2011 BC Football Retrospective, Part II: Defense

Conclusion

The Boston College defense were the saviors of the 2010 season (not that they went on to win the bowl game). This year, it took them a while to show up, and they didn’t stack up for the most part with the top competition they faced. Last year, BC won a lot of low-scoring games where the defense was king, but this year, they didn’t get that, and because the offense is so bad, it cost them wins. I blame the offense more than the defense, since an average defense is still much better than a terrible offense.

Boston College’s defense wasn’t good because they finished better, nor were they bad because of how they started. The whole body of work has to be taken into account, and they were average. BC had its good games and its bad, but it was nowhere near as smothering as it was last year.

The outlook for next year hinges in part on Luke Kuechly. Without him, Boston College still has depth at LB, but nobody who has nearly the football instincts. The secondary and defensive lines need to get better, especially as the backfield will lose Donnie Fletcher.