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250 Baldwin Road,
Baldwin Pointe
Seneca, SC

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Friday September 12, 2008

Friday E-Mail Bag

Friday E-Mail Bag
Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.

Mickey,
I truly enjoyed my first Clemson game. I went up there and spent the weekend with my brother. The campus was beautiful and the game was great. I went down on the field as an active duty military member. I thought it was very classy. It was pretty emotional. Every time I am at some recognition it puts things in perspective. My oldest brother has been to Iraq twice and my youngest brother is there now. We all enjoy what we do and are humbled when recognized for it. Today is one of those days when everything is put in perspective. Seven years ago I was where I am now but as a student. Now I am instructing our younger Sailors before they go the fleet. I am thankful for this opportunity.

Now for sports. I am still concerned about our secondary and pass defense. Is our inexperienced LBs and lack of a pass rush the reason we can't seem to stop the pass. I thought our defense was going to be a strength this year. This will be a long season if it doesn't get turned around. Offensively, I know we now are extremely inexperienced, but are we now more talented on the line? Do you think we can make it through to Wake without a loss? Will our O-line be ready for Wake? I read around the internet and listen to sports radio and now Clemson is a mediocre team. Is this right? As I drove through Alabama last weekend and drive around here in Pensacola I hear the top 3 ACC teams are Wake, FSU, and Miami. Do you agree with this. Isn't is little early to claim the top 3 of the ACC? I know we took a huge hit with our image because of the Alabama game, but too me it is a little extreme. There seems to me, outside of Clemson, there is this sense of urgency where Clemson has to do more than other schools to be considered equal. Is there a sense of urgency around the program and/or campus? Being outside of SC, everyone seems to consider Clemson either an average team or close to below average. Just a few thoughts.

Thank you for everything you do. You make it able for people outside of SC to keep up with things. Again, thank you.

CTR1(SW) Jonathan

Jonathan,
I am so glad you had a chance to get to Clemson last weekend. I remember your first e-mail last year and I am so glad everything worked out well for your visit. Jon Seketa and his crew work extremely hard to make Military Appreciation Day a big deal and it was another success. Thanks to you and your family for your service.

The defense did not send alot of extra pressure last week but I was also concerned by the secondary. The good news is they will have three more weeks of practice because NCSU, SC State and Maryland will not provide much of a challenge. Wake Forest will be a challenge though. No, Clemson is not mediocre but the Tigers have issues that have been exposed. It is too early to talk about the top of the ACC. This team needs to make a statement starting tomorrow against NC State.

Hi Mickey,

I really like your worksheets after each game. I think the combination of goals made/missed and overall report analysis are really good. Perhaps the biggest concern of this game was the tremendous amount of yardage The Citadel gained in the air through underneath, intermediate and vertical passing. Our pass defense really concerns me. Also, will a more capable running team clobber us again?

Kirk

Kirk,
Thanks for the kind words. I too was disturbed by the pass defense. The Tigers could not pressure the passer and they gave up big plays as a result. There was some miscommunication in the secondary as well. Defensive issues will need to be addressed but the next three opponents will have a hard to exploiting those issues.

Mickey,

I feel as though Cullen Harper's stats have created a facade that hides his short comings in terms of talent & potential; very similar to what we saw with Proctor. Am I out of line to want to see Korn move ahead of Harper?
Duane

Duane,
Harper is the starter. He is the better of the two quarterbacks right now. He is the senior and he is a captain on this team. He was not healthy last week. His shoulder was hurt and that was obvious. He was not sharp. He under threw receivers and threw behind receivers. Korn is a talent and will break a bunch of records when he gets his chance but it won’t be anytime this season unless Harper is hurt or really struggles.

Mickey,

I agree with you. I cannot for the life of me figure out why Rob Spence thinks the two-point stance makes sense. He is the mad scientist but his arguments for the two-point stance defy the laws of science! A player must stay low and explode from this low stance to block someone in a running play. Sure, it is easier to move to a pass blocking stance from a two-point stance, but it is nearly impossible to run block from the upright posture of a two-point stance. On the other hand, it is not nearly as difficult to move into a pass blocking stance from a three-point stance. This issue really bothers me. I would love for one of our faculty in science or engineering to explain to Rob Spence why the two-point stance is so dumb!

Kirk

Kirk,
Most former offensive linemen and most coaches I talk to agree that a three-point stance is the way to go. I think we have beaten this dead horse enough. I just wish they would go three-point stance in short yardage situations.

Mickey,
The article in Sports Illustrated about the Clemson-Alabama game confirmed a nagging suspicion I have had for a while. It seems that teams are studying our offense on tape and know exactly what we are going to do in certain formations, etc. Here is a quote from the article:

'Added All-SEC free safety Rashad Johnson, "A lot of what they tried to do, we'd seen on film. If 28 [Spiller] and 1 [Davis] were on the field at the same time, we knew 28 would run a flare and 1 would stay in. We adjusted our pressures accordingly."'

Even we "experts" in the stands can predict the play pretty accurately once we see the formation. Do you have any sense as to whether the staff is aware of this concern and what is being done to mask our play calling? We are clearly very predictable. I suspect this has been a problem for a while now.

Thanks, and my best wishes for Ryan's continued speedy recovery.

Jeffrey

Jeffrey,
The problem with the Alabama game was personnel and the fact that Clemson was forced to become one-dimensional. Every team has tendencies but I don’t agree. That stuff is easy to say after the game but I bet there is not a fan in the stands who can predict every play. Try it this week and e-mail me. I bet it is a lot lower than you think if you do it every play. Alabama exposed Clemson lack of toughness but not Xs and Os.

Mickey,
Has Clemson lost more games as a favorite than any other team in the last few years? I think we were favored in every game last year and will probably be this year. The coaches are not getting the team ready to play at a high level.

Bill

Bill,
I think that is right. Part of the problem is that Clemson is favored every week and anytime they lose it goes down as an upset. The last two years they have only been underdogs twice and won both of those games so did the coaches get them ready to play in those contests?

Mick,
How do you think recruiting will be effected by the huge deal ESPN has signed with the SEC? –
Jason

Jason,
I think it will have a big impact. More money means nicer facilities and that should equal better recruiting.

Mickey,
"Lets re-evaluate Bowden at the end of every season and not after one game."

I used to believe that too, but how many more years will it take for the Bowden fans to see what the rest of the world sees? I want him to take us to a higher level - I really do, but it doesn't look like it is going to happen. He's good for 7-8 wins with the occasional 9-win season thanks to the 12th game, our "scheduling" and the weak sisters of the acc, and an invite to a mid to lower tier bowl (which we tend to lose more often than not).

He is probably a very nice man - never met him - but he seems like he is. As an alum, I am proud that he graduates players and that they (mostly) stay out of trouble.

However, I am tired of us losing (and frequently looking unprepared) just about every big game we play in. It seems the only big games we win these days are FSU (they aren't the FSU of old) GT two years ago (how good were they really?) and South Carolina (that's a "big" game due to the rivalry only).

This has become a pattern. The bright lights come on and Bowden and his teams blink. What in his long tenure gives us any reason to think this will change?

Bob

Bob,
I am not sure what big games Clemson plays in if you eliminate FSU, USC and the GT game from two years ago. I know they lost to BC last year in a huge game but what are the other big games? Look, I want to win more games. Bowden has not won enough games and needs to do better. No one wants to win more than I do. Sometimes I just wish they would fire him so all of the haters would get their way and they would not have anyone to bitch about. However, the first time the new coach loses they would jump him too.

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Posted by Mickey Plyler @ 11:22 AM EDT [ Comments [17] ]