Hey, you guys will like this [since I’m one of the identified "Spaz apoligists’]. I disagree with Spaz on this. We’ll find out about this class in 3 yrs, not 4 or 5. How’s that for lack of apology? Haha.

Now back to normal mode. He’s right. For all of the hand-wringing and angst about this recruiting class (which we do pretty much every year, b/c this is just not a day where BC can stand w/ the giants, chest pumped out proudly). BC has to compete on the football field, not in recruiting rankings. Yup, objectively, by ratings, etc., a down year. But not too unlike most of our classes. Brian mentioned this guy or that guy “replacing” graduating seniors. No one in this class is replacing a graduating senior (and again, we very, very rarely have a true frosh “replace” a senior). I guess Daniels is 1 possibility, but other than that, highly unlikely. So, it’s over – now let’s talk about who will be on the field come Sep 12.

The 2012 season will be all about Chase Rettig’s production and Montel Harris’s return. Assuming Harris returns healthy and can play (or alternately, we get 1500+ yds from other RBs), if Rettig finally plays like a legit, good, FBS QB, we’re going to be good. If not, we’ll be under .500 again, and Spaz will be gone. If Rettig is good, we’ll be 7-5 and in a bowl (I’d say even better if it weren’t for a pretty tough schedule).

So take maybe 1 more day to rail and lament the recruting class if you must, but BC football is likely to be a decent, winning team this year. It’s all on Rettig if you ask me.

Story of next year will be Bollman and the Oline. Rettig and all of our backs have proven to be serviceable when the oline isn’t completely caving in.

Brian – you seem to present moving target issues and arguments. I tend to talk about the program and what’s been achieved over time, what is achievable, and look to decades of history to support my perspective. You tend to talk about the here and now, this coaching staff, this AD, this season’s record, or even the past few years, and cite other “like-programs” success. These are two diff things.

I don’t think you’ve ever heard me say we can’t achieve an ACC Champ, a top 25 recruiting class or a BCS bowl. I think we should aspire to all of those things and I think we can achieve each of them, and more than once. In this particular thread, you mentioned the success of “Stanford, Virginia, North Carolina, Northwestern, Vanderbilt…Penn State, Rutgers and Pitt.” Of all of those, I’d say BC is the equal or better, HISTORICALLY, of all but Penn St, maybe Syracuse, and I expect we will be going forward as well. You use micro examples for macro arguments

So we ought to frame what we’re talking about when we make these arguments. This is not meant as any kind of disrespect or age-superiority thing, but given your [relative] youth, you focus on what you know, what you’ve seen and have a micro perspective, whereas old people tend to see a bigger picture, have more experience, a larger period from.which to draw their arguments and have a macro perspective.

I agree BC can do all of the things you mentioned, but not as quickly and readily and permananently as you seem to think. Nor would I argue with you that we can be better than we’ve been of late. But ALL TEAMS, even the best, even top 5 or top 10 programs, have cycles, where they’re a little better or a little worse. Our coaching changes btw 2007-2009 hurt our program, but I believe hurt it only short term. You choose to rail on the HC and AD in office during that downturn and think so many anyones could have done better. I disagree. This program IS getting better and we’re going to see that going forward.

Some people have got to argue no matter what is said.

Depends what you are saying/arguing Hoya – it ultimately is a matter of degree. How good? How long? Better? Sure, I’m all for better, short term and long term. My posts are usually pretty specifc though as to what I am talking about. You want to answer with general b-s smarminess, knock yourself out.

I just don’t happen to think we’re on the Titanic right now.

1 week full control of BCI if we go 7-5 and make a bowl this year. That’s what you said.

Hmm, 6-6 is nit-picking Brian (1 off my prediction). You threw down the gauntlet and made the statement you’d give me control when you saw my 7-5 prediction. Is 6-6 possible? Of course. And my 7-5 prediction was also predicated on Rettig improving to a good, FBS QB (not to mention Harris’s healthy return or RB-by-committee achieving 1500+ yds).

But I’ll put away all the hemming and hawing and say you’ll get a full “I was wrong and you were right” for 5-7 or worse.

This thread has fallen off the big board, so you may not see this reply, but I hunted it down since you dispalyed some civility and simply asked me a question.

Yes, I do think 2011 was the valley and we will be improving over at least the next couple years. I’m on record as saying I expect us to be 7-5 in 2012 and 9-3 in 2013. That said, exact records are hard to predict – obviously there can be a swing of perhaps 2-3 games depending on circumstances, such as key injuries (especially at QB). But all in all, I think we’ll be a winning team in 2012 and win more in 2013.

Now I’d like to say we just keep getting better and winning even more, and we may, but predicting much beyond 2 years in a pretty inexact science, too much can happen. But yeah, I believe 2007-2009 really hurt this program and it’s been a struggle to recover.

As an aside, but somewhat tied into where we’re headed, IMO QB play is the key to a football team’s success (2nd is OL play; 3rd is stopping the run) – clearly I’m pretty old school. But the reason I mention QB play is because we’ve been hurt over the past 2 yrs by poor QB play as much as anything. That has completely stymied our offense.

So a good deal of my optimisim over the next 2 years is based on Rettig playing much better as a 3 and 4 yr starter. And one of the reasons I’m not going further than 2013 in my predictions is because I have no idea what our QB play will be like from a 1st yr starter. If I were a CFB HC, in a perfect world, I would have RS Soph QBs as 1st yr starters, play them for 3 yrs, and have a RS Soph ready to go the following yr. RS Sophs are 2 yrs into the program, growing, maturing, learning from an upperclassmen, hopefully getting some PT as a RS frosh, and then ready to go. I think Suntrup RS’s last year, right, so in 2014, he’d be 3 yrs in the program and 2 yrs of eligibility left. That might work as long as he gets some PT over the next 2 yrs.

What record would make Spaz/GDF fireable in 2012 or 2013? And you’re asking me, what I’d do, right, not what I predict BC might do?

Spaz in 2012: I’d fire him for 4-8, and probably fire him for 5-7 barring gross, unpredictable, uncontrollable circumstances. Even then, I’d probably fire him at 4-8.

Spaz in 2013 (this assumes of course we went 6-6 or better in 2012): I’d probably fire him for 6-6 or worse, but again, this assumes we weren’t hit w/ something really significant beyond his control. Even then, 5 yrs into one’s tenure, you have had enough time to be able to plan/prepare for the worst of contingencies, even if they were beyond your control.

GDF: As I’ve posted before, I don’t tie the AD’s and football HC’s fates together as much as most of you do. I think the 2 job descriptions are far different. I think Fr. Leahy evaluates GDF on how well the entire AD is doing and how well ALL TEAMS represent Boston College. In Fr. Leahy’s mind, and in and mine, that goes well beyond W-L records. Fr. Leahy is a priest – I don’t think he believes job #1 is to win. Is winning good for BC? Absolutely. But that’s not the chief element on which the AD is evaluated at BC.