Two directions

You could blame not being disciplined in the 1st qtr on big game jitters but the fact that it continued until the final seconds ran of the clock. Shows that this is something that has not only plagued this team previously but will still do so the remainder of the season.

The fact that the OC was done for before the game started was another punch in the chest. Lashlee couldn't muster any answer to what was killing him. He hasn't come to terms that his QB doesn't have the pinpoint precision for deep balls and his WR can't contest a single ball. Lashlee never tried to create a mismatch but instead just kept dialing up a disaster deep ball. One on one all night and just deep routes after Clemson clapped his little WR screens.

Clemson wasn't doing anything to hide the fact they were coming for King but we did nothing to counter them sending the house. WR just running down field with their backs turned to King. We have no mid range passing attack, just screens and deep balls. So it's no surprise the offense got gapped by a pro DC.
another problem was our defense couldn't get off the field, the first two drives for Clemson almost ate up the first quarter :
 
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I agree better days ahead, but the loss to Clemson had nothing to do with the bye week. Our guys played hard start to finish. That's not what happened after the bye weeks last year.

We played hard, but undeciplined at times. The game could have been much closer if we played disciplined not gifting Clemson drive extending penalties and us not shooting ourselves in the foot with false starts on offense.

Just think if Clemson's first two drives were punts instead of TDs if we didn't extend those drives with 3rd down penalties. Also if we scored a TD on the pass thst got picked off in the endzone. The score would have been 28-24 Clemson despite a feeble offense. That's how much 3 plays could have changed the game.

Now, I give Lashlee a big fat "F" for his game plan. Clemson was stacking the box and having their LBs shoot gaps on run plays. They also played man coverage on our WRs with no safety help which allowed them to double our TEs and have additional run support. Lashlee had no game plan or adjustments to what Clemson's defense was doing.

On defense, Baker had no plan to contain Etienne. You have to take away or limit their #1 option and he did neither. I thought our secondary played pretty well otherwise. Clemson made a bunch of yards when we were down 2 of 3 ofour best saferies. They have the best QB in the nation. He's going to get his. You just have to make them beat you with their weakest players not their best ones. That's what Clemson did to us. They took away our running game and our TEs and said beat us with your WRs.

Hopefully we win out and the coaching staff can develop a better game plan the 2nd time around. I think we can be a lot more competitive if we can move the ball on offense and limit the number of snaps for our defense. Clemson ran 88 plays. 44 rushes and 44 passes. That's too many for any defense to handle. Conversely, we ran only 54 plays. 29 passes and 25 rushes. That was the biggest factor in the game. If we get our offense going in a 2nd game I think the game would be 1 TD or less and give us a chance ro win.
What was frustrating was what the announcer at the game said at half time : that Blake was upset with his linebackers for not focusing on Etiene are you kidding me :
 
another problem was our defense couldn't get off the field, the first two drives for Clemson almost ate up the first quarter :
No doubt.

2 offside penalties allowed the 1st drive to continue and Carters targeting allowed the 2nd drive to sustain it's momentum.
 
IMO - The underrated player that was absolutely key to Dabo's success was landing QB Tahj Boyd in 2009 - the #31 player overall in that class.

Boyd was:

2011 - 1st Team ACC
2012 - 1st Team ACC
2013 - 2nd Team ACC (The year Jamies Winston won the Heisman)

Boyd seems largely forgotten - but having an excellent, stable QB who was there through his RS Senior season as Dabo was bringing in talent at other positions was huge for them.

Boyd was the bridge to Deshaun Watson & Trevor Lawrence.
Yep. I remember when the prevailing thought was that Clemson was going to come back to earth after Boyd left. Then, they got better with Watson. Then, the thought was once Watson was gone, it was over for them. Looked like there might have been that dip with Bryant because he was several notches below the others. In steps Lawrence, takes the job from senior Bryant, and now they're better than ever.

QB is so hugely important, and they've struck gold with 3 in a row.
 
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Yep. I remember when the prevailing thought was that Clemson was going to come back to earth after Boyd left. Then, they got better with Watson. Then, the thought was once Watson was gone, it was over for them. Looked like there might have been that dip with Bryant because he was several notches below the others. In steps Lawrence, takes the job from senior Bryant, and now they're better than ever.

QB is so hugely important, and they've struck gold with 3 in a row.

Clemson's talent has been concentrated in three key positions-- QB, WR and DL.

They've been more talented than us for a while-- more impact players, better depth-- but it's telling that Miami still has more NFL players. Clemson prioritizes smart, tough players who can pick up their complex defensive schemes. They don't overwhelm you with pure talent like Georgia or Ohio State.
 
