Monday, October 12, 2009

Power Struggle

By The Avenue of Champions (aoc.clemson@gmail.com)

The dismal offensive performances through five games has a large portion of Clemson faithful pointing the finger at Offensive Coordinator Billy Napier and while Napier certainly is part of the problem, the finger should also be pointed in the direction of Head Coach Dabo Swinney. It was widely reported when Swinney hired Napier as OC that Swinney went with an inexperienced OC in Napier, so that Swinney could have significant input into offensive philosophy and play calling, but Swinney's intervention has allegedly been largely - and alarmingly - negative through the first five games.

The biggest issue is apparently Swinney's tendency to overrule the play calling. Since Swinney often signals in the plays, Swinney has time to change the play call without the offensive staff knowing it until the play unfolds before their eyes. Not only that but Swinney has on a handful of occasions changed into a play that features the wrong personnel grouping on the field or switches to a play call that isn’t optimal to run out of the designated formation. Swinney has also botched or completely forgotten to signal the protection scheme or route combination and as a result the players subsequently end up "winging it".








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The Wrong Signal

Swinney reportedly overrides Napier around 15-25 plays per game, primarily taking control in the red zone and during critical situations including calling almost all of the last 3 drives of the game against Maryland

On the final offensive play against Maryland, Billy Napier called a play and Dabo signaled in a different one. Unfortunately, Swinney forgot to change the protection scheme to match the new play and as a result a blitzing LB was given an unobstructed path to the QB. The play ultimately resulted in a sack and fumble and killed the Tigers chances of kicking a game tying FG.

Swinney, who Vic Koenning called “Goat Boy” for his tendency to offer players that were not Division I caliber, is also so motivated to prove that these players can play that Swinney will play them knowing that they do not give the team the best chance to win. Napier, who prefers running I-Formation and utilizing TEs which fit with Clemson’s strength, often clashes with Swinney who wants to run 3 and 4 WR sets in part to prove that the wide receivers that Swinney coached previously can actually play.

Napier didn’t attend the post game press conference following the Maryland Game due to his frustration at Swinney for killing the momentum and botching signals in crunch time and also to show that Swinney is the coach actually in charge of Clemson’s offense.

Clemson’s 2-3 record has Swinney panicking and riding the players and coaches extremely hard. Swinney’s temper got the better of him on a couple of occasions during last Wednesday's practice, resulting in two face-to-face altercations with Napier.  Coaches had to step-in and separate the parties prior to it escalating. Woody McCorvey recently was forced to step-in and council Swinney on controlling his temper.

While Swinney and Napier are both responsible for the grease fire that is our offense to date the blame ultimately lies at the feet of Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips, who actually thought that a former WR Coach and former TE Coach without any  play calling experience could combine to put a competent offensive product on the field.


The Avenue of Champions can be reached at aoc.clemson@gmail.com

74 comments:

  1. This blog is the most ridiculous thing i have ever read.

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  2. Anonymous blogs can post anything they want with no repercussions if they are wrong. How does any reader know if any of this is right?

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  3. When you say ridiculous do you mean accurate as all hell? Because this is true. And not only is it true there are other things that are much worse.

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  4. its only ridiculous if you're a clemson fan...because you just cant accept that it might be true. i know one thing- it sure does seem reasonable given the circumstances and events as they have unfolded.

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  5. Love the fact that all the comments are left anonymously too.... Wimps. :)

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  6. If you are presenting this as facts, then either you are a mind reader or Dabo is a total idiot. You put out some information that could be taken as factual, even though the sources are anonymous. However, you then insert opinion as facts and that hurts your credibility in my mind. Are you really saying that Dabo has told your sources that he wants to play 3-4 WR sets because he wants to prove he didn't recruit and coach poor WR's? I don't think so.

    Dabo has said he was a spread guy from day 1 and it always concerned me that he hired an OC that is not a spread guy. I could see the trouble coming. However, I think the fact that Dabo is a spread guy is the reason for his calls and not because he wants to prove that he didn't miss on some WR's... Are you telling me that you have proof that is the fact?

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  7. Maybe the Coot fan that wrote this gibberish will grow a pair and divulge their identity.

    What a bunch of trash, being pawned off as information.

    Bloggers are not journalists. Your opinion and assumption isn't fact.

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  8. Hate to break it to you, but the authors are far from coots. This stuff is really happening with our beloved program.

