The Tennessee Volunteers must get mad, get even, run against the Florida Gators

by Joel on Sep 15, 2008 9:34 AM EDT in Tennessee Volunteer Football Comment 10 comments

Immediately after the UAB game, coach Fulmer said that it was finally time to talk Florida, to play "mad," and to "get it cranked up." Demonte' Bolden is listening, although it's unclear whether he's just now getting angry or whether he's been that way since last season in the swamp.

Anyway, I'm here to do my part. What better way to get that mentality cranked up than to re-watch highlights of last year's dishumiliarrassment? Don't get angry at me, get angry at the Gators. Ignore the lyrics -- get mad and even.

Tennessee's defense should be much better this year. Another three or four interceptions would go a long way toward that whole even thing. But they can't do it alone. They're going to need the offense to stay on the field and score some points. Just how do they do that, you ask?

One word. Over and over and over again. In all caps, with exclamation points.

RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!

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Our Only Hope

They are going to stack the box and blitz like mad. The best thing we can do is start off throwing short easy passes and try and get Crompton in a rythem and hope he gains some composier. The short passes are as good as runs (which we need to mix in too;) that way we will be able to keep Tebow off the field an run their D-line into the ground. We also need to try and burn them deep to keep them honest. Their secondary isn’t as good as it usually is and they are going to dare us to test it, we have to.

Crompton doesn’t have to be perfect, but he does have to limit his mistakes. He is going to have to learn and check down to his second and third reads, something he hasn’t been able to do, which for a Redshirt Junior is kind of sad. If now one is open, throw it away or take off running. We may even need to make the play book more simple or script more plays for him. When the Gators come after him, he is going to have to find the open guy. If they blitz (and they will) someone has to be open. This is where Brandon Warren is going to have to come up big.

The O-Line is going to have it’s hands full. They really are going to have to step up and play much better. The Gators are gong to be coming from all angles, trying to hit our backs in the back field and presure Crompton. We would be wise to hit our running backs in the flat or our on screen plays. With the presure they are going to bring, it might work.

Also, this is going to have to be the game we throw out of the G-Gun. We have to make this an ugly low scoring game where a gimmick play comes up big for us.

Our line backers are going to have to show up. They are going to have to stop Tebow running and on short passes. To be honest, I wouldn’t blitz too much, just in places where it might be effective. Our secondary is our biggest asset. Let’s see if we can match up with their wide outs and try and contain Tebow. Make them run on us and hope our line and line backer can start making some tackles.

Our special teams are going to be huge. Our punter is going to have to pin them deepand not kick to Brandon the Terrible. We MUST PROTECT THE KICKING GAME! Missed field goals, no matter how long, are going to kill us. I would rather go for it on 4th down than miss a field goal. We need touchdows to beat the Gators, not field goals.

Along with this game plan, Florida is going to have to make at least three mistakes for us to have a chance. It would help if a massive storm rolled through too. Anything that might even the game out for us.

by Smitty1 on Sep 15, 2008 10:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Welcome, Smitty!

I like your thoughts on the game. I also think they’ll bring heat early to try to knock out the offense quickly. That might be why we never saw any trick plays in the first two games (e.g. reverses, halfback passes, etc.); there are a lot of plays in the new offense that Florida hasn’t seen yet. UT will need them to keep the defense honest.

by Hooper on Sep 15, 2008 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, no, no, no passing

I understand what your saying about using the short routes as an ad hoc running game but I disagree with how you want to use them Smitty. We need to run it down their throats until UF says otherwise. We’ve got two backs averaging almost 100 a game and two other backs averaging just short of 50 a game. If we committ to the ground, keep Tebow and Harvin off the field (Thank god we don’t have to face Ingram this year), we have a chance. We keep our defense rested, we rotate our backs, and beat their front seven the hell up. I think thats our only hope guys.

