Vols Football

Derek Dooley

2010-01-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

Uhh...ok?

2009-12-10T12:40:00.001-08:00

So I think we get screwed here by going to Atlanta.

First, Tampa wants a 3-5 conference record (#40 in CBS poll) Auburn instead of a 4-4 conference record (#38 in CBS poll) Tennessee. Fine. Auburn beat us so I guess I can see that. But what is weird is that the way the SEC is set up now with 2 teams in BCS bowls, that means Tennessee and Auburn are playing against an AP #12 ranked Va Tech and an AP unranked Northwestern, respectively. Now CBS has Northwestern as #16 but still, if Tennessee gets a lesser bowl (2008 numbers...$2.4 million to SEC team in Atlanta vs $3 million to SEC team in Tampa not to mention Vols play New Year's Eve and not New Year's Day), why do the Vols have to play, some would argue, a touger opponent in Virginia Tech than Northwestern?

However, with all that said, I'm just happy to be complaining about which team we play and in which bowl we play. Because last year at this time...well let's not talk about last year ;)

The plus sides are that weather will not be a factor and Atlanta is closer to Knoxville than Tampa.

GO VOLS!!!

Bowl Predictions Redone

2009-11-30T15:31:00.000-08:00

First, great game for the Vols against KY. If Stocker hangs on to the ball, it wouldn't have gone to overtime...but we won and that's all that matters.

Ok, so Ole Miss, Georgia and South Carolina screwed me up a bit. Here are my predictions with Florida and Alabama not changing since last post.

LSU 9-3 5-3 goes to Capital One (Orlando)
Tennessee 7-5 4-4 goes to Outback (Tampa)
Ole Miss 8-4 4-4 goes to Cotton (Dallas)
Georgia 7-5 4-4 goes to Peach (Atlanta)
S. Carolina 7-5 3-5 goes to Music City (Nashville)
Arkansas 7-5 3-5 goes to Liberty (Memphis)
Auburn 7-5 3-5 goes to Papa John's (Birmingham)
Kentucky 7-5 3-5 goes to Independence (Shreveport)

Tennessee gets a bump up to Outback by finishing 2nd in the East but have to travel a little further than Nashville or Atlanta. But I don't think the Vol faithful will mind a trip to Florida in January.

GO VOLS!!!

Regular Season Final Predictions & Bowl Bids

2009-11-23T08:45:00.001-08:00

Florida beats FSU and Alabama beats Auburn and Florida goes to the BCS championship after beating Alabama in the SEC championship for the 2nd straight year. But Florida loses to Texas. Alabama plays as an at-large bid in the Sugar Bowl, again.

Ole Miss beats MSU and goes to Capital One (Orlando) at 9-3
LSU beats ARK and goes to Outback (Tampa) at 9-3
ARK loses to LSU and goes to Cotton (Dallas) at 7-5
TEN beat KY and goes to Peach (Atlanta) at 7-5
KY loses to TEN and goes to Music City (Nashville) at 7-5
UGA loses to GA Tech and goes to Liberty (Memphis) at 6-6
AUB loses to ALA and goes to Papa John's (Birmingham) at 7-5
USC loses to CLEM and goes to Independence (Shreveport) at 6-6

As my friend Evil says, "Book it."

"D"-pleted

2009-11-23T07:20:00.000-08:00

Seems like most of the Vols defense was hurt either going into or coming out of the Vandy game. If we don't turn the ball over, I see us beating Kentucky at Lexington (even with a battered defense) to go 7-5 for the regular season.

GO VOLS!!!

Rebel Whipping

2009-11-16T08:51:00.000-08:00

The Vols got their tails handed to 'em by the Rebels. Outplayed on both sides of the ball. OL and DL were being pushed around. McCluster ran away from Berry's side most of the time and when he did run to Berry's side, the Rebels had a lineman and maybe even another guy blocking him. That left Rogan, Thompson and the rest of the Vol's defense trying to tackle McCluster who goes 95mph when the rest of the guys on the field are going about 70mph. Offensively, we had a few key drops and some bad routes/passes and never could hit Jones for the long one. Hardesty was inconsistent due to our OL not winning up front. Don't even get me started on special teams. Basically, we looked bad.

We need to right the ship in a hurry against a struggling Vanderbilt to become bowl eligible and then we can top off the cake with some orange icing at Kentucky two days after Thanksgiving. 7-5 is a lot better than 5-7 from a year ago.

Let's all get behind the Vol seniors this weekend and hope for a big thrashing of the Commodores.

GO VOLS!!!

Not Good

2009-11-12T09:07:00.000-08:00

This is just stupid.

Defense!

2009-11-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to throw in a word about how proud I am of the Vols defense this year. They don't get enough notice (other than Berry) due to their record but they are 16th (even as 2nd and 3rd team guys played against WKY and MEM) in yards allowed per game as of Nov 10th...only behind Alabama and Florida in the SEC. After holding Alabama down to 4 field goals, the Vols defense had one pass coverage mistake against South Carolina for a TD and the starters let one TD in against a bad Memphis team. That's really it in the last 3 games.

This all leads me to talk about why I think the Vols will win at Ole Miss this weekend: defense

Ole Miss lost at South Carolina 10-16. I think we can hold Ole Miss to equal or lower than 10 points. Crompton keeps the train rolling and if Hardesty is injury/hurt/ailment free, he has a big day running all over the Rebels, who are not ranked in the top 50 for rushing defense. In fact, Ole Miss is not the best team in Mississippi as far as rush defense...that would be Southern Miss at 37th!

GO VOLS!!!

The Tide Is Turning

2009-10-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Well we came up a field goal short due to the giant that the Crimson Mud have on their D-line. No biggie. We drew some blood. Next year at Neyland should be a good one with the Tide.

Now on to USC. A win at home against a Spurrier team would likely make us bowl eligible. I think we can handle Memphis, Vandy and Kentucky and we go 7-5 if we lose on the road at a resurging Ole Miss. So wear your best Halloween costume (something with Orange in it) and cheer for the Vols as you pick through your candy.

GO VOLS!!!

I'm Surprised!

2009-10-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

Ok. So I'm surprised that Crompton got one of the SEC Players of the week for his work against Georgia. Not for his performance, it was well deserved. I'm just amazed that he had it in him. I had not seen otherwise. I attended Neyland for the Ohio game and he looked bad. Auburn game, he threw behind his receivers who decided not to catch those nor the ones he hit them in the hands with. He was less than stellar vs Auburn. Florida, Coach K wouldn't let him throw the ball...so really not his fault. Also to note in the Georgia game: our defense allowed 3 points...that's it. I LOVE our defense!!!

So now with the Georgia win, we are 1/2 of the way to being bowl eligible: I'm thinking Memphis, Vandy and Kentucky. If we can sneak an Ole Miss or a South Carolina in there just to make sure, that'd be cool too. Both have pretty good defenses. Week off for Alabama (Crimson Mud)...and we'll need all of that week and more ;)

"We need a quarterback not a belly itcher!"

