Quarterbacks
Daniel: I’m not going to place all of the offensive blame on Justin Worley’s shoulders. He was put in bad situations, didn’t have time to throw and faced a lot of tough down and distances due to the lack of a run game. When he did get the ball off, his completion percentage (66.6%) was good. I am going to knock him for his decision making, however. Tennessee, in all likelihood, wins yesterday if he’s more careful with the football. The Vols needed the ultimate game manager yesterday. The defense literally handed UT a win. The offense could’ve been bad – it just had to avoid the catastrophe. Worley couldn’t. Failing to recognize the corner blitz for the second straight week was incredibly costly and the interception in the end zone and the one that ended the game all added up to the UT loss. It’s not all on Worley, but a lot of it is. Grade: D
Houston: In a game where the defense was playing as well as it was, the only thing Justin Worley needed to do was not make critical mistakes – and he made three of them. The interception to start the second half took three points off the board and his fumble deep in his own territory late in the third quarter set up Florida’s only touchdown of the day. He had a chance to erase those plays on the final drive, and appeared to be on his way to doing so after converting on fourth down to keep the drive alive near midfield. However, with plenty of time on the clock and two timeouts left in his pocket, Worley’s forced deep ball to a double-covered Pig Howard was intercepted to seal the game for Florida. I know that he was under pressure for most of the day, but if he protects the football then Tennessee gets out of that game yesterday with an ugly win. Grade: D-
Reed: Remember before the season when folks said all Worley had to do was manage the game and the Vols would be a bowl team? He was able to do that in the first half, but not in the second. He was an efficient 16-19 for 125 yards in the first half and a similar performance in the second half would have resulted in a comfortable Vol win. Worley turned the ball over three times after intermission and was just 10-20 for 80 yards. Both of his interceptions came on first down and both when he had enough time to make better decisions. The blindside fumble was on him, too. It’s his job to see that corner blitz and he admitted to not seeing it after the game. Without those critical mistakes from a senior QB, it’s a totally different ball game. Grade: F
