NO NEED TO NAME NAMES

Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 9:58 am Posted in football, rumors 54 Comments

There has been a website that many Clemson fans who browse the internet have been nudged towards as of late. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if a Gamecock has taken the extra steps to get uber-creative and pose as a Clemson fan, but I’m pretty sure these folks are Clemson fans with the best intentions at heart. I’m speaking of the Avenue of Champions. No need to link it as they’ve done that enough for themselves and if you want to find them then just google it or go to our forums.

Regardless, we’ve been famous for attacking fans of Clemson here at Block-C and I don’t want to, but I feel that I’m going to have to do it. Their site has been ultra critical of our coaches, staff, etc. Not saying that Block-C doesn’t, I’m just saying that maybe you guys have a sour taste in your mouth and went about it the wrong way. For instance, if we have a rumor or something like this we put out there, generally it came from guys that I knew through college that were friends of mine on the team. It was straight from the horses mouth. So I would state things like “my sources on the team are saying…” Believe it or not, there is a blog etiquette. One of the major rules of said etiquette, disregarding spamming someone else’s blog with your own (hint, hint), is at least vaguely sourcing your opinion or editorial. You can’t just get on the internet and say all that stuff about Swinney and Napier’s relationship. Though you did source the altercation they had at practice, it wasn’t like you were breaking a story that hadn’t already come to light..

This sounds extremely hypocritical of me, but who are you to just start a blog like this and try to stir up a shit storm concerned with your own satisfaction. First you write an article criticizing Terry Don Philips for not fully supporting Dabo & co. then you turn around and blast our coaching staff, notably Swinney. Am I getting this all down correctly? Just to get things straight, you’re not the one that runs this ship. That kind of in depth rumoration is none of your business. If you support Clemson then at least give the coach we hired a fair shake, even if you don’t like him or agree with him. Hell he could run the program like the Hartford Retreat and I would still have to give him enough rope to at least hang himself with. Look, I know some of you guys behind the blog got the ban hammer from Cris Ard and are unhappy with that, but there are plenty of other message boards to spread this kind of crap. I’m sure you want the best for Clemson as do I, but this isn’t the way to go about it. Calling out a coaching staff a few games into their first season is just shitty. I also love the fact that you probably think of yourself as an orange crusader and you have it in your mind that you’re doing it for the people, yet that doesn’t stop you from slapping a few adverts in the side bar, below your posts… etc.

Dabo Swinney answering Paul Strelow’s questions concerning what I’m assuming is the AOC:

“There’s no truth to that. There’s nothing further from the truth. That’s why you shouldn’t listen to the Internet. First of all, I hired Billy to be the offensive coordinator, and Billy’s done a good job. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Billy. I’ve probably overridden three calls in five ballgames, and it’s no different on the defensive side. That’s my prerogative as head coach.“

I guess what I’m getting at is that Dabo Swinney doesn’t come to your workplace and knock the cocks out of your mouth, so why don’t you let him do what he has to do. He’s the captain of this ship, not you. He shouldn’t have to be answering questions about some dummy who signed up for a blogger account spreading rumors about him and his staff. But unfortunately in this day and age, that’s what it’s come to. Coaches having to waste their time answering questions concerning some person in Ninety-Six Ninety Six that is banging their head against a keyboard. Take a step back. Take a collective breath. Enjoy tailgating. Take this season for what it’s worth: Possibly slightly better than average as always.

54 Responses to “NO NEED TO NAME NAMES”

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1Joe on Oct 14, 2009 at 10:21 am:

That picture wins
2CUvinny on Oct 14, 2009 at 10:24 am:

“I guess what I’m getting at is that Dabo Swinney doesn’t come to your workplace and knock the cocks out of your mouth, so why don’t you let him do what he has to do.”

You serious? That is some TNET shit right there. As a coach he should expect to be criticized, if Dabo wants to come to my work and critique my work he is more then welcomed.

