Quarterbacks F
All three of Jonathan Crompton's interceptions were troubling, mostly since none of them were tipped at the line. The senior stared down receivers, overthrew open targets and then forced UT into a play-calling shell as it missed an opportunity to pick apart a young UCLA secondary.
Running Backs B-
Montario Hardesty and Bryce Brown showed flashes, but neither could consistently move the chains with so many defenders near the line of scrimmage. Hardesty in particular was solid picking up the blitz, but everything was overshadowed by UT coming up short when it needed 2 yards to win the game.
Wide receivers C
After a flawless start to the season, UT finally dropped some passes - including a pair of big ones that slowed down the attack. The receivers also missed a couple of critical blocks and only three of them had more than one catch.
Offensive line C-
Center Cody Sullins and Crompton had a mishandled exchange and the Vols allowed three sacks in a forgettable effort up front. UCLA won the battle in the trenches, holding UT to 2.6 yards per carry and harassing Crompton into some bad decisions.
Defensive Line B+
Tackle Willie Bohannon forced a fumble on a sack, which end Gerald Williams recovered. Yet Williams failed to drop into coverage and gave up a touchdown. End Chris Walker also forced a fumble but couldn't quite recover what could have saved the game. Williams had eight tackles.
Linebackers B+
Nick Reveiz had nine tackles. Rico McCoy had seven. Both made a play behind the line of scrimmage. LaMarcus Thompson was average at best, with three tackles.
Defensive Backs B
Eric Berry isn't turning in Berry-like plays but is still playing well. Fellow safety Janzen Jackson missed a tackle that allowed a first down and another that allowed a long run. And they faced a redshirt freshman quarterback.
Special teams C
Chad Cunningham set the tone by booting the opening kickoff out of bounds to set UCLA up with good field position, and UT never did much in any phase to make up ground. Nu'Keese Richardson was again unsteady as the punt returner, and the Vols haven't been able to generate much on kickoff returns.
Coaching C
Lane Kiffin had to protect a shell-shocked quarterback. Should a change have been made? Monte Kiffin's defense kept the Vols in the game, but Berry could make more plays if he wasn't always lined up in the box. UT's receiver rotation was questionable.
overall D
The Vols can't overcome the kind of quarterback play they got on Saturday no matter how long their coaches coached in the NFL.
- News Sentinel staff
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Softball: Tennessee 2, Georgia 1
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 93
Tnborn writes:
We stink let's fire lame kitten.
IdahoVol writes:
Good assessment. I'm not a fan of yanking quarterbacks, but Crompton played like he did most of last year. The D looks like they could be pretty solid if the QB position doesn't get us beat in games.
Chris2Vols writes:
I have a strange prediction. Florida's D wil put 28 points on us next week, outscoring their offense and beating us 49-0
volfan05 writes:
damn that was a BIG letdown crompton is terrible!! For the sake of the rest of the season i hope he does not see another snap! Well mabe on the scout team. Give berry some practice picking off some passes!!! GO VOLS
DownTheField writes:
i am sick... is jc the worst starting qb in tenn history? (i guess he'll set a record after all)
DownTheField writes:
why? why? why? why?
northface60 writes:
Next Saturday is going to be ugly for the Vols, the Swamp is a bad place to get spanked.
DennisVols writes:
If you did not think this kind of game was going to happen this year you where either lying to you yorself or had your head in the sand.
The fact is Kiffin took over a very bad UT football team. One that for the last decade has come up short every year since the NC in '98 just like the 4th down play on the 1 yard line today.
It wasn't just Crompton and the 3 INT's, it was poor blocking by the O line, receivers not only dropping passes but Jones wasn't even in the same timezone on a couple of his routes.
The defense did play good but they did not play great. Too many missed tackles, reminded me of the last decade, on key downs.
Crompton, for all his problems, is the result of too many OC's, poor coaching development, and the damage from last years fallout. I don't know if anyone can correct all the issues that have been built into him following the past 4 years.
This team is a long ways from being good let alone great.
We all got too hyped up following last weeks blowout win against a team we should have blown out by even more than we did.
This team is not short on base talent but the cubbored is bare on the sidelines. In other words no replacements with experience or the skills necessary to spell the starters.
