After last night, I'm convinced that this staff is going to succeed

#52
#52
99gator said:
Some of the penalties are in the "can't have them" category.

Having said that, Florida's championship teams consistently were tops in the SEC as the most penalized.
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it’s been 4 games. Out of the 4, two were over 100+ yards one of which was well over the mark. He’s not anywhere close to good enough to over come that.
 
#54
#54
Dudleys87 said:
He can sell all he wants but until he teaches basic fundamentals properly he’ll be middle of the road at best.
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I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm really not.

But, I think you'll find that all teams make mistakes. The better teams make fewer, but also have the talent to overcome them.

Right now, when Tennessee drops back to pass, the percentage of occasions where the offensive line provides proper protection and the QB makes an accurate throw is lower than other places. And that means drops are even more problematic.

If Joey Kent dropped a pass from Peyton Manning, it would be ok. Manning would just hit Peerless Price on the next play for a first down. No big deal. And Tennessee would be up by 2 touchdowns anyway. And if they had to punt because of the drop, no big deal. The defense will get a 3 and out and we'll have the ball back in no time.

The point is, the mistakes are magnified because Tennessee is already at a talent disadvantage where they can't afford to make a mistake.
 
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#55
#55
At halftime, aside from the missed FG, I felt like we were Florida's equal. I'm sure there were Gator fans who were thinking that, too. They were being seriously tested (for once!), and it was a proud moment. Unfortunately, another half revealed our shortcomings, as we lost our poise, and we know the rest. But, I saw some creative plays called, and if the QB and WRs can just improve their communication - performance, we can get some wins. We still have passes overthrown and had the receiver not DROPPED that ball that had been delivered to his hands, we'd have converted that 4th down deep in Gator territory. It would have injected some confidence and fire. Because the passing game still needs work, we relied too much on the ground game, as precious minutes ticked off in the 4th qtr. We became too one-dimensional and the running game became less effective. It was disappointing that we stopped airing it out, as that's a cornerstone of Heupel's offense.

The Gators will beat nearly every team they face this season, so a loss there wasn't truly indicative of our progress. We weren't the hapless patsie we've seen for many seasons. We scrapped and showed heart. Not sure if everyone saw Bowling Green's upset of Minnesota yesterday, but even that early win over BG now has a bit more luster.

Give this program a little time (see Arkansas), and see what happens. Better days are coming!
 
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#58
#58
99gator said:
I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm really not.

But, I think you'll find that all teams make mistakes. The better teams make fewer, but also have the talent to overcome them.

Right now, when Tennessee drops back to pass, the percentage of occasions where the offensive line provides proper protection and the QB makes an accurate throw is lower than other places. And that means drops are even more problematic.

If Joey Kent dropped a pass from Peyton Manning, it would be ok. Manning would just hit Peerless Price on the next play for a first down. No big deal. And Tennessee would be up by 2 touchdowns anyway. And if they had to punt because of the drop, no big deal. The defense will get a 3 and out and we'll have the ball back in no time.

The point is, the mistakes are magnified because Tennessee is already at a talent disadvantage where they can't afford to make a mistake.
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Magnified because they literally can’t catch. Doesent matter if it’s easy or hard. If I had to put money down on them catching or not catching Id bet big money on them not catching the ball.

But it’s more than that.

They go break neck speed but can’t line up properly or they think they are and draw consecutive penalties.

It’s nice to be fast and to a degree it works but it’s not always needed.

The OL can’t even block consistently or snap the ball. I know the services over rate kids or whatever the case may be but the basic things can and should be corrected.

Then there’s the mess at QB, if he’s the great developer he claims to be should we not have seen some sort of growth from them 4 weeks in? I don’t think that’s to much to ask.
 
#59
#59
papatomany said:
As for clock management, McElroy kept saying you HAD to spike it after every first down. Looked to me like Heupel thought we had them on their heels and wanted to keep the pressure on.
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McElroy is a 3 yards and a cloud of dust QB. I'm totally baffled at people questioning the clock management there. We went 55 yards in 57 seconds and got in scoring position against a team Alabama struggled to move the ball against. Heupel explained what he was doing and what he saw there when asked about it post game.
 
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#60
#60
VolArmy74 said:
McElroy is a 3 yards and a cloud of dust QB. I'm totally baffled at people questioning the clock management there. We went 55 yards in 57 seconds and got in scoring position against a team Alabama struggled to move the ball against. Heupel explained what he was doing and what he saw there when asked about it post game.
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Mac was screaming the play to make. Over and over. Had Tennessee done that they would have at least one more play before the kick.

It was the right call. There’s no need to go break neck speed all the time when there’s a good chance The team will get a penalty.
 
#61
#61
Or ya know use the timeouts you had in your pocket but let’s not hold the people that get paid millions accountable
 
#62
#62
OP/ I agree. This team hasn't got no ego and no quit. They have a ton of problems. All fixable. Receivers with the dropsies. A QB that overthrows everything. An O line that is only 80% where they need to be. We can't tackle. BUT, it's clear that the team has bought into the coach. He made some crazy calls like those 4th down calls that said to the team, "I KNOW you can". I saw guys gutting it out all game long. No faking injuries to get off the field in losing games. No quitting at all. This is a team that is going to need this whole season to develop. This is going to be an interesting recruiting cycle. CJH is showing "something" to recruits about himself and this teams potential. If he can sell it, he's going to surprise the world. Next year is going to be a very different season from what we've seen in the last decade and a half. We aren't going to be a NC caliber team, but we're going to shock the world somewhere along the way. We are going to beat one of the big three next year (GA, AL, FL). Book it.....
 
#63
#63
We are mostly competing with last years 2nd string! Think about that. These coaches are coaching their tails off. Let’s see what another year, or two, holds for this staff, for this team, for the University, before we tar and feather them. Personally, when you consider what they are competing with, and who they are competing against, and the progress made…I feel we will be very successful in the future. GBO!
 
#64
#64
99gator said:
It took Kiffin a little bit to figure out what Crompton could and could not do and after that he got the most out of that group he could.

Still think the 2009 game against Georgia is arguably the most complete football game Tennessee has played since the end of the Fulmer era.

I think Heupel is doing as well as he can with what he has.
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Outback Bowl against Northwestern after 2015 season
 
#65
#65
xpsyclonex2002 said:
OP/ I agree. This team hasn't got no ego and no quit. They have a ton of problems. All fixable. Receivers with the dropsies. A QB that overthrows everything. An O line that is only 80% where they need to be. We can't tackle. BUT, it's clear that the team has bought into the coach. He made some crazy calls like those 4th down calls that said to the team, "I KNOW you can". I saw guys gutting it out all game long. No faking injuries to get off the field in losing games. No quitting at all. This is a team that is going to need this whole season to develop. This is going to be an interesting recruiting cycle. CJH is showing "something" to recruits about himself and this teams potential. If he can sell it, he's going to surprise the world. Next year is going to be a very different season from what we've seen in the last decade and a half. We aren't going to be a NC caliber team, but we're going to shock the world somewhere along the way. We are going to beat one of the big three next year (GA, AL, FL). Book it.....
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Tackling was fine in 1st half. Not so much as they tired in 2nd half
 
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#66
#66
99gator said:
I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm really not.

But, I think you'll find that all teams make mistakes. The better teams make fewer, but also have the talent to overcome them.

Right now, when Tennessee drops back to pass, the percentage of occasions where the offensive line provides proper protection and the QB makes an accurate throw is lower than other places. And that means drops are even more problematic.

If Joey Kent dropped a pass from Peyton Manning, it would be ok. Manning would just hit Peerless Price on the next play for a first down. No big deal. And Tennessee would be up by 2 touchdowns anyway. And if they had to punt because of the drop, no big deal. The defense will get a 3 and out and we'll have the ball back in no time.

The point is, the mistakes are magnified because Tennessee is already at a talent disadvantage where they can't afford to make a mistake.
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“The point is, the mistakes are magnified because Tennessee is already at a talent disadvantage where they can't afford to make a mistake.”

Whenever Tennessee misses on play it’s like you already know they won’t recover. You can’t enjoy a game when you feel like they’ve got to have everything.
 
