Tuesday, August 25 practice?

#1
99Vols

99Vols

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#1
Was there practice today? If so, is there an update to what has happened? Thanks.
 
#2
#2
Coverage has really dropped off. Would love updates. Not just post game interviews.
 
#4
#4
All I can find...

I had an opportunity to attend practice today. To give some background, I've had the opportunity to attend practice since somewhere around 1995. John Chavis was the only DC I ever saw, but I went through 4 OC regimes: Cut 1, Randy Sanders, Cut 2 and Clawson. Today was my first opportunity to see the new coaches work.
My overall impression would tend to agree with what other writers and posters have said. There is a definite increase in intensity. The players were in shoulder pads and shorts, but it was pretty darn violent out there a lot of the time. The tempo is definitely faster and there was much more scrimmage type activity and offensive versus defense situational drills than I remember seeing in the past. That may be a difference in the coaching styles, or it may be the time of the year, but there were fewer drills and more playing than what I remember seeing either in spring or fall practices.
As far as coaches go, Lane Kiffin spent 100% of his time on offense. However, Jim Chaney still ran the show. Chaney is a good coach, very demanding but very organized, much like Cutcliffe was. Chaney cusses like a sailor, and some of his oaths were actually quite humorous, but that was certainly a change and not for the young or faint of heart. Monte Kiffin is a teacher, constantly in touch with what was going on in every drill. Orgeron is a mad-man, as most have said. His on field coaching style is much like John Chavis, and he was a blast to watch. I like Eddie Gran a lot. Focused, intense, and very much into every detail of what was going on. He was the most impressive of the position coaches. If this teams shows significant improvement I think it will be because of the special teams, which I expect to be way better. I think one of, if not the biggest mistake Phillip Fulmer made was in his special teams coaching, especially not having a single special teams coach. We will make some plays in special teams. Didn't get much of a feel for the other coaches. Lance Thompson was quieter than I would have imagined, and the other coaches all looked into what they were doing and appeared to be very involved.
Being in shorts it was hard to make too much assessment of the players. I thought Crompton looked pretty good, and Nick Stephens had a nice practice as well. Nick certainly didn't go into a shell after being named 2nd team. That's a good sign. I like Richardson, Teague and Oku. I think they will give us a lot of versatility on offense and allow us to do some different things and scheme people to get favorable match ups. Bryce Brown didn't practice. Gerald Jones was there, not in pads, but he didn't look to be limping and was not wearing a brace. Being an orthopedic surgeon, my assessment was that his injury is not as bad as reported and I think he will play in our first game. Don't hold me to that, but I've seen bad high ankle sprains and it's hard to believe that Gerald's is that bad if the reports of his injury are indeed true.
My other impressions are in line with what others have said. The O-line looks leaner and better. I think the linebackers will be the weak link of the defense. I'm not sure we have the playmakers we have had there. Greg King is running 2nd team and will see the field a lot. Rico and Savion Frazier both played a lot at the will spot.
The secondary looked pretty good. Starters were Art Evans and Anthony Anderson at CB, Rogan and EB at safety. Like others, I was impressed by Mike Edwards at CB, but I got to see a lot of Jackson, Darren Myles, and Eric Gordon and all those guys are nice athletes. I think we're going to be good in the secondary for a while.
I came away thinking that we actually might surprise some people this year. The team is very, very upbeat and practicing hard. I've read some of the other threads about the injuries and practice intensity, and to be honest I can't tell you if the practice tempo has contributed to the injuries or not. Lane is putting his brand on this team, and the intensity is a big part of that. The players look to be buying in, which is critical. I'm looking forward to the season.
Click to expand...

There will be some reports later.
 
#5
#5
thanks Tennessee391, I see you're from Kingsport, I'm from Castlewood, VA, not too far from ya
 
#7
#7
Great assessment and great to hear GJ is not to be as serious. I share your excitement!:D
Almost here boys! Tic Toc!
 
#15
#15
I noticed a lack of guts at the scrimmage also. Kudos to AA for getting these guys in shape.
 
#17
#17
Bryce practiced well Monday. Rumor is he was sick and missed yesterday.

My concern is why is Dan Williams now running second string to a RS Frosh and a Sr with bum knees? Are we resting him, is he injured, or is he just under-performing?

Any update on Vinson would also be nice.
 
#20
#20
tennessee391 said:
All I can find...

...Chaney cusses like a sailor, and some of his oaths were actually quite humorous, but that was certainly a change and not for the young or faint of heart.
Click to expand...

There will be some reports later.
Click to expand...

Well, that answers one of my questions that I had back in November, at least ONE of the coaches cuss. :)
 
Last edited:
#21
#21
tennessee391 said:
All I can find...



There will be some reports later.
Click to expand...

Nice summary. But wait, no mention of a 'Tennessee Drill'!!!!! Are you kidding???? This team is going to suck bricks without the 'Tennessee Drill'!!!:crazy:

Seriously, this practice style sounds closer to the NFL that Falcons' coach Mike Smith talks about where they run a lot of situational plays: 3rd and long; 3rd and short; inside the red zone; inside their own 5 yd, etc. I think that's more effective at this point then a bunch of unit drills which is what I always saw on the limited videos of Vol practices under Fulmer. I'm sure that's the NFL influence at play. This type of practice should have our guys much more prepared to play at full speed. Seems like one of the issues with Fulmer teams is that they never came out of fall camp ready to play, but required a few tune-up games and a FL loss to get things going...too many green shirts and not enough full speed scrimmaging.
 
#25
#25
tennessee391 said:
All I can find...




There will be some reports later.
Click to expand...

"...Gerald Jones was there, not in pads, but he didn't look to be limping and was not wearing a brace. Being an orthopedic surgeon, my assessment was that his injury is not as bad as reported and I think he will play in our first game. Don't hold me to that, but I've seen bad high ankle sprains and it's hard to believe that Gerald's is that bad if the reports of his injury are indeed true."

This might be a bit of a ploy to keep UCLA or Florida guessing if he'll be available or not.
 
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