The #1 Key to Jones' success at UT

[Slydell]

What was the theme of this again? Oh, yeah. Butch's success. Win meaningful games, meaningful titles and meaningful bowl games. We've lost a lot of rushing yards for next season. Hopefully, we have incoming players that can make up for it.

 

[buckfama]

I'm not so sure that the HUNH concept that is the problem as is the play calling and execution. Whether it was Debord or CBJ calling the plays, as productive as it was, it was very predictable at times. It seemed when we got a lead we tried to slow down and assert our will on opposing teams but didn't have the hosses to do it. We seemed to play better from behind when we had to open up the playbook, especially on first down.

I think the OC change from Debord to Scott will show just how much CBJ controls the play calling in this offense. I don't expect to see a ton of differences but we should see different play calls in different situations with a new OC. But if there isnt really any change then we know who is really to blame when the play calling gets predictable and stalls.

 

[81Orange]

Predictable play calling seems to be our worst enemy. Too many times it looked like they knew what was coming and jumped the play. When we would throw on 1st down it caught them off guard.

Oldest complaint in the book. Many teams run predictable plays. If they get 6 yards no one complains. Learn how to block!

 

[tennesseeduke]

His #1 priority is turning Trevor Lawrence from Clemson back to UT. TL is a huge UT fan and will come if CBJ and company will make the right play. This kid is the second coming of Peyton Manning. Mark the tape I said it!

He will start the moment he walks on any campus next season! Get him and the whole 2018 class will explode!

:loco:

Tennesseeduke

 

[81Orange]

Maybe go under center some? Especially short yardage situations.

We had the best red zone offense in the conference. Short yardage was no problem post Hurd.

 

[IknoxvolsI]

Oldest complaint in the book. Many teams run predictable plays. If they get 6 yards no one complains. Learn how to block!

We did two years ago. If the common fan could tell that when Hurd lined up behind Dobbs it was a strait run up the middle. When he lined up beside him it was a pass. Do you think trained personnel on the other side knew?

 

[Iam4utalways]

Oldest complaint in the book. Many teams run predictable plays. If they get 6 yards no one complains. Learn how to block!

Don't get me wrong, execution stands out as a top complaint also.

All I'm saying is a defense can study the film and have confidence in what to expect based off what we have done in certain formations and situations.

We all saw it last year, we would line up and run the same play over and over, sometimes it would get blown up for a loss and other times it would gring out a 5+ yard gain.

If 9 out of 10 of our 1st downs we run the ball, the defense has an advantage. What's even worse is our 2nd down play selection stayed the same no matter the result of 1st down.

Seems it was on The Butch Jones Show, Debord talked about our game plan and how he would script 1st and 2nd down and the based off down and distance, game situation and field position we would have plays picked out for 3rd down.

Even I could come up with a defensive play call to stop a play that I know a team is about to run.

As for our offense it's hard to run the option if the QB runs like he is in the kiddie pool. It turns our options into either a slow developing handoff or if the QB keeps it and he isn't quick or fast enough to make them pay. Last year Dobbs would exercise the option of giving the ball to the RB early, maybe it was to see how the defense was going to react, then he would start keeping it later in the game and make them pay in chunks of yardage.

 

[Rifleman]

Last year we were running a hybrid hurry up and wait to try and spell the defense. Unfortunately, we really did not get the benefits of the no huddle or the clock eating benefits CV advocates for in the OP.

Against FBS competition:

Time of Possession Rank

98th. Vols - 28:05

For comparison

1. Arkansas 35:16 (did go 7-6 though)
39. Alabama 31:17
51. Clemson 30:43

Plays per Game Rank

71st. Vols - 72.4

1. Baylor 88.6
9. Clemson 82.9
63. Alabama 72.9

So we couldn't hold the ball and eat clock (old school), nor could we wear the defense down with play volume (new school).

To make sense of offensive effciency, I think a good metric is punts per play. The Vols were 93rd in that category, but only that high because the offense started clicking in the last few games. That is pretty awful.

 

[basspond]

His #1 priority is turning Trevor Lawrence from Clemson back to UT. TL is a huge UT fan and will come if CBJ and company will make the right play. This kid is the second coming of Peyton Manning. Mark the tape I said it!

He will start the moment he walks on any campus next season! Get him and the whole 2018 class will explode!

:loco:

Tennesseeduke

What will we do with JG or QD?

 

[edyeary]

Last year we were running a hybrid hurry up and wait to try and spell the defense. Unfortunately, we really did not get the benefits of the no huddle or the clock eating benefits CV advocates for in the OP.

