Coach Doug Mathews
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Just a few lessons coming out of the West Virginia game and how those lessons can help this team going forward. What are lessons? They are the way that coaching staffs look at the previous game in order to do two main things….1) Correct the bad that happened and build on the good and 2) keep lessons to refer back to when playing an opponent that we play every year (all eastern division opponents plus Alabama).
The first play brought the first lesson……a run play was called with the QB under center. No doubt the offensive game plan was to run a safe play to start the game. Apparently the QB had the option to throw to a wide receiver (most offenses use this) and Jarrett Guarantano used that option. A 10 yard loss resulted…not the way you want to any season. The lesson….have the ability to put a “stay” call to tell the QB to leave the play called on no matter what defense you see.
Another lesson coming out of the first game….how to handle a weather delay. Nothing teaches like experience and CJP now has that under his belt.
Overall this is my take coming out of the first game. Offensively we have a chance to be good….maybe very good. These four position groups showed good potential…..quarterback, running back, tight end and wide receiver. The offensive line needs to play together in games and with experience should be a good group. It is important to remember that three of the five starters in the offensive line missed all of spring practice. There are some young players that will develop as the year goes along that can and will help this offense improve. There were no turnovers, no dropped passes, no delay of game penalties, no forced use of timeouts……we can build on this. Once we recovered from the opening miscues this group moved the ball well in the second quarter…..we can build on this. One area of concern on offense is depth, especially in the offensive line. That includes the tight end position. With Brandon Kennedy now out for the season it is must that a couple of underclassman develop into competent backups.
Defensively there are concerns with the group that started Saturday. Coach Pruitt was not happy with the overall effort of his defense. This is a learning process for this team….learning how to play every play as if it were the last play of the game. Expect one of two things going forward…..better effort from each individual on the defense or new players on the defense. CJP is putting in place the style of defense he knows from experience is required to win championships in this conference. It will take a while but when in place we’re going to like what we see IMO.
The secondary, more specifically the corner position, was a concern going into the game and remains a concern after the game. #28 and #3 (he did not start) are going to have a hard time playing against the teams we need to beat and at the safety position #22 is in the same boat. I suspect that three young players, Flowers (#25), Jackson (#26) and Thompson (#20) will all get long hard looks the next two games. All have more talent, speed and quickness than several of the secondary starters against WVU. Alonte Taylor (#6) is firmly in place at one corner and indeed he may have played the best of any defender against West Virginia. As I mentioned on Big Orange Sunday there is a reason Coach Pruitt has five defensive backs committed for next year’s class…..we simply do not have enough good secondary defenders on this present team.
Pressure from the Vols four rushers was not good but a lot of that had to do with the Mountaineers offensive scheme. I believe we will be better in this area going forward. Limited still….but better. By the way Coach Pruitt has 6 defensive linemen committed for 2019. I still believe that our line backing group will be solid unit, there is good talent here that did not have a good day last Saturday. Except for a few plays the front played the running game pretty well. I continue to believe we will be a good run defending defense as the season goes along.
From my viewpoint two defensive players played well in the first game Tuttle (#2) and Taylor (#6). Others probably played OK but without question we are going to need better play out of many to get to where this defense wants to get. #99 and #18 are playmakers that did not have a good game…..that I am sure will change.
I try hard to not put too much emphasis on one game, especially if it is a first game and doubly so if it is the first game of a new coaching staff. Experience, both good and bad experiences, have taught me that what happens after that first game is a much better indicator of the future.
There is much that this staff can do in the next two weeks from an improvement standpoint. From a purely coaching perspective the West Virginia game allows this staff to “identify” players who can and can’t help this team win. Coach Pruitt now knows, by virtue of playing a very good team, where he needs to make changes in both players and offensive and defensive game planning. He now has two weeks to get all playing rotations ready for the Florida game and beyond. This can and will be valuable time for a new staff and fairly young team.
ETSU GAME PLAN
This game and for that matter the next game is not about the opponent….it is all about Tennessee. We have an opportunity by virtue of scheduling to get all of the younger players that this staff thinks can help ready to play meaningful minutes when Florida arrives in Knoxville. Players who have been limited because of previous injuries like Jennings, Smith and Kirkland and others can get a lot of reps in not only practice but also games. Everyone reading this has heard that the most improvement comes between games one and two. That for the most part is true and it is especially true for a brand new head coach and his staff. I fully expect this staff to improve in many areas because of the West Virginia game. That is what good coaches do and I believe this is a group of very good, proven coaches.
With Kennedy out for the remainder of the year Ryan Johnson will move from guard to center. This is not a drop-off, in fact the Vol offensive line could be stronger in the starting lineup IF a couple of freshmen come along as expected. Depth as noted earlier is a concern. We have two weeks to develop those players. Job #1 is to find a backup center.
So game plan wise what can we expect……Continued development of the running game from both the I formation with the QB under center and the spread formation with the QB in the gun position. Get every player on offense that will be in the playing rotation against Florida as many snaps as possible. We need continuity and the only way you get it is through game experience.
Defensively depth is needed in the defensive line and the secondary for sure. One thing I will be watching closely on defense is who is playing where in the secondary. I suspect we will see some personnel changes at both corner and safety. This defensive staff will get the run defense fixed….the passing game well that’s a different animal. We are going to be playing with a short stick against good passing teams until some of these young players gain some experience.
Let’s Talk next week.
Remember all Chalk Talks, all pre game audio analysis and all podcasts of Big Orange Sunday and Football Saturday are up on coachdougmathews.com.