Staff Grade heading into the Bye

[VOLS INC.]

Closet UF and UGA fans. Maybe some sunshine pumpers mixed in.

Yeah, I don't know how you give them an A.
The Florida game alone should take that grade off the table. They were not ready for that game despite 2 cupcake scrimmages and 3 weeks to prepare.

Better effort against UGA. Getting it within 2 scores late in the game was a nice baby step

 

[volmanNC]

The bar has been moved so low that losing by only 26 to Georgia has people in a good mood.

We have reached rock bottom when "Well at least they tried hard this week" is cause for optimism.

Exactly what I was thinking!!!!!!!!

 

[99gator]

I think it’s more a pass/fail than a letter grade this season.

The goal was to make a bowl game and that doesn’t look likely. That would be a fail.

Although, who cares about playing in the Birmingham Bowl?

If he signs a good recruiting class, he gets a passing grade

 

[VOL_Lyfe]

.

 

[KINGSVOL]

At this point it's a C! If our boys play AUBURN AND BAMA tough, I could see the possibility of winning out after that. IF that were to happen AND we win the bowl game, CJP should be in the conversation for coach of the year!!!!!

 

[PineyBluff Vol]

At least once a game I am amazed by how slow JG is!

Dobbs made it happen with a terrible O-Line. But JG is not Dobbs


He has greatly improved though

Not sure slow is the right word...I would pick Unaware. He has the quickness just doesn't seem to know what to do.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

A "C" is average. So far, I think the coaching staff hasn't done a great job of playing to the strengths of their team or instilling technique and discipline. Therefore, the only appropriate grade is F. There's still time to improve but at the moment they're well below what I expected to see.

F is a little harsh but a C- sounds right to me.

 

[UT-Rex]

So, I just wanted to look at the numbers from this year through 5 games, and last year, 5 games. Figured I'd break down what I found and try to draw some conclusions. Basically, this is how I wasted my morning instead of doing nursing school homework. Keep in mind, our first 5 games last year (GT, Indiana State, Florida, UMass, Georgia) and our first 5 this year (WV, ETSU, UTEP, Florida, UGA) are what I factored in. Here's what the numbers say!

Passing Attempts:
2017 - 161
2018 - 106
Change: 55 fewer passing attempts in 2018.

Passing Completions:
2017 - 88
2018 - 66
Change: 22 fewer completions in 2018.

Completion Percentage:
2017 - 54%
2018 - 63%
Change: +9% in completion percentage in 2018

Passing Yards:
2017 - 979
2018 - 914
Change: 65 fewer yards in 2018.

Passing TD's:
2017- 7
2018 - 5
Change: 2 fewer passing TDs in 2018

Rushing Attempts:
2017 - 160
2018 - 209
Change: 49 more rushing attempts in 2018

Rushing Yards
2017 - 688
2018 - 891
Change: 203 more rushing yards in 2018.

Rushing Yards Per Attempt:
2017 - 4.42
2018 - 4.06
Change: -0.36/yard per carry in 2018

Rushing TD's:
2017 - 8
2018 - 10
Change: 2 more rushing touchdowns scored in 2018.

Total Plays Ran:
2017 - 321
2018 - 315
Change: 6 fewer plays ran in 2018

Total Yards Gained:
2017 - 1667
2018 - 1805
Change: 138 more yards gained in 2018.

Avg. Yards Per Play:
2017 - 5.1
2018 - 5.68
Change: 0.58 more yards gained per play in 2018.

Passing 1st Downs:
2017 - 44
2018 - 37
Change: 7 fewer first downs gained by passing in 2018.

Rushing 1st Downs:
2017 - 37
2018 - 43
Change: 6 more first downs gained by running in 2018.

Total 1st Downs:
2017 - 90
2018 - 91
Change: 1 more 1st down achieved in 2018.

Offensive Penalties:
2017 - 25
2018 - 28
Change: 3 more offensive penalties in 2018.

