11/9/11 draft: Spaz's replacement

It's been a up and down year for BC, and the one saving grace is that the curtain is certainly closing on the Head Coaching career of Frank
Spaziani.

Coach, thank you for all of your year as a Defensive
Coordinator and we appreciate you stepping up and taking thereigns when
we needed some consistency at the head of our table. We hope you
thoroughly enjoy retirement and visit Alumni Stadium often.

Since Spaz will be gone in a couple weeks, let's focus our attention on who will be replacing the mustachioed one at the Head Coaching spot.

Some are reaches, others would be easy gets.

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

1M) Mike Leach

Despite what you may have heard about him, Mike Leach is a good guy and
one who values education for his players and teams. In fact, while at
Texas Tech, Leach had the Red Raiders leading the country in graduation
rates for a public institution. Now, if you know anything about Texas
Tech‹that accomplishment is that much more impressive.

Leach would bring a long, painfully overdue level of excitement and
energy to TheHeights and create a buzz in Chestnut Hill that hasn?t been
here since Matty Ice and Jags were. Yes, he would likely take a couple
seasons to get ?his guys? in house, but I have no problem believing that
he could take this current team and turn them into a bowl team in his
first year.


2W) Ruffin McNeill, Eastern Carolina

I do like the thought of Mike Leach , and I think he would be a fit as well, but I think a some of the whalepants crowd would have a bit of a
problem with Leach, just based on the name, not necessarily anything past
that.

On my choice, I actually am going with Ruffin McNeill, who actually was a
DC under Leach, and is currently the HC at East Carolina. At ECU he has
done some pretty good things, and able to compete with the bigger
programs in the Carolinas. Although he is an ECU Alum, I have to think
that BC could actually give him a pay increase, something that they
couldn'tt necessarily give everyone.

3M) Steve Logan, Tampa Bay

Yes, THAT Steve Logan. He was tied to Jags and dismissed because of his affiliation bit at the end of the day he was, at the supreme least, responsible for one of the best offenses and teams Boston College has ever had.

He did interview for the position when it became open which shows his interest and unlike just about every other possible outside candidate, he know what BC is like and what BC is about.

4W) Al Golden, Miami

BCMike as I do like the thought as Steve Logan as a HC, I think it would take an AD change to make that happen, so we may see that opportunity.

I am going with Al Golden, as I liked Golden when he was a candidate in 2009, and went to Miami, but due to the recent issues in Miami, it seems that there may be an out clause for Al pending sanctions, see cbssports article (http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6270202/33070687) So we may actually get a second chance at what I think is a very good coach, who has some ties to BC and the NorthEast


5M) Tony Sparano

I expect Tony to be available after this season and I love his X's and O's.

He's in a borderline unwinable situation on the NFL and while he's likely to be kicked out of Miami he's be a big hot in Chestnut Hill.


6W) Bill O'Brien, New England

I honestly do not know much about Bill O'Brien, outside that he is the current Offensive Coordinator for the Pats and has ties to BC. But there have been current rumors that he has sent GDF multiple emails on how to improve the program and is very interested in the Program, and obviously has ties to the North East


7M) Rick Trickett, FSU

We need to get back to what we traditionally do best and that's the O-Line. Trickett is known as one of the best line guys out there and could help us earn back the title we've so clearly lost.


8W) Kevin Sumlin, Houston

Currently the Head Coach at the University of Houston, but has coached at at Oklahoma/Texas A&M and Purdue to name a few Sumlin is a tested Head Coach that has a proven track record in a tough area to compete. Although Sumlin doesn't have any ties in the Northeast, I still think he could be successful.


9M) Kirby Smart, Alabama

Kirby has followed Nick Saban around for the majority of his career—but wherever he’s gone, he’s helped make teams better. It’s true that Smart has no Head Coaching experience, but that’s why this is not as much of a stretch as some might think. He’s looking for a major program to give him a shot to be a head of a program and I’m sure he would rather have a go of it elsewhere other than the SEC attempting to rebuild a program and going against his alma mater, his mentor’s school, and his former employer (UGA, Alabama, and LSU, respectively), the ACC would be a perfect fit for Smart as he’d be able to stay on the East Coast and likely compete immediately.


