CHALK TALK
VOLUNTEER STYLE
VOLUME 54
August 31, 2017
Opening game……always exciting for fans, players, coaches and yes even officials. And here we are a weekend away from another Vol football season. What a way to start the season, Monday night in front of a captive national television audience and an opportunity to show what wearing the Orange jersey is all about. How many opportunities do you get as a player like this one? Much talk about this game from the Tennessee side. A tough offense to prepare for, injuries to key players, a suspension to a starter, an inexperienced starter as quarterback, few returning skilled players with much game experience……..what’s new. That’s football and this is Tennessee football. This team has plenty of talent to beat Georgia Tech and talent usually wins if it is well coached and well prepared. Are we? We will find out Monday night. My bet is we are and we will play well in Atlanta. Let’s look at this Tech team from an offense and defensive standpoint.
But first a little Georgia Tech/Tennessee history. Both Tech and the Vols were charter members in 1933 of the Southeastern Conference. Tech under the leadership of Coach Bobby Dodd left the conference in 1966 to be an independent (as did Tulane)….Dodd was of course one of Coach Neyland’s first great players from 1928-1930. Some cite the rivalry between Dodd and Neyland but in fact they only met as head coaches four times….. in 1946, 47, 48 and 49 the post WWII era of college football. Each won two games. What is undisputable however is the direct line Coach Dodd had in continuing the lineage and tradition of General Neyland. Hang with me on this……as head coach at Georgia Tech Coach Dodd recruited and coached a quarterback named Frank Broyles. Upon graduation Broyles was hired, with Dodd’s recommendation, by Bob Woodruff (yes that Bob Woodruff) at Baylor University and later moved to the University of Florida with Coach Woodruff to coach quarterbacks for the Gators. Who was one of Broyles first quarterbacks he coached at Florida…..Doug Dickey. Broyles would eventually move to Arkansas, hired to be the Razorbacks head coach by athletic director John Barnhill, a teammate of Dodd at Tennessee and the Volunteer’s head coach during World War II when General Neyland was serving in the army. Broyles would hire Doug Dickey as secondary coach, move him to offensive coordinator and when Coach Dickey became the head coach at Tennessee replace him with John Majors. Both Dickey and Majors were hired as head coaches for the Big Orange by athletic director Bob Woodruff. Soooo…..Neyland to Dodd…. to Broyles and Woodruff…. to Dickey and Majors……ending with Coach Phillip Fulmer who was recruited and played for Coach Dickey and learned much of the Tennessee way as a 12 year assistant for Coach Majors. All of the above were strongly influenced by the Neyland philosophy of coaching.
+ Tennessee holds a 24-17-2 record against GT. However in the last 21 games the Vols are 16-4-1. They last played in 1987.
+ The 1956 game in Atlanta featured the #2 and #3 (Vols) teams in the country. Tennessee, coached by Bowden Wyatt, won 6-0 in a game that was voted in 1969 as the second best game in the first 100 years of college football. This game also put the cherry on top of the hall of fame career of John Majors. The two head coaches of the 1956 game, Bowden Wyatt and Bobby Dodd are two of only four men that are in the National Football Hall of Fame as BOTH a player and coach. Both of course were coached by Robert Neyland. This is what the Volunteer tradition is all about.
+ Bowden Wyatt not only coached John Majors but also gave him his start in coaching as a freshman assistant for the Vols. Wyatt prior to taking the Tennessee head job was the head coach at the University of Arkansas…..hired by Neyland protégé John Barnhill……..what a country.
+ John Majors was the fifth and last Tennessee single wing tailback voted into the national football hall of fame joining Gene McEver, Beattie Feathers, George Cafego and Hank Lauricella.
This game…..Georgia Tech runs an offense few universities employee these days. A quarterback under center and three backs in the backfield. Instead of running as many plays as possible they do the opposite and take as much of the 40 second clock as they can to get a play off. Their offensive philosophy: run the ball, eat the clock, keep the opponent’s offense on the sideline and be as physical as possible to wear down the opposition defense. Their goal is to make a defense play disciplined football, try to force alignment or responsibility mistakes by showing different formations and running plays that have multiple options instead of plays that have a pre-determined ball carrier. Almost every play will give the quarterback the “option” of giving the ball to a dive back, keeping the ball himself or pitching the ball to a trailing runner……hence the “triple option”. Most quarterbacks in this type of offensive system are good runners and average passers. Matthew Jordan fits that mold for Tech. An example, he had 32 carries in a win over Virginia Tech last year. However he is relatively inexperienced and I would consider him to be an average player. Playing this type of offense demands one basic characteristic from this Volunteer defense….discipline. Defensively we are more talented and have more depth than the Tech offense. Pretty simple game plan: align properly, know your individual responsibility, play fast, play confident and go make plays. Make sure that whoever the ball carrier is knows what # you have on your jersey. You can bet the Vol defensive staff has studied two 2016 Tech games in particular……Virginia Tech and Georgia. We of course played both and know how their personnel attacked Tech. By the way Georgia Tech beat both last season. One final thought…..it is expected when playing an option offense to take a series or two (or three) to adjust to the option offensive speed, etc. As the game moves into the second quarter I would expect our defense to play well against the Tech option.
