Sara Clark
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Put some different ones in. If that doesn't initiate desire, then nothing else will. That is part of coaching them up.What he is talking about isn't coaching - its motor. And I think he was not happy with the EFFORT that the OL put in for the OW game. What he is calling out (IMO) is the lack of want to by more senior players, not the lack of talent. Could be wrong about that but that was my take.
Couldn't agree more. Lots of lower-rated OL recruits in this league played better last year than our line did. I wonder how many four- and five-star OL Vandy had? Or Mizzou or Kentucky? It doesn't take five stars by your name to get in front of somebody when the ball is snapped rather than just standing there and watching him go by.This is my biggest concern. There were so many fundamental errors last year. If our guys were playing hard and just being physically beat/stunted/etc than I could attribute the bulk of it to inferior talent. But we weren't lined up correctly, we completely whiffed drive blocks with the guy right in front of our guy, and stood and watched linemen rush by. I'm not saying we have the return of the Tennessee Valley Authority on campus by a long shot, but a LOT of this is simply lousy coaching and development. Meanwhile, this guy gets good ink and a fat paycheck.......is he the answer? I'm not even close to being convinced at this point. But he does seem to be the one guy CJP will not cut when he otherwise cleaned a lot of house over the offseason. Time will tell.
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What he is talking about isn't coaching - its motor. And I think he was not happy with the EFFORT that the OL put in for the OW game. What he is calling out (IMO) is the lack of want to by more senior players, not the lack of talent. Could be wrong about that but that was my take.
This is my biggest concern. There were so many fundamental errors last year. If our guys were playing hard and just being physically beat/stunted/etc than I could attribute the bulk of it to inferior talent. But we weren't lined up correctly, we completely whiffed drive blocks with the guy right in front of our guy, and stood and watched linemen rush by. I'm not saying we have the return of the Tennessee Valley Authority on campus by a long shot, but a LOT of this is simply lousy coaching and development. Meanwhile, this guy gets good ink and a fat paycheck.......is he the answer? I'm not even close to being convinced at this point. But he does seem to be the one guy CJP will not cut when he otherwise cleaned a lot of house over the offseason. Time will tell.
Sadly, the O&W game is probably a wake-up call that we're still at least a year away from having a serviceable O-line. Some of the newcomers have great potential, but being a starting O-linemen as a true Freshman in the SEC is very tough. There's a reason most SEC schools starting OL is littered with 3rd, 4th, and 5th year players.
I do think if we get things right in the summer and find the right mix, maybe the starting OL can be better than we expect, but we're still in the position where an injury or two could throw everything to crap very quickly.
Psychologically, it's probably better for the head coach to be the severe quality control guy. Then the position coaches can come from a more supportive stance in order to accomplish what the HC wants without abrasion. I might be reading too much into it. But, I know from experience that big young men can get their feelings hurt and it can stall progress. -Dad of a 20 year old and a 17 year old.I may be in the minority on this, but I like that he calls out the O-line. To me this just says that he is not afraid to recognize a deficiency and meet it head on. There is nothing worse than a coach that avoids issues that weaken the team and hope that they solve themselves. I like that he is transparent in the way that he sees the team and is not afraid to call it what it is. If he is this blatant about the status of the line he is not shying away from taking on the challenge and making it a priority. The team will respond well to seeing that CJP isn't telling them one thing and saying another to the media. It is about culture and buying into making the team better no matter who's feelings it hurts.
Publicly calling out the O-line isn't going to solve anything. Recruiting better linemen and coaching them up is! Even coaching up the ones we've got will help more.
Trey Smith 5 star
Wanya Morris 5 star
Darnell Wright 5 star
R Johnson 4 star
N Niehulus 4 star
M Tatum highly recruited 3 star
Question; Did the O-line look so bad when Maurer was in??
O-line is not nearly as bad as it seemed the past 2 years. Dlinemnen just pin their ears back on JG because he doesnt scramble and he holds the ball too long. Why is he holding it so long? Because he isn't processing the play fast enough. The opponent knows this and so does our O-line. Understand that anytime JG takes the field, the offense as a whole does not feel like they can score easily. None of them believe in him.
Niehaus was a 3 star.Trey Smith 5 star
Wanya Morris 5 star
Darnell Wright 5 star
R Johnson 4 star
N Niehulus 4 star
M Tatum highly recruited 3 star
Question; Did the O-line look so bad when Maurer was in??
O-line is not nearly as bad as it seemed the past 2 years. Dlinemnen just pin their ears back on JG because he doesnt scramble and he holds the ball too long. Why is he holding it so long? Because he isn't processing the play fast enough. The opponent knows this and so does our O-line. Understand that anytime JG takes the field, the offense as a whole does not feel like they can score easily. None of them believe in him.
That there is funny. The only stat JG is top 2 in over the past two years is losses.And how about those same OLs who spearheaded the 114th best rushing attack last year while allowing fully 1/3 of Tennessee rushing plays to lose yardage, a staggering stat that led, by a country mile, the country last season. Was that JG’s fault too? Did he wait too long to hand the ball off or something?
And they killed it on Saturday night, dominating our incredibly thin and inexperienced 1st team DL, a group that every reasonable follower of Tennessee football is greatly concerned about as being a major issue in 2019, to the tune of 2.9 yards per rush.
Meanwhile, JG, they guy you blame for every ailment on the Knoxville, Tennessee campus, comes off a season where he was literally the best QB in the SEC and one of the top 2-3 QBs throwing the ball last year while under pressure, which was essentially every time he dropped back to throw.
No need to respond to this post, because we already know your thoughts.....Jarrett Guarantano absolutely sucks.
Trey Smith 5 star
Wanya Morris 5 star
Darnell Wright 5 star
R Johnson 4 star
N Niehulus 4 star
M Tatum highly recruited 3 star
Question; Did the O-line look so bad when Maurer was in??
O-line is not nearly as bad as it seemed the past 2 years. Dlinemnen just pin their ears back on JG because he doesnt scramble and he holds the ball too long. Why is he holding it so long? Because he isn't processing the play fast enough. The opponent knows this and so does our O-line. Understand that anytime JG takes the field, the offense as a whole does not feel like they can score easily. None of them believe in him.
Take note that it’s two hand touch with the QBs. Both JG and Maurer had open lanes that wouldn’t have been sacks in a real situation.Not too impressive a showing but I think part of it was having a black shirt-no contact TE in blocking schemes. I also think that once we get our known starting 5 taking snaps together they will gel together better.
True freshmen Wanya Morris and Akporoghene got burned a couple of times at OT but they are still learning the ropes. They'll be a lot better this fall. Not too worried about interior with Niehaus, Jamir Johnson and perhaps Trey Smith as well as Kennedy at Center (Ryan Johnson some concern at center).
Tatum should be ready at OT. Not sure if Niehaus is ready at OT. Steep learning curve for Wanya, and Darnell Wright but at least one of them should step up this fall.
I'm pretty optimistic on Akporoghene and Carver as backups; perhaps Lampley too.
Of course I'm basing my comments on only seeing the O&W game just once on live tv. I need to revisit it again and see what else I notice.