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Replies: 31
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Scout Team [155]
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Oline worries
Jul 1, 2012, 12:42 AM
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I have read where a lot of TNetters are worried about the Offensive Line this year. On the surface, yeah, it looks very inexperienced and thin. The dreaded years of 2006 and 2008 have been brought, and I say "Not so fast, my friend." (To quote a certain ESPN personality)
The 2012 OLine features Dalton "The Rock" Freeman, calling the plays and being the leader of the line. Next to him, we have Big & Nasty Tyler Shatley, a move that received rave reviews from the coaching staff during the Spring. On the other side, we have the Agile Mountain, Kalon Davis. Coaches were encouraged by his progress in the Spring, though he might need the most seasoning. I am impressed that he is nimble enough to play soccer, a sport I greatly respect. On the ends we have Thomas and Timothy, both of whom had the "light" come on for them in the off season. The depth concerns me. We need Beasley, Region, Battle, Gore and Norton to come on this summer and fall so the offense doesn't miss a beat.
Speaking of the offense, I think our offensive design and the playmakers will help our line. "The Chad" and the offensive playmakers were absent in 2006 and 2008 (I know we had Davis/Ford/Spiller, but we have superstar across the board). With our break neck play calling speed, we got up to 100 plays a game in the Spring. This gases the defense and I am hoping their reaction time and stamina are affected by this. Hopefully, our line would not have to hold the blocks too long. Especially if Andre hits the hole from the Pistol, and Tajh uses his legs and head better. Our various playmakers should keep the defenses on their heels. If our defense can get better at more 3 and outs, then the other team's defense would have to stay on the field and get worn out more.
I am very hopeful for this next season. I hope I am right.
Go Tigers
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Heisman Winner [111388]
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Re: Oline worries
Jul 1, 2012, 12:50 AM
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it does seem eerily reminiscent of 2008, but a few things
The days of lining up in a two point stance under Spence are gone
Tahj seems like a much better leader than Cullen Harper
Pass Protection under Caldwell last year was stellar at times, best I have seen in a while.
We Bring back the best Center in the league, and ALL of our skill players.
Blocking at the WR position has improved dramatically over the past two years, which is important when you spread the field.
Chad Morris did more with less at Tulsa and is not as stubborn a play caller as Spence. He will take risks and stretch the field. Spence was content to take yards in small chunks until we stalled.
it may be a iffy start, but last year it took our line until the 3rd game to gel also.
I think we have aenough big bodies, but not enough experience. Their is definitively some beef on this line, we just need to find 7 guys that can play come August and the season should go fine.
I am slightly more worried about our interior Dlone. We have been spoiled the last few jers with Brandon Thompson and Jarvis Jenkins. They were the silent heros of the D that Shut down the middle. I do not see anyone on our roster that will fill that void just yet.
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Scout Team [155]
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Re: Oline worries
Jul 1, 2012, 12:59 AM
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Thank you. You touched on some points that I didn't even think about. Yeah, Chad would change his gameplan when needed last year. Though he admitted he was sometimes stubborn in some of Tajh's calls in our losses. As far as the defensive line, I hope Goodman and Crawford have great years. I think Williams, Jarrett, Watson and Barnes showed great promise in the Spring. Hopefully, Lawson, Aiken, Reader and Watkins will catch on early and provide great depth.
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Heisman Winner [111388]
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Re: Oline worries
Jul 1, 2012, 1:13 AM
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one major concern is that when Phillip price went down, our pass protection went down the crapper and it did not seem like Morris had an answer. We need definitely need consistency at left tackle.
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CU Medallion [56717]
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If they are ready by Sept 22, the season should go fine.***
Jul 1, 2012, 9:03 AM
[ in reply to Re: Oline worries ] |
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Scout Team [173]
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It could be interesting to see how we use our TEs to block
Jul 1, 2012, 9:16 AM
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Since we have so many of them, and MacLain is basically another OL, we might be able to help out our LT/RT at times with MacLain, Cooper or Smith.
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All-TigerNet [12197]
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Re: Oline worries
Jul 1, 2012, 1:20 AM
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Worried about the oline for almost 2 decades. This isnt something new to Clemson
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Heisman Winner [111388]
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Re: Oline worries
Jul 1, 2012, 1:29 AM
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I will say this, and it was before my time at Clemson, Watching old games of the Oline Under Ford was impressive.
