Monday September 14, 2009

What Do We Know About This Team?

What Do We Know About This Team?
One of the positives about playing on Thursday night is you get a chance to watch more games Saturday and I took full advantage of that this past Saturday.

I camped out with the remote in hands and with my new toy, ESPN 360. This is the greatest invention known to man. ESPN 360 is the website that allows you to watch and re-watch tons of games each week. Saturday, on the TV and computer, I watched the Big 10 games on all of the Big Ten Networks, Wake Forest-Stanford, North Carolina-UConn, Notre Dame-Michigan, UCLA-Tennessee, Central Michigan-Michigan State, Troy-Florida, Florida International-Alabama, Houston Oklahoma State, Syracuse Penn State, USC-Ohio State, TCU-Virginia, South Carolina-Georgia, Oregon-Purdue, Jacksonville State-Florida State and Memphis-Middle Tennessee.

If you watch that many games then it is impossible to get into any one game and fully analyze any team. However, you would think after watching that much football that I would have a clue as to what to think about a lot more teams than I currently do.

I know it is just week two and I understand that 85 scholarships is a factor but come on. How can Florida State look like they are back in the opening game against Miami and look awful and have to score with :35 seconds remaining to beat Jacksonville State?

North Carolina had to score twice in the last two minutes to beat UConn. Oklahoma State beats Georgia then loses to Houston. Some said Bill Snyder performed one of the greatest coaching jobs in college football history in his first stint at Kansas State but he lost to Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday.

You want more examples? Georgia holds Zac Robinson and the Oklahoma State Cowboys to 24 points but gives up 37 to Stephen Garcia and South Carolina. The Gamecocks score seven against NC State in week one and win but score 37 against Georgia in week two and lose.

You don’t have to go too far to see how crazy things are because we have had this so far at Clemson in 2009. A 24-0 deficit turned into a 27-24 lead and eventually a 30-27 loss.

Through two weeks I think many college teams have more question marks than answers. The real answers won’t come until we have a better sample size. So, what do we know about this football team?

1. We know the offensive line play has been a disappointment but maybe the insertion of Landon Walker into the lineup may help. It could not be much worse at the one tackle spot. This staff is not going to sit back and watch someone not produce without trying someone else. That has not been the case over the past few seasons though. I am not saying they will be dominant but four of the five guys improved in week two. Now we will see if Walker can do better than Lambert.

2. We know that Kyle Parker has a chance to develop into a good one because of his physical skills and his mental toughness. The last couple of seasons Clemson has lacked toughness at this position. I think it is very important to have a mentally and physically tough quarterback. Parker may not be the best quarterback in the conference but at least he believes he is. He has always has a swagger about him and that is starting to resonate throughout this team. Parker showed a lot of guts for a freshman on the road and his teammates took notice.

3. The Tigers have big play capability. Against Georgia Tech, Clemson scored on a 63 yard pass to C.J. Spiller and a 77 yard pass to Jacoby Ford. In the Middle Tennessee game the Tigers scored on plays of 96 yards, 61 yards, 43 yards and 33 yards. Of the Tigers seven touchdowns this season, six have been at least 33 yards and four have been at least 61 yards.

4. This staff is not scared to put the ball in the playmakers hands. I was very excited to see Spiller return for his senior year and was almost as happy to have Ford back. But I am equally as pleased to see this staff getting those players the ball. Spiller had 20 carries, four receptions and three kick returns against Tech for a total of 27 touches. Ford had two carries, five catches, two kick returns and one punt return for a total of 10 touches.

5. We have heard about DeAndre McDaniel’s ability and I had high expectations for this season but he has exceeded them. McDaniel is a play maker against the run and the pass. He is playing with a ton of confidence and should only get better as the season progresses. It has been a few years since the Tigers have seen this kind of productivity at safety.

6. I am extremely happy for Richard Jackson. As we all know kickers are a different breed and I have been worried about Jackson and his confidence. Quite frankly, he has not done a whole lot to gain any confidence in his time here. However, it appears Jackson has picked himself up off of the deck and made something of this season. The junior is now a weapon that the staff has a lot of confidence in.

7. The Tigers have two weapons at defensive tackle. This is a position that can be productive in a couple of different ways. First, an interior lineman can draw double teams and keep the offensive linemen off of the linebackers. Second, they can clog the interior running game. And finally they can be athletic enough to create an inside pass rush. The Tigers have all three in the duo of Jarvis Jenkins and Brandon Thompson. I look for big things from this junior and sophomore respectively.

8. The tight ends are weapons. Michael Palmer has a bruised hip but is expected to play against Boston College and he will be needed. Palmer hurt his hip on a phenomenal catch Thursday night. Dwayne Allen scored a touchdown in only his second college game on a terrific catch. I also believe Durrell Barry can still play a big part in a win this season. This is a productive group that will help out the inexperienced wideouts.

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Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, Delores Weaver, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Ann Fallaw, Bob Pollock.