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Pardon the errors, as the bot understands neither southern accents nor football.
GRT Podcast 9.17.18
Bookmarks:
[00:03:21] Did the 24-0 score against UTEP bother you, and if so, how much?
[00:08:16] The UTEP criticism sandwich: One good thing about the game, a bad thing, and another good thing.
[00:11:34] Hilarious robo-transcript error here. 🙂
[00:16:50] Looking ahead to Florida. Is the game for last in the SEC East?
[00:21:18] Brad’s unnatural fascination with Derek Dooley.
TRANSCRIPT
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:13] This is the Gameday on Rocky Top podcast episode 149. I’m Joel Hollingsworth and I’m with Brad Shepherd again this evening. Brad how you doing.
Brad Shepard: [00:00:24] Great. How are you doing.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:25] I’m doing just fine. I’m not texting and driving unlike some people I know. So
Brad Shepard: [00:00:30] Oh I was at a red light so
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:31] Ok.
Brad Shepard: [00:00:31] You know
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:32] All right. All right.
Brad Shepard: [00:00:34] Grey
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:35] Well
Brad Shepard: [00:00:35] area there
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:36] Yeah well OK. You know they got cameras of those red lights now though. So you know
Brad Shepard: [00:00:44] Whether they’re probably. Yeah I’m going to plead the Fifth here. I don’t know what you’re talking about
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:49] It’s too late for the fifth man. Who is your attorney.
Brad Shepard: [00:00:55] Joel Hollingsworth
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:57] He’s terrible. Don’t rely on him. All right. So we got several Vols related things to get to tonight but I wanted to get the off topic question out of the way first something you mentioned on your Twitter timeline. I guess it was probably several weeks ago caught my eye and I’ve been meaning to ask you about it since. But you mentioned the book Boys Life by Robert R McCammon and I didn’t know that anybody else knew who Robert R McCammon was. So tell me about boys life into why you like that so much.
Brad Shepard: [00:01:28] Well I just I mean it’s it’s really probably if it’s not my favorite book I’ve ever read it. It’s in the top five. I mean I’ve read it probably five times in my life seeming seemingly every three or . . . since the time I first read it when I was 14 just get this urge to reread it it’s a great summer read it’s probably the best novel coming of age story. I’m still love The Body which was
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:01:56] Yeah
Brad Shepard: [00:01:57] Made in the movie Stand By Me by Stephen King.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:01:58] Right.
Brad Shepard: [00:01:58] But it’s probably the best you know full length novel a coming of age story that I’ve ever read. It’s just it’s just beautiful writing. It’s just everything that’s magical about being a kid growing up in the south and it’s just. I mean you know it’s it’s perfection. I mean I really can’t describe it any other way. Every
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:20] Wow.
Brad Shepard: [00:02:20] Time I read it I find these other things and it’s just it’s just great. It’s a great fun book to read.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:27] I have to go back and read that because I like McCammon Swan Song was actually one of my favorite books for a really really long time. Have you read that one?
Brad Shepard: [00:02:37] I have. I
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:38] Oka
Brad Shepard: [00:02:38] Have already gone south. Those
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:39] Ok
Brad Shepard: [00:02:39] Are the three
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:40] Yeah
Brad Shepard: [00:02:40] That
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:40] Yeah.
Brad Shepard: [00:02:40] I’ve actually downloaded a couple more. those are a good man. Is really good
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:46] Yeah.
Brad Shepard: [00:02:46] As fallen off the face of the earth a little
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:49] I always thought he was like a pen name of Stephen King there for a while because it seemed like Swan Song was basically like another draft of The Stand you know.
Brad Shepard: [00:03:00] Yeah you’re right.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:02] So anyway.
Brad Shepard: [00:03:03] And
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:03] But
Brad Shepard: [00:03:03] I think they were they were good friends I mean they were you know they were both huge parts of that horror boom in the 80s. But this is not you know this is not a horror book it’s a just a it’s really just you know it’s it’s his masterpiece. I love it.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:21] I’ve got to go back and read it again I don’t remember it so. But oh I have to do that. So anyway the Vols. I guess that’s why we’re here right. So
Brad Shepard: [00:03:30] Yeah.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:31] Ok.
