SEC Combined Experience Ranking per Phil Steele

[Orangeslice13]

I get it.

Until we had UT-Chatt roll into Neyland and put up how many sacks? Our RBs put up a mediocre 3.4ypc against the stalwart UT-Chatt defense.

The Citadel, by the way, put up 4.02ypc against UT-Chatt. Central Michigan put up 4ypc. Samford put up 3ypc.

So I guess our guys are worse than the Citadels and Central Michigans. Our OL of SEC offered guys are just above Samford.

We are getting what we paid for. MAC results with SEC guys from a MAC staff.

Deny deny deny away!

I completely disagree with your opening statement.

 

[WiseOlVol]

This is the most important post on the site.

I don't feel any better about the status of our program. But the good news is that all of these stats get better with time.

 

[Rifleman]

This is the most important post on the site.

I don't feel any better about the status of our program. But the good news is that all of these stats get better with time.

They sure do. I'll make sure to follow up next year to show where we are at.

We will still likely be way below the average on OL starts, though. Way below if we can plug in a Juco, but it will get better.

If we can find a decent QB, we look strong everywhere else next year. Our DL is going to be straight sick.

 

[Rifleman]

One thing I noticed from the OP stat post is a lot of people were saying... I get tired of hearing Dooley left him nothing and say Nutt left Freeze nothing and look what he's doing but 8 Senior starters and 6 Seniors in the 2 deep from Houston Nutts last class tells me the cupboard wasn't as bare as the Dooley disaster..One of those Seniors is Pruitt who leads in interceptions.

Usually when coaches post these miracle turn arounds, they have better depth than you'd expect.

Franklin really benefited at Vandy from Bobby Johnson's redshirting a lot of players to stockpile depth.

When Franklin left, he looted the store and left the cupboard bare. That makes it look like he was the sole reason for all the success, but the depth was there.

 

[VolFootballlover]

Dumb post. If these statistics were relevant then Alabama wouldn't be sitting a 6-1 and #4 in the nation because their ratings are only slightly higher than Tennessee's. Their ratings are #10, #8, #12 and #13 for an average ranking of 11th best.

Why people try to makes excuses is silly. The problem is simple, we have the worst offensive coaching staff in the SEC ... Bajakian must go!!! He's obviously a one trick pony and is unable to adapt to another system better suited to his players. Geesh !!!

and the adjustments they make at half time rank 129th out of 128 teams lol

 

[VolFootballlover]

Usually when coaches post these miracle turn arounds, they have better depth than you'd expect.

Franklin really benefited at Vandy from Bobby Johnson's redshirting a lot of players to stockpile depth.

When Franklin left, he looted the store and left the cupboard bare. That makes it look like he was the sole reason for all the success, but the depth was there.

yep Candy had better players than Georgia too. Hell if we are going to make crap up let's do it good

 

[Rifleman]

Usually when coaches post these miracle turn arounds, they have better depth than you'd expect.

Franklin really benefited at Vandy from Bobby Johnson's redshirting a lot of players to stockpile depth.

When Franklin left, he looted the store and left the cupboard bare. That makes it look like he was the sole reason for all the success, but the depth was there.

And before some troll on my ignore list comes in here to say I'm making stuff up, here is the situation Franklin inherited per Phil Steele:

14th in the nation in returning lettermen
15th in the nation in combined experience
58th in Senior experience
60th in OL starts returning, with 68 starts

That is nothing like where we are right now. In fact, Franklin inherited an ideal situation with a lot of underclassmen lettermen who got seasoned under someone else's watch.

 

[Reverend Bubba Flavel]

Did anyone not know that Tennessee would have one of the most inexperienced OLs in the conference and country this year?

That fact is nothing revelatory like some of you guys are treating it.

I don't think people were expecting perfect pass protection and averaging 300 yards rushing this year.

But, it does seem reasonable to ask/point out - has the OL shown improvement?

What do you think?
First, should Vol fans expect improvement in the OL? Sad to say that head coach Lyle indicates that the staff really cannot improve them, that the only fix is recruiting. Fair?

Have you seen improvement in the OL from game 1 to the Ole Miss game?
Stat wise I do not believe you can point to anything that shows improvement. But I am open to anyone who can point out some tangible evidence that this staff is making some progress. Then again, maybe it is unfair to expect progress.

 

[bowlinggreenvol]

Did anyone not know that Tennessee would have one of the most inexperienced OLs in the conference and country this year?

That fact is nothing revelatory like some of you guys are treating it.

I don't think people were expecting perfect pass protection and averaging 300 yards rushing this year.

But, it does seem reasonable to ask/point out - has the OL shown improvement?

What do you think?
First, should Vol fans expect improvement in the OL? Sad to say that head coach Lyle indicates that the staff really cannot improve them, that the only fix is recruiting. Fair?

