Grayson James came in and showed us what this offense could be
It’s been a bumpy ride for Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos all season, and things finally came to a head on Saturday afternoon. After Syracuse scored 21 unanswered points in the first half and TC went down with an apparent minor injury, Grayson James came in for Boston College and brought the offense some new life, bringing the Eagles to an eventual 37-31 win over the Orange. This sudden success now begs the question: would BC’s offense be better served with James under center instead of Castellanos?
Castellanos’s shortcomings are well-known at this point. He struggles to pass the ball downfield and often takes bad sacks without throwing the ball away. So opposing defenses are stacking the box to stuff the run and daring him to throw. TC hasn’t been able to punish this strategy yet, as BC lost three straight games with him under center while the offense struggled to put together the longer scoring drives that they utilized earlier in the season.
The same situation was unfolding on Saturday against Syracuse. BC had some early success running the ball, but Castellanos was totally uninvolved. In the first five Boston College drives that resulted in a 14-0 Eagles lead, Jordan McDonald and Kye Robichaux combined for 153 rushing yards and a touchdown. They completely dominated on the ground, stringing together drives in which passing the ball didn’t even seem like an option. Castellanos, meanwhile, went 1/4 passing, with his only completion being a 4-yard toss to Lewis Bond that Bond was able to carry the rest of the way in for a touchdown. TC was sacked once and had just 3 yards rushing in those drives, also.
So when Syracuse marched down the field two times in a row for touchdowns immediately afterwards, and Castellanos threw an ugly interception to end the first half, you could feel the tension rising in Alumni Stadium. Then a BC 3&out to start the second half, followed by another Syracuse TD to take a 21-14 lead, really put things in perspective. The only thing that BC could do effectively was run the football with McDonald and Robichaux. Castellanos was under center for the entire first half and only mustered two completions for 14 yards, while also throwing an INT and getting sacked multiple times.
Then Grayson James came in. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that James looked like Matt Ryan in the pocket. He did not look like an amazing quarterback by any means. But he at least could complete a few passes that helped BC get first downs and sustained drives! A marked improvement from what Castellanos has been doing these past few weeks.
Suddenly the Syracuse defense was forced to respect the pass, which gave the Boston College offensive line some breathing room and allowed the Boston College RBs more space to operate. The BC offense could not be stopped from there, as they scored touchdowns on each of their next three drives and Grayson James finished the game with 5/6 passing, 51 yards, a touchdown, and a win.
It should be said: Syracuse’s defense is not a group of world-beaters. They’ve been letting teams walk all over them all season and Saturday was no different. Can Grayson James replicate this performance against tougher competition? It’s hard to say. He performed well in his start earlier this season against Western Kentucky, leading a late game comeback and passing for 168 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He doesn’t seem to be anywhere near the kind of pocket passer that Bill O’Brien wants for his offense, but at least he can pass the ball somewhat effectively.
So at this point, what do the Eagles have left to lose? After 1.5 seasons at BC, Castellanos clearly is still struggling to pass the ball, and BoB’s offense is actively moving away from the things that TC does best. And even worse, the BC ground-and-pound offense can’t even operate because opposing defenses do not think that Castellanos can pass the ball. Then Grayson James came in and broke Castellanos’s 3-game losing skid. Isn’t it worth a shot to see what this team could look like with a QB that can pass the ball more effectively?