Tim Banks comments on defensive performance vs UF (2022)

[DaddyChad]

Banks is in Denial. "The fact that Florida totally disrespected our Defense by going for it on 4th Down inside their own 30 and making it along with every 4th down and 3rd and long is inconsequential." "We won, didn't we?" I've never heard a Coach totally shun responsibility like that. Start teaching fundamentals; Mr Banks. Like Tackling. Worst tackling I've seen since Alabama's Calvin Culliver ran roughshod over the Vols.

We had a lot of calls that were right but our players just didn’t execute properly. I can think of two plays where the defender had AR dead in the backfield but fell at his feet instead. I’ll agree with you on the tackling it’s pitiful. Really think with some talent in the secondary this is a totally different defense.

 

[JohnWardForever]

Thanks for sharing to clear this up.....but back to the original question about people on the fence about Banks from the start...it was due to lack of experience in that role at a high level and people (rightfully so) argued UT needed someone seasoned enough to lead a defense in the toughest league in college football.

Nah. Banks can just learn on the job. I think UT woulda been better served with Banks in his former role as "CO-DC". But wth do I know? I just saw 5 missed tackles on a TD catch and run that should have been stopped dead.

 

[McDad]

Thanks for sharing to clear this up.....but back to the original question about people on the fence about Banks from the start...it was due to lack of experience in that role at a high level and people (rightfully so) argued UT needed someone seasoned enough to lead a defense in the toughest league in college football.

Well, you didn't get your way. Your argument was for naught.
I'm looking forward to continued improvement in our D as the season progresses.

 

[DaddyChad]

I land on Richardson having an amazing game more than our D is the worst ever. I remember Dobbs made defenses look foolish. Adrian Martinez just made Oklahoma look inept. It happens, sometimes.

He was good but there were plenty of throws that hung up there and would’ve been broken up or intercepted agains a better secondary. We just do not have the speed or athleticism at the position right now.

 

[bpalmer28]

Thanks for sharing to clear this up.....but back to the original question about people on the fence about Banks from the start...it was due to lack of experience in that role at a high level and people (rightfully so) argued UT needed someone seasoned enough to lead a defense in the toughest league in college football.

Personally, I was critical of the hire at first but was quick to eat crow last year when our defense far exceeded my own expectations at every level of the D. This year we are missing playmakers in the secondary, a void left by Theo Jackson and Alontae Taylor. We’ll be fine with better DBs, IMO, but it’s on Banks and Martinez to find them.. no excuses if the talent isn’t there in year 3, especially with NIL and the transfer portal being what it is.

 

[Gladiator1]

“stats don’t always tell the story”…….bet if his group was playing lights out they would

I guess I wasted a college major if stats don't matter.

 

[madbamahater]

Banks is in Denial. "The fact that Florida totally disrespected our Defense by going for it on 4th Down inside their own 30 and making it along with every 4th down and 3rd and long is inconsequential." "We won, didn't we?" I've never heard a Coach totally shun responsibility like that. Start teaching fundamentals; Mr Banks. Like Tackling. Worst tackling I've seen since Alabama's Calvin Culliver ran roughshod over the Vols.

This in bold.....basically it was UF saying yall suck on defense and can't stop us so we will go for it on 4th and 20 from our own 1 yard line.....this is basically saying that....

 

[McDad]

He was good but there were plenty of throws that hung up there and would’ve been broken up or intercepted agains a better secondary. We just do not have the speed or athleticism at the position right now.

Are you able to quantify "plenty of throws"?

 

[bpalmer28]

We had a lot of calls that were right but our players just didn’t execute properly. I can think of two plays where the defender had AR dead in the backfield but fell at his feet instead. I’ll agree with you on the tackling it’s pitiful. Really think with some talent in the secondary this is a totally different defense.

Same

 

[swampfoxfan]

We are close to a season and half from the low point of the UT Vols history. Why can’t be Georgia good by now? Someone has to suck ! It’s vol nation after all!!
I mean from 3 wins to 13 wins shouldn’t take more than 2 seasons , right??
LOL!!

This

 

[BigALWiLson]

I've noticed Tim Banks seems to have been on a very short leash with VN posters since day one. Is there a backstory with Banks and UT Vols, or something? I completely understand wanting better performance but I feel like he's been on the outs even before the first snap last year.

What gives?

The concept for our Defense Saturday was to stop the run and make AR15 be accurate with his passing. We turned the ball over twice and had a 3 score lead with 5 minutes to go. He can tell his young guys what they need to know without publicly blasting them. The coach did it right, we won and telling media basically they are idiots and what matters is winning and losing at the end of the day. You will never see a perfect game. AR did a good job of throwing the ball where he needed to, if you can't see the guy has talent thats on you and he will be drafted. UF also has a solid OL. I dunno how any of you expect the secondary to be that much better right now. There is not a lot to work with in that group, it is honestly the weakness of the team and has been for much longer than the last two seasons

 

[GordonC]

Personally, I was critical of the hire at first but was quick to eat crow last year when our defense far exceeded my own expectations at every level of the D. This year we are missing playmakers in the secondary, a void left by Theo Jackson and Alontae Taylor. We’ll be fine with better DBs, IMO, but it’s on Banks and Martinez to find them.. no excuses if the talent isn’t there in year 3, especially with NIL and the transfer portal being what it is.

Was last year "year 0" or "year 1"?

 

[DaddyChad]

Are you able to quantify "plenty of throws"?

Two that for sure should’ve been broken on and picked off. Hard to know the issue when you can see the whole field but a safety should’ve been there on one of his long completions that was in the air forever.

