Saturday, October 24, 2015

Louisville sluggish

If you take the half full approach BC lost a close game on the road. Half empty...all the same issues cost BC the game.

I'll have more late Sunday and maybe something else before then.

46 comments:

EL MIZ said...

how can it be anything other than half-empty? this offense is a disaster, which is troubling for a team coached by a guy with his expertise on that side of the ball. why in year 3 do we have 0 D-1 QBs on the roster? Chase Rettig as a freshman was like peyton manning compared to Smith and Flutie. the O-line stinks, the play calling stinks, the qbs stink, the WRs stink. i'd be surprised if we won more than 1 game of the remaining 4.

Bravesbill said...

I'd be surprised if they won again this season.

eagleboston said...

Hats off to the defense. Keep in mind, they are being asked to do way, way more than defenses of teams in the Top 25. If they had even a middle of the pack offense, the D would be much better. With our offense, they get little rest and have to stay on the field more than most defenses. And yet, they are the sole reason we have any chance in football games.

As for the offense, major changes are needed. The offensive coordinator needs to be fired and BC needs to go back to the identity of the Bicknell, Coughlin and TOB years where BC was a pass first team. Flutie, Foley, the Hasselbacks, St. Pierre, Peterson, Ryan...we need to go back to that pro-style offense to open up the run. That is BC's long-time identity and we had tremendous success with that philosophy. This offense is boring to watch and clearly is not productive. I knew this would be a step-back year as I only had us winning 6 games, but we may not even win 1 more. Certainly, the Va Tech game is looking like a home loss.

JERZeagle said...

It's so insane that we have completely squashed any goodwill that the matt ryan / end of TOB era brought. Chris crane was a backup, a backup at best and he was able to win 8 or so games at BC.

This is so embarrassingly bad. Like Donahue, I so badly wanted this guy to succeed. But its just not happening.

To be honest, switching subjects I know... Christian has at least exemplified the IQ to go out and get players to fill our holes. Whether they will pan out, that's another story, but AT LEAST, on paper he has shown he has half a brain. Something that we have lacked at BC sports in general since 05-08

eagleboston said...

93 yards of total offense. Inexcusable! The OC needs to go. If he remains on staff after the season then I have serious doubts about Addazio as a head coach. Get the right people on the bus and in the right seats on the bus and get the wrong people off the bus.

eagleboston said...

Correction: Even worse, just 79 yards in total offense. Unbelievable!

hoya80 said...

Having attended the game, Smith made a valiant run for the touchdown. Flutie is in way over his head playing D-1 football. The Defense was very impressive after the first few minutes and played very hard, despite being on the field so much of the game.
97 (Truman Gutphal ?) played a hell of a game, as did Daniels-nice adjustments in the 2nd half. The problems w/the offense were compounded by poor play calling and no running threat after Smith left the game. The kitchen looks pretty bare on offense.

JBQ said...

@eagleboston said it just about right. @hoya80: Replays showed that Smith left the ball behind before he crossed the goal line. Addazio scooped it into the end zone. Smith was valiant. You can only run into a brick wall so many times. Cordele Jones of OS is 6 ft 7 and about 300 lbs. In order to run this offense, you need a big body and not a fast body. As much as Addazio obviously hates Flutie, he needs to coach the young man. Horrors, maybe they could even bring in his uncle to work with him. Smith was "ear holed". According to "the bus" who just went into the hall of fame, that is the dirtiest and most dangerous hit in football. Hats off to the entire defense, each and every one. Don Brown should take a bow. I did not think that he could do it. Fitch is an altogether different matter. If "hoya80" thinks that Flutie is floundering, take a look at Addazio on the sideline. He is "baling water". This is a mess and an embarrassment.

Big Jack Krack said...

Recorded the game. Made it home in time to see Yiadom's nice interception - our defense playing great the rest of the way - and the rest is a total embarrassment.

Is Cashman hurt or in the doghouse? Regardless of what people think of Flutie, he had no blocking -zero.

The last possession - the first 3 downs were bad enough. But 4th down was pitiful.

The defender beat 74 or 75 so badly, he was completely unblocked. Pitiful. It wasn't a blitz, I don't think.

Let's repeat that. BC's day ended when the defender came in unblocked.

