Week 1: 14. Clemson 26 - Auburn 19
If yesterday was any indication of what life is going to be like under our new chief coordinators, then put a bullet in my head right now. While laying back and trying to decipher what stinks more between the bland and predictable play-calling of Scot Loeffler's offense and poor coverage and tackling of Brian VanGorder's defense...I flip the channel and see the Tide rolling along to a big win against Michigan. Oh how grand the College Football Life will be this fall.
Fundamentals
Tackling is the first thing any football player is taught how to do properly and it's something the Tiger defense apparently didn't work hard enough at during the offseason. There's no excuse for the number of second effort plays Clemson made, nearly all via broken tackles. Finish the play, finish the play, finish the play! Instead of hand-grabbing and attempts to fling to the turf, how about he engage, wrap, and drive? What should've been a stalled drive-lead-to-punt is now a 68-yard Andre Ellington run that we'll have to see on SportsCenter's top plays, all week long.
Coverage
If there was a bright spot on the defensive side of the football it was the pass rush. Auburn did an outstanding job creating pressure off the edge but again, finish, finish, finish. Tajh Boyd looked like an All American last night because when the edges collapsed, too often he was permitted to move up in the pocket and find a wide open spot in the zone. Was I the only person who realized DeAndre Hopkins was the guy Boyd was looking to throw to the entire game? What should've been a double-man cover on Hopkins, unquestionably the biggest play-maker the Clemson offense had on the field, turned out to be a broken, uncoordinated, pseudo-cover 2-looking scheme that failed all night long. And I don't care for the, "two brand-new corners", excuse because that doesn't change the fact these kids are 4-star recruited athletes and again, we knew who Clemson was throwing the ball to all night long.
Kiehl Frazier
I really, really hope this deer can look away from the headlights soon enough. Kiehl made a few good throws last night but that doesn't erase the countless times he overthrew guys by about 5-yeards, a problem which got worse as the game got down to crunch time. "I did all right", said Frazier after game. Um, I would prefer to hear something way less subjective from a quarterback that only completed 11-of-27. Frazier may fit better into what Loeffler is trying to do but for as much potential as Kiehl has, we need to see way more poise.
Play-calling
As well as the Power I running game was working early, I cannot for the life of me understand why it disappeared in the second half. Illinois transfer Jay Prosch was kindly taking out linebackers and opening up lanes for Tre and McCaleb...but as the game wore on, we saw too many more singleback, inside handoffs that were stuffed at the line. And while we're on the subject, Tre Mason is an absolute stud and he needs more touches, which goes more with the whole "pound the rock more" point I'm trying to make. The put it frankly, Clemson gave Ellington 26 carries, which is what Mason and McCaleb saw combined. The numbers don't sound too bad to a person considering McCaleb and Mason sharing the starting job except Tajh Boyd ran the ball 19 times and 7 more carries went to other Clemson backs. That's a grand total of 52 Clemson rushes...compared to 36 for Auburn, and it's not like Clemson's offense seemed to least bit rush heavy.
The Red Zone
You cannot settle for field goals every time you get into the red zone. Clemson made plenty of mistakes and gave the ball up on the wrong side of the 50-yard line...but each time lead to no more than 3 points. This is common sense but alas it needs to be pointed out. Some would look at the final score and fail to realize that Auburn scored only one touchdown in the game; first quarter on blown coverage.
Identity
Cam Newton is gone but it feels like the team became so dependent on him to win games that his absence has left the house in ruins. Yes, it was only one season but Cam's an elite talent and that's the impact the elite can have on a locker room. The 2012 Auburn Tigers have a lot of great talent but the elite just isn't there. This team needs to find an identity ASAP and it's going to be a joint effort. We have a pair of great running backs, an excellent blocking fullback and a short-passing game brought to you by Phillip Lutzenkirchen. Instead of purging the offense and looking for the big play, deep ball, these Tigers need to be patient and play to their strengths. This team is built for a more of a good ol' fashioned ground-n-pound, mixed in with west coast'ish passing. And if you think I'm wrong, go back and watch last night's first half.
Let the 54-yard bomb to Emory Blake stand as proof that a consistent ground game will set up the big plays on the play action. We need more of this and less run on first down for the sake of running and then looking for the big pass on every play after.
