Early thoughts on Clemson

[TideMom2Boys]

When the dust settles, Georgia will have been the best team Bama faced all year.

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I agree, just like the 2012 season again.

 

[bamacpa]

Lawrence doesn't appear to be an ordinary freshman QB. We'll need to pressure him and disrupt their deeper pass routes. Their receiving corp looks good to me.

 

[knowledge]

Lawrence doesn't appear to be an ordinary freshman QB.

Agreed. He looks more like a surfer or volleyball player. He does have a good arm, though.

 

[Con]

To me it comes down to WR Justyn Ross and QB Trevor Lawrence. If we can shut down their connection, we win. If we can't, we will be in for a long game.

Seems like Ross and Higgins were dinged up a bit by the end of the game. Any news about them?

 

[NationalTitles18]

And not getting nearly the credit he deserves for it.

Look at the highest rated passers is the country, you'll see:
1. Tua
2. Murray
3. Fromm

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And Lawrence is 17th at 154.8, which is quite good - especially for a frosh, but not otherworldly like Tua.

 

[cubzwin]

The Alabama shirt I was wearing last night is 14 - 0 this season. So, I will be wearing it again next Monday night!!!!!!!

Ya well all of us have 14-0 Alabama shirts, right? Actually 16-0 going back to last year.

 

[Con]

I would throw out the Notre Dame game from a Clemson D perspective. Under Kelly Notre Dame often has a quality OL but this was not one of their stronger units. This was a physical mismatch up front. Maybe if they could bring back the 2017 OL for this game then it could've been a contest. It was telling that in a big moment (4th down in 2nd quarter) Clemson was more than happy to put a LB/S hybrid on ND's best WR Miles Boykin in the slot AND he was trailing him step for step on a slot fade concept THEN defended the pass! This was an across the board mismatch and games like this are for the partisans to make youtube highlight reels not for analysis.

The Lawrence suspension was no big deal versus Notre Dame but I believe it looms large for this matchup. Clemson's DBs have been burned a bunch this season. Venables likes to load the box up and work line games and stunts to isolate his rushers in one on ones. He'll leave his DBs on islands, force you to pass, and bet he'll make you throw it away or take a sack before they get burned. Unsurprisingly, the best job we've done against their defense was in 2015 when Coker was playing his best ball late in the season. 2016 and 2017 were noted struggles for passing game consistency and accordingly Venables did a pretty good job of giving his offense a chance to win (31 and 24 points). Because of Lawrence being out we will run well enough to force Venables to stay true to his scheme and load up the box. If we can block up those blitzes then we're gonna get explosive plays. This game hinges on Tua's ankle/knee being 100% because we're gonna need some extension/secondary offense at times.


I think Notre Dame did show some positive things for us w/r/t to Clemson's offense. Until they started having back seven guys drop out of the game, they were frustrating Lawrence a bit. Other than one complete front bust that led to an Etienne long TD run, Clemson was mostly contained on the ground. They're still not quite blueblood level on the offensive front for whatever reason. Good but not great would be my prognosis. Notre Dame's lacking depth on defense really became the sticking point as Clemson harassed the replacements due to injuries for several long TD throws. Notre Dame did a poor job with Renfrow on 1st/3rd downs too. It is hard to cover him because they do a good job of moving him around to matchup on backers if you're zoning and leveraging option routes if you just stick a nickel corner on him in man coverage. Confusing Lawrence and getting deflections at the LOS seems to be the key for defending these possession throws.


The key for this game is how we matchup with their 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE/H-B, 3 WR). This is their preferred base personnel grouping to operate out of for runs or passes. If we can contain their run with 6 as we have in each matchup thus far then mix coverages on Lawrence then I think we can force him into bad throws assuming we can collapse the pocket on him. He's a good runner but he's not Kyler Murray. He'll probably bust us on a scramble a few times but I don't see 111 yards rushing in his future.

My early prediction is Alabama 35 Clemson 20. I think Tua throws for 4 TDs again. Most of them will probably be long throws. His completion percentage will be about his average but we have a few drives killed by sacks or holds forced by their DL. We run for about 150 yards as a team. Jacobs and N. Harris are the top performers though neither has a big game by yardage.

Clemson made the smart move to Lawrence with this game in mind but I think Saban's noted success against Freshmen quarterbacks will continue next week. He'll play well but have a few 3rd downs where he doesn't make a good throw and maybe a huge turnover that results in a score.

Great thoughts RGW!

