About midway through the second quarter of Saturday's Coastal-Clemson game, I received a text message from a Chanticleer football alumnus (I will not pass along his name, because he, like most Coastal football alumni, have gone into hiding after watching their program lose three straight). He, sarcastically of course, asked if he could see another run from Tommy Fraser into the heart of the Clemson defense. At that point, Fraser had eight carries for 13 yards.
Coastal's offensive game plan on Saturday certainly did not breed excitement. The Chants definitely followed the Lane Kiffin approach (from the Florida game) to playcalling: Run as frequently as possible to burn clock, punt and hope your defense makes enough stops to keep the score from getting so ugly that people watching the ticker on ESPN wonder what school is so bad that enigmatic Clemson was able to beat it 77-3.
I'm sure the the vast majority of Coastal fans - there were three people that voted on my blog poll that picked Coastal to win - expected the Tigers to roll. I also figure that most of them wanted the thrill of seeing their team put up a fight and maybe make some big plays in the passing worth getting excited about. By running 46 times and throwing just 17 passes, including a 22-7 ratio in the first half, that dream was certainly crushed. At one point in the second half I looked down press row and half of the media were already writing their stories. The other half were sound asleep. It wasn't the most exciting three hours of football, and the Chants were largely responsible for that.
But you know what? It was probably the smartest game plan. Coastal hasn't consistently blocked defensive players from the likes of VMI and Stony Brook. They certainly weren't going to block any of Clemson's first or second stringers with any regularity. Dropping Jamie Childers and Zach MacDowall back in the pocket would've done several things: 1) Gotten them killed; 2) Likely led to interceptions against Clemson's ball-hawking secondary; and 3) Killed the confidence of an already struggling offensive line. Instead, Coastal utilized quick passes that were gone before Clemson could mount any pressure. Was it exciting? No. Did it neutralize Clemson's pass rush, limit injuries and keep the offense from feeling demoralized? Certainly.
I was hoping that Coastal would try to make some plays down the field in the second half against Clemson's reserves. They tried once, but MacDowall was picked off on his first attempt, an 18-yard throw down the middle of the field in the third quarter. I wasn't surprised that Coastal tried to take a shot once MacDowall entered. He's given them a much better chance to make down-field throws in the passing game this season than Childers. On Saturday, however, especially in the first half, Childers' mobility and ability to move around was much more valuable. After MacDowall's interception, Coastal mostly utilized an underneath myriad of throws. MacDowall did attempt a pass on four of the next six plays - third stringer Justin Cramer entered the game in the fourth quarter and led the touchdown drive - but had little success.
Coastal's defense fell in the national rankings after giving up 49 points and 400 yards, but I thought the unit, which has been banged up over the past couple of weeks, played extremely well against a group of athletes that are far superior. The most impressive thing for me was the play of corners Marcus Lott and Josh Norman - I had been telling the Clemson media all week that these two are capable of playing with receivers at the FBS level - and the play of the defensive line. Clemson obviously won most of the battles up front, but never really dominated the Chants in the trenches, despite being bigger, stronger and faster. The play of the defensive line has been one of Coastal's biggest surprises for the Chants this year, and they continued to play well again Saturday.
Here are some random thoughts:
* Third-string quarterback Justin Cramer proved Saturday he deserves to be on the field. Is he a viable option at quarterback? No. He has limited arm strength, and though he has good speed, Childers is bigger and faster, making him a better option for quarterback draws and runs. But can he play receiver? I have no doubt.
The coaching staff tried Cramer at receiver in camp, and he made tons of plays. I wholeheartedly expected him to become a part of the rotation in the slot. The kid has good size (6-2, 205 pounds), probably runs in the low 4.6s (plenty fast enough for this level), knows the playbook inside and out and is a gamer with a good feel for the sport. Yet, he's never touched the field at receiver.
Why? I hear the coaches told him that they didn't want to play him over younger receivers who are already on scholarship. I can understand wanting to get those guys experience. But if they aren't performing - receiver has probably been the team's biggest problem area this year - are you willing to let the offense continue to struggle just to get guys repetitions? I'd put Cramer on the field and at least give him a try. After leading the team's only scoring drive in Death Valley, doesn't he deserve that?
* The play of Coastal's defense this season is even more impressive when you look the season statistics in the Big South. Coastal's leading tackler, Desmond Steward, ranks just 17th in the league in tackles per game. In fact, only four Chants are in the top 30. That just goes to show that everybody on that side of the ball is doing their part. That synergism has helped to solidify the defense.
I'm not even sure there are more than two to three all-conference players on Coastal's defense (there may not be any on the team's offense). Corner Josh Norman is a lock for first or second team, because he leads the league in picks. Defensive end Phillip Oboh leads the league in sacks and is probably the only other lock. Corner Marcus Lott may be deserving, but I doubt he'll have the numbers to earn an all-conference nod. Safety Dominique Davenport has been solid all year, but he's tied for 39th in the league in tackles. Lott is also 39th, and a strong safety has to make more tackles than a corner to have a chance to earn that nod.
