My Thoughts on the Ball State Game After Sleeping On It

#26
#26
Hacksaw said:
Good synopsis. I, too, wondered where were the throws to the TEs? We keep hearing how they're a big part of Golesh's offense, but we're still waiting to see it.
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They only used a very small portion of the playbook, so let's wait until the first real game to make any decision about the game plan. We dominated a cupcake while playing vanilla and using almost the entire bench.
 
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#28
#28
GregAmsler said:
-I wanna see more out of the TEs.
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AGREED!

The few times they tried to get them involved there was a drop and an overthrow in the end zone (Milton). I also noticed on one of Hooker’s TD runs Fant completely whiffed on a block. Thankfully the guy had a horrible angle and Hooker shook him off, but disappointing nonetheless.

Why do I feel like every year our TEs look like Greek gods coming out of the locker room and then they just disappear or worse?
 
#29
#29
I think the offense looked good. I believe we have a lot of cards we didn't show (deep passes, sweeps, etc...). Running game seems to be improved and to O-line seemed to more of a unit. Defense looked to be playing it close to vest too (I hope). Tackling looks to be improved. I do have concerns with special teams. There were a lot of returnable kickoffs and a good return man would have hurt us. As for our returns, we would have been better off with fair catches. I still don't believe Ball State didn't block that punt.
 
#30
#30
I think the dline let a lot to be desired. Good news was it looked like we were tackling better than last year. Hopefully we were just holding our cards into next week
 
#32
#32
GregAmsler said:
wanna see more out of the TEs.
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Hacksaw said:
Good synopsis. I, too, wondered where were the throws to the TEs? We keep hearing how they're a big part of Golesh's offense, but we're still waiting to see it.
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Jauan't Some? said:
Why do I feel like every year our TEs look like Greek gods coming out of the locker room and then they just disappear or worse?
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Are we on our 3rd staff telling us Fant is gonna breakout? Or was he a Pruitt recruit?

I'd be happy for Fant if he puts it together and has a productive year.
 
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#33
#33
MemphisVol77 said:
Are we on our 3rd staff telling us Fant is gonna breakout? Or was he a Pruitt recruit?

I'd be happy for Fant if he puts it together and has a productive year.
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When was the last time we had a productive TE? Eli Wolfe 2017?

EDIT: Ethan Wolfe. Not Eli the traitor.
 
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#36
#36
RockyTop140 said:
He tries his best, but if he doesn’t figure it out soon, and I mean very soon, we gotta figure something out. He’s going to get eaten alive in the SEC
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Agree. Nothing I saw last year or in this game tells me that he is going to figure it out. Unless we can get a stronger pass rush, Burrell is going to have problems. Can’t rely on his cover skills.
 
#37
#37
tn4elvis said:
I was at the game also and like every team we play BSU threw at Burrell all night. I am not criticizing the kid and I know he is trying but if he is on the field a lot we are in trouble. He got completely turned around twice but we had good pressure on the qb to bail him out. Love the kid just not a fan of the player.
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We southerners don’t generally like to criticize players by name.
it should be a given that when we criticize a player, that it is their performance on the football field, not them personally that we are criticizing.
I think we as Vol fans have more than enough evidence that #4 on defense (Tillman is #4 on oftense) should not be starting in our secondary.
if our coaches believe that he is our best option there, they are to be blamed by not getting some high schooler, juco, or portal transfer ready to play that position.
The old adage says “you are only as strong as your weakest link”.
It is obvious to even the most casual football fan that #4 defensively is ours.
Coaches that face us certainly know this. They prove that with the percentage of passes attempted to that part of the field.
I cringe every time a QB throws that way and I bet that you do too.
heres hoping that someone is groomed soon to be a replacement starter there.
 
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#38
#38
GregAmsler said:
-I was at the game last night, so I couldn’t tell who started at every position, but it looked like Charles started at the outside CB spot opposite Burrell. Is that correct? I know Hadden got the INT shortly after so he wasn’t on the bench long. I assume, at this point, that Hadden/Charles are fighting for that spot opposite Burrell. That tells me the staff thinks Burrell can be a good CB. Maybe the MCB struggles were a turning point for him.

-I did see that Mincey started at LT and seemed to play most of the meaningful minutes. The game was well in hand before Crawford came in. From what I saw, Mincey looked good. I’ll have to re-watch to get a feel for what Crawford did.

-I was a little surprised McCoy got the start, but he looked good. I loved seeing Holiday make a big play. My biggest concern with this WR group is that, other than Hyatt, we don’t have that guy who can take the top of a defense or take it to the house from anywhere like Payton/Velus last year. I think/hope Holiday can be that guy. He just has to get the rest of the position down. That was an encouraging start. I hope he can become the first WR off the bench and McCoy, Hyatt, Tillman are an elite group.

-Milton looked much improved from this time last year. Yes, it was Ball State, but the issues he had last year had nothing to do with the defense he was playing. He made throws, I thought, that he wouldn't have made last year.

