The onside kick

[GVol1966]

I like the call, it should have worked. We had the numbers, that is the best time to call a onsides when nobody is expecting it and you have the numbers. We just got unlucky but it wasn't a bad call, he was trying to get us some mojo right there. Our defense held there also. GBO!!!!!

The call was good! We didn’t get “unlucky “
The player that was supposed to block the UF player like he did when they practiced it decided that he should go for the ball during the game. Just another missed assignment that this team seems to excel in

 

[GVol1966]

Exactly this. The onside kick was simply a rookie head coach mistake. Pruitt will be making these all year long. I can live with these mistakes. This is small stuff compared to the disorganized state our team is in. Pruitt needs to give up the DC duties so he can focus on leading this team.

Your wrong and maybe need to get the facts before you make statements like this.
It’s something they practice, called when they had a definite advantage, and 1 player did not do his job.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

That was a great call. 4 orange jerseys around the 1 Florida guy and our guys cannot make the play. But hey, lets blame the coaches for the players not making a simple play YET AGAIN.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Blue font??

Nope. The guy thinks absolutely everything that goes wrong on a football field is due to coaching.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Really good onside kick too but there is always a 50/50 chance you dont get it.... you can say the player didn't execute all you want but the chances are what they are.

Terribly early in the game to do this and really not necessary.... our defense was playing well when we weren't giving them a short field much better to kick there, hold and get the ball back instead of digging a deeper hole. The consequences were a direct result of the head coaches decision. Dont blame the players... if the players made the right plays all the time, whats the use of the coaches being around on game day, it's a give and take.

I can see your point and would agree but. UF wasnt planning on the onsides. They werent lined up with their hands tesm to receive. We had 4, yes 4 guys and UF had 1. Thats not even close to 50/50 odds.

The players are 100% to blame for that play. They practiced it. They knew their assignments and what they were supposed to,do. They did not execute the play. The kick was set up and executed to perfection. The fact is, none of the 4 guys around the ball could make the play. That should have been an easy recovery fir us.

 

[volfannbama]

I didn't mind the on side kick. Sure the players failed to execute. That tends to be a trend on this team, players failing to execute. Consistently failing to execute is a symptom of a poorly coached team isnt it?

I do think the call was made more out of desperation but I dont think that really matters much.

 

[PelhamUT]

I've seen a lot of posters bashing Pruitt for the onside kick call. I happen to think it was a perfect call at the perfect moment. The players didnt execute. Exhibit A:



As you can see, every player around the ball is watching the ball. Someone, not sure which one, is supposed to be blocking the 1 guy from UF around the ball. If that 1 guy does his job and blocks him instead of trying to go up and get the ball and be a hero, its UT ball and we probably even return that one a few yards, if not for a TD.

Great call, 1 player not doing what he was supposed to do ruined it. Players. Have. To. Execute.

There are many more instances of poor execution in this game.

It was the very first thing I said while the play was happening, "hit the Florida guy"!! It was ours for the taking if done right. I like the aggressive play called, it was the right time AEB everyone was caught off guard. Just didn't execute as taught.

 

[Russdaddy2027]

Pruitt was smart enough to know that he needed a big momentum shift and that his roster was full of cupcakes, he wanted a chance to get the Posterboard millennials to actually participate, great call at great time, kids lack the talent, discipline, and cerebral capacity to execute. I bet Banks would not have blown that blocking assignment!!

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

I didn't mind the on side kick. Sure the players failed to execute. That tends to be a trend on this team, players failing to execute. Consistently failing to execute is a symptom of a poorly coached team isnt it?

I do think the call was made more out of desperation but I dont think that really matters much.

So if you coach something over and over again yet the players dont execute, then when does the players accept blame? Why are some fans just completely against holding players accountable?

 

[volfannbama]

So if you coach something over and over again yet the players dont execute, then when does the players accept blame? Why are some fans just completely against holding players accountable?

I dont mean for that one play, I mean the whole mess. For instance if I teach a group of kids something and one kid messes it up, its probably that kid. If all the kids are jacked up the problem might be me.

Right know nearly all the kids are jacked up.

 

[rocketskates]

I think there were like 6 Vols to 1 Gator and we still didn’t get it. The playcall was right and the players were in position.

 

[BreatheUT]

I've seen a lot of posters bashing Pruitt for the onside kick call. I happen to think it was a perfect call at the perfect moment. The players didnt execute. Exhibit A:



As you can see, every player around the ball is watching the ball. Someone, not sure which one, is supposed to be blocking the 1 guy from UF around the ball. If that 1 guy does his job and blocks him instead of trying to go up and get the ball and be a hero, its UT ball and we probably even return that one a few yards, if not for a TD.

Great call, 1 player not doing what he was supposed to do ruined it. Players. Have. To. Execute.

There are many more instances of poor execution in this game.

Nailed it!

 

[m1al]

I didn't mind the on side kick. Sure the players failed to execute. That tends to be a trend on this team, players failing to execute. Consistently failing to execute is a symptom of a poorly coached team isnt it?

I do think the call was made more out of desperation but I dont think that really matters much.

NOT desperation. Somebody on the staff (prolly in the booth) saw what UF's return team was giving them and Pruitt made the call..

Damn good call IMO.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

I dont mean for that one play, I mean the whole mess. For instance if I teach a group of kids something and one kid messes it up, its probably that kid. If all the kids are jacked up the problem
might be me.

Right know nearly all the kids are jacked up.

