Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Tidbit from another tone deaf article and Kuechly speculation

Others have already tackled the Herald's Spaz article. It was more of the same of lowering expectations, not taking ownership of the current situation and addressing some of the gossip regarding staff friction. What I found interesting is that Spaz sort of gave credence to the growing rumor that Brock is out as Offensive Coordinator.
In that regard, Spaziani admits that likely being on his fourth offensive coordinator next season in as many years is not what he hoped for.


As I've said before I want Brock to stay on as Offensive Coordinator. He has experience. He has the relationship with Rettig. He was who Spaz wanted all along. The results stunk this year, but give the guy a full season of prep and his own playbook. Why force another OC on Spaz that he doesn't want? If Coach Flip is going to keep picking Spaz's coordinators, why doesn't he just drop the pretense and officially put on a headset on the sidelines? As of now nothing is official and Brock still doesn't know his fate. Even if he does come back the above article isn't the greatest confidence builder for 2012.


Also all the message boards are buzzing that Luke Kuechly needs Tommy John surgery on his elbow. He sustained the injury in the NC State game. The severity of the injury is not keeping him from making the rounds on the awards circuit. Surgery is always serious, but this is not a huge deal for a football player (as opposed to a pitcher). I don't think it will impact Luke's decision either way.

42 comments:

eagle1331 said...

I respectfully disagree with you Bill, that TJS is not as severe on a football player as a baseball player. That is an extremely broad statement. For instance, Josh Johnson was back under a year and threw better, but John Baker, his battery partner at the time, took much longer to return and is just a catcher.

The stress on the arms of those 2 positions is quite different, and I don't think you could compare pitching mechanics to tackling mechanics, in any other way than they're not natural arm movements. The arm isn't meant to throw a tiny ball 100 mph repeatedly, nor is it meant to have 200 or 300 pound men running into it.

Especially with tackling there is a lot of stress put on your shoulder and elbow joins and having a tear in either is very severe. You're not relying on it to team with other body parts to for a particular grip and twist, but the pain associated with it is unbelievable and would surely affect his abilities.

If he gets surgery now, he will likely be OK to play next season, after extensive rehab, but it would have to hurt his draft stock significantly...

mod34b said...

Nice.. ATL in reportorial mode.

Very intersting point on Brock. Spaz is, of course, foolish to allude to Brock's departure if that is not true . . . . ERGO it is true . . . .BUT divided by the Spaz bonehead factor, who knows . . .

personally, I would like to see Brock go. He showed very little imagination overall. Sure, the mobile QB stuff was fun for a few games, and the Amidon reverses were ok, but the overall approach was bad.

We all recall Brock's calls on 2-23 and 3-23

I do recall Keek being out for a few plays against NCSU and then coming back in. Guy is a horse.

Too bad , but this will send his draft stock down into the mid rounds...

Wonder if he might stay another year to show the NFL he is still the real deal. For him, i hope not. Hope he is a high draft pick.

mod10aeagle said...

I don't need to read the rest of the Herald article to know that Spaz is positively the worst effin' media spokesperson. He simply should not be allowed to talk to the press under any circumstances. OK, I'll allow one circumstance: to answer the question, "Now that you've been fired by BC, what's next for the man they call Spaz?"

Mr. Tambourine MAn said...

Did anyone else think the game plan improved dramatically in the Miami win? Maybe it was just that Miami didn't play well.

Boneheaded decision at the goalline and 4th and 1 regarding Bordner, but otherwise, I thought Brock was coming into his own and he's shown he can run an offense at KSU. If this is true, I'll be really really disappointed.

Of course, if Suntrup and other Brock recruits leave, the excuse train will get some much needed fuel.

God this is frustrating.

EL MIZ said...

this caused me to laugh out loud:

"“Nothing abnormal happened here,’’ he insisted. “Nothing."" -- right, other than the Offensive Coordinator who Spaz and Gene spent months searching for resigning after 2 games. other than that, nothing abnormal whatsoever.

too bad for luke and his arm. i hope he gets healthy soon.

what is the latest on montel?

Benjamin said...

Anyone find it interesting, that despite the rumors on this board, and the supposed unrest among players, that none of our players have transferred yet?

