Tennessee looks to avoid a sixth straight loss and their 4th straight to Florida as the Gators come to town as a heavy favorite. We empty the notebook on a loud week in the Auburn installment of 10 Things I think I think.
2. Avoid the iceberg —And I’m not talking about lettuce. I’m talking about a ship sinking iceberg. During the midst of the Vols five straight losses it’s the catastrophic plays that have killed them. Three pick six’s, two scoop and score fumbles, busted coverages in the secondary leading to touchdowns. The list goes on and on as the Vols have seemingly found every way to give a team the momentum and to lose the game. History is not on the Vols side in this one. Florida’s defense isn’t great but the Vols have thrown 2+ interceptions in the last four match-up’s with the Gators and since 2000 the Vols have turned it over 57 times in this series.
3. Better double Pitts — Florida tight end Kyle Pitts is a horrible match-up for anyone especially Tennessee. One on one against a corner, Pitts can outmuscle guys with his size. One on one versus a linebacker and he can get open using his athletic ability. Tennessee’s defense will have to double Pitts or he will have a huge day. That gives more opportunities to guys like Kadarious Toney, but stopping Pitts or slowing him down has to be the priority. Last week, Pitts had 5 catches, 3 went for touchdowns. The junior has 11 touchdowns in 6 games played and he’s averaging 17 yards a reception. He’s a bad match.
4. Speed, speed, speed — Tennessee’s match up with the Gators is not a good one. One of the areas of concern is speed which is why the Vols must play their speed on both sides of the ball even if some of them aren’t completely “ready”. Tennessee lacks speed at safety and it has shown up too many times during this losing streak. The defensive staff needs to get more speed on the field at that spot. Same can be said for defensive end/OLB especially in third down pass rush situations.
Offensively play more speed at receiver. Play Velus Jones, Jalin Hyatt and the other freshmen receivers in even bigger roles than the Auburn game.
In a league that has become more of a spread league than ever before, the old saying “speed never had a bad day” has never been more true.
5. No answers in the middle — It’s been well documented how bad Tennessee has been in defending the middle of the field all season long. Here’s how ugly those numbers are according to Pro Football Focus.
Between the hash marks opposing quarterbacks are:
87-111 (78%) 1,083 yards 5 touchdowns.
Completions between the hash marks average 12.4 yards. Two weeks ago, Bo Nix was 12 of 17 for 175 yards.
A year ago in his first start, Kyle Trask found the open range in the middle of the field as he went 15 of 18 for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns.
You can take it to the bank that Dan Mullen’s game plan calls for plenty of middle of the field throws with posts and crossing patterns where the Vols issues at linebacker and safety have been exposed all year.
- Change for the sake of change — Tennessee appears making a change at quarterback this week with freshman Harrison Bailey getting the start. Bailey may not be “ready”, but it’s past time to make a change simply to make a change. The Vol offense is long past due for some kind of spark and the Big Orange nation is clamoring for some kind of hope not just for now, but for next year as well.
2. Avoid the iceberg —And I’m not talking about lettuce. I’m talking about a ship sinking iceberg. During the midst of the Vols five straight losses it’s the catastrophic plays that have killed them. Three pick six’s, two scoop and score fumbles, busted coverages in the secondary leading to touchdowns. The list goes on and on as the Vols have seemingly found every way to give a team the momentum and to lose the game. History is not on the Vols side in this one. Florida’s defense isn’t great but the Vols have thrown 2+ interceptions in the last four match-up’s with the Gators and since 2000 the Vols have turned it over 57 times in this series.
3. Better double Pitts — Florida tight end Kyle Pitts is a horrible match-up for anyone especially Tennessee. One on one against a corner, Pitts can outmuscle guys with his size. One on one versus a linebacker and he can get open using his athletic ability. Tennessee’s defense will have to double Pitts or he will have a huge day. That gives more opportunities to guys like Kadarious Toney, but stopping Pitts or slowing him down has to be the priority. Last week, Pitts had 5 catches, 3 went for touchdowns. The junior has 11 touchdowns in 6 games played and he’s averaging 17 yards a reception. He’s a bad match.
4. Speed, speed, speed — Tennessee’s match up with the Gators is not a good one. One of the areas of concern is speed which is why the Vols must play their speed on both sides of the ball even if some of them aren’t completely “ready”. Tennessee lacks speed at safety and it has shown up too many times during this losing streak. The defensive staff needs to get more speed on the field at that spot. Same can be said for defensive end/OLB especially in third down pass rush situations.
Offensively play more speed at receiver. Play Velus Jones, Jalin Hyatt and the other freshmen receivers in even bigger roles than the Auburn game.
In a league that has become more of a spread league than ever before, the old saying “speed never had a bad day” has never been more true.
5. No answers in the middle — It’s been well documented how bad Tennessee has been in defending the middle of the field all season long. Here’s how ugly those numbers are according to Pro Football Focus.
Between the hash marks opposing quarterbacks are:
87-111 (78%) 1,083 yards 5 touchdowns.
Completions between the hash marks average 12.4 yards. Two weeks ago, Bo Nix was 12 of 17 for 175 yards.
A year ago in his first start, Kyle Trask found the open range in the middle of the field as he went 15 of 18 for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns.
You can take it to the bank that Dan Mullen’s game plan calls for plenty of middle of the field throws with posts and crossing patterns where the Vols issues at linebacker and safety have been exposed all year.
