Keys to the Game @ Northwestern

Well, We have been here before, we have seen the team, but this time its at their house, and we are a 3.5 dog. We know they excel in a couple areas that seem to give the Eagles fits (the dink and dunk) (mobile QB)(hurry up offense) this will be a matchup of preparation, and in our eyes a tell in how good 2012 is going to be for this football team.

1W) Adjust to the hurry up offense
As we found out last year, the hurry up offense seemed to have our Eagles huffing and puffing on the sidelines, that could be because it was the first game of the season, because of injuries in camp, or a plethora of other items. This year I think our fans are prepared to see it, our offense runs a style closer to this, so you’d think our D is a bit more prepared but the result is yet to be seen or just hours away.

2M) Contain Cain Colter

Fewer losses were more irritating to watch than last year's Northwestern game. Their supposed Heisman QB was out and this nobody Colter was in. He short passed and QB sneaked us to death.

We must make sure Colter does not beat us with his feet and is forced to throw downfield, not just quick screens.

3W) Rettig over 300 yards again
Rettig is coming off back to back Over 300 games. And is actually #7 in the nation for Passing Yards. I’d like to see that it isn’t a fluke or a matter of defenses played against.
Northwestern doesn’t necessarily have a phenomenal defense, and actually is known for a less than average Secondary, so even another performance over 300 won’t be the perfect litmus test, but more so it will be a true confidence builder, something he needs after the past couple of seasons he has had.


4M) Possession offense, give D a chance to rest and get off the field

Spaz made a point last year of saying how out of shape and winded the D was. Well, part of that was on the offense for not holding on to the ball a whole lot and giving the D a chance to recharge between sets.

We can be as well conditioned as possible but if our D is out there 75% of the game trying to keep up pace with a no huddle offense, we're going to be challenged to make it close--let alone win.

5W)0 Fumbles
Fumbles have been very rough for the Eagles, lets see if we can go a full game with 0, we are going to need it. Really nothing else to say here, move along.

6M) Amidon stretching the field

The Northwestern secondary has been beaten up by Syracuse and currently ranks 113th in yards per game given up. To really open things up we need to stretch the field early with Amidon and make them respect the deep routes so Coleman and Spiffy can get open.


7W) DL- Abdesmad Sacks
I actually put this focus before I knew that he was going to be the starter. I liked Abdesmad last year, I like the combo of him and Edebali on the Ends. Abdesmad has great pressure from the side, seems to get to the QB fairly quick and plays with a great motor. We just need the rest of the line to have a great game. They have been fair, but here is their time to shine.

8M) jump the short pass

If you remember last year, the majority of Colter's passes were short ones.

In fact, ask yourself this: in our losses, where are the passes going from the QB's? Almost exclusively the teams that have beaten us have used short almost lateral passes, taking advantage of our patented BC DB cushion.

This worked great when teams passed the ball down the field but today's offenses use plenty of spread and quick hits getting the ball out in the flat.

Let's selectively gamble and start to attack some of those quick hitters and maybe get a pick-6 a-la DeJuan Tribble vs. FSU. If nothing else it will dissuade Colter from slowly killing us with the short passes.

9W) Time of Possession
I unfortunately think this game will come down to time of possession. We will need to own this , by a dramatic amount to be the winner at the end of the day. Neither team is really known for their quick scores, they are known for their methodical attack down the field. If we can own the possession arrow, I think our Eagles come home with a W.

10M) CJ Jones mid-season form

Welcome back, CJ! Jones returns to the lineup after injury and takes back his corner position. Jones isn't having the luxury of warming up vs. Maine or playing against Miami, so it's important for CJ to come out playing in mid-season form.

9/11/12: Best of the Best

Well we are thrilled to do a best of the best. A W matters, and its a starting block and hopefully something to build on.

1M) Spiffy return TD

It sure seemed like a longer time ago, but it was Ritchie Gunns who last returned a punt for the Eagles in 2009.  Spiffy had been questioned by some fans—and frankly everyone since pre-concussion Jet Smith has been—and Spiffy shut them up with this terrific runback.