2009-09-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

Instructional letter to Coach Kiffin for the 2009 football season after the UCLA loss...

----------------------------

Dear Lane,

(I feel that you're just Lane to me now and that you still need to earn the title of "coach" before I call you that and some of that is not your fault). Here are 5 things that I think you can do to help revive the Vols Football program:

1. Win at least 6 games and get to a bowl (any bowl) this 2009 season. More practice over the winter and TV coverage even if it's a bowl in Nashville, Memphis or Birmingham. 5 more games to win this season are: Ohio, Memphis, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and either South Carolina or Auburn. Other than Kentucky, the others are at Neyland which will help you.

2. Start recruiting a quarterback...NOW!!! If you didn't have faith in playing Stephens, as Crompton sat alone on the bench at one point during the UCLA game and as Crompton's onfield display begged of you to put Stephens in, then obviously you're not going to play Stephens when he's a senior next year. And what can be worse than Crompton...maybe the swine flu?

3. Recruit offensive linemen. Ones that can run block first (being that this is the hardest thing for them to do). Fulmer didn't do you any favors with your starting front 5 that consist of Scott, Richard, Cody Sullins (for McNeil) and McClendon who are seniors and Shaw, a Junior. Cory Sullins is also a senior and will be gone next year too. Dallas Thomas, Aaron Douglas and Cody Pope need to see playing time if we lose our 7th game.

4. Quit over hyping Berry and the defense. You reward Coach O's defense and your Dad's defense by making them play more plays per game than they should due to the inadequacies of your offense? That doesn't make sense. Stick with what you know and I'm not sure what that is but people say it has something to do with the offensive side of the ball. Your Dad and Coach O get about 90% of the credit for keeping the UCLA game close.

5. In the press, say every other team you play (even Memphis and Ohio) are great teams and that you respect what each program has to offer. Focus mainly on the Vols and say that we're going to have to earn our respect back. People will start to think you are a joke if you come across as over confident in saying the Vols will beat teams like Florida and Alabama on the road. Play the underdog in search of respect. You've done nothing in your coaching career to have any respect up to now anyway. Focus on your own players and what they can achieve. Not the other team.

Maybe, just maybe if you can do these things, the Vols can climb back on top as a winning program. Here's hoping you're the one that can get them there.

GO VOLS!

-Clay

Rocky Topping The Hilltoppers

2009-09-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

The newest members of what was formally NCAA Division I-A football took to the field at Neyland Saturday September 5th and were crushed 63-7. That's the short of it. 3 other points of interest:

-The Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky did win the 2002 National Championship for Division I-AA

-The 2009 Hilltopper Media Guide has loads of Freshmen listed on the roster and as a friend said, it was like playing a high school football team.

-The Vols let loose their offensive aggression from last season. It was a coughing up or purging of points that were not to be had during the 2008 campaign. Let's just hope the Vols can "throw up" some more points along the way ;)

------------------

Up next, the Brown Bears of UCLA Sat 9/12 at 3:30pm Neyland time on ESPN. That's what a Bruin is...a brown bear. They have a new freshman "Prince" that struggled? (18 for 45 with 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions) in his college debut at the Rose Bowl against San Diego State before his team pulled away in the 2nd half winning 33-14. From here:

"The Aztecs scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and got seven first downs and 161 yards in the first quarter. They managed only 4 first downs and 116 yards total offense after that."

So the Vols need to jump on UCLA in the 1st quater and keep puttin' the hurtin' on the Brown Bears. Our defense should hopefully stop their 116th ranked offense (from last year's statistics) with Berry and the boys. I look for another win this coming Saturday!

GO VOLS!!!

Injuries

2009-07-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

Injuries

Leslie Ratliffe & Spring Report

2009-04-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

First, condolences to the family of Leslie Ratliffe who died way too soon. Read about that here.

Next, I'm lazy so read here, here, here and here for a round up of the Spring.

See you in August or there abouts.

The Darkest Hour

2008-11-10T13:22:00.001-08:00

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

2008-09-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

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'!

2008-09-09T20:34:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-08-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-06-17T15:20:00.001-07:00

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.

2008-05-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

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!

Signing off for the '07 season

2007-10-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

Forgive me that I'm a little late, but I've come to the realization that the Vols don't have a good football team this year. 59 pts and 554 yds given up at Florida and 41 pts and 514 yds given up at Alabama. These two teams are our two biggest rivals.

If ya want to know anything about the football the Vols have played or will continue to try to play, talk to me in person because I'm signing off the blog for this year.

Thanks for reading.

Stats don't lie

2007-10-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

Key stats to consider for the Tennessee @ Alabama game this weekend:

UT is 1st in the SEC in passing offense; UA is 9th in the SEC in pass defense
UA’s RB Terry Grant is 9th in SEC in rushing
UA’s QB Wilson is 9th in the SEC in pass efficiency behind Ainge who is 3rd
UA’s WR DJ Hall is 5th in the SEC in receiving
UA’s R. Johnson is tied for the lead in the SEC with 4 int’s
UA’s Arenas is 2nd in the SEC in Punt Return average
UA’s R. Johnson is 11th in the SEC in tackles
UA’s Gilberry is 6th in the SEC in sacks and 2nd in the SEC in tackles for loss

I just want to pull his trunk!

2007-10-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

Alabama's football team entrance on to the field in 1930 against Ole Miss sounded like elephants coming according to a fan, hence the mascot Big Al.

Alabama tied Auburn in some red colored mud in 1907, hence Crimson Tide.

I think I'll call them the Crimson Mud. Sounds better and is more accurate.

The etymology of the word "crimson" is "of or belonging to the kermes" which are shield-louse insects from which a deep red dye was obtained. Alabama's color comes from shield-louse insects. That's just gross!

Third Saturday In October

2007-10-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Couldn't agree more with this guy.

Can't wait to make the General proud this weekend! Almost time for Smokey to take another bite out of that houndstooth hat.

Go to hell, 'Bama!

The SEC East as of 10/9/07

2007-10-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

So I was thinking after this Georgia win that UT is now back in a position to control their own destiny in the SEC East. A lot of this has to do with the SEC schedule this year.

FLORIDA
From going up against "Florida point of view": Florida had a tough schedule having to play at LSU and Auburn in the Swamp. They also escaped at Ole Miss. If we compare the 3 SEC West teams UT has to play (at MSU, at AL and AR at home) I would say that at MSU this weekend compares to Florida's win at Ole Miss and for UT this is a must win. I would say that UT at Alabama is as tough if not tougher than Auburn at Florida (and Florida surprisingly lost) and that UT vs Arkansas at home is easier than Florida at LSU (which Florida also lost). Florida gets screwed this year with having to play a tougher SEC West schedule (2 of 3 on the road) especially having to play at #1/#2 LSU while UT gets a battered Arkansas at home. For the SEC East teams...Florida has to play at USC and at Kentucky and vs Georgia on neutral ground (let's leave Vandy as a win for both UT and Florida). Tennessee already beat Georgia (which Florida should win as well) and will play at Kentucky as does Florida. Tennessee will have to match Florida's outcomes at Kentucky and at USC in order to keep ahead of pace with Florida. But where Florida gets screwed due to the schedule is having to play at USC whereas UT plays USC at home.

