Vols offense looked at as gimmick

#28

peaygolf

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#28
Spurrier's offense wasn't gimmicky and I never heard anyone describe it as such. It was simply very effective because he knew how to scheme
a passing game and, when he started at Florida, the SEC was still very run oriented. Nobody had the DBs to stop Florida--certainly including us.

Teams will adjust to our fast style--there's no question about that. But style, at the end of the day, rarely wins or loses games. If we have
good players, are coached well and execute, we'll score points and win. If we don't--if our OL isn't great or the QB is mediocre, etc.--then playing
fast isn't going to help us much.
The "Fun n Gun" was thought of as a gimmick and some thought UF could never win a NC with it. They consistently were beaten by more physical teams.............until '96
 
#29

GregAmsler

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#29
Spurrier's offense wasn't gimmicky and I never heard anyone describe it as such. It was simply very effective because he knew how to scheme
a passing game and, when he started at Florida, the SEC was still very run oriented. Nobody had the DBs to stop Florida--certainly including us.

Teams will adjust to our fast style--there's no question about that. But style, at the end of the day, rarely wins or loses games. If we have
good players, are coached well and execute, we'll score points and win. If we don't--if our OL isn't great or the QB is mediocre, etc.--then playing
fast isn't going to help us much.
Gimmick is a stupid term for out-scheming your opponent. Spurrier did that. So does Heupel.
 
#31

Dadof2Vols

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#31
If it is such an easy gimmick to run and win with that I guess there are a 123 other Div 1 coaches with too high moral and values to run it and win with the exception of course being Dabo who will attempt it next year!
 
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#34

driscokid

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#34
Opposing fans think it's a gimmick but opposing coaches know it's not and struggle to defend it. It's also a tired narrative that all this offense does is go fast and chuck the ball down the field. It's much more than that and starts with the run game. If it's such a gimmick then why has UT been one of the top teams in total offense two years in a row? Also, I want opposing fan bases to hate us again. Maybe that's returning.
Agree. The deep passes get the highlights but it is a heavily run based offense with a Spurrier like coach that really knows how to call some plays based on scheme and matchups
 
#36

PYSCHO

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#36
Gimmick is a stupid term for out-scheming your opponent. Spurrier did that. So does Heupel.
when you can not stop it, it is called a gimmick. So I guess this gimmick gets your teams ass kicked. If it continues it is not called a gimmick anymore it is called a problem. SEC going to have to solve the problem. Good luck
 
#37

WaywardVol

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#37
If you're a Tennessee Vols fan who's spent even a little bit of time on social media in the last six months, you've likely seen plenty of opposing fan bases throwing shade at Josh Heupel's offense.
For reasons I don't understand, there's a narrative that Tennessee's offense just throws the ball deep down the field and does little else. Vols fans know that's nowhere close to being the case.


https://atozsports.com/nashville/tennessee-vols-news-false-heupel-ut-football
Tempo is a gimmick. But, if it were that easy, everyone would do it. Heupel has incorporated a lot of elements around this to get the matchups and breakdowns in coverage he wants. I expect him to constantly tweak and evolve the offense. There were times last year where I thought they backed off in tempo, but the threat of it being there forced the defenses hand.
 
#38

Sarms58

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#38
Heupel’s offense is basic football. The gimmick (if you want to call it that) is they don’t huddle and get set to snap the ball as fast as humanly possible. This requires some real discipline - especially for the offensive linemen - and a good understanding of all the options available from each formation By the backs and receivers. And of course, the most important ingredient is a quick thinking QB who reads the D and recognizes the best options. But we run mostly basic plays.

Some coaches complain but what they are really saying is that they are unable to field a D that is capable getting set up quickly and not get confused. They also haven’t built a D that play more than 3 or 4 snaps without substituting. That’s especially tough on the Saban type defensive coaches because their D involves subbing 3 or 4 guys on pretty much every down (based on down and distance). A couple of teams we played this year played out O pretty well. Obviously Georgia shut us down but few can match their roster talent and they were able to get tremendous pressure on our QB. Even with their talent, I think we could wear them down and create some busted coverages if only we could string together some consecutive first downs. Maybe next year in Neyland we can do that. Pittsburgh did better than most - not sure how much was them or just early season jitters on our part.
 
