Erik Ainge

[rockydoc]

I'm talking about D in crunch time. I'm going to bed now. That frigging cowbell or whatever Liper is beating on in his avatar is giving me a migraine!!

 

[DownNDirty]

If you have already read my "Thoughts on Ainge" post you can skip over this one. I just thought I'd go ahead and lump it in with this one.....after reviewing the tape myself I still have the same conclusion.

I've never been a big Ainge fan anyhow but I wanted to keep giving this guy a chance. I'll give him a little credit - he made some good passes yesterday and the receivers could have made a little more effort on 4 or 5 balls. I know there were a couple that they just needed to dive and they may have had a big gain. I wouldn't be as mad at the receivers if they would have just made that extra effort - even if they wouldn't have caught the pass.

But, I'm very worried about Ainge being "the guy" after seeing the 4th quarter implosion. I'm not an expert like you see on TV but I have coached a bit in my 25 years. What it appears to me is that after a couple of bad passes Ainge gets as confused as a hungry baby in a topless bar. He completely falls apart and starts making horrible decisions. You do learn with experience but I've saw people like him and we don't want that to be our QB at UT. They hardly ever get better - when the fire gets hot people like him will melt the fastest. If everything is going fine I could see him throwing for 300+ yards at times and being very successful. But, defenses will key in on the fact that when he's under pressure it's all over for him. Ainge is a two headed monster - no doubt in my mind. If everything is going great then he looks like a world beater but when it starts going bad he looks more like an egg beater.

I was listening to the radio just the other day and they were discussing a new book about Michael Jordan. The guy that wrote the book was on the program and he said he tried to ask him one question about 20 times and asked it 20 different ways before he got an answer. He finally got an answer by asking him - ok, 3 seconds to go NBA Finals and your down by 2 points. Everyone knows your taking the shot so what are you thinking. Jordan says "are you asking me if I'm thinking about missing the shot?" The writer says yes. Jordan then says "no, why would I think about something that hasn't happened yet." I truly believe Jordan was that type of player - one that was so confident they never worried about what had just happened or what might happen next - they played in the moment.

Ainge don't play in the moment at all as he's too worried about what might have been or what will happen next IMO. I am not a psychologist but I've seen this type of thing firsthand and also in many sports. The same thing happens when a great golfer all of a sudden has a bad round and then he can't hit the ball right for the next year. Or, a second baseman that all of a sudden makes a bad throw to first base and then can't throw it to first without making an error nearly every time.

I'm going to stick with UT through and through no matter what but I really hope that Crompton can prove to be the real deal next year and they recruit a couple of studs at QB. I'd like to see them get an athelete at QB again. I know they heavily recruited some over the past couple of years and only landed Brent S. Maybe some great High School QBs in the pipe will start looking hard at UT now thinking they wouldn't have to sit and could come in immediately and compete for the starting job.

DD

 

[OWB]

Originally posted by Liper@Nov 6, 2005 11:27 PM
I totally disagree.  He was playing just like this in 2004.  Look at the tape and look at the stats through the lens of this year.  He just hasn't improved any.  People have greatly exagerrated his play last year.

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2004
Passing stats: 109-198 (55%) for 1452 yards, 17 TDs & 9 INTs

2005
Passing stats: 48-117 (41%) for 510 yards, 3 TDs & 6 INTs

 

[milohimself]

Originally posted by thebiglowboski@Nov 6, 2005 8:31 PM
cause your offense cant hang on the the ball yea!!!  lame!!  and they cant score more than 12 points!!  you really not going to win this arguement go look at the stats!!!!  offense ranked what 100 something defense?????

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Alright, fine, Ainge is the only bad player on offense.

 

[holdemvol]

Originally posted by Orangewhiteblood@Nov 6, 2005 11:10 PM
Of course!  I forgot that I was just supposed to concentrate on all the bad stuff.  My bad.  :fool:

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What were you thinking? If you don't have anything negative to say, please don't say anything at all.

 

[holdemvol]

Originally posted by milohimself@Nov 7, 2005 2:43 AM
Alright, fine, Ainge is the only bad player on offense.

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Yup, the receivers have put up top notch effort....God forbid you ask anything more of them. What do you want them to do? Lay out for a ball!?!? Ainge looked alot better than he has all year, and while it was not a really good performance he did show some improvement and will be fine in time.

