My take on the O/W game

#1
OrangeByBirth

OrangeByBirth

Old time Vol
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#1
It is MY opinion ... free and worth every cent of it ... that there have been huge strides since the middle of the 2014 season. Even though there have been some significant injuries this spring/off-season, there seems to be adequate depth at most positions. "Skill" positions look pretty solid although QB experience is shallow. The other positions (I refuse to call them unskilled) clearly have developed based on game experience. Incoming freshmen will still need to contribute but they won't be carrying the load. All in all, I think the future looks promising and it looks closer than I had hoped.

GO BIG ORANGE!
 
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#3
#3
you can't count on freshmen

I did enjoy the practice today,it was nice to hear pads a popping and Rocky Top,I loved CBJ starting out with the circle drill,there is a mean streak showing in those young men


but it is practice


CBJ was having a blast,I was laughing when he called Dobbs out
 
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#4
#4
Agreed, ObB. I was looking for four particular things today, and saw three of them:

1. How's the OLine gelling? I thought they looked really good. Protection broke down two or three times, but most of the time they protected very well. And I saw some really nice run blocking, too. Not every play, but often enough to give hope. Clearly going to be better than 2014.

2. Has Josh Dobbs' downfield accuracy improved as much as it seemed in the 15 practice videos? Answer is, yep. He looked great. Couple of passes not perfect, but every one of them was catchable.

3. Is Dormady ready to back Josh up? Answer is clearly yep. QD may not yet be ready to handle SEC game speed, but he's certainly ready to start sipping at it and learning. He is ready to play reliable mop-up duty or fill in if Josh needs a breather.

4. I wanted to get a good feel for the MLB position, but didn't get to. Partially because the D spent so much time in nickel, but also because the coaches were out on the field communicating so much that the players didn't have to coordinate among themselves. So that question will have to wait for fall.
 
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#5
#5
My take: 9 wins. It's not enough to win the east. We are shallow at key areas, the talent we have hasn't had time. The experience we have can't stay healthy.

Alabama is one of those wins. They look horrid this year. They have no offense. They have focussed all off season on taking the ball away and ball hawking for a reason. They are going to need a lot of possessions to score. They don't have the qb to pull it off and the offense is predictable. You can see it in satan's face.

The OBC has one goal this year. Beat Butch. It's all he talks about and it's all he is prepping for. I think it may be his last hurrah before retirement. I don't think he cares about the rest of the season. He wants Butch.

UK is going to be better than any one is giving them credit for and that game comes at the worst possible time. I am not worried about a first year coach in floriduh. I am not worried about shoot yourself in the foot georgia. Georgia will take care of themselves.

At some point in this season this team will face the edge of the cliff and stare over it. Things will happen. Unpredictable things. This recent assault situation is not anywhere near the end of it. This team will be attacked from every side...all sides. Do they have enough to overcome and not step off the edge? I can't answer that. It's up the team to answer that. I know this... 2016 is our year. I expect to take the east, and I expect to be in the hunt for more. I am all in next year. WE ARE NOT THERE YET.

There will be no less than 6 threads questioning this coaching staffs ability by the Vandy game.

See you @ the end of summer.
 
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#6
#6
IluvdoubleD's said:
My take: 9 wins...not enough to win the east.

Alabama is one of those wins...The OBC has one goal this year. Beat Butch...UK is going to be better than any one is giving them credit for and that game comes at the worst possible time....not worried about a first year coach in floriduh...not worried about shoot yourself in the foot georgia.

At some point in this season this team will face the edge of the cliff and stare over it. Things will happen. Unpredictable things...This team will be attacked from every side...all sides. Do they have enough to overcome and step off the edge? ... WE ARE NOT THERE YET.

There will be no less than 6 threads questioning this coaching staffs ability by the Vandy game.
Click to expand...

DD, you never fail to entertain. :)

(1) Okay so you say we go 9-3, but we beat 'Bama, beat Florida, and beat Georgia ... then lose to South Carolina and Kentucky. Drugs are bad, mmkay?

(2) When we get to the edge of some unpredictable cliff in the coming season...you want our team to have "enough" of something to...step off the cliff? Wouldn't we rather they NOT step off the cliff? In fact, wouldn't we prefer that they back away from the cliff? Color me confused here.

(3) Even if we are 11-0 going into the Vandy game, there will probably be six threads questioning the coaches' abilities. This is, after all, VolNation. :)

Thanks, DD, this was a fun read! :good!:
 
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#7
#7
VFL-82-JP said:
DD, you never fail to entertain. :)

(1) Okay so you say we go 9-3, but we beat 'Bama, beat Florida, and beat Georgia ... then lose to South Carolina and Kentucky. Drugs are bad, mmkay?

(2) When we get to the edge of some unpredictable cliff in the coming season...you want our team to have "enough" of something to...step off the cliff? Wouldn't we rather they NOT step off the cliff? In fact, wouldn't we prefer that they back away from the cliff? Color me confused here.

(3) Even if we are 11-0 going into the Vandy game, there will probably be six threads questioning the coaches' abilities. This is, after all, VolNation. :)

Thanks, DD, this was a fun read! :good!:
Click to expand...