#40

BigOrangeTrain

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#40
Can someone please explain how an offense that’s designed to get its playmakers open is a gimmicky offense? Now if we are talking about the NFL? Fine. Heupels offense would be dead in the water. But in college? I guess it’s so gimmicky that Clemson wants to emulate it 😂😂😂😂😂
 
#41

VolsFan-TX

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#41
In what specific way? Not being hateful with you but apart from spreading the field more than most (not all)... UT runs the same stuff as everyone else.

Getting to the LOS quickly and having fast tempo at times isn't a "gimmick"... it is common sense. Most focus on the idea that it tires a D out. That's not generally true if a team has reasonable depth. They just platoon from series to series. The bigger advantages are that it prevents situational substitution and complicates defensive communication. Again... no gimmick there. Just good ol' horse sense.

PS- UT has a BRUTAL run game under Heupel. They're physical. That wears on D's as much or more than tempo. UT throws deep. UT throws effectively. But they're fundamentally a smash mouth run team. Versus the SEC last fall UT was 3rd in rush ypg, 2nd in rush TDs, and 1st in ypc with UGA and Ole Miss coming next. Nothing they do running the ball is "gimmicky". They line up and hit Ds in the mouth.
Below is an interesting video explaining some of the offense in year 1 for Josh at UT. The design is a little unique and does appear to be QB-friendly. They run the ball a lot, but the passing game has been designed to make the reads very quick and easy. Is it gimmicky? IDK, they go at warp speed many times, but that is designed to set up mismatches and create opportunities. I like the offense and think that year 2 was more detailed and different than year 1. As the players mature in the system, Josh can add more sophistication to the system. This is no different than what every coach does.

Many NFL reporters said that Mahomes would not make in the NFL for the same reason and he has been extremely successful. The offense at TX Tech was stated by many to be gimmicky, but the style produced a terrific QB.

 
#44

VOLINVONORE

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#44
If you're a Tennessee Vols fan who's spent even a little bit of time on social media in the last six months, you've likely seen plenty of opposing fan bases throwing shade at Josh Heupel's offense.
For reasons I don't understand, there's a narrative that Tennessee's offense just throws the ball deep down the field and does little else. Vols fans know that's nowhere close to being the case.


https://atozsports.com/nashville/tennessee-vols-news-false-heupel-ut-football
I don’t care how some people look at our offense, but is has gotten a lot of attention from our opponents. I will take it until something better comes along.
 
#46

Frozevol

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#46
They said Spurrier's offense was a gimmick too.

In 2022:

Tennessee was 5th in the SEC in rushing yards, 4th in attempts, and 6th in rush yards per game. It isn't just a passing offense.
A lot of Vols fans said that about UF until they had beat some of our best teams often by large margins. I sure hope we can duplicate their success. One thing that a lot of people don’t remember about those Florida teams is they were really good early on but didn’t win championships until they developed a decent defense to go with the Fun N Gun (hated that moniker btw).
 
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#48

StarRaider

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#48
Spurrier's offense wasn't gimmicky and I never heard anyone describe it as such. It was simply very effective because he knew how to scheme
a passing game and, when he started at Florida, the SEC was still very run oriented. Nobody had the DBs to stop Florida--certainly including us.
This is true, the VOLS were built to beat the gumps when stevie returned to gayturdland... when the team adjusted to beat stevie from gayturdland is when the VOLS won the natty.
 
#49

Volnuck

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#49
If you're a Tennessee Vols fan who's spent even a little bit of time on social media in the last six months, you've likely seen plenty of opposing fan bases throwing shade at Josh Heupel's offense.
For reasons I don't understand, there's a narrative that Tennessee's offense just throws the ball deep down the field and does little else. Vols fans know that's nowhere close to being the case.


https://atozsports.com/nashville/tennessee-vols-news-false-heupel-ut-football
The gimmick brought 11 wins and 2 losses. Those calling our offense a gimmick are probably going 5-6, lol. Clean up your own house, we will take care of the offense on The Hill.
 

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