Devil's Advocate re: fast tempo offense

[gamecockcat]

Don't get me wrong, I'm as frustrated as anyone about our offense and how slowly we get plays off.

But, with more and more teams running tempo, aren't defenses starting to catch up? Look no further than TN. Not exactly the juggernaut/scoring 50 PPG they were just a couple of years ago. Florida doesn't field a stout defense but they smothered the Vols for most of that game. Bama gave up 40 to Vandy and UT hasn't scored a point yet at the 6:00 mark in the 2nd quarter. Their 2nd drive was 3-and-out: incomplete pass, run for a yard, incomplete pass. Drive took about 25 seconds total. That's a sure way to gas your defense. Honestly, it appears, at times, TN runs up tempo just because. Doesn't give them any advantage. Doesn't seem to be fooling many teams as frequently like it did.

 

[southindycat]

Fast paste. Know your audience.

 

[gamecockcat]

Update: Vols scoreless in the first half for the third straight game. Been 61 years since that happened.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

I think uts issues are at qb. They have wide open guys for tds but qb keeps missing the throws.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

But their defense looks dominant.

They aren't a title contender and quite frankly they aren't a playoff team. They overpaid for under results IMO.

I dont even see 12 teams worthy of the playoff at this point.

 

[southindycat]

What happens if our vaunted defense gets rung up like a bronze cash register against this UT team? Do any of us have anything left for him at that point?

 

[gamecockcat]

What happens if our vaunted defense gets rung up like a bronze cash register against this UT team? Do any of us have anything left for him at that point?

Great question. Sure seems like we misplay that offense every year. Maybe White has enough experience defending it now that we can do what others are doing to UT. Their D is legit and I wouldn't count on us scoring more than 20 points, so our D better be prepared and not let guys run free as they've done in the past.

 

[gamecockcat]

I think uts issues are at qb. They have wide open guys for tds but qb keeps missing the throws.

But he's a shoo-in for the Heisman. Haven't you heard?

He does not make the best decisions at times. If we can put pressure on him, he'll definitely make some against us.

 

[crestcat]

We run our offense half fast.

 

[truebluewildcat]

I think it's less about tempo more about productivity and consistency.

CMS' problem isn't pace, it's moving chains and scoring. Has been for most of his tenure.

 

[CrimsonCats]

I think it's less about tempo more about productivity and consistency.

CMS' problem isn't pace, it's moving chains and scoring. Has been for most of his tenure.

That’s true to an extent, but I’m not sure that pace and productivity are necessarily completely isolated variables in practice. In my opinion, taking the whole play clock every snap can make it harder for the offense to get in rhythm and also gives the defense more time to stay rested and make sure they’re in position. I’m not saying we have to play every snap as fast as possible with no regard to anything else, but I do think the glacial pace just makes things that much harder for us at times.