ESPN predicts Dobbs to be 3,000 yard passer in 2016

#76
#76
I'm just not seeing it. With how potent our run game will be, don't think Dobbs will have the attempts to get 3,000 passing yards.

More first downs means more touches. Which means more runs and passes. An efficient offense will improve all facets IMO.
 
#78
#78
More first downs means more touches. Which means more runs and passes. An efficient offense will improve all facets IMO.

We already led the SEC in offensive plays per game last year iirc. Gonna be tough to squeeze out many more per game IMO, we're already at 76 or so. Josh's best chance to get there is to significantly increase his yards per attempt by about 2 yards per. Otherwise, gonna be difficult to get there IMO.....although, as usual, I do like your thinking.
 
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#79
#79
Concerns over the passing game is this years o-line concerns.

Just as the o-line was a lot better in 2015 than it was in 2014. So will the passing game.

Dobbs will throw for 3200 yards and 30 TDs next year.

Did you even think about these numbers before posting? So you think, in the same number of games as last year, 13, and very likely approximately the same number of pass attempts, that he's gonna ring up an additional 900 yards and 15 (or twice as many) more tds. Alrighty then
 
#83
#83
I'll be content with 2500. If he gets that we are probably looking pretty at the end the season. Our run game is going to be Auburn 2013 levels. You know its coming, try and stop it. There might be only a couple games where we have to even throw 250+ a game.
 
#84
#84
Did you even think about these numbers before posting? So you think, in the same number of games as last year, 13, and very likely approximately the same number of pass attempts, that he's gonna ring up an additional 900 yards and 15 (or twice as many) more tds. Alrighty then

At this time last year, did you think we would run for nearly 3000 yards at over 220 per game?

The 2900+ yards we rushed for were the most since 1951.

A lot can change in a year. With small improvement across the board from everyone, big changes can come.

I believe we become as dangerous throwing the ball next year as we are running it.
 
#86
#86
At this time last year, did you think we would run for nearly 3000 yards at over 220 per game?

The 2900+ yards we rushed for were the most since 1951.

A lot can change in a year. With small improvement across the board from everyone, big changes can come.

I believe we become as dangerous throwing the ball next year as we are running it.

Fair question. I will say that a lot of people projected a pair of 1000 yard rushers in Hurd and Kamara....and we all knew how dynamic Dobbs was/is as a runner. So while I certainly wasn't projecting to set a school rushing record per se......given that 3-headed monster in the backfield, it wasn't far-fetched.

I can also honestly say that given all the great Vol running backs and historic single season running games in our history, I was very surprised to hear that 2900 yards was the most since 1951....I was VERY surprised that the rushing total to shoot for wasn't much higher since there were 16 teams in the nation that ran for more than that total in 2015 alone.....including 4-5 that ran for more than 4000 yards.

Look, is it possible for everything to click in the passing game...from Josh to the WRs to the TEs to the OL? Yes, the talent is all there IMO. And, as an example in our own conference, we can all look at the jump Brandon Allen made last year at Arky....he went from average to elite from 2014 (stats were very similar to Josh's) to 2015, and if Dobbs does something similar it'll more than be enough to get him to the numbers you suggest. But Allen was an outlier and it'll be a tall order to get there.....and it's definitely a difficult projection to put out there, particularly given what we know about our offensive scheme and priorities IMO.
 
#87
#87
i'm gonna attempt to explain my thoughts on this.

KB, i agree with you, there are numbers that have to be considered, because you're right....there's only so many plays per game, and even if we increase it, it's not going to be enough to net the difference.

and his attempts aren't going to sky rocket either simply because of the core philosophy for this offense based on the personnel--we're going to run. a lot.

so...how does this passing game improve so much that it's accounted for by defenses in a way that improves the offense?

