SB Nation User Blog: DrB

Raycom ACC Basketball Power Poll Ballot, week 6

DrB — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:01:39 -0000

More photos » by Brett Flashnick - AP

1 day ago: Clemson forward Jerai Grant dunks against College of Charleston during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009, at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)

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Sponsored by the Raycom Maryland blog & Testudo Times we'll be ranking the ACC teams each week. Feel free to complain and argue with how we rank 'em.

ACC Weekly scores

1. Duke - Fresh off a 76-41 drubbing of Gonzaga and a sound thumping of Gardner-Webb, we have to move them up to the top spot.

2. UNC - last week's #1 moves down after being out-efforted by Texas. I watched it and it seemed like they were totally outmatched and played terribly sloppy. Plus, Roy is a bitch.

3. FSU - Whether I think Clemson is better or not seems irrelevant, they just defeated Georgia Tech in Atlanta in OT, so they've beaten someone in the ACC on the road and deserve it. They also defeated Auburn (who beat UVA) and Georgia State this week.

4. Georgia Tech - beat UT-C, Arkansas Pine-Bluff, and lost to FSU in OT at home.

5. Clemson - beat Furman, ECU on the road, and CofC pretty soundly.

6. Wake Forest - will have beaten NC State at home, UNC-Wilmington and Elon

7. Maryland - difficult to get a good read on exactly where to put the Terps. Their 3 losses have been to Cinci, 'Nova, and Wisconsin.

8. V. Tech - Beat Penn State last week, Charleston Southern this week

9. Miami - beat Stetson and FAU soundly

10. NC State - loses to Wake on the road, beat Elon by 3. Also beat Auburn earlier this year. Hard to get a great read on them so far.

11. BC - lost to Rhode Island 80-69, beat Bryant....wherever the hell that is. However they have beaten Miami 61-60 in Mass.

12. Virginia - is pretty bad.

Last week's rankings

Recruiting, looking a little bleak as we go into the Bowl

DrB — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:30:19 -0000

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Not much good news to talk about at the moment.

OL Max Garcia of Norcross, GA picked Maryland over Clemson and Vanderbilt. He says he wanted to major in journalism, which Clemson does not have. Billy Napier was his recruiter of record and by my recollection, Billy didn't do a whole lot of recruiting during the season. I also wonder why, with the coordinators being busy with game prep, that the other OL coaches didn't pick up some slack and build a better relationship. Clemson should not be losing OTs to Maryland. However, if the kid is that excited about his next 40 years of life rather than 4 years of sucking at football, then I can't fault him.
With Laurence Gibson decommitting and affirming a commitment to V. Tech, we appear to have lost out on the two highest offensive tackles remaining on our board. No word on who else they'll try to offer to get numbers in, but I'm not buying the P. Price line of bull that Swinney fed us. With J.K. Jay gone until at least August, if he ever can return, we could still be in a numbers crunch at OT in the fall with an injury. At least one of the other true freshmen (Webster or Timothy) may need to play, and Brandon Thomas will be coming off the RS. This would not be so bad to me if I had confidence in OL development, but you also do not need to be leaning on true freshmen on the OL. Will Clemson go after a JUCO to fill the hole vacated by Lambert and give us an immediate backup? Unlikely. It'll be David Smith and Brandon Thomas at #2 on the ends in 2010.
DB commit Darius Robinson had been mentioned as saying he was pulling for Georgia Tech to win the ACC title game and that he would strongly reconsider his pledge to Clemson IF they offered him. Now he says something else: "It really wasn't what was said," Robinson said. "My words got twisted. I'm just going to stop talking to non-Clemson reporters. I don't have any involvement with anyone else."
Recall I mentioned JUCO LB prospect Qua Gilchrist from Abbeville, he's now going to Sakerlina. Clemson never offered. I guess LB must not be a real need huh.
LB prospect Darius Lipford says he's "pretty firm" to UNC. He's going to take his official to Clemson next month because he says he likes Dan Brooks, and his father played with Brooks. Losing out on him and Justin Parker, who will tell any reporter what he wants to hear right now, would mean that we really didnt fill a need at a crucial position in this class. Nicolopulos is probably done with football. Ricky Chaney will be the only LB brought in.
DT prospect Ethan Farmer's low test scores may mean that even if he sticks with his current leader UNC, that he'll be a sign & place. God knows the AARC wouldn't try to get him in, and if he gets into UNC but not Clemson, someone should be punched in the face.
DT Tra Thomas did commit late last week. He's rated 3-stars by Rivals at the moment, and I don't see that going upwards when the ratings are redone. Thomas will likely redshirt a year or play down the depth chart, according to his video comments after pledging. "I just think Clemson is the best place for me," Thomas said. "Dan Brooks is a great coach. We've got a great bond. They think I can play anywhere on the interior."
Clemson is making a late push for RB D.J. Howard (***, 6' 195) against Auburn, to whom he is currently a soft verbal commit. AU is recruiting him as a safety, as are others, but his comments say they are going to give him a shot at RB. He wants to play RB. From his comments, I'd say a lot of people are telling him a lot of different things about where he'll play."I'm going to stand by my verbal commit to Auburn. I want to see where they stand with me and if they project me to play defensive back. All this safety stuff coming has me unsure, but I'm going to look around and make sure I'm making the right choice. Right now I'm still committed to Auburn with Clemson No. 2 and Kentucky No. 3." If Auburn got Marcus Lattimore, to go along with what they have now, I don't see how he'd play RB. Andre Powell has been dispatched to get him, which means we probably won't, but Harbison is in there recruiting him as well. His official to CU is Jan 8, Auburn the week after.
Notice in that link how another 2nd year staff, which was totally turned over last christmas, is not having problems with getting good recruits when there was no relationship going into 2009, nor is Tennessee.
Powell is still after RB James White of Ft. Lauderdale (St. Thomas Aquinas), who seems to me to be the better shot, but Wisconsin leads for him. He doesnt seem to be the type of bruiser that Wisconsin goes for in my opinion. He's smaller and quicker than what they bring in. Both RBs are the last two on our board and are set for official visits. RB Demont Buice is the only one currently committed.
What bothers me this year is the lack of Florida recruiting, likely due to taking Swinney off the road as head coach and the loss of a Bowden. We've usually been able to go down and take a few players: 5 in 2006, 0 in 07, 8 in 2008, 0 last year, 0 this year. However, the staff did make a commitment this year to attacking Georgia, and we have done well there.
Late offer QB Hutson Mason will choose between UGA and Miss. State. Clemson is out of it.
DeAndre McDaniel is waffling between coming back or going pro this year.I think he's a definite AA next year if he comes back, but there is no cap next year for the NFL.
Swinney says the goal is to sign "23 players for sure, but no more than 25" players in the class. We appear to be done to me, aside from fallbacks and those mentioned. I knew and expected 2010 to be a little further down than normal because of the staff turnover, but if we don't land one more DT or LB I think this class is a major disappointment.

