Well, this is not the game I was expecting to see.
1. Flip-flop offensive stats:
Pass: I expected Bray to play exactly as Russell did, passing for over 300 yards, with Russell passing for around 200. Russell passed for 291 and Bray passed for 148. Say what?
Run: I expected Miss State to run for over 200 yards and Tennessee to be respectable enough to open the pass. Tennessee ran for 213 and Miss State ran for 142. Huh?
2. Turnovers: The second most important stat in football... behind points scored. I thought we would win this battle, in spite of Mississippi State's fantastic turnover ratio entering the game. This was based on wishful thinking and what we needed to do to win... we did not.
Bray through a foolish ball that the safety broke on right before the half. Patterson needs to help his QB out and break that up.
Rivera screwed up a kick-off. I was switching rooms and TV's and missed that, but obviously, unacceptable.
Devrin: Dropped punt and fumble. The punt was inexcusable, fumbles for running backs happen occasionally... but the timing and field position of that killed.
Byron Moore had a pick with one man to beat that hit him right in the phalanges. Would have been nice have that one.
3. Justin Hunter: Everyone will jump on me for this, but he has to step it up. He has 35 catches this year, and I would estimate 8 drops... maybe more. He has so much talent, but you simply cannot drop 22% of the balls that hit you in both hands. ACL's don't affect that and he has never stopped catching balls since last year, so I don't buy the rust excuse. Bray had one of the more beautiful passes you will ever see, and it went right off of his mits. Kiper needs to adjust his WR "big board".
4. Special Teams: It was the most inept showing I have ever seen, excluding a blocked kick, missed FG, or opponent return for a TD. Darr seriously needs to become a linebacker or lose his scholarship. I am sorry, but
129th nationally does not cut it. Tyler Bray out-kicked him on Saturday.
5. Patterson Show: He is the most explosive player we have had here in years, continuing to make busted plays into ridiculous gains. Somehow, he has a paltry 6 catches in the last 3 games. He needs 6 catches EVERY HALF! He continues to run the ball extremely well and he finally took a kick to the house.
6. TN Running Game: We did what we wanted, with whatever we had. 7 players, including Bray, averaged over 4 yards per carry, with the team averaging 6.3 on the night. Chaney called the running game well, utilizing Young, Pig, and Watson after Neal and Lane exited due to injury. In spite of his fumble, Devrin ran well between the tackles and showed burst. Pig is extremely explosive and Watson had a nice run and a bust.
7. Tyler Bray: I saw the rest of the season flash before my eyes when Tyler clutched his knee on the scramble. Other than that, it was a below average night for Bray. He went to the deep ball too often when it was not there, throwing one pick, and did not find the intermediate routes that I hoped he would find. A beautiful pass was dropped by Hunter and otherwise, he probably threw 4 balls away. For all of his upside, I do not see the consistent, excellent throws that a NFL team will want. Yes, he CAN make every throw, but he does not make those throws on a consistent enough basis. Rivera is averaging 2.5 catches a game, with one catch last night. He is severely underutilized.
8. Lack of offensive rhythm: After the first drive of the game for the TN offense, I thought the onslaught was on. Then, with Miss State picking their way down the field, a three and out, CP's kick return, and a Rivera mishandle on the next kickoff, the offense was completely out of sync and could not find a rhythm.
9. Dooley's status: Always the Dooley supporter, last night was disheartening. This was the first game of the year where I fully expected to win. GA and FL I thought we could win, but I had bubbly ready for this one. We had more talent. We had the bye-week. We had something to prove. We did jack-squat. This team has been up and down this year. We hoped after the UGA game, we were peaking, turning the corner, and then... this.
You can say that the fundamental errors cannot be attributed to the coaches, "they can't be on the field" but doesn't a constant black cloud of these mistakes suggest that possibly, we are not developing the talent, or preparing them well? It has to be a discussion point.
The fact is, that when we played UF and UGA, anyone in their right mind could tell that those teams were very good. I do not get the feeling that Miss State is a very good team, despite Matt Millen trying to play that card all night. They beat an underachieving Tennessee team that played pretty pathetic football last night.
I will always support the team and the coaches who are in place. I do not blindly believe that Dooley is going to be the answer. At this point, he has shown more that he is NOT. Wins against USCe or Alabama would bring some optimism, but right now, I have little. Wins against the final 4 teams are not going to raise glasses around Tennessee, and they should not. I will support whatever coach we have, Dooley or otherwise, and hope we win every freaking game for the rest of the way, but a 4-2 finish seems likely, and with this team, that is underachieving and needs an evaluation from the AD.
