Biggest Summer Improvement

[DERELICK_MY_VOLS]

It is even more simple than that. What I came up with is that if you score more points than your opponent in every game, you win the National Championship if you are in the SEC. No other stat guarantees that.

DEBATE KILLER POST BRAH!!!!

 

[DERELICK_MY_VOLS]

No you can't. Our defense isn't equipped for an 8-9 win season. QB play has very little to do with it.

Not according to these guys in 2005...


TENNESSEE 2005 Defensive DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters/Key Players
DEFENSE
DE Parys Haralson-Sr (6-2, 248) Xavier Mitchell-So (6-3, 252)
DT Jesse Mahelona-Sr (6-2, 297) Demonte Bolden-Fr (6-5, 285)
DT Justin Harrell-Jr (6-4, 306) Turk McBride-Jr (6-4, 260)
DE Jason Hall-Sr (6-3, 260) Antonio Reynolds-So (6-3, 245)
SLB Omar Gaither-Sr (6-2, 230) Ryan Karl-So (6-0, 210)
MLB Kevin Simon-Sr (5-11, 234) Jon Poe-Sr (5-11, 241)
WLB Jason Mitchell-Sr (6-1, 227) Daniel Brooks-Jr (6-4, 234)
CB Jason Allen-Sr (6-2, 202) Inquoris Johnson-So (6-0, 167)
CB Roshaun Fellows-So (6-0, 184) Jonathan Wade-Jr (6-0, 185)
SS Antwan Stewart-Jr (6-0, 193) Sinclair Cannon-Fr (6-2, 210)
FS Jonathan Hefney-So (5-10, 174) Corey Campbell-Jr (6-3, 190)

But all that talent on defense had to watch Beavis and Butthead below throw it all away....literally!

 

[General Jack]

Not according to these guys in 2005...


TENNESSEE 2005 Defensive DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters/Key Players
DEFENSE
DE Parys Haralson-Sr (6-2, 248) Xavier Mitchell-So (6-3, 252)
DT Jesse Mahelona-Sr (6-2, 297) Demonte Bolden-Fr (6-5, 285)
DT Justin Harrell-Jr (6-4, 306) Turk McBride-Jr (6-4, 260)
DE Jason Hall-Sr (6-3, 260) Antonio Reynolds-So (6-3, 245)
SLB Omar Gaither-Sr (6-2, 230) Ryan Karl-So (6-0, 210)
MLB Kevin Simon-Sr (5-11, 234) Jon Poe-Sr (5-11, 241)
WLB Jason Mitchell-Sr (6-1, 227) Daniel Brooks-Jr (6-4, 234)
CB Jason Allen-Sr (6-2, 202) Inquoris Johnson-So (6-0, 167)
CB Roshaun Fellows-So (6-0, 184) Jonathan Wade-Jr (6-0, 185)
SS Antwan Stewart-Jr (6-0, 193) Sinclair Cannon-Fr (6-2, 210)
FS Jonathan Hefney-So (5-10, 174) Corey Campbell-Jr (6-3, 190)

But all that talent on defense had to watch Beavis and Butthead below throw it all away....literally!

Lol. Cornhulio approves.

Defense was awesome but that offense was horrific.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

This Spring we had major upgrades at RB, TE, NB (Coleman), #2 CB, LB and WR. We lost ground at Safety, OT - although Coleman Thomas is impressive. Interior OL is a push. Kicking/Punting are downgraded somewhat, too much risk and unknowns. DL was also a downgrade after losing 6 from 2 deep, keeping Saulsberry and Vereen. Return teams and cover teams should be much better due to speed. QB is a temp downgrade in losing Fergie.

This Summer, I would expect at the very least LBs to improve on depth alone. Bates and Weatherd are very capable.

OTs will improve with a steep learning curve. I expect Blair to come back in better shape and more familiar with offense, which should make him faster by knowledge of the offense.

Safety will see a major upgrade with TK2, Gaulden and Randolph added to the mix with Cortez..

Once we get those safeties, I expect the secondary to gel and be very good.

LBs will have major speed upgrades over last year. And a lot more killer instinct to complement AJ in the middle.
DL will get in much needed heavies. Sawyer and Robertson won't disappoint IMO. Getting Saulsberry back will be great. Maggitt, and Weatherd could help Vereen out.

Wharton might see time on returns. Medley makes way on campus.

QB will be a risk with one less gun slinger but Worley and Dobbs will get more playing time...Peterman about the same. Worley and Dobbs should parlay the extra snaps into better performance.