MUST READ: Kevin Steele talks about the season

DrB — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:44:27 -0000

MUST READ: Kevin Steele talks about the season

Steele compares this season's performance to that of Alabama's 2 years ago when Saban was installing his scheme. I can compare it to the same ordeal at LSU when Saban got there. Its a complex scheme with the fronts and blitzes. Between year 1 and 2 you'll notice improvement.

He's right, you should evaluate him, and anyone else, on the whole body of work on the field.

ACC Championship film review

DrB — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:21:27 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

14 days ago: Georgia Tech safety Morgan Burnett (1) consols Clemson running back C.J. Spiller, right, after Georgia Tech defeated Clemson 39-34 during the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec 5, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

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Please comment and ask questions on what you dont understand, these take a long time to do well. The goal here is to look for both good plays and bad technique. If theres anything that you would like to see or have explained, just ask.
Without knowing the exact assignment of each defender on every scheme called, I'm going to start from the assumption that the assignments on each play are the same. For most of the game that was the case: all the down linemen crash on the dive with the LB as force players (i.e., the QB) and the secondary with pitch responsibility. If its obvious on a play that this is not the case, I'll make note of it.

I am only going to cover Clemson's offensive highlights and lowlights on each drive, not the play by play review. I think most of us would agree that CJ was the offense and only the highlight clips need be seen.

ESPN Play-by-Play

1st CU Drive starts at the CU 29. 1st down catch by Palmer, but Walker was badly whipped on an inside move and Parker was nearly sacked. On 1st and 10 from the CU 41, CJ Spiller, 40 yards on an outside HB Power play

Parker to Ford, on what looks like a stop/quick-out, down to the 3. CJ cuts it in for the TD on another Power play. 7-0 CU, 7 plays 71 yards.

Good opening drive, Clemson using a little more motion than they have been during the winning streak.

Defensive drive starts from the GT 15. Conner has correct position on the QB after Bowers is cut blocked. He doesnt PRESS the pitch, but has position. Pitch goes to Roddy Jones for 22, because of Gilchrist being cut blocked and Thomas' block on Butler.... Next play is the same but Butler goes to the QB instead of the pitch man, WRONG ASSIGNMENT, Conner's man, and Roddy Jones for 21 more....

