Sunday Morning QB With SVS- Being Invested Means It Hurts Edition
Yesterday was a day of growth for us. We showed how much we have grown in a year but unfortunately were shown how much we still need to grow. We should have won that one and we just could not close it out.
1. Shapen is what he is. People saying he gave them 14 pts are not functioning in any sort of reality. You can say he played a big part in the loss, but he did not just hand them 14 pts on a platter. The INT, although behind Fluff a tad, was a tipped pass. The scoop and score was just backside pressure he never saw, watching it back it looked like it was an RPO and the LT thought it was run.. That is going to happen to QBs. He still needs to hang on there though. Saying all that, he missed Evans wide open in OT on 3rd down, underthrew Ayden on what would have been a TD and we had to settle for 3, honestly got lucky on the Evans throw to get us 1st and goal in OT, and he had some confusing tuck and runs where he got nothing. Maybe some of that is playcalling and Lebby telling him to do that but he is just not the difference maker we need at that position currently. He is a slightly more agile Will Rogers with a bigger arm.
2. I do not know that Kamario is any better at this moment, but I am willing to give it more of a go and see. Look, I am not saying just stock roll with Taylor because I know we will not do that. But get Kamario more involved other than just a running play here and there. Give him a series here and there. He is your future and the quicker we get him acclimated the less the learning curve is next year.
3. Fluff is RB1 moving forward. I like Booth and I still think he needs to have a place in the offense but there is a reason we targeted Fluff out of the portal and we are seeing it. We ran for 198 yds and should have run for 298. We did not run enough early to take advantage of the light boxes they were giving us. The holding penalty on the Booth TD showed us the holes were there and it never felt like we took full advantage of them.
4. Thompson going out is the exact scenario I feared when we could not find a WR3. Once he went out it was Evans and kind of just a guess. It was encouraging to see Traore, Moseley, and Ayden get some more run and gain some confidence but we still need one of them to really take that next step because we do not know how long Thompson is out.
5. Our OL needs to figure out pass blocking. They have mastered run blocking and now we need to take the next step and get pass blocking down. The Reese injury is very concerning and I do not really know how we will adjust moving forward.
6. Hutzler called a hell of a game defensively. Yes our D let us down on the last drive and in OT but they did more than enough to win that game. If you would have told anyone that Tennessee was only going to score 20 points offensively they would have emphatically said that we win. The D played their ass off.
7. DL continues to improve. Was extremely impressed by DJ Reed and Kalvin Dinkins today. I thought they both played great. Also though Trevion stepped up today.
8. We have watched Zakari Tillman mature before our eyes and are about to see him completely take off. I also thought Jalen Smith grew up some today.
9. Why in the hell were Jones and Brumfield not on the field late? I mean I am as high as anyone on Jett Jefferson and really like what I have seen from Jayven Williams but there is ZERO reason to not have Kelley Jones out there on the last drive, and he was not injured because he played in OT.
10. I thought Manning played out of his mind today, but dude GRAB THE BALL AND RUN on the Hail Mary. If he picks that we very well may win. Concerned about Issac and I hope that it is not anything long term.
11. Ferrie has to make the 47 yarder. As good as the 50+ yarder was, the 47 yard miss was far more costly and decisive. He has to make that. It ended up being a difference in the game. Still probably the best kicker since Westerfield though.
12. To the folks who sold your tickets to Tennessee fans or put them on the secondary market, 17 you. I get you want to make a buck and I cannot tell you what to do with your tickets that you paid the money for, but it is damn embarrassing to see a crowd IN OUR STADIUM that was 55:45 Tennessee fans.
13. Today was 09 LSU for Lebby. His game management cost him the game just like Mullen against LSU. Because despite the 2 defensive TDs we still should have won that one. We never should have tried to throw after the fake punt. We were up 4 and needed to start draining the clock. He also called a terrible drive in OT. We should have gone to Kamario once we got to goal to go.
14. Yes it sucks to lose and lose like we did, but damn it feels good to care and have hope again. I think it is very likely we find 2 more wins and do not think 8-4 is off the table.
Keep the fight, keep the faith, and HailState.
