Looking back at the Mike DeBord era

#76
#76
IndianaVolunteer said:
Grossly underutilized Alvin Kamara. We went 9-4 with a quitter starting at RB 8 games into the year. Imagine if Kamara got all those snaps instead..
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I wonder if he held AK back, or if the Hurd support came from Butch. Remember, everyone thinks Butch calls all the shots. If this is the case, De did the best with what he was allowed to use until the blowup. The when he could use AK and others like he need to, look what happened. Here again, I think BUTCH.
 
#77
#77
If we (all of us) had known (before season) the number of points the team would scored against each of our SEC opponents this year (except bama) ,what do you think our record would have been? For me one loss. Looks like the trouble may have been defense. Not coach D and offense.
 
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#78
#78
Nothing but love and respect for Coach DeBord.

In terms of some of the back and forth opinions, I think it's important to temper either side with a fair and objective standard of evaluation. You know the saying, "You have lies, damned lies, and statistics." This is because when you attempt to make an inference of meaning from statistics, you will fail in your conclusion unless you first understand the context of the relationships between all the attributes of the parameters you measured. The 2nd most points scored is a scintillating bullet point for career highlights and such, but it would be foolish to let the pretty bow on top of the box keep you from opening up the rest of it to get to the reality of what's inside the full story.
In short, record setting points in garbage time doesn't offset the realities of a more objective gauge of performance like how the offense did against our toughest opponent on the schedule which was Alabama any more than what DeBord failed to do against Alabama takes away from what DeBord succeeded in accomplishing in the second half vs. Florida.

For the most part, and the good of it all, I'm thrilled he was able to set records and I like the man as a person. The point of contention would be when someone touts the fact he set records without accounting for those offensive struggles earlier in the season that cost us wins like the Alabama and South Carolina games because that's spraying wonderful smelling cologne on stinky armpits then claiming to solve the problem.

There were too many one yard runs up the middle on first and second down pass short of the marker on third then punt scenarios called for far too many games into the season in my brutally honest opinion. That failed in allowing us to get any kind of rhythm and forced Dobbs to find a way to get it done to survive.

Eventually, there were also some brilliant plays called which showed me he possessed the chops to get it done but also made those 3 and outs based on predictable plays earlier in the season all the more frustrating.

I am proud that he set the records though and I truly did enjoy the games where he was able to use a balanced attack to establish the run to set up the pass and stretch the field with the pass to keep the opposing defense on its toes.

I also liked those plays to Jennings to pass to Dobbs and the end arounds and other creative plays that were well executed and produced gains.
It was obvious from those that he put in the work and practice to improve as the season went along and he ultimately won my respect for doing that instead of staying with what wasn't getting it done at first.

I hope Coach DeBord realizes that's as much praise and appreciation as it is constructive criticism. At the end of the day, he put in hard work and an honest effort for Tennessee so that's always worth acknowledgement.
 
#80
#80
savannahfan said:
If we (all of us) had known (before season) the number of points the team would scored against each of our SEC opponents this year (except bama) ,what do you think our record would have been? For me one loss. Looks like the trouble may have been defense. Not coach D and offense.
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While that is a good point, I look at that scenario quite differently. If our offense could have figured out our opponents Defensive schemes, that would have produced longer and more productive drives, therefore reducing our Defense's time on the field and thusly, allowing less points.
 
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#83
#83
Positives: scored a lot of points, put up some impressive numbers

Negatives: situational play calling cost us some games, underutilized some elite talent
 
#84
#84
orangeluvr said:
Stats don't lie. :no:
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Of course stats don't lie by themselves, but a person who misleads with statistical fallacies lies whether they understand how to interpret stats or not.

A team that blows out Tech 60-0 but loses to Alabama 63-20 doesn't necessarily have a better offense than a team who wins over Alabama with a final score of 14-3 but only beats Tech by 30.

That's why it's important to understand how to interpret stats correctly. :yes:
 
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#85
#85
TJ1985 said:
Positives: scored a lot of points, put up some impressive numbers

Negatives: situational play calling cost us some games, underutilized some elite talent
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Thank you. See it's this simple guys. Everybody continuing to argue because the other party doesn't agree with you is absurd. Especially when you say it's crying or bashing? Nobody is insulting the man personally. I know DeBord did a fine job, but our offense still had many areas it needed to improve. I just do not allow myself to focus on arbitrary numbers that our offense put up when we haven't accomplished our goals yet. I know this is a team effort, so I do not put all the blame on DeBord. I didn't hate the guy. I hated to see our offense become inconsistent and stagnate when it mattered most during the season. The offense was vanilla because it was not creative. It was predictable because we ran the same set of plays.

There are two logical arguments as alluded to above and both are right. The truth is a mixture of both. You guys can be happy we put 60+ on Mizzou while I'm upset we couldn't score enough to beat USC and Vandy. There is no right or wrong. It's just opinion. When it was announced he was leaving, I simply saw it as an opportunity to improve our offense to be more consistent and effective. But again our biggest concern is defense.
 
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#87
#87
OneVolNation said:
Of course stats don't lie by themselves, but a person who misleads with statistical fallacies lies whether they understand how to interpret stats or not.

