In game coaching grade on the new coaches

[Gandalf]

While yesterday was a rude awakening on many fronts, I was wondering what the take away on in game coaching was. Noticeably, I haven't seen it mentioned in a single thread or on game day. Unlike during the Butch Era, there didn't seem to be crazy time outs where I was scratching my head, terrible time management or a bunch of horribly bad calls that everyone could see coming. Once the score jumped and we had to drop the run game, we became more predictable of course. Mostly what I saw was a failure to execute and guys fumbling around trying to learn a new scheme perhaps. The two long drives we put together seemed more of an indication of the Helton plan.

Pruitt came out and said that he missed it on a few calls (refreshing an HC taking responsibility for once) and I was really hoping they would do a better job of coaching up the "talent" we have (which may not be as talented as I thought). Perhaps we just arent that talented and need better players and/or Pruitt needs a full year to get everyone on to a 3-4 and teach basics after Butch & co.

Oh, one other bright light - 1 injury (Chandler) from someone ringing his bell. Seems we are better prepared with our S&C at least.

Overall, though, the in-game (and that ballsy 4th and 1 call) gave me some hope that once we get some players or get these better trained, we at least wont be cursing the calls on game day.

 

[VolTexas]

Coaches and players did well.

Not sure they had the right team chemistry, player combinations.

 

[cwbytruckers]

The way Grier was placing the ball was unstoppable for any defense. Hats off to him

 

[Sara Clark]

My only complaint about play calling is our continuously running the ball up the middle with very little success. But I guess you never know till you try it a few times.

 

[ptcarter]

I honestly think that there is no real way to mimic a game situation in practice. There is a lot of film to watch for this staff. The good news - they seemed disciplined. Not a lot of stupid penalties. I'm sure the coordination of all those with headsets on will get better. Not saying it's bad, but compare to WV. Those players and coaches have been around each other long enough to understand team chemistry and make adjustments. Also, I'd say WV will drop off next year after Grier and company move on.

There were a lot of bright spots. Love seeing QB under center inside the five. Love not taking 3 when there is nothing really to lose. Our receivers were getting open and Jordan stepped up.

We have two cupcake games to get the wrinkles out before Florida. Pruitt is the type of guy that will fix what he can.

 

[Alto1]

While yesterday was a rude awakening on many fronts, I was wondering what the take away on in game coaching was. Noticeably, I haven't seen it mentioned in a single thread or on game day. Unlike during the Butch Era, there didn't seem to be crazy time outs where I was scratching my head, terrible time management or a bunch of horribly bad calls that everyone could see coming. Once the score jumped and we had to drop the run game, we became more predictable of course. Mostly what I saw was a failure to execute and guys fumbling around trying to learn a new scheme perhaps. The two long drives we put together seemed more of an indication of the Helton plan.

Pruitt came out and said that he missed it on a few calls (refreshing an HC taking responsibility for once) and I was really hoping they would do a better job of coaching up the "talent" we have (which may not be as talented as I thought). Perhaps we just arent that talented and need better players and/or Pruitt needs a full year to get everyone on to a 3-4 and teach basics after Butch & co.

Oh, one other bright light - 1 injury (Chandler) from someone ringing his bell. Seems we are better prepared with our S&C at least.

Overall, though, the in-game (and that ballsy 4th and 1 call) gave me some hope that once we get some players or get these better trained, we at least wont be cursing the calls on game day.

Spot on imo............

 

[Alto1]

I honestly think that there is no real way to mimic a game situation in practice. There is a lot of film to watch for this staff. The good news - they seemed disciplined. Not a lot of stupid penalties. I'm sure the coordination of all those with headsets on will get better. Not saying it's bad, but compare to WV. Those players and coaches have been around each other long enough to understand team chemistry and make adjustments. Also, I'd say WV will drop off next year after Grier and company move on.

There were a lot of bright spots. Love seeing QB under center inside the five. Love not taking 3 when there is nothing really to lose. Our receivers were getting open and Jordan stepped up.

We have two cupcake games to get the wrinkles out before Florida. Pruitt is the type of guy that will fix what he can.

I believe this wholeheartedly.

I think he is the kind of person who will "work like heck" until it is to his liking. It may take players he has recruited into the program, but I believe he will not rest until it is right..................

 

[KINGSVOL]

I have to AGREE with OP! We didn't have stupid mistakes, just slow reaction times. As the reps increase the reaction time will decrease, by the Florida game you will see a team that can play 4 quarters of good football (instead of 1.5)

The Dline didn't get into the backfield BUT, they played their assignment well (holes)
Once the Oline and Dline gel, and the corners become instinctive, this team is gonna surprise a few teams!!!