10W) Butch Jones, Cincinnati

This one hasn't really been floated out there, but I think that it should. Butch ran a good program when he was at Central Michigan, and was able to compete with the higher competition, and now he is in Cincinnati and after a rough first year seems to slowly be getting his program in place, I think Butch has some serious potential, and could be a good Head Coach at the Heights!

Recap:

BCMike: Leach, Logan, Soprano, Trickett, Smart

Wesley: McNeill, Golden, O'Brien, Sumlin, Jones

11-9 draft: Spaz's Replacement
	BCMike: Leach, Logan, Soprano, Trickett, Smart
	Wesley: McNeill, Golden, O'Brien, Sumlin, Jones
pollcode.com free polls

Draft:11-3: Keys to the game vs. Florida State

Well it is that time again, game time, as the Eagles come off of their first ACC win, they have a tough test at home on a short time of rest against the Seminoles of Florida State. As this is the first game that is on prime time, the Eagles will try to have their best game forward for the nation to see..

1W) Stop EJ Manuel

I am hoping to see a good amount of blitzes, and some great penetration by the Dline , as EJ is a Quarterback that can beat you in multiple ways. This game I think is going to come down to putting EJ Manuel on his back , a problem we have had with allquarterbacks we have faced this year and not letting him move around in thepocket, or have any quick runs. Already rushing for three touchdowns andhaving a QB rating of 155 means we have to stop him from being successful against us at all costs.



2M) Rise and Shine for Prime Time

It’s been a tough year, but now you’ve won a game (convincingly, at that) and things are feeling good. The spotlight of the nation is now turned upon you…at home…at night…in primetime. It’s time for us to rise up and play our best ball in front of the nation. Feed off the moment and play the best game of the year Thursday night.



3W) Deep Threat

ANNNNDDDD you stole my next draft pick.. Maybe that is a good sign, I think being ready for being on regular espn, not 2 3 or the ocho is a change, so we are undefeated on thatchannel!!
There is no doubt that Florida State watched the film of us vs Maryland, which must look like a boot leg tape of the paris hilton video, but nonetheless they see the constant running that the Duece did over and over and over.. They will be loading the box, trying to stop that run, which will be a great opportunity to dump it over their heads.



4M) O-Line U earning their namesake

While Deuce Finch gained much of thefame for his incredible 243 yard performance in the end-of-days conditions this past week vs. Maryland—and rightfully so—the thing I think most BC fans were happy about is how well our O-Line played. Truly their best game of the year and it wasn’t even close. For whatever reason—they jelled. Was it the conditions? The competition? The back in the backfield? Who knows. What I do know is we saw our O-Line dominate for the first time in YEARS against a D-1 opponent. It’s time to bring sexy back…in the form of our lost title…O-line U.

You dominate like you did vs. Maryland and O-Line U might just be back.



5W) Coaches take Chances

We aren't going to be favored at home, Florida has florida athletes, which typically we do not get. So to beat them we are going to have to go outside of our typical scope. We are going to have to take some chances, go for it on fourth, and play to win, not to keep it close.



6M) Superfans being Super

People in the media and BC haters love to give our fans a hard time…but truthfully, our student section is among the loudest, best organized in the nation. I’ll honestly put them up against any school, any day (it’s the rest we have an issue with). We need our kids to be hyped up and create a genuine homefield advantage for us…something that helps fuels our players and makes the FSU kids wonder hey—what happened here—and what sort of hostile environment did we just walk into? If we are going to win this game it will be a team effort—not just the players and the coaches—but the fans in the stands making Alumni the sort of homefield advantages that Thursday night games have been for our Eagles over the years.


7W) Secondary stepping up

Great Call on the SuperFans, I truly hope we look better on this Thursday night vs. our future ACC Brethren Pitt did last week.
As the Dline is going to be my thermometer in if we win or lose, secondary .. Is going to be the secondary. The secondary is going to more than likely play strict zone as they typically do, but have to cover their zone a bit tighter as CJ has been very successful at 10 yard slants and curls. Hopefully our secondary is ready, because I see them as a key to victory.


