When Tennessee's football team got on a plane to California this time a year ago, there were some concerns about the defense. You never really know what to expect in an opening game, one way or the other.
Concern is one thing. If anyone knew what was about to happen over the next few weeks, sirens would have been shrieking.
The month of September 2007 was one nobody associated with UT football wants to relive. (The third Saturday in October wasn't so hot, either.)
Phillip Fulmer and his defensive staff felt like Davy Crockett at the Alamo. Tailbacks were speeding through the gates. Receivers were swarming around the flanks. Kick returners were vaulting over the walls.
By the end of September, UT ranked 107th in the nation in scoring defense. Cal scored 45 points on opening day, a prelude to Florida's 59 a couple of weeks later.
Southern Miss passed for 264 yards. Arkansas State rushed for 178. If that weren't bad enough, opponents were returning punts, interceptions and fumbles for touchdowns.
Inexperience, injuries, freshmen, mistakes, it was a vicious cycle.
"I was just running around not knowing the plays,'' safety Eric Berry said Tuesday, recalling his first month of college football.
"It was frustrating, but I guess it was a part of it. You learn what to do and what not to do.''
And you usually learn the hard way.
"We knew what we had last year, we knew the situations,'' defensive coordinator John Chavis said. "I didn't make any excuses then. I won't make any excuses now.
"We feel a lot better about where we are right now.''
Where the Vols are right now is days away from getting on another plane to California to open another season.
The truth is Tennessee doesn't know for sure what will happen this year, either. There's UCLA, then there are two top-10 teams, Florida and Auburn, before the month is out.
But everyone from Fulmer to Chavis to Berry professes to feel better about Tennessee's defense heading into 2008.
"Light years better,'' said secondary coach Larry Slade.
That UCLA doesn't appear to have the offensive trouble-makers that Cal did last year contributes to UT's comfort zone. But it isn't the majority factor.
Regardless of the opponent threat level, Tennessee thinks it is on more solid defensive footing. That goes for when the Tim Tebow Show comes to town, too.
Chavis and Slade knew there would be issues with a young, rebuilt secondary in 2007. That unit has done a 180.
The secondary features some of the team's best athletes and they're no longer raw recruits.
Berry, a potential All-American, knows where to be and when to be there. He recognizes formations, anticipates plays.
"Stuff he didn't do last year,'' said Slade, "because he was trying to learn a position.''
Said Chavis, "We're a lot tighter on the back end, no question. We're going to have to see up front, to be honest with you.''
Chavis likes his starters on the defensive line, but wonders if the depth will stand up to the rigors of hot September days and nights. At linebacker, the excellent Rico McCoy is joined by two new starters.
Fall camp has provided more optimism than pessimism. Fulmer says the plague of missed tackles that led to so many big plays early last year has been addressed.
"It's usually experience,'' he said. "Hopefully we won't have too many out there who don't have the physical ability to be on the field.''
The defense has made it through camp with minimal injuries. Barring attrition, any freshmen who play won't be in featured roles.
"If you can prevent some of those things,'' Chavis said, "you're more settled, and if you're settled you can play more up to your potential.
"We didn't play up to our potential early in the season because we were so unsettled.''
They just didn't know how unsettled when they got on that plane to California.
Another flight departs Saturday. The forecast is for less turbulence.
Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strangem@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 72
RockyTop31174 writes:
1st - eat it 1st haters
Musicman74 writes:
The defense should be a lot better than last year.
GO BIG ORANGE!!!
1manningfan writes:
Please Tennesse Gods let us have a magical year and make some noise in the SEC!!!
txvolsfan writes:
2nd
MrBamSeydu writes:
rockytopnumbers: great comment, very informative.
gnm53108 writes:
Hold ucla to less than 50 yards rushing.
4qb sacks.
1 fumble recoveries.
3 int's.
Let the frost orange brewed koolaid flow.
GO VOLS!
GreerVol22 writes:
Congrats Rocky! If I was there I'd let you use my cell to call someone that cares.
My biggest thing is that we don't take any plays off. We always seem to let a Spurrier or Tebow psyche us out and its as if we are looking to the sideline after the ball is snapped.
GreerVol22 writes:
Oh, and remember..."you gotta cover the kick!"
It often put a young defense in a bad spot defending from the 40 after every punt or score.
KnoxVol_in_TX writes:
sorry to hate on ya gnm...but one (1) is singular.
GO VOLS!!!
KnoxVol_in_TX writes:
Interesting point Greer... I can see what you're saying, but hopefully that's remedied with the higher maturity level at some positions. I sure hope this D ends up performing at their potential.
