Tigers Collapse in Atlanta
by DrB on Oct 30, 2011 2:06 AM EDT
in FUTBAW
Email
Print
After the first quarter I thought to myself "Georgia Tech wants this game more than our guys do" and it turns out that this thought turned out to be reality. Clemson lost all hope of a national title tonight in Atlanta, but I wasn't expecting us to get to that level anyway. The truth is, we're still within reach of all the major goals we have for Clemson football. We can still win 10 games and the ACC.
We didn't pull a Clemson tonight, we just got beat. Pulling a Clemson would entail losing to Wake, NC State and SC. Beat WF and NCSU, and we win the Atlantic and 10 games for sure. That would be a good season to me.
People like to bitch at us for bringing up problems with the team's performance. We simply think like coaches. We see the problems with this squad and want them corrected because we know that these things are what will get us beat. Every issue we've pointed out contributed to tonights defeat.
We have young RBs who can't protect the football yet people constantly ask me why they dont play more, do you not see now why the coaches don't trust them more? 3 points of contact, always.
We have pointed out Tajh's footwork issue that leads to his throws to the outside being high. The Chad mentioned it in his press conferences several times. If he brings down two throws to the flats, we might convert two more 3rd downs. Tonight's loss is not his fault, but this footwork issue must get corrected because in games like this its necessary to hit those swing routes. Dwayne Allen is not going to be here next year to catch a 7 foot high throw.
Our WRs got jammed so bad that they got pushed out of bounds. Our DBs can't get off blocks on the perimeter. Why do you think it happens to both sides of the ball? Answer: because they don't practice it enough. Why don't LBs get off blocks? Because they dont practice it enough. Why cant we attack cut blocks? Because they dont practice it enough.
Then theres the defense....which I've complained about all season. Its bad, and tonight you saw it. We played the option instead of trying to attack the option. What did I say this week? HIT THE FUCKING QB...but we didnt do it. We aren't disciplined and don't tackle well. We don't have good fundamentals at all. This is coaching, because the youth argument still comes back to the decisions of coaches. Quandon Christian isn't young anymore, yet can't follow his assignment. Corico Hawkins isnt young anymore, yet he stands still and watches the Center come out and cut his legs out. Andre Branch was a total non-factor. Secondary support appeared nonexistent because we apparently don't practice a Machine Gun Drill (cut blocks).
I don't think tonight's performance was a scheme issue, but a lot of idiots will say that is the only reason. Clemson played the same scheme we showed last year, and our 40 front was the same one Miami, Maryland, and UVA used. The difference was in how our players played. DE takes Dive-to-QB. The OLB has QB-to-Pitch and the MLB comes outside to help Pitch or the Secondary picks it up. Theres nothing wrong with that scheme.
The one scheme problem I have with tonight is that we continually left the backup Center uncovered....Why the hell did we do that? You have an NFL NG up front against their backup Center, and then you left him uncovered so Hawkins could watch him jog 7 yards to cut his legs out? Why would you move Brandon Thompson or (LOFL) Tyler Shatley in a 2i or 3 and play a double Eagle even front? You didnt want BT on the backup C as a NG? He'd completely dominate him but you put him on the Guard? Tech just ate our ass with the Dive off of that. If both DTs are playing 3, then they can run the Midline to either side, and they did. If they dive at your legs, you grab the guy's head and push him to the ground, then jump over him. You don't step back 3 yards to avoid a cut block, you must attack it. After the first two drives it didnt even look like we practiced against this offense this week.
I don't think any offense on the schedule can light our defense up like this again, so there is some hope, but we will be very scathing if these fundamental problems continue uncorrected.
I'm not putting it entirely on our defensive play. The offense got a dose of what Troy and Wofford showed earlier this year. Groh sent a variety of blitzes early and often, and we couldn't give Tajh Boyd enough time for anything vertical to develop. You can't throw deep when you don't have time to do it. Our WRs got jammed and the RBs fumbled two balls away and a communication issue blew our shot at closing it to 7. The offense had their chance to win and did not do it. Tech's defense played an outstanding game, which I give them credit for, but they were more physical than us at the LOS in every phase and thats why Clemson lost.
