Thoughts on the OL and some hope

#1

tennesseefan31

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#1
No way to sugar coat it. The OL got dominated early and often. Worley was on his back all night.

And yet, we were 2 end zone interceptions from trailing 27-24 with 12 minutes to play.

The defense gave up just 7 points in the second half. I think they are for real. I think we'll be able to slow down Gurley and co. next week. If we make Mason beat us by stacking the box, I think we can hold them to under 28 points.

Back to that offensive line. Yes they got abused. But there was growth. In the second half the run blocking was pretty good as they grew up a little bit. They have 2 weeks to grow up some more in the pass protection department. But even with as badly as they played, we still could've been in this football game late if not for a couple of bad bounces. If they show some growth? Look out. That UGA defense got exposed a little bit tonight and I don't think we'll struggle to score a whole lot. I think we clean it up a little bit and we go into Athens and its a whale of a ballgame.

Go Vols!
 
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#2
#2
Yup - agree with everything here buddy.

You know what this post made me realize- nobody is talking about our defensive line play - which has been fantastic this year - even against Oklahoma.

At least for me, that was a major position concern at the beginning of the season.
 
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#3
#3
It won't be easy betix the hedges in 2 weeks. Lots learned from last night, but that Bulldog team will be pissed after losing in Columbia.
 
#4
#4
We were forced to change things up after the Utah State game because Gilliam was injured. The last two weeks we have just been changing things up trying to find something that worked. Obviously we haven't found it yet. All that being said, I think we should go with the same OL against Georgia. I think we should stop changing it up, and give then time to develop and build some chemistry.
 
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#5
#5
Oline:

First Half- I posted this last night - No more useful than 5 blocking dummies.

Second Half - A little better than the first.

As far as the rest of the season goes - We'll see.

And I agree. The defense is looking much better now. Can't wait to add KMac and King Tut to this group along with Picou and the others.
 
#6
#6
We were forced to change things up after the Utah State game because Gilliam was injured. The last two weeks we have just been changing things up trying to find something that worked. Obviously we haven't found it yet. All that being said, I think we should go with the same OL against Georgia. I think we should stop changing it up, and give then time to develop and build some chemistry.

CBJ said that is what they will do.
 
#8
#8
It won't be easy betix the hedges in 2 weeks. Lots learned from last night, but that Bulldog team will be pissed after losing in Columbia.

Fortunately they have another game to play first. Hopefully Troy will get the brunt of their frustration while we are resting up and game planning through the bye week.
 
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#9
#9
I'm not crying yet cuz of that fact that despite AWFUL OL play this team held their own and wasnt completely out of it til that pick. They shouldn't have been in that position. OU should have ran them out of the building.

So yes I'm extremely optimistic about GA game.
 
#10
#10
If this is our line so be it... They should stick with the line and develop this group they put on he field last night and run with it unless an injury happens
 
#11
#11
Don't forget that they were trying to block one of the best D lines in the country, too. Not gonna see another one as talented the rest of the season. We knew there would be growing pains with this team so calm down and let the season play out. Just be glad the defense is ahead of the curve or last night would have been Oregon-Ugly!

GO VOLS!!!!
 
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#12
#12
Heres the one positive for me from last night's game. We got better as the game went on against their first team D. The running game actually started to get going pretty good. That's something to build on, because we won't see a better D this year, not even Bama. We might see one just as good, but doubtful we see one any better.
 
#13
#13
I know Butch said "we have our 5" up front, but does anyone think that sticks for two weeks in practice? I could see some more modifications coming down the pike for our OLine.

Possibly:

LT-Kerbyson or Blair (if he gets his mind right) or Kendrick
LG-Jackson (I think Jackson is the only solid stick.)
C-Crowder or Weisman (I thought Crowder played much better last night than any other game this season. That could have been for other reasons besides personal improvement though.)
RG-Robertson or Weisman (Robertson is doing his best, but perhaps some more experience at this position would help out.)
RT-Thomas or Weisman or Blair or Kendrick (Yeah, this one probably ain't over. I'd love for Thomas to be a four year starter, but if any of those guys could push him, that'd be great. I also feel Wolf being back will help sure up the right side.)

Also, I would not mind seeing ALOT more of the double tight end sets that we heard so much about in the spring. Could it possibly help with blocking and creating holes in the run game? Sure. Could it get more of our weapons on the field? Absolutely. Would it put more bodies in the trenches to soak up some pressure from the array of blitzing linemen and backers we will without a doubt see for the rest of the season? Definitely.

