UT Show Ponies Gone -- Shouldn't Matter

[WiseOlVol]

In a traditional, NFL Pro Set offense, Bray, Patterson and Hunter are as good a group as you could ask for (at age 20). Butch (50-27) has never had guys of that caliber. Neither has Oregon.

Is Butch as clever as Chip Kelly when it comes to getting little, quick guys in space?

 

[ATLVols]

I like Butch a lot, but I don't think we can say "yes" at this point to him being at that level. It's not like his offenses at Cincinnati were blowing people out. They were solid. I think he is good at getting people in space and we'll see how much he can do with more talent. We'll have to wait and see.

 

[sjt18]

Hunter was a pretty average receiver last year. He dropped alot of passes and played like someone protecting their draft status.

CP is a freakish athlete but was never polished as a WR or even a "good" blocker.

Bray... chokes. There is a reason he wasn't drafted. It had nothing to do with Dooley or anyone but Bray. He's a headcase. As physically talented as he was, he lacked poise and leadership. His career is built on playing backyard ball against lesser opponents and in non-critical situations. Anytime a situation required disciplined play in pressure situations... he folded.


I say all that to say this... UT has been replacing great players with great players for a long time. The inexperienced guys who Jones has to work with didn't become less talented because the "show ponies" left.

If this staff can coach then WR won't be a fatal liability.

 

[volroadwarrior]

I might take a few games, but there is talent to work with at WR. Croom, Pig, Bowles, North, Harris and Dallas have the talent, but little experience.

 

[whitw]

Eric Berry approves this thread.

 

[Nashvol2]

Hunter was a pretty average receiver last year. He dropped alot of passes and played like someone protecting their draft status.

CP is a freakish athlete but was never polished as a WR or even a "good" blocker.

Bray... chokes. There is a reason he wasn't drafted. It had nothing to do with Dooley or anyone but Bray. He's a headcase. As physically talented as he was, he lacked poise and leadership. His career is built on playing backyard ball against lesser opponents and in non-critical situations. Anytime a situation required disciplined play in pressure situations... he folded.


I say all that to say this... UT has been replacing great players with great players for a long time. The inexperienced guys who Jones has to work with didn't become less talented because the "show ponies" left.

If this staff can coach then WR won't be a fatal liability.

Great post.

 

[WiseOlVol]

Hunter was a pretty average receiver last year. He dropped alot of passes and played like someone protecting their draft status.

CP is a freakish athlete but was never polished as a WR or even a "good" blocker.

Bray... chokes. There is a reason he wasn't drafted. It had nothing to do with Dooley or anyone but Bray. He's a headcase. As physically talented as he was, he lacked poise and leadership. His career is built on playing backyard ball against lesser opponents and in non-critical situations. Anytime a situation required disciplined play in pressure situations... he folded.

I say all that to say this... UT has been replacing great players with great players for a long time. The inexperienced guys who Jones has to work with didn't become less talented because the "show ponies" left.

If this staff can coach then WR won't be a fatal liability.

Some good points.
But I think it's unfair to criticize Bray, who as a Jr. put up more than enough points to win 8-9 games if UT had even an average Defense by UT standards. Against a much tougher SEC, his numbers were better than PManning's as a Jr.
Bray would still be projected as a Top 3 QB in the 2014 draft if he'd stayed, and with some more maturity he would have deserved it. Best arm we've seen since PManning.

 

[Aesius]

How many SEC teams would have traded their QBs for Bray last year?

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

I might take a few games, but there is talent to work with at WR. Croom, Pig, Bowles, North, Harris and Dallas have the talent, but little experience.

Agree. And they have a few games to develop before any of the games where their play might be the difference in a W or a L.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[UTProf]

I've seen too many less talented teams win to think we're doomed. What we need is:

1. Coaching
2. Good enough talent (we don't have to have the best talent on the field if other aspects are met)
3. Discipline
4. Chemistry
5. A will to win/never stop fighting for each down.

So no, I don't think we need megastars to win. In fact, sometimes they can get in the way because there's jealousy/problems with team chemistry.

 

[WiseOlVol]

How many SEC teams would have traded their QBs for Bray last year?

Florida for one.

 

[lovavol]

Hunter was a pretty average receiver last year. He dropped alot of passes and played like someone protecting their draft status.

CP is a freakish athlete but was never polished as a WR or even a "good" blocker.

Bray... chokes. There is a reason he wasn't drafted. It had nothing to do with Dooley or anyone but Bray. He's a headcase. As physically talented as he was, he lacked poise and leadership. His career is built on playing backyard ball against lesser opponents and in non-critical situations. Anytime a situation required disciplined play in pressure situations... he folded.


I say all that to say this... UT has been replacing great players with great players for a long time. The inexperienced guys who Jones has to work with didn't become less talented because the "show ponies" left.

If this staff can coach then WR won't be a fatal liability.

Let the pastngo and quit bashing former players....does nothing but make future recruits look at the fanbase and think they're a bunch of a holes...not all of us are like you

 

[UTjonez]

I will say this for last years team thank god we had Bray last year because it could have gotten a lot worse than what we seen last year. No Bray last year we go 3-9 or 4-8.

