Where the Problems might lie: DE Edition

Every year I like to think about problem areas we are not focusing on and try to predict where potential breakdowns might exist on the team. Last year I think the area we were weakest at but no one was talking about was the Safety position, which culminated with our spanking by WV.

So where could it be this year? We know that the offensive line will be a question mark especially depth along the offensive line. So that isn't very interesting. Timothy Gifford seems to be stepping up potentially in the RT spot and as I predicted Thomas has moved to LT because you can't start two freshman tackles and not be really worried. Right now we need Kalon Davis and a tackle to step up but we really lack any proven quality depth. Remember last year we had two back-ups in Cloy and Smith who had played a lot of quality snaps in their careers. Can Norton step up? He has been less than stellar as a back-up center so far. Will guys get into shape?

What are we overlooking? I was going to write this last week but Coach Venables beat me to the punch (which is really encouraging because I think he has made some great personnel and coaching decisions already), by saying that the DE's need to improve. Last year we were not playing at the same level as in the past with the departure of Bowers to the NFL. Branch did a great job and was at times dominant but was not as strong against the run. Goodman was not very good. He didn't set the edge with any authority and had virtually no pass rush. A Batson victim, he has gotten to big and lost some of his speed and agility while at Clemson. As a Sophomore he was one of the first flying down the field making tackles on special teams. Now as the only returning starter he has a lot to prove.

Corey Crawford is going to start on his other side. In a back-up role Crawford did fine last year, especially as a true freshman but he needs to take the proverbial next step and has yet to show he is an every down kind of player. Our back-ups haven't really played yet. Very little competition to push the top guys. Vic Beasley is an athletic specimen who was on the offensive side of the ball his red-shirt year and was on the DE depth chart last year. He still has to learn to play the position. The reports say he is fine athletically and is developing technique but needs to get the defensive mentality. This is understandable since he never grew up playing the position. Byers and Dodd are are a red-shirt frosh and a true freshman. They need time to develop into back-ups.

What is the theme here? Lack of depth and susceptibility to injury. DE recruiting (and DLine) needs to be a serious priority in this cycle. It should have been more of a priority last cycle. I think we are looking good with TE's and WR's...We are bringing in Shaq Lawson and Martin Aiken this year who will be fine players but will need a year or two. We will probably end up burning one of their redshirts to provide depth. We need a top flight 4* recruit badly. Its the first time in probably 8 years we will not have a borderline 4/5 star DE on campus. Sapp, Bowers, and Goodman were all in this area with Merling, Branch, Gaines Adams, and others being low rated recruits who got drafted in the 1st/2nd rounds.

Other potential pitfall areas we aren't thinking about:

• Punter: Benton has positive reviews so far with Pinion a quality recruit to back-up
• Safety: Can Hall recover from the injury to return to at least his Soph year productivity, will Meeks learn how to take better angles. Do we have any depth after wasting Robert Smith's redshirt?
• CB: How much does the departure of Sensabaugh hurt our secondary. He was an every down player. Breeland was decent last year but Robinson took a step back. Blanks training at the Nickel is a big positive because Brewer statistically last year was picked on and below average. The Football Scientist uses Yards Per Attempt as a metric and according to YPA Brewer gave up 10.3 YPA which is horrid. Jenkins improved last year but it will be interesting to see how the types of players Venables uses in his scheme. More SAM backer with Lateek or a smaller Nickel back like Jenkins.

 A quick note on Venables: I love the move of Hawkins to WILL! Seems like Steele was worried about playing favorites or guys transferring because this should have been done long ago. Hawkins was never suited to play MLB and hopefully will benefit from the change. Anthony will be the most important player on defense this year. As he goes I think our defense goes. Not having a stellar line will put more pressure on our LB play. I love hearing Lateek Townsend's name being put in the mix. He is the kind of athlete that needs to see the field and it is positive to hear Justin Parker's career could still have some legs.

I like Venables decision to stick Blanks in the Nickel spot. If he can lock that spot down and perform well he gives us the flexibility to adjust to any offensive scheme. It is encouraging to hear the interior DLine coming along but I am always worried that it is more about our poor OLine play than DLine talent. Gotta love spring ball!

Road Schedule Analysis

Overall I think we got so royally hosed last year that this schedule is eminently more reasonable.  One thing to remember from last season is that we were a horrible road team (other than playing VTech).  The home crowd really made a difference I think against Auburn, FSU and Wake where if we aren't at home I don't think we come back. We were not great when playing Maryland, USC, NC State, and WV away from home.

So I am most interested in how we play on the road this year. How do we play in a dome against Auburn (is that effectively an away game?)? FSU seems tough but we did play well the last time at Doak losing on the most ridiculous FG I have ever personally seen, but the D-line was stout then too. BC shouldn't be a problem but new coordinators (and losing in Chestnut before when we shouldn't have) always leaves me more cautiously optimistic than confident.  We are at Wake with a 4 day turnaround on a Thurs. which should feel like a home game (and I hope we really make a push to fill that stadium with orange this year especially) but Wake has always been pesky.  Not sure what to make of their team this year either. 

