Boston College Athletics
"Ticked Off" Eagles Ready to Refocus and Reclaim
September 20, 2016 | Football, #ForBoston Files
BC returns home looking to take out frustrations on Wagner
Coming out of Saturday's loss to Virginia Tech, the Boston College football season has reached a proverbial crossroads. After losing 49-0, the Eagles could do one of two things. They could declare the season over after three games, give up for the remaining nine, and lament everything in ways only a Taylor Swift song could portray. Or they could learn what they can, move on, and get back to work with a newfound edge to turn things around one game at a time because of their passion for the game and for each other.
Based on the first couple of days back in Boston, it's pretty obvious which direction they chose.
"I think (the players were) ticked off (after Saturday)," said head coach Steve Addazio. "We practiced (on Sunday). We went out and we had a fundamentals day. (We) went back to fundamentals: special teams fundamentals, offense-defense fundamentals. We had 7-on-7, threw the ball, hung around. Players have the advantage over everybody. They watch the tape together. They know what's fact and what's fiction. So they see where our issues are, what we need to correct, why they occurred."
A big loss has an incredible way to make a locker room refocus and reset. It happens at every level, all the way up to the coaches. It's something that's obviously deflating, but it only stays that way if a team doesn't move beyond it. They can learn from it, but they can't dwell on it. "Obviously I wish there things I could do over," said Addazio. "But I think that's one of those games where you say, 'Ok, that happened. This is what we took from it, put it on, and move on.' The lessons we learned, the experiences we got. I think (those) are going to help us.
"Our guys were (ready to)Â rock and roll (on Sunday)," he said. "We had a lot of intensity going on. We had the young guys scrimmaging out there in full pads, and our players were encouraging them and rolling. Temperature's great. The greatest thing for me is to get back around the players. That's what I love doing. they want to roll."
The lessons start by understanding that a season isn't always going to be incredible from start to finish. Being able to temper the highs and the lows, though, is both a challenge and an opportunity for a football team that's already experienced that while building for a long road ahead. "There are going to be highs and lows left to be played this season," said Addazio. "It's going to happen. We've got to weather it. Obviously when you put a lot into something and it doesn't go the way you want it to, it can be crushing. Then you realize over the course of the next 24 hours or whatever it is - I've got to put that away and get ready to move on. I've got to get ready to do what I love, fix my deficiencies, our deficiencies, whatever it may be, and continue to grow because you have a passion for the game."
That evaluation isn't just on the players. While there's the old adage that football's a "players' game," decided on the field, there's changes and refocusing happening throughout the program, including at the coaching level. "I think we probably got a little ahead of ourselves (in our game plan), which made us look like we're nowhere," said Addazio. "That can have a counter effect on you sometimes. We're going to really make an emphasis to go back to real basics. I felt like we played slow Saturday, a little bit tentative. Some of that is the venue and some of that is our inexperience and some of that is making sure we're aware of our inexperience and our venue.Â
"That was an anomaly and sometimes that happens in football," he continued. "I felt like we got caught a little bit in the perfect storm, too. We had a lot of things wave at us in a negative fashion and we couldn't overcome it. I'm more interested in the real dynamics of series-by-series, play-by-play."
For BC, the obvious point of emphasis by the coaching staff falls on the offense. which mustered only 124 yards against the Hokies. That lack of production overtaxed the defense, resulting in a time of possession disparity, especially in the second half. Virginia Tech held the ball for 35 minutes, while the Eagles possessed for just under 25. In the fourth quarter, the Hokies held the ball for 11 of the 15 minutes.
"I don't think we had any scheme issue," said Addazio. "There was no personnel issue. I really think it was a lack of productivity on offense, poor field position which put the defense at real risk. When you get out there, and you start getting fatigued, these things happen. It was something that happened to us in our first bowl game (against Arizona). Those things can happen. You've got to be able to sustain drives and get first downs and get your defense off the field and put their offense on a long field."
It will start with the running game, which Addazio said will simplify this week to continue working towards his stated goal of 200 yards per game on the ground. "There's zone schemes, gap schemes, and isolation schemes," he said. "There's all sorts of things you do, and I've got to do a better job of simplifying and giving our guys a better chance to continue to fire off the ball, pick up pressures and movements, and keep things going."
That simplification is built through the fundamental work that started on Sunday with the team's practice. "I want to really focus on our fundamentals," the coach said. "Less focus on scheme, more focus on our fundamentals and playing as fast as we can play. (We need to) try to get rid of as many mistakes as we can on the field. I think that will help us. I'm not saying that's the answer to all the ails that happened on Saturday. I'm saying that's something we need to do - on both sides of the ball and in the kicking game. When you get into those tough, pressure-packed games, you've got to be able to hold onto your fundamentals."
That sets the stage for this Saturday's game against Wagner. Although an FCS school, it's a game the Eagles are approaching with seriousness. With a quarter of the schedule in the books, there's no days off and no weeks where anything's a given. "We've got a game on Saturday, and we'll go win the game," said Addazio. "That's the only way I think about things. There's a game to be played. That's our charge. Every game's critical.
"I love my team. I love coaching this team," he continued. "I like their work ethic. I know in my heart this group of guys is going to continue to get better. We've (been) talking about the offensive line (all season). There's going to come a day when this is going to be an outstanding offensive line. Our job (as coaches) is to make that happen as fast as we can. That's what occupies my brain right now - development of our football team."
