Boston College Athletics
Addazio Speaks at Weekly Press Conference
September 08, 2014 | Football
Chestnut Hill, Mass. - Boston College head football coach Steve Addazio spoke to the media at his weekly press conference on Monday about Friday's loss to Pittsburgh and the upcoming game with Southern California on Saturday at 8 p.m. He emphasized the need to play the younger players more often to help them develop and grow the BC program.
On the Pittsburgh game Friday night...
Just recapping Friday night - the Pitt game - I felt like after watching the tape I was pretty on point with my comments after the game. Defensively, we gave up 303 yards rushing, which is entirely too much. There's other things that we look at obviously. I think an interesting thing we had on defense there is that we had three quarters with 17 points: Touchdown, touchdown, field goal. Three back-to-back drives where we had given up close to 200 yards in one quarter. I think that was a really important thing that happened in that game negatively.
I also think that with the one turnover we got - the interception - we weren't able to convert any points on that. We missed a field goal. We had two wide-open play-action passes that we weren't able to connect on. I think that that segment and the drive before the half where it was 80 yards in 55 seconds and not converting is a really negative thing that happened in the game to us.
I don't think we tackled well in any way, shape or form. I don't think we played well up front on offense. I think you throw all that into the mix. I will at least give our kids credit for battling because with all that, in the end we still had a chance to win that game. It was meaningful time and a meaningful part of the game.
We have to play better up front, on both sides of the ball. We have to tackle better. We can't drop as many passes. We have to connect on our play action passes. You just can't give up that much offense in one quarter and think that's not going to have an effect. Because what happens there is those are all times where you're not really getting any legitimate cracks on offense. You're playing against strong defenses, you have to play strong defense too because there's a lot of three-and-outs and there's a lot of things that occur and you have to keep hanging in there until you crack that rock. Part of hanging in there to crack that rock is opportunities. We didn't get enough of them.
Collectively, we didn't play as well as we should have or could have without taking anything away from the Pittsburgh team. I think they were a solid, strong team. I see some of the games that are being played out there. We played our opening game. I felt like UMass was a better team than people thought they would be and I think that was proved to be true. I think in our second game, a year ago we didn't play the same level team as we did in year two. We played a really quality opponent. In order to beat that kind of opponent - in order to beat Pitt this year - we have to play our `A' game. Anything less than that would not work. And we did not do that.
On taking on USC this weekend...
Hopefully the strength of our schedule will bring us value in the end. Obviously now as we get ready to play USC. USC is in the top-10 teams in country right now. And they should be. They're an elite team with elite players all over the field. There are more NFL players on that team than you can shake a stick at. So, we're going to go right into the fire. Here we go. We played a really good, really strong Pitt team and now we're going to play one of the finest teams in America. And that's going to happen and we've got to now worry about our game. We have to play the best game we can play. We can't ride the emotional rollercoaster of everything, and that's going to be critically important.
People understand the quality of opponents that Boston College as a very young football team is going to encounter in the first three weeks of the season. There are other teams of elite status that don't even come close to that.
We have to fight because in football there's such a thing as momentum. We're trying to create positive momentum, but you also have to look out for negative momentum. We have a young football team, and at times an immature football team. We've got a big mountain to climb in front of us right now and that's the reality of it.
We're taking on USC, let's talk about their offense. They're averaging 215-216 yards a game rushing, 280 yards passing, close to 500 total yards per game 32.5 points per game. Cody Kessler, the quarterback, he's a solid QB. He's a game manager. He throws the ball well. I think he has a tremendous amount of poise. Max Brown is a junior behind him. At running back, they have Javarus Allen and Justin Davis, both really strong running backs with great ability. At wide receiver they're unique. Nelson Aguilar is exceptional. He's a game-breaker. George Farmer and JuJu Smith, the freshman, he's got five receptions for 121 yards, I think they're game-breakers out there. They have a quarterback who can get them the ball. They have a really good offensive line. That usually equates to a really potent offense, and that's what they are: A really potent offense.
We saw an elite back last week; we saw an elite receiver last week. Now, we're going to see that across the board.
On defense they returned seven starters. Last year they were ranked 13th in total defense and 16th in scoring defense. That's what they were last year, and the bulk of their team is back. They were 14th in rushing defense. Week one they beat Fresno State, 52-13. Last week they beat Stanford, which is a really fine, elite team. Obviously everybody hears about Leonard Williams, the defensive tackle; he's projected to be on the top players taken in the draft. He's a great player. But they have a bunch of great players. That defensive line is maybe one of the best I have ever seen as a collection of guys. Hayes Puller linebacker, he's an exceptional player. JR Taddei is a great player. Cravens, the strong safety, has four interceptions on the year. I mean these guys are loaded. Palman, Antoine Woods the nose tackle, these guys are all legitimate, 295-310-pound guys on the interior. This is a really good offense, a really good defense, and one of the elite teams in America.
For Boston College, what we need to do is keep growing, keep developing, and we have to make our team better. We have to do that fundamentally and continue about the growth of our team right now. So it's a very big challenge on the field and off the field and in scheduling. We have to take that challenge on and keep our eye on the target and get ready to roll Saturday night here in our stadium which we will do. We've been in games like this before. A year ago we were in these games. We were in it with Florida State, we were in it at Clemson. I'm grateful that we're at home.
I hope that we're relatively healthy going into this game. Each game we've lost a starting player, so that's taking a young, not-very-deep team and stressing us right now. That's where we are.
On the injury to senior linebacker Sean Duggan...
I don't think he is definitely out. But he is certainly questionable. It's a knee thing; he's got a deep bone contusion. He was and is the command center in the huddle on defense. He'll be back, I just don't know when yet. It's a tough loss for us. The week before we lost our starting right guard, veteran player [Harris Williams]. Now we've lost our middle linebacker. We've been in two really physical games and we're getting ready for a third one.
