Special Teams
Nathanael: B
The biggest gaffe of the day on special teams came when Jauan Jennings had a mental lapse and ran into Florida’s punt returner after he called for a fair catch. Luckily for UT’s special teams unit, that was really the only bad mark on the day. Still, it was a really bad one.
Brent Cimaglia did his part when called on, nailing a 40-yard field goal. All of UT’s kick-offs were touchbacks, and aside from that one bad penalty by Jennings, Tennessee’s punt coverage units did a good job against a good Florida return team. The Vols’ punters didn’t have a great afternoon, and UT got lucky that a shanked punt took a nice bounce and roll. But overall, it wasn’t a bad day on special teams.
Ben: B+
My only complaint with Tennessee’s special teams are with Jauan Jennings and his penalty for running into Florida’s punt returner. That’s simply a lack of focus, and it can’t happen.
Brent Cimaglia made yet another field goal, this time from 40 yards out. Cimaglia is now a perfect 9-for-9 on the season. On kickoffs, both of Paxton Brooks’ kicks sailed through the end zone for a touchback.
In the punting game, Joe Doyle punted four times for an average of 40.3 yards per punt. Doyle’s long on the day went 44 yards. Brooks also got to punt once, which went 36 yards. It wasn’t a great day for the punters, but it wasn’t bad either. The coverage on the punts were good as well.
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.