-Wright looks better than Small to me. Small is pretty good in short yardage with his short compact build. But Wright seems to get more out of what's blocked.

-I wanna see more out of the TEs.

-On defense, it's hard to form much of an opinion. I do think the overall speed of the defense looks good. But the CBs didn't press, LBs didn't blitz, and Ball State threw quick passes and kept things short for the most part. Had to like McDonald getting a big play early. Great for his confidence.

-No major injuries. Probably the best news of the night. Although not having Mitchell, Campbell, Rucker, and Williams going into the game is concerning. Hopefully, Mitchell will be fine with 10 days to heal up.

-Beasley looked good. He looks like he has a much better understanding of what's going on. That should be the case with the entire defense. Didn't hear Banks' name much and I'm okay with that. We know what we have with him.
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I loved the assessment you made about Milton. I agree 100 percent. It never was the defense, his problem is between his ears. He did look solid, I don’t think I’ve ever felt confident about uts two qbs. I’ve been a fan since 06 so us having one good qb is a rarity, but two!!
 
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#40
#40
I thought probably the only thing that really stuck out was no sacks. They showed nothing really though. Tennessee's 11 was just way better than Ball State's, on both sides of the ball... They did convert some 3rd downs. Those were the two biggest issues last year.
 
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#41
#41
I'm very concerned about our linebackers. Beasley seems to always be in the right place at the right time but always gets trucked. I can't remember ever seeing him level anybody. He always falls backwards or needs other players to help him make the tackle.
 
#42
#42
RockyTop140 said:
He tries his best, but if he doesn’t figure it out soon, and I mean very soon, we gotta figure something out. He’s going to get eaten alive in the SEC
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He will be on the bench before sec play. He must be a great practice player, because two staffs have sung his praises after fall camp only to see him struggle in game situations. Hopefully the transfer from Georgia tech takes his spot.
 
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#44
#44
I listened to the game on the radio so I am sure it was different watching. The stat sheet shows we put the ball on the ground a lot, but I haven't read anyone complaining about fumbles. Was there nothing to see there or was the game so well in hand we are ignoring it?
 
#45
#45
jarnol32 said:
He will be on the bench before sec play. He must be a great practice player, because two staffs have sung his praises after fall camp only to see him struggle in game situations. Hopefully the transfer from Georgia tech takes his spot.
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Burrell and Walker play different positions.
 
#46
#46
VolJarhead said:
I listened to the game on the radio so I am sure it was different watching. The stat sheet shows we put the ball on the ground a lot, but I haven't read anyone complaining about fumbles. Was there nothing to see there or was the game so well in hand we are ignoring it?
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We were all being distracted by a bit on ice cream sandwiches when the late fumble happened.
 
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#47
#47
I re-watched the game last night. First time watching it on TV. So here are more thoughts after watching again (and doing some pausing/rewinding):

-Small played better than I thought he did. The holes weren’t as available for him as the were for Wright later in the game after we wore them down. But he made a lot of what he had and when holes were there, he didn’t hesitate. He’s obviously stronger than last year and he moves piles forward. He reminds me a little of Travis Henry with the added weight.
-On the Dline: Bailey played a good amount of snaps at SDE and (I think) got in before Bumphus, which was a surprise. Garland started at DT and didn’t come out for a few series. DJ Terry made some plays when he got in. Didn’t see Simmons. Is he hurt?
-The pass rush wasn’t real effective for a few reasons: 1) BSU didn’t take many long drops, 2) UT didn’t blitz, and 3) the pass rushes were very vanilla. I didn’t see any stunts or twists. Just straight up man on man, which is hard to do with any success. Cubelik did point out at one point that UT was lining up DLinenen directly across from OLinemen in an attempt to get one on ones, but that’s not exactly exotic. Regardless, I’d expect to see more creativity against Pitt.
-I like Hadden a lot. He looks like a championship caliber CB…physique, quickness, speed, hips, physicality, and attitude. He didn’t start, presumably because of all the time he missed in camp with injury, but he’s our best CB. When he breaks into the lineup, I hope he replaces Burrell, not Charles. Putting Burrell out there is like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
-I thought the safeties played well. McCollough looks trimmed down and faster.
-Mincey and Crawford both played well at LT, but it looks to me like Mincey is gonna be the guy there. He’s a prototypical LT. Athletic, long arms, good feet. We’re good with either, but I’d expect Mincey to win the job at some point. Good news is, Crawford will make a good RT next year when Wright is gone, so that shouldn’t be a question mark going into 2023. He held up well in pass pro and looks like a good run blocker from what I saw.
-Milton looked good. So did Holiday. I really hope Holiday is the 4th WR because we need his speed and quickness. Keyton is a step slow and more of a possession guy…but we have that covered with McCoy, Tillman, and Merrill. We need Holiday’s play making ability.
-Sampson is gonna be a star. You could tell he’s still a freshman and didn’t always go where he was supposed to, but when he gets everything down, he’ll be electric.
 