Offensive Penalty Yards:
2017 - 204
2018 - 215
Change: 11 more offensive penalty yards in 2018.

Fumbles:
2017 - 4
2018 - 7
Change: Jeremy Banks.

Interceptions Thrown:
2017 - 6
2018 - 3
Change: 3 fewer interceptions thrown in 2018.

Time of Possession:
2017 - Had ball 44.9% of game on average.
2018 - Had ball 51.2% of game on average.
Change - Had ball 6.3% more during game on average.

Punts:
2017 - 29
2018 - 26
Change: 3 fewer punts in 2018.
Defense:

Pass yards allowed:
2017 - 646
2018 - 913
Change: 267 more pass yards allowed in 2018

Pass TD Allowed:
2017 - 5
2018 - 8
Change - 3 more passing TD's allowed in 2018.

Rush Yds Allowed:
2017 - 1263
2018 - 759
Change: 504 fewer rushing yards allowed in 2018.

Rushing TD's allowed:
2017 - 11
2018 - 8
Change: 3 fewer rushing TD's allowed in 2018.

Defensive Penalties:
2017 - 30
2018 - 32
Change: 2 more penalties this year.

Defensive Penalty Yards:
2017 - 228
2018 - 235
Change: 7 more penalty yards in 2018.

Turnovers Forced:
2017 - 6
2018 - 5
Change: 1 fewer turnover forced in 2018.

Tackles:
2017 - 400
2018 - 283
Change: 117 fewer tackles in 2018.

Sacks:
2017 - 5
2018 - 9
Change: 4 more sacks in 2018.

TFL:
2017 - 32
2018 - 27
Change: 5 fewer TFL's in 2018

Points Scored:
2017 - 121
2018 - 130
Change: 9 more points scored in 2018.
Points Allowed:
2017 - 128
2018 - 128
Change: No change.

So, basically, what this tells me? There's improvement here.

• Of the 6 turnovers that we forced by this time last year, 4 of those were by players that are no longer here. We already have 5 of them this year.
• Of the 400 tackles we recorded last year, 175 (44%) of them were by players who are no longer here.
• 925/979 of the passing yards were Quinten Dormady. JG and KC have 914 yards on 55 fewer attempts. Passing efficiency is much improved.
• Of the 688 rushing yards, 494 of them (72%) were John Kelly. He is gone. And yet, between Chandler, Jordan, Banks, and whoever else, we have managed over 200 yards more than last year.
• 6/8 rushing TDs on last year were JK. We already have 10 on the year.
• If this team seems slightly familiar? It is.
  • Basically we have traded almost equally rushing attempts for passing attempts. 55 fewer passing attempts for 49 more rushing attempts.
  • We have traded fumbles and interceptions. We have 3 more fumbles than last year, and 3 fewer interceptions.
  • We are close to the same in penalties.
  • We are slightly less efficient in running the ball than we were last year (0.36 yards per carry less), but much better in our efficiency in throwing the ball (higher completion percentage as well as 2.7 yards more per completion).
  • We have allowed the exact same number of points total, just distributed it out differently.
  • We have traded pass success in defense for run success in defense. 267 more yards allowed through the air, and 504 FEWER yards allowed on the ground.
  • We have gotten off the field quicker, as evidenced by fewer tackles (117 less than last year), and a time of possession that has increased approximately 4 minutes more than last year.
• Consider that all of this is coming with:
  • A new head coach.
  • A new offensive and defensive playbook and scheme.
  • A schedule that thus far as included 5 teams with a combined record of 17-7 (UTEP is 0-5), and 3 of those teams will likely be ranked this week.
  • Playing a team who has scored an average of 42.25 points per game, thrown for an average of 372 yards a game, and already 17 passing TD's through 4 games. It's not like we're the only ones they've lit up.
  • A QB who barely played at this point last season, 3 RB's who barely played at this point last season, and yet our passing efficiency and run game is better than it was last year.
  • Losing: Cam Sutton, Gaulden, Moseley, Justin Martin, McKenzie, McDowell, Jumper, John Kelly, who accounted for a large amount of our offensive and defensive production.
• And yet...
  • We have not allowed more points than we did last year, even with a lot of newcomers in the secondary and a new scheme.
  • We have significantly stopped the run better than last year, an absolute MUST in the SEC.
  • We have almost equalled the number of turnovers forced from last year.
  • We have scored 9 more points.
  • We have compiled 138 more yards than this point last year.
• I just can't say we are worse like many people are. We lost a lot of players, and yet, the numbers seem to point to the fact that we are performing more efficiently and even better in some areas, despite playing a tougher schedule through the 1st 5 games.

