Midway through 2016, are Vols better or worse than we expected?
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Vols have reached their halfway point of the 2016 season with a bye week coming after seven games.
It’s been a demanding start, and record-wise, the Vols are where I expected them to be: 5-2.
But nobody could have predicted how banged up they’d be.
Injuries have decimated the starting lineup: The Vols are missing four of their five starting offensive linemen, three three defensive tackles, two linebackers and two cornerbacks. Also, Danny O’Brien and Preston Williams no longer are part of the team.
Monday defensive lineman Kahlil McKenzie (pectoral muscle injury, out for the season) and offensive lineman Jack Jones (hand injury, could be back for South Carolina) joined an already lengthy list of injured Vols.
The injured Vols are as follows:
Defense: CB Cam Sutton (broken ankle); LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (shoulder); LB Darrin Krikland Jr. (ankle); LB Cortez McDowell (unknown); LB Quart’e Sapp (knee); CB Malik Foreman (unknown); DT Kendall Vickers (unknown); DT Kahlil McKenzie (upper body); S Micah Abbernathy (hamstring); CB Malik Foreman (unknown); DT Alexis Johnson (unknown); DE Austin Smith (shoulder).
Offense: LG Jashon Robertson (leg); C Dylan Wiesman (head); LT Brett Kendrick (leg); RT Chance Hall (unknown); RG Jack Jones (hand).
No longer Vols: DT Danny O’Brien (dismissed); WR Preston Williams (transferring).
Nevertheless, Tennessee still has a chance to represent the SEC East and play for the SEC championship Dec. 3 in Atlanta. But the Vols will more than likely need to win out and Florida will need to at least lose one of the following games against Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina and LSU.
Both are possible, so the season’s goal – and preseason SEC media days predictions – are still in sight in being SEC East favorites.
But Tennessee will need to get better and healthier to achieve their goals.
OFFENSE
Better? Let’s say the offense has been different, certainly clutch, and usually effective enough.
Tennessee in general and Jalen Hurd in particular ran the ball much better last year, but Joshua Dobbs already has thrown 14 TD passes, one shy of matching last year’s total.
Malone has been a pleasant surprise and Jauan Jennings has been a revelation.
Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Tennessee’s scoring average is down this year, but Alabama skewed the average. Total yards are down, too.
So, statistically, based on the key pieces returning from last season, it’s fair to say the offense hasn’t played as well as we thought.
Turnovers have been devastating. The Vols already have 17 and they’re fortunate it’s not a lot more. Team 120 has fumbled the ball 21 times, losing eight.
But give the offense credit: They’ve made winning plays, time and again, most notably Jennings’ catch (above) to beat Georgia, and that’s a huge improvement from last year.
DEFENSE
Bob Shoop has bailed out the offensive woes early-on in games so far this season. Shoop’s defense has been a trademark for adjustments in every game, including the Alabama game. The problem with the Alabama game, was that the offense did not provide anything to compliment the defensive adjustments and stops in the first half.
This was the case in other games too, but luckily for the Vols’ case, the offense was able to get going and kept the defense off the field to stay fresh.
Derek Barnett is playing like a player of the year candidate. He’s tied for second in the SEC with 6.0 sacks.
The defense has six interceptions on the year to go along with nine fumble recoveries — and that’s without All-SEC types like Reeves-Maybin and Sutton.
It’s done so while changing starting lineups repeatedly due to injuries, an unfortunate trend that looks like it will continue into the second half of the season.
FRESHMAN CLASS
Freshman Tyler Byrd has been a steady surprise. The talented wide receiver committed to Tennessee in somewhat of a package deal with running back Carlin Fils-Aime. Byrd has provided timely plays during the first seven games, reeling in 10 catches for 120 yards. His progress up the depth chart likely prompted Williams’ decision to leave the program.
Freshman defensive back Baylen Buchanan has played in every game. Buchanan replaced Sutton when the senior captain exited the Ohio game due to injury. Buchanan posted career highs of five tackles (four solo) and one pass breakup. He has 17 total tackles (14 solo) and one pass break-up this season.
RETURNING STARS
Josh Malone has been the biggest surprise on the offense in 2016, in the sense of maximizing his potential. Malone has finally put all facets of his game together and has been a factor in the offense. The junior wide receiver has 22 catches for 402 yards and five touchdowns. Malone will look to continue to be a play-maker.
