you, if Davis does struggle heinously, I will eat crow and admit that you were right. But not until he sees real, significant playing time.
BCdoubleeagle,
WEEI had said during the game that Megwa broken his tibula, but they said it awfully quickly and I don't know where they would have gotten that information. I thought BC always sent players to St. E's since they didn't have their own x-ray machine but maybe that got changed this year or maybe WEEI jumped the gun.
I think I am very much in my right to criticize Jagz, and I have been a huge proponent of his up until today. Ever since we reached #2 last year the team has not played well. I do not have the heart right now to look at the exact results, but offhand I would bet it is losing. Moreover, we have 6 recruits for next year, only 1 being a 4 star and 2 being 2 stars (yes, I know, plays may exceed or fail to meet expectations but it is a benchmark). He has also lost a great Boston product with a BC family history and failed to lock up "BC types" who has us in their top 2. Don't forget, he had his chance to put a slight touch on the recruiting class that came in the year TOB left. Yes, the new kids now look good, but we are definitely have the Quinton Porter-Bible-TOB approach to the old kids. Jags needs to step up and put his own mark on this team and do what is best for the future. I think he got so caught up in the success last year and expected recruiting to come so easy and neglected this year's class, thus the huge recent focus on 2010 kids. I never expected to contend for the ACC this year, but I didn't expect us to look to God awful, so flat, so unprepared, to drop so many passes, to have an unreliable center, an inconsistent QB, an inconsistent D, and a O-Line that still doesn't know what its doing.
On another note, I understand Tuggle is red-shirting, but if Davis has shown signs of being incapable of handling the ACC after two years in our system, you need to cut the ties now and avoid another Chris Crane. IF Tuggle looks better, give him the shot for 4 (5 if we get to a bowl, which I think is a BIG if with our remaining schedule) games. Let him start, get him the experience. We'll have 3 years to recruit another QB. If Davis is the next Crane (which the coaches' fear appears to be), avoid a repeat of this year, have some cahones and make the call.
Praying I wake up and today was a nightmare and that Megwa is ok. Friends at the game said he had a boot on his foot on the card as if he broke his foot. At least we're not Texas, Nebraska, Auburn UVa, UGA, FSU, Minnesota, Tulsa, South Florida, Cal or Uconn this week - they actually had expectations that they missed.
Angry,
Just to be correct. Pete Mitchell, Kenyatta Watson, Stephen Boyd, Justice Smith and Mike Mamula were on the team Dan Henning "inherited". There were a couple other guys on that team that turned Pro and I would say that might have been the highest concentration of graduating Pros and future Pros that were ever on the same team together at BC (e.g. Matt Hasselbeck).
My point was that Henning got questioned by us the fans in year 2 because he went 6-4-1 with that team. Beating ND was probably the only reason he was not run out of town on a rail. Jags is not there yet, but in deference to your point, Jags must now realize the public perception of playing Crane and not giving Davis any time at all (a la TOB with his 2nd Qtr experiments).
Sometimes you have got to mix it up, and it does not matter how bad your alternative is as long as it is different.
Let's remember that Chris Crane is a kid in college. The posts in this thread have words that treat him as if he had signed a 30 million dollar contract over the summer.
The defense in the 1st half gave up two 'big plays'. Same thing happened in the Maryland game last year. It's wrong to blame individuals for these plays - it's football - occasionally a mistake will be made or a mismatch will be taken advantage of.
Special teams have been a problem for several games. Perhaps it's a coaching problem, but let's get away from blaming players and spewing hatred through our keyboards.
I am a die hard BC fan living in Boise Idaho (grew up in Billerica and join the Air Force after graduating High School). I would like to address the following comments. As a season ticket holder to Boise State University (BSU) I can tell you we are in our seats before the opening kickoff unlike BC fans. I have seen the sparse crowds on TV and in person at BC. Also, when BC had their chance to secure a BCS bowl bid they folded. BSU got a bid and beat a highly ranked Oklahoma team in a BCS bowl. Question...has BC finished in a season ending poll higher than BSU did after the 2006 season. NO!!!! So, before you crap on the surf turf and potato eaters realize one thing....BSU will be playing in a BCS Bowl this year while BC is watching their NCAA Hockey Championship Team. BC won't win enough games to go to a bowl. Who are they going to beat? ND (No) FSU (No) Wake (No) UM (Pack it in). Typical BC fans slight other teams because BC doesn't win. You can only hope BC is playing on the "surf turf" at the end of December. Please, think for a minute, BC in Tampa playing for the ACC Championship. That is not going to happen...deal with it. Of which, they lost last year. BTW BC bearly beat that crummy team (same team that beat Oklahoma the following year) on a last play INT. They couldn't put a way a crummy WAC team.
"I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one thinking we could drop all the remaining games and not even get an invite to Boise. Actually, I do not think the potato lovers will have us back after we "insulted" them and then beat their crummy team on the smurf turf."
