Noteworthy excerpts from Butch Jones’ press conference today

[Brave Volunteer]

Everyone said the same thing about ZRo, then what happened?

Sorry but we cannot wait for our receivers to become seniors before they start catching the damn ball.

 

[DaddyChad]

A few things I learned from this thread:
*Jones is an excellent handler of the media. He builds up his players, and program. Everything is spun in a positive way without deflecting blame or throwing anyone under the bus.
*Some of our fans are remarkably dense and have zero clue how to motivate and develop young players yet seem to think they do.

 

[ChattanoogaVols]

You're kidding right? If, as freshmen, they can't get off their blocks and get open or time their routes right that's understandable. If they can't catch a ball that smacks their palms when they're in the open field, why are they wide receivers and not defensive backs???

Dropping passes isn't always because they have bad hands; it is often a mental issue. If your head isn't right, it can cause one dropped pass to snowball into a string of dropped passes, and before long your confidence level is so low that you start questioning yourself, which just compounds the issue. Take Palardy for example. While it's kicking instead of catching, the same principle applies. The guy was horrible most of his career, but he's money this year. The talent was always there, he just needed to get right in the head and gain some confidence. If Butch has confidence in Josh Smith, then personally I have to trust that the talent is there, and it's just a matter of him getting his confidence back.

Remember, Jason Witten had problems with drops at one point in his college career as well. And before some of you start in, no, I'm not comparing Josh Smith to Jason Witten. I'm simply saying that if one of the best tight ends in the NFL can have drop issues while in college, then anyone can.

If it turns out to be a mental issue, and Butch can fix it, Josh Smith will put up some big numbers. He's an excellent route runner and constantly gets open. Let's hope Butch is right.

 

[ChattanoogaVols]

So--does this mean that Palardy should be playing Josh's position as WR???

I kid, I kid....

Being desperate fans wanting to get the instant gratification of a quick turnaround (like Auburn) blinds folks to the bigger picture and reality.

It is painful and frustrating to watch dropped passes over and over--but CBJ KNOWS that football players are not throwaway commodities and always keeps the big picture at the forefront. It's called MATURITY, and is one of the reasons the players and RECRUITS seem to love him (he got their back). It's also genuine from CBJ and the players know it--and coach Fulmer had the same character trait! Great things coming for the VOLS!

GO VOLS! :salute:

Very good post, my friend. I:salute:you.

 

[roster]

I wouldn't trust anyone on this board that did not have a Tenn team support or some Tennessee related icon to give sincere encouraging or objective comments for a new coach and team .

What is said was a fact.

Facts can be a real ***** can't they tnlizard.

 

[roster]

You dont give up TD's in practice in the training room...
So there ya go... Obviously the other db's did...

What I continue to see are TD's given up in the games, without an orange shirt anywhere in sight of the tv camera.

What games are you watching?

 

[Volfan2012]

The reason freshmen drop so many passes is trying to run before they catch. They need to look the ball into the hands and catch it before thinking of anything else. Pig dropped a lot of passes as a freshman he has been a lot better this season.

 

[roster]

You dont give up TD's in practice in the training room...
So there ya go... Obviously the other db's did...

So triad280 thinks that the starting DBs are not giving up TDs in practice. Wow. What vision. Bet you are an unemployed psychic.

This is not to even mention that if they don't even frkn practice then, no, they are not going to give up a TD in practice.

One thing for sure, they sure as hell give them up in the games.

 

[lilesrt]

One thing I will say is that this team has played the "field position" game extremely well. This is largely due to Michael Palardy's great performance. The only problem is that our defense is slow and cannot tackle. Downing the ball inside your opponent's 10 yard line is only relevant if your defense can stop the opposing team's offense. Otherwise, it only allows for longer touchdown drives, further padding the stats of our opponents whiling burning valuable time off the clock. See Missouri as an example of this.

 

[ChattanoogaVols]

He also said, "the guys who do the best in practice will start". That was a blatant lie seeing as how three DBs did not even practice and yet they all three started.

Now, even honesty is starting to be ejected from the interviews.

So triad280 thinks that the starting DBs are not giving up TDs in practice. Wow. What vision. Bet you are an unemployed psychic.

This is not to even mention that if they don't even frkn practice then, no, they are not going to give up a TD in practice.

One thing for sure, they sure as hell give them up in the games.

I think triad was referring to the first quote. He was saying that the ones who started the game, but didn't practice (i.e. were in the training room), obviously didn't give up touchdowns in practice, and the others did.

I dont know if he was serious or not, just letting you know that's what he was referring to.

 

[LaagerVol]

Some people try to make football more simple than it is. Catching a football with zero pressure, in practice, in the backyard, wherever, is way different than catching it in a tough game, on the road against a top team. It isn't as easy as people think. Should they catch the ball when it hits them in the hands? Sure they should. But whether it be nerves, or just trying to make a play before the ball gets all the way into their hands, sometimes it's just mental and takes some practice and game experience.

