Offensive Line
Daniel: It was no secret coming into this season that this unit was facing an uphill battle. That was on full display Saturday. Tennessee was severely handcuffed on offense. The Vols couldn’t run or protect for any kind of lengthy drop-back pass and a lot of the blame falls on this group. The Gators piled up six sacks against the Vols – opponents are up to 18 on the season after the Vols only gave up 15 in all of 2013. The offensive line simply got overpowered on almost every snap. And when Butch Jones tried to throw a wrinkle in with Justin Worley motioning out and putting Hurd in the wildcat, the offensive line jumped both time. How can the offense function that way? I thought this group took a step forward at Georgia, but a step back this week. The Vols simply won’t win big games until this gets better. Grade: F
Houston: No way to sugar-coat it, this was one of the worst performances by a Vol offensive line in recent memory. They got zero push in the running game – 29 yards rushing on 28 attempts – while also giving up six sacks. There were breakdowns at every position, senseless mental errors that led to penalties and really handcuffed the offensive play-calling and rhythm at various time throughout the game. I know they are young, I know they are talented and I know they have potential, but they were just bad yesterday. Grade: F
Reed: I thought this group’s performance against Oklahoma would be their worst of the year. I was wrong. They were flat out awful for much of the day and got zero push in the run game. Worley was under duress all day and was sacked six (!) times. A couple of those were on him, but the offensive line certainly didn’t do him any favors. They’ve got guys playing out of position and it’s really hurting them. They won’t be a dominant group at any point this year but they have to communicate better. A couple of Florida’s big plays were due to breakdowns in communication. Grade: F