USC
From going up against "USC point of view": Tennessee gets USC at Knoxville this year. And that is a good thing because as of now, USC leads the SEC EAST and the only other team that is really capable of beating USC is Florida (although some would say at Arkansas is a tough road win). Tennessee must beat Kentucky and MSU as USC has already done both of these. After UT beats MSU and Alabama, get ready for the game vs USC at Knoxville to determine the SEC East champion on October 27th!

KENTUCKY
From going up against "Kentucky point of view": Kentucky already has one loss to an SEC East opponent and still plays LSU and Florida at home and at Georgia. Hopefully Kentucky will lose at least another one of these games (maybe 2 or all 3) and then to Tennessee at the end of the season so we don't have to worry about them.

Bottom line is that Tennessee is in great shape to make a serious run for the SEC EAST after having suffered such a horrible loss at Florida.

Another round of Bulldogs!!!

2007-10-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

After polishing off one of the most hated breed of dogs last week from Georgia, the Vols get another round of those filthy animals. This time we focus on the ones from Mississippi. Last time we faced them in '03 at Neyland this is what it looked like.

We ran up 59pts on top of their mercy given 21pts. This Saturday the Vols will accomplish something long over due this season and that is a road win! Go Vols!

How The Vols Beat The Georgia Bulldogs 10/6/07

2007-10-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

1^st Quarter

-UT KO: endzone, ball goes to 20yd line. Nice having Colquitt back for KO’s!
-1^st10: DT Bolden fights off UGA OL and makes a tackle for a 2yd gain
-2^nd8: Incomp pass; 1v1 coverage by Johnson who was with his man stride for stride
-3^rd:8 Incomp pass; 1v1 coverage by Heffney who was with his man stride for stride
-4^th8: Good UGA punt goes 59 yds to the UT 19 yd line; Heffney just couldn’t get to it to stop the roll

-1^st10: A. Foster gains 4 yds; would have gained more but OL R. Foster lets his linebacker go and the safety comes up to finish off A. Foster
-2^nd6: 4yd pass by Ainge to A. Foster who makes a good move; line protected well
-3^rd2: pitch to A. Foster who out runs UGA’s #38 for 7yds and a 1^st down
-1^st10: Pulling guard Scott and fullback make nice blocks and A. Foster out runs middle linebacker and puts a move on UGA’s #33 to pick up 11yds and a 1^st down
-1^st10: RT DT blows by LOT Eric Young and puts pressure on Ainge who throws over the top to A. Foster who out runs LB#12 for 11yds and a 1^st down
-1^st10: O-Line gets stood up in the middle and Coker makes a heck of a 2yd gain on his own by breaking numerous tackles
-2^nd8: OL gets a good push and Coker goes up the middle for a 4yd gain
-3^rd4: Ainge gets good protection and gets a comp pass to Taylor who ran a curl route behind the LB’s in GA’s zone; UGA is offsides but UT declines due to the 6yd pass play
-1^st10: 2yd loss on a run play by Coker; Good call by GA’s defensive coordinator as we didn’t have anybody to block the blitzing safety #5
-2^nd12: offsides UGA
-2^nd7: Middle gets bottled up and Coker has great vision to bounce outside and he out runs UGA’s #52 middle LB and picks up a nice 14yd 1^st down; Ainge changed the play at the line
-1^st10: run by Coker up the middle for a 7yd gain; if UT’s #75 RG Parker had held his block on LB#33 Coker would have had only UGA’s safety #5 to beat for a TD…
-2^nd3: WOW! Every UT lineman, receiver, back gets a block and A. Foster puts a move on the safety and walks into the endzone on a 9yd carry.
DRIVE= 10 running plays and 3 pass plays for 81yds and 5:09 off the clock

UGA 0 - UT 7

-UT KO: Colquitt gets it to the 5yd line and only an 18yd return to UGA’s 23yd line (usually teams can expect ~20yds on KO returns so holding UGA to 18 is good)
-1^st10: R-DT Dan Williams (while getting blocked) makes a heck of an effort to slow down UGA’s RB Brown and Heffney comes up to give Brown only a 3yd gain
-2^nd7: UT’s LB McCoy tackles Brown for a 5yd gain
-3^rd2: UGA QB Stafford from shotgun and a 3step drop hits a hitch route to UGA’s receiver for 8 yds and a 1^st Down right in front of safety #14 Eric Berry
-1^st10: UT LB Karl comes in blitzing on a run play and stops UGA’s RB for a 2 yd gain
-2^nd8: UT L-DE X. Mitchell and LB McCoy stop UGA RB for no yds
-3^rd8: Left corner blitz forces UGA QB Stafford to throw quickly to UGA’s WR on a slant but Karl had it covered and receiver can’t make the catch
-4^th8: Nice UGA punt inside UT’s own 10yd line; Heffney did the right thing and let the ball go over his head since he was at the 11yd line…just unlucky for UT.

-1^st10: ~11yd pass play to Rogers; Ainge had good protection
-1^st10: ~18yd pass on a roll out by Ainge comp to Taylor
-1^st10: UT’s #78 RT R. Foster completely misses blocking #52 UGA LB who himself misses tackling A. Foster, but UT’s #79 C. Scott lets his DT#56 go and #56 tackles A. Foster for a 2 yd gain
-2^nd8: Draw play to A. Foster but #75 A. Parker never blocks UGA’s LB #33 who stops A. Foster for a 3yd gain
-3^rd5: Ainge has plenty of protection but UGA’s DB Miller makes a heck of a pass break up for an incomplete pass intended for Taylor over the middle on a crossing route
-4^th5: Colquitt punt to UGA’s 24 yd line out of bounds; no chance for a return…that’s good!

-1^st10: Penalty on UGA half the distance to goal for chop blocking
-1^st22: UT LB’s Karl and Mayo trip up UGA’s RB Brown for a 4yd gain
-2^nd18: UT nickel back Kemp comes off press man on a blitz and combines with UT DT Bolden and DT Wes Brown for a tackle on UGA’s QB on a scramble for no yds
-3^rd18: Draw play to UGA RB and UT’s LB Mayo makes a stop for a 4yd gain
-4^th14: Heffney stops the ball from rolling and UT gets it at their own 43yd line

-1^st10: UT’s FB C. Brown misses a block and UT’s RG #65 McClendon misses a block and Coker only gets a 1yd gain

End of 1^st Quarter Score = UGA 0 - UT 7

My 1^st Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: 3 stops with a 3 and out and a 6 and out and a 3 and out (with help from a chop block penalty by UGA). For the most part UT’s LB’s and D-Linemen are making plays to keep our inexperienced secondary from having to do too much…we don’t look like the #110 ranked defense!

