To say I was apprehensive as those chinooks buzzed the stadium would be a massive understatement. I offered some general musings Thursday night and my main concerns centered around Louisville's strengths, especially of late, seeming to line up perfect with our weaknesses, especially of late. We'll circle back to 3, 26, 150, and 55 at the end.
When Clemson has played its best, they come out offensively and signaled some intent. Kyle Richardson didn't pull any punches in his media availability when he said that they needed to get back to using DJ as a runner. The first snap of the game, and that empty look throughout the opening drive, seemed to be a little nod to our most complete performance of the year. After pair of DJU runs combined to move the sticks, they blitzed on first down attacking Mayes and Miller on the right side. Second down brings a cover three look and a near-interception. Following a false start, we're in yet another third-and-long and it felt like all the air was about to come out of the stadium as everyone simultaneously thought/said, "Here we go again". Louisville drops into a Tampa 2 look as evidenced by the Mike retreating into that deep middle zone and DJ uncorks it to Ngata on a circus route/flat-corner concept. This is a textbook cover two beater because the inside flat routes force those CBs to close downhill, opening up a massive hole behind them for the WRs running an out-breaking route against a safety. This is a big time throw on a play call that hits perfectly. Back to signaling intent, how about this and this in the passing game? Feed your fastest horse first, but don't forget to feed the Clydesdale. To recap, DJ had four carries for 25 yards, Shipley had three for 19. Ngata (24), Briningstool (6), and Williams (11) all had catches. Got to like opening with a 12 play, 75-yard march. The opening drive of the NC State game? DJ with three carries for a yard, Shipley with five for 15. Ngata (21), Williams (9), and Briningstool (9) each had a catch as we went 72 yards in 13 plays. I'm just saying...
Hello Jeremiah Trotter. 54 was everywhere Saturday afternoon. Look at Tyler Davis crackback the center while Bresee flows and gets his arms extended to ride the LG into Evans' hip. Those two made that play and this one. Let's note something on that second down play. When they get into that pistol look with their FB/TE beside the QB, they ran stretch behind him as a lead blocker all but once.
Anybody notice anything different about our punt protection? Speaking of punting, this is a big deal. Saved us at least the dozen yards he gained.
I absolutely love this first down call. On every first down to this point they had been bringing pressure so we counter with max protect. Each time they blitzed they ran man coverage behind it and here we're looking at a single high safety. I love the subtle motion into the stack because it ensures that Antonio gets a free release. Why do you think Tennessee runs that so often with Jalin Hyatt as the trail WR in the stack? Because you can't press him and he gets a full head of steam. Then we switch release and 1v1 with 0 is not a position I envy. Ship in pass pro might be the best part of all. We follow it up by going tempo and giving it to a bad Mafah. We settled for a FG, but check out the first-and-goal throw. What does confident DJ look like? It looks like a guy dropping his arm slot and just playing ball. Back to that motion into the stack, we tried a wrinkle off of it but against zone everybody has eyes in the backfield and Spector just gets beat. I know, I know, screens are stupid and so is the entire staff. How dare they use a successful play to try and set up something else. Make sure to tell everybody at your tailgate that Streeter must be a Daniel grad too. While I'm defending a screen pass, feast your eyes on the new profile picture.
@JTJohnston this is for you, my friend. You asked, "What are we doing (or failing to do) defensively on third and long that has made the most effective play against us in that situation a simple hand off? Looks to me like the structure of our defense lends itself to losing the edge on those outside zone runs on 3rd and 10+. The play where Louisville broke the 40+ yarder (their first first down of the game) their LT appeared to be going nuts to get Cunningham's attention to run it right behind him. If he saw it on the field it sure seems we may be tipping something by alignment." As with most things in life, it's a combination of factors but you hit the nail on the head with structure. On third we like to get into pass rush personnel and here you'll see three DL with a massive split by Murphy who's getting ready to Ross Chastain the LT. That's exactly why the LG is freaking out. He knows Murphy is about to get upfield and nobody's home. In recent weeks we've almost exclusively been a man-blitz team. Just look at Mukuba turn and run himself off. Trotter smartly comes down but covers the wrong gap. He shoots it inside while they're sweeping strong-side so he effectively took himself out of the play. Phillips takes a poor angle and loses the track meet. This one is a combination of tendency, structure, and just getting beat post-snap. Sort of the same thing late in the game on third-and-forever. Murphy gets upfield again and frankly they just block this up well, especially the WRs. It's not terribly unlike last week where ND caught Murphy on a stunt knowing that we'd be pinning our ears back.
