Pre-Snap Read Ranks Boston College #101, Critical Of State Of Program

Yesterday the must read blog Pre-Snap Read continued it's countdown of college football programs heading into the 2012 season. Boston College heard it's name called by author Paul Myerberg very early this year at #101. Last year PSR had BC come in at #62, and re ranked at the end of the season at #91, which shows what Myerberg thinks of the state of BC football in 2012 . BC is rated behind Troy (the college, not the mythological Greek province) and two spots above Duke, and only one spot ahead of North Texas.

There were two articles written yesterday and both warrant discussion here at BC, not only because they are excellent reads and bring up some great points, but also because Myerberg sings BCI's praises at the end of his article. In his posts he reviews the 2011 season (Low point: all the losses, high point the end of the season), while taking a look Let's take a look at some of the salient points that Myerberg made in his recent posts:

To start off Myerberg absolutely slams the BC administration for their unabashed support of their embattled coach. Usually I would condense what Myerberg wrote, but this has said alot of what many upset BC fans have clamored about:

There is a disconnect from reality. This is clear when listening to athletic director Gene DeFilippo, who says things like, "I'm really excited about the future of Boston College football," and "[Frank Spaziani] is the best coach that we've had in the 15 years that we've been here," and "our future here is very, very bright." Anyone who has witnessed the Eagles' rapid decline can attest otherwise: Boston College's future - with the program and athletic department as currently constituted - is strikingly bleak; Spaziani may be the only coach DeFilippo has seen in each of his 15 years with the university, and he may be the best defensive coordinator B.C. has had since Tom O'Brien remade the program, but no, to call him the "best coach" since 1997 ignores our own two eyes and those helpful items called facts, which state otherwise. The reality of this situation is that everything that was done has been undone, everything that was achieved has been forgotten, and Boston College football as it was is no longer Boston College football as it is. Excited about the future? Please.

From there PSR goes on to talk about the players and positions. Myerberg explains that Chase Rettig's ability to grasp Doug Martin's offense will be crucial to a successful season. Myerberg's second post talks about how Martin and BC's ability to grasp his offense will be the key to a successful 2012 season:

There’s a reason this hire qualifies as Spaziani’s best since he was promoted into the top spot in 2009 – if we don’t count promoting linebackers coach Bill McGovern to defensive coordinator, which was an absolute no-brainer. The B.C. offense is and has been broken; if nothing else, Martin has the ability to turn this ship around.

His offense will look familiar. Martin’s system is extremely familiar to the one run by Steve Logan at B.C. from 2007-8; Martin was an assistant at E.C.U. during Logan’s entire 11-year run with the program. It’s not a coincidence that the Eagles have bottomed out since Logan left following the 2008 season – after Spaziani was hired – but in Martin, perhaps the Eagles will begin moving the ball like they did under Logan’s watch.

He mentions that one of the most intriguing matchups will be whether Emmett Cleary or John Wetzel will get the nod at left tackle. He then goes on to talk about his worries for the BC defense, especially the secondary. His key to the defense? Kaleb Ramsey. Don't know if I agree with that, because outstanding linebacker play has managed to overshadow weak DL play in the past, if Kevin Pierre-Louis, Steele Divitto and Sean Duggan can play at a high level they could be the players to watch.

His position battle to watch: Running back. Agree there, as Myerberg says there are three solid replacements for the carries Montel Harris could have had. Glad to see that he didn't fall for the "Rettig vs Bordner" because honestly there probably is no battle to be talked of. Myerberg says that he wouldn't be surprised if BC splits the carries, and honestly I wouldn't either, but I really don't see Andre Williams getting a big share of the touches this fall. Another position battle I think will be one to watch is WR3/4. Right now it's Alex Amidon/Jonathan Coleman, but if they continue to play well I am guessing that Brian Miller and Joel Zoungrana could be challenging for those roles.

PSR doesn't have much faith in BC's chances this upcoming season, and his best case scenario sounds like a pipedream (30 points a game!). In his final thought on this upcoming season Myerberg lays the hammer down on the Eagles, putting them in the most grim of predicaments.

"In a nutshell It's been a steep slide down for Boston College: once an A.C.C. contender, then a pretender, now an afterthought. And make no mistake: B.C. is no more an A.C.C. title contender than is Duke, and like the Blue Devils, will need to turn over an entirely new leaf to reverse the losing and negative culture that has pervaded the program over the last two or three seasons. Everything has fallen apart. The offense lacks any punch. The defense has turned porous. The program lacks any sense of urgency. Consistency, once the bedrock of this program, for better or worse, has left the building"Yikes, when national media members rip your program like this, you have to wince.

Yikes, when a national media member take a swipe at your program, you have to wince.