Posted by Willy Mac

Hello there folks. As you guessed that with the return of Willy Mac you would also see the return of the “Know Your…” segment. I couldn’t think of a better friend to kick this thing back off than Bill from ScalpEm.com! The Noles have lost two games in a row and I tried to channel Bill to  get an idea of how things are going down in Tallahassee this week. Check out my responses here.

1. You guys started off in conference as the shoe-in for our divisional submission for the ACCCG. You guys have dropped two straight as of last week. What’s going on? How’s the feeling for the FSU fan base down in Florida?

It’s turned into a “they are who we thought they were” kind of situation if you look back to the preseason predictions for the Noles. Basically, I thought the Noles would be improved, probably 8-4 and on the road to recovery, but not recovered. The defense, especially the secondary, is in a Lindsay Lohan type of relapse. Greg Reid was way out of position on two TDs passes last week. Teams are picking on his height and his lapses on some plays. The offense is solid and I’m a believer that 35 points should win the game. Like last year, it didn’t. Like last year, the D gave up too many points in the end to N.C. State. There are plenty of growing pains right now. All of this ends up equaling a fan base that is sort of apathetic. Throw in the tough economy and you’ve seen how quiet Doak Campbell Stadium remains. They’ve been exposed to nearly 10 years of mediocre by FSU standards football and the 6-1 start made them over excited. It won’t get ugly unless the Noles lose to the Tigers this weekend. It will get horribly ugly if the Noles lose to Florida, again, when they appear somewhat vulnerable for the first time in years.

2. FSU homers were touting Ponder as a dark horse Heisman candidate this year. I haven’t heard mention of that recently. How has he progressed this season? Has he improved? Is he showing signs of the shoulder injury?

I would say that it was the extreme homers touting Ponder. Personally, I never thought of him as Heisman candidate and I viewed the campaign as FSU’s attempt to put some positive spin on a program that has been down and still answers questions about Bobby Bowden. Call it a distraction that didn’t work out. As for Ponder, to me, he’s the same old Ponder. He looks good, he looks mediocre, he looks good again. He’s been banged up, although the shoulder hasn’t been a problem. He has a burst bursa sac in his throwing elbow that is causing problems for him off and on. Apparently he’s questionable for the Clemson game. Thankfully, a healthy E.J. Manuel is a more than capable QB who will be the starter next season barring any unforeseen circumstances. If CP7 is out, EJ3 is in and Seminole fans won’t worry too much.

3. Looking at the stats, we have a not so good passing offense and you guys have a horrendous passing defense. Not that our receivers are going to give you guys fits, but what’s the glitch? What has been going wrong on that side of the ball? What are our guys going to have to do to get the job done?

I alluded to it a bit above. Greg Reid is short. He can’t fix that. Put a big receiver on him that has any sort of skill and you win the match up. Judging by what I’ve seen sitting in the stands, teams have figured out to pick on him instead of Xavier Rhodes who is covering well. FSU’s safeties aren’t superstars and that was a known weakness heading into the season. The bright side and why the poor pass coverage was hidden so well for so long is that FSU has had a resurgent DL that is sacking QBs like it was the 90s in Tallahassee. Pressure killed a bunch of freshman QBs and bad QBs. The better QBs (Jones, Wilson and Yates) overcome that pressure and kill us. In my opinion, if Clemson has a big guy with good hands, they be able to throw at Greg Reid and be able to exploit his half of the field. Throwing a few deep balls to see if the safeties are awake is a good idea too for the Tigers.

4. The core of your offense is running the fuck over people all game long and peppering in some passes. It seems you guys have a bunch of guys doing the work. Who’s the most dangerous ball carrier and what is your most dangerous running package?

You’d think that wouldn’t you? Could you tell Coach Fisher that, because there’s nothing I like more than old school run over them football. For some reason the Noles are still letting is-he-hurt-is-he-not Ponder throw the ball 35+ per game. Sorry, it’s a sore spot for me right now after watching a really fun rushing attack to start the season. I’m really not sure who the most dangerous is since they’re all good. Ty Jones is the grinder and bigger guy. Jermaine Thomas and Chris Thompson are the speedier guys. Thompson is probably the most dangerous in the sense that he’s had some long runs this year, but Jermaine Thomas is the guy that can pick up multiple 20 yard runs in any given game. Any time you see #24 Lonnie Pryor in the game at FB, the Noles have a damn good running formation. Don’t be fooled either, Pryor is a converted big RB so the Noles can work in a surprise here or there with him too.

5. In your mind, what is the one thing FSU needs to work on this week to get the win on Saturday?

Defense. All too often in 2009 the offense scored plenty but the defense couldn’t stop anyone. The same thing happened last week against UNC and in the 2nd half against N.C. State. The Noles are solid against the run, so they have to find some way to stop Kyle Parker from looking like a superstar.

6. Ah… remember the good ol’ days?

Yeah, I remember those days. I remember, oh hell I got nothing. I really still believed in the Noles back then. Now I’m somewhere between believing and a self-loathing Clemson fan that can’t handle the fact that Cocky has a better team than the Tigers this year. Why do think I’m in no hurry to repeat that particular bet. And especially after the UNC game, I haven’t brought it up. We can leave the record at Chili & Willy Mac 1, Bill 0. That’s fine as long as I don’t have to put that hideous purple back up on the site.

Posted by Block-C Staff

It’s time to lock horns with the guys over at the GT site From The Rumble Seat for the second time this year. To review our first “Know Your…” you can click here. Check out our responses here. You might want to cruise on over there so you don’t miss our fabulous picture of Mike Hogewood followed by an explanation of why he is the King of the Hell in a Cell match for 2009. As always, WF, Dane, and Bird did a fine job.

1) This is the championship game so I feel it’s best to throw the stats out the window. What is the single most important factor in this game for the Jackets to secure a victory?

Jersey color.  GT has whipped out navy blues twice now on special occasions since 2006 and we lost both times.  Gold tops are rare under CPJ but have faired well under CPJ’s reign.  White tops are our staple.  FTRS kinda wants navy tops to break the navy curse, because simply, CPJ is a curse breaker!  If Clemson wears purple on purple, we know GT will win.  Purple on purple is the most abominable combination of uniform horror that man has ever conceived.  Boo purple on purple!  Hurray beer!

2) Earlier this season a lot of ACC people were mentioning something to the effect that, “As soon as Georgia Tech gets a decent quarterback, they’re going to be unstoppable.” Well the Yellowjackets didn’t get a new quarterback so how has Nesbitt (sp? help me here guys) matured to the point where Georgia Tech is on such a roll in the ACC?

Nesbitt has just come to an understanding of what is expected of him from CPJ.  He also understands the reads on the option better.  Everything is more fluid.  Transitioning from passing QB to option QB is just like switching from running back to wide receiver.  It takes time and game speed experience to really sharpen and hone your technique.

3) Clemson and Georgia Tech definitely overlooked their respective rivals. They were obviously concentrated on this week’s game. Do you think that all that over looking will do any good this week?

Who knows?  We kinda want to believe that this will be a great game with a sellout crowd.  GT fans have dealt with an ACC Title after a Georgie loss.  We’ll see how Clemson performs under similar circumstances for the first time.  As far as the overlooking, FTRS kinda believes that last week was a matter of who needed the win more.  South Carolina and Georgie’s seasons were in the shitter.  With wins over their ACC rivals they could partially salvage their garbage seasons.  We wouldn’t be surprised if Georgie scrapped game planning for all their games and just started scheming for Tech after the Florida loss because they really didn’t have anything else to play for post-Cockfest Party.

4) What’s the major differences between the current Georgia Tech team and the Tech team from the second half of game back in September? Can Clemson expect more trickery and crazy swings like the ones they saw that terrible, terrible Thursday?

We think Georgia Tech will be more prepared for Clemson than we were the last time we faced each other. Clemson should also be more prepared.  Paul Johnson will throw everything he has against Clemson.  Look for the lateral-pass-to-the-tackle.  We used it against Georgie last year.  Austin Barrick plays tackle and used to play tight end and running back.  The play is a pass route that involves Barrick running a delayed flat to the right after Nesbitt bootlegs left.  He then tosses the ball cross back and across the field to a waiting Barrick.  We haven’t run it since last year.  No surprises if we pull that out. Why will CPJ throw absolutely everything at Clemson? Because we had “bigger fish to fry” than georgie and that fish is clempson and the Orange Bowl.  He wants it and he is going to take it.

5) Explain to us why Georgia Tech’s game plan is succeeding so well. Willy Mac is convinced it’s because Tech has a respectable defense and an offense that’s so different from everyone else’s in the conference that one week to prepare for it isn’t enough. Chili is convinced that Paul Johnson is really just a football genius.

Two words: Chan Gailey.  Chan Gailey’s recruiting class from 2006 was the best GT class in 20 years.  In that class, we recruited Josh Nesbitt, Jon Dwyer, Morgan Burnett, Demaryius Thomas, Derrick Morgan, and Roddy Jones just to name a few starting third year Tech players.  Our team is built on the juniors and redshirt sophomores.  If Chan hadn’t made that great recruiting year happen in ’06, we wouldn’t have near the success that we have right now.  We’ve got several NFL draft picks at key skill positions and defensive positions.  The talent left in Chan’s dusty cupboard bought into Paul Johnson’s system immediately and we haven’t looked back.  The recruits of Paul Johnson have yet to crack the depth chart so in a couple years we’ll know what we’ve really got at HC.

Willy and Chili are both right in Tech’s offense and CPJ’s knowledge. Yes, the offense is a different one to prepare for and the defenses need to be ready for unique blocking schemes and to learn about that word “discipline but not too disciplined.” Paul Johnson is a genius because he knows the offense forwards, backwards, upwards, and downwards. We’ve seen him start cursing about how a play has crashed and burned before Nesbitt has full control of the ball after a snap (Duke). He sees defensive breakdowns and takes advantage of that misstep and we score touchdowns (Vanderbilt). He knows his offense. He knows his players. THE MAN DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A CLIPBOARD FOR CHRIST’S SAKE!

6) When we beat you on Saturday, how will you reflect upon the season? Will it be viewed as a success, failure, or par? Will you have a moment of reflection at your suddenly staggering arrogance displayed in much of this year’s content on your site?

A loss would be an epic failure.  Even though Clemson would love a ten win season – a feat which has eluded the Tigers for almost 20 years – Tech fans will not be satisfied with ten wins and a bowl bid.  Tech fans watched the offense grow, mature, and consume the ACC over the past two seasons. If we lose to the Tigers, it’ll be 2006 Part II in which we lost to an inferior Georgie squad, lost to an inferior Wake Forest squad, and lost our junior superstar to the NFL Draft.  2006 is now a blip in Tech history because we couldn’t muster up 9 more fuckin’ points.  2009 could fall into the same category as 2006 with a loss to Clemson.

As far as arrogance, FTRS has been pretty unbiased towards our opponents (minus our 3 SEC opponents). However the gold glasses and kool-aid sure do look and taste good!  Check out this article comparing CJ Spiller to former return men who won the Heisman. And we’ll quote our regular season preview of Clemson:

The average year of the Clemson starting defense is 3.45 or somewhere slightly below a senior but above a junior. That’s impressive and something that a lot of ACC pundits didn’t really mention in the preseason when all the chest-thumping was going on at FSU and VT. Expect the veteran defense to make some plays for Clemson this year. Don’t expect GT to run all day on Clemson. We’re gonna need big plays in one on one situations to win against Clemson because the veteran Clemson D has seen GT 3-4 times already and understands the importance of the Battle for I-85.

If you don’t like the fact that we like our football coach, wait until basketball season kicks in ’cause Winfield will be taking Hewitt down a peg all season.

Posted by Willy Mac

This week we actually ran across the mine field laden no man’s land that is the tension of the Clemson/Sakerlina rivalry and traded super secret, feignedly barbed, double secret probation questions with Garnet And Black Attack over at SB Nation. I’ve got hate in my heart, but them folks is cordial-assed people. I’ll bite my tongue. Our answers over there.

1) Can you offensive troubles be solely placed on your offensive line this year? If yes, we need a reason. Surely it still takes a team effort to reflect a bad final score. How do they match up against our defensive line?

No. The offensive line is part of the problem and is perhaps the biggest one, but it’s not the only problem. In fact, I think the offensive line is much better than a year ago, particularly when blocking the run. Pass protection continues to be a problem, but is also in general more competent than last year. The line also commits way too many penalties, which along with the sacks has often stunted drives.

We have other problems, though. The play calling has gotten a lot of press lately, and I’m in the camp that believes it has been suspect. I would like to see us commit more to the run. Spurrier and his staff said this would be a focus this year, and to some degree it has been, as we have a better running game than a year ago. However, we seem to abandon the run completely at times, and I’ve been disappointed that Spurrier hasn’t founded ways to get speedsters Jarvis Giles and Bryce Sherman opportunities to carry the ball. I also don’t like our tendency to go straight for the big play every time we cross midfield. Don’t get me wrong; I think a well-timed 40-yard fade is a great idea. However, at least since Alshon Jeffrey emerged as our top receiver, we seem to go for the big play every single time we get within striking distance. Teams know it’s coming now, so they know to have their safeties on alert and to blitz Garcia hard. In these situations, we seem to completely forget not only about the run but also about our mid-range passing game, particularly our talented TE Wesley Saunders.

Field position has also affected this team’s ability to score. Our defense is good, but, unlike a year ago, it doesn’t force many turnovers. Our return units are also very average, again unlike a year ago. That has contributed to a situation in which an offense that is seemingly better than the one we had a year ago has failed to score as much as last year’s version did.

Not all Gamecocks fans will agree with everything I’ve just said. Some will blame our failures on offensive line play and lack of execution. My two cents, though, are that Spurrier and his staff have improved the offense in some ways but are still failing to maximize its potential, particularly when we get in scoring position, which is when it counts. I should stress, though, that we have often moved the ball much better than the score would suggest, and a few more plays here and there could have made a major difference in our year. That means that success could be right around the corner. I feel like I’ve had to say that too many times over the past few years, though, so I’ll believe it when I see it.

2) What’s the number one thing about your team that we have to worry about come Saturday? Who’s the game changing player?

I’m going to say our push on the defensive line. If we’re getting pressure on Kyle Parker and getting to C. J. Spiller before he gets to the line of scrimmage, it could be a long day for your offense. When we’ve been able to do this, such as against N. C. State, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Florida, our defense has been really tough. When we haven’t, though, it’s much more pedestrian. The guys to watch here Eric Norwood (of course), Clifton Geathers, and Cliff Matthews.

3) Statistically, you guys have some of the worst kickoff/punt coverage teams in the nation. Do you think Spurrier’s game plan involves kicking directly at Spiller since he’s so stubborn?

I hope not, but maybe. Shane Beamer said that we didn’t have any special plans for dealing with Spiller this weekend, that we were just going to try to do the basics well, play good coverage, fill our lanes, etc. I hope that’s just coach speak. Even teams with good coverage units should plan around players like Spiller, and a team with questionable units should be extra careful. We’ll see what we actually do. I will say that we’ve been playing a little better on coverage over the last few games than we did at the beginning of the year, so there’s that.

4) I want your honest opinion. I’ve noticed that there are a few Gamecocks making a case against CJ Spiller. Why is this happening? Spiller is one of the most dangerous players in all of college football and he’s changed our future through his play this season. What’s the problem? Is it the fact that he’s less likely to be doing rails off of the trophy sometime later in his life that disturbs your fan base? Get it? Get it? A George Rogers joke! Get it?

Personally, I think Spiller has a quality case for the Heisman. As you say, he’s one of the most dangerous players in the game, and he contributes in so many ways. I think it’s a serious blow to the Heisman’s credibility that he’s not getting more of a look. It says a lot about the Heisman, really; basically, what you’re seeing is that a greater burden of proof is being placed on Spiller than on name-brand guys like Tim Tebow, who is clearly having an inferior season, IMO. The Heisman should be about rewarding the best player in the game, not the guy that ESPN plasters all over their website. Sadly, that’s not the case.

As far as why some Gamecocks disrespect Spiller, I guess it’s just the nature of rivalry. Lots of people just hate to see their rivals succeed. You might have also heard that there are lots of Gamecocks fans that don’t think the ACC is up to par with the other major conferences. Some of the Spiller-hatred comes from that angle, from the idea that Spillers’ numbers are inflated because he plays weak competition. Personally, I disagree with this idea. The ACC has lacked an elite team for some time now, but from where I’m sitting, the conference has a fairly deep set of teams that are pretty good even if they’re not national title contenders. I think some Gamecocks fans console themselves with the idea that being in the SEC makes us better than ACC teams. I’d prefer to console myself with actual wins over those teams, particularly Clemson, when and if those wins start coming.

5) Put into words for us what a win against us would do for you guys.

I think this team–and particularly its coach–needs a good showing in this game to earn back the respect of parts of the fanbase. Another debacle like last year’s, and I think you’ll see a lot of fans lose faith in Spurrier.

More to the point, if we win we’ll go crazy and burn down Five Points. Seriously; I will have the worst headache in the history of mankind Sunday morning if we win. Any win against a rival is a cause for celebration and since we haven’t won many games against you guys lately we’ll have all the more reason to throw down.

Posted by Block-C Staff

Ladies and gentlemen, they may not be winners on the field, but dammit they’re winners at Q&A. From Old Virginia brings us quite possibly the best responses to any “Know Your…” segment that we’ve done this year. We took some pretty damn good shots at them and they kept pace with us pretty well. Check out our answers here.

1) Be honest with us, is there a chance that you guys beat us this weekend and ruin everything? If so, what has to happen, realistically, for this to happen?

Slim, and if it happens, it’d look a lot like last week’s game against BC.  Our only hope to win football games these days is to get big plays from the defense and special teams.  As in, those units actually have to do the scoring themselves.  Clemson’s offense is respectable but not overpowering, which is our only saving grace.

2) Would things be all that different if Peter Lalich had managed to stick around? Does it bother you that Peter was clearly “too cool” for your “school?”

It bothers me that some people are too stupid to realize what they have going for them and place a higher priority on a stupid herb or a drink than on the opportunity they have on their plate.  But quarterbacks can’t do anything when their receivers aren’t open and their blockers can’t block.  Peyton Manning couldn’t move this offense.  I’ll concede it’s possible we’d be 4-6 right now instead of 3-7, woo to that?

3) What type of animal is Al Groh’s power animal. Describe it in detail and why it is a source of power and inspiration to Groh.

Al Groh draws inspiration from the badger.  The badger is resolute and unswerving.  He is trustworthy.  Some would say inordinately stubborn.  The badger is described in various works of classical literature as one who “simply hates society” and “doesn’t change.”  But in such works, the badger is never a villain.  He is loyal and values loyalty in others.  The badger is hardworking and protective, and occasionally territorial and will snap at other creatures such as pesky sideline reporters who enter their territory and attempt to eat their young.  Specifically, Groh is of the badger subspecies known as T. jeffersoni.

4) With Al Groh’s almost certain departure, what can we assume about the future of the Charlottesville Frumpy Sweatshirt Emporium?

They’ll be OK.  Al hasn’t actually bought a new sweatshirt in five years.  And they can always lobby for the hiring of Danny Rocco or Jim Grobe.

5) Have you guys ever thought of quitting? No I mean, overall. Like, have you guys ever thought of shutting the team down and just giving your soccer team a really awesome stadium? ECU would be a good addition to the ACC for football, what do you think?

We do like to think our expectations are higher than at, say, UNC, which sometimes seems to think football is a sideshow to women’s soccer.  Besides, we just beat ECU last year.

Posted by Willy Mac

Hey there kiddos, we’ve got opinions for ya. This week we got them from Akula Wolf over at Backing the Pack. One of two NC State sites that keep it real. Akula has some pretty good reads as well as funny material, especially during hoops season so give them a repeat read from time to time. Here’s what I’ve got. Check out our answers over there.

1) You guys have all the makings of a “Trap Game” for Clemson to get snake bitten by. Give us one stat, one player, and one intangible that make this a true statement.

That’s a tough one. It’s hard for me to find much to like about this matchup. State’s solid passing game–281 yards/game–is the stat, and Russell Wilson (surprise!) would have to be the player, because he’s going to have to be outstanding if the offense is going to move the ball against the Tigers defense. Intangibles, intangibles…the Tiger paw on Clemson’s helmets will make them appear cute and cuddly, thus inspiring confidence in the Wolfpack? Yeah, that must be it.

2) People have been saying that Russell Wilson is the truth. Remove your Wolfpack hat for a second, and tell us in your honest opinion how he stacks up against the other quarterbacks in the league.

It’s been a good year for ACC quarterbacks, which is refreshing since it’s made the games actually watchable, but I think Christian Ponder is the only guy I’d trade Wilson for. Ponder, Harris, Wilson, and Skinner are all right there in terms of passer rating, and you could certainly argue that those other guys are having better seasons than Russell. But I think he’s a more complete package than anyone except Ponder. (I’m not sure if the Wolfpack hat came all the way off during that answer.)

3) Your defense was one of the best in the league a few weeks ago. Your rushing defense is still pretty good, but you guys have let yourselves go a little. Where’s the breakdown?

The truth of it is the defense was never any good. South Carolina played extremely conservatively in the opener because they could, and then we followed that up with a pair of hapless I-AA teams. Needless to say, there is a lot of padding in the Pack’s defensive stats. What we’ve discovered in the last month is that any offense with a pulse will have success against this defense, in whatever way they choose to go about it. Duke wanted to throw the ball and they threw it at will. Boston College wanted to run and they ran it at will. Florida State did a little of both and did both well.

Florida State fans may disagree with me, but I think ours is the worst defense in the ACC. We’re banged up, thin, inexperienced, woefully undertalented in the secondary, and we can’t tackle. It’s gotten so bad that I’m pretty much thrilled when we hold teams to a field goal, never mind a punt.

4) You guys are tenth in punt coverage and dead last in kick off coverage in the ACC standings. Clemson is second and first respectively. It’s obviously not smart to kick it to Spiller, but the guy’s trying to win a Heisman. Do you think that you guys kick it to him still? Do you think it’s disrespectful to not kick it to him at this point in the season?

Outside of field goal kicking, special teams have been a huge disaster. I think we’re one of a handful of teams that’s managed zero touchbacks on kickoffs this season. The guy handling the kickoffs, Josh Czajkowski, averages about 60 yards a kick, and either he line drives it and it lands near the goal line or he kicks it with normal loft and it lands around the ten. Either way, it’s bad news. Since it seems like opponents always bring it out to at least the 30 no matter how we kick it, I would imagine that NC State will try to find the up backs at every opportunity. Especially since we were just burned by a kickoff return for a touchdown last week, I don’t think the staff will have any qualms about avoiding Spiller. Disrespectful? No way. We do still have something to play for.

I don’t know what the hell we’re going to do in punting situations, though. Well, I know what I’m gonna do–close my eyes and pray.

5) What are the thoughts of the fan base on Coach Tom O’Brien?

Everybody’s still on board, I think. This is the first year he’s faced real expectations for a successful year, and it hasn’t worked out too well, so there’s a little more grumbling this season than there has been in his first two years. With the way the defense has imploded over the last five games, most of the heat has been aimed at defensive coordinator Mike Archer.

With the quarterback situation and the offense in general finally settled, TOB is running out of excuses, no question about that. Injuries have been a huge factor, but people are tired of hearing about it. The mood could change dramatically with another clunker of a season in 2010.