Clemson Post-game Thread

[brian22]

Folks, we’re rebuilding. There’s going to be highs and lows. This was a low. On to next week. Go Jackets!!

 

[gtstinger776]

Transitive property means nothing in CFB. I am not going to say that we would beat UNC or ND b/c our prior wins (FSU, UL) did or played them close.

Recognize every team has flaws and growth opportunities, and our’s were highly exploited by the best team in football. People here need to chill the eff out. We lost a game, it sucked. We are a long ways from being where we need to be. But if you can’t see that we are a much better program / team than we were 365 days ago or 730 days ago, you aren’t watching the games.

 

[4shotB]

Why do people think a coach screaming and breaking stuff makes players play better? How many chairs need to be broken to make our defenders better than Trevor Lawrence?

I screamed at my TV a lot yesterday in the first half, which we lost 52 - 7. In the second half, I had quit screaming and we only lost that half 21 - 0. So the data suggests that the kinder, gentler approach works better with this generation of athlete.

 

[Vespidae]

Why do people think a coach screaming and breaking stuff makes players play better? How many chairs need to be broken to make our defenders better than Trevor Lawrence?

I don’t think it’s breaking chairs so much as it is are there consequences for poor play?

Look, you can only go to war with the army you have, not the army you hope to have. Most of us knew we would lose this game and we did. No surprise.

Its the coaches that put kids in a position to win with the play, the skill, and the desire to win.

What’s the point of yelling at kids for a game you knew going in was going to be difficult, if not impossible? If Collins is breaking chairs, he might start with his staff.

 

[GoldZ]

I don’t think it’s breaking chairs so much as it is are there consequences for poor play?

Look, you can only go to war with the army you have, not the army you hope to have. Most of us knew we would lose this game and we did. No surprise.

Its the coaches that put kids in a position to win with the play, the skill, and the desire to win.

What’s the point of yelling at kids for a game you knew going in was going to be difficult, if not impossible? If Collins is breaking chairs, he might start with his staff.

Your first line is the best of the 4.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Cross posting from a prospect’s thread

Why in the world would a player or players parents read anything on social media? Social media is not the real world and doesn’t matter. That player made a great decision because it’s a lifetime decision not a football decision. And there isn’t a fan base in the country in high school, college, or pros who doesn’t “bash” players after losses. Whatever team her other talented son signs with will be no different after losses. The difference is where he’ll be when he’s 29 years old.

 

[stech81]

A coach needs to be respected by the players. I don't know any of the players so I have no knowledge what they think.
Being liked will win you a few recruits but once you get them you need to be respected by the players so they know you will put them position to win.
I like CGC and want to see him win here I hope the players respect him and the assistant coaches but again I have no knowledge if they do cause I don't know them or their families.
We got beat by a better team that happens but we did look like do do even after they played the backups. That has me worried.
I don't see any practices so again I don't know what they do.
We just need the players to forget about this game and get ready for the next game. Don't let this game cost you more games.

 

[Lee]

I think what most of the haters are intentionally missing is that Clemson could/can do this to anyone they want to save 1 or 2 teams on their schedule.

Those bringing up their scores against the Citadel and Wake prove nothing. Do you honestly think they couldn’t put up 70 against them?

Dabo was our to prove something yesterday. my best guess is it had nothing to do with the playoff and everything to do with recruiting. You don’t throw 50 times in a game you win by 66 points unless you’re trying to prove something.

So while the loss is embarrassing, the reaction by our fans (most of the usual suspects around here who were missing after the win against UL) is more embarrassing.

 

[RonJohn]

Transitive property means nothing in CFB. I am not going to say that we would beat UNC or ND b/c our prior wins (FSU, UL) did or played them close.

If you try to use transitive property from games yesterday, what would your takeaway be? GT's wins looked impressive. GT's losses looked pitiful. Is GT a great team because of how the teams they beat played? Is GT terrible because of the way the teams they lost to played? Can't be great and terrible at the same time. Just those performances yesterday prove your statement that transitive property means nothing.

