Talking Points for 2/11/10:
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J.P. Prince says that the Vols are taking too long to adjust when opponents stop their bread and butter offensive sets. There are always correlative weaknesses to a counter, but we're apparently slow to find and exploit them. Could that be one of the main reasons we're a notoriously slow-starting team? Maybe, but Bruce Pearl is focused on matchups, saying they struggle with size, athleticism, and balance:
We struggled against Georgia and Vanderbilt, with their big front lines, and we'll have a tough game with Kentucky because of the way they're built, too.
Kentucky's front line is bigger and better than Vandy's and consists of senior Patrick Patterson (6'9", 235), who's been good against Wayne Chism in the past, and freshman DeMarcus Cousins (6'11", 260), who's even better than Patterson. Conclusion: uh-oh. And yeah, the Orange Blazer could be looking at 0-4 this season. - Tennessee's not the only team that will be breaking in a new quarterback in 2010. In fact, with the exception of three teams from the West (Alabama, Arkansas, and LSU) and South Carolina, Nick Stephens is one of the most "experienced" QBs in the league.
- Did you know that two of the last three Thorpe Award winners won the Super Bowl the following year? Eric Berry knows.
- Dr. Saturday says that a new NCAA regulation that imposes on coaches-in-waiting the same limits on contact between recruits and head coaches may kill off the in-waiting concept altogether.