Sunday, September 17, 2017

Revisiting the final minutes of the half: Addazio exposed (again)

I haven't had time to watch the game a second time yet, so no grades up until Monday. In the mean time I want to address Addazio's controversial decision to run the clock out at halftime. First I want to remind everyone that Steve Levy and Brian Griese questioned the decision live as it happened. It takes a lot for the TV crew to openly criticize a coach's decision during the game. They usually hedge or help the coach explain it away. This crew did not because it was an indefensible decision.

Second, Addazio's mistake was not just the final drive. The questionable, cowardly and misguided decisions started after Notre Dame scored their second TD to go up 14-10. The Irish kickoff and Walker returns it and ND gets called for a face mask. BC starts at the 40, with 1:57 left and two TOs. Addazio starts with the run, so you already see that he is thinking about killing clock. But Hilliman gets the first down. Addazio then throws and it is a iffy pass to Sweeney incomplete. Now Addazio runs again, killing his own clock. Hilliman only gets four. Third down. Still no use of timeout. If he is so concerned about the "psyche of his freshman QB" why not use a timeout there and get him to the sidelines to talk it over? Does he consider it 4 down territory? Let's see. 3rd down Brown makes a good throw but Walker drops the pass. What does Addazio do on 4th down from ND territory? He punts again. Fortunately for him it is a good punt.

Now the Irish get the ball back at their own 10 with just over a minute left. They run and it looks like Kelly might be chickening out too. But no, Kelly calls a timeout. Maybe because he sees Addazio is playing it conservatively, Kelly then decides to open up. Imagine that? Adjusting your gameplan based on what the other coach is doing?!? From there Wimbush starts chucking it. Deep dangerous passes downfield. They complete a few and miss a near INT. Does Kelly back off? Nope. Wimbush keeps chucking and a tip ball does turn into a BC INT.

Now Addazio has the ball in ND territory. 18 seconds are left and BC has two TOs. 1st play incomplete. Was it a bad throw? Eh. It wasn't sharp but it wasn't terrible either. Not enough to say that Brown is going to make a mistake. Now there are really two aggressive options. A quick out followed by a TO and field goal attempt. Or a Hail Mary into the endzone. Both are difficult to complete. Neither are likely, but you know what is also unlikely to happen? Some sort of turnover that leads to an Irish score. Mathematically, BC has all the advantages! Even if you think Brown can't make the Hail Mary throw, there must be someone who can (Fadule?). Instead, Addazio calls a run, lets the time expire and is content going into the half trailing.

The blowouts are a sign of problems, but you know why Addazio has only one second half comeback and a losing record in close games? Because he cannot manage a close game well. What is most confounding is that he didn't regret anything in the postgame press conference. But what do I know? As I tweeted yesterday, it is not like Addazio has ever seen a Redshirt Freshman QB complete a Hail Mary before the half.

47 comments:

Flutie said...

Such a gutless, embarrassing display. God do I miss Jags and Logan.

Strange that BC handled the end of the first half so perfectly at NIU and then turtled so abjectly against ND. Daz has to know that Jarmond is judging him. Did he think that MJ would be impressed by that timid, defeatist call?

CT said...

A leopard and his spots...

Unknown said...

On the bright side, at least all the teams that BC has played so far all have winning records.

Unknown said...

By the way, Boston College field hockey improves to 6-0 in non conference play.

Geezer eagle said...

I was so hoping to wake-up this morning and read dazoshit got the pink slip. What was I thinking? This is BC where losing is the norm.

John said...

What can Bozo Dazo say to his team now about being accountable, etc.?

It's time for a players only meeting.

Hopefully our players will be able to find a way forward in spite of their cowardly, ill-prepared head coach - who's a "dead man walking" at this point.

Players will did deep and remember why BC was a good fit for them. They didn't come only because of the dynamic Steve Addazio.

Thinking back to Tom Coughlin when we were shellacked by ND in South Bend in 1992 - there was no call for his removal. On the contrary, there was a very strong feeling that TC would stew on the Lou Holtz display of unsportsmanship. And of course he led us to the huge upset of #1 ND the very next year with many of the same players. TC used some plays not shown to any other opponent that year - in short, he adjusted while instilling the right attitude to team members. They KNEW they could win.

Addazio has no such ability.

Come on players - pick yourselves up - your head coach can't. This will be a good life lesson for you.

Sometimes you will have to perform and prosper in spite of poor leadership.

bceagle91 said...

Addazio quit with 1:57 left in the first half. Let's hope the team doesn't quit too. Addazio can't lead hungry wolves to meat. Maybe the captains can rally the troops, as John suggests. We're more than 30 point underdogs against Clemson. And it could be much uglier.

Erik said...

Even a pass interference call would have put BC in FG range. Have to try the hail mary. Florida Gators proved it Saturday. Addazio would have had Brown take a knee to try his luck in OT.

