Coach Hype Monday Presser

[KeyVol14]

It’s definitely not a good sign if it happens. I don’t want to say we can’t recover if we blow Vanderbilt, but it’s concerning and getting back on the right track gets harder for sure.

I think we bounce back. 11-2 season with what looks like to be a cotton bowl is a huge step forward. What made this loss sting so bad is we were all invested into a playoff run considering how the season had unfolded. We overachieved all year.

 

[VolGirl05]

I think there's a factor or factors that the fans are not aware of and are not going to be aware of.

Your avatar is triggering.

 

[sechamp2012]

Because the defense clearly protested him not being allowed to play and mailed it in. That tells me they didn't agree with the decision or the punishment.

Edit - And if it isn't fixed we will get throttled this week too.

Scholarships are year to year and if they did lay down on their team no other coach would want them in the portal. Word of mouth travels the coaching fraternity is pretty tight & broad.

 

[sjt18]

I agree with what you are saying.
I also want to know if you know what team has ever won a SEC championship with a mediocare defense.
Also, I think that our DC has to have SEC coaching experience. So who is the answer?
We have talent but depth is an issue and I still don't know why we have not recruited at the LB position or are we going to use some of the edge rushers to fill that gap,

UT can pay and there are good coaches out there.

Mizzou's D has played well with talent very comparable to UT's.... probably less and definitely less depth. Baker has good experience. Mizzou is among the best in the SEC in total D, 3rd down conversions, 1st downs, and yds/play. UT smoked them but otherwise they allow about 300 ypg.

 

[BigorangeBoy]

247 quotes Beasley as saying they (the team) were affected by whatever transpired.

 

[sami]

I would have liked to see a little more outrage after giving up 63 points to one of the worst offenses in the country and giving away a playoff berth.
I know he’s a calm type of person but this situation called for more explanation, and maybe even an apology, to the fan base.
Opportunities like we had dont happen often and what happened in Columbia still defies all logic.
I like Heupel but am disappointed that he doesn’t seem more disappointed. This was not just ANOTHER loss.

He doesn't owe us an an explanation, an apology or some kind of faux outrage in a presser. This is something that has to be dealt with in house, it benefits no one to air any dirty laundry (if there in fact is any) publicly.

 

[EZE]

Agree. And as a result of all of that, we have to play a zone that we obviously don’t know how to play. ( Mostly lack of talent but some of it is also poor coaching.) 10 yard cushions when SC needed 5 for a first down. Or giving up a 25 yard throw on 3rd and 20 in the middle of the field. Easy pickings for Rattler. Pick your poison. Man or zone. Either way for this defense, you’re done. They had been hanging by a thread all season and it came to a head Saturday night. I also agree that Banks’ absence made a huge difference. He is the heart of that defense. Pretty sure he wasn’t left home for stomping on a painted letter. If it wasn’t an injury or illness, whatever he did is on him. Really let the team down in a key moment and he should be criticized for it.

Well, after getting torched repeatedly in whatever that prevent coverage is called (and you described it well), one would think that you would give some other concepts a try.

That 3rd and 20 said everything. Our safeties were at least 30 yards from the LOS, the corners were way back too, and goodness knows what happened to the LBs. But, whatever, you could draw a 10-20 yard box around the line to gain, and I don’t think there woulda been a Vol defender in it. Just abysmal.

For our DC versus the SC OC, it’s like we had a toddler playing checkers against a world champion chess master.

 

[Stephen Gray]

Well, after getting torched repeatedly in whatever that prevent coverage is called (and you described it well), one would think that you would give some other concepts a try.

That 3rd and 20 said everything. Our safeties were at least 30 yards from the LOS, the corners were way back too, and goodness knows what happened to the LBs. But, whatever, you could draw a 10-20 yard box around the line to gain, and I don’t think there woulda been a Vol defender in it. Just abysmal.

For our DC versus the SC OC, it’s like we had a toddler playing checkers against a world champion chess master.

Honestly that 3rd and 20 gave me flashbacks to 3rd and Chavis. It’s not really a fair comparison because Chavis defenses were a lot better than what we have now, but that is definitely what passed through my mind before the snap. I just felt for sure we were going to get torched.

 

[EZE]

A lot of TN's success this season has been attributed to guys with less talent than some of the other schools we've faced "buying in" on Heupel's vision and coaching.

Saturday, I think, we saw what happens when those same players "stop buying" for whatever reason.

We're far more talented than USCe and even with the defensive limitations we've had all year, USCe was nowhere near the biggest challenge our D had faced.

Whatever our challenge was on D Saturday, the biggest part of it wasn't being outmatched in talent.

I doubt that we’re “far more” talented than SC (I’d like to see the recruiting rankings for the rosters), but we’re certainly not a less talented team. And certainly not to the tune of what we saw Saturday.

 

[sami]

I think we bounce back. 11-2 season with what looks like to be a cotton bowl is a huge step forward. What made this loss sting so bad is we were all invested into a playoff run considering how the season had unfolded. We overachieved all year.

That's it exactly. Expectations were elevated unrealistically as soon as we got in the playoff discussion to the point that a 10-2 season that would have been celebrated 2-3 months ago is now considered by some a disaster. I'll cop to having my expectations go through the roof and being really disappointed on Saturday night and Sunday, but at some point the reality of how far we've come in a year and a half sinks in.

 

[Winchester73]

The sad part IMO, while our defense wasn’t going to win any awards, it has played well at times. They did NOT even play up to THEIR par on Saturday. And it was obvious there was no real adjustments made to fix the issues. Hard to believe the defense could fall off the map with 1 player OUT … there was more. SC probably played the best offensive game in their history, got more breaks with penalties, no turnovers, home game, desperate … the list goes on. Hopefully the team WILL learn from this. But give credit to SC for coming to play and Beamer said as much at half time.

 

[OrangeTsar]

Do not like his answer on Banks. Needs way more transparency on that after it was clear the defense mailed it in to protest him not being allowed to play.

As much as i would like to know more, Heupel doesn’t owe us any answers into locker room discipline beyond the basic, “he is not available Saturday”. Now if Knoxville had REAL journalists on the beat, it would be THIER job to dig. But the Coach is going to keep a tight lip as he should

 

[OrangeTsar]

We don't have good secondary players yet. Takes time to build a team with quality starters and quality depth. This is only Heupels second year. Give it some time.

We didn’t even need “good” secondary players Saturday night. Breathing and conscious would have been a marked improvement over the keystone kops review we saw

 

[Vfl2407]

As much as i would like to know more, Heupel doesn’t owe us any answers into locker room discipline beyond the basic, “he is not available Saturday”. Now if Knoxville had REAL journalists on the beat, it would be THIER job to dig. But the Coach is going to keep a tight lip as he should

Unfortunately, so many of Knoxville sports media have side gigs with the Vol Network or something allied with the university. And those that don’t are too afraid to rock the boat because they want better gigs in the future.
There will be those that find out, or already know, what happened that will not divulge it publicly because the UTAD would put them on their shite list.

 

[ABINGDON VOL FAN]

It should've been resolved/fixed, and Banks allowed to make the trip.

No, not based on what I have read(if true). In fact he he initiated fisticuffs with Hooker he should be kicked off the team.

 

[sami]

Well, after getting torched repeatedly in whatever that prevent coverage is called (and you described it well), one would think that you would give some other concepts a try.

That 3rd and 20 said everything. Our safeties were at least 30 yards from the LOS, the corners were way back too, and goodness knows what happened to the LBs. But, whatever, you could draw a 10-20 yard box around the line to gain, and I don’t think there woulda been a Vol defender in it. Just abysmal.

For our DC versus the SC OC, it’s like we had a toddler playing checkers against a world champion chess master.

I'll never understand playing coverage on 3rd or 4th and forever. Long routes take time to develop, and bringing pressure and forcing the ball out of the QB's hand early rarely if ever fails, yet DC's keep going to the 'rush 3 and drop 8 in a zone' garbage that fails so often in those spots. Force them to dump it underneath and then tackle.

Before the play I'm saying "bring the house", and as soon as it was clear they were playing coverage I turned to my wife and said "watch, first down". The way Rattler was playing, it was like shooting fish in a barrel.