As the commentators noted both on TV and radio, he did what you ask of your return guy: make the first guy miss.  The booming punt did out-kick the coverage (see: BCMike’s wife) giving Spiffy some time to get a head of steam going into the oncoming masses but he did so fearlessly and cut through the Maniacs like a hot knife through buttah.

2W) Coleman TD

So I am a Coleman fan, sue me .. but the smile on his face, how excited he was- that’s what football is all about.

Coleman did a great job of showing how he can out leap a competitor in the corner of the endzone.

3M) Defense doing better

The D gave up some big plays vs. Miami (unlike Kansas State) but rebounded back to only give up three to the Black Bears.  It would have been nice to have kept up the shut-out streak going to over 100 years, but 3 points since 1915 is still pretty good.

There was a chance early in the game that we did let a Maine WR get behind the coverage but thankfully our DL put enough pressure on the QB to force the throw a little long.  If he connected, it would have been a big play but thankfully we didn’t afford them a second opportunity at another big play.

4W) LB second team

You know Keeks is gone. And our LB corp is strong. But I was very impressed with the strength of our second team.

You don’t always get to see the second team. But Joy, Duggan and Daniels are going to be strong for a VERY long time and something to get excited about.

5M) Mihalik's play

We as fans kept on asking for someone on the DL to step up.  We have been fortunate to have many star defenders come through The Heights but no real dominant ones since Kiwi and Raji. 

I know it’s early, but I think Mihalik could be that next star.

Only a true sophomore, Mihalik was all over the field tossing Black Bear defenders aside and wreaking havoc including a TFL and a pass batted down.  He had a great drive on Saturday I hope to see the rest of the season.

6W)Getting a W

sometimes that alone can change your whole day, even if it is against Maine

7W) at least having Meter. (espn3 fail)

While some may have scoffed at my 10^th pick for Keys to the Game, sure enough—ESPN3 wound up being an epic challenge.  I had been able to use my Dad’s Verizon log-in as a go-around for access to The Worldwide Leader’s interweb feed, but for whatever reason that duck no longer flies.  I was going out of my mind being angry about not being able to watch the game, but then I remembered I could get EEI on the ‘net.

So I threw up the Game Tracker on the big screen and streamed Meter and Co. calling the game.  I have to say I actually really enjoyed it, it was a while since I had listened to whole football game on the radio and the guys did a nice job describing the game and giving insight.  In fact, I believe at one point the on-air team leaned on this website as they referred to somewhere that they read that Maine QB Wasilewski and Dave Shinskie played for the same high school.  A shout-out would have been nice, but whatevs.

8M) The deuce was somewhat loose

I know Finch had a fumble but overall Deuce showed that he is back and has the strength and health to be back to his true form. I think Finch if he can stay healthy can be someone we really rely on.

9M) We won't go winless

Sometimes wins lose luster when the opponent you just beat goes out and gets thumped by other teams in succession after you’ve played them.  At the time, it looked like a great win but in retrospect that team is just pretty poor.

Unfortunately for BC fans, we have now had two consecutive years of “not a bad loss” turning into a “bad loss”. 

When we dropped an early game to Central Florida last year, some folks were even calling for the Golden Knights to be a dark horse BCS contender.  They certainly looked like a strong team shutting down our offense (admittedly not tough to do, particularly last year), and I left Orlando thinking “Yeah, we lost—but I’m looking forward to seeing what this UCF team does—they’re going to surprise a lot of people!”

Well, they did.  Mainly UCF fans, as the Knights finished the season 5-7 including wins against hapless Memphis, Charleston Southern, and other season-opener type schools. 

If you haven’t connected the points yet, let me do it for you.  The Miami loss was a bad loss.  That Miami team is not good.  K-State threw up over 50 points and nearly 500 yards of offense—and held the Canes in check, to put it lightly.

The good news here?  The best of the best?

We’ve won a game.  We can’t possibly go winless this season now.

