Yup. Buckgrad04 said:

Whether you agree or disagreement with the statement, are these ever good for a locker room?

He's implying that someone this outspoken is not a good addition to OSU's football team. He did not say the Smith shouldn't be able to speak about what he believes, he simply asked if he would be a good addition for OSU. 

Did you read what Buckgrad04 or I wrote?

I don't necessarily agree with Buckgrad04, but he is in no way saying the kid shouldn't be allowed to speak his mind. He's saying that he thinks OSU should let him speak his mind elsewhere. None of that is arguing against his right for free speech.

Man, PSU is so stupid. 

What's funny is that line could apply to one of hundreds of topics, but especially fits here. 

Not saying it was the reason he retired, but I don't think Herman is just any "hot new up-and-comer". He just beat Stoops last year and is already recruiting well ahead of him. I'm sure when considering the difference between retiring now and retiring in a few years, Herman at least entered his thoughts.

Wonder how much a certain new coach at Texas influenced this

LOL. You're right, the Lakers (with Magic, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, etc.), the Blazers (with Drexler, Ainge, Porter, Kersey, etc.), the Suns (with Barkely, Ainge, Kevin Johnson, Majerlie, etc.), the Sonics (With Gary Peyton, in-his-prime Shawn Kemp, Perkins, Schrempf, Hawkins, etc.), and Jazz (Malone, Stockton, Hornacek, who, by the way, had just swept the Lakers with Kobe, Eddie Jones, Shaq, Van Exel, Derek Fisher, and Robert Horry) were joke teams. Not to mention the Pistons, Knicks, Heat, Magic, and Pacers teams that they had to go through to get to the Finals. Did you watch the NBA in the 90's much?

I agree with you, but we're talking about a hypothetical. Because if they Bulls were playing today, they would likely have a different make-up to match as well. Even then, the Bulls were ahead of the curve on threes and had one of the highest three point rates in the league. Steve Kerr, Pippen, and Toni Kukoc were all plus three point shooters for their positions. And defensively, drive and kick really only works if you have players who can successfully drive forcing teams to play help defense. Are Kyrie and Lebron going to be as effective at this against Pippen, Jordan, and Harper as they are against say Curry, Thompson, and Durant? Naw. Neither are going to be as effective in driving and even when they do get in the lane, the Bulls defensive rotation was better than anything I see in today's NBA. The size and athleticism of the Bulls' guards and forwards (no one under 6' 6") made drive and kick a tough strategy. They could close and recover better than anyone in the league. And all that size and length made passing lanes tight and led to a lot of steals and fast breaks.

In reality, even those who didn't like him acknowledge Jordan's greatness. But people consistently forget just how good Pippen was at EVERYTHING. Jordan essentially cloned himself when practicing with a young Scottie Pippen. Pippen truly was the greatest wing defender I've ever seen, no doubt bolstered by guarding Jordan in practice his entire career. Pippen was also a freak athlete, even by today's standards. He was a legit 6'7" with a 7 foot plus wingspan, was as quick as 6 foot guards, and could jump as well as anyone in the league. He could play in the post and shoot the jumper. He also was a fantastic facilitator. In college, his coaches often had him bring the ball up and then run the offense and the Bulls' coaches continued this. Ron Harper was technically the point guard, but Pippen ran the offense more than Harper did. He could handle and pass the ball as well as many smaller guards and was as unselfish as they come. He did not go out and try to score 25 every night, instead being content to finish with 20, 8, and 8, all while playing world-class defense. The Cavs, or any team in the league for that matter, would have no answer for him.

Combine that with Jordan's other-worldly scoring abilities/first-team all NBA defense (and borderline psychopathic need to dominate) and Rodman's hall of fame level rebounding and defense and you get a sense as to why they won titles like they did. None of this takes into account Phil Jackson's underrated coaching ability, the bench's perfect understanding of their roles and ability to play good team defense when the starters were resting, or the Bull's unmatched mental toughness and preparation. No superstar in the league practiced and worked like Jordan and he dragged the other players along with him. If you didn't practice hard, you were likely getting a cheap shot from Jordan. Yeah, the guy was a jerk, but that's sort of a byproduct of having a serial killer-like obsession with not losing.

People done forgot how good Jordan and that Bulls team was.

The question comes down to defense. The Bulls were one of the best defensive teams of all time, with three of the best individual defensive players of all time in Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman. Lebron would be guarded by Pippen and while he may still get 25-30, it'd be the hardest 25 he's ever going to get. Kyrie is guarded by the bigger Ron Harper, who was no slouch on D, and has to work for his points, especially as Jordan and Rodman would likely float to help prevent penetration by Kyrie and Lebron. Jordan would guard Smith, who isn't going off in that scenario. Rodman would give Kevin Love all he could handle when the Cavs are on O and pull in double digit rebounds without breaking a sweat. 

When the Cavs are on D, who's guarding Jordan? Smith? Please. If they want to make it as tough on Jordan as possible, they're putting Lebron on him. But that leads to a Cavs loss in 5 in my mind, because Lebron would have to devote so much energy to slow Jordan that the massive offense they'd need from him would be curtailed big time. And even then, no defender in league history is stopping Jordan from getting 30 in the playoffs. Who's guarding Pippen? If Lebron is on Jordan, it's Smith, Shumpert, or Corver, which LOL. Kyrie isn't helping here as Jordan, Pippen, and Harper all big and athletic. If Kyrie is on Pippen or Jordan, they're taking him in the post and getting an easy two points all night. 

