Tommy Bowden still doesn't get it

Jul 26, 2012, 3:58 PM

He still thinks a good football team is just a collection of playmakers making plays. I'll bet you if you handed Bowden Sweeny's players right now, with the old coaching staff we had in place, our record would be worse.

Chad Morris' offense has done just as much or more for our team than all the talent we've stockpiled.

Sure we need good players, and they're important, but TB doesn't realize that's only half the equation. Maybe if TB spent a little more time trying to get his playmakers to play as disciplined team players in a system built to exploit their talent AND use them as a decoy, he might be a more successful coach. Sammy is nothing without the other wide receivers. And they are nothing without Tajh making the correct reads and passing to whoever is open. And Tajh is useless without an offensive line blocking for him as well as a running back blocking for him. And our RB's are worthless without the threat of our WR's, Tajh, and our O-line blocking for them.

Tommy Bowden never quite grasped this concept. Our old offense was not designed around skill players. Bowden's offense was designed to put the game on the backs of skill players instead of making them all work together as a team. Sure, it made for some good seasons, but a team like ours under Bowden would never have great seasons. Remember when we walked into that buzz saw in the Georgia Dome called Alabama. They were good, but Clemson had, at least on paper, an advantage with our skill players. I'm pretty sure we were favored to win that game. Well, Alabama was well coached, came out and played as a disciplined team, and kicked our rear.

Sports analysts (the ESPN crowd especially) are prone to have the same outlook as Bowden. They drool over the players, hype up the super stars, without realizing the super stars are only super because they play on a team that works together. Coaching is what makes the difference. Les Miles knows this. Nick Saban knows this. Heck, even Steve Spurrier knows this. Dabo is growing up to be a good head coach. He had an idea and a philosophy, and a path and direction in mind. He went out and hired assistants based on their system and not on their talented players.

Bowden had the right idea when he went and grabbed Rob Spence from Toledo, but he (or Spence) adjusted that offense based on the skill players on the team. Now Chad came to Clemson with a unique offense as well. But Chad's smart. Sure, he walked into a gold mine of talent, but he kept his offense true to its principles. He coached Tajh to find the open receiver and not to concentrate on just Sammy and Nuke. Sammy and Nuke are just as valuable lining up and running down the field covered as they are trying to snag a ball out of the air dragging a defender. And in our offense, if we are doing things right in the air, we will also have a great running game. Again, the skill of the RB is not as important when you have a defense sweating the pass. Ellington should have a great year, and if he wasn't here, we would still have a good year running the ball if the rest of our team plays well.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but around 2006 I figured out Bowden's problem. And after reading the front page article, I see he still has it.

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our offense now. Our offense functioned better as a team playing last year than I have seen for a long long time. Our defense was horrible, but that was because the players did not know what they were doing...staring at the sideline when the ball is snapped, yelling at each other and shifting around not knowing where to line up.

I think our offense took a step back when the ESPN/media crowd started hyping all the skill players. That kind of stuff will get in anyone's head and cause problems. After that 8-0 run I noticed a lack of seriousness. Hopefully that focus and seriousness will be back after the medicine we took in Miami. Go back and watch the Orange Bowl pre-game video. They showed both teams in and around Miami before the game. Our players were all laughing, joking, and having fun. They looked like they were on a field trip. The WVA players looked like they were preparing for war.

Dabo's next thing he needs to learn is how to keep a good streak from becoming a distraction. We did not respond well to the mid-late season hype in the media and I really think that had an effect, and that's something Dabo needs to address and that is Dabo's biggest weakness right now. Then again, that's a good problem to have.

Tommy Bowden still doesn't get it

Re: Tommy Bowden still doesn't get it

Problem when we played Alabama was the same problem we have

Re: Problem when we played Alabama was the same problem we have

To be fair to TB

Re: To be fair to Rich Rodriguez

I don't really see a dependence on skill players with

Re: Problem when we played Alabama was the same problem we have

Fire Tommy!!!***

I bet Bowden knows how to spell our coach's name though.***

Well said....

I've moved on. Just pointing out what I took from the

i thought tommy gave credit where credit is due. he said

Re: i thought tommy gave credit where credit is due. he said

I think that people still pick his words apart just like

Bowden was a good coach when Rich Rod was his OC

Re: Bowden was a good coach when Rich - Agree

And why did he take out Reggie?***

TU! I know I was yelling his name with about 60,000 others***

Re: TU! I know I was yelling his name with about 60,000 others***

Re: TU! I know I was yelling his name with about 60,000 others***

I was almost sick to my stomach and watching Reggie

Timid coach trying to please 'star" recruits

I thought he said some good things...

Spot on.***

Re: Tommy Bowden still doesn't get it

I give Tommy some credit.....

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