Offensive evaluation: 1^st drive UT pretty much ran the ball right over them by B+ blocking from the O-Line and and basically out running UGA’s LB’s. 2^nd drive UT has problems run blocking and UGA makes a great pass break up on a 3^rd down to stop the drive. 3^rd drive with only 1 play (a run) shows UT’s inconsistency in run blocking.

2^nd Quarter

-2^nd9: Former high school QB and now UT WR Taylor motions and gets the ball on a reverse but then Taylor throws it to Coker 56yds for a TD; great play call and this catches UGA’s MLB off guard as he is supposed to be responsible for Coker out of the backfield; biggest kudos goes out to Ainge who “kind of” blocks UGA’s DE just enough to give Taylor time to throw before getting hit
UGA 0 - UT 14

-UT KO: Kicked to the 2yd line and returned up to 21yd line; no more than a 19yd return is good!
-1^st10: Run by #24 and UT has 8 men in the box which helps as LB McCoy and DT Mapu fight off blocks for a 3yd gain
-2^nd7: Pass to flat to WR who makes a move as #5 McCoy and #13 Vinson tackle air…lucky for UT DT Bolden is hustling and finishes off the play for only a 1 yd gain
-3^rd6: UT’s R-DE puts pressure on QB Stafford who throws behind receiver for incomp pass as UT was in a underneath zone with the LB’s
-4^th6: #35 Elix Wilson comes in from 2^nd from the right side of the line and lays out to block punt as UGA recovers at their own 18yd line…but Wilson takes his helmet off after the play to celebrate and costs UT 15yds. Another unreadable number player for UT gets 15yds for a late hit. So a blocked punt at UGA’s 18yd line goes to UGA’s 48yd line due to 2 UT players acting like idiots.

-1^st10: UT’s #65 McClendon whiffs on a block for LB #35 and #35 makes the tackle on a left side pitch to Hardesty for a 3 yd gain
-2^nd7: UT’s LT #54 Young misses LB #35 and #35 makes the tackle up the middle on Hardesty for a 4 yd gain
-3^rd3: UGA is in man to man and L-DT gets a good legal jump on the ball and forces Hardesty to have to help pass block; Briscoe who is inside slot receiver in a trips formation runs an out route and makes a great 8 yd reception for a first down…but UT’s LT Vladimir Richard forgets that this is a “pass play” and goes 10yds down field to block a UGA LB in pass coverage and this results in a 5yd penalty
-3^rd8: Late safety blitz by UGA and #51 Richard doesn’t pick this up but Ainge still manages to hit Rogers on a seam route up the middle for a 16yd pass play for a first down
-1^st10: Wow! Ainge changes a play at the line and throws a quick 5yd pass to Taylor who was covered in press man but somehow Ainge knew #2 was going to blitz and just threw it right over his head for a 6 yd gain. Would love to have seen Taylor put a move on UGA‘s safety #9 to gain more yds
-2^nd4: all RB’s and OL get blocks and RB Hardesty is 1v1 with UGA’s MLB #35 and runs through him and picks up 11yds before being tripped up by UGA’s weak side corner #2
-1^st10: #28 FB C. Brown misses UGA’s LB #33 who trips up Hardesty for 1yd loss
-2^nd11: protection is good and pass attempt incomp to Taylor who was guarded man to man; but penalty on UGA for 5yds on an offsides call
-2^nd6: all 3 of UGA’s LB’s get blocked and UGA’s safety takes a bad angle and Hardesty bounces in from the middle to the right and walks in untouched for a 10yd rushing TD
UGA 0 - UT 21

-UT KO: #20 Brown 14yd return as UT’s #41 Rogan makes a good open field tackle
-1^st10: UGA OL doesn’t block McCoy who makes the tackle for a 2yd rushing gain
-2^nd8: caught in a bad defense and FB goes unaccounted for on a pass play for 7yds
-3^rd1/2: UGA false start, 5yd penalty
-3^rd 5and1/2: Heffney stays man to man on motion WR and forces receiver out of bounds for 1yd after he catches it
-4^th1: Punt; fair catch at UT’s 35yd line

-1^st10: This is why you don’t play zone in the SEC; #83 WR freshman Moore runs a slow fly route and Ainge throws a quick pass near the sidelines behind the UGA corner in flat coverage and in front of the over the top cover 2 safety for a gain of 34yds
-1^st10: quick 5yd pass to Taylor for a 6yd gain
-2^nd4: UGA’s L-DT makes a heck of an effort while falling down to push A. Foster to the outside right where A. Foster makes #2 DB and #53 LB miss and gains almost 4yds as #33 LB pushes his blocker #75 LG A. Parker out of the way like he was nothing and makes the tackle
-3^rdinches: everyone blocks and middle is stuffed up and A. Foster out runs UGA DB #2 21yds to the corner of the endzone for a TD
UGA 0 - UT 28

-UT KO: Colquitt kicks it out of bounds…bad…UGA gets it at their own 35yd line
-1^st10: Deep skinny post route by UGA #1 WR who drops a tough catch due to #91 Ayers’ spin move and pass rush on QB Stafford
-2^nd10: McCoy makes tackle on RB #24 5yds down field; McCoy was unblocked on this right toss play
-3^rd5: UT’s DL pass rush sacks QB Stafford; Mapu and Ayers get credit for a 7yd loss
-4^th12: Punt; I disagree with the fair catch by Heffney at the UT’s own 15yd line being that he had plenty of room to catch and run

-1^st10: LT #54 Young just falls down and blocks no one as FB #28 Brown trips over him so Coker has to run around both; meanwhile the R LB #33 guesses wrong gap and goes unblocked but safety creeping up finally makes the stop for a 2yd gain; bad blocking by #54 Young who is a 2 YR letterman and a Senior!
-2^nd8: quick hitch route to Taylor for a 4 yd pass play
-3^rd4: no blitz and man to man with safety help forces Ainge to throw it away for incomp
-4^th4: Punt out of bounds at UGA’s 32 yd line…excellent punt and no possibility for a return

-1^st10: Karl blitzes and forces QB Stafford to throw it incomp to RB #20
-2^nd10: McCoy fills his gap and stops RB #20 for a 1yd gain
-3^rd9: Screen by UGA confuses UT defense and RB gets lost and makes an 11yd gain before Vinson makes the tackle
-1^st10: Karl and McCoy make the stop on a 4yd run play
-2^nd6: pass play and WR falls and it goes incomp
-3^rd6: UT #35 Wilson makes a heck of a pass breakup on a quick pass to #4 WR
-4^th6: Punt to UT’s 14yd line; not caught by Heffney but downed by UGA

-1^st10: #28 C. Brown can’t hold his block on UGA’s LB #33 and A. Foster gets no gain
-2^nd10: RG (can’t make out #) misses LB #35 and L-DE trips up A. Foster before he is tackled by safety #30

Score at half: UGA 0 – UT 28

My 2^nd Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: Three 3 and outs and a 6 and out…other than the screen play for the one and only first down for UGA, there was very little in the way of offense for UGA and for the most part that’s due to how well the defense played including tackling

Offensive evaluation: 1^st play of the quarter was one for the highlight reel…second drive TD, third drive TD, fourth drive punt and last drive we end the half…a mix of run and pass keeps UGA’s defense off balance and we see that even though there’s some individual work to be done with the OL, we realize that our OL can block enough to get a running game going…Ainge has had plenty of protection and A. Foster had a great quarter running the ball.