In regards to the rules argument, if it's today's rules, the Bulls win. With today's ticky-tack foul calls, Jordan is fouling out whoever guards him and is scoring 50. If it's 90's rules, the Bulls win. The Bulls would body up Lebron, Kyrie, and Love like they've never experienced and I'll take the Bulls mental toughness any day over the Cavs in that situation. Is Kyrie going to out-physical Jordan and Pippen? Is Love going to push Rodman around? Lebron physically could handle it, but I don't think he could mentally.

I don't think he had a terrible year. But he didn't have a great year either. Just because someone starts for OSU in the secondary doesn't mean that they'll be great or drafted. Tyvis Powell wasn't "bad" either, has better measurables than Webb and he wasn't drafted.

As for the narrative on Webb, it's that he was the weak link of the secondary. Which he was compared to the other starters. Teams targeted him before the others.

Damon Webb — a future draft pick

I have my doubts. If he plays just like he did last year, he will not be drafted. 

Of course the Browns took Peppers. The only team that would take him in the first. I don't know whether to be upset since I'm a Browns fan or amused because his career will flame out now. 

including Taylor Decker who struggled in their initial year as a starter only to come on big time the following year.

Taylor Decker struggled in his first game against one of the best defensive players of the last 5 years. He did not struggle his entire first year. This narrative is tired and we should let it go. Prince is nowhere near Decker's level of play, and while he may eventually get there, his route will be very different than Decker's if he does.

"Not everybody's the perfect person in the world. I mean everyone kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me, whatever."

For your consideration.

Love this series. Thanks 11W and thank you, Emma, for repping the university so well and good luck!

It's interesting how you reference Ward's struggles when Coombs and Meyer say that he was interchangeable with Conley and Lattimore last year and that they saw no drop off between the starters and Ward. Agree on Arnette struggling and that's why he saw significantly less time. But Webb was moved away from coverage responsibilities because he can't cover. Not because someone else couldn't. Arnette and Webb were both torched against Northwestern. Arnette was not in every down and Ward was usually on the outside. SOMEONE was getting torched by Carr and it wasn't Conley, Lattimore, or Hooker.

And what do you think Ohio State has their safeties do in practice? It's all well and good for you, Mr. Former DB, to say that he isn't practicing coverage much now as a safety, but again, what the coaches say doesn't bare that out. Since they want all four DB's to be interchangeable, the safeties are practicing coverage plenty. And they are teaching the safeties the same cover techniques as they are the corners. They would not preach different methods to one group than they did the other. The only thing he isn't doing is press and the lack of press is not why he struggles at times.

The main reason Webb is not Pitt Brown 2.0 is that he has better physical tools and way more upside.

This, frankly, is laughable. Pitt Brown was a high 4 star or 5 star coming out of high school. He's 6'1", 200 lbs and a more natural athlete than Webb. He has physical tools Webb could only dream of. Athleticism and size were never his problems, he just never developed the diagnosis or coverage skills needed to be an above average starter. Brown had more upside from an athletic standpoint than Webb ever will.

I'll believe McLaurin and the passing game are doing really well when I see it. He complemented a number of the wide receivers last spring and look how that turned out. 

Also, those comments about missing on O-linemen reads as a critique of Warriner. He was the OL coach who recruited a lot of the OL who have underperformed so far. 

Ranking does not indicate speed. ESPN had his forty time listed as 4.67. The "position change" is not the cause of Webb's struggles in coverage. OSU coaches constantly say that their DB's should be interchangeable and cover like corners at all four spots. His ability to stick with a WR has not somehow been corrupted because he lines up inside now.

His rating as a corner in HS was more a byproduct (in my opinion) of being more physical and having better technique than the average high school corner and playing on a good team. At OSU, though, college WRs can beat him off of the line when he plays physically and his technique has not advanced enough to make up for his lack of athleticism. He's small, slow, and not incredibly explosive. But, his instincts are decent and he doesn't flat out beat himself often. He got the starting spot last year because Smith was recovering from injury and the other options were very young and inexperienced. He was dependable enough against the run, but proved to be a liability against his match-ups in the slot, hence he and Hooker mostly switching responsibilities midway through the season. Webb was by far the weakest link in the D-passing game last year and the OSU secondary has plenty of young talent that will be sitting on the bench in the secondary. And it doesn't look like the coaches will truly entertain competition for Webb's spot. Is that not similar to Pitt Brown?

In that clip of Barrett throwing deep, the WR had to slow up to catch the pass.

Ignite debate in 3, 2, 1...

If he was a lockdown CB, that's where he'd be playing. They moved him because he was not going to be a starting corner at OSU. He doesn't have the length that they want or the speed to make up for his size.

Pre-injury, Smith was good in coverage. He had good ball skills, too. Injury may have an effect on that.

Webb, however, has no business covering anyone. He is too slow and lacks the agility to stay with most slot men and too small to cover receiving tight ends. He is decent against the run, but so far I see him as Pitt Brown 2.0.

Really, it couldn't happen to a nicer fanbase.

It's getting hard not to view this kid as the long-term go to for the US. Even the best US players have not made the game look as natural as he does.

This was my exact thought. The term "liquidation type endowment fund" is something you expect a mob lawyer to use when explaining how his client was able to afford a Lamborghini while working as a "union delegate". 

Injuries take their toll. Wilson has fought foot injuries for years.