- After the MTSU game, I felt like a high schooler suddenly reassured that the varsity team can beat the J.V. team. I guess its all the Stockstill & Co. talk getting to me.
- As such, the end results don't mean much but there were some positives to take away from the game. On balance, I liked the play-calling on offense (yay power formations!) and I liked what I saw from Parker, raw but displayed some pocket awareness and also should move around enough to keep opposing defenses honest.
- While its not predictive of future performance (because we were playing MTSU), was that the best single-game special teams performance in, I don't know, the last five years?
- Despite looking horrible Saturday, I'm thinking it ain't a bad thing having a player like Willy Korn around as the backup QB.
- The real season starts this week. I agree with Clemben's post below, but I would extend the "make or break us" sentiment to the next two weeks. We have one game that tilts against us and another that tilts towards us (I'm not nearly as down on BC as some others are, it seems). Lose both and its a long climb back into division contention.
- Miami did us a real favor last night. I don't expect them to lose any "how did that happen?" kind of game this year, so every close loss for FSU is a big plus for Clemson. Its still way too early, but with NC State's (and to a lesser extent, Wake's) disappointing start, it looks like Clemson could really contend. We'll see come Thursday.
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Quick MTSU thoughts, a look ahead
While I feel its my job to inject some pessimism into the blog, I'll save it for the GT preview. But I do want to post a couple of quick thoughts:
Monday, 7 September 2009
GT will make or break season
So it seems that after the first week its official--the ACC sucks again this year. I still say we are better than the Big Ten and rank third on the pecking order top to bottom but we are still in a down period for sure. This means that the two biggest games of the season are this Thursday and when we take on FSU.
If we can somehow get by Tech, which is not completely outside the realm of possibility, then the season looks not only doable but possibly magical. Yes my orange spectacles are on but just indulge me if you will. Our division looks bad--NC State wasnt special, Maryland got manhandled, Wake is down, and BC still doesnt have a QB. We will see how good FSU is tonight--it would be big if Miami gets the win. So really it comes down to who you play in the other division. GT will be good but I would rather play them than VT, and Virginia looked awful. We dont get to play another pathetic Duke team but we should get a pretty beat up Miami team.
My point is that with teams under-performing there will be parity and middling records. A win against GT puts us in the drivers seat and would create the buzz and momentum needed to build to a big enough let down (a Bowdenesque loss to an inferior team) to call it a true Clemson season. Yeah a loss wont break the season but it will send everyone back down to earth, a place we know all too well...
All I'm saying is that the crummy ACC could be all Dabo and company need this year, hopefully GT's young line isnt up to the task.
If we can somehow get by Tech, which is not completely outside the realm of possibility, then the season looks not only doable but possibly magical. Yes my orange spectacles are on but just indulge me if you will. Our division looks bad--NC State wasnt special, Maryland got manhandled, Wake is down, and BC still doesnt have a QB. We will see how good FSU is tonight--it would be big if Miami gets the win. So really it comes down to who you play in the other division. GT will be good but I would rather play them than VT, and Virginia looked awful. We dont get to play another pathetic Duke team but we should get a pretty beat up Miami team.
My point is that with teams under-performing there will be parity and middling records. A win against GT puts us in the drivers seat and would create the buzz and momentum needed to build to a big enough let down (a Bowdenesque loss to an inferior team) to call it a true Clemson season. Yeah a loss wont break the season but it will send everyone back down to earth, a place we know all too well...
All I'm saying is that the crummy ACC could be all Dabo and company need this year, hopefully GT's young line isnt up to the task.
Saturday, 5 September 2009
Halftime Ramblings: The Goldenboy Fails, yet again
So last night I started my solid orange fast--only orange food and drink on gameday...and it was good to see CJ take it to the house and give this team a cushion early on. So we are going to win but the offense still looks weak. Just what we thought--the WR's dropping passes, the OL looking shaky against MTSU, KP has a rocket arm. KP looked a lot quicker than I thought, some heads up runs--finally a QB who can feel the pocket. Some nice passes towards the end of the half but it was telling that we got stoned at the goal line once again. Rendrick Taylor--aka the hulk, seems to always get tackled by little guys taking out his legs--never seen him really lay the wood, so to speak.
Willy, willy, willy...I dont know what to say...part of me wants to say-well there you go, that was your chance, so take a seat cause its going to be awhile.
D looks good, the pressure is what we need and we are hitting harder but would like to see even more pressure from the front four. I think the D will be ready to play against GT. Special teams look as good as ever--nice coverage, nice blocking schemes. Jackson is getting some confidence and thats all he needs, he has the leg. Dabo looks the part--getting upset where he should, I like that he is demanding. Not a bad half, but nothing great. The offense is still soft and lost but there are signs of life. We need the OLine and WR to step it up but that will be the story of this season...its telling that the majority of our points came on special teams...
