Closing strong in the portal

[MurphyVol]

Congrats! 2.5 sacks against a team we destroyed. And don't try and convince me that we just beat a CFB juggernaut in the Orange Bowl. BY had zero sacks in the 2 games we got our butts kicked and zero against Bama. I agree you have to give your staff "a little time" to build but that doesn't seem to apply to contracts now does it? Its insane to boost Heupel's pay to $9 mil a season when he hasn't delivered a championship. In my world, "close" doesn't cut it, we got embarrassed in Athens and in Columbia. Do you think that deserves a reward? Good Lord man.

Tell more about your world.

 

[ButchPlz]

You've got one idiot saying Heupel is building the whole team through the portal, and another idiot that's complaining that we're not doing enough in the portal, and they're liking each other's posts. The internet in a nutshell.

 

[KeyVol14]

Congrats! 2.5 sacks against a team we destroyed. And don't try and convince me that we just beat a CFB juggernaut in the Orange Bowl. BY had zero sacks in the 2 games we got our butts kicked and zero against Bama. I agree you have to give your staff "a little time" to build but that doesn't seem to apply to contracts now does it? Its insane to boost Heupel's pay to $9 mil a season when he hasn't delivered a championship. In my world, "close" doesn't cut it, we got embarrassed in Athens and in Columbia. Do you think that deserves a reward? Good Lord man.

Your prob the same person that predicted us to go 7-5 in the preseason. Take a step back and understand what Heupel inherited and what’s he’s done this far with the program and the roster. If you can’t see it then I’m sorry. Also to note BY is now projected a late first round pick, quit acting like he’s some scrub.

 

[WaywardVol]

We were one of the best in the country at minus yardage plays. We had many sacks and more pressures. You obviously didn’t watch the same team most of us did. Garner has gotten the most out of our players and coaches them up. Garner is one of the best in the business. We have gotten better at D since he got here and will continue to get better. GBO

Our defense plays one the highest amount of snaps as anyone in the country. It was rated as one of the 5 worst in pass defense. You have to weigh negative yard plays against giving up big plays and those other factors.

Sorry, I don’t think Garner has gotten the most out of Tyler Barron. I don’t think he got it out of Young who projects as a first round pick.

 

[WilcoVolsFan]

You've got one idiot saying Heupel is building the whole team through the portal, and another idiot that's complaining that we're not doing enough in the portal, and they're liking each other's posts. The internet in a nutshell.

Possibly the best short summary since "series of tubes." Bravo.

 

[WaywardVol]

Your prob the same person that predicted us to go 7-5 in the preseason. Take a step back and understand what Heupel inherited and what’s he’s done this far with the program and the roster. If you can’t see it then I’m sorry. Also to note BY is now projected a late first round pick, quit acting like he’s some scrub.

This shows how incredible Heupel’s offense performed. The defense was bad, despite what many are saying. The offense was able to overcome a really bad defense. We gave up record yards, number of plays and possession time, and still won 11 games.

I will say Heupel inherited a pretty damn good Oline. Plus, while he made Hooker, he did inherit him, as well as Tillman and Hyatt.

That guy is off the deep end as No one expected 11 wins.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

Your prob the same person that predicted us to go 7-5 in the preseason. Take a step back and understand what Heupel inherited and what’s he’s done this far with the program and the roster. If you can’t see it then I’m sorry. Also to note BY is now projected a late first round pick, quit acting like he’s some scrub.

Don't let him/her get to you. it is most likely either a Bama or Dog troll trying to get you to respond and get attention.

 

[pimo1]

Our defense plays one the highest amount of snaps as anyone in the country. It was rated as one of the 5 worst in pass defense. You have to weigh negative yard plays against giving up big plays and those other factors.

Sorry, I don’t think Garner has gotten the most out of Tyler Barron. I don’t think he got it out of Young who projects as a first round pick.

Our defense plays a high number of snaps because of the offense.. and any defense that plays a lot of snaps is going to be ranked lower.. that's kinda how math works.

Lets say you have 2 completely equal defenses. That give up 3 yards a play. If one defense plays 50 (150 yards) snaps a game and one plays 100 (300) the one that plays 50 looks way better but in reality they are the same.