Ok let's use an analogy like you did. So say you are a new teacher and you inherited a class of kids. Now, you do everything in your power to teach them but the vast majority just still don't get it. It's not your methods, it's much more likely your students aren't doing their fair share of work.

I really don't understand why you struggle so hard with these simple concepts. Regardless if you like it or not, football is NOT all coaching. Especially in college.

 

[SandoVOL]

The onside kick was called because Florida was backing too early according to Pruitt, which means they learned that from scouting previous games, which means it wasn't a desperation call at all, it was most likely part of the game plan. Players just have to do their jobs and the momentum could have really picked up for us.

"It’s something we’ve been looking at for a couple weeks, creating an edge in the kicking game. We felt like their guys left early. They had three guys over there, we had four."

 

[volfannbama]

Ok let's use an analogy like you did. So say you are a new teacher and you inherited a class of kids. Now, you do everything in your power to teach them but the vast majority just still don't get it. It's not your methods, it's much more likely your students aren't doing their fair share of work.

I really don't understand why you struggle so hard with these simple concepts. Regardless if you like it or not, football is NOT all coaching. Especially in college.

Yeah, it's really not a difficult concept. Pruitt makes a lot of money to be responsible, doesnt matter who likes it or not.

 

[ProudVOLfan]

Nope. The guy thinks absolutely everything that goes wrong on a football field is due to coaching.

Sad.. How hard is it to attack the ball? Anyone that thinks players not being able to come down with an onside kick when there is 5 of them and 1 of the opposing player is the coaches fault then I really dont know what to say to them. At what point is it the players fault?

 

[Gandalf]

I love that call. Its a winners mindset. You can tell Pruitt is used to coaching winners. You put your guys in a position to get the ball back and trust them to do their jobs. There is no desperation in that call, its sheer aggression. They simply saw that Florida had no respect and was backing early in punts and decided to call the play they had practiced to catch them off guard. Totally GREAT in-game call. You do it whether you are way behind or nearly even. Its unexpected and it makes your opponent always have to think what if, same as having a long ball to open up the run.

The difference is that losers are always thinking "what if I dont make it?!?" while winners find a way to take advantage of opportunities on the field. Sadly, we have "winner" coaches but not so many "winner" players yet.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Yeah, it's really not a difficult concept. Pruitt makes a lot of money to be responsible, doesnt matter who likes it or not.

So players have zero accountability?

 

[cHiZzLeVOL]

I've seen a lot of posters bashing Pruitt for the onside kick call. I happen to think it was a perfect call at the perfect moment. The players didnt execute. Exhibit A:



As you can see, every player around the ball is watching the ball. Someone, not sure which one, is supposed to be blocking the 1 guy from UF around the ball. If that 1 guy does his job and blocks him instead of trying to go up and get the ball and be a hero, its UT ball and we probably even return that one a few yards, if not for a TD.

Great call, 1 player not doing what he was supposed to do ruined it. Players. Have. To. Execute.

There are many more instances of poor execution in this game.

You can't return onside kicks in college.....

Edit: No one else caught this but me? The OP said we could have returned it for a couple of yards or a TD..... (It's a deadball in college)

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Sad.. How hard is it to attack the ball? Anyone that thinks players not being able to come down with an onside kick when there is 5 of them and 1 of the opposing player is the coaches fault then I really dont know what to say to them. At what point is it the players fault?

Completely agree. Thats my point. For some reason some people just cannot understand that players have to execute the coaches plans. Yes coaches are to blame. But so are the players.

 

[wmcovol]

Saban did it the first kick of the game Vols in 2007.

Not that crazy of call. He wasn’t already 11 pts down and he had an entire game to catch up if it didn’t work. Last, Saban didn’t “need” to win that game to prove his value. Hell, he lost every game after Tennessee that yr I believe including ULM but still rolled in a huge recruiting class. Miss Mary or whoever Saban is married to is more important to Saban success as Jeremy Pruitt was. Pruitt needs to prove to recruits he can be a HEAD coach. He’s failed two tests miserably

 

[Advol]

Completely agree. Thats my point. For some reason some people just cannot understand that players have to execute the coaches plans. Yes coaches are to blame. But so are the players.

I am confused..………….."people JUST cannot understand that players have to execute the coaches plan. Yes coaches are to blame?? But so are players.

The coaches called for an onside kick. The players did NOT execute. It is not the coaches fault to blame. Like most plays, if it works its great. If it doesn't it sux and is stupid.

But I do believe we have stumbled onto something here. You can fire the coaches. But if the players DONOT start executing the plays called, it aint gonna be pretty. Truth be known, I am not sure these players, especially the lines can execute. They are that bad. So who is the BLAME for that?
That has been beat to death and we probably wont agree totally who is to blame nor how long it will take to correct it.
It appears the Coaching Staff has figured that out and I believe they are as frustrated as we are.

 

[cHiZzLeVOL]

Yeah, it's really not a difficult concept. Pruitt makes a lot of money to be responsible, doesnt matter who likes it or not.

That might be. However, even in High School on an Onside Kick you are told to attack the player first and then the ball. You usually have specific people actually dedicated to hitting the opposing player catching and the person actually attacking the ball.

Which is what this play seemed to be dialed up to do. These young kids didn't execute and that's on them.

 

[volfannbama]

So players have zero accountability?

So said anything about players having zero avcountability? Im not sure why the concept is so hard to understand. Individual players are accountable for their performance. If they fail to perform coaches should deal with that in the most effective way they can. The head coach holds overall responsibility for the teams performance as a whole. Right now the team as a whole has not performed well at all,.so pruitt is ultimately responsible. How is this not common sense?