Vol Defense Dominates NC State! - The Sports Source Full Show (9/8/24)

Introduction and Game Overview - Host John Pennington introduces the show and recaps Tennessee's dominant 51-10 win over NC State. since 2003 this is the sport source with your host John Pennington the sports source is presented by jumpy Bon pip wrench and the Garza Law Firm the sports source Starts Now good Sunday morning welcome into the junk beg gone Studios for the sport Source we appreciate you being with us last night in Charlotte Tennessee played one of the four best teams on their schedule at least on paper and if that 51 to 10 Beatdown is any any indication it's going to be a very very good year on rockytop I have multiple vfl's and media buddies here to discuss that with well I don't know that they'd call me buddy but you know that is uh but we've got eight guys here along with me to discuss this game we're going to break it down for you everywhere every which way you can and let me tell you it's probably going to be a very positive show but in the in the spirit of the sports Source we will continue to look at it as coaches we will look for weakest links we will look for biggest disappointments don't be ticked off that's just what we do here all right let's get into it first segment of our show brought to you by our friends at the Garza Law Firm if you watch our show you know that I believe in working with local businesses I feel there's value in those folks being part of the community of knowing the people here but when I look around and I see ads for attorneys on Knoxville television I notice so many of those guys are not local you can look them up and well they're in Birmingham they're in Memphis they are not here Marcos Garza is here he is local he knows the local eal system he's got a local track record of people all over town you can ask about him great reputation the Garza Law Firm all right let's welcome in the first wave of panelists we have another wave coming in in a minute but right there Jimmy heims vfl Mike stole in town welcome here uh vfl will over street right here Bob Hodge right there all right gentlemen uh Tennessee annihilated number 24 NC State last night in Charlotte 51- to10 they won in every way a team can win offense was explosive Run game was fantastic defense dominant will I'll let you start top takeaway from last night's game top takeaway was defens Is For Real uh there's no other way to around it you had 13 tackles for loss you had three sacks you've gone 12 quarters without giving up a touchdown on defense at this point you have to look at this team and say this is the strength of this team that front seven right now the way those guys were playing of flying around physically were beating NC State every time to the punch when they tried to run the ball there was nothing there and I it was one of the more impressive defensive especially in that front seven that I have seen from a Tennessee team in a long time I just took a couple of plays also with Omari Thomas they have a third down pass play he reacts gets out makes the tackle downfield to save him from getting a first down Arion Carter you just had so many more guys that look like potential draft picks in the first and second string team of eventually you know as they continue to grow that these guys are NFL players and we have not had that many on a team as much as we do right now it is a deep defense especially up front B take back to the 90s to see a defense I think that Tennessee that had that kind of depth or at least 01 you jump in there we had that yeah yeah exactly you know I want to just talk about the diversity of the offense a little bit because you sat there and you saw last night the tight ends seemed to Defensive Dominance Breakdown - The panel discusses Tennessee’s standout defensive performance, including 13 tackles for loss, three sacks, and 12 quarters without giving up a touchdown. be back in Tennessee's offense for the first time in a long long time and I thought that they not only looked they looked the part they looked athletic and I was torn between that one and another thing about the defense where are the missed tackles that you're kind of gotten used to over the years guys coming in they put in a shoulder they try to go for a big hit for a portal by the way they I mean yesterday the defense when the guys beyond the line of scrimmage had a chance to make a play they made it you know and I think this time last year we were talking about well you got to clean up Miss tackles and do these things so those were the two biggest takeaways I had was one you look like you got good depth and you're going to use your tight ends and two your defense looks athletic and they can tackle well you had you've had three touchdowns one from each of your tight ends so far and you would have had a second from kit one last night we'll get into penalties later but will we were talking before the show about the uh the troubles that a good tight end could present to a defense yeah a good tight end and a good system when they're having one of those touchdowns was directly related to it he was blocking blocking blocking same play Same play he pops out for a pass it gets those linebackers it makes a life for linebacker very difficult because you can't trust your eyes if you're having to watch that tight end and you see him block down you see him block down you're coming up to stop the run well all of a sudden Buton he lets go and takes off that that is a when you have an athletic tight end that's able to do that it makes the life of the linebacker very very difficult because it all looks the same and then it pops a pass on you and you're in trouble you can't win in a lot of situations I think Bob brings up a good point when you look at you've got the Run game all right you've got the the Deep ball is back now you didn't see tons of it last night but I think it's going to be there um you've got tight ends that you're getting involved now you ran three shovel passes you it's it's it's like Nico can run if you box him in if you're an opposing defensive coordinator there's a lot of stuff to worry about with that offense but uh Mike Jimmy your top takeaways from last night yeah so for me I I'll take it a little bit step further on will the two interior defensive tackles just beat the crud out of those inside guys there was a stat they showed at the beginning of the game how many starts these offensive linemen had and how much and they had they had a couple of seven-year guys like it took me seven years to get through college but like I only got to play for like these guys are still playing they're 33 years old I don't know but the thing about it is um all those starts if I'm on offensive line when I have that many starts under my belt I just got my rear end handed to me by two really good defensive tackles and I expect the depth and the way that they rotate those guys through that's going to be a big big point of emphasis look for them to continue to do that Jimmy I thought there were three players on NC State's offense Tennessee needed to contain so the quarterback Grace McCollin ends up with 110 yards of total offense from quarterbacks all over the country putting up video game numbers right he has 110 yards of total offense a guy with 10,000 yards under his belt for his career so it's not like passing yeah he's not usually a 100 yard guy yeah right and over a thousand yards rushing uh concep sh the wide receiver 53 yards he had one explosive play when they did a nice job isolating on linebacker but you kept him contained yep the running back Jordan Waters seven carries minus four yards you completely shut down there are three weapons you had to to stop and I I thought that was a really good defensive effort in that regard the concepion thing not we didn't see the secondary look we went into this season saying the secondary is new that's the question mark you're going to have to have that defensive line that really bails them out well they did last night I mean the defensive line made it difficult on Mcall to get anything downfield but when he did get passes off he wasn't able to get anything going with concepion a guy who had 10 touchdown catches last year he had three in their opening against Western Carolina the fact you contain him I don't want to go completely all in on the secondary oh we were wrong they're fantastic there will be more tests down the road but boy that's a really good first test if you'd asked me before the game