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  9. This is the most rediculus thing ever wrote. I love Dabo Swinney and all the hype and fire he has brung with him. He cries for those kids. Bleeds for them. He aint fighting with Billy...its all bulls--t!

    This was done by some lyin aced US-CK-U fan who is tired of getting whipped every time we lace em up.

    They gonna get killed by Bama this weekend while we whomp on Wake Forest.

    Dabo Swinney is the main man and will deliver another National Title!!!

    Get of HIM!

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  10. Anyone can guess their offense. Toss sweep to Spiller on short yardage and goal line plays. Otherwise, tell Spiller and Ford to go deep and throw a bomb hoping they will connect. If that doesn't work, there's always hope that Spiller/Ford will break a kickoff/punt return.

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  11. Jim Sweet should work on his spelling. I guess that's typical for taters. USC will likely lose to Bama as you say, but is it that great of a win to "whomp on" Wake? The whole ACC sucks. Clemson should quit playing football if they don't win the ACC this year, it should be them against VaTech in the championship but they will choke as usual.

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  12. I can't vouche for the accuracy of this blog, but I can vouche that these writters are Clemson Fans.

    They are all long-time posters on TigerIllustrated and generally have had the best inside scoop for years.

    Does it mean this blog is accurate? No.

    But I know for a fact that they are Clemson Fans to the core.

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  13. So why not post their names? I think they are lying coot fans!

    Anonoumous writers are the worst. Its like a sucker punch in a bar and then the guy runs away.

    Cowards!

    and I knew some coot would come polute the comments like they always do after festing on some white meat teams. They getting to the real meat now and like every year will be soften up for us to whup on them.

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  14. Jim,

    I don't know them personally, so I don't know there real names.

    You can log onto TigerIllustrated and get their handles, but as far as I know they are all just fans, so does it really matter if they say their name is "John Doe" ?

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  15. This blog is accurate.

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  16. Hey Jim,

    5-1 versus 2-3 sure sounds good to me. Our strength of schedule so far has been better too. And it only gets tougher for us going forward. Come join a real conference and see how well your less than mediocre team will fare. Maryland had to take James Madison to OT to beat them and they had yall down most of the game and beat you. hahaha

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  17. It doesn't matter what their names are because you guys would know them anyways. They are Clemson grads, NOT players (at least one of them has never even played football). These guys are friends of players and ex-players so everything is second hand

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  18. Bwahahaha!! The SEC!!! BWAHAHAHA! That's all coots ever talk about. Well, guess what coot? We know of one SEC victory that's in the bag every year. LOL!

    BWHAHAHAHAHA!

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  19. Typical taters, living in the past. Afraid to respond about what is currently happening. Why not bring up your tainted championship too??? How bout all the ACC Championships before FSU joined??? If this game was played at the beginning of the season instead of at the end when Carolina is banged up from the good teams, Clemson would be beaten year in and out.

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  20. I fail to see why people want everyone's name attached to a blog...why? so they can publicly attack someone and cost them their job? What difference would it make if I posted my name to my blog?

    A real paid writer will not post their name to such a controversial post and reveal sources because it would hurt them in the long run. Yet some of you seem to want that to happen, so then they wont be a paid writer anymore.

    A blog is the only forum to get things like this out there.

    I believe it is mostly true, but if Napier and Swinney have both denied it, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and call for Napier's head at the end of the season if this shitty offense does not improve.

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  21. Yeah, Jeremy Schap and John Feinstein and Bob Ryan and Peter King are all anonymous.

    Absolutely moronic. I agree with Jim Sweet, his lack of grammar notwithstanding. Posting these cootish diatribes with no backup is reckless and irresponsible.

    And plenty of KNOWN writers use anonymous sources. That's fine, but the writer needs credibility first. This guy has no credibility, and lists no sources.

    If you buy his stuff, I have some moon property I'd like to sell you.

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  22. You trying to start something with me Brain Wagner? You a coot to?

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  23. Dan,

    I would agree with you 100%, but this guys were the first people to break the Eubanks story, which was proven to be accurate.

    Parts of this story have already been proven accurate, so these guys obviously have some sort of source and credibility.

    The authors have a ton of credibility on TI because they have been around for years, but I do agree that their credibility isn't as strong in the blog world.

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  24. I heard Willy Mac over at Block-C has a 14 inch cock. It's on this blog. Write it down as the absolute truth.

