Clemson Offseason strategy

[unforgiven108]

So article on Macon describing the differences in the coaching strategy in regards to off season preparations. I found this quote interesting:

We really prepared for a little bit of all our opponents,” Swinney said Wednesday during the ACC coaches’ teleconference. “When you go through fall camp, you try to install everything that you’re going to try to do throughout the course of the season. Obviously, the first game, you can’t run everything you install, so as you start to gameplan, you pick from your menu from an installation standpoint.“And we certainly have spent a little time working on all our opponents and our staff did a great job with their scouting reports in breaking down our first several opponents in the spring and summer.”
Despite the attention paid to each of its opponents, none of it has distracted from preparation this week for Clemson’s season opener Saturday against Middle Tennessee.
“Our focus the last two weeks has been Middle Tennessee,” Swinney said. “We can’t overlook these guys at all.”

Does anyone think that a 'jack-of-all-trades' type aproach to preparing in the offseason is really a good one?


It seems to me this is doomed to failure not just in the first couple of games, but down the road too. I am by NO MEANS a football expert, but I would feel that you'd want to spend the bulk of your time establishing what your team does regardless of opponent, and then spend a little time (the 5 days before games) to tweak what you do in specific to tailor to your upcoming opponent. It seems that if Dabo spent the bulk of the offseason studying his upcoming opponents, he hasn't established an identity for his team, rather trying to just do things for each specific week.


I see a bad season coming for Clemson...maybe I'm way off.


Thoughts?


http://www.macon.com/169/story/830843.html

 

[cajunjacket]

Maybe it's different in college. But when I played defense in high school, we implemented new packages as the season progressed. We would simply practice our base defenses along with some stunts and blitz packages in the off season. When team-specific preparation began (the week leading up to playing a specific team), we would focus on specific changes to our scheme that would best counter the team we are playing.

Practicing all of the schemes in the off season seems like it would do more to confuse the players than prepare them for the season ahead. But, maybe that's common in college football. I dunno ...

 

[Yukonwreck]

So article on Macon describing the differences in the coaching strategy in regards to off season preparations. I found this quote interesting:




Does anyone think that a 'jack-of-all-trades' type aproach to preparing in the offseason is really a good one?


It seems to me this is doomed to failure not just in the first couple of games, but down the road too. I am by NO MEANS a football expert, but I would feel that you'd want to spend the bulk of your time establishing what your team does regardless of opponent, and then spend a little time (the 5 days before games) to tweak what you do in specific to tailor to your upcoming opponent. It seems that if Dabo spent the bulk of the offseason studying his upcoming opponents, he hasn't established an identity for his team, rather trying to just do things for each specific week.


I see a bad season coming for Clemson...maybe I'm way off.


Thoughts?


http://www.macon.com/169/story/830843.html

maybe Dabo will be hailed as a genius if this approach works, but it seems insane to me. The adage of taking the games one at a time is built on the experience of getting burned frequently when you get your team looking ahead. Maybe they feel they could still win the ACC even with a loss to Middle Tennessee State.

 

[GTFowler]

Wasn't our offense with O'Leary just a bunch of different plays and looks?
I am just a young guy but that offense has to be in the top 3 in my list of offense

1. Flexbone- CPJ
2.Wishbone offense- Pepper Rodgers
4. jack-of trade's -O'leary

 

[bellyseries]

So article on Macon describing the differences in the coaching strategy in regards to off season preparations. I found this quote interesting:




Does anyone think that a 'jack-of-all-trades' type aproach to preparing in the offseason is really a good one?


It seems to me this is doomed to failure not just in the first couple of games, but down the road too. I am by NO MEANS a football expert, but I would feel that you'd want to spend the bulk of your time establishing what your team does regardless of opponent, and then spend a little time (the 5 days before games) to tweak what you do in specific to tailor to your upcoming opponent. It seems that if Dabo spent the bulk of the offseason studying his upcoming opponents, he hasn't established an identity for his team, rather trying to just do things for each specific week.


I see a bad season coming for Clemson...maybe I'm way off.


Thoughts?


http://www.macon.com/169/story/830843.html

Actually, what you're suggesting sounds pretty close to what Dabo says he's doing.

 

[unforgiven108]

Actually, what you're suggesting sounds pretty close to what Dabo says he's doing.

?....

I was suggesting that a team should put the bulk of the offseason into establishing what you do, and not actually implement ANYTHING for a particular team until about 4~5 days before you play that team. Dabo says that they spent time this offseason on every team.

Not sure what you mean by your comment.

 

[GTKyle]

There is no fall camp. Fall camp = season.

 

[BeerNutts]

Wasn't our offense with O'Leary just a bunch of different plays and looks?
I am just a young guy but that offense has to be in the top 3 in my list of offense

1. Flexbone- CPJ
2.Wishbone offense- Pepper Rodgers
4. jack-of trade's -O'leary

I wouldn't call that offense O'Leary's, it was Friedgen's.

But to call an offense "a bunch of different plays and looks" doesn't describe an offense, it describes every offense.

 

[BuzzCzar]

There is no fall camp. Fall camp = season.

yes there is, we just had it.

 

[beej67]

Wasn't our offense with O'Leary just a bunch of different plays and looks?
I am just a young guy but that offense has to be in the top 3 in my list of offense

1. Flexbone- CPJ
2.Wishbone offense- Pepper Rodgers
4. jack-of trade's -O'leary

Fridge set his offense up like this:

You'd have series plays, where one would set the next one up. You'd have about 3 or 4 plays in each "series," each setting the next one up to succeed. Maybe 20 plays total. Then you'd have a bunch of different formations: (off the top of my head) I normal, I 3WR, Wishbone Wide, Flexbone base, Single Back with 4, 3, or 2 WRs, and shotgun versions of the SBs. I might have missed some. LOTS of formations.

