CHALK TALK
VOLUNTEER STYLE
VOLUME 44
SEPTEMBER 30, 2016
GEORGIA
The Volunteers travel to Athens this week for another CBS game against the Bulldogs the second in a four game SEC run that will define this current team, number 120, as well as this season. A huge step was taken last week against Florida if this is to be a championship season and another similar effort will be needed Saturday afternoon. We will look at Georgia a little later but first a look back at the Florida game.
As discussed many times in prior Talks the first three games provided the opportunity for coaches to find out who could contribute and get all of their playing rotations worked out for conference play. That happened….but something else happened in those first three games that was unexpected and played a big part in the Gator win. All of the three games were closer than expected, one went into overtime and the Vols had to come from behind late to win a couple. This Tennessee team knew they could come from behind and win because they had done it already and I believe that is one reason down 21-0 the sideline kept calm, made a few minor adjustments and won the game easily in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter…..almost every big game comes down to winning the fourth quarter, comes down to players making plays, defines who those players are and identifies who can’t produce at crunch time in a big game.
KEYS TO THE WIN: The kick/cover and punt/cover teams led by excellent efforts from two junior players. Trevor Daniel punted five times for a 43 yard net….all five were downed inside the 13. Aaron Medley had five kicks that were touch backs, a big part of Tennessee winning the field position game. Just by the leg of these two young men Florida started 10 of their offensive drives at least 75 yards away from our goal line. Few teams will drive 75 yards against this defense to score. We needed big games from Daniel and Medley and both produced. Whenever I hear an analyst question a punter/kicker’s worth to a team I usually put the rest of the broadcast on mute. If you believe in the Tennessee way of winning games then you know these positions are key’s to establishing THE most important statistic is a game……where your opponent starts his possessions.
Touches by our PLAYERS were key….Dobbs – 39, Hurd – 28, Kamara – 8, Malone – 4 and Jennings – 3. Excellent game plan and play calling….get the ball to the BWG.
The depth, especially in the defensive line, was big in this game. Florida ran out of gas late as the Vols were “putting on more steam”. Derek Barnett had another excellent game……I still believe he is and has been our best defender for the last ten games (all wins by the way).
Not enough credit can be given to the young linebackers that were forced into action against Florida. Who would have believed that Kirkland, Jr and Reeves-Mabin would not play any meaningful snaps and that Mc Dowell, Bates, Bryant and Bynum would contribute as effectively as they did….. not me. Colton Jumper rewarded his coach’s confidence by playing winning football, something that I did not believe he was capable of doing. There is no question he was a big factor in this win.
So how about Georgia……#1 problem is scoring defense, the Dogs having problems stopping teams giving up a season high 45 points last week against Ole Miss. #2 offensive running game, not nearly where Georgia needs to be considering they start a freshman QB who has a lot of talent, a strong passing arm but is still a freshman. #3 pass defense/pass rush…..383 yards/game allowed and only four sacks in four games. These are bad numbers for the talent on this team and one would expect at some point Georgia will get much better.
VOLUNTEER GAME PLAN: If you have watched closely each of you could write the next few sentences….how do we win? Very clear and repetitive…..Kick/cover and punt/cover, Medley and Daniel are weapons so utilize them. Shut down Georgia running game, make Eason (QB) throw and get after his fanny with our front. Eason is not very mobile, likes to throw from the pocket so expect Bob Shoop to force him out of pocket and throw on the run. Offensively we watched the future last week against Florida…..multiple touches for Hurd, Dobbs, Kamara, Malone and Jennings….this is the winning edge for the 2016 Volunteers. We got the ball to the BWG (best we got) and the BWG is pretty darn good. A vertical passing game, down the field throws coupled with a north/south running game is the ticket again this week. I really like where our running game is right now. A defensive coordinator has a lot of problems stopping Hurd inside, Dobbs both inside and outside while still matching up with Jennings and Malone outside. Throw in a rejuvenated Wolf and you have big matchup problems. The Vols now can stretch the field vertically and horizontally with players capable of big plays. The success throwing last week (4 TD’s) presents a whole new dynamic for opposing defenses to confront. Do you load up on the run and man cover the receivers……tough decisions. My guess is that Georgia will commit to stopping the run and hope Dobbs will have a bad day throwing. My experience as a defensive coordinator taught me that when you go into a game “hoping’” you usually get your hat handed to you. We’ll see!
Our return game is very close to breaking a long return on both punt and kickoff….this would be a great week to get the first of the year. There is not a problem with our return game the facts are that the other team can control their opponent’s returns by kicking the ball deep in the end zone and punting away or very high, all of which smart teams will do to the Vols. Kamara and Berry are dynamic on returns and a low kick or punt could easily result in the Pride of the Southland striking up Rocky Top.
This should be a confident team heading to Athens….it is up to the team leaders to make sure it is not an “over” confident group and I believe they will.
VOLUNTEER STYLE
VOLUME 44
SEPTEMBER 30, 2016
GEORGIA
The Volunteers travel to Athens this week for another CBS game against the Bulldogs the second in a four game SEC run that will define this current team, number 120, as well as this season. A huge step was taken last week against Florida if this is to be a championship season and another similar effort will be needed Saturday afternoon. We will look at Georgia a little later but first a look back at the Florida game.
As discussed many times in prior Talks the first three games provided the opportunity for coaches to find out who could contribute and get all of their playing rotations worked out for conference play. That happened….but something else happened in those first three games that was unexpected and played a big part in the Gator win. All of the three games were closer than expected, one went into overtime and the Vols had to come from behind late to win a couple. This Tennessee team knew they could come from behind and win because they had done it already and I believe that is one reason down 21-0 the sideline kept calm, made a few minor adjustments and won the game easily in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter…..almost every big game comes down to winning the fourth quarter, comes down to players making plays, defines who those players are and identifies who can’t produce at crunch time in a big game.
KEYS TO THE WIN: The kick/cover and punt/cover teams led by excellent efforts from two junior players. Trevor Daniel punted five times for a 43 yard net….all five were downed inside the 13. Aaron Medley had five kicks that were touch backs, a big part of Tennessee winning the field position game. Just by the leg of these two young men Florida started 10 of their offensive drives at least 75 yards away from our goal line. Few teams will drive 75 yards against this defense to score. We needed big games from Daniel and Medley and both produced. Whenever I hear an analyst question a punter/kicker’s worth to a team I usually put the rest of the broadcast on mute. If you believe in the Tennessee way of winning games then you know these positions are key’s to establishing THE most important statistic is a game……where your opponent starts his possessions.
Touches by our PLAYERS were key….Dobbs – 39, Hurd – 28, Kamara – 8, Malone – 4 and Jennings – 3. Excellent game plan and play calling….get the ball to the BWG.
The depth, especially in the defensive line, was big in this game. Florida ran out of gas late as the Vols were “putting on more steam”. Derek Barnett had another excellent game……I still believe he is and has been our best defender for the last ten games (all wins by the way).
Not enough credit can be given to the young linebackers that were forced into action against Florida. Who would have believed that Kirkland, Jr and Reeves-Mabin would not play any meaningful snaps and that Mc Dowell, Bates, Bryant and Bynum would contribute as effectively as they did….. not me. Colton Jumper rewarded his coach’s confidence by playing winning football, something that I did not believe he was capable of doing. There is no question he was a big factor in this win.
So how about Georgia……#1 problem is scoring defense, the Dogs having problems stopping teams giving up a season high 45 points last week against Ole Miss. #2 offensive running game, not nearly where Georgia needs to be considering they start a freshman QB who has a lot of talent, a strong passing arm but is still a freshman. #3 pass defense/pass rush…..383 yards/game allowed and only four sacks in four games. These are bad numbers for the talent on this team and one would expect at some point Georgia will get much better.
VOLUNTEER GAME PLAN: If you have watched closely each of you could write the next few sentences….how do we win? Very clear and repetitive…..Kick/cover and punt/cover, Medley and Daniel are weapons so utilize them. Shut down Georgia running game, make Eason (QB) throw and get after his fanny with our front. Eason is not very mobile, likes to throw from the pocket so expect Bob Shoop to force him out of pocket and throw on the run. Offensively we watched the future last week against Florida…..multiple touches for Hurd, Dobbs, Kamara, Malone and Jennings….this is the winning edge for the 2016 Volunteers. We got the ball to the BWG (best we got) and the BWG is pretty darn good. A vertical passing game, down the field throws coupled with a north/south running game is the ticket again this week. I really like where our running game is right now. A defensive coordinator has a lot of problems stopping Hurd inside, Dobbs both inside and outside while still matching up with Jennings and Malone outside. Throw in a rejuvenated Wolf and you have big matchup problems. The Vols now can stretch the field vertically and horizontally with players capable of big plays. The success throwing last week (4 TD’s) presents a whole new dynamic for opposing defenses to confront. Do you load up on the run and man cover the receivers……tough decisions. My guess is that Georgia will commit to stopping the run and hope Dobbs will have a bad day throwing. My experience as a defensive coordinator taught me that when you go into a game “hoping’” you usually get your hat handed to you. We’ll see!
Our return game is very close to breaking a long return on both punt and kickoff….this would be a great week to get the first of the year. There is not a problem with our return game the facts are that the other team can control their opponent’s returns by kicking the ball deep in the end zone and punting away or very high, all of which smart teams will do to the Vols. Kamara and Berry are dynamic on returns and a low kick or punt could easily result in the Pride of the Southland striking up Rocky Top.
This should be a confident team heading to Athens….it is up to the team leaders to make sure it is not an “over” confident group and I believe they will.
