2011 BC football preview with BCDraft
By Joe Micik
You’ve put up with twenty-something parts of my preview for the upcoming Boston College football season, but I decided it was time to get some other perspectives. For that, I turned to the reliable and talented gentlemen over at BCDraft, Wesley and Mike.
STG: If you scan the 2011 commitments list, Boston College has some fine recruits coming in. Of the ones we assume will play as true freshmen, who do you think will make the biggest impact this season?
Mike: To me this is a fairly obvious one — ALJ. We actually drafted top break-out players in 2011 and Al was selected third. I think the other that might have a big impact from all reports at camp is Wujciak.
STG: As far as the veterans, which players do you think will step up in 2011?
Wesley: Some potential wildcards that will be relied upon this season that could sway this record one direction or another are Kaleb Ramsey, as we feel like he will be a leader that is needed on a retooled D-line. Colin Larmond, to be able to give us another deep speedy threat. And John Wetzel, to help anchor relatively young offensive line. If these wildcards come through, our season could be even brighter.
STG: Boston College was, simply put, a disaster on offense last year. 109th in FBS in yards per game, 109th in points scored (18.46 ppg). We all know they’re not as bad as they played last season under that dreadful scheme. What do you think are some reasonable expectations for Kevin Rogers in his first season, given the pieces around him?
Mike: My expectations are that he doesn’t cause me to want to kill myself. That would be a step in the right direction. To me, the most criminal part about Goodnight Gary’s tenure wasn’t the unheralded turtling, it was the blindingly transparent and predictable play-calling. First down we’ll go off-guard (two to three yards). Second down, we’ll go off-tackle (two to three yards). Third and five, we’ll run a short pattern about four yards deep and get stopped a yard short. It was just so predicable it got to the point where we were being shown nine men fronts CONSISTENTLY and *STILL* ran directly into them. You have to believe that other DCs that we faced last year circled the BC game with a red sharpie on the calendar hanging in the office and recorded it on DVR for future job interviews.
That’s my expectation. My expectation is that DC’s facing us won’t use our game as a resume for future positions.
STG: Meanwhile, our defense had a very solid year in 2010, particularly in rushing where they were number one in the nation. The Eagles have lost men like Mark Herzlich, Mike Morrissey, and Brad Newman, but are adding some real talent in guys like Al Louis-Jean and otherwise return a number of starters. Generally speaking, what’s your outlook for the defense’s performance this year? Is it safe to say they’re heading for another respectable showing in 2011?
Mike: My biggest question is up the middle. The “Spaz” D relies upon two big DTs stuffing the run up the middle and allowing the LBs to clean up the tackles without having to take on o-line traffic. I love Kaleb Ramsey’s athleticism, but to me he’s always been a rip-first type of player, which is great for DEs but DTs have to maintain their blocks first and foremost, then look for the ball and pursue. Wesley thinks this is Kaleb’s break-out season and reports from camp have been that he’s looked terrific thus far at the new position. If he can successfully make the transition and become a dominant inside force, there’s no reason why this defense can’t be among the best we’ve seen at The Heights in years.
STG: Alright, let’s get to the schedule, which is certainly more difficult than last year. What are your overall impressions? What do you see as the hardest game(s) on it?
Wesley: For starters, the schedule in 2011 is not even comparable to the previous season. Especially the first couple of games with Northwestern and UCF; they drastically overshadow last year’s Kent and Weber Grill State.
We feel that our toughest games will be @ Virginia Tech and Florida State at home, and not only because the typical pundits pick those to be the favorites of their divisions, but based on our overall record against them and when they appear on the schedule.
STG: Last question: What’s your official season prediction?
Wesley: 8-4 (+Bowl Game Win).
For the 2011 season, BCMike and I feel that an 8-4 regular season record is probable. An 8-4 season isn’t quite what we would like obviously, a 12-0 is ideal, but we feel that an 8-4 record is a dramatic improvement for a lot of reasons from the previous season. We truly feel that we are positioned for an even stronger 2012, but 2011 should be a definite improvement from 2010.
And of course we added a bowl game win, for no scientific reason other than we are tired of losing them.