"Angry" Eagles Back at Work with Intensity and Resolve

Anyone who thought Boston College's mood would soften in the days following Saturday's loss needed to tune into Steve Addazio's press conference on Monday. The head coach stood at his podium in Conte Forum and delivered his message with the same resolve that existed in the immediate aftermath of the game out at Purdue.

"We didn't play well, simple as that," he said. "There were several players that played very well, to tell you the truth, but we didn't make the plays explosively that were there to be made. We didn't make them on both sides of the ball."

The Eagles spent three weeks as one of college football's darlings, but the loss on Saturday put that on hold. BC fell out of the national rankings as fast it entered, and despite a 3-1 record, the performance left an unacceptably bad taste. It created something further to prove, and that something is laced with an angry resolve heading into this week.

"We went out (on Sunday) and got done what we had to get done in the film," Addazio said. "Went out and practiced. Had a great practice and great start and great preparation to correcting the issues that we had, and we started on Temple (on Sunday). We're looking forward to getting back Tuesday morning and getting started."

The Purdue game hangs like bad smog over the Eagles' otherwise sterling start to the season. A 40-plus point average in the first three games paved the road to the most offensive points in program history through four contests. Saturday is an opportunity to start a season with a 4-1 record for the first time since 2009 and sixth time since 2000. Individual honors intensified the spotlight on already-established players, and it created new stars who earned their own awards.

But it's impossible to ignore Saturday's loss. Last week, Addazio called college football a "what have you done for me lately" type of industry, and the Eagles became a proverbial "Exhibit A" for that attitude. One game dropped BC clear out of the polls, which in some ways casts doubt about voters' belief in the team's capabilities even as internal attitudes haven't changed.

"I am very, very confident in our guys and very confident in what they can get done," Addazio said. "It's just a matter of making sure we have a level of consistency with that, and that's something that is real important to get done. (We have to ensure) that consistency moving forward is there, but the ability is the ability and toughness is the toughness. That hasn't changed a lick."

In many ways, the quarterback position embodies that very attitude, and its nature usually provides a white-hot spotlight on one individual. Anthony Brown came off the Wake Forest game as one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC. He threw for over 300 yards and recorded five touchdowns, the first time that happened without an interception since Doug Flutie.

Then came Purdue, and Brown threw four picks, including three on consecutive drives in the third quarter. It wasn't entirely his fault, though his batted throws at the line didn't exactly help the situation. BC never got its mojo going in any phase of the offense, and the result became obvious through its lack of explosiveness. The offensive line provided time and space at the point of attack, but the Eagles simply failed to utilize it.

Receivers couldn't gain a step, and the running game couldn't get traction. The defense failed to make plays that would have stopped Purdue in its tracks. Missed opportunities mounted, and BC fell out of sync. Since hindsight is always 20-20, there's always an idea of how it could have been different.

"We could have probably done a better job to help Anthony get started with a few more easy throws, some spring-outs and things like that, just to get started," Addazio said. "We didn't have a lot of protection issues. That really wasn't the case, but sometimes you have to get started a little bit and get that momentum going. Probably we were hanging on the ball a little bit too much there.

"In the run game, I thought we had some adjustments but that is not reflected in the outcome," he said. "We averaged 2.7 yards per carry; that's ridiculous. We have got to shore that up, get back in practice and really work on taking advantage of what the defense gives. Those guys played pretty well up front. We have to capitalize on that."

That performance can't be changed, and it's not sitting well in Chestnut Hill. The Eagles returned home with anger and an intention to change last week's narrative. There's a different resolve in this week's preparation that stems from a sports motto: losing feels worse than winning feels good.

"I am most interested right now in getting us hitting on all cylinders, like we were," Addazio said. "(Sunday) was a decidedly different demeanor, tempo and everything else, which is pretty good to see. There are some angry, ticked off, motivated people on that practice field."

Purdue helped create that resolve of remembering but not obsessing. The players aren't forgetting what happened in Ross-Ade Stadium, but they're also not dwelling on it. Temple won't arrive in Chestnut Hill feeling sorry for BC's loss, and the Owls will be intent on handing BC a second straight loss. That requires tunnel vision for everyone, and it's driven by those feelings after last week's game.

Nobody exemplifies that quite like Brown. He stood in front of reporters on Saturday and talked about his feelings about an "unacceptable performance." There was something raw about that, and it hasn't really changed in the early stages of practice.

"I don't mean to speak for Anthony, but he is very motivated right now," Addazio said. "He's ticked off, as any competitor would be. Anthony will be just fine. He's a young player. He's still growing and maturing and coming into his own. He's got to make sure he's not trying too hard. Just go back and take care of your business and handle the reads, which he has done absolutely beautifully."

"We have got to go back to just taking what's there and going through the read progressions," he said. "(Anthony) will be fine. He threw some beautiful ball in the game on Saturday. I'm not worried about that. He'll have a great week of practice this week. I am quite confident on that."

BC will host Temple at Alumni Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. and can be seen on television on ESPNU and online at WatchESPN.com. It can be heard on the BC IMG Sports Network on WEEI 850 AM locally and on satellite radio on Sirius channel 134, XM channel 203 and Internet channel 968. Streaming audio can be heard via the TuneIn app.

"Angry" Eagles Back at Work with Intensity and Resolve

Players Mentioned

Anthony Brown

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