SB Nation - Wes Brown

Post-game awards: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Vanderbilt Commodores

Joel — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:15:38 -0000

Best are-we-sure-they're-not-conjoined-twins. Cody and Cory Sullins, who were both named the scholar athlete of the week and were pictured together for the sponsored award. They play next to each other on the line, right? Is anyone certain that this is not the case?

Best word for the seniors. Kiffin telling the seniors, specifically Rico McCoy, on Friday night not to say that they hadn't won any championships for the Volunteers because of their contribution to the foundation upon which championships will be built in the near future.

Best start, offense. Lane's guys, who went 60 yards in 7 plays to put 7 on the board on its first series.

Best start, defense. Monte's guys, who forced Vandy into a three and out on its first series.

Best bounty hunter. James Wilhoit, G.A., who, upon being told by Kiffin to go find a place kicker with eligibility, found Devin Mathis, who'd played in a junior varsity game here awhile ago but had only recently returned to Tennessee after studying in Mexico.

Best debut. Mathis, who not only kicked the ball over the scrimmage line, but through the uprights for three points on Tennessee's second possession.

Best TFL. Chris Walker, who graduated from Unblockable to Untouchable, blew through the line unscathed, and swallowed Vandy's running back as soon as he had gotten the handoff, driving the Commodores back to their own two yard line.

Best sarcasm, I. Kiffin, who said of the first pass interference penalty on the Vols, "I thought the refs did a great job all night long, and I'm sure that was a penalty on me, on us right there."

Best drive. Jonathan Crompton, Luke Stocker, and the Volunteer offense, who closed the first half with a 4-play, 61-yard touchdown drive in 30 seconds.

Best catch. Luke Stocker, who closed the Best Drive with an outstanding nab in the end zone, leaping backwards, snatching the ball out of the stratosphere, and securing the thing even as he landed flat on his back in the checkerboards.

Worst timing. David Oku, who turned a catchable pass from Crompton into a tip drill in the third quarter, giving Vandy an interception and denying Crompton's bid for the record of pass attempts without interceptions two shy of Casey Clausen's 143.

Worst news. Linebacker Greg King is out for the season with some sort of cracked bone injury, which I think makes McCoy and Shane Reveiz our only remaining linebackers on the roster. I supposed I should clarify that that's exaggeration, because it's close enough to being the truth that it could be mistaken for fact.

Most insufficient sarcasm. Kiffin, on the second pass interference call to deny the Vols an interception in the end zone, who breathed an audible sigh into his lavaliere, said, "I thought that was a great call by the ref throwing the pass interference there. I'm sure that we were at fault . . ." but then said to Bob Kesling, "You can say whatever you want. He can't fine you. Don't worry. Go ahead. Say what I wanna."

Best tag team hit. Stephaun Raines and Reveiz, on 2nd and goal down by 11 early in the 4th. Raines sent Warren Norman, who'd just hauled in a screen pass, head over heels and into the torpedoing Reveiz.

Best sack. Wes Brown, on the very next play, who threw off the blocker, closed in on the QB, and, just when you'd thought the QB had escaped, dived and shoestring-sacked him.

Best hands. Bryce Brown, who seized control of the ball on Vandy's onside kick by grabbing it at its highest point and covering it up immediately.

Orange-est blood. Wes Brown, who said the night before the game, "I would rather go to Tennessee and lose every game than go to another school and win every game."

Best revenge. Kiffin, who ended his portion of the Lane Kiffin Show by telling Bob Kesling, "Thanks, Bill," which was retribution for Kesling accidentally calling Lane "Lance" last week.

Best play, offense. See Best Catch above.

Best play, defense. Wes B's Knees.

Player of the game, offense. Montario Hardesty, who rushed 32 times for 171 yards and a touchdown.

Player of the game, defense. Tie between McCoy, who had 15 tackles, and Brown, who only had three tackles, but whose stat sheet includes a nine-yard sack, a nine-yard TFL (same play?), a QB hurry, and the 25-yard pick six.

Add yours below.

Wes Brown gives his all for Tennessee on Senior Day

Joel — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:13:36 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

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[Note by Joel, 11/22/09 7:49 AM EST ] Updated with video at the end.

When Lane Kiffin arrived in Knoxville, he quickly instituted a couple of hard and fast rules: (1) every position was up for grabs; and (2) every player competes for playing time during the week at practices. It was widely publicized that the first rule had one major exception -- every position was up for grabs except Eric Berry's -- but there was an exception to the second rule, too: defensive tackle Wes Brown would get playing time even when coaches forced him against his will to rest during the week at practice.

Why the exception for Brown? His knees were a complete and total wreck, and everyone knew pretty early on that Brown only had so many snaps left to give, but he'd left no doubt in the minds of the coaching staff that he would be ready when the ball was snapped. The trick with Wes was saving those snaps for when they really mattered.

So on Senior Day, during his last game at Neyland Stadium, in what would likely be the third-to-last football game he would ever play, Wes Brown was making the best of the last of the ration of snaps his battered knees would allow. And he and the rest of the Big Orange Nation received a just reward.

With 14 seconds left and the Commodores down by eight points, Vandy quarterback MacKenzi Adams scrambles out of the pocket looking for a miracle for himself and his team. Instead, he hands one to Brown and the Volunteers.

Chris Walker chases Adams down, wraps him up, and as he's spinning Adams around for the sack, Adams tosses a desperation pass directly to Brown. Brown intercepts the pass at the 26 yard line and takes off toward the checkerboards. He outruns an offensive lineman, but Vandy's Warren Norman catches him around the waist at the ten yard line. Norman uses all of his 188 pounds against Brown, making himself an anchor on Brown's ailing knees while Brown attempts to will himself toward the end zone.

