DiderotsGhost
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Yesterday's blowout loss was ugly, but it's time to put things in perspective. It's not the end of the world and Butch Jones can still be a huge success here.
Thoughts on the game, Butch Jones, and moving forward.
The game
1. Oregon's offense may be the greatest in college football history. That is no exaggeration. Not exactly an easy task for a 1st-year coach with a depleted secondary and a limited offense.
2. Butch's game plan may not have been perfect, but the real problem wasn't the game plan. It was a lack of horses to run it.
3. You can't win in the top echelons of college football without taking risks. We took very few risks yesterday, but that may have had to do with limited options.
4. Justin Worley is the ultimate no-risk / no-reward QB. He doesn't make huge mistakes, but his limitations and conservatism mean that the defense doesn't respect the passing game.
5. Our O-Line was phenomenal yesterday; it's just that most people didn't notice it because Oregon discovered that they could focus almost 100% on stopping the run with zero consequences, due to Worley's limited passing game.
6. Our "D" wasn't as bad as the 59-point shellacking would indicate. The real problem was the offense. You can't expect to hold Oregon under 50 when you go three-and-out every series.
7. We actually held Oregon's rushing game reasonably in check. It didn't matter, though, because they picked apart our weak secondary. And once we went 3-and-out every time, that already thin secondary tired out.
8. Our QB position is clearly a huge weakness, and it's difficult to win games (without a great defense) given that. We don't have any great options. That's not Butch's fault.
9. Throw me in the Nate Peterman camp at this point. Worley might be a better "game manager", but I think we're better off with Peterman's mistakes if it opens up the offense a little bit. We can't win if every team loads the box to stop the run.
10. The "D" actually looked good in the first quarter. Once we started giving away the ball every four plays, that's when they started to struggled. In other words, our "horrible D" was at least partly a function of our offensive futility.
11. Overall, while we had hoped to keep the game closer, it went about as expected. Our O-line and running game were great. Our D-line was good and put some pressure on Oregon. And absolutely none of that mattered, because Oregon exploited our weak passing game, weak secondary, and poor special teams coverage to the fullest extent possible. Give them credit for a brilliant game plan.
Butch Jones and Keeping Things In Perspective
1. It may have been ugly, but it's just one game.
2. How can Butch Jones rebound from this? Ask Nick Saban how he rebounded from a 41-9 thumping by Florida in 2000. Or you could ask Steve Spurrier how he rebounded from a 45-3 annihilation at the hands of Tennessee in 1990. Or how about Jim Harbaugh and his 41-3 loss to Arizona State in game #4 of his tenure at Stanford?
3. Anyone remember Chip Kelly's first game at Oregon? 19-8 versus Boise State and it was more embarrassing than the score would indicate. The media immediately started to question whether he was the right guy. So much for that.
4. Not saying that Butch Jones is going to rebound in the same way as Spurrier or Kelly and win big in his 1st Season, but I am saying that you can't judge him based on one game where our guys were clearly outmatched in every single way.
5. Unfortunately, this is a reminder that we still have a weak team. Butch is playing in the toughest conference in America with some limited options, particularly at QB and in the secondary.
6. Coaches in "turn-around" situations are very rarely successful in Year 1 and even when they are, it's often more the result of the prior coaching staff that stockpiled talent, but didn't know how to use it (see: Ron Zook, Ed Orgeron). It normally takes a few years to see results.
7. Recruiting is going to be absolutely vital to get back to the top of the SEC. Which is why we should have some patience through Butch's first two years. On a talent level, we're probably in the bottom half of the SEC until Year #3.
8. Butch is a great recruiter and even if he were to go 5-7 the next two years (and I don't think he will), if he brings in two top 10 classes, there are reasons for optimism.
Moving Forward
1. If we faced the greatest offense in college football history yesterday, our next game could be against the best defense in college football this year. Florida's "D" is really, really good.
2. Anyone else notice that Western Kentucky lost to South Alabama? Perhaps USA is no longer a "freebie".
3. If you exclude USA and Kentucky, we still have 7 difficult games to go. Let's see how we fare in those games.
4. I still think we'll win at least 2 of those 7 games, as well as the USA and Kentucky games. Not going to be easy, but it's do-able.
5. I don't think Butch will pull the plug on Worley just yet, but I wish he would. Peterman might hurt us some in the short-run, but I can't see us having much of a shot in big games with Worley. He doesn't make "big mistakes", but that's because he doesn't take any risks.
Overall, I'm still "FULL BUTCH"! We lost to a great team and it wasn't pretty, but what's more important is to see how we move forward. I still have faith in Butch and what he's trying to build. I realize it might take some time to see results.
