Interior Defense Weakness

#52
#52
Brave Volunteer said:
Well, based on the games I watched this weekend, Texas, OSU, Georgia, Miami, Clemson, FSU, Alabama, etc hasn't seemed to have trouble getting big uglies on the D-Line.

And you say it’s not a north and south game but thats exactly how Michigan won a natty in 2023. And we HAD the big beefy guys just last year in Lott, Simmons, and Thomas. We arent that far removed from the Henderson/Haynesworth era. If we face a team with an elite downhill running offense this year, we are screwed.
Click to expand...
I couldn’t help but notice how big Texas and Clemson’s DTs were compared to our guys. I’m not considering it a problem yet but if I had to pick one thing I’m most concerned about it’d be size at DT
 
  • Like
Reactions: walkenvol
#53
#53
bpalmer28 said:
I couldn’t help but notice how big Texas and Clemson’s DTs were compared to our guys. I’m not considering it a problem yet but if I had to pick one thing I’m most concerned about it’d be size at DT
Click to expand...
Yeah we don’t have another mountain like Omari Thomas. I think House can eventually be one, but he’s not there yet
 
#54
#54
We need to also consider Syracuse’s interior O-line is one of their strengths. TJ Ferguson, Syracuse’s left guard, is a redshirt senior transfer from Alabama/Florida St and was a blue chip recruit. The game was a good first test for our defensive tackles.
 
#56
#56
Brave Volunteer said:
So basically, the Oregon way. It has certainly win them a lot of games, just not a lot in the way of nattys.
Click to expand...
No they’ve just been winning conference championships- beating the breaks off Tennessee- and playing for National Championships.

We haven’t won an SEC Title since 1999.

And LSU in 2019 did not have a dominant defense. It was talented but their offense was unstoppable. They did not have strong interior defense.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#57
#57
csheaton said:
We need to also consider Syracuse’s interior O-line is one of their strengths. TJ Ferguson, Syracuse’s left guard, is a redshirt senior transfer from Alabama/Florida St and was a blue chip recruit. The game was a good first test for our defensive tackles.
Click to expand...
So let's take this thought and extrapolate it over the course of our SEC schedule. Does Georgia have a better O-line than Syracuse? Uh, that'd be a yes! What about Arkansas? I'd say yes since its Sam Pittman's specialty. Alabama? Regardless of what happened to them against FSU, you and I both know that talent wise they are way ahead of Syracuse. What about Oklahoma? Florida?

After watching us against Syracuse, my concern isn't so.much whether or not we can win with the guys we have on the D-Line. My concern is they may not be big enough physically to hold up over the course of the season. I mean, its game one and we were out there dropping like flies against a mid ACC opponent. Whats going to happen when we face tough SEC competition?
 
#60
#60
LittleVol said:
No they’ve just been winning conference championships- beating the breaks off Tennessee- and playing for National Championships.

We haven’t won an SEC Title since 1999.

And LSU in 2019 did not have a dominant defense. It was talented but their offense was unstoppable. They did not have strong interior defense.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I should've specified the "old" Oregon way, before they joined the Big 10. They have certainly gotten much bigger physically on the D-Line than they were during the Darron Thomas/Marcus Mariota era. Whats ironic is the one Pac 12 team that gave them fits back then was Stanford, who was built very much like an old school SEC team on the LOS with huge road graders on the O-line and a downhill running game. Also look what happened to them when they faced quality SEC teams like LSU and Auburn. Comparing them to us back then is laughable because we were awful.
 
Last edited:
#62
#62
Our DLine, specifically DTs, are small. They just are. This can’t be disputed. No one is saying that means they suck. Will it come back to hurt us? That remains to be seen. I do feel like a number of our SEC opponents this year will probably take advantage of it though. I hope I’m wrong. Just really need the guys we do have to get healthy (Moi and Hobbs).
 