I'd like to dedicate this section of the program to Barrett Carter and to a lesser degree, Wade Woodaz. Carter flipped inside to replace Simpson at Will meaning that Mickens and Woodaz tag-teamed the vacated Sam position. Eight tackles, three-and-a-half TFLs, two sacks, and a pick. Didn't play too bad. Here is a great example of how not normal he is. Takes on a guy who weighs 100 pounds more than he does and basically uses the OL's rear end to make the tackle. He's Dorian O'Daniel on steroids. The idea of him staying inside with Simpson moving back outside where his edge rushing prowess can be better utilized is music to my ears.
Last week I complained about going to the well one too many times with that bunch look on third- (or fourth) and-medium. We finally broke tendency and DJ runs hard. Anytime we motion a RB out it's always to the field side and we've thrown enough of these that you have to respect it, especially with three blockers out there. Check out how aggressively Clark attacks the bunch set. What's a guy got to do to get the all-22 tape? I don't have an angle to prove it but I'm pretty sure Davis Allen was running free underneath the deep safety - nonetheless a fantastic throw. After they bit so hard on the bubble, we flip the formation and give it to them but Kei'Trel Clark uses our TEs as turnstiles. I almost collapsed when I saw what happened before the next play...DJ made a check at the line...almost. Here's the actual second-and-long snap. For those of you keeping track at home, we're continuing to show them the same 12 personnel bunch look on this drive while running several different plays off of it. When everything looks the same pre-snap and none of it's the same post-snap, it's hard to feel confident defensively. Next snap I almost collapsed again but for different reasons. We coughed up the rock three times to continue to pad Louisville's impressive takeaway numbers, but the most important factor in the outcome of the game is that the defense allowed zero points off turnovers. In fact, their three subsequent drives averaged four plays for eight yards.
This was DPI by Henry. This was not DPI by Louisville. This is holding/OPI, but a great throw. Pretty sure this is a facemask.
Another beautiful play design on this one. Felt like I'd seen something similar before. I mean my goodness they're both off the 36 from the near hash with trips to the field from PA power. Couple of snaps later, what are we doing? It's another max protect call on first down because we know they're coming. Briningstool is plenty open but in fairness you'd really prefer for him to settle into that void. Wes Durham says, "For a moment it looks like Williams may have broken free." after the play. Point being that DJ had options. Yet again they show pressure on first down so we let somebody try to cover 0 by themselves. Fantastic drive to end the half.
Catching this would've set the stadium on fire. After a three-and-out and Shipley getting poked in the eye, we let Mafah eat a little bit. A few plays later, this was unreal on both ends but not nearly as unreal as this Ship right here. Dabo always talks about the middle eight and after outscoring them 14-0 in that phase, the game was never again in doubt. We kind of went into a shell offensively for the remainder of the game. I understand trying to keep the clock moving, not doing anything risky, and letting your defense continue to control the game, but it seemed like there were more opportunities to attack downfield. We hit three passes of 20+ in the first half but clearly weren't interested in continuing that, even when we got favorable coverage looks down the stretch. Thankfully Mafah nailed the coffin shut late.