 

[crimsonaudio]

The Alabama shirt I was wearing last night is 14 - 0 this season. So, I will be wearing it again next Monday night!!!!!!!

Ya well all of us have 14-0 Alabama shirts, right? Actually 16-0 going back to last year.

I actually broke out my never-worn-for-a-game 'Run Da Dawl' (funnymaine) shirt yesterday. So there's that.

 

[B1GTide]

I actually broke out my never-worn-for-a-game 'Run Da Dawl' (funnymaine) shirt yesterday. So there's that.

I was wearing an old Alabama shirt but spilled something on it and switched to my gray #17 shirt. First time wearing it during an Alabama game - worked out fine. But my wife was washing the dirty shirt during the game "just in case". :biggrin:

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I actually broke out my never-worn-for-a-game 'Run Da Dawl' (funnymaine) shirt yesterday. So there's that.

I dressed inside out, including my Bama underwear...

 

[PacadermaTideUs]

I’m thinking this game will be won and lost in pass protection, and consequently, possibly in QB depth, where it’s hard to argue with a decided Bama edge.

Additionally, it’s my understanding that Dexter Lawrence remains ineligible for this game? QW should be just fine.

Got to give us the edge, but a lot closer than against OU in the semis. I’m thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of 31-24 Bama. Maybe lower point total than that. Both defenses will disrupt.

 

[WishIwasInBama]

To me the Bama offense "looked" different against LSU/UGA/MSU so I don't really know what to think about this one. I won't say that any of those teams have better or worse defense's but on the day Bama played UGA I think UGA beats any team not named Bama that day.

To me the conversation will play out a lot like the Oklahoma one. Everyone will be talking about Clemson's D-line and their shiny new toy (Lawrence) but won't mention that although Bama's O looked less superman against those better D's, I would say adding Auburn to the list, the best Defense Clemson has seen all year would place at best 5th behind them (UGA/LSU/MSU/Auburn). Stats may prove me wrong but that's the way I see it with my untrained eye.

Also, outside of the change at QB, how different is this Clemson team from last year?

 

[deliveryman35]

Didn't you basically say that about Oklahoma?

When the dust settles, Georgia will have been the best team Bama faced all year.

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Oklahoma had the best O that we faced, but not the best, overall, complete team. You could be right about Georgia, we will know next Monday night.

 

[rgw]

To me the Bama offense "looked" different against LSU/UGA/MSU so I don't really know what to think about this one. I won't say that any of those teams have better or worse defense's but on the day Bama played UGA I think UGA beats any team not named Bama that day.

To me the conversation will play out a lot like the Oklahoma one. Everyone will be talking about Clemson's D-line and their shiny new toy (Lawrence) but won't mention that although Bama's O looked less superman against those better D's, I would say adding Auburn to the list, the best Defense Clemson has seen all year would place at best 5th behind them (UGA/LSU/MSU/Auburn). Stats may prove me wrong but that's the way I see it with my untrained eye.

Also, outside of the change at QB, how different is this Clemson team from last year?

UGA played above their head a bit in the front seven against us but what made UGA, MSU, and LSU more effective than other was good excellent secondary play. Clemson has a top tier pass efficiency defense rating this year but several times they were prone to having big plays busted on them. They're aggressive so big plays are there if you get them blocked. We're as well equipped to burn them as any team out there.

 

[Tide&True]

I don’t know how things will shake out in this game but I know Bama usually eats QB’s like Lawrence for lunch. Lawrence is a really good passer but he’s not like Murray with his legs.


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[Maxbama]

I dressed inside out, including my Bama underwear...

I've been wearing the same shirt for 6 years. It does get washed at the end of the season. Take it out of the dresser Saturday morning - fold it and put it back Saturday evening. Roll Tide !!!

 

[crimsonaudio]

I've been wearing the same shirt for 6 years. It does get washed at the end of the season. Take it out of the dresser Saturday morning - fold it and put it back Saturday evening. Roll Tide !!!

Wait, you only wash it once per season?

uke:

 

[Tide&True]

Wait, you only wash it once per season?

uke:

Hey, if it works I’ve got no problem with it.


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[JustNeedMe81]

I haven't really looked at Clemson this year, but I can say one thing... our DBs better be ready for their receivers.... Shut them down, and we will be fine.

 

[techster79]

I haven't really looked at Clemson this year, but I can say one thing... our DBs better be ready for their receivers.... Shut them down, and we will be fine.

Especially that 8 year senior.