RANDOM VOL THOUGHTS

[tclowers23]

This is completely random and there wasn't really a thread to post it on. Does anyone else think that Arian Foster runs the ball very similar to Larry Johnson? It's not just that they have the same #27... I really think Arian's game is a lot like Johnson's. Deceptively quick... patient... power... anybody agree?

This thread may drop of the face of the earth... but it might be a good thread for other completely random thoughts that don't really belong on any other thread... and they don't really need a thread of their own either.

 

[Mullet Vol]

He also reminds me of Shaun Alexander for the same reasons you gave above.

 

[TN Vol 0320]

Arian is a great runner, but he doesn't have near the breakaway speed that either of those guys have. In my opinion, the only thing separating him from a great SEC running back to a Heisman contender is that breakaway speed...

 

[fostermom]

Arian is a great runner, but he doesn't have near the breakaway speed that either of those guys have. In my opinion, the only thing separating him from a great SEC running back to a Heisman contender is that breakaway speed...

It's certainly far far too soon in his college career to be talking Heisman. He's got a lot of work to do.
But I do want to say two things. His speed is extremely deceptive. He takes big strides, covers a lot of ground and has the ability to cut back quickly. You may never see him leave anyone in the dust, but not because he can't. I can't explain it, but ever since he was 7 and playing ball, he would break a long run but only run fast enough to beat the defender. It's just what he does. His strength is in his ability to see the field and keep the angle on a guy in his favor all the time. So while he definitely has speed, he won't blow people away all the time because he doesn't have to. He got caught from behind in the Vandy game on that long run he broke, but he wasn't 100%. Forty carries on his leg was too much.

Secondly, he was strong last year, but he was also injured. His knee was injured in the Ole Miss game. But he played all the way through. What he wasn't doing last year was opening his hips up like he can do. Most of that was due to the injury. He pushed his knee as far as it could be pushed and it made him change the stride he's comfortable with. This summer, now that all the surgeries are behind him, he'll be working on his strength again, his speed and his conditioning (which was already good). Arian is notorious for a very stringent off season work out. He uses the one Johnny Long gives him but he'll also incorporate the workout that his dad gives him. This workout will focus mainly on speed and stride. He should be able to open his hips up and when he does, you'll be surprised at just how fast he can be. JMO

 

[orange+white=heaven]

Wow. Thanks for the insight fostermom! I feel like I just heard from the coaches. ost-20645-1119625378:

114 days and we'll get to see him cut loose! I can't wait.

 

[VolBeef88]

It's certainly far far too soon in his college career to be talking Heisman. He's got a lot of work to do.
But I do want to say two things. His speed is extremely deceptive. He takes big strides, covers a lot of ground and has the ability to cut back quickly. You may never see him leave anyone in the dust, but not because he can't. I can't explain it, but ever since he was 7 and playing ball, he would break a long run but only run fast enough to beat the defender. It's just what he does. His strength is in his ability to see the field and keep the angle on a guy in his favor all the time. So while he definitely has speed, he won't blow people away all the time because he doesn't have to. He got caught from behind in the Vandy game on that long run he broke, but he wasn't 100%. Forty carries on his leg was too much.

Secondly, he was strong last year, but he was also injured. His knee was injured in the Ole Miss game. But he played all the way through. What he wasn't doing last year was opening his hips up like he can do. Most of that was due to the injury. He pushed his knee as far as it could be pushed and it made him change the stride he's comfortable with. This summer, now that all the surgeries are behind him, he'll be working on his strength again, his speed and his conditioning (which was already good). Arian is notorious for a very stringent off season work out. He uses the one Johnny Long gives him but he'll also incorporate the workout that his dad gives him. This workout will focus mainly on speed and stride. He should be able to open his hips up and when he does, you'll be surprised at just how fast he can be. JMO

The thing that makes me like him so much mom is his heart. The kid did not need to run the ball 40 times but he did and his last run he ran just as hard as he did on his first run. There are a lot of guys who have speed and talent. I think one of the biggest things that seperate runners is heart and AF has plenty. Thank you and your son and family for becoming part of our UT family.

 

[OWB]

He got caught from behind in the Vandy game on that long run he broke, but he wasn't 100%. Forty carries on his leg was too much.

Secondly, he was strong last year, but he was also injured. His knee was injured in the Ole Miss game. But he played all the way through.

40 carries might have been too much, but I thought that he handled it well to be so young and beat up. Arian came in and gave the Vols some life when Riggs went down and it was a breath of fresh air to me.

In my opinion, speed doesn't matter all that much. Arian did what he was supposed to do last year, he got the Vols first downs and put them in a position to score and he showed toughness, patience and good vision in doing so..

