Linked to the Heights, June 13: Paul Myerberg’s Verdict and Other Previews

Boston College Football

• College Football Preview: The 2014 Boston College Eagles (Sports Chat Place, Randy Chambers)

While the Paul Myerberg piece was informative and well-done, this one is more lazy.

"Boston College had the worst defense in the ACC last season and now loses its top two tacklers in Steele Divitto and Kevin Pierre-Louis. Sack leader Kasim Edebali is also no longer on the team. If you thought it was bad news for the Eagles’ offense, things can be 10 times worse if this young Boston College defense isn’t able to get things together quickly."

Divitto and KPL were good players, so were some of the players on the line like Edebali and Kaleb Ramsey, but none are irreplaceable. They don’t have to be “replaced” per se: the Eagles just need hard-working players who do their jobs, which should hopefully be easier in a second season under Brown’s leadership. Someone is going to step up in their absence. The year after Luke Kuechly left, Nick Clancy came out of nowhere and had 145 tackles. Someone will make the stops in 2014, rest assured, unless you think the opposition will score on every offensive play they run.

"Outlook: Considering Williams was pretty much the only reason Boston College accomplished anything last year, the Eagles enter this season a big question mark. With no quarterback and a defense that gave opponents whatever they wanted, this season could get ugly for Eagles’ fans. The schedule also isn’t easy for Boston College with USC, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Florida State and Louisville on tap. Barring a miracle, don’t expect this program to return to a bowl game this season."

Andre Williams and Myles Willis deserve a great deal of credit for what they were able to accomplish last season, but one thing I cannot withstand is how few are willing to also give credit to the offensive line. They are a major part of why Andre Williams was able to do what he did last season, and they played very well for new position coach Justin Frye.

Now, nobody is saying that they would help anyone with two legs and the football to run for 2,000 yards this year, but the Eagles can still put together a very productive run game as a whole in 2014 with the talent they have available. Just because “the Eagles won’t be able to replace Williams’ production” does not mean they need to in order to win games.

Regardless, the “no quarterback” statement is false as the Eagles (with no offense to Chase Rettig) arguably have a more versatile quarterback now than they did last year, and his blurb on the schedule is selective. They close with some tough ACC games, but they open with the likes of UMass, Maine, and Colorado State with other beatable teams like Pitt, NC State, and Wake Forest on the schedule, never mind the fact that they will in essence play eight home games this year.

If it comes down to getting some big wins in late November, it could get dicey, but the idea that it will take a “miracle” for the Eagles to make a bowl this year is laughable given that the situation is more manageable than we expected it to be.