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Dabo and Clemson


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32 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I do seriously believe that Swinney still really wants to win. The reality is, he's just not that intelligent and he's too narcissistic to be introspective enough to consider material change. He had enormous success doing things a certain way. Why change, right? Successful people run into this trap quite often.

The problem here is that the space in which Swinney has been successful has now fundamentally changed. It's systemic. There is no going back.

Paying players openly and with massive war chests, that's not just a Swinney problem, that's a Clemson problem, same as for Bama, LSU, and various other former bag game winners with poorer fanbases. I have seen the numbers. They're stunning. You need numerous big backers plus the many mid-level supporters plus the crowdfunding and then a bunch of corporate. That isn't the base for many places and these guys hate it. They don't see what they did as being wrong and they now think what's going on is absolutely wrong. It's hypocrisy at its finest, and it is glorious.

Beyond that, the portal is simply another issue of player empowerment and guys who don't just preach "family", but believe that that's what is working for them, are going to always fucking hate the portal. They're hypocrites on that issue too. Swinney is now the gold standard for the wrong way to approach the new world of CFB. We are going to continue to see their slide back into a rightful background in this landscape and it's going to be a tough fucking climb out of that spot due to the nature of the new world. 

He definitely still wants to win, but you're right, Clemson can't compete in this new environment. So he's leaning into developing and building his recruits. NIL money goes to players who committed out of high school and have stayed committed. Those players can also reasonably expect not to get undercut by a high profile transfer. Will that plan work? No. Is it the worst idea, considering the resources Clemson has? I guess not. 

The problem is this year Clemson has a team that could compete for a national championship, but for two spots. A QB and a DE. If they would have addressed those positions in the portal, they would be in the conversation. They didn't, and now the ceiling is getting blown out by Georgia to start the year, and winning the ACC with a likely first round ass kicking in the playoffs. 

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The weak conference is an easy path to the playoffs. Whether they pop in the first round or not, the Dabo cronies can find enough leverage that Captain Virtue's plan is sound. 

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25 minutes ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

He definitely still wants to win, but you're right, Clemson can't compete in this new environment. So he's leaning into developing and building his recruits. NIL money goes to players who committed out of high school and have stayed committed. Those players can also reasonably expect not to get undercut by a high profile transfer. Will that plan work? No. Is it the worst idea, considering the resources Clemson has? I guess not. 

The problem is this year Clemson has a team that could compete for a national championship, but for two spots. A QB and a DE. If they would have addressed those positions in the portal, they would be in the conversation. They didn't, and now the ceiling is getting blown out by Georgia to start the year, and winning the ACC with a likely first round ass kicking in the playoffs. 

You're a good and rational poster, but I do think you're being a little kennel blind regarding what you bring back. 

I think you're right regarding QB and I plan on enjoying another summer of seeing media folks talk themselves into believing that Klubnik is still some sort of burgeoning 5 star phenom. My criticisms of him haven't changed since he was a HS recruit at Westlake. He's a long stepper with a big windup, he hears footsteps, he was a system QB, and he takes too long in his reads. 

You must have a lot of faith in Matt Luke as the OL coach. Clemson has never had an elite OL and losing the 6th year C isn't probably going to help anything. Right side of the OL should be good. 

TE is a strength. TB should be above league average. WRs still scare no one. Maybe Moore comes in and changes that. Bringing back a bunch of production isn't always a good thing, and Clemson's offense may well illustrate that this season.

Offense considered, the Clemson defense has carried the team for awhile. 2024 is that going to be the case? I don't see it. They lost a ton of production, including their best players. Wiggins, Trotter Jr, Orhorhororororo, Davis, Thomas - that's a lot. They also basically lost 4 out of 5 in the secondary and a key back-up. That's a problem. 

I know Woods, Mickens and Carter are good, but how good are the other 8? How good is Goodwin, also? Not sure I'm a believer. Also, has Clemson solved its PK issues? 

Schedule-wise, it seems tougher than usual if the preseason thoughts about the ACC being on the upswing have any validity. UGA is a tough opener. App State will play you tough. NC State should be good. They should crush Stanford, Virginia, WF, and The Citadel. I like Norvell, but FSU lost a ton. Virginia Tech will be a trendy top 25 pick and Drones is good. Are Pitt, SCar and Louisville decent? I'm skeptical but just one of them being good adds a challenge. Missing UNC, Miami and Notre Dame doesn't hurt. 

