I know early in the year, there were issues with WR drops. Is that still an issue?
OSU's secondary is very different from last year. Losing two 1st round corners hurts, but they miss their captain and good NFL starter Jordan Fuller even more (the fumble return that was cancelled). They also went most of two classes without quality CB recruits (1 year a pair of not-retained assistants didn't recruit a single one), and they lost Clark Phillips and Jordan Battle to recruiting flips.
In many ways, this defense is the opposite of last year.
'20 - position - '19
eh - DE - amazing (albeit just Chase)
elite - DT - solid/good
very good - LB - okay
weak - CB - amazing
eh - S - very good
How is the interior of the clemson OL? Etienne is a special athlete, but has been surprisingly average on the ground many games this year, to the point where the media has started listing his return yardage in his weekly yard totals to hide how mediocre his season was (which I attribute to the line)
It will be interesting to see how OSU deploys their personnel against Clemson. Their LBs are playing much better than last year as a unit, including throwback Tuf Borland, but he's overmatched against athletic RBs let alone a weapon like Etienne. OSU also has a good hybrid S/LB in Werner, but they may need him to slowdown Galloway.
Meanwhile there is still not an ounce of protection for defenders.
A ball carrier can take their head off (via facemask or targeting as a defender pulls up near the sideline). You can even blindside kill a defender on an INT return. Just don't do the targeting while blocking
The only notable thing about this is the claim that Clemson/Venables are somehow better at capturing and deciphering their opponents play calling signs than most everyone else is. If that's true, I hope the OSU staff figures out how to prevent it, and also how to do it.PRESSER BULLETS: RYAN DAY, KEVIN WILSON, JUSTIN FIELDS AND OHIO STATE PLAYERS DISCUSS REMATCH WITH CLEMSON IN THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
RYAN DAY
Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...cuss-the-buckeyes-rematch-with-clemson-in-the
- "The guys have overcome a lot this year. Now we have to finish the race."
- On if he has any reservations about Justin Fields' thumb injury: "No, I think he'll be fine."
- He notes Clemson is second in the country in sacks. "They've done it against just about everybody they've gone against." He says for the offensive line it comes down to preparation, understanding the patterns they've seen and knowing they'll face things they haven't seen before. The goal will be to anticipate rather than react.
- On Brent Venables: "He's one of the best defensive coordinators in college football. He does a great job calling the game. Seems to know exactly what the other team's doing."
- Day on dealing with COVID-19 this season, after Ohio State had more than 20 unavailable players for each of its last two games: “The people who missed practice in the last month alone here is staggering.” Said that puts more stress on the players who haven't missed practice.
- Day says being at Ohio State has "been a blessing." He credits the people around him at the university and in the program with him being in this spot.
- He says the lack of a lead-up time to the Sugar Bowl has led to less downtime than usual, and there's an inability to do much together other than practice. "We've taken a lot of precautions that way." He says it's just like another game rather than a typical bowl experience. "It's kind of a downer."
- On Justin Fields' chance for redemption: "He left that field wanting another shot, and now he has another shot." Says Fields is not alone in that feeling. "We asked for that opportunity, and now we've got to go."
- Day said Ohio State has gotten “a bunch” of players back to practice this week who will hopefully be able to play on Friday.
- Day says "bad things happen" when you aren't calling things aggressively. He thinks being aggressive can both mean passing the ball and not doing so.
- He says the red-zone offense and kicking field goals were issues last year against Clemson.
- Day says this game is about all of these players getting back to where they started after losing to Clemson a year ago rather than a statement about where this program stands in the national landscape.
- "Everything about this season is different, from the amount of games we've played to all of the above."
- "One thing that happens a little bit at Ohio State is people want you to win a certain way here." He says just winning the game will be important rather than winning in a certain way. "If you win the game, you move on, and that's what matters."
Ryan Day's full answer when asked about Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables:
Re: Seems to know exactly what the other team's doing.".....
Just sayin': Clemson is recognized as being "a master" at stealing signs.
Follow the Signs: How Clemson Football Mastered the (Totally Legal) Art of Signal Stealing
A month ago, Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said the quiet part out loud. He was asked on a Zoom call about Clemson’s reputation for stealing an opponent’s offensive signals that are used to relay play calls from the sidelines, and he met the question head on.
“Clemson is known well for doing it,” Lashlee said.
.
.
.
Let’s throw this out there: If you ask around college football, you’ll hear that stealing signals can be as much a part of the game as blocking and tackling. It is a commonplace means of trying to gain a pre-snap advantage. But after talking to coaches and staff members at half a dozen teams that have played Clemson in recent years, here are the three responses that follow:
- Knowing laughter.
- An acknowledgement that the Tigers are an elite signal-swiping program.