 

[joevols89]

Are you trying to say that Alex Golesh isn't really an offensive coordinator because he has /TE after the OC? Come on, that's just silly. Coordinators often also coach a position group.

As for Co-DC, that can mean many things. It can mean that he's really the main dude, and the other guy is an understudy. It can mean the opposite. Or it can mean anything in between.

I certainly don't know Penn State's situation from 2016 through 2020 well enough to explain how much in the lead role Tim Banks was. Can you? Do you have sources?

He wasn’t calling plays on defense at Penn State.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Realistically the only stat that matters with this defense is turnovers. If we give our offense extra scoring opportunities we likely win no matter how much yardage we surrender.

Yah, that's a huge part of the "breaking serve" perspective of modern football. You can break serve by forcing three-and-out (or, in Florida's case, four-and-out, lol). Or you can take the ball away from them with a turnover.

Which helps explain by we saw Charles, I think it was, completely disregard tackling the receiver running down the sideline with the ball, not once but two different times, instead trying to punch the ball out. The TV commentators talked about how bad the tackling was, but I just had to laugh. Because there was no tackling, just trying to strip the ball.

Honestly, it surprises me we don't try on-side kicks at least once or twice a game. Because that is the ultimate "breaking serve" move. Don't even let their offense take the field, steal it before they even can. Heh. Fits perfectly with this philosophy.

Go Vols!

 

[madbamahater]

Nah. Banks can just learn on the job. I think UT woulda been better served with Banks in his former role as "CO-DC". But wth do I know? I just saw 5 missed tackles on a TD catch and run that should have been stopped dead.

and you wanted to keep cornbread to learn on the job, right? Because, dropped balls and missed blocking assignments weren't cornbread's fault, right?

 

[GordonC]

Yah, that's a huge part of the "breaking serve" perspective of modern football. You can break serve by forcing three-and-out (or, in Florida's case, four-and-out, lol). Or you can take the ball away from them with a turnover.

Which helps explain by we saw Charles, I think it was, completely disregard tackling the receiver running down the sideline with the ball, not once but two different times, instead trying to punch the ball out. The TV commentators talked about how bad the tackling was, but I just had to laugh. Because there was no tackling, just trying to strip the ball.

Honestly, it surprises me we don't try on-side kicks at least once or twice a game. Because that is the ultimate "breaking serve" move. Don't even let their offense take the field, steal it before they even can. Heh. Fits perfectly with this philosophy.

Go Vols!

It was Hadden

 

[McDad]

Two that for sure should’ve been broken on and picked off. Hard to know the issue when you can see the whole field but a safety should’ve been there on one of his long completions that was in the air forever.

Two, at minimum, out of how many attempts?

I'm not trying to be argumentative. Improvement is needed. I think there is overall improvement since last year. But we lost great talent from our DBs last year, too.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

It was Hadden

Thanks. Couldn't remember.

 

[joevols89]

Simple.

The strategy was to NOT allow the QB to run all over UT's defense.

Well that wasn’t working. So probably need to adjust on the fly at some point I would think.

 

[Stephen Gray]

Defense has been getting better, so that’s the most important thing, and a big plus. Also I understand not wanting to publicly put a bunch of blame on particular position groups and players. That said I didn’t like what he said about the defense being fine. He did note that improvements could be made but it was more an after thought. The comments as a whole really seem to come off as either something to be worried about or as dishonest. Would have rather heard that we are making big strides, I like the way our players have bought in and how they have been practicing, but there are many areas that we can improve, must improve, and will improve. Better message imho.

 

[tbh]

Hopefully Saturday's performance was a wake-up call, not just to Banks, but the guys in the secondary as well. With a bye week heading into what will be a street fight at LSU, I can't help but hope and believe that there will be some corrections made on the practice field and in the film room. The offense is playing lights-out, and the defense needs to help them out even if it's an extra couple of stops to create some breathing room.

 

[DaddyChad]

Yah, that's a huge part of the "breaking serve" perspective of modern football. You can break serve by forcing three-and-out (or, in Florida's case, four-and-out, lol). Or you can take the ball away from them with a turnover.

Which helps explain by we saw Charles, I think it was, completely disregard tackling the receiver running down the sideline with the ball, not once but two different times, instead trying to punch the ball out. The TV commentators talked about how bad the tackling was, but I just had to laugh. Because there was no tackling, just trying to strip the ball.

Honestly, it surprises me we don't try on-side kicks at least once or twice a game. Because that is the ultimate "breaking serve" move. Don't even let their offense take the field, steal it before they even can. Heh. Fits perfectly with this philosophy.

Go Vols!

This is what I’ve noticed with Burrell having these huge cushions as well. He’s playing to not get beat every play. I think we know we can’t run with a lot of teams wrs. Burrell is a lot better when teams get in the red zone. Some will give him crap every play like the Pitt game but one of those tds he had great position on the wr. I think we’re just betting that eventually someone will fumble or have a pass sail. We’re still just not talented enough at CB and S for them to trust this defense.

 

[JohnWardForever]

and you wanted to keep cornbread to learn on the job, right? Because, dropped balls and missed blocking assignments weren't cornbread's fault, right?

WHAT? Put that bottle down hoss. You digress. I always said that Pruitt was a country idiot that learned to cheat from Saban.

 

[DaddyChad]

Two, at minimum, out of how many attempts?

I'm not trying to be argumentative. Improvement is needed. I think there is overall improvement since last year. But we lost great talent from our DBs last year, too.

Idk but how much would even one additional INT have changed the game? I’m not saying Richardson didn’t have a great game but some of the throws he made just wouldn’t happen against some more talented secondaries.