Boston College Athletics
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Lessons Learned: Miles and Miles of Heart
October 23, 2016 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Through it all, the players keep pounding.
There's no such thing as an easy loss. Every week is the result of hours of preparation, on the gridiron, in the weight room and in film study. Every game is a sacrifice of the human body, pushing it to the limit for the guy next to you and the people who support you.
In football, every game requires the investment of part of who you are. When you win, the opponent and the result doesn't matter; it's an exultation that feels good every single time. When you lose, the opponent and the result doesn't matter; it's a chasm that feels like a pit every single time.
Perhaps that's why Vince Lombardi once said that winning wasn't everything since it's the only thing.
"I don't care ACC, not ACC," head coach Steve Addazio said. "You pour your heart and soul into winning the football game; that's all you do. Player, coach, everybody. You pour your heart and soul into it."
Normally after each game, I would sit back and analyze what happened on the field. I would look at the single play that justified the result and try to make sense of it all. After wins, I exult the positives and talk about what needs to be worked on. After defeats, I look for things to take away, no matter the score, to improve for the next game.
Following BC's 28-20 loss to Syracuse on Saturday, I'm choosing to not do that. Instead, I'm going to focus on one thing: the players' hearts.
Boston College is known for having high-character student-athlete on its football team; guys who have incredible motors and play for the guy standing next to them. They stand as one and they compete as one.
During a scuffle on the sidelines, the Eagles' hearts drove them to protect one another.
"Beyond a doubt, you don't want your team going across the field," Addazio said. "That's an impulse to protect your teammates, and you know, it's addressed all the time. We've got a bunch of good kids in our program now, and they're tremendous, high-character guys. (They feel) they've got to protect one of their guys over there, and that's what happened."
Syracuse drove 80 yards in nine plays in the second quarter, culminating in a 10-yard Eric Dungey touchdown pass. BC's heart responded with a Myles Willis 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, one where the return man crossed the entire width of the field in the process.Â
With time winding down in the third quarter, Syracuse drove 86 yards in nine plays, once again using a Dungey touchdown pass to go up by two scores with 15 seconds left. On BC's second play, Patrick Towles used a read option run to sprint 75 yards with nobody near him, pulling the Eagles back within a touchdown as the frame ended.
Redshirt sophomore QB Darius Wade came off the bench when Towles left with a hamstring pull and went 3-for-6 for 19 yards. Though BC couldn't get those much-needed points, Wade led drives deep in Orange territory.
It's true that BC didn't victory and the Eagles have to figure out ways to start winning. It's also true that you can boil the game into its smallest individual parts to analyze why they lost. You can point to a play for a cause, both on the offensive and defensive side. As I've said throughout the season, it's up to the coaches to teach how to execute those plays and they recognize that need.
"You've got to grab the fruit," Addazio said. "There's two touchdowns that were not very hard to get (in the game). We've got to get them. You (have to) get those things, never mind the countless other little things along the way that keep another set of downs going. When you've got a couple plays where we had an unbelievable opportunity to get another set of downs, and we didn't convert them, it was low-hanging fruit right there to convert them. We have to get that done.
Sports have a way of boiling the human spirit down to its rawest parts. Because of what it takes to get ready for every game, every play takes part of individuals' human spirits in the name of a team. Former New England Patriots offensive line coach Dave Deduglielmo once said, "It's okay to tell the guy next to you that you love them, if you really believe it, (because) hey I'll do anything for you."
On a football team, where that day-in and day-out sacrifice of emotion and physicality happens, the ability to never stop competing is something that occurs because of the players' heart. At the final horn, a win is exulted because of that collective heart's love. After a loss, it's there for support. One guy lifts another, and the page turns to the next game. Despite losing to the Orange, the Eagles never stopped competing. And you can bet, from top to bottom, that will shine through again next week at NC State.
In football, every game requires the investment of part of who you are. When you win, the opponent and the result doesn't matter; it's an exultation that feels good every single time. When you lose, the opponent and the result doesn't matter; it's a chasm that feels like a pit every single time.
Perhaps that's why Vince Lombardi once said that winning wasn't everything since it's the only thing.
"I don't care ACC, not ACC," head coach Steve Addazio said. "You pour your heart and soul into winning the football game; that's all you do. Player, coach, everybody. You pour your heart and soul into it."
Normally after each game, I would sit back and analyze what happened on the field. I would look at the single play that justified the result and try to make sense of it all. After wins, I exult the positives and talk about what needs to be worked on. After defeats, I look for things to take away, no matter the score, to improve for the next game.
Following BC's 28-20 loss to Syracuse on Saturday, I'm choosing to not do that. Instead, I'm going to focus on one thing: the players' hearts.
Boston College is known for having high-character student-athlete on its football team; guys who have incredible motors and play for the guy standing next to them. They stand as one and they compete as one.
During a scuffle on the sidelines, the Eagles' hearts drove them to protect one another.
"Beyond a doubt, you don't want your team going across the field," Addazio said. "That's an impulse to protect your teammates, and you know, it's addressed all the time. We've got a bunch of good kids in our program now, and they're tremendous, high-character guys. (They feel) they've got to protect one of their guys over there, and that's what happened."
Syracuse drove 80 yards in nine plays in the second quarter, culminating in a 10-yard Eric Dungey touchdown pass. BC's heart responded with a Myles Willis 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, one where the return man crossed the entire width of the field in the process.Â
With time winding down in the third quarter, Syracuse drove 86 yards in nine plays, once again using a Dungey touchdown pass to go up by two scores with 15 seconds left. On BC's second play, Patrick Towles used a read option run to sprint 75 yards with nobody near him, pulling the Eagles back within a touchdown as the frame ended.
Redshirt sophomore QB Darius Wade came off the bench when Towles left with a hamstring pull and went 3-for-6 for 19 yards. Though BC couldn't get those much-needed points, Wade led drives deep in Orange territory.
It's true that BC didn't victory and the Eagles have to figure out ways to start winning. It's also true that you can boil the game into its smallest individual parts to analyze why they lost. You can point to a play for a cause, both on the offensive and defensive side. As I've said throughout the season, it's up to the coaches to teach how to execute those plays and they recognize that need.
"You've got to grab the fruit," Addazio said. "There's two touchdowns that were not very hard to get (in the game). We've got to get them. You (have to) get those things, never mind the countless other little things along the way that keep another set of downs going. When you've got a couple plays where we had an unbelievable opportunity to get another set of downs, and we didn't convert them, it was low-hanging fruit right there to convert them. We have to get that done.
Sports have a way of boiling the human spirit down to its rawest parts. Because of what it takes to get ready for every game, every play takes part of individuals' human spirits in the name of a team. Former New England Patriots offensive line coach Dave Deduglielmo once said, "It's okay to tell the guy next to you that you love them, if you really believe it, (because) hey I'll do anything for you."
On a football team, where that day-in and day-out sacrifice of emotion and physicality happens, the ability to never stop competing is something that occurs because of the players' heart. At the final horn, a win is exulted because of that collective heart's love. After a loss, it's there for support. One guy lifts another, and the page turns to the next game. Despite losing to the Orange, the Eagles never stopped competing. And you can bet, from top to bottom, that will shine through again next week at NC State.
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