Boston College Athletics
Improvement Process Underway For Saturday
September 17, 2019 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The Kansas loss stings, but the first steps underway as team moves on to Rutgers.
Every football team faces annual galvanizing, emotional moments during a season. The locker room walls close in on the players and coaches, and everyone carefully and collectively approaches the next steps with refocused determination. There's no way of knowing when those moments occur because they become especially, painfully glaring after losses.
Boston College is at that first crossroads after suffering a brutally stinging defeat to Kansas on Friday night. The Eagles harbored anger and disappointment after the result exacted a forced, unforgiving look around the locker room. The Alumni Stadium lights still burned outside a room where players still hadn't removed pads or uniforms. An unwritten message, though, already became unmistakably clear: never let this happen again.
"From that night in the locker room to the next day to (Monday), if there's such a way that you want to see a team after a devastating loss like that, we saw that with our team," head coach Steve Addazio said. "They handled that, at least from that standpoint. They're competitors. They love ball. They love each other. They're not happy.
"None of us are happy," he said. "We're going about the business of fixing it. That's just plain and simple."
Unfortunately for athletes and coaches, statements don't correct mistakes. Modifying remedies require film study to identify glaring issues, and key areas start fetching attention. It's the same undertaking as would happen after a victory, and it carries the same weight, even though it feels differently.
"I just think that it's a process," Addazio said. "We're in the middle of that process. There's going to be some ups, and there's going to be some downs. We've got to manage it and continue to get better. The whole idea is to correct your mistakes and continue to grow and develop. Nothing is as good as it seems. Nothing is as bad as it seems. Somewhere in the middle, reality falls."
The Kansas game exposed well-publicized struggles on both sides of the ball. The defense missed several key opportunities for takeaways and failed to prevent explosive plays. Kansas rushed for 329 yards, and both Khalil Herbert and Pooka Williams went north of 100 yards. The cumulative performance ultimately sank BC on the scoreboard as the Jayhawks piled 34 combined points in the second and third quarters.
"We got out of our gaps on defense,"Â Addazio added. "We blew some coverages. That wasn't hard to see. And I don't think we particularly tackled well."
The BC offense, though, largely kept pace in the first half. It imposed its "chain-by-chain" philosophy on the Kansas defense and plowed a 10-point lead in the first quarter. The Eagles ran 13 more plays than the Jayhawks in the first 15 minutes and converted 4-of-6 third down situations. It yielded five more first downs than Kansas and a +51 yard differential. The trends continued in the second quarter, and BC dominated Kansas in a yardage battle. The game evolved into a shootout because of the teams' play with the differences largely comprised of a missed BC fourth down against an 82-yard run after the Eagles seized momentum with a late go-ahead touchdown.
"Offensively, I thought we played a darn good first half," Addazio said. "Could you have found another touchdown in there? Sure. But at halftime, (we had) 300-yards offense, 16 minutes of possession, 24 points."
That entire mojo went missing-in-action in the second half. BC had two drives in the third quarter, and both ended on three-and-outs. It centered Kansas' offense against the ongoing defensive issues, resulting in two sustained Jayhawk drives. That ultimately forced BC into a critical mistake when the Eagles surrendered their identity. They rushed into passing situations and made unforced errors on both abbreviated drives. Kansas ultimately finished the quarter with 11 minutes of possession time, and BC entered the fourth quarter with a 17-point deficit forcing a complete abandonment of the running game.
"We came out, and we had two three-and-outs," Addazio continued. "We tried to throw the ball a little bit in there, and we had some incompletions and got behind the sticks. On the second three-and-out, we had a penalty and got behind the chains.
"When you say the second half, you're really talking about the third period in terms of staying within your structure," Addazio further explained. "In that period, we had our biggest issues on defense, and we followed it up on offense with two three-and-outs. The tailback touched the ball three or four times in the second half. That's not who we are."
The players and coaches powered through the digestion this weekend, initiating the next stages in anticipation of next week's game. The score shifted in the third quarter, but BC fell out of sync with its consistency. Preventing a team from scoring is as easy as holding onto the football longer. That goes beyond simply passing or catching or running better. It's about doing everything better, especially in the areas unseen until the film rolls.
"It's always all of the above," Addazio said. "Everything goes on the quarterback's back. That's the nature of that position. What sometimes isn't seen, the route was broken off three yards shorter than it should have been or a receiver lost footing. There's a protection breakdown, which causes, instead of being able to step into the ball, (the QB) needs to sidestep and get your hips twisted around. Now (he's) not throwing it out of a position of power. That's all part of it."
The Kansas game was hard to experience and harder to accept, but it's also over. Mistakes happened, but the corrective action is already underway. There's a tendency to remember and a burning desire to push forward. It's meat lost from the bone, but there's still plenty to pick. It's on to Rutgers, now the most important game on the schedule because it's simply the next one.
"I was very, very excited about our team (in film session), the mindset and the approach," Addazio said. "I thought they came in with the right look, really focusing on fixing issues. We had a heck of a (practice), took a real step forward. I'm very, very excited about playing Rutgers, getting on the road, and really just getting back on the field.
"I think the energy and enthusiasm within our team uplifted me," he said. "I was excited about it. So (we are) looking forward to a great week, and that's what we need, to get right back at it and get going."
