ON MY ALLEGED MIND (11-15-21)
DAWGS ARE DAMN GOOD: Georgia came into the game considered the best team in America by a wide margin and they are as good as advertised. Their defense gives up yards between the 20s but scoring on them is another issue all-together. The Dawgs offense was solidly efficient with almost 500 yards, three TDs in four trips to the red zone, 14 points off two Tennessee turnovers with zero giveaways of their own. Their defense had six sacks and constantly pressured Hendon Hooker into rushed throws and questionable decisions while the much-maligned Stetson Bennett delivered time and again even with defenders in his face and around his legs. RB James Cook was a one-man wrecking crew averaging 10.4 ypc with 2 TDs rushing and 1 receiving. The Dawgs are damn good. Maybe good enough to end their 40 + year National Championship drought good.
STILL A LONG WAY TO GO…BUT IT’S A START: In the course of what I consider a solid start for Josh Heupel and his thin Vol roster some things remain the same. The Vols lost to hated rivals Florida, Alabama and Georgia by 24, 28 and 24 points respectively and also dropped winnable games versus Pitt and Ole Miss. They beat Missouri, South Carolina and restored order with Kentucky but Jeremy Pruitt beat each of those teams two of his three years on campus. So, what have we gained? A great deal in my opinion. We have a true identity as a team with an offensive approach that other teams actually need to scheme against. We also have a Head Coach that exhibits the qualities that give him an opportunity to stand the test of time that his predecessors didn’t possess; a true expertise; respect of his staff; and emotional maturity. Obviously, he’ll have to prove he can recruit and that his offense is as productive against the league’s best. Something tells me the wait will be easier than recent vigils.
I will admit I battle against measuring current Tennessee teams versus how I remember us being and want us to be immediately again. If I’m intellectually honest we’re nowhere close and it will take a while to be what we once were. We’re a generation removed from being the hot brand in the league with our choice of stars from all over the southeast and beyond. I have to constantly remind myself to be patient. Early returns suggest I can do so with Heupel at the helm. He’s genuine, talented, personable and mature enough to make the wait somewhat palatable. I don’t believe I will quickly deem him incompetent as I did with Derek Dooley and Jeremy Pruitt nor unlikable and counterfeit enough to want to see him jettisoned like Butch Jones. Think I’ll just hang in and hope.
SAD FACTS:
HENDON’S HUMAN: Hendon Hooker has been the brightest of bright spots in Josh Heupel’s first -and in my opinion pleasantly surprising- season as the Vols Head Coach. He stepped into a cavernous leadership and performance void at the most important position created by Jarrett Guarantano and the previous two coaching staffs and extended by Joe Milton and has proved to be far more than the most optimistic Vol fan could have hoped for. Saturday against the best defense to grace Neyland Stadium in two decades he looked rather mortal. He missed a wide-open Velus Jones on the Vols first series but overcame that mishap to lead his only TD drive of the contest. After that his game devolved into sailing throws, poor ball security, and mystifying decisions. He threw a costly interception, lost a fumble, threw balls out of play and was operating with an accelerated clock in his head. Hooker remains the Vols most pleasant surprise of the season. Saturday just happened to be one of those gag gift outings that every QB in this league is sure to have occasionally.
SHALLOW POCKET EXPLOITED: I’ve been perplexed all season of the shallow pocket that Heupel and staff employ and I believe Georgia’s defense exploited Saturday. I’m sure there’s an explanation that exceeds my football acumen but I’ll be danged if I know what it could be. Any push by the defensive front seems to place both opponent’s defensive tackles AND our knocked back offensive linemen right in Hooker’s grill. It just seems to me there’s frequent traffic and frenzy surrounding Hooker that two extra yards could alleviate.
CEDRIC’S A STUD: Raise your hand if you thought Cedric Tillman would be not only the Vols best receiver but among the top wideouts in the SEC. That’s what I thought. Tillman has become a physical force for the Vols and a good bet to win most any type faceoff with the DBs charged with checking him. Tillman was targeted 13 times responding with 10 catches for 200 yards -79 of which were after contact- and a TD.
INJURY FAKING UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES: The onslaught of faked injuries to slow up-tempo offenses and rest/replace defenders not only has college football fans irate and impatient but judgmental as well. Naturally, every time a defender can’t get to his feet during a drive, he is now deemed to be eligible for an Oscar. I believe Georgia displayed their theatrical skills on several occasions but not as regularly as most of my fellow Vol fans accused them of. Jordan Davis went down early
“Boooooooooo” but a stud like that doesn’t stay out the game for an extended period if not really dinged up. A couple of other Dawg defenders were Dawg-cussed after staying on the ground who were obviously racked during the play. I doubt any of their detractors could take a shot to the bean bag and continue drinking beer let alone play football. I don’t blame fans for being cynical. There’s so much of it illegitimately occurring it’s hard not to have a high level of skepticism.
BITS AND PIECES:
-I love Jabari Small’s effort and moxie but without Tiyon Evans the Vols simply lack an SEC-level, high-volume RB
-Heupel and staff used the WR screen very effectively as a substitute for a running game against the Dawgs stout defense.
-I thought our offensive line acquitted themselves quite well in the first half. The offensive issues for the first two quarters were more about errant throws than lack of opportunity. The second half they were whipped regularly.
-I don’t know what we were attempting to do on the 4th-down, opposite-hand rollout pass play after passing up a FG attempt in the 3rd Quarter but let’s can whatever that was supposed to be. It was doomed to failure long before Hendon launched a Joe-Milton like projectile into the hands of whoever was next to be recognized during a stoppage of play.
-Speaking of Milton, it was good to see him hit a deep ball and throw a TD to Tillman. I don’t want to see him play meaningful minutes but I’m glad the young man found a little success.
-I was glad to see Heupel remove Hooker when he did. He’s too valuable for the remainder of the season -and hopefully next- to take a chance on injury when the game is long-since decided.
-Velus Jones Jr had a nice game with 8 catches and a TD.
-Jeremy Banks once again led the Vols in tackles with 15
-Roman Harrison was noticeable in being around the ball early in the game.
-Matthew Butler and Omari Thomas had back-to-back, bull-rush, sack and tfl respectively that were both impressive.
NEXT TIME: Taking a short break. No November non-conference game blogging for me. I’ll be back for a Vandy preview in a couple of weeks.
CLOSING COMMENT: Let’s close this out the way we’re supposed to with couple of knockouts.
