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Hall of Famer [20583]
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2018 is not 2014
Apr 20, 2018, 2:30 PM
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Everybody keeps citing the "Cole Stoudt/Deshaun Watson" situation like the coaches did something wrong, and like it's evidence of coaching favoritism towards veterans. Some people also seem to think it's predictive of what's going to happen in 2018.
Just speaking personally: I disagree.
I am a little worried about Texas A&M in Week 2. College Station can put almost 100K in the stands, and they yell really loud - they even practice at it - and that so-called "12th Man" can be very real. Add in the fact that it's likely going to be oppressively hot and humid, we could be talking a sluggish, ugly game that is not exactly our best Champagne Football.
I still don't think the Aggies are going to have much for us. Their D ranked just 78th overall among 129 FBS squads last year - not good, and they did not exactly acquire an offseason bounty of five-stars in the coaching change from Sumlin to Jimbo Fisher. For whatever it's worth, their O ranked a modest 56th among 129...which hardly matters, since they lost their top two wideouts (including their overall best player, WR Christian Kirk, who only caught 234 balls for 2,856 yards and 25 TD's over the last three years for them!), and are switching from a Clemson-like HUNH spread to Jimbo Fisher's very ponderous and complex pro-style system. Which takes more than a bit of implementation and is highly unlikely to be clicking in Week 2, if Jimbo even has a QB at A&M who can run it. (Doubtful.)
The Aggies are...just OK, right now. And in full-on rebuild mode. Only the words "College Station" make that game at all imposing. The 12th Man will help, but it also looks like they probably need a 13th and a 14th man to come out with a W as long as our guys show up ready to take care of business. They almost always do. Once our QB - whoever that turns out to be - gets his feet under him, I think our depth and our skill is going to show up huge, and that will be that.
Whatever, that one trip to a rebuilding A&M is still a mile off 2014, when we opened at #12 UGA in Athens, and then visited #1 Florida State two weeks later. Keep in mind, we hadn't just lost Tajh Boyd then, we'd also lost our top two wideouts in Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant along with our starting RB, Hot Rod McDowell, and were breaking in all-new skill guys as well as a new QB. You can understand why the coaches were inclined to start the veteran guy in those circumstances, especially when Deshaun was coming off a broken collarbone in Spring and a just hot-and-cold Fall camp where he was flashing talent but hadn't consistently put it together yet.
Instead, we have Furman, A&M, and Georgia Southern to kick off 2018. Which frankly is a much "softer" launch...and is not likely to overly frighten our coaches if they're considering making a QB change. Because of the way 2018 starts...all options are pretty much on the table.
Actually the schedule before the bye week October 13th is pretty forgiving. We go on the road to GT in Week 4, a little tricky, but their option has hit a brick wall against our D of late and that seems unlikely to change this year. We get Syracuse at home the following week - again, a little tricky if 'Cuse QB Eric Dungey is healthy, but I suspect we won't take the Orange for granted again this season. Then we go on the road to Wake - again, hardly terrifying.
The Big Dog games all come after the break - NC State, FSU, Louisville, even BC this year. After that it's just Duke and the Chickens.
So if you're going to break in a new QB at Clemson this year, you're going to want to do it earlier, not later, and have that guy established for the stretch run. Our coaches can read a schedule, I am confident, at least as well as any of us.
I also disagree with the notion that Dabo doesn't start true freshmen.
Mitch Hyatt started from Week 1 at left tackle in 2015, not exactly an unimportant position.
Dexter Lawrence started from Week 1 at DT in 2016...again, not exactly an unimportant spot on the field.
When the true frosh is the obvious best choice, he starts. Even at Clemson.
Our coaches have won eighty-two games - (82!) - the last seven years. That's epic. We've lost four games in the last three years against forty wins.
Come Week 1 in 2018, they are going to trot out the players that give us the best chance of winning. I truly believe that. Why is everyone seemingly so worried that our obviously elite coaching staff is incapable of grasping the obvious? If it's obviously Trevor Lawrence who's our #1, he'll start. If he isn't, he won't. I think it's that simple. They film and grade every practice session. Whatever the case may be, I think they'll get the decision right. They almost always seem to.
Why such concern?
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CU Guru [1593]
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Re: 2018 is not 2014
Apr 20, 2018, 2:38 PM
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I agree about Dabo playing freshman but it’s different with position players than QB. A starter on the line gets subbed and some times the backup may get more snaps. This doesn’t happen much with the QB, the starter is in until the game is over or out of reach. So you really can’t make a comparison with freshman position players as to the QB.
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CU Medallion [58696]
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Ed Zachary! But, you can't tell some people nuthin'!***
Apr 20, 2018, 2:40 PM
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All-In [40869]
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POTD
Apr 20, 2018, 2:42 PM
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Thank you.
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All-In [46134]
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Dahl has 4 more years of experience....
Apr 20, 2018, 2:59 PM
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And hopefully won't make the same judgement again. Or you live you learn. Always good to read your perspective.
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All-In [46134]
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Dabo you stupid AI.******
Apr 20, 2018, 3:01 PM
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110%er [8155]
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Re: Dahl has 4 more years of experience....
Apr 24, 2018, 7:51 AM
[ in reply to Dahl has 4 more years of experience.... ] |
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And hopefully won't make the same judgement again. Or you live you learn. Always good to read your perspective.
What judgement? You are implying there was an error in judgement in 2014 which is not the case.
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All-TigerNet [10832]
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Re: 2018 is not 2014
Apr 20, 2018, 4:39 PM
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And I just saw earlier today that one of A&M's starting offensive linemen is transferring. Should make the job easier for our monsters up front.