will Tennessee hold him to five catches and 50 yards I said there's no way so kudos to Tim Banks and that's a guy I want to throw out some some credit for right here because every loss people go back to fire Tim Banks this defense has gotten better statistically whether you believe it or not it's gotten better statistically well don't what your eyes tell you for three straight years it's gotten better every year it looks better again this year Rodney Garner is a heck of a dline coach everybody knows that but how about some credit for Tim banks that guy has put a really good defensive unit together um that would be downright scary if you're an offensive coordinator this that's the interesting thing for me uh when you look across this team athletes you're just seeing better athletes Bob we talked about it last night everybody it's been a long time since Tennessee has had this many whether they're young inexperienced or not you got athletes who you got horses out there for the first time in a long time everybody that I know that got to go see a full practice that was the first takeaway that they had was my gosh this team is athletic they're athletic everywhere everybody can run and and so you saw it last night I mean North Carolina State know or they Alabama or Georgia but like you said that's one of the four best teams on paper and they made them look like Vanderbilt and I mean and that's that's about what North Carolina State looked like I mean they were a ranked team you know so I I think that athleticism shows up the the concepion kid what did he have after he touched the ball very little I mean there wasn't a whole lot of he catches a two-yard pass and turns it into a 12 yard no he catches a two yard pass and he turned it into a four yard pass you know and that's athleticism on your defense I think I think the second not only they're better tacklers than a year ago they're more physical than they were a year ago to Offensive Performance Highlights - Analysis of Tennessee’s offense, focusing on the explosive run game and effective use of tight ends. your point about not missing tackles as well I thought they did a nice job in that let me throw out three names here in case you don't come up a little later uh will Brooks everybody's going to make a big deal out of the walk-on status I'm guessing he's getting some an dollar so I wouldn't worry about it but uh I'm sure his parents would like to have him on scholarship Josh hyle didn't seem Holly Ro throws him a softball joke he just has no personality to handle it he just kind of moves on doesn't say anything doesn't take the bait on joking about will Brooks but credit to him he almost got a second pick there as well um max Gilbert three of four on field goals missed a 53 y but okay that's sketchy on under that the college ranks I do think you've got a we'll get there I do think you've got I think you found a kicker we'll debate this a little later I I think you're in the next segment uh and then the other thing I'll throw out were uh Deshawn Bishop uh one of the plays that stood out to me was the inter ception yeah goes back for a touchdown Deshawn Bishop doesn't make the play but he tackles him in the end zone he's he's he almost make the play the fact that he's out there running him down from behind I just think this team is showing some things we haven't seen in a while against Chattanooga Tennessee made a big deal about Nathan Lok chasing a guy on the interception and Tackle him on the 10 well I think you saw the same thing with Shan Bishop making that kind and Bishop is not a 4440 guy right but he kept going after I and I I thought that said a lot about his effort and the culture of this team agreed all right when we come back the best player the worst decision the biggest disappointment from last night's game and if Mike's still on we let him bash Max Gilbert poor kid going back on the sports Source welcome back into the sport Source this segment brought to you by AG Hines company nudura concrete forms cultured stone when it comes to the materials that look best are the most cost efficient are the most energy efficient AG hin companies they carry them they've been around for a century but they have more cuttingedge building materials than anyone in East Tennessee AG Hines company check them out at AG ghin.com this week all right I want to welcome in the next two members of our panel right down there Josh Ward Josh thanks for being here thanks and right here Chuck Cavaliers Chuck thank you for joining us uh time for our poll question brought you by Hearthside Bank just like them the poll question is always within reach you can either use your smartphone and get the QR code or you can go to sports source. TV and hit the polls button and get there but your question today how have the v's first two games impacted your outlook and your choices are they haven't or I'm more hopeful or I'm more certain or playoffs baby so uh see the leader I'm more hopeful so we got we got some people that are being kind of realistic here it looks like the second runner up and I apologize we don't have a monitor right up here so we're having to look over there that's why my eyes are going that uh looks like the second place would you guys agree is playoffs baby or am I wrong on that doesn't matter no one's talking so when I ask these when I ask these questions I won't respond but we're all old okay I can't see Josh yeah say playoffs maybe 30 I thought with all the ORS it was a Tennessee de J is that what's leading and I'm just sitting here just silent don't let me in I just want some ping here we go I just pictured you as Grandpa Simpson all right uh best player on the field last night Josh or Chuck who wants it first well I mean I'll go ahead and try and get something real quick to me it's Dylan Samson again now he's got five touchdowns uh 100 yard 100 yards rushing uh we mentioned a great Point by you John about chasing down the inter tried to get try to get to him in the end up you need to learn so I mean I just think yet again I mean he continues to show up you know and and he gains some tough yards so I think it definitely deserves some props yep all right best player on the field yeah Samson's on my list just because he makes key plays he makes explosive plays he's a big part of what they do offensively choosing one defensive lineman seems like an impossible task so I'll just I'll try to choose one he made a big play Early Omar Norman lot when NC State trying drive down the field I don't think Omar gets enough attention which again is really difficult to do because of all the guys up front but he's a guy that I think could be playing today meaning in the NFL today chose to come back for another year and that's a big part of the depth of Tennessee's defensive line I have a feeling he's going to be the second Defender that gets drafted behind James Pierce he's a guy that can make when you've got a defensive tackle who can not only stuff the run but also crushes the pocket those guys make a ton of cash best player on the field uh I I go with Dylan Samson because of his yardage that they got 132 yards rushing but it was after contact he got a lot I mean he got hit one or two yards down the field and then he got a lot more yards and that's the thing you saw him falling forward so if he gets 20 touches and he gets two more yards after contact that's 40 additional yards that he would gain rushing so I I like the way that he rushes physically I sensed a little ex offensive lineman yeah in that okay uh Bob who's the best player Dylan Samson okay good we'll move on quickly worst decision last night Bob I know there we we exchang text right when it happened two minutes and Special Teams Impact - A breakdown of special teams, including missed field goals and the importance of punting and field positioning. some odd seconds to go in the first half and you come out and you run you run you run you run now if you don't have a holding penalty that pushes you back maybe it works I would have liked to seen a little bit more aggressiveness in that situation I thought it reminded me last year of how they handled things with Joe Milton with enden hooker 10 seconds to go hey we got to go 80 yards but I think we can get a field goal out of this it just seemed to me that that was a little bit conservative for your offense last night I would like to see a little bit more aggressiveness in the two minute situation and I want to ask this okay so he says that's the worst decision