GO BUTCH! GO VOLS!
Thoughts on the game, Butch Jones, and moving forward.
The game
1. Oregon's offense may be the greatest in college football history. That is no exaggeration. Not exactly an easy task for a 1st-year coach with a depleted secondary and a limited offense.
2. Butch's game plan may not have been perfect, but the real problem wasn't the game plan. It was a lack of horses to run it.
3. You can't win in the top echelons of college football without taking risks. We took very few risks yesterday, but that may have had to do with limited options.
4. Justin Worley is the ultimate no-risk / no-reward QB. He doesn't make huge mistakes, but his limitations and conservatism mean that the defense doesn't respect the passing game.
5. Our O-Line was phenomenal yesterday; it's just that most people didn't notice it because Oregon discovered that they could focus almost 100% on stopping the run with zero consequences, due to Worley's limited passing game.
6. Our "D" wasn't as bad as the 59-point shellacking would indicate. The real problem was the offense. You can't expect to hold Oregon under 50 when you go three-and-out every series.
7. We actually held Oregon's rushing game reasonably in check. It didn't matter, though, because they picked apart our weak secondary. And once we went 3-and-out every time, that already thin secondary tired out.
8. Our QB position is clearly a huge weakness, and it's difficult to win games (without a great defense) given that. We don't have any great options. That's not Butch's fault.
9. Throw me in the Nate Peterman camp at this point. Worley might be a better "game manager", but I think we're better off with Peterman's mistakes if it opens up the offense a little bit. We can't win if every team loads the box to stop the run.
10. The "D" actually looked good in the first quarter. Once we started giving away the ball every four plays, that's when they started to struggled. In other words, our "horrible D" was at least partly a function of our offensive futility.
11. Overall, while we had hoped to keep the game closer, it went about as expected. Our O-line and running game were great. Our D-line was good and put some pressure on Oregon. And absolutely none of that mattered, because Oregon exploited our weak passing game, weak secondary, and poor special teams coverage to the fullest extent possible. Give them credit for a brilliant game plan.
Butch Jones and Keeping Things In Perspective
1. It may have been ugly, but it's just one game.
2. How can Butch Jones rebound from this? Ask Nick Saban how he rebounded from a 41-9 thumping by Florida in 2000. Or you could ask Steve Spurrier how he rebounded from a 45-3 annihilation at the hands of Tennessee in 1990. Or how about Jim Harbaugh and his 41-3 loss to Arizona State in game #4 of his tenure at Stanford?
3. Anyone remember Chip Kelly's first game at Oregon? 19-8 versus Boise State and it was more embarrassing than the score would indicate. The media immediately started to question whether he was the right guy. So much for that.
4. Not saying that Butch Jones is going to rebound in the same way as Spurrier or Kelly and win big in his 1st Season, but I am saying that you can't judge him based on one game where our guys were clearly outmatched in every single way.
5. Unfortunately, this is a reminder that we still have a weak team. Butch is playing in the toughest conference in America with some limited options, particularly at QB and in the secondary.
6. Coaches in "turn-around" situations are very rarely successful in Year 1 and even when they are, it's often more the result of the prior coaching staff that stockpiled talent, but didn't know how to use it (see: Ron Zook, Ed Orgeron). It normally takes a few years to see results.
7. Recruiting is going to be absolutely vital to get back to the top of the SEC. Which is why we should have some patience through Butch's first two years. On a talent level, we're probably in the bottom half of the SEC until Year #3.
8. Butch is a great recruiter and even if he were to go 5-7 the next two years (and I don't think he will), if he brings in two top 10 classes, there are reasons for optimism.
Moving Forward
1. If we faced the greatest offense in college football history yesterday, our next game could be against the best defense in college football this year. Florida's "D" is really, really good.
2. Anyone else notice that Western Kentucky lost to South Alabama? Perhaps USA is no longer a "freebie".
3. If you exclude USA and Kentucky, we still have 7 difficult games to go. Let's see how we fare in those games.
4. I still think we'll win at least 2 of those 7 games, as well as the USA and Kentucky games. Not going to be easy, but it's do-able.
5. I don't think Butch will pull the plug on Worley just yet, but I wish he would. Peterman might hurt us some in the short-run, but I can't see us having much of a shot in big games with Worley. He doesn't make "big mistakes", but that's because he doesn't take any risks.
Overall, I'm still "FULL BUTCH"! We lost to a great team and it wasn't pretty, but what's more important is to see how we move forward. I still have faith in Butch and what he's trying to build. I realize it might take some time to see results.
GO BUTCH! GO VOLS!
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