UT Dead Last in FBS - Impressive Stat

[Type Orange+]

If we could just get to a point where we can create stalemates or put up a little resistance before getting beat, it'd be an improvement. I've never seen a collective group blow assignments and whiff as much as last year.

On more than one occasion, I watched as, due to the defensive scheme, an offensive lineman would have no one to block on a particular play, but allow a pass rusher to run past him unabated to the QB, because he wasn't his assignment. If an offensive lineman gets whipped, then so be it. Make the defender pay on the next play. But good heavens, man, never just stand there! When in doubt, hit somebody.

 

[cgrish]

Because on pass plays, there are three possible outcomes, int, reception or incomplete. Two of the three possible outcomes are bad
May not even get the ball thrown because of a sack

I understand, but you could say something similar on a running play, tackled for a loss, fumble, or gain yardage. It just seems that when you are not gaining yards on running plays try passing to open up the run game. Just my opinion.

 

[Devo182]

And yet the OL got worse against the run as the season went on, not better. Our coaching staff couldn't make even middling improvement, in teaching technique, stance, knowing where to block, or even scheming to mitigate the damage. And our QB still refused to move around. This season was quite the indictment of a major college coaching staff full of millionaires who are supposed to be expert teachers.

Either that or our entire OL consisted of completely unteachable, incapable players. I guess there could be some middle ground?

This reminds me of a Fulmer quote. When he was coaching he said outside of maybe the first game, whatever the OL was at the beggining of the season was pretty much how it was going to be all season. And this coming from an OL coach. The season is so prep and film heavy, I guess fundamentals and S&C are pretty limited.

Losing Trey sure didn't help, that domino was a big one.

 

[livefaith]

Our OL woes going full out dumpster fire bad started when we played VT at the race track. From that game on we've had a pathetic OL. Watching our OL play in that game was embarrassing.

Did you not watch the mighty Mountaneers from Appy State maul our massive SEC offensive line the week before? Watch #55 in both games and ask yourself, "what coach teaches and puts that man on the field"?

But, yeah, it was full on dumpster fire after Bristol too.

 

[livefaith]

Weird how no one has ever said JG has Dobb’s running skills

Well he's dual threat on the recruiting sites!

 

[livefaith]

I don't know how Mullen does it down there but if after (in some cases) 10-15years of playing OL a kid doesn't understand that the guy lined up on his facemask needs to be blocked, tackled, held or chopped then I don't think you can help them with complicated coaching schemes. No empirical evidence to support but I will say of the video I have watched and games I rewind to see what happened, that 2/3 of the time it wasn't a missed assignment or failure to pick up a blitz. It was pure inability to block the guy lined up over you.

This blows my mind. I'm in no way serious about this ... but it looks like a point shaving scheme in these .gifs.

How did our coaches literally coach this in a collegiate practice every day for a month. Then come to a opening game presser with any message other than "we are in a world of hurt folks". Then put those players on the field to block against other collegiate athletes?

I honestly believe that we HAD to have had walk-ons standing around coached by HS staffs, that could have at least got a hand on a defender before getting run over. At least defenders would have to stumble a little before getting the guy with the ball.

 

[livefaith]

Of course not. The fans and team were sold a bill of goods when it comes to JG and mobility. But what I was referring to was one team had a good QB..one does not. Guess which is which!

JG is not a DT QB, regardless of his HS rating or his melanin. He is a pure pro-style QB that plays behind a horrific OL. We honestly won't know if he's very good or not, until he is blocked for in a competent way. Pro-style QBs depend on it far more than players who can create with their legs. See the Super Bowl with Denver vs Seattle for reference of how an over-matched OL/TE/RB protection group does to an unquestioned elite pro-style QB. Our guy has never went a game properly protected. Much less been able to build confidence over a stretch of games. We really don't know what we have at the position IMHO.

 

[USF grad in TN]

Weird how Dobbs was able to get 9 win seasons with bowl game wins with a terrible o-line.....wonder what changed?

Mike DeBord left

 

[TNDeb3]

LOL and yet I can smell the Dorito & Mountain Dew breath of people clacking away on their keyboards to tell me the REAL problem is JG.

JG deserves combat pay for this past season.

 

[volsportsfan]

Each of the next 4 to 6 years will prove if CJP is good enough to have us competing for sec championships.

God gave the 3 most important commandments to live by. 1 - love the Lord thy God...2 - love your neighbor as yourself 3- be patient and pray that UT powers at be finally hire a great head coach.

Would somebody make me feel good about myself and make this post their signature? lol....I kid I kid..tis the way I see it though

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

There is a problem with an offensive line coach when Jimmy Ray Stephens makes him look bad.

