The line is where it's won

Trailing 38-21 early in the third quarter Arian Foster broke free down the left side of the field to the California 2 yard line. After one run for no gain and an incomplete pass, UT faced third and goal from the 2. The Vols took a time out after Lucas Taylor gained one on a quarterback draw. On fourth and goal from the one Tennessee opted to roll Ainge out, but Cal wasn’t fooled and forced the turnover on downs. The Vols inability and lack of confidence in the run game to convert third and short is a major concern. In short yardage situations Cutcliffe clearly doesn’t have the confidence in the run game to move the chains at critical times.

As troubling as the short yardage run game is, the biggest problem the big orange faces has to be the play of the defensive line. Until recently, Tennessee’s strength has been their defensive front. With names like Shaun Ellis, Darwin Walker, Leonard Little, John Henderson, and Albert Haynesworth UT simply reloaded and never really had to rebuild. Throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s UT was able to rely on the D-line alone to create an effective pass rush and stuff the run. However, the position that was once the anchor of the defense has sprung a leak in recent years and is now becoming a glaring hole.

Tennessee’s 2006 defensive statistics don’t paint a pretty picture. They allowed 100 or more yards rushing in ten games, while only accumulating only 17 sacks. The season opener against Cal marked the seventh game in a row UT has allowed over 100 yards rushing. Even more alarming might have been the D-lines inability to create a pass rush. With 3 new starters in the secondary, getting pressure on the QB quickly will be vital to the defenses success this season. If the secondary continues to have to come up in run support and stay in coverage for long periods of time it could be a long year on that side of the ball.

Even with all the eye popping negatives from the Cal game, there are a few things that can offer the Vol Nation some light at the end of the tunnel. Number one, Cal’s offense will likely be the best UT faces all year. Not many teams combine the talent they have at QB, RB, and WR. Number two, Eric Berry is going to be a future star with the potential leadership ability we haven’t seen since Al Wilson. Number three, hopefully, Lamarcus Coker and Ben Martin are able to make big impacts as the season progresses. Maybe this season these youngsters can reverse the trend of recent years when the Vols have fallen apart at the end of the year. Go Big Orange

Guy Tiller