July...that means a month until practice starts
by FIGUREFOUR on Jul 1, 2010 6:00 AM EDT
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PrintClemson Baseball:
I am appreciative of how difficult it is to get to Omaha, so I guess you start by saying that (obviously) it is nice to make it there. The dominos set up well for Clemson. We got what turned out to be an extremely favorable draw at Auburn then benefited from Georgia Tech getting KO'ed and bringing the Supers to BTF. From there, on to Nebraska where we were only one away.
I will admit it, this one was difficult. Completely choking away a chance to play for a National Championship was ridiculous. While Clemson did make it further than most of us thought they would (after watching this team implode half-way through the regular season), our performance in the last two games of the year was a gem that would embarrass Greg Norman.
In addition to Leggett being unable to manage his staff at critical moments this year AND the worst fielding baseball team I have ever seen, we came out against the Cocks (typical Omaha play) tight and unable to hit when it counted the most. Clemson was in need of one freaking win against a team it won the regular season series against and absolutely humiliated in the series finale at their place. If that memory doesn't stay with me for life, I am sure one of the many errors committed by Brad Miller "the baseball spiller" over the course of the season surely will. I will probably wait a little longer to get into a deeper look into my thoughts and opinions of the season but will tell you that Clemson ruined many golden opportunities with basic fundamental and tactical deficiencies.
Futball Americano:
We are approximately one month away from practice "officially" resuming for the Tigers. If you did not notice, this is kind of a big deal. I am so damn tired of hearing cockfan tell me how bad this team will be without Spiller, it is ridiculous. Thus, I can't wait to get this one started and see where we really stand. I have said it before and I will say it again Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper are a pretty dang good running back duo. Yes, I know Clemson lost C. J. Spiller but I am not concerned as much about losing him in the backfield as I am not seeing him return kicks and catch the ball down the sideline. Ellington is fast hitting the hole then exploding through it. Harper has gotten praise from the coaching staff and should contribute more out of the backfield this year.
I am not expecting much new out of Clemson this year offensively. Unless lots of people step up (and Kyle Parker is back in town, which we highly doubt will happen), this season will parallel last. An inexperienced QB with crap for receivers. Once again, I fully expect the TE (Dwayne Allen) to be the most dependable and best target out of all eligible receivers.
The real wild card here is the offensive line. We did show some improvement here last season but Clemson's usual lack of depth up front turns any injury into a potential disaster. We are also hoping that Mason Cloy fully recovers and the line can hold it together for a complete season following the nasty injury he suffered in Tampa.
There really is not much reason to get into preliminary discussions on the defensive side of the ball. We should be in great shape in the defensive backfield despite replacing both starting corners. The safety position will be jam up. We should be deep and talented enough up front (despite the loss of Ricky Sapp and Jamie Cumbie) to hold our own with any team we play. This leaves the linebackers, whom we heard a few mixed stories about this spring. Their play is critical for this defense to transform from good/really good to outstanding/excellent and Kevin Steele has proven that he can put together an outstanding group of backers at other places.
Special teams is feels like a crap shoot. We will obviously see a drop off in our return game, which will negate a lot of the good field position we enjoyed from the Spiller/Ford returns enjoyed in '09. Surely Clemson will improve kicking extra points, as last year's effort was nothing less than pathetic.
World Cup:
Who is sick and tired of turning on ESPN and mistaking it for a Discovery Channel special on bee-keeping? Well I sure as hell am and will breath a huge sigh of relief when these guys quit kicking the checkered ball around network television and on the WWL in sports. It wouldn't be that bad (I could ignore it) except soccerfan constantly reminds me that "ITS THE WORLD CUP!" "GREATEST SPORTING EVENT IN THE WORLD!". If it is so damn great, why are you the only one acting a fool about a contest between Uganda and North Korea? Need I remind you that the sport is so popular here that Iran rolled the US up a few years ago? (yes, getting rolled up in a sporting event by a desert-dwelling country is a bad thing) Getting beaten by Iran in a sporting event definitely IS grounds to shut down the program. Then again, getting sent home by Ghana twice justifies for shutting this thing down. If there is a positive, at least we don't have to have this discussion for four more years until (insert random name of third world country here) embarrasses our "futbol" team again.
