We need more athleticism on defense

#51
#51
Vol$_Deep_11_9 said:
I've thought Jumper has played just fine. TK has come up with a couple of clutch plays this season as well.
Click to expand...

Yeah Jumper as been fine and has done more than he was asked to do. Would it have helped against Bama to have more lateral speed on the edge? Well...of course...but blaming Jumper as a problem instead of our injury woes seems to have become the vogue thing to do....Without Jumpers understanding of the defense and getting our gaps covered and the front 7 lined up properly our record UNDOUBTLY would have been worst....
 
#52
#52
The Orange Pants said:
Very few safeties have a chance covering an athlete like Kirk.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Most CBs have trouble with him.

TK has been steady. Not an improvement over Randolph. But he's been decent. Randolph was very good in run support.

Neither of our new safeties have been very physical.
 
#56
#56
The Orange Pants said:
He's right this time. None of our safeties have been good against the run.
Click to expand...

Nobody on our defense has been worth a damn against the run this year. Our run fits up front have been awful, nobody sets the edge outside, our linebackers aren't getting off blocks and yes, our safeties could certainly be better.

But to single out TKJr is just ridiculous.
He's the team's leading tackler for a reason....nobody else in front of him is playing well. As a matter of fact, 4 or our top 5 tacklers are DBs. What does that tell everybody?
 
#58
#58
KBVol said:
Nobody on our defense has been worth a damn against the run this year. Our run fits up front have been awful, nobody sets the edge outside, our linebackers aren't getting off blocks and yes, our safeties could certainly be better.

But to single out TKJr is just ridiculous.
He's the team's leading tackler for a reason....nobody else in front of him is playing well. As a matter of fact, 4 or our top 5 tacklers are DBs. What does that tell everybody?
Click to expand...

I don't disagree.

The leading tacklers are DBs because we haven't had JRM/DKJ eating everything up and offenses are more wide open now. It's a perfect storm, really.
 
#59
#59
The Orange Pants said:
I don't disagree.

The leading tacklers are DBs because we haven't had JRM/DKJ eating everything up and offenses are more wide open now. It's a perfect storm, really.
Click to expand...

And I agree with you. I just don't get the OPs point of calling TKJr out here. Since you, correctly IMO, brought up JRM, consider this.........the last two years, JRM was our leading tackler, averaging 103 tackles per season. Right now, TKJr is also our leading tackler and is on pace for about 93 tackles in 13 games....and he's in the defensive backfield, not up close to the los.

So, is TKJr an All-American type safety? No. But has he been "terrible" or ineffective as a run supporter at the position? No again IMO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#60
#60
It started with D4H saying that Kelly is good in pass coverage but is suspect in run support. I said the opposite. He's good at run support, but lacks in man coverage. I guess the Kirk analogy wasn't a good one, but it was one where he was exposed. I get it also, that not many CB's can cover Kirk, but he failed to back peddle, allowed Kirk to get up on him before he turned and ran.
 
#61
#61
It's been evident for a while that we need someone in the defensive backfield that can break on the ball like lightning! Haven't seen that in a while. Frustrating to see the ball in the air for a while and no defender able to intercept it. Wonder if we could finagle some eligibility for Eric Berry under a fake i.d.
 
#62
#62
KBVol said:
And I agree with you. I just don't get the OPs point of calling TKJr out here. Since you, correctly IMO, brought up JRM, consider this.........the last two years, JRM was our leading tackler, averaging 103 tackles per season. Right now, TKJr is also our leading tackler and is on pace for about 93 tackles in 13 games....and he's in the defensive backfield, not up close to the los.

So, is TKJr an All-American type safety? No. But has he been "terrible" or ineffective as a run supporter at the position? No again IMO.
Click to expand...

