Stoerner Fumbles
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Here are some observations from things I've overheard this week:
Napier--Our coaches respect Napier. They think he is a top SEC coach after Saban and Smart-- a program builder, a talent developer, an excellent recruiter, and a good game coach. For those of us who've painted him as a dumb hick like Pruitt, our coaches disagree. He'll build a program to contend with there, even if he loses to us, FSU and GA. He has a killer 24 class, and is on the way to an equally good one in 25. We will have a fight on our hands.
What they'll do--Obviously we're better on paper, but Napier will try to shorten the game, control the ball, and stay within reach til the 4th. Napier likes the old school Saban version of game planning on D. He will try to take away the run, and play a mix of zone and man. They will blitz from multiple spots. On O, the perception is that Napier if boring. They can be dangerous when the D isn't disciplined in the middle. With Pilli out, they'll go at Carter. He is a freak athlete, but he's going to have to read his keys. Not surprisingly, Beasley has the final pre-snap call. I think this is smart.
What we'll do-- We're coming for them on D. We think we can blow up plays before they get started. We'll mix up things on 3rd and long. We'll give lots of attention to Pearsall. On O, we have some really juicy matchups, and plans for exploiting those. Armstrong likes to send backers to blow up the middle. He's big on TFL's. He is also good at disgusting coverage on blitz packages. He has always generated sacks and interceptions. They'll try to rattle Milton, and make him throw into bad looks. I think we have some chess versus checkers answers to this, but our OL has to play well. We have not been able to hold off the pass rush in the middle or on the outside. If Milton gets adequate time, we'll make them pay.
Our coaches think Etienne and Pearsall are the keys to stopping Florida. We'll give extra attention to both. Our plan will be to stop the run. Their plan will be to run, and make us pay with long passes on play action when we overcommit. We can't have any corners falling down or blowing 3rd and long with PI calls. Florida will go after McCullough. We will play him due to his run stopping skills, but look for him to be on a short leash if Pearsall gets loose. Right now everyone knows he's a weak spot against the pass.
Mertz has been solid. His only interception was a fluke bounce off a receiver. Napier is not asking him to make tough throws in traffic or make any plays beyond what's there. He had a negative TD to INT ratio at Wisconsin. He can panic when he is pressed, but Napier has him trained to fold, as he did with Utah. Getting him down will happen. Getting him out of his rhythm to press would mean more.
We've had all the receivers healthy and practicing all week. Important to know that Thornton has been the most reliable/high production target since Spring. Don't be surprised if he gets back on track. Florida has been bailing on the TE and the slot in favor of taking the outside receivers. Look for Heupel to use the TE quite a bit today. Look for Thornton to see a long ball or two.
No surprise here, but we're going to run til they stop us. Their DL is enormous, but slow. We'll split them with shifting lines, lateral blocking and stunts.
Cooper is back, but no one is sharing how much he'll play. Hernias are tricky. Having him today would be huge. Having him the rest of the year is even more important. I assume they'll rotate Lane in.
Needless to say, our playbook has much much more on both sides.
Defense--Without giving anything important away, we have disguised coverages, unseen blitzes, and even some players in new roles that have not yet been seen.
Offense-- Similarly, there's a lot we have not seen. From what I've heard, Milton and receivers had a great week. I do not think we'll hesitate to throw long if Florida wants to walk up and dare us to beat them. Our staff doesn't want to play a short game and try to beat them 14-10. It'll be interesting to see how we line up our strengths against this. Running burns clock. We're a very good running team with a nimble line. We'll have to use that, but I think we're going to take some shots.
We're are better on paper, but the game is played on the field, in a hostile environment. I think Florida will be ready and have a good plan. Milton needs to have a good day, but not a great one. We need to avoid giving up single play TD's, pick sixes, and big plays. They are going to try to do anything they can to neutralize our speed advantage and shorten the game. We need to exploit the speed advantage, get off the field on third down. We should win. All of us worry we might not.
Go Vols. Beat their airbrushed acid-washed jorts-covered asses!
Napier--Our coaches respect Napier. They think he is a top SEC coach after Saban and Smart-- a program builder, a talent developer, an excellent recruiter, and a good game coach. For those of us who've painted him as a dumb hick like Pruitt, our coaches disagree. He'll build a program to contend with there, even if he loses to us, FSU and GA. He has a killer 24 class, and is on the way to an equally good one in 25. We will have a fight on our hands.
What they'll do--Obviously we're better on paper, but Napier will try to shorten the game, control the ball, and stay within reach til the 4th. Napier likes the old school Saban version of game planning on D. He will try to take away the run, and play a mix of zone and man. They will blitz from multiple spots. On O, the perception is that Napier if boring. They can be dangerous when the D isn't disciplined in the middle. With Pilli out, they'll go at Carter. He is a freak athlete, but he's going to have to read his keys. Not surprisingly, Beasley has the final pre-snap call. I think this is smart.
What we'll do-- We're coming for them on D. We think we can blow up plays before they get started. We'll mix up things on 3rd and long. We'll give lots of attention to Pearsall. On O, we have some really juicy matchups, and plans for exploiting those. Armstrong likes to send backers to blow up the middle. He's big on TFL's. He is also good at disgusting coverage on blitz packages. He has always generated sacks and interceptions. They'll try to rattle Milton, and make him throw into bad looks. I think we have some chess versus checkers answers to this, but our OL has to play well. We have not been able to hold off the pass rush in the middle or on the outside. If Milton gets adequate time, we'll make them pay.
Our coaches think Etienne and Pearsall are the keys to stopping Florida. We'll give extra attention to both. Our plan will be to stop the run. Their plan will be to run, and make us pay with long passes on play action when we overcommit. We can't have any corners falling down or blowing 3rd and long with PI calls. Florida will go after McCullough. We will play him due to his run stopping skills, but look for him to be on a short leash if Pearsall gets loose. Right now everyone knows he's a weak spot against the pass.
Mertz has been solid. His only interception was a fluke bounce off a receiver. Napier is not asking him to make tough throws in traffic or make any plays beyond what's there. He had a negative TD to INT ratio at Wisconsin. He can panic when he is pressed, but Napier has him trained to fold, as he did with Utah. Getting him down will happen. Getting him out of his rhythm to press would mean more.
We've had all the receivers healthy and practicing all week. Important to know that Thornton has been the most reliable/high production target since Spring. Don't be surprised if he gets back on track. Florida has been bailing on the TE and the slot in favor of taking the outside receivers. Look for Heupel to use the TE quite a bit today. Look for Thornton to see a long ball or two.
No surprise here, but we're going to run til they stop us. Their DL is enormous, but slow. We'll split them with shifting lines, lateral blocking and stunts.
Cooper is back, but no one is sharing how much he'll play. Hernias are tricky. Having him today would be huge. Having him the rest of the year is even more important. I assume they'll rotate Lane in.
Needless to say, our playbook has much much more on both sides.
Defense--Without giving anything important away, we have disguised coverages, unseen blitzes, and even some players in new roles that have not yet been seen.
Offense-- Similarly, there's a lot we have not seen. From what I've heard, Milton and receivers had a great week. I do not think we'll hesitate to throw long if Florida wants to walk up and dare us to beat them. Our staff doesn't want to play a short game and try to beat them 14-10. It'll be interesting to see how we line up our strengths against this. Running burns clock. We're a very good running team with a nimble line. We'll have to use that, but I think we're going to take some shots.
We're are better on paper, but the game is played on the field, in a hostile environment. I think Florida will be ready and have a good plan. Milton needs to have a good day, but not a great one. We need to avoid giving up single play TD's, pick sixes, and big plays. They are going to try to do anything they can to neutralize our speed advantage and shorten the game. We need to exploit the speed advantage, get off the field on third down. We should win. All of us worry we might not.
Go Vols. Beat their airbrushed acid-washed jorts-covered asses!
