Fulmer on Receivers

[kiddiedoc]

I'm sorry, but I just read the article in the Tennesseean, quoting Fulmer's post-game teleconference. Listen to this:

"A couple of those deep balls, he was there," Fulmer said. "We've just got to make a play, lay out and catch it, reach out further and catch it."

Yes, thank you. We all agree. But THEN he goes on to say that it's not due to a lack of effort.

"If I thought they weren't giving it all they've got, then I would have a whole different attitude about it, they would be sitting over there with me"

And, to beat all, last but not least, he reaches into the sorry ol' excuse bag with:

"Injuries have played a big part in our receiving corps."

I'm sorry: Love you, Phil, but this is unacceptable. The kids on the field seem to be running fine, and if they aren't, we supposedly have about 7 to pick from. If he is missing the "lack of effort" that we all see, what will it take to wake him up? Not ONCE have we seen somebody lay out and make, or even TRY TO MAKE, a spectacular catch this year. NOT ONCE. And, we are supposed to have this ridiculous pool of talent at WR.

Just starting to wonder if this team isn't plagued by a sense of apathy and entitlement.

Remember the old cheer: "You've got to want it, to win it, and we want it bad"??? IMO, that simple phrase tells you much of why there is a "5" in our "L" column.

 

[Freak]

doc, it does seem like he is contradicting himself there. I don't know about the injuries thing. I have heard that Meachem has really not been 100% all year and Fayton has been banged up some but I don't know about Smith, Swain, or Hannon. Fundamentally, those WR's are not very good and I also don't think they are very focused at times.

 

[TBALLVOL]

I definitely think our QB problem is more a receiver problem and obviously all our problems are due to a coaching problem.

 

[TJ_dap]

herbie said that we have the most talented group of recievers in ut history, including 1998. that does not seem that way to me. we might have all of the talent in ut history, but when phil goes down the field once or twice in a game... (except the notre dame game)

 

[kiddiedoc]

Originally posted by TJ_dap@Nov 7, 2005 1:36 PM
we might have all of the talent in ut history, but when phil goes down the field once or twice in a game...

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Maybe Phil knows something. Maybe he watches them drop those balls in practice, too. What good is throwing a 40-yard bomb when you know that the receiver isn't even going to try to catch it?

A 4-yard run on first helps a lot more than a 35 yard incompletion.

 

[GAVol]

Yeah, but you have to at least show the deep ball every once in awhile to keep the safties from crashing down on every snap. What is maddening is that the last couple of games we have really run the ball fine. If we had any semblance of consistency throwing it down the field, we'd be more than adequate on offense.

 

[kiddiedoc]

Agreed about getting it deep. IMO, that's precisely WHY we have been suddenly able to run the ball more effectively.

The points of this thread are:

1. More ranting about the receivers', and I'LL SAY IT, lack of effort.

2. Phil doing a very poor job assessing their performance.

 

[holdemvol]

UT has attempted to go downfield several times in almost every game. 1 or 2 is quite the exageration. Just because the QB dumps off to a RB does not mean the play was not meant to go deep.

 

[GAVol]

Originally posted by holdemvol@Nov 7, 2005 1:46 PM
UT has attempted to go downfield several times in almost every game.  1 or 2 is quite the exageration.  Just because the QB dumps off to a RB does not mean the play was not meant to go deep.

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Agreed...I think the bottom line though is that we just don't have anybody making plays other than maybe Arian Foster.

Another problem with the downfield game is that Ainge really isn't seeing the field all that well and has a tendency to give up on routes at times and be late on throws at other times. He just doesn't seem to have much of a feel for the game at all. Hopefully that will improve with extended playing time.

 

[gonygonygo]

Originally posted by holdemvol@Nov 7, 2005 1:46 PM
UT has attempted to go downfield several times in almost every game.  1 or 2 is quite the exageration.  Just because the QB dumps off to a RB does not mean the play was not meant to go deep.

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holdemvol receives applause from gonygonygo for point very well stated!!!

:clapping:

 

[wid73cam]

IF you can't catch then sit down, or at least hit someone.

and TAKE OFF those stupid looking face sheilds.

 

[secfanclub]

Originally posted by wid73cam@Nov 7, 2005 2:39 PM
IF you can't catch then sit down, or at least hit someone.

and TAKE OFF those stupid looking face sheilds.

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I agree. I have seen receivers from other teams who have caught footballs that seemed uncatchable. Watching some of the replays from several UT games, all I saw was a lack of effort and determination from our receivers.

