Beamer Ball Exposed, Coach Gives Game To Michigan

Way to go Frank. Sure, everyone thought Coale made the catch but Beamer was such a stupid coach during this game. The dumb fake punt (which led to the field goal for Michigan but also lost them a timeout to manage the clock at the end) and then going all conservative at the end before regulation. Not to mention going for that 4th down in the first half and not taking the points. At least everyone knows that VT belonged in the bowl and probably should have won. They certainly weren't outplayed by Michigan.

How does a replay official make that kind of call?? You have conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the field and change the outcome of the game? If the booth had been consistent all night with their calls then I wouldn't have a problem with it but at least two of their 'catches' were with much less 'conclusive' video evidence. If I am being honest I thought one angle looked incomplete but another angle where the left elbow comes down looks like a catch. I think if you can find a catch and it was called a catch then you can't overturn it. Sucks for the Hokies. What in the world possessed Wilson to backpedal 30 yards?? Logan Thomas looks like a great QB and I think its awesome that we beat them twice (then I remember that Mike O'Cain is calling the offensive plays). Bud Foster must give a horrible interview because his defense is amazing and if he wants to be a head coach he should be one.

Final note: The Man of Steele to Tennessee?? There recruits are evaporating as we speak (or transferring) and the ship is burning. We have oodles of talent and consensus 5* Linebackers, chance to repeat as ACC Champs, outside Natl Champs contenders? I'm not too worried. As I have said before I like Coach Steele, although the defense took a step back this year, and this continuity will help the team next year. The offense needed a change and that worked out well but I love the defensive staff and want to keep our current recruits in place. What I think this becomes is leverage for Steele to get a raise. This might become tricky if we are done with coaching raises after Morris gets 1.3 million. If I'm the defensive guy I wouldn't be thrilled about that since I'm sure Clemson has never appeared to have such deep pockets before. The only way I see Steele leaving is if things go south in that negotiation over contracts.

You must remember the story of DeAndre McDaniel coming to Steele's office to find out if the rumors about Steele leaving were true and helping to convince the coach to stay. Steele likes Tennessee and may want a change of scenery after the negativity this year--its a possibility. He has never been much for staying in the same place for too many years.

Noel Johnson's Dad Leaves Clemson

Well this bites. First I am a fan of Noel Johnson as a basketball player (well as a player on this particular Clemson team). He couldn't play a lick of D or penetrate that well but he wasn't named Tanner and he has the height and ability to shoot the ball.

He didn't start the season and looked awful on the court until the past couple of games when he went from that guy on your pick up team who takes all the shots and thinks he's the man (but you were probably better off without him) to lukewarm milk. Donte Hill and now Sing Noel are gone. 9 players remain. With Booker and Grant not being able to stay on the floor we are going to be seeing a lot more Tanner, Jennings, and the frosh Stanton as well as *gasp* Narcisse and Bobo. I would gladly have TO (Terrance, Terrance) back, my goodness.

My goodness. So exploring all of our options I have a solution. DMac...He plays his senior year for the bball team and he lights it up. Won't happen because he will be trying to get ready for the draft. But it would be awesome...

Nuke--not happening and we really need wings not point guards anyway. Vic Beasley is an interesting option that could be explored.

We should also look into one of those early enrollment things--didn't Dawkins do that for Duke?? Get a kid after January? It would at least help with practice, redshirt and learn the system. We will certainly be needing a ton of help next year.

I think 8-8 in the ACC is looking more and more like a mountain to climb than an achievable goal. Tanner, please learn to shoot a 3. Jennings, rebound like a man (and shoot 3's). Booker--relearn those post moves you showed last year then forgot because Purnell put regression juice in all his new players diets. Do you remember how as a Freshman Stitt was like an 80% FT shooter?? Oh and everyone learn the motion offense.

Absolute Carnage

Hey Auburn--quit biting from Dabo's arsenal of motivation slogans. Dabo pretty much coined the phrase "ALL IN" and adding the word 'Family' doesn't make it yours. Also since I'm ticked, since when has the SEC become the receptacle for QB's with criminal records?? Everyone gets a second and third chance in the SEC and its about time somebody placed greater value on not having players arrested every other week (Florida, Georgia, USuCk).

