Boston College Film Review: Third Quarter

The third quarter became the Evan Conley show late. Conley came in after Micale Cunningham had his knee rolled into and he really showed out. He moved the offense really well through the air while avoiding mistakes. The defense held their own after a touchdown on their first drive. That drive being the one that should’ve been over after an obvious fumble.

BC BALL, SECOND AND 6

This was another play where BC’s motion confused the defense. I’m not totally sure what coverage they’re in because the broadcast was showing a replay but it looks like it might be cover zero. It looks like Russ Yeast is lined up on the tight end to the bottom of the screen but then backs off with the motion. That should mean that Anthony Johnson is then responsible for whoever the wide guy would be, Jack Fagot would be responsible for the second widest guy, and C.J. Avery would be responsible for the inside guy. Keep in mind, I’m speculating here.

It’s also possible that Russ should be taking the inside guy with Fagot on the second guy. But it looks like Russ drops into deep zone. No matter how you slice it, the motion is the culprit and the players didn’t handle it well all game.

UOFL BALL, FIRST AND 10

I’m completely OK with Dez showing off his highlight ability every week through the end of the season. Last week I talked up his ball skills and body control after his ridiculous catch against FSU. This week it’s all about his football IQ and strength. He attacks this ball in the air but you can see that he waits until the last minute to do so so that he still has the advantage. “Late hands” is something you typically see on throws over the outside shoulder but Dez utilizes the technique here.

It looks like BC is in cover three here which is kind of weird because UofL is in trips. The safety responsible for the middle third of the field has to make a decision on Dez or Tutu and he ends up staying with Tutu as he cuts across the field. It makes for an easy decision for Micale and he puts it out there to let Dez make a play.

BC BALL, SECOND AND 5

Give Tabarius Peterson a gold star and put this play on a clinic tape. Watch how he first bullies his guy a yard back into the backfield and then he uses the long arm to set the edge. He gives Dillon nowhere to run on this play and he has to cut it back. All of Peterson’s friends are there to get him down for a loss. There was a lot of talk about this defensive line being undersized, but they’ve shown so far that it’s not an issue at all.

BC BALL, THIRD AND 6

this play caught my eye because it’s a good example of what the coverage should look like from Louisville. Notice that the two guys at the bottom of the screen allow their cushion to get eaten up and they don’t bail out at the snap. Situational awareness is important and most teams are going to be running routes to the sticks. So you sit at the sticks and read the route. That’s what we see here and they take every route away.

The pass rush has to at least make the quarterback uncomfortable here and Anthony Johnson needs to make a play on the ball. But, overall, this is what you want in a passing situation.

UOFL BALL, THIRD AND 2

God I love this play. They typically run the option to the right on this play and they mostly hand it off to the running back up the middle. So that’s going to bring everyone on the left side of the field either flowing to the play or crashing to the line looking to stop the running back. You counter that with the option man breaking back to the opposite side and you have your fast guy in space.

Just watch the defense react to this. BC actually plays it well and Louisville still gets solid yardage.

UOFL BALL, FIRST AND 10

Evan Conley entered the game late in the third and immediately made some throws that make you feel really good about his future. The timing on this stop route is nearly perfect. He starts his motion to throw this before Dez even turns around and it’s on him before the corner can react. I also love the placement because the defender would have to run through Dez to get to the ball. He’s answering some questions about whether he could play at this level or not.

UOFL BALL, THIRD AND 8

BC decides to bring pressure on third down but they bust it. Conley identifies the open man because he looks to the blitz first. BC’s safeties somehow get their coverage backwards and leave Tutu wide open and Conley stands in and delivers a really nice throw to get the first down.

UOFL BALL, FIRST AND 10

This is a similar play to the one that they hit to Seth Dawkins in the second quarter. The two receivers to the left clear out the secondary players while the play action pulls the linebackers up. Then you have Justin Marshall running in between them. BC covers it differently this time around but Marshall gets enough separation from the corner. Conley drops it in the bucket right before taking a big hit and Marshall just drops it.

UOFL BALL, THIRD AND 11

I remember back when Satterfield was hired Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network called him an “instinctive play caller”. Jeremiah is a bit biased as an App State guy but he’s a really good NFL analyst so I always remembered that. I immediately thought of that comment after this play on Saturday. BC shows one safety high with man across the board. So Satterfield calls an easy “man beater” with the corner route to Atwell. If this play looks familiar, it’s the same play Tutu scored on against FSU.

Also, if my memory serves me, Satterfield called this against PSU last year with his freshman quarterback coming off the bench completely cold late in the game. On fourth down. The man has no fear.