Addazio is playing with his OL too much with a terrible result. He looks more and more confused and exasperated on the sideline.

Why is that, Steve?

mod34b said...

So wait.... Steve Addazio now realizes that the OL is a problem he needs to address.

Do ya think, Daz-aster?

from Globe
-----------------------

“I said earlier in the week that I thought they had really good pass rushers, but we can’t cut guys free like that,’’ said BC coach Steve Addazio, who was troubled more by the eight sacks allowed than the 79 total yards (minus-14 rushing) the Eagles managed on 52 plays.

“Jeff Smith, they were on him so quick, he couldn’t even take a step,’’ Addazio said. “That happened countless amount of times, all the way to the last play of the game. We got beat on the edge and the kid didn’t even have a chance to throw the football.’’

“I am more focused right now on the eight sacks and finding the right mix of guys up front,’’ Addazio said. “You know we are playing a lot of young guys up there with a sprinkling of old guys rotating. I have to take a really good look at that and just get my arms around it because it was just particularly poor.’’

“I felt good about that spark,’’ Addazio said. “But I’m an O-line guy and when I know we’re not blocking them up front, I know that usually means trouble. So I loved the spark and I felt it and was hopeful that we could get going up front, but all night long we had so many guys cut free.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen it like that before.”

-------------------

NEITHER HAVE WE, STEVE, NEITHER HAVE WE

Hoib said...

Not O line U, it's that simple. Doesn't matter who plays QB who runs the ball. Football games are won at the line of scrimmage. They handled our great d line a little better than we handled their d line. That's the story. We could have Johnny U at QB, result would be the same.

ccw said...

Our HC is supposed to be an Oline guy. And this is year 3 not year 1. Adazzio bears responsibility for the players who are not getting it done

mod34b said...

"One day,” Addazio said, “we’re going to be a heck of a football team. We’re not there yet, but one day.’’

yes, one day. One day that is somewhere over the rainbow all will be well in Eagle Nation


Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dream of
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dream of
Dreams really do come true
Someday, I wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney top
That's where you'll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dare to
Oh why, oh why can't I?

Knucklehead said...

Someone call McLean Hospital. Mod flew over the cuckoo's nest.

Knucklehead said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Knucklehead said...

The difference in this game was one thing. After the touchdown making the game BC 7 L'ville 14 Addazio pulled his linebackers and Louisville ran right up the middle at Strizack for 50 yards. The defense "held" Louisville to a field goal. That field goal would not have happened if the duncecap coaches didn't substitute their LB's there after getting their first score. This is another example of the coaching staff putting out-of-place players in crappy positions where they fail(Flutie qb sneak against Wake, Harrison Jackson punt block against Clemson, Strizack in at MLB right after getting a score). Take that L'Ville FG off the board and ultimately you have a 14-14 game.

Robinson dropping the Flutie pass at the end of the game was frustrating as well.

Knucklehead said...

Also my prediction that Smith would get knocked out in his second game came to be.
He is not a good football player.

I am convinced that if Flutie plays 2 full games that he will calm down a little and become a serviceable QB. That being said, the offensive line is goddamned PATHETIC. They have not improved at-all.

Guido said...

This coaching staff(except for Don Brown) is downright pathetic and embarrassing!!What are they attempting to accomplish by ROTATING offensive linemen ??? And next comment - 3rd down and a foot and you hand the ball to a small back 5 yards deep in the backfield -ARE U KIDDING ME ??? There is so much to say but it is all negative . Addazio - hire a top notch OC and get the hell out of the way !!!!!Season ticket holder who really does not want to attend any more games. Addazio is starting to scare me and I thought that he might be a FIND in the head coaching slot .Looks like I have I have made a serious error in judgment !!!! Shame on me !!!!!

CT said...

Oh Mod. I wish u would tell me to "STFU" to my face. Until that day, keep saying the same thing over and over again.

CT said...

Fix the Oline. The rest will be easier.

mod34b said...

creepy CT - Stick to football and spare others your dickish comments about them or their comments. And no we can't be friends or meet in person. Sorry guy. Fascinating how you are so interested in what I post.

TheGreat98 said...