Shabby1011 said...

Heard Timmy Haas was ripping Daz to shreds on WEEI this morning with Kirk and Callahan. I have run into numerous former players who are routing for the kids on team but not fans of Daz at all. He has 9 games that is pretty clear at this point

I thought his 4 & 1 call with Hillman early in 3rd when they were still in the game and playing tough was egregious. Hillman had good game but Dillon has to be your short yardage back in that situation

Napolean Bonaparte said...

Losing is the norm GE because we expect the man ultimately responsible for the mistakes (primarily hiring and premature contract extensions) to admit to those mistakes. He never will and on top of that believes that doing so is unnecessary as athletics is a minor part of the university's overall mission and immaterial to the success of the university. Very little will be done until he has been replaced. But it is not a given that his successor will be any better and could very well be worse. Ultimately - all of this was and is preventable by the Board of Trustees who technically own and control the university including the decisions and tenure of the President. And fundamentally the lack of Board of Trustees alignment, engagement and active oversight is probably the root cause for all of this. Its frustrating as there is little to nothing that can be done about it without an organized funding boycott by a large share of the alumni. And that is unlikely to happen as athletics is probably not a hot button issue to the majority of the alums. All you can hope for is that Leahy retires soon and his successor makes it a higher priority and is more hard nosed about performance.

John said...

If we are looking to be outraged, we are 32 1/2 point underdogs at Clemson.

How did Boston College manage itself into such a pitiful state?

Realizing that Clemson has really reached a very high level, we should still be within theoretical striking distance.

32 1/2 points! You can't make this sh!t up.

We are a laughing stock - we are worse than Duke ever was.

Thank you Father Leahy. Keep those cards and letters coming for my donation and legacy giving.

You're the best!

knucklehead said...

ATL, The post title is in regards to the end of the first half? It reads "second."

dtrain1234 said...

The end of the 1st half was poorly coached, but the reality is we were in this game through the middle of the 3rd quarter when the score was 14-13. We had a fourth and one on the ND 30. Daz went for it (as he should have). We were stuffed, and things unraveled from there.

32 pt underdog to anyone is embarrassing. Clemson was a peer program 8-10 years ago. Unfortunately, this is the new normal for BC. It will be many years (if ever) before BC will be favored against Clemson, VT, Fla St. or L'Ville. Can anyone see us winning more than 8 games in the current ACC divisional setup?

Napolean Bonaparte said...

When you dig a little and look at the relationship between the Board of Trustees and the Jesuits it's somewhat akin to a real estate investment trust who owns a number of hotels and contracts with Marriott or Hilton to operate and manage the properties. That being the case - you'd have to say that the Congregation of the Holy Cross (the "CSC") has done a far superior job managing the fortunes of Notre Dame than the Jesuits have done with BC. Objectively look at Notre Dame's academic progress, reputation, rankings and the overall performance/investment in athletics over the years compared to BC. It's like ND was managed by Marriott and BC by Best Western. I'd like to swap out the Jesuits for the CSC.

knucklehead said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
knucklehead said...

I am going to take a ton of shit for this. Going for it at the end of the first half was a debacle in college football this week. USC got burned against Texas(that game surpassed the hype. those schools are fucking awesome too). We don't have the capability of responding in 10 seconds with a score the way USC does. And someone else got burned by it as well if I remember the highlights correctly.

Our scenario was fucked and we should have gone for it. When I saw it backfire on USC later on I wasn't as agitated about not going for it.

Psychologically going for it there sends a message to the team that you want to win(go all out) but the team already wanted to win. Going for it is really a message to the fans that you want to win(not really the players). Dazzler says FU to the fans is really what I get out of not going for it.

The end of the second half was a mess as well. They gave up 14 points in the 10 minutes it takes to leave the stadium and get to Seminary tailgate area. 35-20 would have looked much better and been a more accurate indication of how the game went than 49-20.

The QB looked good and o-line was better than I expected. The defense took a beating from a very good o-line/ends/rb and it broke us late in the 3rd and more so in the 4th.

Unknown said...

knucklehead, spoken like the true loser you are.

mod34b said...

right Yeaster.

Listen bitches, as i have said many times, Daz is not the problem.

Call to dump of Daz all you want, but know this, the Offense was really good vs ND. OL moving men, backs making cuts. Receivers getting open. Brown throwing strikes. BC won the time of possession battle.

Daz is an O guy. He really righted the ship form Wake. And it showed. I think this was the O's highest yardage output in years. Impressive. Daz is really fine tuning Brown and the boyz.

The problem was the D, which Daz is totally hands off on. They let ND score too quickly and let the ND O get off the field to quickly. This meant our O had to play more than needed. That tired them out and by Q4 they were spent.

