Almost There

#3
#3
I thought they played really well and looked great outside of a sluggish start. Every team is sluggish to start game 1. The defense is much improved and Milton played well enough. The only area of concern would be special teams but they should be able to clean that up.
 
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#4
#4
KnoxCentral92 said:
We are not elite yet..replaying game showed me alot. Bet players get mo better after watching. We should have hange 70
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IMHO, Heupel's game plan and then management of the game avoided running it up against them. It wouldn't have been a great "look" if they posted 60+ against them after laying flowers to honor those players.

I don't think APSU will receive that kind of sympathy. It seems to be becoming more acceptable to post big scores like Ole Miss and OU did this week. Both continued to "run their O" after emptying the bench. It is what you have to do to develop your back ups.
 
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#7
#7
cherokeeeVOL said:
I thought they played really well and looked great outside of a sluggish start. Every team is sluggish to start game 1. The defense is much improved and Milton played well enough. The only area of concern would be special teams but they should be able to clean that up.
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Ohio State scored 23 against a hapless Indiana team. Clemson scored 7 against Duke. Georgia was sluggish in the first half against UT Martin and Kentucky's offense struggled against Ball State before getting it going in the 2nd half.

Offenses are usually behind in week 1. Takes awhile to get in rhythm. Tennessee still managed to score 49 against a power 5 opponent, in spite of a sluggish first 20 minutes or so.
 
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#9
#9
We probably won't score 70 in a game this year unless the defense has a monumentally bad day. Even when we dropped 50 in a first half last year we cycled young players in and prioritized the ground game (we actually always prioritize the ground game but in this case it was to speed up the game). Once we have established that we will win there are more important priorities.
 
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#12
#12
sjt18 said:
IMHO, Heupel's game plan and then management of the game avoided running it up against them. It wouldn't have been a great "look" if they posted 60+ against them after laying flowers to honor those players.

I don't think APSU will receive that kind of sympathy. It seems to be becoming more acceptable to post big scores like Ole Miss and OU did this week. Both continued to "run their O" after emptying the bench. It is what you have to do to develop your back ups.
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Agree
 
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#13
#13
Caspian said:
And lack of high expectations are the foundation of underachievement.
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So you expected the Vols to be elite game 1?

I expected them to need a few games to play at a high or even close to elite level, especially with a relatively new OL and WRs
 
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#15
#15
Alto1 said:
They are screwed, they know it but canā€™t admit itā€¦ā€¦ā€¦
After all, they are Virginia
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kckempf said:
We probably won't score 70 in a game this year unless the defense has a monumentally bad day. Even when we dropped 50 in a first half last year we cycled young players in and prioritized the ground game (we actually always prioritize the ground game but in this case it was to speed up the game). Once we have established that we will win there are more important priorities.
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Iā€™d say that 70 is in play against SC.
 
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#16
#16
kckempf said:
We probably won't score 70 in a game this year unless the defense has a monumentally bad day. Even when we dropped 50 in a first half last year we cycled young players in and prioritized the ground game (we actually always prioritize the ground game but in this case it was to speed up the game). Once we have established that we will win there are more important priorities.
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Austin Peay gave up a near 50 burger to..???.... Southern Illinois and didn't get a first down until late in the 2nd Quarter. SIU was playing their second team.....a lot.... after the first half according to what I read.

I'm afraid it's hard for a decent SEC team NOT to put 70 on a team like Austin Peay. It's not malicious but it's possible our talent, especially in the trenches, at 2nd and 3rd string may be too much for them.
 
#17
#17
KnoxCentral92 said:
We are not elite yet..replaying game showed me alot. Bet players get mo better after watching. We should have hange 70
Click to expand...
You can't tell elite and not-elite apart in any team's first game.

Wait some weeks. See how they settle in, then see how they handle both success and adversity. That's how you tell which are elite.
 
#18
#18
sjt18 said:
IMHO, Heupel's game plan and then management of the game avoided running it up against them. It wouldn't have been a great "look" if they posted 60+ against them after laying flowers to honor those players.

I don't think APSU will receive that kind of sympathy. It seems to be becoming more acceptable to post big scores like Ole Miss and OU did this week. Both continued to "run their O" after emptying the bench. It is what you have to do to develop your back ups.
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"IMHO, Heupel's game plan and then management of the game avoided running it up against them (Virginia)" - I look at this as more a function of getting less experienced players on live game film. I have no doubt we could have scored more points. But the focus (IMHO) was on development first and foremost after the coach perceived the game was in hand.
They were working execution, not intentionally trying to post big scoring numbers.

