About the zero sacks

[megooch1018]

Some of you will find fault in anything. Two years ago we lost to Georgia State. If you think ANY coach worth their weigh will show their cards against a bad (albeit bowl) team clearly don’t know this sport.

 

[CNCVol88]

Watching the replay I noticed a lot more cut blocks by Ball State than I though when I watched it live, especially in the 1-2 QTR's. That might have also played a factor, we didn't want to get our guys hurt so were tentative.

Exactly. Why would we ever go into a game like that balls to the wall (no pun intended) the goal is to win and move on with no injuries while playing as deep as you can. We got to do that when just a few short years ago we lost to GA state.

 

[TennesseeTarheel]

No Ball sacks is not a good season predictor.

 

[pimo1]

Ball State is not an Elite team but they are an FBS school. This was not us versus some multidirectional NAIA school. Also considering our starters only played a smidge over 1 half and we ended up going 2-3 deep in the second half and played 5 QB's the stats of this game were impressive. For comparison. Vandy played Hawaii which this season is arguably in about the same range (ball state is currently ranked 115 and Hawaii 123). Vandy scored 4 more points but played their Starting QB until the start of 4th quarter iirc and only played their 2nd string QB 1 quarter..

I think we can all agree had we even left Milton in for the whole 2nd half we coulda squeezed in 2-3 more TD's. For those saying 'Playing Vanilla' is an excuse, I am kind of confused as to your logic. First off it happens EVERY YEAR and pretty much all Big FBS teams do it as long as they can before conference play. Every single year in these forums the same discussion comes up and whether or not the defense and pass rush end up being good for the year the first few games are always like this.

 

[Other_Guy]

This is said every year tho.

 

[CNCVol88]

This is said every year tho.

Sure but that’s not usually after a game where 5 QBs got to see play because we were beating them down so badly.

 

[N.ohio vol]

Not a great pass rush but I loved how well we tackled. Loved our speed too

I did notice our open field tackling. To be honest can't tell the last time we attacked the ball like that.

 

[N.ohio vol]

No Ball sacks is not a good season predictor.

 

[dduncan4163]

I did notice our open field tackling. To be honest can't tell the last time we attacked the ball like that.

Tackling and angles is what I always pay the most attention too during the first game of the year. It's what matters the most imo. If your D can't tackle and takes bad angles that means the coaching sucks.

 

[dduncan4163]

View attachment 486345

 

[N.ohio vol]

Tackling and angles is what I alays pay the most attention too during the first game of the year. It's what matters the most imo. If your D can't tackle and takes bad angles that means the coaching sucks.

I was very pleased with the tackling last night. That was one of the first things that really opened my eyes. They seemed to be in the right spot at the right time. The closing speed and the gang tackling was great. It has me excited for sec play...

 

[BigALWiLson]

Do any of you miserable sacks ever stop to think we played 5 Qbs.... When is the last time that happened ? And yeah theres room for improvement everywhere. Just about anyone who wasn't hurt played. Your kids could have played. The WR's were vanilla and basically ran middle school routes because thats all we had to do. This is what teams with a pulse do to these types of teams. Heupel knows what he is doing. OL winded ? It's the first game and last time I checked practice is practice... We have good pieces to work with but we are not complete. It was a basic concept because that was all that was needed and reps. That game told absolutely dick other than we were the far superior team. We will know more after Pitt. Until then drink some water and lay off the sauce.....

 

[dduncan4163]

Do any of you miserable sacks ever stop to think we played 5 Qbs.... When is the last time that happened ? And yeah theres room for improvement everywhere. Just about anyone who wasn't hurt played. Your kids could have played. The WR's were vanilla and basically ran middle school routes because thats all we had to do. This is what teams with a pulse do to these types of teams. Heupel knows what he is doing. OL winded ? It's the first game and last time I checked practice is practice... We have good pieces to work with but we are not complete. It was a basic concept because that was all that was needed and reps. That game told absolutely dick other than we were the far superior team. We will know more after Pitt. Until then drink some water and lay off the sauce.....

Cancer could be cured tomorrow and some here would bitch about unemployed Oncologists.

 

[MOOOOONEY]

I know some will make a big deal out of us having no sacks vs. Ball State.

We played very vanilla on defense. I don’t recall us blitzing and Ball State was clearly using the short passing game to get the ball out quick. We also played a lot of players on defense.

We will see how the DL looks vs Pitt.

Not being negative. Any you beat a team by 49 points is a dominant win.

Yes we played vanilla on defense, but it’s very concerning not having a sack.

We have to be able to get pressure from the edge or it’s probably going to be another disappointing season.

We really need Young and Baron to develop over the next couple of weeks to have a shot at a 9-10 win season.

3rd conversions:
Ball state - 36%
Vols - 38%
Some improvement from last season, but it was Ball State. I think to have a really good to great season we need to get into the 40% range while holding our opponents in the 20% range.

We lost focus at the end of the half. Easy to do sometimes when your playing an inferior opponent and have huge lead. The ball bounced our way on the fumble. Hate for the Ball State kid, but it’s nice to get a break when over the last 14 years plays like that usually go against us.
These are the type of games that the goal is to play everyone on the bench and get out of the game with no major injuries. I think we accomplished the goal.

Side note: Joshua Joseph looks like he will need at least 2 years in the strength and conditioning program before his body is SEC ready. Like he like he could have a Leonard Little body type.

 

[LWSVOL]

I know some will make a big deal out of us having no sacks vs. Ball State.

We played very vanilla on defense. I don’t recall us blitzing and Ball State was clearly using the short passing game to get the ball out quick. We also played a lot of players on defense.

We will see how the DL looks vs Pitt.

even very vanilla, we should over power Ball St line for a half dozen sacks.

hope you're right... but........

 

[dduncan4163]

Your life must really suck lmao...probably never actually seen a vagina up close and personal.

This, and your other obvious attempts at trolling are terrible. There is subtlety to trolling. There are seasoned pros here on VN...watch and learn. Who has enough free time to be a terrible troll? A 14yo?

Lmao. GO VOLS. To Hell with whatever team you actually like...if there is one. Get out of Moms basement. Hit the gym. Get a job with a decent paycheck. You will discover sex (with a willing female actually present) and will no longer have time to troll poorly on VN.

You're welcome. - the Vol fanbase

Btw...Defcons become more serious as the number shrinks. So Defcon 1 is WW3....5 is like a fart in an elevator at the Pentagon. Name fits though...

Give Em Hell Brother

 

[Vfl2407]

Our D-Line did not get a pass rush against a very bad team. It is worrisome against a real opponent next week.

This is the correct answer.
Every year we go into the season asking two MAIN QUESTIONS.
Can we get sacks and QB hurries from our front four and can our Oline open some good holes to run thru?
And every year, when we open with a cupcake and don’t do those two things, some Vol fans get very concerned while others give excuses.
Every Year!

 

[BigALWiLson]

We were in the backfield a lot last night but it is very hard to get savks when they gameplan to throw sideline to sideline and the ball is out in 2 seconds. FFS even the most dominant defenses would struggle to get sacks against what they were doing last night. We were very close on several occassions still. Doom and gloom as usual.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

This is said every year tho.

As it should be, because it us done every year.

 

[dduncan4163]

We were in the backfield a lot last night but it is very hard to get savks when they gameplan to throw sideline to sideline and the ball is out in 2 seconds. FFS even the most dominant defenses would struggle to get sacks against what they were doing last night. We were very close on several occassions still. Doom and gloom as usual.

Don't you start talking facts Hoss. Common sense don't fly around here.

 

[CNCVol88]

Not being negative. Any you beat a team by 49 points is a dominant win.

Yes we played vanilla on defense, but it’s very concerning not having a sack.

We have to be able to get pressure from the edge or it’s probably going to be another disappointing season.

We really need Young and Baron to develop over the next couple of weeks to have a shot at a 9-10 win season.

3rd conversions:
Ball state - 36%
Vols - 38%
Some improvement from last season, but it was Ball State. I think to have a really good to great season we need to get into the 40% range while holding our opponents in the 20% range.

We lost focus at the end of the half. Easy to do sometimes when your playing an inferior opponent and have huge lead. The ball bounced our way on the fumble. Hate for the Ball State kid, but it’s nice to get a break when over the last 14 years plays like that usually go against us.
These are the type of games that the goal is to play everyone on the bench and get out of the game with no major injuries. I think we accomplished the goal.

Side note: Joshua Joseph looks like he will need at least 2 years in the strength and conditioning program before his body is SEC ready. Like he like he could have a Leonard Little body type.

Most of our third downs happened after the 1sts were already pulled.
We’ve discussed the zero sacks already. Barely any plays happened where there was even that chance and we had 7 hurries which isn’t insignificant.

 

[LittleVol]

Pass rush needs to improve.
Need Peace to come along even faster. Joseph and Young are the only rush threats i see right now.

With that said, it's not nearly as bad as some are making it out to be.

 

[MOOOOONEY]

Most of our third downs happened after the 1sts were already pulled.
We’ve discussed the zero sacks already. Barely any plays happened where there was even that chance and we had 7 hurries which isn’t insignificant.

Thanks man! Since it’s already been discussed then I will remove my post.

 

[StickMan]

Please...after 15 years of "we were vanilla", can we give that excuse a rest? That is what it is, an excuse as to why the D did not match expectations.....our front 4 should have been able to get sacks or, at a minimum, more TFLs.

They did look better on 3rd down though...I will give them that.

Holy smokes, people! Some folks are never happy. Was it perfect execution? Of course not, but it's game 1 and we won by 50. There is much to improve on, but they're not gonna be perfect every game. Enjoy the win, and let's go kick some Panther tail.

 

[StickMan]

No they didn’t. They sucked. Ball St was a bad team which made TN look better. Pitt going to eat us up.

Good lord, give it a rest. At first I thought you were just forgetting the blue font, but after your tenth post stating how bad we suck, I'm starting to think you're serious. We may end up under achieving, but I can't believe that's your conclusion from last night. We led 38_0 at halftime and emptied the bench in the second half. Yes, it was a weak opponent, but to make the claim that we suck is ignorant at best.