Swinney says Special Teams Gaffes Will Be Corrected
Clemson has established great pride in the production and reliability of the specials team unit this season.
However, that proved to be an unexpected weak area of the Tigers' 42-17 win over Miami as the Tigers had three field goals blocked during the contest.
Dabo Swinney told the media on Sunday night he was confident in his special teamers and that hasn't changed since last night's fortunately nondetrimental special teams lapses.
He did express his disappointment with the protection and execution Saturday night but was adamant that it fell on the coaches and will be corrected.
"The biggest disappointment was the field goals," Swinney said. "Never been a part of anything like that and we're fortunate that we could control the game and the other two phases."
While unhappy about coming up short in that area--particularly considering protection and execution had not been an issue for this unit--Swinney takes full responsibility and is grateful it didn't impact the outcome of the game.
"That's on us as coaches and we'll get that corrected. As a coach, you want to be able to have the confidence to put your guys out there, make kicks and be aggressive," Swinney said. "We were able to win despite what happened on field goals and you know it's just disappointing because that's not been the case. It's not what we see in practice, it's not what we've done in games."
The first block occurred in the first quarter when Bubba Bolden blocked what would have been a 37-yard field goal for B.T. Potter.
"With the first block, our right side--just really poor execution, technique, and fundamentals. We had one of the guards just go into the ground and then on the third one, the same thing on the right side,"
While those kicks officially count as misses for B.T. Potter, Swinney's confidence remains strong in his junior kicker.
"We love our kicker and I mean we kicked the ball 50-something yards against Wake Forest that would have been good from 70," Swinney said. "We've seen him make a kick like we attempted and had a big wind behind him. Really disappointed in our protection there. We put some bad things on tape but we'll own it and correct it. It's our job as coaches to get that better. The last thing you want is the kicker going out there with no confidence. He's had an unbeliever able yer and it's not fair to put him in that situation."