Those guys would fire off the ball like nothing you see in the game this day and age. It was precise, methodical and unrelenting. They operated like a well oiled machine.
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All-In [45640]
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Danny Ford
Jul 1, 2012, 8:31 AM
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was just an offensive line coach at Clemson and a tackle at bama. Who in their right mind would give him a head coach job? He's too young and inexperienced! He sounds like a hick fresh off the farm! I think we made a big mistake.
This flashback to 1977 was sponsored by metiger's heat exhaustion.
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CU Medallion [67693]
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Re: Oline worries- you hit on depth
Jul 1, 2012, 6:52 AM
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now somone could improve and change this but the fact that Shatley had to be moved in says to me some of the younger guys are not developing as they should. PT is available but it doesnt seem we have many people knocking the door down to get it
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110%er [7831]
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I say we go find a few JUCOs***
Jul 1, 2012, 8:18 AM
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Orange Blooded [4098]
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Re: I say we go find a few JUCOs***
Jul 1, 2012, 8:46 AM
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right after we get rid of barker so we can get them in school!!
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110%er [5912]
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Re: I say we go find a few JUCOs***
Jul 1, 2012, 11:19 AM
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Barker added new majors that should make it easier to get junior college transfers in.
I'm not sure we want a bunch of junior college offensive linemen. It will run offensive line development off track and generally, offensive linemen need to be more intelligent compared to other positions.
April 20, 2012
CLEMSON — Clemson University trustees on Friday approved several new humanities-focused majors that could be offered to students by the fall of 2013 and approved the concepts for some major projects.
Trustees approved six new bachelor degrees that would be offered in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities. The degrees are in global studies; women's leadership studies; cinema and world cultures; Pan-African studies; sports communication and religious studies.
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Oculus Spirit [93608]
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Has my college of Art and Architecture turned into a...
Jul 1, 2012, 3:40 PM
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place to hide players?
If it's anything like it was in the '80s the guys that run that college couldn't care less about sports. I remember Liska (Building Science Dept head) scheduling a study session on the Tuesday night right about the same time that we tipped off against Duke.
He said right there in front of God and the whole world that he didn't care about basketball.
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Scout Team [173]
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Really dissapointed in David Beasley
Jul 1, 2012, 8:57 AM
[ in reply to Re: Oline worries- you hit on depth ] |
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He looked like, from the limited film I saw, he was going to be a really tough, physical OG. Instead, he can't seem to stay away from the buffet long enough to see the field. Our OL depth has really been hurt in recent years by the injury to J.K. Jay, the departure/dismissal of Kenneth Page and the inability of Leamon to qualify last year.
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Team Captain [490]
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Re: Oline worries
Jul 1, 2012, 8:42 AM
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We will be fine up front with one exception. Any injuries would be devastating to this unit especially if Brandon were to go down. IMO if we were to lose Brandon at LT we could not replace him. I will say this though I have complete confidence in Robbie Caldwell to coach these guys up. He is one of if not the best OL coaches in the business and was a homerun hire by Dabo. Even Spurlid tried to hire him some years ago.
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Scout Team [173]
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Yeah, Brandon Thomas is vitally important to this team
Jul 1, 2012, 8:54 AM
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If he stays healthy he's our starting LT. If Battle has a good camp then Thomas becomes our starting LG, where he's probably best suited. Either way, if he were to get hurt, we would have Battle and Davis on the left side, which would be very worrisome. It's imperative that Thomas stays healthy for our success.
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CU Medallion [67693]
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Re: Yeah, Brandon Thomas is vitally important to this team
Jul 1, 2012, 1:42 PM
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see this is the problem. we have to pull Shatley over from D and Thomas getting hurt sinks us at tackle. Why is there no playable depth? And dont give me Jay got hurt. It shouldn't hinge on one guy. recruit and sign some linemen. just as bull headed about this as bowden. you see where it got him
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All-In [26322]
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"soccer, a sport I greatly respect"
Jul 1, 2012, 9:02 AM
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Stopped reading after that.
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Heisman Winner [108390]
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gwp
Jul 1, 2012, 9:09 AM
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and all the other soccer moms ain't gonna like this.