Ten yards. All he needs is ten yards.

Ten. Nine. The ever-stoic Lane Kiffin leaps into the air, thrusting his arm toward the end zone.

Eight. Seven. Kiffin returns to earth but immediately leaves it for the air again, and he continues to bound down the sideline waving his arms like a lunatic, like he's attempting to add whatever strength he can offer from afar to Brown's screaming knees.

Six. Five. Four. Jonathan Crompton is bounding up and down now, too, wishing for another the storybook ending Crompton would likely be denied.

Three. The entire Tennessee sideline goes berserk. The entire stadium is a bubbling cauldron of orange.

Two. Brown's knees begin to fail, and he begins to fall.

One. Brown stretches out his arms, hoping to break the plane of the end zone before one of his traitorous knees gives out and touches turf.

And then he's in.

The official raises both arms to signal touchdown, and Kiffin's and Crompton's sideline gyrations bring them crashing into each other. Kiffin actually smiles and gives an airborne Crompton a mighty shove. On the field, Brown is dogpiled in the end zone by his teammates, and Kiffin is literally dancing back up the sideline the way he came, smiling wider than I have ever seen.

This is what Senior Days are made of: Wes Brown spent the last of himself and was rewarded with one last shining moment in front of a wildly-cheering home crowd, a moment that he -- and we -- will cherish forever.

Tennessee 31 Vanderbilt 16 - Survive and Advance

Will — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:33:28 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

On senior day, two guys who've been here since 2005 and seen all the ups and downs helped the Vols get bowl eligible. Hats off to Crompton and Hardesty.

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The best and worst of Tennessee's 2009 season were on display at different points tonight, but in the end the Vols did just enough good to keep Vanderbilt at bay, and Wes Brown put the nail in the Commodores' coffin.

Tennessee's 31-16 win over their in-state rivals makes the Vols bowl eligible, a guaranteed improvement over last year and a nice start for Lane Kiffin. It will get even nicer if the Vols can win at Kentucky next week, with the SEC's bowl outlook cloudy but still leaving plenty of solid options for a 7-5 Tennessee team.

On senior day, Tennessee's seniors carried the load on both sides of the ball. The Vol defense also featured plenty of brand new faces, as a unit decimated by injuries at linebacker and still struggling to find itself without Janzen Jackson struggled at times. But Monte Kiffin's bend-but-don't-break style continued to pay off, as the Vols kept Vandy out of the end zone at every crucial juncture in the second half.

We'll take any win we can get this season, even when we don't play quite as well as we'd like against Vandy. The ups and downs of tonight's game:

The Good

Jonathan Crompton didn't put on his Peyton Manning mask this week, but was more than fine in his final Neyland Stadium performance: 20 of 34, 221 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT that wasn't his fault. Crompton's decision making continues to impress in comparison to where it was in September (and all of last year), and his ability to put the ball exactly where it has to be also led to...
Luke Stocker's incredible touchdown catch, one of five on the night for Stocker to lead the team. Seriously, quit throwing to this guy, because the NFL is going to notice.
Montario Hardesty, on senior day, finally got the sort of workload we thought he'd see all season, and delivered the expected results: career highs with 32 carries for 171 yards. Hardesty now has 1125 yards on the season, and yes, it's a longshot, but if he does that again against Kentucky and in the bowl game, he'll give Travis Stephens' single season rushing record a run for its money. Hardesty needs 339 yards in the final two games...and even if he doesn't get there, he's had a fantastic season.
The 4th quarter hit by Stephaun Raines and Shane Reveiz, two guys who've had to step in to fill holes in Tennessee's defense. Their one-two shot in the red zone drew "OOOOOOOHHHH"s from the crowd and helped hold Vanderbilt to a field goal on the drive.

The Bad

Ole Miss flashbacks on defense. The Vols didn't break, but did bend just enough to make you worry. Vanderbilt may not have had the offensive weapons to fully exploit Tennessee's defense (Warren Norman gets 91 yards of offense), but Derrick Locke and Randall Cobb are putting on a show in Athens right now. If you just look at the box score, the numbers don't show a huge cause for concern - Vols outgained Vandy 422-297 - but there were enough plays where the Commodores had guys running free and breaking tackles against our banged up defense that you have to be concerned about UK.
Season-long flashbacks on special teams. Hats off to Devin Mathis for literally coming out of nowhere and making his first field goal. But when the Vols would rather go for a first down (that they wouldn't get) than kick a 40 yard field goal to ice the game, you know we've got problems. The Vols went for it three times on fourth down instead of kicking field goals, and only converted once. When the Vols called a fake punt, a penalty negated it. When Vandy punted, the Vols got called for the incredibly rare snapper interference penalty, and I'll add my name to the list of people who've never, ever seen that called in a game before. Which leads us to:

The Ugly

Penalties. Of Tennessee's 9 penalties for 95 yards - remember when we saw the fewest flags in the conference? - some were deserved. We got one replay of that snapper interference call, but I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt on that one - it's so rare, I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to be looking for. But two pass interference calls might cause Lane Kiffin to break out his checkbook in the next 48 hours: one in the first half was completely phantom on Rico McCoy, who made absolutely zero contact and was, in fact, a full step behind the intended target when the ref threw the flag. The second was potentially much more damaging, negating Dennis Rogan's end zone interception that would've sealed it with the Vols up 24-13 late, which again looked to be completely phantom on a slant route. I've never seen such inaccuracy on two pass interference calls in a single game - this wasn't even "well there was contact, but...". There was no contact, twice. And if Vanderbilt was more capable of taking advantage, it could've really cost the Vols. Instead, Vandy got only a field goal, the Vols almost ran out the clock, and then...

