Four Downs: Scrimmage No. 2

It didn't take long for Boston College's first-team offense and defense to set the tone for the second and final scrimmage of the 2019 preseason. The sides competed against one another for the past three weeks, so there was no feeling-out or introduction period. They were simply ready for each other, and it became immediately evident.

For the Eagles, that was a trendsetter. The second scrimmage became a tight, physical affair highlighted by intense competition. Gone were the majority of fundamental stoppages. The penalties from last week were fewer and further between. Speed turned quicker and crisper, and both sides started making plays with an air of urgency.

"We worked on everything," head coach Steve Addazio said. "There are so many things that can come up in the first game, and we wanted to put in live scenarios. I'm really jacked that we got (everything) accomplished, and it's really good to see. It's all great, but the on-the-job training has to end because in two weeks, it has to turn into snap decisions (against Virginia Tech)."

Last Saturday, illegal procedure and formation penalties stunted offensive drives before they ever got going. This week, BC exhibited what happens when penalties are eliminated. The offense sustained a number of drives and turned plays into momentum against the first-team defense. There were a number of big gains and touchdowns, only a couple of which were negated by penalties.

It began with the first drive. The Eagles moved the chains with running plays behind AJ Dillon, which in turn set up a screen pass. The tempo pushed helped the offensive line push the defensive line backwards, and it kept the entire unit off balance. Later in the scrimmage, Brown broke a quarterback positional read for a touchdown run from outside the red zone.

It came almost immediately after Dillon flashed his own speed. A designed blocking scheme opened a hole for the junior off the right side of the line, and he hit it at top speed. It resulted in a one-on-one race to daylight that ended in a touchdown.

"That play was the offensive line and the tight ends blocking," Dillon said. "Isaiah Miranda made an amazing block, and we'll watch it on film. It opened up down the sideline. It wound up with me, one-on-one, against the safety. I'm going to win that one."

It's a definitive, major step forward for a team now starting to tune into the first game of the season. The scrimmage pushed the offense into some more game-ready situations, to which it responded with flying colors.

"We made some plays," Addazio said. "You (had an opportunity) to see how explosive the offense can be. I think I was just disappointed in a couple of stupid penalties. There was one in the coming-out drill that gave the opposing team a short field, and there was another than that was an offside that took us out of field goal range. There were a couple of other things that we want to eliminate."

Here's what else was learned during Saturday's second scrimmage:

*****
First Down: All in the Family

The quarterbacks operated with arguably the most urgency on Saturday, with each unit spreading the wealth across a number of candidates. Anthony Brown worked out the first team as the established starter, and both Dennis Grosel and Matt Valecce returned to the field with the second team unit.

Brown wasn't perfect, but he executed the bulk of the drills with a lethal combination of explosiveness and efficiency. His quarterback read sprung through the line behind a one-on-one block from Korab Idrizi, but it was more of a return payment for the passes he delivered to the tight end position all day.

He spread the ball around to a number of targets to ensure the defense remained off-balance. The tight ends played a big role, but the swing passes drew linebackers into uncomfortable positions. He took his shots downfield, but he also opened vertical passes down the middle of the field. It was a show of his natural evolution as a quarterback, from his ability to the play-calling.

"I think (the day) was just very important," Brown said. "This is our last game rep that has a scrimmage-type feel. The next we are in (Alumni Stadium), it will be against Virginia Tech. At that point, you have to give it all you got (for the season). Having these game reps is really important, and it's (equally) important that it worked out how it did."

The intensity of Brown's performance was impressive, but the battle between Grosel and Valecce nearly eclipsed it. The two showed a range of diverse skills, with Grosel notably running a designed draw for over 20 yards and connecting on an out route to Noah Jordan-Williams. Valecce, meanwhile, executed a long gain to Zay Flowers and fired a perfect strike on a pass up the middle. Grosel responded shortly thereafter with a curl pattern pass to Danny Dalton, but it was broken up by Elijah Jones.

That position battle was almost upstaged by Daelen Menard. Menard continued his preseason battle with Sam Johnson III by flashing his vision and heady play, but Johnson showed his own flash, spinning away from a hit and sprinting to the sideline for a first down. It was a stiff competition pushing everyone to become better as preseason opportunities dwindle down into regular season preparations.

"That third team took a ton (of snaps)," Addazio said. "It was sloppy at that point, but it's fine. (The units) took about 30 snaps, which is good for them."

*****
Second Down: Stop and smell the Flowers

Zay Flowers only received a passing mention to this point, but that's because his merits warrant their own discussion piece. Flowers was electric on Saturday in multiple phases of the game, and his explosive ability might be the best-kept secret that won't stay hidden for very long.

"He's an explosive athlete," Addazio said. "He has great ball skills. We had a couple of guys with speed, but he has more than elite speed. He is a tight turn guy. He can come in and out of cuts with no wasted motion. He is a guy that has a really good chance to make some plays for us."

Flowers returned the scrimmage's opening kickoff into open field, setting the tone for his future performances. He shrugged off double coverage against the first-team defense, cutting into the center of the field for an Anthony Brown pass. His jet sweep runs provided glimpses of his ability to cut and turn on a dime, and his quick pass reception in stride opened a long gain against the second team.

There was still a rookie moment for the freshman, though, when he fumbled a punt return on Grant Carlson's first boot of the day. Carlson hung a punt over Flowers' head inside the 10-yard line, and the retreating returner ran backwards to catch the ball in stride. It went right through his hands, and though he recovered it, he ran back into his end zone. The coverage team was entirely downfield at that point, and though Flowers turned on some jets to get lateral, he only narrowly avoided a safety.

