Fresh off a 38–14 win over Penn State, Downs 2 Business opened this week with Caleb Downs and his brother, Indianapolis Colts receiver Josh Downs, breaking down the Buckeyes’ performance before welcoming Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to the show.
The Flag Storm
Of course the brothers hit on Caleb's fourth quarter targeting call against Penn State, which was later reversed [02:47].
“Right when I hit him, I turned around and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, no, they're going to get me,’ and then I was literally surrounded by flags,” he said. “I just started walking to the sideline thinking I'm out for the game.”
“I was literally surrounded by flags.”
“Out There Playing Ball”
Another week, another round of praise from the brothers for Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin [05:02].
“He's been cool, calm, and collected, being himself,” Caleb said of QB1. “He's just being himself. That what got you here and that's what you have to keep doing. Twenty of twenty-three? That's kind of unheard of. He was just out there playing ball.”
You Can't Lose Four
Asked what he'd do if he had to face one of Sayin's top weapons, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Caleb mentioned a practice mantra.
“We say it during practice,” he said. “‘You can't lose the four.’ Gotta do whatever it takes to stop him but that's going to cause its own trouble because you have Carnell on the other side of the field.”
Speaking of Smith, the Downs brothers spent time marveling at his one-handed touchdown late in the game that not only put six points on the board, but prevented an interception [15:50].
“Literally that's supposed to be a 100/100 pick,” Caleb said. “If you look at how many times a player tips the ball and it's up in the air like that, that's like 90% interception.”
“At this point, when we see stuff like that, it's just like who he is. It's what he does.”
Eleven Warriors Fan Question of the Week
The Eleven Warriors Fan Question of the Week comes from CreekBuck, who asked about the players' pre-game routine [20:40].
“Usually, I wake up, and if I can, take a cold shower,” Caleb said. “Then I try to read [the Bible] in the morning. I do that every day so game day can't be any different. From there, we've got team meal and then I'll probably watch a couple of videos, whether that's boxing, UFC, watching older safeties play, just to get into a competitive mood. For the most part, I don't really listen to much other than gospel and then I'll listen to a sermon every game day. I watch a movie the night before — Enemy of the State was the movie this past week. From there, I kind of just stay calm and then ramp up for the game.”
DC Matt Patricia Joins the Show
Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia then joined the show where he discussed his engineering background, praised his group's communication, player comps and shared what makes him more nerd than football coach [22:10].
“I was an aeronautical engineer. I wanted to be a fighter pilot,” Patricia said. “I thought I was going to be Maverick from Top Gun. I was lucky enough to play college football [at RPI] and stayed a fifth year and coached.”
Patricia shared the story of how he later left the engineering field for a coaching job that paid $5,000 per year.
“Yeah just kind of started at the bottom and worked my way up,” Patricia shared. “I actually got really lucky. At the time I entered coaching, computers and technology, and really data had just kind of come online and that was my world. I knew how to do those programs and I knew how to design things to help us do analytics. I didn't know a lot about coaching, but I knew a lot about computers.”
Ohio State's defensive coordinator then shared player comps for some of the Buckeyes [30:51] – Caleb Downs (Troy Polamalu) for being so smart and versatile, Arvell Reese (Jamie Collins) for being a freak athlete, Julian Sayin (young Drew Brees) for his efficiency and leadership, Jeremiah Smith (A.J. Brown) noting his physical size, strength, speed, and ability to make “ridiculous catches,” and Carnell Tate (DeVonta Smith) for his smooth playing style and catch radius.
Patricia went on to dismiss the “NFL Defense” label for Ohio State, insisting they're running the “Buckeye Defense,” shared the story behind his beloved No. 2 pencil and why you don't want to keep one in your pocket and praised Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, saying the culture he's build “is really amazing.”
You can catch the full episode of Downs 2 Business on YouTube.