Against FBS competition:

Time of Possession Rank

98th. Vols - 28:05

For comparison

1. Arkansas 35:16 (did go 7-6 though)
39. Alabama 31:17
51. Clemson 30:43

Plays per Game Rank

71st. Vols - 72.4

1. Baylor 88.6
9. Clemson 82.9
63. Alabama 72.9

So we couldn't hold the ball and eat clock (old school), nor could we wear the defense down with play volume (new school).

To make sense of offensive effciency, I think a good metric is punts per play. The Vols were 93rd in that category, but only that high because the offense started clicking in the last few games. That is pretty awful.

Having a late lead and rushing to the line then snapping the ball with 15 to 20 seconds on the clock only to run straight into the line about drove me off a cliff. :bad:

 

[edyeary]

I stated when Butch was hired there would be a learning curve coming from mid major to big boy football. He's still a little behind the curve. Pretty stubborn and slow to adjust IMO

 

[MWAVolfan]

The speed at which the offense runs only affects the defense negatively if the offense doesn't execute.

If your offensive players aren't concerned diction Ed enough to take the wear and tear or if the offense side scheme puts them in positions they are not used to it will result in injuries.

If you sustain enough injuries and have done a terrible job coaching up the 2nd and 3rd team then you generally have to dumb down the play calling.

Now you have a situation where you have a more basic/predictable offensive scheme that also goes 3 and out really really fast.

This is the situation that kills the defense over the course of a whole game.

If your offense cannot sustain drives at least a little bit (40 to 50 yards) then the deck is stacked against you unless you have a defense like Bama that can score points all on their own.

This makes the most sense to me for last season because it was our o line that was hurt FIRST and then our defensive players started to go down.

I think it was lack of coaching and training for the style of offense desired that got UT in the position it was in with injuries. I do not believe in luck (good or bad). Good luck is really being prepared and in position to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. And bad luck the the opposite of that. Not being prepared. Everyone saw and knows how unprepared this team seemed to be from week 1.

The key to Jones success is having his team prepared for anything and knowing how to thrive when anything happens because anything will always happen.

Having players with 5 star hearts or 1 star hearts doesn't matter as much as preparedness. Making players feel like they are special doesn't matter as much as actually giving them the ability to handle what is put in front of them. Cliches don't win games. Good game plans win games.

And also, I didn't have to play football or coach football or have 20000 posts on VN to see these things and know that they are true.

 

[utvols74]

Great point Count....

I don't fall in the "either/or" camp however. I think its both - sometimes you run HUNH and sometimes you don't. I've always been amazed (even in the pros) how quickly a team can move the ball down the field in the final 2 minutes of each half. The advantage of running both (traditional and HUNH) is that it keeps the opposing team's defensive schemers guessing.

The thing that has always amazed me is that the offense ALWAYS has an advantage - albeit ever so slight in some instances. They're proactive. The defense is reactive. The offense knows the snap count, can read the defense and adjust, knows who the "hot" receiver is, knows the desired blocking schemes, etc. The defense has to react to all of this.

Unfortunately at UT (it seems), we are so predictable that we lose advantages that other teams seem to enjoy most of the time.

 

[Iam4utalways]

Great point Count....

I don't fall in the "either/or" camp however. I think its both - sometimes you run HUNH and sometimes you don't. I've always been amazed (even in the pros) how quickly a team can move the ball down the field in the final 2 minutes of each half. The advantage of running both (traditional and HUNH) is that it keeps the opposing team's defensive schemers guessing.

The thing that has always amazed me is that the offense ALWAYS has an advantage - albeit ever so slight in some instances. They're proactive. The defense is reactive. The offense knows the snap count, can read the defense and adjust, knows who the "hot" receiver is, knows the desired blocking schemes, etc. The defense has to react to all of this.

Unfortunately at UT (it seems), we are so predictable that we lose advantages that other teams seem to enjoy most of the time.

For the 2 minute drill, it seems to be more reading of the defense rather than a scripted 60+ minute game plan where you set up plays for a game winning drive.

 

[TNinSC]

The key for Jones is unfortunately something he simply doesn't possess - the ability to get his team to show up every single Saturday ready to bust skulls.

This. I really thought after the Bama game ('15) and the Northwestern bowl game that CBJ actually had possessed this skill. But after Vandy, Scar, and (I know it's a dead horse) but not applying any foresight and seeing that the the whole Life Champions thing could potentially make us the butt of some jokes, still has me questioning CBJ's ability to motivate.

 

[Seattle Hillbilly]

Try defining it when you first introduce your own made up anagrams. I stay too drunk for my psychic brain cells to function anymore.