At least we are going to win!! Go Tigers!!
Willy, willy, willy...I dont know what to say...part of me wants to say-well there you go, that was your chance, so take a seat cause its going to be awhile.
D looks good, the pressure is what we need and we are hitting harder but would like to see even more pressure from the front four. I think the D will be ready to play against GT. Special teams look as good as ever--nice coverage, nice blocking schemes. Jackson is getting some confidence and thats all he needs, he has the leg. Dabo looks the part--getting upset where he should, I like that he is demanding. Not a bad half, but nothing great. The offense is still soft and lost but there are signs of life. We need the OLine and WR to step it up but that will be the story of this season...its telling that the majority of our points came on special teams...
At least we are going to win!! Go Tigers!!
Friday, 4 September 2009
Middle Tennessee State Preview
MTSU vs. Clemson, 9/5, 6:00pm, Death Valley
The plan is for me and Clemben to both chime in before each game and give some brief thoughts on the games. We'll see how this goes...
TigerMax:
STOCKSTILL!!! (In case you haven't heard his name enough this week). Whatever. If this game is played 100 times, we win 99. The talent gap is just to large. I don't care about MTSU's secondary, or whatever former Tiger coach they have on staff. No excuses.
I had an epiphany the other night. You know who has the most to lose and who is probably up late, late at night in the run-up to these games? Dabo Swinney. You see, he kind of sold his head coaching candidacy in large part on his ability to motivate the players. So if they come out and play lose, or even play flat against a team like MTSU, that kind of undercuts the big "leadership qualities" paragraph on his resume.
We won't be losing, but I'll be watching to see how sharp and energetic the team looks. Because it's such an important, repeatable, head coach-influenced team trait.
Clemben:
Alright, alight enough with the pessimistic pansy attitude. I am really quite scared that Middle Tennessee State, which is not a state for any confused kids reading, will give us problems but with a day to go until the season starts its time to allow ourselves to put on the orange tinted glasses complete with neon flashing "ALL IN" written along the rims. We match-up well, solid secondary, ability to pressure and the team speed to match-up with just about anyone. The offense has Spiller as the safety valve--even in Spence's rubbish Spiller was always worth some points. We will struggle but they shouldnt have the D to shut us out. We win but dont blow them out-come on now, GT is all that matters.
So repeat after me--I'm all in...(u dont even need to know what it means), repeat again--I'm all in...(no one knows what it means), one more time--I'm all in (starting to feel a little better!), now stand up and say it out loud--I'm all in (preferably alone, it might get weird if people are around, give in to the DABO magic just dont go UT wildboys on me and keep your shirt on.
Its going to be a glorious season, thats it I'm saying it--we are going undefeated--believe it, its the only time in the season that you really can...
The plan is for me and Clemben to both chime in before each game and give some brief thoughts on the games. We'll see how this goes...
TigerMax:
STOCKSTILL!!! (In case you haven't heard his name enough this week). Whatever. If this game is played 100 times, we win 99. The talent gap is just to large. I don't care about MTSU's secondary, or whatever former Tiger coach they have on staff. No excuses.
I had an epiphany the other night. You know who has the most to lose and who is probably up late, late at night in the run-up to these games? Dabo Swinney. You see, he kind of sold his head coaching candidacy in large part on his ability to motivate the players. So if they come out and play lose, or even play flat against a team like MTSU, that kind of undercuts the big "leadership qualities" paragraph on his resume.
We won't be losing, but I'll be watching to see how sharp and energetic the team looks. Because it's such an important, repeatable, head coach-influenced team trait.
Clemben:
Alright, alight enough with the pessimistic pansy attitude. I am really quite scared that Middle Tennessee State, which is not a state for any confused kids reading, will give us problems but with a day to go until the season starts its time to allow ourselves to put on the orange tinted glasses complete with neon flashing "ALL IN" written along the rims. We match-up well, solid secondary, ability to pressure and the team speed to match-up with just about anyone. The offense has Spiller as the safety valve--even in Spence's rubbish Spiller was always worth some points. We will struggle but they shouldnt have the D to shut us out. We win but dont blow them out-come on now, GT is all that matters.
So repeat after me--I'm all in...(u dont even need to know what it means), repeat again--I'm all in...(no one knows what it means), one more time--I'm all in (starting to feel a little better!), now stand up and say it out loud--I'm all in (preferably alone, it might get weird if people are around, give in to the DABO magic just dont go UT wildboys on me and keep your shirt on.