tonight when you went kind of conservative there at the end of the half uh I'm not arguing that point but I will say I wonder if it's not just we're bringing you know Nico isn't Joe Milton but he's also not henden hooker yet yeah let's not let's not let him he's thrown a pick let's not let this uh let's not give them an easy one let's not make mistake here let's take our three I just wonder if they're trying to bring him along slowly which is why they didn't Jam the foot to the gas you still got a field goal right at the end of the half I mean it's not like you didn't get but it wasn't the go go go that you saw in 2022 I would just I would just say hey in this situation let's go ahead and work on it now because if it's Alabama or if it's Georgia okay we've got a little bit of two-minute drill under his belt it isn't just handed off handed off handed off your thoughts on this uh the decision to just kind of slow play there at the end of the half instead of letting Nico take his shots well I understand Bob's point I wonder if they also thought we get the ball at the start of the second half so why risk anything to help Inc State let's see what we can do here knowing we're also going to have another chance coming out of the half I thought actually Bob was going to go right before that I thought Dave doran's decision to not take it down to the two-minute timeout they snapped it with a few seconds before I was sure that they would uh take the timeout and then allow clock to run after or Force Tennessee into a timeout assuming they didn't get the first down so uh I thought that was costly by Dave Doran to allow Tennessee a little extra time at the end of the half all right let me if you got a worse decision or yeah mine is Max Gilbert's field goal late in the game 53 y right now we talked about 53 Y in college now is not a long field goal it it really isn't I mean you see guys kicking 55 56 it's on the Outer Edge but here's what it does for me as a coach on the opposing team I'm like okay this guy doesn't have the range so now I know where I've got to get to so I play a little bit differently when I'm going against them like okay they got to kick a field goal to win how do I defend that I defend it a little bit differently because they don't have a guy with a cannon of a leg and yeah it's a long field goal but he he made one earlier and he just skirted it in on the side so I don't know where his confidence is as a freshman how's he going to handle a big big game I think that's fair I think that's very much fair I but I I have a feeling you can look at it the other way I could see Hy saying like got to know how you got you got to know what his ranges I understand but you're you're showing a late field goal again you got all this distance now if you're going in and I'm a defensive team and I'm got a two-minute situation okay I here's how I defend soft to a certain area before it's not like it came up short he had plenty of leg right I mean he just missed it leg Yeah he had plenty of leg he had plenty of leg I just don't like the decision kicking F goals in that situation when you got such a huge lead right I mean because then you're thinking what if they block it you know no I'm just thinking can I the field goal when I'm ahead 51 to 40 or 51 to 10 can I give one disappointment quickly James Pierce I mean is something else going on there worst decision this doesn't fit worst decision well not playing not I mean he he's not a he's not they're double teaming him for one thing right well let's get let's get to all right I think we jumped ahead we went from worst decision biggest disappointment is next is that James Pierce let me just say this so many people got mad last week we have a question in this show it's supposed to to be tough so it's going to be easy when Tennessee loses when they win it's a tough question tough discussion it's biggest disappointment for this game we said last week was it a disappointment you only got one sack against Chattanooga I got pillared for that it's like what you think they're going to be good nobody say they're going to be bad just it was a disappointment last week all right now James Pierce he's got no sacks on the year he's got one tackle on the year he's got a half tackle for loss on the year is that a disappointment is that where you're going yes that's what I got right here big just to me it is Player Standouts - Spotlight on individual performances, including Dylan Samson and Omari Thomas on defense. and I just wonder if there's something else going on there I hope there's not I just like he's being double teamed which I thought going into the season he not to mention the fact you got to be javien Clowney if you're going to be the best college football player in the country and as a Defender and and be a defensive end you're right yep yeah and I don't I didn't think he was jaavan Clowny coming in I think he's a hell of a player I think he could be the number one draft pick I don't think he's javian Clowney I don't think he's going to be the number one player in college football on defense this year I may be wrong uh your thought some biggest disappointment is it James Pierce at this point or something else or what I think some of the penalties that Tennessee got just clean him up a little bit um you know the peely had a late hit that was kind of likeup yeah it was like all right dude I get it you're seven years into this blocking the back on front return I mean cost yourself yes I'm I'm not concerned about uh Pierce Jr they're scheming him yeah they're they're double teaming him the good news is you haven't missed him well because you got other guys that are really really good and they're they're eventually going to have to adjust for them and that's when he starts coming up Bob the seven penalty you also cost yourself a touchdown for another touchdown call back the the holding penalty on the two-minute drill you know kind of negated okay if you are trying to run it get close it negated that and I mean you had one um unsportsman like conduct penalty that was offset so you would you would have had four 15 yard penalties that one doesn't get offet and that's just too much Cam Seldon already missing the game because he's hurt I mean you know come on you don't have enough depth there already oh wow disappoint he's being hard today Josh mainly just you guys disappointing you and your negativity very good all right when we come back the balls look awfully darn good but Mike sto isn't a rest on your La Laurels kind of guy cuz he has no Laurels uh what is Tennessee's weakest link we came into the season saying well secondary maybe the offensive line well let's pick some nits is there a weak L come on back have the sports Source well I don't way the whole well we're back okay welcome back to the sport Source uh thanks for being with us this segment brought to you by Parkside Cabin Reynolds at some point fall is going to arrive it arrived last night actually you can tell I didn't rewrite this Parkside cab rolds is where you need to get to go in the fall uh the leaves start changing it's beautiful up there in the Smoky and there's no better group in terms of renting a cabin because they have so many different types of cabins and you can go to Parkside Cabin rentals.com and check out all the floor plans for yourself pick the perfect one for you and your friends or family Parkside Cabin Rentals all right let me welcome in the next two members final two members today we got Sterling Hinton vfl vfl Marlon Walls gentlemen thank you for being here I know it was a fun night for you well you were busy but fun night watching the vs put it on like they did that's it um it's the sto train which means I let Mike stole have his say have his question I told you don't be negative but here we go yeah what are you going to do Mike so it's it's tough to you know be negative on this but think about Tennessee scored 120 points in the two games defensively they've not given up a touchdown yet so they look really really good my question to the vfl's what's the winest what what's the weakest link uh or unit on this team well if we went recent biases just looked at last night you would say the wide receiver core because they didn't show up and every you know everywhere else did show up but I still think if I look at it I still go I don't trust the secondary at this point I just look at it and go if they have more time what happens and so I think it's a prove me kind of thing I'm not saying I