Thank you.

 

[IknoxvolsI]

Come on guys. Okla, Fla and Ark two years ago showed he isn't gonna get it done!

 

[sjt18]

The speed at which the offense runs only affects the defense negatively if the offense doesn't execute.

....

Nailed it.

Oregon's high octane O's of years past didn't cause their D's to be bad. Spurrier's O's at UF didn't cause their D's to be bad. Just the opposite. They scored points fast. That forced opponents into predictable offensive playcalling which was a HUGE advantage for those D's.

Score points. Play aggressive D willing to give up a few big plays in exchange for more explosive D plays that produce short drives.

This formula can win every bit as Bama's ball control.

 

[njvols]

Like the post, and good thoughts and ideas. Not sure you can really call our offense a hurry up offense, when we line up, and everyone looks over to the sideline like a meerkat on the lookout for a cobra, leaving 12 seconds on the snap clock, instead of 5. Though one clear advantage is lack of D substitution.

I think need to run to whatever your skill set is, or is not. For example, to run a true hurry up AND thrive on D, you need the skill on O, which we arguably have, plus a true 2-deep D, where not much drop off at 2's. However, w/ the rate that so many high powered offenses can score, you need to hope to at least slow them down. That's what folks did to us this year. How many times this year did we score points in bunches. A traditional huddle up offense makes games shorter, but end of day, you still have to win. If playing another hurry up offense, if our offense stays on field, giving D breathers, then they MUST be able to have long, sustaining drives, ending in scores. Otherwise, you end up winning the time of possession but lose the game. Not totally sure a new QB in 2017 is going to necessarily lend itself to consistently posting long scoring drives, especially early in the year.

 

[Iam4utalways]

Come on guys. Okla, Fla and Ark two years ago showed he isn't gonna get it done!

I'm not ready to say he can't yet due to 2015. We lacked competitive depth even to keep our starters fresh for the 4th qtr. Taking our foot off the gas didn't help either.

I haven't heard CBJ back down from expectations for 121, so I'm in that he can get it done.

Release the Beast!

 

[Caleb59seal]

Can't argue w/ the theory...there are times for the HUNH and times to slow it down. Agree , for the most part, they should try to control the clock and give the D some rest.

The No Huddle is a offensive philosophy it's not something you can turn off and turn on... It's a system you run in practice over and over... That's why you saw Oregon have so many points at the end of the game... You can't slow down in that offense simply because there is a "rhythm" to that system...
But I understand what you are saying.

 

[njvols]

I'm not ready to say he can't yet due to 2015. We lacked competitive depth even to keep our starters fresh for the 4th qtr. Taking our foot off the gas didn't help either.

I haven't heard CBJ back down from expectations for 121, so I'm in that he can get it done.

Release the Beast!

Agree, especially on the foot off gas comment...and will add complete game. This year, think too many games we were conservative in first half, only to pour it on in second half. Gotta come out on fire like you're down two TD's and don't let up. Outside of injuries this year, which clearly diminished what we wanted to do, we certainly had the potential "to be feared" on offense. Late in the year when we had third string DE's starting at DT, and were so thin, we really couldn't afford to play quick tempo.

This year is a mystery, but have potential to surprise.

 

[wtorange]

Is your opinion based of inside info or just what we all see on TV?

3 and out by our offense hurts our defense. Not getting stops on 3rd down hurts too.

Dome sound like CBJ talking about complementary football.

Did you hear Bellicheck after the Super Bowl? He said the key to the second half was that the Patriots played complimentary football.

 

[Iam4utalways]

Agree, especially on the foot off gas comment...and will add complete game. This year, think too many games we were conservative in first half, only to pour it on in second half. Gotta come out on fire like you're down two TD's and don't let up. Outside of injuries this year, which clearly diminished what we wanted to do, we certainly had the potential "to be feared" on offense. Late in the year when we had third string DE's starting at DT, and were so thin, we really couldn't afford to play quick tempo.

This year is a mystery, but have potential to surprise.

I call that having a sense of urgency. I had a brief interaction with our new OC, it was long enough to say we need to score more points.

Release the Beast!

 

[Iam4utalways]

Did you hear Bellicheck after the Super Bowl? He said the key to the second half was that the Patriots played complimentary football.

Many of the one liners CBJ has used I've heard else where. I'm fine with almost all of them. The "behind the chains" I can do without. To me it's like we aren't flexable enough to adjust our play calls to convert a 2nd and 10 situation.

In CBJ's 1st year he wore out "consistent", he should have harped on that for 120.