DuckinTN
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2010
- Messages
- 1,393
- Likes
- 0
Alright, deep breath people. I'm not here to bash Tennessee, the program, or its fans. I have admittedly gotten into it with some of you guys, but that's what happens when a passionate fan such as myself hears some negative (and not necessarily true) things about my favorite program. I'm sure I've done the same to UT. If I've pissed anyone off by attacking them personally or anything, my bad. It just snowballed. Since there has been such an outcry for us to "stick to the X's and O's" (which I have tried to do before.), I am creating this thread JUST FOR THAT PURPOSE.
In other words....No Namecalling. Don't make fun of the Oregon program, Vol fans. Don't make fun of Tennessee's program, Oregon fans. Stick to things pertinent to the actual football game between us on 9/11/2010. That is all.
Anyway, let's get down to it.
If I were a betting man, I'd be wagering the Ducks to waddle out of Neyland Stadium with a 10-14 point win after a physical game against a team with a good amount of physicality and talent, but a team that also lacks in talent at some key positions, and a team that lacks in experience almost across the board.
Now, I will illustrate WHY this is my belief. Feel absolutely free to disagree, agree, and all that good stuff. Just don't spin it into a discussion of the programs, and no personal attacks. Simple enough? Ok, let's get going.
Oregon's offensive product on the field in 2010 is a wildcard. Although I don't feel that Oregon will completely fall on their faces offensively, despite our breaking in of a new quarterback (likely Nate Costa, possibly Darron Thomas), I feel that there is a chance that we won't meet the high standards set by last year's offense, especially in the first few games of the 2010 season. Star running back LaMichael James will be making his 2010 season debut in Neyland Stadium after a one-game suspension, which worries me. Despite the overwhelmingly positive practice reports about how well both Costa and Thomas are doing in running our offense, I think that we may still be working out the kinks with LaMichael, especially in the first half. Tennessee's defense has really seen nothing that quite compares to our offense before, mainly because a large amount of the players, especially in the front seven, simply haven't seen much action against high quality spread offenses.
That being said, I don't really see the Ducks being as highly explosive in this game as they were much of last season. Despite the mismatch of our veteran offensive line (returning all 5 starters from the best rushing offense in the Pac-10) versus Tennessee's thin and inexperienced defensive line, I think that Tennessee and Justin Wilcox will be able to load up the box with a fair amount of success against our running game. I'm not going to fool myself. Our passing game is going to be nothing to be frightened of, hence allowing Tennessee to plan to stop the run in most situations. However, both Nate Costa and Darron Thomas do have experience in big situations. Costa went down to the Rose Bowl and didn't have an excellent game, but he made a few key passes and did well enough for Oregon to beat UCLA in the road. Darron Thomas stepped in as a true freshman against Boise State and led a furious comeback that included 3 fourth quarter touchdown passes against a secondary anchored by an NFL first round pick, Kyle Wilson. Does this mean that the Duck offense will be shut down? Absolutely not. The Oregon offensive line created big holes for LaMichael and the rest of the offense (including prized sophomore Kenjon Barner and senior "Mr. Reliable" Remene Alston Jr.) against defenses at and above the caliber of Tennessee's last season, and I see it being no different in this game. I see the Ducks putting somewhere around 24-30 points on the board. I could be underestimating what we will do offensively, and I certainly could be overestimating it, but this seems like a fair assessment considering the strengths and weaknesses of both Oregon's offense and Tennessee's defense. Crowd noise shouldn't be TOO big of a factor, but a couple of bonehead false starts and penalties could definitely happen, especially considering that this is a loud place to hold our first road game of the season.
As for Tennessee's offensive game against Oregon, I don't believe that they will get much going, honestly. Matt Simms will not have faced an FBS quality defense yet, and after the cakewalk against UT-Martin, this figures to be sort of a rude awakening for Simms and the rest of the offense. Tauren Poole and David Oku are both talented backs, but can they overcome the fact that the person that is handing them the ball has never faced a quality defense such as Oregon's? I doubt it, especially considering how overwhelmed I expect Tennessee's offensive line to be. Once again, I expect Tennessee's inexperience to bite them in the butt in this regard. Oregon and Nick Aliotti (Oregon's defensive coordinator) are known for their innovating defensive and blitzing schemes. The hybrid 3-4 defense that Oregon runs should allow them to confuse Simms and the offensive line enough to limit them sorely offensively. Good special teams play including getting good field position and the kicking game will be crucial if Tennessee wants to win this game, in my opinion. Palardy or Lincoln needs to step up and make field goals, because I honestly don't seeing Tennessee putting the ball in the endzone more than once or twice in this game.
