Tennessee Rushing Attack Doing Just Fine Without Hurd

#1
Enki_Amenra

Enki_Amenra

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#1
Tennessee rushing attack doing just fine without Hurd



KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The unexpected departure of running back Jalen Hurd hasn't hindered Tennessee's rushing attack.

In its first two games since Hurd left the team, Tennessee (7-3, 3-3 SEC) has averaged 276.5 yards rushing per game and 8.4 yards per carry. Tennessee's robust rushing attack has compensated for the defense's recent inability to stop the run heading into Saturday's game with Missouri (3-7, 1-5).

Quarterback Joshua Dobbs, Alvin Kamara and John Kelly each rushed for over 90 yards last week in a 49-36 victory over Kentucky. . .

. . . Hurd's departure expanded Kelly's role in the offense, and the sophomore from Detroit has made the most of the opportunity. Kelly has rushed for at least 94 yards in each of Tennessee's last three games and is averaging 7.3 yards per carry this season.

"He runs with passion, and he wants to score every time he touches the ball," Kamara said.

Kamara returned to action last week after missing two games with a knee injury, and Tennessee responded by rushing for 376 yards and averaging over 9 yards per carry against Kentucky. That 376-yard output was Tennessee's highest single-game rushing total since a 399-yard performance against Bowling Green in its 2015 season opener.

The Vols were just six yards away from having three 100-yard rushers in a single game for the first time since 1991. Dobbs rushed for 147 yards, Kamara gained 128 yards and Kelly had 94 yards.
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#6
#6
Volsfaninva917 said:
Hurd will never go away until you guys let him, don't be the crazy ex in this break up.
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I think this article is addressing more of the mystery that loomed after Hurd's departure more than it is focusing on the departure itself.

It is part of this season's history and it's unavoidable when discussing the season and this team. I guess we could get our chisels out and start removing faces from statues and erasing names from books. :p
 
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#7
#7
Enki_Amenra said:
I think this article is addressing more of the mystery that loomed after Hurd's departure more than it is focusing on the departure itself.

It is part of this season's history and it's unavoidable when discussing the season and this team. I guess we could get our chisels out and start removing faces from statues and erasing names from books. :p
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I just don't see why the media continues to bring it up, including bringing up Hurd's mother arrest record which was totally uncalled for. Then it seems like there's a thread everyday here, he's the one who decided to leave so let him. I wish him the best but he doesn't have a place here at the time.
 
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#10
#10
Tennessee Tech
Kentucky

There is no way we can draw conclusions.

That said - our teams overall demeanor has more energy and support than I've seen all year.
 
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#11
#11
Volsfaninva917 said:
Pretty easy to beat your chest and call yourself a Bama fan isn't it? I'm glad you were able to buy a tshirt at walmart but go share that on the bama board because no one here cares.
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well there is some merit to the post...racking up rushing yards against tn tech and KY is one thing...

we see this every year it seems like...there's a resurgence of the offense or defense in the 2nd half of hte season...some think it's because of massive improvements made as the season has gone along, others think it's because the competition level isn't as great.

the reality is that this happens every year with every team. some teams have front loaded schedules like us, that seem to always "finish strong", others have a back loaded schedule that tend to "finish flat", like aTm.

there's a reason why people said all year long that Michigan should be 9-1 or 10-0 before they played OSU, and why people thought we needed to split that 4 game stretch to have a chance at 10 wins.

stating it doesn't make anyone really right or wrong, it just is what it is. you can't help what the schedule is, and it's not wrong to say we "should see improvement" when playing the weaker part of our schedule. nor is it a farce to point out that racking up 300 yards rushing against KY or Tn Tech isn't the same as play FL, GA or Bama.

dare i say had Hurd been on the roster the last two weeks, he'd probably have pretty good rushing #'s too.
 
#12
#12
UneducatedGuess said:
Tennessee Tech
Kentucky

There is no way we can draw conclusions.

That said - our teams overall demeanor has more energy and support than I've seen all year.
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Did against aTm without him as well. I think we can certainly start. He wasn't running this year like he had the previous two years. With that said, he's gone and I hope he has a successful career wherever he ends up.
 