8M) Duggan doin’ damage

Still gives me the creepy-crawlies that Pitt is coming to the ACC. I was / am still all for Syracuse, but I could have passed on Pitt and been fine. Still better than the other Big East dregs I suppose. Moving on…

Sean Duggan has played very well as a true frosh when he was throw into the mix earlier this year and stepped up making his first start in KPL’s absence last week. He played well but we need him to step it up one more notch and be ready for the bright lights, big opponent, big stage game he’s about to play in. We know what Keeks will come to the table with, and Devitto has been solid. We need Duggan to dig deep and do damage (+5 points for alliteration, right?).


9W) Playing for something

HAHA get over it BCMike.. I actually see a value in Pitt over some of the other choices.
The Bowl game is still a possibility, although its hard, its possible. I think the playing for something can keep these guys going. So here we go!



10M) Get Pantale & Anderson involved EARLY

I know it seems like we say this every week…and frankly, I’m pretty sure we have. However, if we’re going to try to run effectively on the ‘Noles, it means keeping Florida State from stacking the box and from having their LB’s and Safeties creep up to help the run. Simply put, the easiest way to do that is to throw to the tight ends early and establish them as pass-catching threats. We do that, it opens up a lot for us…and we’re going to need a lot opened up if we’re going to pull this upset. Get ‘em involved, and get ‘em involved early

Recap:

Wesley: Stop EJ, Deep Threat, Take Chances, Secondary, Playing for something

BCMike: Primetime, OLineU, Superfans, Duggan, Tight Ends

Draft:11-3: Keys to the game vs. Florida State
	Wesley: Stop EJ, Deep Threat, Take Chances, Secondary, Playing for something
	BCMike: Primetime, OLineU, Superfans, Duggan, Tight Ends
pollcode.com free polls

Best of the Best vs. Maryland

As we stated in the last post, if its a best of the best, it will probably get out there a bit earlier than a worst of the worst.. and well we didn't have to be held accountable for that , it was an easy one for BCMike and I.
so without further ado, here... we .... go!!!


1M) We won

Call it a cop-out, I don't care. We finally won a game vs. a d-1 (FBS) opponent and I'm flying sky high.

I'll have specific points later, but to me the best part about this win is that WE FINALLY FUCKING WON A GAME.

2W) Run blocking
Call it a weak Maryland d line, but it was exactly what we needed and called for in the keys to thegame, now ifthey would just involve the tight ends in the game outside of blocking

3M) Deuce going for double-deuce

Deuce Finch was apparently just slow playing us all. We all liked the kid, but I don’t think anyone had in mind his 243 yard, 2 TD performance. As Eagle in Atlanta pointed out, it wasn’t a couple of big runs that inflated the stats but rather a constant grind of 7, 8, 9 yard carries with a 20 yarder sprinkled in here and there. Yes, he had a couple fumbles—both in the red zone (one in ours, the other in theirs) which hurt us and could have let us get a blowout, but the weather was tough on all parties Saturday.

4W) Duggan stepping up

With kpl out for now with an injury I thought Duggan did a good job filling in and gave a glimpse into the future. And as he gets bigger, I feel we are going to have a great player. Solid tackler and good instincts, a lot like another player that came from st x

5M) Amidon end-around

Alex once again had another team under-estimating his speed as he took the pitchfrom Chase and turned the corner. Great blocking by all, but terrific job by Alex turning on the jets and zooming past all of the defenders into the endzone.

6W) Getting to actually watch the game

On Saturday I was actually in Pittsburgh, as some of you know I travel frequently. Well the duke tech game was running over and I started watching the game on my phone, the guy running bettis sports bar saw me trying to watch, came by and put the BC game on for me, I knew it was going to be a good day then

7M) Keeks INT

Keeks of course turned in another stellar performance racking up tackles and diagnosing plays faster than a half-hour special of HOUSE, but getting a turnover is always great. Keeks was WAY back in zone coverage and easily picked off O’Brien who was trying to force the issue. I thought for a second he was going to find his way into the endzone for a pick-6, but the INT wasgreat itself. Four turnovers on the day for BC, this one was the prettiest.

