What I saw today

[CAVPUT]

Guys, some y'all didn't notice but UGA'S dline were almost able to catch him in the open field.
Those were monsters he was dealing with yesterday.

And I know y'all think he should have "thrown them open " (his WRs) but those windows were hardly ever there and throwing a wetball accurately is next to impossible.

Yesterday was not the day for a victory. Period.

Exactly. Before the game I had posted that UGA had the DBs to play press/man and the front 4 to get to Hooker. That proved to be the case. Hooker was never comfortable in the pocket thanks to the OL playing so miserably, and we were seemingly behind the sticks all day long. Add to that the mistakes and down/distance took us completely out of our hurry up rhythm. In short, they took us completely out of our offense. The one thing that might have given us a chance was playing for bama last night. When I think about a difference making RB like Gibbs in our offense, it might have been something that could have helped us with a defense like UGA's yesterday. No offense to Small or Wright, but neither of those guys are in Gibbs league. Once you get to playoff caliber teams, you're going to be facing some elite DB/DL talent. You have to have real threats everywhere offensively. I know we've had success running the ball against lesser opposition, but against a team like UGA, Small and Wright aren't going to be enough to keep them honest, and Wright seems to be the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[BAMA-DAWG]

UGA game plan was play tight man, keep everything in front, pressure the QB. UGA's defensive front was too much for UT (and just about everyone else.) After UGA went up by 2+ scores, it was apparent UT defense was outmatched. Uga was just playing with his food. Smokey may have fared better on a neutral field. Maybe we'll get a chance to see.

 

[BAMA-DAWG]

Our defense punched UGA in the mouth the whole second half.

Bennett didn't throw anymore because UGA had the lead. And it was wet!!

Credit to UGA defense for being legit.

But let's not act like UGAs offense just took their foot of the gas...they played smart giving the conditions. They fumbled too when the conditions changed...

UGA game plan was play tight man, keep everything in front, pressure the QB. UGA's defensive front was too much for UT (and just about everyone else.) After UGA went up by 2+ scores, it was apparent UT defense was outmatched. Uga was just playing with his food. Smokey may have fared better on a neutral field. Maybe we'll get a chance to see.

 

[Clayton]

I saw us play our worst game of the season from an execution standpoint and we still only lost to the defending champs by 14 at their place. I kept thinking that Georgia was going to run away with it, but the Vols were never out of striking distance for most of the game. At least it felt that way to me. Hooker was uncharacteristically bad and all of his throws were too high, too low, or had too much mustard. Yes, a big part of that was Georgia playing great defense, but go back and look at the tape and you'll see that we left a whole lot of plays out there on the field. The team and coaches are definitely going to get a lot of value out of watching the film and learning from what went wrong and correcting those mistakes. I truly believe we can beat Georgia in a rematch.[/QUO

You are looking through orange tinted glasses. This was a complete demolition of UT by UGA. It was nowhere near as close as the score suggest because UGA went into clock management mode the second half because they were so dominant they didn't have to take any risk. Stetson only threw 4 passes there second half. UT had no answer to the second ranked offense in the country. This is what it looks like to play a well balanced disciplined team that is top 5 in both offense and defense. Hooker was bad because he was being pressured or sacked the entire game. UGA also had several dropped passes and over thrown passes that were easy TDs. Tennessee barely won 3 previous games and UGA just exposed them as the one dimensional team they are. It was a complete beat down by a more talented team

 

[bpalmer28]

Did we shut them down or did the dawgs deflate the ball somewhat...

I’ll have to watch it again but I don’t think they ever stopped trying to score. I recall at least a couple of deep balls they didn’t connect on and a couple more PBUs near the sideline.

When you think about the big passes they connected on in the first half, two were just perfect throws that we had defended well and on one our DB slipped. Bennett came back down to earth in the 2nd half IMO

 

[Volfan574]

I’d like a rematch with Georgia so our players have a chance to show they are better than what they showed in Athens.

 

[bpalmer28]

Once it started raining Kirby went ultra conservative on offense and decided to be sure he didn't give us anything cheap, gambling that we couldn't score 21 points on their defense in the time allotted. I have little confidence we could stop them consistently if they left the playbook open.

This is true, but we were getting stops before it started raining. They scored a quick TD when our DB slipped after the fumble/safety/review.... the series before that we forced a 3&out.

 

[1989Vol]

They did though. Hyatt gets hit first half it’s a touchdown. Bru wide open running free was a TD. The wide receiver is wide open streaking to the end zone on a play where Hooker throws to the opposite side of the field. Touchdowns we normally hit we didn’t today.