I have a few points to make. #1, it is way to early to starting coming to a final decision about Jags. He had a great year last year and is having a very mediocre year this year. I'd start pointing fingers at the OC and DC before Jags. The playcalling on both sides of the football the past few games have been atrocious. And remember, Apon has cost BC 2 games already this year. Not really Jags fault he got saddled with a piece of crap. The thing about Jags that does worry me though is that his recruiting class for next year is abysmal so far. He has signed like 6 total guys, none being higher than 3 stars. He has about the 76th ranked recruiting class in the country, behind schools like Duke. That should never happen. As for the remainder of BC's season, it would not surprise me in the least to see them lose the remainder of their games. I don't see any teams remaining on their schedule that they can confidently predict a victory against. After the past 2 weeks, I don't see how they beat ND, FSU, or Maryland. They might beat Wake but it seems very doubtful now.
#2, to Angry Eagle: ATL Eagle has been pretty touchy about criticism lately. He has lashed out at a few of my comments lately. With that said, ATL has been ridiculously biased with his assessment of BC so far this year, even Georgia (so much for them being great eh?), so take whatever he says with a big grain of salt.
And finally Angry, I was ripped when I predicted a 7-5 season by the likes of BCMike, Sean, and downtown_resident before the season began. It's beginning to look like that 7-5 prediction was a little hopeful now as well.
#3, Apon and Crane have got to go. Anybody can do better than either of these clowns. It's sad how Texas Tech was able to take a person from their stands and basically make him into a star kicker, while Apon has been losing games for BC left and right. And Crane's performance today was brutal. Nothing was really on target and he loves throwing the ball up while falling backward. Not exactly the key to success. And how bad is this stat: 116 total passing yards on 39 attempts. That is a horrible average of yards per attempt. Good teams average around 8-9 yards per pass attempt. Crane couldn't even break 3 yards per pass attempt. Ugly.
First of all, let me set this straight. I am NOT calling for Jags head. All I am saying is that 22 games into his tenure, we can start assessing him. I am not going to sit on my hands and wait for 5 years before I even express an opinion on him. I am doing it now, and here is my opinion: Jags took a loaded team to about where TOB would have taken it last year. They won exactly one more game than in the previous 3-4 campaigns, and in my view they should have done at least that. They had the best QB by far in the league, and the conference sucked. Frankly, I was a little disappointed, I though the BCS was there for the taking and they stubbed their toe, just as they did in 2004. I thought Jags got completely outcoached in the conference championship game to boot, particularly after halftime. This year has been a coaching disaster in my opinion, I have not seen such a boring and moribund team in 10 years, especially the one that took the field the last 2 weeks with the competition heating up. They look like deer in the headlights. Things could go south here quickly, and all I was doing was stoking a debate. I think Coach Jags should be Coach J.A.G. - as in Just Another Guy, because that's what he look like to me. The program was in a perfect position for the right guy to come in and take it to another level, especially with all the conference opponents in a down cycle. I fear that they mssed their window of opportunity with Jags, and that this is the beginning of 2 years or so of very bad BC football, then the Jump Before Pushed resignation for an NFL assistant coach position.
One missive to Albert: this is Big Boy football. No one put a gun to any of these kids' heads and said "play or else," so gimme a break with soccer mom posture. Criticism of players, especially QBs, comes with the territory. Frankly, I think criticism of Crane has been fairly muted, there has not been anything like the vitiol you see in places like the SEC or the Big 12, just appropriate comments that he is not the guy. Which he isn't.
Was at the game yesterday - wow was that bad. Or should I say "wow was Crane bad".
He has obviously lost all confidence in his own ability to make the most basic pass. He is thinking way to much about the physical aspect of making the throw (aiming instead of throwing the ball - thus the overthrows and bounced passes). In addition, he isn't checking off his receivers and locking on his primary. His lack of confidence in his o-line gets him moving after 2 seconds in the pocket. It's almost a Johnny Oates situation with 3 pointers. You really didn't want Oates to hit that first 3 pointer - cus then he would chuck them all night. For Crane, you really don't want him to pick up a big chunk of yardage on that first scramble, because he then gives up on the play after 2 seconds all night.
Let's face it - he has more happy feet than Mike Powers. And be that a result of a perceived porous O-line or a flaw in his game, it is killing the offense.
Also, the continued reliance on the shotgun is hurting the running game. None of BC's backs are skilled enough to give them the ball 5 to 7 yards behind the line and then let them pick the "better" hole. Instead, they are crashing into their assigned hole. Which is fine - but, the deep handoffs really aren't gaining anything for the back. Crane needs to figure out how to play under center and thus get the RBs into the line quicker.
And the kicking game - LOL. Haven't we all been singing this same song for the past 25 years (really, it has been that long)?
Let's all hope Megwa is OK. That was nasty. I turned my son's head away. No limb should be twisted like that.
Crane needs to sit down. Let's punt this season and get Davis some real time under center.
(PS They weren't too aggressive chasing fans into the game yesterday from the tailgates. Thus the late fill in of the stadium. Hey - we like our beer. The Clemson fans, as always, were fun, loud, and awesome.)
