The Darkest Hour

A 7-13 homecoming loss to Wyoming. This is UT Football's darkest hour in a long time. I'm not going to analyze prior or anymore upcoming games in the 2008 season. Too disappointed. Let's find a new coach and I'll hit back with it after the Orange and White game in Spring of '09. Thanks to Fulmer for all the hard work and dedication he and his various staff did as UT's head football coach over the last 16 years.

GO VOLS!!!

Disappointed

I'm too disappointed in the Florida and Auburn performances to comment. My hope in the near future is to analyze every play in both games and find anyone and everyone who is at fault on each play. I want the players who messed up to be held accountable. Ultimately it is coaching that is responsible for correcting these players mistakes that I have seen now over and over again. Until then all I can say is...

GO VOLS!!!

They got guys named Laser, Blazer, Taser and all other kinds of 'asers'!

So we get an 0-2 UAB this Saturday on Raycom Sports at 11:30am CDT. Fine by me. They have a less than stellar defense (as was shown against FAU last week) and should give the Vols an opportunity to showcase an offense that looked like the Little Engine That Couldn't at the Rose Bowl. Their QB runs a lot. We need to stop him. Other than that, if we just play Vol football (not that crap from the UCLA game) we should win.

So then, what are Blazers? Well it seems in 1978 the students at UAB voted "Blazers" because they wanted their teams to "blaze" a new trail in college athletics. Then it took them 17 more years before they named a European Dragon, "Blaze," their mascot. I don't really get the whole European Dragon thing. I mean the original Birmingham in England IS in Europe so I guess that works??? Were there not any American Dragons available? Anyway, I'm sure Smokey is not scared of a European Dragon.

Also one other thing to note. UAB's football program is only 17 years old. Their first NCAA sanctioned game was played at none other than my alma mater, Millsaps College in Jackson, MS in September 1991.

GO VOLS!

How The Vols Lost To The UCLA Bruins 9/1/08

1^ST QUARTER

KO – 29yd return by Rogan would have been better but UT’s #42 didn’t stay with his block

OFFENSE-Crompton’s greed for bigger throw on 2^nd & 1 instead of to an open short out WR and his fumbled snap kill this opening drive…horrible way to start out offensively. Good punt with 4 yd return is ok though

DEFENSE-Ayers and Martin have great individual tackling efforts as well as Berry but Willingham and Rogan are giving UCLA’s WR’s too much cushion…but UT gets lucky on a bad route/mix up with QB and WR as Willingham makes a good interception

OFFENSE-Nice drive by UT stalls out due to Center Scott’s missed block and a formation line up error along with UCLA’s blitzing LB’s disrupting Crompton’s throw on 3^rd & 6; Lincoln missing his FG wide right is more of a concern than not having the distance from 51 yds out

DEFENSE-Morley makes a great break on an overthrown ball by UCLA’s QB deep in corner in a cover 2 defense to get a nice interception

OFFENSE-UT’s left tackle blows this series missing a block on 2^nd down run and 3^rd down pass; Crompton’s bad throw on 1^st down adds to a horrible looking offensive series; 40yd punt with a 3 yd return is ok though (nobody is missing Colquitt just yet)

DEFENSE-McCoy makes 2 great tackles on runs and Meyers-White has a great pass breakup to force UCLA to punt on a 3 & out

OFFENSE-2 high passes by Crompton kills UT’s chances for a 1^st down; UT’s punt was blocked because right side of line didn’t block and Right outside upback helped center upback block 1 man (2 men blocking 1 man is bad in this case) instead of blocking to the outside where 4 UCLA guys are running untouched to the punter…UCLA gets a “free” 7pts

UT 0 – UCLA 7

KO- 10 yd holding penalty on UT

OFFENSE-5yd penalty by Richard (false start) is the only negative as we see some holes opening up due to the OL’s good job of blocking for the 1^st time in the game so far

2^ND QUARTER

OFFENSE(con’t)-Briscoe bails his OL out (2 false starts) by catching a nice 41yd throw by Crompton as Hardesty out runs a tired MLB and Safety for an 11yd TD run, PAT good