10W) Rettig confidence with 0 INT

I think one of the biggest things right now is to keep Rettig’s confidence high. That’s something that you cannot understate. He has gotten roughed up multiple times in the past, but lately hes had the time he needed, and when he does hes excelled.  His confidence has grown, and so has his decision making. I think Rettig continues to grow and we love how he looks

Week 2 Ballot

From the "I told you so" camp, we bring you Arkansas which we had ranked lower than almost everyone. 

I also will take credit for calling the Oregon State upset over Wisky--those Beavers bite a big name at home every other year it seems and this one was ripe. 

No real movers or shakers with the top block, many of adjustments after week two. 

We'll get to see more about the brand name teams after week three now that most are done playing directional schools and are actually engaging in BCS level competition. 
 

BCDraft Ballot - Week 2

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
2	USC Trojans	--
3	Florida St. Seminoles	--
4	LSU Tigers	--
5	Clemson Tigers	--
6	Michigan St. Spartans	--
7	Oregon Ducks	5
8	Kansas St. Wildcats	5
9	Arizona Wildcats	--
10	Ohio St. Buckeyes	1
11	Georgia Bulldogs	-2
12	Oklahoma Sooners	7
13	UCLA Bruins	--
14	Tennessee Volunteers	6
15	South Carolina Gamecocks	7
16	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	-8
17	Texas Longhorns	1
18	Louisville Cardinals	3
19	Virginia Tech Hokies	4
20	BYU Cougars	5
21	Stanford Cardinal	-4
22	TCU Horned Frogs	--
23	Florida Gators	--
24	Northwestern Wildcats	--
25	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	--
Dropouts: Oklahoma St. Cowboys, West Virginia Mountaineers, Wisconsin Badgers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Arkansas Razorbacks, North Carolina Tar Heels

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9-7-12 Draft: Keys to the Game vs. Maine

Okay, so we lost the first one but we looked okay doing so.  It was kind of weird, we can all agree.  For BC fans used to having a stellar D and an O that just didn't show up, it was a little bit light the twilight zone.
..but on we move.  Next up we have The Black Bears from Orono, Maine in town.  Maine isn't your "Savannah State" type of team, this squad finished third in the CAA's last year and enjoyed a mini run in the playoffs.
That being said, BC hasn't let Maine win since...1915.  In fact, the last time Maine even scored on Boston College was almost 100 years ago--but the Black Bears won the first three match-ups vs. The Eagles so a win Saturday will give BC the edge in the series 4-3.
Wesley, start us off!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1Wesley) Rettig
repeat performance
I want Rettig to show that last week wasn’t a fluke, that he can continue on the track and continue the strength, and consistency needed to perform at the level he needs to.


2BCMike) Keep the starters in


Yeah, I know that we have talked about getting some other guys reps and you want to take this opportunity to reward those athletes who don’t typically start or play, but let’s face it—we can use all of the work we can get.
Yes, we put up good offensive numbers but we had so many mistakes—we need to make sure both offense and defense plays the grand majority of this one to not only ensure the win, but to make sure we get ready for Northwestern.


3W) Drop the Dropsies

Somewhat took my pick before not to be looking over to Northwestern..
So lets focus on getting better. One of the issues against Miami was the amount of dropped passes. Even with a few key WR’s out, we really need to show that we are able to consistently catch the ball. Rettig needs the assistance, and drives need to be sustained.


4M) Boundary to cover in Ameer-ica!


Hey, how often can I actually blend West Side Story and a cornerback?!


When you saw Ameer Richardson as the boundary cover corner this week vs. Maine, I’m betting many of you said “WHO?”.

Not me. I play EA Sports NCAA Football and was introduced to Ameer that way.
While our D in the game isn’t great, for whatever reason, this crazy guy Ameer with dreads was getting picks here, there, everywhere. Frankly I thought it was a made up player because EA got lazy and didn’t know who was on our D. But…as it turns out…here he is!

I can tell you he stepped up in the game often and now that he has an opportunity to do so in real life, I think he will make the most of it….and frankly, I’m much more comfortable with having him play corner and Sylvia able to go all crash-test-dummy from the safety position.



