How much credit does Mike DeBord deserve?

#1
T

Tuckervol1003

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#1
This is, of course, my opinion, but I believe that Mike DeBord was the single most important addition to this program for 2015.

His assistance with the OL and the new wrinkles he implemented for this offense were exactly what we needed in a turning point season. The OL, considering the rash of injuries and the lack of experienced depth, was simply fantastic for much of the season. Add to that the determination to focus on our strong suit, running the football with Hurd, Kamara and Dobbs was also a key to our success.

Yet, I think there are some that will refuse to give him his props for a job well done.
 
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#3
#3
I'm glad someone made this post. The offense was stellar a majority of the season, even with massive injuries on the o-line and our WRs banged up all year long. I'm excited to see what new wrinkles we get to implement next year with almost everyone coming back
 
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#4
#4
according to Butch and some players, he was indeed a great hire and did very good things. I must admit. I was a little shocked but noone can honestly deny the improvement of the OL and the running game. Or maybe is was Kerbyson saying he would never lose another game in a UT uniform. lol
 
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#5
#5
I think he is responsible for the debacle that was the offensive play calling in our 4th quarter chokes. We have to pass the ball down field more and stop running QB draws on 3rd and long.
 
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#7
#7
The stats speak for themselves. The thread that showed the 2015 vs 98 stats is plenty of proof. However, our defense was 8 overall in the SEC.
 
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#8
#8
On Coach Doug Mathews radio show Sunday, he gave big props to Debord. Said that Fulmer feels the same. Debord coached the offensive line and Fulmer knows a lot about offensive lines.

Paraphrasing - Mathews said that the OL got better with each and every game. (Check our running stats - best since 51 I read somewhere). Debord was able to get a lot of production from this group.

How many posts have you seen here saying our OL stinks over the course of the last 6 months? We ended up with dang near 3000 rushing yards.

Play calling got better too. He seems to know when to get the tight ends involved on pass plays! Glad Debord is onboard.
 
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#9
#9
At first, I didn't like the hire. But seeing how the offense and O-Line progressed this season, I really have no complaints. Butch made the right hire IMO.
 
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#10
#10
I'll be honest, at the start of the season I didn't think he was the guy and CBJ had a WTF moment.

But it seemed like he finally got the rust out after Arkansas and started bringing more to the table. There was a lot better play calling IMO after that point and the performance on field showed it. Maybe it was just because he hadn't coached in some time and needed the time to get up to speed, I don't know. But the performance against UGA and Bama certainly helped sway my opinion.
 
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#11
#11
CMD deserves a lot of credit concerning the improvement on the OL. We were actually able to run on good defenses for the first time in forever.
 
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#12
#12
GoVols#18 said:
I think he is responsible for the debacle that was the offensive play calling in our 4th quarter chokes. We have to pass the ball down field more and stop running QB draws on 3rd and long.
Click to expand...

To be fair, we don't know what plays cmd called or whether or not cbj overrided the call in favor of something more conservative.
 
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#14
#14
A lot. We now have a very balanced offense. Sure, Dobbs isn't the most accurate QB but we're still balanced and we're only going to get better
 
#15
#15
He deserves blame and credit. Was not impressed at all early on, had several games with little second half scoring.

I think he either got into a groove or started to mesh with Butch or his personnel or something as time went on.

Seeing Dobbs under center makes me think he and Butch have a solid, two way relationship.

I'd like to see someone tweak Dobbs mechanics and get some rythym in the passing game. Maybe take a look at how our receivers run routes and the massive substitutions.

I think a second year in the program and a roster of verteran players could translate into a special offense in 16.
 
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#16
#16
The offense progressed positively as a unit throughout the season. I also think that it took Debord until the Georgia game to really find his rhythm as a play caller. If he can get the passing game ready for primetime by next season, we will have a very entertaining offense in 2016.
 
#17
#17
GoVols#18 said:
I think he is responsible for the debacle that was the offensive play calling in our 4th quarter chokes. We have to pass the ball down field more and stop running QB draws on 3rd and long.
Click to expand...

I think we should cut him a little slack on those early games. If you've ever changed jobs, you know that it takes time to truly understand "who has your back" in your new position. Same with football. A symbiotic relationship (Look that one up Vandy trolls!) between a coach and players takes time to develop. Lot's of adjustments to the new situation taking place in real time. I am optimistic that Debord will have a better comfort level and feel more at home next year.

I was impressed when Verne and Gary commented that Debord had been in the pressbox studying the playbook for something like 3 hours before kickoff of the Georgia game.
 
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#19
#19
Butch deserves a lot of credit hiring Mike and sticking to his system. It works really well. When a team can pretty much run the ball against everyone the chances of winning go up a lot. Our close losses show that. Mike is a good OC and glad we have him. He's done a great job with the offensive line. Just a huge difference from last year.
 
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#20
#20
I was impressed when Verne and Gary commented that Debord had been in the pressbox studying the playbook for something like 3 hours before kickoff of the Georgia game.

I heard that Kiffin nailed a coed in the pressbox 3 hours before their Ole Miss game...

All kidding aside, Debord did a fine job this year. OL couldn't block OU in 2nd half is why that game got away from Tennessee, turnovers and missed FG hurt vs Ark and poor field position and missed FGs hurt against bama. Otherwise he did well enough to win them all....
 
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#21
#21
GoVols#18 said:
I think he is responsible for the debacle that was the offensive play calling in our 4th quarter chokes. We have to pass the ball down field more and stop running QB draws on 3rd and long.
Click to expand...

I would attribute our chokes more to the defense than the offense. Especially Florida and Oklahoma
 
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#22
#22
brainvol said:
Question his recruiting prowess.
Click to expand...

Not to worry. He's got a secret weapon for landing top recruits:

butter-candies-kv-76ef0cfaa71cf9f14d5cea0600f5a86d.jpg
 
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