UT 7 – UCLA 7

DEFENSE-UT stops their run and puts pressure on QB and he makes some bad throws so we force them to punt eventually in this drive

OFFENSE-3 bad plays: first is an unblocked corner makes tackle on 1^st down, second is RG misses block on LB who makes a tackle on the RB for a 3yd loss and third Crompton forces a throw and doesn’t see zone defender who makes an interception for UCLA

DEFENSE-3 & out by UT on good defensive play but it was really more about QB’s bad throws and decisions

OFFENSE-backed up on own 7yd line, UT goes conservative with a run, screen pass and a long shot overthrown to Taylor and has to punt but wastes a time out because only had 10 on the field. Punt for 36 yds is good.

DEFENSE-Safety Berry makes a good stop on a run, Left DE and Right OLB make stop on 2^nd run and Safety Berry makes a break on a poorly thrown ball by QB to get an interception

OFFENSE-nice play call to pass to FB and great run blocking for 22yd gain by Foster and another short throw to Taylor for 11yds are all good but then our OL doesn’t pass protect on 2 blitzes and Foster and Crompton run into each other (PeeWee football?) and Lincoln misses his 2^nd field goal…not a great way to capitalize on a turnover

DEFENSE-a missed assignment in zone defense on UCLA’s TE, a 3 yd run up the middle for 1^st down still doesn’t help UCLA as QB throws his 4^th interception of the half as LB McKenzie (who was converted from safety to LB) takes it to the house on a 60 yd interception return for a TD, PAT good

UT 14 – UCLA 7

DEFENSE-after the KO, UCLA kneels down to end the half

FIRST HALF SUMMARY:

OFFENSIVELY, UT GOT 7 POINTS ON A NICE DRIVE BUT OVERALL UT’S OFFENSE DIDN’T PLAY TO THEIR POTENTIAL (ADD IN A FEW FALSE STARTS TOO!) 198YDS OF TOTAL OFFENSE. UT HAD 8 SERIES ON OFFENSE:

1. Punt

2. Missed Field Goal after a defensive interception

3. Punt after a defensive interception

4. Punt (blocked for a UCLA TD)

5. TD

6. Interception

7. Punt

8. Missed Field Goal after a defensive interception

DEFENSIVELY, UT PLAYED OUTSTANDING WITH 4 INTS (ONE FOR A TD). I GIVE THEM AN A+ FOR THE FIRST HALF HOLDING UCLA TO 0 PTS

2 MISSED FIELD GOALS AND A PUNT BLOCKED FOR A TD IS NOT GOOD FOR SPECIAL TEAMS BUT KICK OFF COVERAGE, KO RETURN BLOCKING AND PUNT COVERAGE HAVE BEEN GOOD.

3^RD QUARTER

DEFENSE-nice play by McCoy on a run, a dropped pass and good pass rush for 2 yd scramble gives UT what they wanted: a 3 & out

OFFENSE-***Best drive in game up to this point but Foster fumbles on 1^st 7 Goal from the 6 yd line***Series broken down here:

-1^st play of this series is worth watching for FB Cooper’s block on the Right ILB

-typical 5yd penalty by UT for not having enough men on line of scrimmage

-OL does a good job of blocking on runs and passes, especially on the 41 yd Foster run because Center and Right Tackle get to second level to block LB’s

-UCLA’s DT (Price) gets unblocked and makes a tackle for 3 yd loss

-screen pass doesn’t work

-WR Taylor gets open for a 19 yd gain on a pass play as OL gives Crompton time to throw

-RB Foster doesn’t hold ball securely enough and fumbles

DEFENSE-other than play action pass for 13 yds (as Safety Berry lays a hit on WR), it’s a good defensive stand to the ball back in the offense’s hands

OFFENSE-good run by Hardesty, WR Briscoe drops a short 4 yd hitch route pass and WR Rogers can’t haul in a deep fly route pass so UT goes 3 and out and punts

DEFENSE-UCLA picks apart UT’s weakness (LB’s in pass coverage) by throwing 2 quick short underneath routes for decent gains and corner plays too far off in man to man coverage and allows for a key 3^rd down pick up on a 9 yd pass play; DE doesn’t contain the outside an allows QB to scramble for 6 yds; but a nice blitz by Wilson and a lucky dropped TE screen pass (would have gone for a lot of yards) gives UCLA their first offensive points of the game on a 41yd field goal

UT 14 – UCLA 10

KO-UT’s Jones gets nice blocking on the KO and goes for 41 yds!