A bye week could not come at a better time. Everyone is going to be pissed for two weeks but remind them that we're still far ahead of where we thought we'd be this year, and that all our goals are within reach. If Dabo is a good coach, he'll right the ship and we'll take care of business against our upcoming opponents.
33 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
That sucked
I don’t think I have ever made it back from Atlanta so fast and I hope I never have to step foot in that city again.
I’m not near as good with the X’s and O’s as the writers here, but there doesn’t seem to be any kind of leadership on the defensive side of the ball. I don’t know how much is Steele’s fault, but it is very troubling that he can’t stop the option despite the fact that he has probably faced more option offenses than any other DC in the country in the time he has been at Clemson.
by Jon David Musick on Oct 30, 2011 3:15 AM EDT reply actions
That one hurt
I fully agree with Dr B here. I didn’t expect us to run the table and even if we did, I think we would have been skipped for the National Championship game. If, for some reason, we had made it, I think we would have been embarrassed by an Alabama/LSU team.
Anyway, this one still hurts. We still haven’t beaten GT in Atlanta since 2003, and it’s really tough to watch option play. One of my buddies at work loves it because it results in the offense just finding a hole in the defense and exploiting it over and over. Those 5+ minute GT drives that went something like: 2 yd rush, 3 yd rush, 2yd rush, 4 yd rush — 1st down were absolutely disgusting to see as a Clemson fan.
Echoing Dr B, the season is far from a waste, and barring any huge losses, we’ll be in the ACCCG playing (hopefully!!) Virginia Tech.
It was highly UNLIKELY that we’d played for Natl Title! I wanna ACC title, it’s been TWENTY YEARS! Lets talk Natl Title nxt season or season n 2013. But for now lets get 10 wins, make aBCS bowl game, while stopping the skid 2 the coots. Maybe these guys wil b mad now. When Tech came out tunnel I thought we cld b n trouble. They wanted it more. Our scheme was fine but u can’t run backwards as a D vs option. U HAVE TO ATTACK IT, and HIT THE QB….EVERYTIME
by TigerFan74 on Oct 30, 2011 8:50 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
It wasn't THAT unlikely
It was unlikely at the beginning of the season, but after starting 8-0 it was looking more and more like a possibility.
We were #5 in the BCS. #1 and #2 still have to play each other. #3 OK State has to play Oklahoma. #6 Stanford has to play Oregon. At 8-0 I thought it was possible. Wake Forest at home should be a win. NC State on the road should be a win. If we could’ve handled Ga Tech, Sakerlina, and the ACCCG, I think we would’ve been in it.
I know our goal should be ACC championship and then MNC, but when you are that close it is a tough pill to swallow. It’s tough to go undefeated and we were 2/3 of the way there.
You don't think Spurrier will dial up the midline and other similiar looks like he did two years ago?
He’ll run Shaw into the ground as long as it’d beat us.
by OrangeBritches on Oct 30, 2011 10:09 AM EDT reply actions
absolutely. Spurrier's offense with Shaw in there is very similar to what Maryland ran on us
with CJ Brown at QB. I personally think they eat our lunch that game. Their defense is best we’ll face all year, not even close. Their offense, while it seems inept, matches up well against our Charmin Curtain defense. They’re going to run several option looks with Shaw, then air it out to Alshon. Our defense will have no answer for either.
they're D is NOT the best we've faced all year.
they’re only good in the front 4. Their DBs aren’t that good and their LBs are average.
Cut blocking
Can someone please clarify what the rules are here? I am just not clear on what is legal and what is not. It looked as though GT was diving at our guys downfield below the waist about every play. Some were making contact with our defenders at thigh/knee level while some were below the knee.
Also, is GT coached on O to move before the ball is snapped? I noticed that their entire O-line seemed to move in unison and usually slightly before the ball is moved by the center. Anyone else notice this? Is this not a false start?