What can you say about Dobbs? He’s the heart and soul of the offense and he has proven that in every game. When he is a factor with his arm and his legs as a 50/50 player, that’s what makes the offense go, and that is why Tennessee has victories over Florida and Georgia.
For the season, Dobbs is 121-207, throwing for 1,525 yards, and 14 touchdowns. The senior quarterback also has rushed for 472 yards (293 NET) and has scored five touchdowns.
Injuries have impacted Hurd, who is averaging a career-low 3.82 yards per carry and has scored just two touchdowns.
We expected UT to get Alvin Kamara more involved, and that certainly has been the case. He has rushed for 313 yards, added 260 receiving and leads the Vols with six touchdowns.
OVERALL
Relative to last season, there still seems to be a lack of an offensive identity in their approach. A full four quarters without mistakes has yet to be seen, and that can be a promising sign if the Vols can put it together down the stretch during the final four remaining SEC games.
The Vols have their base identity on offense, and it seems that it will not change at mid-season. For what it’s worth, Tennessee will face defensive-minded head coaches in their four remaining SEC games: Will Muschamp, Barry Odom, Mark Stoops and Derek Mason.
Tennessee is clearly the better team than each, but injuries have wiped out a lot of its wiggle room.
The offense could benefit with a little more creativity, a little less predictability. Against Alabama, the Vols ran it 15 times on 21 first-down plays before Dobbs was replaced. That’s not enough to keep a defense guessing.
Creativity can also help cause getting around some areas that may still be affected by the injury-bug after the bye week, but Tennessee will need to work on their offensive identity down-the-stretch to win games they will be favored in.
Does Tennessee really want to play Alabama again???
Absolutely. It would mean we won the East. Hopefully we would give a better account of ourselves in a rematch.
Really? Why wouldn’t they want to play for the SEC Championship….if Georgia was given the opportunity to play in Atlanta I guess they would say “no thank you”…Yea right! Most moronic post of the day….so far! Hail Mary Yes!
Would UGA really want to play TN again?
Yes. Absolutely we would.
And rightfully so, they haven’t been the same since. I will yell GO DAWGS this year during the non-cocktail event
Get rid of Debord ASAP!
Agreed! We may as well have Lloyd Carr calling plays. We give away our 1st downs because all opponents know that we are going to run JH into the line 95% of the time. Butch is loyal to a fault and that fault is Debord! He is not an SEC OC. He is stuck back in the last century at Michigan. Please Debord, RESIGN!!!!!
C’mon, it was a “buddy hire” De-bored is like his mentor or something.
Watch out or the Deboard kool aid clan will come after you. Even though Deboard has never taken advantage of Dobbs running skills,the kool aid clan will throw skewed stats at you and make you believe he is another coach Cut. The visual test tell you otherwise. Dobbs is not a pocket passer and never will be. Too bad Dobbs is a senior and UT wasted 4 years with him. With the right OC, he could of been 1000 percent better.
Geez man. One bad game against a incredible defense and you think you are right? Tennessee broke about ten offensive records two weeks ago at A&M and its because Debord found a multitude of ways to get Kamara the ball. You will never know what you are talking about.
Everybody in the country knows what UT is going to do on first down. So they immediately force Dobbs into 2nd and long. Everybody knows what UT will do on second down. Here comes 3rd and long and Debord expects his qb to all of a sudden win the game with his arm. Sorry not sorry, Debord’s gameplan is garbage against a formidable defense.
Bdg0008 is right, our predictability and lack of creativity on offense make us vulnerable to lessor opponents, and renders us seemingly helpless against superior competition. The game plain was simply garbage. Run the ball down Bama’s throat? When was the last time that worked, for anyone? What’s worse, we seemingly didn’t make a single adjustment to alter the game plan. OCs get paid to formulate game plans based on the competition, and make necessary in-game adjustments. Debord does neither of those. And let’s be honest, Kamara’s yardage against A&M was mostly a product of his own athletic ability. Did Debord really expect Bama to allow us to throw 7 screen passes after watching us do it to A&M? The guy is a dinosaur who is too stubborn to change, he’s gotta go. Butch also deserves part of the blame: as the HC, all calls go through him.