5W) Try the noobs out

I want to see what the future holds. I do not want to get a lot of pointless injuries.
I also do not want to lose the game of course, and want to build the confidence as BCMike mentioned in pick 2, but this is our prime time to get some serious PT for the youngin’s on the team.


6M) D-Ends getting pressure on Marcus Wasilewski


Wasilewski is my best guess for the starting QB for Maine, as last year’s leader Warren Smith took with him his 3K yards and 22 touchdowns out the door with him as he graduated last year.
Wasilewski comes from the QB hotbed State of Pennsylvania where many of our best have come from, including current backup Dave Shinskie. In fact, Shinskie and Wasilewski actually played for the same High School (Mt. Carmel, PA).


This will be Marcus’ first start, and he’ll have to throw his second career pass (plus) vs. Boston College. We need to pressure him from the ends and make him rush his throws early. Maine is NOT a bad team and as with any FBS underdog, the more time you leave them in the game with a chance to win the tougher they play.


We need to jump on Maine early and the easiest way to do that is to create turnovers by pressuring Wasilewski.



7W) Seeing Steve Daniels

It feels like he was recruited years ago.. but he’s actually on the 2 deep. I am VERY excited to see him play.

I think this is a player if he can stay on the field that he will be VERY good. Id try to compare him to someone, but I really can’t.
Our LB corp is a very good group of guys . And Daniels getting to the 2 deep as a true frosh says an awful lot!




8M) Develop CJ Parsons


We all want Pantale back yesterday, but with his injury I get the feeling that this type of injury will linger and we will be without him for much longer than we would like.
If that’s the case, we really need to get Parsons developed and used to catching the ball and being a threat at the TE position. Let’s utilize Parsons so that other teams will have to prepare for our TE’s regardless if Pantale’s in or not.



9W) No Fumbles

I can only imagine how the coaches stressed no fumbling.. Or I guess I can be optimistic to think they corrected the problem.
I would ideally like to see zero fumbles.






10M) Hooking up ESPN3.com correctly




Good call on the fumbles, Wesley. You have to imagine our RB’s will soak their hands in stick’em before the game this time around.





For my last key, I’m going with my ability, hopefully, to configure my ESPN3.com feed to my big screen and get synched up with the WEEI Meter call so I can enjoy the game.
 know this sounds rather simple, but this requires considerable McGyvering on my part as the TV feed and keyboard are in other rooms so it’s really pretty tough.

While we bemoan having the games on ESPN3.com, the alternative of possibly not having them at all would drive me nuts. So, I’ll enjoy hearing the same commercials fifty times over and hope that the Meter EEI feed can keep pace with ESPN3 and vice versa.




Who am I kidding.
As long as I have some good beer I’ll be fine.
Wait, is it too late to change my last key to good beer? 
Draft RECAP:
Wesley drafted: Rettig repeat performance, drop the dropsies, noobs out, Daniels, no fumbles
BCMike drafted: Starters IN, Ameer-ica, DE pressure Wasilewski, CJ Parsons develop, ESPN3 with Meter


Who had the better draft?

9-7-12 Draft: Keys to the Game vs. Maine
	Wesley: Rettig repeat performance, drop the dropsies, noobs out, Daniels, no fumbles
	BCMike: Starters IN, Ameer-ica, DE pressure Wasilewski, CJ Parsons develop, ESPN3 with Meter
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9/4/12 Draft: Worst of the Worst vs. Miami

Well at long last we had our first game.  It was nice not to lose 20-3 and it was really fantastic when we were up 14-0 midway through the first quarter…but then the wheels came off the bus. 

I was pretty sure at that point we would be writing the “Best of the Best” again, but unfortunately here we are.  Let’s rehash the harsh.

===============================================

1BCMike) The _____ Tease

It's almost better on a date for the girl to just let you know early on you're not going to get anywhere. You're not happy about it; but at least she is not leading you on, having you invest yourself further with raised expectations.

I thought we would lose to Miami. I was hoping we wouldn't but I thought it would be a tough win given the new OC, AD changes, etc.