LOL. It's Sattiday nite and the whiskey is really flowing. It WAS a fun read. Keep Dobbs healthy and get receivers to catch the ball and we should have 8 to 10 wins and a nice bowl game. If GA or MO stumble along the way we could be in the SECCG.
 
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#8
#8
Is Kamara still banged up? Didn't really see what I expected from him today. Still it's just practice.
 
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#9
#9
I believe this team is "BALANCED" on both sides of the ball, I don't see many teams getting many of those 20+ yard passes, IF everyone that was injured is 100% by Fall, the defense is going to setup our offense = short fields and the stats will not look great, but the Ws will come if the defense is as good as I think they will be. The offense will score, but when you are averaging having a short field (<60 yards) the YPC and Yards Per Catch will be low.....that's my opinion and I am sticking to it. :rock:
 
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#11
#11
VFL-82-JP said:
Agreed, ObB

4. I wanted to get a good feel for the MLB position, but didn't get to. Partially because the D spent so much time in nickel, but also because the coaches were out on the field communicating so much that the players didn't have to coordinate among themselves. So that question will have to wait for fall.
Click to expand...

MLB is part of the Nickel base package sir.
There is one OLB and one
MLB and one Nickel.
 
#13
#13
Catbone said:
Everything looked good except the OL and the drops.
Click to expand...

We pretty much had our number one OL going against our number two DL and the DL won way too often.

As for the drops, same old. If Pearson is gone, North, Pig, Smith and Croom have to stay healthy.

Dormady, Kamara are gonna help us.
Medley missed a gimme but his 55 yarder had room to spare.
Overall, our D could be one of best in SEC when everybody is back.

Things are on track, we are on our way back!
 
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#14
#14
I believe our running game will be greatly improved this year. Dormandy was in control and looked very good. Kamara is fast! Gets to the 2nd level quick. Liked Shy Tuttle, great push. D-line looked humongous out there. Offense line looked a little better but much better in running game. WR didn't look good to me. Malone just doesn't fight enough and Smith with the drops. Pig looked ok but we don't do well with tight man coverage.
 
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#15
#15
Volngeorgia said:
We pretty much had our number one OL going against our number two DL and the DL won way too often.

As for the drops, same old. If Pearson is gone, North, Pig, Smith and Croom have to stay healthy.

Dormady, Kamara are gonna help us.
Medley missed a gimme but his 55 yarder had room to spare.
Overall, our D could be one of best in SEC when everybody is back.

Things are on track, we are on our way back!
Click to expand...

agree!
 
#17
#17
VFL-82-JP said:
(2) When we get to the edge of some unpredictable cliff in the coming season...you want our team to have "enough" of something to...step off the cliff? Wouldn't we rather they NOT step off the cliff? In fact, wouldn't we prefer that they back away from the cliff? Color me confused here.
Click to expand...

Fixed for you. Though I am pretty sure you knew what I meant.
 
#18
#18
I enjoyed the format of the game and everything in it. To me it looked like the freshmen really enjoyed the one on one drills in front of the fans. I thought adding those skill competitions throughout the day was really a great idea. Jack Jones showed today that he has some nasty in him as an OL. He is going to be fun to watch over the next four years.
 
#20
#20
IluvdoubleD's said:
Fixed for you. Though I am pretty sure you knew what I meant.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I probably should have guessed you left a word out. I just tend to take people at their (literal) word. I thought you might be going somewhere with that metaphor that I didn't understand. :hi:
 
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#23
#23
IluvdoubleD's said:
My take: 9 wins. It's not enough to win the east. We are shallow at key areas, the talent we have hasn't had time. The experience we have can't stay healthy.

Alabama is one of those wins. They look horrid this year. They have no offense. They have focussed all off season on taking the ball away and ball hawking for a reason. They are going to need a lot of possessions to score. They don't have the qb to pull it off and the offense is predictable. You can see it in satan's face.

The OBC has one goal this year. Beat Butch. It's all he talks about and it's all he is prepping for. I think it may be his last hurrah before retirement. I don't think he cares about the rest of the season. He wants Butch.

UK is going to be better than any one is giving them credit for and that game comes at the worst possible time. I am not worried about a first year coach in floriduh. I am not worried about shoot yourself in the foot georgia. Georgia will take care of themselves.

At some point in this season this team will face the edge of the cliff and stare over it. Things will happen. Unpredictable things. This recent assault situation is not anywhere near the end of it. This team will be attacked from every side...all sides. Do they have enough to overcome and not step off the edge? I can't answer that. It's up the team to answer that. I know this... 2016 is our year. I expect to take the east, and I expect to be in the hunt for more. I am all in next year. WE ARE NOT THERE YET.

There will be no less than 6 threads questioning this coaching staffs ability by the Vandy game.

See you @ the end of summer.
Click to expand...

Wait a minute....you're not worried about Florida and Georgia, 2 teams that have every bit if not more talent than us and 2 teams that have beaten us the last 15 times we've played....but you ARE worried about a team whose talent level isn't in the same stratosphere as UTs, a team we've beaten 29 of the last 30 times we've played??? A Kentucky team we would've hung 70 on had we not pulled out starters after 3 qtrs just 6 short months ago??Huh??? What??
 
#25
#25
Didn't see enough on offense to make me think we win more than 8 games. Hope I'm wrong.
 
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