My attempt at a realist outlook on O&W

[sjt18]

Agree. Maybe not badly but it should be a win, nonetheless.

People can get unrealistic expectation when they throw out numbers such as scores, when a majority of the time, the games are completely different. You can't use scores to suggest how comparable two teams are.

Match ups matter. Injuries matter. Sometimes a better team just has an off game while an inferior team plays over their heads. Turnovers matter.

Long story short... you're right on this one.

 

[King Webbsticles]

Match ups matter. Injuries matter. Sometimes a better team just has an off game while an inferior team plays over their heads. Turnovers matter.

Long story short... you're right on this one.

And the two games happened 11 months before they meet each other.

Long Story? Psshhh... not for you.

 

[Bite em' Smokey]

Took me awhile to finish your post because I started laughing so hard when I saw you predicted a loss to vandy, but then started laughing even harder when I saw you predicting a loss to kentucky. That is some pure comedic gold right there

How hard was you laughing last year when KY beat us without a QB? The whole planet knew they were going to run the ball and they did. Everyone talks about maturing players and all but are they saying that the KY team that beat us last year will never get any better? They were a bad team without a QB and they beat us. Same players on both teams this year. I remember hearing that the players didnt care. Same team. What if they dont care in some games this year.

 

[utvolpj]

How hard was you laughing last year when KY beat us without a QB? The whole planet knew they were going to run the ball and they did. Everyone talks about maturing players and all but are they saying that the KY team that beat us last year will never get any better? They were a bad team without a QB and they beat us. Same players on both teams this year. I remember hearing that the players didnt care. Same team. What if they dont care in some games this year.

UT didn't lose because of UK's offense. Acting like they ran at will against our D is not really factual

 

[GBO97]

Im not a troll. I still have my season tix and love the orange but that was my opinion. Everyone really is hoping it will get better. I would really like to know what it the big difference that you all seen that I missed. The whole offense was still the same as last year especially on that last drive. They give up a 40+ yard draw right up the gut to lose to the d. How may turnovers and how many missed tackles. Not putting forth effort is why I say we are the same if not worse. I see a post talking about 10-2. Now that is orange colored glasses. Just saying NC St - Loss GA St win UF loss Akron win UGA loss Miss St 50/50 Bama loss SC loss Troy win Missou loss Vandy Loss KY (they will have a qb this year loss. Before you start we should have lost to Vandy at home last year and lost to a KY team without a QB. This is just the facts. How can you say now that we will be KY this year? We lost to a team was not very good a very short handed. What if they give the effort they gave this last year?

IMO 10-2 isn't as ridiculous as 3.5-8.5, .5 sec wins, LAST place in the sec AND a loss to a horrible UK team at Neyland

 

[vol_in_ar]

I am going to attempt a realist outlook on this game for those that asked for it earlier...

QB's--- Bray and Worley both looked pretty good, with how tight the Def had our WR's covered, I am surprised bray was able to get any completions at all. There was very few points there was an actual open receiver. The opposite was true on the other side. 2nd team def couldn't cover our 2nd team wideouts. Worley constantly had an open receiver if not two. IMO should have had more completions then he did.

OL--- I was impressed with the push they were getting on run plays, I really think they are taking accountability for last year and refuse to let it happen again. I only saw true pressure on bray a couple times. I do not know if that is because of good play by the OL, or bad play by the DL. Or by design as they weren't aloud to actually tackle the QB's.

RB's--- Neal/Lane were both hitting the holes with some authority. Adding CJG to the staff has made a world of difference from what I saw last year. They were running hard, with purpose and power. A couple times I saw them dragging a defender or two with them for a few extra yards. I am very excited to see some more improvement in this area by fall. Because if we can just copy this much production in actual games this year we are going to win a bunch of games

Kicking---(Fieldgoals) lowlight of the afternoon, like usual I guess They were hitting some good shots in warmups.. then in the game itself it looked like their nerves hit them. I hope they can get over this by fall
(Kickoffs) were actually very good IMO.. shots were landing right inside the endzone, making the runners take them out and giving Special teams a chance to stop them short. Our runners were having none of it though and we had some very good returns.

WR's/TE's/Screens-- was impressed with carter, riviera, young and blanc. DR was as expected and made some great plays, he also had the ball stripped from him on what should have been a TD.. but those other guys look like they are really coming out of their shells. Made some great grabs and runs after they had the ball.


Overall my biggest surprise was how well first team defense was playing. Secondary were all over our receivers. And they were swarming to the ball with authority.

Biggest disappointment was our Field goals and Punts. They really need a lot of work before fall.