The Beautiful

Wes Brown is a senior with bad knees, and therefore no real football future. We've been hearing the "this guy can barely practice" line since fall camp. But playing next to senior Dan Williams (who also had a big night tonight), Brown picked up the rare DT interception last week at Ole Miss, then topped himself with the game-sealing DT pick six tonight, carrying a Commodore the final ten yards for the end zone. Bonus points for Lane Kiffin decking Jonathan Crompton during the sideline celebration.

It's hard to feel great about beating Vanderbilt, and though you'd better take seriously a Kentucky team that's going to win in Athens tonight, it'll be hard to feel great about beating Kentucky for the 25th year in a row. But while beating the Cats in Lexington will be no small task, doing so should send Tennessee to a bowl game where they'd play a bigtime opponent, giving this team one more chance to win a big one and end the season on a very high note. It may not have been pretty on every play tonight, and the Vols may have serious defensive depth issues...but Tennessee got the job done tonight, surviving Vandy and advancing to postseason play. What's become a big test at Kentucky comes next, with a chance to make a good bowl now fully back on the table.

Tennessee Senior Day 2009: Wes Brown & Dan Williams

Will — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:30:11 -0000

Defensive tackle was a huge question mark for Tennessee entering this season, but these two seniors have done a tremendous job answering it.

Wes Brown joins Josh McNeil in the bad knees club, but has made it through ten games this season without missing much action. Lane Kiffin moved Brown from defensive end to defensive tackle, and Brown hasn't missed a beat. He's recorded 3.5 sacks and 5 TFLs this season, to go along with an interception picked up last week at Ole Miss. He took a position in question and turned it into a solid answer for this defense.

We knew Dan Williams was good coming into this season, but his play has been simply outstanding. An All-SEC and All-America candidate, Williams has 6.5 TFLs and 8 QB hurries this season to go along with 52 tackles, leading the way in the trenches and blowing up running plays by himself on several occasions. And remember, without Dan Williams' block, Lones Seiber makes this kick and Georgia goes to the SEC Championship Game instead of us:

Montori Hughes and the other Vols who will step in next season have big shoes to fill on both counts at defensive tackle. Meanwhile, Dan Williams could join Eric Berry in the first round of April's NFL Draft.

Post-game awards: Tennessee Volunteers at Ole Miss Rebels

Joel — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:08:07 -0000

by Michael H. Miller - AP

Hey, Ed! Thanks for Dexter!

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Worst where'd-the-wind-go. The first failed fourth down conversion, with the Vols down 21-17 and driving with momentum in their sails. After that, we punted, had a field goal blocked, and failed on another fourth down conversion while Ole Miss scored four additional touchdowns.

Biggest skeptic. Me, when Kiffin said that the team wasn't distracted because when you see a team that's distracted, you see a team that's not ready to play and a team that gets blown out early, and "that wasn't the case at all." Maybe not blown out early, but McCluster certainly blew through early and often.

Best continuation of an argument. Lane Kiffin, who said that the defense simply missed Janzen Jackson that much, because the Tennessee was, prior to the last weeks, No. 1 in the country in least explosive plays given up, and "that was because the guy back there in the middle third hardly every missed a play." Maybe he has a point.

Worst start, I. Tennessee's special teams, who pushed the opening kickoff out of bounds.

Worst start, II. Tennessee's defense, who let Ole Miss take the opening drive 60 yards in four plays in 1:31 for a TD.

Best sack. Ben Martin on a stunt to swallow up Jevan Snead, driving him back into Chris Walker, who was rushing from the other side.

Best coverage. Dennis Rogan, who, on one of Tennessee's early punts, beat everyone down the field and perfectly timed a perfect tackle.

Best run, I. Montario Hardesty, who navigated dense traffic at the line, hurdled over a grounded defender beyond the line, stiff-armed another defender in the secondary, and absorbed a late hit out of bounds for a bonus 15 yards on to what would have been a 23-yard run.

Best potential tongue-biting. Kiffin, who said of McCluster's second touchdown that what we all thought was partially due to a blatant holding penalty that wasn't called, "We've got perimeter issues there as you can see." I don't think this was a veiled shot at the officials, but the beauty of it is that it could be construed that way.

Worst defense. Ours, on McCluster. Pick a play.

Silverest lining. Jonathan Crompton, who went 20-37 for 176 yards and two TDs.

Best second wind. Tennessee, behind David Oku's 41-yard kickoff return to start the second half.

Best trick play. Crompton to Gerald Jones for 14 yards on the first drive of the second half. Crompton faked a hand off to the right, then turned and threw to a wide open Jones on the other side of the field. Where's the trick? Jones got so open by falling down on purpose during the fake handoff.

Worst stall, I. Tennessee's first drive of the second half, which ended with a field goal to make it 21-17 instead of what might have been 21-21.

Best play, defense. Wes Brown, who refused to go down on a cut block and intercepted an attempted screen pass from Jevan Snead, giving the Vols field position, momentum, and a shot at a 24-21 lead.

Best block. Crompton, on a reverse to Jones. Crompton sent the first defender to sniff out the play and start chasing Jones sideways cartwheeling through the air.

Worst stall, II. Tennessee's next drive, which ended on the 37-yard line when the Vols failed to convert on fourth and four.

