Are they playing Palmer too much this early

Cause he comes from IMG? I realize they want to get in there for more players but he doesn't seem ready to play the critical downs he's asked to yet. I'd prefer more Johnson at WR and Byrd at slot.

He's made some major mistakes thus far at critical times.

No.

He needs reps. The reason we can't develop guys is because we never play them.

Look at Byrd.

Best way to make guys better, throw them out there. Let them take their lumps. Get it on tape

wmcovol said:

Cause he comes from IMG? I realize they want to get in there for more players but he doesn't seem ready to play the critical downs he's asked to yet. I'd prefer more Johnson at WR and Byrd at slot.

He's made some major mistakes thus far at critical times.

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He didnt play at IMG.

wmcovol said:

Cause he comes from IMG? I realize they want to get in there for more players but he doesn't seem ready to play the critical downs he's asked to yet. I'd prefer more Johnson at WR and Byrd at slot.

He's made some major mistakes thus far at critical times.

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He played at St. Thomas Aquinas.

No. He needs to make mistakes so he can learn.

He's going to be a good one.

Palmer played for a modeling agency?

I think he will be a solid possession receiver for us. He's taken some freshman lumps but he is only going to get better imo.

He's beaten his man deep several times only to have the quarterback underthrow or miss him completely. He's doing his job getting open deep, Dormady just needs to hit him. Wasn't he suppose to be a better downfield passer than Dobbs??? All the people wanting QD over Dobbs, you don't realize what you have until it's gone.

Out of everything, this is not a problem. If we can actually get the ball to a WR downfield instead of short passes in the flat, it would be nice.

wmcovol said:

Cause he comes from IMG? I realize they want to get in there for more players but he doesn't seem ready to play the critical downs he's asked to yet. I'd prefer more Johnson at WR and Byrd at slot.

He's made some major mistakes thus far at critical times.

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He botched three plays on the drive that had 1st and goal at the one vs. Florida. :banghead2:

Players need game reps to get better. It's the best way to build depth. If only Butch and Co took that same approach with the defense

Absolutely not. We've got to utilize him more. He can be a big hitter if Dormady can hit him on some Sluggos and some post routes. The play calling has to get better.

They’re playing Dormady too much too early. And while I’m saying that kind of tongue-in-cheek because we have no one else, let’s be honest... it’s true. The guy just doesn’t have the game experience because they wouldn’t play him the last two years when it was obviously time to put him in. He should have had twice the game experience he had coming into this season.

Dormady should have more playing time under his belt. The trouble was games were in doubt. Saturday Jons played JG with the game in doubt and got raked over the coals for it.

BanditVol said:

He botched three plays on the drive that had 1st and goal at the one vs. Florida. :banghead2:

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#ComeOnMan!!!!!

volnbama_ said:

Players need game reps to get better. It's the best way to build depth. If only Butch and Co took that same approach with the defense

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Ignont got 2-3 plays against IndSt, and none against UMass except ST. Got to give him more reps. I was watching Shawn Lee for the Cowboys last night. He really attacks downhill. I wish Jumper and our other LB's would attack the ball. They seem more scrap and contain, than scrap and attack.

81Orange said:

Dormady should have more playing time under his belt. The trouble was games were in doubt. Saturday Jons played JG with the game in doubt and got raked over the coals for it.

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I've been back and forth over that decision and it was a bold one to say the least. I'm guessing Butch wanted to see if JG could be ready to take over the offense. JG is just an RS frosh. As much as I hate to say it he needs a little more time. I think it was a huge gamble and it didn't pay off. We sucked and didn't have much of anything going for us Saturday.

VolPack22 said:

He's beaten his man deep several times only to have the quarterback underthrow or miss him completely. He's doing his job getting open deep, Dormady just needs to hit him. Wasn't he suppose to be a better downfield passer than Dobbs??? All the people wanting QD over Dobbs, you don't realize what you have until it's gone.

Click to expand...

If either of the guys could hit him wide open deep by 5yds, the board would be screaming at Butch for underutilizing our AA receiver.

I'm excited about our wr group moving forward,they need reps for sure. There's no substitute for game expierience.

ATLVols said:

Out of everything, this is not a problem. If we can actually get the ball to a WR downfield instead of short passes in the flat, it would be nice.

