I think we are a good team...

#26
#26
GoVols64 said:
We are a top 8 team but I'm not sure if we are an elite one.

We still have not played a complete team yet. OU is the most talented team we have played but their offense never really put any pressure on our D so the secondary is still relatively untested. When we play Bama and UGA we will find out if we are elite or very good.

Nico is an unbelievable talent but will turn the ball over. This will improve as he gains experience and gets coached up but there is risk there. D bailed us out on Saturday but a competent offense would have scored from the 5.

O-Line needs to get healthy. Big drop off from starting tackles to backups. Still more depth than we have had in recent memory but we have to protect a young QBs blind side until his pocket "feel" improves.

Crompton's comments around CJH not trusting Nico yet are interesting. I am not sure if that is true as we went ultra conservative given OU couldn't find the first down marker most of the night. I am also of the mind JC is right as if CJH wasn't worried about mistakes we keep the gas pedal down well into the 3rd. This isn't a dig at all but what you expect out of a young QB, regardless of talent.

Bottom line I CANNOT WAIT for football time in Tennessee again and I absolutely love it. This is a fun and exciting team that I can watch with my boys and that makes me beyond grateful. LFG!
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I think when Mike Matthews is healthy enough to play more snaps, we become a much better team on offense. Squirrel is not playing up to his potential and is not making catches I think he can/should. Matthews has shown he can make those catches both over the middle as well as the deep go patterns. He is much stronger than Squirrel and is just as fast if not faster. He can add a needed dimension to our offense
 
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#27
#27
USA today has Arky at 67th, not sure a win aginst A&M will vault them into the top 25 as some have suggested.
 
#28
#28
Nico ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va said:
...however, the consensus I am gathering here is that we are not sure if we are a great team yet. We have the pieces: strong culture, athletes in positions of need across the field, and a smart coach.

Areas of concern are the OL, the QB position, and the defensive secondary. Nothing is new across these positions, but here are my observations:

OL: we are only as good as our tackle play. OU has one of the best defensive fronts we will see this year, but Bama, and UGA are also good here. We need to get the Heard situation figured out and rest up this weekend. This is tricky because it is a developmental position and you cannot expect a freshman to come in and compete with fully grown men on the other side of the ball. They have to bulk and get stronger. I fear we will live and die by our tackles this year.

QB: Let me get one thing straight: Nico is a star in the making. He is not a star yet though, regardless of the media hype and SEC freshman of the week accolades. He has a lot to learn, and just got a good lesson against a really good OU team that loves to scheme to confuse young QBs. However, he cannot keep getting strip sacked. That is also on the OL, but if OU had a competent offense, those two fumbles would have been TDs or FGs. Offensive staff will to uncork that arm against Bama as they are stacked on the front end but weaker in pass protection. UGA will also scheme to confuse him and he will need to be better as they can score on those turnovers we saw at OU.

Defensive Secondary: I still do not think they have been tested, mainly because our DL has just dominated to the point where opposing offenses cannot get their downfield attack going. I like what we have seen from this group, but can we say for certain they have seen a dynamic air attack yet? No. McCall was a bust and so was Arnold. The Arkansas QB isn't great at throwing either, so think this group will not be challenged until we see Mertz at Florida. Mertz isn't a world breaker, but he can throw little dinks and dunks into soft coverage spots that chew into our secondary. Florida isn't great but we will need to fire on all cylinders on the defense. We need to prove in the first quarter we are not going to let them dictate the pace of the game by chewing clock and hitting us with little dinks all over the place.
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Is this cut/pasted from the Captain Obvious thread from April?
 
#30
#30
hatingbamaisawayoflife said:
We are not a great team yet.. Nico is a freshman and is learning...secondary is stronger than most thought but still learning... line has to get healthy..the running qb may be this defense weakness and well what do we have coming up... running qbs for a while
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Arion Carter shut down Arnold from running around the first half. We played prevent the last 8 mins or so and was subbing in back ups at that point.
 
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#31
#31
So was the 2022 team an elite or even great team after 4 games? Asking for a ”friend”. Squeaked by Pitt and “almost” let Florida come back at home.

It’s early people. We will know soon.
 
