Congrats to Shoop

#27
#27
I think Shoop is a very good DC. He does need to get some better position coaches, and players to suit his defensive style. When all that happens, we will be in the top ten in defensive stats in the NCAA. Just be patient with him, he's not in complete charge over his D.
 
#28
#28
volfan102455 said:
Interesting - when the defense plays good it is all Shoop and when the defense plays poorly it is all Coach Jones. Some of you never fail to amaze me.

But yes the defense looked a whole lot better and in sync against Nebraska.
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Yes, overall it was much,much better defense. Had time to work on stuff with younger guys I guess.
BTY, Jones must have listened to the keyboard coaches on here and stayed out of the way.(blue font)
 
#29
#29
Shoop has a body of work that supersedes his one season on The Hill that was disappointing. Team 120 across the board was soft and undisciplined as compared to team 119. More penalties, more injuries, and generally soft players except maybe for Jennings and Barnett. That cannot be handed to Shoop as his issue.
 
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#30
#30
VolinMC said:
Yes, overall it was much,much better defense. Had time to work on stuff with younger guys I guess.
BTY, Jones must have listened to the keyboard coaches on here and stayed out of the way.(blue font)
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Not sure the talent level difference can be denied. A NE player said " They have grown man strength" thats a heck of a statement coming from a kid the same age as UT players.

Im not sure that Dobbs / Barnett / Kamara / Jenning / Malone / Kelly / and a few others wouldnt start over any NE player at every single position on the field.

The WR Reily looked solid and that DB or LB Kula (not sure of spelling) looked okay. Other than that not much. I actaully think Barnett could have scared the whole blocking Offense by just staring at them.
 
#31
#31
Squoshua17 said:
Lol we just lost out to Kentucky for a 3 star cb that was supposedly high on our board. I think you are overstating his recruiting prowess just a bit.
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I agree that he is not a world beater in terms of recruiting, but Corker chose UK because they are willing to give a scholly to his 5'9 OLB cousin whose offers were Mercer, Tenn Tech, and UTC.

But Martinez needs to go.
 
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#32
#32
volfannbama said:
Not sure the talent level difference can be denied. A NE player said " They have grown man strength" thats a heck of a statement coming from a kid the same age as UT players.

Im not sure that Dobbs / Barnett / Kamara / Jenning / Malone / Kelly / and a few others wouldnt start over any NE player at every single position on the field.

The WR Reily looked solid and that DB or LB Kula (not sure of spelling) looked okay. Other than that not much. I actaully think Barnett could have scared the whole blocking Offense by just staring at them.
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Not denying or saying anything about talent level. Their talent level is better than Vandy's in my opinion and we lost that game. I'm just saying the coaches were able to work with players they didn't have to depend on to start the season with and had them playing a little better.
Yes,those guys you listed would start for most teams regardless who it is.
 
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#33
#33
It's really insane to me that everyone is so down on the defense to begin with. Did no one watch the games at the beginning of the season when our D played like a national title contender? Am I the only one who remembers that Virginia Tech game? The second half against Florida? The D was also spectacular against App State (which btw won its conference championship).

The defense played poorly at the end of the season because it was decimated by injuries. That's it. There are very few teams in college football that could absorb as many injuries on D as we did and not drop a few games as a result. Injuries were compounded by our fast-paced offense and a very high number of turnovers. It was a bad combination.

With a healthy defense and less turnover-prone offense, this is a top 10 team.
 
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#34
#34
On one particular long catch by Nebraska, you could see Martinez running down the sideline praying that Foreman would stop the catch. He didn't. I think Martinez knows his time is limited. This is our most definite weakness of the team
 
#36
#36
SDV said:
On one particular long catch by Nebraska, you could see Martinez running down the sideline praying that Foreman would stop the catch. He didn't. I think Martinez knows his time is limited. This is our most definite weakness of the team
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3* CBs and no coaching will do that.
 