Brad Shepard: [00:03:31] Yeah that was.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:32] So the Vols beat you up this past weekend. The score though was 24 to nothing and that seems
Brad Shepard: [00:03:39] Either
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:40] To have caused some consternation among some Vols fans. I have some things to say about that but I was wondering first does that score bother you and how much if it does.
Brad Shepard: [00:03:54] You know. Yes. No. I mean they should have been 38. Nothing. You know if it wasn’t for the fumble that in my opinion was not a fumble then the chop block that will have been and we felt a little bit better about 38 than 24 I mean the course UNLV hung 50 on them so but you can’t play that you know you can’t play that game but that is it you know it wasn’t pretty. I mean I think that that’s kind of why I wanted to see head into Florida and you want style points and you want to you want everybody to have the warm and fuzzies and you want things to look great. But you know the bottom line was it was thorough. I mean there was never it was not like UMass last year worker you never comparable to it. You know the team was a player to say well the whole. I mean the same issues that have cropped up that we that we have at which is the offense. And the Astros are like there. But you know it was last week against ETSU Tennessee created a lot of mistakes and capitalized and turned those two into points. And this week that didn’t happen. Matter of fact it kind of went the opposite way and Tennessee kind of shot itself in the foot. And I think that that’s where your points are made. So you know Tennessee made another couple plays oldies dance. You know it could have could have led to some points had they not made those at least two bad mistakes at crucial times. Well that’s what I’m you know going back and watching it wasn’t nearly as bad as I felt during the game.
Brad Shepard: [00:05:40] I think that you know Tennessee looked good run in the football which was encouraging as I should have against UTEP and then the and so even though it didn’t. I mean it’s even you know even though it didn’t create turnovers it’s still played very well. I mean you know it’s encouraging to play that those guys are the second level. And and in the in the defensive backfield even even though the defensive back. So it is not right. There you see them in the wrong place. And that’s something that we did not see ever during the Butch Jones era. And you know I saw a lot of development from just players being in the right place. No one no one where to be knowing what to do. And we’ve seen growth and that even from game 1 to game 3. Also when you see them in those positions you can still see the talent deficiencies Tennessee has. But that’s going to come what I have been encouraged by the progression in the development of guys seemingly knowing what’s going on and that think that those are the little things that we’ve all talked about that we need to look for. So it’s not perfect. Lots of room for improvement. But I mean it was 24 did nothing but it was it was a thorough 24 to nothing and it very easily could have been 38 or even you know 45 at Tennessee not a stop really trying to score in the fourth quarter
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:07:07] Yeah that’s mostly what I was thinking. The if you look at the yards the nonpoint stuff the first downs you know it was like you said pretty thorough beating. There’s probably should’ve been 35 to 0 because you know we do get three out of that one with the chop block but still there
Brad Shepard: [00:07:26] Right
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:07:27] Were there were several other drives that got stalled out by penalties as well and then we also gave what three or four possessions to Chryst which sort of interrupted the continuity. And I wonder how much to with switching quarterbacks whether that can actually lead to more penalties along the offensive line if they’re different too you know they’re used to a different cadence or whatever you know. So anyway I think there were more points on the board there I’m really not all that concerned about it. It would have been nice to go in with another 53 to something you know but hey it it also gave Pruitt the opportunity to be really unhappy afterwards which is probably going to pay dividends this week. So
Brad Shepard: [00:08:15] Right.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:08:16] All right. So the criticism sandwich like we did last time now you probably already mentioned a bunch of stuff but just so we can get it in a pretty little package. Want one good thing about the game a bad thing in the middle and then another good thing
Brad Shepard: [00:08:31] Yes. The best thing I saw was Ty Chandler. Right you know wrote about that yesterday and I think that we’ve all been encouraged by the running backs and how they looked so far win when Chandler goes down in the first game you’ve got Tim who comes and looks like he’s an SEC running back for lack of better terms. I mean I’m not saying he’s wrong in that Alabama group or anything but the kid can play ball. He’s got three years left and we should be excited about that. Of course Banks comes in and you know runs like his hair’s on fire against yes
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:03] He’s got a
Brad Shepard: [00:09:03] You
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:03] Lot of hair
Brad Shepard: [00:09:03] And
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:04] Too.
