Running the Ball
The performance by Tennessee’s offensive line was abysmal on Saturday. They were possibly the most disappointing unit on the field wearing orange.
On the second play of the game, you thought Tennessee was maybe just going to keep things simple and go under center more often. But we didn’t see much of this look after the first drive.
Tennessee’s offensive line has done a good job blocking on run plays under center. Venzell Boulware makes a good block here. #RTIFilmStudy pic.twitter.com/4Og4ssYxhd
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) September 25, 2017
Boulware does a good job getting past the initial level of tacklers, and the right side of Tennessee’s offensive line gets a good push. Kelly was awfully close to breaking this one for a huge gain.
26% of Tennessee’s rushes on Saturday were stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage, though. And that just won’t cut it against an SEC team.
Some of the blame lies on the offensive line for not doing a great job getting a push up the middle. But UMass sold out for the run because the Vols didn’t have a viable passing threat.
You’ll see a lot of this moving forward…teams stacking the box to stop Kelly. UMass blitzes 7 here to hit him for no gain. #RTIFilmStudy pic.twitter.com/56RFxv8Kmz
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) September 25, 2017
That was one of 10 runs to be stopped for no gain. The Minutemen keyed in on Kelly well for the majority of the game.
This is the same Cover Zero look that Tennessee struggled to beat against Florida. Teams aren’t worried about Tennessee’s passing game enough to give extra help on the outside.
You can see every single defensive lineman and linebacker blitzing here, and it’s just too much for Kelly to break away from.
That being said, UMass did get burned for this strategy every now and then.
Points are on the board.
Kelly scores from 12 yards out. pic.twitter.com/7I51ri6vsB
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) September 23, 2017
On this play, the UMass defense gets sucked in on the blitz. And you can’t lose contain on John Kelly and expect to bring him down.
The junior running back immediately recognizes there’s no help to the outside, and makes the smart play to find the corner. This is something you may see more down the road for Tennessee’s offense. They have to find ways to get Kelly to the perimeter in order to keep the blitz at bay.
This was Tennessee’s biggest play of the game and of the whole season. A 66-yard dart from Dormady to Brandon Johnson.
“I got this” — Brandon Johnson pic.twitter.com/ABUkiRDeHA
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) September 23, 2017
The sophomore wideout does a good job finding the gap in the zone defense for a relatively easy catch. Johnson made a lot of good plays by catching the ball over the middle on slants against man coverage. But this play showed good poise and maturity to find the open area past the first down marker.
It was also good to get Tyler Byrd involved again. He needs to be a bigger part of Tennessee’s offense again.
Dormady finds Byrd in the back of the endzone. Good protection, great throw. pic.twitter.com/MZDpviSudR
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) September 23, 2017
You’ll take man coverage against a linebacker all day long if you’re Byrd.