Boston College and Rutgers will kick off at SHI Stadium on Saturday at noon. The game can be seen on Big Ten Network and can also be heard on the BC Learfield IMG Sports Network, locally in Boston on 93.7 FM. To find the Big Ten Network on your television network provider, visit the BTN's channel location page on its website.
Boston College is at that first crossroads after suffering a brutally stinging defeat to Kansas on Friday night. The Eagles harbored anger and disappointment after the result exacted a forced, unforgiving look around the locker room. The Alumni Stadium lights still burned outside a room where players still hadn't removed pads or uniforms. An unwritten message, though, already became unmistakably clear: never let this happen again.
"From that night in the locker room to the next day to (Monday), if there's such a way that you want to see a team after a devastating loss like that, we saw that with our team," head coach Steve Addazio said. "They handled that, at least from that standpoint. They're competitors. They love ball. They love each other. They're not happy.
"None of us are happy," he said. "We're going about the business of fixing it. That's just plain and simple."
Unfortunately for athletes and coaches, statements don't correct mistakes. Modifying remedies require film study to identify glaring issues, and key areas start fetching attention. It's the same undertaking as would happen after a victory, and it carries the same weight, even though it feels differently.
"I just think that it's a process," Addazio said. "We're in the middle of that process. There's going to be some ups, and there's going to be some downs. We've got to manage it and continue to get better. The whole idea is to correct your mistakes and continue to grow and develop. Nothing is as good as it seems. Nothing is as bad as it seems. Somewhere in the middle, reality falls."
The Kansas game exposed well-publicized struggles on both sides of the ball. The defense missed several key opportunities for takeaways and failed to prevent explosive plays. Kansas rushed for 329 yards, and both Khalil Herbert and Pooka Williams went north of 100 yards. The cumulative performance ultimately sank BC on the scoreboard as the Jayhawks piled 34 combined points in the second and third quarters.
"We got out of our gaps on defense,"Â Addazio added. "We blew some coverages. That wasn't hard to see. And I don't think we particularly tackled well."
The BC offense, though, largely kept pace in the first half. It imposed its "chain-by-chain" philosophy on the Kansas defense and plowed a 10-point lead in the first quarter. The Eagles ran 13 more plays than the Jayhawks in the first 15 minutes and converted 4-of-6 third down situations. It yielded five more first downs than Kansas and a +51 yard differential. The trends continued in the second quarter, and BC dominated Kansas in a yardage battle. The game evolved into a shootout because of the teams' play with the differences largely comprised of a missed BC fourth down against an 82-yard run after the Eagles seized momentum with a late go-ahead touchdown.
"Offensively, I thought we played a darn good first half," Addazio said. "Could you have found another touchdown in there? Sure. But at halftime, (we had) 300-yards offense, 16 minutes of possession, 24 points."
That entire mojo went missing-in-action in the second half. BC had two drives in the third quarter, and both ended on three-and-outs. It centered Kansas' offense against the ongoing defensive issues, resulting in two sustained Jayhawk drives. That ultimately forced BC into a critical mistake when the Eagles surrendered their identity. They rushed into passing situations and made unforced errors on both abbreviated drives. Kansas ultimately finished the quarter with 11 minutes of possession time, and BC entered the fourth quarter with a 17-point deficit forcing a complete abandonment of the running game.
"We came out, and we had two three-and-outs," Addazio continued. "We tried to throw the ball a little bit in there, and we had some incompletions and got behind the sticks. On the second three-and-out, we had a penalty and got behind the chains.
"When you say the second half, you're really talking about the third period in terms of staying within your structure," Addazio further explained. "In that period, we had our biggest issues on defense, and we followed it up on offense with two three-and-outs. The tailback touched the ball three or four times in the second half. That's not who we are."
The players and coaches powered through the digestion this weekend, initiating the next stages in anticipation of next week's game. The score shifted in the third quarter, but BC fell out of sync with its consistency. Preventing a team from scoring is as easy as holding onto the football longer. That goes beyond simply passing or catching or running better. It's about doing everything better, especially in the areas unseen until the film rolls.
"It's always all of the above," Addazio said. "Everything goes on the quarterback's back. That's the nature of that position. What sometimes isn't seen, the route was broken off three yards shorter than it should have been or a receiver lost footing. There's a protection breakdown, which causes, instead of being able to step into the ball, (the QB) needs to sidestep and get your hips twisted around. Now (he's) not throwing it out of a position of power. That's all part of it."
The Kansas game was hard to experience and harder to accept, but it's also over. Mistakes happened, but the corrective action is already underway. There's a tendency to remember and a burning desire to push forward. It's meat lost from the bone, but there's still plenty to pick. It's on to Rutgers, now the most important game on the schedule because it's simply the next one.
"I was very, very excited about our team (in film session), the mindset and the approach," Addazio said. "I thought they came in with the right look, really focusing on fixing issues. We had a heck of a (practice), took a real step forward. I'm very, very excited about playing Rutgers, getting on the road, and really just getting back on the field.
"I think the energy and enthusiasm within our team uplifted me," he said. "I was excited about it. So (we are) looking forward to a great week, and that's what we need, to get right back at it and get going."
Boston College and Rutgers will kick off at SHI Stadium on Saturday at noon. The game can be seen on Big Ten Network and can also be heard on the BC Learfield IMG Sports Network, locally in Boston on 93.7 FM. To find the Big Ten Network on your television network provider, visit the BTN's channel location page on its website.
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