I'll admit that I have never been an Addazio fan. Screaming, boisterous behavior is only 'cute' if it translates into a fired up team and some wins. Near losses are painful in a way that blowouts are not. When you get blown out, you have your 'come to Jesus' moment a lot sooner with less frustration. Yeah, the Oline, got it, they need to do better. However, in addition to personnel deficiency, there is actual poor coaching going on, bad decisions, mismanagement, and overall poor leadership. I am not saying people need to get fired, but if they want the team to win and secure their positions, they need to make at least some minor changes in the way they do things. Because, if I am the AD, I do not like the way the trends are heading, and I bet there is a corresponding decrease in revenue that looks similar to the decrease in attendance.

Big Jack Krack said...

You can lose 5 straight games and knock off an unbeaten team in dramatic - fantastic fashion at the finish and get your fans back on your side.

You can lose 5 straight league games, get 4 first downs, 79 total yards, and let your last hope get squashed very quickly when an unblocked defender crushes your QB - leaving your fans to wonder how it will get worse. The same question every week - how can it possibly get worse?

It's as though we are setting our game plan up for failure before we even start the game. Pound the rock? -14 yards rushing! really?

We must be last in every offensive category in all of college football at this point.

Go BC - beat VT, and NC State and Syracuse - and the only real way to erase the issues of this season is to - guess what - beat the Fighting French in Fenway Park!

That's it.

Big Jack Krack said...

BTW - we're down about 25% in attendance. 30,000 average vs 40,000 not too long ago.

Pitiful. It started with Gene DeFilldicko, but it's truly ridiculous and alarming now.

Great98 hits it on the head. Play this kind of football and you get decreased revenue.

All changes must be considered and discussed.

We have some very good players and the future could be very bright. But the U-turn this year is unreal watching the O-Line implode. A lot of it is on the Head Coach.

It wasn't like this a couple of months ago, but now, it looks like this guy doesn't have a clue on how to prepare these guys for a game, and coach them on game day.

At least we're not Miami.

mod34b said...

Bjk. Funny thing is that BC is not cheap with Daz as they were with TOB etc. he gets more money than Al Golden. And many other ACC coaches. He is getting $2.6m. Upper level of ACC coaches

Unfortunately, seems that Brad Bates is a bad talent evaluator and put a $13,000,000 wager (amount owing post raise) on a lame pony

TGS said...

2 major bowl games in 74 years and an administration that is just fine with that says it all. Pathetic UConn went D1 in 2000 and was in the Fiesta Bowl only 11 years later. Ever to Excel my ass.

blist said...

But would we rather Golden or Adazzio? Wow, Miami got crushed and Golden's been there longer. We have an amazing defense. Maybe the Dazzler comes to his sense and hires an offensive guru with some BC experience. Can I beat the drum for Logan?

Big Jack Krack said...

Can you imagine if we had to play our home games in Foxboro like Miami has to play 45 minutes from their campus.

Once they lost the old Orange Bowl, which was getting to be bad enough, Miami moved 30 minutes further away. I don't know if they have the room, but they need a 50K stadium on campus. Otherwise, they may be a program that's unable to get back up off the floor.

I'd hate us to be the same way, but we're down 25% in attendance with Bates in the race to the bottom.

I agree with Blist - we need a change in offensive philosophy. Duh!

TheGreat98 said...

BJK, I am tracking what you're saying and I agree.

Here's my big picture concern. BC used to be a Football-Basketball school. All the naysayers can point to lack of titles, but the fact remains that BC fielded competitive teams in both sports that sent a lot of quality players to the pros. Now, the basketball team has evaporated and football is not headed in the right direction. Hockey has emerged, and I love the sport, but it cannot carry the rest of the athletic department.

This is a negative trend, the kind of trend that turns you into Holy Cross or BU.

BC tailgating is rated one of the worst and expensive experiences in the country. This problem has been around for 20+ years. The leadership needed to invest in lobbying Boston/Newton long ago so that by now, you might have politicians in place you could work with. The St. John's land grab was a good move, when there's blood on the streets, buy property, but it is only one piece of the athletic puzzle.

BC did not start getting a huge general Applicant pool until after they beat Notre Dame in '93. '94 was the first of the 'big' years. The victorious exposure on TV showed that BC was a fun, party, school with decent academics, good sports and a nice campus. This surge lead to more and better quality students, a rising tide raises all ships.