don't think they may gotten better but I want to see you know one-on-one man man coverage you get a wide receiver he catches the ball does that guy get the guy on the ground or they able to make plays so I I'm still in a wait and see I still think the secondary is your potential of where you're looking but I have to say last night was not a good showing for the wide receivers so when it came to Big Time competition you didn't have anybody that broke out and made any big plays you didn't take many deep shots only a couple one to McCoy one to White uh you had the overthrow on the interception he didn't take a lot there I think uh Thornton was only targeted once or twice the whole game but 23 passes there weren't a lot of big plays for the receivers all right there we go what was your weakest what is the weakest link on this team period not just last night but period if you have to pick one and it's nitpicking yeah it is it is uh I would still say I don't I'm with Will on this I still don't trust the DBS I think when you go against um a group where you've got multiple guys so you're looking down the line and again we're still nitpicking but like you're looking down the line where you've got two receivers that's like a concession on that can get you beat um the other thing is like uh wide receiver wise I know that they they they said in The Telecast they push their safeties all the way back to make sure they take away the Deep shots I wonder if that was the case that kind of uh the reason why we didn't see that production that we saw last week from thoron uh if that was the case this week but I would still say the DBS all right where you going Sterling weakest thing I got two that's tied okay first one it's me it's my fault man I only predict we going to win 42 to 10 I said 42 but under I don't estimated but I I the weakest link I think is our strongest link and this what I mean by that I think our strongest person hasn't showed what we know he can do yet and that's Dr James Pierce I think Pierce is that they're sliding to I see him get Triple team five times last night in the game they slid the line to him and Chi the back on him but when he breaks out when people realize the the the legitimacy of his other teammates in that front line and they start having to one-on-one and pay more attention to other people and they want to want him be ready the strongest link showing up okay uh Josh if you could tweet for us Sterling Hinton says James Pierce is Defensive Line Depth - Discussion on the depth of Tennessee’s defensive line and its long-term impact on the season. Tennessee's weakest link there we go all right Mike I know where you're going this question was asked for one reason so absolutely yeah so it's the offensive line I still have a lot of questions listen to me listen all right so like I have a trained eye of understanding of good sets bad sets and everything they are a little bit slow James or Samson had a lot of yards after contact he wasn't like had gaping holes to gash through uh it was a different bit of a scheme but the interception Nico threw uh that was that was that was a horrible set and then you got your tackles I'm not confident with the way they're setting they're they're not setting well and you see Nico kind of having to step up and throw so when you're facing Elite defensive ends I question that so I think that is I'm they're they're still a pretty good unit but I think they're their weakest unit I thought they got better last night in the past game I thought they got better as it went on I did not like the way it started that first draw Nico was having to run uh he was taking a few too many hits that is not what you want to see cuz he is still not a big guy yeah but I thought they improve they they did improve but I don't have a trained eye for the sets for the sets the way just the foots and the way the feet set and and the short sets and everything there short Corners that are there look out for that in big games look for somebody getting around the corner quick just what do I know there you go no that's why we that's why it's the stole train all right when we come back true or false the defense is more likely to carry this team to the playoff than the off offense wow let's let's tackle that hot take next on the sports [Music] horse welcome back into the sport Source this segment brought you by Southeast termite in Pest Control whether you need a onetime spring for your home or office a specialty treatment for mosquitoes termites regularly scheduled preventative maintenance visits I mean right now fall is coming that means all these Critters are going to want to come into your house they're going to want to say hey it's going to be warm in there let's go in there so so if you if you don't want to see the spiders coming in or eventually if you don't want to get the ladybugs in there and the stink bugs and all that stuff Southeast termite and pest control that's who you call Haynes family does a great job since 1971 Southeast termite and Pest Control let's remind you of the poll question see where that thing stands not that any of us can really see it from here but it appears to me that the leader is still more hopeful with the runner up being playoffs baby doesn't look like we got a lot of people saying it hasn't impacted your your view on the game so far they not a lot of people saying that you're more certain it's more hopeful followed by Allin playoffs baby go ahead click tell us what you think we'll continue to follow that as The Show Goes On we appreciate you playing it all right Jimmy I'll give you a crack at this first I'm not so sure I don't believe this by the way yes it's a hot take but I'm not sure I don't believe it true or false the defense will lead Tennessee if if if Tennessee makes the playoff it will be the defense that leads there not the offense which is something I never thought I would say with this Veer and shoot offense I didn't think it was it was possible to have this kind of Defense because nobody's ever done it I think the defense could be the RO true or false defense more important than the offense in terms of making the playoffs actually I think it's the kicker but since that's not one of the questions I'm going to go with the I'm going to say it's true and I'm going say it for this reason I think back to the 2022 team when Tennessee led the nation in scoring but they also lost a couple of games CU they they gave up 60 something points with South Carolina they beat Alabama and Alabama scored 49 okay I think the offense I expect to be really good but defensively I think what I've seen so far is a defense that can can hold or or even shut down some of the better offensive teams that they play so I'm going to say if they get there is because the defense steps up in the against some of the better opponents and contains them to the point where Tennessee can win games so I'm going to go defense all right all right will it definitely in my mind has to be here for Tight Ends and Versatility - How Tennessee’s tight ends are creating problems for defenses, with a focus on offensive scheme. the first part of the Year where I where I go in the second half of the year or later in the year I expect my offense to have been have to be the best possible way it can possibly be at that point time ni will be up to speed yeah exactly but your defense definitely has to in this first part of the season has to be the reason you get through some of these games in Norman Oklahoma and other places like that and then eventually my expectation is that the offense starts taking care of the defense because a even in this amount of depth and everything we know this offense leaves you out in the field a long time that's body blow after body blow as you go through the season so I expect the defense to get a little regress and the offense to get better at the same time with this defensive front and the depth I think they have a chance to continue to be at this level closer to this kind of level than any of the other defenses in the past so if I can get a defense that keeps the other team from being able to hold the ball on our offense late in the season then that would be the key to say the defense is going to lead the charge and why you get to the playoffs Marlin walls another Defender over here uh true or false if the Falls make a playoff run it's the defense that will get them there not the offense it could be the defense now your cavali it could false man there's no good um