OFFENSE-good FB block on LB gives Hardesty a nice 6 yd run…then we decide to pass for unknown reasons…UCLA blitz forces bad throw by Crompton and another bad throw by Crompton on 3^rd & 4 forces UT to punt on their 2^nd straight 3 and out via a good run, incomplete pass, incomplete pass combination…why are we not running the ball? Why are we putting pressure on Crompton to throw when our OL did a great job of blocking on 1^st and 10 on this drive and the previous drive? Why are we asking Crompton to throw on 2^nd & 4?

DEFENSE-DT Williams makes a great tackle for loss to end the 3^rd Quarter

3 QUARTERS SUMMARY:

DEFENSIVELY UT HAS PLAYED GREAT. GETTING 4 INTERCEPTIONS (1 FOR A TD) AND ONLY GIVING UP 3 POINTS IS OUTSTANDING! RIGHT NOW UT’S DEFENSE IS BEATING UCLA 7-3!!!

OFFENSIVELY, ON UT’S 11 DRIVES SO FAR IN 3 QUARTERS, 6 HAVE BEEN 3 AND OUT AND THE OTHER 5 ARE AS FOLLOWS: 2 MISSED FIELD GOALS, 1 INTERCEPTION, 1 FUMBLE AND 1 TD…THAT’S 1 FOR 11 IN GETTING OFFENSIVE POINTS…9% SUCCESS RATE IS NOT GOOD!!!

4^TH QUARTER

DEFENSE(con’t)-Bolden makes a tackle for loss in the end zone which should be a safety and 2pts but for some reason the refs don’t see it that way; another great tackle by Left DE keeps UCLA deep in their own territory and forces them to punt on a 3 and out and Jones gets a nice 34 yd return due to UT blocking the bullet men for UCLA on the outside

OFFENSE-RG and WR don't block on 1st down; RB misses DE who forces Crompton to throw quickly to a covered WR as FB was wide open in flat;stunt twist by DE and DT forces Crompton to get sacked; delay penalty on FG attempt; Punt

DEFENSE-OLB doesn't see TE for an 8yd catch; OLB with McCoy makes a 1yd tackle on RB for 1yd gain; pick play by wr's get a 11yd gain; corner plays too far off = 14yd gain; Willingham defensive holding; corner plays too far off = 7yd gain on slant route; Myers-White OLB blitz gets 6yd loss; Berry plays too far off = 12yd gain; Corner Morley lets WR get too close into body who gets separation and makes diving catch for 19yd gain; left corner Willingham man to man on WR allows his receiver to block OLB and doesn't run support and this stretches LB's and safety too far out to get RB on a toss sweep for 3yd TD run; PAT good

UT 14 – UCLA 17

KO- 35yd return is good!

OFFENSE-bad throw by Crompton, Harwell and Price DT's put pressure on Crompton = batted ball; DE/DT twist stunt sack Crompton but face mask penalty gets first down; LG misses Right DT who makes tackle on Foster for 1yd loss; Blitz forces incomplete pass by Crompton; Crompton scrambles for 10yds; QB sneak; 2 Flat passes; Safety makes tackle on Foster for 4yd gain; Jones 5yd catch; Hardesty 2yd rn; Cut block by TE takes out 2 defensive players and Hardesty runs for 20yd TD; PAT good

UT 21 – UCLA 17

KO - short kick but 10yd return is good

DEFENSE-seam route for 21yds (where was LB McCoy's coverage?); TE in between LB's and Saftey's gets 9yd catch; Johnson pass breakup; QB sneak for 1st down; WR in between LB's and Saftey's gets 9yd catch; Safety Morely can't get to corner in cover 2 and WR gets a 19yd catch; nobody picks up TE middle screen (should have been 5yd and loss of down penalty on lineman downfield); overthrown ball to wide open TE in endzone; TE catches TD in front of LB McCoy on man to man coverage; PAT good

UT 21 – UCLA 24

KO- short kick and 13yd return

OFFENSE-incomplete by Crompton; 16yd catch by Rodgers; spike to stop the clock; TE Stocker middle route for 11yd gain; 47yd Field Goal is good

UT 24 – UCLA 24

OFFENSIVELY UT FINALY MAKES SOME PLAYS TO GET A TD AND A FIELD GOAL. SAVED BY A FACE MASK PENALTY TO KEEP THE TD DRIVE ALIVE THANKFULLY.