I wish Wiggins' seatbelt extended beyond the occasional celebration. On the double move by Hudson, this is a cardinal sin in cover three or cover four. You cannot let a WR beat you to your spot. As a corner, if you stop your feet, you're already beat. But how about KJ's seatbelt? He gets all the way to the sideline pre-snap after noticing the RB is split out. Even though it wasn't a screen he was in perfect position. We saw a lot of this DE flat zone into the boundary against Syracuse and on Saturday KJ was playing in space several different times. While I'm talking about coverage, did anybody even see Sheridan? I know Louisville doesn't boast a fleet of WR talent but aside from the fourth down conversion, 6 had his side of the field in witness protection.
In a do-or-die situation, it's hard to argue with the performance DJ put together. The gameplan and his execution (70% completion and no interceptions) deserve plenty of credit. He didn't eclipse the 55 rushing yards benchmark but his 15 attempts were more than enough to get, and keep, him in the rhythm of the game. Louisville's defense only mustered two sacks, one in each half. Mayes wasn't perfect at RG but most of what he put on tape is very encouraging. Clemson moves 9-0 when allowing three or fewer sacks. I predicted Shipley needing 26 touches but his 19 rushes and single catch accounted for 27% of the total offensive touches. I'm more than happy with that ratio. Had he not fumbled on his last carry he would've been over 100 yards rushing along with Mafah who was fantastic. The offensive staff talked about better allocating touches to their most productive players and Williams reaching double-digit catches was surely no coincidence. On the heels of an offensive face plant a week ago, this was an about-face to what made us successful earlier in the season. I have to point out that the 150 or less rushing yards I asked for was exactly what the Cards ended with. Game flow had a lot to do with it, but 132 of that came on just a handful on runs (44, 27, 26, 19, and 16). Malik Cunningham obviously wasn't 100% and that took a lot of the teeth out of their offense but I though Domann came in and outplayed any expectation anyone could've had for him. He stood in there and made numerous throws under duress. Ultimately this came down to the front seven winning the game up front. They controlled the line of scrimmage from the get-go. Losing is never fun but that's when the most important lessons are learned. I think we learned there's still a lot of fight in this crew. Oh, and those orange britches signify that there's still a whole hell of a lot to play for.
When Clemson has played its best, they come out offensively and signaled some intent. Kyle Richardson didn't pull any punches in his media availability when he said that they needed to get back to using DJ as a runner. The first snap of the game, and that empty look throughout the opening drive, seemed to be a little nod to our most complete performance of the year. After pair of DJU runs combined to move the sticks, they blitzed on first down attacking Mayes and Miller on the right side. Second down brings a cover three look and a near-interception. Following a false start, we're in yet another third-and-long and it felt like all the air was about to come out of the stadium as everyone simultaneously thought/said, "Here we go again". Louisville drops into a Tampa 2 look as evidenced by the Mike retreating into that deep middle zone and DJ uncorks it to Ngata on a circus route/flat-corner concept. This is a textbook cover two beater because the inside flat routes force those CBs to close downhill, opening up a massive hole behind them for the WRs running an out-breaking route against a safety. This is a big time throw on a play call that hits perfectly. Back to signaling intent, how about this and this in the passing game? Feed your fastest horse first, but don't forget to feed the Clydesdale. To recap, DJ had four carries for 25 yards, Shipley had three for 19. Ngata (24), Briningstool (6), and Williams (11) all had catches. Got to like opening with a 12 play, 75-yard march. The opening drive of the NC State game? DJ with three carries for a yard, Shipley with five for 15. Ngata (21), Williams (9), and Briningstool (9) each had a catch as we went 72 yards in 13 plays. I'm just saying...
Hello Jeremiah Trotter. 54 was everywhere Saturday afternoon. Look at Tyler Davis crackback the center while Bresee flows and gets his arms extended to ride the LG into Evans' hip. Those two made that play and this one. Let's note something on that second down play. When they get into that pistol look with their FB/TE beside the QB, they ran stretch behind him as a lead blocker all but once.
