The refs screwed BC. There was plenty of bad luck and more injuries. And still too many mistakes and too many questionable coaching decisions in BC's loss to Virginia Tech. The silver lining on the game is also the most damning part of our struggles of late: John Fadule. The walk-on QB came in for Flutie and looked better. He arguably looked better than Flutie and Smith have all year. Why are we just turning to him now? Why have we wasted so much time with Flutie this year if the guys behind him were this much better?
Now if we want to save the season we have to run the table. Good luck with that.
I will have grades and second viewing thoughts up late Sunday.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
50 comments:
It seems there are serious problems with evaluating talent. If Fadule is, as it appears, the best of the available QBs, then why wasn't this obvious to the coaches?
And what is it with the refs this year?
That was the best QB performance of the entire season, even better than Wade. This guy has the winning confidence that we have not seen in awhile. You have to go with Fadule over Flutie and Smith from here on out. And you have to open the offense up, extend the field and air it out. This season is shot. There is nothing to play for but pride. Let's at least give the fans some excitement. With more experience, this kid is going to get better and better.
Daz said in multiple interviews that Fadule was the best passer on the team so he recognized the talent. The question is why the hell didn't he play until now? That judgment is more damning than failing to properly evaluate talent.
Seems so obvious that if a guy's better than the other options, you play him, freshman or not.
Screwed by Refs.
Not buying it and not an excuse for offensive sucky-ness. But let's look to Daz offering this as another excuse.
Mod34b:
The Strachan fumble return in the second half was a terrible call. That is seven points right there.
Even with those points they still lose.
Woulda coulda shoulda
Bad call or not, BC did not perform.
As we have seen, Addazio is a terrible game manager. It really seems that our opponents are able to challenge every close call to their favor and Addazio lets the other team quick run plays and misses huge opportunities to get reversals. The 2nd strahan fumble return was just a complete screw, but if they review the fumble in the first half, maybe there is a 7-10 point swing that keeps momentum from slipping away.
The refs. It's a conspiracy. The ACC hates us. Yep. That's it.
I wouldn't make any rash decisions after one game.
Why wasn't tht play reviewed? It was clearly a touchdown by Strachan.
That's my question - why wasn't the play reviewed? The whistle couldn't have blown in the middle of th tackle as the ball was coming loose.
Do college coaches have the red flag protest? I may have missed that rule change.
I believe they said his forward progress was stopped so it wasn't reviewable.
BC (Strachan) should have had two defensive TD's. The first call was bad. The second was arguably one of the worst calls I have ever seen ... even the announcers openly stated it was plain awful. It was unbelievable.
That said, it doesnt change the fact that this loss, like all the others, falls on the coaches. I have said from the start, Flutie is terrible. He could not start at URI, let alone BC. He is at the school for one reason only, his last name. That said, why he is seeing the field, let alone starting at QB, is completely on the coaches. What we saw with the freshman walk on was a kid who looked like a QB. You could just see the confidence. Never mind the fact that he can pass and run 100x better than Flutie. Its a joke that he has not seen the field until today. He better start next week. This is the worst offense in the history of BC football. There is no longer any way to deny that obvious truth. When 80 yards of total offense and 0 points becomes the norm in a half, coaches need to be fired, and change needs to occur.
I guess no one noticed that it is close to 100%a problem with a terrible o-line. Eveb with the new kid, they were porous as a sieve. You can't run or pass without blocking and these guys can't do it. Blame the coaches for the poor talent but not for playing. Bad game management did not lose this or other games. Lack of talent in the o-line it the problem.
"The refs. It's a conspiracy."
Refs just wanted to prepare BC for Notre Dame.
Actually, bad game management and coaching definitely lost the Wake Forest game, among others. You are correct about the horrific OL play.
I'd add to what's been said about the comments on Fadule, he's also built to take the hits, unlike the other 2. W/ this line that's very important. I'll take the opposite tact w/ Daz and give him credit for putting the kid in, a walk on. Not many coaches would. Of course now that he's played and done well everyone see' sit as obvious. What if he put him in and he crapped himself like our kickers seem to do? Then everyone would be all over him for the rediculous notion of playing a w/o QB in the ACC.
Fadule is better than smith, flutie and wade combined.
This is the worst team I can remember, going back 25 years. The offense and special teams especially and the defense is good but is getting exposed.