For all you idiots who want to play nationally ranked opponents for every OOC game, here is another reason your stupid. If you play multiple Auburn-like games half your team will be injured or 'concussed' for the conference schedule. My goodness....

That was the toughest game we have played in many years. I mean that in multiple ways--we finally had some toughness and I thought when it was 2nd and 5 inside the 15 we were going to win. This is a tough loss. Guys finally were showing their stuff--Bowers was dominant at times, Jamie Harper made the entire nation's jaws collectively drop, and McDaniel and Maxwell were laying people out.

The game turned when Auburn (who was hitting with helmets first all night, even ripping off Ellington's helmet) hit KP in the back. He may never be the same...he gutted it out but looked in serious agony. I was really sad to see David Smith go down as well. You might even argue that the game turned when Brewer made a great interception and we ended up on the half inch line, resulting in great field position for Auburn and momentum swinging their way. Its hard to lose on what feels like a stolen game.

I want to take heart in a moral victory but right now I just feel bad for this team. Auburn was lucky to walk away with this one. Can you believe that hit on McCalebb by Maxwell??

Special teams cost us the game. Zimmerman was back to his 39 yard self and Cat man blew it(but its hard to blame the rookie kicker), only after our highly recruited long snapper blew it. I thought the return game was average and it showed how special Spiller and Ford were. Where was the flag on the hit of Gilchrist. I really felt like Auburn got away with a lot of uncalled personal fouls.

I liked Napier's play-calling for the most part. The drive before overtime with the slow developing end around was the only play I really scratched my head on. KP lost some of his mobility after the hit and we couldn't get it in the flat to the tight end and on some screens like we were before.

Our offensive line was pushing around an SEC defense!! I wish we would have just stuck to pounding the rock all game but still liked the gameplan. We faltered on the last drive of the first half on a bogus pass interference call against Gilchrist but were finally dominant for an entire half. The defense got a little tired but we hung in there and now I am going to go lie in bed staring blankly and thinking about why this always happens to Clemson. This feels even worse than that BC overtime loss, where we missed the XP after scoring a TD and lost the game bc of it.

It was really smart for Dabo to talk about adversity. I think in 2008 we were pretty much all hype getting spanked by Alabama but now I think we are starting to belong and I feel we can win the ACC now. This team showed a lot of guts and we should rally around them and support them no matter what...if you get a chance, go ahead and be that creepy guy who leaves a facebook post thanking and encouraging our guys...they deserve it.

On Defense

I have been thinking a lot about the dynamics of our defense post-NT. I thought at the beginning of the season that LB wouldn't be the most glaring weakness on the team. I thought WR would be the problem and then questionable Special Teams play(I am still shocked from that 78 yrd punt). After the first couple of series for the offense the WR's looked somewhat better and if Cat is perfect from the 40 yrd line in, like Dabo says, and Zim punts beyond 39 yards then its the LB's that are the dead weight once again this year.

We need this Preb. game, we need the creampuff. We need the defense to learn the calls and be able to adjust to reading the offensive formations. Too often players were pointing and confused pre-snap, not getting adequately set and directing others. We need to build depth--its beyond me why Quandon Christian played 8 plays. Unless we are going to be playing Nickel (2 LB's) and Dime(1 LB) all stinking year, every play, this makes no sense. He looked better than most of the guys out there in his limited time, which included 3 tackles.

The main problems I was seeing included poor tackling (nothing new for Clemson, especially those weak arm tackles) but also bad angles being taken to ball carriers. The safeties McDaniel and Hall had some horrendous moments/whiffs as a result of taking poor lines to the ball. Corners played average and gave away too much to inferior WR's.

D-Line saw its two starters hobbled, Chavis with an ankle sprain and Jenkins hurt his knee--it was swelling after the game. I am actually worried about it and hope it's not serious. Bowers thought his knee was nothing but it limited him most of last year. I do like that the back-ups will see substantial playing time because we will be thin next year at D tackle. Shatley and Moore looked good during their playing time last week.

