Friday April 20, 2007

Shoeless Spring game report Day 4: Following around Jock Mckissic #50

Shoeless follows around Clemson DL Jock McKissic for a day at the spring game.

Thursday April 19, 2007

Shoeless Spring Game 2007 Report Day 3: Highlights & Awards

Shoeless has more Spring game stuff

Tuesday April 17, 2007

Shoeless Spring Game Report Day 2: Letterman Flag Football

Shoeless Films the Clemson Letterman Flag Football Game from the Spring Game 2007

Monday April 16, 2007

Shoeless Spring Game 2007 Report Day 1: Pictures

A short write up and pictures from the sidelines of the Clemson 2007 Spring Game

Wednesday January 24, 2007

The "offseason" is here...

So, it’s been awhile since I posted anything so I guess I’ll break the streak. There’s really nothing new to touch on. Everything else has been beaten to death by every source.

We’re a decent basketball team and we’ll probably make the tourney (hopefully).

The Confederate flag still flies on the State house grounds and people have mixed opinions of this issue.

Recruiting is going terribly and then it’s going great! Rankings were changed and they don’t matter then they were changed again and they matter!

What’s my take on all of this?

Let’s start with basketball. Everyone is on the bandwagon… and it’s still rolling strong. Now I don’t think anyone expects us to win it all or even an ACC title but making the Tournament really is an accomplishment for our guys and really gives us all some hope for the future. Maybe one day we’ll be where we want to be consistently and it seems like we are on the right path towards this with Coach P as our leader. For now we’ll just keep chugging along.

The Confederate flag issue. I never get into this argument so I’ll just let everyone else complain or give history lessons for me. How’s that sound?

Recruiting… I don’t really care to follow recruiting and hopefully I never will but I think people need to chill out when it comes to recruits. I mean… if someone comes or doesn’t it’s not the end of the world or a reason to celebrate. And rankings mean jack! Gaines Adams, Ko Simpson, Charlie Whitehurst, Roscoe Crosby and Demetrius Summers can tell you all about those rankings. 3 are in the NFL and were 3 stars or lower 2 aren’t and were 5 star guys. The ratings might be a slight barometer for some, but for God’s sake let them play a little before you crown them the next coming or crucify them as crap.

Ok, I’ve offered enough opinions for one day… now down to the bizness!

Videos in the off-season… Today I am releasing another Basketball Highlight video and there should still be 2 more coming. Along with that… I have a year-in-review video from the 2006 football season to be released on Feb 7th and then there should be 1 video every two weeks until the middle of July. Then, I’ll start a top 50-play count down to begin the new season.

The videos that I have planned to make right now are 2 more bballs, 1 year-in-review, tributes to Gaines, Chansi, Reggie M, (and probably more tributes as well) another random football video, and hopefully a baseball video.

One last thing… check out www.clemsonfootballdvd.com and get your self a DVD of last season! The more they sell the better chance that you’ll get more in the future!!! If we sell enough next season will be one of the coolest things you could ask for! I’m telling you, we’ll be able to show you stuff that no one else in the country can offer! PERIOD! Everything that we are doing is for the greater good. Clemson will be on the forefront of progress, I’ll have a job, and all the proceeds will go to The Boy’s Home of the South and you’ll get to see all sorts of cool stuff everyday!! But we won’t be able to get it done unless you help us out! Please buy a copy, I don’t want to have to beg :-) You can get a copy online or at any Spinx location.

Thursday January 11, 2007

Shoeless goes to Raliegh for *gasp* basketball!!

Clemson takes a trip to Raliegh to see the NCSU basketball game in person... (pics)

Wednesday January 03, 2007

Shoeless Bowl Recap (long), 95 Pictures, & 3 Videos

A recap of Shoeless' visit to TN to the Music City Bowl

Tuesday December 05, 2006

Shoeless gives his take on the BCS vs a Playoff System

Shoeless talks about addding a playoff system in D-1 college football and how they should do it to please everyone.

Wednesday November 29, 2006

One play NEVER decides the outcome!

Shoeless rants and raves not about coaches or players but about a little different subject. Plus predictions of upcoming games.

Wednesday November 22, 2006

Shoeless Fearless prediction for USC

Shoeless is not very confident in his look at USC this weekend.

Wednesday November 15, 2006

Another week, another complaint

Shoeless complains more about stuff he doesn't like. Also a truly fearless prediction going into the bye week.

Tuesday November 07, 2006

Welcome to Week 2 of the blame game!!

Welcome to Week 2 of the blame game!! (cheesy music plays)

Let’s meet our contestants…

Will Proctor, 6’2” 205 lbs Quarterback of the Clemson Offense who’s got the looks and the charm to sweep every lady off her feet this side of Miami but can he throw a pass?

Rob Spence, Clemson’s offensive coordinator. This second year coach from Toledo is commonly referred to as the Rush Limbaugh of play calling!

Poor Tackling, this herpes of a nuisance reared its ugly head again and seems to be making a come back bigger than JayZ!

And finally…

Last week’s winner, Shoeless

So, just incase you missed last week… here’s how the game works… everyone gets a chance to explain why they were to blame for the loss, and the winner takes the blame.