And do you really see us as slightly above average this year? We’ll be lucky to finish 6-6 without a Bowden type late season turn around.
3The Weasel on Oct 14, 2009 at 10:42 am:

6- 6 without a Bowden type late season turn around OR LATE SEASON DIVE
4Willy Mac on Oct 14, 2009 at 10:45 am:

I knew I’d catch shit for that, but what I’m getting at is that this guy is pretty much making shit up at this point. He’s angry and criticizing folks just because… No reasoning. You see what I mean? I’m fucking pissed about Maryland. Hell I went to the fucking game. But cmon AOC… This is typical Clemson overreacting.
5Joe on Oct 14, 2009 at 10:58 am:

It is just homerism to the extreme. When are we ever going to actually wait until the end of the season to evaluate a coach? I don’t think we will.
We dropped a huge bomb against Maryland, everyone knows that. AOC and a lot of commenters on Block-C are just acting like typical knee-jerk reaction Clemson fans. We went from best team in the ACC atlantic by far, to an ACC bottom feeder in one week. What happens if we beat Miami? Then we are a shoe in for the ACCCG and everyone is in love with Dabo again.

Marryland had a good game, we had a bad game, who knows. Wait until the end of the season to light the torches and get the pitch forks together.
6madmaccorleone on Oct 14, 2009 at 10:59 am:

A bit conflicted about this matter. I understand and am in complete agreement about the things they are bitching about over AOC. TDP, Brad Scott, poor playcalling, etc..I think TDP made a huge mistake in picking Dabo, though I hope he proves me wrong. I think what the guys at AOC want are a committment from the university at large to getting Clemson football back to where it was 20 years ago, and that’s what I want as well. I think there’s a sentiment out there amongst the faithful that this cannot be done, and that we should be happy with 6 or 7 wins a year…estatic with 8 wins. I don’t accept that. However, the way in which the AOC went about expressing this sentiment left a lot to be desired. They used unverifiable stats and stated opinions as facts. I admire the passion, but not the half-assed effort at getting things right. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind seeing a bit more of that passion here at this blog….I could be wrong but I’ve sensed just a tad bit of that mediocrity accepting sentiment seeping thru here at block-c….I think Dr.B over at clempsonfootball is doing the best job of all the Clemson bloggers right now. But I love the humor here and I know chili and willie mac are true sons of Clemson. Just some thoughts and as always, I reserve the right to be totally full of shit.
7edbo on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:12 am:

Bitching and moaning about Dabo isn’t going to accomplish jack shit. Does anyone really think he’ll get the axe after this season, regardless of the final record. Short answer; HELL NO. Who could we possibly get as a head coach after just firing two within a fifteen month period? Short anwer; NOFUCKINGBODY. Like it or not, Dabo is Clemsons coach for the next couple of years. I’m willing to give the guy a full year on the job before labeling him a complete bust. Having said that, I am less enthused about him than I was after the Sakerlina game.
8OrangeHammer on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:12 am:

Love when one blog attempts to discredit another blog by stating “my sources on the team are saying …” As if an anonymous “on the team” source is magically that much more credible. Hope that makes you feel better.

I’ll ask the author: what’s the best way to accomplish change at Clemson?
9PenthouseTiger on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:15 am:

“Coaches having to waste their time answering questions concerning some person in Ninety-Six that is banging their head against a keyboard. Take a step back. Take a collective breath. Enjoy tailgating. Take this season for what it’s worth: Possibly slightly better than average as always.”

There is no hyphen in “Ninety Six.” Due to this glaring error, your post has lost all credibility with me.
10Joe on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:16 am:

@8
Hire Borack Obama, I heard he won the superbowl after winning the Nobel Prize!

@7 I am not saying we should fire dabo or anything, however we could get another coach if we did fire Dabo. An example of a team canning multiple coaches in a short span of time being Alabama.
11edbo on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:28 am:

@10- Yes and no as far as Bama goes. Francione quit, Price got bit by the stripper bug and never made it to campus, and they gave Shula four years on the job.
12JasonL on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:40 am:

Terry Don Phillips is the problem. The only good hire he’s made is Purnell.
He’s useless.
Get rid of him and get someone willing to help the university, not a cowboy clown.
13ichaseferalcats on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:41 am:

I’m not sure I like the way things are going but I’m taking the wait and see approach because:

1) Dabo isn’t going anywhere this year as long as TDP is around.

