London Vol
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GAME 9 – GEORGIA GRADES
5th NOV 2022
That was a tough night. I think I was naive to overlook how much Georgia, being the National Champions, at 8-0 this season and playing at home would react to Tennessee being voted No 1 in the country. If the roles were reversed, then I’m sure the Vols would have been suitably motivated last night. All that being said, I thought Tennessee “laid an egg”, I don’t know if the game was too big for them or the years of signing 5* instead of 3* players finally shone through, but we were second class in most areas and the Grades below will reflect this.
QUARTERBACKS D-
Hendon Hooker seemed to be “off” last night. He was sacked 6 times although at least half of those were because he was uncharacteristically indecisive. It is not always easy on TV to see how open the Receivers are but he has elite targets and even if there was good coverage, he will need to dissect defenses next season when he plays on Sundays. What is not in doubt is that at different times he overthrew 3 Wide Receivers who had got open downfield and all of those receptions would have been walk in touchdowns. The one time he hit Jalin Hyatt for 28 yards to the 2, the throw was still behind Hyatt, otherwise he would have easily added to his touchdown tally. This was a bad time to put in this level of performance. I predict MIZZ, USC and VAND will pay a heavy price for last night, but it was a shame for Hendon’s Draft Status and Heisman chances.
RUNNING BACKS C-
Although the passing and running games are always linked, the lack of downfield passes allowed Georgia to stack the box thus stopping the run, and 2.2 ypc tells the story. As is in most weeks, Jaylen Wright was the best of the backs with 69 yards at 3.3 ypc and one touchdown (it will be noted that he fumbled again though). Jabari Small was injured early on, but the little sample from him was not promising.
WIDE RECEIVERS B
As mentioned above the Receivers were clear 3 times and were overthrown each time (two of those were the difference in the score) so no blame is attached to them. Cedric Tillman made a successful return and was very unlucky not to catch the pass into the endzone or at least break up the interception. There was much relief to see Tillman come out onto the field late in the game as it looked as he had re-injured his ankle earlier. Hyatt did not have another highlight game but still contributed 63 yards on 6 receptions which was still good, considering, that the ball was bafflingly rarely thrown downfield.
TIGHT ENDS C-
After a few impressive weeks Princeton Fant was scarcely used last night and it was Jacob Warren with 3 catches 21 yards leading the way. Given the pass rush that Georgia were dialling up, it was a shame that the Tights Ends were not used more.
OFFENSIVE LINE D+
A number of fans have expressed the view that the Offensive Line was poor last night but I disagree, slightly. Yes, they were under immense pressure, but most of the sacks were down to Hooker taking too much time evaluating his check downs. Then there were three times on one drive, when their safety blitzed and each time the safety was unchallenged because the Running Backs did not block them. What is not acceptable is 7 false starts, I know the noise was deafeningly loud, but that’s what it is like away from home in the SEC, deal with it.
DEFENSIVE LINE D
The Defensive Line was mostly out played by their counterparts. There was hardly any penetration and Bennett was allowed all the time in the world to hit those game busting downfield throws. Georgia’s running game was restricted to only 3.5 ypc, but even that was misleading as they had several short runs late in the game to run out the clock. When the game was in the balance then we failed to stop the run.
LINEBACKERS B+
For the second week running, the Linebackers were one of our better Units. Early on they had to make a number of tackles after the Bulldogs Running Back got through the Defensive Line and don’t overlook that the ever-dangerous Bowers had only 27 yards and Washington had 0 yards. All the Linebackers had good moments last night, but I would like to make a special mention of Juwan Mitchell, who is improving each week and if he returns next season, he could have a breakout year.
DEFENSIVE BACKS C
At times it felt that the shortcomings were resurfacing but overall, they were not too bad considering the time Bennett had to throw. Doneiko Slaughter had an “up and down” day but given the standard of the opposition I would persevere with him, and Trevon Flowers quietly had another good game. The 2023 recruiting class have some highly ranked players on the way but in the meantime, we have to ‘mix and match’ this season.
