Most Improved Defenses by Phil Steele

[BigSteve09]

He could be right, or he could be wrong......a claim everyone on this board can make.

:unsure:

 

[TNinSC]

I still shake my head when I think about Dooley hiring Sunseri. I was so disappointed when when the news broke...

 

[bigorange]

I buy the frozen bags of fish from Wal Mart and just read an article on fb about the conditions of how those fish are raised in China and what they are fed. Went and looked at the bags and all are from China. I threw my bags out. Totally disgusting.

Haha my wife told me about that, no more tilapia for us! :sick:

 

[orangeluvr]

Uh, how can you tell if the defense is improved when we haven't played a single game(?) ! With better coaching it should be much improved, this staff expect nothing less than 100% effort.

 

[PACKERVOL]

Phil shows us love every year, and every year we prove him wrong.

Well the law of averages says this may be the year we prove him RIGHT!

 

[1974Vol]

Like most on here I don't claim to be a football expert but even to my untrained eye the Vols just did not have personnel to run 3-4. Only one guy on the roster that even looked like a nose tackle and could hardly field 3 SEC ready LB's much less 4 with any depth.
Was that just the only defense Sansuri could coach? Towards end of season much was made of Dooley helping that side of the ball and going back to using some 4-3.
The only thing worse than watching that melt down would have been playing in it. Have to feel bad for the kids. Maybe they aren't all great players but they had more talent than was allowed to show on the firld.

 

[livefaith]

Here's some defenders I expect to make names this season ...

#1 Jacques Smith - We've been hoping for 3 years. This beast will be at home at 4-3 DE this year and I think we'll finally see the stats blow up.

#2 Daniel McCullers - Came in out of SEC shape last year and was not in on a lot of snaps. He should be in shape this year. With his experience, he and Couch will create difficulty in the middle. Wish Sentimore had stayed to help, but I still like our front 4 this year.

#3 Dontavius Sapp - Undersized LB who got pancaked by The Cincy RB 3 years ago on his way to the endzone. He's grown up and since B Jones keeps raving over him, he must be ready to produce. I'm still concerned @ AJ and especially CM in coverage situations, but Sapp should be pretty solid in space. Reminds me a little of a young Eric Westmoreland.

#4 Rhiyad Jones - Kid is a super athlete and should be physically ready for the SEC. May get schooled early, but I believe this kid is going to make a lot of plays for us. Really glad to have #37 back. That has to be good for the unit and for Jones.

#5 Justin Coleman - Good athlete that took plenty of lumps as a FR. I expect solid coaching and 2 years experience to make him complete this year. It's hard to believe in our secondary at all after last year, but with athletic corners and 3 good safeties, we should be much improved.

It's not Bama or LSU, but I'm very excited to see our defense play this year. Those guys have got to have something serious to prove, especially the seniors.

 

[livefaith]

I still shake my head when I think about Dooley hiring Sunseri. I was so disappointed when when the news broke...

You must have been cowering in fear to speak. These boards were burning with some serious CSS zeal in the months running up to the opener. Nobody, that I remembered dared question anything besides a few concerns over 3-4 growing pains & CSS being more Bama influence.

Last July we had better depth, more experience, Sal's passion & intensity, McCullers & Sentimore, all-SEC Waggner, got rid of that WAC DC Wilcox who was over his head in the SEC, and only the real loss of one NFL DT/DE. With our WR, OL, TE & QB situation, it was no wonder the frenzy spilled over to a "10 win season". When Dooley prophesied "we won't get pushed around this year", we were a lock.

I didn't know much @ CSS, so I just hung up and listened. The first Q in my mind came from reading August camp reports of how good our RBs were and how they had broken off this and that big run. Hmmm?

The second Q came in the opener when the NC State RB walked in for an early TD unTOUCHED from the 3 or 4 YL. Nobody was within a yard or two. Hmmmm? Thankfully, we turned em over @ 5 times and the emergence of CP kept the Kool-Aid flowing.

My third Q came in the GSU game, when they did not move at will, but their O showed signs of life. That was GSU!!! They were horrible at any level. Hmmm?

Finally, the Gators exposed us on the end around untouched TD, and the late gallops for TDs and the news was out.

Reality for me came crashing down in the Akron game, when our secondary could not stop their short passing game. AKRON! Hmmmm?

By then every OC in the league had enough film to destroy us. I bet Coach Obrien at NCSU could kick himself for not being the 6 or 7th game on our schedule. Glennon would have thrown for 8 TDs!

But, what is most ironic @ the worst D in UT history was the contrast in pre-season expectations vs season performance. Shocking.