Tuesday March 31, 2009

Defensive Scrimmage Observations; Purnell Presser; No. 1

Defensive Scrimmage Observations
Yesterday I wrote about my observations on the offense from the scrimmage Saturday so today let’s look at the defense.

First, this was not the defenses best day. They gave up too many yards rushing and the safeties were beaten for a couple of big plays.

However, to be fair, the defense did not have Ricky Sapp, DaQuan Bowers, Kourtnei Brown Stanley Hunter, Brandon Maye and Spencer Adams. Sapp and Adams have not had any contact this spring after knee surgeries. Hunter has an ankle injury and was forced out of action for the short term. Maye was kicked out of practice after he went into a rage due to a fight on the field. Bowers and Brown had class obligations. If you took away three starters and a total of six players off of the two deep, I think most defenses would struggle.

From a scheme standpoint I was encouraged to see more man coverage and more mixing of coverages. They had Scotty Cooper playing safety on a few snaps and moved DeAndre McDaniel around a bit. The defense looked pretty multiple to me.

It was also confirmed that this staff wants to blitz more and in different ways. I can see corner blitzes and more creative blitzes from this staff. It is pretty apparent that they want to pressure the offense more than the previous staff.

To me the most impressive thing I saw was the starting defensive tackles. Jarvis Jenkins looks fantastic. He has dropped about 20 pounds. Jenkins’ nickname is “Big Juicy” but I joked with his dad after the scrimmage that we can drop the “Big” part of that. He looks like he has improved his conditioning as much as any player on defense.

Brandon Thompson looks good too. This duo can be very dominant and can change game plans. They will require double teams from most offensive lines in this league.

Since we did not see Sapp, Bowers or Brown, it was hard to take too much from the defensive ends from Saturday. I did get a chance to watch Malliciah Goodman for a few snaps and he has a chance to be a great one. He has the body that is ready to compete next fall.

I do love the effort Kevin Alexander gives you. He is also a versatile player that could play either defensive end spot. Also it is nice to have a player like Andre Branch to provide depth. He made a few plays Saturday and continues to improve.

The linebacker corps were without Maye and Hunter so younger players got more snaps. The one linebacker that I concentrated on was Tig Willard. He is a tough inside linebacker that excels against the run. Willard has a chance to break into the two deep.

Kavell Conner is perhaps the Tigers best linebacker. He is the most experienced and most dependable. Conner plays well in space partly because he runs so well.

The secondary looked solid at both corners and one safety bit shaky at the other corner. Corner is perhaps the deepest unit on the field. Chris Chancellor, Crezdon Butler, Marcus Gilchrist, Byron Maxwell and Coty Sensabaugh might be the best in the ACC. McDaniel is a play maker at one safety and I think is perhaps an All-Conference candidate. This staff will utilize his talents in a big way.

I am concerned about the other safety spot. Spencer Adams may be the answer when he returns to full speed but I was not impressed with the others thee Saturday.

My other concern is place-kicking. There is a lack of consistency with Spencer Benton and Richard Jackson. At this point I have no idea who will win this battle.

In summary, after Saturday I feel very good about the running backs and starting defensive tackles. The offensive line has improved. The quarterback play is improved but the race is too close to call. The tight ends were solid. I am worried about the wide outs though. Defensive ends will be fine when everyone returns. The linebackers are solid but not spectacular. The secondary is a major strength with the exception of one safety position. Also the kicking game is a concern.

The other thing I enjoyed was watching this staff coach. Dan Brooks wasted little time in jumping in there and sticking his nose into the action. Kevin Steele, Chris Rumph and Charlie Harbison make up the best defensive staff Clemson has seen in years.

Purnell’s Presser
Yesterday Oliver Purnell held his season’s wrap up press conference and I was encouraged by what I heard. The head coach said he wants to get back to more of a defensive mindset. He stated that the players that were committed to defense would be the ones that grabbed the most minutes.

Purnell’s program has continued to escalate but I agree that they need to re-focus. He said every position except for Trevor Booker’s is open for competition. So this off-season will be important for the returning players and I think this staff will have the attention of the players in hopes to continue to strive for improvements.

Number One
The Tigers get the rare opportunity to knock off the nation’s top ranked team tonight and tomorrow night. Clemson travels to Athens for a 7:00 pm game with UGA and host the Bulldogs tomorrow night at 6:30. Usually mid-week games take a back seat to weekend conference series but I wonder how many Tigers would rather beat Georgia than Duke?

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Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
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Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Sandy Wright, Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, Edward Putman, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Anna Rawl, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naemi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm,Vincent Lee, Martha Bryant Carr.