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YOUR BALANCE
Can Amari really make the switch to the 5-spot?
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Can Amari really make the switch to the 5-spot?


May 10, 2020, 10:05 AM

Amari Rogers has a lot of money on the table this year, IMHO. He has NFL tools, but he started off at the "2-man" or "X" spot at Clemson, the boundary receiver. Those guys in Clemson's system tend to catch the shorter stuff and then start juking and tanking people, getting most of their yards after the catch.

The problem is, in the NFL, those spots are filled by guys like Sammy Watkins. Even Artavis Scott, who was a ball-catching machine at Clemson, had a hard time transitioning to the NFL because of a lack of deep speed; if you're in the League, you have to be able to turn that slant into a slant-and-go if the corner sits on them. Rogers is faster than that but he's still just a moderate burner; he's not Sammy Watkins.

So Rogers' ticket to the League is likely going to be as a slot. He's got the tools to be a superlative one; he's got that RB build, he's sudden as a snake into his breaks, he's got more-than-sufficient speed to beat a safety like a drum. He's dangerous with the ball in his hands; I think he's our best broken-field runner, and that includes even Travis Etienne. But the big thing you've gotta have is the ability to beat zone coverage and find those soft spots underneath, a feel for coverage...you've got to be a superlative route-runner and right now Rogers is a lousy one. In his defense he was carrying that brace, which definitely slows you down, and he also didn't have the benefit of a camp because he was coming back from ACL surgery. He needed reps to adjust to his new spot and didn't get them and it was obvious he never got a feel for the new position. But Hunter Renfrow he was not.

The big jump he's going to have to make, IMHO, is a conceptual one. He's got to develop that feel for the zone and those soft spots in the coverage...and he's likely going to have to do it on a truncated timetable without the benefit of summer sessions or a full camp. Rogers does that and he can become a major weapon again and make himself a boatload of money on draft day; if he doesn't he could wind up not hearing his name called at all.

Fortunately he's got a guy called Tyler Grisham as his position coach, and Grisham was up there with Renfrow and Adam Humphries in terms of productivity at that very position. I think it'll be a good measuring stick for both player and coach. We know Rogers wasn't there last year; if we see the light come on for Rogers this year it's a good sign that Grisham is indeed the guy to replace Jeff Scott. And oh, yeah, it also fills a major need since the absence of a true slot was glaringly obvious down the stretch last year; we really were not good at working the middle of the field at all.

Definitely one of the more intriguing storylines for this fall, because until last year Clemson's wideouts under Jeff Scott were our Secret Sauce; we've had the best slots in college football going back to at least Curtis Baham (and Grisham!), and our ability to grab ten yards and a first down pretty much at will was arguably the biggest thing making the Clemson train go. More than any other team in college football, Clemson has always been able to move the chains on anybody. We've gotten to the point we just take it for granted.

Be nice to see that it's still true in 2020, too.

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Re: Can Amari really make the switch to the 5-spot?


May 10, 2020, 10:09 AM

He played the 5 spot all of last season, I would think a football savant would know that.

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Brad Brownell: more losses than any other coach in school history.


I'm happy you finally figured out which is the 2, and the 5...


May 10, 2020, 10:14 AM

Amari played the 5 in 2019.



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Re: I'm happy you finally figured out which is the 2, and the 5...


May 10, 2020, 10:34 AM

I know that, dear. Always good to hear from you in those brief intervals between bans. Rogers also caught only 30 balls for 446 and he was very quiet except for the Syracuse game. He caught 1 - though it was a big one, for 38 yards - against Ohio State and just two for eight yards against LSU and was very quiet the last few games - just 2 for 8 yards against USC, 3 for 7 against NC State, and his yards per catch were inflated by a couple of house calls he made against Wofford and Syracuse.

The point was, he never looked natural as a route-runner as a slot guy...and he certainly wasn't the 3rd-and-automatic we've gotten used to seeing at the position.

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If that was your point, then I've given you too much credit


May 10, 2020, 10:41 AM

over the years.

I've always found your prose entertaining, even suggested you have a pretty mouth on you as does a $2 whoar. I read it all, because you've a gift and though I've not embraced your conclusions when you try and get football factual, because you're not, I've given you A plus pluses for your reasoned efforts.

Again, kudos on finally figuring out which is the 2 and which is the 5, it only took you 18 years or am I being generous to a fault?

Enjoy your Sunday.




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Re: If that was your point, then I've given you too much credit


May 10, 2020, 10:53 AM

Happy Mother's Day to you too, DSP.

Enjoy your brief time back on the boards, and stay away from the whiskey, you hear? Every time you get liquored up and post you seem to vanish for awhile.