....Dive handled for 3.... Marcus Wright on a orbit-reverse pitch for 4, just well blocked.... Nesbitt gets a 1st down because Brandon Thompson fails to make the tackle, but excellent penetration, linebackers blown off the ball.... Anthony Allen stopped on a counter by Bowers, good job to stay home..... Dwyer on a pitch for 2, well-stopped by Sapp.... Roddy Jones was wide open with Maye in coverage, who stumbled, and dropped the ball inside the 5. 47 yd FG, 7-3, 9 plays 54 yards

GT does an outstanding job of WR blocking downfield, good at cracks and stalk blocks. I hope Clemson's WRs are paying attention to this in any film review they look at. Other than the two long pitch plays the defense was adequate. Its clear from the start that Paul Johnson wishes to attack Clemson on the perimeter.

2nd CU drive starts from our 26. Morgan moved to other side and whips both Austin and Hairston on the first pass to Harper, ran right through the B-gap. Spiller again limping a little after a tough 4 yard carry inside. Ellington for 18 right up the middle on a zone play. Damn he hits a hole fast. 2nd & 7 pass, thrown early, on what looked like a screen goes for nothing; Morgan was right in Parker's face. 3rd down throw to Allen was just off, but excellent coverage by GT. Jackson misses 52 yd FG, slipped on the bad footing.

The footing was very bad for this game, plays right into GT's hands really. I'm surprised the field condition would be that bad at an NFL stadium. Another good drive by CU but just couldnt get the 3rd down completion.

Defensive drive starts at the GT 35. Butler good job to stop Thomas one-on-one.... Nesbitt for 6, Sapp and Maye standing there. SAPP SHOULD HAMMER HIS ASS with Maye as backup on the pitch.... 3rd & 1, inside veer play, Bowers hammers Dwyer, but #15 has a hand on Maye's shoulder pads and he cant get free while Conner is woefully weak on the tackle-6 yard gain..... Pass to Peebles is too far in front of him, Safety late getting to him or it would've been a 20-30 yard gain, looks like CU is playing some Cover 4.... Goodman runs down Nesbitt for a short gain..... 3rd & 8 play, Maye blocked out by a Guard, and Dwyer goes for 20. GT had one WB set out wide on this play, forcing Clemson to shift the LBs over to cover him, Brandon Maye quickly ran over a little to where he'd have been standing normally and once he was blocked by the Guard head-on it was through.....

Midline keeper for 3.... Orbit pitch again for 7, well-blocked by GT, but Bowers nearly had him the backfield. END of 1st QTR. Tig Willard has bad position on Dwyer run for 10 outside.... Jenkins beats his blocker and tackles Dwyer for 2.... Pitch out strung out well, and well played by Willard outside.... Dwyer runs right behind his LT, Willard can't get a hand on him, nor can McDaniel (?) or Maye as he goes into the endzone. 10-7 GT, 12 plays 65 yards, 05:18

See the young guys make a good play, then follow it up with a bad one. Wingbacks for GT are doing TOO well against our LBs and Safeties in one-on-one blocks. Bowers played really well on this drive, getting off his blocks every time. The inside plays to Dwyer worked because they were double-teaming the NG (chavis or thompson) and then the extra blocker comes off and nails the LB (usually Maye). Guys are not ATTACKING the QB on the pitch.

CU starts at the 43, Parker pressured and throws it a little hard to Ellington, it bounces off his hands and right into the defender's hands at the GT 45. 9 times out of 10 that is not caught by the DB.

Defensive drive from their 45. Nesbitt for 2, well played by Maye (he got off his blocker and attacked). Maye overruns the next Dive play and doesnt attack the B-gap, and Lyons gets 6..... Same play again gets the 1st down, but Maye doesnt overrun it..... Maye carried for 2 yards as Anthony Allen goes for 8 on an orbit-pitch....Willard shoots his gap and manages to slow Dwyer down for a short gain.... 2 Missed tackles and CB to one side is cut-blocked on a 7 yd gain, but Thompson smacked Nesbitt right in the face, tremendous first step.... Jenkins offsides for 5.... Thompson beats his man again and blows up the Dive on a short gain.... KA is cut-blocked, and the safety reacts to the pitch as Peebles gets for 13 yard gain on a pass, same play as before that was incomplete down the seam.... Dive stopped for 1.... 3 penatlies push them back to the 17. Rennie Moore had a good sack negated on the holding call, and he was the one that got held.... Conner makes a great play on a dive and flattens Dwyer.... Jarvis Jenkins makes a great play to tackle Dwyer on a screen pass for a loss of 7. 49 yd FG, 13-7, 12 plays 23 yards, 07:40

A win for the defense on this drive. Thompson was unstoppable and in the backfield on every play. Maye being his usual self.