Anybody notice anything different about our punt protection? Speaking of punting, this is a big deal. Saved us at least the dozen yards he gained.
I absolutely love this first down call. On every first down to this point they had been bringing pressure so we counter with max protect. Each time they blitzed they ran man coverage behind it and here we're looking at a single high safety. I love the subtle motion into the stack because it ensures that Antonio gets a free release. Why do you think Tennessee runs that so often with Jalin Hyatt as the trail WR in the stack? Because you can't press him and he gets a full head of steam. Then we switch release and 1v1 with 0 is not a position I envy. Ship in pass pro might be the best part of all. We follow it up by going tempo and giving it to a bad Mafah. We settled for a FG, but check out the first-and-goal throw. What does confident DJ look like? It looks like a guy dropping his arm slot and just playing ball. Back to that motion into the stack, we tried a wrinkle off of it but against zone everybody has eyes in the backfield and Spector just gets beat. I know, I know, screens are stupid and so is the entire staff. How dare they use a successful play to try and set up something else. Make sure to tell everybody at your tailgate that Streeter must be a Daniel grad too. While I'm defending a screen pass, feast your eyes on the new profile picture.
@JTJohnston this is for you, my friend. You asked, "What are we doing (or failing to do) defensively on third and long that has made the most effective play against us in that situation a simple hand off? Looks to me like the structure of our defense lends itself to losing the edge on those outside zone runs on 3rd and 10+. The play where Louisville broke the 40+ yarder (their first first down of the game) their LT appeared to be going nuts to get Cunningham's attention to run it right behind him. If he saw it on the field it sure seems we may be tipping something by alignment." As with most things in life, it's a combination of factors but you hit the nail on the head with structure. On third we like to get into pass rush personnel and here you'll see three DL with a massive split by Murphy who's getting ready to Ross Chastain the LT. That's exactly why the LG is freaking out. He knows Murphy is about to get upfield and nobody's home. In recent weeks we've almost exclusively been a man-blitz team. Just look at Mukuba turn and run himself off. Trotter smartly comes down but covers the wrong gap. He shoots it inside while they're sweeping strong-side so he effectively took himself out of the play. Phillips takes a poor angle and loses the track meet. This one is a combination of tendency, structure, and just getting beat post-snap. Sort of the same thing late in the game on third-and-forever. Murphy gets upfield again and frankly they just block this up well, especially the WRs. It's not terribly unlike last week where ND caught Murphy on a stunt knowing that we'd be pinning our ears back.
I'd like to dedicate this section of the program to Barrett Carter and to a lesser degree, Wade Woodaz. Carter flipped inside to replace Simpson at Will meaning that Mickens and Woodaz tag-teamed the vacated Sam position. Eight tackles, three-and-a-half TFLs, two sacks, and a pick. Didn't play too bad. Here is a great example of how not normal he is. Takes on a guy who weighs 100 pounds more than he does and basically uses the OL's rear end to make the tackle. He's Dorian O'Daniel on steroids. The idea of him staying inside with Simpson moving back outside where his edge rushing prowess can be better utilized is music to my ears.
Last week I complained about going to the well one too many times with that bunch look on third- (or fourth) and-medium. We finally broke tendency and DJ runs hard. Anytime we motion a RB out it's always to the field side and we've thrown enough of these that you have to respect it, especially with three blockers out there. Check out how aggressively Clark attacks the bunch set. What's a guy got to do to get the all-22 tape? I don't have an angle to prove it but I'm pretty sure Davis Allen was running free underneath the deep safety - nonetheless a fantastic throw. After they bit so hard on the bubble, we flip the formation and give it to them but Kei'Trel Clark uses our TEs as turnstiles. I almost collapsed when I saw what happened before the next play...DJ made a check at the line...almost. Here's the actual second-and-long snap. For those of you keeping track at home, we're continuing to show them the same 12 personnel bunch look on this drive while running several different plays off of it. When everything looks the same pre-snap and none of it's the same post-snap, it's hard to feel confident defensively. Next snap I almost collapsed again but for different reasons. We coughed up the rock three times to continue to pad Louisville's impressive takeaway numbers, but the most important factor in the outcome of the game is that the defense allowed zero points off turnovers. In fact, their three subsequent drives averaged four plays for eight yards.
