INDIANA STATE/LESSONS FROM GEORGIA TECH
Indiana State is team x for the purposes of this Talk. Game #2 and this will be short and sweet. FBS school, not competitive with Tennessee….will run the ball 2 to 1 over passing the ball, will try to get out of Neyland healthy, lost 22-20 to Eastern Illinois in first game. They are in a lot of trouble this Saturday.
Now….what is really important. Where does this 2017 Vols team stand coming out of an overtime win this past Monday? We won a game we could have lost (could have not should have). While it would be easy to look at the negatives coming out of this game I will spend much of this Talk looking at the positives as they relate to the next 11 games. You will hear enough about the negatives without me spending much time on them.
If ever a Tennessee team won a game by performing the basics of Tennessee tradition it was this staff and team. The kicking game is the strongest part of this team and it allowed the Vols to win in Atlanta. Six punts with five inside the 20 yard line (18,14,5,15,11). If Trevor Daniel is not the best punter in college football I want to watch the guy who is. By downing the ball inside the 20 instead of kicking into the end zone Trevor saved 37 yards in hidden yardage, nearly 4 first and tens. Aaron Medley had 5 kickoffs: 3 touchbacks and the kick coverage team tackled Tech returners at the 13 and 20 on the other two kicks. This is outstanding especially in the first game of the year and is certainly something that Coach Jones can build on going forward. Aaron was also 5 for 5 in point after kicks. What is the most important point in football? The extra point!!!! Seniors playing like experienced seniors.
Field position….always the key in winning close games. This stat is as good as I can remember any Vol team producing. Georgia Tech had 11 possessions, 11 offensive drives. The nearest they started a drive to the Volunteer goal line was their own 29 yard line…..71 yards away from Tennessee’s end zone. Great kick coverage and zero turnovers allowed this to happen. If there is such a thing as a key statistic game in and game out it is this one…..not who has the ball, but where they have it.
On the topic of turnovers refer to two Game Maxims….. “The team making the fewest mistakes will win” and “Play for and make the breaks……When one comes your way…..SCORE”. The Vols forced and recovered 2 Tech fumbles and scored 14 points off those turnovers. Two hustle, effort plays by Rashaan Gaulden and Daniel Bituli that forced fumbles and timely recoveries by Nigel Warrior and Micah Abernathy were game saving plays….we probably lose without either. These plays do not happen by chance, they are practiced every day. Offensively the Vols drove 46 and 93 yards for two key touchdowns after those two turnovers.
GOING FORWARD: DEFENSIVE THOUGHTS
I really felt badly for this defensive staff. Starting last spring they put in and worked on a plan for Georgia Tech that featured three linebackers. That plan was worked in fall camp and into game week. Five linebackers were to be featured and then during game week Kirkland, Jr and Smith were injured. That left three with their best, Kirkland, Jr out for the year. Too late to change game plans the only thing to do was get the most they could out of a bad situation. Been there, done that and it ain’t much fun. We certainly must improve in many areas but if I were a defensive coach on this staff I would be damn proud of the job my unit did Monday night. They kept their poise, fought for 4 quarters and 2 overtimes and always believed they would win. You can win a lot of games with those type of players and coaches.
Stats aside, and they were bad, let’s look at individual players and what their play portends for the rest of the season. One bad statistical game means very little when you win. It’s how you react, how you coach, how you practice and if you learn from the lessons coming out of that performance. .In 1989 when I was the defensive coordinator LSU’s Tommy Hodson set the all-time single game total passing yardage record for the Southeastern Conference in Tiger Stadium. The “all-time” record. However we won the game and finished the season 11-1. It is how you react to a poor performance that counts. Also we moved Carl Pickens to safety the next Monday…..that helped a bunch.
INDIVIDUALS: Daniel Bituli….middle linebacker with power, strength and ability to make plays inside and outside. Love his competitiveness. Darrell Taylor….defensive end. not Derek Barnett yet but tremendous potential. Love his competitiveness. Nigel Warrior….safety. not Dale Carter yet but talented. Put him on the field and let him play. Cortez McDowell….outside linebacker. Looks to be quicker, faster plus can play man coverage on backs coming out of backfield. Rashaan Gaulden…nickel and corner. Physical get to the ball player. A hitter. Love his 100% every play mentality. Big play capability. Micah Abernathy…safety. Helped by an athletic Warrior and can be an excellent safety in this league. Smart and experienced. Jonathan Kongbo….defensive end. Will get better with playing experience. Played solid against Tech but needs Gaulden/Bituli attitude and may in fact have it. Hard to evaluate on one game. That’s seven out of eleven starters that are fully capable of winning in this league.
