Azzanni: 'This is not a pro-style huddle game anymore'

[VolFootballIsLife]

I'm not one that's claiming that CZA needs to be fired right now; though I am one saying he needs to be under a microscope. But you are not calling spades spades. You are making things up. CBJ ran the same offense at Cinci, and it was not what you described it to be.



Our offense is not designed to be a run-heavy offense. It is designed to be a balanced offense. It is not designed to be merely a din/dunk passing game. He spread the ball all over the field--including deep--at Cinci and UCM.

He just hasn't had the tools to do that here. It's been a combination of O-Line, Dobbs' accuracy, and WR problems. He hasn't been able to trust the passing game, so you've gotten the impression that the offense is a run-heavy offense.

The OL issues seem to be resolved. Hopefully Josh's accuracy is resolved. And hopefully the poor WR play gets resolved. If it doesn't, CZA needs to go.

Actually, I agree with your post 100%. The only thing is point out is that I'm "not making things up" as you say. It may be the same O as Cinci days but we are totally a run first O currently at UT because he has the three headed monster in the backfield. He leans on that and rightfully so. Just because it's the same offense as his Cinci days doesn't mean he hasn't made tweaks due to his extremely gifted backfield.

 

[ChattaTNVol]

Easy with the "hate rhetoric" Dave. That's just hate rhetoric you're spewing towards Azzani there, just pure hate I tell ya.

In defense of Coach Z, Missouri was the only team with receiving stats for the leading receiver below ours. It shouldn't be that hard for us to jump up above Vandy, right? I mean wouldn't that be enough improvement to quash some of the hate?

Shucks. I just rechecked the stats. We'd have to get above LSU and Auburn before we can overtake Vandy with leading receiver stats.

Damn, and Florida.

I give up - Haters got this one I think.

 

[Orange_Crush]

Actually, I agree with your post 100%. The only thing is point out is that I'm "not making things up" as you say. It may be the same O as Cinci days but we are totally a run first O currently at UT because he has the three headed monster in the backfield. He leans on that and rightfully so. Just because it's the same offense as his Cinci days doesn't mean he hasn't made tweaks due to his extremely gifted backfield and problems with the passing game.

Added the bold.

If your point was that Butch changed the offense since Cinci, then you've lost the meat of your argument. There's cause/effect in play here. Sure, it's nice to be able to lean on the three-headed monster for ground/pound yardage. But it's also very easy to see that the passing game has sucked when we've tried to go to it. So, Butch has been forced to change his offensive philosophy.

I've rewatched every 2015 game over the past coupe of weeks. We had a very good running game. Josh was pressured too much. The WRs were atrocious!

And as good as our running game was, it could have been off the charts amazing. Hurd should get a Heisman with his performance because he was always running through trash. He always had guys on him either in the backfield or within a couple of yards of the line of scrimmage. He was dragging LBs or knocking them over. He had to do so because they were crowding the line waiting on him, because they knew they didn't have to play off the line and be afraid of a pass over their heads.

Also, the number of dropped balls--just blatant dropped balls--was sickening. And they made Dobbs' #s look worse than he was.

 

[KBVol]

So you admit you know more about coaching college football than Butch and the staff? They're might be some "knowledgable" fans on here but that's why none of us are coaching football. It's easy for us fans to just talk about something that sounds easy to do than actually doing it. Not everyone can handle coaching 18-22 year old kids on the college level. I think I'll take Butch's perspective over your opinion whether you agree with his decisions or not. Right now, I think he's done a lot with this program and you just need to learn how to appreciate his work a little bit more.

Where did I say anything about knowing more about college football than Butch and the staff? Never did, never will.

I've reference former players and media members who are knowledgeable about college football who are asking questions, and a lot of them, about his coaching methods and results.

Specifically, I've heard Erik Ainge, Jayson Swain and Joey Kent discuss/ask questions/share criticisms of Coach Azzani's coaching methods....and I've heard Swain say several times that he's had other for Vol WRs reach out to him and ask wtf is going on with Azzani and the WRs group....at one point last year Swain said he and other former Vols WRs were frustrated and borderline embarrassed and wished Tennessee would just stop with the Wide Receiver U stuff until they could improve significantly and live up to the legacy at that position group that so many players had worked so hard to build over the decades with great WR play at Tennessee.