I'll be surprised by anything better than 9-4 given the QB, defensive losses and schedule. 

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1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

You're a good and rational poster, but I do think you're being a little kennel blind regarding what you bring back. 

I think you're right regarding QB and I plan on enjoying another summer of seeing media folks talk themselves into believing that Klubnik is still some sort of burgeoning 5 star phenom. My criticisms of him haven't changed since he was a HS recruit at Westlake. He's a long stepper with a big windup, he hears footsteps, he was a system QB, and he takes too long in his reads. 

You must have a lot of faith in Matt Luke as the OL coach. Clemson has never had an elite OL and losing the 6th year C isn't probably going to help anything. Right side of the OL should be good. 

TE is a strength. TB should be above league average. WRs still scare no one. Maybe Moore comes in and changes that. Bringing back a bunch of production isn't always a good thing, and Clemson's offense may well illustrate that this season.

Offense considered, the Clemson defense has carried the team for awhile. 2024 is that going to be the case? I don't see it. They lost a ton of production, including their best players. Wiggins, Trotter Jr, Orhorhororororo, Davis, Thomas - that's a lot. They also basically lost 4 out of 5 in the secondary and a key back-up. That's a problem. 

I know Woods, Mickens and Carter are good, but how good are the other 8? How good is Goodwin, also? Not sure I'm a believer. Also, has Clemson solved its PK issues? 

Schedule-wise, it seems tougher than usual if the preseason thoughts about the ACC being on the upswing have any validity. UGA is a tough opener. App State will play you tough. NC State should be good. They should crush Stanford, Virginia, WF, and The Citadel. I like Norvell, but FSU lost a ton. Virginia Tech will be a trendy top 25 pick and Drones is good. Are Pitt, SCar and Louisville decent? I'm skeptical but just one of them being good adds a challenge. Missing UNC, Miami and Notre Dame doesn't hurt. 

I'll be surprised by anything better than 9-4 given the QB, defensive losses and schedule. 

I could be over-valuing some of the positions. I'm not too worried about the defense. I think the starters across the board are good enough, the young secondary needs to avoid a step back, and they need to find a DE opposite Parker, but as usual the big issue is there's not a lot of depth. 

It's really the offense that I think makes or breaks the season. And really it's one person. The WR room is as good as Clemson has had since the WRU days. The OL is as good as it's been in a long time as well, assuming someone steps up at Center. 

I am a firm believer that both of those units, AND Garrett Riley, look way worse than they are because Cade fucking Klubnik makes them look shitty. I have zero faith he improves this year, which is awesome that Clemson didn't get help at QB.

Even with shitty Klubnik, I think the team is good enough to win the ACC, but but, 9-4 would mean more of Dabo's friends and family get replaced with guys like Matt Luke and Chris Rumph. 

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  • 3 months later...
39 minutes ago, TreatyOak said:

This criticism is all wrong and really makes me mad. I honestly think Cade Klubnik is poised for a breakout, Heisman-level year. He has all the tools and has a really, really great, supportive father who has really been there supporting him through everything. Not that I would know, because I'm not his father or anything, but I've seen how much his father has sacrificed every day for Cade, and we've gone too far down this road for it not to pan out.

I hear it's been really hard for his father, who used to have everyone courting him with sponsorships, speaking engagements and even the neighbors asking me what's the latest with Cade. Now, I hear the neighbors are avoiding him, and leave at odd hours so they don't have to speak to Mr. Klubnik, which is humiliating and embarrassing.

None of you will ever understand how hard it's been for this truly exceptional father, and I would appreciate it if you would stop making unkind comments which are very hurtful to me. And Mr. Klubnik, too.  

I know nothing of Klubnik's father, so this one is lost on me and likely most anyone else reading it who doesn't know the family.

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3 minutes ago, HookEm said:

I took that post as satire.   

Shrugs GIF

 

2 minutes ago, texifornia said:

Me too, since he's the king of the Westlake honks

Well no shit, but did it make you laugh or smirk? I don't know anything about the dad and his behavior for it to resonate. We're not on NextDoor here.

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Dabo continues to actively work to destroy the program he built. His interviews after the Georgia pummelation have him arguing that the game was close and that Clemson had them where they wanted them, just didn’t execute. 

In reality, Clemson had no prayer in that game and Georgia mercilessly executed against a smart game plan. Georgia knew they had a depth advantage versus Clemson and just needed to control the ball. They’d eventually just wear the starters down on both sides of the ball and break Clemson in the second half. Smart alluded to this approach in post game commentary and the SEC talking heads have stated that that’s been conveyed offline. 