3^rd Quarter

-UGA KO: Coker drops the ball before returning it 15yds to the UT 25yd line
-1^st10: UT RG pulls to the right and misses UGA’s safety #2 who stops A. Foster for no gain
-2^nd10: Ainge is tripped up by center’s feet and loses 4 yds
-3^rd14: WR screen to Briscoe who gets tackled by UGA’s #5 who was supposed to be blocked by Taylor…Briscoe only gets 3yds on the play
-4^th11: Nice punt to UGA’s 22yd line and only a 4yd return due to a good open field tackle by #20 McKenzie who is a freshman

-1^st10: UGA’s RG dives and blocks no one and DT Bolden fights off a block and tackles RB #24 who runs into his own man as both McCoy and Mayo finish him off for a 1yd gain
-2^nd9: LB Mayo on the line blitzes but is responsible for the RB who catches a pass…but since UT is in man to man the RB goes untouched until about 20yds and picks up UGA’s third 1^st Down of the game
-1^st10: Mayo is unblocked and tackles RB #24 for a 1yd gain
-2^nd10: No pass rush and QB throws to inside slot receiver #16 on a seam route for 24yds and a first down due to a hole in UT’s zone defense
-1^st10: QB roll out and incomp pass; Vinson was there to cover man to man
-2^nd10: #98 DT Bolden fights off a block and Karl is unblocked and both tackle RB #24 for a 4yd gain
-3^rd6: UT gives up a BIG PLAY (like they did a lot against FL); #85 WR runs a fly route and is guarded man to man by true freshman #13 Vinson who gets pushed down by UGA #85’s left hand and consequently isn’t able to jump up for the ball even though Vinson does get his head around to see the ball arrive; #85 grabs the ball off of Vinson’s head and UGA gets a TD; Vinson gets his wrist hurt on the play…all of this is very bad and unlucky for UT
UGA 7 – UT 28

-UGA KO: smart play by returner because he catches the ball with 1 foot in bounds and 1 foot out of bounds making it a kicked ball out of bounds penalty placing the ball at UT’s 35yd line
-1^st10: Lead FB block on a draw play to TB is drawn up to have FB blocking LB which FB completely misses and TB is supposed to make safety miss which he doesn’t due to the FB missing his block; so safety and LB make the tackle on RB A. Foster for a 2yd gain
-2^nd8: Inside receiver screen to #21 Rogers as UGA is in a zone; Rogers makes UGA #9 miss and gains ~13yds
-1^st10: RG R. Foster doesn’t get to the next level of blocking LB #33 who is clear to tackle A. Foster for a 3 yd gain
-2^nd7: short 1yd out pass to Briscoe
-3^rd6: 5yd penalty for delay of game
-3^rd11: Safety blitz is picked up by FB C. Brown and Ainge throws comp to Taylor on a square in route and picks up 10yds
-4^th1: A. Foster puts a nice move on unblocked #30 LB and gains 5yds on a nice run for a 1^st down
-1^st10: RG misses his block on LB #33 and an unblocked #12 LB also helps #33 to tackle Coker for a loss of 1 yd
-2^nd11: wheel route by #28 C. Brown but Ainge throws incomp but has good protection
-3^rd11: WR #21 Rogers runs a deep in route and beats his man to man DB to the ball and picks up 12yds on a nice pass play
-1^st10: RG & LG both miss their blocks on both UGA’s MLB’s and RT who pulls also misses a block on one of the same MLB’s but neither make the tackle! #9 safety unblocked comes up and hits Coker for no gain
-2^nd10: 3 step drop by Ainge and quick throw over the middle to Rogers who catches the ball in between UGA’s defensive zone for a gain of 8yds
-3^rd2: Misdirection pitch to A. Foster who out runs UGA’s DE and safety for 8yds and gets a first down and a nice block from his WR
-1stGat8: LB #52 unblocked makes the tackle on A. Foster’s run up the middle but offsides on UGA and a 5yd penalty
-1stGat3: UT OL gets a great surge and A. Foster powers his way for 4yds into the endzone over a safety and LB both unblocked
UGA 7 – UT 35

-UT KO: Colquitt into the endzone…ball at 20yd line…great no chance for return
-1^st10: Willingham and M. Johnson do a great job to contain a WR screen for a gain of only 4yds
-2^nd6: TE #86 catches a ball over the middle for a gain of 7yds…UT was in zone and Mayo should have have recognized the TE a bit earlier to have a chance to make a better play on the man/ball even though he still gets the tackle
-1^st10: Slant route against M. Johnson but QB Stafford throws high and incomp
-2^nd10: DT #95 Fisher makes a great play to sniff out the RB middle screen which goes incomp…he almost intercepts the ball
-3^rd10: Good pressure by R-DE #91 Ayers but QB Stafford completes a pass on a deep in route to a WR who is in between Karl and UT safety who are playing zone…play goes for 13yds and a first down
-1^st10: DL doesn’t get a good pass rush as the defense plays zone…Karl almost intercepts a pass as he’s getting back in his pass coverage drop zone…ball goes incomp
-2^nd10: Safety Heffney makes a great read of the QB’s eyes and helps DB #20 who is guarding man to man UGA’s #88 who the pass was intended for
-3^rd10: UGA’s TE #86 pushes his man to man defensive player #23 Kemp out of the way as he was running an over the middle route and catches the ball for 14yds; Heffney misses the tackle low but Berry is there to finish the play…BUT there is a penalty for holding on UGA; UT did rush 5 men on a blitz
-3^rd20: Heffney with man to man on UGA’s WR makes a great pass breakup 30yds down field
-4^th20: Punt into endzone…ball at UT’s 20yd line

-1^st10: LT #79 C. Scott misses #35 LB who tackles Hardesty out of bounds 8yds down field on a running play
-2^nd2: LG and Center get great surge and pulling RT #78 R. Foster clears the way for the RB to get 3yds and a first down

End of 3rd quarter score= UGA 7 – UT 35

My 3rd Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: First drive by UGA sees a bad timing blitz call by Chavis which frees up RB for a big gain and another big pass play due to UT backing off in a zone defense and then the big play for a TD that Vinson gives up in man to man otherwise UT’s DL and LB’s did a great job…UGA goes back to picking on UT’s zone defense in their 2^nd drive and tries a middle screen but it doesn’t work and then UGA gets a penalty for holding that hurts their chances for a first down…defense as a whole made some great reads and stops in both of these 2 drives but got unlucky with the TD pass

