‘23 AL CB Rickey Gibson (Tennessee commit)

[MarcoVol]

2021- 13th in the SEC in passing yards per game at 251

2022- 13th in the SEC on passing yards allowed at 303 per game

So under Martinez we have actually gotten worse in the secondary. And that’s despite our DL playing better than it did last year.

2 NFL players in the secondary last year, no?

 

[MarcoVol]

2021- 13th in the SEC in passing yards per game at 251

2022- 13th in the SEC on passing yards allowed at 303 per game

So under Martinez we have actually gotten worse in the secondary. And that’s despite our DL playing better than it did last year.

Curious what stats back up the DL playing better than it did last year vs the pass? I don’t have those numbers available but I know we have about 10 less sacks than last year. Not sure about hurries, etc

 

[MemphisVol3]

Curious what stats back up the DL playing better than it did last year vs the pass? I don’t have those numbers available but I know we have about 10 less sacks than last year. Not sure about hurries, etc

we’ve had more hurries this season, didn’t finish up some of the sacks that we should have had.

 

[MarcoVol]

we’ve had more hurries this season, didn’t finish up some of the sacks that we should have had.

Do you have the numbers? I’m too lazy to try and find them right now vs ‘21

 

[bigl3327]

Is that really surprising? last year we had 2 draft worthy DBs, how many this year? This years overall record has put us in play for players on both sides of the ball, coming into last year not so much. All we had to sell was the Heupel magic on that side of the ball. As far as I know CJH has not tipped his hand on whether he believes any other DB coach could have done better, and that would have to be the primary factor in his decision-making process.

As I have indicated before, I believe that the DB commits thoughts on a coaching change will be a huge factor. He is aware of what was actually expressed by himself and the DC to these recruits concerning this position coach's near-term future. If we have been selling he is a great coach in need of their talents, it is what it is. It is one thing to lose a coach, it is another to push him out the door before or after signing day. Given the noise surrounding this issue I would be surprised if these guys have not directly asked for a status and received one as early signing day approaches. If we don't go 6-6 out of the current group we may have an answer.

We also haven't had anyone that's nearly as disruptive as Matthew Butler was on the DL. He hasn't gotten enough credit for his play last year.

 

[MarcoVol]

We also haven't had anyone that's nearly as disruptive as Matthew Butler was on the DL. He hasn't gotten enough credit for his play last year.

This is where I’ve been leaning. The DL isn’t what it was last year either, which greatly impacts the opposing passing game. But everyone loves Garner, including me.

 

[jbr82]

The fact you can’t admit he’s a bad coach after watching the secondary these past two years, with the regression.

The fact you can’t admit he’s a bad coach after watching the secondary these past two years, with the regression.

The same ones taking up for CTB or CWM are same ones that took up for Dools, butch, pruitt, JG etc. They choose to be blind to the bad. Their case is irrelevant imo.

 

[jbr82]

2 NFL players in the secondary last year, no?

And was still near the bottom. Who brought in all the transfers and whose developing the players?

 

[MarcoVol]

And was still near the bottom. Who brought in all the transfers and whose developing the players?

Josh Heupel brought in the transfers.

And idk if it’s the case or not but sometimes kids can’t be developed into anything else. We saw huge strides from Hyatt this year after he spoke multiple times to stepping up his effort in the offseason. Maybe that’s not there for some of these guys?

 

[bigl3327]

Josh Heupel brought in the transfers.

And idk if it’s the case or not but sometimes kids can’t be developed into anything else. We saw huge strides from Hyatt this year after he spoke multiple times to stepping up his effort in the offseason. Maybe that’s not there for some of these guys?

I stated before that nearly all the DB's missed spring practice and part of summer recovering from injury instead of working on their craft and putting in extra work. When you add to that the fact that it was already a weak position group and it's been the group most affected by injury, you end up with what we've gotten this year. The less talent that you have, the more work that they need. It's like building a log cabin with twigs and broken popsicle sticks.

 

[MADISONGAVOL]

Martinez is not that bad as some of you dummies make him out to be.

Recruits seem to love him.

I agree recruits love him but come on we are ranked 130 out 130 in pass defense and while our pass rush isn't elite.. 130....talent back there not elite but he sucks at his job

 

[bigl3327]

I agree recruits love him but come on we are ranked 130 out 130 in pass defense and while our pass rush isn't elite.. 130....talent back there not elite but he sucks at his job

That's 130 in passing yards allowed. Before the SC game, it wasn't resulting in points scored, so it really was a misleading statistic. 1) Because our offense is one of the lowest ranked teams in time of possession.
2) Because many of our opponents abandoned the running game because they were playing catch up.
Our secondary still isn't very good, but also not as bad as the 130 or the showing in the SC game.