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

Team looked completely unprepared on the opening drive and it took the center a quarter to understand he is supposed to throw blocks after snapping the ball.

The defense was given a reprieve in the 2nd quarter with the long drive or the final score and stats look a lot worse IMO.

I'm not patting the offense on the back for putting 14 points on the board against a putrid defense.

Not seeing any positives to take away other than no turnovers and limited penalties for an opener.

 

[AustinMem]

2 runs up the middle in 2nd quarter, when Gaurantano was hot throwing seemed a bad call. Drive ended up stalling, and they got the ball back with time to go score

 

[tennesseeduke]

While yesterday was a rude awakening on many fronts, I was wondering what the take away on in game coaching was. Noticeably, I haven't seen it mentioned in a single thread or on game day. Unlike during the Butch Era, there didn't seem to be crazy time outs where I was scratching my head, terrible time management or a bunch of horribly bad calls that everyone could see coming. Once the score jumped and we had to drop the run game, we became more predictable of course. Mostly what I saw was a failure to execute and guys fumbling around trying to learn a new scheme perhaps. The two long drives we put together seemed more of an indication of the Helton plan.

Pruitt came out and said that he missed it on a few calls (refreshing an HC taking responsibility for once) and I was really hoping they would do a better job of coaching up the "talent" we have (which may not be as talented as I thought). Perhaps we just arent that talented and need better players and/or Pruitt needs a full year to get everyone on to a 3-4 and teach basics after Butch & co.

Oh, one other bright light - 1 injury (Chandler) from someone ringing his bell. Seems we are better prepared with our S&C at least.

Overall, though, the in-game (and that ballsy 4th and 1 call) gave me some hope that once we get some players or get these better trained, we at least wont be cursing the calls on game day.

JG played outstanding and really showed major improvement from last year. Throws were crisp, reads were quick. Only got sacked a few times and that was all the o line not touching anyone. Dude is tough also, taking some of those shots in the 1st quarter. I really can't say that he made late reads or bad throws all day.

The o line adjusted and got better as the game went on. Kennedy got fooled on the 1st possession or 2 but he handled the NT pretty much the rest of the game. Trey had to motion penalties however I'm not worried about him. Tim Jordan is a beast. London looks like a good back up and I hate Chandler got hurt but that was a nasty knee to the head.

Wide receivers played okay with no drops that I remember. Blocking was a little suspect. Palmer really surprised me out of this group. Last year it didn't seem he could catch a cold. He made every catch yesterday.

TE's played okay but Wolfe really looks small.

DB's are young and it showed against an experienced WR crew.

LB's I'm not sure where they were all day. The few blitzs we ran came from the CB which left the safety on an island and he got burned a few times.

D Line played okay, but looked gassed at times.

Special teams okay for 1st game but I expect some improvement here.

Coaches were good and bad. I really liked seeing us not back off and that 17 play drive was outstanding ending with JP's call on 4th down for a TD. Surprised at the blitz package and our failure to hit Grier. He had way to much time to throw yesterday which hurts the young DB's.

Overall C-. Team didn't quit, played hard and really at times looked good. Next 2 games are in a great spot for improvement and to get ready for Florida. 3-1 would be good and really is where most thought would be great shape and a shot for 8-4 season. Still think this is really doable now!

 

[ALLVOL 4LIFE]

Everyone just needs to relax and let this staff do it’s thing, they will get the most out of what they have as of now and that’s all we can ask. That being said, I think Helton has a little more growing to do as OC. As far as our D, we are just thin up front which effects everything behind it. But still imho, we will be much better than last year, if not in record, at least we will be more disciplined and not make a ton of stupid penalties. Patience will pay off this time if we allow it to.

 

[Pepe]

Team looked completely unprepared on the opening drive and it took the center a quarter to understand he is supposed to throw blocks after snapping the ball.

The defense was given a reprieve in the 2nd quarter with the long drive or the final score and stats look a lot worse IMO.

I'm not patting the offense on the back for putting 14 points on the board against a putrid defense.

Not seeing any positives to take away other than no turnovers and limited penalties for an opener.

On Kennedy, I think it was a combination of nose guard being worked up to a fever pitch similar to what Billy Ratliff was in the Arkansas game, and Kennedy just not being quite ready for that burst of energy. Kennedy seem to settle down and take care of the nose guard for the rest of the game

 

[JCHateSteve]

There were a couple play calls I didn't care for. But, I can say that about pretty much any game, no matter the coach. In terms of game day coaching I think the staff did fine. They didn't make any amazing blunders like Butch. They showed confidence in the team and had guts on the goal line. They also got there butts kicked, so there is also a lot of work to do. I guess I would give them a C+.