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Our deep ball is a 2 yard pass

I blame beard for rushing this kid...I don't think yall know but he didn't even start on his own high school team..he became a starter late in the season due to injury..he has a lot of talent but he aint ready..they bumped Brandon to slot because of palmer..thats insane..it worked out for Brandon playing slot..he never played the position until now..we beat florida if u throw the ball to Brandon instead of palmer..

Palmer, Johnson, Calloway and Byrd all need reps. All playmakers '

wmcovol said:

Cause he comes from IMG? I realize they want to get in there for more players but he doesn't seem ready to play the critical downs he's asked to yet. I'd prefer more Johnson at WR and Byrd at slot.

He's made some major mistakes thus far at critical times.

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Yes. But one of the valid criticisms of Jones is that he's in year 5 and doesn't have enough upperclassmen at the WR position to avoid playing Palmer and others who simply aren't ready. A LOT of people here were trashing Dormady and crying for JG... only to see him struggle much worse. There's a common factor. Both are dealing with WR's who don't quite know what they're doing yet.

So as we give a thumbs up to playing these young receivers... let's make sure we don't blame JG for the two bad drops... or Dormady for many more droppted passes, missed assignments, and wrong routes.

It is somewhat amazing that Dormady has done as well as he has with the inexperience UT has at receiver.

greazy1722 said:

I blame beard for rushing this kid...I don't think yall know but he didn't even start on his own high school team..he became a starter late in the season due to injury..he has a lot of talent but he aint ready..they bumped Brandon to slot because of palmer..thats insane..it worked out for Brandon playing slot..he never played the position until now..

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He earned it. None of us actually saw practice but it is abundantly clear that Palmer went out and performed. He's struggling to translate it to live games. That's normal even for older players. I've assigned blame to Palmer in defense of QD over a few things but the truth is he's making mistakes and learning from them.

we beat florida if u throw the ball to Brandon instead of palmer..

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If you are talking about the one that got picked... that's not true. You have to watch the video and stop it as the play proceeds to see it. If Johnson was the inside receiver then he was covered with inside help from a LB or S shading that way. At the snap, the DB covering Johnson starts to drop as he pushes but then recognizes the quick throw to Palmer and falls off. Johnson continues to run and looks open but that's only because the DB reacted to the throw. The only throw to Johnson would have been a very difficult back of the end zone throw requiring him to jump and for Dormady to perfectly lay the ball over two defenders while making it catchable.

I suspect the design of that play didn't make Johnson much more than a decoy anyway. A lot of Jones pattern trees seem to consist of routes that allow the QB to see multiple targets without moving his head. On that play, MC and Palmer could both be seen by QD.

If they were going to throw to the inside most receiver on that play then it would have been necessary to put Palmer into a flat route to pull coverage away then have Johnson do a very quick hook or trail Palmer. They had to stay away from that inside help.

Ultimately, a WR needed to make a play and didn't.

Im not saying Palmer shouldn't play but he was in there instead of an experienced Byrd at Florida and Palmer DID make two big mistakes that ruined that key possession (I know everyone blames it on coaching).

I just think the 3 best WRs right now are Calloway, Johnson and Byrd and they should be getting the majority of snaps and most of the plays at crunch time.

Jennings getting hurt, Malone going pro and Williams was bat**** crazy when they signed him is why Tennessee doesn't have experienced WRs this yr.

VolDaddy61 said:

I'm excited about our wr group moving forward,they need reps for sure. There's no substitute for game expierience.

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That makes the decision to insert JG that much worse.

Those receivers need reps with a QB that can make the right decisions to get them the ball. JG isn't there yet.

Johnson had a great game. UMass was going to adjust which would have opened things up for Palmer, Byrd, or someone. But then Dormady was pulled. It seemed pretty obvious that UMass had no respect for JG throwing the ball. They doubled down to stop the run.

Another problem we haven't really discussed is that George is looking more and more like a complete bust. He can't catch. He had an opportunity to change the game and dropped a ball that the DB really didn't effect. He did the same on a JG thrown ball in the ISU game. If you are 6'6"... catching the jump ball has to be your specialty. It has to be something that makes DC's shade help in your direction.