Here's some more cold water for all you Mike Vega-type Jags cheerleaders. I defy anyone to come up with a 2 year stretch in which BC has played a weaker schedule than '07-'08. BC is 16-8 in that period, which sounds pretty good until you consider the creampuffs they played out of conference - Kent State, Central Florida and URI this year (a combined 6-20). Army (3-9), UMass (I-AA) and Bowling Green last year. Notre Dame you say? 3-9 last season and their worst team in 50 years. That leaves the Eagles at 9-8 in conference play. Whoop-de-damn do. The ACC has been atrocious. Every team is either bad, middling or decent-but-flawed. This is nothing like the old Big East days, when BC played a couple of national juggernauts every year in Miami and VTech (occasionally West Virginia), plus powerhouse programs out-of-conference like ND (back when they were ND), Ohio State and Michigan. Now it's GDF "schedule to succeed," coupled with an incredibly weak conference slate. And how did they do? Last year, Jags took a talented BC squad through an incredibly soft schedule, barely won the division, bowed out in the conference championship game in a second half collapse, fell to a third tier bowl, and struggled to beat a crappy Michigan State team in the Champs. And you folks are still excited about this guy? C'mon. Soundbites only go so far with me.
Correction, my math is wrong (I was prognosticating), but the point remains.
Bald Eagle 90,
Nice retro 80's reference with Mike Powers. Interestingly, Bicknell realized Powers was a liability and yanked him for Mark Kamphuas. Is there a lesson in that for this year?
Look, BC fans, take a chill pill here. Part of being a BC fan is that you need to accept reality. We will never win a national championship. Never. Accept that. Further, it will be an extremely rare occurence for BC to win the ACC Championship. Probably a once in a decade deal at best. The sooner you accept that the sooner you can stop stressing out and just enjoy BC football. It took me about 20 years to finally get it.
BC fans have to live for the Miracle in Miami and Gordon's kick or Matt Ryan. Heck, even Notre Dame with all of their tradition and football excellence has only won one national title since 1980.
And quit worrying about the recruiting. Kiwi was a 2 star. Both Costanzo and Harris were barely rated and look where they are now. I place zero stock in recruiting ratings. There is no way you can evaluate kids playing in different parts of the country in different leagues.
I have found BC fans to be completely out of touch with reality and very greedy. TOB was the winningest coach in BC history and he got run. We are a small, academic, non-state school with one of the most pathetic environments in college football. Each time I go to Alumni, I am embarrased. It is not big-time college football. Not even close.
So, quit freaking out. Give Jags some time and be honest about what BC is capable of achieving in football.
Jags needs to go. The team looked flat again. They have looked flat for most of the season. Davis is not the answer and Crane is has lost all confidence in himself. Our bowl streak is over.
It is time to look for replacements for Jags:
1. Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville
2. Ty Willingham
At times like this, I wish we still had TOB.
From any objective viewpoint, this football program is at a very crucial juncture, and, at the time being, it doesn't appear to be heading in the right direction.
There's no doubt that it's too early to say that Jags was a bad hire. Way too early. But it's also time to answer why this team has failed to improve--at all--this year.
Crane is a physically gifted quarterback, but clearly lacks the football smarts to get the job done. The burden is on the offensive coaching staff to instill those smarts, or to sit him. To date, they've done neither. And the liabilities with this team begin, but do not come close to ending, there.
Yesterdays game should not have been close. BC was at the receiving end of five gift turnovers, one of which resulted in a TD, the other of which was an INT to the five yard line The third TD was set up by an INT to Clemson's 20. The offense showed themselves to be entirely incapable of putting together a drive. They couldn't string more than two first downs together -- even when a fake punt helped them get one of them. The ineptitude on offense is shocking and unparalleled in my years as a BC fan.
The play-calling yesterday was as predictable as anything I've ever seen at BC and that's saying a lot (Dana Bible, meet Steve Logan). That delayed handoff inside...it doesn't work. Ever. Do we not have a traditional running play? Is that possible? It certainly seems so. That is troubling, to say the least. Did the coaching staff notice the never ending string of three and outs? Because, if so, they did shockingly little about it.
At half time, I thought this game was going to get out of control. But the defense came out like gangbusters in the second half -- and but for Spiller's kick-off return and Megwa's fumble (hope he's okay, he's a model BC guy), they would have pitched a shutout while effectively scoring two TDs. Kudos to Spaz and the defensive staff for getting the guys to play hard with pride. And #94 is quite a special player.
But a good team requires more than a good defense, and this is not a good team. Beyond that, it's not a well-coached team on offense, and that is exceptionally troubling. I'll not even speak to the special teams play (and NO, it hasn't been forever since BC had a kicker; John Mattich and Sandro Scorintino were good college kickers).
