Addazio: Bye Week To Shore Up Defense

Defense is struggling, and Steve Addazio believes bye week will be beneficial for improvement

After the first six games of the season, Boston College's defense sits near the bottom of the league in almost every statistical measure. But head coach Steve Addazio believes that the bye week will give them some time to work with their inexperienced group and hopefully fix some of the problems that have plagued his defense. "It's always something a little different, which no one wants to hear I understand that. It's a byproduct of a lot of inexperience but we've got to use the bye week to grow that up." Addazio told reporters after Boston College's 41-39 loss to Louisville on Saturday. 

But these changes are not going to be a "silver bullet" explained the head coach. Addazio knows there are multiple facets of his defense that is currently ranked 118th in total yards allowed through the first six games of the season "I can see myself from the sideline. It's something in the coverage one time, it's something in the front another time". 

While the results haven't been what he has hoped for, Addazio remains optimistic about the potential the team has on the defensive side of the ball "We have a talented young group on defense and we have to keep developing that." But time is running out for the Eagles who will need to win at least three more games to be bowl eligible for the sixth time during Steve Addazio's seven year tenure. Boston College still has the Clemson Tigers, Florida State Seminoles, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Coastal Division winner Pittsburgh Panthers still on their schedule.  

Steve Addazio and defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan have two weeks to prepare for NC State, but will that be enough time to fix the multitude of problems that have plagued the Eagles through the first half of the season? Or will the Eagles continue to struggle on defense? Boston College fans will get their answer on October 19th.