I did see a team that did not quit trying today which is an improvement over the past few years. I also saw a team that dispreately needs a couple more good recruitng classes before it will look anything like the team we long to see.
Many have already 2nd guessed the 4th down call in the 4th qtr. I say if we don't play the 2nd & 3rd qtrs like we did then we don't need to make that play anyways.
This game was a result of a team needing to play too many freshmen, lack of depth on the O line, and 10 years of decay that cannot be changed in Kiffin's first 10 months.
This was going to happen this year and maybe it happening now instead of later will be a good thing. It looked like the team did not take UCLA as seriously as they should. Maybe they read too many of their own praises from last week game in the papaer or on blogs.
Crompton did not lose this game, the team lost it. There was too many mistakes to blame just one man.
We can hope they learned from their mistakes this go around and time will tell.
Keeping it Real
Go Vols!!!
stormblast writes:
He will have more game balls given to him before the season is over than any player in college football history. The opposing teams will hand deliver them to him after the game. He will probably be given the key to the city in Gainesville next week.
blitzshoot writes:
A freshman wins at Ohio St and a Senior loses at home against a 500 team. Disappointed in the play calling of 3rd and goal...up the middle. 4th and goal...up the middle. Coaches rank as low as the qb.
blitzshoot writes:
TENNESSEE FOOTBALL.....need D-lineman, O-Lineman, Quarterback.
bigtimevol writes:
Crompton will start FL game, but will be his last...yanked after a quarter. The thing is, that if we had just marginal, non mistake qb play, we win this game...and FL didn't look all that hot today against Troy. We have it in us to play FL a close game. But, they're going to put 8 in the box and we're toast.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
This is the point where the Vol Nation has to suck it up and deal with the reality that we actually are in a "transition." It's gonna suck this year...suck bad. The Vol Nation needs to step up, show some class, and be PATIENT with this new coaching staff. CLK needs, at a minimum, two years to develop a program that is competitive in the SEC. Let's not all act surprised and jump off the bandwagon at the first bump in the road.
Volsforbetterorforworse writes:
Fan support. Pitiful.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
As for Crompton. You gotta feel for the kid. Football has been his life and for some reason it looks like he's not cut out to play football. I can't see CLK starting Crompton against Florida, especially after all of his "the best player will start" rhetoric in the spring. Stephens may not have "earned" a starting job, but Crompton sure as hell lost his.
BigOrange93 writes:
Really good post and i agree almost 100%
tenndave writes:
On our 4th down from the one I understand why we ran off tackle left but was I the only one that noticed that when the tight in came in motion to the left, the entire UCLA defense shifted left leaving a wide open end run to the right pylon undefended? No one could have beat Hardesty to that corner. But I do understand why we ran what we did, it was the only run that had been working. Emphasis on HAD!
yeavols#228407 writes:
Everyone knows this is a rebuilding year. For the last 5 years the talent level has dropped and there have been several coaching changes. We get a top notch QB next year, better recruits,and in a few years we are back in business. We are just so decimated from years past. Nothing wrong with the coaching staff. Kiffin does have a tough decision to make. I am in agreement with many here, and that is keep JC in the game next week and turn it over to Stephens. Why let Stephens waste his Junior year on the bench when JC is not going anywhere?
yeavols#228407 writes:
If anyone doubts what a true freshman QB can do, look at Barkley at USC and the other Frosh QB at Michigan. HOLY CR@P! INCREDIBLE!
Vol_fan_in_Tampa writes:
Tenn Will win more game this yr. I am ashamed at some of the comments made here. I will be at the UF game and expect it to be a CLOSE game . That is it. If we win..... GREAT!!!!! If we don't that is fine too. We are installing a brand new Defense and Offense. Mistakes will be made. Shut the F up on Crompton. Sure he mad mistakes but those of you who think it was all him are out of your mind. Mistakes were made on D and Spec teams as well The fact is we hel UCLA to less than 200 total yds and barely managed to reach that ourselves. Hats off to UCLA, they played a hell of a game. I don;t think it was all us. I think we lost to the first real PAC 10 D!!! in a few yrs outside of USC. My point is we have many good and bad times ahead of us. We will be 7-5 maybe 8-4 this yr. Those who want to call me out, PLEASE DO SO at the end of the year. until then, support your volunteers !!!!!!!!!