Have you seen improvement in the OL from game 1 to the Ole Miss game?
Stat wise I do not believe you can point to anything that shows improvement. But I am open to anyone who can point out some tangible evidence that this staff is making some progress. Then again, maybe it is unfair to expect progress.

I think you nailed many of our sentiments in a more cohesive and less emotionally charged way. Kudos.

 

[agent|orange]

Did anyone not know that Tennessee would have one of the most inexperienced OLs in the conference and country this year?

That fact is nothing revelatory like some of you guys are treating it.

I don't think people were expecting perfect pass protection and averaging 300 yards rushing this year.

But, it does seem reasonable to ask/point out - has the OL shown improvement?

What do you think?
First, should Vol fans expect improvement in the OL? Sad to say that head coach Lyle indicates that the staff really cannot improve them, that the only fix is recruiting. Fair?

Have you seen improvement in the OL from game 1 to the Ole Miss game?
Stat wise I do not believe you can point to anything that shows improvement. But I am open to anyone who can point out some tangible evidence that this staff is making some progress. Then again, maybe it is unfair to expect progress.

Well, I tried with numbers but was told I don't understand numbers. Something about garlic and vampires?

I don't know. I'm thoroughly unimpressed with our progress using only UT-Chatt as a measuring stick.

Because measuring UT to Ole Miss that's in Year 3 is not fair.

As others said, the proof is in the pudding. We won't see anything worth noting this weekend. Another week of struggling to put up 200 yards and likely giving up more sacks than scored points.

If we don't turn it around by the time Mizzou rolls around, we're in trouble.

 

[PennVol]

Yeah the Sports Source brought up the O-Line's experience/combined starts vs the rest of the SEC.

You see that stat and no offensive coordinator in the country's playbook is going to be very wide open.

True, but how many career starts did our O-Line have last year? How much NFL talent on that line? How wide open was that playbook?

 

[Rifleman]

True, but how many career starts did our O-Line have last year? How much NFL talent on that line? How wide open was that playbook?

Answers:

Last year's OL had 123 combined starts going into the season.

NFL Talent: James and Stone look like they will be good at that level. Fulton was taken 6th round, but has a way to go. Likely a practice squad player unless he can move over to center. Then a back up.
Tiny was not drafted and isn't playing and may not be able to play at that level due to his bad knees.

Playbook: was starting to open up even with little experience in the offense until we had to play a true freshman at QB.

 

[volfan411]

Answers:

Last year's OL had 123 combined starts going into the season.

NFL Talent: James and Stone look like they will be good at that level. Fulton was taken 6th round, but has a way to go. Likely a practice squad player unless he can move over to center. Then a back up.
Tiny was not drafted and isn't playing and may not be able to play at that level due to his bad knees.

Playbook: was starting to open up even with little experience in the offense until we had to play a true freshman at QB.

I do not know why it is so hard for some to understand that from the second half of Georgia last year to the point that Worley got hurt the offense was improving with each week. Then we were forced to play a true freshman who at this point still has not proved he is a true SEC QB so not matter how experienced we were on the line we still had to scale back the playbook due to inexperience at QB.

On a side note the defense was so bad last year that the team had to rely on the offense to win games which meant the offense had to limit turnovers which further tied the OC hands on the amount of risks he could take.

 

[Ty4Vols]

Did anyone not know that Tennessee would have one of the most inexperienced OLs in the conference and country this year?

That fact is nothing revelatory like some of you guys are treating it.

I don't think people were expecting perfect pass protection and averaging 300 yards rushing this year.

But, it does seem reasonable to ask/point out - has the OL shown improvement?

What do you think?
First, should Vol fans expect improvement in the OL? Sad to say that head coach Lyle indicates that the staff really cannot improve them, that the only fix is recruiting. Fair?

Have you seen improvement in the OL from game 1 to the Ole Miss game?
Stat wise I do not believe you can point to anything that shows improvement. But I am open to anyone who can point out some tangible evidence that this staff is making some progress. Then again, maybe it is unfair to expect progress.

Can progress in stats be slowed or skewed due to the teams you play against?

Then again maybe it's unfair to ask the average fan to look at every factor that goes into the equation.

 

[hog88]

Can progress in stats be slowed or skewed due to the teams you play against?

Then again maybe it's unfair to ask the average fan to look at every factor that goes into the equation.

We average 2.6 yards per carry, if that stat was ONLY against SEC competition and OK I could live with it. It's not, there is no excuse for the poor execution against UTC, Arky State and Utah State.

 

[Rifleman]

Can progress in stats be slowed or skewed due to the teams you play against?

Then again maybe it's unfair to ask the average fan to look at every factor that goes into the equation.

