Kuechly wins DPOY, hoops loses and other links

Luke Kuechly is bound to win many awards, but the most deserving was being named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. He joins Mark Herzlich as the only two Eagles to win the award since joining the conference in 2005. In my opinion this means the most because it is the conference award. The voters know Luke and have seen his unbelievable production up close. Most of the other awards are heavily influenced by reputation and politicking.

BC lost their game within the ACC-Big Ten challenge for the first time, going down to Penn State 62-54. It was frustrating in that the team had the lead for long stretches only to falter down the stretch. We keep seeing glimpses from different guys, but nothing is sustained or consistent. The other issue remains the rotation. Donahue is trying a lot of different thing, but we don't have a group of five guys who can play long minutes together AND play good defense AND generate points.

Here is a good recap of our pending recruits.

Recruiting update and other links

BC is in the mix for Ohio defensive lineman Alex Pace. It seems like the staff is using this time -- usually allotted for bowl prep -- to hit the road and recruit. What's interesting is that we are competing for multiple guys even though this was supposed to be a small recruiting class. My hunch is that we will string the fifth year Seniors along hoping to land better options on the recruiting front.

HD also thinks recruiting is the underlying issue. Of course she doesn't mention that most of the current recruiters were recruiting under Jags too.

I am glad that others are noticing how tone deaf our Athletic Director can be.

Cam Atkinson is having a good season in the AHL.

Kuechky is a Finalist for the Lott award and the only BC player to make the All ACC team.

Revisiting the Year 3 trend

I could see the Spaz excuse train coming from miles away, so last July I wondered why Spaz was still using his roster as a potential reason for struggles in Year 3. Forget about Spaz and many of his assistants being part of the staff that recruited our team, even a new coach should have most of his players in by his third year. Yet the Boston media and Spaz apologist accept the lack of seniors as the reason why BC struggled. Forget the sloppy line play, the strange in game strategies, or the inability to score points. Who does this in their third season?

Even Dan Henning -- who is the definition of Coordinator not cut out for the Head Coaching job -- was 5-7 in his fifth year. Yes, Dan Henning, in the middle of a gambling scandal and player apathy won more games than Spaz in his final year at BC. Ed Chlebek, who has the dubious honor of coaching the worst season in BC football history, had steady improvement and was 7-4 in his third year.

With Year 4 underway and a roster of experienced upperclassmen that he recruited, it is time to start thinking of Coach Flip and Spaz's excuses for Year 4. These are the ones I expect. Add yours in the comments.

-- "You can't expect to lose a player like Luke Kuechly and not expect a big drop off"
-- "We replaced Duke with Georgia Tech on the schedule"
-- "We are still dealing with Jags's poor recruiting"
-- "Montel Harris is still not 100%"
-- "The schedule is much tougher than last year (improved Army, Northwestern on the road)"
-- "Poor fan support hurts recruiting and our home field advantage"
-- "Rettig is still not developing"
-- "Injuries"
-- "The ACC is on an upswing, so things are tougher than they were for TOB and Jags"
-- "Still have many true freshmen on the two deep"
-- "The new turf in Alumni is making things too slick"

A break from football news (other links)

The BC women's basketball team beat Bryant to even their record to 2-2. They take on Wisconsin Tuesday as part of the ACC/Big Ten challenge.

Women's Ice Hockey defeated Brown 3-1 on Sunday.

This article dives into the Hockey team's issues on Power Play.

Considering they only went 1-2 and suffered two sound defeats, I actually think the 76 Classic was a net positive for the basketball team. We have no idea what we have, yet these guys are playing very, very hard. They are not playing smart yet and we don't have any reliable scoring options yet, but you can see the effort. You can also see Donahue coaching his ass off. He is doing his best to manage the games instead of letting guys figure it out on their own. I think the key in the coming weeks will be improving the defense. I also think BC needs to work for better shots (and obviously make them). But I still have tons of faith in this team based on effort alone.

What to do about Spaz's staff

At any normal BCS program, retaining a 3rd-year coach who just went 4-8 would require some staff changes. BC is not a normal program. Spaz doesn't have a 100% control in staffing, so I don't know what will happen. Obviously I have been way off before so take this all with a grain of salt. I have no direct contact with any current staffers so this is all second hand gossip mixed with my opinion.

