CHALK TALK
VOLUNTEER STYLE
VOLUME 47
OCTOBER 28, 2016
SOUTH CAROLINA:THE START OF THE FINAL PUSH
The open week over Tennessee now looks to a road trip to Columbia trying to get back on the winning side of the ledger. The Vols last win was the first day of October almost a month ago. Two on the field losses and numerous off the field injury losses can only be salved with a win Saturday against South Carolina. This will be the first of five straight games that give the Big Orange the opportunity to win 10 regular season games including beating all six of their eastern division rivals. It all starts with South Carolina. We will look at the Gamecocks a little later.
First the importance of the off week…..a look at the injury report. These players could/should be back this week (not guaranteed)…. Weisman, Hall, Robertson, Kendrick, Foreman, possibly Kirkland Jr. Kamara appears to be out, Sutton is reportedly coming back at some point, Jones had hand surgery but is expected to start. Reeves-Mabin is out for season but news this week he is exploring applying for a medical redshirt that would allow Jalen to return next year. It appears he would qualify under NCAA rules….stay tuned. It is safe to say this will be most healthy we have been in over a month.
With no game to prepare for this staff had the opportunity to take a good look at who should be playing these last five games and as importantly who should not be playing. Which players are not getting it done, which young players are coming on strong and of extreme importance what positions on the team have starters that will not be back next season either by graduation (example: Dobbs/QB) or leaving early (example Barnett/DE). The QB position, both defensive ends, both RB’s, starting center will be gone next year. Does CBJ want to go into 2017 with little experience at those key positions…..probably not. Also there are several other younger players that should see much more playing time at positions with returning 2017 starters: Byrd, Johnson and Callaway at receiver, Tatum at tackle, Kelly at running back, Taylor and Phillips at defensive end, Warrior at safety, Bituli and possibly Smith at linebacker…..all have shown ability and will get a good look from this staff in the next month. IMO we will find some of them have more talent than the players in front of them…..and that is good for the future as well as the remainder of this season.
A third plus to the open week….ability to correct glaring problems in two areas: pass protection by offensive tackles and contain by defensive perimeter. Both of these areas were major problems against both A&M and Alabama. Of course both of those teams are among the best offenses in the country and both have running QBs. The next five opponents are not nearly as talented and only Kentucky has a running QB.
SOUTH CAROLINA
This is an excellent match up for Tennessee. Offensively USC does not score many points, has a true freshman playing QB that is not a runner and have had a hard time moving the ball by run or pass. I would expect a pretty simple game plan vs the Vols….a lot of run and some play action passes. They must keep the gamer close early. There are two ways to game plan a non- mobile, inexperienced QB……..pressure him into mistakes or rush four, drop seven and let him make coverage mistakes. I look for Coach Shoop to start with the latter and work pressure in if needed. This is not an offense that will score many points if we take away the long pass and run…..that’s why not blitzing too much is preferable.
Offensively the Vols will get back to their power running game…..Hurd and Dobbs with 30-35 combined carries and Kelly taking 8-10 touches in place of Kamara. Kelly is not yet the receiving threat Kamara is but he has shown he can run with power. It appears all injured offensive linemen will be back so depth is not a problem in this area…….expect 50 rushes and 20ish passes. That will open up deep shot opportunities for Jennings, Malone and Wolf if Coach Debord chooses. Also look for Byrd to get some run after catch opportunities from the slot position.
Finally, I expect Tennessee to play their best game of the year. Everyone on this team understands the possibilities ahead and a solid win over the Gamecocks would kick start a five game run to end this season strong.
Talk next week.
VOLUNTEER STYLE
VOLUME 47
OCTOBER 28, 2016
SOUTH CAROLINA:THE START OF THE FINAL PUSH
The open week over Tennessee now looks to a road trip to Columbia trying to get back on the winning side of the ledger. The Vols last win was the first day of October almost a month ago. Two on the field losses and numerous off the field injury losses can only be salved with a win Saturday against South Carolina. This will be the first of five straight games that give the Big Orange the opportunity to win 10 regular season games including beating all six of their eastern division rivals. It all starts with South Carolina. We will look at the Gamecocks a little later.
First the importance of the off week…..a look at the injury report. These players could/should be back this week (not guaranteed)…. Weisman, Hall, Robertson, Kendrick, Foreman, possibly Kirkland Jr. Kamara appears to be out, Sutton is reportedly coming back at some point, Jones had hand surgery but is expected to start. Reeves-Mabin is out for season but news this week he is exploring applying for a medical redshirt that would allow Jalen to return next year. It appears he would qualify under NCAA rules….stay tuned. It is safe to say this will be most healthy we have been in over a month.
With no game to prepare for this staff had the opportunity to take a good look at who should be playing these last five games and as importantly who should not be playing. Which players are not getting it done, which young players are coming on strong and of extreme importance what positions on the team have starters that will not be back next season either by graduation (example: Dobbs/QB) or leaving early (example Barnett/DE). The QB position, both defensive ends, both RB’s, starting center will be gone next year. Does CBJ want to go into 2017 with little experience at those key positions…..probably not. Also there are several other younger players that should see much more playing time at positions with returning 2017 starters: Byrd, Johnson and Callaway at receiver, Tatum at tackle, Kelly at running back, Taylor and Phillips at defensive end, Warrior at safety, Bituli and possibly Smith at linebacker…..all have shown ability and will get a good look from this staff in the next month. IMO we will find some of them have more talent than the players in front of them…..and that is good for the future as well as the remainder of this season.
A third plus to the open week….ability to correct glaring problems in two areas: pass protection by offensive tackles and contain by defensive perimeter. Both of these areas were major problems against both A&M and Alabama. Of course both of those teams are among the best offenses in the country and both have running QBs. The next five opponents are not nearly as talented and only Kentucky has a running QB.
SOUTH CAROLINA
This is an excellent match up for Tennessee. Offensively USC does not score many points, has a true freshman playing QB that is not a runner and have had a hard time moving the ball by run or pass. I would expect a pretty simple game plan vs the Vols….a lot of run and some play action passes. They must keep the gamer close early. There are two ways to game plan a non- mobile, inexperienced QB……..pressure him into mistakes or rush four, drop seven and let him make coverage mistakes. I look for Coach Shoop to start with the latter and work pressure in if needed. This is not an offense that will score many points if we take away the long pass and run…..that’s why not blitzing too much is preferable.
Offensively the Vols will get back to their power running game…..Hurd and Dobbs with 30-35 combined carries and Kelly taking 8-10 touches in place of Kamara. Kelly is not yet the receiving threat Kamara is but he has shown he can run with power. It appears all injured offensive linemen will be back so depth is not a problem in this area…….expect 50 rushes and 20ish passes. That will open up deep shot opportunities for Jennings, Malone and Wolf if Coach Debord chooses. Also look for Byrd to get some run after catch opportunities from the slot position.
Finally, I expect Tennessee to play their best game of the year. Everyone on this team understands the possibilities ahead and a solid win over the Gamecocks would kick start a five game run to end this season strong.
Talk next week.
