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A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:47 pm
by JH5
First time poster so don't bash me too bad lol
But anyways I just thought I would ask what your opinions are on a few things about this season and next.
1. Do you think Coach Clawson will be able to turn the program around?
I know we're not THAT down as far as records are concerned but the last few seasons we pretty much underperformed with the talent that we had. This is a harder question to answer because he hasn't been at the FBS level for very long but I personally think he can. He seems to be a pretty good recruiter so far and has had some success at the lower levels but we'll see.
Speaking of which, I just want to point out how disappointed I was/am about about GB's whole coaching career here. I was happy when he was fired (although I would never wish that on anybody) and thought we needed a change. I hope that Clawson can get this team good enough to where the atmosphere on campus is what it was from 02-04 (and hopefully soon, I'm only a student here a few more years lol). I didn't get a chance to experience those years (just started here in 07) but I have family that has gone here and based on what they have said and things that I've read on here it was a blast and I want to experience that. Those yaers were fun to watch and hopefully DC can get us back there. I was really getting sick of seeing so many QB draws.
2. Can anyone describe Clawson's offense for me? I mean do you think he'll use more spread or run the ball more? Also, do you think he will improve the defensive philosophy enough to where we don't blow big leads or is that more of a mentality change?
3. Which freshman will have the biggest impact this season? (On a side note, when do we find out which players are redshirted?)
Its always hard to predict this kind of thing but I would say it would have to be one of our defensive linemen as they'll probably have the biggest chance to play.
4. What position is our strongest (in terms of depth and talent) and what is our weakest including freshmen?
RB is strongest IMO and weakest would be DT IMO. I looked a the roster and recruits recently and realized that we have a lot of good RBs..Geter, Bullock, Rice (what's his status anyway), Dunlap (looked good in the spring game, not really sure where he came from), Mark Mays, Alaboody.
5. If the games were decided based on talent level, what do you think our record should be? And what do you think it will be in real life?
6. Who do you see stepping up and becoming one of our better players this year ?
7. Predict the Boise State score and does anyone else have it marked on your calendars yet?
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:57 pm
by JoeFalcon
JH5 wrote:First time poster so don't bash me too bad lol
But anyways I just thought I would ask what your opinions are on a few things about this season and next.
1. Do you think Coach Clawson will be able to turn the program around?
Yes, but maybe not immediately. At Fordham and Richmond, rough initial seasons served as the building blocks for championship level success shortly thereafter. He thinks (as do I) that they can compete for the MAC title this year, but they'll have to survive an absolutely brutal non-conference schedule first.
2. Can anyone describe Clawson's offense for me?
Offense will be a mix of spread formations and traditional ones with fullbacks/tight ends. I anticipate a short, controlled passing game that will take more vertical shots down the field than the previous regime. Defensively, word is that the system has been simplified, but with so many new starters this year the results might not be evident immediately.
3. Which freshman will have the biggest impact this season? (On a side note, when do we find out which players are redshirted?
John Pettigrew at RB and Jarius Campbell/Dylan Farrington at DE.
4. What position is our strongest (in terms of depth and talent) and what is our weakest including freshmen?
Strongest+WR
Weakest+D-Line (hopefully not for long)
5. If the games were decided based on talent level, what do you think our record should be? And what do you think it will be in real life?
No clue.
6. Who do you see stepping up and becoming one of our better players this year ?
LB Cody Basler.
7. Predict the Boise State score and does anyone else have it marked on your calendars yet?
35-17 Boise. We can win but will have to play close to perfect.
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 9:29 am
by michhiker28
[quote="JoeFalcon"][quote="JH5"]
I anticipate a short, controlled passing game that will take more vertical shots down the field than the previous regime.
So that works out to what........once a game?
--MH
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:14 am
by VDub26Falcon
Once per game WOULD in fact be more than what the Brandon regime tried. I hope to see this offense get a LOT more vertical then what it has been. I think DC is going to be a great shot in the arm for this team and he will bring unity, community and mental toughness to a team that lacked all three of those things under GB.
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:26 am
by hammb
Okay, I'm about to feel dirty as all hell here, but it needs to be said.
Harris would take the occasional shots downfield.
Jacobs took more shots downfield.
The past few years we have still had WRs running downfield routes.