So the trick behind Fridge's system was you learn to run every play out of every formation. That way 20 plays times 10 formations leads to 200 possible plays to call. He'd call in a formation based on generating a mismatch, and then call in a play that focused on that mismatch. Then his game planning was all about mismatches.

Or so I hear. I'm just some schmoo on the internet.

PJ has vastly fewer formations, and basically never changes his personnel groupings. He always runs flex, always keeps the BB behind the QB, always keeps the QB under center, always splits WRs out to either side, and then sometimes rolls one AB out into the slot on the other side of the field.

I think he used a TE once that I saw all last year, and that was vs Garner Webb. I think he used two WRs on the same side once last year, and that was to set up the tackle eligible screen vs UGA.

 

[GTFowler]

Fridge set his offense up like this:

You'd have series plays, where one would set the next one up. You'd have about 3 or 4 plays in each "series," each setting the next one up to succeed. Maybe 20 plays total. Then you'd have a bunch of different formations: (off the top of my head) I normal, I 3WR, Wishbone Wide, Flexbone base, Single Back with 4, 3, or 2 WRs, and shotgun versions of the SBs. I might have missed some. LOTS of formations.

So the trick behind Fridge's system was you learn to run every play out of every formation. That way 20 plays times 10 formations leads to 200 possible plays to call. He'd call in a formation based on generating a mismatch, and then call in a play that focused on that mismatch. Then his game planning was all about mismatches.

Or so I hear. I'm just some schmoo on the internet.

PJ has vastly fewer formations, and basically never changes his personnel groupings. He always runs flex, always keeps the BB behind the QB, always keeps the QB under center, always splits WRs out to either side, and then sometimes rolls one AB out into the slot on the other side of the field.

I think he used a TE once that I saw all last year, and that was vs Garner Webb. I think he used two WRs on the same side once last year, and that was to set up the tackle eligible screen vs UGA.

Yeah i meant Fridge i was just going by head coach but yes what you described is what i am comparing Dabo to i think it will work well except on Sept. 10 :biggthumpup: and DEC. 5th :rolleyes:

 

[bellyseries]

?....

I was suggesting that a team should put the bulk of the offseason into establishing what you do, and not actually implement ANYTHING for a particular team until about 4~5 days before you play that team. Dabo says that they spent time this offseason on every team.

Not sure what you mean by your comment.

Dabo: “When you go through fall camp, you try to install everything that you’re going to try to do throughout the course of the season. Obviously, the first game, you can’t run everything you install, so as you start to gameplan, you pick from your menu from an installation standpoint.“

I am missing a nuance that you see between "install(ing) everthing" and your "a team should put the bulk of the offseason into establishing what you do," on the one hand, and "you pick from your menu from an installation standpoint,“ vs. your " not actually implement ANYTHING for a particular team until about 4~5 days before you play that team," on the other.

What the hell, we've got to do something until toe meets leather.

 

[GTTerrific]

yes there is, we just had it.

You are right BuzzCzar, but you're waisting your time with this little kid. ;)

 

[GTTerrific]

Dabo: “When you go through fall camp, you try to install everything that you’re going to try to do throughout the course of the season. Obviously, the first game, you can’t run everything you install, so as you start to gameplan, you pick from your menu from an installation standpoint.“

I am missing a nuance that you see between "install(ing) everthing" and your "a team should put the bulk of the offseason into establishing what you do," on the one hand, and "you pick from your menu from an installation standpoint,“ vs. your " not actually implement ANYTHING for a particular team until about 4~5 days before you play that team," on the other.

What the hell, we've got to do something until toe meets leather.

Hang in there Belly, it's 48 hours away.

 

[WracerX]

Dabo: “When you go through fall camp, you try to install everything that you’re going to try to do throughout the course of the season. Obviously, the first game, you can’t run everything you install, so as you start to gameplan, you pick from your menu from an installation standpoint.“

I am missing a nuance that you see between "install(ing) everthing" and your "a team should put the bulk of the offseason into establishing what you do," on the one hand, and "you pick from your menu from an installation standpoint,“ vs. your " not actually implement ANYTHING for a particular team until about 4~5 days before you play that team," on the other.

What the hell, we've got to do something until toe meets leather.

He is saying practice your base offense and get it down pat. Then add a wrinkle or two durning the season for specific opponents.

Dabo's quote makes it sound like they are going to practice every single wrinkle during the summer. Then during game week, they will pick which wrinkles to run.

The thing is you only have about 3 "wrinkle" plays a game. The rest is just picking from your basic 9 plays. So it is important to have you base plays down pat.

 

[unforgiven108]

He is saying practice your base offense and get it down pat. Then add a wrinkle or two durning the season for specific opponents.

Dabo's quote makes it sound like they are going to practice every single wrinkle during the summer. Then during game week, they will pick which wrinkles to run.

The thing is you only have about 3 "wrinkle" plays a game. The rest is just picking from your basic 9 plays. So it is important to have you base plays down pat.

What he said.

Inferring from Dabo's quote, he claimed they were spending time during the offseason to put plays in place for specific opponents, which IMO shouldn't be done until game week.

 

[JWE37]

You guys are reading too much into this.

Its all about formations (how to line up and who has what responsibility). No team is going to change their whole defensive philosophy for one game. However, what they do change is their personel grouping and pre-snap alignments based on what the offensive formation is. I'm sure that Clemson will use different personel grouping and alignments against our flexbone than they would use against MTSU's "Tony Franklin" spread. The overall scheme and plays will be the same.

 

[alpha]

You guys are reading too much into this.

+1

Sounds like Dabo is just playing it safe. He knows that his team has their hands full and didn't want to wait until the last minute to get the team ready for the different type of opponents they will face.