What has happened to this offense?

#26
#26
Nico has huge potential but as a redshirt freshman he is light years behind Hendon Hooker in 2022…Hooker was a perfect fit for the Heupel hyper speed offense. Hopefully Nico will get better with experience.

I don’t mean to lay it all on the QB slot - I don’t think the receivers get the separation the 2022 group did and the 2022 OL was a litle better.

its just a shame we couldn’t have matched the 2022 offense with this years defense
 
#27
#27
titansvolsfaninga said:
He's a RS Freshman. What were your expectations? I think the offense is better than it was last year. But your handle says a lot about your mindset. No matter what happens, you won't be happy.
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My expectations were a lot higher than this, and so were yours. Do not lie and say they weren’t. How many halves have we gone scoreless in this year? We have a bottom half of the SEC offense in SEC play. Nico has not had a game with 200 yard and 2 TDs in SEC play. You are lying through your teeth if you claim you’re not disappointed by what you have seen from this offense.
 
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#28
#28
Sarms58 said:
Nico has huge potential but as a redshirt freshman he is light years behind Hendon Hooker in 2022…Hooker was a perfect fit for the Heupel hyper speed offense. Hopefully Nico will get better with experience.

I don’t mean to lay it all on the QB slot - I don’t think the receivers get the separation the 2022 group did and the 2022 OL was a litle better.

its just a shame we couldn’t have matched the 2022 offense with this years defense
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That’s the story of Tennessee sports. We miss dominant teams by a year or two.
 
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#29
#29
Volbrando said:
Yeah you’re right. I don’t understand it either. Everything is so predictable. Boring. It’s like they have no confidence in the passing game at all.
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Very lucky to be 9-2 with this offense, offense is something I thought would never be a problem with Heupel. It’s boring to watch anymore. It’s not the the play calling he calls his own plays.
 
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#30
#30
3 things:

This offense is simply not as good without a true running threat at QB. I suppose this is true of most offenses . . . Nico has some ability in this area . . . But he is not early as good as Hooker.

Defensive coordinators have “solved” it somewhat.

Most importantly - when this offense cannot go up tempo . . .
Any built in advantage is gone
 
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#31
#31
Go47 said:
3 things:

This offense is simply not as good without a true running threat at QB. I suppose this is true of most offenses . . . Nico has some ability in this area . . . But he is not early as good as Hooker.

Defensive coordinators have “solved” it somewhat.

Most importantly - when this offense cannot go up tempo . . .
Any built in advantage is gone
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We haven't done a lot of uptempo all year long. I'm not sure why but we have abandoned it to a large degree.

My opinion, and I know it won't be a popular one, but to my eyes Nico still looks like a wide-eyed kid playing scared at a major program and he still doesn't know that he's supposed to be the alpha dog in charge. He plays like he's just another guy on the field. Not a confident, "hey guys, follow me! I'll take us where we need to go" leader. I question whether or not he's even recognized as the leader on offense by his team mates. He shows flashes of his talent but as a leader, he does not pass the eye test to me. Not yet anyway.
 
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#34
#34
Nico consistently over throws and behind receivers. I don’t think he is that good. I realize he’s a redshirt freshman but jeez.
 
#35
#35
Brave Volunteer said:
We haven't done a lot of uptempo all year long. I'm not sure why but we have abandoned it to a large degree.

My opinion, and I know it won't be a popular one, but to my eyes Nico still looks like a wide-eyed kid playing scared at a major program and he still doesn't know that he's supposed to be the alpha dog in charge. He plays like he's just another guy on the field. Not a confident, "hey guys, follow me! I'll take us where we need to go" leader. I question whether or not he's even recognized as the leader on offense by his team mates. He shows flashes of his talent but as a leader, he does not pass the eye test to me. Not yet anyway.
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Nico’s getting $8M to play and he doesn’t have hunger any longer. In a 19 yr old’s mind, they’ve “made it.” He feels he has nothing to prove.
 
