Saturday, November 30, 2013

That hurt

When it became clear that Williams wasn't going to get the stats for the Heisman, his offensive teammates rallied and played a heck of a game. Unfortunately the defensive effort wasn't as good. It has been a great regular season. I guess that's why losing sucks. The fight the guys showed was proof that the team culture has changed. I hope Andre is ok.

I will have second viewing thoughts and grades up late Sunday

44 comments:

doorknocker for 3 said...

Day calls a pass to the short side of the field on 3rd down, with 2 min remaining and Cuse has no timeouts? I wonder if Cuse would have had enough time if BC had let another 35 seconds tick off before we kicked our FG.

eagleboston said...

Doorknocker, the answer is "no." That was a horrible play call there. If you are not going for the endzone, then call a running play and run the clock down for the field goal. Also, that false start was critical. Instead of first and goal from the 5, it became 1st and goal from the 10, plus the penalty stopped the clock. That player made a very bad mistake there.

Tim said...

If you told me in August that we'd finish 7-5, I would have called bullshit. Hats off to the coaching staff for turning a 2-win team into a 7-win team and bringing BC football back to the point where we are actually disappointed after a loss like this, instead of jaded and indifferent.

eagleboston said...

Good point, Tim. And I would caution everyone that we may revert a bit next year. We lose the best kicker, receiver and running back, not just of this season, but in BC history. The Addazio recruits will be just redshirt freshmen next year so it may take awhile to truly turn things around.

JBQ said...

As stated by "eagleboston", there will be young players brought in. He didn't mention a new qb. They will be college football's version of the 2-15 Utah Jazz. Rettig played his heart out. His dive into the end zone followed by DeVitto's interception should have ensured a victory. The end showed poor coaching and play calling. You can't blame the d. it was obvious that BC wanted to run down the clock and kick a field goal. They should have been more aggressive. BC lost this game just like the FSU one by not being able to do the small things. With 12 seconds left on the next to last play, the defender knocked the receiver out of bounds. Syracuse had no timeouts. You do everything possible to keep him in bounds. Next year, BC will have an empty cupboard. With so much hope built up, this game was horrible. They were lucky last week after a horrible extra point runback. I would say that next year that BC will be lucky to be 2-12. Addazio may not even last the year.

CT said...

That is a quality post. Kudos. Very smart stuff.

CT said...

Maybe eagleboston can tell us one more time that our "best" kicker, wr, and rb are gone next year.

I want to hear it a fifth time.

Look, a QB who actually has talent and improves will mean more than any 2000 yd back. And if Amidon is the best wr in our history...shame on previous coaches.

Daz will be judged from here on out. With his own kids.

ATL_eagle said...

Next year will feel a lot like this. We replace a lot of guys but should be in the six or sevenish win area. Year 3 is when we will finally see if Addazio is a program builder. He did well this year. Seven wins with this group was an accomplishment.

amdg1540 said...

JBQ's logic, re. next year, confounds the hell out of me. What exactly is the point he's making?

eagleboston said...

Fine, CT, just don't whine and call for Addazio's head when we win 5 games next year. You have to factor in what he is up against. Also, the league replaces Maryland with Louisville. That nearly guaranteed win against the Terps (we even beat them with Spaz as coach) becomes a lot tougher with L'Ville.

Also, what is wrong about my comment about Freese, Amidon and Williams? It's all factual. Amidon has several BC receiver records, Freese is the school's all-time scorer, and Williams owns the most rushing records. Look over the BC roster and commits and tell me who fills those roles next season. I love Willis, but I don't see him running for 2000 yards next year. Who is going to kick a 52-yarder with time running out?

ATL is right. Rough year next year, year 3 is where we contend.

Knucklehead said...

Screw next year.

ATL, What bowl are we going to?

John said...

We are going to the Toilet Bowl because we couldn't hold them to less than 75 yards with 2 minutes and no time outs,.

We can discuss why, but it' s the Toilet Bowl for us.

Many fans looked ahead - shame on them.

Bravesbill said...

I'm going to guess the Rocky Mountain Oyster Bowl in Billings, Montana.

John said...

If wde were going to go 7 & 5 I would have preferredto have lost to Maryland than Syracuse.

I hate Syracuse - they suck! But they beagt us.

Toilet Bowl - maybe we can decline.

eagleboston said...

Meter was guessing the Shreveport bowl against Washington State. That could be interesting as Leach loves to pass 50 times each game.

eagleboston said...

I just realized that we scored 27 more points against Florid State than Florida did.