The Eagles look to get back to .500 on Saturday when they open up their home schedule against the visiting Seahawks at 1 p.m. on the ACC Network Digital Extra.
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Based on the first couple of days back in Boston, it's pretty obvious which direction they chose.
"I think (the players were) ticked off (after Saturday)," said head coach Steve Addazio. "We practiced (on Sunday). We went out and we had a fundamentals day. (We) went back to fundamentals: special teams fundamentals, offense-defense fundamentals. We had 7-on-7, threw the ball, hung around. Players have the advantage over everybody. They watch the tape together. They know what's fact and what's fiction. So they see where our issues are, what we need to correct, why they occurred."
A big loss has an incredible way to make a locker room refocus and reset. It happens at every level, all the way up to the coaches. It's something that's obviously deflating, but it only stays that way if a team doesn't move beyond it. They can learn from it, but they can't dwell on it. "Obviously I wish there things I could do over," said Addazio. "But I think that's one of those games where you say, 'Ok, that happened. This is what we took from it, put it on, and move on.' The lessons we learned, the experiences we got. I think (those) are going to help us.
"Our guys were (ready to)Â rock and roll (on Sunday)," he said. "We had a lot of intensity going on. We had the young guys scrimmaging out there in full pads, and our players were encouraging them and rolling. Temperature's great. The greatest thing for me is to get back around the players. That's what I love doing. they want to roll."
The lessons start by understanding that a season isn't always going to be incredible from start to finish. Being able to temper the highs and the lows, though, is both a challenge and an opportunity for a football team that's already experienced that while building for a long road ahead. "There are going to be highs and lows left to be played this season," said Addazio. "It's going to happen. We've got to weather it. Obviously when you put a lot into something and it doesn't go the way you want it to, it can be crushing. Then you realize over the course of the next 24 hours or whatever it is - I've got to put that away and get ready to move on. I've got to get ready to do what I love, fix my deficiencies, our deficiencies, whatever it may be, and continue to grow because you have a passion for the game."
That evaluation isn't just on the players. While there's the old adage that football's a "players' game," decided on the field, there's changes and refocusing happening throughout the program, including at the coaching level. "I think we probably got a little ahead of ourselves (in our game plan), which made us look like we're nowhere," said Addazio. "That can have a counter effect on you sometimes. We're going to really make an emphasis to go back to real basics. I felt like we played slow Saturday, a little bit tentative. Some of that is the venue and some of that is our inexperience and some of that is making sure we're aware of our inexperience and our venue.Â
"That was an anomaly and sometimes that happens in football," he continued. "I felt like we got caught a little bit in the perfect storm, too. We had a lot of things wave at us in a negative fashion and we couldn't overcome it. I'm more interested in the real dynamics of series-by-series, play-by-play."
For BC, the obvious point of emphasis by the coaching staff falls on the offense. which mustered only 124 yards against the Hokies. That lack of production overtaxed the defense, resulting in a time of possession disparity, especially in the second half. Virginia Tech held the ball for 35 minutes, while the Eagles possessed for just under 25. In the fourth quarter, the Hokies held the ball for 11 of the 15 minutes.
"I don't think we had any scheme issue," said Addazio. "There was no personnel issue. I really think it was a lack of productivity on offense, poor field position which put the defense at real risk. When you get out there, and you start getting fatigued, these things happen. It was something that happened to us in our first bowl game (against Arizona). Those things can happen. You've got to be able to sustain drives and get first downs and get your defense off the field and put their offense on a long field."
It will start with the running game, which Addazio said will simplify this week to continue working towards his stated goal of 200 yards per game on the ground. "There's zone schemes, gap schemes, and isolation schemes," he said. "There's all sorts of things you do, and I've got to do a better job of simplifying and giving our guys a better chance to continue to fire off the ball, pick up pressures and movements, and keep things going."
That simplification is built through the fundamental work that started on Sunday with the team's practice. "I want to really focus on our fundamentals," the coach said. "Less focus on scheme, more focus on our fundamentals and playing as fast as we can play. (We need to) try to get rid of as many mistakes as we can on the field. I think that will help us. I'm not saying that's the answer to all the ails that happened on Saturday. I'm saying that's something we need to do - on both sides of the ball and in the kicking game. When you get into those tough, pressure-packed games, you've got to be able to hold onto your fundamentals."
That sets the stage for this Saturday's game against Wagner. Although an FCS school, it's a game the Eagles are approaching with seriousness. With a quarter of the schedule in the books, there's no days off and no weeks where anything's a given. "We've got a game on Saturday, and we'll go win the game," said Addazio. "That's the only way I think about things. There's a game to be played. That's our charge. Every game's critical.
"I love my team. I love coaching this team," he continued. "I like their work ethic. I know in my heart this group of guys is going to continue to get better. We've (been) talking about the offensive line (all season). There's going to come a day when this is going to be an outstanding offensive line. Our job (as coaches) is to make that happen as fast as we can. That's what occupies my brain right now - development of our football team."
The Eagles look to get back to .500 on Saturday when they open up their home schedule against the visiting Seahawks at 1 p.m. on the ACC Network Digital Extra.
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