Which duo would you take for a season?

[VolPack22]

Lol well...they were very beatable uga teams too and he didn't have to try and outscore a Mullen UF team either.

Not comparable.

The stats are the stats and Hooker (thanks to this offense too) is superior passing...by quite a bit. Dobbs takes it as a runner.

Overall, it's hard to compare because of schemes...I'll just say give me Hooker in this offense over Dobbs and that scheme.

The wins and losses vs our most hated rivals are what truly matters. Dobbs has the only two wins against Georgia since 2009 and the only win against Florida since 2004. He won the 2015 game against Florida too if not for the worst defensive play in our recent history. You can poo poo on those victories all you want but he’s the only QB that’s gotten it done in the past decade+ against those teams. Everyone knows the deal with Alabama but his team in 2015 played Alabama closer than any team since 2009. I love Hooker and I am ecstatic that we have him, but my God people just really don’t care about winning anymore. Our biggest victory last season was a nail biter against Kentucky.

Not comparable.

 

[BucksnortVol]

I went with Dobbs/Jennings. Nobody that's ever played for UT as a receiver wanted the ball more while it was in the air than JJ. Nobody.

I like what you have to say about Jennings' "dawg" factor. But, I go back a (very) long way and would put Johnny Mills in there too. Like Jennings, you were going to have physically restrain Mills to keep him from the ball. Neither had great, good but not great, QBs throwing to them. Neither had top speed. But both had that intangible laser focus and an unstoppable will to win.

 

[LAVol1]

I think we can all agree that Hendon and Tillman are proving to be quite the reliable connection so I don’t want anyone to mistake this as a diss to anyone. It’s more of a random thought I had after just rewatching the Dobbs Nail Boot and I wanted to know what other Vol fans thought.

So if you could only have 1 duo for a season which would you choose?

*There is no wrong answer*

I voted Dobbs/Jennings because I really like the leadership both displayed. Breaking it down, the offensive weapons Dobbs had (Kamara, Hurd, Jennings, Malone, Pearson, Smith, Wolfe) was far better than what Hooker has. However, Hooker has an offensive genius as a HC and a staff that gets the most from players' talent. Tough choice. Glad we had/have them both.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

Dobbs waa great, but I think Hooker is a slightly better passer.

And Dobbs is a much better runner. I would like Dobbs and Tillman.

 

[Panthro]

I’m interviewing Tillman tomorrow for the HOUSE OF SPORT Podcast. I’m going to ask him to make his case for this poll.

Update: I told him about this poll and he gave a real answer. The pod drops on Tuesday. It's with Tillman and James from Spyre.

 

[Rocky Top T]

Dobbs had no coach! Take Jennings over anybody!! Dobbs is better, wish Heupel had him!

 

[RDU VOL#14]

The wins and losses vs our most hated rivals are what truly matters. Dobbs has the only two wins against Georgia since 2009 and the only win against Florida since 2004. He won the 2015 game against Florida too if not for the worst defensive play in our recent history. You can poo poo on those victories all you want but he’s the only QB that’s gotten it done in the past decade+ against those teams. Everyone knows the deal with Alabama but his team in 2015 played Alabama closer than any team since 2009. I love Hooker and I am ecstatic that we have him, but my God people just really don’t care about winning anymore. Our biggest victory last season was a nail biter against Kentucky.

Not comparable.

I don’t think the teams are equal. There are 20 other guys out there. The sample size for Hooker and Tillman are much smaller. One team had Derek Barnett and Alvin Kamara, the other doesn’t. It’s not apples to apples.

 

[VolPack22]

I don’t think the teams are equal. There are 20 other guys out there. The sample size for Hooker and Tillman are much smaller. One team had Derek Barnett and Alvin Kamara, the other doesn’t. It’s not apples to apples.

The two games I referenced against Georgia, Dobbs had 686 total yards and 9 total touchdowns. The two games against Florida, he had 676 total yards and 6 total touchdowns. That is elite for any football player throughout history but people continue to not give him his proper respect. But yeah I guess Barnett and Kamara can have credit too, although Kamara barely had any touches against Florida due to mismanagement from Butch Jones. 8 touches in 2015 and a laughable 3 touches in 2016. Barnett only had 1 sack in the 2015 games against those teams, although 2016 was a different story with him combining for 4 total sacks.