#36
#36
VFLCodyGBO said:
We started the season hanging big numbers on sub par teams and a bad NC state team,

We got to our SEC schedule and our production fell through the floor which wasn’t surprising.

I figured we’d come in and mop the floor with UTEP reminiscent of those early games, but it’s clear something has happened and this offense was at its peak in our first 3-4 games and has fell way off. Didn’t expect that.
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1. Nico can't throw the deep ball with accuracy
2. Nico is terrible throwing slants - 2 bad ones today, one almost an INT and the other behind Staes, and he threw several bad ones in the previous 2 games.
3. Our receivers aren't getting separation.
 
#38
#38
VolCalls said:
Nico’s getting $8M to play and he doesn’t have hunger any longer. In a 19 yr old’s mind, they’ve “made it.” He feels he has nothing to prove.
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I don't believe that for one minute. He just may not be the prodigy everyone had him already pegged to be...
 
#39
#39
VolCalls said:
Nico’s getting $8M to play and he doesn’t have hunger any longer. In a 19 yr old’s mind, they’ve “made it.” He feels he has nothing to prove.
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I'm not going to pretend to know what's in Nico's head or his motives. All I know is as of right now, that kid does NOT pass the eye test of a leader based on his body language. I never see him showing any energy, or chatting it up with his team mates on the sideline, trying to encourage or fire anybody up. I dont even see any joy in him. He acts like he's miserable most of the time, staring off with a vacant expression.
 
#40
#40
usagary said:
Something changed at halftime at Oklahoma. Haven’t been the same since. I’ve never seen anything like it.
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This 👆🏼
Proud Army Wife posted the same a while back and that’s where I think something happened. After that first half, this offense has been a shell of what we saw early on.
 
#42
#42
VFLCodyGBO said:
We started the season hanging big numbers on sub par teams and a bad NC state team,

We got to our SEC schedule and our production fell through the floor which wasn’t surprising.

I figured we’d come in and mop the floor with UTEP reminiscent of those early games, but it’s clear something has happened and this offense was at its peak in our first 3-4 games and has fell way off. Didn’t expect that.
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Offense has been hanging at the cat house
 
#43
#43
SKBubba said:
That's his poker face. Hope he's holding a full house.
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He lacks "presence". His body language, his lack of interaction with his team mates, his expressionless/emotionless demeanor, etc. In video game terms, Nico acts like an "NPC" on the field (non-playable character", just existing in the environment).
 
#44
#44
I think we our schedule has been a lucky draw this year, which we aren’t used to. The offense just isn’t very good. It hasn’t been great since 2022.
 
#47
#47
LegionnaireOfTheMiserable said:
My expectations were a lot higher than this, and so were yours. Do not lie and say they weren’t. How many halves have we gone scoreless in this year? We have a bottom half of the SEC offense in SEC play. Nico has not had a game with 200 yard and 2 TDs in SEC play. You are lying through your teeth if you claim you’re not disappointed by what you have seen from this offense.
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I only wanted to win.....don't care how, just win. You just want stats and losses? I'm confused. I could see if we were losing. But I guess you have to find something to complain about.
 
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#48
#48
Brave Volunteer said:
I'm not going to pretend to know what's in Nico's head or his motives. All I know is as of right now, that kid does NOT pass the eye test of a leader based on his body language. I never see him showing any energy, or chatting it up with his team mates on the sideline, trying to encourage or fire anybody up. I dont even see any joy in him. He acts like he's miserable most of the time, staring off with a vacant expression.
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Cashing checks & that’s all that matters to most of these kids, unfortunately.
 
#49
#49
Hank Bukowski said:
Oh, please, brother. Nico has underperformed all year. We’ve all seen it. He has yet to meet his expectations and earn his NIL money. Not all his fault, of course…e.g. he only has a couple of receivers who can consistently separate and get open. That said, he’s our guy and we wish him great results and glory.
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If Nico isnt "earning" his NIL money that is between him and the people paying it, not people on a board.
 
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