Brad Shepard: [00:09:04] He does have a lot of hair. And you know that looks like and that looks like an exciting future that you gotta get the one or two yards if they need it. You know be kind of a guy that’s going to be a really good player for Tennessee. He’s going to learn to hang on football. And let’s face it Lots of freshmen have that issue. It’s frustrating but it’s it’s it’s freshmen
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:28] That
Brad Shepard: [00:09:28] Those
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:28] Was probably
Brad Shepard: [00:09:28] Frustrating
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:29] The
Brad Shepard: [00:09:29] Freshmen are synonymous.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:31] Probably the perfect place to learn that lesson. Not when Pig
Brad Shepard: [00:09:34] Sure
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:34] Howard learned
Brad Shepard: [00:09:35] Absolutely.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:35] It but would bet against UTEP
Brad Shepard: [00:09:38] Yeah
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:38] Yeah.
Brad Shepard: [00:09:39] But Ty Chandler man I mean we know we’ve been hearing that each day brings a different level of other athlete to Tennessee. We didn’t really get to see it last year because the offensive line was so bad. And the receivers blocked so terribly and I wrote about it yesterday. You go back and watch the one yard touchdown run it’s a thing of beauty because everybody had a hat on their man. I mean the great block by POpe to spring it. Everything worked perfectly. But then you go but you take that run away and he’s still had 11 carries for 77 yards which you know a seven yard for carry average against anybody is pretty darn good. So I like what we saw there. I think he’s that kind of player that Tennessee has hit the ball 20 times against Florida and he’s not going to help you beat Georgia or Alabama this year. But you know neither is Bo Jackson. I mean so it’s
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:10:32] Well
Brad Shepard: [00:10:32] It’s
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:10:32] Bo’s over the hill a little
Brad Shepard: [00:10:33] Yet. I’m talking like prime time Bo Jackson. You know he he can help you win games like we’ve got coming up this weekend. So that is encouraging. Tennessee’s not really had a game breaking running back like him since Coker. And then you know the negative thing is I’m going to talk about that now. Are we going to wait or even talk about it.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:10:57] About
Brad Shepard: [00:10:57] What
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:10:57] Which
Brad Shepard: [00:10:57] Do you want me
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:10:57] Think
Brad Shepard: [00:10:57] To do. Yeah you want me to say the negative thing now.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:00] Yeah yeah go ahead do the negative and then yeah. You can’t have
Brad Shepard: [00:11:03] Yeah
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:03] Just
Brad Shepard: [00:11:03] You
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:03] A
Brad Shepard: [00:11:03] Know
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:03] Piece
Brad Shepard: [00:11:04] I’m
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:04] Of bread. Man you’ve got to have the whole sandwich
Brad Shepard: [00:11:05] Telling you
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:06] All at once.
Brad Shepard: [00:11:06] I’m telling you I’m I’m bummed out about the pass rush. You know I just got to do something there. I don’t know what they can do. Maybe you can’t tell me that there’s not one kid on that roster. The pressure on the quarterback. I don’t I don’t understand it. And that’s
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:23] How many times
Brad Shepard: [00:11:24] The
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:24] Have they blitzed though. I mean are they is that vanilla that we’re seeing. Or is it
Brad Shepard: [00:11:31] Maybe.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:31] Really just not able to do it.
Brad Shepard: [00:11:34] You know it’s I think it could be. But Jesse Simonton from Volquest had a great tweet today. It kind of makes you think twice it’s like you would think that Felipe FranksFlorida’s quarterback would really struggle against the blitz and apparently his numbers this year are something like 14 of 19 with five touchdowns when blitzed and like three of 14 for 22 yards when he faces a standard women [LEAVING THIS ERROR BECAUSE HA!] rush then somebody had a great comment on Volquest it was like hey if if if is blitzing him it’s not the right answer them with my play right into our hands because we’ve not got any pressure on them. You know that’s something that you know but it’s it’s funny it’s almost like when I’ve watched a lot of football this year and it’s almost like when Franks’s got time to make plays and run through his progressions he doesn’t do a very good job. So you know maybe maybe this is the top game where Tennessee can give a little bit of help on the back end and maybe just try to get some pressure with the four man rush. I don’t like that and that’s never that never needs to be part of your game plan. Hey we’re not going to pressure the quarterback at all in play. But you know it really might play into Tennessee but they’ve got to get that fixed. I mean they’ve got up on somebody. Deandre Johnson had some had some glimpses up all out even though he’s not.