So I've been thinking that our problems stopping the run are less about talent and more about scheme. Playing Nickel and Dime means you have less beef in the box and fewer players close to the line. Steele doesnt want a LB matched up against a WR in a 4-Wide set--he just won't do it. I'm sure he also thinks that getting Brewer, Gilchrist, or Sensabaugh as the 5th DB puts more talent on the field and he is probably right. The problem I think we are having right now though, is that this defensive alignment puts too much pressure on Tig and Hawk. They have very little room for error and are often outnumbered at the point of attack by the offense.

Now when I saw Hawkins literally jump past the QB Tune and blow a QB sack I rolled my eyes and worried that I had judged too much from his impressive Kent. bowl performance. I like Tig and Hawk--they look the part and will take their lumps because of inexperience but the tackling, technique--everything was poor to average the last game. Maybe they just need some help and should stick to the 4-3. I really want to see Steele use Shuey(who I think can be another solid player for us) and Christian at least a third of the game. They deserve the chance to show us what they got.

This season literally hinges on our ability to shut down the zone read. Auburn will use it, Maryland, GT, USC to name a few...if we have to gameplan around taking away that single play then I think we should do it. Against running QB's play the 4-3 and take your chances with the LB on a WR--its the reason you trust your stellar Safeties!! Play Nickel and Dime to your heart's content against QB's that can really burn you.

Stop Cam Newton running and you win the game. At the very least I want to see some crazy blitzing come Auburn.

A Bit of Good News

DeAndre McDaniel has decided to return for his senior season. Rumor has it his real motivation is a chance to dislocate Ponder's entire body in one hit. You got to have goals...

Sweet Music At The Gaylord Bowl

Got a defensive stop and were able to run the ball out. Thought Harper and Ellington looked good. Parker has matured and with more focus could be a great QB. We really need McDaniel to stick around, he was a beast. Goodman and Hawkins making some progress. We had too many penalties and arm tackles towards the end but looked good overall on D. I was on the Kentucky boards and they were not happy with Joker's play calling...sounded oddly familiar.

We finish 9-5 and won the division. How many of you predicted that? I said we would be in the Orange bowl but thats cause I am a hopeless optimist but I also thought that CJ could have that kind of impact. I think you have to call this season a success, we were one drive away from a BCS bowl game but we actually accomplished some things--won the Atlantic, won a bowl finally, and had a Heisman candidate who finished 6th in the balloting. If McDaniel comes back and we improve the linebacker play, get some WR's to step up and the O-Line stays relatively injury free we can easily compete for a BCS bowl birth again. Remember this was the first year with a brand spanking new OC and defensive system. We can expect some level of automatic progression heading into the second year of the system.

Dabo has done alright. We know he is not happy with being mediocre and will keep pushing to be the best, hopefully we can start winning championships before he plateau's. 9-5--I'll take it this year but we need to beat USC and be in the Orange next year--year three is the natl championship...haha (deep down inside I'm kinda serious though!)

I Got Some Things To Say

1. I'm glad I grew up a Clemson fan and not a Cock fan. Its the one thing that keeps me going.
2. When Death Valley is rocking there is no other place like it on this earth--we should do that more often, the whole big night game on ESPN thing is fun.
3. We still got some work to do...

• Parker is showing that improvement, partly due to experience and partly due to better play calling. He makes some throws that are unbelievable--quick bullets on the run, some good long balls, etc. Couple of things Kyle--not all throws are fastballs, sometimes you can dump it off to your fullback or safety valve at medium speed. Also we got to get you seeing the wide open underneath routes more often. 10-15 yrds can be as good as trying to thread the needle for 25-30.
  
