Thursday, February 26, 2015

Themes of Spring Practice

Spring Practice is here and Addazio has a lot to accomplish. He keeps telling the media what he's building long term, but in the short term BC needs to use these few practices to lay the foundation for next season's offense.

QB
The presumptive favorite remains Darius Wade. He was the more sought after recruit. He is the only QB on the roster with playing experience and he has the most upside. When talking to the media, Addazio will occasionally slip and let the world know that it is Wade's job. However, in preparation for this set of practices Addazio seems to be keeping an open mind with regard to Flutie and newcomer Elijah Robinson. I expect Wade to win the job and be our starter next season. But he needs to show that he's up to the job this spring. Despite looking around, Addazio did not bring in a 5th year QB over him. The staff calmed themselves about rumors regarding a Wade transfer. Addazio is basically all in on the young QB. Now Wade needs to show improvement and leadership and get this team ready for the rest of spring ball and summer workouts. If he stumbles, Flutie seems like the next guy up.

The Offense
Addazio couldn't have been more clear on Signing Day that this was not Ryan Day's Offense, but rather his. And it will remain his scheme under new Offensive Coordinator Todd Fitch. But that is also easier said than done. The logistics and dynamics of having a new play caller will impact the team. They start working the kinks out now in practice. Addazio wants to run, so that is not going to change. But the Fitch/Wade combo should lead to more passing and explosive plays from the passing game. Hopefully we will see that in the Spring Game.

OLine
In all his recent interviews, Addazio is sure to mention the young, inexperienced offensive line. I don't know if he is purposefully lowering expectations or has real concern. It is probably a little of both. Regardless of what the coach fears, I am not worried about the OLine. Harris Williams should be back and healthy in time for the season. The other guys have more experience than the media is letting on. Bowen played a lot last season and looked good in jumbo packages. Baker also looked good in limited duty. Potential Center Frank Taylor remains the most untested. But I think OL is the one area where a good position coach can make a huge difference with the available talent. Justin Frye put together very solid squads his first two years at BC. I have complete faith he will do it again with the guys he has available. Will they dominate? Maybe not, but I am sure they will run block well enough for BC to remain competitive and productive.

5 comments:

mod34b said...

Say it's not so...

"Addazio couldn't have been more clear on Signing Day that this was not Ryan Day's Offense, but rather his. And it will remain his scheme under new Offensive Coordinator Todd Fitch"

Implementing an offense is Daz's weakness, yet he can't see it. He should stick to the Rah-Rah stuff let Fitch add some energy to the O.

Knucklehead said...

What was Addazio's job at Florida?

EL MIZ said...

experience aside, is the O-Line group going into this season any worse than the O-Line group that we had when Addazio took over for Spaziani? while that group is inexperienced, i have faith in Frye and Addazio in turning it around.

Gabe McClary was moved from WR to DB, and some of the D players were moved around (Strizak to the DL, Lezzer to the secondary). i assume the staff really likes Borgeson and the other incoming WRs if they are moving McClary. Spring position changes always intrigue me, that's another thing to keep an eye on, especially with this staff, where we seem to emphasize recruiting team captains who play all over the place in high school and are willing to make such a change.

JBQ said...

Hopefully, Flutie will get a fair shot. In short attempts last season, Wade did not look very good with his passing. Hopefully, this was only lack of experience. BC wants a running quarterback. The Flutie gene is a running one. It is also hoped that Addazio does not just want to have a black quarterback for its recruiting benefits for high profile black players. An early opinion is that it is just that. Flutie may be just carried as the "towel boi".

JBQ said...

Hopefully, Flutie will get a fair shot. In short attempts last season, Wade did not look very good with his passing. Hopefully, this was only lack of experience. BC wants a running quarterback. The Flutie gene is a running one. It is also hoped that Addazio does not just want to have a black quarterback for its recruiting benefits for high profile black players. An early opinion is that it is just that. Flutie may be just carried as the "towel boi".