Is it a blog? Who runs it? Who has oversight of its editorial content? I see in the footer of the page a few apparent "super users," who also seem to be the main writers. Is there an "About" page that tells us more about them, how they came to form this site, their apparent blessing/qualification by sbnation, etc.? I just keep seeing editorial introductions to all the articles that start with "We". Who is that?

Yep. I guess that about covers it. lol

jake

Note: We do these every year and prefer to wait until after Signing Day to finish them because we are taking recruiting into account. We will evaluate each coach, whether he is here or not, as if he were still here and we rate them based on their entire body of work - not just one single year.

Chad Morris just completed his first season as Clemson's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Morris replaced Billy Napier last winter, with Napier also responsible for the quarterbacks in addition to playcalling duties. In case you are wondering, here is how we graded Napier at the conclusion of last season.

Coach Morris arrived last January after one season as offensive coordinator at Tulsa. Tulsa's 2010 offense was extremely impressive, putting up Playstation like numbers all season. Prior to his time at Tulsa, Morris was a Texas High School Football legend, winning three (3) state titles, was coach of the year in 11 of his 16 years as a head coach, and won a boatload of games overall (169-38). During Morris' time in the high school ranks, he developed some impressive quarterback talent including Jevan Snead, Garrett Gilbert, Kody Spano, Scott Elliott, and Andrew Smith. Morris is a 1992 graduate of Texas A&M.

Looking back, Dr. B looks like a prophet, crafting these articles shortly after Morris was hired. I will say that I was a bit skeptical of Morris but was also enthused after seeing Tulsa film. Clemson got all of the positives that we saw out of Tulsa during the initial film study: discipline, simplicity, and a well-planned attack. We got the major negative too: turnovers (though we warned more of fumbles than INTs). Morris used this disciplined approach and featured impressive talent to resurrect this offense from the disorder that we saw last season.

Additionally, Morris was able to get a lot out of Tajh Boyd. Boyd improved dramatically over the calendar year and I truly think that The Chad was the critical driver behind this progression. We'll discuss the individual quarterbacks along with their coach as we get into this progression in addition to our takes on the offense as a whole.

How we will grade the Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach:

• Recruiting
• Overall Unit Discipline
• Game Planning/In-Game Adjustments
• Coordination of Personnel Groupings
• Decision Making/Understanding of the Game--both by Player and Coach
• Throwing Ability (Accuracy, Velocity, Overall Mechanics)
• Leadership Qualities from the QB

Offensive Coordinator Responsibilities:

We'll start by pointing out the obvious: Chad Morris brings something to Clemson that we've not seen since Swinney took over the head job. Morris makes it clear that he is responsible for the offensive performance. He makes this point to not only the players, fans, and media but also to Swinney. Because of this assertion, his track record as a successful coach, and his pace of play, we saw much more offensive coordinator independence from meddling than we have seen in a couple years.

Now that that item is out of the way, I'll state the other obvious: Chad Morris is a damn good football coach and was a very critical part of the offensive overhaul we saw over the past year. This was an overhaul, not just an influx of talent. Don't get me wrong, adding Sammy Watkins to any offense is an immediate jumpstart, but this was more. We saw the offensive tempo wear folks down at times this year. We saw much more disciplined offensive unit. We saw a simpler attack strategy. The end result was more discipline and better offensive output.

This discipline was shown in all the receivers blocking well on the perimeter--a first here in quite a while for our Tigers. Clemson's offensive pass blocking was fair for most of the year. We saw improved conditioning out of this team early on and Clemson ran a lot of plays per game without having a player pass out on the field as they would have last fall. Discipline showed through improved decision making and game preparation from our young quarterback. This offense improved all around and, for a large portion of the season, made big plays and not big mistakes. We will be interested in seeing if Morris' leadership can fix the mess Brad Scott left here. We need a meaner, tougher, more physical offensive line. Morris said that this is a priority for him and some of the stuff we saw in '11 is not acceptable moving forward.

We love Morris' core philosophy: make the offense as simple as possible so that the players are playing and not thinking. Offensive complexity is an item that Clemson fans complained about since Ron Spence rolled into town. What Morris has done is installed a hurry up, direct snap version of the wing-t that allows our (skill) players to make minimal LOS adjustments. Presnap reads for the quarterback are much simpler as well. In the end, the onus for decision making is shifted from the player back onto the coaching staff and Chad Morris in particular.

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Free Throws. Free Throws. Free Throws. They cost us again. There isn't much to be said about them that hasn't been said already. We've consistently missed them at crucial times all season. Hence the number of close losses that we've suffered this year. And it doesn't seem to matter if it's a freshmen or a senior. They're all missing them. It looks to me like our guys don't want to be on the line in pressure situations. Just look at Terrell Stoglin's body language compared to our guys when they head to the line.