2) Even though Dabo was part of the last regime – it doesn’t necessarily mean he is an extension of it. (Highlight necessarily)

3) There are no certainty’s in hiring a football coach – just look at the ACC last couple of weekends. Tom O’Brien’s once highly regarded team gets Donkey punched by Duke. UNC with Davis (whom many Clemson faithful wanted here) and OC Shoop lose at home to Virginia. FSU can’t get out of its own way with Mickey Andrews and Jimbo Fisher. VT has some semblance of an offense now but as good a coach as Beamer is it still boggles the mind just how inept his offenses have been for years.

The Maryland game was a very bad loss but the 180 degree turn I’ve seen since should be turned into some type of psych/sociological experiement on irrational group behavior. I understand the frustration. 20 years without an ACC championship is godawful. But the Maryland game is the one that takes you over the edge when we are 5 games into the season?

The one certainty I do know is we need a good bit of change in the AD. TDP just doesn’t get it.

As far as the AOC, those guys know their stuff for the most part and are concerned about being accurate – though they present material from their point-of-view which skews it. They have friends in the program. I’m friends with one of them, and they were suprised by the amount of attention their post on the Dabo/Napier fight garnered. I don’t think they really have a problem with Dabo as much as a problem with TDP and him hiring Dabo in the first place.
14thedabokoolaid on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:54 am:

ah, i wondered about that link and where it went,lol! gamecock fans are such flakes
15Takeezy on Oct 14, 2009 at 12:02 pm:

Win
16Willy Mac on Oct 14, 2009 at 12:13 pm:

Let’s don’t lose our shit. I’m just saying I’m looking at this in the perspective of someone who’s not a Clemson fan. I’m taking my orange glasses off and evaluating. I came to this conclusion that we act kind of like FSU fans do, yet we didn’t have the same level of success they had after looking at how Tomahawk Nation et al have reacted. I know it’s two totally different situations… but hear me out.

@8 – I can assure you that one of the best ways to accomplish change at Clemson isn’t going out there and putting together a blog like AOC that bashes TDP on week for not supporting Dabo, then the next week bashes Dabo. There’s no fluidity to that. We have made a change at Clemson, the best thing to do now is give it some time to work and let the motherfucker do what we pay him to do. Stay out of his fucking business and quit trying to micromanage.

We’re not going to recapture the lighting in a bottle that Danny did that quickly. Hell Danny went 8-4 and then 6-5 before he got the hang of it. Should folks have been in the same mindset when Danny went 6-5 in 1980? Fuck it. Jump in the Dolorean and get that fucking band wagon started Marty. I’m not trying to compare Dabo to Danny here by any means, I’m just saying we’re not going to recapture anything. Frankly I don’t want the glory days. I’d rather have them remembered the way they were and start off with something new. If it takes Dabo a few years to get there, then fine. You’ve got to give him enough time to figure this out… not five fucking games.
17Tully on Oct 14, 2009 at 1:28 pm:

Tommy Bowden had TEN YEARS to prove he could get us the ACC Championship and he didn’t do it. Dabo has had FIVE GAMES and people are bitching already? Shut the fuck up and sit down.
18Daniel on Oct 14, 2009 at 1:34 pm:

