Film Study - Offense vs Clemson

[Boomergump]

Hmm....uh......well...... where to start? I guess the thing to do is give Clemson some credit. They are a really good defensive football team who took advantage of our weaknesses and made us pay, dearly. With that said, we were terrible. It was a combination of both. We were outmanned some and we just aren't executing anything. On replay, it didn't look like our effort was as bad as I thought watching live, but let's be real here, we never really fixed anything or got a fire in our belly collectively. As the game wore on, we looked resigned.

The Tiggers came out and pinned their ears back from the beginning. They were going to take advantage of the field conditions and the weather by coming after us down hill with numbers and dare us to beat them over the top. IMHO, they were perfectly willing to give up a couple deep shots in the game, which is what happened. They really didn't show us anything new on defense, just a lot of it. Tons of shifting on the line and gap blitzes against the run and just keep coming if it is a pass. Early in the game, they seemed to guess right every single time. If they fired a DB to the toss, we obliged by running right into it. If they blitzed a gap, we ran right into it. If I didn't know better, they either knew certain plays were coming or they had studied us so well they knew our tendencies. Countless times, when we changed the direction of a play, they immediately backed off their blitz and ran it to the other side too. We are really struggling against numbers. On the few times they played in a "normal" depth, we had a decent play.

So, with all this said, why were we so hapless? I guess I will try and address that with the position groups.

It is hard to describe how ineffectual we were blocking at the AB position. They have some rangy and physical guys playing out in space and they humiliated our AB blockers. At times it looked like some A-hole big brother pushing his 4 year old sibling to the ground in the back yard. It didn't matter if we were blocking the interior on an unbalanced dive play or leading on the TO. It was terrible. MLD seems to be the only physical presence who blocked with fire and showed some physicality. The problem is though, half the time he was either throwing an illegal block (chop) or taking a bad angle and touching nobody. He is the only guy I saw out there who had an impact when he did get a hat on somebody. He blocks THROUGH the legs and not just TO them, if you know what I mean. I think the kid looks like he is going to be a player, he just isn't fully ready for live bullets. Oh well, baptism by fire young man. I like the look in his eyes though. He is a confident kid and he is good for the position. As runners, they didn't have a lot to work with, but they still ran on the wrong side of blockers and ran backwards at times which just made me furious.

At BB, it just looks like the game is fast for Skov right now. His snaps were reduced yesterday, but he whiffed some blocks, fell down without getting hit, was late picking people up, and just had a poor game. MM, showed some lateral bounce, translating visual information to his feet, getting himself into the proper creases. He made some blocks too and looked to be the most effective of the group. MA tripped over his own feet in a hole once too and also struggled blocking at times. We made some plays on the dive part of the offense, but it was hard to captialize when the down and distance was so messed up. A 6 yard gain doesn't mean much when it is second and 14.

The offensive line just didn't get it done. We had trouble handling them physically for sure, but mentally we were just as bad. There were just enough mistakes (with line checks, whiffing, falling down, getting beat, failing to get anybody at the second level) to keep having negative plays. We had more trouble with this DL than any other to date and I understand that, but execution should not be the problem. Neither should toughness be a problem, but they both seem to be at the moment. The only guy who was a good physical match for the person in front of him was Devine, but he made his share of bad plays too. Clemson is really really good in there on the interior. I can't over-state that. However, I really feel we should have played better against them than we did.

I feel for JT. I really do. He has really had a tough job lately, but even he will tell you that he isn't doing the best. Some of the fundamental things are just a little loose right now. His mesh is not deceptive enough, he isn't carrying out fakes, he isn't attacking pitch reads vertically enough forcing commits. There are just too many pitch reads making tackles. The reads on the mesh have been tough. I get that. DLs are better at faking their intentions this year causing misreads. We just need to be up to that challenge. There is still too much dancing at times instead of committing vertically to a seam and getting what he can.

I can't really comment on WRs. They are out of the screen too much.

To sum it all up, we are putting a pretty bad product on the field right now. It is not competitive against good defenses. In addition to all the other stuff I have mentioned, here are a few snap shots of ridiculous errors: All 3 eligible receivers on a route end up in the same spot of the field drawing every defender towards the play, resulting in a pick. QB and BB running into each other on the mesh, totally destroying the timing of an option play resulting in a loss. An AB running directly into an OT on his way out on a route, effectively blocking him off the rushing DE, causing a free run at the QB. We finally call a screen play to the BB with all the defenders flying into the back field, but can't get it dumped off because of a bad route by the BB. That is right, not releasing behind the wall of blockers in time and getting himself in position. These are pretty basic things.

So, what to do? I am not a football coach, and that is probably a good thing. My instinct tells me that we are having trouble reacting to the speed of live action against good athletes. This offense is designed to overwhelm defenses with the speed of execution compared to scout teams that they practice against etc, where instead, the exact opposite is actually happening. They are overwhelming us with the speed of the game. We have had injuries. Are we protecting guys in practice too much trying to be careful? I have no idea what is going on. I am simply not there. At this juncture I need to trust the staff, but if I were coach, with what little information I have, it might be time for some ones vs ones during practice and get things lathered up a little. If we ding some guys up in the process, at least we tried something to shift the tide and develop some toughness and high speed execution. Our backs are against the wall and we have little to lose. We just can't go on like this. I haven't watched the defensive film, but tackling appers to be an issue too. These kinds of things typically happen when guys don't do a lot of it during the week.

 

[awbuzz]

Excellent notes regarding MLD. Moments of brilliance and moments of "what are you doing?" is what I noticed during the game.

Regarding the A-backs, to often instead of cutting up a seam for 3 -8 yards, they appear to try to get to the edge only to be knocked for little, no or negative gains. Also, seems some of the pitch angles were "off" for whatever reason (AB or QB error???) .

The route on the screen pass was ****** and was a good call, to bad it wasn't executed well.


All in all, a disappointing day yesterday to be a Yellow Jacket fan.

 

[DC Bee]

My instinct tells me that we are having trouble reacting to the speed of live action against good athletes. This offense is designed to overwhelm defenses with the speed of execution compared to scout teams that they practice against etc, where instead, the exact opposite is actually happening. They are overwhelming us with the speed of the game. We have had injuries. Are we protecting guys in practice too much trying to be careful? I have no idea what is going on. I am simply not there. At this juncture I need to trust the staff, but if I were coach, with what little information I have, it might be time for some ones vs ones during practice and get things lathered up a little. If we ding some guys up in the process, at least we tried something to shift the tide and develop some toughness and high speed execution. Our backs are against the wall and we have little to lose. We just can't go on like this. I haven't watched the defensive film, but tackling appers to be an issue too. These kinds of things typically happen when guys don't do a lot of it during the week.

As always Boom, thank you for taking the time to break things down.

This last paragraph really made me wonder. I don't think CPJ has ever made a player wear a no-contact jersey in camps in his career until this past offseason with JT. I understand it was well-intentioned, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I wonder if a disservice to the team occurred, as we were returning a lot of players and most of us thought they had a good grip on the system. If CPJ did some different things the past offseason, maybe that experiment shouldn't be repeated.

 

[DC Bee]

Regarding the A-backs, to often instead of cutting up a seam for 3 -8 yards, they appear to try to get to the edge only to be knocked for little, no or negative gains. Also, seems some of the pitch angles were "off" for whatever reason (AB or QB error???) .

I noticed on one option sweep play (1st qtr I think) where the corner was there, and last year's team would have gotten it. This year the play is too slow developing. The AB slowed down and looked back for the pitch. JT didn't charge the DE to force him to commit. The DE just waited and when JT pitched the DE smothered the AB who who was unable to accelerate after slowing down for the pitch.

 

[Longestday]

Clemson was reading our checks perfectly. Defenses know how to push our reads and then switch right before the snap. I have one play that will clearly show their reading of our check.

The team seems confused at the line. Doubt right before the snap is bad. I think calling a play and going with it may be the best option at the moment. Hard to play with fire when you are uncertain.

I am not as good as CPJ. With 11 within 5 yards of the LOS, you have to pass even if you are bad at passing. Keep it up for a series or two and then go back to running. We seem to be missing last years roll outs and we need some quick passing routes. Fake rocket toss B back pass would be good. Even the ABack drag would be good.

 

[Skeptic]

It sickens me to say this, but a good analysis. I am disheartened for the first time. Injuries are big for sure, but the replacements are just not very good. It is going to be a long day when you can't play offense, defense or special teams, and your QB -- so electric and exciting 10 months ago -- is a shell of himself, even when he gets a block. He seems to have lost his quickness. I'll keep hoping and watching, but there isn't a game left in the season that I think we can win. I give Clemson all the credit in the world. It is a very good football team, and deserved a better competitor on the field Saturday. I can imagine if so many of us feel like getting sick about the game, Johnson must be hugging the toilet bowl right about now.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

I think you are being a bit too light in your criticism of J. Thomas. He is a big part of the problem. He is a team captain and our on the field general. His lack of confidence and failure to execute was a huge part of the outcome of this game. There are plenty of problems besides our QB but he definitely needs to show more leadership on and off the field.

Go Jackets!

 

[Techster]

At BB, it just looks like the game is fast for Skov right now. His snaps were reduced yesterday, but he whiffed some blocks, fell down without getting hit, was late picking people up, and just had a poor game. MM, showed some lateral bounce, translating visual information to his feet, getting himself into the proper creases. He made some blocks too and looked to be the most effective of the group. MA tripped over his own feet in a hole once too and also struggled blocking at times. We made some plays on the dive part of the offense, but it was hard to captialize when the down and distance was so messed up. A 6 yard gain doesn't mean much when it is second and 14.

I'm not surprised at Skov getting reduced snaps. If you need to grind out a tough 3 yards, Skov is our best bet. However, he is not a natural runner. There's a reason why Stanford put him at FB and not RB, and why he had a grand total of 14 carries the previous 3 seasons. I know announcers like to mistakenly call our BBs fullbacks, but BBs have to have natural runningback instincts. Our offense needs a credible RB at BB...someone that has good vision through the tackles and can make the first guy on the second level miss. It's the difference between "three yards and a cloud of dust" and possibly breaking a long run on every snap. Still puzzled why so many posters thought he would be just as good as either Days/Laskey. There was nothing on film or in his production at Stanford to suggest he'd match either Days or Laskey's production...especially not in his first and only year in this offense. To be honest, I'm not disappointed in Skov's production running the ball...he is who his history says he is.

What disappoints me about Skov is what he did for Stanford as a FB...which is easily translatable to BB duties. Provide pass pro for JeT, and clearing the way for JeT on QB follows. He should be far better at those things than he's shown.

 

[Fatmike91]

You often hear CPJ say that a player "knows where to go". Right now (for a variety of reasons) we have too many players on the field who simply don't know where to go.

I've watched every game over multiple times win or loss for the past few years. I honestly don't think I am going to watch this game again.

/

 

[Techster]

I think you are being a bit too light in your criticism of J. Thomas. He is a big part of the problem. He is a team captain and our on the field general. His lack of confidence and failure to execute was a huge part of the outcome of this game. There are plenty of problems besides our QB but he definitely needs to show more leadership on and off the field.

Go Jackets!

How exactly is he suppose to "show more leadership"? We all know he's not a yeller or someone who's a rah rah guy. He's someone that leads by playing hard and producing on the field. He talks to his teammates on the sideline without making a show of it or showing up anyone. It's those same qualities pretty much everyone loved about him in 2014 and held againt Vad when he transferred out. Vad was "rah rah" guy and it was his thing. That's not JeT, and even CPJ has commented about that. So he's praised for it one year, and getting criticized for it this year? OK...

JeT's problem is he's not fast enough and doesn't know magic to escape from 3-4 defenders chasing him on every down. He needs some help. On the interception between defenders...it's a play someone like Smelter, Waller, and Deon Hill routinely made last year, but is an interception this year because guys are not yet the playmakers those guys were.

There are some things JeT needs to do better...sometimes he just needs to know to take a 3 yard loss, as opposed to trying to juke guys and running backwards only to get caught for an 8 yard loss. Guys on this level, and of the caliber of athletes that play for Clemson, Notre Dame, UGA, FSU will absolutely make you pay. JeT needs to trust his teammates to do their job as opposed to not making the right read and keeping the ball.

 

[iceeater1969]

Clemson was reading our checks perfectly. Defenses know how to push our reads and then switch right before the snap. I have one play that will clearly show their reading of our check.

The team seems confused at the line. Doubt right before the snap is bad. I think calling a play and going with it may be the best option at the moment. Hard to play with fire when you are uncertain.

I am not as good as CPJ. With 11 within 5 yards of the LOS, you have to pass even if you are bad at passing. Keep it up for a series or two and then go back to running. We seem to be missing last years roll outs and we need some quick passing routes. Fake rocket toss B back pass would be good. Even the ABack drag would be good.

NAIL HEAD HIT all three points
Paragraph one - picking up check. check with me on Omaha should be dramatic not a minor adjustment.
Against these super well drilled teams - tell jet to call the play then just he and one player would do the opposite. Let the blockers block the original play - like naked reverse we ran once.
Second paragraph and
Third paragraph
Got to pass - with skov, burden, sham and joe and ab we can max protect while rolling right. This is a called play -even if the dive starts to work. We commit to it to make the dive work GREAT . A few weeks ago we had a thread we run the ball where coach was quoted out of context - we run, and we pass to make the run work and then we run to make the pass work. The run does not work AND FIXING everything wrong is not practical. We should try this very often. What a cool play to run against uga - just let skov slip out for a short pass when the ab drags across the middle taking the lb. Once we have a little room, the blocks will get a lot easier!

 

[LibertyTurns]

Appreciate the detailed analysis each week because I have no idea what's really going on up front and I'm too lazy to learn.

There's this sense I have that the better opposing defenses have picked up on our playcalling as if they're standing in our huddle or inside JT's head. Is it:
a. They're coming out in a defensive set expecting JT to check into a different play then selling out into what they think we'll switch to
b. We're tipping our hand by leaning into the play
c. They flat out are guessing correctly like crazy hoping when they make a mistake their athleticism is able to compensate for being wrong
d. They're jumping the snap count like VT just hoping to get lucky

One stop for a loss & we're thrown off schedule & odds are our drive stalls. If I was DC, I'd roll the dice seeing as we don't appear to be hitting the HRs this year.

I did notice on TV this past game Clemson's DL was lining up across the LOS. Not sure if this was an optical illusion or the Line Judge was asleep at the wheel.

I haven't seen the DL holding our OL like seemed to happen a good bit last year. DC's must have abandoned that tactic because it just didn't work very well.

The other half appears to me being we've got zero passing threat they're begging us to throw early and when we're unsuccessful because we're not making them pay, they double down and just let our WRs run by.

I know one thing- ever since the first possession of the ND game, we seem completely confused on offense. Whatever "how to beat GT" scheming was done between last year and this year is paying off. Add that to injuries & we're snakebit.

Going out on a limb here but I doubt Pitt has the horses to keep us at bay this week. I generally avoid predictions, but I fully expect a breakout this weekend barring really bad weather.

 

[takethepoints]

I hate to be a broken record here, but the field conditions had something to do with our performance. Again. We never played on a bad (soggy, yes, flooded, no) field last year or in the rain. Now we've had four weeks of it. If our BBs were better, then this would be less of a problem. If we still had just Snoddy, it would be less of a problem. As it is, it's a problem.