To be clear, I’m not trying to make excuses for our loss, but these things seem like BS to me.
To clarify...
Your first paragraph is absolutely legal and what GT intends to do. You are allowed to dive at a guys legs/knees to take him out. What you cannot do is dive at a guys legs/knees if he is engaged with another blocker.
Thanks
So, this is definitely a case of our D not knowing how to handle that blocking style or just not executing what they may have been taught in practice last week on how to handle it.
Everyone involved has seen cut blocks before and knows what the techniques are for dealing with it
Knowing what to do and doing it are not the same thing.
Not sure if they were taught or not, but they didn't execute worth a damn
Our DBs and LBs need to use their eyes, see the cut block coming, and side step or jump over the cut block. Instead our guys were either 1) late recognizing it and taken out or 2) saw it coming and backed up to avoid it. Both are the incorrect play.
The correct technique is
you sidestep, reach for the blocker’s head and shoulders with both hands, push him to the ground and use him as leverage to jump over.
I’m sure we have done Machine Gun drills like this before, but its not working.
Rule 9-1-6, Blocking Below the Waist, ARTICLE 6
http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/24298/blocking-below-the-waist-101
“As for blocking below the waist, it’s not allowed. Unless it’s one of these exceptions …
1. Against the ball carrier.
2. Before a change of possession on scrimmage downs that do not include kicks, blocking below the waist is allowed as follows:
(a) Players of the offensive team who at the snap are:
(1) on the line of scrimmage more than 7 yards from the middle lineman of the offensive formation, or;
(2) in the backfield outside the tackle box, or;
(3) in motion, may block below the waist only along a north-south line or toward the sideline adjacent to them at the snap.
(b) Players of the offensive team who at the snap are inside the tackle box or on the line of scrimmage inside the seven-yard limit may block below the waist."
Actually, reading that again, it seems to basically allow everything
What would not be allowed according to those rules?
I disagree with two things:
1) “you can’t throw deep when you don’t have time”
Sure, that’s true. That doesn’t mean you can’t throw the quick slant or the 10 yard hook. GT’s DBs were 10 yards off the line on every play… yet we reverted to trying to establish the run and running screens and trick plays. If we would have attacked upfield with 3-step-drop passing plays, we would have seen a much different outcome.
2) “we gave them the same look as Miami”
That’s just wrong. We did that up front, true, but our DBs were way off the line and our safeties were not anywhere near the box. Miami played tight man with the CBs and their SS was up playing 4th LB. Miami said “go ahead and throw the ball, we’ll give you a deep pass or two, if you beat us that way, fine.” Instead of doing that, we tried to be balanced and read and react and we got destroyed. We should have sold out to stop the option and MAKE them beat you with the passing game. Even if they got 14 points off of big pass plays – that still wouldn’t be enough to stop our offense (normally) and it would have opened the door for more mistakes on their part.
We were playing C4 and bringing one safety up late
I dont know what you were watching.
In any case, the secondary support is not needed if the front is doing their job.
A little too late, apparently
The bottom line is that you have to beat Tech by getting an early lead and we should have gone for the jugular by attacking their secondary right off the bat.
Instead we tried to establish the run and we dinked and dunked with screens and swings.
Everyone knows our defense is our weakness. We allow a lot of points every game. Nothing new there.
If the offense goes out and throws the ball vertically on every down, we get up by 14 early and we force Tech to come from behind, and at that point our defense is in control. Instead we played right into their hands.
