Wyatt has been declared ineligible to play any sports in the US or anywhere in the world. He has been labeled a "roider".
He has another cold that got into his chest and is on albuterol and steriods for the next week.
Clemson vs NC State
(This is going to be quick)
The Good
1. That we didn't get beat any worse
The Bad
1. The offensive line
1a. Turnovers
1b. The defense (more on that below)
1c. The players (more on that below)
1d. The coaches
1e. Losing to freaking NC State
Summary
Not much to talk about here this week. Just when you thought Dabo had removed the ghosts of Tammy Bowden that teams walks onto the field and we lose to an inferior team (beat the teams your supposed to beat and fight to the finish against those you are supposed to lose). However, this was a train wreck that you could see coming. I didn't expect it against NC State, so I guess it was a blind side train wreck which is the worst. Every week (except GA Tech), the defense has been gashed and the offense has bailed them out. We have made quarterbacks and running backs who are at best average look like Heisman candidates after playing us. Our lack of turnovers on offense and scoring points in the early part of the season gave everyone a false hope that the defense would get better BUT at week 10 we got our faces crushed in (see tribute to Larry Munson below) at Ga. Tech, took a week off and put on a Houdini performance by escaping the straight jacket and escaping with a win, then went to Raleigh, NC for the Textile Bowl and could not "hunker down"(see Larry Munson tribute below) on defense and stop one of the worst offenses in the country that only averaged 70 some yards a game rushing (their running back had that many yards in the first half) AND offensively stunk it up for the third week in a row.
Let me go ahead and make this point. I do not want to hear about it being a "trap game", "not having anything to play for". If anyone of those 80+ players on scholarship are not motivated to play each week here is a reason
- You play @ Clemson University and not Podunk U
- You WERE 9-1
- You WERE Number 7 in the country
- The real world isn't near as fun as playing football for 14 weeks (give yourself something to look back on and say "Remember when we were 9-1, #7 and went to Raleigh and beat the ever loving $#!+ out of NC State
If just the first one isn't enough, ask Dabo for you transfer papers and take your talents to SC.
I am going to continue to keep it real and tell you that we are headed down a road that leads to 9-5 at a pace well above the legal speed limit (not sure the trooper can catch us to pull us over). I am not quite sure I am buying into Dabo, Kevin and Chad's "we're going to fix it". They have had 11 weeks to improve and develop backups and it hasn't happened. I am pretty sure 1 week isn't enough time either...but stranger things have happened and getting embarrassed on TV three weeks in a row might be enough to finally make the players mad. It is going to take a lot more effort and execution of fundamentals on both sides of the ball in the coming weeks. It would appear our weaknesses have been exposed to the world and Ga Tech, Wake and NC State exploited it (which their little wolf thing they do with their finger is the lamest (that's not the word I wanted to use) thing I have seen at a school playing football); put pressure on QB through the OL (an OL that is banged up, more like a colander, and that could not stop a high school DL right now) and drop 7 into coverage and take away the long pass by dropping two men deep; offensively run the ball because we can't tackle and pass the ball down the middle because we can't cover your receivers. Another problem is the Red Zone. We are not very efficient at scoring touchdowns in the Red Zone...week after week we settle for field goals. Give us the ball at the 21 or further out and we will beat the poop out of you. Give us the ball inside the 20 and we will field goal you to death (or you will beat us scoring touchdowns while we kick field goals) - pretty sure this has something to do with the offensive line knocking the DL off the ball...but I am not a coach. I am just a blogger and not a very good one of those. The best tweets from the game came from @Imjustsayin__
Looks like the Clemson O-line has trouble blocking defenders who move...
Looks like Clemson's D has trouble against running QBs... And running RBs... and catching WRs...
I haven't given up hope. There are a couple of exits on this road we are traveling (and one next week will be for the Title Belt). I just hope we slow down enough to take the exit instead of crashing violently.
PS - I am not about to jump off a building. I still like our coaching staff. I knew we were thin on the OL and didn't have a lot of experienced backups on offense or defense and as injuries have piled up it has shown that weakness. I just want 22 hungry, motivated players to walk onto the field and step up and play their hearts out.
Highlight Video
I couldn't find one...Oh, that's because there wasn't any unless you were a Wolfpacker.