Best quote, I. Kiffin: "Yeah that was a first for me. I've never thrown a screen and lost ten yards before."

Worst I'm-not-surpised. Daniel Lincoln's blocked field goal attempt from 45 in the fourth quarter.

Worst way to silence the home crowd. Having LaMarcus Thompson carried off the field on a stretcher.

Best quote, II. Kiffin again, who responded to the fan-submitted question of what adjustments one can make against someone like Dexter McCluster by saying that they're sending him to the NFL next year.

Best play, offense. Crompton's TD to Denarius Moore, down the middle and over two defenders.

Player of the game, offense. Crompton, see Silverest lining.

Player of the game, defense. Dan Williams, who had nine tackles (four solo) and two tackles for losses.

Leave yours below.

Post-game awards: Tennessee Volunteers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

Joel — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:03:23 -0000

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Best trick. Warming up in all orange and then making the switcheroo right before racing out of the tunnel in black jerseys and orange pants.

Best hit, I. Janzen Jackson, "capping off" on Gamecock tight end Justice Cunningham, knocking the ball loose and treating the guy to an in-air somersault to boot.

Best hustle. Either Dan Williams (official credit) or Ben Martin (Lane Kiffin's credit), who recovered the first fumble nearly fifteen yards downfield from where they started the play.

Best call. Tennessee's second play on offense, a 38-yard Jonathan Crompton to Austin Johnson touchdown pass down the middle. According to Kiffin, most defenses take that play away, but they knew from film study that it would work against South Carolina.

Best rinse and repeat. Two plays after Tennessee had turned a forced fumble into seven points, Rico McCoy forced another fumble, Wes Brown recovered it, and the offense turned it into another touchdown.

Best move. Montario Hardesty on his first touchdown, juking right and making the defensive back utterly whiff on one of the prettiest spin moves I have ever seen on his way to the end zone and six points. Call it The Move.

Longest run. Bryce Brown's 37-yarder in the first quarter, during which he negotiated dense traffic in the middle before breaking outside.

Worst streak. Tennessee's first field goal attempt, which was low again and blocked again, making it the third blocked attempt in a row for the Volunteers.

Best threepeat. Having converted forced fumbles on the Gamecocks' first two possessions, the defense forced another on their fifth when McCoy and Savion Frazier hit a scrambling Stephen Garcia. Dennis Rogan recovered, and the offense took it 22 yards to the checkerboards.

Best block. Hardesty on fourth and goal for Tennessee's third touchdown. Hardesty put a rushing defender on his butt with a perfect cut and gave Crompton enough time to hit Kevin Cooper for the score.

Best post-play move. Cooper, who after crossing into the end zone with the ball, quickly one-hopped and flapped his elbows. It was just residual energy, but it looked like a pole-vaulting chicken.

Best hit, II. Jackson again, on Cedrick Snead, who'd escaped an earlier tackle attempt only to find himself airborn and in the arms of Jackson, who promptly slammed him to the ground.

Best peripheral, I. The Pride of the Southland's Thriller:

Best peripheral, II. A short video on Nick Reveiz, his leadership, his injury, and his pending recovery on the VolTron during the timeout. That guy is inspiring.

Best streak-buster, I. Getting a sack on the quarterback in the second quarter, the first in what seems like forever.

Best streak-buster, II. Chad Cunningham's field goal in the fourth quarter, halting the series of consecutive blocked attempts for the Vols at three.

Best Jack of All Trades. Cunningham, who not only kicked off and punted, but kicked field goals to boot (heh) in relief of Daniel Lincoln, who was still recovering from a quad injury.

Best tough guy. Monte Kiffin, who got mixed up in a tackle that spilled over into the sideline. According to Lane, Monte's hand was cut, and despite the insistence of the rest of the staff, he refused to see a trainer even after the game.

Best hit, III. McCoy this time, who nailed some poor South Carolina receiver with a perfectly-timed jarring bear hug of a tackle in the fourth quarter.

Best hit, IV. Jackson again, who capped off on a tight end again late in the game, preventing him from catching a well-thrown pass.

Play of the game, offense. Hardesty's The Move.

Play of the game, defense. Jackson's magical-somersaulting-now-you-have-it-now-you-don't tackle and forced fumble to win momentum for the team for the duration of the game.

Player of the game, offense. Montario Hardesty, who rushed 23 times for 121 yards, two TDs, caught a pass for 12 yards, and preserved his place in highlight videos for years to come with The Move.

Player of the game, defense. Tie between Rico McCoy, who had ten tackles, two forced fumbles, and a pass breakup, and Janzen Jackson, who racked up seven tackles, a forced fumble, two pass breakups, and continues to challenge Eric Berry for the reputation as the hardest hitter on the team. Thanks to lawvol98, Janzen will forever be known around these parts as Stonewall Jackson.

Best quote (paraphrased). Jim Chaney, who, when asked how he and Lane Kiffin collaborate on the offensive gameplan, explained the process and then, laughing, said something like, "If he's doing something screwy, I'll be like [clears throat] . . . and he'll go right ahead and do it anyway." Jim Chaney knows how Mike Slive feels.

Best picture of discipline. Jim Chaney. I've never heard any stories about this at all, but Chaney looks like he's lost at least 100 pounds:

What have I missed?

