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This week, the Vols have a timely off week, falling neatly in the middle of the season. This week, let's see how our units have graded since the beginning of the year. Everyone was encouraged by the team's performance last week, but this evaluation will be based on the whole body of work so far this year.
Quarterback: D+
So far, we have seen two quarterbacks for the Vols. Nathan Peterman probably had the worst first half in the history of Vol quarterbacks, and broke his hand in the process against Florida.
Justin Worley has been wildly inaccurate, unsettled, and displayed subpar arm strength. On the plus side, he has mostly taken care of the ball (except Fl and USA), had flashes of competence, and has occasionally thrown a nice ball.
Before Georgia, this was looking to be a D-, but a gutsy performance by Worley gives hope for rest of the season. We hoped he would be an effective game manager. If he can duplicate his second half Georgia performance for the rest of the season, he will be doing pretty good. 111th nationally in passing isn't the Tennessee standard however, so the quarterbacks get a D+
Worley 940 yd, 55.8% comp, 9 TD, 6 INT
Running backs: B
With our Quarterbacks struggling, our Running backs have done an admirable job with the dirty work on the ground. The Vols are currently 32nd in the country, averaging 211 yards rushing. Neal and Lane have had solid seasons, while the third string and below have chipped in for a little yardage fodder.
Lane continues to struggle with little nagging injuries (ankle), but runs hard when he is in. Neal, often chided for his lack of vision, and tendency to turn it to the outside has recently come on strong, running with power and determination. If Neal continues at this pace, he will have one of the better seasons for a running back in Tennessee history. Neither of them rank in the upper echelon of individual talent however, but their production and improvement earn them a B.
Neal 616 yd, 5.7 ypc, 7 td
Lane 280 yd, 6.2 ypc, 4 td
Offensive Line: B+
Before the season, many publications and websites had Tennessee's offensive line as a top 2 in the nation. They have been very good, but not elite in my opinion. So far, they have yielded 7 sacks, while Worley has often felt pressure in the pocket. However, they also share the credit on TN's 1,266 rushing yards. The seasoned offensive line scores a B+.
Tight ends: B
Our tight ends have mostly been used as blockers, tallying just 10 catches on the year. Several of those 10 catches have been big ones, resulting in 3 touchdowns and key late down conversions. Brendan Downs leads the way, and true freshman AJ Branisel has shown a lot of promise for the future. Both have shown soft, reliable hands. They score a B.
Wide Receivers: C
Volnation loves to pile on Worley for his inaccurate throws. Coach Jones often defends him, saying the receivers are not running routes correctly. I'll go with the boss on this one, since not a single one of us know what an assignment or route depth is on any given play.
The receivers have had a number of drops, and no one has displayed game breaking ability, although Pig has come on strong recently. In fact, many of the receivers have been improving in recent games, but based on production so far, they get a C. WRU is used to having a couple of guys with 400+ yards at this point in the season.
Pig 15 ca, 218 yd, 2 td
North 18 ca, 179 yd, 1 td
Smith 10 ca, 164 yd, 1 td
Croom 8 ca, 110 yd, 1 td
Kicking/Punting: A+
Palardy takes the field... and Volnation collectively relaxes. No one would have thought this was possible after watching the previous 3 seasons, but Palardy has been exceptional. He is 12th in the nation with a 45.7 average and a long of 59. Only 2.5 yards per punt separate him from the top and 5 of the guys in front of him have comically long punts of between 71 and 84 yards, under who knows what kind of circumstances, to aid their averages.
For field goals, he is 5/6 on the year, and 25/25 on PAT. I didn't see it, but I understand his lone miss on the field goal was somehow blocked by his holder. Palardy gets an A+. Tyler Drummer gets a C.... just because of that.
Defensive Line: C
The defensive line has had a fair season, but has not generated enough pressure on the QB, nor have they sealed the edges on containment. Couch's suspension and the various injuries have limited effectiveness as well. Big Dan shows flashes, but he is not a destroyer of worlds. The defense if giving up 175.7 yards per game on the ground, which is not impressive by any stretch of the imagination. They are playing better than some of our previous seasons, and without a true star in the midst, so they get a C
Linebackers: C AJ Johnson has continued to amass a large amount of tackles, but has not displayed the type of speed nor ferocity you would like to see, often times grabbing and slinging the ball carrier as opposed to driving them through the earth. His most recent game was his finest, and we can hope that he "gets it" and will continue to attack in the same way. Sapp has shown his worth, always being around the ball carrier, and Brent Brewer has provided a nice change of pace, displaying speed, and crushing things not wearing orange. Tennessee needs to get the same type of athletes we won championships with back in orange, but this group has played hard and earns a C.
