Brody (Miami)
What would be your ideal (plausible) matchup in the ACCCG?
Heather Dinich
(1:06 PM)
Miami and anyone besides Boston College.
There’s not much else to say about Harris’ record-setting day. He was patient, found the holes, ran through tackles, dodged guys, showed good vision and speed. What’s not to like? I also appreciated his blocking for Shinskie. Haden didn’t get to do much prior to going down with his injury. Finch looked good and showed good burst, but it was during garbage time.
You can’t put up numbers like Harris did without great line play. What’s most encouraging and a credit to the coaches is the line’s ability to pull and trap. The unit that looked lost against Clemson, looked very good yesterday. Watching it back, it was encouraging to see Castonzo and Claiborne busting open holes for Harris five and seven yards down field. The pass blocking was consistent too. Collectively this was the best this group has played this year. The only sack allowed was not their fault. Lapham is also playing much better.
For those wondering why the offense didn’t get an “A” it was due to the drops of the WRs. Gunnell also ran out of bounds early in the game on a would have been first down. At different points Larmond, Gunnell and Lee all dropped catchable balls. They do deserve credit for their blocking on the WildCat/Bazooka. Without them, Harris doesn’t touch the records.
Lars Anderson made some nice grabs. Pantale did a good job of catching the ball and getting out of bounds.
Tranq put together a great gameplan. As the announcers mentioned, no one has been running at NC State. Instead of us following the path laid out by Wake and Duke, we caught them off guard and ran it down their throats. He deserves credit for the Wildcat looking as good as it did. I also appreciate that he remained aggressive with Shinskie after last week’s disaster. And finally, he effectively used play action. Let’s hope he’s turned a corner and knows what works with these guys.
Defnese: B
The defensive line gets graded on a curve as they were playing extremely shorthanded. Giles had his best game of the season. He made some good tackles and heads up plays on batted balls. Albright also played well and was very effective when dropping into coverage. Newman looked good inside. Rossi was away from the action for much of the night but still looked good. Dan Williams played well as a down lineman.
Kuechly was excellent again. McLaughlin was better than last week and solid around the line. He still seems a step slow when in the zone coverage. Morrissey is getting starters snaps and played well. He seems to have a good feel for pass coverage. LeGrande was good. The second teamers played well including DiSanzo and Bagan.
When I mentioned some of the guys having their best game of the year, Wes Davis was someone I had in mind. Aside from the pick, he was also very active in supporting the run and made some big hits and a few tackles on Special Teams. Gause was ok. After struggling early, Fletcher looked good. Bowman had a solid day with his tackling and had one of his better days in defending the pass. Noel is getting more playing time. Johnson made some nice plays.
The defensive scheme looked much better this week. Maybe the light, quick front four is the right idea. The blitzes worked better and I liked the mix of zone and dropping into coverage. We also did a good job of containing Wilson. Although he eluded some sacks he was still under pressure throughout.
One other note that interested me and I am not sure if I heard it correctly, but right before the sack/fumble on Wilson you could hear someone scream something and it only got louder as the play developed. Based on what happened, I think it was Spaz or McGovern recognizing a play and tipping the defense. Or it could have been some jerk who the mic picked up, but still, I think I am right and if I am right it was one of the occasions where knowing Bible played to our advantage.
Special Teams: B
Jeff Smith busted one to give us good field position and did a good job without Fox.
Quigley’s punts were good. His kickoffs were fine, but our kick coverage was inconsistent.
Aponavicius was fine.
Overall: A-
I don’t know why we are such a different team at home. Spaz deserves credit for having his team ready and using a fresh plan to attack the Wolfpack. The defense also seemed back on track and more effective in their use of blitz. Everyone said that Spaz put extra emphasis on this game. If so, it paid off. With our destiny is practically in our own hands let’s hope he pushes the right buttons down the stretch.
I may have a post late tonight and will have my grades and second viewing thoughts up late Sunday.
I will not be online during the game, so leave your comments and thoughts below.
Basketball is also allowed to start formal practices October 16. Alas no Midnight Madness as BC.
Despite not playing this year, Herzy was still listed as a semifinalist for the Butkus award.
CFN thinks we are beating NC State.
Ed Meyerthole '76 is another BC grad who is battling Kennedy's Disease. The disease and his battle to fight its progressive effects inspired him to take up marathons. He ran Boston in 2004 and will run San Antonio next month. He's hoping his cause will help inspire fund raising efforts for the disease. You can learn more and give here.
1. The NC State defense couldn't stop Duke Saturday. Last year BC picked apart NC State with the passing game too. You have experience on the defensive. What is the cause of the problem? How do you think TOB and Archer will adjust for BC?
YANCSSB: I can tell you how I'd like to solve the defensive issues, but it involves a pink slip of paper with "Mr. Archer" written at the top. Given that won't happen, I'm not sure what State can do to solve the problem. Wake, and Duke even moreso, has provided the perfect blueprint for attacking State's defense: an empty backfield, five wide outs and quick five-yard outs. Doing so negates State's pass rush -- it's true strength defensively -- and takes the safeties out of the equation. That leaves the corners (who typically line up 10 yards off the ball) and the linebackers to stop five receiving threats. It's almost criminally easy to get five yards a pop each and every down, and when your defenders can't wrap up, a five yard out can turn into a 20-yard gain pretty quickly.