I expect a formal apology in writing from the head-coach and AD after this season ends.
The refs, the refs. -- please stop it. BC is a horrible team. You really win or lose despite the refs. There are 60 minutes to a game. Excuses after excuses.
The coach is a disaster and will never give BC more than a six or seven win season. That' s all BC wants. It gets its money win or lose.
Bates is doing what he is told. BC wants a cheerleader for a coach and that's what it has.
Please do not say that BC is a terrible team. The BC defense has played incredible football led by one of the best defensive co-ordinators in the college game. Don Brown is a top notch coach. Please do not let frustration lead to total disregard for a great defensive effort all year !!!!!!!! Now , on the other side of the ball , there is an utter lack of talent ---- but let us not forget that the coaching on the offensive part of the game has been totally INCOMPETENT !!!!! Fitch and Addazio have been MAJOR roadblocks in the lack of any improvement and growth in the offense - continually changing QB's- rotating offensive lineman play after play - ETC ETC. But there is no doubt that this season has been one of the most depressing of all time for fans.
Fadule is better than all three QBs. He definitely needs to work on some issues, but with a walk on freshman, he was beastly and added some positivity to the offense that we have not seen all season. My guess is that because he was the scout team QB and we had three QBs he wasn't even a question. As soon as Wade went down and we had to make changes, we flip flopped. Add a third to that mix I don't think I could handle it! I'm livid with what I saw yesterday.
Frankly, he should be the starter from here on out - not that there's much to save for this season. I also think that because of the huge recruit coming in this spring, they didn't
Consider Fadule and were most likely going to redshirt him.
The OLine is playing really poorly. It starts from there. But Fadule showed some life. I wonder if him not playing really is a matter of the fact the other guys were recruited and he wasn't. I keep telling myself they were telegraphing they expected the team to be bad this year by scheduling Howard and Maine, so what did we expect. But start Fadule and Wake, at the very least, is a W this season.
Don't blame Flutie. Got to play two series yesterday. Runs on first and second down go nowhere and then a sack and an incompletion on third and long. He gets benched for that?
Looking at he kid I saw play in high school he could not have ended up with a worse coach for his skill set. He is probably #4 on the depth chart on this three yards and a cloud of dust team where it is essential to have an elite runner as QB to have a chance to be successful (and none of their 4 QBs are elite runners). If Flutie goes elsewhere with a system that fits him (and he very well might also have to step down a notch in conference as well - perhaps go to UMass to play for Whipple) he will look much better.
Program is in shambles. Nothing to do with recruiting. The coach is awful with respect to game plan, strategy, and decision making in crucial situations - AND even if they had more talent and were at .500, his style of play will not put people in the seats. The crowd yesterday was embarrassing and if this keeps up they can take the second deck back off and play in the pre-Doug Flutie stadium of the 1970s.
Can people please stop defending Flutie. He is not a good passer ... is balls are awful ducks. He is not a good runner. He has no poise. He has no presence. He looks absolutely terrified every time he is out there. The walk-on freshman was the polar opposite in every aspect. It was shocking just how stark the difference was. Flutie is at BC for one reason only. To try to claim otherwise is folly at its highest level.
You can't judge any of the QBs or running backs when the O-line is as bad as this one. It is without question the worst O-line in BC history. I know, they're very young, but they're also not improving. In fact, they may be getting worse. RBs are consistently getting hit two yards behind scrimmage, QBs don't even have time to roll out from the shotgun ... I don't know what kind of offense anyone can run behind that line, regardless of the talent in the backfield.
With the consistently abysmal level of coaching and play calling, combined with the terrible O-line play, if I were Anthony Brown, I'd be getting pretty nervous about now.
Plays don't fail simply because of poor play calling, but more often because the players can't execute. You can't run the ball unless there is some space and you can't pass unless you have some time and ability.
I believe that Atlanta Eagle said recently that Richard Wilson was the only healthy RB at the current time. Let me add that he is 5'10" and 225 lbs - a BANGER. Yesterday , I believe that he was in the game for two carries and one time?? as a blocking back. He BULLED his way into the end zone for 3 long yards and a touchdown. On another play he threw a great block for Fadule allowing the QB to gain 4 yards. Why is he sitting on the bench ?? Is he another example of Fitch and Addazio not recognizing talent ???? My opinion is that he has been TOTALLY forgotten and under utilized !!!!!!Both Willis and Rouse are small and banged up - how about some extra carries for the Big Dawg - It might prove beneficial to this team !!!!Only 28,000 for the game - NOT A GOOD OMEN !!!!!!!!
