At what point are the players accountable for their own performance?
by Cristo on Nov 1, 2010 9:02 AM EDT
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Everyone likes to bash on Swinney and the coaching staff. And no doubt they are to blame for many of the problems with the team this season (and in previous seasons.)
But what about the players? What is their accountability? It seems we always assume that if the coaches had just done this or that, used this scheme or made that call instead, that games would have been won.
Unfortunately the players are not inanimate chess pieces that always perform exactly as told by the person directing them.
Kyle Parker has played QB for a while now. He is not new to the position. He has probabaly been playing,and getting coached to play QB, since middle school.
I am completely confident that every one of those coaches, up to and including the ones he has now, has coached him not to roll out of the pocket when there is no pressure, and then throw a lame lob pass back across his body to no one in particular in a crowd of defenders.
Maybe the playcall was wrong for the situation. Maybe the play design was wrong. Maybe the wrong personnel were on the field. No matter, that was a completely absurd play, and it ws 100% on Parker, not the coaches, or the amount of coaching he has received. He has been instructed on how to do it plenty of times by now. If he were in the 8th grade, it might be understandable, but as a RS sophomore, you can't put that on the coaches.
This team had every reason to come out on fire Saturday after being given a 2nd chance to get to the ACCCG by NC State, but instead, they played like a 2-5 team. For a large part of the 1st half the defense was playing touch football. Again, maybe the scheme or playcall was incorrect, but the players themselves played badly.
I am not saying this to excuse the staff for their shortcomings this season. But in my opinion this loss rests as much with the players themselves. I don't think it would have mattered who was standing on the sidelines or up in the booth calling plays this past Saturday. The Tigers played like crap.
These opinions are not necessarily those of the Proprietors of Shakin' The Southland.
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I don't put the majority on the players
but I do put some on them. The thing for me to determine who to blame is whether the call itself was good, and whether they show improvement from week to week, particularly in their fundamentals.
If they dont show improvement, its coaching. If the player is not giving it his all, and they still put him out there, its still on the coach for being blind.
I get your point but will say that these (well most of them, excluding the walkons) were recruited by a Clemson football coach and offered a scholarship by a Clemson football coach. Thus, they were in a sense chosen by the coaching staff.
The staff also makes decisions regarding who plays, what strategy is implemented, and how to prepare for the games. Thus, if a player is not doing his job, the coach can make an adjustment with that player (limit playing time, change coaching style, motivate differently, etc…).
Along this same line of thought, the coaching staff reports to the AD who reports to the president who reports to the BOT, and we have discussed our views on what these guys need to do to make Clemson better and hold them just as accountable as the coaches/players based on what we have seen out of these folks over the past 20-25 years.
Long and short, the players are the ones who win games BUT there are many other decisions that are made by folks up the food chain that effect who leads this team and how this person can attain the aforementioned talent.
That was a long answer to try to explain why we are more critical of the program overall instead of the athletes that do it week in and week out, especially since these guys only play at a university for four years.
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All on Parker
No matter, that was a completely absurd play, and it ws 100% on Parker, not the coaches, or the amount of coaching he has received. He has been instructed on how to do it plenty of times by now.
Yes that was all on Parker. The fact that he was STILL in the game the next offensive play was all on the COACHING STAFF! His play has been inconsistent at best the entire season and Boyd has yet to replace him for as much as one series to say do your job or he will. That is on Dabo and company!
by WinchesterVAtigeR on Nov 3, 2010 8:41 AM EDT reply actions
Parker is a baseball guy first;
and the FB TEAM knows that. Can’t blame Parker for pursuing baseball. Dabo thought that Parker coming back without practicing much in the spring, and without going through summer work out; was the better option that playing Boyd. Looked that way until Parker gets hit at AU. Since then, it looks like Parker is a different QB. I believe Parker should have been benched in Miami game; or held out if he was hurt. Parker got his bonus; and maybe his mind is elsewhere. The Receivers have struggled and dropped passes. This hurts Parker. D. Allen runs his mouth (talks back to coaches) and drops passes. Coaches give him a free pass. Team sees all this. Dabo lets players and assistant coaches give interviews to wanna be reporters like Ard and Williams, and they come across poorly. This causes problems on the TEAM and they play bad. Dabo has some really bad assistants and they need to be gone as soon as season is over. This includes Powell; both Scotts and Napier. Get rid of Batson and the so called nutritionist too.In hindsight I feel sure that Dabo wishes that Parker had never come back. How could he know he would turn into Cullen Harper? Will be interesting to see what happens.
Yeah
I don’t think he is Baseball first, because I do think he gave up alot to come back here and play football one more year. I agree on everything else.
You are hearing that the interviews are causing issues with the team?
Yes, and it is unhealthy for team
to hear teammates say things that come across as being critical of coaches, teammates, fans, you name it. The players are not prepared for the interviews. The assistant coaches like Powell, should never be allowed to give an interview. I don’t like Saban, but he has control of the interaction between his players, assistants and the press. Why create that distraction? Information should come from the head coach, and a couple of designated players, in a controlled environment. That would eliminate statements like what D. Allen was quoted as saying; “8-0 talent, with 4-4 team.” Then Ard makes it a headline on TI. Wow; maybe it is true, but Allen should not say that to the press. I can imagine a player at Alabama saying that to the press. First, it would never happen; second, if it did, the player might get to play again; somewhere else.
It does not make sense that Parker would return and give up nearly 1 million dollars if he didn't want to play football
He gave up major $$$ to return, only to play football. That’s it. So he would not be here if he was a baseball guy.
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