Rivalry Week - Good Guys vs Bad Guys/ Tiger vs Chickens
The Tigers roll into Columbia on Saturday night (which on the road, night game and a national ESPN TV audience usually spells ass whooping for Clemson) and both teams are 9-2 and both teams have had moments of brilliance. Clemson on offense and SC on defense (I still think Ingram is their top offensive weapon and he plays defense). Who knows what happens in this game. Last time we were in Columbia, we lost because they said we weren't motivated and didn't have anything to play for since we had the ACC championship the next week which from my earlier rant is horse hockey. I honestly hope Ellis Johnson's video machine is broke this week - I am sure he hasn't looked at the tape from Ga Tech, Wake and NC State. This is for state bragging rights and the opportunity to "stepped on their face with a hobnail boot and broke their nose" (see tribute to Larry Munson below).
Clemson Basketball
Want to talk about a team heading downhill fast and doesn't know how to stop. It's been a rough week - a loss to the College of Charleston (which I am not too upset about, GO COUGARS!) and a loss last night to Coastal Carolina which is 20 times worse than a loss to the Cougs (as my college professor said about Coastal years ago "you have to keep an eye on them and what they are doing...creepy Coastalism". In addition to losing to Coastal, they got the honored on the hourly showing of ESPN Sportscenter by being showcased on ESPN's Top Plays as the Number 1 play - Clemson gets a defensive stop(missed shot) with a couple seconds left but don't block out (defender fell down) and Coastal gets the tip in at the horn. It could be a long year...maybe Dabo, Kevin and The Chad can tell Brad how to fix it.
RIP Larry Munson
I didn't grow up in the Golden Age of Radio (1920s until 1950s when TV replaced the radio as a form of entertainment) but I did grow up in a time before every college football game was broadcast on TV. It was a big deal when your team was on TV. I also was deprived as a kid and did not have cable television until late in my high school years. It had something to do with the location of our house and the distance from the road to our house and signal loss...etc (at least that's what my father told me and I have no reason to doubt him...or do I? Was it really some plan to keep me and my sister from watching cable TV, which was seen at the time as an evil of society (all those channels and rigged boxes)? So many Saturdays were spent listening to the radio as announcers painted a picture and your imagination took you there. I was fortunate to be able to hear some of the best announcers of college football games - Jim Phillips at Clemson, Bob Fulton at South Carolina and occasionally Larry Munson at Georgia. All were legends and had a special gift that got you standing up shouting with them. Larry Munson passed away this week and one more legendary announcer has departed. There won't be anymore like them. The radio broadcasts of college football today are not the same. In a tribute to Larry here is some of his best work. Take a few minutes and go back in time when every football game wasn't on tv.
Munson Classics:
"...oh, God a touchdown...in the corner...was it Watson or Gibson...trying to put glasses on it"
"...my God Almighty, Herschel Walker he ran right through 2 men"
"...run Lindsey"
"...broke my chair...stadium fell down...now they are going to have to rebuild it now"(It was their last game in the old Gator Bowl stadium where GA play FL each year in the "largest outdoor cocktail party")
"...largest cocktail party...there's going to be some property destroyed tonight..we were out of it...you gave up and I gave up to...miracle"
"...hunker, hunker down guys"
"...85 seconds left" (classic)
"...look at the sugar falling from the sky"
"...62 seconds...were going to try to kick one a hundred thousand miles...try to kick a 60 yard plus a foot and a half...this is ungodly" (this was against Clemson, he actually kicked from Clemson to Athens through the goal post)
"...we just stepped on their face with a hobnail boot and broke their nose, we just crushed their face..."
Title Belt Match-Up
VA Tech vs Virginia
Major League Baseball
Can someone tell me why it is November and baseball is still in the newspapers? Why does it take 25 days to announce all the post season awards.
And to be fair to baseball: Congratulations and another deal with the owners and players a year early and avoiding a strike. I am still not watching BUT at least you realize the value of not striking and not being in the news everyday for being unable to find a way to split billions of dollars.
Which leads us to the continuing coverage of the...
NBA
Still don't care they are not playing. The only ones I feel sorry for in this mess are the employees who are not working because these to groups can't find a way to split billions of dollars.
PS - In case the NBA players wondered, they are not the NFL. Get the deal done asap before everyone who cared turns into me.
No comments:
Post a Comment