Are they playing Palmer too much this early

[sjt18]

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.

Not sure what the deal is with Byrd. He probably put himself in the dog house with his play vs GT. He was pretty bad. He failed to settle into soft spots in their zone or else didn't recognize the D. He dropped a couple of balls. Palmer had maybe been a little better until UF. I'm not sure that QD trusts him now. I don't think he was targeted often in the UMass game.

 

[greazy1722]

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.


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.

to be honest with you..with the play we saw on the field for the past few weeks you going to tell me he earned that spot? Im not saying the kid don't have potential. He has the body type he has everything going, but look at his route running he is never in the right position..just face it, he aint ready for the big time yet and that's fine..he still young he has time to grow..as far for the florida game I was talking about the fade that he dropped..if Brandon was playing that position at that time he would have caught that ball...the play that was a int look at the tape again..he was one on one with a linebacker..if qd look off palmer Brandon was wide open for a td..i hate to say it but Brandon is the best wr the team hands down..this kid knows every play for every position on the field..he should never come off the field..Callaway starting to get exposed too..its starting to show why he was a back up..butch need to put callaway more at the slot to give him more catches..