Boston College Football Banter: “Sad, free, confused and lonely at the same time”

Arthur: Well, that sucked! How are we all doing?

Will: Upset, angry, confused. Amazed we forced that many turnovers and still couldn’t win.

Curtis: Sad, free, confused and lonely at the same time.

Arthur: I’m going to come out and say it: I don’t want Dennis Grosel behind center next week. He isn’t the only reason BC is sliding, but mercy me he has not been what we’ve hoped for, and it stands to reason that someone else could get a look. At a bare minimum, I don’t think they’d be any worse.

Will: Oh really, Arthur?

Arthur: He has more interceptions than touchdowns thrown!

Will: Who could have predicted this? I seem to recall suggesting this very same thing last week. We knew this is who Grosel was.

Arthur: I think pulling the cord was a bit premature last week, although talking about it was certainly justified. I think what changed for me this week is seeing another winnable game slip from BC’s hands yet again and the offense being the sole reason it did.

Will: To backtrack on my last statement, Grosel had not been the reason we’d lost up until this point.

Arthur: That’s the other thing. Pretty much everything went wrong against NC State and it’s hard to say that was on Grosel. There’s no ambiguity here with why BC lost this week.

Will: He had not given BC a clear reason to make a switch but I just saw how low our ceiling was with him and found myself frustrated that it felt like no matter what, we were facing another Addazio-like season when I thought we were better than that. This week there’s more concrete evidence.

[Interlude from our Addazio Slack Bot: You know, we’re only an hour away from Storrs]

Will: Do we think BC can try and hide his struggles with their playcalling?

Arthur: I mean if they can, they haven’t, because his struggles have been very obvious.

Curtis: I still have a lot of doubts that a QB change will improve this team, but I wouldn’t be mad to see a change. I do question why Daelen Menard, the un-recruited no-star QB, seems to be the backup over the 3-star Matthew Rueve. That suggests to me that this roster’s QB depth is actually very weak.

Grant: Yep. That’s it right there. Everyone thinks “it can’t get worse” but — folks, he’s a 6th year, 2 year starter, I promise you it can. The thing that drives me craziest is that Grosel is passable in just about every aspect of the game........ except the deep ball. My God, if my laptop wasn’t in for repairs, I would make a supercut of highlights showing a wide open Zay Flowers getting overthrown by 4 yards twice a game.

Arthur: Here’s the thing though— let’s say that his only flaw is the deep ball, which has manifested into a pretty big flaw with the way that BC is using him. That means that defenses can play with a short field knowing that his range is so limited. That makes coordinating a passing game difficult and makes it even more difficult to establish a run game. Grosel obviously has the experience but what good does that do if the offense is predictable?

Grant: Because I assure you, whatever flaws Grosel has in that aspect of the game, there are going to be other aspects in which the replacement(s) will have their own struggles and there will almost assuredly be more of then. One of those likely being hitting a very fast receiver on the run 30 yards downfield.

Curtis: I feel there’s still a lot you should be able to do with the amount of talent in Zay Flowers, Trae Barry, Jaelen Gill, and others, even if you’re limited to 15 yards downfield. Even just getting the ball in Zay Flowers’s hands anywhere on the field can make something happen. Yet the playbook just hasn’t changed to my eyes.

Arthur: And that’s probably the biggest problem of them all, and it’s hard not to feel bad for Grosel because for all his limitations the staff has not put him in a position for success. But with that said, either the staff changes the scheme or they change who executes, because one thing that is painfully obvious is that it’s not working right now. And it looks like the staff isn’t changing the scheme, so there’s only one place to go.

Curtis: And that’s why I think the playbook should change, not the quarterback. Grosel would be completely serviceable if the staff would finally accept that he should not be running Jurkovec’s offense.

Grant: At this point we’re rehashing the same stuff. You know what this makes me really think? Flowers is going to be a monster in the NFL. Dude is open freaking every time.

Arthur: God, you’re going to make me more sad.

Curtis: This OL is full of a bunch of bad dudes too. Garwo, Sinkfield, and Levy aren’t terrific talents, but the blocking is making them unstoppable at times. Zion Johnson and Alec Lindstrom are going to be quality NFL guys themselves.

Arthur: So anyway, now we’re getting that Hafley is at least reviewing the quarterback position. So at least he is acknowledging that there’s a problem.

Curtis: I’m assuming Grosel starts for now, but what are the expectations against Syracuse? I marked this as a solid W before the season but I’m almost ready to mark it as a solid L right now.

Will: Think it’s a little early to mark it as a solid L but it’s like a lot of our games: could win, could lose.

Grant: I wish this game was at home, but I would imagine this is going to be a pick ‘em with Grosel and probably a loss with anyone else. Syracuse is not a “we need a Hail Mary” opponent. (Forgive the cliché.)

Curtis: Hail Denny.

Arthur: I think my hope going into this game with Hafley having a frank look at the offense is that they finally have that come to Jesus moment that the offense has been craving all year and rework it to Grosel’s abilities. For whatever it’s worth, I do think he can succeed in an offense built around him. If they work the offense in a way that benefits Grosel, this could very easily be a game BC wins.

Curtis: I’ve been begging for an offense that benefits Grosel’s abilities for weeks now, but unfortunately I don’t think it’s coming. Plus this Syracuse offense seems to be lethal on the ground, something our defense has struggled with. Predictions?

Grant: 24-21 Eagles, baby.

Will: 21-17, Eagles.

Arthur: 18-16 Eagles, because embrace the chaos

Curtis: Dang I feel like a jerk every week picking against BC. But what the heck, I’ve been mostly right so far. 29-20 Orange.