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Boston College Football

Boston College football countdown to 2014 ACC season: Eagles replacing plenty on offense

(Syracuse.com, Patrick Stevens)

It’s time to evaluate another preseason evaluation of the Boston College Eagles. So far, most of the outside opinions have been fair though somewhat pessimistic as far as what the Eagles will be able to do in 2014.

Stevens’ analyses are typically fair, so let’s review a few nuggets from his 2014 preview:

"Who replaces Rettig? That would almost certainly be Florida transfer Tyler Murphy, who is immediately eligible after making six starts last season for the Gators. … His success will hinge largely on whether Boston College can establish a running game and allow him to manage the game."

We have known for a while that it will be Murphy, who was named the starter right after the spring game. Murphy is a better fit for the new Addazio offense than Chase Rettig was, but a deeper evaluation of the article somewhat neglects the offensive line’s role in the upcoming season. All we get is this:

"If the Eagles can capably replace Patchan and White at tackle, and if Willis can stay healthy, he has a good chance to emerge as one of the ACC’s top rushers."

Stevens is right in that all Murphy needs to do is manage the game, but he has the wheels to be able to do more than that. As far as running backs go, a sizable chunk of Andre Williams’ success in 2013 goes back to the system and the five guys in front of him; no disrespect is intended, but nobody saw that superhuman, Heisman-finalist season coming from him, and it couldn’t have happened without the return of “O-Line U.” It is our position that the offensive line will be fine this year, especially with Ian Silberman’s inbound transfer.

"Realistic downside: The offense just isn’t good enough, with regression in every unit on that side of the ball. Without a reliable strength, the Eagles turn to a defense that wasn’t particularly good against the pass last year to keep the games close. It doesn’t work, and Boston College slides back toward the bottom of the Atlantic Division and wins only four or five games."

We will go into more depth as the position previews in August draw near, but in acknowledging that this is a worst-case scenario blurb, I do not expect regression in every unit. For example, the Eagles are arguably better off at quarterback now than in 2013 and the offensive line looks comparable to 2013.