I tried to stay objective as possible, although its difficult thing for me to do, as those of you who know me will understand, the world is seen in shades of orange to me.

Feel free to ask any specific questions and I will do my best to give honest answers.

GBO #VFL

thanks for posting

 

[vol_in_ar]

UT didn't lose because of UK's offense. Acting like they ran at will against our D is not really factual

they still movd the ball when they had too, running basically 4 plays..
I didn't look it up but I think he attempted less than 5 passes

 

[UTFanForLife]

they still movd the ball when they had too, running basically 4 plays..
I didn't look it up but I think he attempted less than 5 passes

If I told you Kentucky was gonna score 10 points before the game started, would you think Kentucky was going to win?

Our O should have put up 35 even with Tyler hurt, we didn't and we lost. Kentucky O had nothing to do with it.

 

[utvolpj]

they still movd the ball when they had too, running basically 4 plays..
I didn't look it up but I think he attempted less than 5 passes

really? They had about 150 total yds after their first drive.

 

[ImportedVoL]

If I told you Kentucky was gonna score 10 points before the game started, would you think Kentucky was going to win?

Our O should have put up 35 even with Tyler hurt, we didn't and we lost. Kentucky O had nothing to do with it.

Dont see why more don't understand this, always wanting to bring up the QB/WR thing..

This was the one game that TB really dropped the ball and did not perform anywhere near what he should, even while he was hurt. He should have gave the ball to worley if it was such an issue for him that game.

And for the record, we will just start a new win streak against them. And punish them this year double as hard

 

[Orange_Crush]

It really doesn't make it any easier to swallow, but UK did not beat us. UT laid down. Period. I'm not sure what happened with the team, but they just plain out quit-- or never started.

I'm not even sure how much to lay on the coaches. On one hand, it is their responsibility to keep the players motivated. On the other hand, watching that game was like watching a farmer try to force a mule to plow while it absolutely refuses to move. What are you going to do?

Since I've spent so much time in the academic thread, I almost wonder if several of our major performers knew they would be ineligible for the bowl anyway, so just laid down and quit on everyone else.

It was a strange thing, none-the-less...

 

[thebjd]

I see 7-5 at worst.

Welcome to the board, newposter!



Yup. Sometimes folks are just chokers. They can have all the physical tools (see Erik Ainge) but none of the temperment for the game. These guys just seem to choke.

I think Dooley's number one job right now is to get a new kicker.

I don't think I have seen a kicker or punter have better warm-up sessions than Palardy. He was punting mile high spirals and hitting field goals with ease over 50 yards. I don't know if it is the hold, nerves or both in the game situation.

 

[Orange_Crush]

I don't think I have seen a kicker or punter have better warm-up sessions than Palardy. He was punting mile high spirals and hitting field goals with ease over 50 yards. I don't know if it is the hold, nerves or both in the game situation.

CDD told him to punt high and short to alleviate possible injuries to return men.




I am starting baseless rumors.

 

[justingroves]

Neal is at best a role player. He's a liability the more touches he gets.

Young is a very good back but he cannot carry an offense. He's good at what he does which is returning and 5 to 8 touches a game on offense.

Lane is the best back on the team but Smith is the best short yardage guy and it's by a lot.

The run game isn't where it needs to be for Tennessee to be a legit SEC contender.

The new WRs need to be extremely good the minute they come on campus. The depth there is scary thin until July.

The first group of LBs are pretty damn good. After that, there's a huge drop off.

Sentimore was disappointing but I expect he'll get a lot better by fall camp.

Tiny will be a legit NFL LT once he gets used to the speed rushers in the SEC. He's already a tremendous run blocker.

Randolph is the star of the defense right now. Overall, the first team D has a lot of talent. There are still depth issues everywhere on that side except at the Jack spot. McCullers and Sentimore need to live up to the hype.

Greg Clark was a pleasant surprise as was Cody Blanc.

The kicking game is God awful. There are no excuses for it. Fielding open tryouts for students is a better option than Palardy attempting one more field goal.

 

[justingroves]

There's a lot of bodies in the defensive backfield, but that doesn't mean they're all good.

Tino and Orta have a ways to go but look the part athletically which is good because they aren't necessarily going to be needed this year.

Moore is a good safety but after that you're relying on McNeal coming in and being a stud, which is probably going to happen.

Coleman seems to still have mental lapses but when he's on, he's a good cover corner that can tackle.

 

[thebjd]

Neal is at best a role player. He's a liability the more touches he gets.

Young is a very good back but he cannot carry an offense. He's good at what he does which is returning and 5 to 8 touches a game on offense.

Lane is the best back on the team but Smith is the best short yardage guy and it's by a lot. The run game isn't where it needs to be for Tennessee to be a legit SEC contender.