But before we start let’s hear a word from our Sponsor…

Alcoholics anonymous… who remind us that insanity is defined as repeating the same actions over and over, yet expect a different result.

We’ll check back with them later in the program.

Back to the show…

Proctor, we’ll let you go first…

“Thanks John! Well let me be the first to point out that this week I completed 18 of 25 passes on Saturday for 251 yards and no interceptions! I also made big plays of 25, 60 and 71 yards to Stuckey and TE Hunter. Can’t blame me this week… nope… just can’t do it… nuh uh.”

Thanks Will! How about your take Coach Spence!

“Well, first off I’d like to give credit to Jesus for being our lord and savior through him all things are possible!”

(silence)

and what about your take on the game?

“Well, this week we had more success throwing the football but still can’t figure out why we aren’t getting the ball in the end zone. Oh wait I’ve got an idea! I’ll put Reggie in the game and people will start chanting his name and then they’ll think we are running it, but I’ll pass instead! That’s brilliant! Oh and another wrinkle might be… I’ll put in the 4th string white guy and when the defense is thinking… who’s that? What’s the scouting report… BOOM! I’ll run it up the middle! Genius!! (evil laugh)”

Thanks coach! Glad to see you were willing to go out on a limb and try something different! Now let’s check in with Poor tackling…

“Can’t blame me this week John. We did our job”

You’re right got me there you can be excused!

and finally let’s check in with Shoeless…

“Well, something isn’t right. I came to the game this week. I started a new streak. I wore my lucky shirt, shoes, hat… everything! I washed my truck and got to the stadium early. I cheered my ass off until I was hoarse, I clapped until my hands hurt. I didn’t boo our players or team… I did everything I possibly could! I don’t know if I can take the blame for this one.”

Thanks Shoeless, now let’s go to the judges to see who are winner is…

Wait a min… Shoeless we have good news for you… as it turned out our judges reviewed the tape and decided to take away your blame from last week! You weren’t at fault and you can give back your shame.

“Wow! Thanks! That’s a huge relief!”

(cheesy suspenseful music plays)…

And our winner is…

Coach Spence!

Why blame coach Spence? Well it’s easy. I don’t like to blame players EVER! Coaches get paid (too much) to make the plays and also take the blame. Why blame it on a kid who’s playing for tuition instead of a guy who gets paid to play a game? But, I digress… why blame Spence? It’s easy. I’m not expert, or coach or film-surgeon... nope, just a fan. a guy who watches football, A LOT! Now if I can pick up on tendencies... chances are, an expert, a guy who gets paid to notice things, a coach will too.

This is the problem right now…

And before you get your panties in a wad let me say that I’m not jumping ship or going to be selling my season tickets or any of that non-sense. I’m just venting and guess what … its Tuesday! Not Saturday afternoon or Sunday. I’ve had 3 FULL NIGHTS to sleep on this and I STILL feel this way.

Let’s take a trip back down memory lane… I’ll skip the Woody years b/c that’s too easy… but in 2002 I noticed it a little and in early 2003 was the true beginning of it.

There I was.. a dude sitting in the stands, noticing a trend. I could call our plays on offense before the ball was snapped 80-90% of the time. Every formation I'd call a run or pass and to whom it would go. It was like a game inside the game… I win!

The peak was vs WF in 03… God that was painful. But then…the next week we changed. Everything changed! Play calling changed, they lined up the 1st drive vs. FSU and I thought to myself "Dear Lord, here we go again!" and I called what I saw and they DIDN’T do it. I watched for a good quarter and didn't get one call right!! I fell back to earth and became a fan. The next 4 games were a whirlwind! I was a fan living it up on top of the world. My expectations for the off-season were sky high...

2004: WF. THE FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON!! We had a whole off-season to prepare. We changed offensive coordinators and we were sitting pretty with a top 15 ranking. The first game of the season was an afternoon game in the valley poised for greatness... What happened? They did it again. They came out and ran the offense that I had seen before. When they lined up, I said... "please don't do what I think you are going to do…" and they did. We won the game but I had a bad feeling about it. After the season I was right back to where I was in the middle of the ‘03 season.

Sure, we had some bright spots, won some games, and I tried to stay optimistic, but it didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel like just a fan. Then we made some changes!! I was ecstatic!

2005: New offensive coordinator. This guy is different. This guy is a "genius". This guy will get it done. With this guy, I won't know what’s coming. They were right for 2 games. A&M & Maryland we did enough to win and we actually made adjustments where I didn't really know what was going to happen. Even on the TD pass vs. MD to Baham I said, crap another bubble... YEESSS!! Great wrinkle in a play we had run for 2 weeks without change.

As the season pressed on... the play calling stayed the same, by the SC game I knew 80-90% of the plays before the ball was snapped, thankfully we now had James Davis and some leadership at QB and WR that made it less noticeable.

Sometimes you don't have to be fancy to win, but sometimes you do.

So here we are, 10 games into the 2006 season. What has changed? not much. I would like to say that I didn't know what was coming until the last 2 games, I would like to say that these have been a fluke, I would like to say that we are just flat… but I can't.