I'm not saying that he doesn't have the speed, I thought that he looked a little winded after the long runs and lost some steam. That's to be expected when you get the ball that much and are fighting through injuries.

After his experience and success last year combined with another year of working hard and getting healthy, I think that we'll see great things from him again this year.

And let's not forget, Foster was doing all this with a major lack of QB and WR play. It's hard to do what Arian did last year all thing considered.

 

[VolBeef88]

40 carries might have been too much, but I thought that he handled it well to be so young and beat up. Arian came in and gave the Vols some life when Riggs went down and it was a breath of fresh air to me.

In my opinion, speed doesn't matter all that much. Arian did what he was supposed to do last year, he got the Vols first downs and put them in a position to score and he showed toughness, patience and good vision in doing so..

I'm not saying that he doesn't have the speed, I thought that he looked a little winded after the long runs and lost some steam. That's to be expected when you get the ball that much and are fighting through injuries.

After his experience and success last year combined with another year of working hard and getting healthy, I think that we'll see great things from him again this year.

And let's not forget, Foster was doing all this with a major lack of QB and WR play. It's hard to do what Arian did last year all thing considered.

I agree. The kid ran with a ton of heart. I am very proud that he is a VOL!

 

[OWB]

I agree. The kid ran with a ton of heart. I am very proud that he is a VOL!

Yeah, I left heart and determination out of it. I didn't mean to, I just think that's a given with him.

Another thing worth mentioning is Foster didn't have a solid back to come in and give him some rest. That should change this year with Hardesty or Coker or both.

I don't want to appear to be making excuses for Arian, there's no need to do so. He handled it all very well and did what he had to do and then some last season.

I'm really looking forward to seeing him play this season.

 

[VolBeef88]

Yeah, I left heart and determination out of it. I didn't mean to, I just think that's a given with him.

Another thing worth mentioning is Foster didn't have a solid back to come in and give him some rest. That should change this year with Hardesty or Coker or both.

I don't want to appear to be making excuses for Arian, there's no need to do so. He handled it all very well and did what he had to do and then some last season.

I'm really looking forward to seeing him play this season.

He needs no excuses for sure. I think he may have had the best second half of the season as any RB in the nation. At least as good as any.

 

[jakez4ut]

it's still early for him...the upside sure does look good though...but he only played in what 5 games last season?

Let's see how he does as the feature back for 12 games....him staying healthy and the O line getting better in a hurry will tell the tale..and if we can't throw the ball a lick, it wouldn't matter who we had back there if there are 8 or 9 guys waiting on him every play.

Don't get me wrong...i liked what i saw of him last year, and the future could be very bright for this kid....Lord knows i hope it is.

 

[VolBeef88]

it's still early for him...the upside sure does look good though...but he only played in what 5 games last season?

Let's see how he does as the feature back for 12 games....him staying healthy and the O line getting better in a hurry will tell the tale..and if we can't throw the ball a lick, it wouldn't matter who we had back there if there are 8 or 9 guys waiting on him every play.

Don't get me wrong...i liked what i saw of him last year, and the future could be very bright for this kid....Lord knows i hope it is.

Forgive me if I missed it, but did we throw the ball good the last 5 games last year? AF ran with great vision,
determination, guts and heart last year. He made a lot of the yards inspite of a poor passing game and 8 in the box.

 

[OWB]

Let's see how he does as the feature back for 12 games....him staying healthy and the O line getting better in a hurry will tell the tale..and if we can't throw the ball a lick, it wouldn't matter who we had back there if there are 8 or 9 guys waiting on him every play.

That's true, but there were 8 or 9 guys waiting for Foster last year and he still performed well. But yeah, we obviously need a passing game.

 

[fostermom]

Yes, I'd prefer a passing game also. 25 carries is quite enough.

Actually, I think we'll see a good passing game. Coach Troop will settle
for nothing less and I think Ainge will be much improved thanks to Coach Cut.
Also, we'll be getting the TEs involved in our offense again and look for some
short passes out of the backfield. We'll be a more balanced offense this year
which will help everybody. Our o-line does need to step up big and soon. I
think they will. They're lighter and will fire off the ball a lot better now. I'm
excited....hope you are too! :dance2:

 

[VolBeef88]

Yes, I'd prefer a passing game also. 25 carries is quite enough.

Actually, I think we'll see a good passing game. Coach Troop will settle
for nothing less and I think Ainge will be much improved thanks to Coach Cut.
Also, we'll be getting the TEs involved in our offense again and look for some
short passes out of the backfield. We'll be a more balanced offense this year
which will help everybody. Our o-line does need to step up big and soon. I
think they will. They're lighter and will fire off the ball a lot better now. I'm
excited....hope you are too! :dance2:

Yes I am. I think we are in for a really good season. Many will be surprised by how well we do. Tell Arian thanks from a huge fan of his.