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  25. I have my own sources within the program, and I can tell you this blog post is complete hyperbole. The Billy and Dabo altercation was typical of their relationship. It went a bit far and was in front of the Tiger Band so it gets blown out of proportion.

    Both Dabo and Napier are frustrated over the offense, as they should be, and just weren't agreeing on a solution at that time. I've heard they have finally patched things up and are moving on. Again, though, coaches get into arguments all the time in practice. Especially when the team struggles. This isn't that big of a deal.

    I will say, Dabo and Co. are frustrated and embarrassed. They all are taking these loses personally and are working to fix the problems on offense. Dabo knows he is on a short leash and must show vast improvement on the offense. Blog posts like this misconstrue passion and frustration as anger. Horribly inaccurate.

    The writers/creators of this blog are almost all from Tigerillustrated and have had it in for Dabo for some time. This is just more of the same from them. If you need help identifying who they are, they will be the one's defending anonymous blog posts. Disregard. Read it as entertainment and not actual news. Think of this blog as the Fox News of the Clemson blogosphere. You'll thank me later.

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  26. I had heard that Willy Korn has been caught on a couple of occasions with Billy Napier's wife in his dorm room. Anyone else heard this rumor??

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  27. Some of you people are just making stuff up. Ridiculous. Please be serious.

    What I have heard is that one of the main problems has been Brad Scott. He has been distracted, and I mean BIG TIME, by the opening of the Chick-fil-a over on 123. The offensive line players have nicknamed him "Be Right Back", and said every time he returns to the practice field from one of his little jaunts, he has either honey mustard or barbecue sauce on his whistle and Herb Tyler's card sticking out of his pocket.

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  28. I for one know all about the shortcomings of the athletic department. I gave the Clemson community my heart, soul, and countless hours of practice and game time in lieu of time with my family and all it got me was a one-way ticket to Gainesville to sit on Billy Donovan's bench. I know that if I was appreciated for all the coaching skills that I have I could still be doing the same thing at Clemson to this day. I was short-staffed the whole time I was here which led to my demise as Head Coach. I could have been a legend like Dean Smith or Bobby Knight but was never given the chance. Now I will toil in relative obscurity.

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  29. Larry - if that is really you, you should be coaching instead of reading blogs. I don't know how much time you have being an assistant at Florida, but I doubt they would look kindly upon you writing comments on a blog that make backhanded references to past and current jobs.

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  30. I actually think Larry was a good coach that was never given the tools to succeed. Had he been, maybe he wouldve made it.

    But back to the items in question, do the writers of the blog know if there is a plan in place now to correct these problems? Reading Tigernet, they say you are correct but blowing it out of proportion and that Billy and Dabo are very close buddies.

    Any idea if things will be smooth this week?

    Thanks!!

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  31. This is hilarious from a non-clempson fan perspective, and Jim Sweet is extremely intelligent... WOW!

