Let's look at a few:
Total defense: 11th in the SEC, 71st nationally, at 402.9 yards per game.
Scoring defense: 11th in the SEC, 70th nationally, at 28.7 points a game.
Pass-efficiency defense: 11th in the SEC, 67th nationally.
Rushing defense: 8th in the SEC, 64th nationally, at 158.4 yards a game.
Sacks: 10th in the SEC, 79th nationally, at 20.
Third-down conversion percentage: 10th in the SEC, 67th nationally, at 39.3 percent.
"We've had some of the best defenses in this league through the years," defensive coordinator John Chavis said. "We know what good a good defense looks like."
this is what scares me, the delusional denial that all is ok.
I was a little disappointed with the article. Climer is usually more reasoned than that.
Why are the Vols having problems in the secondary and thus the defense? Well, perhaps because they now have a top 6 made up of 3 true Fr, a So, a JUCO, and an underperforming Sr... and remember one of those Fr is playing with a bum shoulder and was a WR for fall camp and part of the year. Rogan (Fr) was pressed into service because UT is basically out of CB's after the injuries to Gaines and then Johnson.
As far as your stats are concerned, there's one important one... and only one. That's points allowed per game. For the first three games of the year, UT allowed 41. Since they've allowed 25 even if you include the UK OT. Without it (and it wouldn't have occurred if L Taylor catches that 4th down pass), the Vols have allowed 22 ppg over the last nine. To put that in perspective, UT allowed about 23 in 2004, 19 in 2005, 20 in 2006, and about 20 in the near championship year of 2001.
Those performances were before the new kickoff rule. None of those teams had inexperience in the secondary like this team.
OTOH, UT's O this year is averaging 35 ppg and topped 400 pts for the first time since 2001. Assuming UT scores 12+ points in the next game, this team will have scored more ppg than the 98 team. In fact, this point production fits in the upper half of the 1990's stats.
That seems to leave two pertinent questions: Is this an aberration for Chavis? Will Cut still be at UT next year?
The point about recruit attrition is accurate. UT is missing about 8 out of 23 4* recruits from their Jr and Sr classes. That seems to have abated with the last two classes to a large degree with respect to discipline though the academic problems still exist...
... but doesn't that kind of make the point that CPF has been doing more with less the past two years?
