Ducking the Ducks

[fade route]

We might give up a couple big plays in this game, but we will wear down their D in this game when our O takes the field. We're gonna run and run some more. Going back to the defense, it just can't get any worse and I think we get a good bit of pressure on their QB throughout the game. If Oregon wins, I see no more than a 10 point victory, but I'm not gonna be surprised if UT pulls the upset.

I admire your optimism, but I think you are giving us way too much credit. Wearing down our opponent? With a new QB, WRs who have almost no experience, an O line that could not generate enough rushing yards to finish in the top half of he SEC last year, and RBs that are average on their best day? Sorry, I think Butch is the guy, but this ain't the year.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

I truly believe :the 90 minute rain delay messed up our chance to upset oregano last time (2010).

Good lord do you people live in a fantasy land?

 

[alwaysvol]

I admire your optimism, but I think you are giving us way too much credit. Wearing down our opponent? With a new QB, WRs who have almost no experience, an O line that could not generate enough rushing yards to finish in the top half of he SEC last year, and RBs that are average on their best day? Sorry, I think Butch is the guy, but this ain't the year.

even back in the 2010 game, we actually had a nice day running the ball against them. Our line is better now than in 2010, and I think lane, Neal, and Hill are better than Poole. I hope Worley (or whoever starts) is better than Simms. we probably not as good at WR as we was that year.

Common sense says we lose, but by kick off I will have convinced myself we can win. :loco:

 

[VOLnMiami]

Speed kills......They will wear us down with that high powered no huddle offense they run...I wish I could be optimistic about this game but I just do not see anyway We beat those guys...I am more confident about us beating UF than Oregon...I hope they prove me wrong and win em both.

 

[VOLnMiami]

We might give up a couple big plays in this game, but we will wear down their D in this game when our O takes the field. We're gonna run and run some more. Going back to the defense, it just can't get any worse and I think we get a good bit of pressure on their QB throughout the game. If Oregon wins, I see no more than a 10 point victory, but I'm not gonna be surprised if UT pulls the upset.

Ridiculous

 

[IluvdoubleD's]

1: Oregon has always had trouble with bigger, more physical teams.
2: If anybody knows Oregon...it's Butch.

I seem to remember us playing those spoiled duck brats pretty hard the first half. I even remember us lining up and running the ball strait at them very successfully. The announcer at the time (was it bob davie?) saying something like "this is just Tennessee lining up and taking it to the woodshed right now". We didn't lose the game until we got away from our physical run game. I remember Chip Kelly after the LSU game saying "That's just a whole other type of athlete", speaking of SEC size and physicality.

I am really f'ing glad you kids are not on our team, there would be no reason to even play the games.

 

[fade route]

even back in the 2010 game, we actually had a nice day running the ball against them. Our line is better now than in 2010, and I think lane, Neal, and Hill are better than Poole. I hope Worley (or whoever starts) is better than Simms. we probably not as good at WR as we was that year.

Common sense says we lose, but by kick off I will have convinced myself we can win. :loco:

Poole had 2 big runs, one on his first carry. Those 2 runs accounted for most of his yards. We didn't "wear em down" with our run game imo.

 

[Snakebrown13]

Good lord do you people live in a fantasy land?

IMHO, I would agree the outcome was affected by the Rain Delay theory: I was there on Row 10, 50 yard line behind their bench - they came out flat and had no idea how to stop our run game or our blitzes and their coaches were not prepared for our game plan - visibly freaking out. Go re-watch it: the Vols lines were dominating the line until the delay, a whole new game after. Oregon players and coaches even talked about it post-game, how they got film from the booth and broke down the early 1st qtr video during the delay and saw what we were doing - then put a plan together to stop it. As usually, Dooley had a decent plan to start, but could not adapt to in game changes - and Oregon's great staff did. Once our D was tired (from chasing LaMichael James 76 yards down the field) it gave up -you could see it happen, rolling over completely in the 4th and making the score pretty ugly.

Without that delay I still believe we stay respectably in it until the fourth (I mean seriously, it was tied 13-13 at the half) with the Vols having a punchers chance to pull something off. However, in all likelyhood they would have ended up losing by 7-10 points without the delay, because Oregon really was that good, but I don't believe it would have been the skull crushing defeat that we ended up with.
:twocents:

 

[VolPride14]

Get real.

I didn't say we'd win. We were ahead before the delay and we were rolling. Don't underestimate that.

 

[orange parmejohn]

this may be our most lopsided loss the whole year. our offense isnt going to be a well oiled machine by week 2. we may not be able to keep our d off the field. alas, im still excited for the game. by that saturday morning i will have convinced myself that the Vols will rise to victory. i do that every game.

 

[alwaysvol]

Poole had 2 big runs, one on his first carry. Those 2 runs accounted for most of his yards. We didn't "wear em down" with our run game imo.

I didn't say we did wear them down, Poole had 162 yards rushing (on 23 carries), with the biggest being 39 according to the box score on espn

what about the rest of what I said? is Lane, Neal, and Hill better than Poole? do you think our O-line is better now? Like I said I think the WR's was better in 2010, but its not for sure. Zack Rogers was the leading receiver that day. I really hope we have a better QB on the roster than Simms.

 

[GlockVol]

Ducks new head coach used to be offensive coordinator so should be same as last year. On defense tho think about how difficult it willl be for them to plan for us. They can look back at Cincy's offense from last year and draw some conclusions but working with different personnel what will Butch be able to do? Our first 2 games should hopefully give us a chance to get QB and offense into a rhythm.

 

[orange parmejohn]

I am really f'ing glad you kids are not on our team, there would be no reason to even play the games.

if people cant be honest and realistic, then there would be no reason to have a message forum dont you think?

 

[marmoteer]

I admire your optimism, but I think you are giving us way too much credit. Wearing down our opponent? With a new QB, WRs who have almost no experience, an O line that could not generate enough rushing yards to finish in the top half of he SEC last year, and RBs that are average on their best day? Sorry, I think Butch is the guy, but this ain't the year.

We finished 6th is total yards and 4th in YPA.

 

[fade route]

IMHO, I would agree the outcome was affected by the Rain Delay theory: I was there on Row 10, 50 yard line behind their bench - they came out flat and had no idea how to stop our run game or our blitzes and their coaches were not prepared for our game plan - visibly freaking out. Go re-watch it: the Vols lines were dominating the line until the delay, a whole new game after. Oregon players and coaches even talked about it post-game, how they got film from the booth and broke down the early 1st qtr video during the delay and saw what we were doing - then put a plan together to stop it. As usually, Dooley had a decent plan to start, but could not adapt to in game changes - and Oregon's great staff did. Once our D was tired (from chasing LaMichael James 76 yards down the field) it gave up -you could see it happen, rolling over completely in the 4th and making the score pretty ugly.

Without that delay I still believe we stay respectably in it until the fourth (I mean seriously, it was tied 13-13 at the half) with the Vols having a punchers chance to pull something off. However, in all likelyhood they would have ended up losing by 7-10 points without the delay, because Oregon really was that good, but I don't believe it would have been the skull crushing defeat that we ended up with.
:twocents:

Ridiculous....rain delays affect both teams, not just one.

 

[fade route]

I have nothing to say here, just wanted that 7,000th post.










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[darkgable]

They are smaller than almost every team they play, yet they win almost every game.

Those big Stanford lineman beat them down though. You have to manhandle Oregon and keep hitting them until they wear down. That requires depth and alot of heart.

 

[IluvdoubleD's]

if people cant be honest and realistic, then there would be no reason to have a message forum dont you think?

Did I say anything untrue?

 

[RichRollin]

Size isn't everything, I well know.

It's not the size of the boat, right? Oh, that's NOT what she said

Was at a HS football game with my son. These girls were flirting with him, asked him how old he was. He said twelve, they said you're small for 12. He said "it's not the size, it's the technique". True story. At that moment I knew my youngun was gonna be ALRIGHT!

 

[bamawriter]

Those big Stanford lineman beat them down though. You have to manhandle Oregon and keep hitting them until they wear down. That requires depth and alot of heart.

Stanford hardly "manhandled" Oregon.

 

[BOP]

You can tell a lot of people havent watched Oregon very often and have no clue except our game was close for a while.That is half their games. You run the ball and keep it close and then boom, they explode. This happens literally every time unless they are a playing a legitimate BCS caliber team. it is completely inevitable.