Walter said...

Florida is also horrible this year, so I don't know if that's really an accomplishment?

This was a disappointing loss, sure, but you can't say we didn't have it coming with our Maryland last second victory. I know things don't work like that, but still, I can handle beating MD and losing at Syracuse. Was this team really going to reel off as many consecutive wins as it did?

In terms of bowl placement, this didn't affect anything, unless you think Syracuse gets picked over us. The BC rule applies to ACC standings; we still could have been picked last regardless of today.

Jasmine said...

atleast we're not alabama fans

EL MIZ said...

i have to crack up at some of these comments.

first of all, lets just all agree that its hard to predict the future. ATL had a post heading into this year that Andre Williams wouldn't run for 500 yards on the season. he did that in about 6 quarters in november alone. most fans would have said that 5 wins would be a good year, and we finish the regular season with 7 and are going bowling.

who knows who will replace Andre Williams -- but this much is clear just from assessing the team right now, we will have WAY more options next year. Tahj Kimble will be back as a 6th year senior, Willis and Rouse will be sophomores, and we have a crew of very talented RBs coming in, with Outlow, Alston, and Wilson.

yes, we lose Amidon, but we will have Swigert back, and recruits Thad Smith, Isaac Yiadom, and the next Flutie all have potential to be playmakers at WR.

also, Darius Wade, the team's future QB, looks like an absolute stud. all-time Delaware passer and scorer. all the QB runs we saw yesterday could be routine next year, as Wade has wheels in addition to a great arm.

our defense was atrocious this year, and we add some legit playmakers on that side of the ball. our 2 best recruits in my opinion are Stratchan, the LB from MA, and Landry, the DE with offers from Auburn, Clemson, FSU, Ohio State, and South Carolina. yes, Addazio & Co. got him over those programs. woe, the future is bleak!

who knows what will happen - i can guarantee 0 fans expected Andre Williams Heisman videos were going to be played over Thanksgiving weekend. yesterday was a tough game, but if the ball bounces our way on the fumble, thats win #8. we shouldn't let such a close loss damper our perception of what was an awesome season.

also, please everyone slow their roll proclaiming how tough a game Louisville is -- Bridgewater is going pro and i wouldn't be surprised that Charlie Strong follows him out the door.

this was an awesome season from start to finish -- we competed, the ability level and execution drastically increased year over year, and we got a season of a lifetime from Andre Williams. he had the 10th most rushing yards in a season, all-time. 80 more yards would have put him 4th overall. we scored the most points on FSU and traded haymakers with them, hung with Clemson in Death Valley, and oh, had a freaking player being talked about a Heisman contender over Thanksgiving weekend.

finally, hats off to Chase Rettig. many including me have called for him to be benched and have been frustrated by his play. what a gutsy performance yesterday. that bootleg into the end zone, and the 50-yard scamper before that, were both plays that would have been classic BC highlights had we been able to pull out the Win. he showed a ton of guts in leaving it all on the line, and i appreciate what must have been a real tough four years with all of the changes. he never quit, didn't transfer as i'm sure MOST players in his position would have, and even though this season was rough and he didn't progress as we liked, he competed and really gave it his all. Thank you Chase, Andre, Alex, Nate, and the rest of the seniors for a great season!

Legal Eagle said...

I think the biggest thing for me yesterday was just enjoying watching BC and really liking the team. Sadly its a been a few years since that was the case. When Steele Devitto picked off that pass I just got a huge grin. Watching Rettig on his long run and his TD run made me happy for him. I was also so impressed by how the team fought back after Andre went down. We have been a 1 man offense all year and 11 guys found a way to move the ball and score points without our 1 man.
Tough to swallow the loss yesterday. Never fun to watch your team lose that way. But in just under a year Addazio and his staff have made the team easy to root for again. That is a huge accomplishment.

EL MIZ said...

also, are people seriously complaining about whether we get a bowl on 12/26 or 12/30? who cares? we weren't going to be in a January bowl regardless.

Legal Eagle said...

Also, 7 wins and a bowl should be enough to hang on to all of our recruits. My biggest fear coming into this year was that we would have another 2 win season and all of our recruits would get poached by other programs. The recruits seem invested and excited (based on their twitter posts). I think they cant wait to get to Chestnut Hill and compete for playing time. They want to Be a Dude so bad.

Big Jack Krack said...

At 8 and 4 we might have landed in the Music City Bowl opposite Georgia - a name team that we have beaten twice in bowl games in our history when we were expected to lose.