So don't fucking blame Daz, blame Reid. He is the one to be fired immediately. Not Daz.

Daz coaches. players play. OC/DC run units. Players fucking failed vs ND. DC failed vs ND. That is the real deal. Daz screwing up the end of the first half sucked, but it was meaningless. Daz coaches not bloggers.

Daz is going to still be 6-6 and do us fucking proud. All you shits, like TGS and your son, you don't know shit and contribute nothing to this board.

And for all you bitches who think Shiano would not be a home run for BC, you don't know shit either

NEDofSavinHill said...

Even ESPN is noticing with the headline " The SEC is a shell of it's former self". As some have pointed out the last few years that conference is nothing special. How about Ohio State giving up over 400 yards a game with the purportedly best D line in the land? Very poor coaching. Fowler and Herbstreit were gushing about how strong the D line was saying with their talent it was almost unfair to other teams. They were wrong again as usual. 2. BC's D is allowing 429 yards per contest. Two years ago the Don Brown D gave up a nation leading 254. What a decline. Daz and Paz's bell cow is now at a Chicago slaughter house being turned into leather jackets and hamburger. 3. GDF, Spaz, Daz and Paz have been four flops in a row. They don't need the loser Schiano, currently coaching the Ohio State D as a fifth one. They wouldn't have a five card stud hand they would have five DUDS. A clean sweep is needed. MJ should give Daz an ultimatum. Beat Clemson or Be Gone. 4. How far can ND go? No one on the remaining schedule looks unbeatable. Are the Irish in the playoff hunt?

Unknown said...

Sure knuckle, and the Titanic was making good time until it hit an iceberg.

Dan Cronin said...

When I watch these games I never think Daz is actually coaching to win. I think it's enough for him to coach with the goal of keeping the game close. He ran out the clock in the first half because the game was close and he had reached his goal.
The second half was embarrassing which is what happens when we play any decent team: we get blown out.
Six losses in a row vs Notre Dame and now BC goes to Clemson. What will the score be in that game? 65-3? 70-0? Anything is possible.
What's not possible is actually beating or even hanging in with Clemson.
Remember BC actually beating Clemson? Or FSU? Or VT? Or Notre Dame??? It is a distant memory and will continue to be with this loser coach at the helm. The school motto is Ever to Excel but this motto is clearly forgotten when it comes to BC football and basketball.
Daz must go you can live off of beating a mediocre USC team for so long.

Unknown said...

At least this website is more critical than BCInterruption.

Mario Rigatoni said...

ATL, great analysis. On Saturday I was sitting in the same exact seat as I was when Jameis threw that TD, but this visualizzazione codardia actually hurt my heart even more. For someone who puffs his chest and sticks an entire playbook down his pants, Daz is a real finocchio.

With that said, if anyone has the game DVR'd and for some reason hasn't deleted it, go to the moment with 14 seconds left in the first half. Brown is looking for a sign from the sideline, the camera is zoomed in on his face. When he gets the "cowardly run play" sign, I swear he says "you're kidding me?".

He deserves better. We deserve better. I wiped my bum with my "Time to Fly" towel Saturday night.

John said...

I may be wrong, but I think Flutie earned, and had the authority to disregard the play signal and call his own play.

This is what Mr. Brown needs to do.

Look at Kobay White like Flutie looked at Phelan and simply pointed to the end zone.

He would have done the same thing if it was the end of the first half, even if Bicknell had signalled in a dive play.

It is mind-boggling that Addazio plays his own imaginary percentages. This is the guy who said he would kick the field goal to tie Alabama, while Clemson and Dabo Swinney had only one thought - go for the win and the National Championship.

While people can shake their heads in disbelief at you, Addazio, I don't like it that they shake their heads at my school because of you.


MattBC03 said...

Timid, defeatist is exactly what it was

BCAlum2000 said...

I dont understand how anyone can defend Adazzio at this point. That was classic, blaming the DC, but not Adazzio. Too bad Adazzio is the HC and is the one who hired the DC ...

The entire structure of BC football (and basketball for that matter) is broken. Adazzio has had five full years and instead of improving, the program has now fallen to depths that were previously unimaginable. 32 point underdogs to Clemson? BC a 32 point underdog to anyone? Are you effin kidding?! I feel so bad for the kids who go to BC today and in the recent past. They have no idea that BC not only once respectable, but was a real player on the national scene and would strike fear into opponents who wanted no part of the huge, physical OL, etc.

To say the program is a shell of its former self is beyond an understatement. In fact, for the first time ever, I am not even sure its fixable or if the damage is too much and our opponents too far out ahead. Think about the last two years alone. Adazzio has led his team to what, 4 of the worst 10 losses in ALL TIME BC HISTORY? Is that even possible? And the sad part is, I am almost certain this weekend will add to that list. If not for that ridiculous Army game back in 1997 I think (down 42-0 to a terrible Army team at the half), Adazzio before he is all done, could literally have all 10 of the worst losses in BC football history.