I am sure adding another body to the line would complicate our zone blocking scheme which could be more trouble than it is worth, but our boys need some help until they gain some more reps. Heck, put another one of our quicker tackles in a tight end jersey and put Wolf in the slot.

I just think there are other ways to scheme this offense to give them more help up front without hurting its production. Just my two cents. I am proud of our boys, regardless.
 
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#14
#14
No way to sugar coat it. The OL got dominated early and often. Worley was on his back all night.

And yet, we were 2 end zone interceptions from trailing 27-24 with 12 minutes to play.

The defense gave up just 7 points in the second half. I think they are for real. I think we'll be able to slow down Gurley and co. next week. If we make Mason beat us by stacking the box, I think we can hold them to under 28 points.

Back to that offensive line. Yes they got abused. But there was growth. In the second half the run blocking was pretty good as they grew up a little bit. They have 2 weeks to grow up some more in the pass protection department. But even with as badly as they played, we still could've been in this football game late if not for a couple of bad bounces. If they show some growth? Look out. That UGA defense got exposed a little bit tonight and I don't think we'll struggle to score a whole lot. I think we clean it up a little bit and we go into Athens and its a whale of a ballgame.

Go Vols!

The reason why S. Carolina won the game was because of Steve Spurrier superior playcalling and unless Bajakian calls an outstanding game like Spurrier, then we have only a slight chance of winning......please NO JET SWEEPS......hahhahaha
 
#15
#15
The reason why S. Carolina won the game was because of Steve Spurrier superior playcalling and unless Bajakian calls an outstanding game like Spurrier, then we have only a slight chance of winning......please NO JET SWEEPS......hahhahaha

I seem to recall Butch and his boys out-calling the OBC pretty soundly last season
 
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#17
#17
Here's a question. Do you believe OU is the toughest team this year we will play?

Also is Georgia a better team than OU?

I believe we will lose to UGA by 14 or less. If it was in KTown I would think it would be a 7 point game. Idk
 
#18
#18
Heres the one positive for me from last night's game. We got better as the game went on against their first team D. The running game actually started to get going pretty good. That's something to build on, because we won't see a better D this year, not even Bama. We might see one just as good, but doubtful we see one any better.

Yup, and late in the game, I remember one series where Worley got the pass off really fast, 3 plays in a row, and I was like, day-um, now we're talkin!
 
#19
#19
JohnMCA60, I saw what we did with GA last year and we have a better team this year, while they do not have Murray. I don't think we will lose to them at all. And, yes, we have beaten them between the bushes and it wasn't all that long ago.
 
#20
#20
JohnMCA60, I saw what we did with GA last year and we have a better team this year, while they do not have Murray. I don't think we will lose to them at all. And, yes, we have beaten them between the bushes and it wasn't all that long ago.
Yep agreed. We will stack the box and force them to pass. I'm not that terrified of their group of RBs.
 
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#21
#21
We were forced to change things up after the Utah State game because Gilliam was injured. The last two weeks we have just been changing things up trying to find something that worked. Obviously we haven't found it yet. All that being said, I think we should go with the same OL against Georgia. I think we should stop changing it up, and give then time to develop and build some chemistry.

We have 2 weeks. Personally, I thought Kendrick might play again last night. They decided to try Thomas. They know more than I do and I don't pretend to know the best option for filling Gilliam's spot. I just know that Kendrick had more experience from playing a little last season. What do I know though? No more than anybody else and not as much as many.
 
#22
#22
Here's a question. Do you believe OU is the toughest team this year we will play?

Also is Georgia a better team than OU?

I believe we will lose to UGA by 14 or less. If it was in KTown I would think it would be a 7 point game. Idk

There is no way to answer that question this early. It could be that Okla has the best defense we see, but then again possibly not.

UGA might have a better offense right now, but then again OU might improve their offense as Knight gets progressively more confident and be better at season's end. There's no authoritative answer without playing it out and finally seeing the results in hindsight. There are so many important games to play. We've really just gotten started. Lots of unknowns for everybody.
 
#23
#23
Yep agreed. We will stack the box and force them to pass. I'm not that terrified of their group of RBs.

Gurley looked awful against South Carolina's defense. They stuffed him quite frequently. It's the same SCAR defense that very nearly got beat by East Carolina.

IMO TIFWIW BBQ TTYL
 
#24
#24
The reason why S. Carolina won the game was because of Steve Spurrier superior playcalling and unless Bajakian calls an outstanding game like Spurrier, then we have only a slight chance of winning......please NO JET SWEEPS......hahhahaha

u folks r obsessed with the jet sweep talk
 

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