 

[volmanjr]

You Bethcha! Arian was one of the few bright lights last yr and I wish the best come Fall! GO BIG ORANGE!!!

 

[jakez4ut]

Forgive me if I missed it, but did we throw the ball good the last 5 games last year? AF ran with great vision,
determination, guts and heart last year. He made a lot of the yards inspite of a poor passing game and 8 in the box.

no disagreement with any of that...i don't think i was being overly critical...i was just merely pointing out that he only did that over 5 games, and was extremely fresh when he came in...it'll be interesting to see if he can do that over the course of a 12 game schedule against all the big dogs he will play this season, that he didn't face last year...and remain healthy in doing so.

he got his first significant action against Bama, and then started frome every game after that....

which was against USC, ND, Memphis, Vandy and KY...none of which i would call exactly "great" defensive teams...but over that course of time, he averaged, 4.9 YPC and 132 YPG at 27 carries per game...which is GREAT...and that should be plenty of reason to be optimistic about him this year.

the question though is, can he do that again against the meat of our schedule this year, if so then, more power to him...Lord knows i'd love it...but to expect the same or better results against what, is in my mind, will be much stiffer competition this year for him, is not necessarily resalistic, especially given all the other question marks surrounding the offense comining in to this season....

Knowing all those questions that have yet to be answered (EA, O Line, WR etc...) he's the only bright spot we really have going in to next year, and i would think that most defenses will be keyed to stop him, until we can prove we can beat teams by other means.

I don't think that's an unfair assesment?

 

[jakez4ut]

Yes, I'd prefer a passing game also. 25 carries is quite enough.

Actually, I think we'll see a good passing game. Coach Troop will settle
for nothing less and I think Ainge will be much improved thanks to Coach Cut.
Also, we'll be getting the TEs involved in our offense again and look for some
short passes out of the backfield. We'll be a more balanced offense this year
which will help everybody. Our o-line does need to step up big and soon. I
think they will. They're lighter and will fire off the ball a lot better now. I'm
excited....hope you are too! :dance2:

and if all that comes to pass, which i hope it does, then yes, we'd obviously have a big year all the way around, and there would be no questions surrounding AF's performance, or lack there of. i would consider myself cautiously optimistic at this point.

 

[VolBeef88]

no disagreement with any of that...i don't think i was being overly critical...i was just merely pointing out that he only did that over 5 games, and was extremely fresh when he came in...it'll be interesting to see if he can do that over the course of a 12 game schedule against all the big dogs he will play this season, that he didn't face last year...and remain healthy in doing so.

he got his first significant action against Bama, and then started frome every game after that....

which was against USC, ND, Memphis, Vandy and KY...none of which i would call exactly "great" defensive teams...but over that course of time, he averaged, 4.9 YPC and 132 YPG at 27 carries per game...which is GREAT...and that should be plenty of reason to be optimistic about him this year.

the question though is, can he do that again against the meat of our schedule this year, if so then, more power to him...Lord knows i'd love it...but to expect the same or better results against what, is in my mind, will be much stiffer competition this year for him, is not necessarily resalistic, especially given all the other question marks surrounding the offense comining in to this season....

Knowing all those questions that have yet to be answered (EA, O Line, WR etc...) he's the only bright spot we really have going in to next year, and i would think that most defenses will be keyed to stop him, until we can prove we can beat teams by other means.

I don't think that's an unfair assesment?

I'm not sure but didn't bammer have the best D we faced all year? Surely you won't put UF much higher in the D catagory as ND or even the cocks.

My point is that AF did a great job inspite of injuries and inspite of all knowing he was the one to stop. I think the kid is for real, big time.

 

[jakez4ut]

I'm not sure but didn't bammer have the best D we faced all year? Surely you won't put UF much higher in the D catagory as ND or even the cocks.

My point is that AF did a great job inspite of injuries and inspite of all knowing he was the one to stop. I think the kid is for real, big time.

jeez man...i'm not bashing the kid...i understand your point, and i don't disagree with it, as it relates to last year. and he only carreid the ball 14 times against Bama...he averaged 29 carries a game in the last 5 games he started. So i don't know how he would have done had he started, but simply looking at the numbers, if he had started, i'd think he'd of gotten 20+carries and somewhere around 110 yards.