You can make NO argument that he should remain beyond this year. None. Zero.

BCAlum2000 said...

BTW, I was at the game sitting very close on Saturday. The BC defensive front, especially the line, which was supposedly one of the best in the nation, was absolutely destroyed by the ND OL and pretty much quit by the fourth quarter. I know everyone wants to point to the time Landry is spending on the sidelines "resting", but even when he is in, he has been a complete non-factor, both against ND and in the previous two games. He has gone from a potential top 15 pick to a likely 4th or 5th round pick. Its almost unreal to watch, sort of like BC football overall ...

MattBC03 said...

Not totally all true. Chairman of the Board has a box and is at all of the games. Not sure how long he's been chair though.

BCAlum2000 said...

And BTW, why the hell would you try to boast about Adazzio and the offense? The past 2.5 years have seen BC ranked at the bottom of college football for total offense. While the defense was #1 in the nation just two years ago and has now joined the offense at the bottom. How proud we once were to call ourselves alumni ...

As for Leahy, he has not only overseen the decimation of BC athletics (football and basketball in particular), he has overseen a complete stagnation in our academic rankings. So basically, he has been a 20 year failure despite the money raised and spent on infrastructure projects. The results have been stagnation academically and irrelevance athletically. He needs to go now.

MattBC03 said...

BC has a big basketball recruit from MA on it's radar. His older sister applied to BC just for academics and was denied admission. She is now attending a rival institution where you can be sure her younger brother by a year will also be attending.

MattBC03 said...

Louie is that you?

Don't forget, we only put up 20 points. That's not impressive.

MattBC03 said...

Who's Paz?

By the way I look forward to your posts and humor

MattBC03 said...

Someone tell me what his record is against Clemson, FSU, Louisville, VA Tech and Notre Dame. I swear it's 2-15 with both w's against VA Tech.

BCAlum2000 said...

And what was the combined score in those 15 losses ...

Its one thing to lose, its another to be completely noncompetitive. We are currently the later ...

bceagle93 said...

I was at the game. Full stadium by midway through 1st quarter. Good crowd (not great, but optimistic) and the ND fans were definitely nervous in the first half as it looked like it could be a close one (or at least we were geared up to go toe-to-toe). We also actually attempted AND MADE a field goal from a decent distance. I actually started to think that maybe the coaches had this under control.

Then he pulls this crap. Air got let out of the building and the boos rain down. Second half starts and people are talking about tailgating afterwards more than the action on the field. Their O-line was much bigger than our D-line and you could see they were getting worn down without support from the LBs. ND was not a good team -- we gave up. The coaches gave up. The fans gave up. The players (particularly the defense), without that support, gave up. I was there and saw it.

There is only one person to blame for this: the head coach. Instead of deciding to fly, he decided to cry. Not any where close to "Ever to Excel" if you ask me.

Separately, the beer thing was a total fiasco. Love the idea, and can't wait to enjoy one with a winning team on the field, but the execution was so poor. Long lines at every concession and massive, wall-to-wall crowds underneath the stands outside of our section (Section B) for most of the game. Staff grew more salty as the game went on and randomly shut down concessions saying they were out of beer creating issues. Made for a terrible fan experience and compounded the horrible play on the field. Again, I like the idea -- perhaps it was the novelty we were seeing, but they just have to do some more thinking on how they can pull it off more smoothly. This was not the game to battle test it.

Shabby1011 said...

Their will not be another sellout for rest of year so it's a non issue.

I agree the lines are bit of a fiasco but I'll give them pass on beer lines. New concept implemented right before the season started. Going to take something me time to figure out. Beer lines are the least of our worries but get the concern.

MJ first and only real responsibility is who he hires as the next coach. That being said he seems completely engaged and aware of BC's entire game day atmosphere and operation so I see only marked improvements once MJ has a full year under his belt

Peanut said...

MattBC03, I'd take that recruit's academically focused sister over any of our men's starters.

Matt said...

Duje is 3- 0. Winning record since getting new coach few years back

Matt said...

What if players picked selves up and won a few games. Daz wld get credit and probably another extension. You want that?

Matt said...

Who hired Reid? Father Leahy? Daz isn't offensive coach. He's coach. The loss is his.

John said...

No extension - but I just find it hard to root against the players.

John said...

Yes there's hope for us if we can get the right coach.

John said...

They just lost another potential star from Tilton Academy in NH to Creighton.

knucklehead said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
knucklehead said...

I would take knuckleheeds comments over knuckleheads any day of the week. They are insightful, lucid and original.

Jazzyg said...

I don't want bc to loose but daz needs to go. I want the players to play well and stay healthy while learning on the apprenticeship.

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