Just wanted to share these numbers with you. Improvement is coming, and is showing. I believe in this team after looking at the numbers. We have some work to do, but we are going to get there.

GBO!

The defensive guru at head coach has a defense giving up 40+ ppg against teams with a pulse.

The offense has shown next to nothing through 4 games other than mauling a couple of overmatched teams.

Sure, they inherited a mediocre group of talent but I can't point to one thing they have improved from last year's version of the Vols.

Guarantano is looking slightly better but melted down against FL. The O line is still an absolute mess and we still have a defense that can't tackle.

If D+ was an option I would have gone that route. As it is, they got an F from me.

According to TNhopeful, there are a few things.

 

[volfanjustin]

D
Getting blown out by West Va, Florida and Georgia with at least 2 more coming gives him a D from me. As bad as Jones was he never got blown out by Florida. This team is worse than last year

 

[05_never_again]

I still like Pruitt and want him to do well, but honestly he really hasn't done anything that has made you go "wow, we've gotten better there" so far. I'm going to be harder on him on defense, since that is his specialty and he's making all the defensive calls, which is exactly what he done at various places over the last several years.

Simply speaking, the defense isn't any better than last year and I think it was fair to expect at least a little bit of improvement, changing schemes notwithstanding. They still are for the most part unable to generate any sort of pass rush despite having some athletes (Phillips/Kongbo) that are supposedly capable of doing it; I guess nobody can get production out of those guys. Our secondary has been OK in coverage (except Nigel Warrior - he's been disappointing as our best defensive back) but still cannot make a play on the ball. Exactly how it was during the Butch years. We miss way too many tackles and when we do make a tackle the opposing ball carrier always falls forward 2-3 yards. Much has been made of a lack of S&C, which I agree occurred, but this is even worse than last year. I agree that Butch left this entire team in bad shape, but at some point (towards the end of this season and into next season) that is not available as an excuse anymore.

On offense, the offensive line is worse than last year, and last year's was really bad to begin with. Outside of Trey Smith, these guys aren't physical, don't appear all that physically strong, and are bad at creating leverage. Even Smith himself has been somewhat underwhelming. Our RBs, which I thought might be a point of strength and help cover some offensive line deficiencies, have been just kind of "there," IMO. Not great, not terrible, just OK. They don't have great speed or quickness and seem to require pretty good blocking in order to get just modest yardage. I thought they were good enough to create something even when the play wasn't blocked well, but perhaps not. The WRs have been OK, dropped too many passes. The only spot on the field where there has been some modest but still noticeable improvement is at QB. Guarantano has thrown some nice deep balls and appears to be getting better at making reads, although he has a long way to go.

Special teams - Cimaglia and Doyle have been good. Callaway is underwhelming as a punt returner; I gotta think we have someone on the roster better than him but perhaps not. Lots of special teams penalties in the Georgia game.

I voted C, but the team overall is worse than last year, so you can argue that it is really a D/D+.

 

[BeardedVol]

D at the moment.

Success this year, was constant progression. We came out, played poorly against WVU, and by the Florida game, looked overall worse than any game in 2017. Against Georgia, we bounced back up to a similar performance to the WVU game. There are some individual areas of improvement, but as a whole, fundamentals are still lacking, especially on defense.