Next you have to factor in fatigue and depth.... even though those 2 imaginary defenses have the exact same personnel the one that plays 100 snaps is either having to play more subs or their starters are way more tired and prone to mistakes/injuries.

Was out defense great this year? Heck no. Was it all their fault? Nope again. Are they likely to be much improved next year.. Surely. Lots of snaps and lack of depth plus tons of injuries lead to a really bad statistical year for our defense. but here is the think.. they only played 2 bad games because we only lost 2.

 

[ptgrbn]

I'm embarassed for you...........TCU would have been a 7 win team had they played an SEC schedule last season.

Don’t be mean dude

 

[BondJamesBond]

Congrats! 2.5 sacks against a team we destroyed. And don't try and convince me that we just beat a CFB juggernaut in the Orange Bowl. BY had zero sacks in the 2 games we got our butts kicked and zero against Bama. I agree you have to give your staff "a little time" to build but that doesn't seem to apply to contracts now does it? Its insane to boost Heupel's pay to $9 mil a season when he hasn't delivered a championship. In my world, "close" doesn't cut it, we got embarrassed in Athens and in Columbia. Do you think that deserves a reward? Good Lord man.

I think there is probably 100 BCS teams that would swap their coach for our coach.

Just refuse to pay your portion. The rest of us will cover it.

 

[WaywardVol]

Our defense plays a high number of snaps because of the offense.. and any defense that plays a lot of snaps is going to be ranked lower.. that's kinda how math works.

Lets say you have 2 completely equal defenses. That give up 3 yards a play. If one defense plays 50 (150 yards) snaps a game and one plays 100 (300) the one that plays 50 looks way better but in reality they are the same.

Next you have to factor in fatigue and depth.... even though those 2 imaginary defenses have the exact same personnel the one that plays 100 snaps is either having to play more subs or their starters are way more tired and prone to mistakes/injuries.

Was out defense great this year? Heck no. Was it all their fault? Nope again. Are they likely to be much improved next year.. Surely. Lots of snaps and lack of depth plus tons of injuries lead to a really bad statistical year for our defense. but here is the think.. they only played 2 bad games because we only lost 2.

That’s only partly true.
Our defense plays more snaps because they can’t get off the field. Our offense did not run anywhere near the amount of plays it could have.
This defense was terrible statistically and when it came to those stats. Passing yards given up and number of plays allowed. We really didn’t have an inordinate amount of injuries.

 

[Volfan1000]

Tennessee picked up Trevor Duncan's older brother, a tight end from Virginia Tech as a preferred walk on, per a video from Sports Talk J's You tube channel.

 

[Mccage]

You've got one idiot saying Heupel is building the whole team through the portal, and another idiot that's complaining that we're not doing enough in the portal, and they're liking each other's posts. The internet in a nutshell.

Nothing worse than a confused troll.
Rules out Candy they smart. Maybe Bammers but my money is on Kentuckians. Theys always confused.

 

[FLVOL_79]

This shows how incredible Heupel’s offense performed. The defense was bad, despite what many are saying. The offense was able to overcome a really bad defense. We gave up record yards, number of plays and possession time, and still won 11 games.

I will say Heupel inherited a pretty damn good Oline. Plus, while he made Hooker, he did inherit him, as well as Tillman and Hyatt.

That guy is off the deep end as No one expected 11 wins.

The defense was bad, but not that bad. They didn't complement the offense that well.

 

[rocytop2624]

Nolen might be trying to renegotiate his deal with aggienation

They moved his family down there.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

Id like to see us sign leaner faster linebackers....or better coverage linebackers... relying mostly on the DLine to control line of scrimmage and stop the run game.

A Kevin Burnett type comes to mind as a linebacker I would like to see playing the outside area. Size and reach out on the perimeter on regular downs. But not a line of scrimmage player, certainly not full time.
A guy that can be a defensive end stopping the run against a SEC tackle AND be a pass coverage player against a SEC tight end in the same body is one hell of a player. A very high draft pick type of player. There are not many of those, and they tend to be recruited rather than 'developed'.
Will be interesting to see where this defense goes with all of the talent that we're bringing in and currently recruiting.