Otherwise...enjoy the rest of the summer as we look forward to fooball season and run articles about anything and everything for about a month or so. The Braves are still kicking, the Open is right around the corner, we'll be ramping up the excitement for college football as the month moves forward.
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It is going to be a long July.
Coots will crow about the CWS, Kyle Parker is obviously leaving, not much else going on in sports that is really of interest except maybe the Braves.
This is going to be an interesting team to watch. The defense, OL, and RB’s have the potential to be great, and if you have that and don’t screw up the kicking game or make a bunch of mistakes, then you can be a pretty good football team.
There is something in these Hills!
Dude, some people like soccer.
A few billion of them actually.
But some others don’t, like to constantly remind everyone that they don’t, and like to frequently say it sucks.
Since the US soccer team lost to someone you consider insignificant (although maybe you don’t know since you don’t watch soccer) they should just quit?!?! Come on, what kind of thinking is that?
Maybe the Clemson football team should quit after losing to, say, Duke?! Or maybe Maryland? We lost to Maryland last year, and the Cocks, and Ga Tech twice. We should just cancel the program.
Why does soccerhater constantly remind everyone that soccer is so terrible, and he hates it, and he is forced to endure such horrible torture every four years?
Once upon a time, even Clemson had a good soccer program.
Anyway, on the other subjects...
Our baseball team was sporadic. After losing to, say, Wake Forest, we did not look like a team that would be one game away from the championship game in Omaha. [Fortunately we didn’t cancel the program after that loss. : ) ]
So we got there and won a few, but then laid a huge turd (2 of them actually) against the Cocks.
Maybe they begrudgingly deserve some of the credit for the outcome, being as how they did win the national title and must be a decent team. But as you noted we kicked their asses in our previou smeeting, so it is not like they are a juggernaut. We could have beat them, but they played better.
For whatever reason, the team looked completely inept in those games.
Maybe we just overachieved this season at the end, and this wasn’t really a very good team overall.
As for football, we are all looking forward to seeing Harper and Ellington. Maybe Ellington moreso than Harper, who to me has not been all that impressive. Darn if both of them have not fumbled a bit more than needed, given the number of carries.
Sure it sucks that Spiller is gone, and that we did not use the guy to his potential over his four years here. But there was Tiger football before Spiller, and there will be after.
What will Swinney & Co. show us now? He had a half season grace period to start his tenure, and then a full season with the help of the best player in college football (regardless of what the idiotic Heisman voters said.)
Now he has to do it all the hard way. If not for the egg we laid against Maryland (which was most Bowden-like) and the inability to devise a method of defending option plays, I would feel more confident about this staff. This year will be very telling for this coaching staff.
I do not expect much this year, because I think we will be starting a Fr QB yet again. That, plus no Spiller running or returning (with Ford) means we have an uphill battle on offense and longer fields to cover.
A 2nd appearance in the ACCCG would probably be overachieving this year. If Parker stays, maybe…?
haha...
“But as you noted we kicked their asses in our previou smeeting, so it is not like they are a juggernaut. We could have beat them, but they played better”
Yea and SC State could win a series against Texas… anyone can beat anyone, the fact is they didnt. OBVIOUSLY, the better team won…. USC is what champions are supposed to be made of anyways, a team that knows what teammates mean, and has the never give up attitude.
Go Cheerlead on a Chicken site
The chickens apparently did have a give up attitude when we beat them 19-6. Thus, my point about our team being capable of beating them again, but not doing it.
You beat us twice to advance to the final, and then won it and are now national champs. Go enjoy that, it doesn’t happen too much.
haha...
if you payed attention, they said that the early series losses to E. Carolina and Clemson was their wakeup call… and plus were not exactly a team that can make up a 13 run deficit, hell most teams couldnt… and we did not give up in that game, we scored 5 of our 6 runs late in the game which is what we have done all season long.
But yes I am enjoying the National Championship, and I wont be surprised if it starts happening a little more often… And Clemson is one to talk, with their lone National Championship in one of the 3 major sports coming back in 1981
Success breeds Success…. and the “chicken curse” yall made up has been broken.
