Barrett Sallee has written one of those typical “it’s May, so let’s post about something” pieces, in this case, a look at Joshua Dobbs’ Heisman possibilities. It’s a fair look in that he’s not advocating either way – and as he notes, Dobbs is currently tenth on the early list – so it’s something I didn’t really pay attention to in the sense that, sure, it could go either way.
Until I saw this.
https://twitter.com/TomahawkNation/status/731199043527790592
At which point, I was suddenly in wait a minute mode. With whatever preseason hype he’s getting, Dobbs couldn’t have been that mediocre a passer last season, could he? Actually, he could and he was. His passer rating for 2015 was 127.01. That was good for eighth in the conference and 70th nationally. His average yards per attempt, 6.7, was a full yard less than Grayson Lambert’s. Sure, for a quarterback, he’s a dynamic runner, as we saw when he played Georgia, but to see all this as a basis for projecting him to become one of the best players in the country this season borders on wishful thinking, doesn’t it?
I’m not saying this to knock Dobbs, who by all accounts is a great kid and a terrific student. But I am wondering if some of what we’re all projecting for Tennessee this season is based on the prevailing wisdom that it’s one of the few teams in the SEC that has a big advantage at quarterback based on having a returning starter there. If that turns out not to be the case and what we’ve seen from Dobbs is really about all they’ll get, what’s a more realistic appraisal of the Vols’ chances?
Get The Picture 
Will say it again Vols are highly over rated. 1 injury away from 6 losses. See them losing 3 or 4 and maybe rated 20-25 if that. Certainly not a top 15 team imho.
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Keep talking to me like that, Otis…turns me ON!
But we saw what Cam can do with an otherwise just above average team. But Cam could throw it better than Dobbs, I hope.
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Dobbs and Cam aren’t nearly on the same level talent wise.
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Agreed
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Dobbs has wheels but he ain’t no Cam. 10th in the Heisman race is like last in the Kentucky Derby.
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Earlier this year I shrunk back from mentioning Tenn and Dobbs per se, but reality has now caught up. Never saw what everyone was jawing about last year nor this one. A Cam he ain’t nor can he throw well enough against a good secondary. Tenn’s Achilles Heel is their D and we can put points on them. They have enough good O to make a game, but with Chubb in the game longer this year, we should take their butts. Of course I felt the same way last year; that Tenn and Aub were overhyped beyond their capabilities and many of us said so. Chubb went down and Aub played true to UGA fan-perceived form. The hype persists again this year as if Dobbs is a Trump-modeled QB in CFB.
If Dobbs is Heisman material, then I’m putting Nick Robinson up for it also…oh,…wait….
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Someday soon I’m sure that the Senator will figure out why I sockpuppeted in as “Coyote”. Too late I tried to correct it after the send button was hit. Have no clue as to why that was typed in. Guess the brain farts begin to increase in your late 70s. Beware.
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I like our chances of winning the division as long as we beat ut in Athens.
And I wonder if Chavis is looking forward to getting a shot at ut when they visit College Station. Seems to me some folks are counting that aTm game as a ut win already.
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Dobbs was a lucky 4th down conversion where a guy laying on his back caught a pass from being behind 24-3 in Knoxville at halftime. I’m not buying Tennessee.
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Dobbs is a solid college quarterback, but it says more about the overall strength and experience of SEC QBs than Dobbs’ ability that he is considered one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
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This Charleston writer seems to like Dobbs, but his whole rankings seem a bit off.
http://www.postandcourier.com/20160514/160519636/sapakoff-ranking-post-spring-qb-situations-in-the-sec-and-acc
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I often see talk here along the lines of “we just need a QB who doesn’t make any mistakes, etc., game manager, etc.”. I guess that’s good for Bama and UGA, but does not apply to UT? All Dobbs has to do is be a bit better and protect the ball because they are going to run all over teams. He runs, and Hurd and Kamara run a lot. Their D was solid last year, and it’s almost all back and they made a big upgrade at D coordinator.
Gentlemen, I get it – but claims of 3-4 losses and 1 injury away from 6 losses is the sign of lunacy. Step back into reality – they are the East favorite because they have the most experience coming back, and they don’t have a new starter at QB.
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