Heupel on where the team must improve

[VolForLife83]

He ain't lying.

“We weren’t good on third down, particularly third-and-long,” said Heupel recently in an interview with ESPN’s Chris Low. “We’ve got to be better in that, and that starts with getting a pass rush. I feel like the guys that have come back have made some strides. It was a big emphasis in spring ball.”

“We’ve got to be better knowing our pressure packages of keeping quarterbacks inside the pocket and not letting them out. We got hurt with that multiple times last season. We’ve added some guys that give us a chance to be a little bit different off the edges.”

Josh Heupel names the main area where Tennessee must improve in 2022

 

[tnutater]

Inspires confidence in Coach.
Recognizes problems.
Knows how to address problems.
Has plan.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

Inspires confidence in Coach.
Recognizes problems.
Knows how to address problems.
Has plan.

He's always made rational moves and said rational things. That's way more than I can say about the last guy.

 

[tnutater]

Last several guys.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

Last several guys.

Early Butch seemed to "get it". Dooley said weird stuff. Pruitt was an ignorant a-hole.

 

[tnutater]

Early hornblower , with his top shirt button always closed, did not appear to get it to me.
Had a whole lot of I am from the North , therefore smarter than all you hillbillies.
I quess that still plays in Arkansas. He got his contract extended.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

Early hornblower , with his top shirt button always closed, did not appear to get it to me.
Had a whole lot of I am from the North , therefore smarter than all you hillbillies.
I quess that still plays in Arkansas. He got his contract extended.

With Botch we did have linear improvement for 3.5 years. I wasn't out on him until late 2016. The others I was out on much sooner.

 

[savannahfan]

Inspires confidence in Coach.
Recognizes problems.
Knows how to address problems.
Has plan.

Lets hope so...

 

[wmcovol]

Early hornblower , with his top shirt button always closed, did not appear to get it to me.
Had a whole lot of I am from the North , therefore smarter than all you hillbillies.
I quess that still plays in Arkansas. He got his contract extended.

Tennessee extended Jones also. Granted it wasn’t after a 2 win season. I’d fire the AD if he came to me wanting an extension after a 2 win season (1 over a D2 school).

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

With equal talent & depth, Heupel would win his share against anybody including Saban. I wouldn't have said that about Dooley, Butch or Cornbread. The issue is talent and depth. Can he close the gap? Can he win some games as an underdog to help push the recruiting into the next level? That needs to happen sooner rather than later.

 

[ZippyMorocco]

With equal talent & depth, Heupel would win his share against anybody including Saban. I wouldn't have said that about Dooley, Butch or Cornbread. The issue is talent and depth. Can he close the gap? Can he win some games as an underdog to help push the recruiting into the next level? That needs to happen sooner rather than later.

Probably will take two more cycles to get the depth.

 

[Vol in Buckeye Land]

Early Butch seemed to "get it". Dooley said weird stuff. Pruitt was an ignorant a-hole.

“Then there’s a db out there just grindin’ coffee: ‘Please don’t be an accurate throw, please don’t be an accurate throw…’” —Derek Dooley

 

[Volador]

It's one thing to have talent on the field, it's another to have talent roving the sideline

 

[ButchPlz]

Inspires confidence in Coach.
Recognizes problems.
Knows how to address problems.
Has plan.

Actually he didn't have it all totally fixed in year one so he probably should have been fired right after the season.

 

[J C Higgins]

Inspires confidence in Coach.
Recognizes problems.
Knows how to address problems.
Has plan.

Better than "working like heck".

 

[VFLCodyGBO]

Had a whole lot of I am from the North , therefore smarter than all you hillbillies.

Think this is just a reflection of the sensitivities of many folks in the south, less of his attitude.

 

[tnutater]

Think this is just a reflection of the sensitivities of many folks in the south, less of his attitude.

It is all a matter of upbringing.
I was 34yo before I knew damn and yankee were two words.

 

[Vol524]

With Botch we did have linear improvement for 3.5 years. I wasn't out on him until late 2016. The others I was out on much sooner.

Dobbs made Butch look way better than he was. We ALL saw the real Butch when Dobbs was gone.
I would love to have seen Dobbs in this Offense.

 

[Allvols1996]

Inspires confidence in Coach.
Recognizes problems.
Knows how to address problems.
Has plan.

Recognizing problems and addressing them are two completely different things. what he has done to address the problem is still unknown. Did he shake up his coaching staff who seemingly got worse as the year went along (see Purdue)? No. Did he make big moves in the transfer portal? No. Did he lose theee of his best players in Butler, Taylor, and Jackson? Yes. Did he sign a can’t miss prospect on defense? No.

Yes, this certainly shows he knows the problem. But, we knew this problem when the team had a month to prepare for Purdue and they looked like Swiss cheese come game time.

I had major questions about Banks as DC as well as the grab bag of journeyman assembled on the defensive staff. If I was forced to bet on it, I’d say we’ll see a very similar season. A lot of early points, followed by defenses adjusting to tempo. Stalled drives and a very poor TOP ratio. Heupel did nothing to adjust his offensive philosophy last year, which further magnified the problem.
Tempo and big plays serve to satiate much of the fan base, but if your losing games 50-42, but not moving the needle on Bama and UGA, that will get old quick.

 

[AstonRoyal]

We gotta stop injuring opposing players too

 

[Bigorangedan23]

Inspires confidence in Coach.
Recognizes problems.
Knows how to address problems.
Has plan.

Needs to keep Refs from throwing the game….Ole Miss Purdue etc…

 

[tnutater]

Needs to keep Refs from throwing the game….Ole Miss Purdue etc…

I think he has a plan for that also.
Score early and often.
A 4 score lead is hard for refs to throw.