NighthawkVol
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It's hard to take a lot away from a game like this, but there are some takeaways:
-The team didn't look hungover from the Georgia game. That's a good sign. They came out and jumped all over UAB. The scripted first drives continue to be a thing of beauty this season.
-The 24 points allowed might be a concern, but not as big as some have made it out to be. UAB is a good offensive team, especially in the passing game. Kitna was 13th in the nation in passing coming into Saturday. We held them to 10 points (3 of which were the result of Boo's fumbled punt, so not on the D) until they scored TDs on their last 2 drives against our scrubs (with their starters still in). Merritt completely busted on one of those, playing zone when he should have been playing man. The Dline shut down their run game. I would have liked to have seen more of a pass rush, but UAB also did a lot of quick stuff. I'm not really worried that Joseph and Herring aren't going to rush the passer in coming games.
-I thought the secondary, at least until the freshmen backups got in, played much better. Turrentine made a nice play on his INT. Boo made some nice tackles. Hood and Redmond were both very good in coverage. Redmond will continue to get better as the year goes on. When/if McCoy comes back, we're going to have 3 really good CBs, and that's with Gibson out. Need Boo to keep rounding into form...he still gets beat in coverage at times. We even got a coverage sack and a few times when the QB just had nowhere to go with the ball. Again, that's a good passing attack UAB has.
-For those of us who saw Kaleb Beasley in high school, it's amazing how he's able to score defensive TDs so frequently and in so many ways...INTs, fumble returns, and blocked kick returns. He did it a crazy number of times at Lipscomb and did it again yesterday.
-I continue to think Spillman needs to be playing much more than Telander. They shouldn't have an even split...it should be more like 70/30 in favor of Spillman. I liked seeing Harmon get in there. He's looking better. He needs to become our 4th LB.
-Watched a lot of Syracuse-Clemson. Turns out we beat a better team than we thought in week 1. And our defensive performance against them wasn't as bad as we thought. They have a great offensive scheme and their WRs are outstanding. That win is going to look really good by the end of the season.
-I synched my TV with Mike Keith's call. Haven't done that since Ward retired. Mike Keith is SO good. Such an improvement over Kesling.
-I like what I see from Joakim Dodson when he plays. Not that I think he'll be a factor this year, but he looks like he's got a bright future. Good route runner and does a good job working back to the ball when the QB is scrambling. Speaking of which, Travis Smith got a nice 1st down catch doing just that.
-VanDorsalear just looks like a great TE body. He might pass Davis as the #2 TE a some point this season if Davis doesn't pick it up. But it looked like we weren't in much 12 personnel at all without Davis.
-Really don't understand not letting Mac get a couple of series at QB. It's pretty obvious that Merk isn't going to be productive if anything happens to Joey. He holds the ball too long and tends to be inaccurate. Mac should have played at least 2 series after Merk was ineffective in his first two. Also didn't see J. Heard or Ginther in there. I don't understand playing older guys like Brian Grant instead of developing dudes for the future. Heard is a physical specimen. Play the dude when you have the opportunity. I liked that they got Bennett Warren in there a lot.
I'm ready for Mississippi State. I was ready for it leaving Neyland after the UGA loss. I think the team will be too. First chance to get back on the horse against an SEC team following the heartbreaker. Go out there, get a big SEC road win (they all are), no injuries, go into the off week in good shape, use it to get better and get Moi, Hobbs, Sanders, and McCoy healthy, then be at near full strength going into that stretch of Arkansas, at Alabama, at Kentucky, and Oklahoma. If we beat Mississippi State, then go 3-1 during that 4-game stretch, we have a great shot to make the CFP. Go 4-0 and we're almost guaranteed to make the CFP.
-The team didn't look hungover from the Georgia game. That's a good sign. They came out and jumped all over UAB. The scripted first drives continue to be a thing of beauty this season.
-The 24 points allowed might be a concern, but not as big as some have made it out to be. UAB is a good offensive team, especially in the passing game. Kitna was 13th in the nation in passing coming into Saturday. We held them to 10 points (3 of which were the result of Boo's fumbled punt, so not on the D) until they scored TDs on their last 2 drives against our scrubs (with their starters still in). Merritt completely busted on one of those, playing zone when he should have been playing man. The Dline shut down their run game. I would have liked to have seen more of a pass rush, but UAB also did a lot of quick stuff. I'm not really worried that Joseph and Herring aren't going to rush the passer in coming games.
-I thought the secondary, at least until the freshmen backups got in, played much better. Turrentine made a nice play on his INT. Boo made some nice tackles. Hood and Redmond were both very good in coverage. Redmond will continue to get better as the year goes on. When/if McCoy comes back, we're going to have 3 really good CBs, and that's with Gibson out. Need Boo to keep rounding into form...he still gets beat in coverage at times. We even got a coverage sack and a few times when the QB just had nowhere to go with the ball. Again, that's a good passing attack UAB has.
-For those of us who saw Kaleb Beasley in high school, it's amazing how he's able to score defensive TDs so frequently and in so many ways...INTs, fumble returns, and blocked kick returns. He did it a crazy number of times at Lipscomb and did it again yesterday.
-I continue to think Spillman needs to be playing much more than Telander. They shouldn't have an even split...it should be more like 70/30 in favor of Spillman. I liked seeing Harmon get in there. He's looking better. He needs to become our 4th LB.
-Watched a lot of Syracuse-Clemson. Turns out we beat a better team than we thought in week 1. And our defensive performance against them wasn't as bad as we thought. They have a great offensive scheme and their WRs are outstanding. That win is going to look really good by the end of the season.
-I synched my TV with Mike Keith's call. Haven't done that since Ward retired. Mike Keith is SO good. Such an improvement over Kesling.
-I like what I see from Joakim Dodson when he plays. Not that I think he'll be a factor this year, but he looks like he's got a bright future. Good route runner and does a good job working back to the ball when the QB is scrambling. Speaking of which, Travis Smith got a nice 1st down catch doing just that.
-VanDorsalear just looks like a great TE body. He might pass Davis as the #2 TE a some point this season if Davis doesn't pick it up. But it looked like we weren't in much 12 personnel at all without Davis.
-Really don't understand not letting Mac get a couple of series at QB. It's pretty obvious that Merk isn't going to be productive if anything happens to Joey. He holds the ball too long and tends to be inaccurate. Mac should have played at least 2 series after Merk was ineffective in his first two. Also didn't see J. Heard or Ginther in there. I don't understand playing older guys like Brian Grant instead of developing dudes for the future. Heard is a physical specimen. Play the dude when you have the opportunity. I liked that they got Bennett Warren in there a lot.
I'm ready for Mississippi State. I was ready for it leaving Neyland after the UGA loss. I think the team will be too. First chance to get back on the horse against an SEC team following the heartbreaker. Go out there, get a big SEC road win (they all are), no injuries, go into the off week in good shape, use it to get better and get Moi, Hobbs, Sanders, and McCoy healthy, then be at near full strength going into that stretch of Arkansas, at Alabama, at Kentucky, and Oklahoma. If we beat Mississippi State, then go 3-1 during that 4-game stretch, we have a great shot to make the CFP. Go 4-0 and we're almost guaranteed to make the CFP.
