Tuesday October 13, 2009

Ripple or Tsunami?

Ripple or Tsunami?
Something that always amazes me about a football season is the huge wave of momentum that seemingly comes for most teams in most years.

Basketball season is different because it seems you have more waves of momentum but they are usually smaller waves. A basketball season is over 30 games and it runs from November to March so there is more opportunity for more waves. It is that frequency that leads to them being smaller and thus less impactful.

In football, there is time for only a couple of waves. Often times those waves can cancel each other out if one is positive and the other is negative. In basketball there may be four or five of those momentum waves.

The football season does not include this kind of huge waves of momentum for every team, just most teams.

Sometimes these waves are not of great significance. They may be in the form of a two game losing streak that was caused by something short-term like turnovers or injuries.

However, others they can be devastating. Sometimes they lead to coordinators or head coaches losing their jobs.

Positive waves of momentum are similar but as fans we don’t recognize them as such. As fans we usually misinterpret these waves. We chalk it up to talent or excellent coaching. In these short positive runs we say thing like, “Well out coaches have figured it out and now we are set to run the table.”

The positive runs are sometimes caused by the same things that cause the adverse conditions. Sometimes we just get the benefit from turnovers, bad calls by an official or an injury to a key player but as fans we don’t see it that way. For example, a few weeks ago Georgia was locked into a fourth quarter war with Arizona State. All-American wide receiver A.J. Green blocked the go ahead field goal attempt and Bulldog fans praised the Georgia staff for putting Green in the game on special teams. “Brilliant move!” they exclaimed. What Georgia fans did not talk about was the fact that Arizona State had to use a true freshman place-kicker because last year’s Lou Groza Award winner was on the sidelines with a pulled groin.

What we sometimes chalk up as good breaks or bad breaks actually does come down to tangibles. Sometimes coaching the right technique makes a difference. Sometimes talent is the key factor. However, other times luck is actually a factor. For example, Richard Jackson lost his footing yet made a 48-yarder just after the timeout was called by Maryland then missed two when he kept his feet and Maryland did not call a timeout. Luck or coaching?

Football seasons are strange and inconsistent. Florida State struggles on offense against Jacksonville State but puts up 42 points on Georgia Tech. Maryland turns it over nine times against Middle Tennessee and Rutgers but only once against Clemson.

When games are close, sometimes one or two plays seem to make the difference. South Carolina is 3-1 in games decided by six points or less. They are one play away from 6-0 and three plays away from 2-4. Clemson is 0-3 in games decided by four points or less. They are 2-3 but three plays away from 5-0. I know fans hate that and count me in that group but those are facts (even though the Maryland game should have never come down to one play).

If you are fortunate enough to have a positive wave of momentum in a season the goal is to ride it and to have it convince your young players that this can last forever. Your coaches are smarter. Your weather is warm and sunny. Your parking is excellent. Your tailgate food tastes delicious and your wife’s new outfit looks like the bargain that she claimed. Enjoy these great times.

When those negative waves of momentum hit your favorite team life is harder. Your coaches are dummies who fight with each other in practice. Panic hits within your staff and players. Your tickets cost too much. Your parking is a joke. It rains every Saturday. Your tailgate food tastes like leftovers from last week and that new outfit your wife brought appears more expensive.

Almost every team goes through the momentum waves but the real question is what are they based upon?

If your positive momentum waves are based upon superior talent, sound coaching, great technique and true confidence then chances are this will last and blue skies are in the forecast. If they are based on turnovers, luck, key injuries to the opponent and just a break in the schedule then this should only be a short lived ripple.

If your negative waves are based upon turning the ball over, giving up a fluke play, a bad call by the official, motivation or short-term injuries then a team can quickly put out the fire and get back to their productive season. However, if it is based on inexperience, poor coaching decisions, dissention, and other, more meaningful issues then Katy bar the door.

Clemson has lost two in a row and three out of four games. The Tigers are having this negative surge where everything that seems to heading in the wrong direction. What is the foundation of the most recent negative wave? How serious is it? How long will it last?

We all hope the inexperience on offense will be less of an issue as the season progresses. We hope there is not as much tension in the staff as some have thought. We hope the defense can carry the team until the offense straightens out its problems. We hope Chris Hairston’s knee and Spiller’s toe are as good as new. We hope this wave is a ripple and not a tsunami.

The season is still salvageable. This staff and this team can get off of this wave and start a new momentum coming off of the bye week. But they better do it fast. A loss to Wake and a trip to Miami could mean more disaster.

Bill Parcells once said that a team is what it record says it is. Right now Clemson is a 2-3 football team.

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, 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, Ann Fallaw, Bob Pollock, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Mike Kingsmore.