 

[BADGER_VOL]

Might be dumb question but I honestly don’t know how the transfer portal tendencies work. Is it a situation that after spring practices are over a good QB might transfer we could pick up?
I’m probably more concerned with our QB situation than many younger fans (I’m 45), cuz I vividly remember…Justin Colquitt (down), Todd Helton (down), now Peyton as a true frosh. It worked out ok (Peyton as a frosh was far from Peyton as a sophomore), but point id we were at third string. And if that happened this coming season? The drop off would likely be insane.

 

[beachvol23]

That’s only partly true.
Our defense plays more snaps because they can’t get off the field. Our offense did not run anywhere near the amount of plays it could have.
This defense was terrible statistically and when it came to those stats. Passing yards given up and number of plays allowed. We really didn’t have an inordinate amount of injuries.

This exactly! We couldn’t get off the field. The secondary talent upgrade will help a lot, hopefully sooner than later. Overall team speed and depth on defense has been a huge issue. I think because the offense has been so prolific, people tend to forget just how poor the talent dropped to during the past 5 years! Beldar Cornbread didn’t recuit DBs and LBs worth a s&@t!!! And the “decent” talent we had left.

 

[WaywardVol]

This exactly! We couldn’t get off the field. The secondary talent upgrade will help a lot, hopefully sooner than later. Overall team speed and depth on defense has been a huge issue. I think because the offense has been so prolific, people tend to forget just how poor the talent dropped to during the past 5 years! Beldar Cornbread didn’t recuit DBs and LBs worth a s&@t!!! And the “decent” talent we had left.

When I look back through the rankings, we didn’t get great DBs, but we got some decent rated guys. Beasley has turned into a very nice LB.

 

[Woodlawn VOL]

Our defense plays one the highest amount of snaps as anyone in the country. It was rated as one of the 5 worst in pass defense. You have to weigh negative yard plays against giving up big plays and those other factors.

Sorry, I don’t think Garner has gotten the most out of Tyler Barron. I don’t think he got it out of Young who projects as a first round pick.

Well good thing it’s only your opinion, I guess you expected more than 11-2 this past year. Glad your not over things at UT, Garner is as good as it gets as D-Line coach. Get used to him being at UT for awhile and seeing us continue to get better. Our D was one of the best in the country in red zone and sacks and pressures. Sure our secondary was our weak link and kept us on the field to long at times. The entire DLine as a unit has vastly improved over the last 2 years and with even better talent on the way and returning players watch out. We are going to continue to get better. GBO

 

[Woodlawn VOL]

The portal is where some folks think everybody is a potential star and great person. The reality portal is where great players occasionally enter the portal mainly quarterbacks and skill players. Then you have a segment of want it now anxious players who want fast playing time and end up transferring only to encounter the same process of having to wait again. Then another group that is leaving because of a mirage of problems from injuries to personal. Going hard into the portal willy nilly all hard and heavy is not a long term answer to building a great program. You certainly use it but you have to do your homework and this staff goes about it smart. Some fans act like that all portal players are capable of helping UT and that is simply not the case. You can only have 85 scholarship players on roster at one time. Kuddos to our staff, they are confident in their own skin and have a great grasp of what we need. They evaluate talent and the person.GBO! Building a Big Orange Foundation to last!!!!!

 

[WaywardVol]

Well good thing it’s only your opinion, I guess you expected more than 11-2 this past year. Glad your not over things at UT, Garner is as good as it gets as D-Line coach. Get used to him being at UT for awhile and seeing us continue to get better. Our D was one of the best in the country in red zone and sacks and pressures. Sure our secondary was our weak link and kept us on the field to long at times. The entire DLine as a unit has vastly improved over the last 2 years and with even better talent on the way and returning players watch out. We are going to continue to get better. GBO

Yes, of course it’s my opinion. Isnt that what we we do here? I don’t feel the urge to police other people’s opinion. I don’t have a problem discussing things with someone who has a different opinion than myself.

Expected more than 11-2?? Are you nuts?? I didn’t expect anywhere near that. That doesn’t mean there aren’t areas of the team where I expected more.
I think we can all agree that we got way more than expected on offense

Garner is a very good coach, which is WHY I expected more. Is he as good as it gets? As I said, Rocker was a much better coach. Recruiter? No. Rocker is coaching the D line in the Super Bowl, btw. I expected Garner to get more out of our ends.
if you want to interpret that as if I’m saying fire someone, or that the season was a disappointment, then that’s on you not me.