CU starts at the 35. 5 straight hard runs by Spiller, zone's and Iso plays. Spiller for 41 on the TD on a pitch, good perimeter blocking. Terrible snap on the XP attempt, absolutely terrible. 13-13, 5 plays 65 yards

There is no excuse for a snap thats THAT bad. It was behind Wade's head, be thankful he can handle the ball well.

Defensive drive starts from the GT 36 with 2:55 on the clock. Nesbitt overthrows wide open WR....Late pitch to Jones for 8 is fumbled when KA hits him, but Nesbitt recovers it. Whomever was playing the Nose on this play ate up Lyons again....Dwyer short dive for 1st down....Conner shoots the gap for a loss, GT calls TO....Comeback pass completed for 9, but good coverage by Butler....Dwyer dive for a couple...Thomas drops a 9 yard pass that was low....Throwback screen to Hill for 8, poor coverage by whomever was the CB on playside.....3rd &2 keeper gets the 1st down...Dwyer for a couple....3rd & 8 pass was underthrown to Hill and Butler was on his back, PI called. He didn't have to touch him. I think the pass was uncatchable....Pressure forces a throwaway....Pass into the flats for 8 to Melton, then GT kicks. 28 yd FG, 16-13 GT, 15 plays 53 yards, 02:49

PI call was an uncatchable pass. Again, the guys playing the Nose are eating up GT inside, but GT is combo blocking for one second and then the lineman goes up and pushes Maye 15 yards down the field. Kevin Alexander is essentially a non-factor, being cut blocked by the Wing or the OT is coming off and taking him on veers.

Clemson kneels to out the half.

Halftime

Defense: Clemson is doing OK with the dive. Thompson and Jenkins are unstoppable up front. LBs are being blocked by Guards 5-10 yards down the field at times. Perimeter play though, is just bad. The corners and safeties are being cut blocked by the Wings and WRs. They get chunks on 1st and 2nd down and set up 3rd & short yardage and we arent so good against the Dive that we can limit it to less than 2 yards.

170 yards rushing, 30 yards passing, 9/12 on 3rd down. 9 of those attempts were 4 yds or less.

But the GT blocking is exceptional. GT has the ball 19:41 to 10:19 in the half.

Offense: All CJ. 146 yards rushing, 27 yards passing, 2/3 on 3rd down

3RD QTR

Defensive drive starts from the GT 29. Pitch to Jones for 13, same play as to start the game. Sapp was there to force, but no secondary there to handle the pitch man....Bowers and Thompson eat up Dwyer....Nesbitt eaten up by Bowers, good tackle....3rd &10, same little wing pass to Peebles as before, for 8. I dont know why McDaniel was playing that far off....4th&2 at midfield, defense was expecting Dive and Bowers hits Dwyer in the mouth, Conner correctly forces the pitch, but Gilchrist was cut blocked by the Wingback, 7 yard gain....Maye takes Nesbitt for no gain on a busted play...15 yd gain by Nesbitt, Conner caught by a pitch fake and ends up hitting nobody, then Maye misses a tackle along with Gilchrist and Chancellor attempts a weak one (vid below of the loop scheme of blocking it, compare to the veer explained below, watch the RT)

...Dive for 2...Goodman misses Nesbitt, who gets free for 7. Gilchrist missed tackle. Branch finally hits him and both Maye and Alexander are 10 yards downfield.....3rd & 1,Nesbitt keeper off tackle for a 1st, NOBODY ATTACKS....Midline keeper by Nesbitt for the TD. 2 missed tackles, one weak one by McDaniel. KA blocked by the lead WB. As in game 1, Cumbie takes the Dive instead of controlling his blocker and waiting as he should. GT has more blockers than we do defenders here. 23-13 GT, 11 plays 71 yards

I've never seen RBs, and thats what these Wingbacks are, who block this well since Nebraska of the mid-90s. Its difficult for a LB to get off somebody who dives at his knees. Their linemen stick with the DEs just long enough for them to not eat up Nesbitt in the backfield, then veer to hit the LBs and drive them 10 yards.

CU starts from our 40. Spiller stopped for no gain because we have Jacoby trying to cut block Derrick Morgan, WTF? Palmer and Walker pancaked his ass on the next play though.... Palmer for 20 on a wide open out route, LB never picked him up....CJ for 36 on an outside Iso with orbit motion, excellent seal block by Palmer and Hairston to spring it, 23-20, 5 plays 60 yards

GT starts at their 30. Dive for 2...Ricky Sapp burst through backfield to stop Nesbitt for loss....D. Thomas for 70 yd TD on a hitch-n-go. 30-20.