Offensive evaluation: Lineman missing a block and Ainge tripping on center’s feet hurts first drive; 2^nd drive is well executed and features a balance of runs by Foster and catches by Rogers to use the clock and march down including a fourth and one conversion and eventually a TD; 2 running plays with great blocking gives UT a first down heading into the 4^th quarter

4th Quarter

-1^st10: RG #65 McClendon misses block on LB #33 who makes the tackle on Hardesty for a 4yd gain
-2^nd6: Safety #30 comes up to make tackle on Hardesty who gains 5yds…good run blocking by all
-3^rd1: Hardesty runs over the 2 MLB’s and #2 safety and picks up 9yds for a 1^st Down
-1^st10: #59 DE blows by #79 Scott and forces Hardesty to run to the outside where unblocked #30 Safety and unblocked #35 MLB make the tackle for no gain
-2^nd10: TE Brown misses block on #35 LB who forces Hardesty to the outside and Hardesty gets tackled by DB #29 and DE #59 for a 3yd gain
-3^rd7: 3yd out complete to Briscoe as UGA only rushed 4 men and was in a man to man coverage…Ainge had no pressure so I’m questioning if there wasn’t another receiver open to give UT a chance for a 1^st down, but I didn’t have a camera angle to see
-4^th4: Punt…fair catch on UGA’s 14yd line…good that there was no return

-1^st10: Karl unblocked and Fisher combine to stop RB #24 from gaining anymore than 2yds but offsides on UT #93 Mitchell gives UGA a 1^st and 5
-1^st5: Mayo splits 2 UGA O-Linemen and tackles RB #24 for a 2yd gain
-2^nd3: UT Zone defense allows #86 TE once again to get between Karl and Safeties to pick up 20yds on a pass over the middle for a 1^st down
-1^st10: 4-3-Cover 2 zone and #86 TE makes a 4yd catch as LCB Willingham makes the tackle
-2^nd6: Roll out by QB but throws out of bounds to a wide open WR #88, UT in zone defense
-3^rd6: Draw play to RB #24…Karl and Mayo get blocked and #93 Mitchell guesses wrong gap on a twist stunt and has to make the tackle down field for a 9yd gain and a 1^st down
-1^st10: QB throws into a nickelback blitz and safety can’t get over the top to cover receiver and completion goes for 11yds and a 1^st down
-1^st10: Nobody blocks #98 Bolden who misses the tackle for a would be 5yd loss and RB runs for 5yds as #33 Heffney and #23 Kemp also miss their tackles
-2^nd5: UGA catches UT in a man to man coverage and runs a WR screen…by the time our defense recognizes it, the WR is down field and picks up 14yds on the play
-1^st10: QB scramble out of pocket and throws to #88 in endzone who just bobbles the ball for an incomplete pass; #14 Berry really needed to get a hand on that ball as he was in good position
-2^nd10: Offsides #99 Mapu for a 5yd penalty
-2^nd5: Mayo gets blocked and #20 McKenzie recognizes run too late and RB gets 6yds and a 1^st down
-1^stGfrom5: stuffed up the middle for a 2yd gain
-2^ndGfrom3: M. Johnson makes a heck of an interception in a man to man coverage but the refs blow the call and even the announces disagree with each other…call goes against UT for pass interference…to me that’s a no call and a great play by by M. Johnson
-1^stGfrom2: Mayo comes flying through the line and makes a stop on the RB #24 for no gain
-2^ndGfrom2: Freshman #14 Berry gets confused and doesn’t run with the TE man to man (who he’s responsible for) and the TE is wide open in the endzone for a 2yd TD catch
UGA 14 - UT 35

-UGA KO: Lazy kick which UT’s #88 Stucker recovers and falls on the ball nicely to secure possession
-1^st10: Front 7 of UGA get blocked and safety #9 and #30 make the tackle on Hardesty for a 7yd gain
-2^nd3: #75 A. Parker misses block on MLB #33 who tackles Hardesty for a 5yd gain and a 1^st down
-1^st10: #80 TE lets his man go and #33 MLB flys up into the line and races over to stop Hardesty for no gain
-2^nd10: UGA #51 and #5 both bat down Ainge’s quick throw into the blitz for an incomp pass
-3^rd10: RB screen is sniffed out by UGA’s defense and Ainge throws it away
-4^th10: Punt to UGA 5yd line and return goes 6yds before #94 W. Brown makes a tackle while being blocked

-1^st10: UGA goes for a bomb but #33 Heffney gets an int

-1^st10: Crompton comes in and hands off to Hardesty who gets tackled by TE #80’s Cottom’s man for a gain of only 2yds
-2^nd8: #73 Frogg and #66 Sullins (2^nd String OL) can’t block #33 MLB and DT #51 who stop Hardesty for no gain
-3^rd8: Great WR block by #83 Moore on #33 MLB! Pulling LG #51 Richard seals off UGA’s DE so #87 WR Hancock can get 6yds before being tackled by safety #9 on a WR run play
-4^th2: Punt goes out of bounds at UGA 11yd line…no return is good

-1^st10: UGA’s #82 drops a WR screen pass
-2^nd10: #5 McCoy avoids O-Lineman’s cut block and makes the tackle on RB draw play for 5yds
-3^rd5: Mayo makes another tackle 5yds down the field and game is over

Final Score = UGA 14 - UT 35

My 4th Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: First drive by UGA sees UT’s zone defense get picked apart a bit and some nice play calls to put UT in some tough positions…the poorly called pass interference penalty took a great play away from Johnson who took away a UGA TD on a great int. Heffney makes a great read on a long pass play for an int on the 2^nd drive and UGA runs out the clock on the 3^rd drive…also to note but it really didn’t matter #20 RB Brown for UGA didn’t play the 2^nd half due to some sort of injury

Offensive evaluation: bad run blocking and some good recognition defense by UGA keeps UT from really gaining yards to keep possession and run the clock out

Cha Cha Cha Changes!!!

2007-10-02T09:09:00.001-07:00

Brent Vinson (true freshman) will start at cornerback for the Georgia game after being recruited as a wide receiver. He'll split time with DeAngelo Willingham (jc transfer).

Colquitt might resume kick off duties if his quad muscle passes team doc tests.

SEC East, here we come!

2007-10-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

I love it how the only SEC East teams not ranked in the top 25 of college football are the Tennessee teams. That's about to change this Saturday. I hate ranking teams this early but since "they" do it, then I guess we'll re-enter this coming Sunday.

I was also glad to see that at least 15 minutes of a practice was spent on tackling. I think we need more than 15 minutes a practice on tackling, but then again I don't get paid like Fulmer to lose to Meyer. We especially need to tackle this guy.

It's Monday night and I'm already talking about the Georgia game this Saturday. The orange is always flowing. Go Vols and beat the Dawgs!