*[All ranking numbers are Sagarin's numbers, except where AP is appended]
It seems to be becoming more acceptable to post big scores like Ole Miss and OU did this week. I think this is more than that ... I think these blowout scores are more about coaching decisions and strategies ...
1) Teams playing to the fans and the voters. Jockeying to get their recognition and positioning themselves to move higher in the rankings. They concentrate on and focus on satisfying what have you done for me lately.
OU 3-6 and 6-7 in 2022-23 OM 4-4 and 8-5 in 2022-23
So, if your team is not inside the top 20, big scores can move you higher: #20AP OU (against #146) and #22AP OM (against #157). Both teams jumped 2 spots!
Or coaches making themselves more attractive to better jobs, at least that would be my take on Lame K.
Furthermore, as many of you have lamented ... if you are not in the top 10 teams ... you have no chance of making the playoffs.
Contrast that with the behavior of elite teams: #1 Ala vs #115 Middle Tennessee; #2 Ga vs #175 Tn-Martin; #3 Ohio State vs #90 Indiana - none of these teams posted higher scores [and I would also include #5 Tn vs #95 Virginia in this group].
These teams could easily have put up higher numbers. They chose not to do it. It is my opinion did not take their foot of the pedal, they placed more emphasis and more interest in other facets that they wanted to see on film for next week.
2) Teams developing chemistry and developing the backups and the 3d and 4th string players are preparing with a long view, not a short term view.
The big boys get their experienced starters off the field as quick as possible. This is protecting your starters from injury, as much as possible.
The big boys are trying to prepare for nicks, bruises, injuries and thus they concentrate more energy and effort into working various personnel sets.
They put the entire depth chart on the field much earlier and go much deeper than other teams. [It is fair to consider this as speculation on my part - as I have not provided any data to back that up.]
3) Teams exploring how players perform at various tasks and various positions on the field.
You experiment and get life footage of two backups both playing the center position. You get film of the 4th string running back and their decision making. This early playing time is for the player as much as the coaches.
If they do not play, they will transfer to a place where they can play in short order. Putting them on the field earlier rewards players and gives coaches something to correct and get the player invested in developing or fixing deficiencies in their game.
4) Some coaches are practicing and teaching the demoralization of the opponent.
Our coach put the numbers of Va players in plain view. That is more the idea of mutual respect.
Some coaches go with the 'kick 'em when they are down' approach. Striving for humiliation of the opponent and make them quit as early as possible. I understand it, but personally I am not a fan.
Elite coaches seem to be more about besting you, not beating into submission. That makes enemies and creates and encourages strong negative responses.
I heard a "professional" tennis player talking about strategy when playing opponents, 'just keep the ball in play' and I wait for them to mess up, which they will eventually do because I am the better player. When they come to the net, they are willing to shake my hand and we can go out to dinner later as opponents and friends.
JMTC
 
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#19
#19
We won by 36 points against a P5 with a good defense despite the following unforced erros: 1) a coaching brain fart on 4th down at our own 29, 2) two shanked very short punts, 3) two penalties for OB kick-offs, 4) a fumbled punt return, 5) a dropped long TD pass. Clean those things up and we win by at least 50.
 
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#21
#21
cherokeeeVOL said:
I thought they played really well and looked great outside of a sluggish start. Every team is sluggish to start game 1. The defense is much improved and Milton played well enough. The only area of concern would be special teams but they should be able to clean that up.
Click to expand...
Sluggish?? They scored first time they touched the ball
 
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#22
#22
youcancallmeAl said:
We won by 36 points against a P5 with a good defense despite the following unforced erros: 1) a coaching brain fart on 4th down at our own 29, 2) two shanked very short punts, 3) two penalties for OB kick-offs, 4) a fumbled punt return, 5) a dropped long TD pass. Clean those things up and we win by at least 50.
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I love that CJH has the confidence in his team to go for it on 4th down on our own 29. And refuse the sure 3 on 4th down inside their 10 yard line. Now, you may think he is a river boat gambler, or foolhardy. Neither one of those decisions is a statistical decision.
This tells me what he thinks of his team... and his ability to assess the situation quickly.
I play chess and when you see that kind of choice or play ... you know instantly you are facing an idiot or Bobby Fischer. I will tell you this, as an opposing coach ... that would scare me senseless.
I would be looking at those moves/plays and asking myself ... what did he see, that I am missing?
 
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#25
#25
I need to see the Florida game to determine anything about this team. Virginia was awful the last several years, and had even less returning this year. They are selected by several to be the worst P5 team. I donā€™t really put much thought into this win.
 
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