Since the first game of the season, I've had a feeling about every play we've run. If we put Reggie in the game with 2 of our starting 3 WRs, it's a pass. If JD is in the game in a bunch formation and they put Hunter in motion, it's a run up the gut. If there are 2 backs, 2 WRs to one side and they shift one back to the WRs, it's a bubble screen. (Note: this is just a generalization but I could do this to 90% of the plays this year... and I have.)

After the VT game, I even got a call from my mom, yes my mom! Not Lee Corso or Bear Bryant! My mom!!! She told me she knows what's coming most of the time. Hmmmm... something ain't right. Nothing against my mom, but if she knows what's coming there’s a good chance the other team does!

Now some of you will say, what about WF what about FSU, GT and even the good about BC and ALL the other games we dominated and won? I’m not saying that the plays didn’t work and they should scrap the whole system b/c sometimes they do work… but that’s mostly b/c of athletes like Davis, Stuckey, and Spiller not “genius” play calling!!

Like I said, I am no expert. I do watch some film of our games b/c I make videos, but I probably watch 10% of what the coaches who get paid to do this do. Maybe I only watch Clemson, so that's why I know what we do more but something’s missing. Personnel needs to be swapped around, I don't care if Stuckey and Kelly don't block as good as Harris and the 4th string white guy... but when they are in the game I KNOW WE ARE GONNA RUN IT! There’s something about camouflaging your scheme that tends to work more than just doing the SAME DAMN THING ALL THE TIME!!

Now, I have lots AND LOTS of plays on film that do exactly what I'm talking about; but, I don't really have the time or the patience to go through and get them all to prove my point. The point is... when we don't add any new wrinkles all year; we are going to get shut down eventually. I'm not talking new formations or gadget plays that are hard to implement in a week's time but I’m talking about... misdirection on plays that we already run, dragging a TE back across the field when rolling everyone one way... a toss sweep instead of a stretch play. Little things... little things make a world of difference.

Did you see the Arkansas game on Saturday? 3rd and goal from about the 17… what did they do? Ran a draw for a TD… have we run a draw all year? What about a shovel pass? toss sweep? Or even just an all out go send everyone long?

I'm actually surprised we made it as long as we did... but then again we did play UNC, Temple, FAU and La Tech during that stretch.

Now, like I said... I am no expert. Do I think I could do a better job of coaching? Probably not, even though I'd like to think I could; b/c at this point, it's not too hard to imagine. Do I want to coach? No. But I do want to be a fan again and when I know what is going to happen before it happens... I'm not a fan but a critic.

Now back to our sponsor… Insanity… doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result… sounds pretty familiar doesn’t it. And it’s also kind of ironic that Alcoholics anonymous is the definer in this case b/c they are getting a lot of new clients from the tri-county area lately.

Keep in mind that most of what I wrote is an exaggeration, but it is what I believe. Something has got to change. I’m not happy with 7-3 after starting 7-1. That doesn’t make me a bad fan or any of that crap but this was supposed to be OUR year. The team that got us over the hump, the team that we were waiting on for 7 years. And here we are… going insane.

Write it down, take a picture, call your momma, eat at Joe’s… The Shoeless Fearless Prediction for this week is:

Clemson 9 NCSU 7

Now let’s recap last weeks games predictions:

I went 18-8 this past week making my overall record 219-62. This was only my 3rd week below 20 wins this season and I’m hoping to bounce back this weekend but 2nd in a row. I’m doing just as badly as the team it seems lol!

Weekly Records:
Week 1: 28-4
Week 2: 24-4
Week 3: 20-8
Week 4: 25-3
Week 5: 23-5
Week 6: 18-9
Week 7: 22-9
Week 8: 22-5
Week 9: 19-7
Week 10: 18-8

Overall: 219-62 Clemson: 5-4

Let’s take a look at this weekend’s games:

Lousiville 25 Rutgers 10
Wyoming 10 BYU 30
GT 50 UNC 9
Cincy 10 West Virginia 50
Wisconsin 35 Iowa 30
Georgia 10 Auburn 28
California 17 Arizona 21
Kent St 3 Virginia Tech 37
Miami 10 Maryland 13
Michigan 30 Indiana 3
South Carolina 30 Florida 28
Nebraska 20 Texas A&M 21
Ohio St 31 Northwestern 6
Notre Dame 20 Air Force 21
Texas Tech 30 Oklahoma 56
Duke 0 Boston College 34
Tennessee 10 Arkansas 9
Alabama 3 LSU 30
Wake Forest 34 FSU 10
Texas 30 Kansas St 3
Oregon 0 USC 20
Boise St 60 San Jose St 23

Wednesday November 01, 2006

Let's play... "The Blame Game!!"

Sarcastic look at last week and prediction for Maryland game.

Wednesday October 25, 2006

Shoeless fearless prediction for VT

Shoeless previews the Clemson vs. VT game on Thurs night as well as makes weekly college picks.

Wednesday October 18, 2006

So we are here. We have the National stage set.

Shoeless Fearless prediction of the GT game.