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  32. IT DOES NOT MATTER IF THIS BLOG IS TRUE OR NOT, DABO IS THE HEAD COACH AND HE IS FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EVERYTHING. THE CONSISTENCY OF LOOKING STUPID ON OFFENSE WITH SOME OF THE GREATEST ATHLETES CLEMSON HAS FIELDED IN YEARS IS UNBELIEVABLE. THE LAST 3 DRIVES AGAINST MARYLAND WAS THE MOST DUNDERHEADED CRAP I HAVE EVER SEEN. WE HAVE A BEVY OF RUNNING BACKS THAT CAN BEAT THE SLOP OUT OF EVERY ONE WE PLAY AND AN OFFENSIVE LINE THAT CAN GIVE THE THE BLOCKS. RUN THE BALL AND THROW SHORT PASSES. THE 'I' FORMATION SHOULD UTILIZE SPILLER AS A WING BACK AND JAMIE HARPER AS THE TAILBACK. THE DEFENSE IS ALSO MORE THAN OUTSTANDING AND NO ONE HAS REALLY BEEN ABLE TO RUN ON US EXCEPT THE QUARTERBACKS. THAT IS A FLAW THAT CAN BE CORRECTED. IF ANYONE CANNOT SEE THIS THEN JUST GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE GA. TECH GAME. TOTAL COACHING MISMANAGEMENT IN THE FIRST HALF AND A PARTIAL ADJUSTMENT BREAKDOWN IN THE FORTH QUARTER WHEN TECH DROVE FOR ITS FINAL SCORES. ALL I SEE IS REMNANTS OF TOMMY BOWDEN, WHICH MAKES ME WONDER IF DABO WASN'T CALLING THE PLAYS THEN TO. WE NEED A QUALITY COACH WITH A PROVEN WINNING RECORD IN OUR DIVISION. WHY IS THAT SO HARD FOR US TO GET. WE HAVE FLOPPED AT THAT SINCE THE IDIOTS FIRED DANNY. I AM BEGINNING TO THINK THAT THE CLEMSON ADMIN. NO LONGER WANTS ANY KIND OF ATHLETIC GREATNESS AT THIS UNIVERSITY. WE USED TO KICK BUTT AT EVERY SPORT, SOCCER, BASEBALL, AND DOING VERY WELL IN BASKET BALL WITH PURNELL. WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH OUR MAIN SPORT. AS FANS WE NEED TO STAND UP. I LOVE OUR PLAYERS AND OUR SCHOOL, BUT IT IS BEING RUN BY A BUNCH OF GOOD OLD BOYS THAT DON'T GIVE D--- ABOUT THE FANS OR ATHLETICS. THEY WANT TO BECOME THE TIME MAGAZINE ACADEMIC SCHOOL OF THE YEAR. I HAVE BEEN GOING UP TO CLEMSON SINCE 1954 AND HAVE WATCHED THROUGH THICK AND THIN. I KNOW WHAT WE HAVE HERE AND WE CAN BE LIKE WE WERE WITH FORD IF WE CAN GET SOME GOOD PERSONNEL BACK IN THE DRIVERS SEAT. I HOPE DABO CAN TURN IT AROUND, BUT YOU WILL KNOW IT WHEN WE BEAT THE ONES WE SHOULD AND CONSISTENTLY PLAY GOOD AGAINST TOUGH OPPONENTS WITHOUT TOTAL BREAKDOWNS AND USING THE PLAYERS ON THE TEAM WHERE THEY ARE BEST FITTED. A FOOTBALL TEAM IS BUILT AROUND THE ABILITY OF THE QUARTERBACK NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. KYLE PARKER IS INEXPERIENCED AND WILLIE KORN DOES NOT GET A CHANCE(SUCH AS PLAYING A FULL QUARTER AGAINST TEAMS LIKE MTS OR SC STATE)TO GET SOME EXPERIENCE. JAMIE HARPER A GREAT RUNNING BACK, WHERE IS HE? WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT. BOBBY BOWDEN FINDS A WAY TO GET HIS GOOD PLAYERS OUT THERE. GIVE THESE GUYS SOME CONSISTENT PLAYING TIME WITH PLAYS MADE FOR THEM. WE NEVER FAKE THE BALL, EVERY THING IS TOO PREDICTABLE. WE HAVE GOT TO GET CLEMSON GOING AGAIN OR WE WILL END UP LIKE THE D--N CHICKENS HAVE BEEN FOREVER, A BUNCH OF CLUCKING LOSERS!WHEW....TOO MUCH....JF

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  33. hey coot, you want to bring up some more of that "beat up by a tough schedule" BS, because we haven't heard nearly enough of that in the past thirty years.

    you just HATE to bring up the past, don't ya? remember a couple of years ago y'all started 6-0?? what happened then? just wait till you meet up with Vandy and then it'll be all the same excuses all over again.

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  34. WHO GIVES A BLAH ABOUT THE GAMECOOTERS.....THEY ARE AND WILL REMAIN LOSERS AND WE WILL BEAT THEIR BUTT ON A REGULAR BASIS AS ALWAYS...I WANT A PROVEN COACH FOR US. WE HAVE THE TALENT, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!!!JF

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  35. Hey Larry,

    You think you got a raw deal? I won Clemson's only National Championship and a shitpile of ACC Championships, not to mention the whoopin' we put on Major Harris, Woody Hayes and many more of them nancyboys from them other schools. All I wanted was a new dorm to keep our boys separate from the student population and keep 'em out of trouble. And look at the thanks I got.

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  36. I am a South Carolina fan. Let me tell you how very much I have enjoyed reading this blog and all of these comments tonight. It is truly pleasurable to see you silly people eat your own like this.

    Here is the plain truth. You can fire all the Tommys, and Dabos, and Terry Dons you want, but Clemson will never, ever return to the days of winning conference championships. The party is over. Forever. Flame away, and enjoy the rest of the season- and the rest of your lives.