DEFENSIVELY UT WAS PLAYING TOO FAR OFF AND LOOKED CONFUSED ON PASS COVERAGE.

OVERTIME

DEFENSE-Screen pass disrupted; MLB and Corner stop RB for no gain; incomplete pass; 42yd field goal good

UT 24 – UCLA 27

OFFENSE-LT misses Right DT and ROLB who both make tackle on Hardesty for 1yd loss; Foster flat route for 5yds; Crompton scrambles for 4yd gain; 34yd missed FG

FINAL: UT 24 – UCLA 27

DEFENSIVELY IN OT UT GOT A GREAT 3 AND OUT. NICE JOB.

OFFENSIVELY IN OT BLAME UT'S LT ON FIRST DOWN FOR NOT BLOCKING AND CROMPTON FOR NOT GETTING THE FIRST DOWN ON 3RD DOWN (RUNNING OR THROWING). BLAME LINCOLN FOR MISSING FG.

What is a Bruin?

Well UCLA got 6 votes in the pre-season AP college football poll and 3 votes in the USA Today poll. The key word for UCLA is: inexperience. I don't care. To play at the Rose Bowl, on the road, against a PAC-10 team, well, it scares me. I know what we have on paper. See the previous post, but a new offensive coordinator and QB just doesn't sit well with me. I'm excited, but I'm also unsure. The excitement might wear off throughout the game if I start to see some sure play by the Vols. I'm ready though. I'm ready to be surprised at how good a team we have. The way to surprise me is to blow out a preseason unranked PAC-10 opponent on the road on prime time TV. That would be nice.

Also, a Bruin is a brown bear, so this will mark the 2nd time in the same amount of seasons that we have opened up our schedule on the road with a team from California that has something to do with bears as their mascot.

Also to note, I will only be doing complete breakdown of games (like last year) if I think the game was worthy enough. Basically big wins and blowout or maybe some heartbreaking losses. Of course it all depends if the DVR records the game too ;)

Rivals has us at #19

And see, I'm ok with that. New QB, new offensive coordinator, inexperienced DL and LB's, and Colquitt out for the first 5 games...that's the bad news. Good news is UT has a great RB in Foster and a solid line up front with some expereinced receivers. I expect the running game to carry UT early on so that way it won't put pressure on Crompton who's only attmpted 78 passes in his college career. But Crompton will be more of a threat to run than Ainge ever was. Defensive touts the best secondary in the SEC for sure and maybe even the country. Rivals says to look for blitzes to make up for lack of experience up front. I say look for blitzes because that's what Chavis does anyway. The ability to stop the run (70th ranked rush defense last season) will be a big key factor to push a projected good defense to greatness. Lincoln is solid at kicking. I expect to see better coverage teams than last year though. 5:00pm local game time coverage in sunny Pasadena on Labor Day at the Rose Bowl. I can't think of a better way to open the '08 season. A win against the Bruins would be a sweet early birthday present for me!

GO VOLS!

I'd say it was a good week!

The Vols seem to keep doing well on the recruiting thing this year. This is my argument for keeping Fulmer. With a new offensive coordinator in Clawson, there's no reason to get rid of Fulmer. He does what he does best and that's recruiting. All Fulmer should do is recruit, then leave Chavis and Clawson in charge and every now and then go for it on 4th down.

Read about our newest (as of 6/17/08) recruits here.

2008 Spring Practice allows us to see a glimpse of what's to come in the Fall. Most important to me (coming from a former college cornerback) is the potential of our defensive secondary. I agree with David Hooker in that we haven't seen a secondary this strong in a long time.

GO VOLS!