Dave Brock
Brock needs to come back. Although our offense was terrible this season, it is not fair to Chase Rettig or the other offensive players to make another change. Brock is who Spaz wanted all along (over Day or Rogers) so I assume he is safe. If Brock comes back, he needs to have 100% control of the offense from Day 1. If he wants to scrap everything and switch to an option or a spread or whatever, it needs to be his call. He has BCS experience and has been the lead recruiter on many of our key offensive players. I also think that Brock should have a say in the offensive staff. If he thinks we need to make a change on a position coach, then we should make it. We can't have dissension on the staffs. We cannot have guys undermining each other based on their offensive preferences or cliques. If Brock returns, Spaz has his guy in place for the most critical BC season in 13 years.

Ben Johnson
Johnson received a battlefield promotion when Rogers was fired. The Tight End play remained consistent and supposedly Johnson has been good on the recruiting front. Johnson also has a history with Brock. There is absolutely no reason to make a change here.

Sean Devine
Sean Devine may be a great recruiter. He may be a really hard worker who is passionate about BC. He may have a great feel for Chip Kelly's offense. Those are all great attributes. But he's paid to coach our offensive line and the offensive line play has been declining for three years. I hear from football alumni at random times, but one recurring theme is former BC Olineman frustrated watching our current squad. They are never throwing players under the bus. Instead they are pounding their keyboards about technique and assignments. The coachable things. Perhaps Devine should stay on, but not as OL coach. BC needs to find a great OLine coach who can restore our tradition and help the guys on the roster develop.

Mike Siravo
People who following recruiting closely complained about Jags's approach to recruiting. Many of those same recruitniks are upset with Spaz's disappointing recruiting results. The one constant is recruiting coordinator Mike Siravo. Although we were in the same class, I don't know Siravo personally but he has plenty of defenders. They will tell you Mike works very hard but is undercut by his head coaches. The head coaches' folks will conversely throw Siravo under the bus and say he is Gene's boy. Who knows at this point? Siravo's career has been closely tied to Gene. I doubt he is forced out unless Gene decides to cut him loose.

Bill McGovern
Everyone talks about Spaz's loyalty, but Bill McGovern had a stint at BC well before Spaz hit the scene. McGovern is also a BC parent. I don't want him out. If anything I hope that like Brock he gets more autonomy in 2012. The rumors surrounding Spaz and McGovern are always interesting. Some people have referred it to an old married couple. But if the breakdowns in this year's defense are due to Spaz's meddling, then I want him to leave McGovern alone. Or, if Spaz is going to be the DC and call the plays, then let the public know about it.

Coach Flip is not very good at math or history...

or public relations or marketing.

Forgive me for parsing Coach Flip's quotes to the Herald, but they are too good to ignore.

Math

"Spaz is the best coach that we’ve had in the 15 years that I’ve been here."

Spaz's winning percentage: .512
TOB's winning percentage: .625
Jag's winning percentage: .714

History

Jags won two Atlantic Division Championships
TOB is BC's all-time winningest coach

Public Relations

In an interview with the Herald, DeFilippo addressed the calls for Spaziani’s job.

“It doesn’t matter,” DeFilippo told the HeralD

Marketing

"Spaz is coming back next year."

Coach Flip and Coach Spaz will be back in 2012

Per Dan Duggan of the Herald:

@DDuggan21
Gene DeFilippo on Frank Spaziani: "Spaz is coming back next year and our future here is really, really bright.”

@DDuggan21
DeFilippo also called called Spaz "The best coach that we’ve had in the 15 years that I’ve been here."

Gene DeFilippo is either blind or deaf. That is the only acceptable explanation. Because you would only come out with a strong endorsement of Spaz after this season if you did not see the problems in how Spaz approaches these games. Or worse he doesn't hear the growing outcry from our fanbase.

I think Gene thinks he always has BC's best interest at heart. But I suspect he has his best interest at heart. He is tied to Spaz's success. He risked his career with Spaz. He picked Spaz over candidates with more upside. And Spaz is probably the last coach in America that will let Gene serve as Coach Flip (our unofficial head coach). This means we are in for another letdown in 2012. This team has potential, but I have no faith in Spaz helping us reach our potential. His approach to games and his roster is stuck in the 1970s and ignores all the new data and strategies.

