Wake Wrapup
Clemson beat Wake Forest 38-3 this weekend in a game that turned out exactly like it should have given the makeup of the two teams. Unfortunately for Clemson, it took a loss to an extremely poor team (Maryland) to get the coaches fired up enough to make the routine game look routine. The defense played like they have all year, but the offense came out inspired and basically dominated Wake all day. There were two differences this week that made the performance possible:
1) The receivers actually caught the ball. It's amazing how great the offensive line and the quarterback look when the receivers actually make the catch. Last game "the OL sucks!" but now they're awesome, only nothing they did changed. Wake's defense wasn't able to play us tight and our drives didn't end on third down and it was all for the simple reason that we actually caught the ball this week.
2) The Tight End was used as an integral part of the passing game. We have thrown to the tight end a few times this year but in this game it was obvious that we were trying to get him the ball. The reason this is so important is that it forces the linebackers to respect the passing game, which makes running the ball that much easier. Also the tight end is a good target because he's usually bigger than the defensive backs and they usually catch the ball (although not always.)
That's really it. It wasn't some magical improvement in the blocking or in the running game or in the quarterback or in the playcalling. It was the simple fact that we caught the damn ball. Amazing how that works.
Some other notes:
- CJ Spiller has got to get the ball upfield faster. He simply dances too much. By the time he was able to make his long 60+ yard TD run we already had Wake's defense on their heels and the line opened up such a huge hole that even CJ had time to get there.
- CJ Spiller is simply an amazing open field runner. We need to put him in a position where he can get the ball in the open field instead of taking handoffs.
- Kyle Parker is still hesitating in the passing game. He makes the throw just a split second too late but luckily he has the arm strength to still deliver the ball.
- Korn throws late, slow, and low. Glad he's only in the game when it's over.
- I really like the attitude of our Defense, especially how our DB's go for the ball instead of going for the hit.
One last thing: our offensive coaching staff should be fired ASAP. This game proves that we have the talent to dominate the ACC on the offensive side of the ball. The loss to Maryland shows that we do not properly coach that talent to utilize their skills. There is simply no excuse for the difference in performance between the Maryland game and the Wake game, and we need to bring in a real Offensive Coordinator (and whatever support staff he wants) so that this doesn't happen again. If we don't, we will be doomed to repeat our recent history.
1) The receivers actually caught the ball. It's amazing how great the offensive line and the quarterback look when the receivers actually make the catch. Last game "the OL sucks!" but now they're awesome, only nothing they did changed. Wake's defense wasn't able to play us tight and our drives didn't end on third down and it was all for the simple reason that we actually caught the ball this week.
2) The Tight End was used as an integral part of the passing game. We have thrown to the tight end a few times this year but in this game it was obvious that we were trying to get him the ball. The reason this is so important is that it forces the linebackers to respect the passing game, which makes running the ball that much easier. Also the tight end is a good target because he's usually bigger than the defensive backs and they usually catch the ball (although not always.)
That's really it. It wasn't some magical improvement in the blocking or in the running game or in the quarterback or in the playcalling. It was the simple fact that we caught the damn ball. Amazing how that works.
Some other notes:
- CJ Spiller has got to get the ball upfield faster. He simply dances too much. By the time he was able to make his long 60+ yard TD run we already had Wake's defense on their heels and the line opened up such a huge hole that even CJ had time to get there.
- CJ Spiller is simply an amazing open field runner. We need to put him in a position where he can get the ball in the open field instead of taking handoffs.
- Kyle Parker is still hesitating in the passing game. He makes the throw just a split second too late but luckily he has the arm strength to still deliver the ball.
- Korn throws late, slow, and low. Glad he's only in the game when it's over.
- I really like the attitude of our Defense, especially how our DB's go for the ball instead of going for the hit.
One last thing: our offensive coaching staff should be fired ASAP. This game proves that we have the talent to dominate the ACC on the offensive side of the ball. The loss to Maryland shows that we do not properly coach that talent to utilize their skills. There is simply no excuse for the difference in performance between the Maryland game and the Wake game, and we need to bring in a real Offensive Coordinator (and whatever support staff he wants) so that this doesn't happen again. If we don't, we will be doomed to repeat our recent history.
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