Offensively the Vols will face a Tech defense that is designed to complement their offense. Not a lot of pressure by blitzing, a secondary that protects against deep throws and gives an offense a lot of underneath throwing possibilities. Like their offense Tech defensively wants to make Tennessee be patient, take the underneath throws, run the ball inside the tackles and “beat” their defense. This is the way they win games. Disciplined, patient teams beat them….teams that make mistakes and are not patient get beat by them. This is the type of offensive game plan that appears to be in the 2017 wheel house. We should be a very physical run team that can throw when needed. Our offensive talent while young and in some areas inexperienced is very athletic, much more so that the Tech defense. Physical play, toughness, nastiness and patience….just what the doctor ordered.
One big advantage for Tennessee…the kicking game in general but the return game in particular. “Press the kicking game for here is where the breaks are made”.
WHY THIS IS A GREAT GAME TO START THE SEASON! If ask to describe the last half of the 2016 football season in one word I would choose undisciplined. Too often we were out of position, not sure of a call from the side line and left both runners and receivers fairly easy paths to our goal line. Whether it was because of injuries, depth problems, superior opponents, bad luck or just plain poor coaching and playing…..it cost the Volunteers games. There was great emphasis on this during the off season, through spring practice and into fall camp. This Georgia Tech team will test all of the areas where the 2016 team fell short. Tech will make this 2017 team play with patience and discipline….this staff will know coming out of Monday night’s game if those problems have been fixed.
Bottom line for us fans….I am anxious to watch what I believe to be very talented young men, especially at the skilled positions on offense, become the stars they have waited to show they are. This is a talented team….but a young team in many areas. I believe Coach Jones has added different coaches who bring with them tested ways of doing things. They, players and coaches, have heard eight months’ worth of questions about what happened last year. They, players and coaches, are well aware of the expectations of this fan base……my bet is they play very well in Atlanta on Labor Day.
VOLUNTEER STYLE
VOLUME 54
August 31, 2017
Opening game……always exciting for fans, players, coaches and yes even officials. And here we are a weekend away from another Vol football season. What a way to start the season, Monday night in front of a captive national television audience and an opportunity to show what wearing the Orange jersey is all about. How many opportunities do you get as a player like this one? Much talk about this game from the Tennessee side. A tough offense to prepare for, injuries to key players, a suspension to a starter, an inexperienced starter as quarterback, few returning skilled players with much game experience……..what’s new. That’s football and this is Tennessee football. This team has plenty of talent to beat Georgia Tech and talent usually wins if it is well coached and well prepared. Are we? We will find out Monday night. My bet is we are and we will play well in Atlanta. Let’s look at this Tech team from an offense and defensive standpoint.
But first a little Georgia Tech/Tennessee history. Both Tech and the Vols were charter members in 1933 of the Southeastern Conference. Tech under the leadership of Coach Bobby Dodd left the conference in 1966 to be an independent (as did Tulane)….Dodd was of course one of Coach Neyland’s first great players from 1928-1930. Some cite the rivalry between Dodd and Neyland but in fact they only met as head coaches four times….. in 1946, 47, 48 and 49 the post WWII era of college football. Each won two games. What is undisputable however is the direct line Coach Dodd had in continuing the lineage and tradition of General Neyland. Hang with me on this……as head coach at Georgia Tech Coach Dodd recruited and coached a quarterback named Frank Broyles. Upon graduation Broyles was hired, with Dodd’s recommendation, by Bob Woodruff (yes that Bob Woodruff) at Baylor University and later moved to the University of Florida with Coach Woodruff to coach quarterbacks for the Gators. Who was one of Broyles first quarterbacks he coached at Florida…..Doug Dickey. Broyles would eventually move to Arkansas, hired to be the Razorbacks head coach by athletic director John Barnhill, a teammate of Dodd at Tennessee and the Volunteer’s head coach during World War II when General Neyland was serving in the army. Broyles would hire Doug Dickey as secondary coach, move him to offensive coordinator and when Coach Dickey became the head coach at Tennessee replace him with John Majors. Both Dickey and Majors were hired as head coaches for the Big Orange by athletic director Bob Woodruff. Soooo…..Neyland to Dodd…. to Broyles and Woodruff…. to Dickey and Majors……ending with Coach Phillip Fulmer who was recruited and played for Coach Dickey and learned much of the Tennessee way as a 12 year assistant for Coach Majors. All of the above were strongly influenced by the Neyland philosophy of coaching.
+ Tennessee holds a 24-17-2 record against GT. However in the last 21 games the Vols are 16-4-1. They last played in 1987.
+ The 1956 game in Atlanta featured the #2 and #3 (Vols) teams in the country. Tennessee, coached by Bowden Wyatt, won 6-0 in a game that was voted in 1969 as the second best game in the first 100 years of college football. This game also put the cherry on top of the hall of fame career of John Majors. The two head coaches of the 1956 game, Bowden Wyatt and Bobby Dodd are two of only four men that are in the National Football Hall of Fame as BOTH a player and coach. Both of course were coached by Robert Neyland. This is what the Volunteer tradition is all about.
+ Bowden Wyatt not only coached John Majors but also gave him his start in coaching as a freshman assistant for the Vols. Wyatt prior to taking the Tennessee head job was the head coach at the University of Arkansas…..hired by Neyland protégé John Barnhill……..what a country.
+ John Majors was the fifth and last Tennessee single wing tailback voted into the national football hall of fame joining Gene McEver, Beattie Feathers, George Cafego and Hank Lauricella.
This game…..Georgia Tech runs an offense few universities employee these days. A quarterback under center and three backs in the backfield. Instead of running as many plays as possible they do the opposite and take as much of the 40 second clock as they can to get a play off. Their offensive philosophy: run the ball, eat the clock, keep the opponent’s offense on the sideline and be as physical as possible to wear down the opposition defense. Their goal is to make a defense play disciplined football, try to force alignment or responsibility mistakes by showing different formations and running plays that have multiple options instead of plays that have a pre-determined ball carrier. Almost every play will give the quarterback the “option” of giving the ball to a dive back, keeping the ball himself or pitching the ball to a trailing runner……hence the “triple option”. Most quarterbacks in this type of offensive system are good runners and average passers. Matthew Jordan fits that mold for Tech. An example, he had 32 carries in a win over Virginia Tech last year. However he is relatively inexperienced and I would consider him to be an average player. Playing this type of offense demands one basic characteristic from this Volunteer defense….discipline. Defensively we are more talented and have more depth than the Tech offense. Pretty simple game plan: align properly, know your individual responsibility, play fast, play confident and go make plays. Make sure that whoever the ball carrier is knows what # you have on your jersey. You can bet the Vol defensive staff has studied two 2016 Tech games in particular……Virginia Tech and Georgia. We of course played both and know how their personnel attacked Tech. By the way Georgia Tech beat both last season. One final thought…..it is expected when playing an option offense to take a series or two (or three) to adjust to the option offensive speed, etc. As the game moves into the second quarter I would expect our defense to play well against the Tech option.
Offensively the Vols will face a Tech defense that is designed to complement their offense. Not a lot of pressure by blitzing, a secondary that protects against deep throws and gives an offense a lot of underneath throwing possibilities. Like their offense Tech defensively wants to make Tennessee be patient, take the underneath throws, run the ball inside the tackles and “beat” their defense. This is the way they win games. Disciplined, patient teams beat them….teams that make mistakes and are not patient get beat by them. This is the type of offensive game plan that appears to be in the 2017 wheel house. We should be a very physical run team that can throw when needed. Our offensive talent while young and in some areas inexperienced is very athletic, much more so that the Tech defense. Physical play, toughness, nastiness and patience….just what the doctor ordered.
One big advantage for Tennessee…the kicking game in general but the return game in particular. “Press the kicking game for here is where the breaks are made”.
WHY THIS IS A GREAT GAME TO START THE SEASON! If ask to describe the last half of the 2016 football season in one word I would choose undisciplined. Too often we were out of position, not sure of a call from the side line and left both runners and receivers fairly easy paths to our goal line. Whether it was because of injuries, depth problems, superior opponents, bad luck or just plain poor coaching and playing…..it cost the Volunteers games. There was great emphasis on this during the off season, through spring practice and into fall camp. This Georgia Tech team will test all of the areas where the 2016 team fell short. Tech will make this 2017 team play with patience and discipline….this staff will know coming out of Monday night’s game if those problems have been fixed.
Bottom line for us fans….I am anxious to watch what I believe to be very talented young men, especially at the skilled positions on offense, become the stars they have waited to show they are. This is a talented team….but a young team in many areas. I believe Coach Jones has added different coaches who bring with them tested ways of doing things. They, players and coaches, have heard eight months’ worth of questions about what happened last year. They, players and coaches, are well aware of the expectations of this fan base……my bet is they play very well in Atlanta on Labor Day.