 

[rodandanga]

There is a temptation with Tech people, and I include myself in this, to denigrate liberal arts as opposed to STEM majors. As I have aged and have more time to read, my perspective as changed. Here are five books I recently read/reread. Nothing that happened in my Calculus classes compares to comprehending these books.

1. Finnegans Wake by James Joyce (1939)
2. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (1929)
3. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (14th Century)
4. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (1967)
5. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (1973)

I've never been able to get into 100 Years of Solitude. I love his other books, The General in his Labyrinth is probably my favorite.

 

[g0lftime]

Why in the world would a player or players parents read anything on social media? Social media is not the real world and doesn’t matter. That player made a great decision because it’s a lifetime decision not a football decision. And there isn’t a fan base in the country in high school, college, or pros who doesn’t “bash” players after losses. Whatever team her other talented son signs with will be no different after losses. The difference is where he’ll be when he’s 29 years old.

Just read the Auburn forums. They are bashing the QB more than the coach. I am sure they will ultimately get to him as well.

 

[RonJohn]

Why in the world would a player or players parents read anything on social media? Social media is not the real world and doesn’t matter. That player made a great decision because it’s a lifetime decision not a football decision. And there isn’t a fan base in the country in high school, college, or pros who doesn’t “bash” players after losses. Whatever team her other talented son signs with will be no different after losses. The difference is where he’ll be when he’s 29 years old.

The players are of an age that social media is the real world. If you haven't noticed, the GT thing to do after a turnover is to post their Twitter/Instagram handle for the TV cameras to pick up. I don't understand how you could expect them to not pay attention to social media.

 

[g0lftime]

Each game is a separate entity. It boils down to individual matchups and exploiting weaknesses. We couldn't or didn't find any yesterday.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

That's a good point. 52-7 is pretty much as bad as 73-7. It was just painful how we couldn't stop/show down their 4th string.

I think we ultimately have to wait till the end of next year to truly judge the direction of the program.

For example, up until today, the o line was giving up very few sacks. Today we gave up 5. Now I know it's Clemson, but still it shows there work to be done. I expect next year will show even more improvement in that department. We will ultimately have to wait and see.

It's never as good or as bad as it seems.

True, it's never as good or as bad as it seems. This is pretty bad though. What is disturbing to me is that I am strangely ambivalent. Getting older I suppose but the lack of fire in the fan that is within me is an indication that I just don't care as much as I used to. If the players and the coaches don't mind a historic beatdown, well, who am I to argue?

 

[Techster]

Few things here:

1. There's probably 2 other teams in the nation that have a chance to beat Clemson ('Bama, Ohio State). Remember what LSU did last year to teams once they got going? That's Clemson this year. They have a once in a generation QB, and a bunch of players that will be top 1-5 at their position. If no one has been paying attention to recruiting lately, Clemson is literally turning away FIVE star recruits right now.

2. This is a statement game for Dabo and Clemson on two fronts. 1. They need voters and press to do a double take when looking at the score on the day 'Bama-UGA were playing. An emphatic win by either (which 'Bama succeeded in doing) could have catapulted either one ahead of Clemson. With the B1G playing next week, there's a chance Ohio State and 'Bama could take the poll position down the road since they have more quality opponents to play against than Clemson. 2. The two signature QBs (DeShaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence) in Dabo's and Clemson's "elite" run come from GA. Before the coaching change, high level QBs in the state of GA either went out of state or went to UGA...and UGA basically eliminates themselves with the way they mishandle in state QBs (that's why Stetson Bennett was playing against 'Bama). Given how well Jeff Sims is doing, and how we are transitioning to a more attractive offense, GT is now a real option (no pun intended) for high level QBs. Right now, the state of GA is the #3 best state in the country for developing elite level QB recruits (behind CA and TX). That means the best team in the nation has to defend their turf against us. Dabo did the right thing...absolutely crush an upcoming threat to his talent pipeline...and that's not just at the QB position.