Mr. Higgins, you could be crying wolf...

2007-09-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

After reading this read my response:

Love the sensationalism with the 82 year old lady. Nice piece of journalism ;) She was 10 years old before she started cheering for the Vols? I was 8 years old when started...I remember watching the Vols beat the 'Caines in the '86 Sugar Bowl.

After the '88 season Tennessee won the SEC in '89 and '90 and played in Jan 1st bowl games from '89-'92 until Majors departed. I consider this "stagnant" but "stagnant" at winning!
Fulmer got his chance to shine when Majors suffered some heart problems and the AD liked what he saw especially after when Majors came back and was responsible for losing 3 in a row...that's how Fulmer came into his head coaching position.

As far as not showing a display of offense in big games since the Michigan Citrus Bowl...what about the Cotton Bowl Jan 1st '05 against Texas A&M 38-7 win? Cal at UT 35-18 win and the 51-33 at Georgia win last season? There's some offense in those 3 games, right?

If we compare the '88 season to the '05 season (Tennessee's last 2 season with a losing record) coming off the '88 season the Vols won back to back SEC championships and bowl games. Coming off the '05 season, Tennessee went 9-4 and lost in a bowl game and ?-?...

Your other points are valid as far as Fulmer not getting it done and I would welcome suggestions from anyone on how the Vols football program could get back to winning SEC Championships and competing for a National Title.

I do however question the timing of your article in that there's a lot of this season left to be played. If the Vols can get back on track this season and win the SEC East (Vols run the SEC table and Gators lose 2 out of 4 to current ranked SEC opponents on their away schedule) and have a shot at beating LSU in the championship game, I will be the first to point out that although your journalism in this article is mostly commendable, it turned out to be more like "crying wolf" when you say Fulmer should go.

The one thing I've learned after this article is that you do have guts Mr. Higgins and I like that :)

How the Vols lost to the Gators 9/15/07

2007-09-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

Vols at Gators 3:30pm EDT on CBS

1^st Quarter FACTS

-Good 29 yard KO return by Coker
-3 and out. Austin Rogers drops an easy first down pick up on 3^rd down
-Fla Punt return for TD...did the Vols not learn or receive adequate coaching after the punt return for a TD in the Cal game?
UT 0 – FL 7

-Nice 74yd KO return for TD…Coker was hit by 3 guys and didn't go down
-Foster 1 yd gain…was tackled by a Fla DT
-Nice 7 yd reception by Rogers
-Foster 1 yd gain but just short of 1^st down
-Vols bring in Crompton on 4^th down and get Fla to jump with a cadence change…1^st down
-1^st and 10: Ainge goes incomp…our RB misses a DT stunting in on Ainge and he released it sooner than he wanted to a receiver who was 1v1 with a safety in the corner of the end zone
-2^nd and 10: Ainge had time and threw high over the middle to a covered receiver
-3^rd and 10: Ainge forces a ball and gets intercepted

-3 running plays for Tebow with highlight of Berry coming up hard to tackle Tebow on 3^rd down…Fla goes 3 and out and has to punt
-Fair catch gets us at our own 49 yd line

-Vols get it 3^rd and short and Foster carries for no gain due to a Fla 91 DE who throws our lineman out of the way like he was nothing
-punt goes for touchback

-Fla 2^nd and 20 due to holding call…this helps us stop them on another 3 and out
-punt gives us the ball at Fla 49

-1^st down Coker goes 5 yds
-2^nd down Coker gets 7 yds loss due to Fla's LB 19 who forced the play to DE 91 who made the stop…no OL blocking for us!
-3 passes for 39 yds gets us to 2^nd and 2 from Fla 12…it included a 3^rd and 12 conversion
-2^nd down and 2: R Fla DT fights off 2 of our linemen and L DE closes down to give Coker a 1 yd gain
-3^rd and 1 and Vols choose to pass??? Ainge incomp due to his decision to throw to the corner for a TD rather than throw to a wide open Rogers standing 2 yds ahead of the first down marker on the far sidelines
-Lincoln 28 yd field goal
UT 3 – FL 7

-KO return for 30 yds (too many!)…and now for some BAD defense…
-1^st 10: A reverse, 3 missed tackles and Fla gets a 10 yd gain
-1^st 10: Ingram gets in between nickel back and our safety Heffney and Tebow makes a nice throw for a 25 yd pick up
-1^st 10: Tebow to Cooper for 30 yd TD due to Berry not opening up his hips and running with Cooper…Berry's inexperience showed here and it didn't help that our safety (who is supposed to help Berry) got frozen due to the initial run action of Tebow
UT 3 – FL 14

-KO return for 10 yds
-Taylor made a good 1^st down reception for 6yds
-LG Parker (who hasn't done a good job on run blocking thus far) gets a 5 yd penalty for procedure
-Fla's strong side LB (who handles our lead RB blocker) and Fla's right DT scraping down the line stop Coker for only a 2 yd gain

End of 1st quarter score= UT 3 – FL 14

My 1^st Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: Before Florida's 3 play 65 yard passing drive for their 1^st offensive TD, Tennessee defense had allowed no 1^st downs and 6 yds passing and 7 yds rushing…

Offensive evaluation: 7 yds rushing on 9 attempts is pathetic! 11 attempts with 61 passing yds gained on 7 completions with 1 int…not establishing the running game early killed our offensive hopes…1 for 5 on 3^rd downs in this 1^st quarter

2^nd Quarter FACTS

-Another nice 3^rd down conversion completed to Taylor for 11 yds
-32 yd pick up by Rogers on a crossing route…Fla DB slips and our OL protects to give Ainge time
-Left DE for Fla runs right passed our Right Tackle and our Center does nothing to stop Fla's middle linebacker from holding Coker to a modest 4 yd "left handed handoff" draw play
-nobody blocks Fla's linebacker 51 and he solo tackles Foster for no gain on 2^nd down
-penalty given on 3^rd and 6 due to 6 men on line…this is crap! After seeing it on replay, SEC officials missed this call…Foster our RT was even with everyone else…so 3^rd and 10 and we take a time out and then run a play and only get 7 yds to Briscoe on a pass
-Vols are now forced to go for it on 4^th and 3 and Taylor gets 11 yds on a deep out route…Ainge had plenty of time
-1^st and 10 and quick pass to Coker who then runs for 11 yds
-1^st and goal from the 8 yd line: Foster runs for 1 yd…our TE and RG are unsuccessful at blocking Fla's two middle LB's; our Center falls down and let's Fla's right DT stunt untouched to grab and slow down Foster before he's eventually tackled by their two middle LB's
-2^nd and goal from the 7 yd line: Vols Hancock gets 2 yds on a wide receiver in route after getting tripped up by a Fla linebacker and finished off by Vols lineman, Parker.
-3^rd and goal from the 5 yd line: bad throw by Ainge (had plenty of time) to Foster for incomplete…Vols are now 1 for 7 on 3^rd down conversions
-Lincoln 22yd Field Goal…like the Cal game we see our inability to score TD's when we have 1^st and goal
UT 6 – FL 14

