Tennessee's linebackers good to go

#26
#26
KBVol said:
I'll go on record saying that not only have we never taken a corner and turned him into a linebacker, that we also never will.
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You need to go back in time there KB. That was a regular thing we did. It was done to get speed at the LB position to compete with pass oriented teams (Florida). That caused a numbers problem at DB so we used WR's at DB. Then, one year we were VERY low at WR because of it!
 
#27
#27
volnbama_ said:
Berry was 4th string behind Sapp
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You sure about that?

Sapp had a tackle vs App State on special teams, didn't play vs VaTech at all, played vs Ohio on special teams when he was injured.

If you go by last years depth chart (which I found on Bleacher Report), it has Sapp listed as 2nd team, ahead of McDowell....yet it was McDowell and NOT Sapp who went in to play for JRM vs App State, so what does that mean? I'd suggest nothing. So you can say Sapp was 3rd string and I can say Berry was 3rd string....who's right? Nobody knows.

Here's what I absolutely do know however....it's factually wrong to say we were "on 4th stringers" at linebacker last year, when pretty much nobody other than starters and second stringers, with the occasional 3rd stringer, played pretty much all year.
 
#28
#28
IknoxvolsI said:
You need to go back in time there KB. That was a regular thing we did. It was done to get speed at the LB position to compete with pass oriented teams (Florida). That caused a numbers problem at DB so we used WR's at DB. Then, one year we were VERY low at WR because of it!
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Safeties? Yes. Corners? No.
 
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#29
#29
KBVol said:
It really is amazing. People just throw crap out like that as though nobody is gonna remember/and or take 5 minutes to look it up and discredit it.

Our injuries were bad enough last year without just making stuff up. If you read through a lot of these posts, you'd think we played 13 games with no starters and nothing just walkons and 4th stringers. It's bizarre.
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I agree the depth of the injuries is usually exaggerated. I think it was the lack of continuity under a new DC that combined to become the primary reason for the late season collapse. Defense was never able to create an identity.
 
#30
#30
The Artful Dodger said:
I agree the depth of the injuries is usually exaggerated. I think it was the lack of continuity under a new DC that combined to become the primary reason for the late season collapse. Defense was never able to create an identity.
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Agree Artful. There are also reports of a substantial lack of cohesion between Shoop and his defensive assistant coaches (not saying it was Shoops fault) especially with Martinez. Something(s) were definitely wrong given how awful our defense was last season.
 
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#32
#32
gunner said:
Nothing on Dillion Bates?
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Too much Denise Conrad genes...

not enough Bill Bates genes...

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#36
#36
KBVol said:
Agree Artful. There are also reports of a substantial lack of cohesion between Shoop and his defensive assistant coaches (not saying it was Shoops fault) especially with Martinez. Something(s) were definitely wrong given how awful our defense was last season.
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Makes sense that Shoop would clash with the DB coach, considering that is his specific level of expertise. Hopefully Warren is the answer. I like him so far.
 
#38
#38
volnbama_ said:
Berry was 4th string behind Sapp
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Sapp was bracketed as second team with McDowell behind JRM but he tore his ACL the first game...coming out of last spring he was referred to as the "next JRM." I really hope he is back to full speed by fall. McDowell played with a lot of heart but I think Sapp has better instincts.
 
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#40
#40
Darth_Shiveman said:
I swear the exaggeration of our (admittedly bad) injury situation gets worse every week.

A year or two from now people will be saying our defense was composed mainly of players from the top intramural flag football team from fall 2016
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That's about the level of play from Alabama through Vandy games.
 
#41
#41
The Artful Dodger said:
Makes sense that Shoop would clash with the DB coach, considering that is his specific level of expertise. Hopefully Warren is the answer. I like him so far.
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Me too regarding Warren.

I will say this though, quick sidebar. Last year when I was critical of Shoop, a lot of posters got upset, used the excuse that "Shoop didn't have his guys, couldn't bring any coaches with him, that was the problem".

So Martinez was cut loose, which was the right decision, so I surely figured that Shoop would go get one of "his guys" maybe from Penn State, or somebody he has previously worked with. So we hire Warren (which sure looks like an excellent hire), so I figured that it was Shoop's call, probably had a connection with him, likely worked with him in the past..........and then I heard Shoop interviewed last week and heard him literally say "I had no idea who Charlton Warren was" (before we hired him), I couldn't help but crack up. Priceless. So much for that excuse.

That said, Martinez was evidently addition by subtraction and Warren looks like a significant upgrade. Hopeful that last year's defense under Shoop was an awful, one-off anomaly and that we see huge improvement this season.
 
#42
#42
Sarms58 said:
Sapp was bracketed as second team with McDowell behind JRM but he tore his ACL the first game...coming out of last spring he was referred to as the "next JRM." I really hope he is back to full speed by fall. McDowell played with a lot of heart but I think Sapp has better instincts.
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Sapp hurt his knee in the Ohio game (the 3rd game) on the kickoff return team. McDowell came in for JRM, ahead of Sapp, in the first game and for him again in the Ohio game after JRM hurt his shoulder.
 
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#43
#43
3 games in we will switch to an unprecedented 5-1-5 defense and Colton Jumper will be the only LB that Jones let's Thig and Shoop play.

Calling it now.
 
#44
#44
Slowrunnertn said:
Sapp hurt his knee in the Ohio game (the 3rd game) on the kickoff return team. McDowell came in for JRM, ahead of Sapp, in the first game and for him again in the Ohio game after JRM hurt his shoulder.
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Yea....my bad. it was the 3rd game...because we went through the UF, UGa, TAMU and Bama games without JRM, Kirkland and Sapp...and McDowell missed the Bama game as well...so it was only the Bama game where we started "a 4th string" LB...alongside a second string LB..

One thing very positive coming out of this spring is that we'll most likely start with Jumper at #3 inside LB...despite the fact that he improved greatly over the course of the year...we should actually be better at the Mike position...
 
#45
#45
1982Alum said:
The SEC teams will rip our D a new butthole weekly. We will not be all that better than last year and I can only wait for the excuse of the Year for 2017 on why Butch's team disappoints yet again.
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Exhibit a, of why he ended it. We all ignored the tell tale signs.
 
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