3. As good as Clemson is, we still should have done a LOT better against them on offense. The offense looked putrid at times. Trevor Lawrence was pulled after the first drive in the second half, yet Clemson was still moving the ball and putting up points on us. Dabo may have laid the hammer on us, but he still took mercy on us in the second half...it's not on Clemson to stop themselves. That's on CGC and our staff. We should have definitely done better than what ended up on the scoreboard.

The best thing the team can do is learn from this, and erase this game from their memories. CGC talks about raising the standard to compete with the elite teams...well, right now Clemson is the standard and now we know where we need to raise it. BC is next, and they're a good team. If we don't move on from this loss, BC will embarass us. Win against BC, and no on really cares about this embarrassing loss to Clemson. Lose to BC, and it problems become magnified.

 

[Vespidae]

Sunday mornings are always a good time for reflection. So, I was thinking ... "What is Geoff Collins Game Plan for Tech?"

We're heard about his great recruiting, branding, etc. We haven't heard so much about winning games.

I'll paraphrase a few comments to put some perspective in it:

• Recruiting in college athletics is a tough business. Georgia Tech is one of the leaders in making the availability for brand-building opportunities to their student athletes. Tech hired JIS Creative and Darlow to help deploy this. (Note: Geoff is not a branding genius. He's identified a trend and hired the right resources.) JIS handles team branding and Darlow is helping SA's develop their personal marketing and branding.
• The main theory is to help student-athletes prioritize their earnings potential. Doing so will help drive recruiting.
• The challenge is that other P5 schools do this really well. And that a school like Alabama ... 55% of their 5-stars are first round draft picks ... twice that of any other school. Development of players into NFL-ready is driving recruiting like no other and Alabama is the best at this with Clemson a close second. It drops like a rock after that.
• So ... for Tech to help kids maximize earnings potential, they have to recruit 3-stars and 4-stars and excel at developing them into NFL-ready. Hence, the focus on development. (TStan has stated this.)

No where, is it discussed, the goal is actually winning games. We have to take it at face value that by developing earnings potential, we will recruit better (over time), and then ... wins will come.

So ... my theory is ... we won't know if this is working until Tech starts to place kids into NFL contracts and can demonstrate that all of this actually works. Which will take 5-7 years.

That's the gamble.

 

[Vespidae]

Just read the Auburn forums. They are bashing the QB more than the coach. I am sure they will ultimately get to him as well.

The pressure is building to oust Malzahn. His buyout is down to $21 million and I was talking to a significant booster who played for Auburn earlier this week. He says it's being discussed to raise money and get rid of him.

 

[Vespidae]

The players are of an age that social media is the real world. If you haven't noticed, the GT thing to do after a turnover is to post their Twitter/Instagram handle for the TV cameras to pick up. I don't understand how you could expect them to not pay attention to social media.

Read my post. THIS is the GT strategy for recruitment.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

A coach needs to be respected by the players. I don't know any of the players so I have no knowledge what they think.
Being liked will win you a few recruits but once you get them you need to be respected by the players so they know you will put them position to win.
I like CGC and want to see him win here I hope the players respect him and the assistant coaches but again I have no knowledge if they do cause I don't know them or their families.
We got beat by a better team that happens but we did look like do do even after they played the backups. That has me worried.
I don't see any practices so again I don't know what they do.
We just need the players to forget about this game and get ready for the next game. Don't let this game cost you more games.

"Don't let this game cost you more games" One of the hardest things to do in sports is to let it go and focus on the next one. BC also had a disappointing loss this week. The team that is able to throw off the disappointment best will win.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

The pressure is building to oust Malzahn. His buyout is down to $21 million and I was talking to a significant booster who played for Auburn earlier this week. He says it's being discussed to raise money and get rid of him.

They are going to pay Malzahn $21 million to just walk away? Geez Louise, that is some serious dough to throw away. I wonder what is the most we have paid a coach to just leave? Seems like we were paying for two coaches to not coach at one time one in basketball perhaps?