Tennessee Game Grades Arkansas Edition
Here are my grades for Tennessee’s game against Arkansas.
Offense: C-
The Vols’ offense struggles continued. There are a couple of concerns. First and foremost is the Red Zone and key situations futility. Tennessee had a key fumble and a missed field goal after getting into the Arkansas 20-yard line. The Preston Williams fumble seemed to be a defining momentum changer in the game. And when the offense needed a drive late in the game, they couldn’t put one together. Tennessee was 7-for-16 on 3rd down (43.7%) and couldn’t put together a game-winning drive in the fourth when they had a chance. The other big concern …
Quarterback: C
Joshua Dobbs continues to be erratic in the passing department. The coaching staff was bound and determined to throw the ball tonight – including down the field. Dobbs was 20-36 for 232 yards, but most of the completions were short completions. Dobbs’ third-level passing wasn’t good. Passes to Preston Williams and Josh Malone late were way off target; so much so that the receivers couldn’t even make plays on them. It seems the Volunteer coaching staff didn’t want Dobbs to run much, either. Only one designed run all night and Dobbs had seven yards on seven carries. A far cry from last week. One must wonder whether Coach Butch Jones is considering experimenting with freshman Quinten Dormandy if Dobbs’ passing inconsistency continues.
Running Backs: A-
The running backs continue to be the strong point of this offense. Jalen Hurd ran for 90 hard-earned yards; and Hurd and Kamara were the two top receivers as well with a total of seven receptions and 91 yards between them. Yes, over one-third of Dobbs’ receptions were to the two running backs. Unfortunately for the running backs, the lack of an effective passing games means opposing defenses are putting extra numbers in the box.
Receivers: D
The receiving corps is edging out the defensive line as the most disappointing unit so far this season. We’ve already talked about Preston Williams’ fumble in the Red Zone. Williams also had two dropped passes, including one big one deep in Tennessee territory in the fourth quarter. Josh Malone also had two bad drops. When the quarterback is struggling for consistency, the highly touted receiving corps desperately needs to help him out. Josh Smith, the shortest receiver on the team, has been the most reliable receiver through the first five games. Tennessee won’t make it very far if this trend continues.
Offensive Line: C
The offensive line continues to do better than expected in the run game, particularly with the edge-run game. This is probably because they are a smaller than average line. So it helps to get them moving. They are still struggling, however, to provide Joshua Dobbs time in the pocket. Dobbs was pressured with three- and four-man rushes all night long and this contributed to his difficulty in finding deep receivers.
Defense: C-
Tennessee gave up 24 points and 481 total yards to an Arkansas team that put up a grand total of 12 points against Toledo two weeks ago. Tennessee had no answer for the Arkansas running game as the Razorback offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage all night. And when the running game wasn’t there, Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen found his tight ends wide open in the Tennessee secondary. Arkansas had two long drives in the second half and the Vol defense just couldn’t get off the field. This bodes ominously as Tennessee has tough running game match-ups with Georgia and Alabama coming up this month. The Tennessee defense has some questions they need to answer.
Defensive Line: C-
Coming into the season, fans thought the defensive line would be the strength of the defense. So far this season, they’ve failed to live up to expectations. Derek Barnett has largely been quiet in the first five games and freshmen Kahlil McKenzie and Shy Tuttle – while solid for freshman – haven’t made the impact many expected. Tennessee continues to rush with three and four men and can’t get sustained pressure on opposing quarterbacks. And it’s showing. The defensive line tonight was worn down by an overpowering Razorback offensive line.
Linebackers: D
The Volunteer linebackers had a tough game. They just couldn’t close the holes against the Razorback running game and, when they did, missed several tackles that led to long runs for Arkansas. And on multiple occasions linebackers or stand-up ends lost contain and allowed QB Allen to extend key plays for 3rd down conversions. If the linebacker play doesn’t improve, you better believe Georgia and Alabama will attack this deficiency with their power running attacks and stables of punishing running backs.
Defensive Backs: B-
The secondary played a fairly solid game. In pass defense, the biggest issue was miscommunication with the linebackers on coverage of Arkansas’ tight ends. Watching the game, I tend to think that’s probably more on the linebackers than the secondary. The biggest issue for the secondary was coming up on the run defense. Just too many missed tackles inside the box. While that’s not really the primary responsibility of the secondary, it would help the undersized front seven for the secondary to come up and make some big plays.
Special Teams: B+
The Vols got an opening kick-off return for a touchdown and a blocked field goal, but missed another easy field goal (28 yards) and banked another field goal in off the uprights. Additionally, they had a punt return TD called back on a penalty. The rest of the return game was average and the coverage game was solid. They also defended a fake field goal late in the game, which built some momentum, but the offense couldn’t capitalize.
Coaching: B-
As much as the fans might want to direct their anger at the coaches, this game wasn’t on the coaches. The offense couldn’t execute. Dobbs struggled to find consistency and the receivers dropped too many passes. The defense missed too many tackles and couldn’t handle the schematic advantage at the line of scrimmage. Ultimately, of course, the coaches are responsible for the results; but the fans have clamored all week for more passing and deeper passing. They got that tonight and learned why the offensive coaches haven’t aired it out more earlier in the season. The coaches will have a long week answering for a disappointing start to the season and will have to carefully consider some changes at key positions – quarterback first and foremost.
Things aren’t going their way in Knoxville. Can the Vols salvage the season with a big win against Georgia next week?
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