Going up 14-0 early had me so excited I didn't know what to do myself. I was smiling ear to ear and our table of four were high giving and whooping it up.

Then we lost like we did--it would have been better without the tease if we were going to lose.

2Wesley) Tahj  Kimble fumble after catch

I disagree with you on the first draft pick BCMike. I actually appreciate that we had some pop. Even though it fizzled out, we were competitive. Frustrating, yes.

Overall I think Kimble played a pretty good game, take out a couple mistakes and I think he has a VERY bright future at the heights. But this is the one that made me sick.

He had about 30-40 yards, on a drive, but a late attempt to push for more left the football on the ground, and took wind out of the Eagles sails for any kind of comeback

3M) Chase's pick 6

Wesley please don't misconstrue my point. I like that we scored points. I like that we "competed".  I don't like thinking that up 14-0 halfway through the first quarter we are about to make a statement to the world and be the talk of the town--not that we are about to lose 41-18 from there on.

To that point, Chase's pick-6 was a back-breaker. We were up 14-7 and trying to answer Miami's score.  Chase had all on all a good if not great game but this pick-6 hurt bad. This was, to me, the turning point in the ball game.

4W) Rettig Sneak

Haha now you are making me sound like TOB.. " we are up , aren't we"  Sucks  lost, same result we had been getting, but at least I didn't doze off.

The Rettig Sneak , that failed was bad for a few reasons. ( other  than the obvious it didn’t count)

·         We had to use a challenge. The booth should have done a review on this play and the play by spiffy prior

·         The O Line showed no push on this sneak

·         I really think that Spiffy scored on the play before

·         I understand holding onto the ball tightly, but you have to make sure it crosses the plane ( I am betting this gets some practice this week)

5M) The Dropsies

While Amidon had a fantastic day overall he and seemingly every other receiver dropped some really easy catches. Now some of this is on Chase who refuses to throw short passes lighter than Brie bullets, but they were almost all really accurate.

If you're getting a scholarship to play football as a WR and the ball hits both of your hands--you need to catch the ball.

6W) Williams Fumble

We were actually able to stop them on offense, And we wanted to give our offense a chance to really drive it down the field And Williams fumbles it on our first action with the ball. Although a good guy was able to fall on it. It totally took all the wind out of the sails and we went instantly to the knee before half.

7M) playing the DB cushion late

I understand wanting to give our d-backs the BC D cushion early on but once Morris got in a rhythm and proved he had no problem connecting in the short passes we really needed to play up close on repeated third down attempted defensive stops. 

I understand the philosophy and I get why we do it most of the time--but late when trailing and needing a stop, you just any play off ten yards on third and five. You simply can't. 

8W) Duke Johnson, pwning BC

You know it wasn’t that long ago when BC was known for stopping the run. Actually we consistently were in the top 10 for doing so.

Last year I think that Luke hid some of our warts, and we still weren't world beaters in the area.

This year it looks like we may have another difficult time stopping it, and Duke Johnson a well revered Freshman RB snapped ankles and made us look very pop warner as he has runs over 50 yards twice!

We must get better at wrapping up, and being run stopping, or it is  going to be a very long year. But don’t let me take anything away from the Duke of run, he is a very talented back, and expect to hear his name a good bit more in the future

9M) Chase's big day goes unnoticed

Did you know that Chase put up the second most yards inthe country this past week?   That he had more yards Saturday than Matt Ryan ever had in one game?

Think anyone else outside of the BC family knows?

As Spaz will be able to tell you at the end of this season (and no, aside from the D cushion I don't blame Spaz for this loss), college football is about one thing: winning.

Because we didn't win, Chase won't get the love he deserves (Amidon in a similar boat). That sucks.

10W) Run Blocking

Good point Mike, I'd add KPL's 14 tackles - Well I didn’t even notice that.

I have to finish with run blocking. Let me state that Pass blocking really couldn’t be any better. But overall run blocking was very lacking.

Seems like holes were opened up opposite of where the RB anticipated them, no huge push for the short yardage. It seemed as simple as the DL was getting lower than our OL.