Talking Points: Lane Kiffin in a full count with the SEC

Joel — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:42:51 -0000

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Living down reputations, Part II. Remember the gas-pumping comment that Lane Kiffin allegedly made to recruit Alshon Jefferey when he told Kiffin he was committing to South Carolina? South Carolina does. Funny how people remember things that didn't even happen nowadays. Or maybe it did happen, as that first linked article says that Jeffery has told teammates that the story is true. In any event, Kiffin's being more careful now (well, yesterday anyway) about what he's saying to the media. He's not talking about the reprimand he received from the SEC this week except to say that he stands up for his players. That attitude may have Kiffin in a full count with the league, but it's paying off with his players. What most viewed as foolish obstinacy in sticking by Crompton now looks like a very wise decision. Consider these additional trendyish numbers on Jonathan Crompton: Against UCLA, Florida, and Ohio, he had two TDs and six INTs for a pass-efficiency rating of 88.44. In the past three games, he has seven TDs, two INTs, and a rating of 141.66 that would put him close to the top 30. And it's not just Crompton. Almost universally, the players are saying that they appreciate Kiffin "having their back" and that it gives them confidence.

QB has wheels. One other key to the Tennessee-South Carolina game to add to this morning's preview: Stephen Garcia is mobile, and if Tennessee's had a weakness on defense this year, it's been dealing with guys like that. Wes Brown says the d-line guys all need to stay in their lanes:

The two inside guys are supposed to stop the step-up and Chris [Walker] and Ben [Martin] on the edges are supposed to make him step up.

On the other side of the ball, OT Aaron Douglas feels better about going against a the Gamecocks' more traditional 4-3 than the Alabama 3-4 (duplicate link) they had to face last week.

Among many entertaining quotes from Ed Orgeron's appearance at a recent quarterback club is this intrigue:

We feel good about the guys that we're recruiting at quarterback, which is the No. 1 position that we had to go out there and find. We've got some that are committed to other schools that we still really like and that we're still going after.

Code for Jesse Scroggins, who shunned Tennessee for Southern Cal this summer? For what it's worth, Scroggins is not on the official visitor's list ($?) for this weekend.

The basketball Vols open exhibition play this Friday against North Alabama at 7:30 at Thompson-Boling. Pearl must be changing things up this season from last because he's got most of his starters back yet still says he's "got about 25 percent of our offense and 75 percent of our defense in." So expect North Alabama's defense to attack the 75% of the offense that's not in and its offense to attack the 25% of the defense that isn't in. I mean, that's what I'd do. Really, I should become a coach.

Apologies to those who wish we'd use links to the print only versions of the articles on GVX. Links are internet currency, and I figured I would think it petty if they did that to us, so golden rule and all.

Talking Points: on Gus Malzahn and Monte Kiffin

Joel — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:22:02 -0000

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What exactly did Gus Malzahn do that was so successful against Monte Kiffin? He ran his offense. One specific: he was focused on getting Tennessee out of its five-man front and into a four-man front against which Auburn could better run the ball. How did he get that fifth guy out of there? The article doesn't say (I don't think -- another hurried morning), but I'd guess that the explanation uses the word "spread."
Perhaps there should be some progressive discipline for chop block repeat offenders:

Wes Brown, Auburn's latest victim, is fine and taking the high road. Unlike me.

Also not taking the high road is whatever Vol fan sent Trooper Taylor a taunting letter last week and forging Lane Kiffin's and Eric Berry's signatures to the thing.

Well this is distressing. When I said on the podcast last night that I thought that the offense had actually improved over the 2008 version but that it was just hard to see among the comedy of errors, I had not yet read John Adams's Sunday column saying the same thing. If I have time to write tonight, I'll take a look at the actual numbers and post them tomorrow morning, but the main point is that although it's quite understandable to pull out the archived reactions of 2008 and hit "play" when Jonathan Crompton's falling down alone in the backfield and the receivers are trying to catch passes with their helmets, it might be getting in the way of seeing some actual improvement.

John Adams also recaps Tennessee's receiver woes from the departure of Ahmad Paige in the spring to yesterday's release of Brandon Warren. Warren's dismissal, by the way, wasn't just for his sideline outburst Saturday but, reading between the lines, for a much longer "show of emotion." Translation: ongoing attitude problem. Now we're just looking for the other three to four players that make up the infamous "five percent."

Opening Our Files: Roundup on Tennessee Previews & Other Volunteer Notes

Nestor — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:00:26 -0000

So let's officially open up our collective notebooks on Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols under first year head coach Lane Kiffin is coming off a picture perfect opener against newly minted D-1 Western Kentucky. The numbers the Volunteers piled up against the Hilltoppers were pretty sick. From the Tennessee team report posted over at Yahoo! Sports:

Western Kentucky turned Jonathan Crompton into Peyton Manning Lite, as the senior quarterback tossed five touchdown passes Saturday in a season-opening 63-7 annihilation at Neyland Stadium.

"To see Jonathan throw for five touchdowns today, more than he threw for all of last year, was really good for him," Kiffin said. "This is a quarterback and an offensive line that has been torn apart for a while now."

Crompton and the O-line did the tearing in front of a sun-drenched crowd of 98,761. Tennessee finished with 657 yards and 34 first downs, numbers that would have required three games to amass last year when the team went 5-7 and cost Phillip Fulmer his job.

Tailbacks Montario Hardesty and Bryce Brown each rushed for more than 100 yards and scored a touchdown. Hardesty rolled up 160 and Brown, a highly touted freshman, ended with 104.

Monte Kiffin’s defense had the Hilltoppers in minus numbers during the third quarter and allowed only 83 yards in 46 snaps. Western Kentucky picked up just six first downs.

The Volunteers piled up video game numbers on both sides of the ball, racking up 657 total yards and 34 first downs on offense, while limiting the Hiltoppers to 6 first downs (apparently their only first down in first half came via a penalty).

