Tennessee vs Oklahoma: Offense play by play

[Freak]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I45tU0GGc9k[/youtube]

 

[Fullfillmer]

Thanks Freak -- very helpful. Here are a couple of quick observations and a question tossed out to those more knowledgable than I. It looked like A. Oklahoma was bringing the house - virtually every play and B. they were eating up our snap count - were in our backfield prior to our line getting set to block. What adjustments should a good coach and offensive co-ordinator make to the mass of blitzes that Oklahoma was throwing at us and how do you avoid that snap count/snap issue problem? Also, the game was not a good window on Dobbs ability imo as he was running for his life on most of the pass plays - see A. and B. above.

Thanks coaching gurus.

 

[JohnMarxism]

The offense started to go vanilla in the middle of the 2nd quarter but it became disoriented once the second half kicked off. It's obvious that this coaching staff doesn't believe in Dobbs's arm. That's terrifying to learn because OK just gave the nation the blueprint to beat us.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

The offense started to go vanilla in the middle of the 2nd quarter but it became disoriented once the second half kicked off. It's obvious that this coaching staff doesn't believe in Dobbs's arm. That's terrifying to learn because OK just gave the nation the blueprint to beat us.

I do not think the game film shows that at all. In fact, it shows the opposite.

We had 8 offensive drives in the first half, totaling 38 plays from scrimmage. Of the 38, 22 were called runs (58%), while 16 were intended as pass plays (42%).

In the second half, we had 6 offensive drives, totaling 28 plays from scrimmage. Of the 28, 12 were called runs (43%), and 16 were intended as pass plays (57%). If anything, as the game went on, the coaching staff were leaning more on Josh's arm and the passing game.

It just wasn't working out as well for us in the 2nd half, for a combination of factors. Josh's accuracy did dip a bit in the 2nd half, true. But he was also hurried more as the OLine's blocking deteriorated a little. And the receivers failed to pull in some of the passes he made that were perfectly accurate (true in both halves).

This was a team loss, it's not the fault of any one player or coach.

 

[Volumnus 2011]

Rewatching, here are my observations:

1. Dobbs said in the post game presser that execution was a problem. Boy, he's right. The offense didn't get as conservative as I thought. They ran Von Pearson out of the backfield with two lead blockers. He would have had a monster gain, but he slipped and fell. Alex Ellis dropped a huge pass that could have been a touchdown. Dobbs underthrew Pig on a little WR screen that would have resulted in a big play. Brett Kendrick really struggled on a couple of plays, including the false start in overtime that put us in 3rd and long. Dobbs looked like he missed a couple reads.

2. Oklahoma had a ton of success with a cornerback blitz. This took away any chance for a rollout, and the line failed to block OU's D-line on a couple occassions. I didn't count, but I noticed a ton of CB blitzes in the second half, and we didn't have the right play call dialed in.

3. It's nice that we have a great back in Hurd, but we also have tremendous WRs that we aren't taking advantage of. Nearly every play is a run or a playaction, which takes too long to develop with a line that struggles like it did against Oklahoma.

4. People hate wide receiver screens, but when you have Von Pearson, Pig Howard, Marquez North, Preston Williams, Josh Malone and Jauan Jennings on the outside, any pass in the flat is capable of big yards. We saw a couple big gainers against Oklahoma.

5. We've thrown 54 passes and run 109 times. This ratio is too heavy in my opinion. It's going to be hard to keep teams from sending heat if we aren't more of a passing threat. When Oklahoma blitzed, they got to Dobbs. This takes our skill players out of the equation, which is not a good thing. Dobbs threw 31 passes against Oklahoma, but like I said, most of those were play action against a team dedicated to stopping the run. They were in the backfield before Dobbs could get through his progressions.

These are my simple observations as a casual observer like most of you. I think a lot of this can be fixed, and I'm looking forward to seeing this team play the rest of the season. By the way, ESPN's FPI ratings tell us we should only lose two more games (Georgia and Alabama). According to that, a 9-3 season is still a possibility (although most of us are thinking 8-4).

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Rewatching, here are my observations:

...[some omitted for brevity's sake]...

5. We've thrown 54 passes and run 109 times. This ratio is too heavy in my opinion. It's going to be hard to keep teams from sending heat if we aren't more of a passing threat. When Oklahoma blitzed, they got to Dobbs. This takes our skill players out of the equation, which is not a good thing. Dobbs threw 31 passes against Oklahoma, but like I said, most of those were play action against a team dedicated to stopping the run. They were in the backfield before Dobbs could get through his progressions.