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  37. Come on wussies. Put YOUR name beside this blog and not just your little TI handles.

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  38. @ ALL CAPS - TOO LONG, DID NOT READ

    ALSO, I HEARD THE RUMORS ABOUT WILLY MAC ARE TRUE AS WELL. POOR GUY MOST PASS OUT FROM POOR BLOOD CIRCULATION FROM THAT HOG.

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  39. It is true....Willy Mac's wang-a-dang is monstrous...almost as big as the joke that is this website, as well as most of the people trying to actually make arguments in the comments section here.

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  40. You can talk all the crap about USC you want, but when you go to bed tonight think about this: they are 5-1, yall are 2-3. They are ranked, yall are not. They get games against teams like SC State on tv, yall cant even get one against a ranked TCU shown. Yall are pumped about playing a weak Wake Forrest team, looking at as a way to turn your season around. The "good ole days" of clemson football are over! What's sad is yall will say how bad USC is, then take pride in beating them. Yep, sorry guys, clemson football is dead. Yall are the second rate team in SC now.

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  41. 1st down...2nd down...3rd down...punt..Dabo come and you still gonna lose!!!! 2-3, How does it feel to suck?? Wow, maybe beating a sorry Wake Forest, FSU, Virginia, or NC State team will make you think you're back on track for a national championship. Life at Moo-U must be great. I'm loving the meltdown. Shouldn't have fired me.

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  42. You can always tell when the gamecock fans get the memo. They show up late to the comments section and stink the place up.

    No tradition, few championships, no sense of humor, no class and no chance.

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  43. Why would you make fun of me a man you dont even know and understand? No my English and grammer isnt all that good and I make no excuses. Im a working man but I also own a very big very productive farm and dont have to spell to do my job.

    Its sad that in this world peopple pick on a man for things like this without even knowing him or what he is about. I raised four kids the oldest two who are at Clemson now and I have given much money to the school.

    My name is Jim Sweet. What is your's? If you want to come make fun of me come on. I'm between Gastonia and Cherryville.

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  44. Why would someone make fun of this guy? What a bunch of crap. This is the kind of guy America was built on, not some punk eighteen year old surfing for apps for his freaking iPhone.

    Mr. Sweet, I don't give a shit if you can spell or not. You can come tailgate with me any time.

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  45. LOL... From a South Carolina fan's perspective, this is great stuff!!

    I guess Dabo said the first curse word ever spoken at a Clemson Football practice. It really tore ya'll up apparently.

    No wonder you guys ran Danny Ford off. hahaha!!!

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  46. Sorry Jim, you may not believe what has happened, but it is the truth. The bloggers names dont need to be revealed, what good would it do? They would lose any information they recieve from their sources and not to mention perhaps saftey from delusional fans like yourself. Our program is in shambles right now and people like you wont open your eyes. We are easily a top 15 coaching jobs in the nation (with the immediate chance to win a championsihp in a weak ACC) and we gave it to your boy Dabo without even blinking. A man who has absolutely no head coaching or coordinator experience, just coaching wide receivers; we see how that is working out for them at the momement. I bet a salesman could sell you volcano insurance if he tried, because Terry Don and Dabo are doing the exact same thing to you. You aren't alone, so this isnt a blast on only you, I'm just frustrated with people who cant accept the facts of what is happening and trying to shoot the messengers of this blog. I commend them for bringing forth such truth to the eyes of fans that who haven't turned a blind eye. Believe it or not, they struggled with deciding to bring forth this information and damage thier university's image. They love Clemson and Clemson Athletics and only desire the best for it. The truth hurts, deal with it. And to USC fans, congrats for the time being. You have more going for you than we do at the moment. I hate it, but can't deny it.

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  47. Vic Koening calling Dabo "Goat Boy"?

    You lost credibility with me on that one. It's certainly true that we've missed on some solid WRs, but you just had to throw that in there out of the blue. If you guys would leave little smartass comments like that out, you'd earn a little more credibility.

    I agree with a lot of what yall are saying, but this one rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe you just wanted to make it clear that you hope Dabo fails miserably. I'm not really sure what the point of this blog was?

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  48. It's hard to say if any of this is true. It's hardly a stretch to believe that any of this is true.

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  49. Mr Sweet - how does 64% equal "every time we lace em up"...is your math off, or does your team only lace your cleets 64% of the time? I don't understand.