A team that blows out Tech 60-0 but loses to Alabama 63-20 doesn't necessarily have a better offense than a team who wins over Alabama with a final score of 14-3 but only beats Tech by 30.

That's why it's important to understand how to interpret stats correctly. :yes:
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The team scoring the most points wins.
 
#88
#88
TCU hired sonny dykes. A private religious affiliated school in the big12 can lure a coach who has been a hc in his last two gigs, but UT can't... like what the heck is wrong with butch?!
 
#89
#89
It's easy to put up great rushing numbers when you have guys like Dobbs, Kamara and Kelly. My biggest issue with Debord (or maybe it was Butch?) was how conservative he would get once we got a lead, especially at the end of games.
Case and point would be the Georgia game. We intercepted the ball and got ultra conservative which we would have lost if not for a hail mary. Yes, we botched on defensive coverage, but a great team would have put Georgia away and then ran out the clock instead of giving the ball back.
 
#90
#90
IndianaVolunteer said:
Grossly underutilized Alvin Kamara. We went 9-4 with a quitter starting at RB 8 games into the year. Imagine if Kamara got all those snaps instead..
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Weren't we undefeated whenever Hurd got suspended? I'm not saying Kamara shouldn't have gotten more touches, but I don't think Hurd played at all in any of the 4 losses.
 
#91
#91
Orange&White said:
It is also interesting to quote our offense's numbers and pat DeBord on the back, but what did we accomplish? No SEC championships, no SEC East championships, and no Sugar Bowl. I know we went from 5-7 to 7-5 and now back to back 9-4 seasons. We have been to three bowl games in a row for the first time in a while. And we have a Battle at Bristol trophy. I appreciate what the coaching staff has done, but it is time for Tennessee to take the next step towards real championships. I am tired of Tennessee underachieving and being a joke across the country. I love this University and team, I will not settle for anything short of the best.
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I feel the same as you !! It's time for Rocky Top to be Rocky Top again . I bleed orange and I will not change .Changes are going to have to happen for us to get there . Go Vols !! I'm not going to allow myself to be negative. Come on Rocky Top let's get it back in 2017
 
#93
#93
That's with an average passing QB, weak and injured OL, injured WRs and a RB who didn't fit the system.
 
#95
#95
DeBord did a great job. Turnovers and weak Oline play killed the sky high scoring potential of the O. Imagine if we/Debord could have counted on 4 yards running the ball on the vanilla downs. Debord s O would have been an orange streak.
 
#96
#96
IndianaVolunteer said:
Grossly underutilized Alvin Kamara. We went 9-4 with a quitter starting at RB 8 games into the year. Imagine if Kamara got all those snaps instead..
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Wouldn't have mattered. In our losses Hurd didn't play against A'M,We weren't beating Ala regardless,JK got most of the touch's vs SCe and Kamara couldn't play. Then no Hurd vs Vandy either.
 
#98
#98
TNinSC said:
TCU hired sonny dykes. A private religious affiliated school in the big12 can lure a coach who has been a hc in his last two gigs, but UT can't... like what the heck is wrong with butch?!
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Meacham going to Kansas to give Dykes the opportunity at TCU was the real kick in the gut.

Then you have Lashlee taking a pay cut to go from Auburn to UCONN of all places.

What's wrong with Butch?

I would say Butch is the problem at this point.

There has been plenty of movement and opportunity to "enhance" the offense if he was actually to be taken at his word. Instead, he is setting up second interviews for a guy to ostensibly be a QB coach who couldn't get the head job at North Texas and is held in such high esteem as a QB guru that he is the RB coach at his alma mater.
 
#99
#99
JonGrudensAgent said:
Meacham going to Kansas to give Dykes the opportunity at TCU was the real kick in the gut.

Then you have Lashlee taking a pay cut to go from Auburn to UCONN of all places.

What's wrong with Butch?

I would say Butch is the problem at this point.

There has been plenty of movement and opportunity to "enhance" the offense if he was actually to be taken at his word. Instead, he is setting up second interviews for a guy to ostensibly be a QB coach who couldn't get the head job at North Texas and is held in such high esteem as a QB guru that he is the RB coach at his alma mater.
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what's wrong with you? why is it so hard for you (and others) to understand that it makes absolutely no sense to completely blow up the offense and install a whole new one if he is indeed on the hot seat this year like many say he is. i don't understand how that is hard to comprehend. he can't go backwards at all this year or the pitchforks will be out in full force, so why chance it with installing a new scheme in your "put up or shut up" year?
 
#100
#100
With the next OC hire on horizon I think Butch needs to take a long hard look at his scheme.

I have no question that this offense can role up stats, but I question whether it can work against the elite in the SEC. Yards and scoring are entertaining but does that ultimately win games? Debord apologist are telling us how lucky we are to have him these last two years, but im not buying it.

Currently, there are a myriad of teams that have had the record books rewritten from spread offenses and tempo. I have little doubt that in this record setting year UT also set a record for total plays.

There were times where the offense looked ineffective and placed the defense in a bind several times early in the year. Time of possession, sustained drives, and scoring efficiency must become a focus if Butch is going to graduate his offense to SEC calibur.
 
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