Position-by-Position Preview of Tennessee's 2015 Roster

#4
#4
The offensive line, worst in recent history, should not be expected to improve without major personnel changes, especially at center and both tackles.
 
#5
#5
1standgoal said:
The offensive line, worst in recent history, should not be expected to improve without major personnel changes, especially at center and both tackles.
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They will improve. The question is how much. Will they jump 10 spots or 40?

The OL gave up 41 sacks in 2010 and finished 116th in FBS.

Improved to 18 in 2011 for 34th in the nation.

Granted, the guys on the 2010 line are now playing in the NFL, but Robertson and Kendrick have potential themselves and should be much better this season.
 
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#8
#8
1standgoal said:
The offensive line, worst in recent history, should not be expected to improve without major personnel changes, especially at center and both tackles.
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They were already improved by the end of last season. I don't see how a full offseason together could possibly not result in further improvement.
 
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#10
#10
Aesius said:
They will improve. The question is how much. Will they jump 10 spots or 40?

The OL gave up 41 sacks in 2010 and finished 116th in FBS.

Improved to 18 in 2011 for 34th in the nation.

Granted, the guys on the 2010 line are now playing in the NFL, but Robertson and Kendrick have potential themselves and should be much better this season.
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I concur but also would say Marcus Jackson has NFL potential as well.
 
#11
#11
Pretty good writeup but he did miss one fact I caught. Medley missed one PAT last year. Shepherd wrote he made them all. Still a great season from him though
 
#13
#13
GBO97 said:
They were already improved by the end of last season. I don't see how a full offseason together could possibly not result in further improvement.
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I think 1standgoal is related to Coleman. He is constantly promoting putting Thomas in at the center position which would be a disaster from the first snap on...

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/57...p4?versionId=Ucyn4abazx4.8GF1sKFK02U.IuTeL33k

Tuttle is gonna be good but he's 18 years old. Thomas needs a lot of growth above and below the neck before he ever sees the field again.
 
#16
#16
Aesius said:
They will improve. The question is how much. Will they jump 10 spots or 40?

The OL gave up 41 sacks in 2010 and finished 116th in FBS.

Improved to 18 in 2011 for 34th in the nation.

Granted, the guys on the 2010 line are now playing in the NFL, but Robertson and Kendrick have potential themselves and should be much better this season.
Click to expand...

I did some number crunching on this a couple months back, counting only the FBS opponents we played last year (meaning sans-UTC), Worley was sacked over twice as much as Dobbs, in the same number of games.

Worley took 25 sacks in those games, losing 180 yards.

Dobbs only took 12 (one of the two Bama sacks was against Peterman, losing ~85 yards.

As much as I'd agree that the second half of the season was much lighter, it's not a talent issue, as Chatt got five sacks on Worley, too.

I don't think next year's line gives up anywhere near the amount of sacks next year. We'll still struggle at times, but Worley was just too immobile for this offense.
 
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#17
#17
1standgoal said:
The offensive line, worst in recent history, should not be expected to improve without major personnel changes, especially at center and both tackles.
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You can't get much worst than last season, all they can do is improve. Another year under their belts and settled into their positions. As long as they are an average to decent group, 9 wins is very possible.
 
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#18
#18
VFL34 said:
You can't get much worst than last season, all they can do is improve. Another year under their belts and settled into their positions. As long as they are an average to decent group, 9 wins is very possible.
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That's exactly what I think. If the offensive line is half decent by SEC standards, this is an 8+ win team.
 
#19
#19
I think the potential for the team is top ten in the Nation. In order for that to happen a lot of young players will have to play great. That would include on defense Kirkland and the two new freshman DT's. The secondary looks very solid with Berry and Kelly pushing the safeties. This is by far the most depth and talent we've had in a very long time. Of course a lot of the young players may not be ready to reach their full potential but 8 wins is certainly expected. 10 wins certainly a possibility.
 
#20
#20
Volfan2012 said:
I think the potential for the team is top ten in the Nation. In order for that to happen a lot of young players will have to play great. That would include on defense Kirkland and the two new freshman DT's. The secondary looks very solid with Berry and Kelly pushing the safeties. This is by far the most depth and talent we've had in a very long time. Of course a lot of the young players may not be ready to reach their full potential but 8 wins is certainly expected. 10 wins certainly a possibility.
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If you look at last year's crop of freshmen, we had several play above their heads.

Hurd, Barnett, Kelly Jr., Moseley, Medley, Robertson, Wolf, and Evan Berry all stepped up big time.

I doubt we will have 8 impact freshmen from the 2015 class simply due to the lack of starting opportunities, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if we get at least 4-5 out of this class who are contributing heavily from day one.

KMack, Tuttle, Kirkland Jr., Richmond, and Townsend could/should all immediately improve the team in 2015.

And that's with us losing very little production from 2014. Basically, the 2015 Vols should be an improved version of the team we saw in the TaxSlayer Bowl, which is an 8-9 win team, IMO.
 
#21
#21
I still have a question with Mahoney as well as CBJ medling with personnel decisions. I watched C. Thomas get absolutely embarrassed by Shy Tuttle in the Spring game 1 on 1 drills. I'm talking bull rushed 7 yards backwards looking helpless. How this guy ever started at tackle is a freaking mystery.
 
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#22
#22
Other_Guy said:
But good news: that's really the only issue surrounding this team. Something we haven't been able to say in awhile.
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Actually, I heard Butch say in an interview a few weeks ago that it was the uncertainty at who would be the middle linebacker that was "keeping him up at night". Otherwise, I would agree with you....experienced talent all over the 2 deep on both sides of the ball.
 
#23
#23
We need our starting safties to defend the pass better. Evan and Kelly seem to be good at both defending run and pass. Also have more speed
 
#24
#24
Roustabout said:
I still have a question with Mahoney as well as CBJ medling with personnel decisions. I watched C. Thomas get absolutely embarrassed by Shy Tuttle in the Spring game 1 on 1 drills. I'm talking bull rushed 7 yards backwards looking helpless. How this guy ever started at tackle is a freaking mystery.
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Unbelievable that the best we had was a true freshman, playing out of position. It showed. Even marginal OL improvement will make a big difference with a mobile QB like Dobbs and a more balanced offense.
 
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