 

[BigOrangePaddy]

I think we can all agree that Hendon and Tillman are proving to be quite the reliable connection so I don’t want anyone to mistake this as a diss to anyone. It’s more of a random thought I had after just rewatching the Dobbs Nail Boot and I wanted to know what other Vol fans thought.

So if you could only have 1 duo for a season which would you choose?

*There is no wrong answer*

Love Hendon and Tilman but Dobbs and Jennings were freakin special imo. Jennings was just as responsible as whooping Florida in 2016 as Dobbs was. I dunno.....lets see Hooker and Tilman in year two before making that decision.

 

[BigOrangePaddy]

Hooker with a mediocre coach at Va Tech had a just ok career prior to being coached by Heupel. Tillman did virtually nothing prior to Heupel.
Dobbs and Jennings became TN legends under Butch (and Pruitt, in JJ’s case)

No hate to Hooker and Tillman, glad they’re here, but for me it’s no contest. Dobbs and JJ

Also, i feel like Dobbs is more clutch overall. Hooker has only had one year here so ill reserve judgement, but i felt like he underperformed against our biggest rivals overall last year.... especially UGA.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

The two games I referenced against Georgia, Dobbs had 686 total yards and 9 total touchdowns. The two games against Florida, he had 676 total yards and 6 total touchdowns. That is elite for any football player throughout history but people continue to not give him his proper respect. But yeah I guess Barnett and Kamara can have credit too, although Kamara barely had any touches against Florida due to mismanagement from Butch Jones. 8 touches in 2015 and a laughable 3 touches in 2016. Barnett only had 1 sack in the 2015 games against those teams, although 2016 was a different story with him combining for 4 total sacks.

I love Dobbs. One of my all time favorites, and a great ambassador for our school.Dobbs did play well in those games, no question about it, but I was just making the point that it doesnt always fall squarely on the quarterbacks shoulders. Tee Martin isn’t a better quarterback than Peyton Manning because Tennessee beat Florida when he was the starter. Trent Dilfer isn’t a better quarterback than Dan Marino because he won a super bowl.

 

[VolPack22]

I love Dobbs. One of my all time favorites, and a great ambassador for our school.Dobbs did play well in those games, no question about it, but I was just making the point that it doesnt always fall squarely on the quarterbacks shoulders. Tee Martin isn’t a better quarterback than Peyton Manning because Tennessee beat Florida when he was the starter. Trent Dilfer isn’t a better quarterback than Dan Marino because he won a super bowl.

I don’t disagree with that. Whenever comparing athletes, winning shouldn’t be the only thing to look at but whenever overall stats are comparable between two athletes, winning is the ultimate tiebreaker. Statistically, Tee Martin and Trent Dilfer are not in the same stratosphere as Peyton and Marino, so there’s no argument to be had there. Plus you could just use the eye test and see who the better QBs were. Martin and Dilfer were game managers. Peyton and Marino were game changers. Hooker and Dobbs are very similar players, so winning should be looked at as the deciding factor imo. That’s why I said if Hooker takes down 2 out of the Big 3 then I would gladly change my vote. Alternatively, I would consider voting Hooker if he beats 1 big rival and LSU since we haven’t beaten them since 2005. Especially with it being in Death Valley. That would be something to hang your hat on.

 

[Proud Army Wife]

I had to think about this for a minute. Hooker and Tillman are more polished but Dobbs and JJ put games on their shoulders therefore my pick right now is the later. Though I’m interested to see how a 2nd season under this offense pans out for Hooker and Tillman.

 

[Panthro]

Here's a link to the episode: Making Memories - House of Sport
It's available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google...really wherever you listen to podcasts.
I believe it's right around the 25 minute mark. You'll hear me bring up this poll to Cedric Tillman and give him the opportunity to state his case.

 

[peaygolf]

Jordan and Pippen
vs
LeBron and Wade

 

[bpalmer28]

I never considered JJ a "great" WR but I've never seen anyone compete so hard in my life. I picked Hooker/Tillman but the competitiveness of Jennings alone made this a very hard choice.