Most disappointing play of the game, no way should he have been that open. He puts a double move on Butler, who is worried about a pitchout, on 3rd & 10. Gilchrist had his eyes on the WB, who was matched up man/man on a LB and didn't get his eyes over to Thomas. If he'd been there, no TD. I can't tell for sure whether we're playing Cover 4 or Cover 2, because of the alignment, but he should be there helping Butler. Defense finally gets them stopped on 1st and 2nd down, and we choke. I really believe the game was lost here.

CU starts at our 26. Harper gets good blocking on a couple plays, CJ didnt get too much of it on a Power O play, because of no push by Cloy/Smith on the right side.... Jacoby makes a great catch off the turf, but a badly low throw.....Parker intercepted by Terrant. He had time to get rid of the ball, and held onto it for too long, then Morgan comes free when Parker sees Spiller down the sideline. Parker never set his feet with Morgan coming and it sailed right into Terrant's arms. Whats bad is that we were trying to finally stretch the defense vertically there, which Billy hadn't called until now.

GT return puts them at the CU 28....Dive gets a couple...Botched play is thrown away by Nesbitt...late pitch to Allen gets 4 on the boundary, Conner forced him out. 40yd FG, 33-20.

Good job by the defense there to hold them, but the INT was killer.

CU starts on our 28. Ellington for 11 on a Power play, MCCLAIN MADE A BLOCK HOLY SHIT....Ellington for 30, good effort by Jacoby to block downfield, Palmer, and Walker....Start of 4th Qtr....Ford runs by Reed and had to wait on the ball just a little, and it bounced off his chest pads after Reed gave him a little bump to the facemask. Thats a bad no-call, would've been a TD. On 4th & 3 we call TO, then come out and go for it, which was the correct call to make with 14min left in the 4th down by 13. A quick out to Ford was thrown behind him, great catch for the first down....Parker sacked by Burnett on a busted play, CJ stumbled on an Isolation handoff, but WHY didnt Parker throw it away?...3rd & 15 and Parker scrambles for 12, good decision....4th & 3, flag thrown on Burnett for interfering with Palmer...CJ carried it in from 9 yards out on a HB Power. 33-27 GT, 10 plays 72 yards

Very clutch drive by the offense, two big 4th down conversions. Most of it was pass calls, not CJ, but again he kept us in it. Now we needed the defense to get a stop.

GT starts from their 25. Nesbitt gets 15 on the first play, because Conner and Maye can't get through their gaps. Bowers jumped off the line to take the PITCH, with the LB supposed to take the QB but nobody got through. An adjustment made by Steele there.

....Nesbitt eaten up for no gain....Dwyer runs right by the front line, and Maye just stands there and takes the blocker instead of playing with his eyes and seeing Dwyer. Chavis misses a tackle before McDaniel and Cumbie run him down for 12....

Sapp and Cumbie stop Dive for 3....McDaniel comes up on a pitch for a 3 yard gain, good hit and well played by the defense...3rd & 4, Dwyer gets 3 up the left side....4th down QB Sneak is stopped for no gain because Bowers blew right past his man inside, and Maye/Jenkins wrap him up. Turnover on downs.

Bowers jumped the count there. They double team Thompson on every play and they cant move him. If our LBs were any good then this drive wouldve gotten nowhere.

Clemson takes over on our 37. Spiller Iso for 54 yards. Excellent block by Allen and Dye to spring it....Makes a 4 yd gain out of a 4 yd loss on the next Power play....Ellington carries it in up the gut on 3rd & 1 on an Iso right behind Cloy, a GT lineman dove behind him and hit his right leg with his shoulder and you could see it break. 34-33 CU, 4 plays 63 yards

The drive was clutch again, but only took about a minute and a half. If we had taken another 2 minutes off, we win the game. I guess the defense was just too tired now because we didnt stop them again. Did I mention I love the isolation? CJ isnt taking it up the designed hole most of the time, so its mostly him.

