Things I don't want to hear as practice officially starts

Practice begins Monday.The offseason issues we've been dissecting will now get that much more attention locally and nationally. Although I know we will hear about the following endlessly, I hope the media at least tries to come up with something new and avoid the hollow excuses of seasons past.

1. Spaz finally has his guys. This was used as a major excuse last year. If we win this year or lose this year it won't be because of "Spaz's guys." Spaz and his recruiting coordinator have been around for the recruitment of every player on the roster.

2. New vibe around the offense. I like Doug Martin and think he'll be a breath of fresh air. But we won't know what the offense is really like until Miami. Let's not forget the "new" offense and the great feel the players had for Gary Tranquill, Kevin Rogers and Dave Brock.

3. Injuries. We will lose players in practice. Someone will get lost for the season.You know who else will deal with those issues? Every other team in college football.

4. Replacing Luke Kuechly. We will miss him but every college in the country is replacing a great player. Linebacker is our deepest position and the front seven is much improved. Kuechly will be missed but he shouldn't be an excuse for losing.

How I talk myself into thinking we are going to be good...

You can see it on the BC message boards. You can see it on twitter and on the blogs. Optimism is rising. People are looking forward to the BC Football season. On Eagle Outsider they sarcastically call this "10-2 season." It is that time of year when every aspect of the team and season still has hope and promise. Despite my best judgement and spending half of my posts speculating on Spaz's future, I am falling into this same trap. The closer we get to kickoff and the more I read, the more I think BC might surprise people this year. I am not ready to post my predictions for the season, but here are a few reasons why I do think this team should be bowl bound.

The Schedule
It looks tougher on paper than it really is. Our toughest opponents come to us. We play three of our first four at home. Playing FSU and Georgia Tech on back-to-back weeks is a bit rough, but playing Georgia Tech any time forces a team to regroup. If you have to play a gimmick offense, you might as well do it after facing a top 10 team. Maybe it will serve as a rally point after playing the 'Noles.

Underrated talent
Look at that depth chart again. It is not an all star lineup, but I think our front seven will be better than last year. I love some of the young DBs (Keyes, Asprilla) and think with a healthy Noel and improved ALJ, we can be solid defensively. I still think Chase Rettig can be great. I have real hope for Doug Martin and think our WR and TE talent is good enough. The biggest question is the offensive line. But as someone who has preached for a OL coaching change, I keep telling myself that Bollman will make a difference.

Emotion and Pride
Football is an emotional game and emotional sport. Point fingers at whomever you like, but BC had awful team and coaching chemistry last season. When I see Al Washington posting on Facebook about his excitement, when I hear about the 5th year Seniors wanting to end their careers on a high note, when I look at the new field, I think that positive energy and emotion will carry us to an extra win or two.

As long as these two (see pic below) stay out of the way and Spaz coaches to win, I think this might be a fun season. Is anyone else talking themselves into a big year?

Will Class of 2012's graduation change our mojo?

It used to be fun to cheer for Boston College. Yet we all know things changed. Our once lovable overachieving teams became boring. We lost our free spirit, go for broke attitude. Games became a chore. Some blame Gene D. I've forgiven him and moved on to a new group to blame: the BC class of 2012!

It might not seem fair to blame new college grads for the plight of our sports, but who said life was fair? This is what I know: our teams were fun until they got here. When these kids were applying for college BC was the No. 2 team in the country. We won bowl games annually. Once the '12ers arrived, things seemed normal. We made the ACC Championship again. But we lost the big game again. And then saw our bowl streak end. We also saw our teams miss the NCAA basketball tournament and saw more coaching turnover than anyone could have predicted.

Defenders of the class of 2012 will claim that BC hockey's never been better. Multiple National Championships and a trophy case of Beanpot and Hockey East titles are nice, but are we really going to give them credit for it? I just think Jerry York's super powers include deflecting 2012's evil spirits!

Speeches today will pat the class of 2012 on their back for their accomplishments. Speakers will tell them to go out and change the world. You won't hear that from me. I want them to apologize.

I hope the incoming freshmen bring a new vibe to BC sports. I would suggest a punishment for the new grads, but being a BC fan provides enough punishment as is.