Clemson football: The problem with two ‘buzz word’ phrases that keep being used

Through six games in the 2021 Clemson football season, the result has left much to be desired.

The Tigers are currently 4-2 and are sitting in third place in the ACC Atlantic Division with no control over their own destiny to even make the Conference Title Game, much less compete for another CFB Playoff appearance or New Year’s Six Bowl Game.

There are many areas to point the blame, but we continue to hear the same message being preached by Dabo Swinney and his program.

The problem with two ‘buzz word’ phrases being used by Clemson football

Over the course of the first month and a half of the season, we continue to hear these ‘buzz words’ or common phrases being passed along by the coaching staff and then repeated by many in the fan base.

Here’s a look at some of those phrases and the problem with them:

‘We’re only a few plays away’

Dabo Swinney always knows how to put a positive spin on even the worse situations and that’s something that should be commended.

While it’s true that this Clemson football team technically is only a few plays away from being undefeated or only having one loss, it’s also true that they are only a few plays away from being 1-5. This team hasn’t been good and there are much greater issues than just having a few breaks go their way.

‘We’ve got to make our layups’ 

Yes, it’s true that Clemson has whiffed on much of the ‘easy stuff.’ The problem with this phrase, though, is that nothing comes easy to this offense and much of that has to do with the coaches not putting the players in the best position possible to make plays.

We talk about how DJ Uiagalelei needs to ‘make the layups,’ meaning the easy passes. Well, why are there no quick slant routes over the middle of the field? Why are there no crossing route options for him? Why is seemingly every throw to the boundary. Does Clemson not know how to attack the middle of the field? Yes, Clemson needs to make the layups, but in many cases, you can determine the difficulty level of those and they’re not making it easy on themselves.

People are defending the coaching staff for not “opening up the playbook” based off this phrase and that’s just ridiculous.

These are college athletes, many of which played in more complex systems in high school. We need to stop acting like they’re too dumb to understand the concepts or the fundamentals. And if they can’t get those down, it’s not because the talent isn’t there. That’s a major coaching issue.