 

[LittleVol]

That's 130 in passing yards allowed. Before the SC game, it wasn't resulting in points scored, so it really was a misleading statistic. 1) Because our offense is one of the lowest ranked teams in time of possession.
2) Because many of our opponents abandoned the running game because they were playing catch up.
Our secondary still isn't very good, but also not as bad as the 130 or the showing in the SC game.

Have to disagree with you there, Big Man.

They played a bad QB in Mr. "First Round Pick" Levis that made us look decent.

But this secondary is atrocious.
They're averaging 380 yards and 4 TDs given up against SEC competition. That's awful
...

Flowers getting stiff armed for a 1st down by Spencer Rattler lol.

Tank....just ugh.

Slaughter is an athletic safety playing CB...with 4.6 speed. And he's one of our better guys.

I wish them well in life. But they all can't be gone soon enough...and Tim Banks with them

 

[bigl3327]

Have to disagree with you there, Big Man.

They played a bad QB in Mr. "First Round Pick" Levis that made us look decent.

But this secondary is atrocious.
They're averaging 380 yards and 4 TDs given up against SEC competition. That's awful
...

Flowers getting stiff armed for a 1st down by Spencer Rattler lol.

Tank....just ugh.

Slaughter is an athletic safety playing CB...with 4.6 speed. And he's one of our better guys.

I wish them well in life. But they all can't be gone soon enough...and Tim Banks with them

I don't remember if it was in this thread or not, but I said that our secondary isn't good, but they're also not as bad as they looked in the SC game. I'm not holding water for Banks, but don't act like everyone expected the secondary to take a step forward this year. Everyone thinks Warren Burrell is hot garbage and he was our CB1. Now we see why. If your best CB is hot garbage, what does that make the rest of your secondary? It makes it a dumpster fire, and also don't act like this is new. Since 2011 the Vols have had 4 DBs selected in the NFL draft. Two of those were on last year's team and the secondary wasn’t good as a whole. Why do you think a quarter of this class is being used on DBs? I know we have no talent there, and obviously the coaches do to.

 

[SugarCC]

.

 

[BelieveTheHeup93]

2 NFL players in the secondary last year, no?

And yet we finished 13th in the SEC in pass defense

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

2 NFL players in the secondary last year, no?

And?

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Still haven’t seen anyone give me some actual hard data that says Martinez is a good coach. Hey @VolFreakJosh lets see it.

 

[MarcoVol]

And?

And it seems like it makes sense the secondary would be worse after losing 2 nfl guys. Not saying it was good last year, but you said it was worse this year. That makes sense

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

We knew the defense wasn't good before the season. That unexpected playoff run got your hopes up. And now that it's gone, a scapegoat is necessary.

 

[BelieveTheHeup93]

We knew the defense wasn't good before the season. That unexpected playoff run got your hopes up. And now that it's gone, a scapegoat is necessary.

We knew it would be bad to start, but well coached teams usually improve as the season progresses. Ours hasn’t. Sure we had some injuries, but that’s still no excuse for just how bad our DBs were when every other position group has improved

 

[VOLINVONORE]

And?

They are not here this year. Oh, we also have a bunch on injuries this year as well having to play a walk on this in the secondary because of injuries. I know, you enjoy being the source of misinformatio.

 

[butchna]

We also haven't had anyone that's nearly as disruptive as Matthew Butler was on the DL. He hasn't gotten enough credit for his play last year.

DL has been better this season. He stood out last season and got plenty of credit.

 

[bigl3327]

DL has been better this season. He stood out last season and got plenty of credit.

Credit as in....We didn't realize just how dominant he was last year. The DL has been better as a group, and still no one has played close to the level or consistency of Butler. You know, both things can be true.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Still haven’t seen anyone give me some actual hard data that says Martinez is a good coach. Hey @VolFreakJosh lets see it.

There is no basis for a hard determination either way. FACT... the secondary was identified as the weakest link on defense long before the season began. It is possible that an intelligent coach is aware of capabilities of the room and how well they were coached with their limitations. It is also possible that nega fans without the same level of knowledge can reach other determinations and arrogantly draw a line in the sand. Not that hard.