The current stewardship of the "BC" experience is troubling. While some might attribute the loss of 10,000 fans as just a "fair-weather" fan problem and "Boston is a Pro town", this does not account for the fact that there is more competition for people's time and money on Saturday. ESPN3 offers more games now, and the younger generation loves their technology. High prices, poor tailgating, traffic...add these together with bad on field play, and it might take a while to get those 10,000 back, more than just a flukey win over a rival.

dixieagle said...

"Addazio - hire a top notch OC and get the hell out of the way !!!!" Best advice here.

"This is a negative trend, the kind of trend that turns you into Holy Cross or BU." Scary, but true. I don't think Leahy gives a crap, and I'm afraid Bates has very limited vision.

The coaching, aside from Brown, is incompetent. At this point, I can realistically see us not winning again this year, unless the D scores for us.

Danny Boy said...

I can't believe some of the stuff that I'm seeing. Knucklehead, are you really gloating that a kid got a concussion? To say he is not a good football player because he got ear-holed by a defender leading with his head would be laughable if it weren't so morbid.

Not to mention, he got hurt putting himself out to score a TD. Note to JBQ, check the box score. Smith got the TD. He broke the plane before dropping it.

If I recall, strizack came in because Daniels was hurt. Of course Louisville is going to go right at the injury replacement. They threw it at the new DB after Moore got hurt, also.

It's unfair to criticize either QB on Saturday, the o-line was so porous that even 1 step drops were holding on to the ball too long. We can say Smith held it too long, and didn't work his progressions, but it only looks that way when he has less than 2 seconds to throw the ball. Flutie wasn't any better in this regard. He understandably had happy feet and horrendously under threw Robinson at the end. It also appeared on his second play he audibled to a HB dive that resulted in no gain.

We knew coming in that our o-line had next to no experience coming in to the year. And as ATL often points out, o-line is almost more about chemistry than individual ability. If Daz is still tinkering, it could dramatically affect the unit's performance. Our offense's success lives and dies with the line. A winning combination needs to be found. And it has to happen now.

Knucklehead said...

Shut up Danny Boy. You are stupid.

Lenny Sienko said...

I've been fairly quiet about football the last three (3) years. I was disappointed with the selection process for Head Football Coach and I am still not over my chagrin at the lack of transparency and disregard for the various BC constituencies. I thought it better to say nothing and see how things worked out.

It seems clear now that Fr. Leahy and BB bought a used program from a fast-talking salesman. Daz did his impression of Knute Rockne. The boys all wore matching blazers and they go to Mass before every game. Daz sold the powers that be the image they wanted to see and they answered with an unwarranted contract extension.

We alums and fans were so pleased that Spaz was gone, we were willing to over look what was staring us in the face. Daz's offensive system does not work. It didn't work at Florida, where they wanted him gone so badly, they dedicated a website to his play calling. Those of us who visited it have no excuse. We knew what was coming on offense. It worked only momentarily at Temple. It only worked here due to Andre and a few left over O-linemen.

Credit where it is due: Coach Brown has developed a defensive unit of which we can be proud. Daz hired Brown and that was a good thing he did.

If we had even a mediocre offense, we'd have a winning record, base on the defense's great efforts. But we don't have any offense to speak of. Daz refuses to use the standard college offense; i.e., the spread or some variation of it. Its hard to think of anyone else in major college football who employs the offensive system Daz favors.

Those who think Daz will hire a new OC and change over to a more open offense, good luck with that. Daz was under intense criticism at Florida and he didn't do it. Daz is not going to change his offense. We are stuck with "run it into the middle of the line" no matter what the situation.

I hope I'm still around the next time BC chooses a head football coach. I also hope we do a better job and "...don't get fooled again...".

Hoib said...

The worst play in the game for us was a first down pass where the blitzer ran in free and caused a TD scoring fumble. I wish we just ran up the middle on that one. The o line this year needs to come up to speed, allot like last years secondary, relax people this is a young team that hasn't caught a brake all year. We'll get there, of course not soon enough for most of you, but there are some good young players out there w/ more on the way.

Unknown said...

