Clemson Tigers Don't Know Offensive Identity
To say that the Clemson Tigers have struggled on offense through the first six games is an understatement, if not a little shocking with all of the weapons they returned.
Maybe more shocking is the fact that, according to offensive coordinator Tony Elliott, the Tigers still do not know what their offensive identity is after six games.
"I'll be honest, no (has never been this far into the season without knowing identity)," Elliott said. "It's challenging, but at the same time there's an excitement to see how these guys are going to respond. I can't wait until this takes off.
While the Tigers are waiting for their offense to take off, they are left at the bottom of the league and the nation in offense.
Entering this week's game against Pittsburgh, who owns one of the most prolific offenses in the nation, the Tigers are dead last in scoring in the ACC, next-to-last in total offense–10.5 yards ahead of last place–and 12th out of 14 teams in pass offense.
"I think everybody believes each week that it's going to happen, and that's why they're practicing the way they're practicing," Elliott said. "I think they understand the challenge this week, that this would be a great week for everything to fall into place."
Elliott added, much like all of the coaches have since the first week of the season, that he believes all of the mistakes are able to be fixed. But the big question is: when they finally are fixed, will it be too late?
"The mistakes are correctable," Elliott said. "It's not like guys just going all over the place. A lot of it is guys losing their one-on-one matchup. We have a screen out in the first drive, and Ajou Ajou, a young guy, is a little bit confused so he stops and the play results in a TFL. Now you have to go empty and take a shot and try to get the ball downfield. You have five-man protection and you get a sack. You get going and have a bad snap, or a bad penalty.
"So it's all correctable. I think guys understand what we're doing and communication was good for the most part."
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