If you look to Maryland, after their 2-10 season, have now had 6 (six!!!) players transfer out.

Big Jack Krack said...

Rob:

Bordner fumbled twice in that game.

We did well with the offensive game plan until we went into the equivalent of the basketball
"stall"

I posted this one week ago -

"I was pretty satisfied with the effort at Miami - but then we voluntarily went into the Prevent Offense for the entire 4th period, and most of the 2nd half.

Emphasis on "voluntarily" - coach's preference/philosophy.

This is where Spaziani loses most of us and will continue to lose most of us.

This strategy set Quigley up for the ACC MVP - but could have backfired for sure.

As a matter of fact, we went into the Prevent Offense right after Pantale's second TD, although we should have had one more score except for the growing Bordner Play Selection Problem.

Here we go after Pantale's TD early in the 3rd period:

3 plays and punt
7 plays and fumble
Interception and touchdown
3 plays and punt
3 plays and punt
5 plays and punt
3 plays and punt

It's an odd way to build a winning team - by holding your own players back."

Ry said...

You could read that quote and consider that Brock would be the fourth OC since he was never officially named OC this year. Just a thought...I don't interpret that as an absolute that Brock isn't the guy.

mod34b said...

Ry, Spaz may also not know how to express himself about counting to 4

hsk said...

just as I was starting to get over my depression over the fact the we became so completely irrelevant, so quickly, spaz once again had to speak and it all came rushing back. this just can't be..

Mr. Tambourine MAn said...

I actually emailed Ron Borges about this article, and he was kind enough to respond. I'm not going to post the entire response here, but his general points were.

1) He said he did ask around about Rogers and didn't find anything other than that he left for health reasons.
2) He apologized several times for the 2009 ACCCG mistake.
3) Argued that ATL, myself, and others are not being fair to say that staff continuity means there shouldn't be any effect in recruiting when HC leaves because the HC sets the agenda for his type of guy. Essentially, same staff, new HC, means different type of recruit (I think this is esp fair on the offensive side).
4) Said BC lost its top WR, OL, and RB. While I disagree with the "top" characterization for most, we did have a lot of injuries.
5) Said its not fair to say there is no cost to the TOB and Jags lost recruiting years, that because of timing, losing a college coach result in essentially a lost or hugely disrupted class, and that means 2 of 5 classes that Spaz is coaching were problem classes.
6) Emphasized the loss of Davis as huge issue, unstable QB situation for his entire tenure.

I disagree with him, but upon reading his email, if your an unbiased observer, didn't watch a lot games to see Spaz's terrible game management and were presented with a lot of the above, I think you'd probably come to the same conclusion as Borges--Spaziani overachieved in 2009 and should be given a year or two more to prove himself with his guys.

Also thought it was really cool that he basically responded point by point to everything that I wrote. Classy move.

EL MIZ said...

rob, thanks for that info.

i agree with you; even if spaz was set back by losing certain players and the program continuity stuff, i think he still leaves much to be desired as a head coach, and will only believe otherwise when he does something to elicit a change of opinion (like a fake punt, a surprise onside kick, going into a hurry up, any sort of strategic implementation that is intended to give us an advantage i have not seen in 3 yrs).

ATL_eagle said...

The reason the Davis excuse is especially lame is that neither Spaz nor Gene was really concerned to see him go. This is also Year 3 and Shinskie and Rettig have a lot more experience at BC than Davis ever did.

Benjamin said...

I think the point about Davis is that it disrupted our QB development. Not saying it's a good point, but when you don't have a reliable QB to turn to, it makes winning with a true freshmen that much harder.

Tim said...

ATL--

On Nov. 26, you said, "Rogers was fired."

But according to Rob (see above), Ron Borges "ask[ed] around about Rogers and didn't find anything other than that he left for health reasons."

Can you explain the discrepancy?

mod34b said...

The Spaz excuse making is really ramping up lately.

Wonder why? He knows his results suck but wants to minimize and/or deny responsibility? He actually is getting pressured from BOT and GDF? Or this is just how losers with time on their hands act?

The latest excuse - Dom Davis did it - is hysterically pathetic

mod34b said...

Tim. - Borges is not a reliable journalist. He was caught plagiarizing at the Globe and suspended. He has gotten into fist fights with other reporters. it is all in Wiki.