#32
#32
Nico ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va said:
...however, the consensus I am gathering here is that we are not sure if we are a great team yet. We have the pieces: strong culture, athletes in positions of need across the field, and a smart coach.

Areas of concern are the OL, the QB position, and the defensive secondary. Nothing is new across these positions, but here are my observations:

OL: we are only as good as our tackle play. OU has one of the best defensive fronts we will see this year, but Bama, and UGA are also good here. We need to get the Heard situation figured out and rest up this weekend. This is tricky because it is a developmental position and you cannot expect a freshman to come in and compete with fully grown men on the other side of the ball. They have to bulk and get stronger. I fear we will live and die by our tackles this year.

QB: Let me get one thing straight: Nico is a star in the making. He is not a star yet though, regardless of the media hype and SEC freshman of the week accolades. He has a lot to learn, and just got a good lesson against a really good OU team that loves to scheme to confuse young QBs. However, he cannot keep getting strip sacked. That is also on the OL, but if OU had a competent offense, those two fumbles would have been TDs or FGs. Offensive staff will to uncork that arm against Bama as they are stacked on the front end but weaker in pass protection. UGA will also scheme to confuse him and he will need to be better as they can score on those turnovers we saw at OU.

Defensive Secondary: I still do not think they have been tested, mainly because our DL has just dominated to the point where opposing offenses cannot get their downfield attack going. I like what we have seen from this group, but can we say for certain they have seen a dynamic air attack yet? No. McCall was a bust and so was Arnold. The Arkansas QB isn't great at throwing either, so think this group will not be challenged until we see Mertz at Florida. Mertz isn't a world breaker, but he can throw little dinks and dunks into soft coverage spots that chew into our secondary. Florida isn't great but we will need to fire on all cylinders on the defense. We need to prove in the first quarter we are not going to let them dictate the pace of the game by chewing clock and hitting us with little dinks all over the place.
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We have 4 weeks until Alabama. This team will grow and be better in a month. Man just enjoy it
 
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#33
#33
No way to know yet but the coach, and hopefully the team, knows to never look past the next game.

One game at a time. Always.
 
#35
#35
Maybe once teams realize how tough the Vol DL is across all facets, it will force teams from double teaming James Pierce. Can't wait to see him go off on somebody.
 
#37
#37
Nico ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va said:
...however, the consensus I am gathering here is that we are not sure if we are a great team yet. We have the pieces: strong culture, athletes in positions of need across the field, and a smart coach.

Areas of concern are the OL, the QB position, and the defensive secondary. Nothing is new across these positions, but here are my observations:

OL: we are only as good as our tackle play. OU has one of the best defensive fronts we will see this year, but Bama, and UGA are also good here. We need to get the Heard situation figured out and rest up this weekend. This is tricky because it is a developmental position and you cannot expect a freshman to come in and compete with fully grown men on the other side of the ball. They have to bulk and get stronger. I fear we will live and die by our tackles this year.

QB: Let me get one thing straight: Nico is a star in the making. He is not a star yet though, regardless of the media hype and SEC freshman of the week accolades. He has a lot to learn, and just got a good lesson against a really good OU team that loves to scheme to confuse young QBs. However, he cannot keep getting strip sacked. That is also on the OL, but if OU had a competent offense, those two fumbles would have been TDs or FGs. Offensive staff will to uncork that arm against Bama as they are stacked on the front end but weaker in pass protection. UGA will also scheme to confuse him and he will need to be better as they can score on those turnovers we saw at OU.

Defensive Secondary: I still do not think they have been tested, mainly because our DL has just dominated to the point where opposing offenses cannot get their downfield attack going. I like what we have seen from this group, but can we say for certain they have seen a dynamic air attack yet? No. McCall was a bust and so was Arnold. The Arkansas QB isn't great at throwing either, so think this group will not be challenged until we see Mertz at Florida. Mertz isn't a world breaker, but he can throw little dinks and dunks into soft coverage spots that chew into our secondary. Florida isn't great but we will need to fire on all cylinders on the defense. We need to prove in the first quarter we are not going to let them dictate the pace of the game by chewing clock and hitting us with little dinks all over the place.
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I’m more concerned with being great in January than being great now.
 
