Not sure you are right there. Etienne and Swift are 4.4 guys... Etienne is stronger however. Maybe you are thinking of our 3rd team guy, choice.
Early thoughts on Clemson
- Thread starter bamacpa
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Not sure you are right there. Etienne and Swift are 4.4 guys... Etienne is stronger however. Maybe you are thinking of our 3rd team guy, choice.
Nope - have watched Etienne all season. He is a burner, but between the tackles. He can't make the edge turns up-field the way that Swift and Michel (last year) could. He runs past you, but he doesn't make players miss. And he is not a receiving threat out of the backfield. Those are the guys that give Alabama problems.
That said, I could see him busting one up the middle and scoring on a long run.
Clemson OL has been one of the best for 4 years now... not a chance I trade ol with ga, not even close.
I think these are the two best teams in college football. Strengths and weaknesses are very similar. Just looking at units it is all pretty much a push except I believe we have the advantage at QB and RB. They hold the edge in kicking. This will be the type game where turnovers and field position (flipping the field) could be the difference in the outcome.
Murray is crazy fast, and he hit top speed in about two steps. Lawrence seems more of a downhill guy that takes a couple strides and falls forward. I'm not worried about our LBs losing contain on Lawrence.
Flipping the field? ....no punter for us has done that seemingly normal feat this year. Punting ag Oklahoma was abysmal..luckily only happened twice.
I'm sure you all have the seen the joke that Renfrow wrecks the Tide as revenge for Coach Bryant not offering him a scholarship.
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I have watched each game of both teams this year. Transitive properties be damned.
If Bama let's off the gas like they did against OU, we lose.
If Bama doesn't contain on TL, we lose. He is fast enough to keep the chains moving if there's no spy.
If our secondary isn't on point, 8th year senior Hunter Renfrow will gouge us for 5s and 10s all night long. That's not counting their other two solid receivers.
If the DL gets sloppy, ETN will run and run and run.
I already assume the offense will be smart enough to mix the run and pass against Clemson. They are too good to beat them with only the run or pass.
If we do this, I think Alabama wins. By a 100 or 1, I don't care. Just win.
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If Bama let's off the gas like they did against OU, we lose.
If Bama doesn't contain on TL, we lose. He is fast enough to keep the chains moving if there's no spy.
If our secondary isn't on point, 8th year senior Hunter Renfrow will gouge us for 5s and 10s all night long. That's not counting their other two solid receivers.
If the DL gets sloppy, ETN will run and run and run.
I already assume the offense will be smart enough to mix the run and pass against Clemson. They are too good to beat them with only the run or pass.
If we do this, I think Alabama wins. By a 100 or 1, I don't care. Just win.
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Trevor Lawrence, despite being primarily a pocket passer, has some pretty good wheels. Good enough to extend plays and avoid sacks. At 6'6" it is going to be difficult to bat down a lot of his passes. He isn't Murray, but he does present our defense with a different set of problems.
Not sure Clemson has (or has had) what I'd call a dominant offensive line. I don't think they've ever been in contention for the Joe Moore Award (best offensive line) and looking at their draft history they've had 1 offensive lineman drafted since 2012 and that was a guard (Brandon Thomas) in 2014. So the last 3 years they haven't had a single offensive lineman drafted. Their all-american this year Mitch Hyatt might not get drafted either. Seen several scouts say he's earned all-american status based on name reputation and they have him with an undraftable grade at tackle which is what he plays at Clemson and a late rounder (6-7th round) as an interior lineman. I know winning the Joe Moore Award and players drafted isn't the end all be all of judging offensive line play but I would hesitate to call their play dominant based on those factors. Oklahoma has a dominant offensive line. I think Clemson's is very good but it's not like they have 5 first round picks up there..
Good post.
With apologies to Brent Venables, I actually think that Caldwell (Clemson's OL coach) has quietly been their best assistant coach the past 4 years. He's taken a mostly above-average OL in terms of talent and produced some impressive offensive numbers. He is a hidden gem on their staff. Unfortunately he has strong Upstate SC roots so is unlikely to be hired away anytime soon, plus he up there in years.
Ways to affect Trevor Lawrence :
1. Get him in 3rd and long situations as much as you can. To do that, we have to blitz him often in 1st half. We have to make sure we can affect him early and often and we can do good job of that if we don't lose focus in the game.
2. I don't think we will need to spy Lawrence all the time, but something we need to keep eye on is where Renfrow/J. Ross is at all times. If our secondary hold down the forts, Then Lawrence will struggle.
3. I believe Clemson will dink/dunk all over the field to try and burn the clock as much as they can because Tua and the offense are capable of scoring points in a hurry. I think their game plan is try and keep the score low as possible and manage the game.
This is what I think will happen:
Lawrence and Tagovailoa will battle it out for a while before Tua finally win the battle.
1. Get him in 3rd and long situations as much as you can. To do that, we have to blitz him often in 1st half. We have to make sure we can affect him early and often and we can do good job of that if we don't lose focus in the game.
2. I don't think we will need to spy Lawrence all the time, but something we need to keep eye on is where Renfrow/J. Ross is at all times. If our secondary hold down the forts, Then Lawrence will struggle.
3. I believe Clemson will dink/dunk all over the field to try and burn the clock as much as they can because Tua and the offense are capable of scoring points in a hurry. I think their game plan is try and keep the score low as possible and manage the game.
This is what I think will happen:
Lawrence and Tagovailoa will battle it out for a while before Tua finally win the battle.
I watched the entirety of Clemson's game versus South Carolina. It was a rivalry game so I take into account some unusual things might happen.
South Carolina in my opinion only had one really dangerous threat at receiver. They were able to exploit Clemson in the middle of the secondary as well outside. Jake Bentley had a decent enough pocket to make some throws against the rush.
Clemson was by far the more talented team as they have been all season, but they struggled with a team that was not afraid of them. They struggled early against Pitt and believe Syracuse until dept wore the opponent down. Actually Syracuse had the lead on them until they spazzed on themselves.
Etienne is their wildcard because he breaks lots of tackles and is fast. Have to sure tackle him and then force Lawrence out of the pocket to his left.
Let Mack Wilson roam the second level and stop Renfro from killing us on the quick slant behind the backers.
South Carolina in my opinion only had one really dangerous threat at receiver. They were able to exploit Clemson in the middle of the secondary as well outside. Jake Bentley had a decent enough pocket to make some throws against the rush.
Clemson was by far the more talented team as they have been all season, but they struggled with a team that was not afraid of them. They struggled early against Pitt and believe Syracuse until dept wore the opponent down. Actually Syracuse had the lead on them until they spazzed on themselves.
Etienne is their wildcard because he breaks lots of tackles and is fast. Have to sure tackle him and then force Lawrence out of the pocket to his left.
Let Mack Wilson roam the second level and stop Renfro from killing us on the quick slant behind the backers.
Hyatt is very overrated. The center, Falcinelli, is actually from up here and is as underrated as Hyatt is overrated.
Trevor Lawrence is MSU's Nick Fitzgerald with a brain.
Fitz couldn't find a receiver. Lawrence will find his, and can pass well (if not hurried).
Lawrence will get his 250 yards. Just hope Tua gets his 350.
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