Volumnus, I really appreciated your post. It was insightful. And I agree with almost all of it. Just one significant difference of opinion:

I think we are more balanced run-v-pass than that. In the OK game we had 37 called run plays, and 37 intended pass plays. That's as balanced as it gets. Note that only 31 of the 37 pass plays show up as "pass" in the box score -- the other 6 were pass plays that ended in sacks (3) or scrambles by Josh when he could find no open receivers (3). So they all get officially counted as "runs" ... though the coaches called pass plays on all six occasions.

I haven't gone back to dissect the BGSU game in the same way, but there are probably pass plays disguised by their "run results" in those stats, as well (box score says 23 passes, 64 runs). In any case, the running game was working hella good for us that game, and coaches should ALWAYS take what the defense is giving.

So, no, I think we've got good balance.

But I really enjoyed your post, and agreed with all your other points. Thanks for it!

 

[VolFootballIsLife]

Wow. A real discussion on factual events. We should somehow protect this thread from invasion. All excellent posts! Best reading for me on this site in 3 days!! Thanks to all who gave their opinions.

For what it's worth, I think most fans are misusing the term conservative play calling. Probably more upset with our inability to move the ball which in turn makes the play calls look conservative. I felt the same all weekend then had to re-watch and took notice of our lack of execution. It would've been nice to see Dobbs hook up with North, Malone, or Von on a deep ball but there was a Sooner in Dobbs face about 2 seconds after the snap on most every pass play. In hindsight, probably could've used more slants.

In any case, TEAM loss here. I think we have something special building. Patience.

 

[SmokinBob]

Agree with VolFootballIsLife - very good analysis by both Volumnus & VFL-82. Sanity, finally.

I appreciate these videos Freak. When I'm watching the game live I'm just a fan watching the ball for the most part. Reviewing these without the clutter helps me actually see what happened - and the respectful explanations by those who understand the game is appreciated beyond words.

Volumnus & VFL-82 & Freak - a tip o' the hat! :hi:

 

[Tuckervol1003]

Volumnus, I really appreciated your post. It was insightful. And I agree with almost all of it. Just one significant difference of opinion:

I think we are more balanced run-v-pass than that. In the OK game we had 37 called run plays, and 37 intended pass plays. That's as balanced as it gets. Note that only 31 of the 37 pass plays show up as "pass" in the box score -- the other 6 were pass plays that ended in sacks (3) or scrambles by Josh when he could find no open receivers (3). So they all get officially counted as "runs" ... though the coaches called pass plays on all six occasions.

I haven't gone back to dissect the BGSU game in the same way, but there are probably pass plays disguised by their "run results" in those stats, as well (box score says 23 passes, 64 runs). In any case, the running game was working hella good for us that game, and coaches should ALWAYS take what the defense is giving.

So, no, I think we've got good balance.

But I really enjoyed your post, and agreed with all your other points. Thanks for it!

Between this response and Volumnus' response, i think you two have hit upon the perfect recap of what we saw this weekend and against BGSU.

I know there was some discussion after BGSU on the number of run plays, but i believe that was by design.

The only comments that i will add is that i believe the OK game has shown us the 2 or 3 glaring weaknesses we have. The right side of the OL, Middle linebacker and nickel back. I really hope that we can see alot of Jack Jones and Chance Hall against West Carolina this weekend.. Middle Linebacker is a quandry because of youth. We have a walkon sophomore and a true freshman with freshmen behind them. The most frustrating is nickel back, because we have the answer, but it is out for the season in Gaulden.

 

[atlantavol1]

Long time viewer - very infrequent poster -

Agree with comments and thanks for the Film. After the game I told several fellow tailgaters that I thought we SHOULD beat anyone remaining on schedule with a game like we played against OU except UGA and Bama and we COULD beat both UGA and BAMA with a few adjustments/breaks.

Any plans to create the Defensive breakdown.

Would love to see the defensive difference if any during 4th qtr

 

[McDad]

Every fan repeating the mantra of, "CBJ played not to lose," needs to see this thread.

 

[letsgoUT29]

Longtime lurker here,

All the complaining the past few days has compelled me to give my 2 cents..

I don't know about anybody else, but Saturday night is the first time since 2009 I have watched a tenn game with that much excitement. My heart was pounding the entire time. I have missed that feeling and I thank Butch Jones for bringing that feeling back.

I hate the way we lost, but it was not all because of game management. Butch jones does need to improve in game management, but I have been very impressed with recruiting, player development, and those boys came out ready to play Saturday night.

Let's please not treat butch jones like Derek Dooley, we have improved every year.