How did they know they have a depth advantage? Well, Clemson has had a talent drain in the portal and was either going to have to play JAGs or young guys, and everyone but Dabo could see that. 

Fans on the Clemson boards are complaining about things that would give people here flashbacks and panic attacks. Swinney is playing favorites instead of the best players at different spots, not playing talented young guys early or often, refusing to acknowledge that a favored son QB isn’t cutting it and he’s changed his recruiting approach, which isn’t working.  

How has he changed his recruiting approach? Well, he’s focused more on “high character” guys with less talent who fit the Clemson “family” better. Guys like Watson and Higgins probably wouldn’t be recruited these days. They’re also actively ignoring or turning away from guys emphasizing NIL. 

How’s that all working out? Their current class has 7 4 stars and 7 3 stars and will finish between 15-25 in the rankings, with some of that being halo effect for Clemson due to past success. On the field, meanwhile, the talking heads are still projecting Clemson as an ACC championship contender while App State looms, one of the more fun upset picks for the upcoming weekend. 

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22 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Dabo continues to actively work to destroy the program he built. His interviews after the Georgia pummelation have him arguing that the game was close and that Clemson had them where they wanted them, just didn’t execute. 

In reality, Clemson had no prayer in that game and Georgia mercilessly executed against a smart game plan. Georgia knew they had a depth advantage versus Clemson and just needed to control the ball. They’d eventually just wear the starters down on both sides of the ball and break Clemson in the second half. Smart alluded to this approach in post game commentary and the SEC talking heads have stated that that’s been conveyed offline. 

How did they know they have a depth advantage? Well, Clemson has had a talent drain in the portal and was either going to have to play JAGs or young guys, and everyone but Dabo could see that. 

Fans on the Clemson boards are complaining about things that would give people here flashbacks and panic attacks. Swinney is playing favorites instead of the best players at different spots, not playing talented young guys early or often, refusing to acknowledge that a favored son QB isn’t cutting it and he’s changed his recruiting approach, which isn’t working.  

How has he changed his recruiting approach? Well, he’s focused more on “high character” guys with less talent who fit the Clemson “family” better. Guys like Watson and Higgins probably wouldn’t be recruited these days. They’re also actively ignoring or turning away from guys emphasizing NIL. 

How’s that all working out? Their current class has 7 4 stars and 7 3 stars and will finish between 15-25 in the rankings, with some of that being halo effect for Clemson due to past success. On the field, meanwhile, the talking heads are still projecting Clemson as an ACC championship contender while App State looms, one of the more fun upset picks for the upcoming weekend. 

Dabo's cognitive entrenchment, as well as his holier than thou revisionist history regarding what led to his past success, is going to do him in - and I'm all for it.

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On 5/8/2024 at 11:07 AM, closetojumping said:

I do seriously believe that Swinney still really wants to win. The reality is, he's just not that intelligent and he's too narcissistic to be introspective enough to consider material change. He had enormous success doing things a certain way. Why change, right? Successful people run into this trap quite often.

Interestingly, I just finished reading a short, poppy business psychology book from the 90's called "Who Moved My Cheese?" and I think 99% of Dabo's problem can be summed up in that $9.99, 20 minute read.

Edited by MinerProphet
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15 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Dabo continues to actively work to destroy the program he built. His interviews after the Georgia pummelation have him arguing that the game was close and that Clemson had them where they wanted them, just didn’t execute. 

In reality, Clemson had no prayer in that game and Georgia mercilessly executed against a smart game plan. Georgia knew they had a depth advantage versus Clemson and just needed to control the ball. They’d eventually just wear the starters down on both sides of the ball and break Clemson in the second half. Smart alluded to this approach in post game commentary and the SEC talking heads have stated that that’s been conveyed offline. 

How did they know they have a depth advantage? Well, Clemson has had a talent drain in the portal and was either going to have to play JAGs or young guys, and everyone but Dabo could see that. 

Fans on the Clemson boards are complaining about things that would give people here flashbacks and panic attacks. Swinney is playing favorites instead of the best players at different spots, not playing talented young guys early or often, refusing to acknowledge that a favored son QB isn’t cutting it and he’s changed his recruiting approach, which isn’t working.  

How has he changed his recruiting approach? Well, he’s focused more on “high character” guys with less talent who fit the Clemson “family” better. Guys like Watson and Higgins probably wouldn’t be recruited these days. They’re also actively ignoring or turning away from guys emphasizing NIL. 

