The reason the passing game is not as good this year

[volbound1700]

Milton is part of the problem but I don't think he is the sole problem and I think he gets way too much heat on here. WR play is down and play calling hasn't been as good.

The difference is actually not accuracy but decision making. Hooker had the ability to decipher and make bail out plays. Milton does not. In fact, that quality with a QB is actually pretty rare. Dobbs and Manning had it but not many other Tennessee QBs or even QBs nationally, have that skill. Milton is getting better as season goes on but he is still far from a great QB.

Playing football in the past, I also think Milton's arm strength might be part of his weakness. He likely throws the short passes to hard (most big arm QBs do) which, I know it sounds silly, is hard for WRs to catch due to how fast it is and how painful it is to catch the ball. This is impactful at a micro level. Now he has a superior ability to throw deep but deep balls (from most QBs) are usually hard to get accurate under a gun. Sure if you get them in a laid back, backyard type situation, they can hit WR in stride often but in a game where seconds matter under pressure, it is a different story.

In many ways, I think we, as fans, underestimate the real challenges and ingredients behind this game and how difficult it can be on players. This is why great players, like Hooker and Hyatt, are so rare.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

Keyton made huge plays last year on critical downs. He took all of Tillman's minutes while Tillman was hurt. White had big plays when he got a chance too. It's like everybody in this forum forgets about the Orange Bowl. Bru was the only starting WR receiver playing. Tillman was hurt and Hyatt passed, which was OK. We beat ACC champion Clemson, 31-14, a winner of 2 national championships in recent years

The Orange Bowl was after the season and Clemson had key players out on defense; look at them this year.
Keyton made a great catch against UF. He will likely go undrafted.
Squirrel is a slot. There is literally nothing on the outside.
Offensive line is down. So the offense as a whole is down.

 

[Zues1]

both are very slow

And big. This offense is not a thoroughbred race horse.
I'll take 6/7 yards all day long.

 

[cgrish]

No I do

So you know what play was called and you know for certain that the reciever was at the proper spot when the pass was thrown? You also know that on earlier plays the reciever did not get off the defender as fast and was slower on thier route? There are many things that go into a pass. There was a pass to Bru early in the season that was a little behind him and he didn't catch the ball. If you know football, the defense was in cover 2 and Bru should have throttled down in that spot. If Milton had hit him in stride, it would have taken Bru right into the safety for a big hit. You can't sit back and say if the throw was off or if the reciever did not run the correct route without actually knowing the play called, and how that play should work against that

No I don't know and neither do you know the route they are supposed to run.

 

[Volatile.33]

The reason is simple. Last year, Hendon Hooker. This year, Joe Milton.

Only “simple” because you’re simple-minded. Milton isn’t our biggest problem on O.

 

[Franklin_Vol09]

Personal observation. Last year teams were afraid of the deep pass and played five or ten yards off the receivers at the line. This actually gave the receivers time to move and actually get open, even for the deep ball. Last year Georgia did not do that, they jammed the receivers at the line. Everyone hits the receivers at the line, and the refs allow it all the way down the field. Look at the Bama game last year. The receivers were wide open many times, not because they were faster than this year's players but because the way Bama defended.

You are spot on. UGA was the only team that jammed us at the line and our Oline wasn’t good enough to hold off UGA front for that extra second needed.

 

[#1fulmerite]

I have seen Alabama’s QB throw 2 long TD passes, including the one against us. He arcs the ball, and the receivers adjust their routes to run underneath the ball. Joe is so proud of his arm that he throws a low, straight ball. If the receivers even see the ball, they have no opportunity to adjust to it. If we can go 8 - 4 and a Music City Bowl berth with Joe at QB, I think the team will have done all that we can expect.

To add, they don’t know where the ball will go either. Could be behind them slowing them down on a turn-in route, ten yards in front or over their head or, to someone standing on the sideline. I think that’s what’s leading to drops. What few times he’s been on target, they’ve been surprised.