Best Plays of 2008: a field full of Berries!

by Joel Hollingsworth on Jun 9, 2009 10:00 AM EDT in Tennessee Volunteer Football

With the departure of More Score for Moore , we're finally down to a field full of Berries. But first, More Score for Moore one more time:

Now let's admit it. The simple act of asking which of the Berries is least is an affront to Tennessee football. They are all sweet, no? But whittle we must, and the first of the final three to go for me is Eric Berry Flying Corkscrews Marquis Maze. Basically, this one's in contention with Eric Berry Clobbers Knowshon Moreno, and I give Clobber an edge simply because the Corkscrewed got up clapping and the Clobbered was out on his feet. So Corkscrew gets my vote for elimination today.

DO NOT VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE PLAY -- VOTE FOR THE ONE YOU WANT TO SEE ELIMINATED. The play with the most votes gets cut from the competition.

The remaining candidates:

VOTE FOR THE PLAY YOU WANT TO SEE ELIMINATED.

Poll

Which of the following Berries should be excluded as a finalist for the Best Plays of 2008?

Eric Berry Flying Corkscrews Marquis Maze

26 votes

Berry All the Way

17 votes

Eric Berry Clobbers Knowshon Moreno

17 votes

60 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Again, I'm going for Knowshon

For reasons stated here, partly.

But also because the Maze play had so much quality to it. Alabama quite literally had the perfect play called for the defense UT ran. Maze ran that route directly where the linebacker was blitzing from. The tight end ran interference such that the cornerback could not possibly stop the pass. On the other side of the field, the receivers immediately got to work blocking (including the guy blocking Berry). This offensive play was designed specifically to work against the blitz that Chavis called. It should have gone for a long, long way.

Defensively, the team did the best you could expect under the circumstances. The blitz was actually as effective as you could expect; thanks to Wilson’s 7-step drop-and-throw, there was no way the blitz could actually get to him, but they were close and kept him from waiting any longer (which would have been disastrous for UT). The secondary had great coverage, all things considered. And in particular, Berry fought off the block and made a fantastic read on the angle of attack.

The hit itself was textbook. He got under Maze and hit upward, lifting him off his feet and using Maze’s own momentum to take him out of control. It still baffles me how much change of direction Berry managed to enforce on that one.

But all in all, this play was much better executed by the defense than the Knowshon play. The only real notable point in favor of Knowshon’s hit is that Moreno was injured, and I don’t tend to consider that in relation to the quality of a play.

by David Hooper on Jun 9, 2009 11:08 AM EDT reply actions

I too am voting for knowshon

I dont care that maze got up clapping, that was the greatest hit i’ve ever seen (from a DB anyway). Plus, as Hooper said, the play was absolute quality. Not to mention, I love the glow of the vols’ unis when playing unde the lights, and the fact that the game was aired on ESPN makes the hit so much more appealing than the knowshon hit.
In my mind, Berry’s hit on Maze was the best play of the season.

by cincyvol6198 on Jun 9, 2009 11:54 AM EDT reply actions