Monday August 17, 2009

Weekend Thoughts; 19 Days...24 Days; No. 17

Weekend Thoughts
I hope everyone had a great weekend. I also wanted to thank everyone that came by Ryan’s birthday party at the Esso Club on Saturday. It was nice seeing so many nice friends. Ryan had a great time.

It was a busy weekend in Clemson with the freshmen moving in on campus on Saturday. So the campus started to have a little energy this weekend.

Tonight is Welcome Back Festival, always one of my favorite events. To me it is a nice sign of the community reaching out to the students to kick off the new year. It also means the football season is a little closer.

Saturday was a nice day for two other groups coming back on campus. The IPTAY reps were in town for their annual day to watch football practice. This year was different because they were able to see a scrimmage on a Saturday as opposed to a practice in shorts like they were relegated to the last few years.

But the best news from Saturday came in the form of the “Old Guard”. It was nice to see so many former Clemson football players that were invited back for the scrimmage. Dabo has made it a point to re-establish relationships with so many former Tigers.

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about how important it is to have your former players close to the current program. I just wonder how it got to the point it had reached. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see the effort being made on both sides again.

19 Days…24 Days
The countdown to the 2009 football season has reached under 20 days as the Tigers will open the season with Middle Tennessee on September 5. Now, I do understand the importance of not overlooking any opponent and an upset loss in week one to the Blue Raiders would put a tremendous damper in the entire season and any enthusiasm.

However, the season will not hinge on the opener either. If Dabo wants to get the attention of the rest of the league then an upset of a nationally ranked Georgia Tech would certainly do that.

If Kevin Steele wants to put his stamp on this defense and grab the attention of other offensive coordinators, then shutting down Paul Johnson’s running attack would do so.

If Billy Napier wants to end some speculation about him being ready for the job as offensive coordinator, then some offensive productivity in Atlanta would help. Remember it has been a while since the Tigers have scored an offensive touchdown at Grant Field.

The Georgia Tech game will not make or break the season either but it would start the new era with a bang considering the pre-season hype the Jackets have gotten.

The game will feature some terrific matchups.

Paul Johnson in his second year versus Dabo Swinney in his first season-The recruiting momentum may look at this game.

Johnson’s unique offense against Kevin Steele’s new defense-Tech’s offense racked up 409 yards rushing against Georgia to close the 2008 season and the Tigers could make a statement in Steele’s first game at Clemson.

Jonathan Dwyer vs. C.J. Spiller-This battle will feature two of the top running backs in the country and may have say in the ACC Player of the Year.

When to Prepare?
One of the most intriguing questions of this pre-season camp at Clemson deals with the second game of the season instead of the opener. The Tigers play Tech on Thursday, September 10 or just five days after the opener. So should the staff spend time on Georgia Tech in this camp?

This will be the only time Clemson will see any of the Wing-T offense this season and since it is so unique, it requires more time to prepare for than the five days they have this season. Some defensive coordinators practice without a football the week before playing this type of offense so everyone will play assignment football. The lack of the football means everyone does not get caught looking at the ball and instead just does their job.

There are advantages of preparing for Tech a few days this camp but there are some downfalls too. As stated earlier, the Tech game would be even more difficult if the Tigers were upset in week one. Also, how can a staff sell its players on taking every opponent serious and get them to not overlook an opponent in the middle of the season if the staff did the same thing before the season started? That would be hypocritical.

Clemson’s staff could not emphasize the importance of not overlooking Coastal Carolina on the week of Halloween this year if the staff did the same thing in the pre-season. The “Hey boys, we don’t Florida State this week, we play Coastal Carolina this week” speech would not work.

It is hard to fool the players and that is not the way Dabo operates anyway. Middle Tennessee does not run any of the Wing-T and the players know that so if the scout team all of the sudden showed in practice then the players would know something’s up.

I know the defensive staff has spent a lot of time in the spring and summer preparing the gameplan for Tech’s offense but will the Tigers spend any time on the Jackets this camp?

No. 17
I had a listener forward me the Tiger Illustrated.com front page story and enjoyed Ryan Bartow’s excellent piece this morning. Brandon Maye will wear Stanley Hunter’s number 17 for the season opener to honor Hunter. I was also touched to see his former teammate Willy Korn will do the same the following week in Atlanta.

We may have another tradition this season. Maybe the staff could let the player that played with the most heart or determination wear the number each week. It would have to be explained every week in the media but I think this would be a terrific way to honor their teammate.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

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.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), 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, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, Delores Weaver, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy.