Assessment of team to this Point

#1
TnAngler

TnAngler

U.S. Army, Retired
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Feb 6, 2009
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#1
As you read my post and reply, please keep comments constructive and try not to attack the person but rather the underlying issue.

With one quarter of the season behind us, I for one have seen some glimmer of hope for our program. The offense is starting to play better as a whole, obviously there are still some areas that need to improvement, but overall the offense is scoring enough points to keep us in or win us games. The play calling against Georgia was spot on, Chaney stayed with the run and it helped. Special teams, outside of our FG/EP kickers are doing a pretty solid job.

From my observations and my OPINION, the real issues that we must address are on the defensive side of the ball. I played football growing up as did probably the majority of the people on here, however that in no way qualifies me as an expert or a coach.

At times our defense has played OK, but for the most part I have witnessed to many broken plays resulting in TDs or large amounts of yards being given up. I understand that we are transitioning to a new defensive scheme and I am curious if that in of its self is the problem, kind of like Georgia a few years back. It appears to me that we do not have the speed on the defensive side of the ball, especially at defensive back to match up with the speed of the opposing team’s offense. Additionally, it seems that we are constantly getting destroyed by the opponents passing game.

Thoughts?
 
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#2
#2
Remind me again when our defense played outstanding? (sorry, I haven't had enough coffee yet this morning)
 
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#3
#3
Jackson_Harris said:
Remind me again when our defense played outstanding? (sorry, I haven't had enough coffee yet this morning)
Click to expand...

I got your point and have changed it from outstanding to OK.:good!:

Did you change your avatar based on those dreams that you were having of Nunns?
 
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#4
#4
I see a lot of hope as well. I just hope these guys continue to fight like they did against Georgie. That kind of fight coupled with fixing some key errors will get us some wins.

The defense is the major concern. It's like they can stop anybody or anything one play then give up the home run the next. The ability is there and I think the coaching is there, but the light bulb hasn't come in yet. Kinda like our run game...all the sudden it started really clicking and looks pretty good. Hopefully the defensive light will come on against Mississippi state.
 
#5
#5
Pretty good assessment.

The Pros:
- Running the ball better
- Mixing run and pass nicely
- Fighting for 4 quarters against a top team

The Cons:
- Porous defense
- Dooley still doesn't have a signature win
- Extra points and FGs... smh
 
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#6
#6
The switch to the 3-4 has it's pitfalls. You mentioned UGA after they made the switch, they went 6-7 that year. I see a lot of players simply being out of position before the snap, bad communication and poor tackling angles and poor tackling technique.

The secondary is a mess too, Brian Randolph is sorely missed. For every good play they make, they make two that make you scratch your head.

The offense, to me, isn't what it should be. Bray is missing huge plays to open WR. I cannot understand why we don't target CP more, he is as dangerous in the open field as anyone in the naiton. He needs to touch the ball 10 times a game.

Running game has made strides, that has to continue if UT is going to stay in games against superior teams. The balance against UGA was nice to see, gotta continue it though.

Our kicking game is awful, I can't even find the words to describe it.
 
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#7
#7
I'm starting to think hiring Sal was a mistake for Dooley simply because he hasn't built up enough good will to allow the defense to go through its growing pains. Its costing us games, and Dools can't afford that at this stage. I'm not sure we would have been better off staying with the same base defense just under a new coordinator.
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#9
#9
WesternNCVol said:
I see a lot of hope as well. I just hope these guys continue to fight like they did against Georgie. That kind of fight coupled with fixing some key errors will get us some wins.

The defense is the major concern. It's like they can stop anybody or anything one play then give up the home run the next. The ability is there and I think the coaching is there, but the light bulb hasn't come in yet. Kinda like our run game...all the sudden it started really clicking and looks pretty good. Hopefully the defensive light will come on against Mississippi state.
Click to expand...

I have been pleased with the improvement in our running game. I believe that Coach JG and players will make significant strides during the remainder of this season, followed by a great offseason.
 
#10
#10
TnAngler said:
I got your point and have changed it from outstanding to OK.:good!:

Did you change your avatar based on those dreams that you were having of Nunns?
Click to expand...

Yeah, blue nuns...slept with the windows open last night and woke up cold with blue balls
 
#12
#12
fade route said:
I'm starting to think hiring Sal was a mistake for Dooley simply because he hasn't built up enough good will to allow the defense to go through its growing pains. Its costing us games, and Dools can't afford that at this stage. I'm not sure we would have been better off staying with the same base defense just under a new coordinator.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
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Dools is smart... he hired Sal thinking he was the best hire... but he also knew he came with a built-in excuse... after all, it is year 0 for the defense.
 
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#13
#13
I don't think there have been any surprises. Most expected the offense to be very good. It has been. The running game is improving although not SEC caliber yet.

The defense has suffered from some failures in both personnel and scheme. McCullers was supposed to anchor the middle of the 3-4. He has done so. The problem with a 3-4 is that it depends heavily on the LBs to make plays. They have not always done that. It also puts more pressure on the DBs since the LBs are playing up close. The DBs are not a strong point. In fact, they are probably the 2nd biggest problem on the team.

Placekicking is just plain bad. It is not BCS quality at all. It isn't even FCS quality. It is barely HS quality. I don't know if it is recruiting or coaching or just a problem with the kickers. They don't pay me to know but I do pay to watch better than I'm getting. It must be fixed.

Overall, I give 'em a B-/C+. There are plenty of chances to upgrade to a B+ or to fall to a D or F. There is hope for both this year and years to come. It is NOT as bleak as some want to make it and certainly not as bleak as it was last December.
 
#14
#14
WesternNCVol said:
I see a lot of hope as well. I just hope these guys continue to fight like they did against Georgie. That kind of fight coupled with fixing some key errors will get us some wins.

The defense is the major concern. It's like they can stop anybody or anything one play then give up the home run the next. The ability is there and I think the coaching is there, but the light bulb hasn't come in yet. Kinda like our run game...all the sudden it started really clicking and looks pretty good. Hopefully the defensive light will come on against Mississippi state.
Click to expand...

I think the "fight" many are highlighting against UGA is a bit overstated.

Just like the NC State game, UGA had a 4 minute meltdown, granted UT did what you are supposed to do in that situation and while it was nice to see them do that, the game itself was nearing a blowout early in the 2nd quarter.
 
#16
#16
fade route said:
I'm starting to think hiring Sal was a mistake for Dooley simply because he hasn't built up enough good will to allow the defense to go through its growing pains. Its costing us games, and Dools can't afford that at this stage. I'm not sure we would have been better off staying with the same base defense just under a new coordinator.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
Click to expand...

He has no leg to stand on. Richt had just enough to withstand a transitional period but it almost cost him his job.

Dooley can't really afford it, he needs to win now.
 
#18
#18
fade route said:
I'm starting to think hiring Sal was a mistake for Dooley simply because he hasn't built up enough good will to allow the defense to go through its growing pains. Its costing us games, and Dools can't afford that at this stage. I'm not sure we would have been better off staying with the same base defense just under a new coordinator.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
Click to expand...


CDD can afford the growing pains of getting the new 3-4 D going because CDD has a solid contract and he'll be here next season.

The 4-3 D isn't nearly as good as the 3-4 D is and that's why so many teams are trying to switch to it IF they can find good coaches that know the 3-4 well to coach it.

The 3-4 takes 2 YEARS even in the NFL to get it down well because it's so intricate and there's so much for every player to learn.

Once CSS has all our D players where they know everything about the 3-4 well and they can react fast instead of taking a few seconds to think about what they need to do then we'll be a beast on D.

There's so many more things you can do with a 3-4 D with schemes, blitzes, ect that the other teams O can be confused alot during the game and those mistakes will help us Win more games.

THINK...Saban and alaBubba runs a 3-4 as does UGA and I don't know who else but more teams will be switching when they can.

CDD has our O practicing against our 3-4 every single day so our O players are learning how to become much more effective against teams like Bama and UGA and I believe we just saw our Vols put alot of points up against a 3-4 team that's been running it for 2 or 3 years now and are ranked 5th in the country.

It's going to take more time to get everything right but when we do then the SEC will have another powerhouse team to worry about, again, like we should be feared.

VFL...GBO!!!
 
#19
#19
Has anyone noticed what defensive package we were in when we've given up the 5 50+ yard TD runs? Base? Nickel? Dime? I'm assuming it was nickel or dime against akron since we rarely played base in that game.
 
#20
#20
ChattaTNVol said:
Has anyone noticed what defensive package we were in when we've given up the 5 50+ yard TD runs? Base? Nickel? Dime? I'm assuming it was nickel or dime against akron since we rarely played base in that game.
Click to expand...

I know two of those long runs against UGA we had 3 LB's on the field.
 
#22
#22
Titan&Volfan4life said:
CDD can afford the growing pains of getting the new 3-4 D going because CDD has a solid contract and he'll be here next season.

The 4-3 D isn't nearly as good as the 3-4 D is and that's why so many teams are trying to switch to it IF they can find good coaches that know the 3-4 well to coach it.

The 3-4 takes 2 YEARS even in the NFL to get it down well because it's so intricate and there's so much for every player to learn.

Once CSS has all our D players where they know everything about the 3-4 well and they can react fast instead of taking a few seconds to think about what they need to do then we'll be a beast on D.

There's so many more things you can do with a 3-4 D with schemes, blitzes, ect that the other teams O can be confused alot during the game and those mistakes will help us Win more games.

THINK...Saban and alaBubba runs a 3-4 as does UGA and I don't know who else but more teams will be switching when they can.

CDD has our O practicing against our 3-4 every single day so our O players are learning how to become much more effective against teams like Bama and UGA and I believe we just saw our Vols put alot of points up against a 3-4 team that's been running it for 2 or 3 years now and are ranked 5th in the country.

It's going to take more time to get everything right but when we do then the SEC will have another powerhouse team to worry about, again, like we should be feared.

VFL...GBO!!!
Click to expand...

You're the new MikeHamiltonFan, everything you post is 5,000 words of absolute crap.
 
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#23
#23
fade route said:
I'm starting to think hiring Sal was a mistake for Dooley simply because he hasn't built up enough good will to allow the defense to go through its growing pains. Its costing us games, and Dools can't afford that at this stage. I'm not sure we would have been better off staying with the same base defense just under a new coordinator.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
Click to expand...

Hate to admit it, I have to agree with Fade.
 
#25
#25
Georgia kept them out of the 3-4.. They played 4-3 most of the game.. Most of those long runs were spacing , gap control, not getting off blocks or being held. When we adjusted, they starting hitting us over the middle... They knew Tennessee's personnel and how to exploit it....
 
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