Keno again and again you are wrong. BDG0008 is exactly right. Deboard doesnt leave opposing defenses guessing. Everyone in the country knows what Tennessee is gonna do before they do it. Dobbs, Hurd, and Kamara do what they do on talent and will to WIN. The o-line is just bad. Even before the injuries. Look at how many times Dobbs has been sacked over the last 3 years. He doesnt even have 2 seconds to throw the ball. DBs dont have to cover because of this. Even CBS stated this. Deboard leaves it on Dobbs shoulders to win. Dobbs is a heck of a football player but the coaches are the ones that are supposed to put the players in position to win, not the other way around. Deboard is an old dinosaur that clearly doesnt know how to run a fast paced spread offense. Keno keep drinking that kool aid.
Plus Keno, Deboard doesnt use Dobbs strengths as a gazelle. That kid can shake and bake then take it to the house. Plus he has the heart of a warrior and runs defenders over as well. Yet Deboard wants to drop him back 99 percent of the time, then only then, Dobbs uses his ability to scramble and gets all he can. Deboard doesnt roll Dobbs out of the pocket at all so he can use his abilities Auburn used Cam Newton and Marshall abilities all the way to the NC game. Dobbs is not as good as Newton bit is 100 times better than Marshall. He doesnt know how to use the talent he has plain and simple.
Plus dont give me that injury BS. The offense was lacking before the injuries. Look at the defense. They are playing 3rd stringers and bring it every down. The D wasnt the problem anyhow,never has been. Its always been the offense. The D was the scapegoat.
keno I’ve heard you on here getting DeBord’s back COUNTLESS TIMES after he has rolled out another miserable, losing game plan and you simply don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.
DeBord WAS a Buddy Hire and the straight truth is the guy has absolutely no business coaching at this level. (While he did coach at Michigan, his next position was at Central Michigan.) Does that tell you anything? The man had a record of 12-34 as a head coach at a MAC SCHOOL. Some people might look and say “Some bad head coaches make great coordinators.” Well this man sucks at both jobs.
It pi$$es me off that people like you–who evidently celebrate mediocrity–get behind the Dooley’s and the DeBord’s of the world. As long as this bum is calling plays, we will be losing to the rest of the top teams in the conference.
When we hired him, I had to look him up because I’d never heard of him; reading some of the rave reviews by pros like Tom Brady, Mike Holmgren, Brian Griese, etc., I thought we had another David Cutcliffe coming aboard. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
This guys play calling is unimaginative and predictable, he has managed to mismanage one of the better dual threat quarterbacks in the country and turned him into a relatively ineffective QB who has regressed in his performance under DeBord’s tutelage. As for the running game, don’t get me started; here’s another area that he’s bungled and taken two of the premier running backs in this conference, and produced one of the most disappointing tandems in recent history. Butch Jones made a mistake hiring him, and I GUARANTEE YOU he will hang on to him until the end.
Go ahead Chip and wish that Lane Kiffin was your OC.
BWAHAHAHA good one…so, who is the next contestant as Head Coach at UK after Stoops is shown the door? Any names out there?
Sorry SweetT I was giving mommaT a cleveland steamer,what was you sayimg again? Did you say Kentucky wasnt gonna win 5 games this year and suck in basketball as well? Lol what a little b i t c h you are and sad life you lead.
I think they are about what we expected them to be. The VaTech win was good and they should run the table in the East, but they did lose both games to the West. The injuries are just crazy and could cause them to blow one in the East, but I think the competition is so light that they should be ok. If they win the East, they have to be happy with that. That’s something, but I’m sure the fans wanted more. All do.
lsu smc
agree i think were we thought we would be, but the injuries surely are not, and agree OC has to go
After watching that Bama game in person, and seeing Deboard call the exact same play 3 times in a row without success means the man is insane. He has the same mentality of Cam Cameron in my opinion that the pass is a last resort, but I find that ironic since he coached Tom Brady while at Michigan who is one of the greatest pocket passers to play the game.
This feels like an awful lot of words to say “beat every bad team they’ve played; lost to every good team they’ve played”.
Unfortunately, a massive injury list and a below average OC will render Vols far below their playing capabilities. We should still be capable of running the table, but not without some more dramatic finishes. Shoop will carry the day. Go Vols!!!!
Agree. The injury list is huge though. Unless someone jumps up and pulls an upset. If that happens watch out. Someone is going out the door. But maybe thats what we need to get rid of Deboard.
Too many injuries? Time for TN to replace their conditioning coach.