What we have not had was a combination of:
a) WRs who could get open on those routes
b) QBs who could consistently hit those passes
c) QBs who had the confidence to attempt those passes
I hated the offensive playcalling the past few years as much as anyone...the reliance on QB draws and the same basic plays over and over again was like watching soccer, it was awful. However, we still did (at least in theory) try to get the ball downfield on occasion. The problem was we had no ability to execute it. I've said for the last 3 years that Sheehan needs to step up his play. He may put up good stats, but he has missed a LOT of opportunities downfield. He just hasn't been able to anticipate when a receiver was going to come open...he hasn't processed the information quickly enough to make plays downfield. We need him to start seeing things quicker so that he can hit the throws downfield. I think he has the arm to make the throws, but until he starts seeing what's happening downfield (and has the confidence to make the throws) we won't see many more shots downfield.
I hope that, as a senior, he makes that big leap. We need it if we are to be successful.
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:31 pm
by MarkL
I'd just like to see the offense get back on track. The 2007 team, outside of a few sluggish games, had a very good offense, but the 2008 offense was, IMO, more a reflection of the two offensive coordinator system than Gregg Brandon's offense. Keep in mind, the passing game coordinator was the tight ends coach. It was good seeing Scheidler get used so much, but it was unfortunate to see the receivers basically be used as tight ends in the passing game instead of utilizing their speed. Now that we have one offensive coordinator, the QB coach, I could definitely see a more exciting passing game and more effective offense.
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:29 pm
by Falconfreak90
I'm looking forward to more of the running game. Josh and I were watching the 1998 game vs Central Florida and seeing BG run those quick hitters with fullbacks Adam Lige and Brent Martin was cool. Daunte Culpepper played for UCF at that time. I know we are not going to be a rushing team like Wisconsin but I'm happy to hear Coach Clawson putting more emphasis on the running game. Clock management and controlling the line of scrimmage are so important.
22 days!!!! BEAT TROY!!!!!!
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:06 pm
by cowboyjoe
Yeah. Just think. If we could just get some good QB play out of Sheehan we could post up some better numbers than in 2007 where he completed 303-of-476 passes for 3,264 yards and 23 touchdowns ... only the fourth Falcon quarterback all-time to throw for 3,000 yards in a season and in 2008 where he threw for 2,610 yards and 20 touchdowns, completing 66.8% of his passes, second-highest in school history.
You don't want to mess much with an offense as potent and effective as ours. I also don't know much about soccer but if it involves high octane point scoring to the tune of over 27 points a game then I want to go to an MLS game tomorrow. How "boring" and "predictable" do you think the coaches that gave up over 30 points against us last year thought we were?
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:34 pm
by vwfalcon
Cowboyjoe, how many points did we surrender in those games as well... thus giving us more possessions.
Here are the games:
at WYOMING Laramie, Wyo. W 45-16
at AKRON Akron, Ohio W 37-33
Kent State Bowling Green W 45-30
BUFFALO Bowling Green L 34-40 (2OT)
at TOLEDO Toledo, Ohio W 38-10
With the exception of Toledo and Wyoming, both of which we were far superior to, the other games that we put up 30+ we gave up 30 ourselves. Our Offense last year was GARBAGE!!! Face it, the only reason we put up 30 in the Akron game was because it was a shootout, back and forth. With Buffalo we got on them early, up by 21 and then went Arctic, not even cold but Arctic. For having such a great offense as you claim we did, we never should of lost that game. *cough* 4th and 2 screen pass in OT *cough* As far as Kent, Wyoming, and Toledo, I would hope we would put up 30 on those teams as they were far less talented than our team last year.
Your claim of putting up 30 points a game didn't do anything for us. We ranked 44th out of 119 last year with 27.67 ppg. 36 teams averaged 30 points with Akron being that 36th team right at 30 pts. So I'm sorry to say that 30 ppg isn't exactly an accomplishment in this day and age of college football.
I don't care if we average 30 points a game, in fact if we only average 21 I'll be happy so long as the days of 4-8 and 6-6 are gone.
We have too much talent to settle for those kinds of season records. The Troy game can't get here soon enough.
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:47 pm
by Father Brown
JH5 wrote:First time poster so don't bash me too bad lol
But anyways I just thought I would ask what your opinions are on a few things about this season and next.
1. Do you think Coach Clawson will be able to turn the program around?
No. I really hope I am wrong but no. In his most critical role preparing to head a D1 program, he was a total failure. As OC, he simply put together the worst offense in Vols history. You should see the Tennesse boards. They think we are complete idiots. This is an example of how an Atheletic Director can either make or break you and why we need to hire that job correctly first.
2. Can anyone describe Clawson's offense for me? I mean do you think he'll use more spread or run the ball more? Also, do you think he will improve the defensive philosophy enough to where we don't blow big leads or is that more of a mentality change?
JoeFalcon had a good summary
3. Which freshman will have the biggest impact this season? (On a side note, when do we find out which players are redshirted?)
