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Scout Team [167]
TigerPulse: 99%
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What this team isn't....and is (long)
Oct 26, 2022, 7:20 PM
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This team is not dominant. . True, there have been moments of dominance during portions of games, usually by one side of the football, but neither unit has been dominant for an entire game yet, and certainly not for multiple games. Granted, we have played a strong schedule, but dominant we are not.
This team is not dynamic. . There have some flairs in the offense here and there, but nothing incredible. We rush Shipley up the middle. DJ keeps it on a read-option. 50/50 or back-shoulder to Ngata. What has been added is a true slot receiver and 2! excellent tight end targets.
Rather than dynamic, this team is efficient. . I should've looked up the numbers, but our red zone scoring has been better than I can remember. We grind it out when we need to, we pick up first downs, don't turn the ball over (w/exception of last game), make our FGs, and play good special teams. Add all that up and you will win a lot of games.
This defense, although not always dominant, is reactive. The defense has adjusted very well all season. Against BC, FSU, and Cuse, the adjustments from 1st half to 2nd half have been outstanding. Goodwin is not as fiery as Venables, but his rumored analytical ability has been proven, I think. If I had any critique, it would be that it seems we have to see what the other team wants to do on offense before we can stop them. I think Tony Elliot's offenses were this way. We got so flexible and focused on reacting to the defense that our identity was lost. What we were depended on what the defense was doing. People are more than ready to see our purported DL with 4-5 draft picks simply dominate an OL.
Most of all, this team has the right culture. This is something some people don't understand. Dabo re-instates the culture every single year from top to bottom, beginning to end. The players do and say the right things. The players lead without being led. Expectations are always high, and the smallest details are important. There is no (visible) sulking, no bad attitudes, no back-biting, no panic when we find ourselves down in a game. As a result, this team expects to win, and is almost always in a position to do so. There is a calm, collected attitude regardless of the situation. The moment is never too much for us. DJU exemplified that with his response to being taken out of the game Saturday. That response is who he is, which is part of that culture, which is why Dabo will stick with DJ (besides the fact Cade didn't do enough to take the job from him, IMO). The CULTURE is helping us win these close games. The CULTURE is the most important ingredient. If you don't believe me ask Texas A&M and Miami how much culture can be bought.
Bottom line: If this team becomes dominant and dynamic while maintaining the efficiency and culture, we will win the NC. We may in any case.
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All-In [10828]
TigerPulse: 60%
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Joined: 2006
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Re: What this team isn't....and is (long)
Oct 26, 2022, 8:13 PM
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Neither our offense nor defense is as good as we were in 2016 or 2018 but we are undefeated. You do not have to win by more than 1 point to win and dominance is a hard thing to achieve. What I do not see on offense this year, that we had in our 3 Championship years, is a bunch of NFL prospects. NFL prospects make a difference when you are talking about dominance and putting fear into your opponent. Our defense has a few NFL caliber guys but for some reason they have just not put it all together. Maybe our perceived lack of dominance is because the competition is better as evidenced by the fact that after Week 8 there are 5 ranked ACC teams and I would have lost my house on that bet.
Do we have a chance against the top ranked teams, who knows, but just like in 81, 16 and 18 we just want a chance. You just have to win by 1 point to be undefeated and 15-0 wins it all.
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110%er [6166]
TigerPulse: 100%
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Agree with most of what you say here. One thing though ...
Oct 27, 2022, 10:30 AM
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... the 1981 offense was not loaded with future NFL guys. Only Perry Tuttle a was a 1st rounder and only Kevin Mack had long career. Several got quick looks by NFL teams, but basically only Kevin Mack was a genuine success as a pro from our 1981 offense.
The defense on the other hand, was a different story.
I think this year’s defense will get a lot of NFL attention while the offense goes largely unnoticed (like in 1981).
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Clemson Icon [27753]
TigerPulse: 100%
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Posts: 32032
Joined: 2003
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Re: What this team isn't....and is (long)
Oct 26, 2022, 8:20 PM
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Have you seen a DOMiNANT team thus far this season? Bama isn’t. UGA isn’t. OSU isn’t!