In the end, I will root like hell for BC. I hope we win every game and I hope I am wrong about Spaz.

To those who are upset by this, take comfort that Spaz and Gene's future at BC is not long. Their ages alone assure that. BC will prevail and one day football will be fun again. Until then keep cheering on the players, keep supporting the program and keep the pressure on our administration.

Thanks for playing hard

Winning is so much better than losing. The game is more fun. You feel better after. And most importantly the players are smiling and hugging on the sidelines. The team deserves credit for playing hard when there was nothing to play for. Rettig was awesome. Outside of a few plays, the defense was awesome. Quigley was really good too. And of course Kuechly changed the game.

The game was more interesting than it had to be because of the game management. But it was a win.

I am pretty sure that Spaz is coming back. I think that was decided before this game happened. We have multiple problems but Spaz is the most fixable. That theme will populate our offseason.

I am on the road and will be traveling but will have a recap and grades up. Just not sure it will be Sunday.

In-game comments post: Miami

This will be our last taste of BC football until the Spring Game, so let's enjoy it. Is it the final game for Kuechly? Or Spaz? We won't know for a at least a few days. But both questions add a bit of intrigue to the game. Leave your comments and thoughts below.

You can also follow me on twitter.

BC-Miami preview

Most times when teams nothing to play for, games are boring. But every once in a while two teams with nothing to play for put on a classic. In TOB’s first year BC closed the season with a hard fought win over Army. The stadium was half-filled, there were flurries at the end and neither team was good. Yet the game was good. Maybe tomorrow’s game will be fun. That's what I am hoping for.

Overlooked storyline for the game: The last game for some BC 4th year players
Speculation on which redshirt junionrs will be asked back is a staple of the time between the end of the regular season and BC bowl game. This year we don't have that time and the coaches don't have the extra practice time to evaluate the guys. Currently I would say that Donte Elliott, Hampton Hughes, Nick Clancy, Mike Goodman, Jr., and Bryan Murray are all borderline guys to return. Personally I would invite them all back. Spaz is quick to talk about depth and leadership. All of these guys can help us next year.

Three Simple Keys
1. Throw a pass with Bordner. We know he will play Friday. If we don't incorporate a pass into his series or plays, we will just be wasting another possession.
2. Stop the run. I really think BC needs to put this game on Jacory Harris. To do that, they need to shut down the run first.
3. Get penetration with the defensive tackles. I've been singing Appiah's praises, but we also need Quinn and Ricci to be really good tomorrow. With them collapsing the pocket it starts all sorts of good things for BC's defense.

Gambling Notes
-- Spaz has not won a game in the state of Florida
-- BC has not a game at Miami since Flutie's miracle
-- BC is 4-23 all time against Miami
The current line is BC+14.

Factoid
This is BC's second game in Sunlife Stadium. Long before the Hurricanes moved to their current home, BC played Virginia in the 1994 Carquest Bowl.

Scoreboard Watching
Virginia-Virginia Tech is really the most important game of the week for ACC fans. If the Hokies beat Virginia and Clemson them might sneak into the BCS Championship game. They need some other teams to lose and voters to bump them, but the computers will love the UVA and Clemson wins.

I hope to see...
Chase Rettig to have a good game. I don't know what our future is with coaching. I also don't know how we will approach our offense next year. Those possible changes could mean the end to Rettig's time as BC's main QB. He hasn't been good but I think he showed a lot of toughness in some rough situations. Let's hope his season ends on a high note.

BC is in trouble if…
We can't score in the first quarter. Last week was encouraging. Despite the early deficit, the guys kept playing. I don't expect the same sort of resolve if BC is down early in this game.

Bottom Line
I think this will be a long, sluggish game. I think Miami will put a lot of pressure on our Oline. While BC will slow down Miami early, I think they will wear on us and pad the score in the second half.
Finale Score: Miami 24, BC 13

Guest Blogger: All About the U

When Yahoo! Sports dropped the hammer on Miami this summer, the most informed rebuttal didn't come from Miami or a member of the established media, but from a blogger. That blogger was Vishnu Parasuraman of All About the U. Vishnu's work exposed some of the holes in the report and some of the credibility issues that Shapiro had. It was great work. In prep for BC's final game, I've asked him a few things about the 'Canes. His answers below.

