Comments by BrandonRink

Written on Clemson, Miami are Vegas' favorites as ACC still has much to prove:

in response to clmtgr92:

"first in school history: back-to-back-to-back double-digit win seasons."

Umm, Clemson Football went 10-2 in '87, '88, '89 and '90. So it wouldn't be the first time.

Correct, didn't think it sounded right, but my eyes skipped over those four in a row for some reason.

Written on Georgia's efficient QB, one-two tailback punch a major opening test:

in response to KIMOSAMI:

Thanks, Brandon. I understand the framework that is being employed. I just don't know what F/+ or S&P+ or 'taking out first half clock-kills' and such means.

That is a rhetorical remark on my part. Actually, I don't really care. I think it is evidence of too much time for one of their writers. And way,way too much wasted time for one of their readers. But, then, what do I know? And to each his own, anyway.

By the way, I actually think the weighted thing is kinda whacky anyway. If anyone thinks that Wofford isn't as tough as, say, Maryland or Wake or....Clemson or Carolina on a given year... and put them down as a weighted FCS team, then go look again at recent games with Clemson. Or AppState vs. Michigan a couple years ago.

Garbage time yards are gained against guys that still want to tackle you.

Anyway....thanks for the explanation.

Ha, well it's 80-some days to kickoff - what else are we going to talk about?

Getting into philosophical stuff with the garbage time idea, but I get what you're saying...

But in one case, they may want to still tackle you, but you might not have all your starters in to do the damage you normally would. How many times last year did Clemson have pretty much a whole quarter or even a half where they didn't need to play first-team? Sure, the second-team guys want to do something with their opportunity, but it's not the same level.

FCS teams provide a challenge from time-to-time, but from a statistical average standpoint (which is what those guys are looking at), I'd say it's fairly minimal. Teams can't skip FCS games totally mentally, but taking anything meaningful statistically from them doesn't make sense most of the time.

Written on Georgia's efficient QB, one-two tailback punch a major opening test:

in response to KIMOSAMI:

The stats-geared site had the Bulldogs with a top-five offense in two of their adjusted 2012 rankings, fourth in F/+ and first in offense S&P+. Essentially, they were one of the best in attacking – taking out first-half clock-kills and garbage-time yards and scores, while efficiently moving the ball and scoring against weighted naitonal averages.

......what the f-bomb does all that mean??

With the advanced stats, they cut the fat in football stats - games against FCS teams, yards racked up either when a team is up so much the opponent can't comeback or vice versa and also weigh certain averages from historical patterns in some stats. It better sizes up a team that say played a pair of FCS teams and a light schedule with a more battle-tested team.

Written on Tiger bats go quiet at crunch-time:

SOS is definitely a factor and Leggett acknowledged that above, but it's still quite a drop-off quality competition or not.

I'd argue that they weren't necessarily terrible against quality teams, but faced more of them than most (8th ranked schedule). They played 4-of-5 regular season series against top-15 RPI teams either on the road (UNC, NC State, FSU) or finished on the road (USC) and went 5-7

The bottom-line is they couldn't get the big hit in either of the last two weeks and you can't have that in postseason play.

Written on ACC announces eight-game bowl schedule for 2013:

in response to KIMOSAMI:

Is the Orange and White portion of the AIM going to be pay per view?

If so, does anyone know of a good Clemson friendly publication that is free?

I know of the Tigernet.Com....but the comment function is really cumbersome. Or maybe I'm just not swuft enuf to do it! Whatever, is there a similar site to this one around?

We're still free

Written on Monday's Maryland DH kicks off seven-game week for Tiger baseball:

in response to MyTwoSENSE:

What are the new game times?

1:30 and 7

Written on Notre Dame deal gives Clemson schedule a boost in new playoff:

Don't forget Notre Dame just went to the BCS title game and seem to be on the upswing in terms of recruiting to stay in that mix.

Outside of the ACC arrangement, the way they can arrange their schedule as an independent - they'll consistently be a 8-plus win team, while that's not always guaranteed for some of the programs you listed (see Auburn especially, 2012, that 3-9 hurt the SOS, which finished 63rd).

They're also a win in terms of exposure for Clemson and the ACC. The Irish had four of the top-15 watched games before the BCS title game last year - http://www.sbnation.com/2012/12/11/37...

Written on Tiger baseball has played its way into regional host conversation:

in response to MyTwoSENSE:

Okay, I get using the file photo, but can we please start using updated captions. AIM does this in every article. Very lazy. Besides, those are not the cheap seats. The "Cajun cafe" is anything but cheap!

