Coffin's Corner

The score looks good, the statistics look good, and the result looks good. Then why am I less than thrilled about the play against UAB? I know exactly why – this game was won due to athletes, not any sort of coaching. As everyone knows, I shoot straight – I have no biases. This game looks great in the paper on Sunday, but we all probably had similar thoughts throughout this game. “RUN THE BALL!” you probably screamed at some point. “PLAY BUMP COVERAGE!” you probably yelled the next minute. The philosophies are the same as they were 2 weeks ago, we just didn’t get exposed by a lesser team this week. Let me delve a bit deeper into what I’m talking about.

1. We still played a soft zone coverage on the outside, defensively. We did this almost the entire game, not just late, protecting a lead. We have athletes everywhere in the 2-deep at defensive back, but Coach Chavis continuously puts them in positions to just “be there.” Coach Chavis has not been putting a very talented secondary in spots to make MORE play MORE often. Sure, when you have players like Eric Berry, Demetrice Morley, et al, they’ll make plays regardless. But imagine how much they could stifle a passing game if you let Willingham, Rogan, and Vinson chuck somebody at the line of scrimmage. It will slow routes down, which will, WITHOUT A DOUBT, give a sad pass rush another second or two to get pressure.

2. Keeping with the last sentence of #1: our pass rush was not very good against an outmatched opponent. We rushed 4 defensive linemen and generated very little. We had success when blitzing, especially when it was Nevin McKenzie. However, put those corners in bump coverage, and you might see that rush develop more often. Coach Chavis went from an attacking, blitzing, aggressive play caller, to a reactive and passive playcaller – all in about 4-5 seasons. He needs to remember Johnny’s mantra: attack, attack, attack … always attack.

3. Dave Clawson has put me on life tilt. Throwing the ball 33 times (and calling about 36-37 pass plays) is going to get this team a nice comfy seat at home for bowl season. Jon Crompton is not very good (yet), but as some have said, he probably had a goal this game to get Crompton comfortable. However, there is no reason, from here on out, through January, to not run the ball at least 50 times every game. Hell, run the ball 60 times. Keep Crompton to 20 or less passes a game. With the depth at running back, and the obvious talent at offensive line, give Foster and Hardesty around 42 carries combined, and then let Lennon Creer and his speed come in with about 8-15 carries. There is absolutely no reason to throw all day. Come out of the T before kickoff, run the ball no matter what, and when a defense puts 9 in the box, playaction deep …

4. … but not to Austin Rogers. BIG SURPRISE! He had a costly drop.

5. More on the run game: not only will running the ball focus on something the offense can do well, it will serve as a saint to the defense. In the 1-deep, Tennessee’s defense can beat anybody. The issues lie in the 2-deep and with depth beyond that. This defense cannot stop talented offenses if they are on the field all the time. It’s now more important than ever to keep them rested. The 2-deep is lacking: the coaches have said it, the fans see it, and opposing offenses know it. So, run the ball 50-60 times a game, eat clock, keep that D fresh and hungry. If we do not do this, we will not win more than 7 games.

6. 267 yards rushing is heavenly, regardless of opposition. The offensive line made numerous holes at the line of scrimmage, and the running backs made the necessary moves in the second level to spring big gains. Arian Foster showed serious shiftiness, albeit lacking in pull away speed. Hardesty was again decisive, and Creer continues to do a lot with minimal chances. This team has an identity amongst the players, but Coach Clawson needs to grasp it, too.

7. UAB wide receivers were consistently open (or even wide open) on multiple occasions, but Joe Webb was not good enough of a passer to kill UT for it. Tim Tebow and Matt Stafford will exploit that if we don’t shore up some coverage breakdowns over the next few weeks. Webb consistently overthrew sideline routes, and consistently threw late to crossing routes. Watch for this in the future.

All in all, you’re never upset with a 35-3 victory. However, if you’re a Tennessee fan who likes to pay attention to everything, not just the score, then you probably saw these things, too. This game did nothing to make me more confident for the next 10 games. However, next week is the defining week. Win that game, and everything changes … again.