*On an important side note, the admin has now agreed to Thursday night games?? I hope an intrepid reporter finds out if this is Dabo's doing or not. If that is true he is really becoming able to lobby the admin which I think is an overall good thing.  I've never been a huge fan of Thurs night games but the excuse of it putting too much strain on students always sounded a little contrived.  I do like the idea of the admin being pushed further to support athletics however.

So Wake will be tough but they have the same schedule as us with a 4 day turnaround, which is very fair.  This is one I will expect to win but will be on pins and needles.  I still remember needing the heroics of the late, great Gaines Adams to pull out a win on a blocked kick return, so I am not comfortable up there.  Then we get Duke on the road which should be a win and is a great team to have to play on the road. However it took an insane comeback to beat an equally pathetic, if not more pathetic Maryland team last year.  Then we end the season with three at home.

Our OOC schedule is nice this year with GT and VT at home and Duke on the road. Next year our OOC schedule should get even easier with VT coming off and adding Syracuse for an SEC team (but I am still hoping we get 8 conference games and lose GT as a natural rival just bc I hate the team needing to prep for the triple option every year and PJ is so smug when he wins).  If we could do last years schedule then we can certainly do this years.  I like that NC State is later in the year, so as to remind us of how we got complacent towards the end of last year. If we get through Auburn and FSU and can take care of home games and lesser opponents on the road then the season could be pretty special...

If only we had an O-line...and hopefully a D-line, we just might be able to run the table...

(and so it begins...)
 

South Carolina Caught in Sexual Harrasment Case

Why is this not bigger news?? This should bring down the entire Athletic Department at USC. There is no place for this kind of sexual harassment and then covering it up. USC fans should demand an investigation. Add this to the current NCAA allegations and this better be lack of institutional control. The NCAA should come down hard on these folks. The lawsuit alleges that it goes up all the way to the athletic director and school president!!

http://www.thestate.com/2011/12/10/2075993/former-student-athlete-sues-usc.html

Apparently I am The Devil!!

Its official I am one of the monkey bars in the Devil's Playground! But don't worry because Dabo has been anointed to purify this spawn of Satan himself...

So I crawled out of my cave in time to see Bullard and Todd Gurley not come to Clemson and then have Darby and Goldman not visit. When I poked my head out I got criticized by our head coach for not being ok with a 70 point loss and then realized that the demonic sounds of my playground were actually all of America laughing at me. Yeah we made it on Leno. I loved this season up until the Orange Bowl and I agree with Dabo that the sky is not falling and that the future can be bright. We had a good season but Dabo also needs to be sensitive to poking his finger in a bullet wound. This was painful.

We are soft. I am convinced that we have been soft since the HATFIELD era because of out Strength and Conditioning coach.  WV players said we gave up and were begging for mercy. If this were just one player I would disregard it but when you go back its also been said by South Carolina and NC State players. Joey Batson must go. He doesn't need to leave Clemson--I think he can be a great asset in the Athletic Dept. We need new, fresh blood and more accountability. We are soft. About three years ago USC started bearing us. That is the time they got a new S&C coach--if you want to beat USC and toughen up we need a new direction in S&C. We have as good of recruits as anyone in the ACC and certainly USC, but if we aren't developing strength, agility, and quickness--if we aren't keeping players from getting fat and lazy, then we won't win. 

We redshirt just as many players as other programs but our player development during the redshirt year is pathetic. Its frankly embarrassing. No stupid 'Power Hour' that gets thrown together because someone finally said--hey wait, the redshirt players are all standing around getting fatter and lazy is going to cut it for a Natl Championship contending program.
Compare out players, our 5th year players to other schools. Its not even close. Now of course, some of this is on the players but that excuse is tiresome. Its ultimately on the coaches and it sits with Batson.

Tiger Nation, its time to exorcise the demons.

And I don't mean the Internet because we aren't the problem. ShakinintheSouthland is not the problem. In fact, we (but more accurately Dr. B and FigureFour) might be the holy water that you drink and that turns you into beast mode but like a Christian beast mode that defeats you while saving you--plus you win all your football games.

Still I got my list of can't miss recommendations for the offseason that come certified by the Debil.

1. Retain the services of Coach Brooks. See I am no negative nancy--there is a positive that you can accentuate (or something).
2. Mediate between Coach Caldwell and Coach Morris. Morris gets paid the 1.3 big bucks and its his show on offense but see if we can't try to keep everyone together.
3. We need a great LB coach. I would prefer that we hired a DC that coaches LB's to keep the staff continuity but we need not just a good LB coach but a great one. 
4. Lets not go the Venables route. High energy, great recruiter, boatloads of talent that underperform. Sound familiar? Kevin Steele Part 2. This is Dabo's hire though and I will give it the benefit of the doubt (how truly evil of me--giving Dabs the rope to hang himself with--hahaha(insert Mr. Burns or Dr. Claw laugh)).
5. Last but not least--graduate Batson to the athletic dept and hire a Hatch disciple for S&C.

 Thats it. See we on the playground aren't that demanding. Keep things the same and get rid of, errr, graduate Batson. You will have appeased the masses.

For the record I think Dabo did a good job this year. He lost his composure in the Orange Bowl and couldn't rally the troops. He will learn from that and its not the end of the world. Would like to win a few of these recruiting battles here at the end though.