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#39
#39
VOLINVONORE said:
I think when Mike Matthews is healthy enough to play more snaps, we become a much better team on offense. Squirrel is not playing up to his potential and is not making catches I think he can/should. Matthews has shown he can make those catches both over the middle as well as the deep go patterns. He is much stronger than Squirrel and is just as fast if not faster. He can add a needed dimension to our offense
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Good grief...Squirrel has 105 catches and Matthews has 2. We all know the potential Matthews has but let's chill on burying Squirrel because he dropped a diving catch.
 
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#40
#40
Of course it's good to be humble and maintain a got-a-lot-of-work-to-do attitude, but this is about the only place I'm not hearing us described as great. We are currently #1 nationally in total offense and #4 in total defense. That is the composition of a title contender, no doubt about it. Of course OL depth could potentially become a concern, we can only hope everyone is back soon, but otherwise I see no reason we can't compete with anyone including Texas and Georgia, given the team we are fielding. Heck, Georgia is 65th in total offense, is there any reason (apart from excessive key injuries) we can't compete with them even in Athens with our D and the versatility of our offense? I don't know of any.
 
#41
#41
FBtime said:
Good grief...Squirrel has 105 catches and Matthews has 2. We all know the potential Matthews has but let's chill on burying Squirrel because he dropped a diving catch.
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Maybe you have not been watching Squirrel's performances this year. He has yet to play to the standard he played last year, even at returning punts. The passing game has to Improve if we are expect to beat Alabama or Georgia. We need WRs who are playing at their peak and Squirrel needs to get his act together. If he doesn't, there are other WRs who appear to be ready to do the job. Last year was last year and this year is this year. Maybe some pressure for playing time will get him back on track. I really don.t care who is playing at their peak, but whomever is playing needs to play well enough to earn his playing time.
I like Squirrel and I think he has the ability to do the job. He just needs to do it.
 
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#42
#42
VOLINVONORE said:
Maybe you have not been watching Squirrel's performances this year. He has yet to play to the standard he played last year, even at returning punts. The passing game has to Improve if we are expect to beat Alabama or Georgia. We need WRs who are playing at their peak and Squirrel needs to get his act together. If he doesn't, there are other WRs who appear to be ready to do the job. Last year was last year and this year is this year. Maybe some pressure for playing time will get him back on tract. I really don.t care who is playing at their peak, but whomever is playing needs to play well enough to earn his playing time.
I like Squirrel and I think he has the ability to do the job. He just needs to do it.
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Back on tract?
Back on track??

First time I've seen it written and not simply heard it said.

Is it back on tract?
 
#44
#44
All Vol! said:
Of course it's good to be humble and maintain a got-a-lot-of-work-to-do attitude, but this is about the only place I'm not hearing us described as great. We are currently #1 nationally in total offense and #4 in total defense. That is the composition of a title contender, no doubt about it. Of course OL depth could potentially become a concern, we can only hope everyone is back soon, but otherwise I see no reason we can't compete with anyone including Texas and Georgia, given the team we are fielding. Heck, Georgia is 65th in total offense, is there any reason (apart from excessive key injuries) we can't compete with them even in Athens with our D and the versatility of our offense? I don't know of any.
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Part of the reason people here are either more realistic or pessimistic is that we pay a lot more attention to the flaws compared to fans of other teams and most of the media. Not saying we are a bunch of football coaches, but UT is our team and we pay attention to a lot of details that other folks may miss. I certainly do not know what is going on with Bama's starting OTs, while everybody here is talking about Heard and if he is going to play for example.

The point I was trying to make is that I think we are good, but we can be a lot better. Which is really exciting as this team has not peaked yet. I still would like to see some more out of Nico, the OL, and secondary before I crown us as contenders.

We have some big match ups coming, but if we take care of business and continue to get better each week, I think we can run with the likes of Bama and UGA. They are great simply because of talent, but neither look elite yet this early in the season. Have to take care of business against Arky and Florida, two games that scare me.
 
#45
#45
Nico ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va said:
...however, the consensus I am gathering here is that we are not sure if we are a great team yet. We have the pieces: strong culture, athletes in positions of need across the field, and a smart coach.