Here's the problem: 5-7 looks more likely than 7-5. The recruiting class is, to say the least, badly lacking at the moment. The window of success in the ACC is rapidly closing. Florida State is getting better, Georgia Tech has a world class coach, as does UNC. Miami will not be down for long, and even Duke will be a player with Cutcliffe. Clemson is the biggest sleeping giant in the country (well, maybe its having a party with Nebraska and Tex AM), and nothing but a coaching staff holds them back from being a perennial top ten team. They're about to fix that.
Where does that leave BC? And do we feel comfortable with the person at the helm leading us? I don't know.
I'm more comfortable than I was at half time of the Clemson game, I'll say that. I'm more comfortable than I was under Tom O'Brien too. But despite being in a down cycle, the ACC has its share of world-class coaches: Davis, Beamer, Grobe, Johnson, and Cutcliffe is not far behind. We may soon be adding Clemson's future coach to that list, and perhaps Florida State's too. Jags has not proven that he belongs with those names.
He needs to pick up the slack over the next four games, and close on a strong recruiting class. Because the alternative is not pretty.
While the whole conversation regarding Jags is fine and dandy, lets talk about it after the season, after these next 4 games (hopefully 5). We didn't come into this season expecting to win the Atlantic and we won't (even though I guess you can say the dream is alive). Most of us expected another 2nd/3rd tier bowl game and right now we can still manage to do that. Lets focus on the team right now and the next four games. I list what I feel are our strongest problems right now. The coaches need to figure out solutions ASAP.
1. The obvious one, Apo being a division 1 kicker. We are not a Toledo or North Texas or other crappy D-1 school, how the hell can a successful program like BC have some of the worst kickers year in and year out?
Does anyone realize that we COULD NOT attempt a 32 YARD FIELD GOAL to TIE the game yesterday in the 4th qtr? That is absurd. 32 yards. I haven't seen anyone bring that up.
2. Obvious one, version two. Crane. I thought yesterday was a perfect opportunity to give Davis a series in the first half especially since our offense was struggling. The only rationale that I can think of is that Davis must look god-awful in practice. Why else would you not play him? It gives the offense a different look. If our QB is gonna bounce throws to receivers or overthrow them, I'd rather see Davis do it then Crane. At least this way he has some experience for next year.
3. Why does every running play have to be in the shotgun? We were in the shotgun at the 1 yard line! Is Crane incapable of taking a snap under center and handing it off? We are forcing Haden and Harris to get the ball 5-7 yards behind the line of scrimmage every single running play. You can argue it works but we need to establish a running game under center. If Crane can't manage that, get him off the field. That is unacceptable.
4. The Rest of the Special Teams. What happen to you Jeff Smith? If your gonna return kicks like you did yesterday, go back to the track team. You helped us there more then you do on the football team.
Kick Coverage? Punt Coverage? Kickoffs? I honestly don't know which one of these is worse.
I'm sure I could go on with some more but I'll leave it at this. Lets hope a good week of practice and some spirited rivalry bring out the best in the team and we come up with a win to make us bowl-eligible next week.
The bottom line is Jags needs to take some heat. Last year we had a number of games that were out of hand where Crane should have recieved some playing time and experience. He did not prepare him and it is showing. This year there is no reason why Davis should not get at least one series a game maybe more depending on how he plays. Its just plain stubborness. If we have learned anything from history we know that you do not evaluate these guys just on practice. Porter suppossedly looked so good in practice so he played ahead of Peterson and Ryan for way too long and it costs us a lot of games. Of course there is no guarantee that Davis and Tuggle will be any better. Can they be any worse? This team deserves to see someone else play QB to at least show that the coaches are not giving up on them and the season. I can still remember TOB leaving Porter in there against UNC and it costing us the ACC Championship. This season is not over. With just compentent QB play we would have a shot to win each of our games.
Look, Apo was a great story 2 years ago, walk-on, blah blah blah. Long story short, there is no reason why he should be our kicker right now. We have 9000 undergrads, probably about half of them are guys. Non-withstanding that we should be able to RECRUIT a decent kicker, there are around 4500 guys on campus. Are you telling me that not a single one of them played soccer in high school, or was a kicker for their high school team?
My high school was around 2-8 in a terrible conference and we used a linebacker as a kicker. I honestly would have more faith in him to kick field goals than Apo at this point. At least he could put the ball in the endzone on kickoffs.
I don't think you can reiterate enough just how much those awful kick-offs yesterday hurt us. The offense is abysmal, yes, but giving Clemson the ball at their 40 every time, with their weapons, is a death sentence.
Jags indeed needs to take some heat. This year we have 1 feel good win (VTech), 1 thumping of a horrible 1-AA team (URI - they are bad even at their level as evidenced by UMass' 49-0 thrashing of them yesterday), 3 "thank God we escaped with a W" games (Kent State, Central Florida, NC State, all close at the half), 2 Woulda Coulda Shoulda losses against conference peers (GTech and Clemson, both at home) and a blowout loss to UNC. This is a good coaching job?
Apo must go. I've seen double-leg amputees who can kick better.