1. How is offense under Fisch different from the Whipple days? What happened last week against USF?

VP: I think the main difference between the two offenses is the focus of the offense. Fisch is more dedicated to running the football (although that has been done inconsistently effective this year), while Whipple seemed to force the pass. By doing this, Fisch has taken pressure off of Jacory Harris to be the play maker on the offense, instead shifting focus to getting the ball to the WRs and RBs and letting them make plays. Jacory Harris is an intelligent, accurate QB. His one pitfall is his arm strength. Whipple's offense required deep, downfield, power throws that are more suited to an NFL arm. This resulted in a lot of interceptions. In Fisch's offense, Harris has been able to utilize his strengths and thrive, making the whole offense much more effective.

The difference between the offense against USF versus the rest of the season was the offensive line. USF's defensive line dominated, which shut down the entire offense. Jacory Harris was sacked 7 times, and the 'Canes totaled 40 carries for only 57 yards. Jacory Harris still managed to be effective and efficient, going 27/35, 259 yards with no interceptions, but the sacks and negative run plays constantly put the team behind the chains. Also, a drive ended with a fumble and another with a blocked FG, so there were some points left on the field.

2. The defense seems to be much more consistent. How should BC attack the scheme?

VP:I think the key to the defense's resurgence has been moving LB Sean Spence to MLB. He had been playing outside most of the year, with the exception of the Georgia Tech game where the 'Canes defense also thrived. He was moved back inside against FSU and remained there against USF. It has made all the difference in the world, as the defense was the weakness of the team most of the year.

Truth be told, for most of the year, whatever the opposition did, run or pass, it was effective. Obviously, this defensive resurgence the last few weeks has changed that. I think the way to attack this defense the way it is currently playing is to go with an intermediate passing game and mix in some runs. Mark D'Onofrio tends to play his CBs off the WRs, and there is room to complete passes in the 5-10 yard range. If BC is effective doing that, it should loosen up the run defense as well, and the 'Canes are susceptible to being run over. Also, play action passes to the TEs and FBs seem to be really effective. But in general, I would use the intermediate passing game to set up the run.

3. Given all that has happened, what is your opinion of Golden's first year? Do you think his name constantly being mentioned for other jobs will significantly impact the program he is trying to build?

VP: I would give him a passing grade, but barely. He certainly has had to deal with a lot of issues, and that does and should give him a lot of leeway. On the flip side, I think there is more talent on this team than the 6-5 record indicates. This senior class was the #1 recruiting class in the country, and while many of the big name players have not panned out as expected, enough of them have to warrant a better record. Every Miami loss has been close and decided in the last minute of the game, so there was certainly potential for a much better season. Golden's handling of the scandal off the field has been excellent, but I feel the team left a few wins out there.

The Miami program has never been about the coach, so I don't think Golden's name being mentioned will really hurt, especially since he has pretty emphatically said he is not going anywhere. The main concerns going forward are the on field play and obviously any sanctions that might come from the NCAA. The sanctions speak for themselves, but it has now been a decade since the 'Canes have won a championship and 8 years since they have been in a BCS bowl. The school is a small private school with limited resources competing in a pro sports town(something BC fans can sympathize with), so the main draw has always been the reputation of the school as a football powerhouse. Now, people like myself that are older remember the glory days, but the kids being recruited now were 8 years old the last time Miami was dominant. I think Miami needs to be relevant next year on a national level (at least ranked by year's end) to take a step forward in the building of the program.

4. What is your prediction for the game?

VP: I was concerned before the game that the 'Canes would come out flat on senior day after becoming bowl eligible. With the decision to not play in a bowl game, this game became a lot more interesting because it is essentially the bowl game for both teams now. I think it will be close for the first half, but that Miami, which is a second half team, will pull away in the second half and win 27-14.

Select Football Alumni send letter and survey to Board of Trustees

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Basketball has a long way to go

The basketball team got whipped by UMass. If you are into pain, you can rewatch it on ESPN3.com. As for what went wrong -- everything. The defense was lost. The ball handling was sloppy. We couldn't shoot. The shooting is what hurts the most. I understand if the guys don't work well together yet. I know that will take time. But I don't understand why their foul shots and open shots are not falling. Hopefully it is something a little more measurable and fixable than nerves.

