Open Practice

[Salvador VOLi]

I believe that my girls and I are heading to the open practice tonight. Anyone else going?

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[Inspector Vol]

If it were closer I probably would.

[Creek Walker]

Yep.

[VinnieVOL]

Those who went, share your thoughts!  I've been occupied today with preparation, participation, and cleanup of my son's birthday party so I've been out of the loop all day.

[EmerilVOL]

Those who went, share your thoughts!  I've been occupied today with preparation, participation, and cleanup of my son's birthday party so I've been out of the loop all day.

It was cool and we are going to surprise some this year and you heard it HERE first

[Salvador VOLi]

It was really interesting. I've never been a football player (more of a band geek), so I can't really compare it to anything, but it was enjoyable to watch. Butch conducts practice in a fascinating way.  There are lots of drills that put one player head to head against another and he uses the mike to make sure that everyone knows who is engaging in that particular duel.   He did this specifically with corners versus wide receivers and offensive lineman versus defensive lineman.  It was great to see the players put on the spot and have to perform (or not).

I didn't not find the quarterbacks impressive tonight in live game situations. They actually threw some good balls in the drills, but when it came to 11 v 11 no one seemed to be distinctively better than  anyone else. If I had to pick a best and a worst, I feel like Dobbs made some of the best plays and Worley looked the worst by far.   Worley was going against the ones and Dobbs the 3 or 4s, but Worley didn't really make a single play that impressed me.

Speaking of not impressive, the field goal kicking was abysmal.   We attempted 5 game ending scenarios and made one of the kicks so we will just have to hope that the luck strikes and we get the 1 in 5 chance when we need it.

Practice watching is kind of frustrating. For every good play, you ask yourself why the other side of the ball made a bad play.

One thing that really impressed me, was how Butch approached the practice.  Every drill, situation, and speech seemed to be planned and with a purpose.  One situation that really stuck out to me was during the 2 minute drill.   Jason Croom made a good catch and tried to spin out of a tackle to gain yards.  By doing this, he didn't get out of bounds to stop the ever dwindling clock.  Butch ran over and immediately called and time out.  He then proceeded to freak out on Croom for about 30 seconds.  He then patted him and his point was made. He impressed the idea into the whole team and most of the crowd that it is important to get out of bounds in that situation. Hopefully that will result in a better result if that situation presents itself in a real game.   

If I could sum this practice up, Butch seemed to want to make this pressure backed and as equivalent to a real game as possible.

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[Creek Walker]

I have some of the same thoughts as Salvador. The Croom dressing down was a key moment. Often when players have a coach jump down their throat they go off and sulk or, even worse, yell back at the coach. Croom listened and when Butch said what he had to say, they both patted each other on the shoulder and went their separate ways. These players appear to have an immense amount of respect for Butch Jones.

Butch Jones' practices are extremely well-run and well-organized. This was a nice treat for the fans. The cheerleaders were there, the band was there, Smokey was there. It was a gameday atmosphere. The players were cheered when they did well (and Palardy was even sprinkled with boos), so the pressure that Butch was looking for was there. I don't think there were 39,000; I would estimate more along the lines of 30,000. But for a team coming off a 5-7 season and predicted to finish middle of the pack at best in the SEC, pretty impressive.

I said it after the spring game and I'll say it again: Tennessee doesn't have an SEC-caliber quarterback. Not yet. One of these guys is going to have to grow up in a hurry. Given how long Worley has been in the system and the progress he has shown, I don't have much faith that it's going to be him. Like Salvador, I thought Dobbs looked the best tonight (he had a beautiful touchdown pass to Crooms), which is kinda surprising since if you had to chart them, he would be 4th right now. Worley didn't show anything. Peterman had his moments, but not too impressive overall. I was looking forward to seeing Ferguson after all the talk about him this week, but his first pass was an INT and he made several poor decisions.

The receivers were even more disappointing. This group is young and inexperienced, but there wasn't much to write home about even when that is taken into consideration. They couldn't get open in one-on-one drills.

As was the case in the spring, I thought the D looked much improved. It's hard to gauge them against a very inexperienced offense, but they looked pretty good at times. I'll tell you this: the front 7 pushed around the offensive line quite a bit, and that's supposed to be the best offensive line in the SEC (though Butch scoffs at that).

One thing I thought was cool: Butch had the team line up and walk around the edge of the stadium after practice to shake hands with fans. Not all of them, but MOST of them were saying things like "how are you doing?" and "thank you for coming out" when they walked by. AJ took time to sign autographs for some kids. That showing to me said a lot about where Butch Jones has this team both on and off the field.

[VinnieVOL]

Thanks for posting your thoughts, fellas.