That being said, I do expect this to be a fun, physical game to watch, ending in a 24-13 Oregon Ducks victory.
Just my opinion. Feel free to disagree! Thanks, and good luck to the Vols.
But more importantly....
Go Ducks!
In other words....No Namecalling. Don't make fun of the Oregon program, Vol fans. Don't make fun of Tennessee's program, Oregon fans. Stick to things pertinent to the actual football game between us on 9/11/2010. That is all.
Anyway, let's get down to it.
If I were a betting man, I'd be wagering the Ducks to waddle out of Neyland Stadium with a 10-14 point win after a physical game against a team with a good amount of physicality and talent, but a team that also lacks in talent at some key positions, and a team that lacks in experience almost across the board.
Now, I will illustrate WHY this is my belief. Feel absolutely free to disagree, agree, and all that good stuff. Just don't spin it into a discussion of the programs, and no personal attacks. Simple enough? Ok, let's get going.
Oregon's offensive product on the field in 2010 is a wildcard. Although I don't feel that Oregon will completely fall on their faces offensively, despite our breaking in of a new quarterback (likely Nate Costa, possibly Darron Thomas), I feel that there is a chance that we won't meet the high standards set by last year's offense, especially in the first few games of the 2010 season. Star running back LaMichael James will be making his 2010 season debut in Neyland Stadium after a one-game suspension, which worries me. Despite the overwhelmingly positive practice reports about how well both Costa and Thomas are doing in running our offense, I think that we may still be working out the kinks with LaMichael, especially in the first half. Tennessee's defense has really seen nothing that quite compares to our offense before, mainly because a large amount of the players, especially in the front seven, simply haven't seen much action against high quality spread offenses.
That being said, I don't really see the Ducks being as highly explosive in this game as they were much of last season. Despite the mismatch of our veteran offensive line (returning all 5 starters from the best rushing offense in the Pac-10) versus Tennessee's thin and inexperienced defensive line, I think that Tennessee and Justin Wilcox will be able to load up the box with a fair amount of success against our running game. I'm not going to fool myself. Our passing game is going to be nothing to be frightened of, hence allowing Tennessee to plan to stop the run in most situations. However, both Nate Costa and Darron Thomas do have experience in big situations. Costa went down to the Rose Bowl and didn't have an excellent game, but he made a few key passes and did well enough for Oregon to beat UCLA in the road. Darron Thomas stepped in as a true freshman against Boise State and led a furious comeback that included 3 fourth quarter touchdown passes against a secondary anchored by an NFL first round pick, Kyle Wilson. Does this mean that the Duck offense will be shut down? Absolutely not. The Oregon offensive line created big holes for LaMichael and the rest of the offense (including prized sophomore Kenjon Barner and senior "Mr. Reliable" Remene Alston Jr.) against defenses at and above the caliber of Tennessee's last season, and I see it being no different in this game. I see the Ducks putting somewhere around 24-30 points on the board. I could be underestimating what we will do offensively, and I certainly could be overestimating it, but this seems like a fair assessment considering the strengths and weaknesses of both Oregon's offense and Tennessee's defense. Crowd noise shouldn't be TOO big of a factor, but a couple of bonehead false starts and penalties could definitely happen, especially considering that this is a loud place to hold our first road game of the season.
As for Tennessee's offensive game against Oregon, I don't believe that they will get much going, honestly. Matt Simms will not have faced an FBS quality defense yet, and after the cakewalk against UT-Martin, this figures to be sort of a rude awakening for Simms and the rest of the offense. Tauren Poole and David Oku are both talented backs, but can they overcome the fact that the person that is handing them the ball has never faced a quality defense such as Oregon's? I doubt it, especially considering how overwhelmed I expect Tennessee's offensive line to be. Once again, I expect Tennessee's inexperience to bite them in the butt in this regard. Oregon and Nick Aliotti (Oregon's defensive coordinator) are known for their innovating defensive and blitzing schemes. The hybrid 3-4 defense that Oregon runs should allow them to confuse Simms and the offensive line enough to limit them sorely offensively. Good special teams play including getting good field position and the kicking game will be crucial if Tennessee wants to win this game, in my opinion. Palardy or Lincoln needs to step up and make field goals, because I honestly don't seeing Tennessee putting the ball in the endzone more than once or twice in this game.
That being said, I do expect this to be a fun, physical game to watch, ending in a 24-13 Oregon Ducks victory.
Just my opinion. Feel free to disagree! Thanks, and good luck to the Vols.
But more importantly....
Go Ducks!
Last edited:
opcorn: ready