Orangeblood13 writes:
Casey Clauson started a bad QB string at UT and with the expection of sometimes good qb play from Ange we have not a decent QB since T left us..
sleep it off, Casey is 2nd behind Peyton in wins
It's "fans" like you leaving at halftime that split the Vol Nation.
Crompton is terrible, we all agree, growing pains were coming, but we didn't know this early
jsm67vol writes:
Nick better be ready! It looks like he will get his shot with another performance like JC had today. I don't put it all on JC, but as many have said; with just average qb play today we likely come away with a W. I thought NS was the best of our QBs last year and barring the wrist fracture, I feel he may have beaten JC for the starting spot in fall camp. If CLK holds to his weekly competition for play time, then NS should get equal snaps this week in practice. This staff has their work cut out for them to get these guys ready for the fight of their life this Saturday. Go Vols!!!
orangepridenation writes:
sir..have you ever heard of robert neyland? best era ever? are you serious? i know from other posts that you are a gator fan...you of all people should know that we have twice as many national championships as you and twice as many conference titles. oh yea all that in state recruiting? you mean like nukeese richardson from florida, or the quarterback that just committed from california. or the dozens of others from all over the nation. boy stop! we've been a top program for 100 years and i believe have the 6th highest winning percentage of any major college football program in the country. a few down years won't ever change the fact that tennessee is the deffinition of a great football program.
volpreacherman writes:
Excellent post! We have got to be patient and supportive! This team did not get to this point overnight and it will take more than one year to fix it. win, lose or draw we are tennessee vols!!
slojim writes:
I feel for Crompton, but feelings are for pu$$ies. Try Stephens and get him experience for next year. Crompton has had more that enough chances.
Kudos to the D. Reviez and company are tough and can lay a lick on you. Ask Prince who is missing some teeth.
We are seeing why sound QB play is at a premium. It seems like forever since UT had a quality signal caller.
For the record, I believe we had a good coaching staff last year (minus Clawson’s' stupid offence)...we are seeing that a great coaching staff is only as good as the QB play. (Yes, I am a Fulmer backer).
UT fans...take a deep breath...it may be awhile till we can lay claim to the upper echelon of the SEC. Swallow your pride and have patience. At least we are not Ohio State.
Jim Crews
UT Grad
Tennessee born and bred
chucker6 writes:
You are an idiot Fulmer apologist who was blind, dumb and deaf to the total joke he had turned Tennessee football into. At least the team tonight did not quit on us, unlike Fulmer's last few pitiful examples.
OrangeUGlad writes:
Anyone hatin on CLK & Co. needs a serious head check! Sure the offense looked all too familiar and reminded us all of PF and DC's ineptitudes last year. The fact is folks this is the hand CLK was dealt. PF is a lifetime Vol and deserves a tip-o-the hat for what he did in the late 90's, but recently he was LOSING the head-to-head recruiting battles with Cryer & Satan. That my friends is why he's no longer with us. Crompton was abysmal today and truthfully we all know Stephens probably wouldn't have been much better, but folks we are AT LEAST COMPETING for the talent we're gonna need to turn this Titanic around. CLK came in at the 11th hour (in terms of recruiting) and not only competed but held his own against the evil powers to our south, stealing away several blue chippers in the process. Give it time folks. The reason it looked too much like last year is because we are primarily fielding last year's players, bottom line. Before we cast stones, give him a couple years; let him restock the cupboard; have a little faith. If we look like this in 2012 I'll lead the posse to run him out of town.
Meantime guys, don't boo our players--just don't. Eyes are on us; very VERY talented young men are trying to decide whether they want to spend 3-4 years in our charge. Show them we have class-- that we'll support them and provide them with the best college football atmosphere in the nation. If we do that NO ONE can consistently beat us out for great players. Let's work with CLK, not against him, and soon enough we'll be singin' Rocky Top all nite long after beating Fla. (Not this year . . . but soon enough)
Go vols.
mattnchatt writes:
Crompton is damaged goods. Good practice doesn't equal good game play obviously. I still totally support the new staff and have faith in them. Look what Ole Miss is doing with coach O's players. I also believe the questionable play calling was a result of the lack of confidence in our QB. So that one is Kiffin's own fault for being too stubborn to admit he was wrong in selecting JC as the starter. Bottom line is, we don't have three, nearly four INTs and we win. Lastly, I don't think the Florida game will be close and I hate admitting that but it's reality. Two more recruiting classes and we'll be contenders again.