Hopefully our Line gets this resolved before Northwestern.

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

Who had the better draft?

BCMike: The ---- Tease, Chase pick 6, dropsies, db cushion late, unnoticed heroics

Wesley: Tahj fumble, Rettig sneak, Williams fumble, Duke Johnson pwning, run blocking

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

9/4/12 Draft: Worst of the Worst vs. Miami
	BCMike: The ---- Tease, Chase pick 6, dropsies, db cushion late, unnoticed heroics
	Wesley: Tahj fumble, Rettig sneak, Williams fumble, Duke Johnson pwning, run blocking
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Week 1 Ballot

We intentionally did not submit a preseason ballot because, well, we don't beleive in it. 

I think we should all wait until week three, but like everyone else, we want to add content and have our voice heard--so this is a nice compromise.

Keep in mind we are NOT "dropping" or "moving up" any one team as there was no starting spot for any of these--this is just what we were able to garner after watching one week of College Football.

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

BCDraft Ballot - Week 1

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
2	USC Trojans	--
3	Florida St. Seminoles	--
4	LSU Tigers	--
5	Clemson Tigers	--
6	Michigan St. Spartans	--
7	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	--
8	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	--
9	Georgia Bulldogs	--
10	West Virginia Mountaineers	--
11	Ohio St. Buckeyes	--
12	Oregon Ducks	--
13	Kansas St. Wildcats	--
14	Wisconsin Badgers	--
15	Nebraska Cornhuskers	--
16	Arkansas Razorbacks	--
17	Stanford Cardinal	--
18	Texas Longhorns	--
19	Oklahoma Sooners	--
20	Tennessee Volunteers	--
21	Louisville Cardinals	--
22	South Carolina Gamecocks	--
23	Virginia Tech Hokies	--
24	North Carolina Tar Heels	--
25	BYU Cougars	--

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Draft 9/1: Keys to the game vs Miami

Well its Christmas in September, or something like that I feel like we have anxiously awaiting today and it is finally here!

We start off with very good in conference game against Miami.. We are drafting the keys to the game for BC to start off with a W!

1M) Pressure Harris Morris

It's no secret the D-Line was decimated by graduations and injuries last year, forcing some younger Eagles to play ahead of schedule.  Some did admirable jobs such as Ricci and Wujciak but no one was dominant—that's putting it lightly.

We need Kaleb Ramsey to make a statement that he has the goods to be a day one NFL draft pick and dominate inside.  We need to get consistent pressure on the QB without blitzing our LB's.   If we're able to force Morris out of the pocket and make some rushed throws into our opportunistic pass D, we'll win this game.  I'm calling it right now.

If we rush four and Morris hangs back in the pocket all day, we're toast.

2W) Keep Rettig Upright

I really feel that as Rettig goes, the team will go. Last year we had a handful of areas we needed to improve on to give Rettig the foundation he needed to be able to succeed.

Well that time is really over. This is Rettig's time, his team and everything looks like it can be in sync, but we have to be able to demonstrate that we can stretch the field.

Keeping Rettig upright will be key to give him time to get comfortable in the pocket and make some good passes.

3M) Bobby Swigert's replacement stepping up

Here at BCDraft we are BIG Bobby Swagger fans.  Kid is under-rated and underappreciated in the ACC and perhaps by our own fans.  The kid is just a terrific receiver and a great slot one at that—and those are the hardest to find.

Therein lies our next key—whomever steps in as the third WR must take over that slot WR role and flash open to Rettig early and often.  He has to be able to take the big hit after catching the ball while running fearlessly through Linebacker Lane.

We've seen different people listed on the depth chart as possible replacements (I think it will be Spiffy Evans), but we'll only really know once they line up.

4W) Pantale replacement

BCMike I hate to follow you with a similar post, but I actually think this one is a bit more important. Pantale became a key to success during the last game against Miami, and was poised for a great year.

Rettig will need a bail out option at times ( and the TE is the logical person for this) but without Pantale, it looks like we will be changing our scheme a bit. Putting in Parsons and younger OL will make this position seem like just another lineman, or a strickly blocking TE, which reduces the amount of threats we have, and in my mind translates into playing safe.

