Tuesday September 26, 2006

Final UNC Notes

Final UNC Notes
*I thought a major key to the win against UNC Saturday was the offensive line. The Tigers were able to get the offensive linemen to the linebackers and that helped spring Davis, Spiller, Merriweather and Chancellor to the third level.

*It appeared that Roman Fry played another great game and Barry Richardson played perhaps his best game. Time and time again I saw Nathan Bennett stuffing a Tar Heel linebacker. The Heels did not slant very much. Instead they chose to play Clemson straight up. That was a major coaching mistake.

*James Davis has great feet. Davis keeps his feet underneath him with his small choppy steps until he cuts. This is a great help with his unbelievable balance.

*I thought C.J. Spiller played fantastic again. Spiller’s first touchdown run had a couple of great cuts in it. He also ran harder between the tackles than at any point this season.

*Merriweather played well once again. His ankle might keep him out this week but if he does not play this week, I would look for him to play in Winston-Salem.

*It was great to see Demerick Chancellor get his carries and catches. I think he has an extremely bright future. Chancellor continues to run hard and I like his athleticism.

*Will Proctor did not have to carry the offense like he did against Boston College and FSU. Proctor was very efficient and did a nice job drawing the UNC defense offsides on many occasions. It was also nice to see Proctor become more involved in the running game this week.

*It was also nice to see the tight end get back involved in the offense. Thomas Hunter had two nice catch and runs.

*The wide outs did not have to have a big game in the passing game but it was great to see Rendrick Taylor bust loose in the secondary and punish the Tar Heels.

*I thought Rob Spence’s game plan was fantastic.

*The defense played its best game of the season. Dorrell Scott looked fantastic. He continues to improve every week.

*Gaines Adams has responded the last two weeks. His pressure on Cam Sexton was another key for the defense.

*I continue to be impressed by Nick Watkins. He is the Tigers’ most dependable linebacker in coverage and in his assignments.

*Antonio Clay continues to improve, as he gets more comfortable at the Mike linebacker.

*The secondary played its best game led by Chris Clemmons. Clemmons was always solid but he is starting to make more plays now. He had a great hit on a Tar Heel receiver that kind of set the tempo.

*Duane Coleman, Crezdon Butler, Haydrian Lewis and Roy Walker all caught my attention with some fantastic play in the secondary.

*It was nice to see the special teams playing well. Jad Dean connected on all eight of his tries. The punt team never punted and the coverage teams played extremely well. Sadat Chambers’ nice caused fumble was a key to the fast start.

*Kudos to the Clemson staff and Clemson seniors for getting this team ready and not have a letdown against an inferior opponent.

*The numbers indicate just how dominant Clemson was against UNC. Clemson had 30 first downs to UNC’s eight.

*The Tigers had 19 rushing first downs to UNC’s three.

*Clemson outgained UNC on the ground 324-54.

*They had 504 to UNC’s 150 yards of total offense. That is complete dominance.

*The Tigers ran 79 plays. UNC ran 45 plays.

*Time of possession was in the Tigers’ favor 38:17 to 21:43.

*Clemson held UNC to just 1 of 10 on third down conversions.

*I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that 15 of UNC’s 18 first down plays went for four yards or less. Twelve of the 18 went for three yards or less.

*UNC had five plays of more than 10 yards while the Tigers had 15 plays of more than 10 yards.

*Clemson had 30 plays of seven or more yards.

*I will talk about the UNC effort later this week but I was extremely disappointed in their effort. This is not a bad football team but they quit at the first sign of adversity. UNC was beat after the first drive and never put up a fight. I think they ought to be ashamed of themselves because they quit. Bunting is a good guy but he should not make it at UNC if he lets his players quit they way they did. UNC tried 12 men on defense and Clemson still got nine yards on the play. On Stuckey’s reverse, UNC coaches were screaming at their players to watch the reverse and Clemson still got nine yards on that play. The Tar Heels are in trouble, not because of a lack of talent but because of a lack of heart.

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