BlakeyWakey writes:
I hate you crompton....you are TERRIBLE!!!!
HowBoutThemVols writes:
Here's how I would grade the Vols today...D- for DISAPPOINTING!
Yes, I know last week was only Western Kentucky, but today's offensive performance was worse than pathetic (ala last year). I am as excited as anyone about the Lane Kiffin era, but I just hope he has truly done his homework. I worry that maybe he didn't actually look at all the video of last year's games and players. He needs to know what went wrong last year so we don't repeat it.
I'm also a fan of the Crompton comeback. (At least I was last week.) But, how can anyone who has ability like he does, just melt under the slightest pressure. I'd like to see one QB all season for continuity sake, but this cannot continue. Crompton has to improve now! Kiffin has been saying, "... the best players will play", so he is going to have to make a QB change during practice this week.
That said, what an AWFUL performance by the O-Line! These guys have got to find it in themselves to play better and win physical battles. They did not give Crompton adequate time to set up and make reads. They did not open any holes to run through. This is their entire job on the field. Even with a new QB we will not win if the line cannot play better. (I refer you, once again, to last year.)
And the receivers... yes, a few times there were some receivers open, but mostly they were blanketed by defenders or they ran their routes like they were told to run to the defender and wait for the ball. Where was Teaque today? Did Jones forget what routes to run while he was injured? Apparently just getting healthy doesn't necessarily make the veteran receivers ready to play.
Generally, the Defense played well - well enough to win (only allowed less than 200 yds.). But we still don't tackle well. And have we ever been able to cover anyone across the middle? The vaunted secondary hasn't shown me much in pass coverage. We all know Eric Berry is a great player, but nothing much yet this year.
Special Teams (NOT!). Except for making field goals and kicking a few long punts, our special teams have not been (special) this year, either. Why can't we kick off in bounds or into the end zone? Everybody we play can do this. We don't have any playmaking ability on returns either. The return game actually scares me! And our coverage teams have been OK, but not so much for our punt coverage today.
Offensive play calling was vanilla, at best. Are we still allowed to run around the ends? There was plenty of room outside on many of our up-the-middle runs, but we never went there. We HAVE TO be able to run this year. We have to find a way to give our backs a chance to get going.
We have a long way to go! Hope our (recruit) commits don't run away while we try to figure out how to win.
orangepridenation writes:
i have a theory....crompton sucks, but think about it, he's had what? 4 different offensive coaches since he's been here. maybe he feels somewhat betrayed by ut for the lack of coaching continuity that they have provided for him. so he's playing like this on purpose to scare off recruits and get back at the program....that sneaky pr##k.
jk...about all of that. but thats about what it looked like today.
go big orange!
ExpatVol writes:
This one is on Crompton... plain & simple... he might be a practice star, but once the bullets start flying the kid just can't handle the pressure. Some have it, some don't. Unfortunately, he doesn't have it.
I understand he lives to play the game, is good at practice, works hard, and is a nice kid overall... but at some point you have to bench him. He just doesn't perform. I simply don't understand what 'allegiance' Kiffin has for the guy or if they didn't watch a single tape from last season.
I was never negative on the kid until last night after that final throw (no one within 10 yards) and he blames it on the receiver. Unacceptable. They wouldn't be in that position without the awful performance by Crompton.
Hold on everyone. Its going to be a long, long season.
johnnyt39 writes:
I am NOT a pigskin expert. I never played the game or studied it much.
That said, I spent decades in a business that required evaluating MEN (no ladies) in performing under stress.Although retired, it's still an automatic thing w/ me.
In short, I am really surprised at a QB demeanor that sits despondently on the bench when there is still time to act and react to a potential loss.
There was a quickie TV glance of Johnny Majors on the sidelines: A flashback in my mind to his time at UT, and a comparison of a winning and...pardon me...a losing psyche under stress.
That is my "professional" evaluation.My prognosis if for our coach to read ExpatVol's remarks which are, in fact, a clear statement of a QB in need of counseling, not a starting role on a football field.