#13
#13
jakez4ut said:
well there is some merit to the post...racking up rushing yards against tn tech and KY is one thing...

we see this every year it seems like...there's a resurgence of the offense or defense in the 2nd half of hte season...some think it's because of massive improvements made as the season has gone along, others think it's because the competition level isn't as great.

the reality is that this happens every year with every team. some teams have front loaded schedules like us, that seem to always "finish strong", others have a back loaded schedule that tend to "finish flat", like aTm.

there's a reason why people said all year long that Michigan should be 9-1 or 10-0 before they played OSU, and why people thought we needed to split that 4 game stretch to have a chance at 10 wins.

stating it doesn't make anyone really right or wrong, it just is what it is. you can't help what the schedule is, and it's not wrong to say we "should see improvement" when playing the weaker part of our schedule. nor is it a farce to point out that racking up 300 yards rushing against KY or Tn Tech isn't the same as play FL, GA or Bama.

dare i say had Hurd been on the roster the last two weeks, he'd probably have pretty good rushing #'s too.
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Hurd had numerous games vs competition as bad as KY or Tech. Has he ever averaged 10 yds per carry for a game? He (and possibly Butch for not starting Kamara from Day 1) was exposed vs TX A&M, and the last 2 weeks have done nothing but strengthen that perception.
 
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#14
#14
WildTurkey said:
Hurd had numerous games vs competition as bad as KY or Tech. Has he ever averaged 10 yds per carry for a game? He (and possibly Butch for not starting Kamara from Day 1) was exposed vs TX A&M, and the last 2 weeks have done nothing but strengthen that perception.
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i didn't say he'd average 10 ypc...just that he'd probably have had good #'s too. and that playing KY or Tn Tech, likely, would help in that endeavour, vs. playing FL or Bama or GA.

i liked hurd as a runner. i thought he grinded out dirty yards. i never thought he was a good fit for this style of finesse offense, and the way offensive lines play in it.

but we did see in the bowl game last year what he could do in a power running situation, he is/was a good pass catcher, and he generally did a good job at pass protecting.

anyway, i love how Kamara and Kelly run in this offense, and i'm not arguing that htey've not looked better as a result.

just not willing to say that "man had we done this against Bama we would have......."

that's all.
 
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#15
#15
jakez4ut said:
i didn't say he'd average 10 ypc...just that he'd probably have had good #'s too. and that playing KY or Tn Tech, likely, would help in that endeavour, vs. playing FL or Bama or GA.

i liked hurd as a runner. i thought he grinded out dirty yards. i never thought he was a good fit for this style of finesse offense, and the way offensive lines play in it.

but we did see in the bowl game last year what he could do in a power running situation, he is/was a good pass catcher, and he generally did a good job at pass protecting.

anyway, i love how Kamara and Kelly run in this offense, and i'm not arguing that htey've not looked better as a result.

just not willing to say that "man had we done this against Bama we would have......."

that's all.
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I agree w/you re: Bama
 
#19
#19
Well most of that is that I think it's safe to say John Kelly is a lot better than most of us thought he would be. I guess there's a reason Harbaugh went after him so hard.
 
#20
#20
UneducatedGuess said:
Tennessee Tech
Kentucky

There is no way we can draw conclusions.

That said - our teams overall demeanor has more energy and support than I've seen all year.
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App state
Ohio
South Carolina
Georgia
Florida
Virginia tech

None of which he looked like the Hurd we saw last year. We saw the offense with him as running back and his effort was pathetic all year. You can say that it's on TT and Kentucky but I definitely have more games to show you how crappy this offense was with Hurd this year. Plus we ran the ball extremly well vs Texas A&M and that was the best offensive output we've had all year
 
#24
#24
Volsfaninva917 said:
I just don't see why the media continues to bring it up,
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Next year (IF he's moved on up), they will talk about how the DL has done so well (fingers crossed), even though DB is gone ! We WANT to hear how the team is doing well, even when star players are gone -- this be good analytics.
 
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