UF, to put it simply, is explosive. If they beat us in the T.O.P early, they will put this game away just like they did last year. The short passes are nice to get Crompton comfortable early, but if we do this all night, we are essentially taking it easy on their front seven and beating up our front five. If we throw early like we have the past two games they are going to have a rested defense on the field for the second half. We pound them early, we pound them in the second and third quarters, and we pound on them late. We keep them reeling.

Giving them the four to six yard routes is giving their defense a pass. Because you know, that some of those balls will be dropped putting us into a third and long situation. If we try to air it out all night we will lose. Keep their defense ragged and keep their offense off the field and out of rhythm. That’s my story.

Someday we'll look back on this and plow into a parked car.

by MeytonPanning on Sep 15, 2008 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hmm.

I had read Smitty’s post as accepting the run-first philosophy, but simply expounding how the passing that UT does attempt should look. I’d agree that we need a run-first approach, but that our passing game should attack the short- and medium-range weak points of a run-first defense. At any rate, minimize the number of plays where Crompton’s first target is running a deep route so he doesn’t hold the ball too long.

But UT should approach the game as a marathon, not a sprint. Keep the pace in the first half, even if we fall behind (so long as it’s not too far behind). Keep the troops fresh for the second half and try to wear out Florida. Then go for the win in the end. Heck, it worked for UCLA.

To me, the key is getting first downs in the first half. An occasional 3-and-out won’t kill us, but consecutive 3-and-outs will. At a bare minimum, I think we’ll need 3 first downs for every 2 consecutive drives in the first half. With or without scores, that is probably the minimum amount of fatigue we can allow our defense to handle and the minimum amount of fatigue we must apply to their defense to hang in the second half.

If it’s close in the second half, the crowd will get into it and help out.

by Hooper on Sep 15, 2008 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My only issue with the short passing game is that we don’t do it occasionally. We do it in bunches. This is what I meant by giving opposing defenses the entire series off. Snap, pass rush for a second, see the ball thrown for 3 or 4 yards, DB makes a tackle, play complete. Easy Peezy. That’s okay sometimes as a wrinkle. But when the entire series looks like that it drives me crazy.

I don’t look at it as “putting runs into the mix.” This should be gigantic apple fritter of Run with maybe a few passing raisins here and there. Oh and when Urban eats the fritter, he gets queesy and has to vomit. (Smiles with that Mental Snapshot) Yeah that would make my Saturday.

Someday we'll look back on this and plow into a parked car.

by MeytonPanning on Sep 15, 2008 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed. We have the talent in the running game to be able to run without being predictable about how we run. But if we get into a rut on short passes, we’ll end up being predictable – especially if Crompton doesn’t learn to look off the coverage.

by Hooper on Sep 15, 2008 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

1992, 1998, 2000, 2001

These years stick out in my mind because they were games against the Gators in which the Vols truly committed to the run.

Did they win all four? Nope, but just by a whisker.

Granted, it’s hard to commit to the run when you’re losing by a few touchdowns, as we often have been in our series with Florida.

Let’s pound the rock from the get-go on Saturday afternoon. It’s really our only chance, in my opinion.

by spiritofthehill on Sep 15, 2008 2:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Run

They are know we are going to run. They are going to stack the box. I agree we are going to have to run the ball to win, but Crompton is going to have to mkae plays at key moments if we are going to win. All of those years we beat the Gators we did run the ball, but think of the key passing plays we conected on. Crompton is going to have to be in some sort of rythem and the coaches need to give him some safe options early to build his confidence.

I thought we had no shot until I read this link

http://www.shoppernewsnow.com/aWest.aspx

If he shows, we have a shot.

by Smitty1 on Sep 15, 2008 4:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Knowing what is coming and stopping what is coming are two different things.

Someday we'll look back on this and plow into a parked car.

by MeytonPanning on Sep 15, 2008 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Woo!

Wilson being there may be worth 10 points.

And I hear what you’re saying about them knowing we’re going to run, but I say run anyway. We’ve been suckered into throwing a multitude of ways against Florida, and it never works. What works is running. Having them dictate what plays we call with their formations is asking for trouble, I think.

Go Vols!

by Joel on Sep 15, 2008 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs