| FTBL Clemson Persepctive - Hopefully Objective (Long I apologize)

[jmactiger]

Although we're relatively close geographically......for some reason our paths never seem to cross. I was at the Alabama game when we got hammered but that was back in the 70's and I was just a kid. I really know almost nothing about the Alabama team we'll face this year other than the OL and DL is supposed to be awesome, maybe the best we'll face all year.
Right or wrong I feel like you guys are more of a grind-it-out crew where we may have the more explosive offensive players. We've got 2 of the fastest players in the country in Spiller and Ford and they'll probably be the fastest players on the field that night, from either team. However, your DL should dominate our inexperienced OL.
When you've got the ball I feel pretty safe with the guys we put on the field defensively. Special teams...no matter how bad or good you are....still advantage Bama.
If I were predicting the game....I'd say Clemson wins something like 20-17. However, if I was betting on the game I might reverse the score.
Educate me on your team. No doubt you're in the better conference and have the better tradition but thank goodness we aren't playing either of those in the Dome.
One thing I do know....both fan bases are awesome and the Dome and the city will be electric the entire weekend!!!!

 

[rammerjammer]

Great first post, but I will disagree with you on the tradition bit as will everybody else on this board. Remember a lot of your traditions can be tied to Alabama.

Welcome to the board and post away!!!!

 

[TerryP]

I realize Spiller and Davis are fast. Fastest on the field that night? No, that won't be the case.

Here's the thing that I feel is worth noting. You take a 4.4 guy and put him up against a 4.6 LB'er he'll beat him in a 40 yard dash. However, LB play isn't about flat speed in a 40, it's about pursuit angles.

I have a lot of respect for your backfield. I had a lot of respect for Arkansas' last year as well.

Special teams and turnovers led me to believe this one falls our way. I know, I know, 6 int's last year. 35 sacks last year weighs heavily on my mind as well.

 

[pimpsahoy]

I think you're giving too much credit to our DL. I think it will be improved from last year mainly because we finally have some guys who will fit into Saban's defensive scheme. Although I do think that our DL will have a big game against your OL.

The only other thing I'm having a little problem with is the number of Clemson fans who believe that their DL, specifically D. Bowers, is going to have a dominant day. I don't see it happening. The offense under Coach Mac is going to be more of a quick release, controlled passing game. Considering that I don't think Clemson will be able to get to JP much throughout the game. I'm not saying that it can't happen but assuming/predicting that it will happen is a little out there to me.

 

[jmactiger]

You're absolutely right about speed and angles. And track speed doesn't always translate into football speed. Ford is actually faster than Spiller on the track but Spiller is so much more explosive. My guess is that you'll see a lot of Spiller and Ford trying to get the corners and maybe some misdirection because of your DL strength that I mentioned earlier. I just don't see us lining up and running Davis up the middle.
A question I've got is which QB will show up for you? He looked terrific at times last year and terrible at other times.[/youtube]

 

[reger60]

I agree with pimpsahoy in that you may be giving our D-line too much credit, but I also think you need to understand how good our secondary is at both coverage and tackling. In this game, as it will be all season, our LB performance will be key to our defensive success.

How will John Parker Wilson play? That's the million dollar question. I'd like to think that the coaching staff has given him everything he needs to be successful but, as we've seen in the past, an early misstep can cause Wilson to tailspin a game away. He has a more experienced line, a corps of solid running backs and a bunch of unproven raw talent at wide receiver.

Honestly, I think Clemson's defense holds the key to this game. Stop Bama on first down and you'll be in control. Let Bama's running game put the Tide in second and short situations and the Tigers might be in for a long day.

Welcome to the board! Visit often!

 

[jmactiger]

Pimpsahoy - I think our DL can hold it's own, but Bowers is just a true freshman. He is a beast and at times is unblockable but he's second team. I don't see a second team freshman being dominate in his first college game. Secondary we're solid too....no concerns there for me. But at LB we're young and thin and that's where we'll get hurt I think.

 

[Guest]

I think it's gonna be a great game and I'm very much looking forward to it. I just wanna tip my hat to Clemson fans who have come on here to talk football with class. As the season grows closer, I hope we continue to have good discussion with these Tiger fans. RTR

 

[reger60]

As the season grows closer, I hope we continue to have good discussion with these Tiger fans. RTR

Then we'll have to endure a couple of other groups of Tiger fans, neither of which is known for thoughtful discussion. :roll:

 

[ghice]

As the season grows closer, I hope we continue to have good discussion with these Tiger fans. RTR

Then we'll have to endure a couple of other groups of Tiger fans, neither of which is known for thoughtful discussion. :roll:

Corndogs and Cow Pastures for the win!

 

[jmactiger]

Corndogs......we don't even have corndogs Man!! My apologies for the off topic reference but I just rented Semi Pro.
You'll find Clemson fans to be extremely respectful on your board with a small amount of confidence that sometimes may switch ever slightly to a hint of cockiness. I'll admit that the closer the game gets the more ways I'll "try to see" us winning. But nothing will overshadow the respect and we show for you on your board. I will warn you about something that always happens. Our rival and the joke of the SEC, South Carolina, will visit the board pretending to Clemson fans and be very disrespectful and just awful. I'm surprised it hasn't started yet but it will.

 

[Guest]

Corndogs......we don't even have corndogs Man!! My apologies for the off topic reference but I just rented Semi Pro.
You'll find Clemson fans to be extremely respectful on your board with a small amount of confidence that sometimes may switch ever slightly to a hint of cockiness. I'll admit that the closer the game gets the more ways I'll "try to see" us winning. But nothing will overshadow the respect and we show for you on your board. I will warn you about something that always happens. Our rival and the joke of the SEC, South Carolina, will visit the board pretending to Clemson fans and be very disrespectful and just awful. I'm surprised it hasn't started yet but it will.

the corndog reference was to the coonass's two states to the left of us which is run by the mad hatter. :lol:

welcome to the site, how many days away are we now?

 

[Guest]

About the corndogs...Very funny movie
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=mJVF7fWZRMg[/youtube]Language warning

If my count is correct we have 50 days left.

 

[ghice]

Corndogs......we don't even have corndogs Man!! My apologies for the off topic reference but I just rented Semi Pro.
You'll find Clemson fans to be extremely respectful on your board with a small amount of confidence that sometimes may switch ever slightly to a hint of cockiness. I'll admit that the closer the game gets the more ways I'll "try to see" us winning. But nothing will overshadow the respect and we show for you on your board. I will warn you about something that always happens. Our rival and the joke of the SEC, South Carolina, will visit the board pretending to Clemson fans and be very disrespectful and just awful. I'm surprised it hasn't started yet but it will.

I wasn't talking about Clemson fans :lol:

For future reference:

Anything that has to do with Barns, Cow Pastures, or Big Ears refer to Auburn fans.

Anything that has to do with Corndogs, is a reference to LSU Corndog fans.

Anything that has to do with Krispy Kreme, is a Phillip "Fatimus" Fulmer reference.

I hope this clears things up. Welcome to the site, can't wait for the opening kickoff!

 

[Guest]

Corndogs......we don't even have corndogs Man!! My apologies for the off topic reference but I just rented Semi Pro.
You'll find Clemson fans to be extremely respectful on your board with a small amount of confidence that sometimes may switch ever slightly to a hint of cockiness. I'll admit that the closer the game gets the more ways I'll "try to see" us winning. But nothing will overshadow the respect and we show for you on your board. I will warn you about something that always happens. Our rival and the joke of the SEC, South Carolina, will visit the board pretending to Clemson fans and be very disrespectful and just awful. I'm surprised it hasn't started yet but it will.

Corndogs = LSU Cowpies = Aubrun

My principle was a graduate of USCe....ugh I hated his attitude about football.....and I have always liked Clemson9 Our HS uni's looked like Clemson but in red/white/black, paw on the helmet. Have some good friends that graduated from there. Visited the campus and gone to several football games there. Anyway to my point....Welcome to the board.

 

[Guest]

You're absolutely right about speed and angles. And track speed doesn't always translate into football speed. Ford is actually faster than Spiller on the track but Spiller is so much more explosive. My guess is that you'll see a lot of Spiller and Ford trying to get the corners and maybe some misdirection because of your DL strength that I mentioned earlier. I just don't see us lining up and running Davis up the middle.
A question I've got is which QB will show up for you? He looked terrific at times last year and terrible at other times.[/youtube]

I think the misdirection and trying to get to the outside may play into Bama's favor because we will have solid defensive speed. I think Clemson could have the most success lining up, running Davis hard up the middle, and playactioning off of that.

 

[pimpsahoy]

Pimpsahoy - I think our DL can hold it's own, but Bowers is just a true freshman. He is a beast and at times is unblockable but he's second team. I don't see a second team freshman being dominate in his first college game. Secondary we're solid too....no concerns there for me. But at LB we're young and thin and that's where we'll get hurt I think.

I never meant to imply that they couldn't. I honestly think that it will be a great battle between our OL and your DL. While I don't think Clemson's DL will have a dominant day, I also don't believe Bama's OL will either. It will probably come down to a couple of plays here and there, either our OL will protect and allow for a big play or your DL will get there and force JP into an ill advised throw.

 

[Guest]

Don't know what kind of effect it will have, but I read about Harper's offseason shoulder surgery for the first time today.

3. How is Cullen Harper’s shoulder?: Harper, Clemson’s junior quarterback from Alpharetta, suffered an injured shoulder in the Nov. 17 game with Boston College. He said this week that if Clemson had beaten BC and reached the ACC championship game, he probably would not have been able to play against Virginia Tech. He had surgery two days after the regular-season finale against South Carolina and played in the Chick-fil-A Bowl and struggled with the shoulder in an overtime loss to Auburn. Last season he was the ACC’s most efficient passer (27 TD, 6 int). How is the shoulder now and will it be ready for the opener against Alabama?

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/cfb/entries/2008/07/18/five_burning_qu_3.html

 

[Guest]

I agree with pimpsahoy in that you may be giving our D-line too much credit, but I also think you need to understand how good our secondary is at both coverage and tackling. In this game, as it will be all season, our LB performance will be key to our defensive success.

How will John Parker Wilson play? That's the million dollar question. I'd like to think that the coaching staff has given him everything he needs to be successful but, as we've seen in the past, an early misstep can cause Wilson to tailspin a game away. He has a more experienced line, a corps of solid running backs and a bunch of unproven raw talent at wide receiver.

Honestly, I think Clemson's defense holds the key to this game. Stop Bama on first down and you'll be in control. Let Bama's running game put the Tide in second and short situations and the Tigers might be in for a long day.

Welcome to the board! Visit often!

Couldn't be said any better. It's really up to or Oline and the QB play. That I believe will determine the winner. Should be a great game to watch.

 

[jmactiger]

Cullen had surgery before the bowl game and showed some affects but he's fine now. This may sound crazy with as much praise and preseason attention as he's getting but I'm not sold on Cullen and still think Korn has the better upside. Anyway, the coaches know way more than I do and have much more on the line when it comes to wins and losses than I do so I'll continue to blindly trust.