Its going to be a glorious season, thats it I'm saying it--we are going undefeated--believe it, its the only time in the season that you really can...
State/South Carolina Reactions, Ramblings
Wanted to get a few initial reactions up after that 7-3 snoozer. USuCk won 7-3. Good news is both teams looked bad on offense, really bad. NC State couldnt move the ball at all, Wilson looked really slow and could barely throw it ten yards and then when he did it went through or off the hands of his receivers. So no passing game and Baker didnt seem all that dynamic. One lineman down with a calf injury, so if you cover the TE then the offense is done. Obviously they will get better as O'Brien's well coached teams always do--so its bad that we get them later in the season but this is not a darkhorse team to take the Atlantic--if they are then any team could take it. Glennon was the best looking player on the offense...
South Carolina had moments where they looked impressive, the D was good, especially when they were fresh. The secondary will make mistakes but they have the athleticism. They would be an above average ACC team--better than I expected but their main problem as I see it is Stephen Garcia. There is no way he stays healthy all year round with his hurdling and the like. He is much improved, however, and they also have that mammouth TE. Anyone dogging on the TE need look no further than tonights game. Easy pass up the middle seam of the d for twenty yards.
Favorite moment of the night--number 25 Ben Axon appears on the ESPN screen(instead of a penalty by #4)--haha, even when the coots try to keep a drug dealer of the team, they somehow show-up. And what about the missed face mask?? Overall both of these teams will be beatable. I dont think much momentum in recruiting comes of this however. Spurrier just couldnt let his team run the ball--had to get them pass happy. The rest of his staff look good though. Too bad half of the schedule is in the top ten, haha suckers--got to love the ACC!!
South Carolina had moments where they looked impressive, the D was good, especially when they were fresh. The secondary will make mistakes but they have the athleticism. They would be an above average ACC team--better than I expected but their main problem as I see it is Stephen Garcia. There is no way he stays healthy all year round with his hurdling and the like. He is much improved, however, and they also have that mammouth TE. Anyone dogging on the TE need look no further than tonights game. Easy pass up the middle seam of the d for twenty yards.
Favorite moment of the night--number 25 Ben Axon appears on the ESPN screen(instead of a penalty by #4)--haha, even when the coots try to keep a drug dealer of the team, they somehow show-up. And what about the missed face mask?? Overall both of these teams will be beatable. I dont think much momentum in recruiting comes of this however. Spurrier just couldnt let his team run the ball--had to get them pass happy. The rest of his staff look good though. Too bad half of the schedule is in the top ten, haha suckers--got to love the ACC!!
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Putting Down the Orange-Tinted Glasses (this year, anyway)
Around this time of year I've always managed to convince myself, no matter the circumstances surrounding the team, that this is the year Clemson once again captures the national title. Not just the ACC title or a BCS birth, but the national title. I've been pondering over the last couple of weeks why this year is different.
I think its the combination of several factors creating a perfect storm-type of situation. First, while Clemson football has always been my first rooting interest in any sport at any level of competition, Clemson basketball is a close second. The success of the basketball team and the promise of the season ahead has definitely occupied some of the time I would normally spend gauging the football teams chances.
Second, the uncertainty of having Swinney at the head. I haven't commented on this much before but when he was hired, I wouldn't say I was upset but I wasn't particularly excited, either. My reasoning: I wasn't sure the Clemson AD could/would have made a better hire in Swinney's stead, and I was attracted to the argument that he represented a smooth transition for our scouting, arguably the best part of the Bowden years (feels good to say "the Bowden years", doesn't it?). But then he hired Billy Napier as the offensive coordinator, which absolutely shocked me--our offense is currently led by two guys with little experience ever leading one. Experience is generally overrated, but you know whats not overrated in an offensive coach? Having previously implemented an offensive scheme of your own design. Now, every step Swinney has made since then has been reassuring, including turning a potentially mediocre recruiting class into an average one, the emphasis on aggressiveness, and most recently the revelation that the offensive playbook has been pared down significantly. But still, I can't shake the feeling that we have a head coach that got his job by selling himself on unquantifiable coaching tropes like "natural leader", "knows how to connect with players", "knows how to rally the troops", "inspires by example", etc. etc. While his predecessor certainly seemed to lack these qualities, I still maintain that the better perceived team play after Bowden's departure had more to do with a healthy and more synergistic offensive line than Swinney's magical hold on the team and, in fact, if Bowden stays on the results probably wouldn't have been that different. (As an aside, let me be clear that I'm glad Bowden is finally gone. What a whiner.)
