- For those that missed the Parker press conference it is available here on TCI. HD writes about it here, as does pretty much everyone else who covers the team. I'd just watch the video if I were you. Parker expects the deal to get done with the Rockies before the deadline next month but he says he will play football regardless of the paycheck. For those opposing fans who constantly harped that Dabo was not looking out for his player, pay close attention when Parker discusses it, then shut your hole.
- HD does a quick interview with DeAndre McDaniel here, again talking about Parker.
- DMac, Hairston and Jarvis Jenkins made Preseason All-ACC. My only real qualms are that you put a Duke and MD WR on the all-offense, and I really think Hall is a better safety than Williams. DMac got the most votes of all, 48/52 ballots. Hairston got rid of about 18lbs and hopefully got some quickness back.....a high OL draft pick would go a long way for Clemson in recruiting linemen.
- Paul Johnson did a 4-part interview with ACCSports.com that I think folks who dismiss the option as a gimmick offense should read if you can, before they all go behind the paywall. He is exactly right here, Clemson did the same things LSU did (in game 1). Miami did the same thing Clemson did when they beat them. VT did the same thing and Foster's D got beat like a yard dog. Iowa did the same things we did (in game 1) in the bowl game and won that game by outplaying them up front, particularly at DE.....its not scheme that beats them, its whether you play worth a damn.
ACCSports.com:
Seems every few months since you got to Tech the critics have seized on some perceived weakness. First, it was that option offense wouldn’t work at the major-college level, or your defenses have never been that good. Then, there were questions about your ability to recruit for your scheme. Are you tired of the naysayers?Johnson:
The big mantra now is the bowl game. We can’t win a bowl game, because the opponent gets extra time to prepare. You’re better off not even responding. I want to say, "What about the three bowl games you lost in a row before I got here? Was that because of extra time?" And those weren’t the Orange Bowl and the Chick-fil-A Bowl. I got a news flash for you: If you’re playing in the Orange Bowl, you’re playing against a good team. You’re not getting the s**t beat out of you by Fresno in Boise.It’s never going to change. I’ve realized that as I’ve gotten older, that you’re never going to convince some people. Every year will be the year the defenses catch up. "The option is a gimmick. They’re going to catch up." Sooner or later, you’re going to prove them right. Sooner or later, you’re going to have a down year where you’re not very good, just like any offense.
Last year was the year they caught up to Georgia. So I guess they’re never going to be able to run that offense again. Or Florida. Or whoever. The difference is if Florida loses 14-6, you don’t have 42,000 people saying. "That’s it. That’s the blueprint. They showed how you play it right there." After a while it gets frustrating, because you’ve done it for so long.
I remember the beginning of last year, coming off the Chick-fil-A loss to LSU. The doubters were saying, "LSU, that’s it, they gave everybody the blueprint. They’ll just play like LSU." People aren’t worldly enough or sophisticated enough to see everybody lined up the way LSU did. They just didn’t have the same people, and we didn’t play as poorly.
That’s why you play the games. Iowa didn’t do anything different than anybody else in the Orange Bowl. We missed some reads, they whipped our tails up front, and they just beat us. We didn’t make any plays, and they did. And we still had a chance in the fourth quarter. And oh, by the way, Iowa didn’t lose a game last year when they had their quarterback. It wasn’t like we rolled in there and lost to New Mexico State or somebody.
- A post on the Warchant board revealed that Tiger recruit Marlin Lane had discussed not playing football this year, and TCI followed up with an interview that said as much.
I have decided that I am not going to play the first five or six games this year. It was a hard decision, but my dad made it. He wasn’t going to let me play at all, but I wasn’t going to let that happen. I love the game too much to see it from the sideline.
I haven’t talked to the Clemson coaches yet about my decision. The last time I talked to coach Rumph he told me to take my time and try to play a couple of games. He said for me to get back to doing what I was doing, which was killing opponents.
Tell all of my Clemson fans there is nothing to worry about because the Nite Train is going to be rolling up to Death Valley to give Clemson fans what they have been waiting for. That is an ACC Championship ring and I am going to try to give them a national championship ring.
How to look at this? You want a RB to get carries since experience counts. His vision and blocking could always use the practice. On the other hand, a RB has only so many carries in his body, and in this case the knee needs to completely heal. He should not rush it. I think 6-7 games is a good idea but I'd rather he not sit all season (plus playoffs). With Ellington and Harper (likely) back for 2011, he could RS and conceivably not play football for 2 years, and you don't want that.