Clemson football: 3 quick fixes that could help improve 2021 offense
The 2021 Clemson football season hasn’t necessarily gotten out to the start that Tiger fans have wanted.
Clemson dropped the season-opener in a 10-3 loss to Georgia and has since won the last two games against mediocre competition, but neither have been convincing victories and this past weekend yielded an ugly 14-8 final in which the Tigers legitimately had chances where they could’ve been beaten.
The reason for the subpar play thus far has been squarely on the offense, which is ranked last in the ACC in explosive plays.
There are certain things in this offense that simply can’t be fixed right away and they’re going to need time:
- The development on the offensive line
- D.J. Uiagalelei’s footwork and confidence
- Chemistry being built between receivers and quarterback
But there are other things that Clemson can do almost immediately to help improve this offense and hopefully take it out of its current form.
Three quick fixes that could help improve the Clemson football offense in 2021
1. Go Tempo
One of the most simplistic ways to get an offense going sometimes is to go tempo and from what we’ve seen this season, the Tigers look much more comfortable going fast than they do when things are slowed down.
Right now, the game is simply too fast for D.J. Uiagalelei.
He’s trying to make reads at the line of scrimmage and he’s thinking too much about his footwork and trying to make a play. He’s pressing.
One way to take some of that off his plate is to go tempo by attacking the defense and making them stop you, rather than reading what they’re doing at the line and then adjusting your offense accordingly.
As we saw in the Chad Morris days, tempo can sometimes hurt your defense but it’s at least worth a try to mix it in and see if the offense can get into a bit of a rhythm. It takes much of the pre-snap pressure off of Uiagalelei’s plate and that can do wonders for him as he’s developing into this new role.