Five Reasons Boston College Will NOT Win More Than Seven Games In 2019

It's going to be a tough one.

1. Steve Addazio's Coaching Style: This could be a post in itself, because as we have seen time and time again, Steve Addazio has made choices that are at best questionable and at worst against the logic of football. Last year was a perfect example. Down in Tallahassee, BC had FSU on the ropes, they had the ball on the FSU 43, with 4th and 1, and a human bowling ball in AJ Dillon in the backfield. Addazio who to his credit had been pretty aggressive to that point, clammed up and punted, which ended up going through the end zone. We know how that game ended up, then endlessly defended this call after the game. If he continues to not keep his foot on the gas, he's going to lose games that are winnable. It's happened endless times during his reign. 

Secondly, he's got to push for more unpredictable play calling moving forward. He has some beautifully designed plays in his playbook, his play action calls are some of best designed I've seen. But he uses them incorrectly frequently. How many times have we defenses stack the box only to have him hand the ball to AJ Dillon for two to three yards? I want to say that he has studied the film, and he probably has, but I imagine he is going to continue his system the way he always has. Which means run the ball on first down, second down, and throw it on third. If that happens, which seemingly happens every game, he is going to blow drives, which will leave points off the board and prevent any sort of momentum. 

2. The Schedule: Boston College has to go out and take care of business during the early part of the season, because the last half of the year is absolutely brutal. As I mentioned on Twitter (cheap plug follow us there!) the Eagles are only one of five teams to get back to back road games this, and they get this TWICE! And then you look at the caliber of opponents and you get @Clemson, @Syracuse, @Notre Dame, Florida State and @Pittsburgh. That is a tough swing for any team, and especially for a program led by a coach like BC who has struggled against teams he has not been favored against. 

3. Question Marks All Over The Place On Defense: Yesterday I mentioned that it Boston College has been a program that has been able to find and develop talent on defense. It seems like every year they find a new star in the making, someone who can pick up the unit and make it dangerous. But what if that doesn't happen. Let's look at all the people they have to replace: Wyatt Ray, Zach Allen, Ray Smith, Hamp Cheevers, Will Harris, Connor Strachan, Taj-Amir Torres and Lukas Denis . That is a ton of talent gone, and if BC can't find players ready to step in immediately that could be a major problem for the defense. Now there certainly could be exciting players ready to step in, but questioning the defense at this point has to happen. 

4. Anthony Brown Stagnates: Now personally I like the play of Anthony Brown and am excited to see what happens this year as he continues to mature and grow as a player, especially with a new offensive coordinator. But there is a possibility that maturation doesn't happen and he continues to make the same errors we saw last year. Can this offense function with Brown playing at the level he played last year. Of course they can. But they are going to have stretches where he isn't effective whether it's missing a read to an open receiver and forcing a punt, or throwing into too much coverage. If BC wants to win some big games and take that next step they are going to need Brown to grow as well, and if he doesn't I don't see them taking that leap. 

5. Special Team Struggles: A hallmark of a Steve Addazio team has been a mixed bag on special teams. Last year on one hand the Eagles had one of hte most electric punt returners in the nation in Michael Walker, but BC also still couldn't kick a field goal, botched a handful of punt returns, and for the first half of the year every snap on a punt was an adventure. These errors are huge in close games against better opponents. If BC makes a flub like this, and they haven't showed me in six years under Steve Addazio that they can consistently avoid them, they are going to blow games. BC still has no idea who the kicker is going to be, they have options, but no one has been named yet, and there is no punt returner as of now as well. Both big question marks heading into the season.