It has become painfully clear that Clemson football has to change its philosophy upfront.
We can keep ignoring the elephant in the room, but the Clemson football offensive line is by far the biggest weakness on this roster. There is no sugar coating it, they are average at best and even head coach Dabo Swinney knows this.
Currently, the Tigers employ a zone-blocking scheme. This is the simplest form of a blocking scheme for an offensive line and one you use when you aren’t recruiting guys like Clemson is at the moment. The Tigers offensive line simply covers up the defensive linemen in front of them in hopes of creating a running lane.
We have seen the defensive lines from Wake Forest, Citadel and Boston College stonewall the Tiger offensive line and it is becoming embarrassing. Need actual proof – simply go back to Saturday afternoon and with the Tigers clinging to a six-point lead and facing a fourth and six inches and Swinney decides to punt the ball away.
Fourth and six inches to ice the game away and the head coach decides to punt instead of trusting the offensive line.
Apologists will scream that it is was a sound football decision because it worked out with Bryan Bresee ending the game on a sack and safety, but when your own coach doesn’t have the faith in you to pick up six inches when you have the league’s all-time leading rusher and a quarterback that 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, there is a problem.
Clemson football needs to go back to a man-blocking scheme.
“Put a hat on a hat” – this is the most common cliché among coaches that run a man-blocking scheme. Unlike a zone scheme where blocking responsibilities can be and usually are iffy, the man-blocking scheme allows teams to block the guy in front of you and work to the linebacker quickly.
The offensive lineman that Clemson is currently recruiting are too big, too strong, and too fast to not use the blocking scheme that takes advantage of that.
Early on in Coach Swinney’s tenure, there was a need for the zone scheme as they were trying to win with smoke and mirrors but there is no need for that now. Clemson football should be able to simply lineup and beat the man in front of them on every snap.
The Clemson football offensive scheme run by Tony Elliott can be run using either a zone blocking scheme or a man-blocking scheme. Given what we have seen so far this season upfront, it is clear something has to change. If offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell is unable to coach a man-scheme, that it is time to retire and bring in someone that can.
Clemson football is going to have a hard time beating the elite teams if they can’t even move the likes of Citadel, Boston College, and Georgia Tech off the ball.