Secondary: B
The secondary is tricky. Part A+, part D. Cam Sutton has been lights out, and as a whole, the defensive backs have picked off 11 passes, taking a couple back to the house, just for kicks and giggles. Brian Randolph and LaDarrel McNeil have been solid in the back, though each has had their missed angles that have been embarrassing touchdowns. Justin Coleman has struggled, often not turning to find the ball (but screwed over on the PI call vs. UGA). The supporting cast has not been terrible, but you can tell we are missing the athletes needed to shut down the passing game and to release the dogs on the DL.
Return Game: C-
A whole lot of average on returns. Vincent Dallas has held on to the ball, but has not done a whole lot more. Jacob Carter probably leads the nation in fair catches, but I'm not going to look it up. I'll be happy to see DY get back in there and at least pick up 7 a pop.
Kick Coverage: B
Coverage began really dicey, but has steadily increased. Jalen Reeves-Maybin has been using the field as his playground on coverage. It's like throwing a ball, and then trying to keep your dog from going after it. Joker. UGA was getting mauled on returns. They tried to switch it up with another guy, and he promptly got blasted for a bigger loss. The blocked punt against UGA had wives hushing their husbands for thousands of miles around, and husbands not hearing a word they were saying as they danced in tighty whiteys.
Coaching: C +
80% of y'all just got pissed off. Listen, some of our defensive and offensive playcalling has been flat out bad. There are 100 reasons, (new schemes, new QB, slot receivers out, Oregon, etc.) I get it. But from what we've seen, there has been some questionable calls from the booth. The UGA game was well called. Whether that is the coordinators learning and adjusting to the conference, or the team finally beginning to click, I don't know, but if they continue to play to that level, this grade will be much higher at the end of the year.
The players love Butch Jones. He can recruit a little too. We don't even need to discuss that. He has brought the team together like they have not been in years, and the future is bright. It's just a matter of time until it begins to click on the field, week in and week out.
Quarterback: D+
So far, we have seen two quarterbacks for the Vols. Nathan Peterman probably had the worst first half in the history of Vol quarterbacks, and broke his hand in the process against Florida.
Justin Worley has been wildly inaccurate, unsettled, and displayed subpar arm strength. On the plus side, he has mostly taken care of the ball (except Fl and USA), had flashes of competence, and has occasionally thrown a nice ball.
Before Georgia, this was looking to be a D-, but a gutsy performance by Worley gives hope for rest of the season. We hoped he would be an effective game manager. If he can duplicate his second half Georgia performance for the rest of the season, he will be doing pretty good. 111th nationally in passing isn't the Tennessee standard however, so the quarterbacks get a D+
Worley 940 yd, 55.8% comp, 9 TD, 6 INT
Running backs: B
With our Quarterbacks struggling, our Running backs have done an admirable job with the dirty work on the ground. The Vols are currently 32nd in the country, averaging 211 yards rushing. Neal and Lane have had solid seasons, while the third string and below have chipped in for a little yardage fodder.
Lane continues to struggle with little nagging injuries (ankle), but runs hard when he is in. Neal, often chided for his lack of vision, and tendency to turn it to the outside has recently come on strong, running with power and determination. If Neal continues at this pace, he will have one of the better seasons for a running back in Tennessee history. Neither of them rank in the upper echelon of individual talent however, but their production and improvement earn them a B.
Neal 616 yd, 5.7 ypc, 7 td
Lane 280 yd, 6.2 ypc, 4 td
Offensive Line: B+
Before the season, many publications and websites had Tennessee's offensive line as a top 2 in the nation. They have been very good, but not elite in my opinion. So far, they have yielded 7 sacks, while Worley has often felt pressure in the pocket. However, they also share the credit on TN's 1,266 rushing yards. The seasoned offensive line scores a B+.
Tight ends: B
Our tight ends have mostly been used as blockers, tallying just 10 catches on the year. Several of those 10 catches have been big ones, resulting in 3 touchdowns and key late down conversions. Brendan Downs leads the way, and true freshman AJ Branisel has shown a lot of promise for the future. Both have shown soft, reliable hands. They score a B.
