Monday August 17, 2009
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Monday August 17, 2009
Weekend Thoughts; 19 Days...24 Days; No. 17
Weekend Thoughts It was a busy weekend in Clemson with the freshmen moving in on campus on Saturday. So the campus started to have a little energy this weekend. Tonight is Welcome Back Festival, always one of my favorite events. To me it is a nice sign of the community reaching out to the students to kick off the new year. It also means the football season is a little closer. Saturday was a nice day for two other groups coming back on campus. The IPTAY reps were in town for their annual day to watch football practice. This year was different because they were able to see a scrimmage on a Saturday as opposed to a practice in shorts like they were relegated to the last few years. But the best news from Saturday came in the form of the “Old Guard”. It was nice to see so many former Clemson football players that were invited back for the scrimmage. Dabo has made it a point to re-establish relationships with so many former Tigers. A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about how important it is to have your former players close to the current program. I just wonder how it got to the point it had reached. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see the effort being made on both sides again. 19 Days…24 Days However, the season will not hinge on the opener either. If Dabo wants to get the attention of the rest of the league then an upset of a nationally ranked Georgia Tech would certainly do that. If Kevin Steele wants to put his stamp on this defense and grab the attention of other offensive coordinators, then shutting down Paul Johnson’s running attack would do so. If Billy Napier wants to end some speculation about him being ready for the job as offensive coordinator, then some offensive productivity in Atlanta would help. Remember it has been a while since the Tigers have scored an offensive touchdown at Grant Field. The Georgia Tech game will not make or break the season either but it would start the new era with a bang considering the pre-season hype the Jackets have gotten. The game will feature some terrific matchups. Paul Johnson in his second year versus Dabo Swinney in his first season-The recruiting momentum may look at this game. Johnson’s unique offense against Kevin Steele’s new defense-Tech’s offense racked up 409 yards rushing against Georgia to close the 2008 season and the Tigers could make a statement in Steele’s first game at Clemson. Jonathan Dwyer vs. C.J. Spiller-This battle will feature two of the top running backs in the country and may have say in the ACC Player of the Year. When to Prepare? This will be the only time Clemson will see any of the Wing-T offense this season and since it is so unique, it requires more time to prepare for than the five days they have this season. Some defensive coordinators practice without a football the week before playing this type of offense so everyone will play assignment football. The lack of the football means everyone does not get caught looking at the ball and instead just does their job. There are advantages of preparing for Tech a few days this camp but there are some downfalls too. As stated earlier, the Tech game would be even more difficult if the Tigers were upset in week one. Also, how can a staff sell its players on taking every opponent serious and get them to not overlook an opponent in the middle of the season if the staff did the same thing before the season started? That would be hypocritical. Clemson’s staff could not emphasize the importance of not overlooking Coastal Carolina on the week of Halloween this year if the staff did the same thing in the pre-season. The “Hey boys, we don’t Florida State this week, we play Coastal Carolina this week” speech would not work. It is hard to fool the players and that is not the way Dabo operates anyway. Middle Tennessee does not run any of the Wing-T and the players know that so if the scout team all of the sudden showed in practice then the players would know something’s up. I know the defensive staff has spent a lot of time in the spring and summer preparing the gameplan for Tech’s offense but will the Tigers spend any time on the Jackets this camp? No. 17 We may have another tradition this season. Maybe the staff could let the player that played with the most heart or determination wear the number each week. It would have to be explained every week in the media but I think this would be a terrific way to honor their teammate. The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency
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I would prepare for Ga Tech up until game week for MTenSt. Why spend weeks for an inferior opponent?
Posted by TigerGrad'93 on August 17, 2009 at 12:48 PM EDT #
You tell the players that because you only have 5 days between the 1st and 2nd game, you have to start preparing for BOTH teams right now. If the coaches aren't working on preparing for GT then they're not doing their jobs.
Posted by Fluxus on August 17, 2009 at 01:17 PM EDT #
Mickey: What's your prediction (insider intel) on how much (if any) of the camp Clemson will spend on GT?
To me, it seems crazy to spend 3 WEEKS preparing for one of your weakest opponents (with a vanilla offense) in a game that has no bearing on the ACC title, thereby forcing yourself to spend 4-5 days preparing for one of your toughest opponents (with an unusual offense) in a critical ACC matchup.
Two weeks before the MTSU game, I'd probably spend one week preparing for GT. Last season, the teams that had more than a week to prepare for GT, fared very well.
I think it would be pretty easy for the coaches to convince the players that they're not overlooking MTSU by spending a week preparing for MTSU and just over a week preparing for GT. Balance and prioritization are important skills to teach players too.
Posted by Razzmatazz on August 17, 2009 at 01:28 PM EDT #
They should spend ample (what time they have)time on each team, but I think they should prepare 1st for GT, and really work the running, option type Defense against what they see GT doing. Then the week of the MTSU game, prepare for MTSU as they would if it were the next game with a normal week to prepare. After it's over, go back and polish what was worked on for GT. By then GT will have played, so we will know more, too, about what they are doing this year. Preparing now for th GT game still gets plenty of work in against reads, pitches, rollout type passes, and assignment football. All are just sound fundamentals that will be required each week, although much less pass rush/pass D to prepare for.
Posted by Dugatiger on August 18, 2009 at 09:01 AM EDT #
They should spend ample (what time they have)time on each team, but I think they should prepare 1st for GT, and really work the running, option type Defense against what they see GT doing. Then the week of the MTSU game, prepare for MTSU as they would if it were the next game with a normal week to prepare. After it's over, go back and polish what was worked on for GT. By then GT will have played, so we will know more, too, about what they are doing this year. Preparing now for th GT game still gets plenty of work in against reads, pitches, rollout type passes, and assignment football. All are just sound fundamentals that will be required each week, although much less pass rush/pass D to prepare for.
Posted by Dugatiger on August 18, 2009 at 09:01 AM EDT #