If Pruitt can get the team back on track towards a improving each week, then I'd say there's still a chance to pull a C+ or a B if he can pull off an Auburn upset, or knock off a now-struggling USCe or Vandy.

 

[TexasVolfan1]

Probably C- or D+ at this point. I do like some things I’ve seen with the defense, still a long way to go but i think they’re gonna be really good after a few recruiting classes. The offense is pretty worrying. Maybe that will change with getting some good o-line men in here.

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

According to TNhopeful, there are a few things.

Very few based on that list.

Sacks stand out but most of those differences are pretty negligible.

Ultimately comes down to points scored and points allowed as the most important IMO and we are only seeing 9 more points scored this season.

Points Scored:
2017 - 121
2018 - 130
Change: 9 more points scored in 2018.
Points Allowed:
2017 - 128
2018 - 128
Change: No change.

 

[lexkyvol]

C

Team responded after falling flat on their A$$ last week.

I dont expect them to beat AU on the road yet but with an off week and the team not folding up like some thought they may, it becomes a more interesting game.

IT def does. I could see an upset happening

 

[lexkyvol]

Very few based on that list.

Sacks stand out but most of those differences are pretty negligible.

Ultimately comes down to points scored and points allowed as the most important IMO and we are only seeing 9 more points scored this season.

Points Scored:
2017 - 121
2018 - 130
Change: 9 more points scored in 2018.
Points Allowed:
2017 - 128
2018 - 128
Change: No change.

were the opponents the same or different? better or worse?

 

[photovol]

D-
overall
The defense gets a C-
The offense gets a F
That may be very generous too

 

[Vfl2407]

At least once a game I am amazed by how slow JG is!

Dobbs made it happen with a terrible O-Line. But JG is not Dobbs


He has greatly improved though

Yes, he’s slow.
And he has zero interest in running even when there is a rare hole for him to run thru.

 

[lostsheep]

Yes, he’s slow.
And he has zero interest in running even when there is a rare hole for him to run thru.

He's not a running QB, so we shouldn't expect him to run anymore than Peyton did while he was here in my opinion.

Furthermore, the kid has been duck-taped and superglued back together after every game after taking the beating he does each week. Outside of Matt Simms when he was here, I don't know of another QB that has taken the kind of beating he has in recent times.

 

[BeecherVol]

IT def does. I could see an upset happening

Be interesting to where we are in 2 weeks.

 

[FLVOL_79]

D for impending Disaster.

 

[TNHopeful505]

Very few based on that list.

Sacks stand out but most of those differences are pretty negligible.

Ultimately comes down to points scored and points allowed as the most important IMO and we are only seeing 9 more points scored this season.

Points Scored:
2017 - 121
2018 - 130
Change: 9 more points scored in 2018.
Points Allowed:
2017 - 128
2018 - 128
Change: No change.

Here's the thing. Everyone knows we are 2-3. Everyone knows that it's likely we don't win more than 4 games. Didn't say it's impossible, just not likely.

But you have to look at more than what the numbers are saying.

If someone was to ask me before the season, "You're going to lose Jashon Robertson, Brett Kendrick and Coleman Thomas from the OL, the three of which had played a total of 127 games in their career at UT, and you're going to lose Ethan Wolf, who accounted for 27% of all receiving touchdowns last year, and 11.8% of our total receiving yards, and you're going to lose John Kelly, who accounted for 14.3% of all receiving yards, 64.2% of all rushing touchdowns, 54.9% of all our of rushing yards last year, 45.8% of all rushing attempts last year (23% of them were by QB's, likely including sacks as well), and was 30.7% of TOTAL offense for us. Also, the offensive players that scored 52% of the touchdowns from last year are not on this year's team because they've graduated or left early to be drafted, and 2 more touchdowns were scored by Carlin Fils-Aime, who is now on defense, and you're implementing an entirely new scheme, going from a Spread/Read-Option to more of a Pro-Style, how do you think your offense will be?"

