Digging Deeper; Dobbs not doing as bad as it seems

[The Artful Dodger]

Fact is, on downfield passes, 1) it is taking too long for the plays to develop; and 2) Dobbs seems slow to make his decision and his marskmanship is about a B-.

The former is a function of coaching. It can be fixed, but I'm not sure your current staff is pushing it. They certainly don't seem to be. The latter is a reality you cannot fix, it is just a limitation you have to work around.

Absolutely agree. But basically what I was trying to say is that Dobbs inability to hit those throws doesn't completely hinder the offense because he does have so many other qualities that set him apart and gives the offense chances they would not have with a less athletic and elusive QB. For instance. A better passing QB probably completes those two deep balls against Ohio and the score isn't nearly as close, but a pocket passer doesn't score the 2 rushing TD's or the 1 passing TD to Kamara (buying extra time to throw, with his feet), in the Va. Tech. game because they cannot do what Dobbs can with his legs. It mostly evens itself out.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

You do know that Eason is 1) a true freshman, and 2) has been splitting time, at best, with Lambert until the Mizzou game, right?

He is splitting time because he has not performed at a high enough level to warrant leaving Lambert on the bench. If Eason was as good as everyone said he is then Smart would have had no reason to pull him at all this year. Yall's man problem on offense is the same as ours right now: bad o-line play. If both lines start playing up to potential then both offenses will be very potent.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

Can't get hyped up with Dobbs touchdowns when we are three games into the season, and the number 3 is also the number of combined touchdowns from our all star backfield of Hurd and Kamara. Hurd 1 rushing touchdown, Hurd 1 fumble recovered touchdown, and Kamara 1 receiving touchdown.

Yup. I view those numbers as way more troubling, and more of a reflection of Debord and the oline, than anything that Dobbs has done this season.

 

[lawgator1]

Absolutely agree. But basically what I was trying to say is that Dobbs inability to hit those throws doesn't completely hinder the offense because he does have so many other qualities that set him apart and gives the offense chances they would not have with a less athletic and elusive QB. For instance. A better passing QB probably completes those two deep balls against Ohio and the score isn't nearly as close, but a pocket passer doesn't score the 2 rushing TD's or the 1 passing TD to Kamara (buying extra time to throw, with his feet), in the Va. Tech. game because they cannot do what Dobbs can with his legs. It mostly evens itself out.

It is the consensus of Florida fans that I've spoken to/read posts from/have added to my telepathy list, that the biggest threat from Dobbs for us is his ability to run. He's burned us plenty in the past with that, and given that we think we have a pretty damn good secondary and defensive line, the Florida LBs are going to be called upon big time to put a spy on him and prevent him from turning those broken plays into 7-8 yard gains.

If Florida's defensive line gets pressure on Dobbs as often and as early as we hope, then there is going to be a lot of that scenario in this game, and we need to be prepared for it.

Same with screen passes to Kamara or Hurd. It would make sense for you to count on our over-pursuit at the line to do some ball fakes and screens to the two of them, and if a numbskull like me can figure that out, you have to assume the Florida coaches will, as well.

At some point, Dobbs is going to have to throw deep, or at least present a threat to do so.

 

[Volsick]

I went back and watched all 3 games and Dobbs has done fine. Our o line needs some improvement

 

[Rocky_Top_Vol13]

Good call. I forgot about that one. But the O-line has to do better. I still think they are as much to blame for the offensive woes, as anything Dobbs has or hasn't done. Hopefully having Hall and Jones back on the right side will solidify that group, like it did last year.

Agreed.

 

[ArmchairQB]

As far as Dobbs, it's not like it's absolutely 100%, "as Dobbs goes, so goes the season", because he's not the entire offense. Defenses have to respond to play calling, not just players. And... Tennessee is a running team. We've had 206 offensive plays over three games, and the split is 131 rush and 75 pass. That's about 64%/36% favoring the run. Hurd (50% of carries), Dobbs (28%) and Kamara (16%) - in that order - get the bulk of the carries so far. That's skewed some by times Dobbs has to take off because of protection problems, but that's where we are.

Seeing that we've gained 127, then 239, and then 201 yards of rushing, against teams that presumably have a general idea of what's going on in the play calling against them, I think it's fairly reasonable to say that we're having at least modest success in the run game so far. I thought it was encouraging that we racked up another couple hundred passing yards of offense, with about a 67% completion percentage and a couple TDs, against Ohio. The play calling still heavily favored the run, but the production was there when the pass was called. It used to be that 400 yards of offense in a game meant you probably had an unreservedly good day. Now we all expect Playstation numbers, or think that if we're going to have a prayer in conference, we need to be putting up 600 yards against OOC opponents.

True, we're going to see vastly superior defenses entering conference play. Some teams may effectively stuff the run, and if so then yeah Dobbs is going to have to be proficient in getting the ball downfield. An improved line is such a critical part of that. However, Dobbs has consistently just made it happen when things break down; that's one of the best things he brings us, not his downfield accuracy. He's one of the better players I've seen in recent years for making something out of a busted play, and sure there are cardiac moments where we're all like "this is either going to be really good or really, really bad" when he's suddenly in improvisation-land, but hey, it makes for a fun ride and some early gray hairs. I'd be amazed if we've seen the whole playbook, too. We're going to see plays that didn't get called during the early schedule, and some defenses adjusting on the fly to stuff that wasn't game-planned for.

Anyway, all the first three games have been are hints of what to expect. Now it's time, and we'll know a whole bunch more about where we really are over the next few weeks. I for one am good and ready to see it. Go Vols!