I also think our team has lost a little heart. Last year we lost two games and then were touched by the hand of God against Pitt. After that I think our guys thought they weren't going to lose to anybody. Now I think they are questioning themselves. My guess is that they know we could have beaten both Puke and UNC, but things didn't roll our way in close games like last year. That can be discouraging. It can lead to lapses in concentration too; Tobin was letter perfect last year, but that was the 3rd (I think) ball over Rodwell's head so far.

The way to get out of that is to beat Pitt. If we get a dry field for once, I don't doubt we can do that. I hope we do.

 

[gtg936g]

I think we honestly had a bad gameplan. We came out throwing when we really needed to play a game of attrition. I thought if we could wear the Clemson defense down we could have a shot. I know we want to hit some X plays, but we start so shaky it seems we just need to try to establish the run and get a first down. After that we can take some chances.

On defense I like PJ Davis, but he (along with a lot of others) does not tackle very well. There was a ton of missed tackles yesterday. Those are killers. I wish we would have went with a three man front yesterday at some point to combat the screen plays. This worked well last year for us, I am not sure why we abandoned it.

Offensively we need our receivers to be more physical. I almost think RJ would not be playing if Summers comes back.

I like MM over Skov at BB. I think the general wisdom was that Skov would get up to speed quicker, but that was not the case. I think we should pick a horse and give them a ton of game reps.

I want to throw this out there for discussion. Since Taquan Marshall is on the mend, why not move him to QB and move Jordan back to AB. We really need some help at AB. If we get Snoddy back, MLD, and Jordan would be a good rotation. Lunch and Willis can be good subs. Next year we will be loaded at AB, but right now we have to get some playmakers and stability at that position.

 

[Boomergump]

I hate to even mention field conditions. I really do. However, I think there is a little to this. When it is wet and / or windy and passing is difficult, conventional wisdom says running teams have an advantage. In our case, because we are marginal passing and so good running, teams just come with the house all the time, figuring we won't be able to get separation or complete passes very often, even with the few guys they have left in the back field. I have come to the opinion that it hurts us more. I dunno. Plus, I think wet conditions favor the more physical teams and hurt the finesse teams. As much as I hate to admit it, at this level, right now, we might be considered a finesse team. Like it or not, we might be a little light in the pants some ways. The AB position comes to mind and the 4-2-5 on defense is a little light.

 

[Boomergump]

I think we honestly had a bad gameplan. We came out throwing when we really needed to play a game of attrition. I thought if we could wear the Clemson defense down we could have a shot. I know we want to hit some X plays, but we start so shaky it seems we just need to try to establish the run and get a first down. After that we can take some chances.

On defense I like PJ Davis, but he (along with a lot of others) does not tackle very well. There was a ton of missed tackles yesterday. Those are killers. I wish we would have went with a three man front yesterday at some point to combat the screen plays. This worked well last year for us, I am not sure why we abandoned it.

Offensively we need our receivers to be more physical. I almost think RJ would not be playing if Summers comes back.

I like MM over Skov at BB. I think the general wisdom was that Skov would get up to speed quicker, but that was not the case. I think we should pick a horse and give them a ton of game reps.

I want to throw this out there for discussion. Since Taquan Marshall is on the mend, why not move him to QB and move Jordan back to AB. We really need some help at AB. If we get Snoddy back, MLD, and Jordan would be a good rotation. Lunch and Willis can be good subs. Next year we will be loaded at AB, but right now we have to get some playmakers and stability at that position.

I don't know what the answer is, but you are right, AB is a huge problem.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Thanks Boomer.

JT is way off in speed and throwing accuracy this year compared to the Orange Bowl ..... but he is dinged up a lot and limping more than I've seen. I think many are taking that as being disheartened. I expected JT to get dinged up, the other D's get some good hits and that should be one of their primary goals - to physically and mentally abuse the QB. Plus JT is always running for his life on pass plays. Too bad we don't have Byerly and didn't see MJ in real time, just total garbage time.