GT gets the ball on their 14 with 6:11. Dabo told them to get a stop or they dont deserve a title, and we had them in their worst field position, and they just beat us. Crossed up play on incomplete pass, wrong route....Bowers doesnt take Nesbitt as he should, and he gets 8. 3rd down pitch to Allen, Gilchrist and Maye string it out excellently, but Thompson really ate his man up and had Nesbitt by the foot....4th and inches, of course they get it, but Jenkins was playing too high....Conner late in coverage on Dwyer, 21 yds....Dive for 3, Thompson and Bowers again....Quick throw to Thomas, Maxwell playing too far off him and he gets 7, thats scheme to play off his block on a pitch....Nesbitt right up the middle, MLB not charging his GAP....Again off tackle for 10, Maye is cut by the WB, Bowers correctly takes his pitch man, no OLB to see, I believe he was blocked by the LT who was lined up on Bowers...What they are doing is the Veer, where the LT doesnt really touch Bowers at all but lets him go free, as he cuts inside. With Bowers' assignment being the Pitch and not the QB, he just runs into him without looking at Nesbitt. The LT who is on Bowers veer blocks, meaning he goes inside of Bowers and hits the LB to the playside, or the one from the backside scraping. The MLB has the QB in this situation, and he's cut blocked so he cant make the tackle. Thats just perfect execution....Dive stopped by Cumbie for 2....Dive for 8, right by Bowers, Chavis was double teamed into the turf. Well blocked....Dive for 5....Maxwell misses the tackle on the 15 yd TD on what appears to be a counter. 39-34 GT, 13 plays 86 yards

Never forced another 3rd down after that 4th & 1 play.

This is the Veer, watch the Left side of the OL. An alternate scheme they threw at us is called the Loop, when the Tackle goes outside his DE.

CU ball at our 35 with 1:20. Holding pushes us back 10....Throw sails over Dye incomplete...Overthrows CJ on a Fly route, poor decision by Parker....Hits Dye stopped a yard short, low throw and he had to sit to catch it....Morgan stops Parker from scrambling for the 1st down. Game over.

Summarizing thoughts

My original post-championship thoughts

After watching this film, you spend much more time seeing just how good our defensive line really is. Da'Quan Bowers, Jarvis Jenkins, and Brandon Thompson are extremely good. We did get penetration all day with the first team DL, but Ricky Sapp was not really a factor. The backups, however, need some work. Jamie Cumbie does his job but doesnt get the same penetration from the 3-tech, and Miguel Chavis is nowhere near Thompson's ability level on the Nose. Nowhere near him.

Clemson did in fact control the Dive, which I didnt think we did when I watched it live. Look at all those carries for 2-3 yards. The inside guys did their job on the line. No way in hell would I want to play Georgia Tech without Brandon Thompson. I'll go ahead and tell you all now, they will run the Veer to Andre Branch/Malliciah Goodman's side of the field next year; Bowers gave them hell up front. You dont notice it as much because there were not as many TFL or sacks, but they had serious trouble with him.

Where this game was lost on defense is the perimeter. GT pounded away inside against us in Game 1, giving up on the veer, but in this game they kept going back outside, and thats how they killed us. In the first part of the game, the DEs were told to help stop the dive, and that opens up the perimeter for Nesbitt and a pitch man. Johnson took it. In the 2nd half, we started sending the DEs on the pitch man, with the LB assigned to the QB (force), but the LBs cant get off these cut blocks and the veering Olinemen. An OL on a LB is a win for the offense. Kevin Alexander can hold his position most of the time but doesnt get off the block. Maye is hopeless at dodging any blocker, doesnt jump into his gap and NO ONE ALL DAY attacked the QB. Even when the LBs were in the right gaps, they didnt run full force into anyone. They were tentative and appeared confused.

I dont agree with the scheme to send the DE on the Pitch, I'd have him on the QB and tell him to knock his ass flat every play. We did that in game 1, and didnt today, not at all that i noticed. 22 carries for 103 yards for Nesbitt, thats 22 times when he shouldve been flattened. The QB made this offense work, and we only took away the Dive.

Secondary play on the pitch, which was the scheme in the first half, was bad. However, Thomas is big for a WR, and its going to be hard to get anybody off him, thats why they run to his side. The safeties were late, and sometimes cut/arc-blocked by the WB to that side of the field.

Game was lost by being unable to stop them on 1st and 2nd down, not 3rd down. All 3rd downs were short. The 3rd & 10 TD is the only long 3rd down that comes to mind.

GT is the best cut-blocking team I've ever seen, and their OTs run the veer exceptionally well. We did not deserve to win this game, but C.J. Spiller did.

Offense: Good game plan by Napier, in contrast to his bed-wetting in Columbia. He knew to establish the run and did. CJ ate them alive: 20 carries for 233 and 4 TDs. 414 yards of total offense, 323 rushing, only 10 less than GT.