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Scout Team [155]
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Re: "soccer, a sport I greatly respect"
Jul 1, 2012, 10:37 AM
[ in reply to "soccer, a sport I greatly respect" ] |
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I wrote this line in response to my limited experience of playing the game as an adult. You have to have great endurance to run on such a large field, much larger than any basketball court or football field. After being sore for days, I gave the sport proper respect. As for the spectator side, I never really watch it.
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Orange Blooded [4787]
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Re: "soccer, a sport I greatly respect"
Jul 1, 2012, 11:47 AM
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if you like to run, do track. i put soccer right up there with curling, or rhythmic gymnastics.
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CU Guru [1649]
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Re: Oline worries
Jul 1, 2012, 10:42 AM
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I think that you hit the nail on the head with your concern about depth. You said if we can 100 plays, it will wear down the defense. I think 100 plays would kill an offensive line that could not switch out every few series. This fall, finding depth at every oline position is crucial.
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CU Medallion [51524]
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An injury or two on the oline and our season could be done.***
Jul 1, 2012, 11:30 AM
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Hall of Famer [22965]
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Probably true....but the good news is............
Jul 1, 2012, 11:35 AM
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after this season, I don't think "an injury or two" on the OL would severely hamper Clemson's chances for a very successful season.
The OL situation IS beginning to stabilize...finally
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CU Guru [1394]
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Im worried about both lines.
Jul 1, 2012, 1:45 PM
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Hall of Famer [22965]
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Realistically, so are we all.....its just that
Jul 1, 2012, 1:49 PM
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if the LB's aren't significantly better, I'm not sure the DL's gonna be very effective anyhow. If we DO get significantly better performances from all the talented linebackers on the team, I think they can help cover some of the inexperience on the DL....IMO, anyhow
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Orange Blooded [2507]
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We have the bodies and talent at DT. DE though is shallow
Jul 1, 2012, 3:16 PM
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We have Goodman and Crawford and after that it's a craop shoot. Beasly is still learning the DE position, Byers and Dodd have not seen any PT and we have to rely on Aiken or Lawson, or both to come in and provide depth and that is not a favorable situation to be in
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Commissioner [942]
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Byers will be a beast at DE before he's done. And Beasley's
Jul 1, 2012, 3:20 PM
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potential is unlimited.
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Orange Blooded [2507]
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I really hope you're right but they are untested
Jul 1, 2012, 3:32 PM
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As of right now Beasly looks like a great 3rd down speed rusher off the edge but not an every down DE. Byers and Dodd both have a lot of potential but will be thrown into the deep end this year and told to swim if we're to get consistent pressure on opposing QBs
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110%er [5636]
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you're basing this on spring evaluation?
Jul 1, 2012, 3:46 PM
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every yr we're told how solid the OL will be, how tough they'll be and every yr we're disappointed when we can't get a short 4th and 1 or 4th and goal.
I'm ready for a strong OL, but not sure we can rely on this group just yet
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Amateur [44]
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Re: Oline worries
Jul 1, 2012, 4:43 PM
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It was pretty apparent down the stretch last season after Price went down with injury vs WF just how thin the CU OL is...Thomas was moved from OG to OT which is not his best position, Smith IMO came back and wasn't fully 100% anyway. The entire left side was a shambles, and Boyd suffered for it with 14 sacks in the last 4 games of 2011 - although only 1 sack versus VT in the ACCCG.
Clemson has lost a ton of veteran experience in Price, Smith, McClain, Walker, and back-up Cloy. CU's OL recruiting 2-3 seasons ago was about like USC's OL recruiting, although they did pull some highly rated prospects in Jay, Freeman, Page, and Thomas. Jay and Page never panned out, and too many classes brought in only 2 OL prospects per that we are starting to see the results of.
The '10 and '11 classes brought in 4 OL each that look to be decent, but they were of the automatic "red-shirt + one" caliber, and now RS freshmen they might still be a year away from being ready, although 2 of them (Timothy and Davis) appear to be starters this season...
One possible positive about the younger, newer OL is that these guys won't have a wealth of past experience running the previous offensive schemes under Napier and Scott, and will be better prepared for Morris' and Caldwell's schemes. But the first half of the season may turn out to be a bit hair-pulling for Tiger fans...
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