If I were screening Crompton for infantry OCS or a police beat around Gay Street, my recommendation would be cook school in the former and a big NO in the latter.
Vol_in_Mich writes:
Agreed
stroker writes:
Good read however had JC played a good game we would have won.
Vols033 writes:
???? ohio, 2-2 is more like it
volfan7 writes:
I recently read in ESPN magazine that Tennessee has the worst quarterbacks in the SEC. I was offended at firt but am now convinced that this is probably true. I never saw anything too great from Stephens either.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
At least we will lead the SEC in INT's this year.
OldNumber7 writes:
Anyone who watched USC / Ohio State should have taken some things away from that game:
1) USC's acclaimed o-line had a bad day too against a good defense. Their day looked like our day...relax. It doesn't mean we are bad yet.
2) USC play book looked awfully familiar - but eventually worked and won the game because of ball protection...relax. Without mistakes we would have won too. Maxim 1.
3) Ohio State was in the same position we were at the end and they failed too. Season over?...not yet. And we still haven't played an SEC game.
Despite our mistakes, I saw a team that was pulling away from UCLA...until we shot ourselves in the foot. It was ALL about our own mistakes yesterday.
vol98champ writes:
I hope UCLA turns out to be a 8-4 team.
I believe we have a top 5 defense.
I believe we would have a top 25 offense if we had a quarterback. Hardesty played his heart out.
The offensive line can't block 8 guys.
The receivers have no confidence in the quarter back and probably are the second weakest part of our team.
Kiffin had no choice but to try to run up the middle at the goal line. A straight hand off is the only thing Crompton can do when the heat is on.
We will only win against vastly inferior teams and teams that we can run on like Vanderbilt and Kentucky last year. If Crompton had thrown half the time against them we would have lost.
Kiffin is against a rock and a hard place. I'm afraid he has no quarterback and no hope of one this year.
Oh how I hope I am wrong about that last comment!
If I am right our only option is to run against Florida and that will only keep the margin under 50.
One last comment, our special team play is still awful.
jalvol18 writes:
I believe we have a pretty good team with a very bad quarterback. It is hard to assess any other aspect of the offensive play -- the offensive line in particular -- or play calling by the coaches without taking into account that we have a remarkably poor quarterback.
After Crompton's interceptions, we went into a predictable shell to "protect" him from his own mistakes. That made the UCLA's defense's job much easier. Sure, we all can imagine more imaginative play calling on the goal line (a boot leg, perhaps?), but what coach in his right mind would have taken a chance on putting the ball game in Crompton's hands at that point?
I feel badly for the young man, but he is the worst quarterback I've seen at Tennessee in all my years of following the team. No new coaching staff can fix that.
It is hard to imagine that Nick Stephens could be a step down. Give him a chance. Give the team a chance to win against quality competition.
KonaVol writes:
Clipboard Johnny strikes again!
BuckFama writes:
True.
I'm sure the rest of the nation knows what idiots some Tennessee fans are after hearing them boo their own QB. Despite what UT's head coach might have you believe, this is not pro football.
Tnborn writes:
why did we hire lame kitten again?
BuckFama writes:
Pitiful fan.
richvol writes:
Does no one in this day and age not know how to teach setting up a wall on kickoffs? It looks completely helter-skelter to me. Tennessee once did this with precision.
VolHooch42 writes:
And you are on this board why?
jcoleman6 writes:
Great Post! UCLA was never a push over. This game was always a toss up. People need to ease up on Crompton. He had a horrible 3rd Quarter, but so did the entire Offense. We had the opportunity to win the game and couldn't run the ball 2 yards on 2 tries. Not Crompton's fault, he lead the team on a 59 yard drive that gave us a chance. Blame the OL, unimaginative play calling, or the lack of a "go to" receiver. We'll go 7 and 5 this year and with next years new crop of talent will be on our way back. Give it time.
kd45music writes:
No way Bigtime. I wish I shared your pipe dream. Florida will feed us to the real 'gators in the swamp.
tensie2004 writes:
I'am sure that Crompton is a nice young man and I feel bad for him. He does not have the ability to compete on a major college level as quarterback. Its going to take time for Kiffin and Company to develop an new quarterback, maybe a year or two. I love the Vols and just hope we can work out something where we can at least have a winning season.
GO VOLS!!!
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