As I wrote on the blog Tuesday, State's issue seems to be constantly having to put out one fire after another. They'll correct one issue and another will crop up in its place. Until that trend ends, State won't make much headway towards their team goals.
2. Russell Wilson has thrown INTs the past two weeks. It also seems he is facing more pressure. Are his mistakes due to the offensive line or do you see other issues at play?
YANCSSB: I think he's trying to do too much, honestly. Or rather, he's being forced to out score the opponents. His interception that broke the streak was just a poor decision on his part, throwing a deep ball off-balance to a man in double coverage. The throw was way off and Owen Spencer had no chance to make a play on the ball. The second of the Wake game was a desperation heave with the team trying to mount a comeback on the road. Same thing for his pick in the Duke game. I think he's gotten pretty solid protection for the most part of late. His biggest problem seems to be his receivers aren't giving him any help after the initial route. They tend to stand around waiting for Russell to make a play with his feet, but Russell's been coached all year long to go through his progressions and stay in the pocket. So you've got Wilson back there dancing around, reluctant to scramble if he doesn't have to, and a group of receivers just standing around instead of fighting to get free in the coverage.
3. You are now 2.5 years into TOB's tenure. What is your assessment at this point? Where do you see the program heading?
YANCSSB: Somehow I knew this question was coming...hehehe. I think Tom misses Frank Spaziani, to be honest with you. Offensively, the team looks fine. It's rare that you'll find a team that scores 34 points a game struggling to keep their head above .500, but when you surrender 31, 30 and 49 points in your last three games, it makes it tough. I think Mike Archer was the wrong hire for the job of defensive coordinator. The soft zone defense that's meant to yield yardage but cut down on big plays and generate turnovers is failing on its two main objectives. We're giving up big plays in the passing game still and have a negative turnover margin thus far with only four picks through six games. I'm not sure where Tom's defenses ranked back when he was at BC, but surely they were better than this, I would hope.
Overall, I think most State fans would've expected to be further along than we are. What really stings (no pun intended) is that Paul Johnson wanted the State job initially, and after the interview was turned down by our bumbling AD Lee Fowler. Flash forward and we see where GT is, as one of the three teams from the ACC ranked, and where State is, having just lost to Wake and Duke, and folks that were lobbying for PJ are vocally upset on the boards.
Me personally, I still think Tom can continue to elevate State's program. We had fallen very far and very hard following the taste of greatness and publicity we received when Philip Rivers was getting legit Heisman consideration. The offensive line recruiting had wasted away to nothing and our overall depth was very thin. Losing Nate Irving I think has had some very profound consequences defensively as it seems most of the defense took their cues from him. He had great instincts and actually made the zone defense work by disrupting the middle, and the rest of the folks stepped up around him to match his intensity. Without him there making plays, everyone seems content to let the play come to them instead of attacking, a recipe for disaster.
So long as the recruiting stays up and we continue to build quality depth at all positions, I'm willing to stand behind coach O'Brien. However, if the defensive play doesn't improve from here on out, I would hope O'Brien -- who's referred to this as a "performance-based organization" -- would cut Archer loose and look to bring in a defensive coordinator that can re-energize that group.
4. What is your prediction for Saturday?
YANCSSB: Wow, I don't know. I'd like to say a State win, but O'Brien hasn't beaten BC since leaving in 2006 and with the way our defense has played thus far, it wouldn't shock me to see State lose. On the other hand, I'm curious to see how BC responds from the VT beatdown and if either of your quarterbacks steps up to secure the position for good. I predict a sloppy affair with lots of points, and since I'm on the State side of the ledger, I'll say State wins a "shootout," 34-31.
BC soccer roach Ed Kelly released this statement.
Keep Charlie and his family in your prayers.
Games I watched
-- BC-Virginia Tech 100% (twice)
-- NC State-Duke 75%
-- LSU-Florida 50%
-- Georgia Tech-FSU 25%
 | ||
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | |
| 2 | Alabama |  2 |
| 3 | Texas |  1 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 1 |
| 5 | Virginia Tech | 2 |
| 6 | Miami (Florida) | 2 |
| 7 | Georgia Tech | 2 |
| 8 | TCU | 2 |
| 9 | Southern Cal | 3 |
| 10 | LSU | 7 |
| 11 | Boise State | |
| 12 | Iowa | 3 |
| 13 | Oregon | 3 |
| 14 | South Florida | 3 |
| 15 | Penn State | 3 |
| 16 | Kansas | 3 |
| 17 | Nebraska | 3 |
| 18 | Ohio State | 3 |
| 19 | Brigham Young | 3 |
| 20 | Central Michigan | 3 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 3 |
| 22 | Houston | 3 |
| 23 | Oklahoma State | |
| 24 | Tulsa | |
| 25 | Utah | |
| Last week's ballot | ||
Men's soccer beat Quinnipic to improve to 7-6.
