Something that really bugged me about yesterday's game

[Orange_Crush]

They figured out the same thing that we figured out by watching the Offense, specifically that Worley is NEVER, EVER going to keep the ball on the read option. Not a SINGLE TIME, EVER.

The announcer said the same thing Saturday. The very next play, Worley kept it to run for a first down.

"Never" and "ever" are pretty definitive words.

 

[UTProf]

He isn't overly mobile, but as long as he's going to completely carry out the fake, he might as well keep it 3 or 4 times a game, simply to keep the defense mildly on its toes. Something that simple can potentially be the difference in a 2 yard loss and a 3-4 yard gain on any given play.

But for all we know, these true freshmen behind Worley may not even be in the stratosphere of being ready to play, so perhaps the coaches don't want Worley running due to the risk. Anything is possible. I'm just happy we won.

I wouldn't want Worley running with Clowney out there dying to kill a QB and Peterman out with an injury. Not only has Worley taken ownership of the team and the QB spot but we're also trying our best to redshirt our freshman.

 

[508mikey]

Neal and Lane are getting a bit more yardage on the ROs than earlier in the season

 

[IBlvNTmWrk]

Slightly different topic, but the biggest question I had yesterday was on the final snap before the game winning field goal. I was a little surprised there was no attempt to align for an easier FG (e.g. Worley could have taken the snap, backed up 2-3 steps to the right, and then taken a knee in the center of the field). It was a chip shot FG attempt so a few feet isnt' going to make a difference, and it would have removed the angle kicking from the left hash mark.

Perhaps Palardy prefers kicking from the left hash mark. Again, I'll defer to the coaches... I was just expecting them to center the snap for the FG and when they didn't I was a little surprised.

 

[Jackcrevol]

They figured out the same thing that we figured out by watching the Offense, specifically that Worley is NEVER, EVER going to keep the ball on the read option. Not a SINGLE TIME, EVER.

and once you know that, it's easier to defend this offense. It really isn't an option any longer. On the play when Clowney blew up Neal, Worley should have "READ-OPTION" and kept the ball.

But they don't implement a true "read-option", it's more of a "hand off or pass" offense.

/soapbox

he ran for 10 this game, game before that, and game before that.

never say never, bru

 

[Sowbug2000]

I have heard it said more time than one that they want Worley to keep the ball more and run. Sounds to me its all on Worley not running the read more properly.

I know....he's not a TERRIBLE runner....he's made a few long runs this year, but it seems like when he was flushed out of the pocket, rather than run option.

JMO.

:hi:

 

[Volosaurus rex]

They figured out the same thing that we figured out by watching the Offense, specifically that Worley is NEVER, EVER going to keep the ball on the read option. Not a SINGLE TIME, EVER.

and once you know that, it's easier to defend this offense. It really isn't an option any longer. On the play when Clowney blew up Neal, Worley should have "READ-OPTION" and kept the ball.

But they don't implement a true "read-option", it's more of a "hand off or pass" offense.

/soapbox

I wander if some of this is deliberate at this point, i.e. if Butch and Coach Bajakian might be instructing Justin not to run unless it is absolutely necessary. Think about it from this perspective. We have already knocked two opposing quarterbacks out of action. We are still slogging through the heart of our SEC schedule and Peterman has not returned from his injury, so they may be doing everything possible to minimize the chance of injury to Worley. Even so, he rapped his thumb or knuckle on the helmet of another player and commentators were questioning how long or how effectively Justin would be able to play thereafter. It is fairly obvious that the coaching staff does not want to burn the redshirts of Ferguson and/or Dobbs unless it truly becomes necessary. This could be a deliberate decision to sacrifice one element of our offensive package for long-term goals: keep our starting quarterback healthy and avoid prematurely establishing a pecking order among the freshmen qbs.

 

[VolGee4]

Slightly different topic, but the biggest question I had yesterday was on the final snap before the game winning field goal. I was a little surprised there was no attempt to align for an easier FG (e.g. Worley could have taken the snap, backed up 2-3 steps to the right, and then taken a knee in the center of the field). It was a chip shot FG attempt so a few feet isnt' going to make a difference, and it would have removed the angle kicking from the left hash mark.

Perhaps Palardy prefers kicking from the left hash mark. Again, I'll defer to the coaches... I was just expecting them to center the snap for the FG and when they didn't I was a little surprised.

We didn't have a timeout left. Even though there was enough time to probably run two plays, I don't think the coaches wanted to risk that. You also have to remember the new rules- if an offensive player jumps, it is a time runoff. That rule was put into place after we list to UNC in the bowl game. If you can't make a 19 yard FG at any angle, then you probably shouldn't be a D1 kicker.

 

[sjt18]

I have heard it said more time than one that they want Worley to keep the ball more and run. Sounds to me its all on Worley not running the read more properly.

I watched Worley answer that question again. He answered it the same way: "I have keys I am supposed to read." He said they had not talked to him about keeping it more.

He looked like he was lying... like the question made him uncomfortable. I STRONGLY suspect he's been told not to keep it.

Not sure about Bajakian... but it seems that having one of the Fr in there scares the crap out of Jones.

If I were the coach, saw all that green, and trusted my back up... I'd be riding his tail about keeping the ball more.

 

[BowlBrother85]

I would like to see us throw more on first down but nothing should have bugged a Vol fan about yesterday's game...Our first win of any consequence at all in four years...The only thing that bugged me yesterday was the wait at Calhoun's - I had time to drink seven beers out on the deck before getting seated....Outrageous!

 

[Sudden Impact]

The big thing is Turnovers. He is not making them at crucial times as a QB. Maybe we are telling him not to run it due to our situation at QB for fear of injury.

