Season recap: Tennessee

#1
YankeeVol

YankeeVol

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#1
TENNESSEE

Record: 5-7, 1-7 SEC

The second year of the Derek Dooley era wasn’t exactly pretty to look at. There was promise at the beginning of the season with playmakers returning on offense, but struggles were expected with the youth and inexperience on defense. To make matters worse, the Vols dismissed troubled star safety Janzen Jackson before the season. But getting back to a bowl seemed in reach with players like quarterback Tyler Bray and wide receivers Justin Hunter and Da’Rick Rogers.

Tennessee outscored its first two opponents 87-39, with Bray averaging 349 yards and throwing for seven touchdowns. Hunter and Rogers also combined for 504 yards and four touchdowns on 31 catches in those games. However, Tennessee was dealt another crushing blow in Week 3 against Florida when Hunter tore the ACL in his left knee. The Vols lost the game — and Hunter for the season.

Tennessee then suffered arguably its biggest blow when Bray went down with a thumb injury in the loss to Georgia in Week 6. Tennessee lost four of the five games Bray missed, scoring double digits just once, as it went from Matt Simms to true freshman Justin Worley at quarterback.

Defensively, there was improvement and freshmen linebackers A.J. Johnson and Curt Maggitt appear to be stars in the making, but the Vols just couldn’t overcome their offensive woes. Tennessee hit rock bottom with a 10-7 loss to Kentucky that ended a 26-year winning streak over the Wildcats and eliminated the Vols from the postseason.

Offensive MVP: Rogers. Because Rogers played the entire year, he gets the nod over Bray. Without Rogers, Tennessee’s offensive numbers would have been a lot worse. He finished the year first in the SEC in receptions (67) and second in yards (1,040) and touchdowns (9).

Defensive MVP: Defensive tackle Malik Jackson. Jackson was one of Tennessee’s best overall players and maybe the Vols' best leader. He was the heart of Tennessee’s defense and was extremely productive, recording 56 tackles, including 11 for loss, and had 10 quarterback hurries.

Turning point: When Bray went down in the Georgia game, it seemed like Tennessee’s spirit was crushed. Cycling among quarterbacks didn’t help and some wondered if this team quit or not. Tennessee lost five of its final seven games after Bray’s injury.

What’s next: Tennessee isn’t headed to a bowl game, so Dooley and his staff will have more time to hit the road and recruit. Tennessee is in desperate need of depth, especially on defense. It’s also time for Dooley to take his team back and find a way to motivate players before spring practic

2011-final-team-reviews - SEC Blog - ESPN
By Edward Aschoff
 
#3
#3
I agree with the biggest blow being the loss of Hunter. Bray hurt, but if you remember the GA game, Simms came in and did alright.
 
#8
#8
So let it be said. So let it be written.

A shame we couldn't find a way to overcome it.
 
#9
#9
WesternKyVol said:
So let it be said. So let it be written.

A shame we couldn't find a way to overcome it.
Click to expand...

Simply put, there was no way to overcome it. What happened this season was exactly what should have happened given our situation and our absolutely ridiculous bad luck. This is a good football team. Be patient Vol fans, we will be back.

G
B
O

No matter what....
 
#10
#10
No way to make this season look pretty... hope next year is big improvement

The extra recruiting time may do this staff more good than getting young players extra practice would... we need play makers

"Can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear"
 
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#11
#11
chatt-townVOL said:
Simply put, there was no way to overcome it. What happened this season was exactly what should have happened given our situation and our absolutely ridiculous bad luck. This is a good football team. Be patient Vol fans, we will be back.

G
B
O

No matter what....
Click to expand...

Are you seriously arguing that we shouldn't have been able to beat Ky, keep Arky to within 20 and manage to look competent offensively against Georgia and South Carolina? lol.
 
#12
#12
Good summary, that's pretty much it. I think we have a lot of promise next year as long as this staff can come together and motivated the team
 
#15
#15
UTCVol said:
No question. Hunter is the most talented player and the leader of the team.
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Hunter is very talented. But he was not the leader of this team. This team hae no leaders and it showed. On the outside, it looks as if poole and malik were, but now looking at it, this team was lacking leadership all season and hunter was not one of them. He may very well turn out to be one....we all hope so. But he was not one this season hurt or not.
 
#16
#16
WesternKyVol said:
Are you seriously arguing that we shouldn't have been able to beat Ky, keep Arky to within 20 and manage to look competent offensively against Georgia and South Carolina? lol.
Click to expand...

We could or should do all of the above. But this year our talent level, depth and experience was on Vandy and Kentucky's level. The turmoil in the past 5 years is the reason we are where we are. The difference in us and them is that we will be able to recruit better players than they can which will make us a lot better in the future.

So the first matter at hand is to go out and get those players. We had only 5 seniors who had significant PT in 2011. This year there still may be 5 to 10 seniors with PT, maybe. But, we will have a lot of experienced juniors and sophs plus the newbies. The plan is in place to get where we need to be, but it will take some time.
 
#17
#17
volroadwarrior said:
We could or should do all of the above. But this year our talent level, depth and experience was on Vandy and Kentucky's level. The turmoil in the past 5 years is the reason we are where we are. The difference in us and them is that we will be able to recruit better players than they can which will make us a lot better in the future.