It was a sloppy game that lacked flow throughout most of the game. Clemson again found themselves in a double digit deficit in the 2nd half. And they again found themselves making a furious rally in the final minutes to get back in the game. Last game it was aided by a zone press, this game it was aided by an extended 1-3-1 halfcourt trap. Switching from man-to-man to a 1-3-1, we were able to force the ball into troubled spots on the floor and produce a number of turnovers and rushed shots. The sped up pace of the game seemed to energize our guys for the second game in a row. Maybe we should start integrating different defenses earlier in the game in hopes to mitigate the flat starts we've had recently.

Behind the 1-3-1 trap, the Tigers quickly trimmed a 14 point deficit to a one possession game. With under a minute to go the Tigers got tight at the foul line and missed 4 out of 5 attempts from the line. Devin Booker missed 2 that could've cut a 3 point lead to 1. That was followed by Andre Young drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt, only to miss 2 of 3. There was something in the way both guys walked to the line that left me uneasy about their chances. Or maybe it's the fact that I've seen us struggle in clutch situations so often this year. At this point, its difficult to distinguish between the two.

Young, Jennings, and Booker were the only Tigers in double figures. Young and Jennings both got hot in the 2nd half from downtown, knocking down seven 3's. It was Jennings first game back from suspension, and although he still does many things that infuriate me, I thought he shot the ball with confidence and was generally pleased with his performance. I'd also like to point out that Booker is playing with a lot more confidence and energy the past couple games than he has at any other point this season. For as much as we ride him for being lazy, he has been busting his ass to on the backboards the last couple games. I believe that Jennings suspension may have had an impact on him. It seems it may have made him realize that this should be his team and that he needs to take ownership of it on game days. We'll see if he can sustain it, but in the mean time it's only fair to give credit where credit is due.

The most disappointing part of the game to me (besides losing) was that KJ McDaniels didn't get the start or as much run as I think he deserved after his tremendous game on Saturday. I think the worst thing you can do to a young guy is toy with his confidence level. After the way he played on Saturday, Brownell should've tried to keep the momentum going. Instead, he was subbed in and out frequently and was never able to get in a flow. He ended the game with just 2 points.

After evening their record at 3-3 in the ACC, the Tigers have now dropped 3 straight. They'll look to break that streak this weekend in Winston Salem when they take on Wake Forest.

Terps @ Tigers.

What kind of roles will we see out of Bernard and KJ? Will KJ play like he did against VT?

Also, I didn't include this in the preview because I didn't know it at the time, but apparently Milton is returning from his suspension. God help us all.

Game tips at 7 on ESPNU.

After a couple of road losses in the state of Virginia, the Tigers return home to South Carolina for a much needed home game. I think the biggest storyline in this game could be KJ McDaniels. His play has been great all season long, but his stellar play has been limited due to his limited playing time. Before his start against Virginia Tech, KJ hadn't seen many games where he was given significant minutes. He only played for double digit minutes in just five games all season long. But one doesn't have to look at the season as a whole to ascertain his limited role; you only have to look at the most recent games. In the Virginia game, he played for just eight minutes, and in the Wake game he actually didn't even see the court. Brownell has said that in-game play time for his guys is determined by their play in practice. Well, KJ must have had a slew of shitty practices, because he's looked really good every single time he's been out on the court. He's still just a freshmen, but he's got the potential to become a superstar in the weeks and years to come.

But what role will he have in tonight's game? I think his stellar performance against VT (14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 blocks) will finally be enough to earn him a big, big role on this team, especially since Milton's continued absence pretty much necessitates it.

KJ isn't the only guy whose minutes (and level of play) has increased recently. In the first four games of conference play, Bernard averaged just 2.75 mpg, but in the four games since, his mpg has jumped up to 8. He's shown an ability to drive to the hoop that could really help this team down the stretch.

But enough about the Tigers. What about the Terps?

Following a home loss to the Tar Heels, Maryland sits at 13-9, 3-5 under first year coach Mark Turgeon. The Terps are led by sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin, whose 21.7 ppg leads the conference and is the 6^th highest in the entire country. He's hard to defend, to say the least. He loves to attack the basket, and drives into the paint often, and he can knock down some acrobatic off-balance jumpers when he's well defended. And even if you're able to adequately defend him inside the arc, he has the ability to take a step back and knock down the 3 (36.9% from 3). He's also very dangerous on the fast break, as his no look passes are basically impossible to defend.

Maryland's other big threat in the backcourt is Sean Mosley, who is 2^nd on the team with 10.1 ppg. The senior is sure to reach a milestone tonight in Littlejohn, as he's just one point away from becoming the 50^th player in Terps history to record 1,000 career points.

The froutcourt is led by James Padgett and Ashton Pankey. Both Padgett (5.8 rpg) and Pankey (5.0 rpg) are a force on the boards, and should start at the 4 and 5 spots. Look for freshmen Alex Len to come off the bench. The guy reminds me a lot of Bobo. Both are extremely tall (Len is 7-1, Bobo is 7-2) Eastern Europeans (Len is from Ukraine) that have struggled with playing with confidence. And both were suspended for the first few games of their careers by the NCAA because they played for professional teams in their native countries. But the difference is that Len seems to have more upside than Bobo. He's still just a freshman, but he's already averaging 7.5 ppg and 5.6 rpg, and he leads the team with 2.2 bpg.