#65
#65
GUNTERSVOL said:
OH MY, based on that logic 2.51 would do it going on 4th down all the time. We are doomed!
Click to expand...
When playing/coaching football, this is one of the things defensive linemen/coaches consider. Is it just not possible to discuss a weakness within the defensive side of the ball that can be a big problem in games this year and discuss ways to help fix the issue? Just a constructive conversation about it?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: walkenvol
#67
#67
ForMyLosses said:
We had injuries and guys out. Looked bad but once we have Jaxson moi in for more than 3 plays and Hobbs I’ll make an honest judgement. That Syracuse rb is no joke either he’s a very tough runner.
Click to expand...
No doubt. The Syracuse RB is legit. Would not surprise me if he is one of the top 2-3 RBs in the ACC by the end of the season.

The DL didn't play bad. They didn't play great, but they didn't play bad. And a couple of our top DL we're didn't play much or at all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#69
#69
madbamahater said:
That's not what this thread is about. The thread is about the lack of size and depth at the interior defensive line positions. Whether it be tackles or the nose.
Click to expand...
Yes I know - and the first couple of responses were about ugas daunting rush attack coming in 2 weeks so was just throwing that stat out.

Of course we are thin here especially if Moi is out a while and Hobbs doesn’t hurry up- but depth isn’t something we can fix at this point of the season… we have who we have. Will have to scheme to use smaller dt’s as a weapon.

We’ve played one game- and I don’t think cuse is a bad team… hard to tell yet if we are truly weak in the middle especially considering they had a bruiser back and got most their yards bouncing outside.
 
#70
#70
BigBadVol said:
We’re expecting too much. This is a good football team. Will they progress throughout the year? We will see. TN could make a run or they could stumble. My best AP analysis.
Click to expand...
Expecting too much by discussing the glaring disadvantage of interior line size and depth? It's a discussion. It is just true that the Vols don't have 3/4 guys that are mountains that would justify double teams and it can cause issues in some games to free up defenders. I'm surprised that Garner doesn't have some big uglies. I trust the staff is good enough at scheming around this, but having some tackles that are 315+ and well over 6'3" plus is a HUGE advantage and has been the staple of dominant SEC defenses for decades. It's the foundation. Historically if you can't get push on the inside, win the line of scrimmage and disrupt the pocket, you're at a major disadvantage. Games are literally won or lost here most of the time.
 
#71
#71
madbamahater said:
Syracuse did a great job of exploiting the interior defensive line. I'm afraid this is going to rear its ugly head against really good competition. I'm trying to figure out why Tennessee is so thin there and appear to be way undersized. If you cannot win the interior line of scrimmage you have absolutely no chance in the SEC.
Click to expand...
It was a concern to me going into the season. Losing big bodies like Omar, Simmons & Thomas was gonna hurt. All those were 320# plus & they don’t have 2or 3 similar coming along.
 
  • Like
Reactions: knox73
#72
#72
wmcovol said:
It was a concern to me going into the season. Losing big bodies like Omar, Simmons & Thomas was gonna hurt. All those were 320# plus & they don’t have 2or 3 similar coming along.
Click to expand...
Not having anybody similar to come in to fill the void is puzzling to me. LSU, Bama, Georgia, Texas, Clemson, etc crank these guys out year after year like a damn factory. We lose ours and suddenly we have a vacancy sign hanging in our DT room! These guys DO know we are in the transfer portal era, yes? Why didn't we go out and get some big bodies on that side of the LOS?
 
#73
#73
Brave Volunteer said:
Not having anybody similar to come in to fill the void is puzzling to me. LSU, Bama, Georgia, Texas, Clemson, etc crank these guys out year after year like a damn factory. We lose ours and suddenly we have a vacancy sign hanging in our DT room! These guys DO know we are in the transfer portal era, yes? Why didn't we go out and get some big bodies on that side of the LOS?
Click to expand...
There’s not that many guys that big that can play. Those schools that have them, pay them well. It’s not like going to the Football Publix & getting everything you want. Robinson & Wallace have to 1) stay healthy & 2) step up
 
  • Like
Reactions: chuckiepoo
#75
#75
wmcovol said:
There’s not that many guys that big that can play. Those schools that have them, pay them well. It’s not like going to the Football Publix & getting everything you want. Robinson & Wallace have to 1) stay healthy & 2) step up
Click to expand...
We should be a program that gets our fair share though. We're not Vandy or Kentucky. We are a player in the league.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tnphil
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.
Advertisement



Back
Top