For the record I have always been Steele supporter but can agree with his mutual termination/firing/parting ways/getting out of Dodge. When you lose to South Carolina 3 years in a row and get 70 points put up on you in the Orange Bowl it may be time for a change. For whatever reason the scheme wasn't clicking with guys and the D line looked lost and soft at times. The defense was not young and that isn't a good enough excuse for me. I wish him well and think he is a good coach but I am fine with the desire for change. My instincts say Randy Shannon would be a solid hire but I'm still too depressed to do any real research to back that up. 

The crowned prince MonkeyBar of Satan will now go crawl back in his cave until the Spring game.

ACC Freakin Champs

I just peeled an orange, ate it and then threw the peel at a Gamecock. It felt soooo good.

Great job Tigers! Steele saves his job and I hope we continue to play this aggressive. Dabo looks like a genius. The program is in the right direction (Bellamy, my friend, we need you...get your head straight over the break and stay with the Clemson family). Boyd ran hard and like a man. Sammy was amazing and the defense honored the legend Chester McGlockton. Great effort.

1st BCS Bowl, 1st ACC Champs in 20 years and 1st Orange in 30 years.

All IN ALL THE FREAKIN TIME! HAHAHAHA...I love it.

Willy Korn Has My Respect: Fire The Medical Staff

Everyone needs to read this story on Willy Korn. For the first time I understand. He was not soft. The Clemson medical staff should be fired for this. This is criminal and cost us a great leader and QB.  Heads should roll--I'm sure none of this was supposed to come out and has been buried, its seriously negligent. It also continues my concern with the Strength and Conditioning program.

This article really made me glad Spence is gone. You don't want a kid to get a medical redshirt because you want your QB's spaced out by two years--what stupid ridiculous nonsense is that?? Now let me be clear, the piece of the fractured collarbone that ends up in the AC joint is tough to catch. I would like to hear more from the medical staff on this before rushing to judgement on the Furman injury. Was an MRI done on the shoulder or just collarbone X-rays. The fact that he was instructed to throw right away reflect poorly on everyone. Coaches, staff, absolutely everyone. Diagnosing a fracture as a 'bone bruise' is beyond incompetent. Please tell me X-rays were at least performed. So I don't blame them for the chip but I do want accountability for the misdiagnosis. With Harper performing well, I don't understand why he wasn't shut down when he obviously had less arm strength and something was wrong. He came to Clemson with great mechanics and arm strength--I remember watching the Byrnes games. When he was so up and down that year--someone needed to say something. Instead you have an asinine Spence and (and perhaps Batson but this is more on the coaches and medical staff here) saying he is doing great. I get the feeling Spence didn't care for Korn, but that doesn't surprise me because he is an idiot who wasted years of having CJ Spiller and Jacoby Ford and James Davis running his garbage offense.

Second you have the GT injury which I do think manifests gross incompetence. After he is seriously injured in the game and can't throw on the sideline he is diagnosed again with a BONE BRUISE??!! How stupid can you be. You already missed the chip and fractured collarbone and now you just let him throw in practice for a couple of weeks before you find out he has a torn labrum?? Are you kidding me? He even played in a couple of games with the torn labrum in mop up duty. He could barely throw the ball 15 yards and we could all see it and no one thinks to do an MRI or have a real medical professional look at it. It ruined his mechanics, it ruined his shoulder. He had to go and lobby the medical staff because his dad told him to in order to have a second MRI done which magically shows a serious tear in the labrum. Knowing a little about this myself, if the tear is accurately described by the article as "the cartilage that keeps the ball at the end of arm bone in the shoulder blade's socket", then it is not only easy to spot but I think you would have to try hard to miss it!

And then they rushed him back for the Gator bowl after labrum surgery. At the time I thought it was crazy and it was not only crazy but selfish of the coaching staff too. I don't fault the coaching staff for anything else. Korn was promised he would play but his arm was nothing and when he went in you knew he couldn't throw it twenty yards downfield. It was like watching a worse Will Proctor. He had the worst throwing motion I have ever seen in a starting college football QB and that was kinda confirmed when Marshall didn't give him the starting nod. His arm and shoulder needed rest and time to heal. Glad he is doing well at North Greenville but I wish someone had the foresight to redshirt Willy so he could rest and regain his mechanics and arm strength. It is a tragic chapter in our recent Clemson history. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. (Ricky Sapp and Bowers knees?)

Fire the entire medical staff (I want a cleaning of house but would settle for some serious evaluations). And do it yesterday!

Dabo Versus Spurrier

   

Dabo made my week. Lets back that talk up with an ACC Championship and a good ol' fashioned coot bashing. It is a one hundred year old tradition after all.

For all the coots out there whining that Spurrier never even said this. Give me a break--first you know it sounds like the same man who threw a hissy fit at Ron Morris. Second when it is released through official USC media channels, like posted on your official Twitter account, and then picked up by national media like ESPN and CBSsports--if you do nothing to retract the statement then it might as well have been said by Spurrier. At the very least someone needs to apologize for the first false statement put out by your University. But that require some class--something Spurrier has never had and something USC never will.

Dabo said this on Thursday. If Spurrier was worried about the falsehood of the statement he had four and a half days to retract it. He didn't care to try, therefore Dabo is justified in responding. Did you take note, however, how Dabo qualified what he said with words like if this is true and I have a lot of respect for Coach Spurrier. Take note of that because it is your first lesson on class and civility. It is what being a southern gentleman is all about.