VolsorCat writes:
GreerVol: Agree 100%. Cover the kick or kick it out of bounds.
gnm53108 writes:
Knox..was going to say two but decided to change to one fumble recovery.
Thanks for the edit check.
GO VOLS!
slammingseth writes:
off subject but does anyone realize that jonathon crompton could end up being the 3rd best qb in the nations best conference this year?
Michael1204 writes:
Or maybe even better than 3rd, Seth.
If you're hinting that Stafford could take either 1st or 2nd best in the conference, what has he really done to prove himself ? In his career, he's thrown 26 TDs and 23 INTs. Those aren't exactly top caliber numbers in my opinion.
I'm thinking 2nd best in conference, myself.
Michael1204 writes:
2nd best from Crompton, that is.
PreventUT writes:
Will UT turn to the 3-4 defense? It seemed pretty effective in the 1st half of the Georgia game last year.
arkyvol writes:
the cal game last year was an utter embarrassment, one of the worst defensive efforts i've seen from the vols since the back to back losses to USC and georgia in 81. fulmer's illogical loyalty to chavis just about tipped me into the 'fire fulmer' camp. after all, making hard personnel decisions is one of the reasons he's paid millions. chavis' belated recovery satisfied me somewhat, but i still don't have a lot of confidence in chavis' abilities as a coordinator/asst. head coach. i'm only partially reassured by his comments. after all, this time last year, he wasn't predicting (or warning us) the unmitigated disasters of the first few games. all i can say is hold on tight and pray.
DennisVols writes:
Berry was excellent working on pure instinct last year. Just how great is this guy going to be this year knowing the system and being more prepared for our opponents offense.
OC's throughout the SEC should be up at night worring about this.
PreventUT writes:
They will! And that's why I expect Morely to have a big year...throw away from Berry and into the hands of D MO!!
VolFanInAtl writes:
Are we a bit overconfident?
Pullingguard writes:
Good and worrisome article.. When Berry says he was running around not knowing what to do only reinforces what so many has said, and that being
Slade is a marginal coach.. No teaching, learn on the fly.. One must wonder why the defense will be better this year when you lose the heart of defense at LB.. Lets just hope that Chavis does not have a repeat year on defense...
caskew#218608 writes:
http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-foot...#
Feast your eyes on this!
gnm53108 writes:
Our defense IS going to be alot better this year.
Chavis has fielded alot of great defenses.This year will get back to Tennessee standards.
Will it be one of the great Tennessee defenses?
Time will tell.
PreventUT writes:
caskew: looks good, thanks!
gnm53108 writes:
caskew...Thanks for the link.Besides my wife,thats the most beutiful sight I've ever seen.
Ralph_Crampton writes:
The truth guys is this...Berry is maybe great..but we don't want see dbs and safety men make a lot tackles..this is like good news and bad..its good the dbs are making the tackles...but the bad news is the opposing runners have to b e tackled beyond the Vol defensive line. Another question, what if crompton is injured in first few min utes of game? Who will replace him> Now supposedly the Bruins are set at QB...but they may have surprise up their sleeve...what about the QB they rarely mention, who can scramble as threat to run or pass, and is effective on option plays. He almost led the Bruins to a major upset last year against Arizona State who were fourth ranked in the nation. History indicates that Vols start off timid when they play in California. The last two games in the Golden State, the Vols appeared rattled at start of game as defender forced VolQB to fumble, picked the ball up and scored in first seconds of game. The game before that a UCLA defender took the ball away from kickoff return man for Vols. Look for a slugfest...and if Vols play as they usually do in California...well it would be just plain awful to us Vol fans. Remember guys, the players are not really into the game as us crazy fans are.
BillVol writes:
Going to need some evidence before I believe any of this. Chow vs. Chavis scares the heck out of me.
PreventUT writes:
From the looks of things, I doubt Chavis will ever have a problem digesting Chow.
xvolx writes:
Chow cant coach what he doesnt have. Ucla looks to be weak on off., but fairly stable on def. Tenn. wins 35-0. Def. responsible for 24 points. A weak off. that presses, turns ball over.
Gigavol writes:
UCLA has a pretty good defense. Top 15 last year, I think. UT was not top 15 last year. UT was barely top 10 in the SEC last year.
gnm53108 writes:
Prevent..LOL.
I hope that turns out to be both figuritively and literally.
Shavers..shipment is on the way.
PreventUT writes:
My previous statement is intended to mean UCLA has injuries and other offensive concerns ;) such subtle ambiguity
BigOrangeVol writes:
"the players are not really into the game as us crazy fans are."
What!!!??? You obviously never put on pads and a helmet!