How’s that all working out? Their current class has 7 4 stars and 7 3 stars and will finish between 15-25 in the rankings, with some of that being halo effect for Clemson due to past success. On the field, meanwhile, the talking heads are still projecting Clemson as an ACC championship contender while App State looms, one of the more fun upset picks for the upcoming weekend. 

I mean, this pretty much sums it up. I thought we'd get blown out by Georgia, and I thought Cade would still suck, but they exceeded my wildest expectations. 

Dabo needs to adapt, and I think the donors are going to start putting pressure. His post game comments were pathetic. He hires friends and family, plays his guys, and has to be meddling in the most boring offense in college football. Wesco and Moore have no business losing snaps to Turner and Randall.

Clemson has money, maybe not the type of money to battle Tennessee and Ohio State for David Sanders, but enough to bring in a solid backup QB and a DE. Instead he'd rather do it his way, play our best defensive player out of position and start the worst P5 QB, because he reminds Dabo of a youth pastor. 

The worst part is this team is good enough to win the ACC. It has no depth, but I expect Clemson to play Miami for the ACC Championship. If Clemson wins, they cross their fingers for a Big 10 team not named Ohio State in the second round, but probably get blown out either way and Dabo has cover to continue his bullshit. 

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2 hours ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

I mean, this pretty much sums it up. I thought we'd get blown out by Georgia, and I thought Cade would still suck, but they exceeded my wildest expectations. 

Dabo needs to adapt, and I think the donors are going to start putting pressure. His post game comments were pathetic. He hires friends and family, plays his guys, and has to be meddling in the most boring offense in college football. Wesco and Moore have no business losing snaps to Turner and Randall.

Clemson has money, maybe not the type of money to battle Tennessee and Ohio State for David Sanders, but enough to bring in a solid backup QB and a DE. Instead he'd rather do it his way, play our best defensive player out of position and start the worst P5 QB, because he reminds Dabo of a youth pastor. 

The worst part is this team is good enough to win the ACC. It has no depth, but I expect Clemson to play Miami for the ACC Championship. If Clemson wins, they cross their fingers for a Big 10 team not named Ohio State in the second round, but probably get blown out either way and Dabo has cover to continue his bullshit. 

I think Klubnik is mediocre and would fare better at a G5 also-ran with a decent developer of QBs. Garrett Gilbert did exactly that when he left Texas and it helped him eventually earn an NFL paycheck.

If you think Klubnik is the worst P4 QB this year, you'll be relieved to know that that assessment is way off. He's for sure better than the following: McNamara (Iowa), Weigman (ATM), DJU (FSU), KJ Jefferson (UCF - this overrated bum has gotten worse every season of his career and continues to be touted), Daniels (Stan), and probably whoever is at Cal, Pitt and Indiana, at a minimum. Gun to my head, I probably take him over his Lake Travis enemy, Hudson Card, as well.

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Leonard looked like ass for ND too.   They only started moving the ball and scoring when he stopped throwing.  He's really lucky Weigman is so terrible or him sucking would be the story of that game.

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55 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I think Klubnik is mediocre and would fare better at a G5 also-ran with a decent developer of QBs. Garrett Gilbert did exactly that when he left Texas and it helped him eventually earn an NFL paycheck.

If you think Klubnik is the worst P4 QB this year, you'll be relieved to know that that assessment is way off. He's for sure better than the following: McNamara (Iowa), Weigman (ATM), DJU (FSU), KJ Jefferson (UCF - this overrated bum has gotten worse every season of his career and continues to be touted), Daniels (Stan), and probably whoever is at Cal, Pitt and Indiana, at a minimum. Gun to my head, I probably take him over his Lake Travis enemy, Hudson Card, as well.

Will Howard may not be trash, but he’s definitely not elite. I hope it costs Ohio St this season

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1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

I think Klubnik is mediocre and would fare better at a G5 also-ran with a decent developer of QBs. Garrett Gilbert did exactly that when he left Texas and it helped him eventually earn an NFL paycheck.

If you think Klubnik is the worst P4 QB this year, you'll be relieved to know that that assessment is way off. He's for sure better than the following: McNamara (Iowa), Weigman (ATM), DJU (FSU), KJ Jefferson (UCF - this overrated bum has gotten worse every season of his career and continues to be touted), Daniels (Stan), and probably whoever is at Cal, Pitt and Indiana, at a minimum. Gun to my head, I probably take him over his Lake Travis enemy, Hudson Card, as well.