5M) Sylvia lining up at CB

Dang!  You completely stole mine here.  More specifically I believe they need to go to Parsons early just to prove that they're willing to use him as more than a blocking end and force the LB's to honor the spot.

My biggest worry on D is Sylvia at CB.  He was tremendously fun to watch as a DB last year playing in the free safety position as he was overly aggressive and threw his body about with reckless abandon.

Now while this was fun to watch, often times it seemed as if he would rather the WR, TE, or RB be able to catch the ball just so he could punish them with the people's elbow and drop the hammer on them.  Again, while entertaining, it wasn't always smart or effective.

So…we're going to play him at corner now?  I don't know if this is just the ol' cat and mouse game with Spaz if he's going to be able to use CJ Jones or another corner, but with Sylvia at CB we're going to need him to play really close coverage and not wait for the receiver to catch it first.  That is asking his guy to step up a ton to play this position.  If he's able to, that's a big win for our D.

6W) BC Fanhood

BCMike- Agreed, Sylvia can lay the lumber at times, but I do find him out of position a decent bit. Maybe that has changed, maybe he has proven himself in camp. I truly do not know, and hope for nothing but the best obviously tomorrow.

My choice is going to be BC Fanhood. And let me explain this for a quick minute. BC fans now have a ton of excuses not to be hyped . Losing Gene ( although that may actually hype up some) A coach that is viewed as a lame duck. Not ranked preseason, it's a holiday weekend. There are storms in the south, El Nino, Global warming, Flutie moving to Florida. The list goes on and on and on.

BUT! We are freaking playing Miami the first game of the season. With a new offensive coordinator, good times with good friends watching a great game. I really hope our fans can be there to the players for the hard work that has been put in for months and even years- they deserve it!

7M) Rettig getting over that INT

Once again I agree with you and ATL Eagle ( http://atleagle.blogspot.com/ ), the fan base is so tired of being morose and if GDF leaving is a sign of anything, it's that this team has to win now or there will be change immeaditely.  As a fan, I'm encouraged either way to be frank.  Get it?  To be FRANK?

Anywho, I'm going with Rettig not letting incompletions or the likely INT's get to him.  I'm not saying that he's an innacurate QB or unable to understand the offense or anything like that—but this new Doug Martin offense is about quick routes, quick cuts, and letting the ball go early; often times well before the WR has made their break.

It's likely that Rettig and the WR's will make a mistake or two…but we can't be timid or not trust the system.  If we mess up, we have to forget about it and push forward.

8W) Ramsey

With the young secondary, a hard push on the line is going to be critical. The success of that line should be based on the full line, but in particular Ramsey. He is our beast, when he is healthy. We need him to 1) Stay healthy and 2) lead the charge. 

9M) Levano leading us to good field position

For years BC fans were spoiled by future NFL caliber QB's...now the same can be said about punters with Johnny Ayers and Ryan Quigley.  Quigs was one of the consistent right spots last year and punted us out of trouble more times than I can count.  We need Levano to be the next great BC punter and help us win the field position battle.

10W) 1 of the RBs stepping up -  Andre Williams

BCMike, I think you got away with a steal in the 9th round, I think Levano will be huge in this game no doubt, but on the plus side he has looked very good in camp.

Without question we have had a lot of very good  punters in past years and have become somewhat spoiled

You know when you have a running game which is RB  by committee, one of them has to step up. You play the hot hand.  Andre has been kept out of a few of the last practices and scrimmages because the coaches feel like he is the healthiest, and has the least to prove.. We keep hearing about his performance against Syracuse two years ago, and want to see a redux of that.. We need another showcase like that, and I think vs Miami at home as a season opener is the perfect stage!

Draft 9/1: Keys to the game vs Miami
	BCMike: Pressure Harris, Swigert replacement, Sylvia DB, Retting past INT,Levano Field position
	Wesley: Rettig upright, Pantale Replacement, BC Fanhood, Ramsey, Andre Williams
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