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#67
#67
GregAmsler said:
Four games in, and I see a team that fights for 60 minutes (which wasn't the case last year) and believes in itself and this staff (definitely not the case last year). I also see a master play-caller in Heuepl. He has WRs running open consistently, but QBs either miss them or (more often) receivers drop passes.

I was wondering why they're trying to sign 5 WRs in this class, given how that looked to be a strength of this team going into the season. We're seeing why. They need some guys who can catch the ball.

The biggest issues remain penalties and self-inflicted wounds. "That's on Heupel's lack of discipline!" many of the negative fans scream. This team hasn't been disciplined, penalty-wise, for awhile. We can't expect every bad habit to be undone and fixed in year 1, especially while they're also learning new systems. This is a building year: Heupel is installing systems, changing culture, and putting a team on the field that fights/believes. We'll see a lot more progress in Year 2.

Consider what Sam Pittman is doing in Year 2 at Arkansas. Know what their record was in Year 1? It was 3-7. Now they're undefeated and about to be ranked in the top 10. Know where they rank this season in fewest penalty yards per game? 121st out of 130. Some of our fans think that because Heupel hasn't fixed every problem in 4 games, he's Dooley, part 2. It's absurd.

So going forward....we were never expected to beat Florida by anyone. I didn't expect to be a missed FG away from being tied at the half, either. The two biggest games of the season are coming up: Missouri and South Carolina. Win those two and 6 wins is in the bag. We should beat SC and I give the Vols a slight edge over Missouri after yesterday. Further, Kentucky is certainly looking a lot more winnable. Last night, I saw a team that can win 7 games, IF they don't suffer any major injuries. 6 wins was my hope going into the season. 7 would be fantastic. Then give these QBs an entire offseason to develop more after having played a season in this system, bring in some transfers at key positions, and I think you could see a takeoff season in Year 2. And hopefully, the WRs figure out how to catch or we find some who can.
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We need to get those Mizz and SC games out of the way before injuries decimate us.
 
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#68
#68
Dudleys87 said:
Mac was screaming the play to make. Over and over. Had Tennessee done that they would have at least one more play before the kick.

It was the right call. There’s no need to go break neck speed all the time when there’s a good chance The team will get a penalty.
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There's a reason McElroy is an announcer and Heupel is one of the best offensive coaches in college football for the last 15 years. I trust him when he says he wanted to not spike it or call timeouts there. The best reason to trust him is because it worked. We went from deep in our own territory to fg range in less than a minute vs a strong defense. Had we spiked it, we just have to kick it a down earlier because we lost that down on the spike. But it also would have given Florida's defense more time to adjust.
 
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#69
#69
Very impressed with the play calling on both sides of the ball. if we had a QB and few more depth pieces we would be 4-0
 
#71
#71
Couldn't agree more! This staff is building a serviceable team when the roster has been ravaged. These guys have heart and grit and they want to fight it out. I can't believe so many of our fans expected to beat Florida really with this roster and a new staff. We have seen improvement each week and that is one of the biggest problems we have had....player development
 
#72
#72
Unfortunately until we get the horses, in order to upset the Florida’s, Georgia’s and Bama’s of the world we need A LOT to go our way and A LOT to go against them. We just haven’t had such luck in what seems like forever.
 
#73
#73
The team made us proud for nearly two quarters. We all wanted to go into the second half with a lead against Florida. We all know what happened, and it was disappointing. This team is fighting for its respect, and it is so much better than it was in January. The reality is that it is not where it needs to be, not where it wants to be. If the players can be so much better than than the were, then they can keep getting better, and they will but how much better? I am disappointed that they lost, but not disgusted and hopeless. I think there is still hope for them to win games against several SEC teams left on the schedule.
 
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#74
#74
It's readily apparent, even 4 games in, the offense puts everyone in a position to succeed. Over throws and, particularly, drops are leaving points on the field, and has cost them 1 game (Pitt). If you're an offensive recruit, and you can't see the potential here, then I don't know what to tell you. It's there. I'd hate to be the team playing TN on a day the offense clicks on all cylinders, you're going to get run out of the building. Fast.
 
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#75
#75
99gator said:
They need players.

So, the most important question about Heupel right now is can he bring the players to Knoxville.
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Pretty much my opinion as well. Recruiting will decide his fate. Specifically has to recruit and develop a qb
 
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