I don't even care if this is red meat to appease the Clemson faithful. We deserve some appeasing and when it comes at the expense of our hated rivals, it is always welcome. On the video it appears too off the cuff but if it is some motivational technique, then I like it even more. 

This is domination and THE University in the state of South Carolina always has been and always will be Clemson.

Out With the Old--In With the Nucleus

Over at Shakin the Southland Dr. B has a great post on getting to the root causes of Clemson's collapse. He says it much better than me but I already had this post so here it is. I basically was griping about Bateson and thinking that he has had enough time here at Clemson. Maybe he can get an admin job too...haha. (the title of the post is an old Simpsons quote by the way)

Is Bateson in any danger of losing his job? I ask because I really hope we get a change here. I want a complete re-tooling of our conditioning with support staff focused on diets, weight, eating healthy, etc. I think our strength program is outdated and teams like Bama, LSU, and now USC are way ahead of us.

USC changed its S&C coach three years ago which corresponds with our losing streak to them. Coincidence? Maybe but part of playing soft is the offseason conditioning. Too many players never gain the muscle they need or they turn into being too muscular (or something)and become slow like Goodman this year. Its problematic.

I'm also sick and tired of seeing players put on FAT during the season. Way too many examples and stories of guys admitting to it over the years. You can't rely on personal responsibility when you want to be a champion, you need to demand personal responsibility through accountability! Part of it is a dedication from the athlete but mostly it is not having a structure in place that regulates these things. That is reason enough for me to show Bateson the door.

In my last post I was venting and said Dabo meet the hot seat, blah. That kind of talk is counterproductive and I know it. But I maintain that beating USC is one of the main criteria for being the head coach at Clemson. He must not lose for a fourth straight year. That being said Dabo needs to continue to make the changes necessary to be a championship team. Last year he earned all of our respect by hiring Morris and Caldwell. This offseason (or even after the ACC Champs game) we need to make our team stronger and tougher--make the changes needed in the S&C program.

The other day I watched the video of the Power Hour for the redshirt frosh. Why is this something new? It boggles my mind how little investment we make in those redshirting. I am also amazed at how little historically (well the past 10 years) our players have benefited from the redshirt year. That has got to change as well.

Yeah I Jinxed It

I let out a gut wrenching scream when Tajh let go of the ball and it sailed smoothly into the GT players hands, Watkins standing wide open on the goal-line. That was the visceral manifestation of a lost national championship. It was the sound of a lost national championship. I've never made that sound before in my life--I'm sure neighbors contemplated calling the cops. Having had a couple of days to reflect, however, it also marks the first time in my adult life that I have ever had a 'real' conviction that Clemson could be national champions. In the moment its awful but at least you can honestly say that you felt like a national championship was within your grasp. It has been an amazing ride and hopefully we still make it to the Orange Bowl.

On the less cheery side that has to be one of the most frustrating games I have ever watched. How hard is it to stop a QB running behind a dive back. Is it mobile QB's and pitches now? The fumbles killed momentum. The fourth and 1 conversion by GT was deflating after starting with 3 and outs. On offense we had drops on hot routes, receivers getting jammed at the line, and players coming up short on third downs. Our LB play was atrocious and the secondary didn't help them out at all. Hill just flat out dropped a TD and got that other huge reception. PJ basically said that they were running away from Brandon Thompson--why not instruct him to simply blow up the center every play. Stick Lateek right behind him and let him run around crazy headhunting for the QB. It would have been better than watching Christian out of position and blocked consistently (he is not having the year I thought he would after that nice Int. against FSU) or Hawkins six yards away from the line of scrimmage and just waiting, asking, pleading for an O-Lineman to block him and take him out of the play.

I think we are scared or unable to deal with cut blocking. We don't know how to shed a block to save our lives and its not pretty. I know everyone is calling for Steele's head but our problem wasn't really schematic. What is on the heads of the defensive coaches are safeties taking ugly angles to the ball, and the poor fundamentals of our LB's (which is Steele's coaching position), oh and the ever-present poor tackling. The LB play needs to improve in the next year or I will start to question our defensive coaching but Steele and company still have my vote. I love Coach Brooks and Coach Cheese but am worried about our depth moving forward. All of these guys have been in the system awhile though so hopefully the ship can be righted for next season. (haha...did you hear that--righted from an 8-1 record!! You would have called me crazy if I said that before the season)

One thing to note though is that we are not a good road team so far. VT was awesome but you saw some nerves and Maryland was ridiculous. I think this is something to pay attention to when we roll into Columbia. Dabo looked really tense at the beginning of the game too, didn't seem like his usual confident self (to be expected when you go down to GT). We were really choking though--the return of Cat man knuckle kick, the Hopkins drop/Allen drops, the high Boyd throws, and making a marginal QB look like superman all felt like last season.  But still when Rashard Hall intercepted the pass and got it to the five yard line I felt like we could do it. Then the yell/banshee scream...

At least I don't have to be jealous of USC and Alshon Jeffrey. Watkins catches passes in-stride like no other receiver I have ever seen...He still is working on becoming other-worldly in jump balls (right now he is just superhuman) but he is an absolute treat to watch. I would watch him if I wasn't a Clemson fan. One day I will write an 'Ode to the National Championship Lost' but for now I will stop rambling.