-KO return for 40 yds (too many!)…and now for some more BAD defense…
-Tebow goes 1 for 2 passing underhanded (McCoy hits Tebow's arm for the incomplete pass) for 7yds and Fla goes for 56 yds on 7 running plays and 1 rushing TD and chews up 4min 15secs…nice job by our defense who for some reason looked nothing like they did on those first two Fla 3 and outs in the 1^st quarter…killer play was 3^rd and 6 and Tebow was falling down and threw the ball underhanded to Moore to pick up the 1^st down…
UT 6 – FL 21

-KO is a touchback
-1^st and 10 : 4 yd rush by Foster…nice blocking by everyone but Tenn's FB Brown who lets his linebacker get away to tackle Foster with help from the weak side Fla Cornerback
-2^nd and 6: we try a reverse? It gets blown up by their left DE who stays at home and gives Vinson a 9 yd loss
-3^rd and 15: Ainge gives up down field and passed to Brown for 5 yds and we have to punt…Tenn is now 1 for 8 on 3^rd down conversions
-Punt return for 9 yds but Fla gets a 15 yd personal foul penalty

-Fla chews up 2min 39secs and gets three big plays: first one is on a 2^nd a 4 play where they get 16 yds on a pass play to Murphy, second is a Fayson 28 yd run and the last one is the 20 yd catch by Ingram for a TD…pathetic defense
UT 6 – FL 28

-KO return for 30 yds by Coker
-Vols then unleash the 2 min offense with 1min 25 sec to go in the half and don't attempt a run…Vols pick up two third down conversions (one including a TD) to go now 3 for 10 on 3^rd down conversions…Vols leave 25 secs on the clock
UT 13 – FL 28

-no return on KO
-Fla's Moore gets 3 yds and then it's half time

Score at half: UT 13 – FL 28

My 2^nd Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: none…we sucked it up!

Offensive evaluation: not being able block up front to run the ball forced us to pass…we got a Field Goal instead of a TD and had a nice drive in our 2 min offense to pick up a TD…that's it.

3^rd Quarter FACTS

-KO return Vols are offsides and give them a 1^st and 5 at their 40 yd line off a 30 yd return
-Fla chews up the Vols defense for 6 min 13 secs and gets all the way down to the Tenn 16 yd line and then Tebow throws an int to Berry who runs 96yds for a TD
UT 20 – FL 28

-KO return goes for 10 yds
-Fla chew up 3 min 12 sec before they have to punt
-Fair catch at the Vols 13 yd line with 5:18 left in the 3^rd quarter

-1^st and 10 at the Tenn 13: Tennessee's first offensive play in the 2^nd half results in Foster fumbling (due to the left handed handoff) and Fla's Doe runs it 18 yds for a TD
UT 20 – FL 35

-KO return sees Coker running 31 yds to the Tenn 46 and fumbles but Creer recovers at the Tenn 40 yd line
-So after a big turnover for a TD by Florida, Tennessee does this:
-1^st and 10: Foster runs for 4 yd gain
-2^nd and 6: False start by Vols Cannon
-2^nd and 11: Rogers 8 yd reception
-3^rd and 3: Doe who just returned the fumble for a TD shows his class by wrapping his left hand around Taylor before the ball arrives and causes Taylor not to make the completion that would have been a first down…SEC officials missed the call and Gary Danielson the announcer for CBS says they missed the call…Vols are now 3 for 11 on 3^rd down conversions and Vols are forced to punt
-Punt is dropped by Fla's James but is recovered by Fla's Pierre-Louis at Fla's 1yd line

-Very next play Fla goes 49 yds with a 1v1 pass play to Fla's Harvin over Vols CB Marsalous Johnson to get to the 50 yd line

-The next highlight on this drive is a 4^th down and 2 conversion by Fla via Tebow's pass to David Nelson for 14 yds and a first down…end of 3^rd Quarter

My 3^rd Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: 1^st drive by Fla is horrible by Vols defense but saved by Berry's 96 yd int for a TD (Fla's Cooper runs a bad route and Berry jumps it); 2^nd drive Vols force Fla to punt and that is good!; on Fla's 3^rd drive the Vols get Fla backed up to their own 1 yd line to start and then let Fla march all the way down to the Tenn 18 yd line to end the 3^rd quarter…that is bad!

Offensive evaluation: 1 play gives Fla a fumble return for TD; false start on Cannon and not getting a pass interference call hurts the Vols chance to keep their 2^nd drive alive

4^th Quarter FACTS

-First play of this quarter results in Fla's Harvin reverse for a 19 yd TD
UT 20 – FL 42

-KO return by Coker 16 yds to Tenn 25
-Vols start by delay of game and false start and
- 1^st and 20: Foster rushes for 6 yds
-2^nd and 14: Rogers gets 17 yds on a pass play
-Drive continues with nothing but passes and Vols don't convert a 3^rd and 7 nor a 4^th and 7 at Fla's 47 yd line…Vols are now 3 for 12 (25%) on 3^rd down
conversions and 1 for 2 (50%) on 4^th down conversions
-from Fla's 47 yd line Fla's Harvin gets a 48 yd pass play to the Tenn 5 yd line on a miraculous catch over Vols true freshman DeAngelo Willingham
-Tebow runs it in from 5 yds out
(3 plays thus far in the 4^th quarter have resulted in 2 TD's for Fla)
UT 20 – FL 49

-KO return by Creer for 17 yds to the Tenn 24 yd line
-3 and out for Vols…Vols are now 3 for 13 (23%) on 3^rd down conversions
-Punt is downed at Fla's 26 yd line

-Fla's drive results in a 4^th and inches conversion by a Tebow run and a big 45 yd pass play to Murphy (over freshman Berry who still hasn't learned to open his hips and run with the receiver…he just backs up and jumps backwards for the ball); the Murphy pass play gets Fla to the Tenn 19…Vols defense holds Fla to field goal
UT 20 – FL 52

-KO return by Creer for 5 yds to the Tenn 19 yd line
-Crompton comes in and throws an int; Vols end up 4 for 15 (26.6%) on 3^rd down conversions; Fla converts on offense for another TD…Vols get it back on the KO and run 2 plays and game ends

Final score: UT 20 – FL 59

Final thoughts:

Defense evaluation: horrible…299 yds passing and 255 rushing for 554 total yards given up

Offensive evaluation: pass protection is good enough to give Ainge time to throw as he didn't get rushed that much or sacked at all and Vols get 261 yds passing; run blocking was horrible and gives the Vols 37 yds rushing; Vols had a total of 298 yds offense and a total of 13 points earned by offensive production 7 of which were made during a hurry up 2min style offense at the end of the 1st half

Vols had 3 TO's (1 Fla fumble return for TD) and Fla had 1 TO (int by Berry for TD)