I would say I would say false okay I would say say the offense has got to be super explosive you've got to be able to uh win a shootout uh in some of the big games and and the reason why I said could be is when you look at our depth at the defensive line if you look at our linebacker position peely hit a couple guys last night that made me cringe he he's got that that that dog in him and then secondary wise they're young but they're athletic and so it's going to take them some time but the reason why I say it it's got to be the offense because just a couple things I saw last night that still got me um we're running like ET stunts on the defensive line and guys are coming around the edge and not using their hands and they're still staring in the back field right you've got to defeat the guy in front of you first before you you know go try to make a sack that's something we've got to improve on and then the other thing is we've got to have peers on the field more than what he is right now he's got he's got I don't know if he has to express that to the coaching staff but like that guy is a world like he's a world Talent as far as long athletic physical fast he's got to be on the field more especially to help this defensive back where we've got some young guys so I would say it could be but right now I'm going lean towards the offense just CU there are some things we got to clean up as well true or false bu I'm going to go with true with the with the it's relative we've put up for several years Josh hoel's record when his team scor less than 30 points so your defense doesn't have to be World beating record setting great yeah but you need to win more games when your offense can't get over over 30 and this defense looks like the kind of defense that okay yeah offense scored 28 defense held him 24 you WI a ball game that typically in the past Josh Appel teams have lost like the& m game a year ago yeah yeah well I think it's interesting the two Defenders are the ones that say this is false or could be false as opposed to true and Us Media guys say true I think though I go your way um I expect the offense to be good but if you're only asking the offense to score 40 instead of 50 to get the win mhm that's a huge step in the right direction which the same thing you're saying but last night I mean three sacks three tackles for loss uh NC State started three of three on third Downs then didn't get another one all night 0 for 12 from there on only 143 yards of total offense they got 1.4 yards per Rush uh three pass breakups last night four quarterback hurries three sacks three takeaways the danger is you know every year there's one game where you just crap the bed yeah and you're like where'd that come from and every year there's one game where it's like holy smokes where did that come from We're acting as though this is the Baseline for this defense it's possible this could be the Holy Smokes where did that come from but I do think if they play to the level we've seen so far just looking I've never seen a championship I've never seen the veran shoot win a championship okay because typically it doesn't have a good def defense paired with him Bob BRS art B never had a defense like this Lane kein hasn't had a defense like this okay now now this may be testing that if you can put this kind of defense and these kind of athletes on your defense with that kind of offense maybe this this this chances of winning a title either now or down the road are increasing for Josh Eiffel because of the quality of your athletes I think you are closer to the Baseline with which you saw last night I am interested when Tennessee goes against a team with really good offensive line I know I know North Carolina state had a lot of players coming back but they didn't dominate Western Carolina no and Secondary and Tackling Efficiency - The panel evaluates the improvements in Tennessee’s secondary and tackling, comparing to last season’s issues. it's an ACC line yes and they didn't that's what I was just about to point out and that's and that's where you're going to see like we're going to be able to tell a little bit more when that happens when they're able to one-onone guys and not have to scheme and like I said that's when the secondary of shows up is that your weakness or not is when they get pre they get plenty of time to throw the ball then you're going to see what's my secondary they got eight SEC games they're going to test them I mean that's that's still ahead all right when we come back we're going to talk about Nico what are his best attributes so far what does he still need to work on come on back on the sports [Music] Force welcome back into the sport Source this segment brought to you by Madisonville Marine selection no one carries more different makes models of boats in all of East Tennessee pricing they ship boats to Florida to California because they're deal s beat everyone across the country customer service families have been brought back year after year after year to Madisonville Marine there's a reason I say it and it's true there is no better place to buy a boat all right quick segment here we're going to play a little catch up here we'll start with the easy one we're going to talk all about Nico with my former offensive vfl's Mike Stall Sterling Hinton um what's his best attribute so far leadership leadership and just raw skills the man can throw the ball and he throws all kinds of balls and throw one of those the best one I like I like his intermediate throw he throws it firm and a very firm and catchable ball tight ends love that stuff there was a it was a series last night he throws a little 10 yard out all the way to the left side line then he comes back hits another 10 yard all the way to the right it's like this kid's got an arm he just an easy little throw that would have not been that way last year kid's got an arm in in his is his art to find the right location to put it on the receiver's body I love it man I love it uh it's his quick decision right he he he sees it and he makes the throw he he he processes quickly last year we didn't see that right so you see things processing quicker to where it's like that's it boom throw there's no Spinning Wheel of death it renders yeah buffering buffer buffering all right so uh then let's get to the fun part what's you need to work on if I make you if I make Sterling Hinton I know you don't like doing this if I make Sterling Hinton quarterback coach yes what's the thing he most needs to to work on what are you working with footwork or what what are you doing well I think his foot work is is is definitely above above average but what I think every all quarterback should work work on especially Nico being his his time behind the pocket is recognition of the coverage a couple of times and it's just because of his Youth and actual game experience he's missed a couple of guys running free but he's going through his progression and he doesn't get an extra millisecond but because he's processing faster get that little extra pause that comes with game experience and that's what I think he needs to work on this processing the coverage processing the coverage faster but giving that pause let the play happen a little longer yes doll well for for me I I think it's uh he he looks a little bit antsy in the pocket now his offensive line has maybe given him reason to all roads lead back the off line Le back to the offensive line uh I I I did like you know I was telling Sterling off camera but that one throw that they called back to the tight end where he was retreating retreating retreating and he threw off of his back foot when he throw it before they pay to the tight end I was like oh gosh don't throw that don't throw that is not where you throw a ball now the tit end was wide open and he has the arm to get to it I would like to see him be a little bit more calmer in the pocket I'd like to see him get down quicker there was there were one or two spots yesterday where I just thought okay you got the first down slide yeah slide just and I know he wants as many yards as he can get he's he's a competitor boy I just I just want to see him take care of himself Marlon wall said last week teach him to fall cuz he does he does crumple up in in a certain way sometimes he was hit last night he got it from the front and the back it was kind of a high low at one point and I it cuts away it's showing the pass go down the field I'm like oh boy what are we going to find when it cuts back