The Tigers have played well at home (3-1 at home in the ACC), and the Terrapins have been awful on the road (0-4 in true road games this year). It'll be another close one, but the emerging play of KJ McDaniels will give the Tigers another home win, and the Terps another road loss.

Game tips at 7 on ESPNU.

Projected Starting Lineup for the Terps:

#12 Terrell Stoglin 6-1, 185 sophomore G

#14 Sean Mosley 6-4, 210 senior G

#35 James Padgett 6-8, 225 junior F

#21 Pe'Shon Howard 6-3, 195 sophomore G

#30 Ashton Pankey 6-9, 220 freshman F

Also Watch Out For:

#5 Nick Faust 6-6, 175 freshman G

#25 Alex Len 7-1, 225 freshman C

We need to look at other "like" teams when evaluating the OU defensive performance under Venables. We chose to dig into Texas' defensive stats then brush upon other teams with similarities to Oklahoma. The Longhorns were chosen as a comparable team due to their perceived superior defensive play over the timeframe of this analysis. This theory was supported through data attained from http://www.cfbstats.com pertaining to Big 12 conference total defense ratings since 2007. See below for a Texas/OU comparison in this area. I'll note that the overall total defense is determined by yards given up per game and is restricted to only conference contests. Also, we discussed Oklahoma under Venables (exclusively) as short time back; that article can be found here.

Here is how Texas fared defensively overt the past 11 seasons:

As you can see, the Longhorns struggled mightily against the pass from '06 to '09. Will Muschamp's arrival in Austin aided to fix this glaring issue as Texas improved against the pass in each of his three seasons as DC. Texas was 40^th or worse in four of these eleven seasons but their scoring defense never fell below 50 throughout these analyzed seasons. Conference ranking in scoring fluttered to best in conference three of the seasons, second best in two, and third best In three. I will note that the '02 and '09 scoring defenses were third best in conference yet eighth and 12^th overall nationally, respectively.

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Nine conference games. Nine frickin conference games! This whole thing is spiraling out of control. First off, the ACC chose to invite Syracuse and Pitt. I really didn’t like these choices, particularly ‘Cuse. Now we get the Orangemen in our division which means another crappy in-conference game only this time our Tigers have to go to New York every other season to play a college football game in a dome. On top of all this, the ACC has chosen to require member institutions to play nine conference football games. This beams that Clemson likely will never play the University of Georgia after the home and home series concludes in 2014, if they get to play those games.

In an era of big time, big money athletics college football teams, Clemson included, make home football contests a priority. The schools largely don’t care who the opposition is so long as the stadium gates are open and tickets are sold. This is one reason colleges fork over large sums of cash to get relatively small schools to play meaningless football games without a home and home contractual requirement. These games are scheduled around the conference mandated contests. Hence, with the limit of a 12 game regular season, Clemson effectively loses one of these "at large" non-conference games. Clemson is also required to play South Carolina annually, which gives the Tigers two contests to schedule on its own. As previously mentioned, the school wants to maximize the number of home games and playing bigger schools almost guarantees sacrificing a home game every other year.

On top of the revenue, coaches will want to schedule two "gimmie" games outside of conference play. Playing a Georgia or an Auburn is not exactly Furman or Coastal. I would much rather schedule Georgia every season than have to play Syracuse. The SEC chose not to require member institutions to play more than eight conference games upon their expansion—which was the correct decision to allow the member institutions scheduling flexibility outside of conference play. ACC schools are handcuffed schedule-wise, another brilliant Swofford-led initiative.

National Signing day was relatively calm this season, which is fine by me. Clemson did a fine job maintaining its class which was largely sown up months ago. We discussed needs that were addressed as well as the class’ quality the day after signing day and will discuss the freshmen in advance of both spring and fall drills. This places another solid class under Swinney’s belt. We must give credit where credit is due. Props to Swinney and Scott for structuring this class and the rest of the coaching/support staff for hemming together the players.

Fortunately for me, I haven’t been paying as much attention to basketball as I have in other years. The bar was raised by Purnell and through Brownell’s first year at Clemson and I almost got used to our Tigers winning 20 and making the Big Dance. This season has been difficult—more difficult than most of us expected although we all realized that this team would face more challenges than those in previous seasons. We now that BB is a good fundamental teacher. We will see if he can, moving forward, get the puzzle pieces in place for success in our basketball conference.

Super Bowl Sunday…I really don’t care too much about the pro game, particularly since the Falcons have nothing to do with tonight’s game and the fighting Teebows are done son. We’ll see who gets rick-rolled tonight. I think it would be very amusing if (A) Eli doubles up Peyton on number of rings and (B) Tom Coughlin makes a solid case for the Hall of Fame. Speaking of the Hall, both Chris Carter and Bill Parcells were passed over. Nothing against Curtis "keeping it positive" Martin, but Carter definitely should roll in either with or ahead of him.