Yeah, I know it's kind of easy to dismiss those crazy numbers because they were taking on a hapless Hilltoppers bunch that was apparently playing their first D-1 game. However, I am not going to discount this kind of performance in their opening game under new coach, because it (at least on paper) shows that they are trying to put together a team with lethal killer instincts.

Bruins will have a puncher's chance though (even though at this point I am not seeing how we can pull out this win with a freshman QB and a completely revamped OL). The Tennessee team we are going to play this season is going to be a bit different than the one we shocked at the Rose Bowl. I have gathered some of the pre-season notes on their personnel from around the web with the latest update from our colleagues at Rocky Top Talk (RTT), after the jump.

So Kiffin (or should I say the Kiffins?) will be waiting for the Bruins with a team that returns 12 starters (7 on offense and 5 on defense) from last year's team. Paul Meyerberg from the New York Times has the following lowdown on the key losses from last year's team:

Key losses: Tennessee’s losses on offense are most felt at receiver, where the team lost two 2008 starters to graduation and another pair of potential 2009 starters to injuries. Lucas Taylor was one of Tennessee’s more dependable targets last fall, making 26 grabs for a team-leading 332 yards. The Vols also lost the part-time starter Josh Briscoe, who made 14 receptions for 176 yards and a score. Making matters worse, U.T. lost the senior Austin Rogers (14 for 180) for the season in the spring because of an A.C.L. tear, and may also be without the junior Denarius Moore for much of 2009. Moore, who made 11 receptions for 271 yards (a team-best 24.6 yards per reception), broke his left foot two weeks ago and may miss as much as three or four months. The team also faces a gap on the right side of its offensive line, where it lost guard Anthony Parker and tackle Ramon Foster (27 career starts). In the backfield, running back Arian Foster (570 yards, 1 touchdown) might have had a disappointing senior season, but he still departs as the team’s second-leading career rusher (2,964 yards). As a junior, Foster earned all-SEC honors after rushing for 1,193 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also added 83 career receptions, 19 as a senior. The would-be junior Lennon Creer, the team’s second-leading rusher last fall with 388 yards, opted to leave the program in April.

On defense, Tennessee lost a pair of starters at each level: the line, linebackers and secondary. The biggest is most likely end Robert Ayers, who earned all-SEC honors as a senior. He seemed to put it all together in his final season, making 49 tackles, a team-best 15.5 for loss, and 3 sacks. At tackle, the 21-game starter Demonté Bolden had 35 stops (6 for loss) as a senior. Middle linebacker Ellix Wilson led the team with 89 tackles, and added a sack and an interception; a fine season for the first-year starter and team leader. Rounding out the losses at linebacker are Nevin McKenzie (53 tackles, 10 for loss, a team-best 5 sacks) and Adam Myers-White. The U.T. defense must also replace cornerback DeAngelo Willingham and safety Demetrice Morley. Willingham, a two-year starter, finished second on the team with three interceptions. The would-be senior Morley added 42 tackles and 2 interceptions, but was kicked off the squad after violating team rules. That’s the second time Morley has been kicked off the team in three years; he won’t get a third shot.

Now don't get lulled into a false sense of comfort after reading those grafs. ~~First of all not sure where NYT got their info on Lucas Taylor because I still see him listed in Tennessee's depth chart this season. So that's a mistake~~. As for their losses at WRs, they have plenty of youngsters sprinkled through their depth chart (PDF) (HT hooper at RTT via Chattanooga Times Free Press).

Also, despite the loss of Paker and Foster at the OL, the Voluntees will have a powerful, huge veteran OL ready for the Bruin front-7 this weekend in Knoxville. If I read their correctly everyone except their center is over 300lbs and all of their starter are upper classmen (except for Jarrod Shaw, the 6-4, 332 Jr. who is listed as "Co-No-1" with Aaron Douglas, 6-6 282 red shirt freshman) From Athlon Sports' pre-season capsule on the Tennessee OL:

Chaney (OC John Cheney, who who Kiffin pried away from the St. Louis Rams, - BN Ed.) has brought with him a zone blocking scheme that has enabled the Vols’ linemen to play with more aggression. The interior line is strong with fourth-year starter Josh McNeil at center flanked by fellow seniors Jacques McClendon and Vladimir Richard. Senior Chris Scott has a hold on left tackle duties, while Jarrod Shaw and converted tight end Aaron Douglas are battling for the starting job at right tackle. "Last season was rough," Richard says. "But Coach (Kiffin) is a competitor. He loves smacking people in the mouth." After years of defensive dominance in practice drills, the UT offensive line stepped up and proved it could hold its own in the spring.

On other key returnees let's go back to that capsule from the NYT:

