Chad Morris Must Stay

So what is the difference in this team compared to last years team some have asked. The difference in the team this year is simple and it is all Chad Morris. Dabo is not an offensive coordinator or a good enough offensive mind to design and call the plays like Morris. Dabo is a great team leader, recruiter, and motivator for the fan base. He also gives a mean interview...

The problem is that Dabo wears thin if you are not winning. When you are not winning your faults are on display and become severely enlarged. That is the microscope the head coach lives under. No one can replace Morris, if he leaves then it is like Brad Scott calling plays for RichRod. Eventually it just isn't up to par.  Who on the staff would you feel comfortable with duplicating Morris's performance up until this point. Pony up whatever money you can Clemson powers that be. Chad has a daughter starting at Daniel High School and he has said he will stay at least until she graduates. Lets make that kind gesture of a father to a daughter a reality.

If we still had Napier this year, what would be our record? Sure we have Watkins but we would have the same inconsistent play at WR where even Dwayne Allen is dropping passes and no one knows how to block. Boyd out of shape, with bad footwork, and no ownership of the team. A team without an identity. I give all the credit in the world to Dabo for making the call to switch to Chad Morris. (Napier is still a good coach, great recruiter, who just had no business being an offensive coordinator) Without him we become a very average team and no amount of speeches or chest bumps can replace attention to detail, true accountability, and an infectious work ethic that was previously lacking with this team.
We were on par in terms of toughness with Virginia Tech--an amazing feat for this team.

Somebody make a shirt with a slogan about how Chad Morris must stay. In Chad We Trust (probably too strong and questions dabo's leadership) or More Morris Please.  Yeah, I am struggling to come up with something. Help, please?

Auburn Predictions and Ramblings

So we are finally beginning the season. Gameday. First I love Brent Musburger--he loves Clemson and the Esso Club and coined the now infamous phrase the 25 most exciting seconds in ALL of college football. A bold statement by any announcer but Musburger exudes class. He also does his homework and is very competent.

I guess I should really start over--if we win, we are beginning the season(and should pass South Caroline). If we lose the season starts with ACC play. Ha.

Another thing--South Carolina has beaten Southern Miss and then a substandard Georgia team and we are crowning them Natl Champs. Its pathetic. Sure, give credit where it is due--you beat Georgia, pat yourself on the back but the ESPN/SEC bias gets nauseating when its talked about incessantly and the Cocks shoot up to #13?? Its insane. Then I start seeing pictures of Marcus Lattimore everywhere and even a blurb about him as a Heisman contender. Really media, are we that starved for content?? Georgia had a horrible run D last year--give me a break. Now they play Furman. Where is all the crying about the powderpuff schedule?? huh?

So lets talk Auburn before I throw up even more in my mouth. Auburn is one of the cooler programs in the SEC--good people, they hate Alabama and Georgia. They have unreal expectations (just like us!) and fired Tuberville and got Chizik who was hired over Gill Turner. Seems like its been working out pretty good so far. They got some limo's for recruiting. Challenged the UT Wildboys for the biggest recruiting stunts and hauled in a good class. Even got a top RB in Dyer.

First Auburn has Cam Newton who is just ginormous. It really is Daquan Bowers at QB. He has a rocket arm but hasn't been tested in terms of accuracy but led his Jr College to the Jr College Champs so its not his first rodeo. I guess I'm saying that this guy isn't just a hyped athlete who hasn't learned to play QB. Runs like a gazelle mixed with a freight train, if that helps.

Since we made Chris Turner of Maryland look like an athlete last year--pretty much any QB can run on us. We have also historically sucked against misdirection. We all like the same gap assignment--what can I say...

So for RB they have Dyer (protypical back) and McCalebb (explosive guy) who aren't proven as everydown backs yet but have the talent. Our LB's are beat up with Maye coming off injury and Tig hurting his elbow so I have no confidence there(I am actually really disappointed with the LB play thus far--thought Corico would take that proverbial 'next step') and our D-Line can sometimes disappear in big games. We need our safeties to step up and CB's not to blow coverage.

So Auburn will score points but we need to create turnovers on defense. We need to have a Miami game where we give up yards and points but we also make some big plays that give us a chance.

On Offense we know what we get out of KP and hopefully what we get out of our RB's. We need no turnovers and we need the Offensive Line to be able to get some push at the point of attack. They have a veteran defensive group with top notch LB's who are All-SEC, no glaring weaknesses. But they have given up a lot of points in the past and DC Ted Roof won't be doing all that much blitzing. We have a chance to put up points but if WR's don't catch balls it will be a long day. I am interested to see what Napier has in store--his progression as a play caller is perhaps the most important thing of all.

