Boston College?s remarkably efficient performance against Northeastern on Saturday allowed some Eagles to breathe a little easier. But the 54-0 drubbing of the Huskies did not bring closure to the quarterback battle that has continued all summer.
?Status quo,? was how coach Frank Spaziani described the situation.
??They improved, that?s the first thing,? Spaziani said. ?They made some progress and they showed us some different stuff about them. I think we?ll stay the way we are and we?ll practice that way this week and figure it out at the end of the week.?Justin Tuggle was 3-of-5 for 56 yards and a touchdown in the season opener, while Dave Shinskie was 7-for-10 for 110 yards and a touchdown. Tuggle showed some escape capabilities while Shinskie was precise in his passing.
Spaziani hopes to eventually find a true No. 1, but if that doesn?t happen, so be it.
?We would hope, hope, that eventually we?ll get to the point where one of them will have separated himself and then we can go that way. But right now, we don?t have one,? Spaziani said. ?Once again, the ideal situation is to have one quarterback and a guy backing him up that you can put in to get some playing time and a third one in an emergency. But we?re not in an ideal situation and we have to do what we feel is best, that will give us the best chance to win.?
O-line critique
The Eagles rushed for 236 yards on 38 carries for an average of 6.2 yards, but Spaziani wasn?t all that thrilled with the offensive line?s play. Some of the Eagles? long runs, most notably Montel Harris? 48-yard game-opening touchdown run, were the result of the backs breaking tackles.
?We need to be better,? said Spaziani after watching the game tape. ?Just looking at our techniques and how we performed, that confirmed it, whether it?s push or whatever. We need to be more precise if we?re going to move forward here.?
The line should get some help this week with the return of right tackle Rich Lapham, who missed the opener with a shoulder injury.
?Rich has played a lot,? Spaziani said. ?(Mike Goodman) did a great job really for a redshirt freshman in his first game ever playing. He did a nice job, but Rich was the starter for a reason.? . . .
Spaziani liked what he saw from true freshman middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, who led the Eagles with seven tackles and was especially active early on.
?For a true freshman being in a football game, he just confirmed what we think about him,? Spaziani said. ?But once you get into the meat of it, he?s got a lot of work to do, as a lot of people do. But he?s got the ingredients you need to work with.?
Kuechly and the rest of the young linebacking corps will have a tougher task this week when the Eagles face Kent State and elusive back Eugene Jarvis. The 5-foot-5 mini-mite rushed for 141 yards on 27 carries in Thursday?s 18-0 win over Coastal Carolina.
Sore spots
Wide receiver Clarence Megwa should be able to practice this week after reinjuring his hand vs. NU, and the same goes for second-team safety Okechukwu Okoroha (arm). Linebacker Will Thompson (shoulder) has not yet been cleared. . . .Spaziani reported that long snapper Jack Geiser, who missed the opener because of ?team issues,? is back in good graces this week.
?Status quo,? was how coach Frank Spaziani described the situation.
??They improved, that?s the first thing,? Spaziani said. ?They made some progress and they showed us some different stuff about them. I think we?ll stay the way we are and we?ll practice that way this week and figure it out at the end of the week.?Justin Tuggle was 3-of-5 for 56 yards and a touchdown in the season opener, while Dave Shinskie was 7-for-10 for 110 yards and a touchdown. Tuggle showed some escape capabilities while Shinskie was precise in his passing.
Spaziani hopes to eventually find a true No. 1, but if that doesn?t happen, so be it.
?We would hope, hope, that eventually we?ll get to the point where one of them will have separated himself and then we can go that way. But right now, we don?t have one,? Spaziani said. ?Once again, the ideal situation is to have one quarterback and a guy backing him up that you can put in to get some playing time and a third one in an emergency. But we?re not in an ideal situation and we have to do what we feel is best, that will give us the best chance to win.?
O-line critique
The Eagles rushed for 236 yards on 38 carries for an average of 6.2 yards, but Spaziani wasn?t all that thrilled with the offensive line?s play. Some of the Eagles? long runs, most notably Montel Harris? 48-yard game-opening touchdown run, were the result of the backs breaking tackles.
?We need to be better,? said Spaziani after watching the game tape. ?Just looking at our techniques and how we performed, that confirmed it, whether it?s push or whatever. We need to be more precise if we?re going to move forward here.?
The line should get some help this week with the return of right tackle Rich Lapham, who missed the opener with a shoulder injury.
?Rich has played a lot,? Spaziani said. ?(Mike Goodman) did a great job really for a redshirt freshman in his first game ever playing. He did a nice job, but Rich was the starter for a reason.? . . .
Spaziani liked what he saw from true freshman middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, who led the Eagles with seven tackles and was especially active early on.
?For a true freshman being in a football game, he just confirmed what we think about him,? Spaziani said. ?But once you get into the meat of it, he?s got a lot of work to do, as a lot of people do. But he?s got the ingredients you need to work with.?
Kuechly and the rest of the young linebacking corps will have a tougher task this week when the Eagles face Kent State and elusive back Eugene Jarvis. The 5-foot-5 mini-mite rushed for 141 yards on 27 carries in Thursday?s 18-0 win over Coastal Carolina.
Sore spots
Wide receiver Clarence Megwa should be able to practice this week after reinjuring his hand vs. NU, and the same goes for second-team safety Okechukwu Okoroha (arm). Linebacker Will Thompson (shoulder) has not yet been cleared. . . .Spaziani reported that long snapper Jack Geiser, who missed the opener because of ?team issues,? is back in good graces this week.
