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Joshua Dobbs Silences “VWW’s”

By Randy Sharber

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Joshua Dobbs may have earned a little more respect from the Vols coaching staff yesterday.

He may have earned a little more respect from the VWW’s as I call them as well. You know those guys and girls I’m sure. The Vols While Winning. All week long the VWW’s, local talk show hosts, and the water cooler football coaches suggested benching Dobbs in favor of the Quentin Dormady.

Now Dormady can play. There is little doubt he is the better passer. But he is a freshman. In a game like this the Vols had to stick with Dobbs. He did not disappoint. Well, sometimes he did, but he more than made up for in the end.

Dobbs had a big day for the now 3-3 Vols as they upset the Georgia Bulldogs yesterday in Neyland Stadium. Dobbs made enough plays in the air to go with his uncanny ability to make plays with his legs.

Joshua, as his mother wants him called, was 25/42 for 312 yards and three touchdowns on the day in the air. This was a mixed bag for Dobbs and the Vols. Number one, for offensive coordinator Mike DeBord to call 42 passes was next to a miracle. Everyone said all week long it was obvious that Jones and DeBord had no confidence in the passing game with Dobbs at the helm.

Dobbs is consistently inconsistent while throwing. There was a stretch yesterday where he consistently missed wide open receivers with passes thrown over their heads, behind them, or sometimes not even near them. There were other times he hit receivers right in their hands only to see them drop it.

Preston Williams dropped a few. Tight end Ethan Wolf dropped a touchdown pass. Von Pearson had a drop. But both receivers and quarterback made enough plays through the air to keep the Vols from being blown out after falling behind 21-3. The game was seemingly over. Given the mood of the Vols after a week of controversy and turmoil, it would have been expected for them to fold. No sir. It was the opposite.

No pass was more important than a 4th down and 6 from the Vols 39 yard line in the first half. Trailing 21-3, Jones elected to go for it on fourth down. Dobbs hit Josh Smith who sat down in the seam of the zone defense and turned the pass into much more than a first down. Smith outraced the Bulldog secondary into the orange and white checkerboards for a Tennessee touchdown.

A few seconds later, the Vols recovered a fumble on the ensuing kick off and Dobbs hit Alvin Kamara for his second touchdown pass on the day. The comeback was on. The VWW’s turned the tv back on and started to cheer. Of course they did.

As inconsistent as Dobbs is while throwing, he is extremely consistent with his running. He killed Georgia with his legs. Dobbs carried 18 times for 118 yards. Hard earned yards as Georgia hit him hard. Dobbs has a way of running like a pinball. He runs into something, bounces off, and continues on his way as if nothing happened.

He actually has a strange running style. He is very “upright” and seems to have short, choppy steps. But he always keeps his feet underneath him, and has incredible balance. He is deceptively strong as evidenced during the game winning touchdown run. He ran through the middle of the the entire Georgia defense to put the Vols ahead for good 38-31. It was a monumental 5 yard run.

It was Dobbs best performance since the South Carolina game last season. He took over this one from the Bulldogs. He willed his team to win. Georgia was bound and determined not to let Jalen Hurd beat them. Hurd still had a fantastic day although he did not eclipse the 100 yard mark on the day. He carried 21 times for 80 hard earned yards.

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Believe me when I say those were impressive yards. I have never seen a kid run as determined and hard as Jalen Hurd. This kid would have 20o yards per game as does Fournette if he was at LSU as well. I am convinced.

The Vols withstood a late rally with one minute left. The Bulldogs had to go 99 yards. They almost did. As a matter of fact, they should have scored. Some kind of way sure handed Reggie Davis beat the Vols secondary (while again in prevent 2 deep coverage) and dropped a pass that hit him right in the hands at the goal line. It was just Tennessee’s time. The ball fell to the checkerboards harmlessly. 102,000 people exhaled.

But they took another deep breath as Georgia had one last chance from the 29. Finally a Tennessee defensive back made a play. Safety Brian Randolph went up high to knock a pass away from a leaping Malcolm Mitchell. The Vols had won. Finally it went the Vols way.

So the VWW’s are out in force. “How about them Vols. I told you Butch would get it done. Dobbs is incredible. Georgia sucks. Tennessee’s going to own the East. We are back baby. VFL, VFL, VFL”.  It makes me sick, but that is the way it goes. I guarantee you they are saying this at Georgia today.

Well let me tell you, Georgia has nothing to be ashamed of. That is a class bunch of players, and a class bunch of coaches. They lost their leader in Nick Chubb on the first play. They still played until the end. They played hard, and they played clean. Tennessee was the better team all day though, and they finally proved it in the end. Better them than us getting the talk show guys riled up. They will fire Richt a hundred times this week. Watch and see. It is what fans do. Especially our VWW’s. We will see them again soon.

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