Additionally….Shy Tuttle is back at defensive tackle. Knock of the rust in the Indiana State game and get ready for the Gators. He is a proven SEC tackle. Kendal Vickers….solid fundamentalist. Proven in many SEC games. Khalil McKenzie…..defensive tackle….run stuffer/push pass rusher. Needs to be solid inside. Justin Martin….corner. a game day puzzle. Has been unable to take it from the practice field to the game field. Talented but if I am the defensive back coach he is running out of time. Emmanuel Moseley….corner. Adequate but the best we got right now. Todd Kelly, Jr….Valuable safety that can play well when called on. Colton Jumper…MLB and OLB. Valuable when playing as a backup.
Need to come along (and should)……Quarte Sapp at OLB, Will Ignont at MLB, Shawn Shamburger at corner, Shag Wiggins corner (get healthy), Alexis Johnson and Matthew Butler at defensive tackle, Kyle Phillips and Deandre Johnson at defensive end, Theo Jackson at safety and Baylen Buchanan at nickel. These players just need playing time and should be contributors as the season advances.
Finishing the defensive side of the ball……Take the Georgia Tech tape, watch it as coaches, do your lessons and then throw it in the trash can. Enjoy, celebrate the win as they are tough to come by. If this staff gets the aforementioned players worked into a solid rotation by position this defense can be a good defense. What stood out in the Tech game was this…..given every opportunity to quit this unit played their butts off and on the final drive of regulation as well as the final play of the game found a way to make stops that led to winning a game that could have easily been lost. Over the years I have learned that Vol fans recognize and appreciate players/teams that never quit, bust their rear ends and never quit. That brings up the final Game Maxim…. “Carry the fight to Tech for 60 minutes”. They did and two over time periods to boot.
Indiana State is team x for the purposes of this Talk. Game #2 and this will be short and sweet. FBS school, not competitive with Tennessee….will run the ball 2 to 1 over passing the ball, will try to get out of Neyland healthy, lost 22-20 to Eastern Illinois in first game. They are in a lot of trouble this Saturday.
Now….what is really important. Where does this 2017 Vols team stand coming out of an overtime win this past Monday? We won a game we could have lost (could have not should have). While it would be easy to look at the negatives coming out of this game I will spend much of this Talk looking at the positives as they relate to the next 11 games. You will hear enough about the negatives without me spending much time on them.
If ever a Tennessee team won a game by performing the basics of Tennessee tradition it was this staff and team. The kicking game is the strongest part of this team and it allowed the Vols to win in Atlanta. Six punts with five inside the 20 yard line (18,14,5,15,11). If Trevor Daniel is not the best punter in college football I want to watch the guy who is. By downing the ball inside the 20 instead of kicking into the end zone Trevor saved 37 yards in hidden yardage, nearly 4 first and tens. Aaron Medley had 5 kickoffs: 3 touchbacks and the kick coverage team tackled Tech returners at the 13 and 20 on the other two kicks. This is outstanding especially in the first game of the year and is certainly something that Coach Jones can build on going forward. Aaron was also 5 for 5 in point after kicks. What is the most important point in football? The extra point!!!! Seniors playing like experienced seniors.
Field position….always the key in winning close games. This stat is as good as I can remember any Vol team producing. Georgia Tech had 11 possessions, 11 offensive drives. The nearest they started a drive to the Volunteer goal line was their own 29 yard line…..71 yards away from Tennessee’s end zone. Great kick coverage and zero turnovers allowed this to happen. If there is such a thing as a key statistic game in and game out it is this one…..not who has the ball, but where they have it.