No beef with the offensive design. I think it's quite good. The passing game is aggressive and downfield. Running game puts additional stress on defense b/c it involves the QB.
Now, a lot of fans will gripe about the "call" and have no idea what they're talking about - especially on a pass. Every passing play can go to multiple options and where the QB throws it is not typically predetermined.
Would like more variety out of the run game. The inside zone is a great bread and butter play, but we went to the well too often. Our inability to successfully run other plays stifled the running game in the second half.
The problems I have with Jags are as follows:
Have seen nothing to indicate that recruiting will be better. Haden is a fine back and will have a great career, but we've had top recruits here before. The 2009 class looks thin and unimpressive. The defensive coaches are all the same and it's business as usual in terms of recruiting for them. Don't see an Al Golden type on this staff. Jags hasn't been in the college game in 10 years. What makes you think he's going to be a good recruiter?
The obstinancy is going with Crane is extraordinary. He acts like Crane is entitled to play b/c he's a 5th year guy. He has terrible mechanics which makes him consistently inaccurate. Bad mechanics don't get fixed within a season. They take years to improve if ever. I give him enough credit to acknowledge that if Davis were clearly better than he'd play Davis. But take Crane out for a series when he gets rattled (which is often).
For all of his supposed sunny disposition (not tough to say that given his predecessor) he has 0 visibility in the Boston sports scene. He doesn't even try. Don't see him as selling the program at all. I know it's an uphill battle in this city, but I see little effort.
In the same vein as playcalling, does anyone have the slightest clue why we don't operate from the I-form EVER? Do the coaches have something against pounding the ball? We have a capable fullback, why are they always in the shotgun on 3rd and 1? Haden and Harris are good, but they're not the caliber where they can afford to have 5 yards to make up on every run.
It's absolutely appropriate to assess the state of the program and its direction. I think there is good reason for concern about both at this point.
However, I think that instead of putting the blame solely on Jags, the focus should fall much more squarely on Logan's shoulders. This team's failures are mostly on the offense.
Our offense puts entirely too much pressure on an inexperienced and not-very-talented QB to win games by himself. There doesn't appear to be any sort of emphasis on developing a running game under the Logan regime (and I blame a lot of our 2007 failures on that lack of emphasis-- recall the Florida State game where we repeatedly struggled to punch the ball into the end zone from just a few yards out).
The game plans are an absolute mystery. We run the ball almost exclusively against teams we should be able to throw on (Kent State, URI) and then abandon or seem indifferent toward the run against teams with quality secondaries like Carolina and Clemson.
Finally, I see very little in terms of player development in Crane. He's the same (basically bad) QB we saw in the spring game. If the season really came down to Logan and Crane, as ATL stated (probably correctly) before the Kent State game, then those guys have been miserable flops.
While Spaziani and the defense are prone to breakdowns, they've pitched two shutouts, won at least one more game singlehandedly (VT) and nearly a second almost by themselves (Clemson).
I think there's a good chance that at some point in the very near future Jags will have to take the incredibly painful step of removing his mentor, or at the very least minimizing his involvement in the offense (how much of the decision to play Crane exclusively is coming from the coaches' box?). If not, then the blame moves straight to the guy wearing the headset on the field.
Some of you guys are ridiculous. We're 5-3 (same overall record as VT and Wake, better than Duke, UVa , and Clemson). We lost by three points to an excellent GT team, by six points to a Clemson team that was pre-season top 10, and our only big loss was on the road to a very talented UNC team, but those losses will happen even in a good year (see last year's losses to Fla. St. and Maryland). We've been decimated by injuries (Albright, Toal, now Megwa) and had to suspend a kicker (Bennett). We still have a good shot at beating ND and going to bowl game.
But yeah, Jags is a fraud, he was a bad hire, Logan is a joke, all the play calling is terrible, and the program is sprialing out of control. Get a grip.
Go Eagles! Beat ND!
Thank you DoubleEagle. Here's the rub. Am I disappointed by how the past two games have gone? Hell, yeah. But there isn't a single game left on our schedule that is out of reach. ND? Wake? FSU? Maryland? Not a single excellent team. In fact, probably only FSU is good. Wake certainly isn't. ND has lost to the only above average teams they've played (MSU, UNC, Pitt). Maryland is as puzzling a team as UVa. All could go either way. The flip side of the possibility that we could lose them all is the (remote) possibility that we could win them all. They're all winnable games! Look, at this point I'm hoping we get to 7 or 8 and end up in San Francisco. But lighten up people! We're not Michigan...or Washington...or Wazzu...or Syracuse.
Go Eagles! Beat ND!
Wow. People are losing it here.
Fire Jags talk? Are you kidding? That is the most absurdly ridiculous overreaction I've encountered in a while, but hey, I guess that's the prerogative of laptop jockeys who can say whatever they want without any consequence.
Oh, and for those so excited about handing Davis the keys you might want to note that he first played organized football as a JUNIOR in highschool. That's right, 3 years ago. Still excited?