This isn’t the first time the topic has arisen. In its 2017 college football preview magazine, Athlon Sports quoted an anonymous coach saying, “They’ll steal your signals. … It’s not a very well-kept secret.” A year earlier, head coach Dabo Swinney tacitly acknowledged the hustle in a story in the Raleigh News & Observer, saying, “You’re in a competition. You’re competing and you want to get every edge that you can. If you have an opponent who’s basically screaming out, ‘Hey, we’re running the ball,’ well, that’s an advantage.”
- “That’s off the record.”
.
.
.
As for Clemson: Venables is a notably late defensive play-caller, usually waiting to see how the offense lines up and then firing off his own signals and calls in the few seconds he has before the ball is snapped. The coaches who spoke to SI for this story attributed that to waiting for information from his code breakers.
.
.
.
continued
Entire article: https://www.si.com/college/2020/11/06/clemson-signal-stealing-dabo-swinney-daily-cover
PRESSER BULLETS: RYAN DAY, KEVIN WILSON, JUSTIN FIELDS AND OHIO STATE PLAYERS DISCUSS REMATCH WITH CLEMSON IN THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
RYAN DAY
Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...cuss-the-buckeyes-rematch-with-clemson-in-the
- "The guys have overcome a lot this year. Now we have to finish the race."
- On if he has any reservations about Justin Fields' thumb injury: "No, I think he'll be fine."
- He notes Clemson is second in the country in sacks. "They've done it against just about everybody they've gone against." He says for the offensive line it comes down to preparation, understanding the patterns they've seen and knowing they'll face things they haven't seen before. The goal will be to anticipate rather than react.
- On Brent Venables: "He's one of the best defensive coordinators in college football. He does a great job calling the game. Seems to know exactly what the other team's doing."
- Day on dealing with COVID-19 this season, after Ohio State had more than 20 unavailable players for each of its last two games: “The people who missed practice in the last month alone here is staggering.” Said that puts more stress on the players who haven't missed practice.
- Day says being at Ohio State has "been a blessing." He credits the people around him at the university and in the program with him being in this spot.
- He says the lack of a lead-up time to the Sugar Bowl has led to less downtime than usual, and there's an inability to do much together other than practice. "We've taken a lot of precautions that way." He says it's just like another game rather than a typical bowl experience. "It's kind of a downer."
- On Justin Fields' chance for redemption: "He left that field wanting another shot, and now he has another shot." Says Fields is not alone in that feeling. "We asked for that opportunity, and now we've got to go."
- Day said Ohio State has gotten “a bunch” of players back to practice this week who will hopefully be able to play on Friday.
- Day says "bad things happen" when you aren't calling things aggressively. He thinks being aggressive can both mean passing the ball and not doing so.
- He says the red-zone offense and kicking field goals were issues last year against Clemson.
- Day says this game is about all of these players getting back to where they started after losing to Clemson a year ago rather than a statement about where this program stands in the national landscape.
- "Everything about this season is different, from the amount of games we've played to all of the above."
- "One thing that happens a little bit at Ohio State is people want you to win a certain way here." He says just winning the game will be important rather than winning in a certain way. "If you win the game, you move on, and that's what matters."
Ryan Day's full answer when asked about Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables:
Re: Seems to know exactly what the other team's doing.".....
Just sayin': Clemson is recognized as being "a master" at stealing signs.
Follow the Signs: How Clemson Football Mastered the (Totally Legal) Art of Signal Stealing
A month ago, Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said the quiet part out loud. He was asked on a Zoom call about Clemson’s reputation for stealing an opponent’s offensive signals that are used to relay play calls from the sidelines, and he met the question head on.
“Clemson is known well for doing it,” Lashlee said.
.
.
.
Let’s throw this out there: If you ask around college football, you’ll hear that stealing signals can be as much a part of the game as blocking and tackling. It is a commonplace means of trying to gain a pre-snap advantage. But after talking to coaches and staff members at half a dozen teams that have played Clemson in recent years, here are the three responses that follow:
- Knowing laughter.
- An acknowledgement that the Tigers are an elite signal-swiping program.
This isn’t the first time the topic has arisen. In its 2017 college football preview magazine, Athlon Sports quoted an anonymous coach saying, “They’ll steal your signals. … It’s not a very well-kept secret.” A year earlier, head coach Dabo Swinney tacitly acknowledged the hustle in a story in the Raleigh News & Observer, saying, “You’re in a competition. You’re competing and you want to get every edge that you can. If you have an opponent who’s basically screaming out, ‘Hey, we’re running the ball,’ well, that’s an advantage.”
- “That’s off the record.”
.
.
.
As for Clemson: Venables is a notably late defensive play-caller, usually waiting to see how the offense lines up and then firing off his own signals and calls in the few seconds he has before the ball is snapped. The coaches who spoke to SI for this story attributed that to waiting for information from his code breakers.
.
.
.
continued
Entire article: https://www.si.com/college/2020/11/06/clemson-signal-stealing-dabo-swinney-daily-cover
Thanks. There are a quite a bit of us normal tiger fans around but like every fan base we get overshadowed by the loud obnoxious minority. Our success the past 10 years has only made them louder.