We have a kid on my son's 11 yr old team (I know it's a totally different level but it illustrates the mental side) who catches EVERYTHING I throw to him on the side of practice. Good throw, bad throw, doesn't matter he catches everything, with his hands and doesn't let it get into his body. Put that same kid in front of the head coach and he can't catch a cold. It's a confidence and experience thing with him. Sometimes it isn't as simple as people want to think.

 

[ChattanoogaVols]

Some people try to make football more simple than it is. Catching a football with zero pressure, in practice, in the backyard, wherever, is way different than catching it in a tough game, on the road against a top team. It isn't as easy as people think. Should they catch the ball when it hits them in the hands? Sure they should. But whether it be nerves, or just trying to make a play before the ball gets all the way into their hands, sometimes it's just mental and takes some practice and game experience.

We have a kid on my son's 11 yr old team (I know it's a totally different level but it illustrates the mental side) who catches EVERYTHING I throw to him on the side of practice. Good throw, bad throw, doesn't matter he catches everything, with his hands and doesn't let it get into his body. Put that same kid in front of the head coach and he can't catch a cold. It's a confidence and experience thing with him. Sometimes it isn't as simple as people want to think.

Agreed 100%. That's what I was saying in an earlier post. I truly believe (and hope) it's a mental thing with him. It happens to a lot of receivers, even in the NFL.

 

[LaagerVol]

Agreed 100%. That's what I was saying in an earlier post. I truly believe (and hope) it's a mental thing with him. It happens to a lot of receivers, even in the NFL.

I hope so too. The kid gets open and runs good routes, hard to deny that. Way too early in the young mans career to say that he has stone hands.

 

[Lankykong]

That's true, but we cannot wait for all these receivers to be freaking seniors before they finally start catching the damn ball! I have to say it, for all the praise coach Zach Azzani seems to receive, I have been the least impressed with our WR progress (as a whole) this season, probably more so than any other unit on our team except maybe the OL! I didn't expect our young WR's to come in and dominate but I did expect them to consistently catch the damn ball!

I love CBJ but the comments by him on Josh are nothing but pure rhetoric!

Er...I'd rather have a receiver who has the drops for three years and is great/borderline NFL for one year rather than one who is consistently mediocre because he can't get open or run consistent routes. Smith will be a great receiver once he overcomes the mental aspect, and it may not take him 3 years to get there, either. Not every receiver you recruit is going to be Marquez North, CP, or Justin Hunter, and even they had drops.

 

[branchvol]

Very true but you have to at least show you have potential. I mean this guy is the Dooley of WR's.

Ouch...guess that makes you the Rodney dangerfield of player evaluations.. I to hate the drop balls but lets hope he blossoms..cuz he sure gets open often!!

 

[therickbol]

How many passes have fans seen Smith attempt to catch? How many passes has CBJ seen Smith attempt to catch? Yeah, you are right, the fans probably have a better grasp on how good his hands are. Carry on.

 

[Ez_Vol]

How many passes have fans seen Smith attempt to catch? How many passes has CBJ seen Smith attempt to catch? Yeah, you are right, the fans probably have a better grasp on how good his hands are. Carry on.

In live game action, the fans and CBJ have seen about the same amount of drops. I'm not going to bash the kid for having the most inopportune drops I've seen this yeear (wide open).

Practice and the game are two different environments. So your point is kind of null and void.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Er...I'd rather have a receiver who has the drops for three years and is great/borderline NFL for one year rather than one who is consistently mediocre because he can't get open or run consistent routes. Smith will be a great receiver once he overcomes the mental aspect, and it may not take him 3 years to get there, either. Not every receiver you recruit is going to be Marquez North, CP, or Justin Hunter, and even they had drops.

And I'd rather see UT start recruiting the kind of WR's that other top 10 teams do who tear it up for 2-3 years and then leave early to the NFL. Smith drops more passes than I drop deuces!

 

[papatomany]

I saw Smith flanking out on that play and said, out loud, "Oh, no...don't throw it to Smith." My wife said, "Who's Smith." As the pass bounced along the turf, I said, "That's him."

Excessive drops should equal reduced opportunities. Give him another chance next year against UTC.

 

[therickbol]

In live game action, the fans and CBJ have seen about the same amount of drops. I'm not going to bash the kid for having the most inopportune drops I've seen this yeear (wide open).

Practice and the game are two different environments. So your point is kind of null and void.

It is not null and void. Practice and game are certainly different. And sometimes players game performance never catches up to practice performance. But also, and follow me here, sometimes TRUE FRESHMAN get overwhelmed by the atmosphere of major SEC football as an 18 year old just one year removed from playing in front of 1,000 fans instead of 100,000 fans. And as they gain maturity and experience they adjust to playing in that atmosphere and game performance catches up to practice performance. I know, sounds crazy huh! But hey that can't be the case here because Vols fans with no ability to detach themselves from emotion have decided that his hands are terrible.

 

[FootVolintheFall]

North's hand is better than Smith's hands.

Would that make Smith the next Arian Foster (drops in key situations) or Jon Crompton (money in practice, not in games)?