Re: TNET: Quick Thoughts: Clemson's O-line and quarterback play have to improve going forward

I was at the game. I give all the credit to GA’s defensive game plan and performance. But:

I was shocked at how uncertain DJ looked running the O. Yes, he didn’t get much help from the O line. But I didn’t understand why adjustments weren’t made to get off quicker snaps. It seemed the longer he waited to order a snap, the more tenuous he was. He may have decent straight ahead speed, but he doesn’t have quick feet when under pressure. He also didn’t have the soft touch to drop passes in. His throws were always line drive ropes, and his accuracy was lacking on many of those. GA had outstanding coverage the entire night. Once they knew there was no running threat, they just teed off on him with the rush.

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"The offensive line did not (deliver), and from first blush

Sep 5, 2021, 7:41 AM

it’s hard for me to discern…is it coaching? Is it technique? Is it physicality?"

I might add one more to that question list; Is it our offensive scheme? Has our scheme gotten so predictable that defenses know our blocking patterns to the point they have an advantage over our OL?

Something else about Clemson's offense that we don't discuss much these days is "tempo". We hired Chad Morris to bring in this "no huddle, hurry up" offense with the expressed purpose of going fast...like snapping the ball with 18 seconds left on the play clock fast. We haven't been anywhere near that quick on offense since Deshaun Watson was our QB. In fact - most of our snaps are coming with 5 seconds or less left on the play clock. We line up fairly quickly, but then slow down going into a series of checks/counter-checks, look over to the sideline for a final play call, execute a little pre-snap eye candy motion and by the time all that has transpired we are snapping the ball with 5 seconds or less left on the play clock. It may be "no huddle" but I wouldn't call it "hurry up".

So it appears to me that a fast "tempo" is no longer a priority in our "no huddle, hurry up" offense. I don't know that this is necessarily a problem, but if our original "no huddle, hurry up" offense was designed to use a fast offensive tempo to keep defenses off balance - we ain't doing that and haven't for some time. Instead, it seems we wait as long as we can to see the final defensive formation before snapping the ball which seems to be a little at odds with what the offense was originally intended to do.

Overall, our top tier talent combined with good execution of our scheme has been enough to carry us to victory against most of our opponents. For the past 3 years, however, a trend has formed that when we face other top tier talent (LSU, Ohio State, and now UGA) - their defenses don't seem to be off balance at all. So whether it is scheme, tempo, OL coaching, play calling, or a combination of those things Dabo needs to figure it out if we want to remain in the elite of college football.

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TNET: Quick Thoughts: Clemson's O-line and quarterback play have to improve going forward

The staffer shouldn't be talking about January after that

Re: The staffer shouldn't be talking about January after that

JEFF SCOTT's leaving Began a Decline in Offense!