 

[Jrobb]

I think there is something to build on from what I saw. I like the pro form offense and 3-4 defense (it’s what all the cool kids are doing these days). I don’t know how good WVU is. They may have a horrible defense (they did last year) their defense may be great. I’ll be surprised if anyone can beat them without scoring at least 35 points because that combination of highly effective qb and three receivers is going to make a lot of secondaries look hapless.
End of the year we may look back at this game as an embarrassment, we may forget about it, or we may look back and think the loss isn’t too bad if WVU goes out and lays forty plus on everyone.

 

[Orange Swagger]

The one thing we all don't want to admit is the talent level here is way below what we had become accustom talo over the years. I believe in our Head Coach and staff but we need quality SEC level players. Not Butch Jones' smoke and mirrors.

 

[TennesseeJet]

Pruitt is a genius. I give the coaching staff a solid B+ for keeping the score so close. In 4 years we will sign yet another HC that I will have to google just like the last 3 we have had.

 

[Gandalf]

Pruitt is a genius. I give the coaching staff a solid B+ for keeping the score so close. In 4 years we will sign yet another HC that I will have to google just like the last 3 we have had.

Perhaps you could do us a favor and crawl back under your rock of negativity until the season's end and we have a better guide of what Pruitt did with it.

 

[ClockworkOrange]

2 runs up the middle in 2nd quarter, when Gaurantano was hot throwing seemed a bad call. Drive ended up stalling, and they got the ball back with time to go score

That one was a head scratcher for me too. JG was hot, it was like 3rd and 4, we had some momentum. I felt like that was the turning point of the game. (Not that it likely would have affected the final outcome, but the score would have been much closer, like maybe 33-21).

 

[82_VOL_83]

B- to C+

 

[tn4elvis]

The way Grier was placing the ball was unstoppable for any defense. Hats off to him

He did make some fantastic throws.

 

[landscapingvol]

D at best; I don't think the game plan for the first quarter was very good and that is basically what you spend all offseason working on then you adjust as the game moves forward. There were spurts in the game where execution and coaching were good but the poor play/schemes greatly outweighed the good.

 

[landscapingvol]

He did make some fantastic throws.

You cannot give an experienced qb with talent all the time in the World to throw the ball. We simply could not generate any pressure. I am starting to think Kyle Phillips and our other pass "rushers" hide during the games

 

[tn4elvis]

You cannot give an experienced qb with talent all the time in the World to throw the ball. We simply could not generate any pressure. I am starting to think Kyle Phillips and our other pass "rushers" hide during the games

Kyle looks like he might have lost a step.

 

[vik]

It may sound like I'm mad in this assessment, but I'm not. I really think we played about as good as we could. 40-14 sounds harsh, but they scored with 2:05 left after we gifted them a 1st down after they missed a FG. So 33-14 sort of matched my opinion -- solidly beaten but not "blown out." If we make our 4th down play for a TD, and make the score 33-21*, that would have been a flattering scoreline for the Vols.

Seventeen-play drives are nice, but that's not our identity. If that's your game plan, then you really need service-academy type discipline to pull that off on a regular basis. Only the service academies and Georgia Tech have that type of discipline on offense. Our identity -- even when we had Peyton Manning -- is a power running team + screens + the bomb. Throw the bomb. It makes other things like the intermediate routes easier. When in doubt, just ask: What would Tony Robinson do?**

On another note, I really didn't like the time-out prior to going for it on 4th down (on our 1st TD). Time-outs are valuable (albeit less valuable in the 1st half). My point is, the staff should wargame and pre-decide this in game planning well prior to kick-off. You just run through a bunch of likely scenarios and play the what-if game, and make the call. For example, if we're down 10 in the 1st Qtr, and it's 4th and goal from the 1, are we gonna go for it or not? That way, you calmly make a lot of these decisions ahead of time (with the input of the coaching staff) and save your time-out. We do that stuff all the time in the military: If this is the situation, and this condition and this condition are present, but not this other condition, then the decision is to go with the "1st" Course of Action... If that 3rd condition is present, then the decision changes to something else (which is also pre-planned).


*SIDENOTE: With the score 33-14... If we score a third TD, chasing WVU who had 33 points, I would hope we would have gone for two. If we make it, we're trailing 33-22, and a TD/2pt/FG ties the game. If we miss it, 33-20 means we'd need two TDs, just like how 33-21 means we need two TDs. Paying attention BUTCH?

**TRob would thoughtfully listen to the play call, go to the line of scrimmage, and audible to throw the bomb.