"Chow vs. Chavis scares the heck out of me."
Chief will Chow-down! The Chow-chow Chiwaiian has been a mediocre player and coach his whole life. Drop Robbie Bosco, Steve Young, Philip Rivers, Ty Detmer, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart in our laps and we'd look like offensive genius' too. At the end of the game Chief and Chow will meet to shake hands an all John needs to say is, "Mahalo nui loa, I'm Ka Nui Ali`i Chavis! Kula out; Vols Pohaku."
gnm53108 writes:
Agree with BOV.
Not sure what all that meant but pretty sure I agree.
Chow-down Chief!!
I really like the sound of that.
PreventUT writes:
haha, what??? yeah, what Big O said!
BigOrangeVol writes:
Roughly...
"Thanks very much, I'm the Great Chief Chavis! School's out; Vols rock."
gnm53108 writes:
Vols Pohaku!!
PreventUT writes:
Chavis to Chow: sorry my friend, but you will come out of this looking really, really bad!!
PreventUT writes:
And the headlines will read, "Chavis Makes Chow Look Bad"
ssukonic#254241 writes:
Hey, do we know anything about Gerald Williams yet?
MidTennVol writes:
If we're again weak up front on defense, expect our secondary to be leading in tackles because our linebackers don't seem to be too "settled" yet either.
If I were Chow, I'd run it up the gut/off tackle and mix that up with nickel 'n dime short passes to pick on the linebackers.
Most important question, to me: IS OUR SECONDARY FINALLY GOOD ENOUGH TO PLAY MAN COVERAGE, COACH SLADE? Or will they fall back into the sale old "soft zone"/"prevent" defense (which doesn't)?
MidTennVol writes:
If we're again weak up front on defense, expect our secondary to be leading in tackles because our linebackers don't seem to be too "settled" yet either.
If I were Chow, I'd run it up the gut/off tackle and mix that up with nickel 'n dime short passes to pick on the linebackers.
Most important question, to me: IS OUR SECONDARY FINALLY GOOD ENOUGH TO PLAY MAN COVERAGE, COACH SLADE? Or will they fall back into the same old "soft zone"/"prevent" defense (which doesn't)?
GerryOP writes:
Hope the coaching didn't destroy Eric Berry's natural ability.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
caskew, thanks for the link--the stadium renovations look awesome!
The only thing I am worried about re: UCLA are early turnovers. If we avoid giving them any defensive scores in the first half, we should win going away. I'm sure UCLA has a passle of good athletes, but they will be thin in numbers and thinner yet in experience. I don't think their offense will be able to grind it out against us and that will mean more minutes for their defense as the game goes on. Even a couple of quick scores by their offense won't help their defense if we stay patient on offense ourselves. The final margin could range from 10 to 24, but I think the Vols will win easily. GO VOLS!!! FIVE MORE DAYS!!! I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!
GoVol writes:
Stop'em on 3rd and long...that's a start!
richvol writes:
Amen! Third and long has hurt us for years...seems to coincide with Slade's tenure.
mbible1utk#324980 writes:
I agree with GoVol... if we can get off the field after third downs (and they not be touchdowns) it'd go a long way... I do believe we will be better, but I think our Mustang package will be a must against teams like Florida and Auburn, and a 3-4 for Georgia. Ohio State is all high on themselves for playing USC out of conference, they wouldn't want a schedule of Florida, Georgia, and Auburn all in the first 6 games.
I think the only thing that works against us being championship contenders is how tough the SEC is as a whole... I think we can beat Georgia, Florida, and Auburn... but it'd take a LOT to not lose atleast one of those games. If we make it to November undefeated, we will have earned the right to jump any other undefeated team because no one will have had to go through what we did.
Sheepscape writes:
Amen and I echo the comments about 3rd and long...it's been the Achilles heel for Chavis's defenses for some years now. That phooey has got to stop.
Bigfan up there is correct as well, if our db's are making most of the tackles that does not auger well overall. Given UCLA's depleted offense, we should get some solid work.
ctownvol writes:
Posted by gnm53108 on August 26, 2008 at 11:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
caskew...Thanks for the link.Besides my wife,thats the most beutiful sight I've ever seen.
Gnm- Not trying to be a smarta** at all here! You're wife must be smokin'! Because if she's better lookin' than the renovations...You are a lucky man. GO VOLS!!!!
thesavageorange writes:
I posted an article by Chris Low yesterday regarding the Gerald Williams situation.Low dug a little deeper yesterday and this is what he found out.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sec/0-1-25...
This is ridiculous.I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but it seems like someone in the SEC office wants to make things hard on Tennessee and their student athletes.
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