Yes. Just as playing bad teams can hide weaknesses.

Here are the "Tackle for Loss" national ranks for our opponents.

3. Utah State (a great D that we stomped with a healthy Gilliam)
13. Florida
15. Ole Miss
21. Arky State
47. Georgia
62. Oklahoma (they will obviously finish much higher)

Note: Chattanooga is 23rd in FCS but will be near the top as they move into the soft spots in their schedule.

Still to play best to worst:

15. Missouri
36. Alabama
78. Kentucky
86. Vandy
123. South Carolina

Obviously, we will look "improved" against several of these teams.

Also, losing Gilliam early on really caused a problem with so little depth, and that has impacted our progress, and now that Thomas and Jackson are banged up . . . :banghead2:

 

[Orangeslice13]

Can progress in stats be slowed or skewed due to the teams you play against?

Then again maybe it's unfair to ask the average fan to look at every factor that goes into the equation.

Did you just refer to Bubbles as an "average fan"?

 

[Rifleman]

For those that have started comparing Butch to Dooley, let's take a look at where Dooley was in 2012 when he was telling us to be patient:

2012 Combined Experience Rank for Vols per Phil Steele

Combined Experience Points: 78.8, 1st in SEC, 2nd Nationally

Percent Lettermen Returning: 76.6%, 3rd in SEC, 16th Nationally

OL Career Starts Returning: 105, 1st in SEC, 3rd Nationally

And his terrible defense?

2012 Percent of Tackles Returning: 75.8%, 4th in SEC, 28th Nationally

Essentially, there was enough experience on both sides of the ball for even an average coach to keep his job. With a better than average coach we contend in the SEC East.

There is really no comparison between 2012 and 2014 at this point. To try and make one is nonsensical.

 

[1974Vol]

give me a 23 yr old DL from nooga or the Citadel against your 18 yr old OL that arrived on a college campus 3 months ago in one on one battles and I'm winning 9 of 10 times.

That nooga DE is on pace to be D player of the year in the Southern Conference for the 3rd sttaight year and will play on Sunday next year. That kid looked like a white Dwight Freney. So yeah even FCS schools have kids that can ball. You can't just write them off because out of high school no D1 school came calling. The best WR who ever lived played at Mississippi Valley State.

 

[volfan411]

That nooga DE is on pace to be D player of the year in the Southern Conference for the 3rd sttaight year and will play on Sunday next year. That kid looked like a white Dwight Freney. So yeah even FCS schools have kids that can ball. You can't just write them off because out of high school no D1 school came calling. The best WR who ever lived played at Mississippi Valley State.

And he would probably be starting on most every SEC team. You are right he is a kid who has matured into the game and worked hard and will play on Sunday's.

 

[Vol logic]

That nooga DE is on pace to be D player of the year in the Southern Conference for the 3rd sttaight year and will play on Sunday next year. That kid looked like a white Dwight Freney. So yeah even FCS schools have kids that can ball. You can't just write them off because out of high school no D1 school came calling. The best WR who ever lived played at Mississippi Valley State.

Tull was the guys name and he graduated from Bearden in Knoxville. What was interesting is that they keep moving him and the DT's rotating them and even stacking on one side of the line, kind of like a jack LB.

This along with Hurd and Lane not playing much and having Scott and some other green backs in the game really confused the YOUNG line on the right side and certainly decreased the ypc.

UTC's defensive staff used their best scheme against our weakest link, that what coaches do in looking at individual match ups that they can win.

All of the stats and stars don't change the game of football being a combination of one on one match ups and trying to exploit strengths and/or weaknesses.

We also have struck out on some lineman or they have been habitually injured leading to the perfect storm of terrible.

 

[Rifleman]

And he would probably be starting on most every SEC team. You are right he is a kid who has matured into the game and worked hard and will play on Sunday's.

Tull has a great shot at making a lot of money, especially if he can throw up numbers at the combine. He can speed rush, as a guy who has run a 4.5 40 yard dash at his size, and is explosive off the snap.

Unfortunately for us, he was exactly the kind of guy our OL can't handle. Mentally, they were not ready to be challenged by Chattanooga, but FCS teams are developing their guys now and keeping on the path for 5 years. Oregon St. and Kansas St. both dropped games to FCS teams last year and still went bowling. It's a different world.

 

[led0321]

"Rank - Team - OL CAR STRS
1 - SC - 113
2 - AU - 113
3 - A&M - 89
4 - Vandy - 83
5 - MS St. - 81
6 - LSU - 75
7 - KY - 74
8 - MO - 72
9 - FL - 66
10 - Ole MS - 61
11 - GA - 54
12 - AR - 51
13 - BAMA - 37
14 - Vols - 6"

Ho Lee Fooook