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Clemson-Bama Review
Because of the holiday we are a day behind schedule for this week. Here is what the blog will look like this week:

The season opener was a nightmare for the Tigers that started bad and got worse. The game was the worst case scenario for this program. We all like to analyze football games and break them down in every way possible but Saturday’s night’s game was as simple as it gets in terms of post-game analysis. To me, this was the simplest game to review. This game came down to a physical football team that had a sense of urgency, physically and mentally dominated a smaller, less mentally tough team.

Clemson’s offense could do nothing. In last week’s blog I said Terrence Cody was the key to the Alabama defense and I can’t remember a more dominating performance from a nose guard. He blew up the Clemson guards and centers. He also made some plays down the line. Cody collapsed the pocket on the passer and made it easy on Bama.

The Tigers could not run the ball between the tackles and got behind early. The staff chose to abandon the run and found it hard when they became one-dimensional. Bama’s linebackers were able to get deep drops into coverage because they did not have to respect the running game.

Clemson’s offensive line was overmatched and dominated by the physical front. The Crimson Tide linebackers were also extremely physical. They limited the yards after contact unlike the Tiger’s backers.

Perhaps the most disappointing part of the offense was the lack of protection against a four man rush. Bama did not have to blitz often because they were able to pressure Cullen Harper with their four man front. Harper was hammered all night and showed one if his few weaknesses which is his ability to feel the pressure and escape.

Defense was probably a bigger surprise and disappointment. The Tigers were dominated up front but the linebackers may have been a bigger concern. Clemson’s tackling effort was pathetic. Often times a Tiger would hit Alabama running back Mark Ingram close to the line of scrimmage but the freshman bowling ball bounced off of tacklers and got the extra, hard-earned yards. Time and time again, Alabama ran the ball right at Clemson on first down and faced second and less than four too many times.

Alabama’s offensive line was fantastic and their sense of urgency set the tone for the game. Their dominance made things easy for the Alabama staff because the running game allowed the offense to get into a rhythm. The play-action passing game was terrific partly because the Clemson defense had to pay attention to the running game. John Parker Wilson had an easy night because of the lack of pressure. It was a quarterback’s dream situation.

The Tigers had a hard time covering the Crimson Tide tight ends in the passing game. The balance of the Alabama offense made it difficult for the Tigers but the running game set all of that up.

If there was a bright spot Saturday night it might have been the special teams. Dawson Zimmerman was impressive punting the ball and C.J. Spiller’s kick-off return provided the only true spark.

The physical dominance was showcased in two major statistic areas. First was the time of possession. Alabama had the ball for 41 minutes and the Tigers were limited to 19 minutes. The other major stat was the total number plays. Alabama ran 80 plays and Clemson ran 48. Both of these numbers were alarming but yet again other examples of how dominant the Crimson Tide was Saturday night.

It is hard to imagine a worse case than what we saw in the Georgia Dome. Alabama may be a lot better than we first think but the concern here is about Clemson. Several items showed up and now we have several questions have to be answered. First is the offensive front. Clemson’s tackles played OK but the interior line got dominated. Barry Humphries has a knee injury and I would not think he will be back anytime soon. Now the question will be how Cloy handles the starting duty? Can David Smith overtake Jamarcus Grant? Can the Tigers overcome this from a confidence front? Will the Tigers be able to run the ball effectively behind our new starters? Can Clemson afford to be one-dimensional?

On the defensive side of the ball, the alarming unit was the linebackers. Who will emerge and take control at linebacker? Will the Tigers tackle better in the future?

Weaknesses were exposure Saturday night. Does Clemson face another team that can exploit them the way Alabama did? Can the Tigers fix some of the issues before they face another physical opponent?

I guess the most discouraging thing to me was the mentality. Some finesse teams can beat some physical teams and vice versa but when two teams that have different styles face each other the winner is the team that can impose its style on the other team. Alabama was able to impose its will on Clemson.

It concerns me that like Boston College and Virginia Tech, Bama was able to smash Clemson along the lines of scrimmage. The only difference is they did it better than Boston College and Virginia Tech.

Clemson’s losses can usually be attributed to toughness in my opinion. Last year, Auburn was more physical than Clemson. Boston College was more physical than the Tigers. Virginia Tech was and so was Georgia Tech. Time and time again, teams that hit Clemson in the mouth have a better chance at beating the Tigers.

