First of all, I'm taking a deep breath... I saw a lot to be worried about last night. But before the season started I HOPED, that we'd be sitting here on 9/18 3-0 and glad we got out of UL with a win. And here we are... My personal prediction for the season was 9-3 with a serious hope to go 10-2. I thought UL, ND, GT, Miami, NC State, FSU, and South Carolina were all capable of beating us (Miami and NC State mostly b/c they are on the road). With the turnover from last year, I figured it was reasonable to win 4 of those 7 and certainly not out of the question to win 5/7. Point being that we are exactly where we hoped to be at this point... namely winning close at UL and taking care of business with the first two games.
Before the season started, I thought that (and I think that a lot of people were with me) we could use our 1st two games to get a lot of snaps for the reserves and grow up some of our backups. I also thought that UL would be one of the toughest games of the year (all the others are at home). I thought that our defense would take a step or two back but be mostly pretty good. I fully believed that our OL would be a dumpster fire but the skill players we have would help that out. Finally, I was expecting our offense to have to carry the defense a bit... especially early in the year.
Well, this is college football and the only thing you can count on is that something won't go as planned.
Defensively: Clemson's defense is pretty darn good. Maybe a HALF step back for the #1s (LB play from sideline to sideline is not as good and lack of pressure with the front four... offset somewhat by a better 2ndary). There is big falloff from the 1st team to the 2nd though and that is a concern going forward. Otherwise, our defense is way ahead of schedule.
Offensively: Color me sad. I was expecting fireworks and they simply haven't been there. We REALLY miss Mike Williams and Peake simply hasn't been able to fill those shoes. Watson has played... well, not crisp is as good a term as any. Not bad, but not a world beater either. I was expecting more somehow, but he simply CAN'T be 100%. You don't rehab an 18 month injury in 9 and be back to full strength. OL play to me has been a pleasant surprise. I was expecting a dumpster fire and got simple mediocrity. I thought they did all they could do vs. UL's good front 7, especially with the injuries. We simply can't expect the players we have to be good... and they aren't. BUT they aren't terrible either (which they definitely could have been). Bring on Cain, Ray Ray, and Scott with a side of Renfrow. They are clearly the best we have right now. Wow, is Gallman the #1 guy or what? And wow, is CJ the next best? Really?
Special Teams: Wow... can we just kick the ball out of bounds and give it to the other team on the 35? Unfortunately, I'm dead serious about that. Wake Forrest and Syracuse can cover kickoffs but we can't? This is coaching...FGs looked good last night. That's about as pressure packed as it gets and we hit them both. ST are always an adventure...
Anyway, we've two weeks to relax and get some rest on the defensive side and polish the offensive part.
Before the season started, I thought that (and I think that a lot of people were with me) we could use our 1st two games to get a lot of snaps for the reserves and grow up some of our backups. I also thought that UL would be one of the toughest games of the year (all the others are at home). I thought that our defense would take a step or two back but be mostly pretty good. I fully believed that our OL would be a dumpster fire but the skill players we have would help that out. Finally, I was expecting our offense to have to carry the defense a bit... especially early in the year.
Well, this is college football and the only thing you can count on is that something won't go as planned.
Defensively: Clemson's defense is pretty darn good. Maybe a HALF step back for the #1s (LB play from sideline to sideline is not as good and lack of pressure with the front four... offset somewhat by a better 2ndary). There is big falloff from the 1st team to the 2nd though and that is a concern going forward. Otherwise, our defense is way ahead of schedule.
Offensively: Color me sad. I was expecting fireworks and they simply haven't been there. We REALLY miss Mike Williams and Peake simply hasn't been able to fill those shoes. Watson has played... well, not crisp is as good a term as any. Not bad, but not a world beater either. I was expecting more somehow, but he simply CAN'T be 100%. You don't rehab an 18 month injury in 9 and be back to full strength. OL play to me has been a pleasant surprise. I was expecting a dumpster fire and got simple mediocrity. I thought they did all they could do vs. UL's good front 7, especially with the injuries. We simply can't expect the players we have to be good... and they aren't. BUT they aren't terrible either (which they definitely could have been). Bring on Cain, Ray Ray, and Scott with a side of Renfrow. They are clearly the best we have right now. Wow, is Gallman the #1 guy or what? And wow, is CJ the next best? Really?
Special Teams: Wow... can we just kick the ball out of bounds and give it to the other team on the 35? Unfortunately, I'm dead serious about that. Wake Forrest and Syracuse can cover kickoffs but we can't? This is coaching...FGs looked good last night. That's about as pressure packed as it gets and we hit them both. ST are always an adventure...
Anyway, we've two weeks to relax and get some rest on the defensive side and polish the offensive part.