I honestly would have been pretty pessimistic. We have Chandler, who ran pretty good last year (71 carries, 305 yards, and 2 TDs), but then you have Tim Jordan, who only had 52 yards rushing last year, and Jeremy Banks, who nobody knew anything about. And our OL consists of Trey Smith, who is great, but Drew Richmond, who many feel has underachieved, and hoping that maybe Jerome Carvin, Jahmir Johnson, and a Bama backup transfer Kennedy panned out.

But yet, we've ran the ball 49 more times this year, and done it for over 200 yards more than we did last year. We already have 10 rushing touchdowns through 5 games. We only scored 14 rushing touchdowns THE ENTIRE SEASON last year. How is that not improvement?

And if someone were to say to me, "You're going to lose Cam Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley, Cortez McDowell, Rashaan Gaulden, Colton Jumper, Kendal Vickers, Justin Martin, Shaq Wiggins, Kahlil McKenzie, Elliott Berry, Quay Picou. And you're going to lose players who made 38.7% of all solo tackles last year, 43% of all of your sacks last year, and 60% of all your interceptions last year. On top of that, you're losing most all of your secondary, and the front that gave up 3015 rushing yards and 29 rushing yards to other teams is coming back. You're switching to a 3-4/multiple defense, and you haven't recruited players that fit that until now. And in your first 5 games, you'll play two of the most profilic offenses in the country. How do you think your defense is going to do?"

Once again, pessimistic. Losing all of that experience in the secondary is gonna hurt, and we couldn't anyone trying to run on us last year, it's going to be even worse this year, right?

Except for our defense has allowed significantly fewer yards on the ground this year, and yes, we got torched by WVU, but they have 17 passing touchdowns in 4 games! Meaning, that aside from the 5 they scored against us, they've scored 3 passing touchdowns and averaged over 350 passing yards each game. And we played a secondary that was mostly young guys, except for Warrior and Abernathy, and for some like Taylor and Flowers, it was their very first game out there. Our defense has allowed 237 fewer total yards than it did at this point last year. We already have 9 sacks on the year, and are on pace to tie or exceed the 22 sacks we got last year.

We finished the year 119th/130 in offense last year, and we are currently 92/130. We have played against defenses that are ranked 21st, 100th, 9th, and 6th in points allowed.

We finished the year 83rd/130 in defense last year, and we are currently 69/130. We have played against offenses that are ranked 21st, 130th (dead last), 42nd, and 20th in points scored.

So...hard to say we haven't improved. Played some really good defenses, and yet our offense has managed to score more points than last year, despite losing a large portion of our production. Played some decent/good offenses (WVU and UGA mainly), and yet, our defense has allowed fewer yards and the same amount of points, despite losing a large portion of our production.

I like numbers. And procrastinating on actual important things.

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

were the opponents the same or different? better or worse?

I'd say strength of schedule is pretty much a wash from last season to this season.

Traded GA Tech for WVU with both teams having strong and unique offenses.

FL is still a mess pretty much.

Non conference cream puffs were pretty interchangeable.

I would say GA is a little worse off this year replacing 2 NFL RBs in Michel and Chubb along with Wynn on the O line and Smith at LB.

 

[MustafaRasta]

Here's the thing. Everyone knows we are 2-3. Everyone knows that it's likely we don't win more than 4 games. Didn't say it's impossible, just not likely.

But you have to look at more than what the numbers are saying.

If someone was to ask me before the season, "You're going to lose Jashon Robertson, Brett Kendrick and Coleman Thomas from the OL, the three of which had played a total of 127 games in their career at UT, and you're going to lose Ethan Wolf, who accounted for 27% of all receiving touchdowns last year, and 11.8% of our total receiving yards, and you're going to lose John Kelly, who accounted for 14.3% of all receiving yards, 64.2% of all rushing touchdowns, 54.9% of all our of rushing yards last year, 45.8% of all rushing attempts last year (23% of them were by QB's, likely including sacks as well), and was 30.7% of TOTAL offense for us. Also, the offensive players that scored 52% of the touchdowns from last year are not on this year's team because they've graduated or left early to be drafted, and 2 more touchdowns were scored by Carlin Fils-Aime, who is now on defense, and you're implementing an entirely new scheme, going from a Spread/Read-Option to more of a Pro-Style, how do you think your offense will be?"