8W) Sylvia INT

To balance out the Keeks INT, The Sylvia INT was what I thought put MO on our side. Sylvia not only made an athletic move to get the ball, but was able to bring the ball back so the Eagle would be able to make a move with the Ball on Offense. Not too shabby for a Freshman, Redshirted or not.

9M) The Maryland Footballs

Honestly, this game could have been different if Maryland hadn’t dropped so many passes. Yes, I know it’s bad weather and you need to run to win, but numerous Terps dropped multiple balls vs. our Eagles. Conservatively I think there were 10 drops, but the real total is likely closer to 15. I don’t know if the Maryland balls were some sort of new Under Armour Hyper-Suck model or what, but the Terps had an unbelievably hard time holding onto the ball Saturday…which is just fine by me.

10W)Ability to do the Best of the Best

First and foremost , I am a BC fan, I hope that is 100% understood. So When BC loses I don't enjoy being clever on the worst of the worst.. I would 1000x more rather to do the best of the best, and frankly its easier, my kind of memory is more agreeable with the wins, rather than the losses. So I tend to remember the big plays of BC a lot better than the ones against them.

Week 10 Ballot

BCDraft Ballot - Week 10

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU Tigers	--
2	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	2
3	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
4	Stanford Cardinal	2
5	Boise St. Broncos	--
6	Clemson Tigers	-4
7	Houston Cougars	7
8	Oregon Ducks	--
9	Nebraska Cornhuskers	7
10	Oklahoma Sooners	3
11	Michigan Wolverines	6
12	South Carolina Gamecocks	--
13	Arkansas Razorbacks	-2
14	Penn St. Nittany Lions	5
15	Virginia Tech Hokies	--
16	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	9
17	Kansas St. Wildcats	-8
18	Wisconsin Badgers	-11
19	Cincinnati Bearcats	1
20	Southern Miss. Golden Eagles	1
21	Michigan St. Spartans	-11
22	Arkansas St. Red Wolves	--
23	Arizona St. Sun Devils	--
24	Texas Longhorns	--
25	Georgia Bulldogs	--
Dropouts: Texas A&M Aggies, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Iowa Hawkeyes, BYU Cougars

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Keys to the Game vs. Maryland

It's another gameweek, so its another chance to chase that W RIGHT?
Here are the keys to victory against the Terps of Maryland!

1W) Play a full 60 minutes

We seemed to play a great first half last week AT Tech, if we can
stretch the game play for thefull 60 minutes, we will have no
problem beating the Terps. Let's see if our Eagles have it in them
to do so.

2M) Focus on the dream

By the numbers, BC is still bowl eligible. I¹m sure the Coaches are
tired of listening to the haters, the fans, the blogs, the media,
etcŠbut what about the players? Want to shut everyone up? Focus on
the prize:
if BC wins out‹a tall goal by any measurement‹BC will go bowling.
Keep
the dream alive and play THROUGH Maryland. They¹re what stands
between you and your goal.

This is your Superbowl. Every game from here out is. Make it count.

3W) Deep threat
You know mike you are right, if we somehow put together a win streak
and go bowling.. Wow.. I may just have to go lol.
We do have the talent, we just haven't been able to line it all up yet.
Number three is a Steal. Larmond I am calling you out. We require a
few DEEP passes to Larmond for the W, without it , it won't happen,
Maryland's pass defense hasn't been overly stellar, so here is your
chance, you are a better than average WR, here is your stage to prove
it.

4M) Bring the blitz

Maryland is in a QB controversy and that means two kids trying to
prove themselves and likely taking chances they shouldn't. Let's
bring the blitz early and often and force Brown and O'Brien to think
quick while trying to impress--hopefully that results in some INT's for us.

5W) Scoring 24 points.