 

[volmanjr]

Originally posted by holdemvol@Nov 7, 2005 9:20 AM
Yup, the receivers have put up top notch effort....God forbid you ask anything more of them.  What do you want them to do?  Lay out for a ball!?!?  Ainge looked alot better than he has all year, and while it was not a really good performance he did show some improvement and will be fine in time.

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Iwas about to post nearly the same thing , He looked much better and I hate to sound like a Monday morning OC but I think that if he'd been given the start from the beginning and we had just taken our lumps until he worked it out , he would be at a much better level right now. And just maybe the poor excuse for WR's we've got would be playing harder for him by now.

 

[cd12]

Did anyone notice his little dance, I think it was after the 2 pt play. What was that all about?

 

[Liper]

Originally posted by Orangewhiteblood@Nov 7, 2005 2:05 AM
2004
Passing stats: 109-198 (55%) for 1452 yards, 17 TDs & 9 INTs

2005
Passing stats: 48-117 (41%) for 510 yards, 3 TDs & 6 INTs

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Blanket season stats don't mean much to me. Like anything, they have to be placed into a context.

The QB I saw last year played good against FL, drove the bus against GA, and played like crap in every other game (MISS, USC, ND, AUB, BAMA).

The only game Ainge had more than 200 yards passing was against MISS. And in that game, he played pretty awful most of the day. He had 4 INTs against AUB. He was held under 150 yards passing in 4 of 7 games.

BAMA he was 10 of 22 for 132, 1TD and 2INT.

My point is that he was never a Heisman hopeful. He was a raw, talented, true freshman slinging the ball around in a conservative offense. This notion that he was some kind of John Elway just isn't true. He is making the same mistakes now that he was making then.

 

[holdemvol]

Originally posted by volmanjr@Nov 7, 2005 10:29 AM
Iwas about to post nearly the same thing , He looked much better and I hate to sound like a Monday morning OC but I think that if he'd been given the start from the beginning and we had just taken our lumps until he worked it out , he would be at a much better level right now. And just maybe the poor excuse for WR's we've got would be playing harder for him by now.

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Ainge could have played alot better, but I think with some better effort out of others UT could have won that game. UT's receivers are more talented and physically gifted than ND's, but ND's receivers are agressive and make plays. Quinn is a pretty good QB, but his WR's make him look better. They go up and fight for the ball, where as UT's seem to just wait for a play to come to them never laying out, never going up and fighting for the ball. I was always taught that if you can touch it, you can catch it and it was good to at least see Fulmer barking at Meachum pretty good after he let one go off the fingertips. They are not the only group not playing well for sure, but I just don't think the effort has been there and that is unacceptable.

 

[GR8EST]

Originally posted by donsargegolf@Nov 6, 2005 5:19 PM
Last year Ainge was doing quite nicely in his freshman year developing and improving. Then SOMEBODY? on the last play of the half against ND, UT leading the game, calls a nitwit call and he gets busted up. At that point EA's career was ended. His problem this year stems from that call. He is scared, pure and simple. He will do anything to avoid a shot. Toss it backwards without looking(LSU), throw into double plus+ coverage (ND), intentionally ground the ball(every game), whatever it takes to avoid a shot. He is done,finished, kaput. He may be the worst qb I have seen on "the hill" since uhhh...Randy Sanders. I don't know what a one way filght back home cost for him but let me know and I will pay for it. We need to bag Ain't, excuse me Ainge, and get ready for next year.

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We all need to be HONEST with ourselves and put all of this in prespective. Ofcourse it's the coaching from the offensive side. Chavis did his job by getting the Defense up to expectations, but the offense hasn't came close to Par at anypoint, to QB, recievers, OL, kicking.....
We might need to change some things some are not ready for, but we need to expect this coaching staff which should be professionals, and make the right moves. Randy Snaders has already proven to me that he is a big man and did his part in removing his self..... who's next

 

[VOL_AHOLIC]

i saw ainge do good and bad. he was patient in the pocket and made some good plays to avoid the pressure. made a few good reads but nothing special.

he over threw almost every deep ball and threw into coverage a lot. the 2 ints at the end were deal breakers for me.

Brady Quinn had the knowledge to take the sack. Ainge didnt do that at all. He took lost yardage when he could have thrown it away and the int. grounding is just silly.