The season is not over and all of Clemson’s goals are still ahead of them but until they fix the toughness issue then this program cannot advance to the place where we all want it to go.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Comments:

Well, Mickey...we were all concerned about our inexperienced linebackers and offensive line and this concern was clearly justified. What surprised me most was the play of our defensive line, which I thought was a strength even given Jackson's injury. Poor tackling and our inability to put any pressure whatsoever on AL's QB subjected our young linebackers to situations that they weren't prepared for and were unable to handle. But hope springs eternal with upcoming games against obviously weaker (on paper anyway, nothing's guaranteed) opponents...provided this team and coaches have the intestinal fortitude to "get with the program".

Posted by trhare on September 02, 2008 at 10:42 AM EDT #

But when in the world will bowden realize this and do something about it. If armchair QB's such as us can clearly see it, why cant a guy making $2mil a year? Pay me half that and i'll do something about it!!

Clearly Bowden is a joke!

Posted by drock4484 on September 02, 2008 at 10:57 AM EDT #

You nailed it, MP! But if we have 8 months to prepare--why can't we get stronger and tougher physically. TB has more than a major hurdle to climb with this group. He may need to start with a few of the supposedly "very capable assistant coaches". We WERE NOT PREPARED and we 'layed a big egg'.

Posted by bbrown cren on September 02, 2008 at 12:05 PM EDT #

You nailed it Mickey! There is a reason we haven't been able to beat BC and VT.... and it's not lack of skill players!!!!

Posted by eflandtigerfan on September 02, 2008 at 12:22 PM EDT #

You nailed it Mickey! There is a reason we haven't been able to beat BC and VT.... and it's not lack of skill players!!!!

Posted by eflandtigerfan on September 02, 2008 at 12:22 PM EDT #

mickey,
am i suprised by the outcome? hardly, we all knew that tb struggles against "tough" teams, nothing new here. the big surprise is that a couple of players seemed to finally be pointing the fingers at the staff. one got kicked off the team bus, and one blamed the coaches for "soft" practices. comments?

Posted by sregitog 1 on September 02, 2008 at 12:35 PM EDT #

You comment "Harper was hammered all night and showed one of his few weaknesses" May I respond with some facts:

Cullen Harper's stats from his 14 career starts, 7 best teams vs. 7 worst teams he has played.

Auburn,FSU,GT,Vt,BC,USC,Bama = 157-274 for 1473 Yds (57%) TD(5)INT(6) Sacked(23) Rushing Yds(-80)

W.F.,Duke,Md,C.Mich.,NCSU,Furman,L.Monroe= 145-193 for 1706 Yds(75%) TD(22) INT(1) Sacked(12) Rush Yds(-37)

****Had only 1 game in which he didn’t take a sack.

****Had only 1 game where he rushed for over 10 yds.(12yds.)

****Was sacked 32 times in 2007 in a run/quick pass oriented offense

My opinion, HYPE, HYPE, HYPE. Let me go ahead and predict 5 TD's next week vs an inferior opponent. If you disagree with me, try reading again his TD/INT ratio against good/bad teams.

Posted by mwbruce2007 on September 02, 2008 at 12:48 PM EDT #

Posted by sregitog 1 on September 02, 2008 at 12:52 PM EDT #

is'nt what you just said,Micky.the same thing Saban said.he said on national TV,days before the game.the way to beat Clemson was,to come out and hit them in the mouth.and guess what,he was right!!!!!!!!!

Posted by tigercrazynut on September 02, 2008 at 01:11 PM EDT #

Don't worry, we WON'T win the ACC. We'll lay another Bowden.

He is THE WORST coach.

Posted by OldTiger05 on September 02, 2008 at 01:12 PM EDT #

If there is anything that I agree with most it would be mwbruce2007 comments. I have been saying this for a year. Harper is AMAZING in games where we are way bigger and better than the opponent, but AWFUL when we are equal or worse then the opponent. He has failed to win a big game in his year and now 1 game starting. I am not saying go straight to Korn, but at some point I would like to lose big games with someone who will be here for 2 or 3 more years than someone who is hyped up and won't be here next year.

Posted by tigerman316 on September 02, 2008 at 01:40 PM EDT #

Korn can pass as well as Harper, run much better and is a leader. We are wasting time.

Posted by CLEMS75 on September 02, 2008 at 01:51 PM EDT #

Harper needs to learn what pros do best - stay calm and step up into the pocket. His 11 yard sack when we were down around the 12 yard line was his fault. The Bama lineman was bull rushing and our guard was locked up with him. Had Harper simply stepped up into the pocket he would of had plenty of time to find an open receiver. Instead, he panicked and tried to roll out, but rather than roll away from the one guy applying pressure, he ran right into the guy's arms for an easy sack!!