We really need two viable QBs so that one can spell the other and give the other team a different look. But right now we have 3/4 of a QB.

Will we be able to pull it together offensively for Pitt?

 

[iceeater1969]

I think we honestly had a bad gameplan. We came out throwing when we really needed to play a game of attrition. I thought if we could wear the Clemson defense down we could have a shot. I know we want to hit some X plays, but we start so shaky it seems we just need to try to establish the run and get a first down. After that we can take some chances.

On defense I like PJ Davis, but he (along with a lot of others) does not tackle very well. There was a ton of missed tackles yesterday. Those are killers. I wish we would have went with a three man front yesterday at some point to combat the screen plays. This worked well last year for us, I am not sure why we abandoned it.

Offensively we need our receivers to be more physical. I almost think RJ would not be playing if Summers comes back.

I like MM over Skov at BB. I think the general wisdom was that Skov would get up to speed quicker, but that was not the case. I think we should pick a horse and give them a ton of game reps.

I want to throw this out there for discussion. Since Taquan Marshall is on the mend, why not move him to QB and move Jordan back to AB. We really need some help at AB. If we get Snoddy back, MLD, and Jordan would be a good rotation. Lunch and Willis can be good subs. Next year we will be loaded at AB, but right now we have to get some playmakers and stability at that position.

Jordan could be a tall, tough qb who could pass as well as get tough yards on fake pitch

 

[Skeptic]

I think we honestly had a bad gameplan. We came out throwing when we really needed to play a game of attrition. I thought if we could wear the Clemson defense down we could have a shot. I know we want to hit some X plays, but we start so shaky it seems we just need to try to establish the run and get a first down. After that we can take some chances.

On defense I like PJ Davis, but he (along with a lot of others) does not tackle very well. There was a ton of missed tackles yesterday. Those are killers. I wish we would have went with a three man front yesterday at some point to combat the screen plays. This worked well last year for us, I am not sure why we abandoned it.

Offensively we need our receivers to be more physical. I almost think RJ would not be playing if Summers comes back.

I like MM over Skov at BB. I think the general wisdom was that Skov would get up to speed quicker, but that was not the case. I think we should pick a horse and give them a ton of game reps.

I want to throw this out there for discussion. Since Taquan Marshall is on the mend, why not move him to QB and move Jordan back to AB. We really need some help at AB. If we get Snoddy back, MLD, and Jordan would be a good rotation. Lunch and Willis can be good subs. Next year we will be loaded at AB, but right now we have to get some playmakers and stability at that position.

We can't seem to decide. If we throw, then we shouldn't have. If we don't throw, we should have. it's why coaches coach and the rest of us second guess.

 

[Skeptic]

I hate to be a broken record here, but the field conditions had something to do with our performance. Again. We never played on a bad (soggy, yes, flooded, no) field last year or in the rain. Now we've had four weeks of it. If our BBs were better, then this would be less of a problem. If we still had just Snoddy, it would be less of a problem. As it is, it's a problem.

I also think our team has lost a little heart. Last year we lost two games and then were touched by the hand of God against Pitt. After that I think our guys thought they weren't going to lose to anybody. Now I think they are questioning themselves. My guess is that they know we could have beaten both Puke and UNC, but things didn't roll our way in close games like last year. That can be discouraging. It can lead to lapses in concentration too; Tobin was letter perfect last year, but that was the 3rd (I think) ball over Rodwell's head so far.

The way to get out of that is to beat Pitt. If we get a dry field for once, I don't doubt we can do that. I hope we do.

I thought we could beat Clemson, knowing it is a very fine football team. I have already scrubbed that monstrosity off my VCR, it joining Duke and UNC, and since I didn't see much sense in watching the early blowouts, they're gone too. I'm hoping my flagged spirits will bloom again before Pitt, but remembering how we got out so big so early, with a team that would become a great team, I am just not hopeful. Somebody, anybody, give me a reason for hope. Please.