 

[Freak]

Good discussion guys. Keep it up.

I think maybe it's safe in here.

 

[99bubble]

Another note about Dobbs' passing stats. Was he not 3/12 when we were up 17-0 or 17-3? If that's the case, that made him 10/19 the rest of the way, which is interesting to me.

Also, that throw to Malone was a thing of beauty. I really like him throwing on the run. I hope they don't have him thinking too much. He's a baller...let him roll.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Another note about Dobbs' passing stats. Was he not 3/12 when we were up 17-0 or 17-3? If that's the case, that made him 10/19 the rest of the way, which is interesting to me.

Counting all plays up to the TD that got us to 17 points, Josh was 6 of 10.

He was 6 of 12 at the Half.

He went 5 of 14 in the second Half, ending regulation with 11 of 26.

He was 2 of 5 including the INT in overtime.

Total game stats, 13 of 31 with 1 TD and 1 INT

So his passing success tapered as the game wore on, from 50% in first half, to 36% in second half, and ending with 40% and an INT in overtime.

Of course, this isn't all on Josh. It's a team sport, and success or failure in the throw game are shared among the QB, OLine, WRs, TEs, and even the RBs as either pass pro or receivers.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

And Josh’s declining pass completion percentage over the course of the second half and overtime is directly correlated with the heavy blitz packages that Mike Stoops brought. It wasn’t as extreme as what Coach Donahue designed for the ’86 Sugar Bowl, but incoming bogies were attacking in unpredictable frequencies from every sector of the compass, including the corner from the boundary, the strong safety from the field and every linebacker Oklahoma could muster. To Oklahoma’s credit, some of those blitzes effectively cut off all lines of retreat for Dobbs.

According to Coach DeBord, "They had given up 17 points in the first half and they had blitzed us some, but not very much, so in the second half it was a blitz fest. It turned into that. They knew that they had to do that. They couldn't give up more points, so that's what the game turned into." He fully expects to see future opponents attempt to use similar blitz packages and is preparing accordingly. "People will do that, and so that's why we worked hard at it yesterday, we worked hard at it today. We've got to make people pay, so we're preparing for that," DeBord said.

Fortunately, Josh Dobbs possesses the composure you want from your quarterback under those circumstances. "I've only known him since February, but I don't know how you could ever shake him," DeBord said. "He's as steady as anybody could ever be. . . . A rock — he's a rock and that's the way he goes about his life, that's the way he goes about his football and he's out there leading right now," DeBord said. "I don't know how you can get to Josh Dobbs" (Tennessee Volunteers Football, Basketball, and Recruiting Front Page).

 

[Quaint88]

I've finally gotten to the point in the 5 step process where I could watch this. It's not as bad as it seemed live for sure. I definitely came away more impressed with Dobbs. He had to rush at times because the protection wasn't there, but he never looked rattled and stood in there and made some nice throws late in the game (some of which were dropped). He looked a little more hesitant to take off than last year, but with only true freshmen behind him, that's got to be coaching.

Oklahoma blitzed a good amount in the 2nd half, but not nearly as much as I remembered. They were able to get pressure with 4 too often. Our O-line has definitely improved, but this was their first real test of the season. Steamrolling Bowling Green's defensive front for nearly 400 yards rushing is not really going to show you any deficiencies. I expect at least a modest improvement after this game. We all knew our defense was much better than they showed the first week, but I don't know how good this O-line can be yet. Serviceable is well within the realm of possibility this year, though.

All in all, I think our offense will be just fine. As the O-line improves, Dobbs will be able to get the ball to the receivers more often. There were several plays where he only needed a second longer for a receiver to separate or to get his feet set but had to throw early. I think the O-line will be able to give him that second soon.

Go Vols!

 

[McDad]

I've finally gotten to the point in the 5 step process where I could watch this. It's not as bad as it seemed live for sure. I definitely came away more impressed with Dobbs. He had to rush at times because the protection wasn't there, but he never looked rattled and stood in there and made some nice throws late in the game (some of which were dropped). He looked a little more hesitant to take off than last year, but with only true freshmen behind him, that's got to be coaching.

Oklahoma blitzed a good amount in the 2nd half, but not nearly as much as I remembered. They were able to get pressure with 4 too often. Our O-line has definitely improved, but this was their first real test of the season. Steamrolling Bowling Green's defensive front for nearly 400 yards rushing is not really going to show you any deficiencies. I expect at least a modest improvement after this game. We all knew our defense was much better than they showed the first week, but I don't know how good this O-line can be yet. Serviceable is well within the realm of possibility this year, though.