    Give it up Clemson fans. It was a decision of the heart, not the head, to hire Dabo as head coach & now you have to live with the consequences. I just feel bad for your players who have REAL talent, who are having to play on such an underachieving team this year. Bet Spiller is wondering why he didn't go pro.

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  50. USC has no tradition? Really? And your stadium name & mascot are both rip offs. Of an SEC school, might I add. Bitch Please.

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  51. Coots fold every year and have lost 10 of 12October 13, 2009 at 10:36 AM

    Bwahahaha! We beat you waaaaaay more than 64% of the time. LOL! 10 of the last 12 beyatches!!!

    LOL!

    LOL!

    10 of the last 12...how are you even living?

    BWAHAHAHA!!

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  52. 5-1 bitch - how you living? why does EVERY clemson focus on the statistic that works in THEIR favor - instead of looking at the real numbers. FACT - Clemson beats USC 64% of the time. Then again, I wouldn't expect a Clemsuck grad to be able to do that kind of math.

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  53. Not sure who wrote the piece, but it is pretty
    clear that Dabo is in over his head; seems like a decent guy, just in a 'tight spot'. The
    CU faithful are too anxious for wins ASAP to bring in a Head Coach in Training. And they lost a LOT of talent in last 2 years. Whether
    the post was USC or CU is a moot point; Dado and Napier are at odds..plain and simple.

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  54. Jim Sweet is a great American.

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  55. This is just a joke

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  56. I have positive proof that this whole article was posted by a chicken fan.

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  57. So post your proof.

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  58. So now it is obvious that you guys (the avenue of champions) blew this way out of proportion. Nice work fellas. Ask some players instead of the band next time you think you have a big story

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  59. What I love is the hypocrisy of the writers of this blog. Most, if not all, are from Tigerillustrated. They have been called out for anonymously posting this crap and blowing stuff out of proportion to fit their agenda. When another Clemson site states that it was blown out of proportion and there is nothing to this, they claim those people are just biased.

    They claim the other site has no journalistic integrity and their opinion should be ignored. Basically, they are saying you should believe the anonymous postings of complete hearsay over those who have actual inside sources. Good job AOC. Enjoy your 15min of fame...or should I say infamy.

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  60. "Swinney’s temper got the better of him on a couple of occasions during last Wednesday's practice, resulting in two face-to-face altercations with Napier. Coaches had to step in and seperate them prior to it escalating"

    This is all the AOC says about the altercation and all of this has been confirmed. Not sure how the AOC blew it out of porportion.

    TI and CUTigers writers differ on the how big a deal the altercation was with one saying it was minor and one saying it was a bigger deal.

    Again all the blog says is that an altercation happened between the two and they had to be seperated. Nothing more, nothing less.

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  61. TOC sounds pretty spot on, and actually, would any of this come out had they NOT reported it?

    Good job, gang. Tell us more.

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  62. If that's all you were trying to insinuate, that would be fine. However, you are clearly trying to paint the situation as worse than it is. Specifically, Dabo. Including "goat boy" and suggesting that he is playing more WRs to prove he didn't miss in evaluations along side the altercation with Napier clearly supports that.

    Larry and Cris have confirmed the altercations, but weren't there at practice.(At least I don't think they were). That means they are just confirming through their sources that there was a confrontation. Not the severity of the confrontation. TOC says it wasn't that bad, but you disregard their sources. Why? I have no idea what to believe, but I know where your opinion of the event is coming from. So I naturally disregard your opinion.

    I just don't like the idea of you trying to come off as a unbiased "news" blog when you clearly aren't. It's like Fox News or MSNBC trying to say they are unbiased. It destroys any credibility you have.

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  63. I think every single person here, especially this blog are forgetting one important thing...NONE OF THIS MAKES A DIFFERENCE!!!

    Football is much simpler than you are making it out to be. Execute the plays called, win the game. We don't execute very well...probably has to do with the offensive gameplan not putting us in very good chances to win the game. We have a mediocre FRESHMAN QB and a below average OL. The FRESHMAN QB plays like a freshman and is not comfortable in his pocket yet...The OL just isn't that good, and personally I feel that it has to do with coaching. When our QB completes less than 50% of his passes, somehow I don't see what this blog has anything to do with why we are 2-3.

    And to the USC fans posting on here...not sure why you are here in the first place...but you have the better team this year...as of right now. Our defense will keep us in the game against ANYBODY...our offense can't give us the points to win. It is a toss-up for the matchup this year right now if you sit and look at what the teams have done so far.