GO VOLS
5th NOV 2022
That was a tough night. I think I was naive to overlook how much Georgia, being the National Champions, at 8-0 this season and playing at home would react to Tennessee being voted No 1 in the country. If the roles were reversed, then I’m sure the Vols would have been suitably motivated last night. All that being said, I thought Tennessee “laid an egg”, I don’t know if the game was too big for them or the years of signing 5* instead of 3* players finally shone through, but we were second class in most areas and the Grades below will reflect this.
QUARTERBACKS D-
Hendon Hooker seemed to be “off” last night. He was sacked 6 times although at least half of those were because he was uncharacteristically indecisive. It is not always easy on TV to see how open the Receivers are but he has elite targets and even if there was good coverage, he will need to dissect defenses next season when he plays on Sundays. What is not in doubt is that at different times he overthrew 3 Wide Receivers who had got open downfield and all of those receptions would have been walk in touchdowns. The one time he hit Jalin Hyatt for 28 yards to the 2, the throw was still behind Hyatt, otherwise he would have easily added to his touchdown tally. This was a bad time to put in this level of performance. I predict MIZZ, USC and VAND will pay a heavy price for last night, but it was a shame for Hendon’s Draft Status and Heisman chances.
RUNNING BACKS C-
Although the passing and running games are always linked, the lack of downfield passes allowed Georgia to stack the box thus stopping the run, and 2.2 ypc tells the story. As is in most weeks, Jaylen Wright was the best of the backs with 69 yards at 3.3 ypc and one touchdown (it will be noted that he fumbled again though). Jabari Small was injured early on, but the little sample from him was not promising.
WIDE RECEIVERS B
As mentioned above the Receivers were clear 3 times and were overthrown each time (two of those were the difference in the score) so no blame is attached to them. Cedric Tillman made a successful return and was very unlucky not to catch the pass into the endzone or at least break up the interception. There was much relief to see Tillman come out onto the field late in the game as it looked as he had re-injured his ankle earlier. Hyatt did not have another highlight game but still contributed 63 yards on 6 receptions which was still good, considering, that the ball was bafflingly rarely thrown downfield.
TIGHT ENDS C-
After a few impressive weeks Princeton Fant was scarcely used last night and it was Jacob Warren with 3 catches 21 yards leading the way. Given the pass rush that Georgia were dialling up, it was a shame that the Tights Ends were not used more.
OFFENSIVE LINE D+
A number of fans have expressed the view that the Offensive Line was poor last night but I disagree, slightly. Yes, they were under immense pressure, but most of the sacks were down to Hooker taking too much time evaluating his check downs. Then there were three times on one drive, when their safety blitzed and each time the safety was unchallenged because the Running Backs did not block them. What is not acceptable is 7 false starts, I know the noise was deafeningly loud, but that’s what it is like away from home in the SEC, deal with it.
DEFENSIVE LINE D
The Defensive Line was mostly out played by their counterparts. There was hardly any penetration and Bennett was allowed all the time in the world to hit those game busting downfield throws. Georgia’s running game was restricted to only 3.5 ypc, but even that was misleading as they had several short runs late in the game to run out the clock. When the game was in the balance then we failed to stop the run.
LINEBACKERS B+
For the second week running, the Linebackers were one of our better Units. Early on they had to make a number of tackles after the Bulldogs Running Back got through the Defensive Line and don’t overlook that the ever-dangerous Bowers had only 27 yards and Washington had 0 yards. All the Linebackers had good moments last night, but I would like to make a special mention of Juwan Mitchell, who is improving each week and if he returns next season, he could have a breakout year.
DEFENSIVE BACKS C
At times it felt that the shortcomings were resurfacing but overall, they were not too bad considering the time Bennett had to throw. Doneiko Slaughter had an “up and down” day but given the standard of the opposition I would persevere with him, and Trevon Flowers quietly had another good game. The 2023 recruiting class have some highly ranked players on the way but in the meantime, we have to ‘mix and match’ this season.
GO VOLS