I have not given up on this team at all. They still have a lot of basketball to play. At this point I just want to see small improvements.

Heights Sports Editor signs off with strong column

For those who don't pay attention to these things, the Height transitions its staff on the calender year, not the school year. So that means the different editor jobs change around this time. With that, they all get to write their send off pieces. With his time nearing an end Sports Editor Paul Sulzer wrote a very strong column on Spaz. Go read it now. It's comforting to know that the next generation of Eagles do share our passion.

Second viewing thoughts and grade report: Notre Dame

This game was frustrating because we did so many things right. We had the perfect defense in place for them. Our special teams were excellent. But the offense couldn't do their part. The same problems plagued us and there is no reason things should be this bad with only one game left. It is a real shame that we are not going to a bowl game. The offensive guys could use the practice reps.

Offense: C

Rettig was very inconsistent. He made some great throws and some awful ones. As Mayock pointed out a lot of it is his footwork as the pocket collapses. But that doesn't explain it all. There are still some times when he has time and is a little off. Bordner seems like a tough kid and a hard runner. If he plays more, he'll get better at his reads (see below).

Finch played well and has a good feel for holes. Kimble also ran well. Williams was not as effective. Obviously in space Williams is great and he can run over anyone. Yet when things are clogged up, he doesn't have Kimble or Finch's knack for finding softness. Sinkovic played well.

The Tight ends were very good. We finally got to Pantale and he delivered. Anderson had a nice catch and blocked well. Swigert made some nice catches and in finally winning one on one battles. Larmond had a bad drop but also had a nice catch. Amidon was fine. Coleman made a nice catch.

Spinney was probably our best OLinemen Saturday, which makes sense since he was one of the only one now to get yanked out at some point. Richman, Harris Williams and Bettancourt all had snaps at LT, RG and RT respectively. Of the backups, I think Harris Williams was the most effective. Ian White struggled and missed some blocks. Cleary was fine. Wetzel was pretty good. Vardaro struggled.

My biggest problem with the offensive play calling is how we use Bordner. As long as he doesn't throw the football, it is a pure gimmick. I don't mind gimmicks if we benefit. But I feel like it slows the offense and hurts Rettig's rhythm. Plus it doesn't take long for the other team to figure it out. For example, it looks like we actually are using Chip Kelly's play design on the Bordner plays. In those Kelly leaves the DT unblocked and he is the read for the QB. But our plays developed so late and Bordner is not experienced in reading yet so the plays got blown up. ow that is not really Bordner's fault. If he was running this all game he'd have a better feel for when to keep it (see Chris Crane). If he had been in this offense all year, maybe we would throw it with him. It looked like he was going to throw on his roll to the right but he pulled it and ran. So right now it is a pure gimmick. What I would rather see is more of Rettig in the shotgun. We finally attempted nearly 40 passes (welcome to the 21st century). Now we just need to improve on the accuracy, blocking and catching on those plays.


Defense: B

I think we've found our next great DT. Appiah has the elements. He wins one on one battles. He clogged the pocket and he hustles. We dropped him into coverage a few times and he was making tackles downfield. Ricci played well. Quinn had one of his better games. O'Neal was good. Holloway played well and timed the INT well. Mihalik played well as did Edebali. Dan Williams played DE too and contributed.

Notre Dame seemed to focus on Kuechly early. They doubled him a good bit. They ran at him so that their blockers could focus on him. Although it slowed him a bit, he still made plenty of big plays. Divitto didn't play as well. Given his position he has to over a lot of space and sometimes it seems like he might be a step slow. KPL was back and made some nice plays. With him back, Duggan didn't play as much. Lawrence played a little but wasn't in on any tackles.

The announcers kept harping on Fletcher, but he had a decent game...considering all that he was asked. He missed the INT and had a stupid penalty. But he also did a good job of containing. He closed well and tackled well and made a few nice plays in coverage. Asprilla was also good and very active tackling. ALJ played a little. The bigger problem in our secondary were the Safeties. Sylvia had some missed tackles and stupid penalties. Hughes tackled better but still wasn't great in coverage. Rositano missed some chances at big plays.

The defense was well planned. We were aggressive early with blitzes and then as the game progressed dropped a lot of guys into coverage. It was classic BC, but it played well against Notre Dame.

