Five Questions That Must be Answered by Boston College's Defense
Boston College kicks off their season with their opener against the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday. The Eagles will look to put 2019 behind them, especially the defensive unit, who finished in the bottom third of almost every statistical category. By this point we all know the story, they struggled to get pressure, tackling and in the back end, allowing over 30 points a game.
With a new coach, a new scheme and new players, some of these issues should be resolved. But for many, these still remain questions until they are answered on the field. This weekend the Eagles will get that opportunity to prove the doubters wrong. Here are the five biggest questions on defense we need to see answered.
1. Will tackling improve? Last year the Eagles struggled to wrap up opposing ball carriers and it led to extra yardage and easy first downs. It happened all year long, and everyone on the team was guilty of this cardinal sin of football. Facing Duke will be a perfect opportunity to see how much of this Tem Lukabu and Jeff Hafley fixed this summer. The Blue Devils have slippery wide receivers who showed some elusiveness when wrapped up against Notre Dame. Allowing yards after contact needs to be reduced.
2. Can Boston College contain a dual threat quarterback? Chase Brice is the type of quarterback that gave Boston College defenses fits last year. He is a big burly dual threat who can use his arm to move the chains or plow ahead for extra yardage. BC is going to need to be disciplined and not be out of position, or Brice will make them pay. All it takes is a linebacker missing an assignment for Brice to tuck and run it for a first down. How the Eagles do against the Duke signal caller should give us a better understanding on how engrained Hafley's system is.
3. Can the Eagles get pressure? This was the biggest issue on defense last year. Boston College went games without getting a sack, and many opposing quarterbacks made it through games hardly being touched. This defense needs to be disruptive, especially up front. Hafley addressed the struggles by replacing 3/4 of the line, with Shitta Sillah, Luc Bequette and Chibueze Onwuka all in the starting role on the depth chart. This group has to make Brice uncomfortable, and force him to get rid of the ball quickly. He can't get all day to sit in the pocket and make his reads, or BC's secondary will get picked apart. If BC can hurry the quarterback, their secondary should improve.
4. Gap integrity against the run. This was touched on briefly above, but Boston College players need to know where they should be, and be there against the run. Thinking back to the Kansas game last year, and there were players all over the field missing their assignments. Les Miles had his rushing attack pick apart these errors and the Jayhawks rolled. Hafley and Lukabu are strong defensive coaches, but we need to see if the players feel comfortable enough in their system, or if the lack of spring practices will cause an issue.
5. Will third down conversions decrease? Struggles on the third down was near the top of the long list of issues on the Boston College defense in 2019. The Eagles allowed 47% of third down conversions to be executed, good for 121st in the country. The fact that they won six games, while allowing that many third downs is a bit of a miracle. BC's defense needs to hold on third down and get off the field to keep their players fresh and allow the offense to click.
Photo courtesy of BCEagles.com
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