And yes, a football fan, without know specific techniques or intricacies, can watch a game and tell whether or not the wide receivers are playing well, especially after watching 3 years of it. A dedicated fan can watch and tell whether or not a WR can get separation, can get behind a defense, can make a key catch.

You might also be surprised to learn that a fan can look at statistical production from those same WRs, can recognize very quickly that they're not very successful in general and then ask why our leading receiver last year was 20th in the conference last year.

Whole lotta "strawmanning" going on in this thread today.

 

[KBVol]

In defense of Coach Z, Missouri was the only team with receiving stats for the leading receiver below ours. It shouldn't be that hard for us to jump up above Vandy, right? I mean wouldn't that be enough improvement to quash some of the hate?

Shucks. I just rechecked the stats. We'd have to get above LSU and Auburn before we can overtake Vandy with leading receiver stats.

Damn, and Florida.

I give up - Haters got this one I think.

Not haters. Fans that are watching and are willing to ask questions and suggest some accountability is in order for a coach not pulling his weight. There's no defending our passing game from 2015, just no way to do it after it actually regressed from a subpar 2014 year with Z as the "Passing Game Coordinator". I recall about this time last year saying 2015 was now "put up or shut up" for him. Well, he did anything but "put up". It's not all on Azzani and his group, but his group is the only one the team that's consistently underperformed under Butch, especially given the talent he's had to work with and it's clear that they're not performing anywhere near to their collective potential.

 

[butchna]

D4H, you logged into the wrong account before posting.

Alleging that is a good way to get banned from a forum.

 

[KBVol]

So you admit you know more about coaching college football than Butch and the staff? They're might be some "knowledgable" fans on here but that's why none of us are coaching football. It's easy for us fans to just talk about something that sounds easy to do than actually doing it. Not everyone can handle coaching 18-22 year old kids on the college level. I think I'll take Butch's perspective over your opinion whether you agree with his decisions or not. Right now, I think he's done a lot with this program and you just need to learn how to appreciate his work a little bit more.

I appreciate the work Butch has done with this program and have stated it dozens of times the last 2 seasons. He's been phenomenal rebuilding the roster, changing the culture, promoting the program, bringing pride back to the program, etc, etc. But he's got a problem with his WR coach/Passing Game Coordinator and pretty much anybody who doesn't have his head in the sand insisting that the emperor is indeed fully clothed can see it. There's a reason why plenty of media members who are close to the program were asking if Azzani would be the next assistant coach to go in the off season after Jancek.

But please, do go ahead and divert from the point of the thread and the elephant in the room by making up out of whole cloth that anybody is saying they know more than Butch and the coaching staff.

 

[Iam4utalways]

It's hard to grade a player's performance while watching a game in TV. The only film I've ever watched was on Butch's TV show, and how many educated Vol fans complained about how that was presented. Watching a game on TV is not anywhere close to breaking a play down in the film room.

Our passing game had breakdowns in all areas: drops, missed throws, blocking, lack of separation.

WRs and DBs are like poker players, can't have tells giving away coverage or routes. When CBJ talked about eye discipline, it only makes sense for a WR to line up the same way everytime no matter if they are blocking or running a fly(is that current terminology).

 

[Orange_Crush]

Heads up: The three leading receivers against Arkansas last year?


Weren't (wide) receivers.

 

[VolFootballIsLife]

Not haters. Fans that are watching and are willing to ask questions and suggest some accountability is in order for a coach not pulling his weight. There's no defending our passing game from 2015, just no way to do it after it actually regressed from a subpar 2014 year with Z as the "Passing Game Coordinator". I recall about this time last year saying 2015 was now "put up or shut up" for him. It's not all on Azzani and his group, but his group is the only one the team that's consistently underperformed under Butch, especially given the talent he's had to work with.

Nobody should defend the "passing" game. It is atrocious. But there are a lot of parts in the passing game. And truthfully the word "talent" you use at the end is purely subjective. Some of us look at it this way: we evaluate these aspects of the passing game and if all of the other aspects get good grades then no doubt it's on the position coach:

OLine Production
QB pass accuracy
Play Calling
WR talent level

If I thought all of those aspects were conducive to producing great stats in the passing game then only the WR coach to blame. But I not to ignore our deficiencies over the past few years in those areas.

But hey, you could be right and moving on from Coach Z may be the right move. I just want to see this year play out (especially if we start taking more shots like I've been hearing we will do) before I take such a strong stance regarding termination of a coach.