The fact is, we made a bunch of mistakes and lost to a team with some talent. We're not going to have a fantastic year this year (who thought we would?) and probably won't next year either. But the sky is not falling, I repeat, sky remains intact. My advice is to quit playing Junior GDF and get to the stadium on time.
Gionata1, did I really see you calling for BC to hire Ty Willingham? The same Ty Willingham that ran ND into the ground? The same Ty Willingham that has led Washington from mediocrity to basically a DII program? He hasn't won a game all year and you're calling for BC to hire him? Am I missing something here? That statement has to be the result of some sort of joke or just sheer stupidity.
Someone earlier said that we can't win a National Championship at Boston College. I believe we can and the school needs to determine which sport it wants to strive to reach that goal at. I'm talking about football and basketball.
If small private universities like Miami, Notre Dame, Stanford, Georgetown, Georgia Tech (1990), and Duke can compete for championships in football and/or basketball then there is no reason BC can't.
It starts at the top with the president of the universtity and makes it way to the athletic director, the coaches and the players that they are allowed to recruit.
The we can't win championships at BC thing didn't start with TOB. It's ingrained in the fabric of the "BC Nation". Once the people that support the school start demanding excellence, perhaps we'll get on a path for the reward.
I restate, the only thing that makes it harder for BC is that they don't have a natural recruiting base like many of these other schools. That is a valid challenge that we have to overcome and probably hurts us more in football than it does in basketball.
I don't know the names but I feel like every year we struggle to get the top talent in New England for both sports.
If Virginia Tech had reacted in Year 2 the same way some of you are acting now, Frank Beamer would have been fired and Va Tech would not have had this tremendous run in college football.
We are 5 and fricken 3. We have a better record than some of the perennial great teams in college football including Nebraska, Tennessee and Michigan. We could lose all 4 of our remaining games but we could also win all 4. We lost 17 players from last year and this year, we have 3 defensive starters out with injuries.
Am I frustrated? Yes, and I do wish Davis would be given a shot, but what do I know? I am not at practice every day. Maybe Davis does not know the plays. Perhaps he can't handle the blitzes that Florida State and Notre Dame will throw at the team. And I question why Flutie is not given a shot at kicking. But, maybe he can't hit kicks when under pressure. Do you honestly think Jags does not want to win?
Please, don't run Jags like you did O'Brien. Give him time to get his own players in the system and establish his identity. Give him 2 more years and then we can talk about his success as coach.
Michael,
Here are the last 10 champions in football:
LSU
Florida
Texas
USC
Ohio State
Miami
Oklahoma
Florida State
Tennessee
Nebraska
The only small school in that group is Miami which has the best players in the nation right in their back yard. Further, they don't have anywhere near the academic standards that BC has. BC cannot and will not win a national title in football. You simply can't get the best players in the nation to go play in a 42,000 seat stadium in a pro sports town.
I can live with that eagleboston. Why can't they put it together in basketball? Don't they have top flight players that leave the region every year? All I'm saying is that BC can compete and should compete for their conference and if successful on the national level.
The parity in college sports is so close that even at BC wtih a 42,000 seat stadium and a professional town, they can compete. It's not like we play in the Big 12 or SEC. Anyone can win this conference.
I typically don't buy the "we're a small, private school so we can't compete with the big dogs" argument.
Unlike high school, you're not drawing from your student body to fill out the roster; you are recruiting the players. A school of 8000 can compete with a school of 40,000--- it comes down to getting the best mix of 60/85/100 players/ whatever the limit is and coaching.
The one advantage some large schools have is access to money and facilities, but that's not an insurmountable obstacle— there's always money out there, and small schools can compete with money and facilities, too. It's just a matter of convincing alumni and other donors the cause is worthy.
The discussion should be whether Jags is doing a good job and whether he was the right hire. The discussion should not involve whether he should be fired, that is preposterous. If GDF screwed up, then that is an error we will all have to live with for at least another two, maybe three years, unless criticism mounts and Jags jumps ship sooner early.
To those who are talking about whether BC has the resources to compete for national championships, let's talk about competing for BCS bowl berths first. That is all I really care about, and if BC somehow catches lighting in a bottle some year and is in position to be in the title hunt, great. But in my lifetime, BC has had exactly three golden chances to get to a big bowl, and absolutely blew it each time. The first was in '93 when David Green fumbled on a clock killing drive to close out the game against West Virginia the week after the famous ND/David Gordon game. The Mountaineers stormed back and stole the Sugar Bowl from us in the final minute. The second time was the greatest head coaching disaster I have ever witnessed, the despicable Syracuse home loss in '04 on Senior Day with the Orange Bowl on the line. The third was last year, when BC was the best team in the ACC and did not close the deal. When the Eagles get their chances to go to a big bowl, they have to seize them. That's what I'm talking about, so don't give me that small, private school crap, you apologists. I don't hear Wake crying about that, and they went to the Orange Bowl a couple of years ago. To hell with the national championships, let's focus on winning the goddamn conference.
