The great importance of quality D-Linemen

#1
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norrislakevol

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#1
Chew on this: QB, Center, Kickers, and then Defensive line. That would be the top positions that have the greatest potential to impact a game either negatively or positively. IMO the Vols will feature the best defensive line that they have had since the 2001 season when Henderson and Haynesworth were wreaking havoc on SEC offenses. The defensive line has the first chance to disrupt the QB or ball carrier, which can result in lost yardage, turnovers, and stalled drives by the opposition. Obviously this is huge because it gives your offense more opportunities to score points, and if you can pressure the QB you can cause the occasional pick-6. So how does our 2015 line stack up with our opponents?

Oklahoma: They are replacing guys on their O-Line, but they are plugging in people that have been in the system for a while for the most part. Who will be their starting QB?

Florida: Our D-Line will devour their inexperienced O-Line. They look to have QB issues too. Plus they have no real play makers besides Robinson. It will be a long day for their signal caller.

Georgia: They will have a solid line it looks like. We will have to rotate guys to keep them fresh so that the Dawgs don't start gashing us for big yardage late in the game. Am wondering how their QB situation shakes out.

Arkansas: Same as Georgia pretty much (as far as I can tell). Not very scared of their QB though.

Alabama: Their line will be good and their running game solid. May be the best offense we face all year if they can get good QB play. Will have to blitz alot.

Mizzou: All their WR's are gone so So long as we can hold up against the run...which we should... it could be a long day for the spotty Mauk.

Kentucky: We will ride them down like grass.

Vandy: We will ride them down like grass.


Thoughts?
 
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#4
#4
Good analysis, man, I think you're spot on. Having a beast DLine is going to do wonders for us from here on out. :good!:
 
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#5
#5
norrislakevol said:
Chew on this: QB, Center, Kickers, and then Defensive line. That would be the top positions that have the greatest potential to impact a game either negatively or positively. IMO the Vols will feature the best defensive line that they have had since the 2001 season when Henderson and Haynesworth were wreaking havoc on SEC offenses. The defensive line has the first chance to disrupt the QB or ball carrier, which can result in lost yardage, turnovers, and stalled drives by the opposition. Obviously this is huge because it gives your offense more opportunities to score points, and if you can pressure the QB you can cause the occasional pick-6. So how does our 2015 line stack up with our opponents?

Oklahoma: They are replacing guys on their O-Line, but they are plugging in people that have been in the system for a while for the most part. Who will be their starting QB?

Florida: Our D-Line will devour their inexperienced O-Line. They look to have QB issues too. Plus they have no real play makers besides Robinson. It will be a long day for their signal caller.

Georgia: They will have a solid line it looks like. We will have to rotate guys to keep them fresh so that the Dawgs don't start gashing us for big yardage late in the game. Am wondering how their QB situation shakes out.

Arkansas: Same as Georgia pretty much (as far as I can tell). Not very scared of their QB though.

Alabama: Their line will be good and their running game solid. May be the best offense we face all year if they can get good QB play. Will have to blitz alot.

Mizzou: All their WR's are gone so So long as we can hold up against the run...which we should... it could be a long day for the spotty Mauk.

Kentucky: We will ride them down like grass.

Vandy: We will ride them down like grass.


Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Good post. But I would also add LT to your list of key impact postions.

Florida: Our D-Line will devour their inexperienced O-Line. They look to have QB issues too. Plus they have no real play makers besides Robinson. It will be a long day for their signal caller.

The gator offense didn't do jack last season either. Unfortunately, neither did ours. From the looks of it, our offensive situation has improved since then; theirs does not appear to have done so. They key is Dobbs being healthy.
 
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#6
#6
It still won't be a cakewalk through the East. Butch is still building a culture, Georgia, Florida still have solid programs. We still lack depth and inexperience. We can talk down Florida but until we beat them it's just fan analysis. But we comin'.
 
#7
#7
I like this post and I believe it. Just a few sacks a game in key situations makes all the difference in the world. Our DL will be fresh and very disruptive to most of our opponents making it much easier on our LBs and DBs to cover.

Last year we were the 36th ranked defense. With an offense that has improved and our defense becoming deeper and more potent with athletic ability and strength, I feel comfortable saying we'll be a top 25 team barring injuries.
 
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#8
#8
Crazy Ivan said:
Good post. But I would also add LT to your list of key impact postions.

Florida: Our D-Line will devour their inexperienced O-Line. They look to have QB issues too. Plus they have no real play makers besides Robinson. It will be a long day for their signal caller.

The gator offense didn't do jack last season either. Unfortunately, neither did ours. From the looks of it, our offensive situation has improved since then; theirs does not appear to have done so. They key is Dobbs being healthy.
Click to expand...

I would also add Center who touches the ball on every offensive play and calls all the offensive line plays against their defenses.
 
#11
#11
The key is not just depth but properly rotating that depth.
You saw how the D wore down this past year. Granted, UT didn't have a ton of bodies to rotate on the DL.
 
#13
#13
darkgable said:
It still won't be a cakewalk through the East. Butch is still building a culture, Georgia, Florida still have solid programs. We still lack depth and inexperience. We can talk down Florida but until we beat them it's just fan analysis. But we comin'.
Click to expand...

So, you're saying we're experienced? :)
 
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#14
#14
I'm not even including getting better at any other positions much but I based my expectations of 8 regular season Wins just on how much better our D line will be this year.

We'll have better players, better experience and a much better D line rotation this year so I expect to see us stuff the running game much better, get much more pressure on the QB, cause more fumbles, more sacks and more INT's and all that IMO gets us at least 2 more Wins just from our D line improvements over last season.