 

[The Artful Dodger]

It is the consensus of Florida fans that I've spoken to/read posts from/have added to my telepathy list, that the biggest threat from Dobbs for us is his ability to run. He's burned us plenty in the past with that, and given that we think we have a pretty damn good secondary and defensive line, the Florida LBs are going to be called upon big time to put a spy on him and prevent him from turning those broken plays into 7-8 yard gains.

If Florida's defensive line gets pressure on Dobbs as often and as early as we hope, then there is going to be a lot of that scenario in this game, and we need to be prepared for it.

Same with screen passes to Kamara or Hurd. It would make sense for you to count on our over-pursuit at the line to do some ball fakes and screens to the two of them, and if a numbskull like me can figure that out, you have to assume the Florida coaches will, as well.

At some point, Dobbs is going to have to throw deep, or at least present a threat to do so.

Could be, but Tennessee should have won last year and no deep passes were completed. Dobbs has completed long touchdown passes in 2 of the 3 games so far this year. But I agree. Completing 1 or 2 deep balls against Florida would open up the offense A LOT more.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

I went back and watched all 3 games and Dobbs has done fine. Our o line needs some improvement

Short, sweet and most definitely to the point. This all day.

 

[Vato]

Hopefully he'll increase those touchdown numbers Saturday.

By five or six!

 

[Sarms58]

He's third in the SEC in rushing yards by s QB and that's with 7 sacks. Minus the sacks he's been running 10 times per game. That is going to increase starting this week and so will his yards and TDs

 

[The Artful Dodger]

As far as Dobbs, it's not like it's absolutely 100%, "as Dobbs goes, so goes the season", because he's not the entire offense. Defenses have to respond to play calling, not just players. And... Tennessee is a running team. We've had 206 offensive plays over three games, and the split is 131 rush and 75 pass. That's about 64%/36% favoring the run. Hurd (50% of carries), Dobbs (28%) and Kamara (16%) - in that order - get the bulk of the carries so far. That's skewed some by times Dobbs has to take off because of protection problems, but that's where we are.

Seeing that we've gained 127, then 239, and then 201 yards of rushing, against teams that presumably have a general idea of what's going on in the play calling against them, I think it's fairly reasonable to say that we're having at least modest success in the run game so far. I thought it was encouraging that we racked up another couple hundred passing yards of offense, with about a 67% completion percentage and a couple TDs, against Ohio. The play calling still heavily favored the run, but the production was there when the pass was called. It used to be that 400 yards of offense in a game meant you probably had an unreservedly good day. Now we all expect Playstation numbers, or think that if we're going to have a prayer in conference, we need to be putting up 600 yards against OOC opponents.

True, we're going to see vastly superior defenses entering conference play. Some teams may effectively stuff the run, and if so then yeah Dobbs is going to have to be proficient in getting the ball downfield. An improved line is such a critical part of that. However, Dobbs has consistently just made it happen when things break down; that's one of the best things he brings us, not his downfield accuracy. He's one of the better players I've seen in recent years for making something out of a busted play, and sure there are cardiac moments where we're all like "this is either going to be really good or really, really bad" when he's suddenly in improvisation-land, but hey, it makes for a fun ride and some early gray hairs. I'd be amazed if we've seen the whole playbook, too. We're going to see plays that didn't get called during the early schedule, and some defenses adjusting on the fly to stuff that wasn't game-planned for.

Anyway, all the first three games have been are hints of what to expect. Now it's time, and we'll know a whole bunch more about where we really are over the next few weeks. I for one am good and ready to see it. Go Vols!

Great Post. I agree. It would be nice and most certainly welcome for Dobbs to complete some more long passes during games, but Tennessee has proven that it can run on anybody without the threat of the deep ball. Against the three best D-lines that we faced last year (Bama, Mizzou, Fla) Tennessee had really productive days rushing the ball while being very ineffective throwing the ball. Tennessee is good enough to run the ball, on anyone, without the threat of the pass as long as the o-line plays up to its potential.

 

[VolFootballIsLife]

I actually don't think Dobbs has looked that bad this year. App St not so great but VT was decent and not bad numbers on the Ohio.game.

Matter of fact, I remember the first pass of the game went through Wolfes hands for a should've been easy score. And the INT bounced off PWs shoulder?? He missed the easy throw to Malone but happens to every QB in the land. i just don't see the struggles being on him so much. More the generic play calling to this point.

 

[UGADawg4Life]

He is splitting time because he has not performed at a high enough level to warrant leaving Lambert on the bench. If Eason was as good as everyone said he is then Smart would have had no reason to pull him at all this year. Yall's man problem on offense is the same as ours right now: bad o-line play. If both lines start playing up to potential then both offenses will be very potent.

Eason played every snap of the Mizzou game. I was responding to a post comparing stats of the senior, Dobbs, who's played the entire season, to the freshman, Eason who's had limited PT up until the last game. Yes, we both have sketchy o-line play, and our d has had moments of brilliance followed by absolute ****e shows. The seasons of both teams will rely heavily on coaching. Both teams are loaded with talent, which hasn't lived up to expectations. This weekend is pivotal for both programs.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

Eason played every snap of the Mizzou game. I was responding to a post comparing stats of the senior, Dobbs, who's played the entire season, to the freshman, Eason who's had limited PT up until the last game. Yes, we both have sketchy o-line play, and our d has had moments of brilliance followed by absolute ****e shows. The seasons of both teams will rely heavily on coaching. Both teams are loaded with talent, which hasn't lived up to expectations. This weekend is pivotal for both programs.

If Eason was as good as everyone has made him out to be so far and Dobbs is as bad as everyone is saying, then wouldn't you think that Eason would have seized control of the starting position for all of the first three games? I realize one is a freshman and one is a senior. But to read the media you would think that Eason has been playing lights out all year and Dobbs has been trash. Which is simply not the case.