Thoughts on the Orange and White Game

by hooper on Apr 19, 2008 7:30 PM EDT in Tennessee Volunteer Football Comment 6 comments

The "game" is over, and we've all headed home (or are still heading home), but it was a great time. Joel will certainly get some astute thoughts up when he gets a chance, but I'm going to sneak in a few thoughts/observations of my own.

Morley and Berry make a fantastic combination in the secondary. They'll be fun to watch when they're busy dismantling the QBs of teams other than our own.
The attendance was listed at nearly 29,000. I have no idea how they knew that since there were no tickets or turnstyles, but it looked about right. If you see the coverage on DISH, it'll look more crowded; stadium renovations meant that much of the seating areas were off-limits, and everybody was gathered in the same third of the stadium.
The offense is doing better than the reports from early practices would indicate. Crompton is clearly the starter right now until proven otherwise and he made good decisions, for the most part.
Expect Gerald Jones to be a starter. That guy was probably the biggest feature of the offense - rightfully so. Nice work by him.
Speaking of Jones, can you say "Single Wing"?
(I'd be able to explain more about Jones, but I can't figure out how to get my grainy little video to display correctly.)
There was some kind of coaching award (named after Neyland) given at halftime. I didn't catch the details because I wasn't listening until I heard the name of the coach who won it. I'll give a hint: the award was likely some kind of lifetime achievement award. I was quite surprised to see the coach in person, much less to hear his name as an award recipient. Take a guess and I'll tell you if you're right.
Overall, mistakes seemed to be down. There were a few missed assignments and some oopsies on the lines, but most of the play seemed pretty solid from my perspective.

Again, Joel will post more later. This is just a tidbit to give a first impression while we wait.

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Single Wing Football

The Orange and White did use some Single Wing yesterday and they arent the only ones. In the SE Conference alone, Florida and Arkansas use it.
The Single Wing is making a big comeback in the High School ranks as well. All accross the nation it is the big thing to run in youth football as well. My kids run it and have gone 78-5 with it.
http://winningyouthfootball.com

by davecisar on Apr 20, 2008 7:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Very impressed with your site

I've done some reading up on old school football here and there, but what I know pales next to what you've learned and taught. I'm particularly impressed with how you've brought the Wedge back into the game when one of my all-time favorite Presidents very nearly outlawed the game on account of the Wedge (for now-obsolete reasons, of course).

I'd love to pick your brain about some of that stuff, but I'll first catch up on what you have on your site. If you don't mind, however, I'd love to hear a quick opinion on the Single Wing and UT football next season. Here's what I know so far:

Every time they ran it at the O&W, it was with Gerald Jones receiving the snap and the "QB" split out wide. I assume the QB split was simply a way of getting him out of the way without allowing time for substitutions.
There is talk of bringing Eric Berry into a few offensive plays for added athleticism. He did play QB in high school, so he's handled snaps before.
Some (including me) are now speculating about having both Jones and Berry in the backfield at the same time.

Those are the reasons I think they're trying the Single Wing. Does that sound reasonable? To me, it seems an acceptable way of minimizing the need for a practiced QB and maximizing the effect of their running skills while presenting defenses with formations and plays they simply aren't used to dealing with.

On a side note, I think it would help UT's defense prepare better for Florida's Tebow/Harvin tandem. As you say, a lot of UF's plays are Single Wing or hybridized forms.

Does that sound about right? As I said, I'd love to pick you brain but I'll do the right thing by reading through your site before flooding you. (If you have any good book recommendations for learning more about the "old-school" formations, I'd love to hear. I'm in college, so I'll have to budget for yours, but any library-available books would be great in the meantime.)

by hooper on Apr 20, 2008 10:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

G

Got me a full day lined up. My post probably won't go up until tomorrow morning.

But let me say this:

Gerald Jones woooowowoowooo!

Go Vols!

by Joel on Apr 20, 2008 1:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Offense Clicks

The Offense looked pretty good and got to see a lot of new players. Can't wait till fall to see how much they improve.

OLD SMOKEY

by old smokey on Apr 21, 2008 12:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Missed ya!

We missed ya at the Hullabaloo, ya Old Hound Dog! Did you make it to the game, or watch it on the TV?

by Aerobab on Apr 21, 2008 8:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

To close the matter,

It was Lloyd Carr who got the Neyland Award of some kind or other. I guess it was a had-to-be-there moment, but it was quite surprising to me at least.

by hooper on Apr 21, 2008 12:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs