In case you were wondering…
Yes, Stetson Bennett is getting good protection this season. All the more reason he needs to trust Monken and his o-line more.
Daily Archives: October 21, 2020
Reversal of fortunes
Just think, to go from an absurd demand that Florida pack the Swamp with 90000 people to this:
You hate to see it.
Filed under Gators, Gators..., The Body Is A Temple
Alex, I’ll take “it’s only a matter of time” for $200.
Seems to me the real question here isn’t “when”, though. It’s “where”.
Filed under Freeze!
Your 10.21.20 Playpen
Bad news.
As sorry as I am to hear that, mad props to Bridges for using the Dude to break it.
It’s really a movie that meanders around without much happening — one of its immense charms, to be sure — but damned if I don’t quote the hell out of it.
So let’s have a thread about memorable movie quotes. Have at it in the comments.
Filed under GTP Stuff
A couple of notes on the running game
Georgia did run the ball effectively against Alabama, but it may surprise you to learn it did so more in one particular direction.
It surprised me, probably because I thought Ben Cleveland was Georgia’s best offensive lineman on the night.
Filed under Georgia Football, Stats Geek!
Money well spent.
You know, there’s some perfect karma working here:
Throwing around money is what Power 5 athletic programs do, though, and Tennessee is among the industry leaders in that area. Less than a month ago, athletic director and former coach Phillip Fulmer (13) announced a contract extension for Pruitt through 2025 that will increase his salary to $4.2 million next year. Per the release announcing the extension, Pruitt was credited with “establishing a culture of toughness, a bowl appearance following a six-game winning streak and a top-10 recruiting class.”
… At the time of the extension, Pruitt’s record was 13–12. There is no reason to believe anyone was preparing to poach him. Today his record is 15–14, with a 2–0 start followed by humbling losses to Georgia and the Wildcats. Butch Jones, Pruitt’s much-pilloried predecessor, was 17–12 in his final 29 games at Tennessee.
Shades of Mike Hamilton giving Fulmer a raise and a contract extension a year before canning his ass. It’s a Tennessee tradition.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
Stetson’s picks as a trust issue
Todd Monken had a great game plan in the passing game and it resulted in open receivers consistently. But that’ll only take you so far if you aren’t throwing to the open man. Stetson Bennett IV did some good things on Saturday but if you were to sit down with him right now and get him to speak candidly, he’ll tell you that he missed some golden opportunities.
The first came on the batted interception where he tried to key on the middle of the field. He tries to throw the football over the traffic and into tight coverage when he had Tre’ McKitty standing all alone in the left flat for what would have at least given Jack Podlesny a chance for a 40-45 yard field goal. Bennett doesn’t seem comfortable throwing the football short and to the perimeter unless it’s a designed play or his first read. [Emphasis added.]
Here’s a clip of the three interceptions from Saturday night.
On that first interception, McKitty curls into the left flat and there’s nobody near him. Now, I realize the snap wasn’t particularly good and that may have led Stetson to make a quick decision and give up on reading the field, but the pass protection was actually good enough there for him to reset.
I’ve already posted about the second pick. (Again, there’s an open McKitty as a viable option.) The third pick was simply a bad decision made worse by poor mechanics. As I watched the play unfold, I assumed he was going to throw the ball out of bounds after dodging what would have been a brutal sack and live to fight another play. You knew as soon as the ball left his hands it wouldn’t end well.
That being said, it’s easy to explain that last one as him simply trying to do too much to rally the team. I get that and I’m pretty confident he’ll learn from that mistake. It’s the not trusting Monken’s passing scheme that bugs me more. Bennett left a lot of yardage on the table in that game because of that and that’s got to get fixed.
He’s also got to do a better job of recognizing what a defense is trying to take away and what that leaves him to work with.
Again, it seemed like Monken left him with better options. Stetson’s got to trust more.
UPDATE: Hey, don’t just ask me. Take it from the head honcho.
Georgia is going back to fundamentals this week in practice as it goes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Expect quarterback Stetson Bennett to work on stepping up in the pocket.
“We do a lot of drills in practice to simulate the pocket where you have to step up and through it,” Smart said. “I think that’s one of the things Jake (Fromm) was really good at. He could fill the pocket and step up in the pocket in either run or throw. And we continue to work with Stetson on that. He’s shown the ability to do that. He didn’t always trust it Saturday, and he’s got to a good job of that. He’s got good pass protectors around him.” [Emphasis added.]
The 5-foot-11 Bennett had five passes batted down with Alabama linemen reaching out to re-direct passes.
“Alabama has really big defensive linemen, which typically push or cave in the pocket,” Smart said. “Some of it is looking for a throwing window. Some of it is being willing to pull it down and run because he’s a really good athlete and avoid that if he doesn’t have that throwing window.”
Smart said Bennett’s stature isn’t only to blame for the batted passes.
“You look across the league in the NFL, college football, height is not the greatest indicator of batted balls,” Smart said. “It’s the pocket. And a lot of that comes from experience. And he’s gaining experience. He’s not elite in experience, he doesn’t have a ton of it.”
Filed under Georgia Football, Strategery And Mechanics
Zen and the art of touchdown passes
This is mesmerizing.
Seriously, I could watch that and meditate for hours.
Filed under Strategery And Mechanics
“Honey, Tennessee football’s done that, I didn’t do it.”
I do believe a Vol fan has written the perfect country and western lyric.
A post-game caller to the Knoxville-based Tony Basilio Show reported that he was so frustrated by the Vols that he snapped.
“I did something today that I’ve never done,” he said on the radio. “I messed up, threw a beer bottle through my window and my wife left me.”
(h/t)
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
Musical palate cleanser, John Prine tribute edition
Man, I really love some of these pandemic collaborative efforts. Here’s one playing John Prine’s “Paradise”. Beautiful and moving.
Have fun identifying all the artists in the comments.
Filed under Uncategorized
Get The Picture 