 

[Wilson27]

You can tell a lot of people havent watched Oregon very often and have no clue except our game was close for a while.That is half their games. You run the ball and keep it close and then boom, they explode. This happens literally every time unless they are a playing a legitimate BCS caliber team. it is completely inevitable.

True. Oregon is a lot like their hot cheerleaders. They let you think you have a shot at first....

 

[Volosaurus rex]

IMHO, I would agree the outcome was affected by the Rain Delay theory: I was there on Row 10, 50 yard line behind their bench - they came out flat and had no idea how to stop our run game or our blitzes and their coaches were not prepared for our game plan - visibly freaking out. Go re-watch it: the Vols lines were dominating the line until the delay, a whole new game after. Oregon players and coaches even talked about it post-game, how they got film from the booth and broke down the early 1st qtr video during the delay and saw what we were doing - then put a plan together to stop it. As usually, Dooley had a decent plan to start, but could not adapt to in game changes - and Oregon's great staff did. Once our D was tired (from chasing LaMichael James 76 yards down the field) it gave up -you could see it happen, rolling over completely in the 4th and making the score pretty ugly.

Without that delay I still believe we stay respectably in it until the fourth (I mean seriously, it was tied 13-13 at the half) with the Vols having a punchers chance to pull something off. However, in all likelyhood they would have ended up losing by 7-10 points without the delay, because Oregon really was that good, but I don't believe it would have been the skull crushing defeat that we ended up with.
:twocents:

I agree although I believe that Oregon still would have pulled away by a larger margin of victory than what you are suggesting. There is absolutely no question that we were in a "zone" early and that the rain delay nullified the momentum we had at that time. It allowed Oregon to make much more precise adjustments to what we were doing offensively than they would have been able to make otherwise prior to halftime. We probably could have built on the lead we established in the first quarter; that was one of those instances where you do not want to stop play for any reason, including halftime, because you have the opponent reeling and everything that you are doing offensively is working. Having said that, I have no doubt that Oregon's superior depth and speed would have overtaken us in the second half, rain delay or not.

 

[PassedOutAwake]

I honestly believe we could win this game, but I don't think we will.

Factors in our favor over last years team:
-Butch "M'Fin" Jones instead of Dooley and Butch "gets it"
-We are going back to the 4-3, which is what most of our players know
-Our players are in better condition then they were last year.
-Offense will be less predictable than it was last year
-Instead of throwing the deep ball all of the time, we will throw a lot of short, quick routes
-Palardy seems better

In our favor when playing Oregon:
-Our defense will be constantly practicing against an uptempo offense
-Butch has stated that he is preparing for THIS GAME
-Although they may have the speed over us, we have the size... and our players seems faster and more conditioned then they were last year
-Stanford was the most similar to an SEC team they played last year, and was the team that beat them
-The lost coach Kelly, and although their OC became their head coach, it doesn't mean he can lead the team the same. Their new OC might not be as comfortable in their offense.
-They lost the anchor of their offense (Kenjon Barner)

 

[daj2576]

Oregon recruits historically at a level similar to UT. Oregon also out recruits the vast majority of the PAC. The reason Oregon looks so good subjectively is a comparatively very weak conference. Oregon is second (if memory serves) in the PAC but would squarely fall mid tier with UT in the SEC.

Why does This matter?

Oregon lost to Stanford who is a few points from Oregon in recruiting averages.

Their speed is not tested against quality opponents, and when it rarely is, they lose.

Remember Dooley was (is?) the biggest under achieving coach in the SEC (around -4 games). Under Kelly, Oregon won what their talent predicted they would generally, and lost when out talented. The exception was USC and Stanford. USC vastly out recruits Oregon, but Kiff is a level historically that is similar to Dooley.

Good news: Jones usually gets about 2-3 games more a season out of his team than talent would predict (except his first year at Cindy when he was talent +0).

Do we win this game? Its is certainly not in the top 4 toughest games talent wise. The biggest question will be how far along the defense is in the transition back to the 4-3, the overall conditioning of the players, and how well the team handles the adversity of a hostile environment.

Oregon is used to winning. Tennessee's players are used to losing due to a brutal schedule and deficient coaching. That could be a bigger factor in the outcome of the game than talent.