Pettigrew
4. What position is our strongest (in terms of depth and talent) and what is our weakest including freshmen?
O-Line. They will be good this year, very good next year.
5. If the games were decided based on talent level, what do you think our record should be? And what do you think it will be in real life?
On pure talent, we win 3-4 games based on the sked. In real life? Its going to be bad.
6. Who do you see stepping up and becoming one of our better players this year ?
Sheehan. He has teased so far and hoping his sr year will have the lights really turn on
7. Predict the Boise State score and does anyone else have it marked on your calendars yet?
Boise will kill us. They are what we would have been with Urban. And we dont have Urban.
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 8:30 am
by Warthog
cowboy joe just hit my ignore list.
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:16 am
by hammb
vwfalcon wrote:Cowboyjoe, how many points did we surrender in those games as well... thus giving us more possessions.
Here are the games:
at WYOMING Laramie, Wyo. W 45-16
at AKRON Akron, Ohio W 37-33
Kent State Bowling Green W 45-30
BUFFALO Bowling Green L 34-40 (2OT)
at TOLEDO Toledo, Ohio W 38-10
With the exception of Toledo and Wyoming, both of which we were far superior to, the other games that we put up 30+ we gave up 30 ourselves. Our Offense last year was GARBAGE!!! Face it, the only reason we put up 30 in the Akron game was because it was a shootout, back and forth. With Buffalo we got on them early, up by 21 and then went Arctic, not even cold but Arctic. For having such a great offense as you claim we did, we never should of lost that game. *cough* 4th and 2 screen pass in OT *cough* As far as Kent, Wyoming, and Toledo, I would hope we would put up 30 on those teams as they were far less talented than our team last year.
Your claim of putting up 30 points a game didn't do anything for us. We ranked 44th out of 119 last year with 27.67 ppg. 36 teams averaged 30 points with Akron being that 36th team right at 30 pts. So I'm sorry to say that 30 ppg isn't exactly an accomplishment in this day and age of college football.
I don't care if we average 30 points a game, in fact if we only average 21 I'll be happy so long as the days of 4-8 and 6-6 are gone.
We have too much talent to settle for those kinds of season records. The Troy game can't get here soon enough.
You are 100% right vw, but it is fruitless to argue with cowboy. He's immune to things like logic. He'll just keep reminding us that we put up 30 points, or near it, per game.
As you mentioned one reason we put up more points was because we gave up points so quickly we got extra possessions. We also racked up big points against some crappy teams.
The bottom line is that last season when we NEEDED a first down or a score to win a game, we rarely came through. We were sloppy, undisciplined, and terribly predictable. We may have put up some beautiful stats at times, but we sure as hell couldn't do what it takes to win football games. Too bad, since THAT is kind of the point.
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:17 am
by hammb
Warthog wrote:cowboy joe just hit my ignore list.
I'll never ignore the Dakich/Brandon love child. He's just too much fun
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:21 am
by Warthog
hammb wrote:Warthog wrote:cowboy joe just hit my ignore list.
I'll never ignore the Dakich/Brandon love child. He's just too much fun
I may have to put you on ignore than too.
Re: A Few Big Questions for the Upcoming Season
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 4:27 pm
by JH5
Agree with the posters that have said Sheehan needs to step up. We can have a good season this year if and only if he has a good season--and basically that starts with him having the confidence to sling the ball around. Has he put up good stats? Yes, but if you watch the games you can see where he lacks as a QB which is throwing the ball downfield and having the confidence to make big throws. So I pretty much agree with everything hammb said. The thing is, when we do get the ball downfield we seem to be able to make big plays and it jump starts our offense (and defense) but we haven't been able to execute very much in recent years.
I don't think 30ppg is a bad number in terms of where our offense should be though, as long as we can consistantly put up 25 or more per game. We all miss those days where our offense was great with Omar and JH, and I think that is why cowboyjoe wants to see us put up huge offensive numbers. I mean, who wouldn't want to score 40 a game as long as you're winning 10 games every season. Sure our stats the past couple seasons have been pretty good but its not translating to wins. This, cowboyjoe, is why you have to change the offense. You look at that 30ppg mark and think "thats a lot of points that must mean we're playing good" when in reality we sucked and as vwfalcon pointed out, 30ppg doesn't mean much in today's game.
That being said, I would be happy if we scored 30ppg as long as we did it by:
1. Controlling the clock with the running game
2. Holing our opponents to under 30ppg
3. Winning the games
Look at the recent success of Boise and Utah...did they have good offenses? Of course, but they were balanced offenses and could play very good defense. If you don't believe me look at what Utah did to Alabama.. that's where we need to aim for.