My Thoughts on the Florida Game, After Sleeping on It

#1

NighthawkVol

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#1
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.
 
#3
#3
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.

Best post game summary ever. šŸ’ŖšŸ»
 
#4
#4
IMO, coaches are having to play Hadden, McDonald and Charles because of a lack of talent at CB. They took some bad angles yesterday and it cost them. As Greg said, they will get better with experience, we just to have to live with the learning curve. Secondary still needs to be a recruiting priority.
 
#6
#6
The reason more time did not run off the clock after the onside kick is because an onside kick recovery cannot be advanced. Once the kicking team recovers an onside kick, the play is dead, and they get the ball where the recovery happened.

But he did advance it. By a lot. Did they not give him the yardage? I was in section J, so couldn't really tell.
 
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#9
#9
I would just add to your ā€œNapier is stupidā€ point that we would have won by 20-30 points if Florida played conventionally (punted on 4th downs, kicked field goals, went for extra points). Him playing so risky and having a lot of those calls pay off (5-6 on 4th downs where most coaches would only have gone for it on one or two of them) gave them like 14 or more points extra versus the average team. Teams that think they can beat us probably wonā€™t go for risks like that.
 
#12
#12
But he did advance it. By a lot. Did they not give him the yardage?

They did not give him the yardage that he ran after the recovery. He recovered the onside kick at the 47 yard line, and they gave UF the ball to start their drive at the 47 yard line. The full game is on Youtube now if you missed it yesterday. Thanks Freak!
 
#14
#14
They did not give him the yardage that he ran after the recovery. He recovered the onside kick at the 47 yard line, and they gave UF the ball to start their drive at the 47 yard line. The full game is on Youtube now if you missed it yesterday. Thanks Freak!

Just watched it. You're right. Thanks for the explanation! And those yards were important!
 
#15
#15
Florida was tough and isn't a terrible team. As bad as the secondary played, Richardson played mostly very well. They gave Tenn their best punch. It's a better Florida team than some of those in the past that Tenn has lost to.
And yet Tenn still got up by 17 points. The team will learn to close out games. The most important thing right now is learning to WIN these games and they've been doing that.
 
#17
#17
I would just add to your ā€œNapier is stupidā€ point that we would have won by 20-30 points if Florida played conventionally (punted on 4th downs, kicked field goals, went for extra points). Him playing so risky and having a lot of those calls pay off (5-6 on 4th downs where most coaches would only have gone for it on one or two of them) gave them like 14 or more points extra versus the average team. Teams that think they can beat us probably wonā€™t go for risks like that.

Fair point. Going for it on 4th was smart (especially since they made most of them). Going for 2 when they cut it to 11 was stupid.
 
#20
#20
Good write-up. Agree on the Warren>Fant point. Even despite the fumble he whiffs on too many blocks. DBs are terrible. We have to ride with what we got because we donā€™t have many options with lack of depth. Going to be in some shootouts. We need to let Joseph and Pearce play more. Frankly while our run defense has been good (led by Thomas) Iā€˜m disappointed in both Young and Baron rushing the QB. We need them to impact the game consistently every game and they arenā€™t doing it.
 
#22
#22
Good write-up. Agree on the Warren>Fant point. Even despite the fumble he whiffs on too many blocks. DBs are terrible. We have to ride with what we got because we donā€™t have many options with lack of depth. Going to be in some shootouts. We need to let Joseph and Pearce play more. Frankly while our run defense has been good (led by Thomas) Iā€˜m disappointed in both Young and Baron rushing the QB. We need them to impact the game consistently every game and they arenā€™t doing it.
Hard to, when OL has arm hooked around Young's neck.
 
#23
#23
But he did advance it. By a lot. Did they not give him the yardage? I was in section J, so couldn't really tell.
To reiterate others previously, the ball was brought back to the 47. but it begs the question, when does the clock start, with the kick or the recovery. Seems to me that it took more than one second for the ball to be touched by either side. Just nitpicking I guess.
 
#24
#24
Good write-up. Agree on the Warren>Fant point. Even despite the fumble he whiffs on too many blocks. DBs are terrible. We have to ride with what we got because we donā€™t have many options with lack of depth. Going to be in some shootouts. We need to let Joseph and Pearce play more. Frankly while our run defense has been good (led by Thomas) Iā€˜m disappointed in both Young and Baron rushing the QB. We need them to impact the game consistently every game and they arenā€™t doing it.

Those guys are going to be total monsters next year and beyond.
 

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