I would Not trust what he supposedly said. Seems like he has really fallen on hard times if he is relegated to covering BC football in the off season!

Tim said...

mod-
I googled Borges too. He looks like an ass. On the other hand, for better or worse, he apparently has media credentials and works at a major paper in Boston, so I'm willing to at least listen to what he has to say. There is a direct contradiction between his reporting and ATL's earlier post. I'd just like to hear ATL's side.

Mr. Tambourine MAn said...

Tim,

To be fair to ATL, he could be right regardless of Borges's findings. Borges wasn't in the room, so its certainly possible that ATL is right, even if Borges wasn't able to get anyone to confirm it. Also, Borges apparently asked Spaz point blank about the supposed UCF half-time altercation and Spaz denied it, but admitted that voices were raised. Again, doesn't mean the rumor is not true, but he did ask the question.

ATL,

I think with the Davis comment, he's more saying ("BC lost a D-1 QB and didn't have a replacement"). I think this is a fair criticism of Jags regime. Not fatal, but clearly he did a poor job with QB recruiting for some reason.

Tim said...

Rob,

This isn't just an ATL-versus-Borges issue, it's ATL versus the official statement of the University, which said leave of absence for health reasons. As you point out, Borges wasn't in the room, but then again neither was ATL, hence I'm curious to hear ATL's explanation.

Darius said...

I, too, believe every "official statement" I hear. :P

Curious about Swigert. Nothing's being said about his reportedly torn labrum, an injury with a far dodgier record of surgical recovery. Any news?

EL MIZ said...

Tim, there was a lot of chatter from ppl around the program that Spaz and Rogers got in a shouting match after the USF game and Rogers essentially said "I'm done here" and quit. i had heard that from two ppl who are in touch with players at BC before i read it on ATL. one of those "where theres smoke theres fire" things. it was never officialy corroborated anywhere.

Big Jack Krack said...

Darius - did you hear that Swigert had a torn shoulder labrum or torn hip labrum?

We need this guy to be healthy for sure. I hope he will be okay.

Both of those injuries are tough - but I think the hip is more problematic.

Tim said...

Darius-
Your point is well taken. Official statements can be misleading ("There are no American troops in Baghdad!"). On the other hand, when a major university issues a written statement about the employment status of a high-profile, highly compensated employee, I think it's safe to assume the statement is vetted by the public affairs office and perhaps also by legal counsel. ATL, on the other hand, is an individual blogger a thousand miles from campus with no accountability to anyone. That doesn't mean that what he posted is wrong, but it makes me curious to see if he can justify his statement that Rogers was fired. Remember, ATL also said Ryan Day had been hired as BC's OC. Clearly, his insight into the OC position is not always reliable.

Then again, perhaps both BC's statement and ATL's statement are true. If Rogers took a leave of absence and was quietly fired a week later, then they're both true.

Bottom line: I'm still curious to hear why ATL says Rogers was fired. I look forward to the explanation.

Tim said...

El Miz,

Now it looks like we have a 3rd theory:

1. BC: leave of absence

2. ATL: fired

3. El Miz: quit

Are there any others I'm missing?

EL MIZ said...

Tim are you an investigative journalist?

what i heard from people in the program essentially echoed what ATL said: i heard that after the game spaz and rogers were yelling at each other, with spaz telling him to get lost and rogers saying good, i'm done. basically, i heard a mutual firing/quit and ATL said he was straight up fired.

i think you give too much credence to the official statements and actions of university and bureacracies at large. see penn state for how an institution which is presumably having things vetted in house and perhaps by counsel can greatly screw up.

knowing what we know about gene and micromanagement, i wouldn't be surprised if gene decided "the story is rogers is out for health reasons and thats the end of it" and thats the story that ran. rogers has been MIA and thats it.

Mr. Tambourine MAn said...

I'm very curious to see how the new OC hiring is announced (any confirmation its the UVA RB coach yet).

Supposedly, our OC is just on a leave of absence for health reasons. So the hiring is going to have to mention that in some way, something along the lines of Rogers deciding he can't make it back. But then, that means Rogers can't really coach somewhere else without BC looking pretty foolish. Will be fun to see how they try and spin it. I'm guessing they don't even mention Rogers.

bc1900 said...