RBs: I think Scott can be every bit as good as Hurd but in a different way. It will be like throwing changeups to the D. With Hurd, Lane, Scott and Pickett, we have an awesome group. Paulk will probably redshirt and rehab knee.

Most improvement this Summer: DL because they have the most opportunity to improve.

Most solid units WR, RB, Secondary and LBs.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

I hope the o-line with the qb's being a
close second.

We're gonna need at least two QBs per game because of arm cramps from throwing all of those bombs.

 

[fade route]

Auburn made the NC game last year.

Scoring O- 2nd in the SEC (39.5 ppg)
Scoring D- 9th (24.7 ppg)

In fact, they were only 1 ppg better than UT vs the SEC @ 29.6 ppg.

Total O- 2nd at 501 ypg
Total D- 12th... just below UT. They allowed 50 more ypg vs the SEC than UT did.


QB play and offensive production has everything to do with it. Great O let's you get away with a mediocre D... or maybe a bit worse. Mizzou wasn't a great D team either. They were a very O team.

I would like for you to make the argument that Worley and/or Dobbs can improve enough to make us last year's Auburn. This ought to be good.

 

[Nationdom]

I would like for you to make the argument that Worley and/or Dobbs can improve enough to make us last year's Auburn. This ought to be good.

I love how you try so hard to make it seem like we suck so bad. We are a lot better team then you give credit. prepare to be blown away by fast hitting action and speed. you will be surprised, i wont be.

 

[checkerboards09]

We're gonna need at least two QBs per game because of arm cramps from throwing all of those bombs.

I don't really see a lot of bombs happening. I think the majority of our passes are gonna be screens and quick slants because of the OL needing to gel together this first year. That and running the hell outta the ball is my best guess.

 

[Biopsyman]

The whole team

 

[Aesius]

I love how you try so hard to make it seem like we suck so bad. We are a lot better team then you give credit. prepare to be blown away by fast hitting action and speed. you will be surprised, i wont be.

We do suck so bad.

There is definitely a lot of talent on the roster this year, but it's raw talent that needs time to develop.

 

[Nationdom]

We do suck so bad.

There is definitely a lot of talent on the roster this year, but it's raw talent that needs time to develop.

we have enough talented upper class men to win 6-7 games. What happens next is a lethal injection of legacy talent(along with many other highly regarded student athletes) that will stop at nothing to conquer and dominate all(7-8 teams this year) who stand before them. picture this....It was the third Saturday in October at Neyland this year

It was a brisk fall morning as Saban grew near

The crowds were growing as game time rolled round

A slight rocky top tune grew loud and proud,

The bammers rolled in yelling roll tide, hoping the Vols would lose their pride

But the boys from UT were ready to ride, fightin and scrappin to beat some bama hide

As game time was near ,Bama felt the furry, 105,000 can make you real weary

The band was revved up and forming the T, watch out Bama, IT’S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE

You still think we suck bro?

 

[fade route]

I love how you try so hard to make it seem like we suck so bad. We are a lot better team then you give credit. prepare to be blown away by fast hitting action and speed. you will be surprised, i wont be.

I will have the same level of enthusiasm you have exactly one year from now. There's still just so much unproven, inexperienced talent on this team that needs another year in the system to really flourish. Besides, our depth is atrocious. Keep in mind, I think we will be better in some areas than last year, but I think a 7-6 record is probably our ceiling against this schedule.

 

[nomads-11]

To start....the number one area I'll be watching for is edge play. Doesn't mean I won't be watching the QB or CB, or anywhere in between....but for me I'm starting at the basics. Edge play. Can we stop the power sweep, bubble screen or anything running or passing on the edges? If the answer is yes...then we can talk what is next. I just think we got killed on edge plays so many times last year, it just overcomes a lot of anything else at this point. All that said, anyone on D who shows ability to shut down this aspect has got my attention. Once shut down, we'll go from there.

 

[terrypedigo]

No you can't. Our defense isn't equipped for an 8-9 win season. QB play has very little to do with it.

You are right with both the OL and DL VERY YOUNG AND THIN, I just don't see 8 or 9 wins, don't care who the QB is, hope I am wrong, I would take 7 and 5 right now and dance in the streets.:dance2:

 

[DL916]

Hopefully QBs, if so, you can expect a season in the 8-9 win range possibly.

Not to sound like a jerk but this is such an ESPN and current media popular response. Our QBs didn't put up good stats last year because even the greatest QB can't work miracles. This year our RBs and WRs should be much improved thus our QBs will benefit as well. But we'll need the OLine to play decent enough.

To answer the original question WRs and DBs will be most improved.

