Trouble In Paradise

The preseason number nine team has proved itself to be nothing even close to a top twenty five team. The Clemson Tigers have hidden behind the guise of thunder and lightning for the last two years, but the closest to a storm that they have come is the 2006 game against Georgia Tech.  The rout of Geogia Tech is probably the only thing that the duo really had to put on their resume. The only footage of Spiller that ESPN still shows on a regular basis is him in his grape suit sticking his finger out as he jets toward the end-zone.

      Davis and Spiller are impressive players, don't get me wrong, but they, along with the coaching staff need the proverbial "come to Jesus meeting" or the Tigers will not be competing in the ACC Championship, much less a BCS Bowl. So what is wrong in Tigertown? To start, Coach Bowden has become scared to coach. What I mean is that he is more concerned about coaching not to lose rather than coaching to win. This is an easy problem to fix, my best advice to you Coach Bowden is to go and look at your daddy's vintage film from his glory days. i.e., the puntrookskie against Clemson in the late 1980s. The second and last piece of advice for Tommy is to let the boys hit. My father, who was a student at Clemson through Danny's main years, stood by Coach Bowden through the last major question, has begun calling for a " Bat-light" pointed toward Pendleton with the number 23.  While I do not agree that Danny Ford holds all the answers to the Tiger's problems, I think that his coaching style would bring them back into the mainstream of college football. My senior year in high school, our defensive line coach played for Coach Ford.  The resounding message is that his players spat on the ground he walked, not because they hated him, but because he demanded so much from his players.  The Tigers have become soft, they are afraid to hit and Tommy is afraid to let them hit.  The true starters cannot be determined from a "helmets" practice, but in a full pads practice.   I know that in the week before the Alabama game they did not go full contact, I do not know about practices since.  For the record Jamie Harper should have probably been red-shirted this year, he should not have been in on the first series against Alabama.   Clemson escaped NC State because they are starting a true freshman quarterback without their key returning starter. This pretty much addresses the coaching concerns.

     The team as a whole will only play as hard as they practice. If they start hitting in practice they will be mean in the games, that is the key to bringing the ACC Trophy back to Tigertown. Secondly, CJ needs to grow a pair and run with the ball. No one else on the offense stops and looks. CJ you may have been able to smoke everyone in high school, but you're playing DI now and you cannot stop and look for a seam - tuck the ball and run and the seam will come. We all know that you have blazing speed, but Jacoby Ford can run the ball better than  you right now. Just because y'all were the preseason #9 team does not mean you really are. Strap your helmets on, get some piss in your veins and play like Clemson Tigers. This isn't high school. Everyone you're playing against now is there because they were about on your same level coming out of high school.  If I were an NFL scout I would not recommend a single Tiger for the draft at this point in the season. They should win Saturday by at least a 60 point margin. To conclude all that I want to say is boy - FSU- and I don't mean Florida State University, I meant F--K S--T Up. Strap your helmets on and play like men. This isn't Pop Warner or High School - This IS THE REST OF YOUR LIVES and you look terrible right now. Tommy - coach like you did in 99 and 00 - remember what it was like to beat Lou Holtz and the first few times you beat Spurrier, but remember above all the greatest joy that any man can feel - BEATING HIS OLD MAN. You have no one better to learn from than Papa Bowden. Think of every opposing coach as your daddy and the ACC can still be ours. Remember, this isn't about the guys that run down the hill on Saturday, this is about the 85,0000 watching them run down the hill and the countless others watching on TV. Lets do it TIGERS - FSU!