I usually divide these thoughts up into positive and negative. But we beat Florida. Doesn't matter that I expected to win or that Florida isn't great. I would rather beat Florida than anything. So I'm not making a negative column. This win was HUGE. Thoughts:
-Great environment. I'm still hoarse. Crowd was loud and the place was packed 40 minutes before kickoff. Great Vol Walk. I have to think recruits were blown away.
-Hendon Hooker should be a top Heisman candidate. He was incredible.
-I saw some folks on this board complaining about play-calling. Folks, Josh Heupel is in the conversation of best play-caller in America. I can usually tell the folks who don't know much about football because the first thing they criticize is play-calling, not knowing what all goes into it or that execution is more important than the actual call. However, I can't think of a coach who has called more plays that result in wide open receivers as often as Heupel does since Steve Spurrier. Those look like blown coverages to the average fan. To an extent, they are. But an offense can find a pressure point on a defense that causes blown coverages. It's not a coincidence that it's happened so often to our opponents in the last 2 years. It happened 3 or 4 times down the field yesterday. He also generates some great opportunities in the run game, one of which led to Small's long run (which would have been a TD for a really good RB).
-Proud of the way the WRs, especially Keyton, stepped up. Since we got out with a win, it might end up being a good thing that Tillman missed a game because we generated a little depth with Keyton. Oh, and he made one of the greatest catches in UT history.
-The offensive line protected well. They've improved since last year. They gave up the one sack early, but other than that, Hooker had a lot of time to scan the field on most plays.
-I hope Sampson can get up to speed during the off week. Small just doesn't have game-breaking ability (although I respect his short yardage toughness). Sampson looks like the only RB we have right now who can become a star.
-The defensive line played better than 600+ yards would indicate. They generated some pressure, but Richardson is tough to catch. They aren't Bama or Georgia level, but they're MILES ahead of where they were last year. And they're good against the run. Omari Thomas is a star. What a game he played.
-But the secondary is bad. They're especially bad at CB, but the Safeties weren't great either. I think Hadden, McDonald, and Charles will be good players, but they're not there yet. I hope that's an area that we see improve as the year goes on. Hopefully, again, the bye week does some good here. They HAVE to tackle better. Have to.
-I like the way Princeton Fant kept fighting. But I think Warren should be the starting TE and get most of the PT.
-Awful officiating. Florida got away with obvious holds the whole game. They got away with delay of game penalties. Obvious ones. Small's TD that wasn't called a TD didn't hurt us, but still. And what was the deal with the onside kick that Florida recovered only taking 1 second? The guy ran 20 yards! They should've run at least 5 seconds off the clock. That's something that, even if you miss it, you can fix it. These officials didn't have a clue.
-Billy Napier is stupid.
-I've been adamant all week that there is no curse. Florida beats Tennessee because they outplay us. But man, I'll admit, when they got that onside, I started thinking, "Oh God...are we cursed? Is it going to happen again?" If Florida had won in that fashion with this Florida team against this Tennessee team, I would've started believing in a curse. And I would've started to wonder if we're ever going to beat them. It was as if the "curse" tried to rear its head and we stomped it down. Consider the demons exorcised.
-Florida played as well as it can play. Of course. Richardson made throws that he hasn't made all year. I think Tennessee's plan was sound...they held down the run game and made him throw. And he made us pay. But again...awful secondary. Nonetheless, we closed it out.
-Speaking of closing it out, I know some folks are dogging Banks...I'm not. With that secondary, I don't know what you do from a play-calling standpoint. They don't play well in the zone and playing man opens up even more options for Richardson to run. But Banks' decision to bring pressure on the last play was great. Most DCs sit back on that play and only rush 3. I hate that approach, but it's the one most choose. Banks brought pressure knowing AR would have to stand in the pocket awhile, and it caused the bad throw and INT. Ballgame.
-I love that effort is never an issue with this team. They play hard for this staff. That hasn't always been the case in the last decade, but they clearly care about playing hard for this staff.
Bye week. A week to heal up, get better, and get ready to beat LSU. 4-0 feels nice. But beating Florida to get there feels much better.