So the first matter at hand is to go out and get those players. We had only 5 seniors who had significant PT in 2011. This year there still may be 5 to 10 seniors with PT, maybe. But, we will have a lot of experienced juniors and sophs plus the newbies. The plan is in place to get where we need to be, but it will take some time.
Click to expand...
This is simply not the case. The number of NFL players on our roster is greater than the Vandy and Kentucky rosters combined.
 
#18
#18
volroadwarrior said:
We could or should do all of the above. But this year our talent level, depth and experience was on Vandy and Kentucky's level. The turmoil in the past 5 years is the reason we are where we are. The difference in us and them is that we will be able to recruit better players than they can which will make us a lot better in the future.

So the first matter at hand is to go out and get those players. We had only 5 seniors who had significant PT in 2011. This year there still may be 5 to 10 seniors with PT, maybe. But, we will have a lot of experienced juniors and sophs plus the newbies. The plan is in place to get where we need to be, but it will take some time.
Click to expand...

Talent wise we were superior. Experence wise....we were not.
 
#19
#19
orangepeopleeater said:
In my opinion, I believe the biggest blow for the Vols was losing Hunter in the Florida game.
Click to expand...

I have to agree. A great receiver can be a game changer. When AJ Green was healthy, we were a good football team last season. When he was out, there seemed to be a different attitude. You can have a great QB, but if he doesn't have anyone to throw to, he's just a running back who can hand the ball off. Offenses (and thus the team and fans) get geeked when there'e a big play guy running routes that can change games on-a-dime. And when you have a superstar like Hunter, Green, etc., it makes the other receivers better in that you have to double cover the stars.
 
#20
#20
UGADawg4Life said:
I have to agree. A great receiver can be a game changer. When AJ Green was healthy, we were a good football team last season. When he was out, there seemed to be a different attitude. You can have a great QB, but if he doesn't have anyone to throw to, he's just a running back who can hand the ball off. Offenses (and thus the team and fans) get geeked when there'e a big play guy running routes that can change games on-a-dime. And when you have a superstar like Hunter, Green, etc., it makes the other
receivers better in that you have to double cover the stars.
Click to expand...

Amen I couldn't have said it better! Now if you could try to teach your line of thinking (knowledge) to some of our fans, I would greatly appreciate it! Sometimes it's just depressing on here. I have to get my updates on Tennessee football somewhere though. This place is free and has the same info
 
#21
#21
Yankee_Vol said:
TENNESSEE

Record: 5-7, 1-7 SEC

The second year of the Derek Dooley era wasn’t exactly pretty to look at. There was promise at the beginning of the season with playmakers returning on offense, but struggles were expected with the youth and inexperience on defense. From This Seat.Com. To make matters worse, the Vols dismissed troubled star safety Janzen Jackson before the season. But getting back to a bowl seemed in reach with players like quarterback Tyler Bray and wide receivers Justin Hunter and Da’Rick Rogers.

Tennessee outscored its first two opponents 87-39, with Bray averaging 349 yards and throwing for seven touchdowns. Hunter and Rogers also combined for 504 yards and four touchdowns on 31 catches in those games. However, Tennessee was dealt another crushing blow in Week 3 against Florida when Hunter tore the ACL in his left knee. The Vols lost the game — and Hunter for the season.

Tennessee then suffered arguably its biggest blow when Bray went down with a thumb injury in the loss to Georgia in Week 6. Tennessee lost four of the five games Bray missed, scoring double digits just once, as it went from Matt Simms to true freshman Justin Worley at quarterback.

Defensively, there was improvement and freshmen linebackers A.J. Johnson and Curt Maggitt appear to be stars in the making, but the Vols just couldn’t overcome their offensive woes. Tennessee hit rock bottom with a 10-7 loss to Kentucky that ended a 26-year winning streak over the Wildcats and eliminated the Vols from the postseason.

Offensive MVP: Rogers. Because Rogers played the entire year, he gets the nod over Bray. Without Rogers, Tennessee’s offensive numbers would have been a lot worse. He finished the year first in the SEC in receptions (67) and second in yards (1,040) and touchdowns (9).

Defensive MVP: Defensive tackle Malik Jackson. Jackson was one of Tennessee’s best overall players and maybe the Vols' best leader. He was the heart of Tennessee’s defense and was extremely productive, recording 56 tackles, including 11 for loss, and had 10 quarterback hurries.

Turning point: When Bray went down in the Georgia game, it seemed like Tennessee’s spirit was crushed. Cycling among quarterbacks didn’t help and some wondered if this team quit or not. Tennessee lost five of its final seven games after Bray’s injury.

What’s next: Tennessee isn’t headed to a bowl game, so Dooley and his staff will have more time to hit the road and recruit. Tennessee is in desperate need of depth, especially on defense. It’s also time for Dooley to take his team back and find a way to motivate players before spring practic

2011-final-team-reviews - SEC Blog - ESPN
By Edward Aschoff
Click to expand...

I really don't think he is a bad coach. I think once he has his entire personnel and players in we will know more about him. He has only been here for 2 years. The loss to Kentucky, however, is inexcusable. They have been the bottom barrel team in the SEC for years and years. Their fans rushed the field after the win. Only in Kentucky. Joker Phillips does not go though...
 
#22
#22
Even though Tennessee had a bad season, I'm gonna miss Vol football for the next couple of months.
 
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