This isn't about individual players but about the game plan and adjustments made in the game. My grades will be influenced by how the staff adjusted during the game in order to better execute. Let's dive in.
Offense: This was definitely a tale of two halves in this game, but I think it actually showed something very promising; Larry Scott has a clear understanding of how to make adjustments during the game. The first half saw the offense account for grand totals of 28 plays, 94 yards, and 3.36 yards per play. Their lone first half touchdown came following a fumble recovery. John Kelly had 10 touches for 53 yards and a touchdown. The second half and overtime? 31 plays, 287 yards, and 9.26 yards per play. That is an enormous swing, and considering that quarterback Quinten Dormady went into the half having completed a bleak 8-20 for 52 yards yet finished the game by throwing for 12-17 for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns in the second half plus overtime. John Kelly's second half/OT? 14 touches for 110 yards and three touchdowns. While that first half production was pretty plainly a D or worse grade, his second half was a solid A. I'll split the difference and give Larry Scott and staff a grade of C+ for the game. The initial game plan was severely flawed, but the adjustments made in the game were excellent.
Defense: The early results were fairly promising. Tennessee was containing the Yellow Jacket offense. They appeared to have a great plan of attack. The defense was flying to the football and showing aggressive play. Then TaQuon Marshall hit Ricky Jeune on a 44 yard pass in which corner Justin Martin was out of position and everything fell apart. Prior to that moment, Tennessee had limited Tech to 11 plays and 32 yards. The floodgates were open after that moment. Tennessee had opted to have the defensive linemen play off the football, giving them time to read and react. The linebackers prior to that pass play were attacking and aggressive. The defensive backs played loose coverage in order to better beat potential blocks so that they could react to option plays to the edge. Suddenly, everyone was playing tentatively. The defense had been knocked back on their heels and with the exception of a couple forced fumbles, Tennessee would never fully regain form in the game. The entire defense became reactive instead of proactive, meaning they could no longer disrupt plays and were going to constantly give up yards in chunks. Georgia Tech is tough to defend at the best of times, but the initial instinct of Bob Shoop to attack with the linebackers, give the defensive line a cushion to react to the blocks, and have the defensive backs offer up a cushion to react. However, the defensive backs gave too much cushion. There is a big difference between 3-4 yards off the receiver and 8-10 yards off. The linebackers were too quick to let off the aggressive approach when a big play finally happened. The defensive ends were solid, but the defensive tackles were too content to be space eaters. The intentions weren't terrible, but the plan was abandoned too quickly and the adjustments never came. Shoop lost control of his defense in this game, and that cannot be allowed to happen the rest of the season. I'll give Shoop a C- only because of the forced turnovers. It's obvious he worked with the defenders on stripping the ball, and three forced fumbles and two recoveries is worth a bump in the grade.
Special Teams: After something of a rough season on special teams last year compared to seasons past under Jones, Tennessee looked every bit their old selves against Georgia Tech. Trevor Daniel regularly flipped the field. Evan Berry and company handled returns well. Paul Bain's blocked field goal was the cherry on top, and Aaron Medley continued to be sure-footed on kickoffs and PATs. I have nothing bad to say about the results here at all. Solid A performance. Keep it up, boys.
Head Coach/Game Management: Butch Jones continues to be frustratingly inconsistent when it comes to game management, but he does seem to motivate his team to play, even when, or perhaps especially when, the odds are against them. Even so, Jones has to become a better game manager. He bailed out Georgia Tech at one point when they were looking at a delay of game. At the end of the first half, he failed to utilize his two timeouts despite having the potential to score had he done so, running a play without any further planning along the sideline before going for it on 4th and 2. Game management continues to be one of Jones's biggest weaknesses, and at this point it seems unlikely to be an area he improves in. However, as Les Miles proved at LSU, you can win in spite of that particular weakness. For keeping his team motivated and believing they could win, I'll go ahead and give him a bump to a C+, but if this were a loss he'd be solidly in D territory.
Overall: This was incredibly ugly. Despite the special teams excellence and strong close, Tennessee failed to show up to start the game and Butch Jones neglected to properly manage the clock. The defense really didn't show up at all after the first couple GT possessions other than some standout individual performances that led to turnovers. Tennessee needed to come out and have a stronger showing, but yet again I'm left wondering if that will ever be the M.O. of a Butch Jones coached team. I'll assign a C grade because they got the win, but even against a frustrating Georgia Tech offense, they made that defense look too good for too long and failed to capitalize on excellent field position numerous times.
No comments:
Post a Comment