I think that's what I said. Thanks for the passion. Apologists....good one!
Ah yes, the empty stadium at kickoff malaise. This has been a problem for about 15 years now. We can thank the city of Newton for that one. Since BC is such a blight on the city's landscape, they feel they have to hem us in with tight rules on tailgating and football game times. So, people pay thousands of dollars for those spots and then they are given (effectively) maybe an hour to tailgate. At schools where there is no hostile local township (btw, Newton does not know how good they have it with BC), fans are allowed to tailgate starting the night before! Although it is a disgrace to have the stands half empty, I do not blame the fans entirely. Whoever doctored the deal with Newton should have offered the fans a cigarette afterwards (see Thursday night deal). BC does not "junk" up Newton, or keep anyone awake, or reduce people's property value. If anything the campus adds some culture and character to that Starbuckstown.
@ Eagleinexile:
How dare you hooligans at BC disrupt our yuppie, whitebread culture! How will we enjoy our 1.4 million dollar home with a white picket fence, 2.4 kids, and 4 BMWs? Oh the horrors of college drinking and football. Surely, this kind of behavior is not tolerated elsewhere! I can't imagine how the philistines in places like Morgantown, WV, State College, PA, or Columbus, Ohio put up with it!
-Newton resident
eagleinexile is 100% correct. I have a spot on Shea Field. Here's how it goes every single frigging time:
Technically, the field opens up for cars 3 hours before kickoff. After you've spent 45 minutes (1) waiting in traffic trying to drive onto school grounds, (2) waiting in traffic on school grounds, and (3) and setting up all of your tailgating crap, you can knock that number down to 2:15.
Also, let's assume that you're consuming some beverages and have to pee a few times while you're there. Assuming a sell-out or anything close to it, the school never has available nearly enough of the always-disgusting port-o-lets. By the time you walk over, stand in line, do your thing, and walk back to your car, you've lost a total of another 30-45 minutes. You are now down to 1:30 - 1:45 of real tailgating.
Hold on soldier; We're not done yet. Approximately a half-hour before kickoff, you need to start packing up all of your crap and put it back in your car and give yourself enough time to walk to your seat.
So, after everything is said and done, you effectively have between 1:00 and 1:15 of real tailgating time. That is what my grandfather would call "happy horse-shit." It's time to open the gates at 6 a.m. and establish a real tailgating environment. Only then will BC have a consistently full, happy, and rowdy crowd by kickoff.
I don't want to hear any more foolish talk about how disadvantaged we are in recruiting. Yes we are not a CA, TX or FL state school, but we are the top D1 dog in the northeast corridor. We have exactly three recruiting rivals - Syracuse, Rutgers and UConn - for all of New England, New York, New Jersey and some of Pennsylvania. Yes Penn State gets the good PA guys, but their recruiting base shifted westward when they joined the Big Ten and don't compete with us as much outside of PA. The significance of this cannot be overstated. Statistics show that some 85% of all D1 football players go to school w/i a 5 hour drive of their homes. So the northeast corner is our base, and we do very, very well in it without a lot of competition. There is a direct correlation between the downswing of Syracuse's program in the last 10 years and the upswing of BC's in point of fact. Rutgers has traditionally been a recruiting non-factor (1 year was an aberration) and UConn is yet to be a player (though they scare me). So puh-lease, don't moan about our lot in life, and don't use it as an excuse for bad coaching, we do well enough in recruiting for a BCS school, and we certainly have the resouces to win the friggin conference every 8-10 years or so. Plus you add in the fact that BC is one of only three national Catholic Universities (Notre Dame and GTown being the others), and one of only two playing at this level. So on top of our geographic advantage, we get a lot of Catholic School kids who can't get into ND, but can still play at a high level.
I'm not a tailgater any longer, but this is a real issue to a lot of fans. How are we going to solve this? Can the agreements with neighbors be reevaluated and renegotiated?
A half empty stadium at kickoff is pathetic - pure and simple. It has to hurt recruiting. I find it personally embarrassing, and if I'm GDF I'm making it my business to solve this problem - show some leadership.
And what to make of the "fans" who begin leaving as early as the 3rd quarter - and the many who leave midway through the 4th, long before the outcome has been determined? One final thing - I stay until the end of the game - common courtesy. These players are giving it their all (even if sometimes they seem flat) and we lose sometimes because a player or coach doesn't perform at the crucial time, even though they are trying as hard as they can. Let's show some respect for our team.
Right - I forgot, this is pie in the sky thinking for some reason. Let's get out of here so we can get our last hour of tailgating in.
Could not agree more Big Jack Krack.
Some of the posters here want BC to be a top 5 program and the atmosphere at Alumni is not even in the Top 60. How do you think we can attract the top recruits? "Sweet Caroline?" "Build Me Up Buttercup?" Give me a break. Those were crappy songs back in the 70's.
To the last poster, I agree 100%. As a student, it's embarrassing to hear those annoying songs being sung each game by a crowd where half are more concerned with staying upright on the bench rather than watching the game. I brought friends from home this weekend, friends who frequently see PSU games, and they honestly just laughed at it. BC's game atmosphere is C-level at best.