• I dont know if I call that timeout early in the third quarter on a third and inches for the Noles'. Something was wrong with the defensive personnel but we could have really needed those things if the game got tighter.
• Kicking...Jackson does some serious regression to the mean tonight. Help Richard find his happy place and quick. I was seriously seeing Jad Dean out there again when he lost it his senior year. I kept thinking, this is just like Clemson to really win the game but then blow it like this on extra points (BC in triple overtime, lost on the Dean missed extra point--05??06?? I'm still trying to forget...)
• Kick coverage is becoming a little suspect, lets tighten that up...

• Triple J, Jarvis Jenkins--I remember Brenston Buckner getting kicked out of the Citrus Bowl?? For punching a guy when he thought he was covered up by the pile. No more slapping or punching--especially in plain view...

4. I asked a question around here who would be the biggest surprise of the season and I dont think anyone said it would be Rashard Hall. Redshirt Freshman Hall has given us some depth and its amazing to me that this is his first year. He is smart, athletic, and is one of the better tacklers we have. He will get better against the run as he adds ten more pounds of muscle but talk about overachieving.
5. Another freshman that is living up to his billing is Dwayne Allen. He has dropped a couple balls here and there but seeing him take it to the house on Sat was a thing of beauty. I can live with three more years of that. Lincecum should have never left. We need some TE depth for next year so recruits please take notice.
6. DeAndre McDaniel should come back next year. If the season continues to progress without a Bowden hiccup then we should end up in the top 20 easy and with some buzz we could be in the top 15. Thats something to stick around for...Clemson stuck with DeAndre when he needed us, so I think he should stick with us and graduate. Its absolutely criminal that he is not on the Thorpe semifinal list. Mays and Berry would go ahead of him--the smart thing to do is to position himself for next year.

Quick Boston College Recap

Got company in from out of town, so got to throw up some thoughts quick or wait several more days. It's pretty clear that I overestimated BC in my preview, so my enthusiasm is a bit more tempered than one might otherwise expect coming off a 25-7 thrashing. BC's offense is still a work in progress (hey, I know another team that has that same problem, and they were playing on the same field last Saturday!), and they just didn't look like a contender on Saturday. But hey, you gotta thrash the non-contenders on your way to a championship. To the bullet points!

Defense

• 2 straight dominant starts against ACC opponents. Absolutely controlled the line, and the secondary looked good in coverage all day (how about that McDaniel, huh?)
• Did I just watch an entire Clemson football game featuring solid individual and team tackling on defense? A sight for sore eyes. (How about that McDaniel, huh?)
• As bad as BC's offense looked, its good to keep in mind they still feature a large and talented (if raw) offensive line. We weren't overwhelming some Division II line.
• Welcome to the land of "living up to your much-hyped potential", Mr. Sapp. Stick around a while, please.

Special Teams

• What can I say? I scoffed at our performance against MTSU, waiting to pass judgement until we faced some quality opponents. Well, the verdict is in: We are freakin' awesome.
• I'll try to expand on this with another post later in the week, but special teams has really been an offensive and defensive weapon for us this season by allowing us to control field position relative to the other team. Sure, Zimmerman is a bit of a weak link but it hasn't mattered much thanks to excellent coverage and excellent returns.
• Let's not forget Richard Jackson. All we need is a game-winning kick for the David Treadwell comparisons to start.

Offense

• Yeah, what do you say? Parker is telegraphing his passes and making some poor decisions, never a good combination. The O-line got very little push, enough for us to occasionally pick up a first down but not enough to establish any consistency. Struggled to execute downfield blocking, resulting in quite a few plays that were blown up before getting started.
• Bad bubble-screen flashbacks (even though I actually like the bubble screen when called on occasion, like once every couple of games in the right situation)
• One thing to keep in mind, though: this lackluster performance came at the hands of a good defense. I was wrong about the state of BC's offense but I will still argue that BC's defense could end up being one of the better we see all season. I thought they had excellent play in the secondary, and they were a disciplined, strong team that was able to consistently push through our blocks. The O-line is never going to dominate a team for four quarters, but that was a tough assignment.
• Unfortunately for us, though, it doesn't look as though things will get too much better until after next week, as TCU has an allegedly good defense.
• Good news on Hairston's injury, though.