Instead, we fall to the "Shoveling Shit in Louisiana" Bowl against who knows who.

I am disappointed because this team brought us back to life after the fiasco of the Two Stooges.

I wanted better for them. They played their hearts out, and I admire them.

I wore my BC shirt with pride last night at a club function for the USC-Clemson game.

That's what this team did for me - restored my pride, which was heavily damaged by Frank Spaziani's dreadful approach to his duties.

But it's something like the "Shoveling Shit" Bowl - and I wanted better for this team - they were Dudes who were all in.

Thank you players and coaches.

EL MIZ said...

what is the Shoveling Shit bowl? Or this other horrible bowl that everyone seems terrified of?

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/12/1/5162488/bowls-game-projections-2013-predictions-ohio-state-fsu

http://cfn.scout.com/2/557866.html

SB Nation and Scout have us in the Belk Bowl on 12/28 in Charlotte against Cincinnati.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions

CBS has us in the Music City Bowl on 12/30 in Nashville against Georgia.

all of the publicity Andre has gained over the last few weeks make us that much more marketable, and we always do well on the TV ratings.

it would have been nice to get win #8 of the regular season, and to keep those punks from Syracuse out of the post season. still a great success of a season. Carrier Dome is a tough place to play.

speaking of which, I have been very happy with Bates and the Year over Year changes - but we simply need to get more people in the seats next year. he has to figure out how to fill up Alumni.

Benjamin said...

I can't fathom the negativity on this board. I was angry and disappointed after yesterday's, furious that the D couldn't get it down, but I am not going to the let detract from the best BC season in five years.

I don't care the team is reward with the "Toilet Bowl" - they deserve a trip to the post season. Are BC fans really that entitled to think we are above any bowl??? Be thankful that the team gets to play one more in the 2013 season!

Regarding the future, El Miz nailed regarding our RB depth. Willis has playmaker written all over him, Rouse seems ready, and we've got a bevy of new blood.

And for those claiming doom and gloom, what has Addazio done to instill doubt in your mind??? The third down call yesterday? I disagreed with it as well, but we had scored on it before. That goes in and we. My gripe is we should have gone for it in fourth, but Addazio has a better grasp than I do.

Seriously, enjoy the fact we have a winning season - first time in four years. Cheer the players in whatever bowl they get. And spare us the pitchforks and woe is us attitude - Alabama fans are going to need them.

CT said...

Eagleboston: I've been pretty optimistic about this staff. You don't need to tell me when we'll contend. This season was "on the house" as far as I was concerned.

You don't see me talking about hockey, do you? I kinda wish you would feel the same about football.

Most teams do quite well with better balance. Perhaps we won't need a 52 yarder next year. And when has BC had elite guys outside. The bar is fairly low out there.

Staffs require a recruiting cycle. There are only so many Gus Malzahns out there. Even Saban needed time.

Proud of these guys. Suffered through some bad times, lots of change, and made a bowl. That's a great first step. It's more fun complaining about a loss than not complaining at all. That too is a sign of success.

NEDofSavinHill said...

Great season. Ten of the twelve games were exciting, entertaining performances. Two bad road games at USC and UNC. The top ten teams don't play twelve perfect games. A gigantic upgrade from last year. Having the bye weeks early in the year may have hurt. Playing the last six in a row was tough especially the last two on the road. The future is bright 2. The headline in the Herald said Heisman quest for Williams over. Is that the case? Based primarily on production on the field Winston wins hands down. But with the off field baggage is he a certainty? Law enforcement in Florida is a disgrace. He should have either been cleared or charged six months ago. Does the award have to go to a QB? Does the award have to go to someone from the Confederacy? Manziel, Griffin, Newton, Ingram. Could the voters want to break the mold? No one disputes that the South produces quality players. But other regions of the nation do to. Why not a record breaking RB? First 2000 yard rusher in six years. A senior with impeccable credentials. The country may be exhausted with a freshmen flash in the pan and the regional hegemony. Lets end the exclusivity and monopoly that is starting to infest the award. How about some diversity. 3.If it is FSU vs. OSU who wins? Will Clemson get the Orange Bowl? They are two wins ( LSU and Georgia) and one loss vs. the SEC in their last three.4.During the Apple Cup the question of Coach Sarkisian's job security was raised. After the game with Huskies victory the announcer said with a 4-1 record in the rivalry game his tenure was guaranteed. TOB with a 5-1 record in in his rivalry game against UNC was replaced. His successor and the AD who hired him are soon heading for the door.

