Nothing was sweeter than seeing the Virginia Tech faithful exiting the stadium early. We were wet and cold but felt absolutely great. I got a fever, and the only cure is more Dabo...(actually it is just winning, and Chad Morris)
I have been known to wear orange tinted glasses and spontaneously declare that Clemson will win the National Championship and then even if Clemson has lost a game--try to scheme a way for us to sneak into a BCS bowl game. Even last year up until the 55 yard FSU fg inexplicably sailed through the uprights I had faith. After we beat Auburn I was thinking Natl Champs. I'm a hopeless Clemson fan--its what I do! And I bet you do it too--whether you are a pumper or a whiner or a moonshiner or whatever. At this point its time to just enjoy the winning, and declare that we are going to win a national championship this year--haha!!
Seriously though, I don't think Clemson should tolerate losing seasons and losing to the Cocks two years in a row. The offense under the two-headed monster of Napier and Dabo was downright offensive. Dabo is not a good end of half or game coach and favors some of 'his' players over those who should play. Those are my main objections to his tenure but I certainly acknowledge that he can recruit, build a staff, and bring media attention to Clemson. The players love him (and he loves the players) and he seems like a good motivational speaker (although before FSU we were slow out of the gate and down at half-time each game). So lets break this down a bit and get critical (but don't worry, we are going to win the natl championship)--coaching, offense, defense, and sp teams.
Coaching
This year Dabo is doing a better job as a head coach. If Dabo stays out of the Morris offense then I have no problem with him as coach. We struggled with our tempo at Virginia Tech and I don't want to see the team pull up on the gas pedal until we are under the 3-4 minute mark. We struggled with our tempo before the half which is something that surprised me. We let too much time off the clock, I expect our hurry up offense to morph into super offense the way Auburn does regularly. O-line has been steadily improving. Anyone who questioned the hiring of Caldwell as the coach after two games this season shouldn't offer up their opinions. Despite Mclets give them a lane to the qb (McLain, get it, yeah that was lame) the O-line looks improved. Still can't run block extremely well but I'll take it. Morris is proving to not only be able to gameplan effectively but he makes quick in-game adjustments. He is a pretty good play caller as well, considering how young of an offensive coordinator at the collegiate level he is. The plays are designed well and Morris demands excellence from his players.
Steele essentially had his defense pitch a shutout in Blacksburg. The defense is a work in progress but if they can continue to improve then this can be a championship team. You can depend on Steele to make great half-time adjustments consistently, as well. Usually he has players in the right spots to be successful but this year there has been some sloppy fundamentals. We have always missed a bunch of tackles but this year it seems worse. Maybe it was wet and slippery jerseys but Wilson made us look silly many times (although he is a great running back). Overall the defensive coaching, apart from the tackling, has been consistent and solid.
Offense
Boyd is so far ahead of where I thought he would be. He has really impressed me as a leader and I will admit that I wasn't sure he had it in him. We learned this week that Morris was also not sure after Spring ball if Tajh had it in him. Credit goes to good coaching and to a player willing to be coached. My only major beef right now is that sometimes Boyd misses on easy passes. He needs to work on his screen throws, which means better footwork. I thought he ran very well at Lane and didn't try to force it too much. He showed he can manage the game. He was a bit off in the rain and cold. He had balls that were too high where his receivers bailed him out like the amazing DA play where he leaped over the DB.
Ellington is running effectively but I am waiting for him to breakout a bit more. Please, Bellamy, learn some play book. You keep teasing us with these few amazing runs. I'm hoping Howard can come back strongly as well. I'm also hoping Dwayne Allen sticks around for a senior year. Can you believe this is the same guy who dropped all those balls last year? Still can improve in blocking, along with Brandon Ford but he has been absolutely amazing. Hopefully Peake can get some more experience, along with Bryant. Hopkins is the unsung hero of the group and Jaron Brown has been light years from his former self. Jaron has turned two or three throws from interceptions to receptions and has been a great effort guy. We now have 5 receivers in this freshman class. Humphries should have red-shirted. Along the O-line we need depth, especially looking towards next year.
Defense
D-line is playing well. We know the starters have been good but I have been happy with the play of Shatley and K. Brown in the past couple of games. I am a big fan of Stephone Anthony and think this defense will only be better as Corico Hawkins gets fewer snaps. Hawkins has been a valuable player these past couple of years but this season has exposed his inability to shed blocks and make big tackles. Anthony needs to learn how to line-up the defense and he will be the playmaker we are so desperate to have in the middle of this defense. Willard has also been steadily improving. This is the main reason for Steward seeing so little time. I hope we can get him more involved and that his knee continues to hold up.
I like not redshirting Lateek Townsend. He is an energy player and a specimen physically. If he is happy playing special teams and occasionally rushing the passer then it is better than having him walk. We all new that the Steele defense would be tough for any of the young LB's to fully grasp but a happy Lateek is much better than no Lateek. I think he genuinely wants to help the team. We certainly need the help on special teams coverage units.
The secondary is perhaps the main work in progress. Can the young DB's make an impact and hold up? Losing Breeland is no good for this team so lets hope he can fully recover from the concussion. Robinson needs to elevate his game. Brewer has played well and Coty is a bit up and down. Hall is missing a step but played well against VTech. Meeks might have gotten slightly injured at the end of the game but Dabo said he was fine. We have no depth at safety with just Smith and Lewis as back-ups. Jenkins is a guy that needs game experience.
I am hoping we can blow out BC so our young guys get some playing time.
Special Teams
Zimmerman is a great punter and hopefully can fully recover this week. He seemed to have a few tentative kicks in Lane. I'm still surprised that Catman kick was good. I hate missed ex points. I still remember when Jad Dean missed the exp that cost us the BC game and ultimately a shot at the acc champs game. That all needs to be fixed. I say Catman do the kickoffs. Keeps the kicker somewhat warm. Lets do anything at this point. Sad to see Benton get hurt--one of our best special teams tacklers. Coverage units still need some work.
BC is a revenge game so I think we get up for it. Maryland doesn't have Fat Ralph who was probably the best schemer against us. Then UNC at home and a GTech team I didn't think could be this good. Get by Tanner Price and no Russell Wilson and we go to cootlumbia for a chance at it all. ACC Champs game will inevitably be a rematch, pick your Tech poison. Then its natl champs time. I think our computer poll numbers and sos will put us over the top. The national championship is within our grasp. hahah!
Go Tigers!
No comments:
Post a Comment