Part of it we didn’t keep a good clean pocket. Georgia did a good job of collapsing the pocket consistently and sending pressure from multiple spots. Also had some terrible penalties to get us off script when we were down to short yardage.

Yeah........all those plays you are referring too are nothing but FAILURE TO EXECUTE. That happens alot when you play any team with a real defense. We're slowly climbing the mountain in year 2, we just ain't there yet.

 

[jarnol32]

Once it started raining Kirby went ultra conservative on offense and decided to be sure he didn't give us anything cheap, gambling that we couldn't score 21 points on their defense in the time allotted. I have little confidence we could stop them consistently if they left the playbook open.

I have little confidence that their defense can stop us without the home field advantage and all the false start penalties. This offense hinges on getting a positive gain on 1st down. Starting at 1st and 15 definitely throws our offense out of rhythm, and cuts down how many deep shot Hooker can take. If we play them again on a neutral field it will be a different story.

 

[ThreatLevelOrange]

He has to learn to give his receivers a chance. Especially 1v1 scenarios. It’s like he won’t turn the ball lose if someone doesn’t have a 5 yard advantage.

Tried that once to Tillman. DB got it.

 

[ThreatLevelOrange]

I have little confidence that their defense can stop us without the home field advantage and all the false start penalties. This offense hinges on getting a positive gain on 1st down. Starting at 1st and 15 definitely throws our offense out of rhythm, and cuts down how many deep shot Hooker can take. If we play them again on a neutral field it will be a different story.

Sigh. They shut Oregon down and have a great defense. The home crowd helped but I can’t help it if you don’t see they beat us soundly due to their superior talent.

Pitt had the same plan but not the same level of talent. We needed OT to win that game.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

I have little confidence that their defense can stop us without the home field advantage and all the false start penalties. This offense hinges on getting a positive gain on 1st down. Starting at 1st and 15 definitely throws our offense out of rhythm, and cuts down how many deep shot Hooker can take. If we play them again on a neutral field it will be a different story.

Maybe. We can beat them if we play a game where we take advantage of every possible opportunity. They D'ed us up though, man to man, on 90+% of the plays yesterday. Nobody else has been able to play us like that. Hooker didn't have anywhere to go down the field most of the time and we couldn't run consistently. They are a very good football team in all three phases.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

This is true, but we were getting stops before it started raining. They scored a quick TD when our DB slipped after the fumble/safety/review.... the series before that we forced a 3&out.

Here's the first half possessions:


Here's the second:


It started raining during their first possession of the second half. The 67 yard drive that lasted 8 minutes and they kicked a FG. To that point they had punted twice in 8 possessions and every other time had moved it, being stopped once on a fumble. After that possession they threw it once that long pass to #11 with about 4 minutes left that we had good coverage on but it was right on the money and went right through the receivers hands.

 

[bpalmer28]

Here's the first half possessions:
View attachment 511415

Here's the second:

View attachment 511416
It started raining during their first possession of the second half. The 67 yard drive that lasted 8 minutes and they kicked a FG. To that point they had punted twice in 8 possessions and every other time had moved it, being stopped once on a fumble. After that possession they threw it once that long pass to #11 with about 4 minutes left that we had good coverage on but it was right on the money and went right through the receivers hands.

I see 3 stops in the first half including the 3 & out I previously mentioned. But honestly I’m not sure what argument either of us is trying to make... been a long day.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

I see 3 stops in the first half including the 3 & out I previously mentioned. But honestly I’m not sure what argument either of us is trying to make... been a long day.

2 punts and a fumble in 8 possessions is what I said, 5 scores. They moved the ball consistently. My point was we really didn't stop them consistently until they went one dimensional due to the weather. We are going to need more from the offense, alot more to win a rematch, I'm not confident we can stop them a whole bunch if they leave the playbook open.

 

[ABINGDON VOL FAN]

And I'd also add that Stetson Bennett isn't usually as good as he played today.

He has always been lights out against Tn.

 

[jarnol32]

Maybe. We can beat them if we play a game where we take advantage of every possible opportunity. They D'ed us up though, man to man, on 90+% of the plays yesterday. Nobody else has been able to play us like that. Hooker didn't have anywhere to go down the field most of the time and we couldn't run consistently. They are a very good football team in all three phases.

I agree totally, Georgia is the most talented team in the nation, but we played at their stadium, had our worst game of the year, and they only beat us by 2 tds. I believe we have a punchers chance if like you said we take advantage of every opportunity, and hooker is on. He missed 4 deep balls 3 of which would have been tds if he hadn’t of overthrown them, I don’t see that happening again.