Obviously you didn't read the above post correcty that you replyed to
But we’re glad you finally won a national championship in something for the first time ever in the over 100 years of your schools existence. We’re glad that you finally have something to holler about outside of the lone ACC championship in 1961. We’re glad that finally, finally, after 20 years of being part of the SEC you finally brought something to the table to enjoy with the rest of the conference you’re in. Good job, and I mean that Good job. Now please leave us in peace, and enjoy your month. And don’t forget there is always the next season.
Don't give up, don't ever give up ~ Jim Valvano
didnt
read it wrong at all… obviously you misread something.
And I am 100% honest when I say, I hope you guys can have something to cheer about for the first time in 30 years next season.
I actually like golf more than soccer.
But then again, I would turn the television off and stare into blank space before I would watch soccer, or even worse, listen to a bunch of idiots talk about soccer.
There is something in these Hills!
by Tigerplowboy on Jul 1, 2010 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Got to disagree there, I have no quary when CBS (or NBC) slams wall to wall golf coverage on my television set.
Clemson Sports Analysis and Insight
www.shakinthesouthland.com
I actually like watching soccer
I can only watch teams; like brazil, argentina and spain; who have amazing striking ability and make incredible runs through the defense. i can’t watch USA though good at running (sometimes) but not good enough ball strikers to legitimately threaten the goal.
I think Jacoby Ford is the much bigger loss.
Spiller was great, but as a Gamecock fan I was always more concerned with Ford. I think you guys are in for another loss. USC only got better this offseason. You’ll probably whoop us in basketball though, so you might want to go into hibernation ’til then.
stuff 'bout stuff.
on to fooball
The gamecocks down here in the lower state have not been gloating as much as i’ve expected, not nearly as bad as late november and through december. Glad to see there maturing and starting to lose that little man syndrome.
.
they have been annoying about spiller “you couldn’t beat us with him how the hell do you expect to win this year” we’ve been beating you without spiller for 100 years. we’ve got rbs out the wazoo. the biggest problem, i agree, is lack of a deep threat to keep that 8th man out of the box. hoping mcneal or brown emerges as that guy but we’ll see.
Biggest concern
is whether or not that staff is going to show any improvement in hostile environments. the last 2 big stadiums we went to under dabo it was ugly fsu in 08’, and what really upset me was how flustered the entire team looked last year in columbia. they looked like they were scared or something. worst playcalling from napier i’ve seen since the maryland game, which i was a little drunk to properly remember. anyway i could rant about that all day but we’re really going to need improve in those type of atmospheres this year with FSU and Auburn.
Maryland's playcalling wasnt totally Napier
too many fingers in the pie during those first few games.
by DrB on Jul 1, 2010 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Hairston went down against FSU in 2008 and we could not slow down their DE. That was the problem in that game more than anything else.
I just think our heads were not in the game against USC last year. Not saying USC was not any good, but we were looking ahead to the ACCCG.
There is something in these Hills!
yea
i feel like that was part of it cause i know the moment must’ve felt surreal after coming so close so many times but they should’ve been ready they should’ve kept their composure. absolutely no excuse for that loss we had the better team. from the panic i saw on the field that day it gave me the impression that they were intimidated. i mean they’re obviously not use to playing in those type of atmospheres being in the acc. i hope its not that they were looking ahead cause then we’re right back to tbowden who can’t get his players up for every game
ok
are you aware that last year was this coaching staff’s first time in columbia. they control the psyhe its up to them to make sure the team is ready to play in any situation
Dabo
isnt exactly a newcomer to Clemson, and besides… look what Spurrier did his first time up in Death Valley… thats no excuse, good players get ready on their own.
to be a little more accurage
are you aware that Dabo has been with Clemson since 2003… that should be plenty of experience in the stadium to be able to get his players “psyche” up.
what does that have to do with anything
hes in a completely different role to where hes controling more that just WRs. and no the players don’t thats why so many teams have sports psychologist. do you think the citadel was actually better than you? as funny as that is for me they weren’t and i’ll let yoiu put those pieces together. also if you read above i wasn’t talking about just the players coachs did a sorry ass job calling plays.