Mr. Tambourine MAn said...

My favorite thing here is eagleboston and doorknocker slamming the pass out of bounds. Of course, the clock didn't stop on that play because there were more than 2 minutes left, so I'm not really sure how that was different than a run. Keep it up fellas. I think it was eagleboston who said yesterday that BC always disappoints, what a joke. 7-5 and a completely unexpected return to competency this year. To the point where we almost had EIGHT wins, jeez, let's focus on the effort of these players and this coaching staff to return pride and joy to watching this program again after 4 awful years.

The end hurt, but looking back on this game, Chase Rettig stepped up and showed himself to be a true senior leader of this team. The team went down but kept fighting and nearly won on the road against a Syracuse team playing on senior day, trying to get a bowl, and with our best player out of action.

Bowl or no bowl, I will always remember this team as the team that restored my pride in BC Football (I think El Miz said the same).

We probably shouldn't have won last week, maybe we should have pulled it out this week. Whatever, we are all excited about the future of this program again. The players are proud of the program again. People are actually talking about Boston College. We were featured on Game Day. It'll be a tough couple years as this talented senior class by classes where our coach neglected recruiting, but I'm optimistic for next year. I think we should have the same goal, bowl game, and an improving team where we can rely more on more on improving underclassman.

2015 recruiting is key, need to take this years class and take it to another level.


eagleboston said...

I think you completely missed my point, Tambourine. I am very pleased with this season. I am completely onboard with Addazio and I am satisfied with the turn-around from '12 to '13. What I meant by BC always disappoints is that the program rarely achieves greatness. That fact cannot be argued. The last time the team achieved greatness was in 1984 when they won the Cotton Bowl and Flutie won the Heisman. This year, we were on the cusp of greatness with Andre's Heisman campaign, only to have it killed by Syracuse. We were on the cusp when Coughlin lost to West Virginia. We were on the cusp when TOB lost to North Carolina. We were on the cusp when the '04 team lost to Syracuse. We were on the cusp when we lost two straight ACCCGs. That is a lot of flirting with greatness only to be disappointed. Anyone who is not disappointed has low expectations for BC. Good is the enemy of great. I am happy with where BC is right now. I love Addazio and the way this team played. But I also think the program has the potential for greatness (they did it in '84, so why not?)

eagleboston said...

Also, Tambourine, I guess the color commentator is an idiot too. He was also mystified that BC called a play to the sidelines. That was a huge strategic mistake. Instead of giving Syracuse the ball with under 1 minute to play, they had 2 minutes and they needed every second to score the TD.

I am not mad at the coaching staff as I believe they have made a lot of great decisions throughout the year (going for the TD before the half is a case in point). I just think that was an uncharacteristic strategic mistake that was a factor in the loss.

eagleboston said...

El Miz, I agree, the future is very bright with Addazio at the helm. I was simply imploring people to be patient. You mentioned a lot of fantastic recruits coming into the program. I agree, they will be a huge boost. However, keep in mind, most will be redshirted. We have to be patient and not expect too much out of next season. Give this staff the time they need to build program. I am hoping they blow way my expectations, as they did this season. But, I am not going to freak out of we take a step back next season.

eddierock said...

tough game yesterday. Rettig played his heart out, as did all others. let's give Syracuse some credit, they had their backs to the wall and played with determination and strength all day. A great season. Good luck in the coming bowl game. Can't wait til next year. Thanks Dazz and the coaching staff

FakeShalomTfree said...

Some of this anger needs to be channeled towards the basketball program, which is an absolute joke (thanks GDF)

Yesterday stung, no doubt about it, but look at some of the other teams with first year coaches (some of whom many commenters would have have preferred over Daz). Purdue, NC State and Colorado didn't come close to sniffing a bowl this year, and theres no way their prior coaches left the cupboard more bare than Spaz (thanks again GDF). Sure, Williams became a beast this year, but there's no way he would have had those numbers if Spaz was still here.

Lenny Sienko said...

Discussing BC's greatest wide receiver(s) must include Tom Waddle and/or Kelvin Martin. Nobody had a greater impact and won more games.

***

Did we ever get an explanation on the Pass Interference call on SU's last drive. I was watching on Fox Sports California, the only channel not blacked out here in Upstate NY, and didn't see a replay. I saw the SU qb throw the ball away and out of nowhere comes a penally flag.. The ball was clearly and intentionally
"uncatchable". By definition and rule there could not have been pass interference, yet there was.