 

[holdemvol]

Originally posted by VOL_AHOLIC@Nov 7, 2005 11:40 AM
i saw ainge do good and bad. he was patient in the pocket and made some good plays to avoid the pressure. made a few good reads but nothing special.

he over threw almost every deep ball and threw into coverage a lot. the 2 ints at the end were deal breakers for me.

Brady Quinn had the knowledge to take the sack. Ainge didnt do that at all. He took lost yardage when he could have thrown it away and the int. grounding is just silly.

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No doubt he could have played a lot better, but I did see some improvement.

 

[TJ_dap]

can you say Happy Feet

 

[holdemvol]

Originally posted by TJ_dap@Nov 7, 2005 1:46 PM
can you say Happy Feet

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Definate problems with footwork. He never seems to get set before firing. I think with some good fundamental coaching he will be fine.

 

[west tn vol fan]

I hope most of the people blaming Ainge for our loss have put in their resume for the O.C. job. But you probably haven't since you're not a coach and obviously don't understand football. :realmad:

 

[Lexvol]

What is it about football that Ainge detractors do not understand.? Two interceptions at critical points in the game, and two intentional groundings. I am all for giving the kid a break, but they seem to have some valid points.

 

[OWB]

Originally posted by Lexvol@Nov 7, 2005 5:12 PM
What is it about football that Ainge detractors do not understand.? Two interceptions at critical points in the game, and two intentional groundings.  I am all for giving the kid a break, but they seem to have some valid points.

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The first one was a critical point, the second just helped ND pad the score.

 

[Liper]

Originally posted by Orangewhiteblood@Nov 7, 2005 5:15 PM
The first one was a critical point, the second just helped ND pad the score.

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His mistakes were much more numerable than those two INTs and a couple of grounding calls. He repeatedly missed open receivers, locked onto receivers who were covered, threw late, thre early, managed the game poorly, etc. In other words, the fact that he made some nice throws to some open guys didn't camouflage his overall play in my eyes. He simply doesn't understand what he is doing right now. The game is too fast for him. Hopefully that will change.

 

[Lexvol]

He did make numerous mistakes. On television it appeared that he was doing a better job of scanning the field, and looking to several receivers.

Things are happening too fast around him now. You are correct. His best throws came when he stepped into the pocket and delivered the ball quickly.

 

[GenNeyland9]

Ainge has done the same thing every Vol QB has done since Coach Cut left: regressed.

Tee Martin was worse in '99 than he was in '98. Joey Matthews was never developed enough to be able to play as a JUNIOR. Casey Clausen never really improved all that much after his Freshman year. I see exactly the same trend with Ainge. Part of it definitely has to do with his injury last year and the QB carousel this season, but the simple fact is that UT's incoming freshman talent rarely develops over the next 3 or 4 years. This definitely includes QB.

That, and he needs to take that damn earring out during interviews. That thing looks retarded.

 

[Lexvol]

UT has turned talent regression in to an art lately.

 

[Liper]

Originally posted by Lexvol@Nov 7, 2005 6:34 PM
He did make numerous mistakes.  On television it appeared that he was doing a better job of scanning the field, and looking to several receivers.

Things are happening too fast around him now.  You are correct.  His best throws came when he stepped into the pocket and delivered the ball quickly.

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I'm watching the Foulmer Show right now, which is my first look at some of the plays on tv. Wow, we made so many mistakes just scrimmaging, aside from special teams! Little things like missed blocks and bad routes.

Ainge looks even worse on TV then he did in person, IMO. He makes some throws where he happens to see an open guy, but he doesn't anticipate anything. In other words, it's not "purposeful," for lack of a better term. He has a great arm and excellent mobility, but he is really raw.

I actually have hope, because he just looks like a kid out there running around without a clue of what's going on. That can be vastly improved with some good mentoring. Right now, however, it's hard to win with his play.

There were guys running wide open against ND where he would instead throw a) over their head or B) into a covered area.

Really, really, really, sloppy.

 

[Lexvol]

Originally posted by Liper@Nov 7, 2005 7:43 PM
He has a great arm and excellent mobility, but he is really raw.

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For a minute there I thought you were describing Heath Shuler.

 

[Liper]

Originally posted by Lexvol@Nov 7, 2005 7:47 PM
For a minute there I thought you were describing Heath Shuler.

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Actually, now that you mention it, it does look similiar to Shuler's soph. year. Except Shuler kept getting better throught the year, ending with a great bowl game against BC.

But yeah, Shuler looked like a great athlete making plays without knowing why he made them for a while.