"He's a unique athlete," Brown said. "He had a great day (in the scrimmage). I'm hoping it carries over and gets better and better."

*****
Halftime: Regular Season Changeover, Part I: The Schedule

The scrimmage marked the informal end of the preseason for BC. The opening game against Virginia Tech is less than two weeks away, so there's now a need to begin changing over from preseason development and repetition drills. Starting next week, BC will begin focusing on the Hokies with the intention of hitting its stride by midweek.

"Sunday night will start the implementation of Virginia Tech," Addazio said. "On Monday, we will have some scout team exchange on Virginia Tech periods. That's our last camp day, but it's a combination day. On Tuesday, there's a player day off, and when we come back on Wednesday, it's 'V-Tech Wednesday' and 'V-Tech Thursday.'"

The Eagles will then shift into recovery mode at the end of the week, so bodies can heal entirely before a regular, more traditional game week begins.

"We have it mapped out pretty good," Addazio said. "On Monday, it starts to shift. By Wednesday, it's completely shifted."

*****
Third Down: Game Readiness/Depth Charges

Saturday's scrimmage carried an interesting subplot to the Virginia Tech readiness because the coaches started working more true, realistic situations into the drills. At one point, the staff ran a "four minute, two minute" drill designed to get a defense off the field, maximizing the amount of time the offense would have to score late in a half.

"We started with the second team offense against the first defense with four minutes on the clock," Addazio said. "Then we sent in the first-team offense, taking over on that as if it were a two-minute drill."

The drill attempts to blend the synergy approach of the first team, blurring the lines where the defense sets up the offense. In order to do that, though, the first team needed to compete against second team units; it couldn't compete against itself and accomplish the drill's ultimate goal. That creates more realistic game situations for depth players, and both teams succeeded in their own way.

"I thought it was handled beautifully," Addazio said. "We drove it all the way down the field. But we committed a turnover, and then there's a penalty on the turnover."

The reality's underside is that those opportunities for the depth chart will begin drying up. The Eagles are competing in these drills to optimize the first team's game readiness. That, by sheer necessity, creates more opportunity for the second and third team that will, unfortunately, begin drying up as the team begins focusing more and more on Virginia Tech. So the learning opportunities - and earning more snaps - become critical in those moments.

"There's a lot of learning in there," Addazio said. "This was another great opportunity. There was so much great learning to get ready for the opener."

*****
Fourth Down: Grant Me A Punter

The punter's surface level understanding is simple: someone snaps the ball to a player who boots it downfield. The deeper levels, though, reveal just how difficult a specialist's job becomes. It factors a combination of hang time and angle to ensure gunners get downfield to force a play on the ball, all while pinning an opponent deep or at the right field position.

Grant Carlson executed three completely different punts on Saturday in a certified exhibition of field position punting. His first, straightaway kick outkicked returner Zay Flowers, but it was high enough to allow coverage gunners to get downfield. Flowers' subsequent misplay allowed the coverage team to force a stoppage at or in the end zone.

Unfortunately for Carlson, it also pinned his own offense inside its own five-yard line, meaning his next punt came under the goalposts. But he quick-kicked out of the paint and got enough leg on it to reach midfield. That happened to be where his third punt occurred, and he angled it outside the numbers with enough arc to bounce out of bounds inside the 10-yard line. It was all part of situational football that spilled over into the special teams game.

"We did a kickoff after a safety and a punt after a safety," Addazio said. "The punt was a low liner down the middle of the field to the returner, and we want it outside the hashes with hang time. Then there's a drill to take a safety and kill some clock, which is slow (movement) and taking a safety. Ball security is down (by the waist), instead of up (by the chest)."

*****
Point After: Regular Season Changeover, Part II: Mangiare

The regular season is fast approaching, which means I'll have to explain to my wife why I'm disappearing every week for hours on end. She's an incredibly understanding woman, but at the same time, I know that I'm using up some goodwill when I'm spending hours upon hours living, breathing, talking and eating football. I guess I'm just really lucky that I married someone who is as big of a sports fanatic as I am.

But I still understand that there's a tax paid on the amount of time I'm going to spend talking and breathing football. I'm lucky, but I also know that I have one last weekend next week before pigskin controls my household. So for that, I always try to have one last hurrah, a big night out before it's all gone. Since I married an Italian woman, I always know that there's a big feast to be had, with homemade pasta smothered somewhere in sauce in the North End, with a little cappuccino and pastry afterwards.

So I had to ask if others did the same thing.

"Here's the deal, and this is a candid truth," Addazio said. "I put on a few pounds over the summer, so I'm in a reduction mode. In my mind, I have to take the tonnage off. It's not a high ceiling, so I have to maximize what I got. I'm eating salad and drinking water."

I was almost crushed. I wanted Coach Addazio - the same man who played Sinatra during last year's scrimmage stretch line - to give me an idea. So I had to press him.

"I'm not saying there won't be one," he said. "There will be one blowout, but I'm coming off of 30 blowouts. That's not good for me."

Fair enough. Mangiare, everyone. The season is coming.

Players Mentioned

Anthony Brown

Grant Carlson

Danny Dalton

AJ Dillon

Zay Flowers

Dennis Grosel

Korab Idrizi

Sam Johnson III

Elijah Jones

Noah Jordan-Williams

Daelen Menard

Isaiah Miranda

Matt Valecce

Related Videos