 

[beachvol23]

When I look back through the rankings, we didn’t get great DBs, but we got some decent rated guys. Beasley has turned into a very nice LB.

Yeah, good for 2-3rd team depth but not across the board starters as upper tier SEC talent.

 

[Woodlawn VOL]

Yes, of course it’s my opinion. Isnt that what we we do here? I don’t feel the urge to police other people’s opinion. I don’t have a problem discussing things with someone who has a different opinion than myself.

Expected more than 11-2?? Are you nuts?? I didn’t expect anywhere near that. That doesn’t mean there aren’t areas of the team where I expected more.
I think we can all agree that we got way more than expected on offense

Garner is a very good coach, which is WHY I expected more. Is he as good as it gets? As I said, Rocker was a much better coach. Recruiter? No. Rocker is coaching the D line in the Super Bowl, btw. I expected Garner to get more out of our ends.
if you want to interpret that as if I’m saying fire someone, or that the season was a disappointment, then that’s on you not me.

I am not trying to police your opinion I am simply making mine. Garner didn’t take over a good talented defensive squad, almost everybody that was on his front the last 2 years has improved. Byron had his best year this year. Byron didn’t get a sack against Bama but we did get pressure on Bama. Teams do scheme against certain players. Darnell Wright kept Will Anderson from making any plays that day. Does that make Anderson a bad player? No doubt there is room for improvement. There is no doubt the secondary has to improve a lot. But I think the defensive line is very under appreciated. They weren’t as bad as you implied, in fact I contend they played well overall. The stats don’t tell the whole story, our D did play alot of snaps and our opponents threw alot knowing our weakness was in the secondary. Tennessee basically lived with blitzing in between the 30’s. Sometime it worked, sometime it didn’t. But once in the red zone our run defense was very good overall and it was much harder passing or running on us in the red zone. Of course our D has to get better, but I don’t think your giving our defensive line near enough credit. We haven’t been loaded with 4-5 stars up front the last 2 years but Garner worked that group into a very solid D line. They deserve a lot more credit than you are giving them in my opinion. I expect we will only get better from here. That’s all, have a good day. GBO

 

[WaywardVol]

I am not trying to police your opinion I am simply making mine. Garner didn’t take over a good talented defensive squad, almost everybody that was on his front the last 2 years has improved. Byron had his best year this year. Byron didn’t get a sack against Bama but we did get pressure on Bama. Teams do scheme against certain players. Darnell Wright kept Will Anderson from making any plays that day. Does that make Anderson a bad player? No doubt there is room for improvement. There is no doubt the secondary has to improve a lot. But I think the defensive line is very under appreciated. They weren’t as bad as you implied, in fact I contend they played well overall. The stats don’t tell the whole story, our D did play alot of snaps and our opponents threw alot knowing our weakness was in the secondary. Tennessee basically lived with blitzing in between the 30’s. Sometime it worked, sometime it didn’t. But once in the red zone our run defense was very good overall and it was much harder passing or running on us in the red zone. Of course our D has to get better, but I don’t think your giving our defensive line near enough credit. We haven’t been loaded with 4-5 stars up front the last 2 years but Garner worked that group into a very solid D line. They deserve a lot more credit than you are giving them in my opinion. I expect we will only get better from here. That’s all, have a good day. GBO

I’ll leave it as this. Based on recruiting rankings the cupboard was not bare. No one thought that there was #1 offensive talent left from the previous staff, yet we ended up with the #1 offense. Was that great talent that the previous staff recruited or scheme and coaching? We all know it’s coaching.

This defense had arguably the worst statistical defensive game in the history of the program. It consistently ranked in the bottom five of all teams in country on passing yards given up.

My point is the talent level was comparable on both sides of the ball. On one side the coaches exceeded expectations. better coaching and scheme would have afforded better results on defense, and that includes what Garner got out of his ends. Barron had a disappointing year. Young as well. I’m not judging Young or Anderson on one game. Bama pundits will say that Saban did not get the most out of the talent he had on defense and they’d be right.

It’s my opinion that Heupel needs to consider revisions to his defensive staff. Maybe the offensive production will continue and mask the deficiencies on defense.