 

[Vfl2407]

The sad part IMO, while our defense wasn’t going to win any awards, it has played well at times. They did NOT even play up to THEIR par on Saturday. And it was obvious there was no real adjustments made to fix the issues. Hard to believe the defense could fall off the map with 1 player OUT … there was more. SC probably played the best offensive game in their history, got more breaks with penalties, no turnovers, home game, desperate … the list goes on. Hopefully the team WILL learn from this. But give credit to SC for coming to play and Beamer said as much at half time.

what do you bet SC “comes to play” this Saturday against their biggest rival Clemson.
and what do you bet Clemson also “comes to play” and kicks their arse.
We were playing for a playoff berth and didn’t “come to play”? That is unfathomable. Something is rotten on our defensive side of the ball and it really sucks for our offensive players, coaches, and our fan base.

 

[Stephen Gray]

No, not based on what I have read(if true). In fact he he initiated fisticuffs with Hooker he should be kicked off the team.

Eh, maybe or maybe not. It really depends on the what’s and whys and how far the fighting went before it was dealt with. These are big boys who are use to dealing with things physically. It’s not ideal and some kind of punishment needs to happen if players are fighting, but I don’t think a fight between players should be an automatic dismissal. If the coaches can make the involved know that what happened is unacceptable, hold them accountable, and get everyone focused on doing the right things for the team without kicking people out, that is better for everyone in my opinion. If they need to be dismissed, then sure, do it, but it’s not the kind of thing to do if there is a better way forward.

 

[sami]

Honestly that 3rd and 20 gave me flashbacks to 3rd and Chavis. It’s not really a fair comparison because Chavis defenses were a lot better than what we have now, but that is definitely what passed through my mind before the snap. I just felt for sure we were going to get torched.

Except that Chavis had a hell of a lot more talent to work with than this group.

 

[Stephen Gray]

Except that Chavis had a hell of a lot more talent than this group.

That’s fair too. Much more talent, better defenses overall, but god awful if it came to stopping someone on a third and long… Still, that’s exactly what I thought of during the game.

 

[Orangepantsforever]

As much as i would like to know more, Heupel doesn’t owe us any answers into locker room discipline beyond the basic, “he is not available Saturday”. Now if Knoxville had REAL journalists on the beat, it would be THIER job to dig. But the Coach is going to keep a tight lip as he should

We pay to watch it and they all get paid. It’s legal to put down money on it now, just like the pros. There is some debate about being able to know what’s going on. It’s no longer a topic that just “can’t be touched”. Not arguing with you, just pointing it out. No one HAS to say anything. But big money is being passed around in it nowadays in the world of college sports, so transparency is on the table.

 

[OrangeTsar]

I

We pay to watch it and they all get paid. It’s legal to put down money on it now, just like the pros. There is some debate about being able to know what’s going on. It’s no longer a topic that just “can’t be touched”. Not arguing with you, just pointing it out. No one HAS to say anything. But big money is being passed around in it nowadays in the world of college sports, so transparency is on the table.

i agree. I Just think that is why we have a media. I don’t expect Heupel to just dish up the answers for them.

 

[sami]

We pay to watch it and they all get paid. It’s legal to put down money on it now, just like the pros. There is some debate about being able to know what’s going on. It’s no longer a topic that just “can’t be touched”. Not arguing with you, just pointing it out. No one HAS to say anything. But big money is being passed around in it nowadays in the world of college sports, so transparency is on the table.

It just doesn't benefit anyone to air team issues publicly, and I don't know how legalized betting gives fans any more right to know what's going on in the locker room than at any other time. If fans want to bet money or place outsized importance on the result of college football games that's their issue, not the coach's.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I doubt that we’re “far more” talented than SC (I’d like to see the recruiting rankings for the rosters), but we’re certainly not a less talented team. And certainly not to the tune of what we saw Saturday.

They only put up 6 vs FL and they lost to Vandy. We were favored by 22 points but sure..... maybe we have similar talent.

 

[Stephen Gray]

It just doesn't benefit anyone to air team issues publicly, and I don't know how legalized betting gives fans any more right to know what's going on in the locker room than at any other time. If fans want to bet money or place outsized importance on the result of college football games that's their issue, not the coach's.

It doesn’t give us any more right. His main responsibility is to recruit, develop, and field a good football team. He has other obligations, including meeting with the press and allowing them to ask questions and answer them in some way. How he answers those questions or what details he chooses to share are his call. If he decides to keep certain details private then he probably has good reasons. In this case I can’t see how us knowing helps the team to get past what happened and be better for Vanderbilt. Depending on what the truth of things is, Heupel telling the press details could definitely make that job harder though. As fans maybe we want to know more but, we are not entitled to answers.