I'm making a bold prediction here, we score 24 {which we haven't
against div 1) and we win. That's all

6M) Be aggressive

We know what Edsall will be Ginger-like the same as Spaz... But we
need to be aggressive to win.

7W) O Line Run Blocking

Here is where I talk about an area that we have consistently improved
throughout the year. Run blocking has slowly got better and better as
the year has progressed. A back like Montel can help hide the
problems, but with Montel out the Oline needed to continue to
improve, and they have.
Are they great now? No, simply they are not, but they have
dramatically improved, allowing us to occupy time possession and give
our D a breather.
For us to beat Maryland as I took the Deep threat to Larmond earlier
is going to be to pound it on the ground, as Marylands rush Defense
is one of the worst in the Nation at 110.
Duece/Dre/Tajh.. Tie those laces tight! And just as importantly, O
line keep improving and making holes where the RB expect them.


8M) Chase being patient

Many times (and for good reason considering the lack of pass blocking),
Chase has quickly fired to the first option available...many times the
safety valve before the route has even opened up.

We don't need Chase to throw to the first safe, open guy-- we need
Chase to throw to the BEST option regardless of who comes open first.

Yes, the line needs to allow him tone to do this; but of they do we
need Chase to be patient and find the best man, not necessarily the first man.

9W) Don't out Ugly the uniforms

Haha, this really doesn’t play into the w/l column for the game, but as we are both Under Armor teams, and we will be dawning our white jerseys with stained glass and helmet with stained glass, I believe Maryland will be dawning another new helmet/ uniform design that hasn’t been seen yet. As I like the changes for our home jerseys and am fairly indifferent on the away ones, think we will get a reminder that we are thankful we don't look like Maryland


10M) Make big plays

When Mathias "Kiwi" Kiwankua was here, he would always tell his teammates "Make a play...make big plays", and that's what we need here. If you have an opportunity to hit a homerun, you need to hit a homerun. If that's a sace, it's a ssack. Maybe it's an INT for a TD. Maybe it's shedding that fourth tackler for a TD run. Maybe it's channelling your inner Usain Bolt and finding a way to outrun that last d-back on a fly route.

Point is our guys need to step up and make big plays when they have the chance.

We make big plays on Saturday, I think we walk away with a W.

Recap:

Wesley: 60, Deep Threat, 24pts, Run-Block, Unis

BCMike: Dream, Blitz, Aggressive, Chase-Patient, Big Plays

Keys to the Game vs. Maryland
	Wesley: 60, Deep Threat, 24pts, Run-Block, Unis
	BCMike: Dream, Blitz, Aggressive, Chase-Patient, Big Plays
pollcode.com free polls

Draft: 10/26: Worst of the Worst vs. VT

As the Losses continue to mount, there is no doubt that BCMike and I have a harder and harder time writing up the worst of the worst. Believe me , we would crank out a Best of the best with a ton more Vigor! But, we are committed in good times and hard times. The Tech game showed some improvement, but we still have some work to do, meanwhile, here are the worst of the worst from the game.

1M) The Tease

Allowing me to think how wonderful it would be to wear my BC shirt with pride on Monday, giving everyone a hard time for making fun of my team every day this season…then taking that dream away in the second half.

2W) The Halftime adjustments

Virginia Tech made them, and we didn't. We came out the second half flat, and with no more tricks in the bag, and our house of cards fell to the ground.

3M) Inability to diagnose / stop the WR screen

VT ran one WR screen to see if it worked. It did—so they tried it again—and again….and again. Each time we were equally unable to stop it. It was very frustrating as VT was pretty plainly telling our guys that "hey, we're going to keep on running this play until you stop it"…and we couldn't. Very depressing.

4W) The D Line

Do I think our D Line is talented? Yeah I do, but they lack the consistency to put constant pressure on a QB, or even to stop the run. Throughout the game our guys appeared winded, and just plain getting beat by the O Line of Tech, and I think our D line has a standard to live up to ( see Raji, Brace) and frankly theyaren't able to do it .

I am excited to see Ricci and Ramsey next year together as I think they have some serious potential up the middle.

