Brace. This update on the improvement of the Tennessee Volunteers is not happy.
First up, the list of Things Tennessee is Doing Well, at least as of the end of the Georgia game:
Categories In Which Tennessee Was In The Top Quartile This Season |
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Category |
2010 |
MT | CIN | FL | BUF | GA |
Offense Third-down Efficiency | 11 | 4 | 7 | T-1 | 4 | |
Passes Had Intercepted | T-17 | T-6 | ||||
Passing Offense | 30 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Time of Possession | 90 | 14 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 12 |
Passing Efficiency | 7 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 13 | |
Kickoff Return Yardage Defense | 9 | 14 | 12 | 21 | 18 | 13 |
Turnovers Lost | T-26 | 14 | ||||
Red Zone Efficiency | 104 | T-7 | - | 23 | 17 | |
First Downs | 92 | 66 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 22 |
First Downs Allowed | 20 | 22 | ||||
Scoring Defense | - | - | - | - | - | 29 |
Defense Third-down Efficiency | - | - | - | - | - | 30 |
Defense Fourth-down Efficiency | - | - | T-1 | 19 | T-7 | - |
Scoring Offense | 27 | 22 | - | 21 |
All of those categories relating to the passing game? Forget 'em, because they're going bye bye. Whether they all fall off the board because Matt Simms is not Tyler Bray or because LSU, Alabama, and South Carolina are not Montana, Cincinnati, and Buffalo, we won't know, at least for another season, which honestly is one of the things that sucks the most about all of this. The same thing I felt about Justin Hunter and the Florida game -- that the worst part of losing him so early was that it deprived us of the opportunity to even see how we stacked up against them -- is now present for the remainder of October, although to a slightly lesser degree. We may not have been able to compete with LSU and Alabama anyway, but now we don't even get to see how our best measures up. The games will essentially mean nothing because they won't tell us anything about who we are or how far we've come. Because it won't even be us. I'm sure I'll come around later this week and conclude that there are other means by which to measure us in October, but right now, it just feels . . . meaningless? Sorry, but it's how I feel right now.
There are a few positives here, though. First Downs Allowed not only held fast in the 20s, two other legit defensive categories -- scoring defense and defense third-down efficiency -- crept into the top 30. Yeah, a lot of those good 3rd downs were nullified by subsequently bad 4th downs, but I'm not sure that the latter really diminishes the importance of the former. In any event, the defense gave up some big plays against Georgia, and they still have their issues -- see below -- but it does appear to be improving.
Let's take a look at the players who made the top 30 this week, just so we can see who and exactly what we're going to be saying a long goodbye to:
Player | Stat | MT | CIN | FL | BUF | GA |
Tyler Bray | Passing Yards Per Game | 14 | 6 | 7 | T-7 | 9 |
Tyler Bray | Points Responsible For | T-19 | T-4 | T-6 | 3 | 11 |
Tyler Bray | Passing Efficiency | 5 | 5 | 15 | 7 | 11 |
Tyler Bray | Total Passing Yards | 14 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 13 |
Tyler Bray | Total Offense | 29 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 17 |
Tyler Bray | Passing (completions) | - | 10 | 14 | 16 | 21 |
Da'Rick Rogers | Receiving Yards Per Game | 17 | 23 | |||
Da'Rick Rogers | Total Receiving Yards | - | - | - | - | 29 |
Da'Rick Rogers | Receptions Per Game | - | - | 25 | 25 | 30 |
Apparently, we can't have nice things. Last week, this thing was nine lines of Tyler Bray, Da'Rick Rogers, and Justin Hunter, for whom it took three weeks of a torn up knee to fall out of the top 30. Bray's out now, which should completely rewrite this thing in short order not only for him but for Da'Rick as well. That whole "Points Responsible For" thing? Yeah. Back to the drawing board with our best pieces being Matt Simms, Da'Rick, and Mychal Rivera, and with glaring weaknesses in the running game. And the top two teams in the nation waiting.
And now that I think about it, now that Bray's out, that whole "yeah, but the level of competition" thing is now going to haunt him, as well as the team, until at least this time next year. Mournful sigh. Yet another question for which we will be deprived an answer we were expecting to get this season.
#OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE
And now for those areasofgreatestopportunity:
Categories In Which Tennessee |
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Category | 2010 | MT | CIN | FL | BUF | GA |
Rushing Offense | 105 | 74 | - | 105 | 98 | 114 |
Passes Intercepted | - | - | - | 93 | 111 | T-113 |
Turnovers Gained | 98 | 107 | ||||
Net Punting | - | - | - | 96 | 116 | 105 |
Pass Sacks | - | - | - | - | - | 91 |
Fewest Yards Penalized Per Game | - | - | - | 98 | - | - |
Fewest Penalties Per Game | - | - | - | 97 | - | - |
Offense Fourth Down Efficiency | 96 | 59 | 94 | - | - | |
Punt Returns | 109 | 64 | - | 91 | - | - |
Just to underscore that this stuff matters, note that two of the things that killed us against Georgia were the 31-yard punt to set the Bulldogs up for their first TD and failing to get a single turnover from a turnover prone opponent. Oh, and negative rushing yardage, that was probably a factor, too, huh? A Tennessee football team is rubbing elbows with Rutgers, Kent St., Arizona, Miami of Ohio, Idaho, and East Carolina in its ability to run the stupid football.
These things need to be fixed, and they need to be fixed now. And fixing them should be no problem whatsoever against our October slate, right? See? Not happy.