Am I being unreasonable?

 

[VolFootballIsLife]

Added the bold.

If your point was that Butch changed the offense since Cinci, then you've lost the meat of your argument. There's cause/effect in play here. Sure, it's nice to be able to lean on the three-headed monster for ground/pound yardage. But it's also very easy to see that the passing game has sucked when we've tried to go to it. So, Butch has been forced to change his offensive philosophy.

Don't believe I've lost the meat 🙂. Whether he's forced to change or willfully changed we agree he changed. We can also agree the passing game sucks, I just haven't jumped on the ship that believes Coach Z needs to go and also don't believe the passing game sucking is on the WR coach. I think talent level at that position was WAY down when this staff arrived. It's better now and that s in part due to his recruiting efforts.

 

[musolfmj]

The problems with our passing game in recent years are numerous, widely different and yet they all relate to success or failure. Weak o-line play at times, bad routes and dropped passes at times, bad quarterback footwork and accuracy at times. And still it hasn't exactly been horrible.

Butch has already parted ways with people he trusted for years, but who didn't measure up at the SEC level. Yet he keeps Azzani. Could it be because he sees the complexity of problems and still thinks he has the right receiver coach?

Butch has has brought us back into the conversation for SEC championships and beyond. He still has my vote of confidence on this one. Our o-line is going to be darned good, hopefully Dobbs has progressed and if key receivers can stay healthy for a change, I see a lot of people on here eating crow before too long.

 

[Orange_Crush]

Added the bold.

Don't believe I've lost the meat 🙂. Whether he's forced to change or willfully changed we agree he changed. We can also agree the passing game sucks, I just haven't jumped on the ship that believes Coach Z needs to go and also don't believe the passing game sucking is on the WR coach. I think talent level at that position was WAY down when this staff arrived. It's better now and that s in part due to his recruiting efforts.

As mentioned, I agree that the problems with the pass game have been multiple, and also that we've needed a wait-and-see approach with CZA. But your excuse per the offense was a red herring.

 

[VolFreakJosh]

I appreciate the work Butch has done with this program and have stated it dozens of times the last 2 seasons. He's been phenomenal rebuilding the roster, changing the culture, promoting the program, bringing pride back to the program, etc, etc. But he's got a problem with his WR coach/Passing Game Coordinator and pretty much anybody who doesn't have his head in the sand insisting that the emperor is indeed fully clothed can see it. There's a reason why plenty of media members who are close to the program were asking if Azzani would be the next assistant coach to go in the off season after Jancek.

But please, do go ahead and divert from the point of the thread and the elephant in the room by making up out of whole cloth that anybody is saying they know more than Butch and the coaching staff.

Still, Butch has done a lot with this program to earn his trust. If he feels like he needs a change on the coaching staff, he will. If not, then I still support his decision to keep Coach Z. He's getting paid millions like you said to make these kind of decisions. Just let the man do his job is all I'm saying.

 

[KBVol]

Nobody should defend the "passing" game. It is atrocious. But there are a lot of parts in the passing game. And truthfully the word "talent" you use at the end is purely subjective. Some of us look at it this way: we evaluate these aspects of the passing game and if all of the other aspects get good grades then no doubt it's on the position coach:

OLine Production
QB pass accuracy
Play Calling
WR talent level

If I thought all of those aspects were conducive to producing great stats in the passing game then only the WR coach to blame. But I not to ignore our deficiencies over the past few years in those areas.

But hey, you could be right and moving on from Coach Z may be the right move. I just want to see this year play out (especially if we start taking more shots like I've been hearing we will do) before I take such a strong stance regarding termination of a coach.

Am I being unreasonable?

1. Not unreasonable at all, very well thought out. I agree there are multiple factors involved in why or why not a passing game doesn't produce. That's always true for every team and certainly applies here. You listed the factors, I agree there.

2. I'll disagree with you about our talent at WR being a subjective proposition. It's not subjective to say that having a bunch of universally highly rated, big 6'3-6'4, 200-215, fast and über athletic guys running around at WR means that we're there. I don't think anybody has said our group this year and indeed the last years wasn't talented. However, a whole lot of people have said they weren't productive and that they weren't being properly developed and I think the evidence bears those two points out in spades.