 

[almostavol]

Seriously, Fulmer must think everybody is as dumb as he is. Let's face it. Fulmer is a good recruiter, he has had a lot of good luck, he always knew to say the 'correct' things.............until this year. His true mentality (or lack of) is coming to the front. He needs to give back at least half of his salary. He cannot be allowed to become bigger than the University itself!!!!!

 

[Liper]

After watching some clips of the ND game, it is painfully obvious that our WRs do not understand what it means to play the position.

Robert Meachem looks like he's never played football before the way he runs routes. It's really pathetic. And I don't want to get started about Hannon.

If our QB was good, I think we'd still be complaining about the WRs and the passing game. Vice versa.

CJ Fayton is the one guy that seems like he understands how to play the position and get open. That tells me that he is a cerebral player who has learned what to do despite not being taught a whole lot.

 

[ChemEVol]

Watching ND, I saw what good WR coaching can get you. For the most part those guys caught everything thrown in their direction. I know you can't coach athleticism, but those receivers knew how to time their jumps to catch the ball at their highest point. Our guys kinda fall forward in an attempt to lay down for the ball. We don't dive for the ball, and haven't for the past couple of years. There were a few times in the game Saturday that balls could have been caught if our guys laid out for them. The other thing I noticed is that even if their receivers did not catch the ball, they had our DB's completely out of the play. Stovall made key blocks throughout the game. That is team effort that our guys just don't give. I don't know what it is going to take, but our guys just don't execute the basics.

 

[checkerboard_charly]

Originally posted by ChemEVol@Nov 7, 2005 8:24 PM
Watching ND, I saw what good WR coaching can get you.  For the most part those guys caught everything thrown in their direction.  I know you can't coach athleticism, but those receivers knew how to time their jumps to catch the ball at their highest point.  Our guys kinda fall forward in an attempt to lay down for the ball.  We don't dive for the ball, and haven't for the past couple of years.  There were a few times in the game Saturday that balls could have been caught if our guys laid out for them.  The other thing I noticed is that even if their receivers did not catch the ball, they had our DB's completely out of the play.  Stovall made key blocks throughout the game.  That is team effort that our guys just don't give.  I don't know what it is going to take, but our guys just don't execute the basics.

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good point. samardjaaadfdggg was just a 3 star and wasnt recruited by many "great" programs. the coaching has put him over the top. check out this link. talk about an ugly indiana boy. omg.
jeff samarddasddkgogfhfjdlkg?

 

[ChemEVol]

With that name and his looks, I thought he was an exchange student from Norway. But the guy can catch a football!

 

[Liper]

Originally posted by checkerboard_charly@Nov 7, 2005 8:29 PM
good point. samardjaaadfdggg was just a 3 star and wasnt recruited by many "great" programs. the coaching has put him over the top.  check out this link. talk about an ugly indiana boy. omg.
jeff samarddasddkgogfhfjdlkg?

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Not only that, but he had caught 24 passes and no TDs his two prior years at ND.

Guess what? All of the sudden he is really talented with great hands, good speed, smart route runner, and all of that stuff.

Hmmm...why didn't we know that last year? What has changed between the last two years and this year that would create such a dynamic change? Is he faster and smarter?

It is beyond a ludicrous level of obviousness what the difference is, and that is coaching. It's why teams in every sport since the beginning of sports have been fighting to get the best coaches. It's why we pay them so much money and give them big raises and contract extensions when they prove themselves. It's why we have books and books written about them, CEOs, military generals and war planners, etc. NOT NEW STUFF HERE.

 

[orange4ever]

Just from what I've seen it looks to me like our recievers are not putting forth their best effort. There were several balls that should have been caught that were missed. I watched our local high school team in the state playoffs Friday night and the receivers were laying out even across the middle if needed. That takes guts and heart. Our receivers need more of both.

 

[WA_Vol]

i think a lot of this points back to a lack of intensity in practice.

a few years ago we had all those injuries, fulmer started toning down practice to keep players from getting hurt.

the result was less scrimmaging and you get these practices where receivers run 3/4 speed hot dogging. then when game time comes, all the timing is off because practice isnt at full speed in pads, and wr's cant catch the ball with a hand in their face.

fulmer should recognize this and scrimmage more and practice at full speed.

 

[donsargegolf]

Fulmer is so dillusional right now he doesn't know which way is up. He is grabbing for straws. C'mon Phil, stand up and act like a man! Take personal accountability for you and your staff and fix the problem.

 

[Lexvol]

I heard that Fulmer actually blamed their lack of practice for the poor judgement on the ball flight.