Coaching
Nathanael: C
I wasn’t a huge fan of some of Jim Chaney’s play calls and his lack of turning to the run in certain situations, but overall he wasn’t the problem with the offense. Tennessee’s poor quarterback play and inability to execute were the issues. Chaney dialed up a perfect play call at the goal line in the first quarter by pulling Austin Pope out into the flat. He was wide open, and Guarantano saw him and threw it to him. Unfortunately, a Florida defender just made a really good play and batted the ball down.
That’s just one example of how the execution did the coaches no favors. Similar things happened on defense, too. Still, some of what happened on Saturday goes on the coaching staff, because it’s hard not to blame them when this team continues to go out on the field and not look prepared for things at times. But the majority of the blame still goes on the players, because they’re the ones not executing and not doing their jobs. Coaches can only do so much.
Ben: B
Any talk of Jeremy Pruitt not making it through the season is ridiculous. National media members are throwing it out there because they only look at the box score rather than watching the game. Anybody who has watched Tennessee’s games against BYU and Florida and have any formal understanding of how football works sees that the past two losses aren’t on the coaches. Jeremy Pruitt and the coaches continue to put player in position to succeed. It’s time the players step up and execute.
2 Responses
I have been a vol fan since I was 5 or 6 years old and am approaching 70. This MAY be the worst I have ever seen a Tennessee team look.
I totally agree that at some point the players have to make the plays that are there in front of them. If we just make the simple plays and execute when the scoring opportunities were there, we go in to the 4th quarter with a chance to win this game.