Players to watch: He’s undoubtedly the best defensive player in the F.B.S. But in my mind, the strong safety Eric Berry is the best player in the country – regardless of position. Yeah, there’s that quarterback down in Gainesville, so maybe Berry’s coming in second. That shouldn’t detract from what we’re all seeing from the talented junior: he’s the best defender U.T. has developed since Reggie White, and in my mind, if Tennessee shocks the SEC and wins 9 or 10 games, Berry should receive very heavy consideration for the Heisman. Through two seasons, Berry stands second in the N.C.A.A. with an SEC-record 487 interception return yards, a total coming off of 12 interceptions. His single-season outputs in this category rank first (265 yards last fall) and third (222 in 2007) in SEC history. Last fall, Berry tallied 73 tackles (8.5 for loss), 3 sacks and 7 interceptions, two of which he returned for scores. (He may have been Tennessee’s best offensive weapon.) For his efforts, Berry was a unanimous all-American – U.T.’s first since 1990 – and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. The only college safety I’ve seen match Berry’s combination of speed, ferocity and ball skills was the late, great Sean Taylor. So, as you see, he’s the king of the U.T. defense. Who will help carry the load? The Vols return the junior Dennis Rogan at one cornerback spot, as well as the 2007 starter Brent Vinson. Also competing for a starting spot at corner are the sophomores Art Evans and C.J. Fleming, though I wouldn’t be surprised if one of Tennessee’s heralded incoming freshmen make a push for playing time. U.T. will look toward the freshmen Prentiss Wagner and Rod Wilks or the sophomore Stephaun Raines at free safety. The senior Rico McCoy (87 tackles and a sack last fall) is the lone returning starter at linebacker. Making the push to join him in the starting lineup are the juniors Nick Reveiz (middle) and LaMarcus Thompson (strongside), each of whom played important roles on special teams a season ago. Besides McCoy, U.T. is very young and untested at linebacker. The situation is a little clearer on the line, where the juniors Ben Martin (18 tackles, 1 sack) and Chris Walker (15 tackles, 3 sacks) have secured their places as the starters at end. You’ll likely find the senior Dan Williams (48 stops, 8.5 for loss) on the nose, while the senior Wes Brown (37 tackles, 2.5 sacks) finds himself in competition with the freshman Montori Hughes for the second starting spot on the interior.

On offense, the senior Jonathan Crompton will again be the starter at quarterback. Let’s ignore the fact that his starting job has come by default. Quite simply, Crompton must be better in 2009 than he was a season ago. It shouldn’t be too difficult, as he did not play up to his potential last fall: 86 of 167 (51.5 percent) for 889 yards, with four touchdowns against five interceptions. He can – and should – be better, but some aspects of Crompton’s game must improve. His touch, for example. Crompton lacked it last fall, when he seemed to throw every pass as hard as he could. His decision-making must also improve. His only competition for the starting job is the junior Nick Stephens, who has missed most of the last five months while recuperating from a hand injury. Stephens started six games last fall, putting up numbers similar to Crompton’s (840 yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 picks). The senior Montario Hardesty ascends to the top spot in the backfield after rushing for 271 yards a season ago. That total leads all returning Volunteers. He may be the lead back, but the Vols will also give carries to the sophomore Tauren Poole and the true freshman Bryce Brown, the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the 2009 cycle. Brown chose U.T. in part because of the potential for immediate playing time, so expect to see his number called early and often. Three starters return up front, led by the potential all-conference center Josh McNeil. The senior enters his final season with 35 career starts, the most of any active Volunteer. McNeil was a freshman all-American in 2006 and an honorable mention all-SEC selection in 2007. He’s joined up front by the senior left tackle Chris Scott and the senior left guard Vladimir Richard. I’m intrigued by the potential of the redshirt freshman Aaron Douglas, a former tight end who is in the hunt to start at right tackle. Given his experience and lack of prototypical size (he’s only 282 pounds, my word), can Douglas be the presence required of the right tackle in the run game?

Well as mentioned above looks like Douglas impressed the coaches sufficiently enough that he earned a spot on the depth chart as "co number 1" (whatever that means) with Jarrod Shaw. In some ways, Douglas sounds like he is the same situation as Nate Chandler found himself last year (when we were hurting for bodies at OL) as the coaches are doing whatever they can to incorporate his size and athleticism into the lineup.

Now in terms of what to expect next week, my bet is that Kiffin and Cheney will devise a plan on offense in which they will rely on a power running game. Again from Pete Fiutak's preview at Scout.com:

What to watch for on offense: Power running. The coaching staff will try to pound the ball, rely on the tremendous defense, and try to control the game and the clock. The passing game will try to push the ball deep a little more to stretch things out, but the offense will spend most of its time using its humongous, veteran line to pave the way for a fantastic group of backs. The backfield was good enough to get by, and then came the recruiting class with Toney Williams, David Oku, and the No. 1 prospect in America according to CFN, Bryce Brown, all ready to make a huge impact and upgrade the stalled ground attack.

What to watch for on defense: A ton of interceptions. All the pieces are there for the secondary to come up with a phenomenal year. Not only is there track star speed across the board, but there’s all-everything safety Eric Berry as the sheriff in the Tampa 2 scheme, but the pass rush should be better. Even with Robert Ayers off to the NFL, the Vol defensive front should be more active with Ben Martin and Chris Walker two speedsters on the ends who should be camped out in opposing backfields.

Going back to their offense, I am still shocked at how the Tennessee coaching staff from last year forgot to run the ball down our throats last season at the Rose Bowl. They had piled up around 180 yards rushing and 2 TDs running the ball against our defense last year yet for some inexplicable reasons they decided to go away from that and depend on Crompton's arm. I just don't think Kiffin is going to make the same mistake. I fully expect them to come after our front-7 all evening long with their powerful OL, and do what they can to wear us down on their home turf. This is going to be a huge challenge for our defense.

I think the key for us on Saturday is going to be somehow get on the board early. If they we can get on the board early and then force them to go away from the game plan of running the ball down our throats, we will have a shot.Needless to say special teams is going to be a huge factor. We are going to need our kickers to give us good field position as much as possible forcing the Volunteers to go long drives. Otherwise if we fall behind early and make early mistakes on offense, the situation has the potential to snowball out of control like last year in BYU.