Areas of concern are the OL, the QB position, and the defensive secondary. Nothing is new across these positions, but here are my observations:

OL: we are only as good as our tackle play. OU has one of the best defensive fronts we will see this year, but Bama, and UGA are also good here. We need to get the Heard situation figured out and rest up this weekend. This is tricky because it is a developmental position and you cannot expect a freshman to come in and compete with fully grown men on the other side of the ball. They have to bulk and get stronger. I fear we will live and die by our tackles this year.

QB: Let me get one thing straight: Nico is a star in the making. He is not a star yet though, regardless of the media hype and SEC freshman of the week accolades. He has a lot to learn, and just got a good lesson against a really good OU team that loves to scheme to confuse young QBs. However, he cannot keep getting strip sacked. That is also on the OL, but if OU had a competent offense, those two fumbles would have been TDs or FGs. Offensive staff will to uncork that arm against Bama as they are stacked on the front end but weaker in pass protection. UGA will also scheme to confuse him and he will need to be better as they can score on those turnovers we saw at OU.

Defensive Secondary: I still do not think they have been tested, mainly because our DL has just dominated to the point where opposing offenses cannot get their downfield attack going. I like what we have seen from this group, but can we say for certain they have seen a dynamic air attack yet? No. McCall was a bust and so was Arnold. The Arkansas QB isn't great at throwing either, so think this group will not be challenged until we see Mertz at Florida. Mertz isn't a world breaker, but he can throw little dinks and dunks into soft coverage spots that chew into our secondary. Florida isn't great but we will need to fire on all cylinders on the defense. We need to prove in the first quarter we are not going to let them dictate the pace of the game by chewing clock and hitting us with little dinks all over the place.
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He is not a seasoned guy yet, learning curves are what they are, BUT he has been conference Freshman of the week 3 times. Guessing for a reason.
 
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#46
#46
Some of you are way too weird and “kumbaya” about this. It’s not rocket science, yes we’re a great team. Yes we need improvement on the OL, but that’s gonna come with returning players. We’re not a playoff team because we’re “just good”.
 
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#47
#47
GUNTERSVOL said:
He is not a seasoned guy yet, learning curves are what they are, BUT he has been conference Freshman of the week 3 times. Guessing for a reason.
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I think Heupel has done a great job with a steady ramp into conference play. I think Arkansas and Florida are two games where he can really flex his arm though. Neither team has incredible defenses and are ripe for picking apart.

I didn't mean to sound too down on him, but I think he has a lot of room to continue to grow.
 
#48
#48
saxvol said:
USA today has Arky at 67th, not sure a win aginst A&M will vault them into the top 25 as some have suggested.
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Not sure how aligned USA Today and the AP poll are, but if Arkansas beats #24 A&M and they're sitting 4-1 (2-0 SEC) and their only loss is on the road to a ranked opponent - I think it'd be hard for voters to keep them out of the top 25.
 
#49
#49
Tman44 said:
Tim Banks addressed the secondary with respect to the defensive front earlier in the season. He pointed out that the secondary is tasked with much less than in previous seasons. They are not going to have to cover targets for extended periods of time because of the pressure from the front. I see this as the natural progression of how growth at one position group will be a boon to another. It is exactly the same as a good o-line makes everyone else on that side of the ball look and play better.

As for being an elite team, I believe our starters are there; however, the team is not there. As we found out in Norman, we are at a disadvantage when we lose players due to injury. What elite teams can do is just plug and play three deep at most any position. We obviously are not there yet, but we are making great strides through recruiting and transfers. We could win it all with this team; however, it would take an amazing stroke of luck to avoid the injuries to make that happen.

Hopefully this staff gets everyone developed and playing at a high level and the injury bug stays away. Go Vols!
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I’d bet there’s no team in college football that’s truly “3 deep at most any position” and I’m not sure any team is even 2 deep in truly elite level players across the board. 85 scholarship limit and NIL pretty much guarantees it. Besides Texas, what team has a backup quarterback who can step in with no drop off?

Being 3 deep across the D line is an anomaly created by a veteran elite D line coach and I doubt any other team is rotating in their 3rd string D line in the first quarter of a close game. Every team is hoping for good health from their best players and will feel the impact when they’re lost to injuries.
JMO, TIFWIW
 
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