1. play better defense. i firmly believe that we figured out pretty quick that our defense needed some help. and that, at least in the minds on the sidelines, limited how much risk they would be willing take offensively. play keep away, ball control, keep the defense as fresh as possible.
2. if #1 occurs, play calling. we weren't a balanced offense last year, and we were not a very good 1st down offense. in part because of #1 and in part because we were pretty darn good at turns out, we ran A Lot on 1st down. that put us in a lot of 2nd and 5+, and consequently a lot of 3rd down situations. fortunately we converted well on 3rd down. but that's not the issue. it was just the sheer # of 3rd downs we had to attempt.
3. pass blocking has to get better. when we did pass, there were many times when the pocket collapsed around Josh, and he either scrapped the pass all together and ran, or made an errant throw. again, we ran so much, there was never any rhythm built in the pass blocking and how the pocket should "feel".
4. WR's just need make some plays when called upon. we don't get separation, they weren't open a lot and they did drop balls. and YAC was the exception, not the rule. there were plays to be made, and there will be again.
5. Josh Dobbs fixes his issues. it's been discussed ad nauseum on so many threads i hate to even say it. but Josh Dobbs missed his fair share of wide open throws to boot. he doesn't have to improve so much that he turns into Dan Marino. what absolutely has to happen: find those 5-7 throws/game that were the chunk plays or 1st down plays that can get the offense int a rhythm, and put us in favorable down and distance on 2nd down.


very long story short, for all the consternation and bickering about Josh Dobbs, anyone that knows what they're looking at, knows that there's more to it than just one guy. but ignoring his role in that, you do at your own peril. even if the other 4 things get fixed, if the qb isn't part of it, none of it matters.
 
#88
#88
Rewatched the Arky game this morning due to being stuck inside due to the rain. This was the game where Josh threw the most passes of any game all year....and despite getting a lot of criticism from most VNers, including me, I thought he actually threw the ball very well that day.

There weren't 5 drops was reported matter of factly in another thread (there were only 3, one of which PWill never actually touched the ball as it went through his hands), but Dobbs made some outstanding throws that day.....with the exception of a nice deep ball, he made every throw that night.

The only 2 problems you could identify, and the announcers kept constantly bringing it up one of them, was....... 1. that the overwhelmingly over the passing game was comprised of ultra short passes ...RB swing passes and screens, WR screens and hitch passes and short, not even intermediate passes and 2. Josh still threw some routine passes "inaccurate" even during completions, which eliminated or badly hindered the receivers' opportunities for yards after catch....that and just some bad high and away or low and away passes that wound up incomplete when our guys were open. That being said, I thought Dobbs threw the ball very well vs Arky, even better than I recalled.

I've said it a million times and I'll say it again here. We need to let Dobbs throw more, much more, to the middle of the field...he's always been very good and accurate throwing there. But it's as though Jones thinks we have to have Josh throw about 12 horizontal passes to set up that one seam route to Wolf or Malone. They really need to emphasize that more for him IMO.
 
#89
#89
Rewatched the Arky game this morning due to being stuck inside due to the rain. This was the game where Josh threw the most passes of any game all year....and despite getting a lot of criticism from most VNers, including me, I thought he actually threw the ball very well that day.

There weren't 5 drops was reported matter of factly in another thread (there were only 3, one of which PWill never actually touched the ball as it went through his hands), but Dobbs made some outstanding throws that day.....with the exception of a nice deep ball, he made every throw that night.

The only 2 problems you could identify, and the announcers kept constantly bringing it up one of them, was....... 1. that the overwhelmingly over the passing game was comprised of ultra short passes ...RB swing passes and screens, WR screens and hitch passes and short, not even intermediate passes and 2. Josh still threw some routine passes "inaccurate" even during completions, which eliminated or badly hindered the receivers' opportunities for yards after catch....that and just some bad high and away or low and away passes that wound up incomplete when our guys were open. That being said, I thought Dobbs threw the ball very well vs Arky, even better than I recalled.

I've said it a million times and I'll say it again here. We need to let Dobbs throw more, much more, to the middle of the field...he's always been very good and accurate throwing there. But it's as though Jones thinks we have to have Josh throw about 12 horizontal passes to set up that one seam route to Wolf or Malone. They really need to emphasize that more for him IMO.

Question for you KB.. After watching.. Do you think another issue could be continuity with WRs? As in, Jones seems to want to use numerous WR to create match up issues, but would that not cause some rhythm issues not using the same WR more often for consistency?

Just a thought to throw out there.. So many dynamics involved in the passing game..
 