 

[livefaith]

Some good points.
But I think it's unfair to criticize Bray, who as a Jr. put up more than enough points to win 8-9 games if UT had even an average Defense by UT standards. Against a much tougher SEC, his numbers were better than PManning's as a Jr.
Bray would still be projected as a Top 3 QB in the 2014 draft if he'd stayed, and with some more maturity he would have deserved it. Best arm we've seen since PManning.

Thank you. I'm glad to hear this in light of the constant QB bashing. Imagine if one of our backups were the starter last year. We prob lose Troy & maybe Akron!

 

[Rock33]

Thank you. I'm glad to hear this in light of the constant QB bashing. Imagine if one of our backups were the starter last year. We prob lose Troy & maybe Akron!

No we don't. With a diff QB you get a diff Game plan. You put the "#2 OL in the NATION" on their toes instead of their heels and smash it down Troy and Akron's Throat ALL Day. Win is a win...ugly is good sometimes. Limit possessions..bla bla... Not sure if your post was serious or not ?

 

[OrangeDog]

I am depending on our OL next year.

GO BIG UGLIES!!!!

 

[VolinWayne]

No we don't. With a diff QB you get a diff Game plan. You put the "#2 OL in the NATION" on their toes instead of their heels and smash it down Troy and Akron's Throat ALL Day. Win is a win...ugly is good sometimes. Limit possessions..bla bla... Not sure if your post was serious or not ?

Butch was not here last year. We would have thrown the ball 30 times a game no matter who was qb. Hopefully with this new staff we will see the neccesary adjustments but the previous staff did not have that capability

 

[iluvsmesumdooley]

Hunter was a pretty average receiver last year. He dropped alot of passes and played like someone protecting their draft status.

CP is a freakish athlete but was never polished as a WR or even a "good" blocker.

Bray... chokes. There is a reason he wasn't drafted. It had nothing to do with Dooley or anyone but Bray. He's a headcase. As physically talented as he was, he lacked poise and leadership. His career is built on playing backyard ball against lesser opponents and in non-critical situations. Anytime a situation required disciplined play in pressure situations... he folded.




I say all that to say this... UT has been replacing great players with great players for a long time. The inexperienced guys who Jones has to work with didn't become less talented because the "show ponies" left.

If this staff can coach then WR won't be a fatal liability.

I agree with you totally. Also, you can perform a lot of magic with the line we have returning. Don't really need lotsa show ponies with beef like we have up front.

 

[iluvsmesumdooley]

Cincy definitely had a solid offense. Very well ran. My only concern is that Cincy and Oregon can run that against weak conference defenses, but how is it going to play against SEC meat?

 

[99gator]

i just want to make sure that i am not misinterpreting this thread and the posts in it.

the point of this thread is that losing patterson, hunter, and bray won't matter.

is that correct?

 

[VolinWayne]

i just want to make sure that i am not misinterpreting this thread and the posts in it.

the point of this thread is that losing patterson, hunter, and bray won't matter.

is that correct?

Does that not make sense to you? I mean we really are not losing that much production are we?

 

[sjt18]

i just want to make sure that i am not misinterpreting this thread and the posts in it.

the point of this thread is that losing patterson, hunter, and bray won't matter.

is that correct?

Yes... as typical... you are misinterpreting at least MY posts.

 

[sjt18]

Does that not make sense to you? I mean we really are not losing that much production are we?

Given the choice of replacing Bray, Hunter, and CP or replacing the whole OL and DL (which Jones will face next fall).... I'll take losing those three every day of the week. The simple fact is that in college football you lose players because they run out of eligibility or go pro or get stupid. You lose production every single year. Every program does.

When Jones, Stocker, and Moore left... UT lost about 2/3 of its receiving production. It still had a wild and inconsistent gunslinging QB. This year about 3/4 has to be replaced. Without trying to be too much of a smart aleck... it is a CFB coach's job to manage the loss of players.

If Jones is the coach I think and hope that he is... he will be able to build on the OL and DL talent he inherited and overcome deficiencies elsewhere. They don't look like a contender for the East. But to me, they don't look like a team that will be "successful" if they win 6 games and make a bowl either.

 

[VolinWayne]

Given the choice of replacing Bray, Hunter, and CP or replacing the whole OL and DL (which Jones will face next fall).... I'll take losing those three every day of the week. The simple fact is that in college football you lose players because they run out of eligibility or go pro or get stupid. You lose production every single year. Every program does.

When Jones, Stocker, and Moore left... UT lost about 2/3 of its receiving production. It still had a wild and inconsistent gunslinging QB. This year about 3/4 has to be replaced. Without trying to be too much of a smart aleck... it is a CFB coach's job to manage the loss of players.

If Jones is the coach I think and hope that he is... he will be able to build on the OL and DL talent he inherited and overcome deficiencies elsewhere. They don't look like a contender for the East. But to me, they don't look like a team that will be "successful" if they win 6 games and make a bowl either.

Good post. I would just love to see where Butch could have taken last years team!

 

[sjt18]

Good post. I would just love to see where Butch could have taken last years team!

Now that... is a more pleasing thing to ponder.