Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! That is all I can say about how I feel after watching a miserable team performance last night at Neyland Stadium. Last night was just another reminder of where we are as a program at the University of Tennessee. When we needed a play worse would happen. When we needed a defensive stop we give up a big play. When we needed a big offensive play the ball was snapped over our QBs head. When we needed to run 2 yards for the 1st down we didn’t have a snowballs chance. Derek Dooley said when he was hired that he would not be a “sound bite” guy. We all know that is all he has done since he took over and last night may have been his most reasonable statement yet when he said, “we just are not very good”. That is evident after watching this football team play in front of the best crowd in a few years watch the Bulldogs take one right from their grasps.
Offensive Questions:
What were we doing on 1st down? Why are we running the ball into a pile? God bless Tauren Poole, but he is not a SEC back. I know that he was hurt last night and missed the 2nd half, but he danced to the line of scrimmage every time he got the ball and gave the LBs a chance to fill the gaps. We had three weeks to get ready for this game and this is the worst offensive game plan under Cheney. It is hard to throw off on the WRs because they are young, but here is what I see as glaringly obvious. Our passing game is smoke and mirrors. We have a QB who has this incredible arm and when we play teams that don’t matter we look great. In other words we would win the WAC this year! Well that is with a healthy Tyler Bray. Now it will be three and out and a whole bunch of sacks.
Defensive Questions:
This one flat out ticks me off. I will try and not lose it here. Why can we not line up? If you watched this game on TV last night you may have not realized this, but at least 35% of the time in the 1st half our DBs had no idea who they were suppose to cover. When UGA made their 2nd FG the previous play on 3rd and their were two UT DBs pushing one another trying to line up and the slot receiver was wide open Murray just threw one of his many bad passes. UGA came out in a no huddle and that is something they have done all year but we were sending 6-8 men in at a time to substitute and they are lining up to run the next play.
Defensive line play was solid on the run game and it was obvious on the first series that Malik Jackson was playing hurt. He just didn’t look comfortable and the knee brace was glaring. They were able to slow down the run game, but they don’t have the ability to get any pressure on the QB and once again our ends look confused on the end around play. How much does this team miss Janzen Jackson? Our secondary is bad. We are playing with out a free safety. We are running a bend but don’t break defense and all we do is break. Dooley said after the game it “was the same old song” when he referred to their “inability to stop the big plays”.
Special Teams:
Matt Dahr had his best game yet, but his worst punt (1st possession 3rd qtr) led to the turning moment in the game that got us beat. We still have no confidence in the FG range, but Devrin Young is proving that kick returning requires one who knows how to return. He is the first guy I have seen at UT since Terry Fair that has the God given talent to return kicks.
Bright Spots:
To be honest when you lose at home to a SEC divisional team there is nothing good. However there were a few guys worth mentioning.
Our LB play is bad, but Austin Johnson played the best game he has had at UT. Mychal Rivera did and excellent job catching the ball over the middle and getting YAC, while protecting the ball when being hit. Marlin Lane may not be able to run the ball from the RB position, but he can definitely make things happen on the perimeter. Our kick coverage was solid and it was refreshing to see the orange jerseys downing kicks inside the ten.
Coaching:
Terrible job! We had three weeks to prepare and the game plan was pathetic. We tried to run the ball and we wasted plays. Justin Wilcox crazy substitution and line up garbage is ridiculous. No Safety help on the WRs when the ball is on the UGA 10 yard line is asinine. We looked flat and defeated coming out in the 3rd qtr and this team does not have any attitude about them. There is no sense of meanness and swagger. They don’t believe they can win. They were not prepared to win. This team played exactly the way Dooley described this weeks practice reports.
Go Vols
RR
Couldn't agree more. When you have one possession per qtr, you don't have the luxury of time. Yet we think we have to prove something, prove we're man enough to run the ball. Utterly idiotic.
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