Tuesday November 04, 2008

BC Game Worksheet

The Boston College Game Worksheet
Offensive Goals Made
More than 225 yards passing-252
Fewer than 3 sacks per game-2
Better than 60% pass completions percentage-64%

Offensive Goals Missed
Fewer than two turnovers-2
More than 150 yards rushing-87
More than 4 yards per carry-2.8
More than 20 first downs-16
Red Zone Scoring-80%- 75%
Red Zone-60% touchdowns- 50%
More than 27 points-27

Defensive Goals Made
Fewer than 18 first downs-11
Fewer than 125 yards rushing- 120
Fewer than 200 yards passing- 116
Less than 55% pass completion percentage- 46%
More than 3 sacks per game- 0
Red Zone Scoring-70%-50%

Defensive Goals Missed
More than two turnovers-2
Fewer than 3.5 yards per carry-4.0
Fewer than 18 points- 21
Red Zone-40% touchdowns- 50%

Penalty yardage fewer than 50 per game- 35

Overall Report Analysis-Grades and Comments:
Offense-Rushing
Interior running game- James Davis was able to do a little on the inside when he totaled 53 yards against one of the top interior defensive lines in the country. The move of Thomas Austin to guard really helped as Clemson’s guards held their own against B.J. Raji and Ron Brace.
Perimeter running game-C.J. Spiller electrified Tiger Nation again with his sensational first quarter run. That run set the tone for the Tigers’ offense the rest of the day. Actually if you took out Spiller’s 57-yard run and Davis’ 23-yard run, the Tigers had only 11 more rushing yards the entire day.
Option game-Clemson tried one option run when Willy Korn came in the game but the timing was off and it was disrupted by the Eagles.
Draws- The Tigers did not run too many draw plays in their 31 runs throughout the game.
Short yardage running game- The Tigers were not very good in the running game on short yardage situations only converting one of four chances. Even Spiller’s short run barely made it then.
Yards after contact- Spiller ran hard and broke a few tackles. Davis lowered his shoulder once as well. But Boston College tackled well.

Offense-Passing
Pass protection-Very good. Harper had plenty of time to throw the ball downfield for much of the afternoon.
Underneath passing game- Many of Harper’s complete passes underneath passes and he still looks much more comfortable there. He did hit some key passes underneath.
Intermediate passing game- Good and bad here. Harper was sharp on many if his intermediate passes but the three interceptions were the story here. Too many times Harper forced the issue and he has to stop throwing the ball to the opponent.
Vertical passing game-I liked the aggressive throws to Spiller and Grisham downfield.
Screens-In the new offense the screen game is focused more on the running back screens instead of the wide receiver screens.
Drops- I thought the backs, receivers and tight ends caught the football well Saturday.
Yards after catch- Spiller is the key here. He makes defenders miss and turns short passes into long gains. Clemson would not have won the game without a tremendous effort here.
QB throws on time- I thought Harper held the ball too long on the interception near the sidelines. He has to get rid of the ball earlier.

Offense-Overall
First down yardage- The Tigers struggled on first down early as both big plays in the first scoring drive came on second down. Clemson’s second touchdown came after big gains by Grisham and Spiller on first down. Grisham’s catch was 23 yards and Spiller’s gain was 45 yards. The third scoring drive featured a 33-yard Spiller reception on first down. The Tigers did not do too much on first down in the second half.
Third down conversion- Six of 15 is not great but it was good enough to win.
Big Plays- Big plays were the biggest key to the win. Spiller, Grisham and Davis all had huge plays that keyed the offense.
Trick plays- N/A.

Defense-Overall
Tackling-The Tigers tackled extremely well with the exception of the sack attempts on Crane.
First down yardage- The Eagles struggled on first down especially in the passing game.
Third down conversion- Perhaps the best news for the defense on this day was the improvement on third down as Clemson held BC to 3 of 18 on third down.
Limit of Big Plays- Boston College had only one play over 20 yards all day. Fantastic effort by the defense.

Defense-Running game
Interior running game- The Eagles ran the ball OK and Haden had some success here but nothing major. The Tigers stuffed the run pretty good for most of the day. BC stayed in the shotgun most of the day and ran it in the interior with the draw game.
Perimeter running game- Clemson was the faster of the two teams and made it difficult for BC to move the ball on the perimeter.
Option game- N/A
Draws- This was primarily their running game. Again, most of the Eagle snaps were out of the shotgun and most of the running plays came on a draw look.
Short yardage running game- Clemson held BC on third down but the Eagles did convert three fourth downs.
Yards after contact- This was perhaps the best Clemson has played all year in this category.

Defense-Passing Game
Pressure- The defense flushed Crane out of the pocket and pressured him all day. Clemson was aggressive with its linebackers and blitzed most of the day.
Underneath passing game coverage- BC was not very accurate and did not hurt Clemson with yards after the catch.
Intermediate passing game coverage-Crane was not effective because of his accuracy problems. He just looked awful at times.
Vertical passing game coverage- Non-existent. Clemson shutdown any deep threat.
Screens-Last year Calendar killed Clemson in the passing game but the BC backs caught three balls for three yards Saturday.
Passes broken up- Kavell Conner, Coty Sensabaugh and Chris Clemens all broke up passes against the Eagles.

Open field tackling-Perhaps the best of the season. I thought DeAndre McDaniel played his best game because he tackled well.

Special Teams
Kickoff returns- The single biggest play of the game was Spiller’s fourth quarter return. It turned the fortunes back around.
Kick-off coverage- Smith is a weapon but Clemson covered well. Nelson Faerber has turned into a terrific special teams player.

Punt return/block- Spiller’s 18 yard punt return was spoiled by the fumble.

Punt coverage-Snap, protection, punt, coverage- The blocked punt turned the momentum and actually made it a game.

Field Goals/extra points-snap, hold, protection, kick- Buchholz missed his first of the season but was still big especially his final kick.

Overall Team
Energy, Enthusiasm, Leadership- For the second straight game, Clemson looked excited and played with emotion.
Coaching
Emotionally prepared-This is Dabo’s strength. He has this team ready to play emotionally.
Game plan-I like the aggressiveness especially on defense. I liked the emphasis on Spiller’s touches.
Adjustments- The pre-game adjustment of Austin to guard and Hutchinson to center proved big.
Personnel-Dabo says its simple, get the ball in the best players’ hands. Spiller, Davis and Ford had 42 touches.
Time outs- N/A.

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