Dabo is our coach, period. Will be next season, too. Agree with it or not, it’s time we all live with it and give him a shot. Don’t say “oh he’s had a chance” because coming in as an interim and then coaching 5 games the next season is not a chance. Who knows, maybe he’ll suffer the same fate as Bowden or maybe the Maryland game was a team reverting to bad habits. We’ll have to see how he and his team responds. We’ll know more and more each week. Also, and I know this probably won’t go over well, but if you go back and look at history, our time under Danny Ford was much more the exception than the rule, and we need to get over it and move on. Frank Howard had winning seasons in his first two, then had 5 losing seasons out of 6 and then went undefeated in 1948. Would we be as patient today?? Hell no. We’ve won 59% of our games in our history as a football program; doesn’t exactly make us Michigan or Oklahoma. As far as competing for the ACC we should definitely be able to do that and it’s unbelievable we haven’t won a conference title since 1991. The ACC is easily one of the weakest BCS conferences and we put a higher premium on football than many of the teams in our conference. That being said, we need to quit acting like we can just go out and get someone better everytime things don’t go as we think it should. We need to quit listening to what people are writing and maybe, kind of, sort of heard from someone somewhere. Also I doubt VERY highly, almost guarantee, that any bloggers can outcoach anyone on our staff regardless of what they say would “fix” our ills.
19The Weasel on Oct 14, 2009 at 2:01 pm:

We lost three games by a total of 10 effing points. We are not world beaters – we are not slouches either. We are a decent team if we would not turn into Timmy in the red Zone. We have a decent shot at the Atlantic and who knows. I was a student when Pell bailed and we promoted Ford. Everyone thought we were going to get Ara Parseghian and was dissapointed with the selection of Ford. The only thing worse was the Danny Ford show the first year. Ford had a stammer and there must have been 10 minutes of dead air on a 30 minute show. The look on Jim Phillips face after he watched Danny answer a question was priceless. It took time for Ford to be Ford. We need to let Dabo be Dabo. Everybody seems to have Wall Street patience – what have you done for me this quarter? A successful business looks at the big picture and past this quarters earnings. I think we need to keep our head up and look at the big picture.
20AndrewTheTerrible on Oct 14, 2009 at 2:07 pm:

@17

well said.
21WillyD on Oct 14, 2009 at 2:14 pm:

Of course Dabo deserves more than 5 games, he will and should at the bare minimum get this season and next. And I don’t think most people expected national titles, but they do expect to beat Maryland, which I don’t think is asking for much. But where the AOC guys have a point is in pointing out some of the big picture issues that seem to consistently bring down Clemson athletics, a lot of which are hardly new complaints and many of which have been echoed on this blog long before AOC came around. They are hardly the first people to point out that Clemson’s commitment to winning has seemed to suffer since the start of the Top 20 goal. I thought the most interesting part of the AOC blog was where they described how Clemson athletics across the board had seen a stagnation or declined under TDP. The jury is still out on Dabo, but my mind is pretty made up on TDP, who thus far I would say only has one slam dunk coaching hire, Oliver Purnell, and even he was his second choice behind TIM FLOYD. This isn’t just 20/20 hindsight from the So Cal scandal that allows me to say that Tim Floyd would have been a disastrous hire, Floyd was a proven loser at the time after having completely flopped as an NBA coach for the Hornets.

As far as the Dabo/Napier practice fight, it seems more and more like AOC was blowing up a non-story, but at the same time, there have been a lot of people suggesting that Dabo is meddling too much with Napier’s play calling. It’s impossible to know to what extent that is or isn’t happening, but I do know that it’s pretty unusual for a HC to signal in plays, and the team does seem to lack a true identity suggesting that they are getting mixed signals. Maybe the supposed practice flare up is inconsequential in and of itself, but I think suggesting that Dabo needs to go ahead and decide who is gonna call plays and dictate offensive philosophy and then stick with that decision is a legitimate criticism.
22Jasonl on Oct 14, 2009 at 2:18 pm:

Agree with @17.
Everyone needs to stfu (I say that with utmost respect to everyone of you head coaches and athletic directors out there… Oh wait, there aren’t any on here? The fuck you)
23Joe on Oct 14, 2009 at 2:37 pm:

Can someone please throw in a “Oh yah? well war do you coach?”
24Tully on Oct 14, 2009 at 2:44 pm:

It pains me to say this, and I’ve been lying to myself for years about it, but here goes: we as Clemson fans are the biggest bunch of over-reactors and whiners there are in sports today. The fact that we kept a coach for 10 years of roller-coaster mediocrity is a miracle and a testament to the patience of our administration/athletic department. To most fans (on the internet), either the sky is falling or we’re going to win the ACC with our hands tied behind our backs. There is no middle ground where people are fine with us being okay for a year or two. Meanwhile, ‘normal’ fans who don’t lurk Tigernet, Block-C, TigerIllustrated, or any other site all day are enjoying Clemson Football for what it is: a source of entertainment 12 times a year.