It will take supreme concentration and focus on our part to hang in there early against the Volunteer emotion, and then somehow put ourselves in position to steal the game in second half. My head tells me that we are simply too young and inexperienced (on offense) to pull this off. My heart is pulling for our guys to make me eat crow on Saturday night. So that's what I have for initial notes on the Volunteers to get the scouting started for this week. I will throw it back to you start filling up the info. folders on Tennessee (either via comment thread here or in the FanPosts).

GO BRUINS.

A New Familiarity

Will — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:26:27 -0000

by Wade Payne - AP

When he throws five touchdowns, that look in his eye conveys something other than absence.

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Tennessee's team buses pulled up to The Torchbearer at 10:40 AM, and we the people were waiting.

It's a slightly different experience with the Vol Walk this year, with the team busing in just past Circle Park, and everyone disembarking from there. We waited for our first glimpse of our new head coach, while we watched the Vols literally rock the bus as they prepared to file out behind him.

And then the doors opened, and Kiffin stepped out to a welcome that belongs to rock stars and caesars.

Now, if it was me, I would've eaten that moment alive. I would've done my best wrestling heel impersonation and channeled Shawn Michaels or Razor Ramon, and pretended to be above it all while playing to all of it at the same time. Either that, or I would've grinned from ear to ear like a little kid who couldn't believe it.

But not Kiffin.

Kiffin met the crowd of new devotees, and whatever he was thinking behind those sunglasses, we couldn't tell. Because Lane Kiffin was all business.

And an hour and forty-one minutes later, the Vols returned the favor.

Don't get me wrong: the Vols certainly looked like they enjoyed every minute of today's 63-7 win over Western Kentucky, as Hooper already pointed out. But when you pile up 657 yards of offense while allowing only 83 on defense, you're not screwing around.

When Jonathan Crompton threw that first interception, what were you thinking?

Was it"I bet he goes 12 of his next 14 for 3 TDs"? Because that's what he did.

When Montario Hardesty fumbled, did you have flashbacks to Arian Foster and wasted opportunities? Or were you thinking that the Vols would ultimately run for 380 yards at an equally staggering 8.6 yards per carry? Because that's what happened.

In responding to adversity with success - especially from Crompton - the Vols buried every possibility of the ghosts of 2008 coming back to haunt them today, and instead resurrected the memories of Tennessee Football at its finest: a dominant running game, a defensive line that lives in the opposing team's backfield, and a big, big win.

It was familiar from the back of our minds, the good ol' days. But it was also new.

New when Marsalis Teaguestepped in and looked nothing like a freshman, with 6 catches for 86 yards. New when Quintin Hancock caught 5 passes for 65 yards, which is 5 passes and 65 yards more than he had last year. New when Brandon Warren finally, finally caught a touchdown pass. New when eleven different Vols caught passes.

The defensive line was almost entirely new though no freshmen started. But with Wes Brown at tackle, Chris Walker and Gerald Williams at end, and the old reliable with Dan Williams at the other tackle spot, the Vols enjoyed their most destructive day in years from the d-line: 4 sacks and 5.5 TFLs. Along with the rest of the defense, they did their part in holding WKU to under 100 yards of total offense.

But the deepest breaths of fresh air came from the two men we were watching the most: Jonathan Crompton and Lane Kiffin.

It'll take more time and a better opponent to determine if #8 has truly put childish ways behind him and become a man. But if Crompton was the poster boy for the disastrous 2008 season, he's equally eligible for a return appearance as the face of resurrection in 2009. Because the man out there today was not the boy out there last season. Crompton looked familiar in appearance only - in play, he was something different, and something very welcome. When the offense is ripping off first downs on the ground no matter which tailback is in, Crompton merely needs to manage, and manage he did. I think we'll take 21 of 28 straight to the bank.

And you know what? I'm really happy for him. Today was what Crompton had to be envisioning from childhood just across the border. And after four different offensive coordinators and five long years, Crompton played a great game as the quarterback of the University of Tennessee. So today, we tip our caps to our senior quarterback.

And next week, we'll be looking for the man and not the boy again.

Lane Kiffin was all new. The preparation and the approach leading up to the game were well documented. He said he would play freshmen, and he did. He said he would stick with one quarterback, and he did.

But on the field today, we got even more than what we bargained for.

Up 28-0 and on defense in the final minute of the first half? We're burning all three of our timeouts, because yes, we want the ball back, because yes, we think we're going to score.

4th and 4 near midfield in the 3rd quarter? No discussions, no alternatives: we're going for it. And if we don't make it, you can't score on our defense anyway.

Nick Stephens comes in with the Vols up 35 in the 4th quarter? He's throwing.

Lane Kiffin knows only acceleration.

Late in the game, my Dad, who's been doing this a lot longer than me, sent me a text mentioning that Kiffin's got some mid-90s Spurrier in him, running up the score.

You know what? I think we'll take some of that around here.

I mean really, did you think you'd be discussing the all-time scoring mark (70 points) in today's game?

And when asked about the Vols' jaw-dropping numbers and sensational execution? "This is the way we expect to play," he says.

Really, say something negative about what you saw out there today. Go ahead, I'll wait.

...

It reminded you of the best of times, today. You remembered that yes, people can leave Neyland Stadium with the same smile they were wearing when they walked in. That we don't have to sweat it out against a lesser opponent (see Wyoming/NIU '08, Vanderbilt '07, Air Force '06, UAB '05, etc). That football is still fun in Knoxville.

It looks different. And it is new. But in one game, we caught a glimpse of how this new staff can take this old program to the best of times again. And as we take them one game at a time...today's one game was the best of times.

The bar gets raised in seven days. And I cannot wait to see this team clear it.

Go Vols.