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Photos by AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL Tennessee defensive lineman Maurice Couch tries to block a pass by North Carolina State quarterback Mike Glennon during the Chick-Fil-A Kick Off Game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta last Friday.
Photo by Amy Smotherman Burgess // Buy this photo
UT defensive lineman Daniel Hood tries to disrupt the passing lane against N.C. State at the Georgia Dome last Friday.
Tennessee was set up for mishaps on its defensive front.
A season opener. A foreign venue. A new defensive coordinator and defensive line coach. A new defensive alignment. A commitment to situational defense. Two players on the front three who had never started a college game.
Yet no disasters were forthcoming in a 35-21 victory over North Carolina State.
The Vols didn't just take care of the Wolfpack in the Georgia Dome last Friday, they took care of their business up front, which is the least experienced area of UT's defense.
Maybe Tennessee fans would have felt better if the Vols had registered more sacks. But they at least forced quarterback Mike Glennon out of his comfort zone from time to time; helped hold the Wolfpack to 119 yards rushing; didn't give up a run of more than 16 yards; and never found themselves with too many or too few players on the front line.
That qualifies as a successful beginning for a group that fostered questions in preseason. The questions didn't signify a weakness, according to new defensive line coach, John Palermo.
"I don't think (the defensive line) is a weakness at all," he said in preseason.
His assessment held up for the season opener. Whatever breakdowns that occurred up front were hardly glaring — and nothing close to the blunder that occurred during UT's first road venture under coach Derek Dooley. Two years ago, the Vols lost a game they should have won against 12th-ranked LSU when their last-second defensive substitutions left them with a beefed-up defensive front two over the 11-man limit.
Last week's opener didn't always go like clockwork, though.
"It was kind of hectic at first," defensive lineman Maurice Couch said. "A lot of guys weren't used to the noise level. We used a lot of hand signals."
And they soon figured out they couldn't go a play without looking over to the sideline for substitution instructions.
New defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri has emphasized the importance of matching the offensive personnel since he arrived from Alabama. Or, as he puts it, "If they go big, we want to go big; if they go small, we want to go small."
So defensive players better be prepared to go in and out at a second's notice. That's especially true on the defensive front, where eight different players saw action against N.C. State.
"Coach (Palermo) is a very intense guy," Couch said. "But he tried to keep it sort of calm on game day. He was just trying to make sure guys know what to do with substitutions. We handled it very well."
Palermo deserves some of the credit for that. Dooley thought Palermo's 37 years of coaching experience — mostly in the defensive line — would serve this team well. So far, so good.
The defense had a couple of other things going for it against the Wolfpack, according to Couch.
"They had a few good guys (in the offensive line)," he said. "But in our conference, we have more physical guys up front. I think we have the best offensive line in the nation. They're gonna make us better every day."
The defense also has benefited from the up-tempo offense it has been practicing against since the spring.
"The fast-paced style of offense we run keeps us in shape," Couch said. "We're in tiptop shape."
But if they have a hint of fatigue, they know where to look for help.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/johnadamskns.
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Comments » 26
VolinCalif writes:
John you are getting so positive it scares me. But this praise of the Defence is well deserved and coming from a old LSU Man like you, I take it as a real complaint to the Vols.
You are reflecting a man that is pretty high on the Vols this year. So what is your projection for the season? I will always be an optimist but you are a great sports writer and have more experience evaluating teams, so give me a clue.
snafu14u#241639 writes:
Still a little nervous on the 3-4 defense. If we get thin on defense then the learning curve gets steep again. Fingers are crossed. I like the concept if we can get away with it. GBO. BonzaiVol
Timbo_Slice writes:
Defense looked pretty good in the opener. My only question is where was McCullers all night? I never heard his name called and didn't notice seeing him on the field. Didn't see much of Sentimore either. Is it going to take some time for them to adjust to this level or is this just a result of the 3-4 with the linebackers making all the plays and getting the glory?
Brewii writes:
From my understanding, the def lines job in a 3-4 is just to eat up space, hold ground and occupy the O-linemen and let the linebackers make the plays. Therefore its not necesarily a bad thing if you don't hear their name called.
MooseandSquirrelVol writes:
McCullers was there and doing his job. Even knocked down one pass at the line.
jfuston writes:
McCullers was in there. He was getting double/triple teamed all night. He allowed the LB's to wreak havoc with the short passing game and running game. He didn't make a lot of "star" plays, but he demanded several blockers, which made the defense better.
CrankE writes:
The first two times UT got to Glennon, they forced fumbles. One NC State recovered in the endzone to give UT a safety and the other one NC State recovered and later scored with. In light of the 4 INTs, those two fumble recoveries might be all that kept NCSU looking respectable in this game instead of being absolutely nuked.
VolinCalif writes:
Yes they were both there. If they hadn't been we wouldn't have seen all those QB hurries and NCS would have had a much better running game.
I love the way everyone but the Vols are now putting the NCS team into the mediocre class. This will prove very funny as they challenge for the ACC championship .
Vols 41 FL 17
VolInIndy writes:
McCullers was doing what he was supposed to. Quote from the article on him last week;
"It's big, just to take on the double-teams and triple-teams each play to free up the linebackers," McCullers said. "I came here for that reason."