Updated the caption, but the bus by the Cajun Cafe is indeed called the Cheap Seats.

Written on Dabo Swinney confident young tight end trio can get the job done for Tigers:

in response to TUN:

I believe the picture in this article is of Charone Peake and not Jordan Leggett.

Yep, changed now.

Written on NFL Draft: Ellington drops, while offseason workouts boost Goodman, Meeks:

in response to columbiabill:

What happened to Dalton Freeman? I thought he was the number 1 or 2 rated center. Last I saw, he was down to number 15 or something like that.

Only five centers were taken in the draft period - three rated above him and two rated below him. But he quickly signed a free agent contract with the New York Jets so maybe that'll work out for him.

Written on Notre Dame-Clemson 2015 matchup is officially on:

in response to rsb8931#286014:

Please try to get the players name right when you write an article. It's Jerry Butler, not Jeff Butler. And the 1977 game had drama in the week prior to the game when ND Head Coach Dan Devine contacted the ACC Commissioner and ask him if he could do something about the crowd noise down there. Those of us that were at the game remember what we did about the noise!! A great day in Death Valley that should have ended in a win, but sadly, we blew a pretty good lead in the fourth quarter and lost. I believe we had a 21 to 10 lead midway or late in the 3rd quarter and Montana lead a vicious comeback that we just couldn't stop. We had a real good team in 1977 and those same guys were back for 1978 when we went 11 and 1. Our only loss was 13 to 7 to Georgia in Athens. That was the Woody Hayes getting fired for hitting Charlie Bowman at the end of the Gator Bowl game. I'm rambling on and on about Clemson football. Please get the names right and report on stuff that was really a big deal when it happened. Can you imagine a coach crying about the crowd noise to the commissioner of the league. That seems almost a made up story, but I promise you the crazy old man did it.

Interesting stuff...the typo is fixed as well, thanks.

Written on D-line depth giving Swinney peace of mind this spring:

in response to radtiger:

We will only win a NC if the SEC goes on strike.....WHY DO WE FOOL OURSELF EVERY YEAR???? Just because Dabbo fill our heads every year pretending that we are a better team than what we really are!!!! Of course any team can look decent during practice but put them out there against the conference(SEC) that owns football and they SHUT DOWN. Its one thing to be confident but another to be STUPID.

Um, the Chick-fil-A Bowl?

Written on Maverick Morris bringing 'mud truck' toughness to Tigers' offensive line:

in response to 33dtb:

..." and along with late-deciding Tyrone Crowder makes up Clemson's 2013 offensive signee class.". ...... did I read this correctly..??. ......we signed all of TWO {2} O-Linemen ??????
Will we EVER learn ????????

Only 85 scholarships - only two seniors graduate, 16 freshman/sophomore/juniors (8 guards, 8 tackles, 2 centers).

Written on Garrett Boulware using agressive mindset to breakout start:

in response to omnipotent1:

Va is ranked 12, not 22. Shane Kennedy is a junior not a freshman. Jack better not wear him out like he did with Keiboom. We have 5 games is 6 days coming up this week. Matt Reed needs to get some work.

Good catch on Kennedy, was thinking newcomer and not freshman there. On Virginia, we use Baseball America's rankings so they were No. 22 there last week.

Written on Firth pitches a gem to close out series sweep:

in response to FlopEye:

Does anyone know of a stream that will
allow us to watch the Tiger's BB game?

They have them all for free on ClemsonTigers.com this season.

Written on Firth pitches a gem to close out series sweep:

in response to omnipotent1:

I don't know who wrote this article, but they were obviously NOT at the game. Duggar's hit was the second of the game and the relay throw was wide right of home plate causing the catcher to drop the ball after colliding with McGibbon who would have scored anyway. What the writer failed to mention was the stellar defensive play by Jay Baum and the rest of the infield. Shame on aim for missleading the public who were not there.

It was sent out by the school. For what it's worth, the official stats show Duggar's hit in the 6th as the first of the game for the Tigers.

Written on Young Tiger lineup gets another chance to impress versus Wright State:

Ha, we'll get at least one game in Saturday I think. Rain is supposed to taper off that morning as of the latest forecasts.