This was DPI by Henry. This was not DPI by Louisville. This is holding/OPI, but a great throw. Pretty sure this is a facemask.
Another beautiful play design on this one. Felt like I'd seen something similar before. I mean my goodness they're both off the 36 from the near hash with trips to the field from PA power. Couple of snaps later, what are we doing? It's another max protect call on first down because we know they're coming. Briningstool is plenty open but in fairness you'd really prefer for him to settle into that void. Wes Durham says, "For a moment it looks like Williams may have broken free." after the play. Point being that DJ had options. Yet again they show pressure on first down so we let somebody try to cover 0 by themselves. Fantastic drive to end the half.
Catching this would've set the stadium on fire. After a three-and-out and Shipley getting poked in the eye, we let Mafah eat a little bit. A few plays later, this was unreal on both ends but not nearly as unreal as this Ship right here. Dabo always talks about the middle eight and after outscoring them 14-0 in that phase, the game was never again in doubt. We kind of went into a shell offensively for the remainder of the game. I understand trying to keep the clock moving, not doing anything risky, and letting your defense continue to control the game, but it seemed like there were more opportunities to attack downfield. We hit three passes of 20+ in the first half but clearly weren't interested in continuing that, even when we got favorable coverage looks down the stretch. Thankfully Mafah nailed the coffin shut late.
I wish Wiggins' seatbelt extended beyond the occasional celebration. On the double move by Hudson, this is a cardinal sin in cover three or cover four. You cannot let a WR beat you to your spot. As a corner, if you stop your feet, you're already beat. But how about KJ's seatbelt? He gets all the way to the sideline pre-snap after noticing the RB is split out. Even though it wasn't a screen he was in perfect position. We saw a lot of this DE flat zone into the boundary against Syracuse and on Saturday KJ was playing in space several different times. While I'm talking about coverage, did anybody even see Sheridan? I know Louisville doesn't boast a fleet of WR talent but aside from the fourth down conversion, 6 had his side of the field in witness protection.
In a do-or-die situation, it's hard to argue with the performance DJ put together. The gameplan and his execution (70% completion and no interceptions) deserve plenty of credit. He didn't eclipse the 55 rushing yards benchmark but his 15 attempts were more than enough to get, and keep, him in the rhythm of the game. Louisville's defense only mustered two sacks, one in each half. Mayes wasn't perfect at RG but most of what he put on tape is very encouraging. Clemson moves 9-0 when allowing three or fewer sacks. I predicted Shipley needing 26 touches but his 19 rushes and single catch accounted for 27% of the total offensive touches. I'm more than happy with that ratio. Had he not fumbled on his last carry he would've been over 100 yards rushing along with Mafah who was fantastic. The offensive staff talked about better allocating touches to their most productive players and Williams reaching double-digit catches was surely no coincidence. On the heels of an offensive face plant a week ago, this was an about-face to what made us successful earlier in the season. I have to point out that the 150 or less rushing yards I asked for was exactly what the Cards ended with. Game flow had a lot to do with it, but 132 of that came on just a handful on runs (44, 27, 26, 19, and 16). Malik Cunningham obviously wasn't 100% and that took a lot of the teeth out of their offense but I though Domann came in and outplayed any expectation anyone could've had for him. He stood in there and made numerous throws under duress. Ultimately this came down to the front seven winning the game up front. They controlled the line of scrimmage from the get-go. Losing is never fun but that's when the most important lessons are learned. I think we learned there's still a lot of fight in this crew. Oh, and those orange britches signify that there's still a whole hell of a lot to play for.