 

[Vol865]

we have enough talented upper class men to win 6-7 games. What happens next is a lethal injection of legacy talent(along with many other highly regarded student athletes) that will stop at nothing to conquer and dominate all(7-8 teams this year) who stand before them. picture this....It was the third Saturday in October at Neyland this year

It was a brisk fall morning as Saban grew near

The crowds were growing as game time rolled round

A slight rocky top tune grew loud and proud,

The bammers rolled in yelling roll tide, hoping the Vols would lose their pride

But the boys from UT were ready to ride, fightin and scrappin to beat some bama hide

As game time was near ,Bama felt the furry, 105,000 can make you real weary

The band was revved up and forming the T, watch out Bama, IT’S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE

You still think we suck bro?

Im not sure how this is supposed to change his mind but I like it.

 

[GBOVOLS]

I would like for you to make the argument that Worley and/or Dobbs can improve enough to make us last year's Auburn. This ought to be good.

You do know Nick Marshall wasn't the most polished QB right? Secondly man you have to lay up off the QBs man first year in the system combine with the fact one was a true freshman was tailor made to be a disaster. Want to see bad QB play? Look at UK last year.

 

[volinbama256]

our secondary will be strong this year, which is what we desperately need. TE's and WR's both will have another year in the system (Malone and Pearson were EE's) and our overall D will be much improved with Maggitt and others rounding out positions of need. If we can just have an O line that is steady, we will win 7.

 

[Crazy Ivan]

It better be the q.b.'s...

We have receivers but don't have anyone to get the ball to them

Yes, we do. A good % of their problems last year were a receiving corp that struggled to get open, struggled to run the correct routes, and a way over-rated OL that gave our inexperienced QBs little time to wait for receivers to get open. If the RBs can keep us out of 3rd and longs, the new OL can pass block, and these receiver are as good as the hype that precedes them, then I'm confident our QBs will get them the ball.

 

[DaddyChad]

The O line better improve from last year. Everything else on offense will look better if those guys improve. We should have better talent/depth at WR. TE looks better also. QB play will improve with the talent that we have to make plays.

 

[Whitewolf]

I will have the same level of enthusiasm you have exactly one year from now. There's still just so much unproven, inexperienced talent on this team that needs another year in the system to really flourish. Besides, our depth is atrocious. Keep in mind, I think we will be better in some areas than last year, but I think a 7-6 record is probably our ceiling against this schedule.

OMG, I can't believe I agree with Fade....:question:

 

[RiseToTheTop]

I agree with a previous poster who said it's the secondary.

However, I hope it's at DT. Gonna need the freshmen to show up big from Day 1. Right now we're relying on Saulsberry coming off of limited career playing time/experience and an ACL, an under-talented OBrien and a converted DE in J Williams. Glad Owen Williams EE'd and hope it pays dividends early. If Sawyers, Barnett, Mosley and maybe Robertson don't come in ready to play and make a big early impact we're gonna be in trouble.

saulsbery was our best DT before injury. very disruptive. Obrien isnt bad. hes tough as hell and hes a brawler. i think owen and saulsberry along with randolph back will help out big time. Jordan williams has a little burst. Maggitt and Vereen will be a nasty force on the edges IMO.

so many people are scared of the unknown is really what it comes down to. The only guy ill miss from last yr is Miller at the end of the year. It wont be any worse.

 

[RiseToTheTop]

To start....the number one area I'll be watching for is edge play. Doesn't mean I won't be watching the QB or CB, or anywhere in between....but for me I'm starting at the basics. Edge play. Can we stop the power sweep, bubble screen or anything running or passing on the edges? If the answer is yes...then we can talk what is next. I just think we got killed on edge plays so many times last year, it just overcomes a lot of anything else at this point. All that said, anyone on D who shows ability to shut down this aspect has got my attention. Once shut down, we'll go from there.

totally agree on setting those edges.


as for edge rush, it will be night and day better. go back and look at some games last yr. Vereen may have only had 1 or two sacks but he caused a INT against South AL bc of pressure and he had several other instances where he was breathing down the QBs neck and he was forced to get rid of the ball. Maggitt as we all know has a serious explosion when he is right and that will be much needed.

 

[Izzy]

I have no clue which group is going to step up because I don't know Jack about foozball

But I did save a bundle this month by switching to Geico!!:dance2:

GBO

 

[sjt18]

Top 5 in sacks and picks; that makes all the difference.

Point is... you don't have to have a great D to win games if you have a really good O.

The '12 Vol team with the '11 Vol D under Wilcox... probably wins 10 games. Last year's team with a O that scored even 5 more ppg... is a 7 or 8 win team. The object as 1972 said is to score more points.