For those who missed it, the Draft guys talked to Meter last week.
When I put this stuff on the blog some readers accuse me of having an antiSpaz agenda. This is gossipy so I will leave it at the nexus. Take it for what it is worth...
The coordinators don't have the autonomy their boss portrayed in the media and it is causing some issues. Also, there is some descension among the staff on how we approached VT. Seems our head coach considered it a loss before we stepped on the field and our staffers were disappointed to say the least, especially those who remember beating VT the past two years.
I don't know how you can get to the next level when your head coach doesn't believe it is possible. I know it is only six games, but I think TOB with a mustache is the best we can hope for at this point.
Forgive any rambling here or for wasting your time. Let's hope we run the table and all this stuff becomes meaningless.
Harris had positive yardage but didn't break anything big. Haden had an off day. Finch got decent touches but like Marscovetra, I don't know if we can read anything into it.
The first team oline was not terrible. They gave Shinskie enough time and didn't have any glaring problems. They didn't open up huge holes for the running game, but once again, there was nothing glaring. The second team was not ready for primetime when they came out in the second quarter. Goodman got burned with a speed rush and the inside guys got overpowered.
Deska had a few nice catches in garbage time. The rest of the TEs didn't do much of note.
Although there were plenty of errant passes, the WRs didn't have a great day. Gunnell had a drop on a crossing pattern and Larmond gave up on a route that would have been a huge play. He made amends a bit by playing hard for Marscovetra and scoring the TD. The second team guys looked a little lost and got pushed out of bounds a few times.
I am really concerned with Tranquill's approach. A good offensive coordinator should have some few basic plays that he knows his team can run for positive yardage. Not put up seven. Just get ten yards once. We don't have that. Switching QBs, using the wildcat and other things leads to penalties and sloppy play. Like Clemson the other huge concern is that when we are shutdown early we don't have in game adjustments. Once you know what a team is doing, you need a counter. Like Clemson we didn't have one. If not for VT calling off the dogs this would have been one of the worst BC offensive performances of all time. How can that be happening six games in?
Defense: D
There were some decent individual performances on the dline but collectively they were bad. There was no pressure on Taylor and we couldn't stop the run. Newman was okay and Rossi played hard. Scafe has had better days. Ramella was not good. Ramsey was ok but doesn't seem like a game changer.
This was the worst game by BC LBs in some time. McLaughlin who is normally a great tackler failed to wrap up multiple times. LeGrande didn't make many plays and had trouble with Taylor and Williams. VT ran right at Kuechly and neutralized him a bit. He guessed wrong a few times and also got swallowed up by their blockers. Morrissey, Bagan and DiSanzo looked okay in their time...maybe they should get more snaps.
Guase was one of the few that looked ok. Davis got burned on their first TD. Noel got burned too on the TD that made it 24-0. Johnson had trouble in run support. The second teamers had some blown assignments.
Our defensive scheme has some issues. We cannot generate pressure and for the first time the tackling was bad. The biggest issue is that VT wasn't surprised by anything we did. Our calls didn't keep them off balance. Where is the variety we saw earlier in the season?
Special teams: D
Quigley didn't have a very good day but he wasn't not the reason the game was so lopsided. Our punt coverage was decent and they made some plays.
Fox and Smith were okay on returns but always seem to run right into traffic. Where are the blockers?
Gunnell couldn't and didn't do much with the punt returns.
Overall: F
I hate giving an F, but there are two reasons for the grade. One we had another terrible performance where the team didn't come to play. One stinker is to be expected during a season. A second one -- even against a good team like VT -- is not acceptable. The second reason for the F is Spaz's idea to bring in the second teamers on our first possession of the second quarter. We are down 17-0 at that point. The guys get overwhelmed and we punted from deep in our own end. VT scored on the next play. Game (effectively) over. There is no reason to put them in there. Spaz is not building a program. He inherited a winner, is familiar with what works at BC and doesn't have the luxury of youth to build for the long term. This division is up for grabs. Coming out flat and then experimenting in a conference game is a bad idea.
We recovered from our last stinker. Let's hope Spaz does it again. NC State is beatable and if anyone knows Dana Bible's offense, it is him. I know people think I am a Spaz hater, but you cannot sugar coat what we saw this weekend. If anyone wants to be wrong about this it is me. Once again let me state that the division is bad and we have enough pieces to steal it. To do that though, Spaz is going to have to find some basics that will work and show some faith in the team. The early prevents, the wasting possession with second teamers all speak to a coach who doesn't think he has a winner. Where is the guy with passion and the yellow towel? It is only six games in and I feel like Spaz is trying to be stoic like TOB. I wish Spaz would be Spaz.
You’ve got to hand it to the Boston College football team. When the Eagles lose a game, they don’t exactly torture their fans with a lot of what-ifs and what-could-have-beens.
Spaz rallied the troops after Clemson. Now he's got to do it again. (I don't know how things keep falling apart like this...)
I will endure the pain of a second viewing and have grades up late Sunday.
I will not be online during the game. Leave your thoughts and comments below.
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