On the topic of turnovers refer to two Game Maxims….. “The team making the fewest mistakes will win” and “Play for and make the breaks……When one comes your way…..SCORE”. The Vols forced and recovered 2 Tech fumbles and scored 14 points off those turnovers. Two hustle, effort plays by Rashaan Gaulden and Daniel Bituli that forced fumbles and timely recoveries by Nigel Warrior and Micah Abernathy were game saving plays….we probably lose without either. These plays do not happen by chance, they are practiced every day. Offensively the Vols drove 46 and 93 yards for two key touchdowns after those two turnovers.
GOING FORWARD: DEFENSIVE THOUGHTS
I really felt badly for this defensive staff. Starting last spring they put in and worked on a plan for Georgia Tech that featured three linebackers. That plan was worked in fall camp and into game week. Five linebackers were to be featured and then during game week Kirkland, Jr and Smith were injured. That left three with their best, Kirkland, Jr out for the year. Too late to change game plans the only thing to do was get the most they could out of a bad situation. Been there, done that and it ain’t much fun. We certainly must improve in many areas but if I were a defensive coach on this staff I would be damn proud of the job my unit did Monday night. They kept their poise, fought for 4 quarters and 2 overtimes and always believed they would win. You can win a lot of games with those type of players and coaches.
Stats aside, and they were bad, let’s look at individual players and what their play portends for the rest of the season. One bad statistical game means very little when you win. It’s how you react, how you coach, how you practice and if you learn from the lessons coming out of that performance. .In 1989 when I was the defensive coordinator LSU’s Tommy Hodson set the all-time single game total passing yardage record for the Southeastern Conference in Tiger Stadium. The “all-time” record. However we won the game and finished the season 11-1. It is how you react to a poor performance that counts. Also we moved Carl Pickens to safety the next Monday…..that helped a bunch.
INDIVIDUALS: Daniel Bituli….middle linebacker with power, strength and ability to make plays inside and outside. Love his competitiveness. Darrell Taylor….defensive end. not Derek Barnett yet but tremendous potential. Love his competitiveness. Nigel Warrior….safety. not Dale Carter yet but talented. Put him on the field and let him play. Cortez McDowell….outside linebacker. Looks to be quicker, faster plus can play man coverage on backs coming out of backfield. Rashaan Gaulden…nickel and corner. Physical get to the ball player. A hitter. Love his 100% every play mentality. Big play capability. Micah Abernathy…safety. Helped by an athletic Warrior and can be an excellent safety in this league. Smart and experienced. Jonathan Kongbo….defensive end. Will get better with playing experience. Played solid against Tech but needs Gaulden/Bituli attitude and may in fact have it. Hard to evaluate on one game. That’s seven out of eleven starters that are fully capable of winning in this league.
Additionally….Shy Tuttle is back at defensive tackle. Knock of the rust in the Indiana State game and get ready for the Gators. He is a proven SEC tackle. Kendal Vickers….solid fundamentalist. Proven in many SEC games. Khalil McKenzie…..defensive tackle….run stuffer/push pass rusher. Needs to be solid inside. Justin Martin….corner. a game day puzzle. Has been unable to take it from the practice field to the game field. Talented but if I am the defensive back coach he is running out of time. Emmanuel Moseley….corner. Adequate but the best we got right now. Todd Kelly, Jr….Valuable safety that can play well when called on. Colton Jumper…MLB and OLB. Valuable when playing as a backup.
Need to come along (and should)……Quarte Sapp at OLB, Will Ignont at MLB, Shawn Shamburger at corner, Shag Wiggins corner (get healthy), Alexis Johnson and Matthew Butler at defensive tackle, Kyle Phillips and Deandre Johnson at defensive end, Theo Jackson at safety and Baylen Buchanan at nickel. These players just need playing time and should be contributors as the season advances.
Finishing the defensive side of the ball……Take the Georgia Tech tape, watch it as coaches, do your lessons and then throw it in the trash can. Enjoy, celebrate the win as they are tough to come by. If this staff gets the aforementioned players worked into a solid rotation by position this defense can be a good defense. What stood out in the Tech game was this…..given every opportunity to quit this unit played their butts off and on the final drive of regulation as well as the final play of the game found a way to make stops that led to winning a game that could have easily been lost. Over the years I have learned that Vol fans recognize and appreciate players/teams that never quit, bust their rear ends and never quit. That brings up the final Game Maxim…. “Carry the fight to Tech for 60 minutes”. They did and two over time periods to boot.