 

[VolsdeepVFL]

Weird how Dobbs was able to get 9 win seasons with bowl game wins with a terrible o-line.....wonder what changed?

Dobbs had a much stronger Oline and system continuity, you lack basic fundamental understanding.

 

[Alex10]

Not one bit surprising to me. I've never seen an O-line with as poor run-blocking as I have this past year. And the O-line issues impacted everything else on offense. We could have had Peyton Manning, Jamal Lewis, and Travis Henry in their primes out there, and our offense still would've struggled with that OL.

Chandler doesn't get enough credit for putting up very good numbers behind a horrid O-line.

And some think it would be ok to promote the o line coach to offensive coordinator.

 

[Ratvol]

With the small exception of a few classes, this has been as big of a factor as anything in our decade plus demise - our trench play has been below average. There have been a few talented players, but no where near SEC level depth.

And it seems the good offensive linemen wind up with season ending injuries which makes it rough on the latter season games. Just hope one day we will catch a break.

Go VOLS!!!!!!

 

[GhostVol]

I'm Shocked I tell you...SHOCKED!!!!

Man, the right side of that O line is gettin' beaten like a red-headed step-child.... SMH

 

[Alex10]

Now the question is....

Is a result THAT bad only on the players?

Absolutely not.

 

[VolsdeepVFL]

And yet the OL got worse against the run as the season went on, not better. Our coaching staff couldn't make even middling improvement, in teaching technique, stance, knowing where to block, or even scheming to mitigate the damage. And our QB still refused to move around. This season was quite the indictment of a major college coaching staff full of millionaires who are supposed to be expert teachers.

Either that or our entire OL consisted of completely unteachable, incapable players. I guess there could be some middle ground?

We lost our starting center in game one and then our best overall player in Smith later...combined with 0 depth of course we got worse

 

[TennesseeTarheel]

And to think people actually believe 8 to 9 wins is possible next year...

Heck, I believed that last season.

 

[wmcovol]

OL as a group, including the staff, should be embarrassed and motivated. Of course, that should have been the case the last three yrs also but nothing’s changed.

 

[Alex10]

It is absolutely insane that our former coaches did not understand that the fundamental base for football success is in the trenches.

Equally as insane as that is the fact that so many on here defended such a horrid coach for such a long time!! Sure now everyone talks about how astronomically bad of a coach Butch was, but half the people saying that are the ones who blasted fans who didn’t just blindly support the guy while he was here.

 

[Alex10]

There is a lack of talent and you can blame coaching but neither of those alone will get you to being DEAD LAST in the entire FBS. That requires a will to lose. You have to WANT to lose to suck that badly. Just look at those videos above. Nothing to do with coaching when you are standing there and someone runs right over you or past you without you even raising your hands. I think this just shows the level of cancerous culture that Butch left and that Pruitt is having to reverse and eliminate.

I’m not trying to pick a fight here because I’m not one way or the other on Pruitt but when you say that letting our guys go out there and not even try to put there hands up or stop them isn’t on coaching? I kind of thought at this level of play that would be the bare minimum requirement of coaching? Again not trying to fight but what exactly is the coach there for if not to at the very least teach basics?

 

[VOLINVONORE]

Doesnt it make you think. Why in the world would we try to run on 60% of our plays.

One would think that the Oline would get some experience, but if you go 3 and out at least a third of the time, you don't get very much experience. I also wonder what Auburn and Kentucky think about our offense or their defenses.

 

[ShoalCreekVol]

We lost our starting center in game one and then our best overall player in Smith later...combined with 0 depth of course we got worse

Right, those are two players. But I'm talking about the fact that the remaining players didn't improve individually as the season wore on. Film study each week, practice each week, personal hard work each week, all these things should help guys get at least a little bit better or there's no point in doing them.

 

[VolAllen]

With a stat like that, 5-7 is actually kind of impressive lol

 

[Volatility]

Well, the schedule is manageable next season...

I see 4 sure wins: Georgia State, Chattanooga, UAB and @ Kentucky (they lose a lot and we just seem to have their number)

4 sure losses: @ Florida, Georgia, @ Alabama and @ Missouri

4 toss ups: BYU, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt (they also lose a lot) - it helps that all of Tennessee's toss up games (at least in my opinion) are at home.

In short, I don't think 8-4 is out of the question. I do expect to be in a bowl game, at the very least.

I don’t know about UAB being an automatic win. In regards to OL, it’s the nucleus of an offense. If you have no OLine, you’re screwed unless you have a very mobile QB. Dobbs covered up our issues for years, and it’s up to Pruitt to rebuild the OL from the ground up.