Written on No. 3 Hurricanes deal Tigers another heartbreaker, 45-43:

in response to michtiger:

Wrong headline. Clemson not Miami delt CU the loss. Besides the obvious out of sync play of Jennings and McDaniel lets not forget that Booker missed 4 FTs (one a front end ) in the last few min. and McD missed front of 1&1 and made only one of two Fts in last min. this should have been a lock. This is a permanent feature of this squad and this coach. Jennings blew the last NCSt game with missed FT and the last GT win was close because Hall missed 5 FT at the end. This coaching , forgive me , looks like the Bowden era in Football, just good enough to loose against good opponents and unmotivated against the weaker opponents ( loss to coastal, Purdue at home, a weak BC.) There is no margin for error and although Booker is just average there will be no one to replace him next year, Jennings going will be a relief. Hall and Filler are not progressing. Looks bad.

That's a way to look at it, but I'm not sure it's the whole picture.

Miami led the ACC in field goal % and defensive field goal % with as a big a frontline and the most talented guards in the ACC...Kadji hit the big 3 to take the lead with under a minute after they had missed 16 of their previous 18 attempts. They hit even a quarter of those attempts and it's a different game as well. And also shot 13% lower from the field - part of that is definitely Clemson's tough D, but they also missed shots. As far as free throws, Booker was the second-worst free throw shooter coming in and had 8 of the 13 attempts on the game. Not a winning formula there.

I get the frustration though. I don't think Brownell was dealt the best hand coming in by the previous staff and definitely didn't have injury luck going into this season (Coleman/Blossomgame, two talented scorers). Still think it's a bit early to put a grade on Brownell's job.

Written on Clemson, Georgia and USC land in ESPN early top-15:

There are reports it might be by the end of this week. Syracuse is one of a few teams that still has to fill a non-conference slot for next year.

Written on Last-second Wolfpack three-pointer delivers Tigers 'painful' loss:

Now have the PDF box score up.

Written on Last-second Wolfpack three-pointer delivers Tigers 'painful' loss:

in response to KIMOSAMI:

I wish this site would have box or line scores. They only give limited stats.

Suggestion: How about Box Score presented by Joe's Diner?

Embedded the Statsheet box score. Will work on something more appealing to the eye for the future.

Written on Countdown to Signing Day: Clemson has some ground to make up:

in response to TigerMarine:

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there a basketball section on this web site ? I do wish the Tigers the best on the court but that's where my give a crap about basketball stops. I can go to other web sites and get jumbled up mess but I come here where usually can find concise football coverage.

I didn't divide it up well enough. I get where you're coming from there. Was intended as a Clemson sports notebook and led with football.

Written on Countdown to Signing Day: Clemson has some ground to make up:

in response to TigerNE:

All that matters is the National Signing Day. The idea of making a 'commttment' is like a high school promise ring any more. Or its the same as a social network 'follow'. It's nothing more than a statement that you want an offer from that school. The wind blows and kids decommit.

...and Signing Day could be little more drama-filled than last year it looks for Clemson. May be a lot like 2011 when Steward and Anthony announced...I'm sure Dabo would take similar results too. Should be fun.

Written on Clemson WR DeAndre Hopkins' jump to the NFL looking like a slam dunk:

in response to antjam:

According to the stats at ESPN, Nuk had 1405 yards and 18 TDs for the year. Curious to know which stats are correct.

Just a typo, 1,405 is correct.

Written on Clemson made expected defensive improvements, with unexpected stars:

in response to TigerNE:

This just reinforces (for one thing but not the only) the need for better talent AND execution within the secondary, yes?

It was definitely the weakpoint of the Clemson D this season. It was also a spot where injuries hurt depth.

Will be a spot to watch with a new coach, some players working back from injury and some early-enrollee/prep school players coming in next season.

Written on Clemson passing game had remarkable balance:

Interesting numbers, I see what you're getting at now.

Bama/Stanford were certainly making the most of their plays in the pro-style setup.

Oregon would be more of the model to look at in Clemson's case - using that calc, they'd be at .58 pts/play and 610 pts/6,986 yards (.087) to Clemson's 533 points/6,665 yards (.080).

Written on Clemson passing game had remarkable balance:

in response to TigerNE:

I still say Morris needs to work on scoring efficiency. All those yards are meaningless, and especially the imbalance of yards gained, if you had lost by 2 instead of winning by 1. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about the win and give all the credit in the world to the team on BOTH sides of the ball. But, since most of that offensive talent will likely be back next season with new additions, working on scoring efficiency is a good area for improvement.

I guess I'd have to ask - scoring efficiency related to what standard?

Clemson was one of only six teams in the regular season to reach the red zone 50 times and score touchdowns 75 percent or better (overall scoring 94 percent, 2nd best nationally).

