Offensive Observations - First 5 Games vs. Last 2 Games

Right off the bat, I want to give props to Dabo Swinney and Billy Napier for righting the offensive ship the last two games. Hats off to both Swinney and Napier along with the the players for the offensive improvement against Wake and Miami.

Here are some differences I noticed between the first 5 games and the last 2 games. Below is Kyle Parker's completions and attempts by target for the first five games versus the last two games. Throw-aways are not included in the raw data because there is no intended target.

Completion/Attempts For First 5 Games




The raw data comes from ESPN.com.

Observations From The Data

1st 5 Games - 48% of completions to RBs and TEs
Last 2 Games - 77% of completions to RBs and TEs

1st 5 Games - 46% of attempts to RBs and TEs
Last 2 Games - 70% of attempts to RBs and TEs

1st 5 Games - 19% of completions to TEs
Last 2 Games - 38% of completions to TEs

1st 5 Games - 18% of attempts to TEs
Last 2 Games - 30% of attempts to TEs


Both completions and attempts to the RBs and TEs are up roughly 29% and 24% respectively while completions and attempts to the TEs are up 19% and 12% respectively.

The last 2 games the TEs and RBs have been more involved in the offense while the WR have been deemphasized, which makes sense considering the stregths and weaknesses of our team coupled with the fact that Clemson RBs and TEs have better hands and drop less balls.

In the first 5 games, Parker tried to force the ball to Ford (32% of his attempts) or had to throw the ball away (6.4 times per game) when Clemson's complimentary WRs struggled to get open. Both attempts to Ford (10%) and throw-a ways (3.5 per game) have decreased with the emphasis on getting the ball to the RBs and TEs, which has helped tremendously with the rhythm of the offense.

As a result, Parker's completion percentage has risen from 48% to 65% and the offense has been in a much better position on 2nd and 3rd downs, which only further helps our offensive execution.

Other Observations Over The Last 2 Games

- Hairston returning from his injury has been a boost along the offensive line, but so has the switch of Freeman to starting center and Cloy providing quality relief at OG. David Smith has also emerged as a quality 3rd OT. The offensive line is still only average at run blocking, but has been solid in pass-pro. I wish some of these moves were made sooner as people have been calling for them since before the season, but better late than never.

- Chad Diehl has played more meaningful snaps at the expense of Rendrick Talyor. Diehl is simple a more devastating blocker and much more physical at the point of attack than Taylor. Diehl also has a lot less missed assignments than Taylor and MA simple kill plays. This has helped our short-yardage and running game over the last two contests.

- KISS. Keep it simple stupid. Clemson has done a lot less formation changes and less switching of personnel during drives. The offense has also reduced the amount of pre-snap motion. Players are on the same page and there is much less confusion, which helps tremendously in execution.

- CJ Spiller for Heisman.

Lets take it one game at a time and keep up the good work.