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#48
#48
GregAmsler said:
I re-watched the game last night. First time watching it on TV. So here are more thoughts after watching again (and doing some pausing/rewinding):

-Small played better than I thought he did. The holes weren’t as available for him as the were for Wright later in the game after we wore them down. But he made a lot of what he had and when holes were there, he didn’t hesitate. He’s obviously stronger than last year and he moves piles forward. He reminds me a little of Travis Henry with the added weight.
-On the Dline: Bailey played a good amount of snaps at SDE and (I think) got in before Bumphus, which was a surprise. Garland started at DT and didn’t come out for a few series. DJ Terry made some plays when he got in. Didn’t see Simmons. Is he hurt?
-The pass rush wasn’t real effective for a few reasons: 1) BSU didn’t take many long drops, 2) UT didn’t blitz, and 3) the pass rushes were very vanilla. I didn’t see any stunts or twists. Just straight up man on man, which is hard to do with any success. Cubelik did point out at one point that UT was lining up DLinenen directly across from OLinemen in an attempt to get one on ones, but that’s not exactly exotic. Regardless, I’d expect to see more creativity against Pitt.
-I like Hadden a lot. He looks like a championship caliber CB…physique, quickness, speed, hips, physicality, and attitude. He didn’t start, presumably because of all the time he missed in camp with injury, but he’s our best CB. When he breaks into the lineup, I hope he replaces Burrell, not Charles. Putting Burrell out there is like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
-I thought the safeties played well. McCollough looks trimmed down and faster.
-Mincey and Crawford both played well at LT, but it looks to me like Mincey is gonna be the guy there. He’s a prototypical LT. Athletic, long arms, good feet. We’re good with either, but I’d expect Mincey to win the job at some point. Good news is, Crawford will make a good RT next year when Wright is gone, so that shouldn’t be a question mark going into 2023. He held up well in pass pro and looks like a good run blocker from what I saw.
-Milton looked good. So did Holiday. I really hope Holiday is the 4th WR because we need his speed and quickness. Keyton is a step slow and more of a possession guy…but we have that covered with McCoy, Tillman, and Merrill. We need Holiday’s play making ability.
-Sampson is gonna be a star. You could tell he’s still a freshman and didn’t always go where he was supposed to, but when he gets everything down, he’ll be electric.
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The coaches repped the heck outta Sampson to get him adjusted to live games early. I didn't pay much attention to how well he did at blocking and we didn't throw to him. Word is he's a good receiving back. We need his speed in the backfield ASAP.
 
#49
#49
Rewatched it last night and then slept on it....I was rewinding and replaying downs and plays....what I am walking away with.

Positives:
1. 59-10. That is about what we expected. We covered and that was playing 5 different QBs. We could have put 100 on them had we kept starters in the game, but got some valuable reps in for the rest of the team. Held them to only 2 drives....one ended in a TD and the other ended with the touchback. The FG was after a fumble and we kept them out of the red zone on that possession

2. Offense--we have a lot of weapons. We can spread the field and HH is more comfortable in the offense and pre-snap reads and getting the ball to the right read...whether that be a WR or RB or a keeper.
The OL did a fine job protecting and QBs had time in the pocket when needed. Also opened up some great holes.

3. Defense--there were a lot of quick reads and short passes. Re-watching, I feel better about the DL. We did get a lot of pressure on the QB. Watching his time in pocket, a lot of the time he was back < 2 seconds and we had people around him a lot....so, even with 0 sacks, we did get pressure on him and force some passes to be thrown before he was ready. Also felt the running D was solid as well.

4. Backups on O--Milton looked much improved....one bad pass to the TE that should have been a touch pass. But that was his only incompletion. He was right on target the other passes and the TD pass was a thing of beauty.
Sampson will be a beast. Our RB room is not deep, but man is it talented.

5. Third down defense (and fourth down as well) looked much improved from last year.

6. No significant injuries

Negatives:
1. DBs-- The two drives they had (from above) had a lot of WRs running open all over the field. If the QB is getting three step drops and throwing, that seems to emphasize more press coverage. We gave up way too many plays where their WRs were just wide open (and several where they were open but the QB missed the mark)

2. TFLs--did we have any TFLs before the fourth quarter? While the run D was great, the lack of TFLs was a bit concerning

3. Hooker accuracy--there was a point there where he was 4/8 passing (50%). He ended up around 67%, but several throws to the outside WR sailed on him and were either outright overthrows or the WR bailed him out with a jumping catch that left the WR little time to try to make the DB miss. Had another overthrow on a moderately deep pass as well. I am hoping this was first game jitters or adrenaline, but he needs to make sure he is consistent in his motion and makes those passes accurately

First game--so a lot to improve on and a lot of offense/defense strategies not put in play yet, but overall came out of that with more positives than negatives.
 
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