And he may in fact be for real, big time, but to simply base that on what he did in 5 games last season, isn't realisitic imo. Another thing to consider is that he was the starter in only the last 5 games....that means there wasnt' a whole lot of tape on him for the opposing teams to look at on the guy....that won't be the same this year either...

this season, the expectations are solely based on what he did against the afformentioned competition...competition that this year will be much better, and over a much longer road. And i'm just saying don't be suprised if early on, if we haven't gotten much better in other areas of the offense, eventually, defenses, (and that's defenses from UF, UGA, ALA, LSU too) will key on him and be able to shut down our offense.

I'm not saying it's GOING to happen, i'm sayng that it would be very likely if we aren't much better on offense as a whole. the bottom line is we just don't know how the offense is goign to be this year, and there's a lot that needs to happen for him to be as effective as we all hope he can be....and we know he can be because he DID perform when asked last season....

again, i don't think that's unfair or bashing the kid....

 

[OldVol]

jeez man...i'm not bashing the kid...i understand your point, and i don't disagree with it, as it relates to last year. and he only carreid the ball 14 times against Bama...he averaged 29 carries a game in the last 5 games he started. So i don't know how he would have done had he started, but simply looking at the numbers, if he had started, i'd think he'd of gotten 20+carries and somewhere around 110 yards.

And he may in fact be for real, big time, but to simply base that on what he did in 5 games last season, isn't realisitic imo. Another thing to consider is that he was the starter in only the last 5 games....that means there wasnt' a whole lot of tape on him for the opposing teams to look at on the guy....that won't be the same this year either...

this season, the expectations are solely based on what he did against the afformentioned competition...competition that this year will be much better, and over a much longer road. And i'm just saying don't be suprised if early on, if we haven't gotten much better in other areas of the offense, eventually, defenses, (and that's defenses from UF, UGA, ALA, LSU too) will key on him and be able to shut down our offense.

I'm not saying it's GOING to happen, i'm sayng that it would be very likely if we aren't much better on offense as a whole. the bottom line is we just don't know how the offense is goign to be this year, and there's a lot that needs to happen for him to be as effective as we all hope he can be....and we know he can be because he DID perform when asked last season....

again, i don't think that's unfair or bashing the kid....

I don't think anyone will disagree that our run game will fall flat if the passing game doesn't take off.

But, you have to give Foster credit. The passing game was as flat as a pancake for the games he did start, and he still put up very impressive numbers, even with people daring us to pass.

From what I've seen, he has the tools to be a great one. But, anything can happen. How well he comes back from injury, the offensive line, the passing game, and also developing a good, solid #2 back will all go a long way in determining what kind of year Arian has.

 

[jakez4ut]

But, you have to give Foster credit.

I'm pretty sure i did....

 

[VolBeef88]

jeez man...i'm not bashing the kid...i understand your point, and i don't disagree with it, as it relates to last year. and he only carreid the ball 14 times against Bama...he averaged 29 carries a game in the last 5 games he started. So i don't know how he would have done had he started, but simply looking at the numbers, if he had started, i'd think he'd of gotten 20+carries and somewhere around 110 yards.

And he may in fact be for real, big time, but to simply base that on what he did in 5 games last season, isn't realisitic imo. Another thing to consider is that he was the starter in only the last 5 games....that means there wasnt' a whole lot of tape on him for the opposing teams to look at on the guy....that won't be the same this year either...

this season, the expectations are solely based on what he did against the afformentioned competition...competition that this year will be much better, and over a much longer road. And i'm just saying don't be suprised if early on, if we haven't gotten much better in other areas of the offense, eventually, defenses, (and that's defenses from UF, UGA, ALA, LSU too) will key on him and be able to shut down our offense.

I'm not saying it's GOING to happen, i'm sayng that it would be very likely if we aren't much better on offense as a whole. the bottom line is we just don't know how the offense is goign to be this year, and there's a lot that needs to happen for him to be as effective as we all hope he can be....and we know he can be because he DID perform when asked last season....

again, i don't think that's unfair or bashing the kid....

I didn't think you were bashing him. I just think it is more impressive than perhaps you are giving him credit. As an old Linebacker I can tell you. You don't need much film on a teams running game that has a horrible passing game. You stick 8 in the box and hold your lanes. The thing about good backs jake is that they usually have great vision and the ability to hit the opening. So film on him is not as big as you may think. Yes it was only 5 games. But hey, that is 5 games that we saw. You could easily say that he may have had an even better year if he started off the season because teams early were watching our passing game.

 

[OldVol]

I'm pretty sure i did....

I meant you in the general sense, didn't mean to say you hadn't.

You know, like ... you think it will rain, said in a crowd.

 

[OrangeEmpire]

Random thought, what if the Vols threw to a tight end..........

What if the special teams did not block in the back on returns.....

What if Erik Ainge did not throw off balance while scrambling........