Of course, later in the interview he said he wanted to sack the quarterback too. If our outside containment had been better with the not-so-nimble Glennon, he probably would have had some.
TheVolSnake writes:
If you read all the players responses from spring practice to now, every one of them are very excited about the new defense. But also you will notice that they all talk about the other team mates and how good they are doing. There is no “I” it is all about the team. Same on the offense all the players are talking about others and the coaches and good everyone else is doing.
They are truly becoming a team first team and supporting each other.
Also I like the rotation keeping everyone fresh, we were not able to do this the last two years because of major depth issues.
PUL4VOLS writes:
The Team-First approach will reap incredible benefits down the road. They looked good. They have plenty of areas to work on but should be fine. I want Lathers to get to play. He just looks so ready to go. But I am glad they are where they are now and look for better things ahead. Thanks JA for keeping it positive so far.
allvollego writes:
3-4 defenses are made to let the playmakers roam more in free space and make more plays. This means the names we should hear the most are Maggit and Smith. But this does not mean the down three cant make plays. The outside linebackers have to do a better job of containment and the d-line will then have running backs and quarterback s falling into their hands. It takes time to fully understand this defense. If you want to see it run properly, take a look at some of the Steelers or Ravens teams the past 4-5 years. The exciting things start happening when lineman start to "guess" wrong and one of our lineman get one on one and beats him.
murrayvol writes:
McCullers was in the middle....clogging.
They got very little on the ground all night (119 yds) and virtually nothing between the tackles.
3rdn8 writes:
3-4's DL is to hold at the point-of -attack. Keep the LBs clean, and let them play their gaps. UT did just that on Friday night.
Looking good Vols. See you Oct 20.
Timbo_Slice writes:
Thanks for the comments...I get caught up in watching the ball and don't notice everything else happening on the field.
mocsandvolsfan writes:
If you listened instead of ESPdarNu you would have heard McCullers name plenty. At least a few times.
Ayres_Hall writes:
Mute the TV and listen to the Vol Radio Network. You get less blabber and more UT-specific reporting. Plus, you might hear a few giggles...
snuffysmiff writes:
"giggles". Like when Cordarelle Patterson scored on the end around?
Bark_at_the_Moon writes:
Yes giggles when Patterson looked like a horse running around children all over the field - Also giggles when V-Lips (Rogers) blew past so called All-American Amerson on the long bomb. Must admit I let out a few giggles too.
tovolny writes:
Good teams that are well coached get better each time they play and each time they practice. I believe we actually fielded a better team than Florida did this past weekend. I also believe we now have the edge in coaching. Florida was down a little due to what was supposed to be a pushover opponent, and understandingly did not bring their "A Game" and their talent was never actually tested. Look for Florida to display more talent against A&M.
We need to beat the opponent this week in the 1st quarter and work the rest of the game with the entire roster. Hopefully, the Florida game will be about a rested team playing at home going up against a sore bunch of Gators. And, I saw a school of piranha beginning to form behind Caldrons last night. They are getting ready to shred the Gatos coming up the river.
Big Orange keep on Roll'n, Roll'n on the river,
Roll'n, Roll'n on the river.
Have a good seat at Neyland,
wait'n for Gators to come up and play.
When I hitch a ride with the Big Orange Pride,
I'll be singing the Vols are back to stay.
Big plays keep on turning.
Play-makers keep on burning.
Roll'n, Roll'n on the rivereeeeeerrrrrrrrr......
johnlg00 writes:
No problem. It's easy to lose sight of all the action in the trenches unless you're watching on one of those wall-sized HDs. If the line of scrimmage seems to stay mostly where it is or seems to edge back toward the offensive team's backfield, then the D-line is doing it's job, even if nobody is popping out of there for sacks. If the D-line seems to be getting pushed back all the time, the O-line is winning. I saw a good deal of the former and not much of the latter in Friday's game. And before all is said and done, D-Mack-Truck is going to smash some poor little QB into a greasy spot.
RSMEANS10 writes:
One of the best defensive recruiters and coaches Alabama ever had was Sal Sunseri. His son Vinnie is one of the best defensive players we have. Sal was a great loss to the Tide and a great addition to the Vols. His whole family is class through and through. Long term the Vols will profit a great deal and he may end up being the best defensive coordinator in college football.
jhayes0926#638474 writes:
Sure is nice to read comments without the trolls!! Anyone heard from Precious, CrappieQueen, Unprofessional Handicapper,ZZ (alias many names), CCLC, etc? Anybody miss them?
UT 45
GSU 10
allvol8 writes:
He was being blocked by 3guys..and some plays he was not needed
johnlg00 writes:
That's nice to hear. Too often, when a coach leaves a team to go to a conference rival, his former fans turn on him, saying "good riddance", or "we got somebody better", or "the guy's a snake who will screw you, too, if he gets a chance", etc., etc. There may well be Tide fans who feel that way, but we are grateful to have Sal, and it says a lot for him and fans like you that he doesn't seem to have burned any bridges in Bamaland.
TommyJack writes:
good piece, Adams.
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