O-line now getting A's
After shaky start to season, Eagles are putting it all together up front
Boston College has gone back to the tradition of "Offensive Line U," which has produced a steady flow of offensive linemen to the National Football League the last several years.
The linemen are more cohesive than they have been since a new coaching staff came to The Heights and changed the system, the way they played, the way they thought.
All that is missing now is the customary final bonding with the quarterback, who shows his appreciation of the linemen's work by taking them to dinner.
"Hasn't done it yet," BC center Matt Tennant said with a look over his shoulder to quarterback Chris Crane. "Maybe I'll let [defensive right tackle B.J. Raji] hit him in practice."
It is easier to joke these days at offensive meetings. Putting up 578 yards of total offense (428 passing yards) in last week's 38-31 win over North Carolina State was not only a confidence booster, it eased the tension that was building as the Eagles' offense sputtered the first few weeks of the season.
Good offensive line play is a delicate operation, requiring patience. Although three starters returned, only Tennant came back in his original spot. Left tackle Anthony Castonzo and left guard Clif Ramsey played the right side last season and right guard Thomas Claiborne and right tackle Rich Lapham moved into starting spots.
Castonzo, who started 14 games as a true freshman at right tackle, said the transformation is complete. "We're fairly confident. We're always joking around, a lot of camaraderie. We're going back to those O-line roots."
In the first few months of BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski's tenure, there was more turmoil than tranquility with the offensive line. Jagodzinski originally hired former BC offensive lineman Jim Turner as his O-line coach, but that didn't work out and Turner left before spring 2007 drills were complete. Another former offensive lineman, Jack Bicknell Jr., was brought in to implement a new zone-blocking scheme that required a change in the way the line did its job.
Last season, BC had veteran players and a veteran quarterback in Matt Ryan, and the Eagles were good enough to overcome any blocking problems and win an Atlantic Coast Conference division crown as well as 11 games.
This season, Crane is the new QB, the running backs are new, and the offensive line had position changes and new faces to deal with.
Although the Eagles won three of their first four games, the offense sputtered more than it spewed out points and yardage. Against North Carolina State, it all finally seemed to come together.
"Now we don't have to ask each other a lot of questions," said Tennant. "We kind of know what we're going to do now. Now things are really working well. I really think we are coming together. We're finding out what we're good at. We're coming together as an offense."
Crane said it's a matter of familiarity as much as anything. "We're all on the same page," he said. "It makes it a lot easier. If one thing is working, [the opponents] have to make an adjustment. Against North Carolina State, the passing game was going really well and then we would break off a run. And they had to make another adjustment. And then we found some big passes. A mix between the two really helps."
The Eagles have a week off before they tangle with Virginia Tech in prime time (8 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2) at Alumni Stadium Oct. 18.
Virginia Tech played BC twice last year; BC won the first game, the Hokies the second, costing the Eagles the ACC title.
"I can't wait," Castonzo said about the Oct. 18 game.
As for the dinner for the O-line, Crane - looking at the 287-pound Castonzo, 311-pound Ramsey, 294-pound Tennant, 323-pound Claiborne, and 322-pound Lapham - says he would like it to be more of a surprise, a spur-of-the-moment thing, when perhaps not everyone will be available.
A year ago, Ryan took the O-line to Vinny Testa's after the Eagles won their opening game against Wake Forest. Considering the importance of the Virginia Tech game, a dinner gathering next week might indeed be in the offing.
Crane said he's not sure if he has the funds for such a feast. When someone suggested a compromise of, say, Subway, Castonzo quickly agreed. "I'd take that." 