Good Stuff from the Sangin Cowboys

Their Hokie walk thing is pretty lame. I love how they say we took them out back behind the woodshed...this is probably the funniest piece of college football humor I have ever seen in relation to Virginia Tech. Ok, its the only thing I've ever seen but I like it! I actually really appreciated the fan/tailgating perspective. Cows and barns!

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?

6-7

Let that sink in for all you Dabo lovers out there...

I'm too fed up to even write anything...(well maybe one or two sentences)

Look Dabo dug his own grave--he made the call to promote Billy to OC when he would have been perfectly happy as QB coach and recruiting coordinator. You may call this a waste of bandwith but Dabo decided to keep Powell on although he wasn't much of a recruiter or coach. Special teams will look great with CJ and Jacoby--I'm sorry. He has created the instability that now threatens this great recruiting class that still doesn't have a great LB!! I love the WR talent but I won't think of this class as a success without a top notch LB.

Now with these two firings the writing is on the wall for the good coaches that now is the time to get out of Dodge. It doesn't seem like the staff especially enjoys their relationship to the head man right now. Rumph is gone and I will personally miss him. Great family and really budding as a recruiter.

I've always said Dabo should get three years. I thought it could work when he was hired and knew there would be bumps in the road. I didn't think our offense wouldn't be able to cross the 50 yard line against South Carolina. I didn't think we would have a losing season. Tajh Boyd could be good but he needs a ton of more coaching. I'm glad Dabo is making these changes now but an experienced coach, a good coach wouldn't have put himself in this situation to begin with. Maybe I am too sympathetic to the plight of Billy Napier but without a 9 or 10 win season next year I want Dabo gone.

Happy Holidays Tiger faithful! (and questioning authority doesn't mean you lack faith, it means you have the desire to dig further in order to truly believe)

Free the Wild Tigers

So this article says wild Tigers could be extinct in 12 years. That makes me sad. As wild Clemson Tigers we should really stop this somehow. Maybe then we could reverse our own loss of wins.

Tigers are cool and should be allowed to roam free. They should perform their natural born instincts to kill animals like coots and bulldogs and eagles. Devour rams with tar on their heels. Eat bird hurricane things?? Oh and other inferior breeds of Tiger. Just trying to distract myself. If I hear anything about a Dabo extension I will officially begin calling for Danny Ford to personally come and exercise the demons. If the Coot curse is cured we will have a 'Block C' Danny Curse on our hands.

Save our brand of Tiger. Fire Terry Don Phillips.

--Random thought: What does Woody McCorvey do that is so special? If he is an administrator that is the highest paid paper pusher ever. If he was supposed to keep Dabo grounded, thats a big fail. If he was supposed to keep Dabo humble and open to critique, we have another big fat fail. When we actually have money to spend--lets spend it in the right places...

I Don't Have the Stomach For Patience

So Dabo has called for patience from the fans. This is the same guy who was demanding excellence and was going to change the culture--teach us how to get over the hump and win???

No sir, I will not have any patience. The defense is certainly not the problem. Special Teams is directly related to quality of coaching more than any other facet of the game and has less to do with talent (plus we have more scholarship special teamers than almost any other team in the country). The offense was recruited with Billy Napier as recruiting coordinator and Dabo as the main recruiter. One of the main reasons why Dabo was hired was to maintain the continuity and judging by the recruiting rankings--this was the year!! Please don't try to insult me by saying you don't have the players or the talent.

There is plenty of both, you have just mismanaged it. You aren't rebuilding--you are screwing up what was previously built. If you don't have the talent now that must mean you were a bad position coach beforehand and for some reason I am supposed to reward that with patience. I am supposed to somehow feel pity for you?? And please don't say Bowden or Spence had too iron clad a hand and you couldn't get the recruits you wanted.

We should have easily beaten FSU. I am sick of the Spence stalls in the red zone and being a .500 team. Just think if we hadn't played those two powderpuffs at the beginning of the year...

If Dabo can't get us to the ACC Championship game (notice I said we don't even have to win it, just be there) then he should be gone. If we lose to South Carolina three times in a row then he should be gone. Remember Dabo this is that word 'competition' at the highest level so quit your whining and quacking like a duck. If you can't deliver then get out of the way because Clemson deserves better.

At least we beat Wofford (I am relying on Basketball, thats how bad things have gotten), go Brownell...

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

"After each series they come over and sit us down and tell us, ‘This is how they run the ball out of this set, this is where they’re going to run the ball out of that set. They do some stuff to try to confuse you, but when it came down to it, it was just fundamental -- the stuff we’d harped on all week. They didn’t come out with anything special or anything different. We knew the plays that were coming and we played them well."

Luke Kuechly (BC MLB)

You're predictable. You're out of your depth. It's time for change we can believe in.