Brad Shepard: [00:12:58] And even though you know this guy that I’m going to mention is not a pass rusher per se but I thought Will Ignont had a good game on Saturday. You’ve got some talent and athleticism that’s kind of flashing a little bit for Tennessee now. I mean I just know what it is that they’re doing. I mean you know it might be some of those guys just don’t know that yet. But I don’t see I don’t see what Kongbo give you on the field right now personally and it’s very much like Drew Richmond on offense I mean I’m I don’t want to pick scabs and throw darts. But you know Tennessee’s got to go a different direction because he’s not. But so anyway the pass rush is the thing to me that that just is more frustrating than anything. I think that I’ve seen thus far and then the final the other good thing. I mean I think that we should all be encouraged by Guarantno’s development. I think I think his ability to throw the ball is something that we’ve not really seen a lot. I mean Dobbs could throw the ball and then he didn’t get an opportunity to do that enough Bray could throw a deep ball. No it really it was it was just kind of weird and the intermediate game. Neither of those guys were very were very accurate. And Guarantano’s done a lot of good things.
Brad Shepard: [00:14:19] And yeah. Yeah. I mean he’s still he’s still young he still makes mistakes he still sometimes stalls drives by not you know not really. Knowing what to do with the football but it’s it’s few and far between. I mean he looks to me like he’s like he’s really gonna be a good player and that we can really rely on him. Of course we’ll know more about that this week because Florida does get the quarterback and you’ll have to face some some duress this week. Is that internal clock that we’ve talked about a lot with him. There is I don’t know we’ll know for sure this week whether whether that’s progressed and improved. But he can make all the throws every single throw. He can make the outs, he can throw the deep ball, he can throw the crossing patterns. He’s you know he everything has looked really good to me so far. And I did not expect to see that at this point of the season so I’m very encouraged by that. I think that if Helton would let’s say. But we haven’t really seen it yet. It’s Helton can get into a groove in a play calling and really and I think that that also could just be you didn’t really know what he had going into season but if he if he can get into a groove with his playcalling I believe Tennessee’s offense has got a chance to be pretty good.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:15:43] Yeah I agree with that. And continuity is a little hard to achieve when you’re devoting a certain number of possessions to the other guy to try to get him ready so you know hopefully that they can get things roll in that way and like you said earlier the defense actually you know I know that we’ve played ETSU and UTEP but the defensive numbers look pretty good. And and that’s that’s also you. If you’re going to if you’re going to try to poo poo it by saying Well look we’ve played. Yeah well look we played West Virginia’s on there you know and those guys are probably pretty good. So having the numbers where they are right now. I think that’s pretty encouraging. I think it shows that yeah Pruitt probably knows what he’s doing now. They’re going to take a hit because we got some elite level competition coming up probably after this week. But yeah it’s I’m encouraged. We’ll find out this week I think. How much further we still have to go.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:16:50] But you know and so since you know since we’re talking about Florida a little bit we’re going to talk more about them on the next podcast. We’re going to try to have we’ll on tomorrow and then you again the day after that. But so save some stuff to talk about Florida later but I wanted to ask you quickly before we got off on this one and I don’t mean to be negative or anything but is this game this Saturday between Tennessee and Florida a game between the two worst teams in the SEC east.
