Actually I'm not terribly upset after this game. Clemson played awful for one quarter, and then, as youre supposed to, shut down the FB Dive play altogether by the outstanding play of our DL. Clemson's offense took a quarter to get things together, and put together some nice drives. I predicted this as a loss in the preseason, and I'm not ready to say we'll never lose again, but I'm encouraged more than I have been in many years.
A Bowden coached team would've rolled over and lost by 30 points, but Swinney's decision to run that fake is what cost us this game.
Before I look at the film, I will give my impressions of the game.
-Lambert got whipped even while he was holding Morgan on the 4th down call, actually I'm convinced that Cory Lambert is a truly awful offensive tackle. He got his ass beat the entire first half. WHY did the coaching staff not shift the TE over to the right side? Why was Taylor not put in at H and sent there to block?
Did you see how we adjusted in the 2nd half? They moved Hairston over to RT. He can handle Morgan. Late in the game GT's defense was gassed.
-On the 82 yard TD: Bowers totally missed his assignment first. He went down to a blocker, when he was supposed to be the FORCE player on the QB. He went to the inside, got hit, and Nesbitt was free. Then, Conner missed his assignment, resulting in the touchdown. Watch his head pivot left/right when the pitch was made. His job is the trailing offensive back, not the QB. YOU PLAY YOUR ASSIGNMENT. GT had excellent blocking on the play as well, the WR came up to block McDaniel, the WB blocked out the CB, and they totally cleared the running lane.
-On the fake FG, Jackson was supposed to kick the ball out of bounds. GT smartly had a man back there as a deep safety, likely also watching for a fake play from Clemson, since the FG was really too long to try.
I think it was a really STUPID call, but Clemson had 3 men there to make the tackle and fucked it up royally. Why would you have your HOLDER over there making a tackle on a great return guy?
This is the difference in the game, this play. Why would you call a timeout to run this play and not have the right personnel in to make a tackle in case he cant get it out of bounds? I don't understand.
-Ashe shouldve caught the football on the first INT. Lack of concentration. It hit his hands.
-Clemson failed to tackle in the first quarter altogether. Also, they were not in their spots and were getting blocked out of plays. Paul Johnson outcoached us on the fake kick-TD pass. I was screaming for Dabo to call a timeout when they ran in. Then Chancellor quit on the play to Thomas.
-TD on the wheel route to Spiller, great block outside by Taylor. GREAT BLOCK...he decleated that mother...but the route running for most of this game was not up to par. Some great catches were made, but some passes shouldve been caught.
-TD to Allen over the middle was a great play by Allen, the ball was a foot behind him. Parker had to throw a bullet, and that part was good, but behind the receiver.
-Clemson was playing mostly Cover 1 Man and Cover 2 in this game, at least thats what I'm seeing. They are doing well on their assignments in the 2nd quarter throughout the end of the game. Nesbitts throws are sailers, thats why he gets picked off by the deep safety.
-Ford had his man beat on the INT, but Parker shouldve led the throw more to the left side. Then Ford quit on it, and didnt make sure that ball was on the ground. I put the blame on Parker however.
-A point of interest, a RH thrower, be it baseball or football, will always have the ball tail to the right. The throws to the right sideline were intended to be further in, but the ball always tails right. The ball to Ford tailed back to the middle of the field, Parker must learn this.
-GT adjusted late in the game with simple QB Lead plays, with Dwyer hitting the hole and blocking for Nesbitt. Their left side made great blocks for most of those plays, I give them great credit for that, but Bowers did not blow them up and could've.
-After Bowers first gaffe, he and Sapp played well. You noticed they stood pat, forcing GT to give the Dive play, thats why they stopped running outside pitches and options. But Clemson stopped the Dive, and you saw it completely shut down their offense until late.
-I am pleasantly surprised that our staff makes adjustments now. They adjusted to Morgan, and stuck with the power running game instead of panicking. The Defense made their adjustment at the end of the 1st qtr.
We're about to see whether this team is going to pick itself up and beat BC, or roll over dead.