he's getting up fine but I still worry about his size taking too many hits especially when he gets outside the pocket it's like get out of bounds get down that's a good point and that comes with the game experience John P but he's a dog man n's an exceptional Talent an exceptional guy exceptional leader and a great teammate and that dog is hard to tame that dog down given certain play and he'll learn that through game experience I think the way he carries himself to use coach Major's word his comportment is very good he's got great comportment compartment all right all right uh when we come back uh I don't want to get carried away but looking around the SEC right now is Tennessee a legit Contender to make Atlanta now you got Georgia and Texas but I don't know how many other teams I've put way ahead of the falls right now let's discuss that when we come back on the sports Source come over Key Areas for Improvement - Critique of the penalties and mistakes that held Tennessee back despite the big win. welcome back to the sports Source this segment brought to you by Daniel Hood Roofing homeowners always focus on the roof and for good reason a leaky roof can do some serious damage to your home but gutters gutters are also vital to leak prevention best time to get them checked or replaced it's in the fall before all the leaves fill them up Daniel Hood Roofing can do that for you get in touch with them this week check out their website Daniel Hood roofing.com what you'll find are just a zillion testimonials from Happy customers all over East Tennessee Daniel Hood Roofing all right let's take a look at the poll results and see what the final answers were it didn't change we're going to have more hopeful that's what the winner was and then second place was playoffs baby so there you go appreciate you playing L with us we'll do uh we'll do the polls each and every week uh our polls are always Within Reach just like Hearthside Bank all right uh back with Josh and Chuck when you look at how dominant Tennesseee was yest yesterday versus a top 25 NC State team and then you look around the SEC I think you have to feel pretty good about where Tennessee is the problem is as I said in that last or couple segments ago there's the the day where you have everything come together in the day where everything falls apart you know it's coming but overall you got Georgia and Texas way up here I did have Alabama higher above Tennessee but what I'm seeing from Tennessee right now you get Alabama at home I'm feeling that that's more of a tossup than I might have thought going into the season and I don't know that I would really say anybody else on the schedule or in the league if you played everybody you played Ry Ramen I don't know if there's anybody else in the league where I'd say oh yeah they're clearly better than Tennessee other than just Georgia Texas maybe Alabama yeah thoughts I totally agree I I think when you look at the other teams that are real contenders like Texas Texas is a real Contender look at what the lon hords did National Championship Contender Tennessee doesn't have to deal with Texas unless gets to Atlanta to play in the SEC title game Old Miss I think can be that but Tennessee doesn't see Old Miss so bam at home and then Georg is the favorite look look at what that program is but if Tennessee's defensive line to go back to some of the conversation already on the show if the defensive line and the defense overall can be for real along the way then it's going to give it give Tennessee a chance against just about everybody again we'll see with George on the road but Tennessee will have an advantage against most opponents and that'll put the balls in play like Oklahoma's going to be a real tough test on the road but Oklahoma's proba trying to figure out more things early in the season than Tennessee they had struggled with Houston last night yeah right well the key the key part of that is when you had Contender are they a contender well Contender you're going to have two right away then you're going to have three or four others that fall into that Contender category right sure you're a contender to make it there but remember we've talked about this before that getting to Atlanta is huge but being able just get in the playoffs that you know you get that first round by if you win the SEC but you could be a number five seed and host a game in nean stadium in December playoff game that'd be awesome you look at going into the season Tennessee was looked at as probably sixth or seventh in the SEC in most of these rankings and most of the polls you saw taken if you had to do that today would Tennessee still be sixth or seventh or would you if we're doing stock up stock down and that would change every week so if we're back here next week talking about something that's completely flipped that's how football is we take it as we see it Oklahoma wouldn't be above Tennessee in my no I think Miss maybe oh miss maybe Missouri maybe but I Alabama would be and you got Georgia and but I think you've jumped Oklahoma have you jumped LSU I think so yes yes so all right so you've gone from sixth or seventh to fourth or fifth right yeah I right now and some teams haven't had a chance to prove it Tennessee against a quality opponent in in NC State we'll see how their season plays out but Tennessee I think I would feel more confident there than Missouri which beat up on Tennessee last year but last year's over and we've talked about some of the changes this year so Tennessee's had a chance to show that their stock should rise so confidently I would say Georgia and Texas Texas going to Michigan even with what they lost that's you know that's a statement win Bay still has the Personnel but again head-to-head Tennessee will have the HomeField opportunity everybody else I think Tennessee has a strong case to be made against Miss has the Personnel their tougher part of the schedule's in the second half Jackson Dart did yesterday was complete his first 24 passes you know so we're seeing coaches I think also try to make some uh some statements to committees for the future yeah like what Lane ke's doing with Jackson D in that offense Missouri in the final minute or so tax on a touchdown against Buffalo last night so they I think are they're trying to show what they're capable of Tennessee was able to do it though in a top 25 match up on ABC but you look around the league so far Alabama struggle with South Florida Arkansas put up nearly 700 you're sitting there thinking okay this this is going to be a step in the right direction then they turn the thing over 18 times and lose the game Auburn losing at Cal I thought Auburn was a team that Coaching and Game Strategy - Discussion on the coaching decisions, game strategy, and adjustments made during the game. could be rated ranked by the end of the year okay I think I was wrong uh Florida cream by Miami last week although the quarterback changed this week uh Kentucky awful at home against sou my goodness that's yeah and South Carolina which struggle with ODU goes to Lexington and just strangles Kentucky I Tennessee might beat Kentucky by however many points Josh hyper wants to yeah I mean your favored by basically 10 at home at Kentucky and you score six points and you look at Texas A&M who you went into the season saying they got all kinds of talent okay Notre Dame goes down and beat them well it's no no shame in losing to a top five Notre Dame and then Notre Dame goes home and loses at South Bend to Northern Illinois I don't know that the SEC it really looks like a Haves and Have Not league right now now you'll have some upsets that's what happens in this league but it really looks like you've got this group and then this group and there's not a lot in the middle at the moment but and that's my view we'll see all right when we come back our vfl's debate what creates a bigger challenge for opposing coaches would think they're sitting there every week facing Tennessee they're dreading how to stop that offense are they now sitting there thinking oh my gosh how do we Kickstart our own offense against that defense come on back on the sports SCE welcome back to the sports Source this segment brought to you by Safety Systems if you're in need of a new security system for your home for your business this there's only one guy to call that's vfl JJ serus and the team at saf te systems they are uh they've been doing it for more than two decades they've got their little logo all over town you