That penalty kept the final SU drive alive and was a key factor--although, obviously, not the only factor-in that last score. I'll just have to live with the BC loss to SU and taking crap form all of the SU people here. [sigh]

CT said...

Eagleboston, I mean no disrespect, but where are you from?


CT said...

I'm only interested because you are responsible for about one-third of the football related posts on here.

Big Jack Krack said...

I forget that I'm one of the old goats who gets involved with a BC football blog.

I really enjoy and have enjoyed this ATL blog.

Some of you younger fans maybe have never seen the movie "Patton" circa 1970. At one point in his address to his troops, he said something like "what will you tell your grandchildren - that you marched with Patton during the war, or you were shoveling shit in Louisiana?"

In my disappointment for our players (and coaches) my tongue-in-cheek didn't work very well.

It is my conjecture that we have fallen from a possible Music City Bowl to the whatever it's called bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana.

To me, that's doubly disappointing, although it may be a fun time for the 750 family and friends who actually go to Shreveport for the game.

Maybe they can package New Year's Eve in New Orleans afterwards - which isn't exactly close by - and which isn't exactly safe anymore either.

Sorry - I have to learn how to handle disappointment better.

I did say how much I admired everyone's efforts and how this team has restored my pride.

Thanks Players and coaches and AD & Staff.

Big Jack Krack said...

I agree with Lenny on that terrible pass interference call - it was a hometown call all the way.

If I had one criticism of our failure to get a TD at the 2 minute mark roughly, it's that if we didn't go for the kill after Syracuse exhausted all of its timeouts (pass into the end zone, not to the sideline), we should have run for the third straight time between the tackles.

Assuming the play was unsucessful, we still would have burned about 35 more seconds off the clock.

Syracuse would then have had a little less than a minute and a half, instead of 2 minutes. Maybe that would have been enough for us to hold on - who knows.

I think the answer is yes.

Benjamin said...

BJK, your comments earlier make much more sense in the Patton context. I wish I had picked up on it earlier.

My main critique, as in what I would have done differently, not necessarily of the overall play, is the same as yours. Pound it through on third and fourth. I actually have no problem with the pass okay if Daz thought it was best call for the situation. I just would like to have seen us go for it on fourth.

mod34b said...

Fun season. Excitement for and about BC football is back

7 wins exceeded. Expectations. What a 100% + improvement over SPaz. I like Dazz. Brad Bates had a great first year too.


Only game we really sucked in was USC. Every other game was fun to watch.

Our offense was mop kinda fun to watch at ties (except USC, VT and UNC games) Rettig was great yesterday. Our defense was sometimes fun to watch, but not the pass D. Yikes. Very bad. The big improvement in sacks is a "feel good" stat, but does not change fact the BC has the worst pass D in ACC. look at Edabali's 16 yard sack yesterday, only to be followed by a 26 yard pass completion for a 1st down. Bah.

As for the interference call at the end of SU game, it looked like a legit call. Our DB was in physical contact with the SUmreceiver when pass was in air. Looked catchable too.

So where the hell was the defense for the SU TD run Coach Brown was smoked on that one.

mod34b said...

Just checked CFB stats.

BC is last in ACC in total defense
bC is last in ACC in pass defense
BC is 114/125 nationally in pass defense


Last year's defense had better stats

Walter said...

and five fewer wins...

Knucklehead said...

Bowl projections as of today . . . BITCHES.


http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions

EL MIZ said...

last year's D "had better stats" - doesn't it depend. we had six sacks last year. we eclipsed that mark in September i believe. agree that the pass defense must improve next year. ALJ has been overrated because of his 4-star status and former UM commit - he has shown very little. Sylvia plays hard and Asprilla makes plays, but generally, the group leaves much to be desired.

Daniels improved much throughout the year, but i thought the LBs left much to be desired. even KPL seemed inconsistent, sometimes he was superb, other times you weren't sure if he was playing. i wish him the best of luck in trying to make it in the NFL. hope to see Duggan get time next year, i thought he looked decent two years ago.

i hope we keep aspects of the Stanford power run game we adopted to suit Williams and the offense.

overall a very fun season. BJK - i agree Shreveport isn't the most ideal destination, and i'm hoping Charlotte or Nashville, as both would be major upgrades. that said, any bowl is an accomplishment and especially so for this group of seniors, who have really gone through it all. also happy that they'll be able to practice for another month with this group, before turning over a new page for next season. if the online rumors are to be believed, Wade, Landry, and others will be enrolled for the second semester. i may try to make a trip up to the Heights for the spring game.