Written on Sammy Watkins, Andre Ellington's impact crucial to beating LSU:

in response to 33dtb:

Why can't ANYBODY give Nuk any respect ???????

Look at the numbers this year.!

Outstanding numbers - no knock on Hopkins here. Watkins is just well below the standard he set as a frosh. And Nuk has better numbers this season than those All-American stats. He's been a steady rock as opposed to Watkins' up-and-down season.

Written on Dabo Swinney pushing Clemson through physical practices :

in response to sennmanthetigerfan:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Among players on scholarship: Xavier Brewer, Garry Peters and Cortez Davis. Travis Blanks has played nickel, but is supposed to be working more safety, where he will be next year with Rashard Hall and Jonathan Meeks gone.

Written on Early gift package: Tigers elated to move into new Indoor Practice Facility:

in response to columbiabill:

How about a photo tour on O&W

They haven't let the media in yet at the indoor facility, but I'd imagine Clemson will let us in before they break for Christmas.

Written on Dabo Swinney has a plan for potential staff movement:

Alright guys - discuss the stories and comment civilly with each other about them, but leave out the name-calling, threats and remarks about intelligence. We're not going to have flame-war between commenters. This site is about talking Clemson sports and let's stick to that.

Written on Swinney says he doesn't need to see film to know what Tigers face in LSU:

in response to TigerNE:

Just curious, do they practice on a neutral field somewhere?

Media guide we have says they have two practices in the Georgia Dome and one at Georgia Tech. (LSU has two at the GA dome and one at Georgia State).

Written on Swinney says he doesn't need to see film to know what Tigers face in LSU:

Re: When Clemson goes to Atlanta...

Team reports on December 26. First practice in the ATL is Dec. 27

Written on Clemson will face off with LSU in Chick-fil-A Bowl:

in response to Bigboots:

This morning, O & W says Vandy could be the opponent.
Nice call.
Missed it by inches.

From the story referenced: "Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated and ESPN are projecting Clemson to go against Vanderbilt in the Chick-fil-A Bowl"

In one afternoon, ESPN went from projecting Vandy to Texas A&M to LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Weird weekend of bowl projections.

Written on Curious playcalling, pressure on Tajh Boyd combine for sour finish:

in response to michtiger:

How can you even mention national improvement when the ACC was so bad this year, along with Ball state and Furman. Fact is we had two challenges in FSU and SC and we folded. This will continue until we get out of the ACC. Can not expect to improve unless you play good opponents. Only Ball state and NCst had winning records this year, last year 9 had winning records. Can not claim improvement.

Overall, the schedule was tougher last season, 23 spots higher in Sagarin's SOS rankings year-to-year, but they only faced one less top-50 defense (5) than last season (6) http://footballoutsiders.com/stats/fe...
http://footballoutsiders.com/stats/fe... .

Jumping nine points per game on average is certainly improvement, but I understand the frustration with losing the two big games. It's tough to say Clemson folded at FSU though - poor kick coverage opened the door for the Seminoles' momentum, and FSU's offense and defense executed a pretty high level in the second half. Morris called one of his best games against that 'Noles defense, but their deep d-line wore down Clemson's o-line eventually.

Written on Tigers in the driver's seat for BCS sugar; but what was the ACC thinking?:

in response to TCB1977:

Let's all for one moment remember something, didn't FSU lose to NSC. OK, now if we beat NSC this weekend, we win the Atlantic Division. Hey, USC beat Georgia, Florida beat USC, and Georgia who lost to USC--beat Florida,UGA is now the SEC East Champs. SO! We beat NSC--who beat FSU, we win the Division. I can't see FSU going over us, especially if we beat the team that beat them.

If Clemson wins this weekend, they would be co-Atlantic champs with FSU if the 'Noles beat Maryland (which they will), but with FSU owning head-to-head in the series for the ACC title berth - Clemson's shot is the Sugar, which looks a lot more likely without an SEC team in the top-two.

Written on Tigers need some help for BCS bowl chances:

in response to TigerNE:

What changes if:
- Florida beats FSU in the rival game, and
- Clemson beats SC in the rival game?
Even if Miami wins the Coastal, FSU will likely be the ACC champ, but with a worse record than Clemson. Doesn't that give Clemson a shot at the top bowl slot for an ACC team?

ACC champ has the auto-bid regardless, and would likely be selected in that scenario anyway since they beat Clemson and FSU hasn't been to the Orange Bowl since the 2005 season, so they'd be attractive to the committee.

Florida beating FSU would put them in strong contention with Georgia and LSU for the Sugar, depending on the mess surrounding Notre Dame's selection.