I once said about 7 years ago or so, that (with GDF's policies) if BC became a losing program in the ACC, the fans would disappear. Some posters called me an idiot.
The only thing that will bring them back now is winning and a winning style of football. The same holds true in basketball, of course.
Hello BC fans - how do we like being in last place? Again and again and again?
GDF set us on this declining path and Brad Bates is continuing the problems. Do I hear Howard and Wagner?
Addazio is now officially on his own clock. Year 4 and 5 will tell the story, but he'd better get moving starting right now. If this isn't rock bottom (28K for Virginia Tech - and how many were Hokie fans?) maybe it will be 25K for NC State.
Any excuses next year will make me puke.
I suppose if Temple can pull itself up from the bottom, so can BC.
But why did we ever have to get here in the first place?
All options need to be on the table. Tailgating needs to be separated from Donor Based Seating.
DBS maybe needs to be eliminated - how much in lost revenue with the huge drop in game attendance?
Welcome the fans without all the dumb restrictions.
The (long time, hard core)fans have voted with their feet. The casual fans left long ago.
When will you figure this out, Brad?
I have no criticism for the young quarterbacks, who are trying to do what is being asked of them. Flute was in for two series, with one pass attempt, and was pulled. Smith was "cleared" to play and never saw the field. It is clear that Daz intended to play Fadule and not Flutie or Smith.
Fadule's skill set and physical attributes lend themselves to what Daz wants on offense; i.e., the read option and an occasional "look up" pass.. Fadule showed hard-nosed effort and a bit of touch on his passes.
Daz wants Fadule to be a pint sized Tebow. Lets hope this works. It has to be better than what we have seen so far this season.
1960s was correct Flutie was never given a chance. One pass attempt and he was yanked. Same pattern he had to endure all year. He was recruited under false pretense. He never fit Daz's system and he was never going to be allowed to play. Egregious duplicity on the coach's part. Passing ability counts for nothing under Daz. Why not be honest and tell a recruit that he doesn't fit your scheme. Don't deceive him and only give him third and long plays to pass on. How has the coach's run heavy scheme worked? It has produced the worst offense in the country. 128 out of 128 in Div 1 games. 237 yards of offense a game. DEAD LAST. Passing offense DEAD LAST. Kicking game DEAD LAST. Against VT they produced 214 yards of offense but the coach saw energy, promise and growth. He saw that against Clemson when 250 yards were amassed. He praised Smith and Fadule for their efforts. BC only gained 300 yards against one ACC foe, Duke. Flutie passed for 129 yards on 8 attempts. He ran for 10 on three tries. He produced about half the offense on eleven plays. His performance on the road produced the best results of the year. Yet not one word of praise emanated from the coach. The coach's failings are pronounced. His excuses get more annoying with every passing week. He sounds like Bagdad Bob. BC's offense is now a punch line on ESPN. His clock management was a punch line on a Thursday night game. 2. Does BC have the top defensive talent in the land? Maybe not. But they have top 30 talent that has been coached up to the number three defense in the country. Does BC have the least offensive talent in the land? At worst they are mid level that has been coached into total fecklessness.
Look, I know I'm rambling - but I have been involved with BC Football and Basketball for 50 years. This is bad, bad, bad. And I am embarrassed that we have an empty stadium.
If I can't fly up for a game, I make sure my seats are used.
Concerning the Offensive Line - the problems this year have been brewing for quite awhile. The only reason our lines were okay (some people think our O-Lines the last 2 years were outstanding, while I think they were good)was because the players were older and more experienced as a group - and Daz brought in Patchan and Silberman.
The recruiting of offensive linemen has been subpar for a bunch of years, going back to TOB, Jagz, Spazadufus and continuing with Mr. O-Line himself, Steve Addazio. He "was stuck" with Spaziani's recruits for 2013 - Baker (was he in that class), Joel (Tight End) Rich, who else? - so there was a big shortfall in that class, leading to the problems we have now. (Returning from previous Spaziani classes - Taylor, Cashman, Bowen, Willims)
But Addazio's first O-Line recruits weren't show stoppers either, and he knew what the future held, with plenty of time to focus his recruiting there for his pound the rock style. He brought in Hendren, Stevens, Schmal, Conte, who else? Did he accomplish his goal?