I honestly would have been pretty pessimistic. We have Chandler, who ran pretty good last year (71 carries, 305 yards, and 2 TDs), but then you have Tim Jordan, who only had 52 yards rushing last year, and Jeremy Banks, who nobody knew anything about. And our OL consists of Trey Smith, who is great, but Drew Richmond, who many feel has underachieved, and hoping that maybe Jerome Carvin, Jahmir Johnson, and a Bama backup transfer Kennedy panned out.

But yet, we've ran the ball 49 more times this year, and done it for over 200 yards more than we did last year. We already have 10 rushing touchdowns through 5 games. We only scored 14 rushing touchdowns THE ENTIRE SEASON last year. How is that not improvement?

And if someone were to say to me, "You're going to lose Cam Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley, Cortez McDowell, Rashaan Gaulden, Colton Jumper, Kendal Vickers, Justin Martin, Shaq Wiggins, Kahlil McKenzie, Elliott Berry, Quay Picou. And you're going to lose players who made 38.7% of all solo tackles last year, 43% of all of your sacks last year, and 60% of all your interceptions last year. On top of that, you're losing most all of your secondary, and the front that gave up 3015 rushing yards and 29 rushing yards to other teams is coming back. You're switching to a 3-4/multiple defense, and you haven't recruited players that fit that until now. And in your first 5 games, you'll play two of the most profilic offenses in the country. How do you think your defense is going to do?"

Once again, pessimistic. Losing all of that experience in the secondary is gonna hurt, and we couldn't anyone trying to run on us last year, it's going to be even worse this year, right?

Except for our defense has allowed significantly fewer yards on the ground this year, and yes, we got torched by WVU, but they have 17 passing touchdowns in 4 games! Meaning, that aside from the 5 they scored against us, they've scored 3 passing touchdowns and averaged over 350 passing yards each game. And we played a secondary that was mostly young guys, except for Warrior and Abernathy, and for some like Taylor and Flowers, it was their very first game out there. Our defense has allowed 237 fewer total yards than it did at this point last year. We already have 9 sacks on the year, and are on pace to tie or exceed the 22 sacks we got last year.

We finished the year 119th/130 in offense last year, and we are currently 92/130. We have played against defenses that are ranked 21st, 100th, 9th, and 6th in points allowed.

We finished the year 83rd/130 in defense last year, and we are currently 69/130. We have played against offenses that are ranked 21st, 130th (dead last), 42nd, and 20th in points scored.

So...hard to say we haven't improved. Played some really good defenses, and yet our offense has managed to score more points than last year, despite losing a large portion of our production. Played some decent/good offenses (WVU and UGA mainly), and yet, our defense has allowed fewer yards and the same amount of points, despite losing a large portion of our production.

I like numbers. And procrastinating on actual important things.

Sure, I can dig a lot of what you're saying. Problem is, are not those guys all Butch Jones recruits...erm. I mean BOTCH or Lyle or Sgt. Carter or whatever the **** you hillbillies call him.
Seems to me this board should be happy we got rid of a lot of losers and JUNIORS who declared early to leave more room for Cornbread and his recruits...go vawls.

 

[FranklinVol-615]

Defense coaching I give a B. We don’t have the players.

Offense coaching I give a C-. Again we don’t have the players.

I give Helton a D. We haven’t had any counter plays in two weeks. None. We also have done very little to stretch the defense and have linebackers stay at home because of misdirection. We also need to be getting the ball into Chandler’s hands a LOT more.

 

[Pacer92]

no matter the grade...win is all that matters

Wins is all that matters?! You have got to be kidding, right?!