All in all, I think our offense will be just fine. As the O-line improves, Dobbs will be able to get the ball to the receivers more often. There were several plays where he only needed a second longer for a receiver to separate or to get his feet set but had to throw early. I think the O-line will be able to give him that second soon.

Go Vols!

For those of you who are eagle eyed and able to go watch the videos:

was it mainly the right side O line that broke down in the second half?
Is the o line using poor techniques or are they outgunned physically/athletically?

 

[goldenvol]

I wasn't able to watch this do to the pain still left from Saturday, but after mustering the courage I'm glad I did.

I was at the game and sitting in the end zone, so it was really hard to tell where the issues were. I knew we were playing conservative, but I wasn't sure why we couldn't protect Dobbs.

After going over the offensive plays closely I feel I have a better understanding of the issues, but I don't have a good feeling about playing good teams going forward.

Deboard was exactly correct with his statement about the blitz being the main factor that stopped our offense. We did a horrible job of handling it. But the whole fault wasn't on the offensive line. It was a myriad of failed execution from the QB, Line, and Deboard.

I put most of the blame on Deboard for not adjusting the offense to protect the QB. There were many times that the Lineman were locked up on the right person, but there weren't enough people to protect. This happened mainly when the DB's were blitzing. the DB was in Dobbs face so fast he had to sprint out or get rid of the ball. The pressure caused Dobb's to get flustered and he became impatient and started rushing his throws.

Deboard should have either spread out the defense to the point DB's and line backers were locked in coverage giving Dobb's more open field to see open receivers or more open running lanes due to less clutter in front of him. If Deboard didn't like that option then bring in Hurd and Kamara and put them on either side of Dobb's for an extra blocker. You can do multiple options out of this set.

A seasoned QB can usually make a defense pay when blitzes are brought from DB's and safeties, because a receiver is open somewhere. Dobb's didn't recognize the areas of potential blitzes and target that side or change blocking schemes.

The line does a terrible job of passing off D lineman and picking up stunts from ends and backers. It's scary how many times the D blew threw a gap the guard should have picked up. extra blocker would really help here. Coleman Thomas got straight whipped once and his man sacked Dobbs for a crucial loss.

So, in summation bad line play, a nervous Dobb's, and bad adjustments from Deboard resulted in drive killing negative yardage plays that ultimately kept our defense on the field losing the game.

My biggest concern is can Debored fix this before it happens against Florida. Every DC with talent to work with can see our flaws.

 

[90 Vol]

I went back and looked at where Dobbs was throwing the football. Out of 31 pass attempts, I only counted 2 passes in what I would call the middle of the field. He had 0 passes in the middle in the 5-10 yard range. IMO, this is important because it looked to me like this area was open once OU started blitzing. Is Dobbs afraid to throw across the middle or has Butch instructed him not to? Secondly, wouldn't some pass plays to the rb's help us out in a blitzing situation. I'm not sure if our rb's have caught a pass all year.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

Jalen Hurd has not caught a pass thus far. Kamara had 2 receptions for -1 yard vs. BGSU and 1 for 5 yards vs. Oklahoma.

 

[armchair]

We basically were out-coached--simple as that. They were down 17-0, they gambled by blitzing a lot--and it worked. We couldn't handle it, did not have the plays or execution to make them pay for blitzing--and they shut us down completely in the second half and we ended up losing the game. Dobbs and/or the OC have to recognize or anticipate blitzes--whether by situation or at the line of scrimmage--and get us into plays that can exploit the space from which the blitzers are coming--generally via short, quick passes. Throwing to your backs is generally a good counter--especially with a guy like Kamara who is capable of making tacklers miss. You have to get rid of the ball quickly and you have to get it to people who are capable of making a play after the catch. You can't stand in the pocket and expect somebody to get open 10 yards down the field--not with pressure coming.

 

[Manvol]

Best thread, I went back watched the DVR if the game and saw a lot of missed opportunities, bad luck but a lot of blitzes our O line couldn't handle.

 

[Bukowskified]

One thing that is hard to tell in this video is the pace of play in our last offensive possession of the 4th quarter (not counting the kneel down). In the stadium I noticed how we were keeping the play clock moving, but still snapping with 12-15 seconds on the play clock. If you are going to sit on a lead at that point in the game, I don't understand why you wouldn't let the clock wind some more before snapping the football. That at least would have made OK use some timeouts on their last drive, which would have given our defense some breaks on the game tying drive.

 

[VolFootballlover]

The one thing that got me was we have a running QB that couldn't shake off the blitz. Oklahoma's QB would make those plays and some how escape 3-5 defenders