see it on businesses you see it in yards and if you go to their website you'll see that it's not just security systems it's home automation tremendous stuff there uh they do it all uh Safety Systems get in touch with them this week check them out online okay uh will Sterling and Marlin over at the Players beastro table I started to queue up the French music but I haven't done it yet so uh they're over at the beastro table and I'm asking them to put themselves in the shoes of opposing coaches and will you can start uh you know if you're going into the season I think most of us would have said boy opposing coaches have dread how we gonna how we going to slow down Josh H's offense but is it a bigger question now if you're the opponent if you're the opposing coach are you more worried about how are we going to get our own offensive ignited against that defense which way you looking at it will I would be looking at it from the defensive you know how do we get our offense started because part of getting really the start or or defeating this offense is maintaining the ball right time of possession so figuring out how am I going to run against this front seven how am I going to get in be you knowe of the chains how do I get into third manageable and not be behind the sticks and let this pass rush get to me I think for a lot of offenses now that becomes the priority as the coaching staff of like how how where are we going to get our offense from where do we find those cheap you know three four yards that we can average because if we don't and we give this offense enough times I think any defensive coordinator goes we're going to give up points and it's going to be a boat race we don't want that so the offense has got to help out the defense but to me I think it's definitely that area what about you first what I think and this and I've said earlier in in my last comment other officers have got to be nervous because our defens only operating 70% right now we haven't shown everything our main guy has not playing a lot of plays right now so when he gets activated and they start they now they're concerned about guys they didn't even know about up front in that front seven so how you going how you going to get an offensive game plan to go against something when you haven't seen it all yet and that's what I'm excited about yeah I would say that when you when you watch us play right now with a Young quarterback but you know he's coming and I think defensive coaches and teams understand like all right this offense is going to get better uh he's going to get more uh familiar with his receivers um they're going to figure out scheme wise what work what don't work uh but I still would say you're more you're more worried about our defense because you know with this offense coming there's going to be potential you got to get in the shootout and if you can't score the football yourself that offense is going to score points so I think both of you guys are absolutely right on that and think about what you just said we our offense is in the shootout and we still put all these points on the board the first two games I'm just saying and our defense not let it all out yet we got some exciting times ahead of us inol I think the one exciting thing I always to see is the tight end being back as a weapon in this and for me that is a harder offense this offense with a tight end that can block and be athletic and catch is a much more difficult offense without than without if you just have wide receivers I don't think this offense is as prolific or as hard with the tight end I I think what Preston fanton did in this offense a couple years ago is is discredit in a lot of way but that guy was scoring touchdowns this guy was throwing touchdowns and also making key blocks running back yeah you have that that tight end element it Looking Ahead to the Next Game - What Tennessee needs to work on and expect from future matchups. look like we've got three of them just watching all three guys yesterday that can get open that can also block you but then also understand the scheme so that makes it a lot scarier for sure offense wise like you said the tight ends already activated our wide receivers are they're I'm excited about was about to have invol Nation on offense brother well there it is John I think you know thinking of most of us defense is the harder one to do there you go the music uh but yeah I think right now defense is the harder thing for these offenses they know what the offense is going to be but right now defense would be the struggle if you're coming in to play this Tennessee team right now very good the sounds of Parish behind our guys at the French beastro table all right when we come back will they or won't they this is going to be a whole lot more about Tennessee that will be about Kent State did you see Kent State score last night they they lost to St Francis ever heard of St Francis I didn't think so come on back on the sports Source welcome back to the sport Source this segment brought to you by Games and Things football season is here then basketball then baseball folks it's time to get a new home theater seat it's the best way to watch at home and turn your house into just the the place where everybody wants to go and watch games home theater seating they got the best selection in the world and if you're watching us Saturdays at 11: for the Saturday kickoff you'll also see that we've built the Games and Things Arena and what you'll see down there is the pap the Tennessee branded Papa shot boss toss dart board shuffle board they've got it all they can not only sell you the home theater seats but they've got everything to make your home just an entertainment Palace Games and Things all right it's time for will they or won't they and we've got our four vfl's over there Mike Sterling will and Marlon they've got their thumbs up thumbs down and the of us are over here at the U the podiums ready to Dole out some hard-hitting information Tennessee versus Kent State and boy did I have to dig deep to find some numbers for this one all right here we go question one Dylan Samson has run for 100 or more yards in his last three games going all the way back to the Citrus bow will he rush for 125 against Kent State we got yes yes no yes will over Street all right U wiie raincloud why I think they're I think they're going to get him arrest I I think they're not I think they're going to try in this game get him some action but I don't think they're going to keep him out there very long if they get to up in this game I just don't think he's going to get that many shots to get to that amount of yards because they're going to be like we've worked him the last two games and we need him the next week so I think if they have an opportunity they're going to pull the back the Reigns on him a little bit Chuck cavalis does Dylan Samson get 125 yards rushing yes I think he will take that will over Street there's sunshine on your on your Cloud next uh Tennessee's defense has not allowed a touchdown in three games going back to the Citrus Bowl there's a theme here uh will Kent State a team that scored just 19 touchdowns last year the entire season 19 touchdowns worst out of 133 FBS schools will the golden flashes score a touchdown versus Tennessee our guys say no no we got two yeses all right now I want to hear from both Marlon and Sterling but I'm going to start with Sunshine Sterling you think that it's Kent State who snaps the vs no touchdown streak for one reason I think we get so far into the game where we have our fourth and 15 players playing they still have their starters out there they might have some success Marlon you agree with that I saw sh same thing we we'll get our guys in uh that that usually don't play and they'll take advantage of it they get one all right Sterling and Marlin negative Josh you think uh you think kid state is the team that scores a touchdown on the fall defense I think Tim Banks really wants to pressure his defense stress them so I think in the fourth quarter he'll decide to go with nine guys in the field otherwise no I don't I don't think can State's scoring an offensive touchdown all right very good next one question three Tennessee has averaged 51.6 points per game since Nico took over at quarterback going back to the Citrus Bowl uh will the vs s score 60 versus Kent State we got three yeses and a negative for Mr stole let me guess the offensive line well okay why are you saying no so I mean that's a lot of