I hope this is the primary line most take away from your post. The WR example is the most prominent in my eyes. Are we in a bad spot at WR? Sure. Is it a reason for our entire offense to go into a punchless shell? That's a **** of thing. We were 100% suffocated. Like a mouse with a snake wrapped around it.

Not even asking for winning football or a shootout. Although, only as one-off examples, you see Leach and Kiffin with similar talent gaps between their players and opponents get into some shootouts. But, a punchless shell? Clobbered our IZ run as many expected; little to no counter. Man'd up our WRs and focused on Jordan as everyone expected; little to no counter. Blitz'd us with no conscious? Little to no counter.

That was pretty close to the rough performance @CANE1775 talked about seeing from Malzahn at times.

Didn't they blitz us like 75% of our dropbacks? **** if we ran 4 screens we potentially hurt them on 3 of them statistically speaking. And in doing so we would begin to make them a bit more honest. I know the game isn't that black and white, but you catch my drift right? I just don't get it.
 
Huh? And you want to witness another " bytch slapping " across Diaz's visage!? Now that's fresh. But then again perhaps you're a EGOIST *********.
LOL...I believe we will win our upcoming games and put all on the line when playing UNC. It's what I expect this season. Anything less is a failure.
 
Guys keep talking about Payton because a few insiders anointed him. Meanwhile, he's been here two years and hasn't done anything and looked lost yesterday. Redding's the new hype guy because he's chiseled. The dude I want to see is Key Smith. No one's come close to covering him yet. Every time he gets in, he's five yards behind the DBs, and, ...wait for it...he makes a play on the football when it's in the area code.
I cant disagree with you brother! That’s a on point analysis
 
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Didn't they blitz us like 75% of our dropbacks? **** if we ran 4 screens we potentially hurt them on 3 of them statistically speaking. And in doing so we would begin to make them a bit more honest. I know the game isn't that black and white, but you catch my drift right? I just don't get it.
No, I really don't get it and I'm sure it's over my head somewhere. I'm merely a football hobbyist. It's difficult for me to understand why we went into a shell. We'll see what they do next. Teams are going to try similar things - albeit with lesser talent.
 
What was frustrating was what the announcer at the game said at half time : that Blake was upset with his linebackers for not focusing on Etiene are you kidding me :
Right. The only LB that played who would have a chance is Brooks and that's for the first 10 yards. Couldn't believe Baker didn't have a scheme for Etienne. Every novice arm chair coach realized that.
 
Didn't they blitz us like 75% of our dropbacks? **** if we ran 4 screens we potentially hurt them on 3 of them statistically speaking. And in doing so we would begin to make them a bit more honest. I know the game isn't that black and white, but you catch my drift right? I just don't get it.
I saw several where the RBs didn’t even block anybody. Was hoping for a screen. Told my brothers maybe he was setting them up for a big gain in one...right, lol. Why not just slip them out in a screen or swing pass. There weren’t really any more bodies to cover them.
 
Not that it would have mattered but on the 4th and 1 we go for it and run it behind our worst oline man Jakai Clark.. brilliant coaching
The play where Mallory was ruled a half-yard short?
Of the 5 options we have on who's going to run for that half-yard, Rooster would be option 4b.
 
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I expect us to finish our 4-2 or even 3-3. Clemson just gave the blueprint on how to defend us and other teams will want it more.
There’s no other team on our schedule that comes close to executing that blueprint like Clemson does.
 
I don't think so. It's Manny's defense. LB recruiting has sucked since his days at DC. It's a weird blind spot that we've been complaining about for a while.

On the whole, this has been a good defense. We live in an era where Alabama and LSU are in shootouts. If you can't move the ball against Trevor Lawrence's team, they will score.

I'm more worried about Manny as a head coach than Manny as a defensive mind.
I personally think LB recruiting has picked up - I prefer Flagg (from the brief viewing of him v Clemson), Brooks, Huff and TAC as LBs / athletes over the guys we've been recruiting.

At some point Baker needs to be brave and end the Jennings / McCloud experiment and go with the better athletes. There's no point playing slow LBs in THIS defence if they're not instinctual - which they'd have to be to shift through all the traffic as our Dline doesn't occupy blockers. Jennings is a very poor man's Quarterman (cement in his shoes, but fine if it's in a phone booth) and McCloud has been poor since his FR year.

Play the athletes and live with the results.
 
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We face the mighty ACC coastal division the rest of the way. Let’s see if our corches can at least continue to beat them
I think it's called the Corstal Division, too, reflecting its relative mediocrity which we still find challenging.
 
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