Yhea it would only make sense if it were an isolated issue. We have a widespread problem on defense. Nearly everyone struggles to take good angles and complete tackles. We are not fundamentally sound. TK isn't the problem. He is simply one part of the problem. Unfortunately, the problem is the entire defense.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#63
#63
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
We need to work Nigel Warrior into the lineup in place of TKjr. We also need to work Daniel Bituli into the lineup in place of Colton Jumper.

A combination of Kirkland and Bituli at LB and a combination of Warrior and Abernathy at safety is what our run defense needs.
Click to expand...
And.....you know this how? I thought they all practiced and the coaches saw them and know what they can do. I will take what the staff chooses to do. I would venture to say that these guys are playing in the place of the guys that are playing for a reason.
 
#64
#64
dobbs 4 heisman said:
losing kirkland and jrm for basically the entire season has exposed todd kelly jr. The kid has good insticts but lacks the athleticism to support the run.

We need to work nigel warrior into the lineup in place of tkjr. We also need to work daniel bituli into the lineup in place of colton jumper.

A combination of kirkland and bituli at lb and a combination of warrior and abernathy at safety is what our run defense needs.
Click to expand...


seriously???

:-(

tennesseeduke
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#65
#65
footballref said:
And.....you know this how? I thought they all practiced and the coaches saw them and know what they can do. I will take what the staff chooses to do. I would venture to say that these guys are playing in the place of the guys that are playing for a reason.
Click to expand...

He huffed around after NSD that Warrior had stiff hips and bad instincts...he's like Texas weather...just wait 5 minutes. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#67
#67
VFL34 said:
Kelly jr lacks speed, that's his downfall. He is a good safety. Abernathy is outstanding.
Click to expand...

Abernathy has good physical ability for a safety, but have you seen him the past two weeks?

Even before injury he often took bad angles.

And did you see how he LET Jalen Hurts block him on that reverse?

In my opinion he's just a tad tentative.

I'd like to see Warrior compete.
Maybe even see some nickel. Give Gaulden a breather.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#68
#68
Vols don't appear to have any NFL level talent in the secondary and it shows......it could still ruin the season, so hold on Vol fans, it may get bumpy
 
#69
#69
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
He's still too slow to be a safety on an elite defense.

I think TKjr needs to lose a lot of weight. He looked faster as a freshmen. He's been getting smoked all year long this season.
Click to expand...

The fact that you state that a 195 lb. safety needs to "lose a lot of weight" says it all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#70
#70
photovol said:
Vols don't appear to have any NFL level talent in the secondary and it shows......it could still ruin the season, so hold on Vol fans, it may get bumpy
Click to expand...

We beat Virginia Tech and Florida with that same talent.

They should be able to get the job done for our remaining opponents.
 
#71
#71
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
Losing Kirkland and JRM for basically the entire season has exposed Todd Kelly Jr. The kid has good insticts but lacks the athleticism to support the run.

We need to work Nigel Warrior into the lineup in place of TKjr. We also need to work Daniel Bituli into the lineup in place of Colton Jumper.

A combination of Kirkland and Bituli at LB and a combination of Warrior and Abernathy at safety is what our run defense needs.
Click to expand...

So this was just a thread to bash TKJR, a multi-year starter with 50 tackles this year alone? Classy move, there buddy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#72
#72
photovol said:
Vols don't appear to have any NFL level talent in the secondary and it shows......it could still ruin the season, so hold on Vol fans, it may get bumpy
Click to expand...

Abernathy and Gaulden are Sunday players. As well as Cam when he's healthy (obviously).

Martin has Sunday talent he just needs to get his head on right.
 
#73
#73
YorkVol said:
So this was just a thread to bash TKJR, a multi-year starter with 50 tackles this year alone? Classy move, there buddy.
Click to expand...

Saying the truth ain't bashing.

He's just not extremely athletic. And the best defenses have great athletes playing safety.
 
#74
#74
Can't believe I'm saying this, but I do agree that it seems TKjr has lost a bit of speed it seems from last season. He is a great player, but we all know speed kills...
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top