Dr B
You are absolutely correct. BT ATE the OC’s lunch on a few plays and then we move him outside the OG??? I saw 20 times the OG engage him with the OC’s help and while he didn’t move, he couldn’t make the play with two guys on him. In my opinion, if Steele can’t coach his LB’s and CB/S better against this offense, he should go. We cannot keep a DC around that loses 3 of 4 to a team we play EVERY YEAR. Hall was terrible again (even with the INT), CB’s were horrible, don’t know why we even list our LB as LB in this game other than Willard as they were non-existent. The reality is our defense is much worse than most admit and it cost us a game; hope it doesn’t cost us another one but I am not confident with that side of the ball. Offense will rebound, had a tough night, which does happen periodically. Boyd needed a game like this to realize he’s not arrived yet and Bellamy is a great RB who should have to sleep with the football before he sees the fiedl again. Zimmerman was the ONLY player who actually performed like he should have last night.
frustrated
I’m not upset that we lost. I am upset that we lost to an offense that 1. We beat last year. 2. We struggled with against wofford. 3. We knew exactly what was coming. Kevin Steele seemed to pass the blame off on the offense, but the truth is gt had the ball for 40 mins. No excuse for this. Our d is still taking bad angles to the ball and not tackling. If morris doesn’t want first team vs first team in practice Steele needs to figure out how to get us prepared for games like this. The d line was allowing positive yards every snap. This can’t happen when their o is set up for positive yards each snap. I’m not mad we lost a game, I’m upset we looked like Clemson of old.
There is blame to go around for everyone
The defense could not stop the toss play and gave up huge plays.
The kicking game put a kickoff out of bounds and botched an FG attempt.
The offense turned it over 4 times. Both RBs fumbled, and the QB made the incorrect throw on what was a near certain touchdown with the WR standing still in the endzone uncovered.
Everyone sucked. All phases of the game were deficient. All around defeat.
Not sure the first INT is all on Tajh
It’s a communication error between Sammy and Tajh. Tajh should’ve recognized the DB playing off, but Sammy can’t just change his mind on the route if Tajh is still planning on throwing the fade.
Problem is that its not something the QB should miss
The CB position is literally the 2nd thing the QB is taught to read in the coverage. Tajh should not have missed it. Sammy should’ve seen the ball in the air and not stopped too though.
According to Swinney
The CB was playing soft so the correct play was for Watkins to stop short and turn, which he did.
Boyd mistakenly predetermined to throw the fade. So, when Watkins turned, the ball was already over his head. He never even knew where it was.
I agree, the ball was in the air over Sammy’s head before he even turned.
by Tiger Rag Fishing Team on Oct 30, 2011 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions
The play was the fade
So of course it was predetermined. He should have checked out of the fade when he saw the DB was playing off.
I'm not surprised one bit by the piss poor play of the defense, I actually expected it.
Seen it all year and longer. Same problems over and over. But what is surprising was how inept the offense seemed for most of the game. I knew our defense was going to give up in the 30’s but thought our offense would win it for us. GT had the 9th or 10th rush defense in the conference, yet we never could get the run game going. Then when we did manage to get some yards, both backs fumbled. So frustrating. All the players just seemed to be a little off. Guess that has to be because of the scheme Al “chessmaster” Groh threw at us and a little bit of the fact that the offense had the ball so little with GT offense chewing up our defense. Maybe Dabo should go and hire a high school coach to figure out how to stop this high school offense. Steele certainly cant. But in all seriousness, its not just this offense Steele is clueless against, its any non-conventional offense.
But GT did seem to want it more. They played so fired up after their defense destroyed our offense on the offense’s second possession. You could just feel all the emotion and confidence building on their sideline. Then after that our defense was helpless. We held them to 6 yards their first two drives, but it was all downhill after that.
Yep, a simple manhandling by a team that wanted it more.
GT earned that game.
I think there may have been some schematic issues there though. Of course, I believe that when you’re getting beaten like that you start taking more gambles. I need to rewatch it and I’ll be interested to see your review Dr.B.
Also, who is blaming the poor LB play on youth? Its certainly not youth, it’s talent. These guys aren’t any good and they haven’t ever been good. Steele deserves criticism for either 1. not getting them to develop and play better or 2. not having replacements (Parker, Anthony, etc.) ready. If he can’t get Parker, Anthony and Steward ready to play by next year…big f’n problem.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Shakin The Southland
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