The Citadel wasnt better than us
thats why they didnt beat us a single time throughout the year. And it doesnt matter what Dabo did while he was there, the point you was making is that he didnt know how to handle the hostility in Williams Brice, what he did on the sideline had no correlation to him knowing what its like to have to play there and get his guys “prepped”
haha...
Not saying USC was not any good, but we were looking ahead to the ACCCG.
yea thats obvious….
same thing happened when we won it all
its equitable, so I cant say much about Sanford for it.
by DrB on Jul 1, 2010 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions
I say good for the coots.
Even though if it makes someone mad it won’t be the first time a flag flying over our statehouse has made someone mad!
There is something in these Hills!
It's fine. The chickens are National baseball champs
So they deserve some kudos.
Our flag flew when we won it in football.
well i must say
yall are somewhat of classy fans… Clemson fans I know around here are uprising about it. They also dont care for the fact this is now USC national champions day.
Congratulations. You won the CWS fair and square and managed to bounce your biggest rival in the process.
I don’t like it, just like you would not have liked it if we had beaten you and gone on to win the CWS.
There is something in these Hills!
I wouldnt have been happy
but I would have been rooting for yall against UCLA… for one, i hate California, and for two yall are still a South Carolina University and would be representing this state.
miller "the ball spiller"
jeanne was glad to see that included…
look…soccer is stupid…if for no other reason than the refs are ridiculously horrible… making up hand balls, missing handballs, taking away goals, not awarding goals, falling for the acting jobs of sissy assed players, and yellow cards are dumb. soccer is stupid… its one thing when a basketball ref misses a call on a basket that affects maybe 2-4% of the scoring. and it sucks when a football ref miss a call on a touchdown that might affect 10 – 15 % of the scoring but in soccer they are constantly missing calls on key goals that could account for up to 50% of the scoring.
also as an american if you think there is anyway we would be allowed to win a world cup ur crazy. we could have the best 11 or so soccer players in the world on our team and we would not win the world cup. they hate us and soccer is their sport. you saw what they did in group play. imagine what they would do in games that are more important… soccer sux, soccer is stupid, thats all there is to it…..
by thewagon on Jul 1, 2010 11:21 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I guess this leaves 2 possible options
1. The entire world outside the US, billions of them, almost all soccer fans, are wrong
2. You are wrong
I think you are exaggerating just a bit.
see this is what's great...
u don’t deny what i said is true… btw it’s not just me who thinks it’s stupid…
We are the greatest nation in the world, so I would go with #1.
Besides, the rest of the world doesn’t like college football, so they must be wrondg.
Clemson Sports Analysis and Insight
www.shakinthesouthland.com
The game of soccer or the rules of soccer ??
Soccer will continue to struggle to be embraced by “US Americans” largely because of its leadership. By turning its nose up to Replay it told us that they don’t care of they get the call right. They want to keep the “human element” intact. Not unlike baseball… they think it’s more important to not upstage their officials. That’s why we love football. Egos get set aside, and they go under the hood to take a closer look.
If Soccer can join the 21st century and embrace replay for the next world cup.. i bet you see some attitudes here in the states change.
Oh.. and flopping is freaking abnoxious.. the guy rolling around in “agony” trying to get a yellow card issued is normally the same guy running full speed 30 seconds later.. they have to do something about that.
Running game
I think running game will be better with Ellington and Harper; that with everybody knows Spiller will have it. The return game will not be the same. The O line should be better, though. The defense should be better. The QB situation will dictate Clemson’s success. If Boyd can keep mistakes at a minimum, Clemson could have a good year. If Parker comes back, Clemson could have a great year.
Agree
I for one want to see more I-formation with Diehl lined up at fullback and Dwayne Allen at TE. Our receivers are probably the weak link so why put a bunch of them out there?
There is something in these Hills!
by Tigerplowboy on Jul 6, 2010 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions
This team seems more sutied for 2 back formations definitely
Unknowns/unprovens at WR and no depth at TE.
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