BC and most universities cover tons of things up. Talk to anyone who works at the heights and they will tell stories all day long. BC is notorious for saying someone left for academics or just wanted to transfer. Sometimes this is true but it has also been used for drug issues, sexual assaults, and just horrible behavior in general. Outside of sports they cover things up too. Remember years ago when one of Mario Gabelli's kids supposedly raped a girl. Well, her father was a 3 star general in the US Army. They were not going to take the payoff and they went head to head with the big donor and a settlement eventually happened. This story was buried deep in the Globe well after everything occured and the big donor was protected. This isn't just BC, it happens everywhere. The nice thing about BC is that we usually get rid of these people right away, we just say they are leaving for such and such a reason when in fact we are pushing them out. I don't have a problem with it, but anyone who knows BC knows they put a PR spin on EVERYTHING.

Joseph said...

Are you implying that others don't?

bc1900 said...

Joseph,

Read the first line of my post, that should answer your question. Universities put spin on everything, BC included. I just listed instances of spin, that is all. GDF takes it to a new level, but BC has always put spin on things.

bc1900 said...

On a funny note, did anyone see this article? The UCONN administration is trying to create a new "tradition" at UCONN. They want to be known for reciting the Pledge of Allegiance before games, I kid you not.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/sports/ncaabasketball/uconn-pledge-of-allegiance-policy-get-mixed-reaction.html?_r=1

jrtmurphy said...

Regarding Luke and his elbow, having Tommy John for a linebacker is nothing like having it for an overhead athlete. The mechanics are different, the football player can wear a hinged brace and still function post-surgical.

That is how he was able to play the last few games with it. His draft status won't fall that much.

Big Jack Krack said...

Was/is the deal about UVA Coach Faragalli a cruel joke?

Please tell me that it's only a cruel joke/rumor.

Unbelievable.

Darius said...

It was noted on EO back in October by someone apparently connected to Swigert that he was playing through a torn shoulder labrum, and would likely seek surgery after the season.

neenan said...

BJK --

The UVA coach rumor was the product of (yet another) session of parallel mental masturbation on the Eagle Action Rivals and Eagle Outsider boards.

The rumor was that the UVA RB coach was offered the BC OC job. Now the rumor is than he turned down BC. In between, the UVA guy was denounced in almost every way possible.

Once it was clear that he was never coming, the boards turned to a circle technique with GDF in the middle.

Knucklehead said...

Boston College has fallen to new lows if it offered the OC job to a UVA coach. We have hit rock bottom if the UVA coach declined.

That school is white trash and has NO CLASS.

Remember Brad Butler. Human feces.

bc1900 said...

I hope you are joking about the UVA white trash reference. That is like saying Brandeis is full of anti-semites.

Knucklehead said...

They are white trash wrapped in a jcrew exterior.

I know people who went there. The in-staters are still legitimately upset that the Confederacy lost the Civil War.

Read this: http://espn.go.com/magazine/vol5no06dixon.html

Knucklehead said...

Read this one:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/03/uva-mens-lacrosse-player-accused-killing-female-lacrosse-player/

bc1900 said...

It is a good university, one of the top state schools after Michigan and Berkeley. I will give you the point on the civil war stuff. Most southern state schools are like that for some reason. I am not a fan of the south or their joke universities, but UVA has a pretty good undergrad program and MBA program. In fact aren't they ranked higher than us academically? In state is much easier to get in just like Michigan, but for out of staters it is very hard to get into those schools.

Knucklehead said...

US News and World Report has them ranked higher than Boston College.

My point is that they are phonies, really white trash.

They always try to out hit/ cheapshot us in football and we beat them.

Boston College is far and away a better football school than Virginia(even now) and we should not be going to UVA for our coaches.

EagleManhattan said...

"I think with the Davis comment, he's more saying ("BC lost a D-1 QB and didn't have a replacement"). I think this is a fair criticism of Jags regime. Not fatal, but clearly he did a poor job with QB recruiting for some reason."

And all of this is moot at this point now that Spaz has done even worse with a more experienced QB. Keep fiddling with the critiques of Jags while you watch Rome burn.