Ted Laurent and Jerrell Powe beat them worse than anyone. Nonetheless everything you and Jay said regarding having hard nosed OLs that pride themselves in outworking the opposition is true.
Who didn't get their ass kicked against Ole Miss in 09? And Brian Price did on the goal line against UCLA.
I think it's hilarious that part of huffman's name is starred when someone quotes him. Dooley and Co. were caught with their pants down for the last 9 games of the season after Hunter went down.
Which is utter bullsh!t. No way any DI-A coach worth a squirt of p i s s should be shut down due to 1 injury. To be such a meticulous planner of garbage can location, telling architects how to change a building's design, bathing methods of late teenage football players, and individual hair placement, he sucks at what he is actually paid to do: come up with some game plans to win some f u c k i n g football games and adapt when the normal stuff isn't working.......
I can see one injury having a significant impact. Look at the Colts the last couple of years. However, I really can't recall a team ever falling apart from losing a wide receiver. I mean, not to belittle any receivers, but one receiver can only make so much of a difference.
Look at how terrible UGA was without AJ Green a few years ago when he was suspended. That being said, it's not like Da'Rick didn't play like a first round pick either. Hunter is probably worth a TD a game. How many games does that change for Tennessee last year, especially if Simms and Worley see playing time due to Bray's thumb?
Also worth a TD a game would be aggressive play on both sides of the ball and an OLine that could drive block. We had neither of these in 2011.
It was this game that cemented the notion that Chaney was not worth a gallon of **** in a leaky pouch. If your game plan is so one dimensional that one player's injury can destroy it, you suck. Dooley joined him there over the next several games and the off season when Chaney hung around.
Can you blame that on the OC? I can't figure out whether to condemn Chaney for not having a running game or competent second receiver or to praise him for being able to move the football without anything resembling a running game or second receiver. My inclination is to give him credit, mainly because of what I consider a pretty good job of resurrecting an offense in '09 that looked nothing like last year's, but how much of the credit for that or blame for the weaknesses we've seen since then to lay at his feet I can't really figure.
I think that's fair. I don't think Chaney's totally incompetent. I wouldn't have been sad to see him go, but I don't think he's just a fool. Admittedly, I am not a football tactician, but there sure seems to be something wrong with our running scheme. I just don't get how you get that bad without something really wrong systematically. Passing wise, I don't think Chaney's that bad.
There's a lot wrong with the running game. When you're trying to run it out of the shotgun consistently, there's not really a great push at the LOS. When you run it every time the QB is under center, it kind of tips your hand. Plus, the OL apparently could only work on pass protection and not run blocking. The offensive staff needs to stick with either a man or a zone scheme too. Switching back and forth is a recipe for disaster with a young OL. Let them be good at one thing before moving on to another. Plus, to be great at run blocking, you have to play like a big bad son of a b i t c h. That mindset was never there.
I think it's shared between the HC and the OC. I do not wish to serve as an advocate for Poole being a great back, but I don't think he was as bad as the scheme. I would say that it is part of the OC's job to make sure you have a serviceable running game, recognize potential roster weaknesses, and understand the risk of injury and its impact on the performance of the team. I struggled to see any significant adjustments made at any time after his injury despite it being obvious that Hunter was a special talent at wide receiver who was not going to be equaled with the reserves. Ultimately it is Dooley who holds the blame for allowing it play out like it did. At least that's how I see it. As far as '09, I am not sure how much of that was Chaney and how much was Kiffin. To be fair, I was a little harsh with my description of Chaney's worth. He is not the worst OC to ever call plays at UT, but I don't think the kind of offense he wants to run will get the job done in the SEC.
Jim Chaney is the definition of pressbox incompetence. Going into last season he was making the coaching clinic rounds giving the same talk on how dedicated the 2011 Vols were going to be to running the football and winning in the trenches. Even when everyone was healthy he tried to throw it every down from our under center base sets without establishing a ground threat. The man literally didn't give 2 shitts about keeping a defense honest, he was going to put the ball in the air regardless of personnel.
For those of you that remember games in more detail than I, what would you say are Dooley's 5 or 10 worst gameday decisions .. 11 men on field, using timeouts, halftime adjustments, etc....
That gets to the heart of what I was trying to say. Our backs stunk. Our run blocking stunk. Our scheme sacrificed the run game to fling it around. Whether the scheme was designed to play to our strength because our running stunk or whether our running stunk because of our scheme is a chicken and egg argument that I don't have the inside knowledge to pretend to settle. Again, I'm inclined to give Chaney some benefit because of '09.
