Reviewing the 2014 Boston College Football Preview: Campus Insiders

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

"Now that Tyler Murphy has returned to the Northeast to finish his college career, the Eagles could have their most athletic quarterback since Doug Flutie was on campus three decades ago. The former Florida Gator is not only agile, but he has excellent pocket awareness as well. Murphy affords BC options it didn’t have a year ago, and Steve Addazio and the assistants plan to maximize the quarterback’s unique set of skills. From Campus Insiders’ 2014 Boston College Football Preview"

This excerpt is money. Cirminello has echoed my sentiments about Murphy being a better fit for this offense than Rettig (though all must admit Rettig tried very hard and had his moments), but took them a step further by elevating the new quarterback. No, he is not equating Tyler Murphy to Doug Flutie, but his point about Murphy’s athleticism is well-made. This presents some exciting possibilities for the Boston College offense.

It is with questions regarding the defense that present the first potholes:

"What to look for on defense: The search for pass rushers. Boston College took a quantum leap in sacks in 2013, going from six in 2012 to 36 last fall. But who’ll attack the pocket now that DE Kasim Edebali and LB Kevin Pierre-Louis are gone? Senior Josh Keyes is capable of mimicking Pierre-Louis coming off the edge. Replacing Edebali, though, will be considerably harder. Fingers are crossed that sophomore Kevin Kavalec’s three-sack effort in the spring game is a harbinger of things to come in September. From Campus Insiders’ 2014 Boston College Football Preview"

Meet Mehdi Abdesmad, the guy about whom Steve Addazio said this after the spring game in April:

"…Of course, Mehdi Abdesmad, who got hurt against Florida State and was arguably our best defensive linemen last year."

That guy is back. Also nothing about the potential of freshman Harold Landry getting into the fun this season; if he’s on, he can be a game-changer for this defensive line. Finally, no matter how good the stats are, it is wise not to glean much from a spring game; sorry, Kevin Kavalec.

The Eagles did not improve in terms of sacks last season because they upgraded in talent — the same guys that tied for 19th in FBS in sacks in 2013 were dead last nationally in 2012. The difference was coaching, both in terms of maximizing player performance and blitzing the shinola out of the other team. Neither of those factors will change in 2014, so I do not expect a major decline in output.

Proceed to the exciting conclusion on page 3