Granted a lot of the new D line rotation will be true freshmen but, oh my God, what true freshmen we'll have playing on our new Beast D line!

#BrickbyBrick...VFL...GBO!!!
 
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#16
#16
Regarding DLine depth and it's importance, last year we were #2 in the conference against the run in 1st quarters, #7 against the run in 2nd quarters, #9 in the conference against the run in 3rd quarters, and #13 against the run in 4th quarters. By halves we were #5 in the conference in 1st halves and #11 in the conference in 2nd halves. Overall we were #9 in the conference against the run last year. With the added depth at defensive tackle and perhaps increased rotation at LB I'm optimistic that this year we'll see much less drop off in our run defense as the game progresses. That, imo, is going to present a potentially insurmountable challenge for the premiere opponents on our schedule.


cfbstats.com - 2014 Southeastern Conference Team Leaders
 
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#17
#17
:rock:
vol-un-tear said:
Its a trickle down effect. D-line frees up linebackers to make plays. Then it's clean up time in the secondary. Good post
Click to expand...

Yes and a good secondary like ours can make a D-Line even more effective. A good secondary can lead to coverage sacks.
 
#19
#19
darkgable said:
It still won't be a cakewalk through the East. Butch is still building a culture, Georgia, Florida still have solid programs. We still lack depth and inexperience. We can talk down Florida but until we beat them it's just fan analysis. But we comin'.
Click to expand...

Vol's don't lack inexperience......they lack depth and experience.......Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, South Carolina will give the Vol's a very challenging season......but I'm afraid it's time to turn the tables on some of these rivals....Go Vol's
 
#20
#20
Since we seemingly have more depth now on the dline than the online, what's the chance that someone like Charles Mosely would flip from dl to ol?
 
#22
#22
VOLINVONORE said:
I would also add Center who touches the ball on every offensive play and calls all the offensive line plays against their defenses.
Click to expand...

Not really. The center position requires the least athleticism of any position in football and they generally don't have to worry about anything happening beyond the front seven defenders. That's why they tend to be among the lowest-paid positions in the NFL, with no player earning over $9 million per season (only guards, fullbacks, kickers and punters earned less as a position).

Runningbacks, by contrast, arguably have the most diverse set of responsibilities in football: running the ball, running pass routes, catching, carrying, and blocking. They've got to be fast, quick, tough, coordinated, durable, and, like quarterbacks, know exactly what the defensive front seven and secondary is doing every play. In the college game especially, runningbacks might be the second-most important position behind QB.
 
#23
#23
AboveAllNations said:
Not really. The center position requires the least athleticism of any position in football and they generally don't have to worry about anything happening beyond the front seven defenders. That's why they tend to be among the lowest-paid positions in the NFL, with no player earning over $9 million per season (only guards, fullbacks, kickers and punters earned less as a position).

Runningbacks, by contrast, arguably have the most diverse set of responsibilities in football: running the ball, running pass routes, catching, carrying, and blocking. They've got to be fast, quick, tough, coordinated, durable, and, like quarterbacks, know exactly what the defensive front seven and secondary is doing every play. In the college game especially, runningbacks might be the second-most important position behind QB.
Click to expand...
flat out wrong

There are certain position you can be a flat out idiot with physical talent and play. Center is not one of them.

The center can be lacking physically and still be good.

A RB an be a braindead, glorified pinball and be great.
RB is probably 90% physical talent while center is more like 30%. This is why Centers tend to be the longest tenured playerrs in the NFL while RB's are the shortest. Physical talents diminish fast, mental ones not
so much

As far as trickle down goes thats a universal thing in a well built team. If you have elite coverage players it allows the line to be more aggressive. Also your offense ha a lot of affect on defense and vice versa.
The colts of the Peyton days were one great example. Without Peyton their defense never works. They were so consistent scoring that the defense just pinned their ears back and went to kill QB's.
 
#24
#24
norrislakevol said:
Chew on this: QB, Center, Kickers, and then Defensive line. That would be the top positions that have the greatest potential to impact a game either negatively or positively. IMO the Vols will feature the best defensive line that they have had since the 2001 season when Henderson and Haynesworth were wreaking havoc on SEC offenses. The defensive line has the first chance to disrupt the QB or ball carrier, which can result in lost yardage, turnovers, and stalled drives by the opposition. Obviously this is huge because it gives your offense more opportunities to score points, and if you can pressure the QB you can cause the occasional pick-6. So how does our 2015 line stack up with our opponents?

Oklahoma: They are replacing guys on their O-Line, but they are plugging in people that have been in the system for a while for the most part. Who will be their starting QB?

Florida: Our D-Line will devour their inexperienced O-Line. They look to have QB issues too. Plus they have no real play makers besides Robinson. It will be a long day for their signal caller.

Georgia: They will have a solid line it looks like. We will have to rotate guys to keep them fresh so that the Dawgs don't start gashing us for big yardage late in the game. Am wondering how their QB situation shakes out.

Arkansas: Same as Georgia pretty much (as far as I can tell). Not very scared of their QB though.

Alabama: Their line will be good and their running game solid. May be the best offense we face all year if they can get good QB play. Will have to blitz alot.

Mizzou: All their WR's are gone so So long as we can hold up against the run...which we should... it could be a long day for the spotty Mauk.

Kentucky: We will ride them down like grass.

Vandy: We will ride them down like grass.


Thoughts?
Click to expand...

How many points did that 01 D give up to Kentucky??
 
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