Re: The missing piece is right under your noses, people...

...and it's NOT the quarterback.

The missing piece...the thing that is going to win us another championship this year...is IMPROVEMENT!

And not just at the QB spot (although KB will be improved from last year). We had a ton of super young talent last year...Etienne, Higgins, Rodgers, Terrell, Smith, Simmons, Kelly, Chalk, Pinckney, Spires, etc. And they ALL have a year of experience and improvement under their belts.

If not for 2 fluke plays last year, we beat Alabama and we're playing in our 3rd consecutive national championship game. That same team is back intact, except this time, it's experienced and improved!

Trust the coaches! They see every one of these players EVERY SINGLE DAY. There's a reason they get paid millions upon millions to coach this team and we don't. And there's a reason ESPN favors us by 12+ in every game on our schedule.

I CAN'T WAIT to see what this team does this year. It's gonna be hell on earth for our opponents, and that includes Alabama...no matter who plays QB.

TallulahtheTiger

Scout Team [171]

TigerPulse: 94%

Posts: 156

Joined: 1/3/16

Agree with your analysis, except for one thing.

Apr 9, 2018, 5:56 PM

"If not for 2 fluke plays last year, we beat Alabama . . ."

In watching the Sugar Bowl what I saw was a Clemson O-line that really couldn't handle Alabama's D-line. (That's no knock on our players - it isn't like any other team outside of Auburn could block them any better than we could!) And it wasn't just a couple of plays, though it was a single play - that interception in the 3rd quarter - that enabled the Crimson Tide to break open what had been a close game. Now that's not to say that we won't be a lot better on the O-line, with players having a year of growth, development & experience under their belts, & with Mitch Hyatt opting to return for his senior season & Jackson Carman coming in.

Personally, I was thrilled with our 2017 season - our coaches came up with a run-first offensive scheme that best utilized the talent we had, we earned a 3rd consecutive ACC title & CFP berth, & we showed the college football world that the Clemson Tigers aren't going away. In 2017 we relied on our defense, played field-position football & used our superior depth to wear down opposing defenses. That was good enough to win 12 games, but not nearly good enough to beat Alabama. Even though we had an efficient offense last year, I never thought we were entirely convincing as a power-running team.

I believe we may have the pieces to contend for another national title this year. But to get over that last hump, we'll need to be stronger at the line of scrimmage, need better pass-blocking from our running backs & need some more consistency out of our quarterback (whether that's KB stepping up or TL stepping in).

In any case, I can hardly wait for the season to begin. Go Tigers!

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The missing piece is right under your noses, people...