Offensive inconsistency in red zone frustrates Napier

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Oct 30 17:36:07 GMT-04:00 2010

CHESTNUT HILL, MA – The Clemson offense needed one person to step up and make a play on Saturday.

The Tiger defense shut out Boston College in the second, and the Tigers needed just one touchdown to swing momentum back to their bench, but missed field goals, lack of execution and turnovers were the name of the game instead as any hopes of a championship were swept away in the chill of a Boston afternoon.

Clemson had six offensive drives in the second half, but only five were of the “normal” variety – the last drive began with just 43 seconds left. Of those five drives, the Tigers were able to get inside the Boston College 40-yard line on three of the possessions, but a failed fourth down conversion, a missed field goal and a costly interception ended those three chances.

The other two drives ended with a punt and yet another interception, this one with 1:42 remaining that effectively sealed the Tigers’ fate, and offensive coordinator Billy Napier said the lack of success in the red zone is what stands out to him.

“What astounds me were the red zone opportunities,” Napier said. “We get down there, like last year and missed two field goals and threw an interception. We had opportunities to capitalize and didn't do it. They did a great job. They did a great job on defense. We didn't execute on a high level. I have to do a better job as a coach of putting our players in a position to be successful.

“We didn't rush the ball effectively and that limited our effectiveness. At times we rushed it well but got behind the chains in the red area. We can play better across the board. I don't think it's any one area. I have to do a better job of managing our coaches and players. It falls on me ultimately to be more productive."

The Tiger offense had gone three consecutive games without a turnover – dating back to the Miami loss when they had six – and Napier admitted that the interceptions were bad decisions by his sophomore quarterback.

“Ultimately I think those were bad decisions,” Napier said. “I have to coach him better. When he makes decisions like that, that's a reflection of me not getting it done. I have to coach him to manage the game better. Those were costly mistakes for sure."

Parker said that with Boston College consistently dropping eight men into coverage, it was hard to find an open spot in the red zone.

“I thought we did a good job until we got down inside the 20, 30-yard line area where we were third-and-five,” he said. “It’s hard to squeeze that in there when they are doing that. To be honest, they mixed it up, especially when we got down near the end zone. It’s tough with the short field to squeeze balls in. I thought we recognized their looks; we just couldn’t execute.”

Napier said that BC’s dropping eight into coverage was due to Clemson’s lack of success on first and second down.

"Being in third and long a bunch of times, we got that coverage,” he said. “They did a good job in their coverage. There were times when they played coverage and we threw and caught the ball well. It comes back to playing better as a team, making those kicks, not throwing those interceptions, coaching them a little bit better on my part. They beat us. There's not much else to be said other than that."

Running back Andre Ellington had only 14 carries before exiting early in the fourth quarter with a turf toe injury, and Napier said the lack of success in the running game came down to many factors.

“The first half, I think we had 20 plays,” Napier said. “We moved the ball at times. We had an 8-play drive and a 10-play drive. We were pretty balanced in the first half, but didn't rush it great. We did come back to run. Andre definitely impacted the game until he got injured with a turf toe. We got third and long too many times and couldn't rush the ball. I have to do a better job.

“When you fail to rush the ball, you're not going to be very successful. Ultimately they did a great job. A lot of credit goes to them, the timing of their calls. They did a great job, ultimately. We didn't do a good job. I have to coach them better."

Left tackle Landon Walker said that losing due to a lack of execution hurts worse than just getting physically beat by an opponent.

“I felt like we were doing some things and at times we were getting it done, but when we got down there inside the twenty, they stepped up and we didn’t manage the game as good as we should have,” Walker said. “I’m never going to criticize a coach for play-calling – we have to execute. Execution obviously wasn’t there when we got inside the twenty. You can’t have that if you’re going to come up here and play a big, physical defensive front. You can’t win if you can’t score.”