And it was mostly with the simplest play in football: the isolation

Clemson has started running the Power play behind the left side here as the season has tailed off, whereas for most of the year it was Austin as the pulling Guard. This is what I screamed for after the Maryland game.

Parker 10/17 for 91 yds and 2 INTs. GT played substantially more zone than in game 1 but played it well. Most play calls were rushes but still Parker is plagued by inaccuracy. His bullet was a factor in the first INT to Ellington, but Ellington shouldve caught the ball. The 2nd one is entirely on Parker. We were never able to stretch the field vertically but with 323 rushing it doesnt matter really. The offense did what it could do to seal this one.

The OL handled Morgan well enough, and we ran right at him several times. That much was improved over Game 1. Downfield and perimeter blocking was very good by our WRs and TEs, to spring loose nearly every one of CJ's big runs. It would've been nice to hold Morgan for one more second on the last play of the game, but you can't hold it against the line when they did as well as they did against a future 1st Rd pick. However, most of Spiller's Isolation runs did not go up the designated hole, so don't get too excited about the run blocking. Our OL did not fire off the ball the way GT did, which comes as no surprise considering their coach hasnt changed. The left side played well enough but the right side needs to work on their push..

Clemson defeats ECU 80-63

DrB — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:12:10 -0000

by Jenni Farrow - AP

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Tigers vs Pirates boxscore

A few thoughts after this game, which we thoroughly controlled from the opening tip. We made up for the 0-11 3pt shooting with a 7/15 clip from the starters in the first half to build a 46-29 lead, but only shot 10/24 overall.

Tanner Smith continues to carry the load outside, especially after Stitt got a shot in the mouth. 14 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Thank YOU Tanner for following shots and hustling. Both he and Andre Young combined for 30 points which is great. Young 4/7 from 3pt range. Tanner gets my vote for team MVP so far.
Trevor Booker showed much improved passing skills, netting 9 assists to go with 13 points and 12 rebounds. If this can continue then Trevor gets the looks inside that he needs to score.
But look at the half-by-half comparo, 34-34 score in 2nd half play. Weak defensive effort in the 2nd half. Refs were calling alot of fouls however.
The freshmen got to play late and it showed on defense. Noel Johnson wouldnt take shots that were wide open and fouled out. Jennings put up 8 in 10 game minutes and took his open jumpers. Devin put up 9 in 14 minutes but only 3 rebounds, and played longer than Grant did.
David Potter....still a liability offensively. 3 points in 28 minutes on 1/7 shooting.
Clemson won the rebounding stats: 14-13 on offense, 40/37 overall. I think this must improve.
The defense forced only 14 turnovers and ECU shot 41%, but their relying on the 3 killed them, 3/12 overall.

College Basketball

Laurence Gibson possible decommit

DrB — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:36:21 -0000

This is why I dont follow recruiting til this time of year, this stuff will drive you nuts.

Apparently Gibson told the staff he was committed and told other media outlets he was too (there are direct quotes), but went back home and said he didnt commit, soon to be released on VT's rivals site, so we'll see what he says.

Watson still says he has cancelled his visit to UNC.

Edit: Gibson changes his commitment to VT. Looks like the mom pressured the change, same comments to VT that he gave to us. Quality kid.

Recruiting Tidbits

DrB — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:56:02 -0000

via nytimes.com

Of course by now you've heard that SC OL coach Eric Wolford will take the Youngstown State HC job, probably because you've seen cockfans go nuts about it. I was amused at the comments I saw on FGF..."that son of a bitch! he's a traitor" etc., and every other time I see them freak out, but I imagine there are plenty of Clemson fans on TNet just as dumb who would post the same garbage. I don't know who all Wolford was the primary recruiter for that we want, but it gives Clemson a better shot at someone like OL Morgan Moses. Maybe AJ Cann would reconsider us, with both Sapp and Bowers also being from Bamberg. Eric Mack has commented in the past that Wolford was the primary reason he committed to USuC, but he's from Calhoun County, and we've got no shot there. Coaches are hardline cluckers. If anything, Mack could go to Florida.
DT Ethan Farmer has set an official visit to Clemson on January 15th. He is saying he's even between NC State, UNC, and CU. Farmer would be a huge get late in this class, but something tells me he's UNC bound. He said he would base his pick off athletic and academic programs, and for some reason rates UNC ahead of Clemson in athletic program? He is being recruited by Dan Brooks. His parents like both schools. He plans to decide on Feb. 3.
Clemson still leads for 3-star DT Tra Thomas, who now sits with 11 offers from CU, WVU, Michigan State, Louisville, and Duke among others. Am I the only one surprised to see Duke among so many prospect's lists?
Rivals expects to move up both Watson and Gibson to 4-star status, matching that of Scout.
Vic Beasley plans to also visit on Jan 15. He says only Auburn is really after him, and calls himself a "soft commit to Clemson." Napier is his recruiter, and Napier's dad is his OC. His father went to Auburn. Clemson plans to use him at TE, while Auburn's Ted Roof is recruiting him as a LB.
Video of DeAndre Hopkins
No word on extra LBs being recruited in this class with the loss of Jake Nicolopoulos. If we dont get Parker, we could get Darius Lipford away from UNC. Dan Brooks played football with his father so we have a shot. He plans to visit on Jan 8.
Curious why I dont see Brad Scott's name mentioned anywhere.....if he's an outstanding recruiter, why isn't he after Moses all-out? Why dont I see Brad visiting recruits further than 20 miles from Clemson? However if we get Garcia, we should be done at OL this year.
With Will Korn now leaving, Clemson plans to offer Hutson Mason of Lassiter, GA. He has visited UGA (official) and Miss State (unofficial), and is a late offer from nearly everyone after a senior year of 4500+ yards passing. He says he has offers from FSU and UVA as well. From his film, he seems to have good feet but not a very strong arm.

