Tuesday February 27, 2007

Labor Day; Jacoby Part II

Clemson-FSU Attendance
The Tigers open the 2007 season in dramatic fashion in what appears to be a dream match up for TV. In years past Clemson-FSU has been a big draw for the networks and at the gate but things may be different this year.

I never really understood it but former Clemson assistant athletic director director and ticket manager Bobby Skelton once told me that Labor Day weekend games were a bad draw for Clemson. He said families view Labor Day weekend as the last family vacation before school starts. He said the South Carolina beaches are a better draw to some families than Clemson football. I could not imagine going to the beach instead of Clemson football, but I guess I am a fanatic.

My school of thought says that you have 358 days a year to go to the beach that Clemson does not play a home game so how could chose one of the seven days they do play at home to go to the beach. The beach is overrated anyway. In my wimpy opinion the ocean is too much risk and not enough reward. I still like seeing my feet when I am in the water and even though I have encountered one, I can't see me a shark having a friendly meeting. Skin cancer from the sun can't be fun either. The sand in your bathing suit is something I could do without for a while anyway. Hey, I know it is disappointing when Clemson loses but it still beats sunburn and chaffing. I could go on about the other negatives of the beach vacation but you get the point.

Monday night is another issue. Clemson has not drawn well with its Thursday night games. I do buy into the argument that Clemson is in a fairly remote area and it is hard to play a Thursday night game and be at work back in Columbia or Charleston the next day. I do understand kids have school the next day also. Monday is even worse in some cases because a Thursday night game could lend itself to a four day weekend by taking Friday off but four day weekends usually do not end on Tuesdays.

On the other side of this is the attraction of the game. Bowden Bowl may have worn out its welcome but in my opinion Clemson-FSU has not. The Tigers will be going for their fourth win in five games against their division rival. The 2007 game will have so much riding on it and can sell so many storylines. Who will be the starting quarterback at Clemson? How will Jimbo Fisher affect the FSU offense? How will Clemson replace its offensive line? Will FSU's talented receiving corps start producing?

Night games are usually the tougher tickets in Death Valley but usually fans still have over 30 hours to recover before they have to be at work on Monday. Can the average fan recover in 7 hours?

So will the Clemson-FSU game be a tough ticket or will we see empty seats in Death Valley on Labor Day night? I would guess that the die-hards would be there if they played on the moon at 3 am on a Tuesday in July. I think most avid Tiger fans would not miss the FSU game for the world so many will schedule a day off Tuesday and extend their Labor Day weekend one more day. Those that live in the upstate may try to rough it and get by on a couple hours of sleep and still make it to work on Tuesday. However, I think some from Columbia or Charleston may be inclined to sit at home and watch it on TV. A Labor Day weekend trip to the upstate of South Carolina for many FSU fans will be a nice excursion but many will stay away because of the game being on a Monday.

I think it will not be a scalper's best night but I do believe the Valley will be full that night. FSU, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia Tech and maybe Miami would be the only games that could have that kind of draw in Clemson.

Jacoby in 2007
Yesterday I talked about Jacoby Ford's unbelievable track records from this past weekend and wondered how this will parlay into football. Remember that track times do not always translate to football success. The world's fastest 60m athlete, Leonard Scott, was a good football player at Tennessee but he was still a track first kind of player. We have seen others that faired well in both but the balance is difficult. I can envision Ford being a much improved football player in the future but I still think his long-term future is in track.

I could see Ford's role drastically increased in 2007 and beyond. I would not be surprised to see his role in the passing game and return game increased but I would love for him to touch it more in the running game too. I love how Florida utilizes Percy Harvin and could see Clemson doing the same thing with C.J. Spiller and Ford. In fact, Ford looks a lot like Harvin physically.

I would really love to see the Tigers utilize Spiller, Ford and James Davis the way Arkansas used Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in their "Wildcat" formations. Can you imagine Davis in the shotgun as the quarterback and having Spiller or Ford in motion. The zone read would utilize Davis where he would either ride the ball off to Spiller or Ford or keep it himself. I could see defensive coordinators having to pick their poison.

In my opinion this offense has weapons and Willy Korn, Spiller, Davis, Ford, Rendrick Taylor and others could become explosive. I know it is a negative to have only one football and all of these playmakers but that is when you have to use misdirection to your advantage. I would study Florida and Arkansas' attacks and go with a heavy dose of Spiller, Davis and Ford in 2007.

Mickey's Blog also brought to you by:

864-834-6060

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency