Jimmydafreak

Boy, he sure was!

  1st half UNDER and Houston TT UNDER

Sorry, was away from the computer but, yeah, I jumped on KC +2 @ +105.

Alabama will take away the run game, and force Watson to win the game through the air, something he has never had to do in his career.  They will force him to throw into very tight windows, again something he's never had to do.  I don't think he will be able to do it consistently, and it'll result in interceptions in my opinion.

It seems a though it's being downplayed, and probably rightfully so.  I seriously doubt that his presence will have any impact on the game.

Quote Originally Posted by Boom_Boom:

I can appreciate the time you have taken to give your thoughts on this game....and I can say this, I usually never care too much about what others think when it comes to breaking a game down vs what I think in my head...but in this case I'm glad you did and I think we might have a good conversation leading up  to the game.


Let's talk about what I agree with you on:

Yes and YES! Anyone who believes that Saban hasn't adapted to his " kryptonite  " isn't paying attention. If you read my brief breakdown of this game you would see that Saban has actually recruited different athletes to defended HUNH offenses. He has gotten better at 2 places. LB where he isn't using the traditional 270ln LB who can cover in space, yet he has changed to a more quicker lighter athlete who can do what?? cover in space. The other is of course the fast lighter pass rusher who can get after the QB. In years past never seemed to have that Vic Beasley type of guy who could play meet you at the QB.


Let's talk about what I disagree: 

The guys you listed that Bama has played at QB are not what?

They're not Deshaun Watson...not even close. Watson besides being a tremendous athlete he reads defense better than any of the QB's you mentioned.

Let's talk about the corners Mac island and Tank. If Alabama wants to be successful at passing the ball you are correct... they better attack the 2nd level at the LB position. Why? IMO, Coker has NO shot at beating Tank and Mac island. These will be the best corners Bama has faced all year...and why will they be locked down in this game? Venables knows what I know.... We don't have to worry about Coker running the ball. Clemson has played so many teams with dual threat QB's lately that the secondary has to help with accountability. This game!!! Not so much.. it's do your job.

I completely disagree with your bets on Alabama, Clemson TT under and Alabama TT over. As a matter of fact.... I think the chances of Alabama team total going over 29 is are almost about slim and none....only way it happens is of course what you said.... Clemson turns the ball over, and special teams return or defensive TD's. I for one, am very confident that Alabama can NOT line up and drive the field and score offensively no more than 14 points...at best.

Forget the Deshaun vs Alabama focal point here.....The biggest advantage Clemson has in this game IMO, is the Clemson's DL completely getting after Jake Coker. I think at the end of the night every ESPN analysis and talking head will repeat what I'm about to say. Wow.....the Clemson DL took over this football game.


I have said it over and over....and it's simple. We have Deshaun Watson and you don't.

Look forward to you response.......     I think we can give this forum a good conversation leading up to this game.      

I said in my write-up that Deshaun Watson is better than the QBs I listed (Alabama faced this season), not that I think that will matter much.  The same fate awaits him.

That's not to say that Watson will not make some plays, because I'm sure he will.  I just think it won't be nearly enough to keep them in the game.

The duo that most closely resembles the Desahun Watson/Wayne Gallman combination is Joshua Dobbs/Jalen Hurd from Tennessee, and that duo did have the most success against Alabama this season.  I think we'll see a similar performance and point output Monday night from Clemson.

Watson is a one read and run QB, so he is far from a defense reading savant.  Most of his reads are pre-snap, not post-snap, ie. getting to his second and third reads.  These are two completely different animals.

Clemson has two outstanding corners.  Mac Alexander will almost certainly be a 1st round selection in the NFL draft.  One of the biggest advantages that they confer is they provide Clemson's very quick defensive line to get coverage sacks.

I don't want to elaborate too much on this because none of us know how the Calvin Ridley/Mac Alexander will play out.  What we do know is that NFL scouts rank Florida's CB Vernon Hargraves higher than Alexander, and Ridley had 8 catches for 102 yards against him.

I will also note that Hargraves is a far more battle tested CB than Alexander.  Not only has Hargreaves faced Calvin Ridley, he has matched up against guys like Amari Cooper, LaqonTreadwell, Malachi Dupre, and he also went against Justin Hardy who plays for the Falcons.  Outside of Will Fuller (who the corner from Temple kept in check) and Sterling Shepherd, who has Alexander gone against?

Moreover, in watching the Notre Dame/Clemson game, back-up QB DeShone Kizer had opportunities to get Fuller the ball, but whether it was ineptness on his part or the weather conditions, he wasn't able to do so.

Clemson's pass rush, while very good, is not likely to have much impact on this game.  The salient issue is Clemson's front 7 getting mauled at the point of attack.  And they aren't going to get mauled because they are bad, they are going to get mauled because a) they haven't faced anything remotely like Alabama's offensive line/Derrick Henry combination (Henry is as big or bigger than every linebacker Clemson has), and b) and most importantly, Clemson has no depth in their defensive front.  You can put a NFL defensive line out there, but if you can't keep them fresh, they'll eventually wear down.

I have preached on this point more than once in the past.   All teams have some great players, and Clemson is no different. But the #1 thing that sets Alabama apart from the rest of college football is depth.  They can constantly rotate fresh guys into the game with no drop-off in performance.  For example, Alabama has a potential NFL 1st rounder playing 3rd string on the defensive line.  If Da' Shawn Hand played for any other team in the country, he'd be an every down DE.

So all the talk of shut down corners and great pass rush are rendered nugatory if Clemson's front 7 is getting blown up at the point of attack, which is exactly what's going to happen.  Sure they'll hang tough in the 1st half, but they'll eventually get caught in the meat-grinder in the 2nd half when they inevitably wear down.

Alabama and Clemson are similar offensively in that they both run the ball to set up the pass.  To date no team this season has been able to make Clemson one-dimensional by taking away their running game.  So what happens if Alabama gets a lead, takes away Clemson's bread and butter, contains Watson in the pocket and forces him to throw into tight windows?  Now clearly those are a lot of "ifs", and much easier to type on a message board than actually make happen on the football field, but I think that's exactly what's going to happen in this game.  And if I'm right, I don't think it's a stretch at all to surmise that Watson will make mistakes under those adverse conditions.

Alabama will most definitely win the trench warfare on both sides of the ball in this game.

Quote Originally Posted by Boom_Boom:



Wow... very shocked at this statement.

This is very shocking to be honest. 

Watson is the one of if not the most accurate passers in college football and can/will beat you with his arm.

This statement coming from you is shocking... almost like you haven't done your homework. If you think Watson can't beat Bama with his arm you are sadly mistaken

I don't think it's quite as simple as that.  See my response to mws.

If Clemson can remained balanced offensively, which is to say that they can run the ball effectively to set up the pass like they have done all season, then they will be successful offensively in this game.  It's an entirely different calculus however, if Clemson can't run the ball, and Watson is forced to throw the ball into the teeth of Alabama's defense.  No team has been able to do that to Clemson all season.  Can Alabama?  They will certainly try.

Quote Originally Posted by melossinglet:

holy shiiit-balls!!!!...epic write-up and conversation,jimmydafreak.....and this coming from someone who doesnt watch nor follow the game at all......i wont give you shiit about your strong feelings on the game this time,but how do you rate your confidence level outta 10,if spartans game you were at 9.9 on the spread and 20 on the moneyline where do you sit on this one??..must be a little less surely given clemson offers so much more on offense.

10 - this going to be murder on national television.