On junior Steven Daniels starting at middle linebacker...
I'm comfortable with him there. He's gotten a lot of playing experience. We will miss Sean's leadership and it attacks our already light depth, so you're going to see freshmen going into the game. Especially with an offense like this, we're going to have to keep rolling players in to keep them fresh. I would suspect that you're going to see an all-time high level of freshmen playing in this game, which is tough.
On freshman linebacker Connor Stratchan playing...
We've been very impressed with Connor. Like a typical freshman he was injured for a part of camp, so he's got a ways to go to get ready to play against one of the elite offenses in America. I think he's in the same position as the rest of the freshmen; they're going to have a baptism by fire.
On USC potentially missing middle linebacker Hayes Pullard...
It would be a big loss for him if he can't play, but just understand that he's surrounded by great players on that defense. As I said earlier, maybe one of the best interior defensive lines and I've seen my share of great ones. But collectively, they're really good. It's going to be difficult in there.
On more playing time for everyone...
I think more guys need to and will be playing. I need more of a rotation and I think competition brings out the best in everybody. I want to see more young guys on the field. Everybody gets resistant to playing more young guys because with young guys comes issues and mistakes. I get that. I'm the head coach, I understand. But I feel like we need to play more players. That's where I'm at and what you're going to see. On the defensive and offensive sides, in all the positions. Wide receiver, running back, defensive back, defensive line, linebacker, you name it, you'll see them.
On young players playing in big games...
I think the most competitive times bring out the most competitive people and I love these big games because from my stand point it's a great way to get them in there and let it roll. I think you'll see some young guys in these games make some plays and you'll also see some tough moments. I think you can grow from those and I don't want to miss these growth opportunities. I feel like I wanted to see more of that last week. You become a better football team when you create competition. Competition changes everybody. When you're young and you don't have depth and competition, your team won't develop as well because those guys don't push themselves hard enough. We can't have that because we're building for the future.
On playing time as a motivation factor...
I don't even pay attention to who is what age. I just want competition. Wherever you can create it, create it. It's good for your team. That's how I want our program to be as we move forward. As we recruit and we build this program, we need to fill this team with competition. It's a three- to five-year plan. Guys have to work at a higher level and compete at a higher level and conduct their personal business at a higher level. The ultimate motivator is playing time and if guys still play even when they shouldn't be playing, then you're not promoting that. So that's my vision for the program. And the way to do that is through younger players. Eventually it should come from each class, but there are voids in our classes right now. So we will have to do with what we have right now. Ultimately it will bring us to where we want to be. As the season rolls forward, more and more younger guys are going to play more reps. You want to stay on the field longer? Do your job better. We don't have that ability in every position - for example - on the offensive line, it's not easy there. But it may happen from necessity. With the level of schedule that we play, we're going to have a lot of injuries.
On Boston College's difficult schedule...
Never mind our out of conference schedule, but our in conference schedule is tough. We play Clemson and Florida State and Virginia Tech. We play USC and Colorado State who has a really, really good football team. We played UMass, not a traditional small school that's a 1A program that's gotten some transfers in there and you're going to see them grow because of that. We are playing an extremely challenging schedule right now. We're coming off of a tough loss and we're doing it playing USC. How many other teams are doing that? But it's what it is and we have to turn it into a positive.
On growth opportunities...
The good news is when you play a good opponent and you play well against a good opponent individually and they're matching themselves up well against a good opponent, they're matching themselves up against the best players in the country. It can be a confidence booster and in some cases it can do the opposite. There is learning from both of it.
On playing more players and exposing them to a high level of competition...
Some will grow and some won't. That's all part of the process. When you get a veteran team you have scars, when you're a veteran coach you have them too. It means you've had your butt kicked, on the field, in wins and losses, emotionally, it's all part of giving you experiences and toughening you up. You don't grow if you don't play and get in there. Some people say you can take a young player and deflate their confidence...well that's true, but what's the solution? If you're a competitor you'll get through it and overcome it. Can it set you back initially? Sure, I guess. But if you're one of those guys? It won't. You just keep fighting.
On the reason for playing more freshmen this week...
I think my goal has been to get this young group of guys on the field. They're our future and because we have voids we have to do that. We have talented freshmen. And there are some players out there who need to play better; it's the way it goes. We're in the business of winning, not losing. We're in the business of competing and getting better. This isn't Pop Warner football. You go out there to compete and win. You're evaluated on your performance just like everybody is. We're striving to make ourselves the best that we can, that's what good football teams do. It's no revelation. If we had more depth we could do more.
On how to play USC in the upcoming game...
We have a little bit more of a spread run component to our game than we did a year ago, which can be a blessing and a curse because we are still developing who we are, we have a different style quarterback and running back, so we're trying to maximize who we are so there are more quarterback runs in there are things like that. Whereas last year we had to make of what we had. Our bigger freshmen running backs can handle more of a power run game. You're going against maybe one of the top-five defenses in the country. I thought they were really good last year, I think they're better this year. It's hard to run the ball on them. It's really big strong, physical guys who can run. We have to come up with a plan where can move the ball with diversity and play great defense. Because if you think you're going to play against a defense like that and go down and start driving the ball, it's not realistic. I think this is a game where you have to have strong resolve. You need special teams help. When you have a chance to make a big play, you have to make it. It's not going to be pretty. It's going to be a street fight in best case scenario.
Those are the challenges, but it's exciting. You're a competitor. You get to compete against one of the best. Let's go let it hang out and understand where we are. It's a game and an opportunity to compete at the highest level.
