Kamara-Plausable reason(s)

#52
#52
wtorange said:
In what loss did it make a difference who the starting RB was?
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I can't think of one.

The funny thing is that Kamara is going to have value as a 3rd down back who can motion and catch the ball.... which is exactly how Butch used him.
 
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#53
#53
Y'all can say what you want but until Hurd took that hit against Ga he was engaged as a teammate. After the hit, things fell apart.

Butch is as conservative as a coach can get, he isn't a coward and he's not incompetent.

PWillie couldn't handle being called Phillip. It shows poor leadership to treat a Freshman like that. Maybe this year's Captains will do better.

Go Vols!
 
#54
#54
Ok, so, everyone can imagine CBJ promising Hurd certain things but, no one can imagine CBJ promising AK and family that, he would get just enough touches but, still leave him fresh for the NFL? One of the biggest reasons that AK has become so highly coveted by a lot of NFL teams recently is, because he doesn't have a lot of wear and tear like, a lot of feature backs do coming out of college. Really,think, AK came to UT knowing that he would be behind Hurd. I think AK got just what he wanted, exposure for the NFL but, didn't take the beating of an every down back. AK never wanted 20 touches per game in college. JMO
 
#55
#55
VolZen said:
I question whether Kamara is a twenty carry a game back. To me he is one of those guys you get the ball to in a variety of ways, screens, slot, PR, sweeps, reverses, wildcat, etc. and we criminally did not do that enough. Both he and Hurd needed twenty touches a game, Hurd between the tackles and Kamara in the variety of ways I mention above. They should have played a lot at the same time and did not for whatever reason.
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I thought at the beginning of the season that with Dobbs (and his running ability) and Hurd (with his downhill smashing ability) and Kamara (with his slash, get open ability) that the Vols would be very hard to stop offensively. This of course ignores the talent at WR and TE. But of course, typical of UT's offenses since Moses was a little boy, we were primarily predictable, conservative and vanilla.

There are other coaches who could have got UT to 11-1 in the regular season with that talent - much less what was also had on defense.

We'll be seeing many Vols from the '16 team in the NFL for years to come.
 
#57
#57
While I can't say Butch handled this perfectly, you should think of it this way - if Butch hadn't made the promises to hurd and hurd left before the season, the flack sent butch's way would've been deafening. He was in a no win situation. I still think he should've played kamara more but it's not as simple as some are making out.
 
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#58
#58
This is Tennessee football. Last season was for Tennessee football. This is not for any NFL team. They come here to play for Tennessee. Not the NFL.
 
#59
#59
butchna said:
Makes too much sense. Jumper's dad paid somebody to start Hurd.
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That kind of crap goes on in high school, not in college (especially at a big school)...right?

I think it had to do with:

1) Simple poor recognition on the part of the coaching staff. I don't really think they ever realized Kamara was simply the better all-around back, especially in the offense they were running.

2) Kamara is not the most stout guy for a RB and they were looking to preserve him. As others have speculated on here I don't think Kamara is a 20 carry per game back. But he is a 20 touch per game player. That is no excuse for not getting him the ball more in the misdirection running game/screen game/general passing game. There was really only one game in his entire Tennessee career where he was used to his full capacity. He runs routes just as good or better than a lot of our WRs did.

There is a reason NFL scouts say at the combine and at the draft that college coaching, generally speaking, is just not all that good. The under-use of Kamara is a great example.
 
#60
#60
Am I the only one that remembers the "can't believe Butchers" meltdown and second guessing when they ran Kamara on the one yard line against Oklahoma instead of Hurd? That lasted until Kamara was suddenly "clearly superior". :lol:
 
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#61
#61
05_never_again said:
That kind of crap goes on in high school, not in college (especially at a big school)...right?

I think it had to do with:

1) Simple poor recognition on the part of the coaching staff. I don't really think they ever realized Kamara was simply the better all-around back, especially in the offense they were running.

2) Kamara is not the most stout guy for a RB and they were looking to preserve him. As others have speculated on here I don't think Kamara is a 20 carry per game back. But he is a 20 touch per game player. That is no excuse for not getting him the ball more in the misdirection running game/screen game/general passing game. There was really only one game in his entire Tennessee career where he was used to his full capacity. He runs routes just as good or better than a lot of our WRs did.

There is a reason NFL scouts say at the combine and at the draft that college coaching, generally speaking, is just not all that good. The under-use of Kamara is a great example.
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It's a "conspiracy" I make fun of...frequently. :hi:
 
#62
#62
butchna said:
Am I the only one that remembers the "can't believe Butchers" meltdown and second guessing when they ran Kamara on the one yard line against Oklahoma instead of Hurd? That lasted until Kamara was suddenly "clearly superior". :lol:
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Been waiting for somebody to bring that up.