And his latest recruits - Knopfke, Lindstom, Monteiro, Palazzolo, Phillips.
We could be a sub-par O-Line next year as well. Monteiro and Palazzolo have big enough frames, but can the others carry 310 pounds? If you are 6'7" or more, you need well over 300 pounds, because the defenders will have leverage on you.
When we first joined the ACC we had guys 325 and 320 - what happened to us? That was 10 years ago. Logan wanted leaner linemen for his offense - that's understandable. But pound the rock against 9 in the box and with everyone knowing what's coming next, etc. with 260 and a bunch of 290 lb underclassmen - wow? What coach would do that? No wonder all the RBs are hurting.
This offensive coaching philosophy is worse than anything Gary Tranquill ever thought up, and he was the worst! Until now.
So here's the deal, Steve - you must produce starting next year or you are a failure with this stupid offense. You had better start looking like Stanford East with your pound the rock approach.
You've had enough time to get your players into your system next year.
Oh, 5 years? Give me a break. The program has been going downhill since weepy Gene DeFildicko fired Jagz without cause.
We have waited long enough, and the one thing we won't accept is any more bull sh%$.
Jack. I don't think today's horror in Football and basketball should be blamed on GDF or Spaz.
It all falls right on Bates
1. He hired Daz
2. He extended Daz's contract
3 he does not appear to supervise Daz
4 he hired Christian
5. He failed to improve football pre game climate
6. With nonsense at Shea field this year he made tailgating worse
7. he allowed BC to find pathetic opponents
Is BB just a stuffed shirt? What the hell has he accomplished in 3 years???
Valid points.
You guys are funny.
I was just venting. And pointing out that we are several years away from being O-Line U (if we reach that pedestal then) for a variety of reasons. Those reasons started before Addazio, but he hasn't proven yet that his solution is any better.
I value all of our players, but do our offensive linemen fit his mindset? I hope so. I hope that this season leaves such a bad taste in their mouths that they come back with a real bad attitude and vendetta to knock the heck out of their opponents.
I remember in the Clemson game watching our center (not a personal attack) get knocked on his keester as soon as he hiked the ball. That's right - get knocked on his back. This is a far cry from O Line U. Our guys aren't big and/or strong enough (yet).
We need linemen who knock the other guy on his keester, then roam downfield and take care of the LBs as well.
Go get Damian Woody and ask him to bring some of his friends.
Good comments from Big Jack and NED.
Know Your Customer is an important thing for any business. BC forgot who their customer was when they went to the ACC. They are in a pro sports town. Not Tallahassee FL or Blacksburg VA or Clemson SC. There is tremendous apathy in the region for BC sports and it is only overcome when they catch lightning in a bottle - the Doug Flutie years, the Tom Coughlin years and to a lesser extent the Matt Ryan years. Boston is NOT a place to attempt donor based seating. It drove me out and I have been a huge fan since the 1960s when as a kid I would listen to their games on the radio.
The smart CEO, which in this case would be BC's AD, would recognize all of this. Stop pretending that you are playing in an ACC hotbed and face reality. Make it more affordable to park on campus and be more fan and family friendly. Above all, however, understand what sells seats in the football business. The smart AD would also cut his losses with this coach. You could not have a worse coach for trying to sell a college football team in this city. He is Woody Hayes reincarnated (run, run and run some more regardless of the score or time left on the clock) and his sideline decision making is frighteningly bad. Bring in some NFL offensive assistant or an assistant from a college that has a strong passing orientation. Implement that system here. I will watch if you are winless in the ACC but are putting 25 to 35 points on the board. I have stopped watching when I see you down in the second halves of games and are running the ball into the line with formations that have no wideouts.
Time to start over yet again. You will never be what you want to be because Boston is Boston but make it more fun, entertaining and affordable for people and as said in Field of Dreams - "they will come".
