Guest Blogger: Clemson Edition
by Winfield Featherston on Oct 16, 2008 12:00 AM EDT
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So this week's Guest Blogger is Block-C. We both gave each other questions and our responses are on our respective sites. Be sure to go check out them and our answers out. Click here to go to Block-C.
1. Sounds like Cullen Harper kind of hated Tommy Bowden. Then again, Harper hasn't exactly been awesome. What is your take on comparing Korn and Harper, and how do you think Bowden handled the whole QB situation?
We don't think Harper really hated Tommy Bowden, we think it was more a reactionary statement to having just been thrown under the proverbial bus by Bowden. He's since backed off his statements, for what it's worth. Harper is a pocket passer with limited mobility. His accuracy is tough to gauge. It's high chiefly because of the number of short yardage passes we call. He's had a tougher time this season because he is more of a known quantity and because of poor offensive line play. Korn is a better all-around QB in our opinion, who has demonstrated great mobility in limited playing opportunities. If there is to be a great deal of pressure on the QB due to missed blocking assignments, Korn has the edge over Harper due to his running threat.
2. Dabo Swinney is the interim coach at Clemson. What, if anything special, does he bring to the table? What are his opinions toward Willy Korn vs. Cullen Harper?
Dabo brings several things to the table; some good, some bad. The bad, obviously, is a lack of head coaching experience. Another negative is that he's not had a great deal of time to settle into the interim coaching spot and to craft an overall gameplan for Georgia Tech. There are a great deal of positives here. Notably he was always one of the more popular coaches with players and recruits. His moves in his short time as interim head coach have been overwhelmingly positive: he fired woeful offensive coordinator Rob Spence, he kept Korn as starting QB, and he let line coach Brad Scott have his guys on the o-line go into a three point stance. (the last point is small but was a major point of contention with fans and some players) No idea on his thoughts or attitudes towards either player, but Korn is the starter. We expect Harper to get some PT as well.
3. Everyone at Georgia Tech is pretty high on our defensive line, and they have gotten alot of praise from past opponents. Can Clemson's offensive line handle what is probably the strongest unit the Yellow Jackets have?
This is the matchup that could stop Clemson's offense cold. Alabama's defensive line was extremely physical and shut down Clemson's offense. Certainly the line has learned since then, but this is really the worst (or best, depending on the perspective) place for an opponent to be sharp against us.
4. If you think Georgia Tech has any specific weaknesses that Clemson will try to exploit, what are they? Any specific players that we should worry about? Do you know where they will be sleeping Friday night?
We haven't scouted GT enough to know specific weaknesses. Sorry. I would say James Davis at RB for Clemson would be a player to key on, but the GT d-line may well neutralize him. Senior WR Aaron Kelly is due for a breakout game, but we've said that before about other players and it hasn't come into fruition. On the defensive side of the ball, safety Michael Hamlin has performed well and has 3 picks on the season. Freshman DE DaQuan Bowers should be fairly disruptive.
5. Pretend it is Saturday night, and as time ticks down, Clemson has more points than Georgia Tech. What did Clemson do in order to put itself in that position?
While it would have to be an epic game to wind down Saturday night seeing as how it's a noon kickoff (Editor's Note: Saturday night in Death Valley sounds more exciting), the prospect of a multiple overtime game can surely not be dismissed. If Clemson were to win it would likely be due to limiting the damage of the option attack while using a more inspired brand of playcalling than was provided by Rob Spence to actually not throw three yards behind the first down marker each third down, not run directly into piles of defenders over and over, and to make some halftime adjustments for the first time all season. Or we lose. Either one.
1. Sounds like Cullen Harper kind of hated Tommy Bowden. Then again, Harper hasn't exactly been awesome. What is your take on comparing Korn and Harper, and how do you think Bowden handled the whole QB situation?
We don't think Harper really hated Tommy Bowden, we think it was more a reactionary statement to having just been thrown under the proverbial bus by Bowden. He's since backed off his statements, for what it's worth. Harper is a pocket passer with limited mobility. His accuracy is tough to gauge. It's high chiefly because of the number of short yardage passes we call. He's had a tougher time this season because he is more of a known quantity and because of poor offensive line play. Korn is a better all-around QB in our opinion, who has demonstrated great mobility in limited playing opportunities. If there is to be a great deal of pressure on the QB due to missed blocking assignments, Korn has the edge over Harper due to his running threat.
2. Dabo Swinney is the interim coach at Clemson. What, if anything special, does he bring to the table? What are his opinions toward Willy Korn vs. Cullen Harper?
Dabo brings several things to the table; some good, some bad. The bad, obviously, is a lack of head coaching experience. Another negative is that he's not had a great deal of time to settle into the interim coaching spot and to craft an overall gameplan for Georgia Tech. There are a great deal of positives here. Notably he was always one of the more popular coaches with players and recruits. His moves in his short time as interim head coach have been overwhelmingly positive: he fired woeful offensive coordinator Rob Spence, he kept Korn as starting QB, and he let line coach Brad Scott have his guys on the o-line go into a three point stance. (the last point is small but was a major point of contention with fans and some players) No idea on his thoughts or attitudes towards either player, but Korn is the starter. We expect Harper to get some PT as well.
3. Everyone at Georgia Tech is pretty high on our defensive line, and they have gotten alot of praise from past opponents. Can Clemson's offensive line handle what is probably the strongest unit the Yellow Jackets have?
This is the matchup that could stop Clemson's offense cold. Alabama's defensive line was extremely physical and shut down Clemson's offense. Certainly the line has learned since then, but this is really the worst (or best, depending on the perspective) place for an opponent to be sharp against us.
4. If you think Georgia Tech has any specific weaknesses that Clemson will try to exploit, what are they? Any specific players that we should worry about? Do you know where they will be sleeping Friday night?
We haven't scouted GT enough to know specific weaknesses. Sorry. I would say James Davis at RB for Clemson would be a player to key on, but the GT d-line may well neutralize him. Senior WR Aaron Kelly is due for a breakout game, but we've said that before about other players and it hasn't come into fruition. On the defensive side of the ball, safety Michael Hamlin has performed well and has 3 picks on the season. Freshman DE DaQuan Bowers should be fairly disruptive.
5. Pretend it is Saturday night, and as time ticks down, Clemson has more points than Georgia Tech. What did Clemson do in order to put itself in that position?
While it would have to be an epic game to wind down Saturday night seeing as how it's a noon kickoff (Editor's Note: Saturday night in Death Valley sounds more exciting), the prospect of a multiple overtime game can surely not be dismissed. If Clemson were to win it would likely be due to limiting the damage of the option attack while using a more inspired brand of playcalling than was provided by Rob Spence to actually not throw three yards behind the first down marker each third down, not run directly into piles of defenders over and over, and to make some halftime adjustments for the first time all season. Or we lose. Either one.
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