It's not nearly as cut and dried as some want to make it that Kamara would've been just as productive as an every down back. No doubt, part of Kamara's success was due to somebody else being there to grind out the tough 3 yard runs behind a weak o-line.
 
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#63
#63
John Kelly was our best RB last year. However, Kamara is incredibly versatile and has a bright NFL future
 
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#64
#64
Wharton was about to be BURIED on the depth chart. And it's not like Wharton has a reputation for staying at schools very long; just look at him during his HS years.

But please continue to make things up.[/QUOTE]

Wait isn't Wharton's dad a teacher and Coach, and his dad being hired away is actually the reason why he changed schools. I thought everyone new that?
 
#66
#66
It's really too bad that Butch started an H-back in front of Kamara at tailback.
 
#67
#67
chattavol420 said:
When are we going to stop trying to rationalize all the dumb decisions butch makes? It's tiresome...wether it's playing Worley ahead of Dobbs and running the read option with him (then burning Dobbs rs with 3 games remaining), or going for 1 when we needed 2 against uf, or firing our s&c coach and not replacing him, or playing Hurd ahead of Kamara...the guy isn't a very smart dude. Plain and simple. It's like everyone think to get a job as a head coach you are automatically some genius or something. Guess what, they're just like every other profession. There are some total idiots that just end up in the right place at the right time and just repeat all the coach speak and cliches they've heard their bosses say over the years.
It's just like les miles. You only needed to ever hear one interview to know he wasn't a intelligent guy. I feel the same way when I hear butch talk. He struggles to even make sense. Much less be thoughtful and creative. And the saddest part of our situation is...at least les miles had balls. And was loved by his players. Butch coaches in the most conservative/cowardly manner I've ever witnessed. And his players don't like him. We've had a ton of attrition and lost a ton of talent based on butchs arrogance.
I hope and pray our new ad has the guts to make a change after this season and gets us a real coach
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This might be the most atrociously false statement I've ever read on this board.
 
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#68
#68
ncvol17 said:
Possible it was because Hurd was the long term starter on his way to the all TIME UT rushing record? IMO makes a bit more sense than keeping him healthy for the NFL.
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People would have freaked out if Hurd was benched while still on the team and then Kamara subsequently had some fumbling issues. Would have been calling for Butch's head.
 
#70
#70
IknoxvolsI said:
Before the Hurd situation I had not seen much out of Kamara to justify hype. After, like many of you, I wondered WTH is wrong with Butch. Still though, I can't fathom any realistic plausable reason he wasn't played more. But, I have done alot of thinking!

Was Butch holding him back to keep him healthy for the NFL?

Holding him back to get an extra year out of him?

Did Kamara ask to be held back?

Did it have somthing to do with promises to Hurd?

If anyone actually knows why Butch didn't utilize him more I would like to know. Surely Butch is not that dumb and had reason(s).
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The answer is that he's not an every down back, he's not as durable as Hurd, Hurd was dang good and Kamara fumbled too often.

Fans don't like this answer but it is the truth. But if they admit that it is the truth then they can't blame Butch.
 
#71
#71
In the first 4 games of 2016, Hurd ran the ball 91 times for 365 yards and Kamara had 22 carries for 103 yards. Kamara had 9 catches and Hurd 2. Neither had a fumble.

Hindsight is 20:20 but a better ratio of carries would have been 2:1.
 
#72
#72
GAVol said:
After the way he quit, I get the hate....

But H-backs don't rush for 3,000 yards.
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They most certainly can in a very run heavy offense. Since you are throwing out some stats there statistician, how many rush attempts did he have during his time at UT? I'm going to reach out there and say a boat-load of attempts to get to 3,000 yards... And what was his average ypc... I am guessing it's not very impressive.

I always thought he was out of position since day one, and that has nothing to do with the hate as you put it. But you are right about one thing, Hurd is indeed a quitter.
 
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#73
#73
Hurd and Kamara should have split carries evenly and to the strengths of each back. Just because Hurd was a mental case doesn't mean he didn't have talent. The kid amassed a ton of yards and had some very good runs turning nothing into something. Jalen had some great years with very poor offensive line play. Now he's a dumbass kid but he's a talented dumbass kid.
 
#75
#75
DaddyChad said:
Hurd and Kamara should have split carries evenly and to the strengths of each back. Just because Hurd was a mental case doesn't mean he didn't have talent. The kid amassed a ton of yards and had some very good runs turning nothing into something. Jalen had some great years with very poor offensive line play. Now he's a dumbass kid but he's a talented dumbass kid.
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Kamara definitely had more of the shiftiness that you usually associate with a spread RB, but I really wonder what he would've done with all those carries where Hurd got hit in the backfield and managed to still get 2 or 3 yards.
 
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