Special Teams: A

In general I think Spaz is too quick to punt but Quigley paid off. Also credit to the overage team for getting downfield and fielding the punts deep in the ND end of the field. Evans was good in his returns. Swigert made some good decisions fielding the punts.
Overall: C

I appreciate the fire the team showed. The game was clearly chippy. However, that resulted in costly penalties. I also hated Spaz sitting on the ball at the end of the first half. It amazes me that no one has talked to him about this. Why haven't any of the assistants showed him the stats on wasting possessions? How can a man with so much football under his belt not realize that points are a premium for this team and he needs to adjust? When he does that, it gives fuel to the fire for those who think Spaz just wants to keep some games close.

As I said, Spaz has now lost three straight to some mediocre Notre Dame teams. I guess we shouldn't expect anything different as long as he is in charge.

Close doesn't count

I know there are plenty of people who feel good about how BC played against Notre Dame. Yes, there were many positives. Most were on the defensive side of the ball. Ryan Quigley had the game of his life. Still we didn't win. Spaz is now 0-3 against Notre Dame. He had another game where we failed to score in the 20s. He had another game with some head scratching decisions. And we are now 1-16 under Spaz when trailing at halftime.

We are now 3-8. As today showed, we are better than that record. Underachieving cannot be acceptable. Even though I think he will be back, I remain in the fire Spaz camp.

I will have second viewing thoughts and grades up late Sunday.

In-game comments post: Notre Dame

Spaz can talk up how great this three loss Notre Dame team is. Vegas can have us as huge underdogs. In the end it doesn't matter. What I hope is that our players follow the example of past Eagles and play their hearts out.

And if Spaz plays not to lose, then it means we are one game closer to the end of his regime.

I will also be on twitter throughout the game.

Women's soccer make best of bad Friday

After OT, the BC women beat Cal 3-1 on Penalty Kicks. With the win, they advance to play Stanford on Sunday.

The men's basketball team lost to Holy Cross. Now a loss to Holy Cross is never a good thing, but in this case BC was blownout. I am not going to overreact. This is still a very young team and they were playing withot Heckmann (ankle injury). I didn't see the game but did listen and my biggest concern was the defense. If we let Holy Cross shoot really well, how will we shut down elite ACC teams? But let's give the young guys time. I still believe they will be much better come January.

In a omen that I hope doesn't spread to Saturday, Notre Dame hockey beat BC in OT. BC was up early, squandered the lead, forced OT and then let in a goal late. It was an up and down night.

Kuechly for Heisman and other links

Bruce Feldman knows that a defensive player on a bad team isn't going to get the Heisman but he still makes a case for Luke Kuechly's consideration.

The Women's Soccer team has their next NCAA game against Cal Friday afternoon.

BC will play in next year's Charleston Classic.

Game Watches: BC vs Notre Dame

Since next week's game is Friday, this might be the last big game watch of the season. Here are the following Chapters having a watch. Add yours in the comments section if it is not listed.

Atlanta Game Watch
Slack's Restaurant - Town of Brookhaven Complex
305 Brookhaven Ave., Suite 1250
Atlanta, GA 30319

Austin Game Watch
B. D. Riley's
204 East 6th St Austin, TX 78701

Boston Game Watch
The Baseball Tavern
1270 Boylston Street

Chicago Game Watch
Trinity
2721 North Halsted Street
Chicago, IL

Denver Game Watch
Icehouse Tavern
1801 Wynkoop St, No 150
Denver, CO

Los Angeles Game Watches
SHARKEEZ
3600 Highland Ave.
Manhattan Beach
(310) 545-8811

CAMINITI'S
1220 W. Burbank Blvd.
Burbank
(818) 556-6550


New York City Game Watch
Vertigo Bar & Restaurant
26th & 3rd
New York

Phoenix Game Watch
Gallagher's Sports Grill
7575 N. 16th Street, Phoenix

San Francisco Game Watch
Shanghai Kelly's in San Francisco
2064 Polk Street (corner of Polk & Broadway)
San Francisco, CA 94109

Seattle Game Watch
Buckley's in Belltown‎
2331 2nd Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121-1709

Washington, D.C. Game Watch
The 19th
19th & I, downtown (just off Pennsylvania Avenue, Farragut West Metro)