Coastal's offensive game plan on Saturday certainly did not breed excitement. The Chants definitely followed the Lane Kiffin approach (from the Florida game) to playcalling: Run as frequently as possible to burn clock, punt and hope your defense makes enough stops to keep the score from getting so ugly that people watching the ticker on ESPN wonder what school is so bad that enigmatic Clemson was able to beat it 77-3.
I'm sure the the vast majority of Coastal fans - there were three people that voted on my blog poll that picked Coastal to win - expected the Tigers to roll. I also figure that most of them wanted the thrill of seeing their team put up a fight and maybe make some big plays in the passing worth getting excited about. By running 46 times and throwing just 17 passes, including a 22-7 ratio in the first half, that dream was certainly crushed. At one point in the second half I looked down press row and half of the media were already writing their stories. The other half were sound asleep. It wasn't the most exciting three hours of football, and the Chants were largely responsible for that.
But you know what? It was probably the smartest game plan. Coastal hasn't consistently blocked defensive players from the likes of VMI and Stony Brook. They certainly weren't going to block any of Clemson's first or second stringers with any regularity. Dropping Jamie Childers and Zach MacDowall back in the pocket would've done several things: 1) Gotten them killed; 2) Likely led to interceptions against Clemson's ball-hawking secondary; and 3) Killed the confidence of an already struggling offensive line. Instead, Coastal utilized quick passes that were gone before Clemson could mount any pressure. Was it exciting? No. Did it neutralize Clemson's pass rush, limit injuries and keep the offense from feeling demoralized? Certainly.
I was hoping that Coastal would try to make some plays down the field in the second half against Clemson's reserves. They tried once, but MacDowall was picked off on his first attempt, an 18-yard throw down the middle of the field in the third quarter. I wasn't surprised that Coastal tried to take a shot once MacDowall entered. He's given them a much better chance to make down-field throws in the passing game this season than Childers. On Saturday, however, especially in the first half, Childers' mobility and ability to move around was much more valuable. After MacDowall's interception, Coastal mostly utilized an underneath myriad of throws. MacDowall did attempt a pass on four of the next six plays - third stringer Justin Cramer entered the game in the fourth quarter and led the touchdown drive - but had little success.
Coastal's defense fell in the national rankings after giving up 49 points and 400 yards, but I thought the unit, which has been banged up over the past couple of weeks, played extremely well against a group of athletes that are far superior. The most impressive thing for me was the play of corners Marcus Lott and Josh Norman - I had been telling the Clemson media all week that these two are capable of playing with receivers at the FBS level - and the play of the defensive line. Clemson obviously won most of the battles up front, but never really dominated the Chants in the trenches, despite being bigger, stronger and faster. The play of the defensive line has been one of Coastal's biggest surprises for the Chants this year, and they continued to play well again Saturday.
Here are some random thoughts:
* Third-string quarterback Justin Cramer proved Saturday he deserves to be on the field. Is he a viable option at quarterback? No. He has limited arm strength, and though he has good speed, Childers is bigger and faster, making him a better option for quarterback draws and runs. But can he play receiver? I have no doubt.
The coaching staff tried Cramer at receiver in camp, and he made tons of plays. I wholeheartedly expected him to become a part of the rotation in the slot. The kid has good size (6-2, 205 pounds), probably runs in the low 4.6s (plenty fast enough for this level), knows the playbook inside and out and is a gamer with a good feel for the sport. Yet, he's never touched the field at receiver.
Why? I hear the coaches told him that they didn't want to play him over younger receivers who are already on scholarship. I can understand wanting to get those guys experience. But if they aren't performing - receiver has probably been the team's biggest problem area this year - are you willing to let the offense continue to struggle just to get guys repetitions? I'd put Cramer on the field and at least give him a try. After leading the team's only scoring drive in Death Valley, doesn't he deserve that?
* The play of Coastal's defense this season is even more impressive when you look the season statistics in the Big South. Coastal's leading tackler, Desmond Steward, ranks just 17th in the league in tackles per game. In fact, only four Chants are in the top 30. That just goes to show that everybody on that side of the ball is doing their part. That synergism has helped to solidify the defense.
I'm not even sure there are more than two to three all-conference players on Coastal's defense (there may not be any on the team's offense). Corner Josh Norman is a lock for first or second team, because he leads the league in picks. Defensive end Phillip Oboh leads the league in sacks and is probably the only other lock. Corner Marcus Lott may be deserving, but I doubt he'll have the numbers to earn an all-conference nod. Safety Dominique Davenport has been solid all year, but he's tied for 39th in the league in tackles. Lott is also 39th, and a strong safety has to make more tackles than a corner to have a chance to earn that nod.
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