Korn needs a chance to play!

I honestly wasn't surprised, as I pretty much expected this beat down. I've seen TB for the farce he is for almost 7 years, and such outcomes have become predictable.

TDP has to fire TB this year! TB's behavior & quotes since Saturday prove just how delusional and out of touch with reality he is!!

Posted by flatiger66 on September 02, 2008 at 02:09 PM EDT #

Korn needs a chance to play!

I honestly wasn't surprised, as I pretty much expected this beat down. I've seen TB for the farce he is for almost 7 years, and such outcomes have become predictable.

TDP has to fire TB this year! TB's behavior & quotes since Saturday prove just how delusional and out of touch with reality he is!!

Posted by flatiger66 on September 02, 2008 at 02:13 PM EDT #

I think that Korn must be given a chance to show his skills soon. Late saturday was the best time to do it but boy genius left Harper (hobbling) in the game to the bitter end. A qb who can run will make life easier for the ol as well as Davis,Spiller et al.I cannot understand a coach who goes into a big game with a game plan and is to proud to admit it was wrong and make the change.

Posted by FORESTTIGER on September 02, 2008 at 03:09 PM EDT #

Mick,

To continue to command the respect of your readership, you better set aside your personal relationship with TB and stick the knife where it belongs. Clemson teams have taken on the personality of their leader for the last ten years: no moxy, no grit. Point in case-Bowden scared as hell on camera before the game and a pitiful spin doctor performance in the press conference on Saturday. Until Bowden can accept the real root of the problems (his leadership and game day coaching, Spence's Pop Warner play calling, and an inability to put 11 guys on the field that are going to go balls out) nothing will ever change. Undefeated for the rest of they year w/ the bowl game as maybe the exception will be the only way he can stay.

Posted by olballplayer on September 02, 2008 at 03:15 PM EDT #

It's not just Harper. Spence's whole offense racks up big overall stats because they put up 70 points on cupcakes like Central Michigan. But, for example, in Clemson's 3 regular season losses, Clemson's superstar rushing attack gained 32 yds vs GT, 8 yds vs VT, & 47 yds vs BC.

The problem is that year after year under Bowden, the O-line & D-line are not a strength. And so Clemson always gets beat by teams that have tough O and/or D lines. Bowden just doesn't seem to get it. He said he was “surprised” that Bama beat us physically. He must not watch Clemson play.

All of Clemson's goals are NOT still ahead. One of their goals should have been to win a national championship. Even if Clemson goes undefeated the rest of the season, that will not happen. And at this point, Clemson doesn't even remotely look like an ACC contender. The blueprint for beating Clemson has been laid out on game one. Can TB do anything about it?

Posted by Razzmatazz on September 02, 2008 at 03:50 PM EDT #

well said olballplayer

When TB called Richt, Daddy, Saban, and Beamer, they should of told him to call non-friends so he'd get the REAL truth, non-sugar coated BS to keep from hurting his feelings!

I thought nothing could shock me about TB at this point, but calling other coaches, esp Saban, to get help! Jesus, if that doesn't tell you how truly lost and over his head, not to mention how totally in denial he is, then you are as oblivious, blind, stupid, and in denial as TB!!!!

I have talked to DOZENS of CU folk since Saturday and every one of them is embarrassed and livid!! They ALL say Bowden has to go, and say everyone they have talked to feels the same!!!

Posted by flatiger66 on September 02, 2008 at 09:47 PM EDT #

I personally think this was only one game guys. What we need to do from here is try to get the ball to our play makers. I am sure we have more walk ons then just the 2 we threw the ball to the other night. We need to get them in the game and see what they can do. I know Alabama thrashed us and let their true freshmen wr's play, but thats not a good idea. What if Julio would have dropped a ball? His confidence would have been shaken and well you know the rest. PLayers make plays guys and this is just one game...

note the sarcasm

Posted by scwindcheater on September 02, 2008 at 10:53 PM EDT #

Exactly scwin, great coaches play talent ahead of experience, but not TB! Despite the BS dribble coming out of TB's mouth about putting the "BEST 11 on the field", more times than not I see the most experienced, NOT the most talented. TB historically only plays young guys where there is no depth. And TB himself has been quoted for YEARS saying he prefers to go with EXPERIENCE. Faeber & Ashe are walk-ons and hardly better than the recruits we've brought in the past two years!! And if anyone thinks Harper is better than Korn they are dreaming!!!

Posted by flatiger66 on September 03, 2008 at 12:02 AM EDT #