It's Georgia Tech week, so Jimmy Greenbeans is back in action |
CLEMSON – Just when you think Jimmy Greenbeans has retired he makes another appearance.
Brent Venables’ alter ego shows up from time to time to play scout team quarterback, and it usually happens when the Tigers are preparing to play Paul Johnson’s Georgia Tech option attack. From everything we’ve heard, Greenbeans has been back at it on the practice fields this week. “Oh, he’s not very good. He hasn’t made much improvement, Venables said with a smile earlier this week. “I can’t do that next week. Our guys are anxious to get ready for the triple option and Georgia Tech. Tech has been better than most anybody in the country at running the football for a very long time. Coach Johnson has had incredible success. They’ve got a very difficult system to defend, even in a loss last week, they put up 320 yards rushing. “They had every chance to win that game last week, probably in a lot of ways they should, same thing with South Florida the week before. They went up and down the field all three games this year. We’re going to need a great effort. It’s different than some of the option we’ve seen, and now coach Johnson has a couple games of film to see what we’re doing. We had to line up and stop Furman and Georgia Southern, so we had to reveal ourselves a little bit to him, so it’ll be a little different this time because they have that.” The Jackets have averaged just 209 yards rushing the last two times they’ve played Clemson, but Venables says it is more than playcalling and scheme. “I think it’s execution. I think our players have done a great job of understanding the game plan,” Venables said. “It’s not like we are playing undisciplined football. Are our guys faster than most people they play, maybe. But, if the fast guy isn’t in the right place, if he’s not squeezing and closing, and if he’s not playing the dive when he’s supposed to, then they’ll expose you. It’s not like we’re overcoming mistakes because we have superior athletes. They make superior athletic teams look like fools, and have for a long time. It’s about being very detailed and precise, physical, violent, disruptive, and you have to do it for four quarters. That’s how they lull people to sleep. People get tired of those cut blocks, and scoop blocks, and crack blocks, and things of that nature, and they start losing their attention for precision, and that’s when they get exposed. It’s going to take an incredible effort from our guys.” The defense has to be prepared for Tech’s cut blocking scheme. “We try to emulate what they do as far as cut blocks and things of that nature. You know we’ll try to be careful in some ways to not cut from behind, they’re going to experience that on gameday,” Venables said. “Our scout guys do a great job and take pride in the look we need. It’ll be hard to simulate the look and precision we need, but I do think we have a good system to try and teach them and get that look.”
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