And golly...in the meantime, I'll try to figure out what a slot receiver is. It's just so complicated, you know?

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Surprising since I don't drink, but you being wrong is not.


May 10, 2020, 11:01 AM

Is that your Winthrop education shining through?

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Alright kids... go to your rooms!


May 10, 2020, 11:19 AM



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I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.


If it's a spat, it's one-sided, quozzel's a football idgit.


May 10, 2020, 11:21 AM

Oh, and happy Sunday, nwillhit®. Hope it treats you as well, if not better than you deserve.

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Re: If it's a spat, it's one-sided, quozzel's a football idgit.


May 10, 2020, 11:26 AM

Same to you, deadsolidperfect®. Happy Mother's Day!

... and Go Tigers Sports Team!

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I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.


Thanks, and absolutely. Go Tigers.***


May 10, 2020, 11:28 AM



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Re: If that was your point, then I've given you too much credit


May 10, 2020, 11:04 AM [ in reply to Re: If that was your point, then I've given you too much credit ]

Also add boundary reciever to your list as Amari has never occupied that spot at Clemson on a consistent basis.

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Brad Brownell: more losses than any other coach in school history.


Careful, that satchel swinging soccer sissie might go full..


May 10, 2020, 11:23 AM




on you.

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Re: If that was your point, then I've given you too much credit


May 10, 2020, 11:24 AM [ in reply to If that was your point, then I've given you too much credit ]

Could you do everyone here a favor please and post less?

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Everyone would include me, so you're wrong, I <3 some me.


May 10, 2020, 11:26 AM

Maybe you'd like a do over?

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Re: I'm happy you finally figured out which is the 2, and the 5...


May 11, 2020, 11:22 PM [ in reply to Re: I'm happy you finally figured out which is the 2, and the 5... ]

DSP has been keeping its nose clean so far this time around. It will probably not be a band member again until about the time the actual football season starts.

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I think what Quozzel means is that


May 10, 2020, 10:48 AM

while Rogers played the 5 last year, he didn't do it well enough to say that he completely made the switch effectively. He was not the caliber of slot receiver that we're spoiled by, like Renfrow, Grisham and Humphries - because he doesn't have a sense for the hole in the zone and how to use it for separation..... yet. I think he can get there with good coaching.

We also didn't have TE action - and between the 2 positions, we failed to use the middle of the field (particularly on 3rd down) as we have in the past, losing the ability to finish drives at times when it was important (like against LSU). LSU committed to our outside WRs, roughed them up and ran them out of bounds. If we had used the middle of the field, we could have made them stop that. We tried with Etienne a bit, but a RB coming at a D from the front is not the same attack as a TE or slot receiver coming from the side to behind the D as the D has eyes on the RB.

If we can get good TE and slot play this year, that will make not only the deep sideline routes better, but the pass to RBs out of the backfield even more effective than last year...... and we'll be tough to beat by anybody.....

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Re: I think what Quozzel means is that


May 10, 2020, 10:56 AM

That's pretty much exactly what I was saying...though I will concede I did not specify "in 2019" in reference to Rogers' skillset.

Rogers gets comfie in the slot, he can be lethal, but it's as much about feel and the ability to show your numbers to the QB at the right moment. He just sort of wandered around lost in space most of the time in 2019, it looked like.

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Re: Can Amari really make the switch to the 5-spot?


May 10, 2020, 10:55 AM

Agree Amari was not himself last year. It was amazing how quickly he recovered but it was a struggle.

He should go to another level if CFB is played in 2020. The offense needs him to.

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Re: Can Amari really make the switch to the 5-spot?


May 10, 2020, 11:09 AM

The 2 or the x plays to the field, not the boundary. That’s where the 9 plays.

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A lot depends on playcalling and offensive scheming IMO


May 10, 2020, 11:59 AM

while we were statistically good, our offense never found that next gear all year, with some of the best offensive players that we've ever had.

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Re: Can Amari really make the switch to the 5-spot?


May 10, 2020, 2:54 PM

quozzel,

If it were me, I would spend this entire isolation watch film of Humphries and Renfrow. He could even practice those routes in isolation (film and watch himself)

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Re: Can Amari really make the switch to the 5-spot?


May 10, 2020, 3:11 PM

Rodgers is a much better athlete than AS. Those Scott is one of my favorite all time WRs at Clemson. Scott does need to improve route running but I believe he does get his chance to shine this year. We need him to.

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Re: Can Amari really make the switch to the 5-spot?


May 12, 2020, 10:36 AM

Huh? I’d have to spend all morning unwinding this post and all of its errors.

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