I'll look at the film and pick out some clips tomorrow.
oh...and i fucking HATE purple
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I've enjoyed your site for a while, and i have a question regarding the touchdown play you just mention. Also on that play, I noticed Maye got sealed off by one of the tech linemen. It happened on several other plays during the game, where Maye tried to go around the block instead of through it which put him behind the play instead of an angle toward the ball carrier. Nesbitt got postive gains on some. Was his assignment to stay home for Dwyer or was he reacting slowly due to the option exchange between the QB and dive back? I'm not knocking Maye or anything, but one thing I've noticed with the linebackers is a hesitation to attack a blocker in that situation. They try to go around a block and often times get entangled and can't get off blocks. They can't make the tackle but because they try to go around a man, they effectively take themselves out of the play entirely. Am I wrong to think that put in that situation should the lb try to blow up the block or would he put himself out of the play?.
ReplyDeleteWithout looking up the formation again to check, I'll say that his key is usually the nearest Offensive Guard-to-the-FB. That means hes trying to watch both.
ReplyDeleteHis job is to directly attack the blocker with his shoulder and try to get leverage to break through it, not attack him head on. Essentially he is supposed to run his shoulder into the guy and not let the blocker square up, because a one-on-one heads up block with an OG and a LB usually means the LB loses.
MIKE is supposed to scrape down the line as he sees the play unfold (step horizontally), and then attack around the edge and be wary of the lead blocker on a load option coming around the end to hit him (where they flood one side with blockers).
I notice they're publishing your blog on T-net now....I don't know whether to say congratulations or I'm sorry, lol...Anyway, I've been reading your blogs quite awhile and always find them informative. And unlike the OTHER blogger over there on t-net, you spellcheck and proofread and can form a sentence quite well ;)
ReplyDeleteI try to anyway.
ReplyDeleteBMeist asked me, and I figured it would get some exposure, so why not. Half the site is still made of idiots, that wont change.
Although I'd rather have replies here than there.
Thanks for the reply to my post above. Not letting the blocker square up on you makes sense. I'll have to look at the play again. The Tech linemen (backside guard pulling) made a very good block against Maye on the second level, making a good read on Maye and squaring up on him in space. He made the correct read on the play, and didn't over run the lb, effectively sealing him off on the play.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of idiots on T-net, the lack of football knowledge by some of the posters makes me laugh sometimes. It's good I found your site a while back, and I've enjoyed your articles especially the one's talking about the schemes Steele implements on defense. Take care
I agree with your assessment. Although Clemson is not a great football team, the Tigers played hard for four quarters last night. It was extremely refreshing to see constant adjustments throughout the game and obvious adjustments from half to half.
ReplyDeleteThis game was lost by poor special teams play and specifically a botched quick kick. Why the hell you call a timeout in preparation for this mishap is beyond my wisdom. When we quit being cute and just play the game we will be more successful.
All in all, the long touchdown run was tough and the punt return for a TD unacceptable--an obvious coaching error (as Dabo manned up and accepted), and the fake for a TD set up by an interception that went through our receiver's hands.
I thought Parker played pretty well (esp. for a Freshman) and gained a good bit of confidence as the night progressed. Spiller is, well, Spiller. Ford caught the ball well and got to show off his absolute speed on the long TD catch.
Piss poor tackling, poor route running, and the RT position have to be fixed soon. After Clemson got its shit together (i.e., essentially after the 1st quarter), I was pleasantly surprised at how hard the team played throughout and how many in-game adjustments were made. It is encouraging to know that this team can score at any time on offense--specifically with Spiller and Ford.
Memo to Swinney--purple is repulsive, save me please from this crap (especially on national TV). T-Net message board is 99% useful for comic relief only, so take what is on the main board for what it is.
Good site.
ReplyDeleteLay off on the purple. It IS a school color. That's just how it is. : )
I can't recall the last time I saw a Tiger team make that kind of comeback from being that far down, or make that many adjustments. It was heartening although we lost anyway.
Finally some deep balls to Ford. What do you know, he can run past people?
I dont give a fuck if it is or not we shouldnt wear it.
ReplyDeleteIf they wanna wear white, we wear orange jerseys and white pants.
Purple is a total abomination.
ReplyDelete