points uh and I changed my mind cuz will was so intelligent with his raincloud answer earli um I think they're going to some of the starters early on so I think they get up pretty early and then I don't Final Thoughts and Predictions - Closing thoughts from the panel on the team’s performance and future outlook for the season. think they're going to score a ton of points with the backups I thought you were going to say the kicker was going to miss it he's going to miss it score 50 there you go all right uh Jimmy do they score 60 no because I don't think Nico plays with the first half like he did against Chattanooga and then I think Tennessee would be more inclined to run the clock in the second half so I'm going to say no okay they scored 69 on Chad didn't go much backups I know I I'm not so sure we'll we'll hang on for that question a little they help St Francis to 31 points I started to say I got a question about Chattanooga versus K State will bring up later all right Tennessee's defense has recorded 18 tackles for loss through two games this season will they record at least nine more versus Kent State yes yes yes yes everybody agrees on that one that one's simple okay is this a first half line nine in the first half n in the first half do we all agree they get nine tackles for loss against K State yes okay all right last question in this segment I'll ask the vfl's why are we playing this team again what is the point of this game U what do you what no you're paying them it's the I know but you get you get the the stand you get the TV I mean it's an extra win to get money right I mean that's all we're doing for and it's right before a pretty tough tough stretch so tell me when you were players would you look forward to playing Kent State before a big game yes I'm taking tape off at the end of uh first quarter if if I was a third team guy yeah absolutely I mean even when I even when you starting you you want the other guys to have opportunity to get across that line that put all their heart into it doing two days also which I don't think they even have those anymore no they don't so yeah you want everybody to get a chance to play all right very good appreciate it when we come back we'll play Beat the house and Chuck will set the cavalis line we'll talk more about the golden flashes and their defeat at the hands of St Francis a FCS school that won its first game against an FBS school yesterday by beating Kent State come on back on the sport Source welcome back into the sport Source this segment brought you by paper be gone whether it's online uh emails whether it's spamming texts Robo calls or scumbags actually digging through your trash to find your records that you throw out your old credit card statements or your business's old information everyone is trying to get your data protect yourself by using paper begon they can destroy everything from paper records to x-rays to hard drives they get rid of it all paper begon and they do it all in an environmentally friendly way good company give them a shout this week paper bean.com to learn more that music means that's right we're heading just east of Vegas to the Chucky Cote casino and we're going to play Beat the house featuring the cavalis line Chuck cavaler sets the line for us and everybody here has to bet money and make their pick again it and let's go ahead and take up the look take a look at the standings from last week here's what we got Daniel who who thumbed his nose at my you can only go half in rule went half in and now leads the pool uh he went 250 everybody started with 500 bucks and uh you could only bet half of what you got now so whatever 750 divided by two would be uh so he's at 750 Bob and Sterling both went in with 20000 bucks so they're at 700 Marlon is at 650 Jimmy myself and will were all plus 100 at 600 we had a we've had a ruling on the show so far today you see Mike I forgot to ask him and Bas on purpose yeah on purpose on purpose I forgot to ask him so I was going to give him $100 if I forget I give you guys $100 if I forget to ask you if you're not here well the guys on the show voted no take a 100 away because whoever forgets hey it's it's on them to to tell you John what their pick is so Mike you're actually at 400 that's a minus 100 because you didn't remember to ask and I didn't remember to tell you several panelists are kickers by the way that's right and then that puts you in the basement next to in the basement next to Josh Ward who actually took NC State to cover our N9 and a half point line last week I was trying to help Chuck split the panel look how I get rewarded let's go to Chuck he's over at his casino and you got the wiy board going Chuck's job it's not just to predict what the Vegas line will be it's to try and split our panel it's a difficult assignment I give him every week but he does a great job with it thank you except for last week Chuck where you putting the line for Kent State boy I tell you what John this could actually be a no line in Vegas it would not surprise me if Vegas does not put a number on this game the best thing about this game guys is it's kneeling at night 745 kickoff right yeah that's great and joh I watched online Kent State golden flash against the St Francis red flash yesterday and they were terrible terrible our boys we're going to run it up up air this time 64 and A2 is the cavalis line 64 get you some of that boys all right very good we we'll have Chuck wheel his his wipy out of the way there and you can come back and sit down with the fellows all right let me ask the guys over here I'll start uh Daniel isn't here so we'll get back with him later Bob had to leave so Sterling you're up next Sterling you got $700 that means you can go as high as 350 the line 60 4 and A2 64 and A2 I'mma say 200 not 64 and A2 yeah cuz nobody over there said 60 did they nobody said did anybody say 60 okay well I think I know where this thing's going all right so uh you say how much 20 200 not 64 and a half 200 and you're taking Kent State I can't say put that on put that on I can't say that J Marlon you got 650 and I you can bet I don't know whatever half of 650 is all right let's go is it 375 or let's go 200 325 yeah 32 Kent State wow 200 all right so the same thing as Sterling all right Kent State Jimmy 200 Kent State 200 Kent State uh well I would be next so I'll just fall in line 200 Kent State uh you fail Chuck uh Mike sto what are you doing $50 Tennessee $50 Tennessee there you go he's bailing you out 50 on UT will over Street yeah I'll take 100 on Kent State 100 on Kent State Josh Ward somebody's got to believe in the balls here uh block another punt take it back for a touchdown at the end Jordan Ross so I'll ride with Mike there at the bottom of the panel 50 on Tennessee 50 on UT all right uh now there's a question to be asked here in terms of FBS opponents is this the worst one to ever coming to nean Stadium yes yes I mean I think this could be the you've seen FCS schools of the last 15 years they've been playing those Duds but in terms of bad FBS schools and this is you know I'm not going back to well they played chattano they played VMI back in 1931 I mean in recent times I think this is as bad as it gets in terms of what you got on it's the wor it's the first time they played a team that lost to St Francis never play St Francis beat yeah um I just I I hate these kind of games I you just hope I always go back and this is dating me and dating you two play together I always go back to Chuck Webb blowing up his leg against Pacific and you lost your Heisman Trophy candidate back you went on to win an SEC title but you lost your your star against Pacific in a do nothing nonsense game bothers me no no response from you well I it now it was it was still I think it was in the second it was early in the game he got hurt if I remember point being you're still playing somebody right nobody you're playing somewhere now Pacific Pacific was better I think Walt Harris was the and so he put the hex on us cuz he loved kickers that's why and at the end of the game when I got in the guy that hurt Chuck tried to tackle the Pearl separated shoulder I'm just saying oh there you go same guy same guy same exact guy all right beware K stay all right thanks to all these folks thanks to you for watching thanks to all our sponsors they're the ones bringing this every single week every single year year 22 we will see you right back here next Sunday we'll see you Saturday at 11:00 a.m. W6 see you then [Music]