OurTigers are just now starting to get some key guys back into the lineup after missing games with injuries. The way Dabo and staff have developed this team thus far is rather promising to me. Dominant teams in college football are rather rare. Ithink
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Orange Phenom [14588]
TigerPulse: 100%
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Joined: 2004
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Yes
Oct 26, 2022, 10:12 PM
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I watched Georgia absolutely pummel a really good Oregon team and then trounce South Carolina on the road. They haven't done it every week, but theyve shown a ceiling that's higher than anything Clemson has shown.
And Ohio State has been dominant in every game except ND. You can poke holes in their schedule but theyve beaten everyone except ND by at least 29pts and their average margin of victory for the season is 35. We haven't won a single game by 35.
Bama is tough to evaluate. They haven't been a vintage, dominant Nick Saban Bama team, but when Brice Young is healthy they have arguably the best offensive player, defensive player, and coach in the country. Would it shock anyone if they got it together, won the SEC, and found themselves in the title game again?
Sure I don't see any super teams this year (unless Ohio State turns into one by obliterating PSU and Michigan), but I still see a group of teams that would be roughly 2 TD favorites over our Tigers right now.
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110%er [6825]
TigerPulse: 100%
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Re: What this team isn't....and is (long)
Oct 27, 2022, 9:50 AM
[ in reply to Re: What this team isn't....and is (long) ] |
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The only "dominant" teams I have seen have all been playing Miami.
There hasn't been a 2019 Clemson team out there as of now. You have not seen a 2014 OSU team yet. No team is really beating anyone by 40 and doing so with scrubs in during the 2nd quarter because they posted 35 points in the first 15 minutes against GOOD ranked teams. OSU is the closest but even their ONE road game this season was not an early game blowout vs a MeechState. They have not had multiple 35+ point road wins *yet* Jawja has put some dominant performances in, but that two week stretch with Kent State and Mizzou, not so much. Michigan has been pulling away but most of their games have been closer than the score shuggests, plus that Maryland/Iowa tandem.
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Varsity [104]
TigerPulse: 92%
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Re: What this team isn't....and is (long)
Oct 26, 2022, 8:22 PM
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I appreciate your take here. You make some good points, and you’re absolutely right about the difficult to quantify importance of culture.
With a lesser culture, I think we have 2-losses at this point in the season.
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Orange Blooded [2397]
TigerPulse: 100%
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I truly believe that
Oct 26, 2022, 8:25 PM
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our DL could dominate an opponent's OL were it not for the opposing OL getting away with offensive holding on virtually every snap of the d a m n ballgame! In the Syracuse game, in the 2nd half when Jeff Flanigan FINALLY started calling holding, we saw just a taste of that dominance.
BTW, I understand that Flanigan is doing well in the "ACC Referee Detox Center" after the emotional strain of calling FOUR holding penalties in Clemson's favor in one half of football! LOL.
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CU Guru [1054]
TigerPulse: 100%
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Re: What this team isn't....and is (long)
Oct 26, 2022, 9:17 PM
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Well stated, along with the 1st four responses. Middle TN Tiger
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Starter [284]
TigerPulse: 100%
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Re: What this team isn't....and is (long)
Oct 26, 2022, 9:40 PM
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It’s kinda like a friend who is a scratch golfer. They don’t drive the ball 320 yards on one hole and shank into the woods on the next. No, they hit the ball 240 yards right down the middle and chip onto the green every time. What’s sets us apart in our culture is that kind of maturity
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Clemson Conqueror [11917]
TigerPulse: 96%
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Re: What this team isn't....and is (long)
Oct 27, 2022, 8:30 AM
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Culture is what won it all for us in 2016. We had 7 close games that year and a heartbreaking loss to Pitt but they kept their heads down and went right back to work. Dabo Swinney deserves 30 million or more per year for what he's doing for these young men's mindsets.
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National Champion [7681]
TigerPulse: 100%
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Re: What this team isn't....and is (long)
Oct 27, 2022, 10:43 AM
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We have the ability to be dominant on defense, although we typically aren't, so the potential is there. On offense we are much more limited as far as our ceiling is concerned. Definitely seen growth from last season but its hard to see us putting up a lot of points in a playoff environment. As others have said, this is a good not great team and we are lucky to still be unbeaten at this point as last weeks game should attest. Can we win out and make it to the playoffs? Sure. Can we lose two of the next three? Sure. It all comes down to effort, execution, and, yes, culture because our margin for error is going to be razor thin any time we play a decent team.
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