It's a big week of football with the NFL Draft kicking off tonight and the end of Boston College's spring football (the Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Football Game) this weekend. We tackle some of these football topics in a game of over/under.
Over/Under - 3rd round draft selection for Matt Tennant
Jeff: I'll take the under here before you do the girly thing and push. Tennant has a future in the NFL and offensive lineman are safe draft picks. Offensive lineman are usually easy to sign and don't disappoint as often as a skill position player might.
Brian: Three out of four NFL draft websites have Matt Tennant going in the third round so I will indeed push here. Tennant won't get drafted in the first round today, but he'll be off the board halfway through the action on Friday. ATL seems to think Tennant will be reunited with Matt Ryan in Atlanta. Wishful thinking? Maybe. Seems to be a safe bet given so few teams truly need to draft a center. I'll go with Tennant landing with the Tennessee Titans as they use their second of two third round picks (97th overall) on the BC center.
Over/Under - 6th round draft selection for Mike McLaughlin
Brian: I'm going to put a bit of faith in McLaughlin, give him the benefit of the doubt and go under here. Besides, he was nice enough to stop by the blog and speak to us, so there's that. Also, Boston College has had a history of having players drafted a bit earlier than where the experts have predicted. Over the last few years, we've seen Matt Ryan (3rd overall), B.J. Raji (9th), and Gosder Cherilus (17) all get drafted high in the first round. Were these guys first round locks? Maybe, but they all came off the board earlier than most had predicted. If you go further back, the New York Giants have also had a history of taking BC players earlier than predicted (Chris Snee and Mathias Kiwanuka). I guess that just comes with the territory of being a BC Eagle - being constantly underrated? A team will recognize the potential in McLaughlin and draft him in one of the last few picks of the fifth round. Under.
Jeff: I'll go over here. I think McLaughlin will go in the sixth or seventh round. Unlike Matt Tennant, it is still very questionable whether or not McLaughlin will have a career in the NFL. He will get a chance, but just because he gets drafted does not mean that he will last in the league.
Over/Under - 2.5 Eagles drafted this weekend
Jeff: Under. You have to assume that McLaughlin and Tennant will be the only two players drafted. I wish more than 2 BC players got drafted every year but unfortunately that rarely happens and this year is unlikely to be an exception. Could the 2011 draft be a year that BC gets more than 2 players drafted? That's certainly a possibility if Herzlich returns to form this season.
Brian: Unfortunately, you have to go under here. The only Eagles on the radar, other than Tennant and McLaughlin, are Rich Gunnell and Marcellus Bowman. Who knows though. We could very well be surprised with one of these guys sneaking into the seventh round and getting drafted by an NFL team, but at this point it seems unlikely.
Over/Under - 6,000 in attendance at spring game
Brian: Way, way under. Two years ago, the Eagles drew 3,500 to the spring game. Last year, they reportedly only brought in 2,000. The only thing keeping BC from the possibility of drawing more fans than last year looks to be the weather. BC has been pretty banged up this spring and I'm guessing this game won't be very interesting, based on Spaz's comments from the spring teleconference.
If I lived in Boston, would I be there? Absolutely. But I also have an unhealthy obsession with Boston College athletics. Whereas 98 percent of your typical Superfans won't bother to go this weekend. Last weekend, Alabama packed 90,000+ Crimson Tide fans into Bryant-Denny Stadium to watch the Tide's spring game. Us Northerners just don't understand this new found obsession with spring football. The spring game phenomenon is slowly catching on, sure, with ESPN starting to broadcast some of these games. Even so, I would be surprised if more than 3,500 show up. Shocked if more than 5,000 show up.
Jeff: I'll go over here. This season's spring game has the potential to be one of the more interesting spring games we have had primarily because of the potential quarterback controversy. BC has certainly had QB battles in the past but that was usually due to someone graduating. This season, any QB battle that takes place is because of good talent coming in, not because of graduation. Also, there is an opening at tailback as well. Harris has the starting job locked up but someone is still going to be getting a bunch of carries. Who will that be? And most importantly, the forecast for this Saturday is good enough to get the local fans and alums out to Alumni Stadium for a little while.
Last one, Over/Under - 0.5 touchdowns thrown by Dave Shinskie in the spring game
Jeff: I will go over here and say that Skinskie will throw for a touchdown while having the most pass attempts of any quarterback on the roster. I don't think Spaz should let another QB attempt more passes than Uncle Dave and stir up the pot more with people calling for a new starting quarterback. Shinskie will be our opening day starter so don't give fans and the media anything to talk about for the next four months.
Brian: I'll agree that Shinskie will throw the most pass attempts of any quarterback on the roster. Spaz took a lot of the mystique out of the quarterback controversy yesterday during the spring teleconference, and it's likely that Shinskie will get the majority of playing time on Saturday. However, I'm going under here based on the defense's track record against the offense in the spring game. Shinskie will play well, but ultimately won't throw for a touchdown against the first-team defense. Look for Mike Marscovetra or Chase Rettig to throw the Eagles' only TD passes on Saturday against the second- and third-string defenses. But again, don't read too much into the QB stat lines from this weekend. From everything Spaziani said on Wednesday, the young guys still have a long way to go and Shinskie is still the favorite to start this fall coming out of spring ball.