Did you not say in summary, “if you were manhandled, why would you want another shot?”. I can retrieve the post if I need to.
Tennessee had 11 offensive drives yesterday. On 7 of the 11 drives, we did something that, without debate, shot ourselves in the foot without being forced to by UGA. Here's the breakdown of that: First drive (after UGA fumble) - false start penalty - held to field goal. Second drive - false start penalty - punt Third drive - let a punt get downed at the 1 - punt Fourth drive - missed wide open deep ball to Hyatt - punt Fifth drive (had 3rd and 2 at UGA 9) - back to back false starts - held to field goal We made a mistake on each of our first 5 drives. They didn't have to "stop" us until our last drive of the half, when they got the pick on Tillman. And by this point, the hole is completely dug. Still, after that: Ninth drive - 3 different 5 yard penalties, including 1 that took us from 3 and 12 to 3rd and 17 in the red zone, as well as a missed wide open deep ball to Bru - Turnover on downs Eleventh drive - Missed deep ball to Fant - Turnover on downs That's 4 drives out of the 11 that didn't include some sort of unforced error. And even those 4 included: The fumble (which I'd argue is ALWAYS avoidable) The TD Our first drive of the 2nd half where we inexplicably ran the ball on 2nd and 15, allowing them to house blitz us on 3rd and 13 for a sack. So, in reality, you could make a strong case that they just straight up "stopped" us without our help 1 time in the entire game - the interception at the end of the first half. I count 4 out of 11 drives that we made, not just 1 undeniable unforced error, but 2 or more. That's 36% of our possessions.
No need - I'll pull it for you: Love that you've now changed it to "manhandled" in the above post, and in the response to Card, it was: So many changes it's hard to keep the track. Such a "you" situation. Never change, Ssmiff. Also funny that you keep circling back to the coach or player angle, after the original post specifically responded to what YOU were saying. Are you a player or coach, ssmiff? No? Then why do you keep bringing up players and coaches, as if they have anything to do with what I said? My point all along is has been thus: If you, as a fan, think we are completely outmatched against UGA, there's little reason for you to want a rematch. Teams who are completely outmatched don't win those games enough to justify wanting the rematch. But if you subscribe to the idea that we were somewhat evenly matched and just made a TON of errors, both on the field and coaching, then wanting a rematch makes sense - because maybe we win the rematch if we don't make all those errors. Again, if we are completely outmatched, the errors don't matter - we are going to lose anyway. Are we aligned on what I said now, or are you going to just keep making things up?
Does anybody here think we were evenly matched? Does anybody here not want another shot. You always make it more complicated. “I don’t think you can hold the opinion that we were completely overmatched, yet also want another shot.” Well, yes I can. It’s one game. Id like another shot if we adjust and make more plays. I do not think playing them again would look the same. I still think we will be handled 1 v 1 in some areas but others have nowhere to go but up.
You're doing it again. "Manhandled 1 v 1 in some areas" is not the same thing as saying "we were completely outmatched." Wanting another shot makes little to no sense if you don't think you can legitimately win (i.e. my Alabama over the last 10 years example). If you think we are completely outmatched against UGA, I have no idea why you think we can legitimately win another game against them, barring some sort of craziness/miracle like them beating themselves for 75% of the game.
I don't get how the punt is considered a self inflicted wound. In no world is fielding a punt Willie Mays-style something that's encouraged by coaching staffs -- and that's exactly what would've been required of the punt returner on that kick.
PR wasn’t at fault. The ball was way over his head and you don’t want to catch one off balance moving towards your goalline.
Y'all are out of your minds. Way over his head? It hit the ground 5 [uck fay]ing yards behind him on the 15 yard line, after he had already started coming forward, and there was no Georgia player within 10 yards of it. He absolutely, 100%, without a doubt should have fielded that punt. And I, personally, would argue that we had a second self inflicted wound on that series when we ran the ball on 2nd and 7 from our own 4. But I didn't include that one because it at least feels somewhat debatable. The punt though? No way. Go back and watch it.
A PR does not want to go back 15 yards while the balls in the air towards his own 10 yard line to catch a punt
I don't know that I would call this coming forward, he just stopped going back after he decided he wasn't going to field it. He probably could have made it to the spot to catch it, but he'd have almost had to catch it in stride. Add in the fact that the UGA players were 10 yards away with a full head of steam and had us outnumbered, it was definitely the right decision to get tf away from it.
He was lined up on the 30 when the ball was kicked. He backed up as far as the 20-21 yard line. The punt hit the ground on the 16 or 17 yard line. Have y'all ever fielded a punt before? Serious question.
All credit to the punter - it was a phenomenal punt, and like Groves said, there's no way in hell he could ever do that again. But we should have fielded the punt. No doubt in my mind. Did Heupel get asked about it post game? Would be curious to hear what he said, if so.
Ironic. Your commentary about not wanting a rematch after an overmatched asswhipping along with the idea a returner should go back 15 yards towards his goalline to fair catch a punt over his head makes it seem as if you never played a competitive down and just read box scores.
How many years of experience do you have fielding punts, ssmiff? How many years experience do you have coaching punt returners on a high school level or higher?
