Clemson football: It seems Tony Elliott still doesn’t get it

Tony Elliott has heard quite the earful from Clemson football fans following an abysmal offensive showing against the Georgia Bulldogs this past weekend in Charlotte.

Elliott shared with the media on Monday that he has received his fair share of criticism, including fans sending him hate mail through Twitter.

"“It’s tough because we get embarrassed on national TV,” Elliott said. “I know I’ve already got the Twitter fingers sending me hate mail, telling me that I suck, that I need to be fired, that I need to go back to Michelin and things of that nature.“It hurts and it hurts for a couple of reasons. It hurts because I know how much work this offensive staff and these players put in. I know how committed they are to this program. Nobody wants to go out and not play their best. That’s where it hurts.”"

While no one condones the actions of fans personally attacking Elliott behind a keyboard and that absolutely needs to stop, it is not an irrational concept for people to be upset with the offensive showing and to question what they saw from the unit and from Elliott on Saturday night.

It’s time for Tony Elliott and Clemson football to make changes to the offense

Even though Elliott is a great football mind, there has to be changes made to this offense and it starts with admitting that the group simply wasn’t ready on Saturday night.

Elliott went on to say that he didn’t feel that his group with physically outmatched, but it seems we weren’t watching the same game.

"“I didn’t feel like we physically got outmatched, now we got beat with some 1-on-1s, but you’re talking about NFL players going against NFL players,” he added. “You’re going to lose some 1-on-1 matchups. The biggest thing we got to do as an offense, is just focus on the details, the little things, everything being on the same page. That’s the thing about offensive football, its chemistry, its cohesion, it’s all 11 on the same page. We were off Saturday night, but we got a good group of young men. We’re gonna accept the challenge and I’m excited to see where this group is gonna finish it up.”"

If you go back and watch that game, it wasn’t just the offensive line losing some 1-on-1 battles. There were times when Georgia sent three men on a pass-rush and they still got to the quarterback. That’s absolutely the definition of being physically outmatched.

Yes, that was an NFL front. Yes, that was a highly-motivated defense that might prove to be the best in the nation. But, to manage just 180 yards of total offense– two rushing yards– and to look as bad as they did is simply unacceptable.

We talked about DJ Uiagalelei looking timid, but what about the play-calling?

The middle of the field was wide open and Clemson never ran any simple routes to get there. Lyn-J Dixon had the best run of the night and then we never saw him get another carry. Clemson had the ball inside the UGA five-yard line and threw three-straight passes. Instead of attacking the UGA defense or trying anything to make them even question the Tiger attack, it seemed the Clemson football offense was content to sit back scared.

And Elliott still hasn’t addressed that.

This conservative approach to offense has to end. Look at the prolific offenses around the country. Look at Alabama and how Nick Saban has completely transformed his offense.

‘Feeling your way’ through the game and letting the defense dictate what you do isn’t working. Abandoning the run isn’t working. Having almost no creative flow isn’t working.

Think about it this way: What is Clemson’s offensive identity? They don’t have one.

If you want to be successful in today’s age of College Football, you have to have an elite offense and they’re anything but that right now.

Yes, there are personnel issues– starting with the offensive line and their ‘patty cake’ pass-pro scheme– but much of that can be covered up with a high-level play-caller. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem the Tigers have that.

We love Tony Elliott as a person and think he is a great developer and leader of men, and a great ambassador for the Clemson football program. But, we also think it’s appropriate to offer some criticism, especially when you think about the fact that it’s the same issues time and time again.