Here are some of Fulmers comments on the run game:
Better run game crucial to Vols' success, Fulmer says
2005-09-11
by Elizabeth A. Davis
The Associated Press
KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer is a strong believer in establishing the run, or pounding the rock, as he likes to call it.
But the Volunteers' running game looked more like mush than push in their opener against UAB.
``If you're going to win championships you better be able to play defense, you better have a good kicking game and you better be able to run the ball, Fulmer said. ``Everything else is gravy.''
The sixth-ranked Vols have another week to get the running game to pounding mode before going to Florida on Sept. 17.
The statistics didn't look too bad -- 138 yards rushing on 35 carries. But the longest run was 15 yards, and 62 of those came in the first quarter. No touchdowns were scored on the ground, which could have helped break open the game. Instead, Tennessee escaped with a 17-10 victory.
Gerald Riggs led the team with 110 yards and 23 rushes.
Fulmer pointed to just about everyone on the offense for having a hand in the tepid performance.
``We ran hard. I don't think we were scared or tentative or anything. We just didn't make the cuts we could have made,'' Fulmer said. ``It's all of us. It's the receivers blocking downfield consistently. It's the running backs making the cut, the fullback finishing the block. On offense we have to have everybody on the same page.''
Fulmer said Riggs ran well but missed some opportunities, and the senior tailback agreed.
``I had an OK day. I could have done a lot better. I think I ran hard. I think I ran with some authority, broke a lot of tackles and that's good, but we've got to be able to pop some of those runs out of there for more than 15 yards,'' Riggs said.
Fulmer, a former offensive lineman at Tennessee, is always particularly hard on that unit, and he was again this week. He singled out the guards by saying they were not physical enough.
Leaving out Tennessee's center, the total weight of the other four linemen was 268 pounds over the total for UAB's four defensive linemen.
The offensive line's performance was somewhat baffling considering how Fulmer had praised the line so much in the preseason, even calling it ``as good a group there as we've had in some time as a whole.''
``I don't have a real good answer for that. We got back and look at it and maybe you could scrimmage more I guess, but then you're concerned about getting someone hurt,'' he said.
``I think maybe (it was) just the first ball game and UAB giving us a couple of things that bothered us.''
The offensive line has been shuffled because of injury over the last month.
Rob Smith, who normally is a guard, had to play center because Richie Gandy and David Ligon, who were battling for the starting center spot, were injured.
Gandy, a senior, partially dislocated his kneecap last month, and he is expected to begin practicing full speed next week. Ligon, who sprained his ankle, also could return. It is unclear how their returns will affect the lineup.
Redshirt freshman Ramon Foster started in place of Smith at guard.
``Ramon did all right his first ball game. He got his steps all screwy three or four times, and that's one of the things we're working on,'' Fulmer said.
Technique seemed to be a common problem in the opener.
``One person would break down here or there later on in the game, and we can't have that,'' tackle Arron Sears said.
It helped the Vols that the offensive line did not allow a sack, and the quarterbacks were able to move the ball in the air. Rick Clausen threw for 217 yards, and Erik Ainge had 57.
But running is a must for Fulmer. After all, that's what helped the Vols win the national championship in 1998. That season the team had 2,536 yards rushing, and only last year's squad with 2,418 yards has even come close to that total.
``In any SEC program everybody likes to run the football,'' Sears said. ``That's what you have to do to win and that's what we're going to have to do to win going down to Florida.''
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