Eliminating splash plays is a key part to being a successful defense, and Tennessee got a reminder of just how important that is last weekend against Alabama.
Crimson Tide star receiver, Amari Cooper, caught a simple pass from quarterback Blake Sims and took it 80 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. Plays like that are difficult to overcome from a defensive perspective.
“That’s the world we live in as defensive players and coaches,” defensive coordinator John Jancek said. “When we make a mistake, it’s not second-and-12. It’s field goal or extra point block, and when playing an elite player like Amari Cooper, that’s what happens.”
Alabama had three scoring drives of less than 2:10 against a defense that had excelled at getting off the field in the first seven games of the season, and limiting those big plays is something Tennessee will have to focus on going forward.
The Vols have hung their hat on defense this year, and the coaching staff is making sure their players don’t dwell on their performance against the Crimson Tide.
“Every week is a new season,” Jancek said. “There’s new challenges with new offenses that you face. We stay consistent with our best kids. It’s fundamentals, it’s tackling, it’s communication, it’s doing the things necessary on each and every single play to be successful as an entire defense.”
Tennessee doesn’t have a lot of room for error defensively, and aspects such as being out of position or taking a bad angle can turn a simple play into a big one.
“When you play on defense, you have to play with great leverage,” said secondary coach Willie Martinez. “You have to force that offense to earn it. Earn it in a fashion where you’re forcing double digit plays in a series. It can’t be one play or two plays and you’re off.”
Block party: Throughout his career as a head coach, Butch Jones has prided himself on playing very well on special teams, and a big part of that has always the ability of his team to block punts.
Jalen Reeves-Maybin had a memorable block for the Vols last year against Georgia, but so far this year Tennessee hasn’t quite been able to get their hands on a punt just yet.
During Wednesday’s practice, though, the Vols took the opportunity to focus specifically on getting to the ball before the punter gets the opportunity to send it deep.
“We’ve come after a handful of them and gotten close on a couple of them,” said special teams coach Mark Elder. “It just goes game by game as far as whether or not we feel like we’ve got a great opportunity, and then at that point in time, whether we’ve gotten the right call from them.”
Blocking punts has a lot to do with defensive scheme, but the coaching staff also looks to take advantage of certain blocking schemes designed by the offense. Many times the coaches are looking to exploit one particular scheme.
“Does the scheme match up?” Elder said. “When you call the block, are you getting the blocking scheme you’re hoping for? Sometimes you can absolutely predict what scheme you’re going to get, and sometimes you’re rolling the dice a little bit.”
This involves more than just scheme, though, as it is up to each player to make a play. Special teams are all about individual effort, and that’s something the coaches hope to see going forward.
“It’s one-on-one matchups,” Elder said. “At the end of the day, it’s not like there are many guys that are unblocked. They are accounting for pretty much everybody, so it’s a matter of one guy beating the guy that is supposed to be blocking him.”
Set for Spurrier: South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier has long been thought of as one of the greatest offensive minds in football, and the Volunteers defensive staff is looking forward to facing that challenge.
Spurrier can be tough to prepare for, but the Tennessee coaching staff relishes the challenge and is looking forward to matching up with him on Saturday.
“He’s extremely knowledgeable,” Martinez said. “He’s consistent and he knows how to win. He’s proven that each year throughout his whole career, and it’s fun playing him; It really is.”
Spurrier is known to be unpredictable at times, and that element of surprise adds to the difficulty of developing a defensive game plan. His competitive nature adds to the fun of the game, and it’s always entertaining when Spurrier is on the other sideline.
“You know it’s gonna be a challenge,” Martinez said. “You know that he’s gonna compete from the beginning to the end. You know you’re gonna get some things that you probably haven’t seen, but he’s done a great job and we look forward to the challenge.”