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, while the overall talent on the field isn't appreciably worse than last year, it certainly isn't better. I don't see a fix to the major problems that have plagued us most of the last few years--linebackers that are athletic and can hit but can't tackle (I don't care how bad TCU's defense is, if Clemson hasn't improved its tackling they'll run up 30 points on our defense--Mountain West teams know how to get into the second level) and the offensive line is a question mark (maybe not as much as last year, I'll grant you). Add to this a starting redshirt freshman at QB and the baffling problems our talented defensive line had last year getting upfield, I see us as a 6-8 win team on talent.
All of that being said, there's reason for hope: parity in the Atlantic division. Win a couple of close games over the right teams and we could be in the ACC title game with a 5-3 or even 4-4 conference record.
One last point--while I haven't managed to convince myself this is "the year", that doesn't mean I'm not ready to watch some football. GO TIGERS!!
I think its the combination of several factors creating a perfect storm-type of situation. First, while Clemson football has always been my first rooting interest in any sport at any level of competition, Clemson basketball is a close second. The success of the basketball team and the promise of the season ahead has definitely occupied some of the time I would normally spend gauging the football teams chances.
Second, the uncertainty of having Swinney at the head. I haven't commented on this much before but when he was hired, I wouldn't say I was upset but I wasn't particularly excited, either. My reasoning: I wasn't sure the Clemson AD could/would have made a better hire in Swinney's stead, and I was attracted to the argument that he represented a smooth transition for our scouting, arguably the best part of the Bowden years (feels good to say "the Bowden years", doesn't it?). But then he hired Billy Napier as the offensive coordinator, which absolutely shocked me--our offense is currently led by two guys with little experience ever leading one. Experience is generally overrated, but you know whats not overrated in an offensive coach? Having previously implemented an offensive scheme of your own design. Now, every step Swinney has made since then has been reassuring, including turning a potentially mediocre recruiting class into an average one, the emphasis on aggressiveness, and most recently the revelation that the offensive playbook has been pared down significantly. But still, I can't shake the feeling that we have a head coach that got his job by selling himself on unquantifiable coaching tropes like "natural leader", "knows how to connect with players", "knows how to rally the troops", "inspires by example", etc. etc. While his predecessor certainly seemed to lack these qualities, I still maintain that the better perceived team play after Bowden's departure had more to do with a healthy and more synergistic offensive line than Swinney's magical hold on the team and, in fact, if Bowden stays on the results probably wouldn't have been that different. (As an aside, let me be clear that I'm glad Bowden is finally gone. What a whiner.)
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, while the overall talent on the field isn't appreciably worse than last year, it certainly isn't better. I don't see a fix to the major problems that have plagued us most of the last few years--linebackers that are athletic and can hit but can't tackle (I don't care how bad TCU's defense is, if Clemson hasn't improved its tackling they'll run up 30 points on our defense--Mountain West teams know how to get into the second level) and the offensive line is a question mark (maybe not as much as last year, I'll grant you). Add to this a starting redshirt freshman at QB and the baffling problems our talented defensive line had last year getting upfield, I see us as a 6-8 win team on talent.
All of that being said, there's reason for hope: parity in the Atlantic division. Win a couple of close games over the right teams and we could be in the ACC title game with a 5-3 or even 4-4 conference record.
One last point--while I haven't managed to convince myself this is "the year", that doesn't mean I'm not ready to watch some football. GO TIGERS!!
Wednesday, 2 September 2009
Steve's Done
While we need to be previewing Clemson this week, with the Coot game versus NC State this Thursday, thought we might spend a bit of time looking at the Cluckers. Then I saw this video and I knew there was no reason to do it. Steve Spurrier is done, if he doesnt hang it up at the end of the season I will be very surprised. Wow, how lukewarm can you be--he inspires zero confidence in this team. I thought things were bad based on a tough schedule but SC has some young talent and some nice d lineman. Garcia hasnt been much, but I didnt know it was this bad. Seems to me Steve wanted to take one last shot at it based on the recruiting class and how well they were doing at one point in the season but he seems about as motivated right now as he did at the end of the Clemson game.
Steve, I'm going to miss you--and for all you recruits out there (Quarles looking at you), dont go to USuCk, they just dont win. Spurrier wont be there by the time you graduate believe me, he just doesnt want it. On the other end, Dabo has to keep himself from wanting it too much--the choice is clear. Garnet is for pansies. Bring on the Burnt Orange!!
Steve, I'm going to miss you--and for all you recruits out there (Quarles looking at you), dont go to USuCk, they just dont win. Spurrier wont be there by the time you graduate believe me, he just doesnt want it. On the other end, Dabo has to keep himself from wanting it too much--the choice is clear. Garnet is for pansies. Bring on the Burnt Orange!!
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