 

[IBlvNTmWrk]

We didn't have a timeout left. Even though there was enough time to probably run two plays, I don't think the coaches wanted to risk that. You also have to remember the new rules- if an offensive player jumps, it is a time runoff. That rule was put into place after we list to UNC in the bowl game. If you can't make a 19 yard FG at any angle, then you probably shouldn't be a D1 kicker.

Unless I'm missing something, it had nothing to do with timeouts. We purposely let the clock run down to 3 seconds so we had plenty of time. All I'm suggesting is that instead of Worley taking the snap and then taking a knee behind center (i.e. at the left hash mark) he could have taken a couple of steps to his right before taking a knee. This would have eliminated the angle of the FG attempt.

 

[JohnnyBall]

Slightly different topic, but the biggest question I had yesterday was on the final snap before the game winning field goal. I was a little surprised there was no attempt to align for an easier FG (e.g. Worley could have taken the snap, backed up 2-3 steps to the right, and then taken a knee in the center of the field). It was a chip shot FG attempt so a few feet isnt' going to make a difference, and it would have removed the angle kicking from the left hash mark.

Perhaps Palardy prefers kicking from the left hash mark. Again, I'll defer to the coaches... I was just expecting them to center the snap for the FG and when they didn't I was a little surprised.

They didn't have time fooling around lining up in the middle of the field..plain and simple

 

[AJeray4TN]

First off, I'm ecstatic that we won. I really do think we have a coach that will do great things for us. However, I noticed something during the second half that really bothered me. It seemed every offensive series went like this: run middle, run edge, pass, punt. With the exception of a play or two that looked blown, there wasn't really any variation. As the game progressed, it seemed SCe's defense could predict it more and more, and our offense was becoming less and less effective. Is this just a result of less talent at QB than desired (I'm by no means in the "get rid of Worley" camp, we saw that result at Florida), or is it a flaw of one dimensional play calling? I'll hang up and listen.

 

[IBlvNTmWrk]

They didn't have time fooling around lining up in the middle of the field..plain and simple

I'm not sure what you mean? They stood there and waited for the clock to run down to 3 seconds before taking the snap. They had plenty of time to do this.

 

[Brianchevy]

I wander if some of this is deliberate at this point, i.e. if Butch and Coach Bajakian might be instructing Justin not to run unless it is absolutely necessary. .

Good post and I agree, I most certainly don't want anybody to get hurt. Better to hand off and be safe. I was just agreeing with the OP that USC found some things that worked against our Offense. In a big close game, we were able to get the win, hope that continues...

 

[VolGee4]

I'm not sure what you mean? They stood there and waited for the clock to run down to 3 seconds before taking the snap. They had plenty of time to do this.

If he takes a knee, the clock still runs. We had to spike it to stop the clock, and the ball stays on the same hash when you spoke it. We couldn't risk moving the ball with no timeouts.

 

[IBlvNTmWrk]

If he takes a knee, the clock still runs. We had to spike it to stop the clock, and the ball stays on the same hash when you spoke it. We couldn't risk moving the ball with no timeouts.

Okay... my confusion. I was thinking they spiked it on 2nd down and kicked on 3rd, so would have had time to position on 2nd down, and then spike the ball on 3rd and still kick the FG on 4th down.

 

[DresdenVol]

In the post-game press conference Worley was asked why he didn't run it more, and he said that after the coaches watched the film of all the games they had nothing negative to say about him not keeping it more.

That leads me to think that he is making the right read per the system..

 

[VolGee4]

Okay... my confusion. I was thinking they spiked it on 2nd down and kicked on 3rd, so would have had time to position on 2nd down, and then spike the ball on 3rd and still kick the FG on 4th down.

Well, I don't quite recall what down we kicked on. But I think the staff just did not want to chance it. They probably had 15-20 seconds but they would have had to run it, set up again, and then spike it. Again, the new rule calls for a clock runoff if we have a penalty. I think the staff just decided to make sure we got set and let the clock run and spike it.

 

[Orange Alert]

I was not impressed with the play calling but there are two things to keep in mind: the passing game is more of a liability than an asset right now, and SC's defense looked and/or played much better than GA's defense,

 

[BanditVol]

Earlier in the game, I actually complained that we were not patient enough with the run game. There were a few drives in the first half where we would break off a 4-6 yard run on first down, then throw an inc on second down and break the momentum. If the first down run is good, try it again I say, given that the run game is the strength of our offense and Worley is still struggling.

I was actually happy to see us run more...and I think it paid off. It ran the clock, it wore down their DL (did you see the runs by Lane at the end?) and I don't think throwing on first or second down was working anyway. It was a tight game at that point. I totally think this was the right strategy by the coaches.

 

[DocVOLiday]

we need to work on the screens. they are usually predictable and many times hang our dudes out to dry.

One time yesterday a screen went to Neal and by the time he got it, there were already 3 or 4 USCe players there. Didn't look like they were blocked at all (and if so, very poorly)

 

[KBVol]

welcome back negavols took yall almost 24 hours to post on here after a great win oh by the way we won you a game that many of already wrote off months ago so stop complaining we are doing good so we are not going to win a nc this year or even the sec GIVE IT TIME BRICK BY BRICK

Love the sentiment, hate the sentence structure. Punctuation is your friend Darrell 😊

 

[KBVol]

I was not impressed with the play calling but there are two things to keep in mind: the passing game is more of a liability than an asset right now, and SC's defense looked and/or played much better than GA's defense,

Passing game is a liability? We're not the '99 Rams but our passing game (TD to Pig, 48yd pass to North, 39yd pass to North, 23 yd pass to Croom) was arguably our best offensive weapon yesterday. Was it as efficient as we'd like to see it? No. But I don't think it's a liability. We're starting to see explosive plays... it's getting better weekly IMO.