Vols – The Report Card You Hide From Your Parents

The Tennessee Vols have a report card you hide from your parents for performance, or lack thereof a performance, during the great Ole Miss fiasco of 2014. To be fair, it is the offensive card that will be hid. The defense will take theirs home with pride.

Tennessee was beaten by Ole Miss in Oxford 31-3. The Vols looked good early on defense as they held Ole Miss to 5 straight three and outs. The Vol defense was absolutely smothering Bo Wallace and the Ole Miss offense, and the defense kept giving the Vol offense the ball in great field position.

It is a common theme of the Book of Tennessee Football 2014. The Tennessee defense plays great no matter who the opponent may be…for three quarters. The offense can not gain any yards or generate any drives.  The defense returns to the field 4 plays after they stop the opposing offense time and time again. That is the longest they will sit out, because there will be the inevitable interceptions thrown as well. The defense does not have the personnel depth needed to keep the all out physical effort on every play up for four quarters, and they tire. The opposing offense scores in the fourth quarter to win the game. See Oklahoma, Florida, and go ahead and flip the chapter to next weeks Alabama game. It will be the same story.

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Butch knows he has to get the players here. He has the worst Offensive Line in the history of Tennessee Football, and quite possibly as bad as any this league has ever seen.  That is not a cut at these guys. They are busting their butts in practice and in games to get better. The problem is that the defensive fronts they are facing have NFL players all along their defensive lines. We don’t have that quality in this line. So it is a mismatch. That is the painful truth.

So it is what it is. Offensive Coordinator Mike Bajakian is in complete denial I assume. He is not doing a good job putting these kids in good situations. He has a freshman Tackle that can’t get out of his stance before the All American Junior and Senior defensive lineman he sees week in and week out are planting Worley in the turf.  He won’t put a tight end to his side. He has a Senior Tackle that has a ACL Tear, but is toughing it out because the team needs him. He can’t move. Again, no tight end help consistently.

I know it is tough on Coach Bajakian to get anything done with what he has. But he has to figure it out. See, I dont think this guy was ready for the SEC. We aren’t playing Akron, Miami of Ohio, or Ball State here. This is big boy football.  In order of toughness in football there is the AFC West, AFC North, NFC West, NFC North, SEC West, and SEC East in order of best divisions and leagues. This isn’t the American Athletic Conference or MAC son. This is the big boy league.

I hope he figures it out. Butch is recruiting beautifully and this team is heading in the right direction. Correction, this defense is heading in the right direction. I refuse to say that at this point of the offense. Again, I know what we have up front, but I am not sold on this run scheme at all. So here are the grades for what they are worth.

Vol fans have a lot to look forward to in the future under Coach Jones ability to recruit. But Coach Jones better start researching successful offenses in the SEC. Central Michigan offensive success does not translate to success in the SEC. Remember, Dooley shut Cincinnati down when the Bearcats came to Knoxville a few years back. Jones was at the helm there. Sobering thought.

Defense – A – I am going to make this simple. The Defense did everything humanly possible to win that game Saturday.  AJ Johnson and Derek Barnett had 10 total tackles each. AJ means everything to this team. He is the leader. Barnett was playing high school ball in Nashville this time last year. He is a beast. I will talk about him this week in an article about the future. Reeves-Maybin had 9 and Randolph 8. Cory Vereen had his best game as a Vol. The defensive backs were great. There were a few breakdowns. Young Moseley and Williams had some tough moments, but they were put in man coverage on some really good receivers. I just think this group of athletes are tremendous, and this coordinator should win Assistant Coach of the Year Honors. No one else is close.

Offensive Line – F – It was a complete failure. I am sorry for being harsh. It does not reflect what I feel for these guys. I know they are laying it on the line for all of us fans, and their team. They are simply outmanned. They would not accept that, but they are outmanned. Again they aren’t strong enough, fast enough, and talented enough yet to face NFL stars of the future. Will any of these guys be starters at Tennessee in the coming years? I don’t know.

Quarterback – D- – Bless his heart. Worley must feel like some of the characters in the movie Twister. There are things flying by him in every direction and fast. He has no time. With that said, I do not see Justin taking any responsibility in getting Tennessee’s offense into a better situation pre snap. I never see him change a play based on the defensive alignment. He threw three interceptions. Two were right at the defensive backs. They didn’t actually have to make a “play” on the ball. It was like an Orange Santa handing out interceptions. Here’s you one, here’s you one and oh, would hate to leave you out. Just put that little fin on your head, go back to your sidelines, and if you are good, I will give you another one if a few more throws. He also had no carries. Note…See Bo Wallace. Might want to study that, as well as Coach Bajakian. IT WILL NEVER WORK IF THE QUARTERBACK DOES NOT KEEP THE BALL.

Running Backs – I or an F- Incomplete. They simply have no where to run. How do you grade them if you have no chance at success? Hurd did a good job on a few carries. He had 49 yards. Peterman was the next highest total with two carries for 9 yards. With the sack totals the Vols had 28 carries for 0 yards. 0 yards. I had 0 yards too and I was watching from Franklin, Tennessee. They did a decent job in protection, but that is like a lion trying to get a wildebeast from a heard. Which one do you take?

Kicking – B – One bad punt hurt. The shank was bad and led to a score. But Matt Darr had a good night overall averaging 46 yards per punt. The coverage teams were very good. Aaron Medley made his one attempt from point blank range, so good there. Evan Berry coughed up a kick and cost the Vols 7, but in the grand scheme of things the game was over when he came in. He will learn not to lead his shoulder into a would be tackler that he is holding the ball under.

Coaching – C – This comes in two parts. Offensive Coaching gets an F- and Defensive Coaching gets A+. Hence the C. John Jancek has been outstanding. The defense has turned out to be a great surprise. They have turned in to one of the best units in the SEC in one solid year. On the other hand, there is Mike Bajakian. He has scored 12 points total in his last two SEC games. Butch had better be in the offensive meetings this week. Coach B has to figure out what he is going to do, and do it quick. He can’t just throw up his hands and say we can’t do anything because we are too young on the offensive line. With Bama coming to town, he does not have long to figure things out. I suggest he studies Lane Kiffin’s offense up close this coming weekend. If he does things the same he has been doing with this offense, it will be another chapter in the same story we have seen so far.