We can still reach 6 wins IF:
Start with the QB
In my view we can still get to 6 wins with Hooker at QB. We will NOT reach 6 winds with Milton III at QB
As I noted this morning Hooker has some significant limitations but he plays within the offense and shows much better touch on the ball than Milton. If he remains the starter I expect the staff to work with him to mitigate those limitations
I do not see Milton being able to see the field efficiently and he has ZERO concept of putting air under the ball to allow the receiver to run under it. He prefers to hand his laundry to dry on each throw
The next biggest group is the OL:
We need Cooper at center. He sets the best pace, he makes the best calls and it allows Carvin to place his best position at Guard (any guard replacing him at guard is a HUGE step down)
Also, you saw the running game succeed for the first time since he got injured. That was no coincidence
Cooper has his limitations but him at cneter provides us the best chance to win
If Davis could keep from getting hurt I'd still like to see him at RT with Cade at RG as that would be a good line
BTW, Cade got outside and made the block that enabled Evans to take the screen to the house
RB:
For a supposedly large and capable room, we only have two (2) serviceable RBs. Both are banged up but we are going to have to ride them hard the rest of the way to get to 6 wins
WR:
Catch the fizzleING BALL!
We see you get open, just catch the damn ball
Also, improve getting open on the fist move
UF hurt us last night with their QB hitting the WR after the first move off of press coverage. We haven't shown that ability all year
TE:
Biggest surprise this year. Warren playing at a high level, but had a key drop last night
Wide fizzleing open 25-30 yards down the field last night but Hooker didn't see him
Keep the level of play to date the rest of the year
DL:
Garner has them playing well. Really impressed with their ability against the UF run game (except for the QB) last night
With the exception of2-3 games their level of play will help keep us in the game, if they stay healthy
OLB/DE:
Barron playing well overall - shows some gaps, possibly due to a need more experience making reads
Young needs more PT to show what he can and can't do. Also want to see him on the field opposite Barron more - keep the offenses from doubling either one of them
Also, Young has shown a bit of promise in pass coverage
Both have shown a tendency to crash inside too much - hurt us last night (a lot like our defenses under the Chief when Dan Brooks was coaching the DL)
They both need to improve to get to 6 wins
Behind them is a bit of a drop off though Blakeley (played his best game last night) has shown flashes
ILB:
Banks has shown the last couple of games he can play with a bit more control
The fact that Banks is clearly our best inside backer scares the crap out of me
JuJu has been a huge disappointment!
He was lost when he was on the field last night
Corners:
Burrell is the best, then Taylor (who is playing the best he has since he arrived, but that is aint praise)
George is a clear dope off
We are very thin at corner and need the corners to step up and improve
Ole Miss will light them both up
Safeties/Star:
Safety play has been a huge disappointment
Theo is playing lights out but teems are now scheming away from him
Last night he was essentially a LB, lined up on the line more than covering a receiver
McCollough is slow but has played reasonably well the last couple of games. He is the guy that teams are picking on now but has responded reasonably well.
Flowers is a limitation. He cost us at least 1, probably 2 TDs last night
The secondary has to IMPROVE to reach 6 wins!
Special teams:
Till last night had been the stars of the team
Then we screwed up and had less than 10 on the field and NO returner on the field for a punt
On the last punt we had Payton (normal gunner) and Slaughter (replacement for the targeting call - who was late getting on the field) as our gunners
Look at the roster for the issue that was (we got away with it)
I understand that brooks has an injury on his plant leg but punting the last two games has been BAD. We got to fix that
I'm ok with the FG miss last night, not happy but it really sucks that I haven't seen an opponent miss one while we tend to miss them in key games - we can't miss those going forward
On returns Jones is good, not Berry good but good. HE needs to learn the Berry technique of catching the ball moving forward
Also, we have an annoying tendency for holding calls on returns, Coach Chili needs to fix that
Coaching:
In a fantastic change coaching actually observed
The defense is an order of magnitude improved over the "guru's" defenses
DL significantly improved
LB improved
RB improved
ST significantly improved
QB, no worse (Milton brings down the score)
OL can actually run block this year, pass protection needs to improve
I have been convinced that this offense can and will work
Do we have the tools to see the offense work as it should
The closer we get to that goal, the better our chances of reaching 6 wins
Bottom Line in my view:
Can we reach 6 wins - YES, but I'm not confident enough players are in place to make it happen and injuries are further depleting the tools the staff needs to get there
We are SIGNIFANCTLY improved over Gump's teams.period.dot.
As always, GO VOLS!