I don't think I have ever heard a more stinging critique of an Offense. When you line up the opposing teams defense knows from your very formation the plays you will run. I think when Defensive Coordinators prep for our team they step inside the sandbox and feel like its kids stuff. Napier and Dabo have not progressed as Offensive designers. You have to be able to make the right playcalls in-game but first you need to have an offensive philosophy/identity. I often feel like I am watching a Madden offense and I'm sick of it. We have the talent, certainly enough to be doing better than 4-4, and I don't think we have the offensive coaching chops sans CJ Spiller to compete in an average ACC. I was willing to go through the growing pains but if your not going to grow past 5 foot 8 and you fired a guy for being 5 foot 10 then whats the point in holding out for 6 foot 3?? If you find a miracle cure, and find it fast I am all for it but until then I'm thinking--Ch-ch-ch-changes...

Oh and Dabo--calling out the 5% versus the 95% of fans is childish and stupid when you're 4-4.

Surprised?

Alternate title: Long, slow end of the Swinney era, week 4 update

I'm a little confused about the reaction in the Clemson blogosphere. Sure, I was upset after the loss, but after the normal recovery time I can't say I was shocked. I don't really view this as a debacle, at least not on the order of Maryland 2009 when we were beat soundly by a bad, banged up team with no talent that was going through one of Friedgen's inexplicable phases where he doesn't really seem to care much about coaching. No, this was your standard BC team that doesn't feature an NFL-caliber quarterback: sound, fundamental line play highlighted by a stout front 7 on defense and an O-line that can open up holes for the running game. Yeah, they've struggled this year (rotating in potted plants at QB will do that for ya), but they've also improved as the year went along--particularly on defense.

In hindsight, its not surprising Clemson struggled; we rely on the run game to set up whatever pass yards we can scrounge up and BC's defense excels at stopping the run. I'm not sure why everyone was suddenly so confident in the pass game. Sure, Nuke Hopkins is hustling all over the field and generally showing up the entire WR corps, but he's still dropping passes and struggling to get separation (he's bound for good things in this league, but he's still a freshman). By the way, I'm also guilty of buying the "Kyle Parker is going to break out of his rut any game now" line, by now it's clear that Parker's 2009 success was largely the function of the NFL-caliber talent around him (Ford, Spiller, Palmer). He has potential, no doubt, but expecting him to spurn the MLB to save the season Spiller-style was pretty naive in retrospect.

But what of our superior talent, you ask? Its a good question, by all accounts we certainly have the advantage on paper. Here's my reply: remember how we aren't capable of developing talent? As an aside, on some level it must be a good feeling to be a BC fan; you get to watch your players develop into a team that is better than the sum of its parts. They aren't going to win any national championships anytime soon, but hey, you grow to love each and every team with each and every passing game. Not a bad life for a fan. Not a great life, but hey, better than rooting for a team that perpetually underperforms.

After the Miami game, I wrote that we were entering the long, slow end of the Swinney era. Nothing has happened to change my mind. The GT game was a blip, a game against a decent team that we actually matched up well with (our D-line was strong enough to disrupt the option all game long and our O-line was matched up against a small defensive front). We might even beat NCSU (50-50, I'd say) or FSU (bit of a longshot), since our defense should be able to limit the damage from their offenses and we will be able to run the ball at least on occasion. But even wins in these games aren't going to change the fact our talent doesn't develop and we've been consistently outcoached (or coached ourselves into the ground) this season.

I also stand by my previous assessment that Swinney lives to see next year (with fall-guy Napier getting the axe, of course). I just don't sense the anger on the blogs seeping into the mainstream fan's conscious, at least not yet. The real standard for Swinney's departure should probably be this: a currently modest draft class losing commitments and plummeting in value. The football program will then officially be without a single functioning strength. In that case, you can't give Swinney another year to wreck the program for the next five, it's time to cut your losses and move on.

KP and Passing

I read an excellent post on Shakin that you should all check out and read. So we know that the playcalling is unproductively skewed towards passing, or at least the need for balance trumps all. So Ellington will disappear at times from the game plan and in key situations our offense will suck.

If our defense wasn't so dominant against GT then I really believe that the third quarter playcalling would have put the game in serious jeopardy. Note* that would be a good time for a sustained drive that drains the clock and establishes the run, thus giving your defense a chance to rest. You don't have to wait for the 4th Q. Runs for Harper and the predictable passing attack make me shutter as I feel the ghost of Spence lurking. It's just a matter of time before Napier is called the 'mad scientist'.

So why this insistence on balance? I have three possibilities. First the coaching staff is just plain dumb and stupid, either ignorant or prideful and won't philosophically shift their positions to either play to their strengths or attack weaknesses in the opposition. So BC is #4 in rush defense--logically you want to pass a bit more and run a lot of zone read and getting players in space (good to see some effective draw plays this past week). Maryland was stacking the box and had good LB play so I can see the argument for parity in scheme but GT had a horrible rush defense and we could have ran it down their throats all game. So are they stupid and incapable of making adjustments?

The second possibility is stemming from this and involves Dabo inserting himself into the identity of the offense. This is very likely and scary. Dabo was never an OC and saw a lot of Spence. He also wants to be a gadget man/river boat gambler type coach. So whenever I see a drive ending super reverse, flea flicking play it reinforces my perception that Dabo wants the pass and is injecting himself into the decisions. Perhaps a call for balance is the best Napier can do. Too many times this season we've seen a perfectly scripted opening drive that has a run first, mix in some play action second attitude that inexplicably turns into an empty backfield pass happy disaster. Dabo the motivator is also Dabo the play-calling meddler. Slow developing reverses near the red zone--not a good idea...