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#37
#37
As I look back on the game and reading NE players comments, I think the biggest factor in the game is they were scared of Barnett.
Players did well and coaches seemed to have a good plan. Even Gaulden played a pretty good game in the secondary. But I think they were literally scared of our D line and Barnetts trash talk got in their head from the start.
 
#38
#38
volfannbama said:
As I look back on the game and reading NE players comments, I think the biggest factor in the game is they were scared of Barnett. But I think they were literally scared of our D line and Barnetts trash talk got in their head from the start.
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If that is really true, then they have no business playing D-1.
 
#39
#39
Shoop's defense is cerebral. When less-than-dominating players understand it and execute it as a team, they've been able to stymie superior offensive talent.

At the start of the season, my impression from watching games and reading postgame quotes was that the starting defenders were still missing assignments on the playing field, even though they were getting it right in practice.

With each injury (or dismissal), with each step down the depth chart, we not only dropped in level of physical talent, we dropped in competence with Shoop's D. And that pattern continued, requiring even more game reps from players who had not been good enough to start, either physically or mentally.

I think the difference between last night's defensive interior play, and the end of the season's play, was execution. With the added prep time, "light weights" like Kongbo were confident of their assignments, so they executed at full speed without hesitation. The Nebraska offensive line SHOULD have dominated that contest from start-to-finish, based on size, talent, and unit cohesion.

I believe our success against them last night, with under-manned but mentally prepared players, represents the seal of approval on Shoop's hire.

As for the DB play... I'm sure what we saw is not what they've been coached. As for a better educator or better players, CBJ will upgrade both if he is able. But you don't fire a coach until you're confident you have a better one ready and willing to sign on.

The truth at this level is, every experienced coach is effective with a certain type of player. But only a few programs can recruit only the 4/5-star talent that fits their preferred mold. Rising programs like ours have to hire coaches who are able to communicate effectively with a variety of personalities, mindsets, weaknesses and strengths, in order to put a contending product on the field.
 
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#41
#41
For dbs in coverage ... I wish ours were a wee bit taller, and

... that they would turn and look for the damn ball!
 
#42
#42
knucklehead_vol said:
Shoop needs to bring in his own staff and Whitehaven could have beaten this Nebraska team.
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Show us any proof that Shoop didn't have the staff he wanted. I know the rumor mill of necks think that.
Go back and read the interviews Shoop gave after he was hired.
 
#43
#43
knucklehead_vol said:
Shoop needs to bring in his own staff and Whitehaven could have beaten this Nebraska team.
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Knucklehead, there's not a high school team anywhere that can beat a good college team. If that were the case, everyone on the high school team would get a college scholarship. :loco::loco::loco::loco:
 
#44
#44
volfan102455 said:
Interesting - when the defense plays good it is all Shoop and when the defense plays poorly it is all Coach Jones. Some of you never fail to amaze me.

But yes the defense looked a whole lot better and in sync against Nebraska.
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No, that's not accurate at all. Where are you getting this idea from?

Shoop's been getting hammered by a lot of us all year long for a very poor job done. Others give him a pass due to injuries, but Butch is never criticized for how poorly the defense plays.

Jones is an offense guy and turns his defense over to his DC, and most understand this. I've seen no one blame Jones for how the defense has played in 4 years, good or bad. As a matter of fact, 90% of posters on here don't blame Jones when the offense plays poorly, they go straight to Debord.
 
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#45
#45
Squoshua17 said:
Lol we just lost out to Kentucky for a 3 star cb that was supposedly high on our board. I think you are overstating his recruiting prowess just a bit.
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That guy is still taking visits and many experts believe he could very well end up at Tennessee.
 
#46
#46
Watching the semi games today one thing is really sticking out that UT hasn't had in a long time, Physical players on both sides of ball. These D linemen are super aggressive and strong!
 
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#48
#48
joevol33 said:
Our defense really played better today. We got burnt on a few passing plays, but it was much better than those last 3 games.
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No they were not burnt. 87 made 3 great catches. Sometimes you have to tip your hat and say good play!

:-(

TENNESSEEDUKE
 
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