We just need to all settle down and remember why you enjoy Clemson football in the first place. You love tailgating, you love going to the games because they are a great way to spend a Saturday, you love the Clemson community, and you love the competitiveness that each game brings. I think one of the things Willy Mac has been preaching for a while is not to let the details ruin the experience for you. Clemson football is about providing entertainment, pure and simple. Do you enjoy it? If yes, then why are you freaking out over stupid issues? If you don’t, then fuck off and quit bitching and quit tuning in.
25Tomahawk Nation.com on Oct 14, 2009 at 2:51 pm:

If these guys are so full of shit, won’t they just eventually be discredited? By acknowledging them here you are lending them some credence and leadership.

I’m not making a call as to their voracity.

Also, as to the Homerish, I picked Clemson to win the Atlantic. It’s on record. And I bet it.
26WillyD on Oct 14, 2009 at 3:33 pm:

@24 Can we stop with the criticizing of our own fan base. As an Oakland Raiders fan, I can tell you there are far worse, Raiders message boards are positively delusional. Kentucky Wildcats basketball fans, completely insane. Our fan base didn’t flip out when we lost to Ga. Tech or TCU, even though they were two very winnable games because they knew there was going to be some growing pains and on the job training with Dabo, they flipped out because we lost to a garbage Maryland team that sandwiched their win over us with losses to Middle Tenn. State and Wake Forest. Given all the practice reports I’ve heard, Dabo is spitting mad about Clemson’s record right now, just as he should be, so why shouldn’t the fans be pissed off as well?
27Willy Mac on Oct 14, 2009 at 3:37 pm:

@26 – I agree, but he’s been here five games. We shouldn’t be criticizing him to that extent yet.

And gravitate already. http://en.gravatar.com
28cgb on Oct 14, 2009 at 4:49 pm:

Note to self, don’t piss off Willy Mac… I also picked Clemson to go to the ACCCG. On behalf of Block-C you guys could make that debt up to me by sending me a handle of Wild Turkey Rare Breed. But seriously, the season isn’t over yet and you guys could end up landing in Tampa. The Atlantic winner will either be 4-2 or 5-3 in the ACC so y’all aren’t out of it.
29CUVince on Oct 14, 2009 at 5:17 pm:

Tommy Bowden had no shot at an ACC championship no matter how down the ACC was or how much talent we had.

Dabo Swinney has no shot at an ACC championship no wmatter how down the ACC is or how much talent we have.

Neither could coach…both are from the same failure of a staff. They can’t motivate, they can’t coach x’s and o’s, they can’t adjust. We will never ever win an ACC championship or even go to the ACC title game with Dabo Swinney as a head coach. We will never ever stop losing games like the Maryland game every year under Dabo Swinney. He’s too inexperienced and he’s in over his head. Coaches with no experience rarely do shit…Danny Ford was the exception. Dabo will fail. So will the guy at WVU. He was hired for economic reasons alone…this might end up bringing the whole house of cards crashing down…might even result in the AD getting fired.

Gerogia Tech, North Carolina, Duke…all these guys go out and hire coaches. We’re behind the curve now. Wake Forest will beat us Saturday. Facts for your face.
30Jasonl on Oct 14, 2009 at 5:38 pm:

@29: wow. So all is lost. Well shit. I guess now I can stop watching football now that you told me that we’ll never win shit because our coaches are shit.
Thanks for the heads up.
31Willy Mac on Oct 14, 2009 at 6:25 pm:

This goes without saying, but I’m not mad at anyone here. Not even AOC. They’re good Clemson folks with only the best intentions for our team. We just share a difference of opinion. The only thing that slightly ticked me off was the spam but they’ve apologized more than enough for that. I’m only saying this because I got like two or three emails apologizing for linking their stuff. It’s all good, just link whatever you want int he forums rather than thread jacking the main site. Again, I’m not mad at anyone… Willy Mac is essentially a worked persona that’s really the real Will, but turned really up to like eleven or twelve… which is… a lot when it’s really just at five or six anyways… Really… I mean, REALLY…
32Lloyd Christmas on Oct 14, 2009 at 7:17 pm:

The REAL willy mac is NEVER at a 5 or a 6….ever

And I agree with the post about how ridiculous that blog is….and I mean damn ridiculous….

I honestly don’t think it would make any difference if it were all true or all false…all that crap doesn’t make much of a difference on the field. Football is a game of gameplanning and execution. We don’t gameplan offensively well, but it’s not as awful as we think. Our offense is terrible, given Spiller and Ford on the team…but remember…FRESHMAN QB and AWFUL OL!!! So the coaches can’t be all to blame…the players must execute, and they don’t.

Next year’s team will be much better than this year’s. If any coach should be out the door, I think it is Brad Scott, simply because our OL has never been able to push anybody around.
33Bag Of Dicks on Oct 14, 2009 at 7:27 pm:

@29:

“this might end up bringing the whole house of cards crashing down…might even result in the AD getting fired. ”

“We will never ever win an ACC championship or even go to the ACC title game with Dabo Swinney as a head coach”

“Wake Forest will beat us Saturday. Facts for your face.”

Here’s a fact for your face:
Facts are truths based on evidence that can be independently confirmed. When you say “might” “will” “never” et cetera, you’re clearly stating opinion. Since we can’t confirm any of your whiny conjecture until the events play out, you expose yourself as an emotional fanatic in a tizzy.

Furthermore, there’s not much evidence that coaching track-records greatly correlate to a future team’s performance. However, there is plenty of evidence that shows geography and the available pool of local talent has quite a bit more to do with the on-field product than the a head coach + staff. The problem is that an awful lot of randomness plays into football and, generally, the randomness is more of a factor than one person (regardless of their coaching rank or track record). Do you think Saban, Miles, Stoops, Carroll, and B. Bowden, are/were super-geniuses….or simply taking advantage of enormous pockets of D1 talent in their back yards? The more thoughtful fact for your face is that that a coach really just needs a few things to be successful (1) proximity to a relatively larger pool of talented athletes (2) a winning personality to ensure positive recruiting results (3) expert knowledge of the game (4) luck — to win enough to establish credibility and a perception that he’s actually responsible for the success.

What we have here with you is misplaced faith in the influence of coaches. I’ll bet you blow on your dice too.
34edbo on Oct 14, 2009 at 8:26 pm:

@33- That was like watching “Highlander”.
35Lloyd Christmas on Oct 14, 2009 at 8:32 pm:

I started to agree with 33…and as I read on….you make it seem like it is all about the school’s name and place and that’s it. If that were the case, the same teams would be in the top 10 year in and year out. Fact is, very few teams can maintain that status, and plenty of teams see the top 5 for a couple of years, and then fade. There is no reason Clemson can’t be one of those teams. To be quite fair, there is also no reason, aside from a chicken curse, that S. Car can’t be one of those teams. I just don’t see it being a short term realistic goal of either program.

Dabo can definitely become a great coach that can be at Clemson for years and years. In my personal opinion, I think he needs a new and proven staff under him…but since I don’t see that happening, I dont think Dabo will last.
36Bag Of Dicks on Oct 14, 2009 at 10:09 pm:

@35- “If that were the case, the same teams would be in the top 10 year in and year out. Fact is, very few teams can maintain that status”

That’s just not true. Here are the top 10 teams in terms of appearances on the final AP top 25 poll since 1936 (in order):

Michigan
Oklahoma
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Alabama
Nebraska
Texas
USC
Tennessee
Penn State

via: http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/app_final.cfm (you can re-configure the constraints of the results, and see how Florida schools came on in the past 30 years)

At a glance, this list could be a plausible top-10 at the end of 2009 or 2010 or 2011 (except for Notre Dame — fuck them). My point was that these teams aren’t so much “names” as they are centers of gravity where talent collects. Coaches come and go, but don’t really move the dial as much as the largely uncontrollable and random other factors (most notably population).

I’m not saying coaching should be ignored, just that we could have the best coach in the world and still not be as consistently winny as SoCal or Ohio St.

If we want to consistently compare ourselves to programs like the ones listed above, we’d need to double the population of SC and hope most of that population buys property in the upstate–bonus points if those people move here from southern Florida or the Atlanta metro area.
37edbo on Oct 14, 2009 at 10:18 pm:

@36- Gotta go with Lloyd on this one. Southern California is concidered a hot bed of recruiting talent, yet USC had sunk so far into suckdome they had to settle for Pete Carroll as there new head coach in’99. Granted, Carroll has turned out to be pretty damned good/awesome as shit, but the point is, that program had fallen so bad nobody else wanted the job. Pete was their fourth option, and USC was ridiculed for the hire. As an aside, a former two time head coach in the NFL started out at USC with a 2-5 record. I’m not comparing Dabo with Carroll, I’m just saying.
38Bag Of Dicks on Oct 14, 2009 at 10:45 pm:

@37- You’re making my point… USC was in bad shape for a little while but they still have a damned .730 overall winning percentage (for all time). That’s had almost nothing to do with Carroll, since those stats go back to before your grandparents were born. By contrast, Clemson is something like 59%.
39edbo on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:02 pm:

@38- All of my grandparents were born before 1920. One was born in 1899, and another in 1903. I’m what you would call older than most of the dudes here. Please do not throw your assumptions of my family tree into your arguments. Also, I did not make your point. Everything is cyclicle. Florida sucked 20 years ago. Bama sucked 10 years ago. The SEC, conference wise, was insignificant until recent history. The Big Eight, Pac Ten, and SWC ruled college football during the time YOUR grandparents were watching.
40Bag Of Dicks on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:19 pm:

You’re making my point… Alabama was in bad shape for a little while but they still have a damned .710 overall winning percentage (for all time). That’s had almost nothing to do with Saban, since those stats go back to before your grandparents were born.

You’re making my point… Florida was in bad shape for a little while but they still have a damned .630 overall winning percentage (for all time). That’s had almost nothing to do with Meyer, since those stats go back to before your grandparents were born.
41Jasonl on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:24 pm:

@40: very poor usage of copy/paste there, buddy.
42Bag Of Dicks on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:28 pm:

@41: I agree.
43dwight_clark87 on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:29 pm:

@40, “You’re making my point…”

You’re making your own point. After all, your name is “Bag of Dicks.”

YOU WIN!!!!!!
44edbo on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:32 pm:

@40- I just really don’t know what to say. As far as I know, I’m the only regular poster here that didn’t go to college. I sure as shit hope you didn’t.
45Daniel on Oct 14, 2009 at 11:50 pm:

What seperates Clemson from alot of these storied programs is that one, program-defining coach. Frank Howard had a good run but, if you compare his tenure to Tom Osborne, Bo Schembechler, Joe Paterno, etc. he falls a bit short. Laid a good foundation though. Danny Ford could have been that guy if he had gotten some more years as his last 4 seasons ended in 10 wins. All it really takes is that one guy to change the culture, but finding that one is certainly difficult.
46WillyD on Oct 15, 2009 at 6:08 am:

@Edbo / Bag of Dicks- You both have points. Yes, the best programs tend to sit on hotbeds of talent, that’s why the three Florida schools, Texas, So Cal, have done so well. But you also have to have a coach who can recruit and then capitalize on that talent. That’s why Texas sucked for years until Mack Brown arrived, despite the fact that they were the flagship school of one of the most talent rich states in the nation. Good coaches and programs can also overcome the lack of a strong recruiting base by bringing in players from nationwide. There’s not a whole lot of freak athletes running 4.2 40′s in the state of Nebraska, but they’ve managed to get by alright. The right coach and program can compete anywhere regardless of the situation, unless of course you believe that Boise State enjoys serious advantages over Clemson in terms of in-state talent, funding, fan support, etc. Clemson actually has a pretty good recruiting position, sure, SC is a small state, but we only have one other school to compete against for those recruits, while FSU, Miami, and Florida all have to compete against each other, Bama, USF, and increasingly every other school in the nation for Florida kids. Plus, Clemson is in an ideal position to raid NC, and GA, particularly Atlanta, both of which are pretty good recruiting states, and still steal away the occasional Florida kid. How many times have you seen people write that Clemson is an SEC program stuck in the ACC? It’s just a matter of having the right coach to capitalize on that potential.
47Willy Mac on Oct 15, 2009 at 7:56 am:

@44 – It makes me happy that you say that with an avatar of Nick Cage from Raising Arizona. Not happy you didn’t go to college but… the.. ava… oh lord… unless you’re happy… that you didn’t… I, uh… awkward. I know. I’m sorry… that.. you know…
48edbo on Oct 15, 2009 at 10:23 am:

@47- I was trying to tell 40 that he obviously din’t read 39s response to 38. College? I chose to spend four years discussing current events in the Marine Corps. You know, all night bull sessions over pitchers of beer, talking about the best ways to blow shit up.
BTW, Raising Arizona is way underrated IMO.
49Bag Of Dicks on Oct 15, 2009 at 11:55 am:

@48/39- I was miffed by your defensiveness of the “grandparents” turn of phrase. So I figured I’d ignore that part and re-emphasize that many / most of these teams have been playing football since the late 19th century, or about the same era as your grandparents. Beyond that it was a figure of speech — not a slight against you or your fore-bearers. Not sure why a college education has anything to do with this — unless you have a complex about it?
50Willy Mac on Oct 15, 2009 at 12:15 pm:

@49 – Some/of/us/have/attention/deficit/disorder/stop/it.
51AParker on Oct 15, 2009 at 12:35 pm:

This thread has gone on for too long….AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
52AndrewTheTerrible on Oct 15, 2009 at 2:19 pm:

@51 lol
The Monty Python crew was on Jimmy Fallon last night and it was hilarious. I don’t normally watch his show but I saw a preview for it and had to stay awake for it.
53CUVince on Oct 15, 2009 at 8:34 pm:

LOL @ everyone disagreeing with me. I’ll post on this topic again in 2 years when Dabo gets fired for being a loser. We are losers and always will be until we adopt the mentality of winners. That starts from the top.
54The Rob Spence Bubble Screen Experience on Oct 16, 2009 at 2:46 am:

This is ridiculously late, but @6: “I think there’s a sentiment out there amongst the faithful that this cannot be done, and that we should be happy with 6 or 7 wins a year…estatic with 8 wins. I don’t accept that. … I could be wrong but I’ve sensed just a tad bit of that mediocrity accepting sentiment seeping thru here at block-c….”

To lay a solid definition to it, that’s the Bitch Mentality. “Isn’t it enough that we’re building fine, upstanding citizens who go to church on Sunday and eat their Wheaties? We should really concentrate on what’s important in this world: raising good, contributing members of society, not necessarily winning games.” Yeah, sorry, nobody gave me a four-year scholarship or my parents $2.5mil/year to raise me to be a functional member of society, and if we’re going to field a team, while losses are a part of the game, we should be fielding it to win.

“Good enough is good enough” isn’t good enough. And it’s nice to know that Dabo’s pissed, because even if we’re still stuck with a sputtering offense and a frustratingly unreliable special teams, being pissed and chewing staff out means he’s not yet succumbed to the Bitch Mentality. As long as he doesn’t go all Locksley on someone, it’s a good sign.

Still, we do have some problems that need to be fixed, and I’m hoping that actions speak as loud as words when he talks about addressing them.