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  64. My name is Tommy Chastain and I cant get back the 15 minutes of my life I spent reading this shit. I do think it is very extreme weather true or not for the AOC to push the lies or stretch the truth to the limit in order to get TDP fired. Either TDP has showed you up at some point in your life, you looked in the mirror and realized how miserable you are, have realized that you cant afford good seats and parking for the games... You get the point. You will never have credibility until you legitimize your posts by including your name. At least then someone can figure if you have an axe to grind or you really are telling the truth. Sources should never have to be revealed but to make such comments legitimate you must make yourself accountable. Until then you are just another hater hiding behind a handle. That is weak. thomasdchastain@bellsouth.net I am not afraid of posting my comment. Why are you AOC?

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  65. Saw this blog from last Tuesday.

    http://clempsonfootball.blogspot.com/2009/10/so-who-really-is-at-fault.html

    Author talks about Swinney overruling 1 or 2 plays per series.

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  66. Real Article about the "Power Struggle" for anyone interested

    http://www.thestate.com/sports/story/982973.html

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  67. To echo other's comments - I am incredibly upset I can't get the time back I wasted reading through this site. I thought for sure there would be some sort of balanced argument SOMEWHERE in your rambling, but y'all seem to just be genuine haters.

    Have any of the writers played high school or college ball, or even coached a little league football team? I would like to see some experience to back up all these opinions because you damn sure don't seem to have any verified facts.

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  68. Why is everyone so fired up about this after only FIVE games? We waited a decade for Bowden to deliver and nothing happened. Cut Dabo a little slack, please!

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  69. OnceatigeralwaysatigerOctober 14, 2009 at 9:59 PM

    The football program clings to its boosters with fear. They can't find a coach with enough balls to coach their own game without looking over their back at management. You can't always buy greatness or tradition but you can sure milk it. What this program needs is a real leader that can tell management and the booster press to stay off the practice fields. Someone that puts an end to the Real Life over exposed program and get busy building a football team that has it's own identity instead of always trying to find a new one.

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  70. Here is an interesting counter to the points made in this blog

    http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&U=5d556d0fb3934fedbad5de0f1aaff289&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a5d556d0fb3934fedbad5de0f1aaff289Post%3aa3fba592-d391-4bc4-9eca-3e67df5ad80a&plckCommentSortOrder=TimeStampAscending&sid=sitelife.greenvilleonline.com

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  71. Have a son on the team. I can tell you that Tiger Illustrated is a cancer for the program. The players hate Ard and all the negative comments. You don't see that kind of stuff on the other Rivals sites. If I was Dabo, Ard and Williams would never be allowed to another practice. The players like Dabo and are behind him. They think he can turn it around.

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  72. Dabo has no say in who attends practice. He can't ban legitmate news orginazations or writers from practice. All he can do is not answer any of their questions and instruct his players not to talk to particular reporters. The reporters have every right to be there as long as they are legit. And Ard and Williams are legit, regardless of what you think about them personally.

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  73. To the last two comments (at this time)...

    Ard and Williams very rarely attend practice, they just conduct interviews afterward.

    To the guy with the son, everyone else seems to be complaining about stating sources...so why not give a name? Not that it matters, because Lloyd said earlier, none of this matters.

    Let the games play out, at the end of the season what's done is done and decisions can be made.

    To the SC fans, remember we still have bragging rights. As I do after we lose to you, wait until Thanksgiving before talking shit.

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  74. Just a few things, which are obvious to me. First, I love all things Clemson, and appreciate the efforts of this blog.

    Second, Dabo himself has denied calling the plays - he said himself perhaps 5 'total' plays were called by him. Even Napier has said the input of Dabo is ussually less play-calling and more "we should run here" or "let's take a shot downfield here". Perhaps those are being interpreted as play-calling. Either way.

    Also, I'm guessing that a council session by McCorvey would be kept private between Dabo and Woody, and some anonymous source - be it a player or band member or even someone within the administration wouldn't be privy to that personal conversation. That's my take, and comments like that (which appear to me anyway to be pure speculation) contribute to the lack of credibility here.

    I'd love to see this blog go places. But just a suggestion to make it more than the current fiasco it is now - put up some profiles of the contributors, along with any agenda. And have fun.

    Oh, by the way... apparently Terry Don Phillips was on to something when he thought a former WR and TE coach could put a competent product on the field.

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