Grading the Tigers at the Halfway Point |
CLEMSON — At 3-3, the Clemson Tigers can have their season go one of two ways. Win them all and go to a decent bowl game, or lose more than two and spend the holidays at home for a second straight year. The Tigers are capable of beating every team remaining on their schedule, but with the exception of Temple and Duke, they could quiet possibly lose three of their remaining five games. Those three games – at Georgia Tech, Florida State and at South Carolina. “In the course of twenty eight years of coaching and nine of those as a head coach, you learn that anything can happen,” said Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden. “Regardless of how the first half of the season went, you’re going to march on.” And it appears for the next month, the Tigers will have to march on without freshman tailback James Davis. The Atlanta native, who leads Clemson with 433 yards and four touchdowns, is out with a broken wrist which he suffered during last Thursday’s 31-10 win at N.C. State. “At 3-3, you have a chance to win or lose them all,” Bowden said. “Florida State is always our most difficult challenge and we still have them left to play. James gives you another ace in your hand, which is good to have when you have to play teams like that.” So, how well have the Tigers done through the first half of the season, and what do they need to improve on to make yet another strong push at the end of the year? Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst is having the kind of season everyone expected he would under offensive coordinator Rob Spence. It is well documented in Spence’s previous stops of how productive quarterbacks become in his system. Thus far, Whitehurst has completed 132 of his 197 passes. That is a 67 percent completion rating for 1,350 yards and six touchdowns. By the way, he has thrown four interceptions, but three of those came off the hands of his receivers and should have been caught. This time last year, Whitehurst had the same number of touchdowns, but he had 13 interceptions and was completing 52 percent of his passes. Grade: B+ Running back Davis is perhaps the best running back to play at Clemson since Raymond Priester set the all-time single and career rushing marks from 1994-’97. Davis was electrifying in wins over Texas A&M and N.C. State, rushing for 101 and 143 yards respectively. Reggie Merriweather doesn’t have the same speed or burst that Davis has, but he is still the same running back that rushed for over 100 yards against Miami and South Carolina last year. Merriweather is averaging 53 yards per game and his 4.8 yard per carry average in just slightly lower than Davis’ 5.2. Bowden brought Spence in to revamp the Clemson running game, and though the numbers aren’t through the roof, the Tigers’ 147 yards per game average is a whole lot higher than the 107.5 they averaged last year. Grade: B+ Receivers This is a unit which has improved with each game. Aaron Kelly is becoming that dependable third down threat the Tigers were missing last season. Curtis Baham has been the most consistent player, catching four touchdown passes and averaging more than 20 yards a catch. Chansi Stuckey leads the team with 29 receptions for 320 yards, while Kelly has 24 for 246 yards. Clemson will miss Kelvin Grant who is out for the year with a torn ACL, but freshmen Rendrick Taylor and Tyler Grisham should be able to make up for what the Tigers will miss from Grant. Clemson’s tight ends have been the most pleasant surprise of the year. Bobby Williamson, Thomas Hunter and Cole Downer have accounted for 19 catches for 172 yards and two scores, the most productive year by the tight end position in Bowden’s seven-year tenure. Grade: B Offensive line There is no dominant lineman on this year’s offensive line, but this is a group which has vastly improved from a year ago. Pass protecting has been solid, and the running game has definitely gotten better. Clemson has allowed just seven sacks this season, five fewer than it allowed during the first six games of the 2004 year. The short passing game and the zone blocking they use for running plays are big reasons for the O-line’s turnaround thus far. However, with that said, the Tigers are still having issues on short yardage plays and Whitehurst at times doesn’t appear comfortable on deep drops. Grade: B- Defensive line Clemson’s play on the defensive line has gone down this year, but that might have more to with the scheme than anything else. The Tigers have just 8.5 sacks through the first six games and with the exception of the N.C. State game, has struggled to put consistent pressure on the quarterback. The Tigers are yielding 149.8 yards a game on the ground, but that number should go down considering the remaining five opponents average less than 136-yards rushing per game. Clemson has had descent games against Maryland and N.C. State, but looked bad against the run against Miami and Boston College. Grade: C- Linebackers Anthony Waters has filled in nicely for ACC Defensive Player of the Year Leroy Hill, now in the NFL. Waters is averaging 10.5 tackles per game and has 10.5 tackles for a loss. Nick Watkins and Tremaine Billie have struggled at times in Vic Koenning’s system, but both appear to be coming around. In the last two games, the linebacker position has made big plays at key points, including an interception by Watkins against Wake Forest late and a caused fumble by Waters in the N.C. State game when the Wolfpack was driving for a score. Grade: B Secondary This is the unit that has been scrutinized the most on defense and for good reason. The Tigers have allowed four scoring passes of 29 yards or more, and that doesn’t count the nine more plays in which they have give up 20 or more yards that didn’t go for touchdowns. Senior free safety Jamaal Fudge has played well and Tye Hill has had a decent year, but he has given up his share of big plays, including a missed assignment on Wake Forest’s game-winning catch and a missed tackle on N.C. State’s lone touchdown. Hill, however, does have three interceptions and despite the missed assignment against Wake Forest has played the best of any Clemson defensive back this year. Michael Hamlin’s start over C.J. Gaddis at “cat” safety appeared to be the difference in the secondary’s best outing to date against N.C. State. However, future games against Georgia Tech and its sensational wide receiver Calvin Johnson, Florida State and South Carolina will tell how improved the secondary really is. Grade: D+ Special Teams There is nothing special about the Clemson special teams. Kicker Jad Dean is the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference and maybe the country, but he has no help when it comes to rest of the special teams. Punter Cole Chason is struggling, though he did perform better against N.C. State, and three of his punts have been blocked – a first for a Tommy Bowden coached team. The kick coverage is horrible and kickoff returns have been average at best. Since Stuckey’s opening-day punt return for a score against Texas A&M, the Tigers have done little there. Clemson has yet to block a punt after blocking four last year. Grade: F Coaching Clemson’s coaching staff has done a great job teaching the fundamentals and discipline. The Tigers rank near the top in the country in fewest turnovers and penalties. Clemson’s players have given it everything they have had in each of the six games, a direct sign they believe in the coaches and what they are saying. The play calling on both sides of the ball have been suspect at times, including Bowden’s call for the fake field goal against Wake Forest that perhaps cost Clemson a win. In the coaches’ defense, in each of Clemson’s first six games, they have called enough good plays to put Clemson in position to win every one of them. Grade: B Will Vandervort is the Sports Editor for the Seneca Daily Journal/Clemson Messenger.
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