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Hall of Famer [20583]
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Orange Blooded [2504]
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That's OK...Syracuse has a reckoning...
Apr 20, 2018, 8:58 PM
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...coming to them for misdeeds last year. Can't imagine Dabo and staff will let that happen at our place this year...new tackle or not.
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110%er [8207]
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Another "bad news" on this,
Apr 21, 2018, 4:12 PM
[ in reply to Re: 2018 is not 2014 ] |
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somebody got hurt. I never won't to see anyone get hurt, friend or foe.
Go Tigers AND Tiger Nation!
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All-In [38452]
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TL/DNR
Apr 20, 2018, 4:46 PM
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J/K +1
I agree , think we win a game there in the smashmouth style .
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CU Medallion [66355]
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Way too much well thought out logic in this poast to
Apr 20, 2018, 7:57 PM
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be on the TNets! +1 to you, Sir.
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Hall of Famer [24655]
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POTD!!!!***
Apr 20, 2018, 8:30 PM
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110%er [9015]
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Hot and humid game should favor us big time.***
Apr 20, 2018, 9:29 PM
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All-In [27366]
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Wish I could count on what you're saying
Apr 20, 2018, 9:34 PM
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but at least it makes me feel better.
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Orange Blooded [4504]
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Number 1 or 2 ranked Clemson coming to College Station
Apr 20, 2018, 10:51 PM
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and the students and other fans will be sky high. Going to be a dogfight and hopefully we will be able to take the crowd out of the game early. Not a gimme by ANY stretch of the imagination!
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Legend [17779]
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Why such concern? Have you heard the new country song Q?
Apr 20, 2018, 10:12 PM
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"God is great. Beer is good. And people are crazy."
My take it's all on Dabo. Clemson has the best personnel in the country. It's Dabo's decision who to put in the game. Just win baby. A national championship. And its all good. Go Tigers!
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All-TigerNet [13319]
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Re: 2018 is not 2014
Apr 20, 2018, 10:50 PM
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2017, it took KB hobbling around on a peg leg, and then getting knocked unconscious for the staff to put in the next guy...i hope it was just the fri 13th curse that the baseball team felt a few weeks ago.
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Orange Blooded [2488]
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Thank you ^ seems people have forgotten about this
Apr 24, 2018, 7:22 AM
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Atrocious coaching decision that absolutely cost us a W last year. I questioned whether or not our coaches were even watching practice the week prior. So, yes, the fans have a right to at least be uneasy about whoever the coaches trot out to play QB for us.
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110%er [8155]
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Re: Thank you ^ seems people have forgotten about this
Apr 24, 2018, 7:53 AM
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Atrocious coaching decision that absolutely cost us a W last year. I questioned whether or not our coaches were even watching practice the week prior. So, yes, the fans have a right to at least be uneasy about whoever the coaches trot out to play QB for us.
Sorry but the D cost us the win at Cuse. We scored 24 points but the D gave up 27 and could not get off the field
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CU Medallion [55744]
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Re: 2018 is not 2014
Apr 21, 2018, 11:53 AM
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It's just a reference, but some take it as a standard conclusion!!!
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Oculus Spirit [75936]
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That was really long so I didn't make it through very much.
Apr 21, 2018, 4:17 PM
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at some point did you mention that Bryant is better than Stoudt was?
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CU Medallion [66355]
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He said 2018 is 4 years newer than 2014.
Apr 24, 2018, 6:03 PM
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You're welcome.
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Recruit [80]
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Re: 2018 is not 2014
Apr 21, 2018, 4:54 PM
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I agree everything you said, Q.
My concern is that the competition will be so close that it won’t be clear the best for you lack is until it plays out in a tight game. I actually expect it to come down to HJ and TL to start, with KB playing a situational role.
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Recruit [80]
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Re: 2018 is not 2014
Apr 21, 2018, 5:50 PM
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Edit of first post
I agree with everything you said, Q.
My concern is that the competition will be so close that it won’t be clear who the best QB is until it plays out in a tight game (maybe A&M). I actually expect it to come down to HJ and TL to start, with KB playing a situational role. The biggest coaching challenges will be keeping the locker room united and figuring out how to split practice reps once actual game prep begins.
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Recruit [80]
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Re: 2018 is not 2014
Apr 21, 2018, 5:53 PM
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The Aggies are...just OK, right now. And in full-on rebuild mode. Only the words "College Station" make that game at all imposing. The 12th Man will help, but it also looks like they probably need a 13th and a 14th man to come out with a W as long as our guys show up ready to take care of business. They almost always do. Once our QB - whoever that turns out to be - gets his feet under him, I think our depth and our skill is going to show up huge, and that will be that.
The coaches should remind this team of 2017 Syracuse all season long. If we can lose to them, we can lose to any P5 team on our schedule. Once again, we will get everybody's best shot.
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Orange Blooded [3750]
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Re: 2018 is not 2014
Apr 24, 2018, 6:59 AM
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Nailed it there, Q!
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All-TigerNet [14511]
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Re: 2018 is not 2014
Apr 24, 2018, 7:31 AM
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there are a lot of idiots on this board and in our fanbase. you would have to be an idiot to not know what we had in watson. you would also be an idiot to know if dabo had named watson the starter before the season stout would have left the program. then where would we have been when watson was hurt a lot of the year. plus it let watson ease his way into the lineup without having the pressure of the world on him the 1st game in front on 90000 in athens. the only thing i may have done different would have been to name watson starter before the fsu game.
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110%er [8094]
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Heat and humidity a factor
Apr 24, 2018, 7:47 AM
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You bet. But that will be a plus for the Tigers. With our depth and experience we will have the advantage. We too deep!
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