Lets just keep screaming how much our coach sucks after one bad year where our team is full of Fr. and has to rely on our back up QB and RB. Makes perfect sense.

mod34b said...

Well said Lenny

ps. I saw your nice comment about the Father H. I don't think 80% of this board has any idea who "H" was - his good side or his bad side. May he RIP, but he was not my idea of a Jesuit priest.

mod34b said...

your comment on BC's FB page

CT said...

Mod. But i wld never tell u to stfu. Hey. Doug won the Heisman. U must know football. Must be the Jesuit ideal Francis was talking about- stfu

The fire Daz crowd is funny. If we have this problem a yr from now,

CT said...

I will not donate my DraftKing millions to BC.

Bravesbill said...

Jeremy--even if Wade wasn't hurt they would still probably be in the same place. He wasnt much better than Smith or Flutie. Plus the line would still be awful so Hilliman would continually run into a brick wall. Let's now forget that Hilliman wasn't doing very well before he got injured.

Bravesbill said...

Not*

Big Jack Krack said...

tough for Hilliman or any of our RBs to do much running into brick walls.

No wonder they are all hurting.

Lenny, wouldn't this be a good time for BB to have the "Big Discussion" leading to the Performance Plan or whatever they might call it.

Adapt and upgrade your offensive philosophy to the reality, etc. and bring some excitement to Alumni Stadium.

Once he refuses to comply with his boss' counseling, he's subject to removal for cause. Not for losing, but for disregarding his boss's directives.

Anyway, I hope it all works out.

Jeremy, there's altogether too much experimentation with the O Line this year and especially lately. Cohesion is impossible under the circumstances and QBs and RBs haven't got much of a chance regardless of their year and experience.

I think the O Line will be pretty good in 2017, but even next year it will be highly suspect, what with the way they are being coached.

We fans are frustrated, but we could all step back a little. Thing is, hen you step back a little, you begin to lose interest, ans before you know it, you're doing other things on Saturdays during the fall.

You are no longer an active fan.

We don't want that to happen - hence we scream out in frustration with coaching blunders, etc.

Go BC - figure this out. Win out and stuff the Fighting French.

Knucklehead said...

Big,
Brad is in as much trouble as Stevie boy. If one goes the other goes.

There is no way with $10-15 million sitting out there that Stevie is going anywhere.

It is extremely concerning Stevie is/states that he is an O-line guy(see B.Globe today) and has not been able to get an average line together. He couldn't find a 5th year transfer or couldn't red shirt one of the seniors last year to anchor the line this year? The lack of forethought is absurd for someone who is the highest paid employee of the University.

There must be some collusion between Bates/Stevie that this year is a throw-away and they are going to test everyone on the roster to see who can play well and who cannot.

Cannot wait to see Troy get fulltime play the next couple weeks. He deserves a fulltime opportunity for a couple games, at least. Stevie has done everything he can to screw him up.

mod34b said...

Miami fires Al golden with 4 years left on contract. Eats $10,000,000

Napolean Bonaparte said...

You wonder how institutions with tax exempt status can afford to piss away $10MM.

xx said...

Let not the invariable year after year wishful thinking, because an extended contract has been signed, deter BC from the correct move. Addazio must be chalked up to experience and excised at once. Anemic offense is not just a personnel issue. This season has become unsatisfactory and must be written off to clear the air for the next hire, who should be equipped with a deliberate, measured attitude and delivered hungry on a performance based compensation model.

Remember what sentiment and pollyanna optimism brought following the initial failure of the Chlebek era, more and wider failure sinking to sub-mediocrity. Mediocrity must be torn out at the roots to prepare the soil for a rebirth of abundance.

Unless BC is willing to push in all the chips and truly recruit on a national basis, or to court a Myer or Saban as an overt act of Catholicism [a strategy that merits serious reflection in this time of Islamic resurgence], it may be time to decide whether the try is run and football as an aspiration should recede to a regional consideration for a once ambitious Heights.

Meanwhile, Addazio may go in peace to contemplate enlightenment, deeper faith and discipline and perhaps the comforts of familiar foods, family and agita. Every star has its arc, there is no shame in that Bambina.

Ever to Excel.


Here's what you get when you eat too much:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obNptfZ71OY