5M) Chase missing the open man

It wasn't too often that Chase had enough time to throw and actually had a man wide open. Amidon (it waseither Amidon or Bobby Swigert) was wide open with no one around him. Chase put just a little too much steam on the ball and overshot the WR who could have backpedalled in. It's not too often we're going to get a TD handed to us on a plate. When it's offered, we really need to take advantage of it—particularly by a club as good as VT.

6W) Dbacks in the 2nd half

Something happened at half time, not sure if it was a make a wish program that allowed kids to play DB for BC or what, but after a stellar first half by our DB's they were unable to cover Tech's Wide out's , bad positioning, timing, etc. It really was bad all around. The Key play that stuck in everyones mind was our best player in the secondary Donnie Fletcher getting horribly out maneuvered in the end zone, allowing a Tech Touchdown.

7M) The "here ya go" D on the last drive of the 1^st half

If you're an Eagles fan who has watched our team from the beginning, you probably had a little bit of D?j? vu when you saw VT drive the ball 80 yards in the last minute of the first half. Looked an awful lot like Northwestern, didn't it? We played way back, looking to prevent the 50 yard play that was never coming. We gave up large chunks of yardage and allowed VT to score right before the half, stealing the momentum and leaving us with a "what just…just…happened…?" feeling on D despite playing exceptionally well up until that point in the game.

8M) Andre Williams Running

Mike you areexactly right, I think we all knew what was going to happen going into the 2nd half.

Let me preface this with I like what we saw from Deuce against Tech, and I know the O Line didn't do anyone a tremendous amount of favors, but where did Andre Williams rushing go? The Andre williams that absolutely crushed Syracuse? The one with speed, vision, and power.. It wasn't there against Tech, and I sure hope that we see it in the future.

9M) Jim Noel missed INT

Good call on Dre. I'm a fan as well, but he just didn't hit the holes hard like he has been. Not sure if he's still banged up or not, but we need him to WANT to run over people if he's going to be effective.

Logan Thomas didn't bring his A-Game vs. our Eagles, but we didn't take much advantage of it, either. On a tipped ball, the pass went up in the air and directly to Jim Noel. Yes, he had to dive for it—but since I've seen Jim make plays easily a hundred times more athletic than that one it's simply one he should have had and one we could have really used.

10W) Being 1-6

BCMike, I was REALLY thinking I would see how this loss effected your home life as the final pick ..

Like Mike stated in his first pick , we were given hope, but being 1-6 and our only win being to Umass, and making us officially out for a bowl game this year hurt, I cannot lie. I love bowl games, even the crappy ones, We showed a lot more fight in this game, but the result was VERY painful.

Recap:

BCMike: Tease, WR Screen, Chase missing, here ya go, Noel missed INT

Wesley: Halftime, Dline, Dbacks, Dre, 1-6

Draft: 10-26: Worst of the Worst vs. VT
	BCMike: Tease, WR Screen, Chase missing, here ya go, Noel missed INT
	Wesley: Halftime, Dline, Dbacks, Dre, 1-6
pollcode.com free polls

Week 9 Ballot

BCDraft Ballot - Week 9

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU Tigers	--
2	Clemson Tigers	3
3	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
4	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	2
5	Boise St. Broncos	2
6	Stanford Cardinal	2
7	Wisconsin Badgers	-5
8	Oregon Ducks	1
9	Kansas St. Wildcats	1
10	Michigan St. Spartans	1
11	Arkansas Razorbacks	3
12	South Carolina Gamecocks	--
13	Oklahoma Sooners	-9
14	Houston Cougars	3
15	Virginia Tech Hokies	-2
16	Nebraska Cornhuskers	-1
17	Michigan Wolverines	1
18	Texas A&M Aggies	1
19	Penn St. Nittany Lions	2
20	Cincinnati Bearcats	4
21	Southern Miss. Golden Eagles	--
22	Texas Tech Red Raiders	--
23	Iowa Hawkeyes	--
24	BYU Cougars	--
25	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	-9
Dropouts: West Virginia Mountaineers, Illinois Fighting Illini, Washington Huskies, SMU Mustangs

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