Florida would also be a better candidate for the Fiesta if the Sugar weren't to select them first, which could turn around and create the Clemson-Notre Dame matchup in New Orleans if things break right.

Written on Breaking down Clemson-Furman:

in response to Bleedsorange:

Furman 14 you mean

It would be something if Samford scored 14 Saturday. (Fixed now)

Written on With Sammy Watkins back, Tigers' offense an embarrassment of riches:

in response to AFTiger87:

I think you meant senior WR Jaron Brown and TE Brandon Ford

Thanks, fixed.

Written on Clemson excelling in key stats to winning college football:

in response to MatthewBlackstone:

I appreciate the look at stats, as that goes into how I look at potential, and understanding success and failure. I get...perturbed...with talk of "swagger" and other imaginary subjects.

That said, a couple of points:

1. There is a problem with covariance in the stats he uses. He should either use YP Pass and YP Rush (incidentally YP Pass Attempt provides the best correlation) or just YP Play. Also, I think there's something wrong with the numbers. YP Play can't be higher than YP Pass and YP Rush both.

2. Rushes and total rushing yards generally have causation issues. While I certainly concede that in this game, and with GT, rushing yards caused the win, it's also a sign of squatting on a lead. Teams already in the lead rush more.

As an alternative, I'd borrow from the much maligned Kevin Steele and check out % of drives ending in 3 or 6 and out.

Football Outsiders with F+ and FEI have done some good work. Always an opportunity for innovation though.

You're correct - I had typos on the YP play/YP pass. They're corrected now, thanks!

I've used Football Outsiders stuff before - always good stuff. And I'll check out the 3/6 & out stat as well.

Written on Can Andre Ellington keep carrying heavy backfield load?:

in response to michtiger:

Timely article. When you look at this team you have two major worries, QB and TB. Behind Boyd and ellington are big gaps. What is status of the big freshman running back we got and is Kelly being redshirted?

The plan with Chad Kelly is redshirt unless something happens to Boyd. Kelly is traveling with the team on road trips to get a feel for all that this season.

With Zac Brooks, he battled some injuries in camp, but the coaches have said he will play at some point. Rod McDowell playing well, and D.J. Howard also in the mix has kept him off the field so far. As with any freshman, learning pass protection is key.

Written on Commitment to defense: area is ripe with Division 1 prospects:

in response to antjam:

What does this mean?

"Two years ago, Williams passed the torch to another future Tiger in Shaq Lawson, who had two of the best passing rushing seasons the last two years the area has ever seen."

Typo, meant "pass rushing" I believe. Fixed now.

Written on 2012 Season Preview: South Carolina depth chart breakdown, history and trends:

in response to lhaselden:

"On defense, Corico Wright has 18 tackles (2.5 for loss) over the last two seasons. "
Could that have been Corico Hawkins?

He actually changed his last name over the offseason. He is officially Corico Wright on the Clemson roster now.

Written on Dabo Swinney excited about Clemson's future:

in response to savagetiger:

Anybody know if were going to recuit any of the Penn State de-commits or anyone on there current roster?

Swinney talked about that here: http://www.orangeandwhite.com/videos/...

Written on Jon McGibbon's walk-off blasts Clemson past No.1 Florida State:

in response to michtiger:

What is 3 way tie breaker?

Highest winning percentage, which with FSU out of the mix, would give the nod to Virginia. Clemson can only advance on a two-way tie with GT, needing Virginia to lose to FSU.

Written on /football/schedule/2012/ - Clemson Tigers Football Schedule:

in response to clempsonmark:

What about Syracuse and Pitt??

We still don't know when they'll be in the ACC, though it's likely to be 2013 or 2014.

When they do join, there'll be one less out of conference game from the list above.

Written on Clemson DC candidate breakdown: OU's Brent Venables, Randy Shannon:

in response to porkchop:

Which would be a better recruiting source?
Shannon or Venables?

Both have a solid reputation on the recruiting trail - just in different regions. A perceived advantage with Shannon is even more of a foot in the door in South Florida.

But in my opinion, this isn't a recruiting hire - you need to go scheme/coaching ahead of recruiting prowess.

Written on History says Tigers bounce back Saturday:

in response to JediKermit:

Please do not post my 1st comment, I just finished reading the entire article. My apologies

Yeah I could've worded the first sentence a little better...can see where you read that into it. No worries.

Written on Clemson fans pack the house for Tigers' tenacious 'D':

Terri, yep - his son.

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