Brad Shepard: [00:17:32] I would say at this point. Yes. And
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:17:35] That
Brad Shepard: [00:17:35] Now
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:17:35] Depressing
Brad Shepard: [00:17:36] You know it’s it’s pretty depressing. And you know what I want to go back and talk about you know just to say one thing regardless because I feel like that this answer I’m about to does need a buffer. But my dad said something on Saturday that I would be I would be remiss not to repeat because I think it’s something that we can all be encouraged by. Even though you know Tennessee struggle a little bit on the scoreboard and didn’t scores as many points we would have liked. He said Well you know at least we’re watching football and I thought about that. And you know what I mean. We are. And that’s something that we can be encouraged about because what I talk about from a defense standpoint you know Tennessee lining up in the I formation on offense and they you know they’ve got some some motion they’ve got some some lead blocking. I mean they are throwing the ball downfield are mixed with their you know the run in some toss suites and then the run off tackle and it looks like football and not an unfolding rusty lawn chair off the fence that Butch Jones had. You know I mean it’s true. I’m encouraged by both sides of the ball and the coaching of what Tennessee wants to ultimately actually do. I just don’t think that the players are there yet to quite do it. But but yeah I mean you know a SEC Power Rankings article every week for Bleacher Report. And and right now you know Arkansas is number 14 team Ole Miss is on Number 13 team Tennessee’s number 12 team and Florida is number 11. So I think that I would be lying to you. I didn’t think that if I didn’t tell you that yeah it’s the two worst things right now do I think that Tennessee will be one of the two worst teams in the SEC east by the time they play Kentucky in Vanderbilt.
Brad Shepard: [00:19:21] I’m not sure it really depends on how Tennessee weathers the gauntlet that they’re about to go through from an injury standpoint. And how much these young kids get better. But until you know kinda my reasoning for that and I know that we want to know that we all want to and need to move on from last year. But Tennessee is 0 and 8 until they’re not. You know I mean they they lost to Vanderbilt they lost to Kentucky they lost to Missouri. And then and until they prove that they can beat any of those teams there’s no reason to rank Tennessee higher than those teams especially considering that all of those teams have looked better than Tennessee has looked so far this season. So you know to me Yes but that doesn’t mean that out think that Tennessee is going to go 0 8 again and that Vanderbilt Kentucky and Missouri and South Carolina are all. Worlds better than Tennessee and Florida. I don’t. I don’t think those things are. I think they’re all kind of right there. It’s like Dooley’s sack of potatoes you know. I mean. They’re all kind of right there. In the. In the sack. And whoever. Emerges as the you know. The. You. Know not. The least rotten potato and. You know they get to be third in the. East but. It’s it’s. It’s not it’s not great right now but. You know I don’t think it’s That doomsday scenario that we were looking at last year either.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:20:47] All right. That’s Brad Shepard and that’ll do it for our Gameday on Rocky Top Podcast this evening. Please remember to subscribe via iTunes or Google Play. Give us a rating. Give us a review. Give us a good one. Bonus points for using the phrase Dooley’s sack of potatoes. Because that is such an awesome phrase.
Brad Shepard: [00:21:12] I’ll never get it out of my head. It was just a great quote It was a great quote.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:21:16] Well I had written
Brad Shepard: [00:21:17] I
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:21:17] In
Brad Shepard: [00:21:18] See. I love seeing Derek Dooley. I watched Missouri game just to see it. He cracks me up. I just I don’t know.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:21:27] Does he do postgame media.
Brad Shepard: [00:21:30] He doesn’t. But you know and I want to just you know he’s he’s so he’s such a smart dude but you know every time I see him I think that’s our fool not to see him and I think there’s that guy. We all know that guy. They show him up at the press box and it’s just like yeah I just picture him. I want to see him put his whole hold his hands up to his eyes like the binoculars the Rommel binoculars.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:00] Once again that’s Brad Shepherd. Huge Derek Dooley fan, stalker, practically.
Brad Shepard: [00:22:06] Huge.
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:07] And so for Brad. I’m Joel Hollingsworth and this has been the Gameday on Rocky Top Podcast.
Brad Shepard: [00:22:16] I don’t love Derek Dooley but
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:18] Matthew
Brad Shepard: [00:22:19] You know
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:20] I’m
Brad Shepard: [00:22:21] I’ve
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:21] Going to
Brad Shepard: [00:22:21] Learned
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:21] Record
Brad Shepard: [00:22:21] To
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:21] That and so you know you won’t be able to do anything about it. I got the editing controls
Brad Shepard: [00:22:27] Embrace
Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:27] Here man.
Brad Shepard: [00:22:28] I’ve learned to embrace the embarrassment. It’s been it’s been so many years of it that it just becomes part of you. And if you can’t look back at it and think wow you know one of the most storied football programs in college football hired Derek Dooley and Butch Jones back to back then. If you can’t come to terms with that and that can’t help you digest where we are as a football program right now then nothing will.