 

[jarnol32]

Sigh. They shut Oregon down and have a great defense. The home crowd helped but I can’t help it if you don’t see they beat us soundly die to their superior talent.

Pitt had the same plan but but the same level of talent. We needed OT to win that.

I agree they have superior talent, so did Alabama , but Heupel has the superior scheme. Hooker missed 4 deep balls, 3 of which would’ve been tds if he hadn’t of overthrown them. If he connects on half of them then we are right with them. Heupel gets more receivers running free behind the defense than any oc I’ve have ever seen. If Hooker can hit the open deep balls we have a punchers chance to beat them in a rematch.

 

[ThreatLevelOrange]

I agree they have superior talent, so did Alabama , but Heupel has the superior scheme. Hooker missed 4 deep balls, 3 of which would’ve been tds if he hadn’t of overthrown them. If he connects on half of them then we are right with them. Heupel gets more receivers running free behind the defense than any oc I’ve have ever seen. If Hooker can hit the open deep balls we have a punchers chance to beat them in a rematch.

Hooker is extremely accurate, except when he’s getting hit like yesterday. And how many sacks were due to tight coverage? I’d say Georgia also has a superior scheme manned by superior athletes. Oregon and UT average about 48 points against everyone other than Georgia.

 

[ThreatLevelOrange]

Maybe. We can beat them if we play a game where we take advantage of every possible opportunity. They D'ed us up though, man to man, on 90+% of the plays yesterday. Nobody else has been able to play us like that. Hooker didn't have anywhere to go down the field most of the time and we couldn't run consistently. They are a very good football team in all three phases.

They were willing to take the risk. And we couldn’t consistently give the QB time to make em pay.

 

[jarnol32]

Hooker is extremely accurate, except when he’s getting hit like yesterday. And how many sacks were due to tight coverage? I’d say Georgia also has a superior scheme manned by superior athletes. Oregon and UT average about 48 points against everyone other than Georgia.

Oregon is not that good. Georgia has superior players at every position, if they had out schemed Tennessee they would’ve beat them by 5 tds not 2.

 

[CNeagleVolFan]

Don't want a rematch with Georgia. Hooker is deer in the headlights twice now against them.

I hate this mentality. We wanna be in the playoffs and we wanna play the best! It may be the same result but we need these games to grow as a program. We go 11-1 and we have a great shot of playing them in the first game of the playoff.

 

[bpalmer28]

2 punts and a fumble in 8 possessions is what I said, 5 scores. They moved the ball consistently. My point was we really didn't stop them consistently until they went one dimensional due to the weather. We are going to need more from the offense, alot more to win a rematch, I'm not confident we can stop them a whole bunch if they leave the playbook open.

I agree with that

 

[CentalFlVOL4Life]

Here is they key thing to consider:
From Volnation message boards
"As poorly as we’ve played….all the mistakes….as good as Georgia is….this f-ing game is 27-27 except for two wide open overthrows."

If our receivers had caught those passes and scored we would of had 27 points. The way both teams played I don‘t think UGA would have stayed pat on 27. At the end of the day we are 8-1 headed to 11-1 and maybe even a CFP spot and if not then the Sugar Bowl. We are probably 2 years ahead of schedule and lots of us were just praying last year for any bowl game in order to get 25 more days of team practice. GBO

 

[Teezy]

I saw us play our worst game of the season from an execution standpoint and we still only lost to the defending champs by 14 at their place. I kept thinking that Georgia was going to run away with it, but the Vols were never out of striking distance for most of the game. At least it felt that way to me. Hooker was uncharacteristically bad and all of his throws were too high, too low, or had too much mustard. Yes, a big part of that was Georgia playing great defense, but go back and look at the tape and you'll see that we left a whole lot of plays out there on the field. The team and coaches are definitely going to get a lot of value out of watching the film and learning from what went wrong and correcting those mistakes. I truly believe we can beat Georgia in a rematch.

100% spot on agree. I’ll also throw in that home field advantage really stalled some of our drives out with the false starts. Regardless of the outcome, while playing our worst game of the season IN Athens, it’s still a better score than the past years. I know it didn’t feel like it. Truthfully it felt like we got stomped, and in some ways we did, but I really think execution was our culprit. Just seemed like we never really got in the rhythm of the game. But credit to Georgia. They definitely came to play today. I still believe on a neutral field we have a shot.