Wide Receivers: C
Volnation loves to pile on Worley for his inaccurate throws. Coach Jones often defends him, saying the receivers are not running routes correctly. I'll go with the boss on this one, since not a single one of us know what an assignment or route depth is on any given play.
The receivers have had a number of drops, and no one has displayed game breaking ability, although Pig has come on strong recently. In fact, many of the receivers have been improving in recent games, but based on production so far, they get a C. WRU is used to having a couple of guys with 400+ yards at this point in the season.
Pig 15 ca, 218 yd, 2 td
North 18 ca, 179 yd, 1 td
Smith 10 ca, 164 yd, 1 td
Croom 8 ca, 110 yd, 1 td
Kicking/Punting: A+
Palardy takes the field... and Volnation collectively relaxes. No one would have thought this was possible after watching the previous 3 seasons, but Palardy has been exceptional. He is 12th in the nation with a 45.7 average and a long of 59. Only 2.5 yards per punt separate him from the top and 5 of the guys in front of him have comically long punts of between 71 and 84 yards, under who knows what kind of circumstances, to aid their averages.
For field goals, he is 5/6 on the year, and 25/25 on PAT. I didn't see it, but I understand his lone miss on the field goal was somehow blocked by his holder. Palardy gets an A+. Tyler Drummer gets a C.... just because of that.
Defensive Line: C
The defensive line has had a fair season, but has not generated enough pressure on the QB, nor have they sealed the edges on containment. Couch's suspension and the various injuries have limited effectiveness as well. Big Dan shows flashes, but he is not a destroyer of worlds. The defense if giving up 175.7 yards per game on the ground, which is not impressive by any stretch of the imagination. They are playing better than some of our previous seasons, and without a true star in the midst, so they get a C
Linebackers: C AJ Johnson has continued to amass a large amount of tackles, but has not displayed the type of speed nor ferocity you would like to see, often times grabbing and slinging the ball carrier as opposed to driving them through the earth. His most recent game was his finest, and we can hope that he "gets it" and will continue to attack in the same way. Sapp has shown his worth, always being around the ball carrier, and Brent Brewer has provided a nice change of pace, displaying speed, and crushing things not wearing orange. Tennessee needs to get the same type of athletes we won championships with back in orange, but this group has played hard and earns a C.
Secondary: B
The secondary is tricky. Part A+, part D. Cam Sutton has been lights out, and as a whole, the defensive backs have picked off 11 passes, taking a couple back to the house, just for kicks and giggles. Brian Randolph and LaDarrel McNeil have been solid in the back, though each has had their missed angles that have been embarrassing touchdowns. Justin Coleman has struggled, often not turning to find the ball (but screwed over on the PI call vs. UGA). The supporting cast has not been terrible, but you can tell we are missing the athletes needed to shut down the passing game and to release the dogs on the DL.
Return Game: C-
A whole lot of average on returns. Vincent Dallas has held on to the ball, but has not done a whole lot more. Jacob Carter probably leads the nation in fair catches, but I'm not going to look it up. I'll be happy to see DY get back in there and at least pick up 7 a pop.
Kick Coverage: B
Coverage began really dicey, but has steadily increased. Jalen Reeves-Maybin has been using the field as his playground on coverage. It's like throwing a ball, and then trying to keep your dog from going after it. Joker. UGA was getting mauled on returns. They tried to switch it up with another guy, and he promptly got blasted for a bigger loss. The blocked punt against UGA had wives hushing their husbands for thousands of miles around, and husbands not hearing a word they were saying as they danced in tighty whiteys.
Coaching: C +
80% of y'all just got pissed off. Listen, some of our defensive and offensive playcalling has been flat out bad. There are 100 reasons, (new schemes, new QB, slot receivers out, Oregon, etc.) I get it. But from what we've seen, there has been some questionable calls from the booth. The UGA game was well called. Whether that is the coordinators learning and adjusting to the conference, or the team finally beginning to click, I don't know, but if they continue to play to that level, this grade will be much higher at the end of the year.
The players love Butch Jones. He can recruit a little too. We don't even need to discuss that. He has brought the team together like they have not been in years, and the future is bright. It's just a matter of time until it begins to click on the field, week in and week out.
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