3. I'm not one to get on here and say "I've watched all the tape, I'm the expert here, Azzani sucks and he's gotta go". To the contrary, what I've done is watch the games and, from a layman fan's perspective, seen what everybody else has seen....our WRs don't produce, don't get open, don't make plays that so many other SEC WRs do who are either equally or less talented by most peoples' accounts.

And then I've listened to credible sources/experts who give their reasoning for why our WRs haven't produced.....guys like Jayson Swain, Joey Kent and even Erik Ainge. And then I hear Swain say he's even heard from other former Vol WRs such as Cedric Wilson pretty much saying wtf is going on with how our WRs are being coached? What's up with that ridiculous stance? Why are they trying to rotate so many guys as opposed to playing their best guys a majority of the time? Azzani is coaching too many details, too much minutae and its tying up the guys mentally and not allowing them to play freely to the level of their abilities....etc, etc.

4. We now have 3 years worth of sample size for Azzani. He got a pass his first year because he didn't have much to work with, no problem. Then the second year, when North took a step back and the general WR play wasn't exactly sterling, eyebrows were raised and people started questioning him. And then last year he gets named passing game coordinator, with very good talent on the edges and a stable QB situation (Dobbs came into last season with 7-8 starts under his belt in his 3rd year in the system) ..... and the passing game as a whole took a significant step backward.

At the end of the day, Azzani's job is to help bring in top talent...he and Butch have done that. But even more importantly, his job is develop his players and have them be productive receivers at least commensurate to their talent levels....and surely we can agree that hasnt happened. When next year's NFL draft rolls around, it'll very likely signify the 4th straight year that Azzani hasn't put a WR in the league from "Wide Receiver U". At some point, he simply has to be held accountable.

5. I'll end with this......

Top 2015 SEC WR tandems per team-

Bama- 152 catches, 1,745 yds, 11 tds
UT- 69 catches, 815 yds, 5 tds

Miss St- 148 catches, 1,925 yds, 12 tds
UT- 69 catches, 815 yds, 5 tds

Texas A&M - 131 catches, 1,916 yds, 12 tds
UT- 69 catches, 814 yds, 5 tds

Ole Miss- 119 catches, 1,797 yds, 15 tds
UT- 69 catches, 814 yds, 5 tds

Kentucky- 101 catches, 1,302 yds, 5 tds
UT- 69 catches, 814 yds, 5 tds

Georgia- 93 catches, 1,244 yds, 7 tds
UT- 69 catches, 814 yds, 5 tds

Arkansas- 91 catches, 1,378 yds, 16 tds
UT- 69 catches, 814 yds, 5 tds

LSU- 71 catches, 1,231 yds, 9 tds
UT- 69 catches, 814 yds, 5 tds

Freaking VANDY- 75 catches, 998 yds, 5 tds
UT- 69 catches, 814 yds, 5 tds

 

[KBVol]

Still, Butch has done a lot with this program to earn his trust. If he feels like he needs a change on the coaching staff, he will. If not, then I still support his decision to keep Coach Z. He's getting paid millions like you said to make these kind of decisions. Just let the man do his job is all I'm saying.

I don't have any choice but to "let Butch do his job". I got no say one way or the other. He's gonna do it whether I am a fan on a Vol message board or not. And that's obviously a good thing.

On the other hand, I am free to discuss the program he's in charge of, the football team of my alma mater and the job his assistant coaches are doing. For example, I think Gillespie, Strip and Thig are doing outstanding jobs. Martinez, Scott, DeBord and certainly Shoop as well. Not sure about Mahoney. Pretty confident that Azzani has done a poor job and is the weak link on Butch's staff. Jmo.

 

[VolFreakJosh]

I don't have any choice but to "let Butch do his job". I got no say one way or the other. He's gonna do it whether I am a fan on a Vol message board or not. And that's obviously a good thing.

On the other hand, I am free to discuss the program he's in charge of, the football team of my alma mater and the job his assistant coaches are doing. For example, I think Gillespie, Strip and Thig are doing outstanding jobs. Martinez, Scott, DeBord and certainly Shoop as well. Not sure about Mahoney. Pretty confident that Azzani has done a poor job and is the weak link on Butch's staff. Jmo.

Fair enough

 

[LittleVol]

Azzani has had 3 years to "do his job" and he hasn't...

What's so hard to understand about that?

'Do his job'... get out of here with that nonsense.

Keep believing hes actually "doing his job" if you want, but I'm here to tell you this.

Azzani sucks!
That's what he's doing...

'Do his job'... give me a break.