"I just talked to the Clemson offensive coordinator, and they are about to offer me. They just had a kid transfer out, so they only have two quarterbacks on scholarship. I will try to go there for a visit next week, and then make my decision. It is pretty much down to Mississippi State, Clemson, and Georgia,"
"Going into the Clemson visit, really Georgia and Mississippi State are even. These first two visits have set the bar high, but we will see what the Tigers have to offer. I will talk it over with my parents after I get back from Clemson, and we will discuss what is the best place for me," said Mason.

Tigers roll over Furman 82-53

DrB — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:49:21 -0000

More photos » by Richard Shiro - AP

Browse more photos »

Paladins vs Tigers coverage

Paladins vs Tigers boxscore

An all-around solid performance today for Clemson, Furman was just outmatched and clearly didnt have the athletes to stay with us today. A few scattered thoughts:

Trevor Booker had a great day, scoring 25 with 14 rebounds in 28 minutes of game time. Most of those points, however, were not from post play. Much of it was in transition and putbacks off the glass. This is the way Clemson is going to have to play to get him the ball in conference play, because until a shooter steps up to take pressure off the inside guys the big boys are just going to collapse on him all day.
Devin Booker really played well. 11 pts and 2 blocks in 13 minutes of play, and most of those points were in post action. Whereas Trevor is generally left-hand dominant, Devin will go left and right to the basket, which means he could potentially be the better scorer in the long run.
0 for 11 from the arc today, but they got good looks and took open shots. Nothing fell from the perimeter today. First game we went 0'fer since 2005.
Johnson and Jennings took shots today, a little less tentative shooting from each of them, and both at least attempted to attack the lane.
David Potter....I dont know about him offensively.
Stitt, at least right now, seems to be developing into a better PG. If he would just attack the paint more.....
Defense allowed 29% shooting overall and forced 27 turnovers.
Clemson narrowly won the rebounding, 42-39, and lost the offensive rebouding 14-11. This is likely a product of moving Booker around, but has to improve from the other guys.
12/25 from the free throw line. WTF.

“I was disappointed in the way we guarded the three-point shot,” Purnell said. “That was our emphasis because we knew Furman would need threes to beat us. But I liked our energy and effort coming out of exams. That showed a great deal of mental toughness from our guys.”

“As a team, we came out and played hard [in the second half],” Purnell said. “We started with energy and we finished with energy. That has only been a problem once that I can think of, and hopefully we learned that lesson against Illinois.”

“Devin’s been coming,” Purnell said. “He continues to improve. I would like to see him play more physical on the defensive end, by boxing out and hitting the glass. Trevor hit the boards hard today. He’s our emotional and energetic leader. We’ve fed off of him for the past couple of years.”

NCAA Basketball Stats

Clemson loses a Tiger fan to SC baseball?

DrB — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:10:53 -0000

Clemson loses a Tiger fan to SC baseball?

What the hell? How can you be Clemson raised and go to SC?

2011 OT Shaq Anthony commits to Clemson

DrB — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:45:44 -0000

Clemson pulled down the 3rd commit of the weekend when Anthony announced his commitment to CU at his church today. The 6'5" 260lb Wren junior linemen is expected to be one of the top players in the state next year and is the son of former Tiger Vernie Anthony (1981). He has offers from SC, UGA, ECU and Duke. He was recruited by Brad Scott and is the 5th verbal for what could be a stellar 2011 class.