Well, I'm a rock'n roller that has years on all of you guys, I guess--but while BC fans come 'n go, the BC faithful can suck it up year in and out, even when we were getting trounced by Penn State for nearly twenty years straight.(I was there in the '60's) The Big East saw BC as a door mat, OK? It was a blessing to get out of there. Sure, Flutie does the miracle, and that piece of videotape of the miracle in Miami changed it all and still pisses off everyone in ND because they got nothing now--Joe Montana's long gone, people. Of course BC can win a National Championship in football, my lovable young moron Eagles. It's all spin and marketing and you should know that. Watch Texas Tech and learn. But you got to have a Ryan or a Flutie to do it, and guys who can catch that ball, and make a few tackles. Gimme a break--the Clemson game was BC playing careless football without a star to save them. A year ago, Ryan was a feature story in SI and everyone loved BC's return to glory. If we can't run these QB's out onto the field until we find a star, then we'll blow the whole thing. The juco kid might be the answer--or Davis or whomever--but to live and die with Crane--who is not a star--and not try these other kids is just plain friggin' stupid.
Remember Peterson? It's about star power and charisma and that's college football, my Eagle brothers and sisters. Can't coach that.
Eagle1,
Thanks for illuminating the problem with BC tailgating. I was asked to buy in with a group this year and I had to turn it down for a variety of reasons, but if I ever did buy a spot, it would definitely be with a group of friends to help defray the cost to tailgate per hour. Last year, I tried to walk onto Shea with a 12 pack of Sam Adams that I owed a friend and I was forced by the Super Troopers to put it down. They said it did not matter that I was well over 21, no outside alcohol allowed, and I said "So you would rather me leave it here on the ground for some kid to pick up?" He gave me the classic boston "i know it's a stupid policy but I am going to enforce it" look and then I put the box down and proceeded into the cattle call. It's not like this at a lot of other places and as much as I enjoy tailgating on Shea, looking out on reservoir, taking in the foliage, and of course drinking a lot of beer, if I had no personal attachment to BC, those things would not be worth the cost or the BS you have to put up with to enjoy them.
mmason,
I could not agree more with your sentiments. The real proof that BC could compete for a National title is mirrored in what you said about PSU.This year's Nittany lions is probably the first PSU team in over a decade that could beat BC (and BC did beat them in the late 90s). Personally, I am not that worried about the team. I am worried that the season could end on a poor note, but like you said there are enough BC faithful that this program will right itself, no matter who wears the headset or how many students prefer to do keg stands until the 2nd qtr starts.
I think it's perfectly reasonable to evaluate Jags based on the performance so far. However, there has to be some level of agreement on what the expectations for this season are/were. The fact of the matter is that we're 5-3, not 5-7 yet as Angry and others seem to have determined. We could very well lose all the remaining games, we could very well win two or three of them. Let's see how they play out.
Now for expectations. Anyone here who EXPECTED more than 8 wins this season is out of touch with reality. I think 7-8 wins was/is a reasonable expectation, and that mark is still within reach. There's not a whole lot that makes me think we'll get there, but it's still possible.
I have been disappointed with the game plans for several games, and like everyone else would like to at least see Davis get a shot. I am not a Jags apologist, and I don't want to turn this into another referendum on the TOB era, but doesn't the fact that the QB cupboard was bare after Ryan reflect on O'Brien at least a little?
I share a lot of Michael's perspective on appropriate expectations for our teams. I wouldn't quite say we'll never win a national title, but it would be a lightning-in-a-bottle type scenario. We have a niche, and we've filled it well. That said, our fans our awful, our facilities are exceptionally average, and a school with the climate of Boston without big-time tradition is just not going to attract blue chip athletes.
It's perfectly within reason to debate the merits of Jags and Logan. But we need to be a lot more realistic about our expectations.
And Ty Willingham? Really? Really?
Please lighten up on Newton. Some of us who live there (*points to self, 2 miles from stadium*) are not multimillionaires and just as frustrated as you.
Though you are generally very correct, I would like to point out there are some exceptions to the rule.
GB man,
Please take my comments with a grain of salt (as I am sure the majority of readers do of all posts). If there is an intended target within Newton, it would be the city council. I still remember when they denied BC the permits for the new student center in violation of Dover Amendment, and they did not care that it was illegal to do so (or that they would lose in court), but were very happy that years of litigation would slow BC from expanding. When speak ill of Newton, that is who I mean. Now when I think of fondly of Newton, there's Johnny's Luncheonette (best omelette every) and Union City Bar and Grill (awesome burgers). In many ways, I am envious of people who get to live so close to the Heights.
I understand you meant it in that way. I might have seemed a little too serious myself, lol. I was just responding to the inevitable (and true) "rich snob" view of the city, and pointing out that there is another side to us. Gotta represent Johnny's and the incredible Union Street :)
Post a Comment