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Clemson's Defense, Noticeable Weaknesses
Posted on 1/3/20 at 9:35 am
Posted on 1/3/20 at 9:35 am
I went back over the last few days and watched a good bit of film on the Clemson D. Mostly out of boredom as I took the week off. But a few things stand out that I believe the offense for LSU will be able to exploit. Now, I will concede that they are probably better than we're giving them credit for, but there are definitely some very noticeable soft spots. Sorry, I put numbers because I have no idea, and no desire to know, what the kid's names are. Except Simmons 
1.) Linebacker (43, 47, 11): Outside of Simmons (11), their backers just aren't great in coverage. Pretty good with run stopping, but if 43 or 47 get matched up with CEH or Moss, it's advantage LSU. Simmons is a wash against Moss, he's got really good cover skills.
2.) Corner (8, 1, 12): From what I've watched, it appears 1 is their top cover guy. He's very good in press man and is a bigger corner. Look for him to follow Chase. 8 is speedy, but short. Mismatch against Marshall on the outside. 12 is their nickel guy and is a significant weak point in coverage. He's pretty good in blitz packages but his cover skills are suspect. If he gets matched on Jefferson, it'll be a long day for that kid.
3.) Safety (19, 24): This is absolutely the weakest spot on the defense. They're both slow and not very good in coverage, particularly 19. They use him a good bit in blitz packages but rarely do you see him drop down in coverage. More often than not, in passing downs he's deep over the top. They also like to drop Simmons to safety in obvious passing downs.
All in all, I would compare them to Florida, but with a weaker DLine. There are a lot of holes to exploit with an offense like LSU's. Given LSU is never under center and rarely has less than 4 receivers in routes, there will be mismatches to take advantage of.
**Edit**: 12 Is a safety.
1.) Linebacker (43, 47, 11): Outside of Simmons (11), their backers just aren't great in coverage. Pretty good with run stopping, but if 43 or 47 get matched up with CEH or Moss, it's advantage LSU. Simmons is a wash against Moss, he's got really good cover skills.
2.) Corner (8, 1, 12): From what I've watched, it appears 1 is their top cover guy. He's very good in press man and is a bigger corner. Look for him to follow Chase. 8 is speedy, but short. Mismatch against Marshall on the outside. 12 is their nickel guy and is a significant weak point in coverage. He's pretty good in blitz packages but his cover skills are suspect. If he gets matched on Jefferson, it'll be a long day for that kid.
3.) Safety (19, 24): This is absolutely the weakest spot on the defense. They're both slow and not very good in coverage, particularly 19. They use him a good bit in blitz packages but rarely do you see him drop down in coverage. More often than not, in passing downs he's deep over the top. They also like to drop Simmons to safety in obvious passing downs.
All in all, I would compare them to Florida, but with a weaker DLine. There are a lot of holes to exploit with an offense like LSU's. Given LSU is never under center and rarely has less than 4 receivers in routes, there will be mismatches to take advantage of.
**Edit**: 12 Is a safety.
This post was edited on 1/3/20 at 1:23 pm
20
Posted on 1/3/20 at 9:39 am to ibleedprplngld
Burrow will toy with their safeties. Between looking off the safeties on those middle of the field routes and drawing them down inside the box with the RPO they will have a long day.
If they are slow and can not recover well from being out of position they will be toast. If our WRs can get 1on 1 coverage with no safety help we will score 50+.
If they are slow and can not recover well from being out of position they will be toast. If our WRs can get 1on 1 coverage with no safety help we will score 50+.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 9:41 am to Purple Spoon
We will exploit there Lb’s. Clyde will eat.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 9:50 am to 8miles
quote:
We will exploit there Lb’s. Clyde will eat.
If he consistently gets matched up against 43 in pass coverage, CEH will have 200 yards receiving.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 9:57 am to ibleedprplngld
Playing against LSU offense.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 9:58 am to ibleedprplngld
I would expect venables to try to make us drive the football and then get tough in the red zone, when he really starts bringing pressure.
problem - well, joe has patience to take the short stuff and move the chains, AND, if they only have 1 solid cover guy, they are in big trouble. we'll start hitting longer and longer pass plays.
the key is to score the td's early to finish drives, whether long passes or scoring from the red zone.
the best team doesn't always win. Clemson beat ohio state because ohio state didn't score in the red zone. they stomped alabama last year for the same reason. if alabama had scored 28 instead of 16, the game would've been much different.