#90
#90
Question for you KB.. After watching.. Do you think another issue could be continuity with WRs? As in, Jones seems to want to use numerous WR to create match up issues, but would that not cause some rhythm issues not using the same WR more often for consistency?

Just a thought to throw out there.. So many dynamics involved in the passing game..

In theory yes, but practically speaking, I only saw 4-5 WRs (Malone, Smith, Pearson, Johnson, Jennings) in for Tennessee the whole game which I think is not only very reasonable but is in fact optimal.

I'll also add that it seemed like we threw a ton to Hurd and AK and we threw a lot of WR screens/hitches.....and I actually thought our WRs looked good, looked strong, looked athletic. It wasn't a "drop fest" as one article seemed to want to imply and again, I thought on the whole, that Dobbs threw the ball very well....it didn't feel like he threw nearly as many incompletions as completions to me at all. Others may re-watch and feel differently...jmo.
 
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#91
#91
Rewatched the Arky game this morning due to being stuck inside due to the rain. This was the game where Josh threw the most passes of any game all year....and despite getting a lot of criticism from most VNers, including me, I thought he actually threw the ball very well that day.

There weren't 5 drops was reported matter of factly in another thread (there were only 3, one of which PWill never actually touched the ball as it went through his hands), but Dobbs made some outstanding throws that day.....with the exception of a nice deep ball, he made every throw that night.

The only 2 problems you could identify, and the announcers kept constantly bringing it up one of them, was....... 1. that the overwhelmingly over the passing game was comprised of ultra short passes ...RB swing passes and screens, WR screens and hitch passes and short, not even intermediate passes and 2. Josh still threw some routine passes "inaccurate" even during completions, which eliminated or badly hindered the receivers' opportunities for yards after catch....that and just some bad high and away or low and away passes that wound up incomplete when our guys were open. That being said, I thought Dobbs threw the ball very well vs Arky, even better than I recalled.

I've said it a million times and I'll say it again here. We need to let Dobbs throw more, much more, to the middle of the field...he's always been very good and accurate throwing there. But it's as though Jones thinks we have to have Josh throw about 12 horizontal passes to set up that one seam route to Wolf or Malone. They really need to emphasize that more for him IMO.


I'm glad you posted this.
It's easy to praise a QB for completions and not pay much attention to the wr. But our overly athletic receivers, despite some of their possible short comings, made some impressive catches of not-so-great passes. Often taking a hit they knew was coming.
 
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#92
#92
I'm glad you posted this.
It's easy to praise a QB for completions and not pay much attention to the wr. But our overly athletic receivers, despite some of their possible short comings, made some impressive catches of not-so-great passes. Often taking a hit they knew was coming.

Butch has done a great job of assembling talent. Dobbs and our WRs, TEs and RBs have a tremendous amount of potential in the passing game IMO. If the light comes on, if we can just put it all together, they could be special IMO.....and if the passing game, what many consider the final piece to Tennessee's SEC championship puzzle becomes a strength, 2016 is gonna be a special season.
 
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#93
#93
Butch has done a great job of assembling talent. Dobbs and our WRs, TEs and RBs have a tremendous amount of potential in the passing game IMO. If the light comes on, if we can just put it all together, they could be special IMO.....and if the passing game, what many consider the final piece to Tennessee's SEC championship puzzle becomes a strength, 2016 is gonna be a special season.

I can support all of this.
Dobbs already brings so much, If he can start delivering the ball so that our tall wr's can take advantage, this offense will be dangerous.


DISCLAIMER: Apparently while I really like Dobbs, I feel he can improve in one area. Obviously making me racist and proving I don't watch a lot of football. :unsure:
 
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#94
#94
I can support all of this.
Dobbs already brings so much, If he can start delivering the ball so that our tall wr's can take advantage, this offense will be dangerous.


DISCLAIMER: Apparently while I really like Dobbs, I feel he can improve in one area. Obviously making me racist and proving I don't watch a lot of football. :unsure:

With regards to your disclaimer, that would be correct. You clearly hate Dobbs solely because of his skin color if you dare level any criticism against our young black quarterback.....went without saying really.
 
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