The third reason is a commitment to player development and recruiting. So even if its in our best interest right now to run the ball to win games, perhaps the staff is trying to stay with the big picture. I don't agree at all but just trying to think like the staff. We have a ton of big time WR talent that is knocking on the door with Bryant, Peake and potentially Sammy Watkins(#1 receiver in the state of Florida) which could be the most pure receiving talent to ever be at Clemson with Hopkins and McNeal, not to mention Dwayne Allen at TE (or possibly Jay Rome with the demise of Georgia!!). So to keep attracting the talent and to build for the future they want to continue passing.

Here is your bonus thought and probably the most intriguing. The staff is committed to balance because of Kyle Parker. KP comes back to play football with the assurance that the staff will do everything they can to make him a legit NFL prospect. That includes passing stats and a certain commitment to the passing game despite the inexperienced receivers. Out of respect and a kind of obligation to Kyle they keep passing the ball more than one normally would.

Now I'm not saying any formal agreement went down but there has to be some unspoken understanding. CJ comes back--he gets the carries, KP comes back and he needs the opportunities. I would do the same thing if I was the coach to reward the player and the loyalty, just in the form of more play-action out of the I or screens and dump offs--not four wide, empty back sets.

Here is another fun nugget I was thinking about. Lets say KP doesn't return and goes to the Rockies. Now you have Tajh Boyd and really bad WR's. The coaching staff would be forced to at least be a 60/40 run to pass offense. With the emphasis on the run would our record be different? I'm thinking it would be the exact same record with more of a chance to beat NC. I guess thats the sorry state of our first half of the season. Anyway, I'm still ecstatic we have KP back(of course-any chatter about a Tajh controversy is silly) and I trust him to be the difference against NC State and hopefully Fla St.

Where We Stand

So what constitutes a winning football program? I'm going to take a quick stab at it and say its like this:

• 1/3 Recruiting
• 1/3 Player Development
• 1/3 Gameday Planning/Schemes

I'm sure we could add more or flesh out these categories but I think this gives us three frames of reference to measure our team.

Recruiting

Right now we have done a good job in recruiting. Well let me re-phrase that, we currently have more star power and talent than at perhaps any other time in our recent history. This was supposed to be the year when you think about it. Our stellar Junior class is finally of age to compliment a strong senior class of talent. The cracks come from a weak sophomore class and the desire to give too many walk-ons scholarships. We don't over-recruit like most top programs who factor in kids transferring and not panning out. Every year I think we should be taking 3-5 more decent players than we are. If you want to see why we are suffering at WR--look at NC who snatched up players like Boyd, Little, and Jones.

Anyway, the point is that we have the talent to be successful. LB is the only place where we have consistently been out-recruited. This year we are in the running for about 4-5 top LBs and one by one they have put us down further on their lists. Now we have two 2*recruits committed. Steele and the staff need to make it a priority. This years class can still be good but we need to right the ship and have a respectable record to remain competitive. If Bowers and others stick around we will have the talent still but after next year the program will be depleted in this area.

Player Development

When I first heard Jamie Harper say that he and Ellington just decided between each other who should be out there I cringed. I was going to write about it but stupidly rationalized to myself that they could act like interchangeable parts and it would work out. But I also thought--isn't that the whole reason for a position coach?? Sure players can pull themselves out of games but isn't leaving it completely up to players a lack of coaching? No--its the absence of coaching...

Our players have not developed over 4 years like they should. No LB's have stepped up (although we are seeing some baby steps), WR's spend 4 years learning new ways to drop balls, we don't bother to develop enough TE's, and our CB's and secondary take a step back despite a second year in the program. We can't find a decent kicker and we have no return game. This area is a total drag on the program. Unfortunately, I think this is where Dabo is lost on how to manage an entire team. Powell should never have been allowed to 'coach' like that and the buck ultimately stops with Dabo to oversee his coaching staff.

Schemes and Things

Our schemes currently just aren't working out. On offense we have no identity. We can run the ball this year but chose to go away from it. We do throw, we have a QB with a canon but lacks some accuracy and WR's who can't catch. On a fourth down everyone in the stadium knows the play call--its not really a bad one but its to the short side of the field and comes up just short despite a good effort. Thats our offense right now. Napier isn't bad he just is young and often slow to react, predictable, and can't stay ahead. Plus Dabo undoubtedly makes boneheaded 'adjustments' and playcalls.

Defense keeps missing assignments. Those cost you points and its frustrating. I think Steele isn't a bad gameday coach and makes some needed adjustments but getting beat by Yates?? Its just not acceptable.

Right now we are at like 60/40 and propped up by our talent. That equates to a 7-5 season and a wasted season in my opinion. If we have a losing season I would like to see Napier become the QB/RB coach and take back recruiting duties (or play a heavy role there) and hire an experienced OC. Powell gone and both Scott's on the thinnest of ice depending on their units play down the stretch. Defense I'm not ready to make any changes yet but its coming...

Schedule notes: FSU looked real good and we need them to trip up against BC but its looking like we need NC State or NC to beat them and we need to win out. I think a loss to Maryland and we effectively end our ACC season. Can you believe this team was one pass through the fingers away from beating Auburn??