You've hit the nail on the head. Addazio is incompetent and that's perfect for Bates- a loser from MiamiO who has made a career aiming up at mediocrity. I had the misfortune of spending a few years at Miami after BC and it's sad but true... mediocrity is the goal. Miami lives as the team that beat northwestern a few decades ago just as BC pounds it's chest over ND.
BC rots from the top.
This is success to brad
the coaches job is to win. not to entertain people. you can get on Daz this year because he is losing, and if he loses next year he'll be out. We lost Al Skinner, and to a lesser extent TOB because Gene paid to much attention to fans who thought their style was boring. They were both the winningest coaches in their sports in BC history. Look what followed on their aftermath.
should be followed in their aftermath.
I want to remind us (myself included) that when were an exciting place to watch football at times in the past, we weren't competing with this "City of Champions" and we weren't competing with Super Bowl Champions and undefeated seasons.
When Doug Flutie took the city by storm in 1982, it certainly helped that BC was the only show in town. The pros went on strike for a couple of months that fall, and we won a lot of the pro fans over. Plus Schaefer, Sullivan, Foxboro Stadium was a dump, and the Patriots were in the middle of the pack, for the most part. Nevertheless, Alumni was too small, and we played Penn State, Syracuse, Alabama and Miami in Foxboro before the expansion.
We kept pretty strong fan interest because we built up some football capital even during off seasons. But not now, so what changed? Enter GDF, City of Champions, ACC, Donor Based Seating, BB etc., etc. BC became irrelevant.
All you needed to get a spot on Shea field not too many years ago was to be a "Season Ticket" holder You could bring your whole family if you wanted, and tickets were reasonable for the school's fan base - it wouldn't break the bank too much.
Now the $ and the restrictions are a huge turnoff; Fans who attend games come late and leave early and the apathy is only growing due to the product. Fans are afraid that Addazio is just like Spaziani in terms of offense Tranquill vs, Fitch.
If you are a DBS season ticket holder and tailgating enthusiast, you need to pay thousands to watch BC run the clock out on itself and lose to Wake Forest 3 to 0. With all due respect to WF, fans aren't coming to this game if both teams stink and are at the bottom of the league anyway. But this year took the cake.
28K for Virginia Tech! A few years ago - "And Lane Stadium goes Silent!", Now it's more like "What if they gave a game (BC-VT) and nobody came?" Seems like that's the last season BC was exciting- was it 2008?
We need to turn this around.
Go BC - figure this out. You haven't got much longer. And the BC bashers in the comment section of the daily papers are starting to make sense. That's not good.
We are better than this!!!! and we have some really good players now, and coming in. Let's give them a plan to win, for crying out loud.
Hoib,
You are wrong. TOB left when US News and World report published the ACC coaches salaries and cheap politician Gene wouldn't pay him the extra 250k he wanted to get to the middle of the pack salary-wise. It is has all gone down hill from there. TOB left for NC State and their dirty money soon after.
People were barking about the play calling and the style but TOB left on account of a salary and partially a personality conflict with Gene.
1960s - this Boston-is-a-pro-town bit is not the right issue. I do agree Daz should be launched soon and that his style of play is also pushing fans away..
BC will easily draw 35,000 fans from its traditional fans with a decent team/product. If BC has a good/excellent product, including excellent opponents (see ND v BC at Fenway) BC can draw the full 45,000. So BC is looking for another 10,000 to 20,000 people out of a 5,000,000+ in the Boston area. It not looking to compete with any pro team. Just looking to make its team interesting to a new thin sliver of fans -- less than one-half of one percent of the Boston area market. Can't take in more than the stadium fits.
a buzz about BC's game day experience will also boost TV rating in New England.
Knuck
Gene drove him out, and part of that was his sense that the fans wanted more. A good AD would have seen through that and tried to work w/ TOB. Of course Gene was a horrible AD. We really haven't had a quality team since. I count Jags teams as TOB's, his players. I'd give more credit to Jags if he had shown anything since,he left here at a young age, but he is now in obscurity, so much for his talents. So in short you're wrong.
That is 10% of it. Not THE reason. I gave you THE reason.
Gene did not give a shit what people thought. He got the school into a major conference and solidified the school financially from an athletics perspective so he didn't have to listen to shit from anyone(that was his thought process-holier than thou/fucked up). He and TOB butted heads over money.
Knuck
He should have given him the money.
Post a Comment