Klubnik needs to just fire that fuckin pigskin. I'd rather him throw a pick, than dance around a clean pocket for 10 seconds before underthrowing the WR 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/3/2024 at 12:15 PM, Doc Sam Beckett said:

Klubnik needs to just fire that fuckin pigskin. I'd rather him throw a pick, than dance around a clean pocket for 10 seconds before underthrowing the WR 

I see a path to 11-1 in the train wreck that is the ACC this year. They just have better athletes than any other team on the schedule. Do you think Dabo is letting Riley call his game now? I missed the App State game but in watching the NCSU game, they were running plays that Clemson doesn’t usually run these days. 

I see these guys as the clear favorite to win the ACC top 4 seed for sure. People and the media will talk about Miami, but Clemson could roll into their championship game match-up with Miami without hardly being tested since Georgia. 

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41 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I see a path to 11-1 in the train wreck that is the ACC this year. They just have better athletes than any other team on the schedule. Do you think Dabo is letting Riley call his game now? I missed the App State game but in watching the NCSU game, they were running plays that Clemson doesn’t usually run these days. 

I see these guys as the clear favorite to win the ACC top 4 seed for sure. People and the media will talk about Miami, but Clemson could roll into their championship game match-up with Miami without hardly being tested since Georgia. 

Their toughest game left is vs Louisville, and that's a home game for them with a bye the week before, and Louisville playing seven weeks straight 

I think they need to win out in the regular season to get an at-large bid though (I think a loss in the title game would probably be fine if they only have one regular season loss)

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55 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I see a path to 11-1 in the train wreck that is the ACC this year. They just have better athletes than any other team on the schedule. Do you think Dabo is letting Riley call his game now? I missed the App State game but in watching the NCSU game, they were running plays that Clemson doesn’t usually run these days. 

I see these guys as the clear favorite to win the ACC top 4 seed for sure. People and the media will talk about Miami, but Clemson could roll into their championship game match-up with Miami without hardly being tested since Georgia. 

Agreed that they should be favorites to win the ACC. Louisville and Scar should be decent tests, but they should beat everyone until Miami. The worst thing that could happen to this team happened with Peter Woods being out against NCSU, and it didn't hurt too much. There's just no depth in some positions. 

I think yes Dabo turned over the full offense to Riley, it's the only thing that makes sense. Starting with App St, Wesco and Moore were a lot more involved and there were actually some exciting plays. The freshman WR have no business sitting behind Cole Turner and Adam Randall 

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10 minutes ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

Agreed that they should be favorites to win the ACC. Louisville and Scar should be decent tests, but they should beat everyone until Miami. The worst thing that could happen to this team happened with Peter Woods being out against NCSU, and it didn't hurt too much. There's just no depth in some positions. 

I think yes Dabo turned over the full offense to Riley, it's the only thing that makes sense. Starting with App St, Wesco and Moore were a lot more involved and there were actually some exciting plays. The freshman WR have no business sitting behind Cole Turner and Adam Randall 

Mack Brown used to wait until after OU embarrassed Texas before letting things fly with the freshmen and the playbook. Watching the game the other day, I was reminded of that. Those two idiots are living similar lives.

South Carolina will be interesting due to the defensive front at SCar. If Norris can get healthy and get experience, I guess that’s a sneaky matchup. 

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44 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

If Clemson is looking at a 4 seed, all the more reason for Texas to want the 1. That would set up really nicely, imo. 

So we can play the 5 seed, which would very likely be the UGA/Alabama winner if we are the one seed?  I really think 2 is the sweet spot going forward in this playoff format.  First round bye plus you miss 1 and 5 until the finals.  

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8 minutes ago, Not a cat said:

So we can play the 5 seed, which would very likely be the UGA/Alabama winner if we are the one seed?  I really think 2 is the sweet spot going forward in this playoff format.  First round bye plus you miss 1 and 5 until the finals.  

Yeah, who the hell knows but #5 is likely to be a very damned good team, perhaps better than 3 and 4.

I think once you get 2 — which I guess means a one-loss SEC champion Texas with unbeaten, say, Ohio State at 1 — you’re probably looking at the ACC champions at 3. 

I think #5, though, is going to be loser of the SEC championship game. Maybe not if it’s UGA and Texas has beaten them twice (theoretically) but who knows. 

Without reseeding, everyone is going to be pulling for upsets, though, I think. 

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