Lets move from All In to All Win...(see I'm qualified to be a coach Terry Don!)

Rationales for the Swinney Hiring, Revisited

I think the blogosphere eventually reached consensus on two central reasons for the Dabo Swinney hire:

1) Dabo Swinney could continue the quality recruiting established in the late years of his predecessor.
2) Swinney was the consummate motivator, the "intangibles man" that could bring fire back to the program.

Its difficult to argue that Swinney hasn't lived up to expectations in #1, at least on paper. 2010 was strong, 2011 is looking decent, and he managed to reasonably salvage a possible catastrophe in 2009. However, I think SportingGnomes raised an interesting point last week: can Swinney translate strong recruiting classes into strong teams built around a pre-defined, central strategy? I think it's really too early to judge, but I couldn't help notice how well UNC played on Saturday in spite of the suspensions. UNC has more or less caught Clemson in strength of recruiting classes the last couple of years, and it sure looked like they had talent to spare in key positions of strategic need.

What about #2? It's now two straight games the team has come out playing flat. Even during the Bowden era I can't remember seeing body language that poor with players openly upset at each other on the field, throwing their arms up in the direction of the coaching staff. Sure, they managed to pull together for stretches at a time in each game, but where's the discipline inspired by the coach as team leader? Where's the attitude of winning that Swinney supposedly brings? Where's the rest of the infectious intangibles Swinney shares with his players?

I'll tell you why you're not seeing it: intangibles are not magical predictors of future success. In contrast, a competent, intelligent gameplan instills confidence in players. Good gameplans, effectively communicated, result in winning games. Winning results in a positive feedback loop which strengthens confidence. There are no slogan-based shortcuts to creating a winning culture for a program.

Ultimately, the inability of Swinney to perform better than Bowden at motivating his troops isn't an indictment of Swinney himself, it's an indictment of the people who hired him based on a perceived ability to do something no one is capable of doing: winning games with words.

Defending Billy Napier

I'm going to swim against the current a bit here and try to explain why I don't think Billy Napier should be thrown to the wolves. That's not a particularly bold defense, I know, but this also isn't a contrarian post for the sake of being contrarian. (As an aside, I can't stand those kinds of posts, don't make a case unless you're being sincere.)

Let me start with the irrational stuff that I can't defend with numbers but more with the experience bought with each soul-crushing Clemson loss I endure. I like having the youngest offensive coordinator in the ACC. I like walking up to a fan from another team and saying, "Our offensive attack just torched your team and, oh by the way, our offensive coordinator is 30 years old." I like that Clemson and Swinney have the guts to hire a 30 year old in a league dominated by experience-laden coordinators. There's something brash and brassy about that, and it contributes just a hint to the swagger in my Clemson fandom. I largely like how Napier carries himself with the media, there's less of the Bowden-esque tendency (too often shared by Swinney) to frame disappointments as resulting from events beyond his control, there's a measure of accountability in his words.

But it doesn't stop here, there are actual areas of his job performance that I like, too. He has demonstrated, not always but reasonably often, the ability to identify weaknesses in an opposing team and develop a concerted plan of attack at the start of the game to exploit those weaknesses. It isn't always spectacularly successful, but it can put points on the board. He also seems capable of stockpiling a pool of plays often consisting of slight tweaks to existing designs that he judiciously and sometimes appropriately sprinkles into his play calling. On occasion, he strings together series of plays in-game that in retrospect seem inspired.

There are of course counter-arguments, good counter-arguments, to the above (for example, given a playbook and an infinite number of offensive series a moderately trained monkey will seem inspired over the course of 6-7 plays at least once or twice) and then there are counters to the counter-arguments (for example, there is still some question over how often Dabo overrides Napier during the course of a game). But these belabor the real point: Napier has shortcomings. In my mind, they are as follows: 1) while he has designed some reasonably effective plays, it doesn't balance the shit variants he also develops and employs in a game. He needs an playcall editor to blow up his more ridiculous notions, preferably this would involve a cannon of some kind. 2) He falls in love with the passing game far too often. 3) Finally, and this is the most problematic, he cannot identify quickly enough, and thus cannot counter the adjustments made by opposing defenses.

The third point above can be overcome with years of experience, but forgiveness for this defect is not granted in BCS-caliber conferences. Therein lies the conundrum, while I think Billy Napier has a future coordinating offenses in the NCAA, he is not a boy-genius that can think circles around men twice his age. He requires what 99% of all coordinators require: experience forged in the leagues at the fringes of the BCS or during dedicated study at the feet of a master playcaller. Laugh at the imagery, but this is still very much a "trade" in the classical sense.

Billy Napier is not a fool and I am not a fool. If this season goes south quickly, and with a looming loss at UNC on Saturday this could happen much sooner than I'd like to entertain, someone will take a fall. Maybe its Swinney, but more probably Swinney is forced into deciding who takes the fall. And Napier is the fall guy Swinney built into his agreement to take the reins, the guy who was set up the second the university "busted the budget" (note the quotations, they didn't really bust the budget) to sign Kevin Steele. Napier will in all likelihood be vanquished to the fringes. In that event I sincerely hope is he finds his experience, and he takes Jeff Scott with him.