The new WRs need to be extremely good the minute they come on campus. The depth there is scary thin until July.

The first group of LBs are pretty damn good. After that, there's a huge drop off.

Sentimore was disappointing but I expect he'll get a lot better by fall camp.

Tiny will be a legit NFL LT once he gets used to the speed rushers in the SEC. He's already a tremendous run blocker.

Randolph is the star of the defense right now. Overall, the first team D has a lot of talent. There are still depth issues everywhere on that side except at the Jack spot. McCullers and Sentimore need to live up to the hype.

Greg Clark was a pleasant surprise as was Cody Blanc.

The kicking game is God awful. There are no excuses for it. Fielding open tryouts for students is a better option than Palardy attempting one more field goal.

Good summary. Lane looks a lot bigger to me (and was still fast) and had better lean when meeting tacklers. Our receiving corp is definitely thin. Carter is actually a legitimate option in the passing game in my opinion. He catches everything and ran great routes in the slot. I went in highly skeptical of his stats but he is actually pretty good. We need to stay healthy at LB/WR. The team looks bigger and faster, I just hope they compete.

 

[omghulkhands]

Neal is at best a role player. He's a liability the more touches he gets.

Young is a very good back but he cannot carry an offense. He's good at what he does which is returning and 5 to 8 touches a game on offense.

Lane is the best back on the team but Smith is the best short yardage guy and it's by a lot.

The run game isn't where it needs to be for Tennessee to be a legit SEC contender.

The new WRs need to be extremely good the minute they come on campus. The depth there is scary thin until July.

The first group of LBs are pretty damn good. After that, there's a huge drop off.

Sentimore was disappointing but I expect he'll get a lot better by fall camp.

Tiny will be a legit NFL LT once he gets used to the speed rushers in the SEC. He's already a tremendous run blocker.

Randolph is the star of the defense right now. Overall, the first team D has a lot of talent. There are still depth issues everywhere on that side except at the Jack spot. McCullers and Sentimore need to live up to the hype.

Greg Clark was a pleasant surprise as was Cody Blanc.

The kicking game is God awful. There are no excuses for it. Fielding open tryouts for students is a better option than Palardy attempting one more field goal.

This is a really good summation

only thing I differ on is the LB situation, with a healthy Brent and Propst (who looked great in the OW game) we should be pretty good there depth wise

 

[volfan2024]

Nice JGroves.:thumbsup:

 

[justingroves]

I didn't think Propst looked that great. He tackled well, but he's nowhere near athletic enough to be anything but average.

 

[thebjd]

This is a really good summation

only thing I differ on is the LB situation, with a healthy Brent and Propst (who looked great in the OW game) we should be pretty good there depth wise

Brewer looks like a Chavis linebacker. He is a big man for a safety.

 

[omghulkhands]

What I am most worried about is the D-line and the CB2 and CB3

P wag has the CB1 spot on lock, but the rest of our CBs seems to just a bunch of warm bodies.

 

[justingroves]

Good summary. Lane looks a lot bigger to me (and was still fast) and had better lean when meeting tacklers. Our receiving corp is definitely thin. Carter is actually a legitimate option in the passing game in my opinion. He catches everything and ran great routes in the slot. I went in highly skeptical of his stats but he is actually pretty good. We need to stay healthy at LB/WR. The team looks bigger and faster, I just hope they compete.

There is always an unheralded guy that looks great in the spring and does nothing in the fall. I hope that isn't Carter.

 

[justingroves]

What I am most worried about is the D-line and the CB2 and CB3

P wag has the CB1 spot on lock, but the rest of our CBs seems to just a bunch of warm bodies.

Gordon as a nickel CB is fine. He's not going to be a great man cover corner, but playing over the slot and blitzing occasionally is what he's best at.

Between Lanier and Coleman, the other CB spot should be decent, not great.

 

[thebjd]

There is always an unheralded guy that looks great in the spring and does nothing in the fall. I hope that isn't Carter.

He may never see the field but he ran good routes, got open and made some tough catches. I have no idea how fast he is or how big the drop is between the first team and second team secondary. I had no expectations for him going into the spring game but he can play. If he doesn't stay on the team a fraternity should rush him and win some intramural trophies.

 

[justingroves]

He may never see the field but he ran good routes, got open and made some tough catches. I have no idea how fast he is or how big the drop is between the first team and second team secondary. I had no expectations for him going into the spring game but he can play. If he doesn't stay on the team a fraternity should rush him and win some intramural trophies.

That made me laugh.

He has great hands. It would be pretty cool if he could get on the field. I think he definitely earned himself a scholarship