Clemson will be going for 3 in a "row" with this strategy.
problem - well, joe has patience to take the short stuff and move the chains, AND, if they only have 1 solid cover guy, they are in big trouble. we'll start hitting longer and longer pass plays.
the key is to score the td's early to finish drives, whether long passes or scoring from the red zone.
the best team doesn't always win. Clemson beat ohio state because ohio state didn't score in the red zone. they stomped alabama last year for the same reason. if alabama had scored 28 instead of 16, the game would've been much different.
Clemson will be going for 3 in a "row" with this strategy.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 10:27 am to ibleedprplngld
quote:
1.) Linebacker (43, 47, 11): Outside of Simmons (11), their backers just aren't great in coverage.
Well, duh, they're.... they're... well let's just say they have a high football IQ and really good motors.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 10:30 am to ibleedprplngld
Great analysis!
Posted on 1/3/20 at 10:30 am to ibleedprplngld
The best method of stopping this offense (good luck) is good safety play and a pass rush (not blitzing).
Clemson is a very good defense but not necessarily in these two spots.
Doesn't mean they do not have a wrinkle we have not seen or a weakness no one has exploited to this point.
Clemson is a very good defense but not necessarily in these two spots.
Doesn't mean they do not have a wrinkle we have not seen or a weakness no one has exploited to this point.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 10:33 am to Meauxjeaux
quote:
well let's just say they have a high football IQ and really good motors.
They're.... slow....er
Posted on 1/3/20 at 10:34 am to Lsu101205
Clemson will do something a little different. Expect lots of inverted Tampa 2. Most of their tape won’t apply. Only Texas AM and Ohio State tape will matter.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 10:38 am to MandevilleSlim
quote:
Expect lots of inverted Tampa 2.
This would be a bad idea. That puts 12 or a LB on Jefferson. If you watch LSU's offense, there's almost always a clearing route to move a safety from the middle of the field. If he stays put, they drop it over the top to whoever is running the route. Any Tampa 2 variation would be torched by this offense.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 10:42 am to ibleedprplngld
All I have to say is they better never release any of the receivers to those safeties because they will get torched.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 10:47 am to ibleedprplngld
If we don't test Simmons too much passing, we'll destroy them. I expect a good bit of running plays and a lot more of Jefferson and Marshall. Wish we'd use him for jump balls more.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 10:50 am to ibleedprplngld
The only way they can hurt us is with their exotic blitz packages causing big plays, turnovers etc.
If the qb, receivers, and OL are all on the same page identifying blitzes, we're gonna have a nice day
If the qb, receivers, and OL are all on the same page identifying blitzes, we're gonna have a nice day
Posted on 1/3/20 at 10:56 am to ibleedprplngld
I told some Clemson poster this exact thing yesterday, "CEH could have a career day".
Posted on 1/3/20 at 10:59 am to ibleedprplngld
quote:
watched a good bit of film on the Clemson D
And this is what makes LSU so successful. Fans putting in that extra time in the film room.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 11:01 am to ibleedprplngld
quote:
Clemson's Defense, Noticeable Weaknesses
Have an upvote!
Joe Burrow's mindset walking up to the line of scrimmage will be this.
I'm a D-coordinator's son that has called defenses longer than I have lived... I see what you're doing there.... that's cute!
Posted on 1/3/20 at 11:13 am to ibleedprplngld
ILBs and Nickel are the weak spots. Both were beaten often by an ATH RB and the right match-up at WR. OSU's last TD was against the Nickel; he can't keep up.
Their DL is young. They lost 3 guys to the NFL and w/o blitzing they generally get little pressure on the QB.
JB must read the coverage and the OL needs to give him some time. If they sit back take the underneath routes and get YAC. If they blitz, burn them. Let Chase, Jefferson, Marshall, Moss and CEH go to work, and get explosive plays.
Their DL is young. They lost 3 guys to the NFL and w/o blitzing they generally get little pressure on the QB.
JB must read the coverage and the OL needs to give him some time. If they sit back take the underneath routes and get YAC. If they blitz, burn them. Let Chase, Jefferson, Marshall, Moss and CEH go to work, and get explosive plays.
Posted on 1/3/20 at 11:26 am to HC87
JOE WILL NOT LOSE THE GAME THAT HE HAS BEEN WORKING TOWARDS HIS WHOLE LIFE! He has faced UF, AU, Bama and UGA defenses. He has made all of them look stupid!
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