I keep hearing how Clemson has the advantage in special teams and I have to scratch my head. Auburn has a preseason Groza candidate and we have a freshman kicker. Sure he can make XP's and made a 47 yarder (all great things, don't get me wrong) but the Cat Man is going on the road to a hostile environment with plenty of pressure. It is just another animal altogether. Their punter averages 40 yards a kick, ours does too minus one 70 yarder. Gilchrist has been solid fielding kicks but hasn't proven that he has the top end speed to take it to the house.

If I take the orange colored glasses that are glued to my head off for a minute I say Auburn by 4. But since that won't happen I am going Clemson 28 Auburn 27.

Let Murphy Holloway Come To Clemson

This is seriously outrageous. Ole Miss has decided to deny Murphy Holloway from transferring to Clemson. Of course they have every right to not allow him to transfer to another in conference, SEC school but there is no merit in denying him his ability to transfer to be closer to home. Did Duke reject the transfer to Memphis? Will Roy deny the transfer of the Wear brothers(which makes NC's frontline look even thinner next year) to a non-ACC school?

This is just some petty, weak sauce from Ole Miss but they aren't entirely to blame. I think we should send some serious disgruntled letters to the State to perhaps rein in Korncoot a little. His poor journalism is partly the reason we are in this predicament. He said the transfer was "a done deal", so much so that it was even picked up by ESPN. The fact that ESPN took Korncoot's story is laughable and a poor reflection on their own level of journalistic integrity. It's like quoting me for crying out loud.

In summary, Holloway better be released to Clemson after his appeal. Its juvenile and I am sick of Clemson always getting the short end of these sticks. Did we man up and release Marcus Thornton?? Yes, and this isn't even in that same league--Ole Miss, do the right thing.

Oh Digger...

Actually I think Digger is the better dancer, he certainly is more entertaining...I don't know whether this is kinda cute or really disturbing. You decide...

Man I want the game to start already, Go Tigers!!

South Carolina Recap: Piling on ClemBen's Rants

Brace yourself for the chorus of SEC love coming from every corner of ESPN.

• South Carolina's defense dominated with their pressure. Haven't seen this kind of Clemson O-line performance since the Maryland game. Not sure if it was Freeman or Austin bothered by injuries but we were getting beat bad. Matthews and Norwood are good athletes, but I don't think anyone expected them to completely have their way. It didn't help that we were pass-only mode after getting behind by so much.
• Whoever lost their assignment on the final SC touchdown play, that's a lose-your-scholarship kind of offense. You don't do that against your bitter rival, I don't care if the game is out of reach.
• Really the game was lost in the first half. Too many turnovers and stupid mistakes. If we hang onto the ball, we could have stayed with them on the scoreboard in spite of our defensive struggles.
• That being said, the offense was also hampered by some bad playcalling early on. We abandoned the run game in third and short, and SC was all over the short routes.
• The problems on defense that were manifest in the Virginia and N.C. State caught up with Clemson. We ran into a team that had the talent to consistently take advantage of our problems stopping the run.
• I know a lot of people expect us to do well against GT, but after this game I'm stuck wondering how we managed to hold them to 30 points last time.
• Hate to say it, but Carolina has put together a couple of good recruiting classes. Its not going to be easy in the next years.
• Just to echo ClemBen, can Brian Griese be any more of a complete tool? I know ESPN and the SEC have formed a pact (ESPN gets the SEC's support for the BCS through ESPN's BCS contract with the NCAA and the SEC gets an automatic birth in the championship game), but wasn't there another team playing Saturday? And didn't they have legitimate reasons to come out playing flat? I don't want excuses made by anyone for Clemson, but I'd expect the announcers to at least touch on their troubles in the last couple of weeks, instead of pretending that South Carolina came out of nowhere to run the ball on Clemson, thus proving the superiority of the SEC.
• Clemson's comeback against Butler saved this from being one of the worst sports weekends in recent memory. On top of the Gamecock debacle, the loss to A&M exposed some of the weaknesses of the basketball team that could hamper them for a while. Beating Butler gives us potentially a nice line on the tournament resume (although I'm not completely sold on Butler yet). I'll try and post something about the basketball team later in the week after I've settled down. Suffice it to say we only have two more chances to add to the non-conference resume: Illinois and South Carolina, with both games coming in the next seven days.