Tenn Game Plan

[mountaineerman]

Not only did we turn it over and give them points but we were driving and it took possible points away from us so yea you can't do that for sure.

[ASUGoose]

I think the comments on here about giving up 1 sack to Clemson defenders may be a bit misleading. Per my previous comments, we hardly ever tested Clemson deep so the offensive game plan was to get the ball out of Taylor's hands as quick as possible. It's hard to sack anyone if you aren't holding the ball long enough to attempt a pass farther than 10 yards. To that point I hope we open up the playbook a bit more against Tenn and keep their secondary honest but attempting to go downfield when those safeties start creeping up.

[EastHallApp]

Question is whether we can block them long enough for those deep routes to unfold.

[sixtoes9134]

I think the comments on here about giving up 1 sack to Clemson defenders may be a bit misleading. Per my previous comments, we hardly ever tested Clemson deep so the offensive game plan was to get the ball out of Taylor's hands as quick as possible. It's hard to sack anyone if you aren't holding the ball long enough to attempt a pass farther than 10 yards. To that point I hope we open up the playbook a bit more against Tenn and keep their secondary honest but attempting to go downfield when those safeties start creeping up.

I don't know if it is so much about opening up the playbook as being able to actually run the plays we have. I loved our guys like Simms and Bobo, but they just weren't tall enough to manage dealing with the size Clemson had in the secondary.

We finally have some height at WR again. IF we can run the ball, we will get some play action and I also believe our taller guys at receiver will see some success. I look for Meadors, Adams, Virgil, Letman and Capel to make some plays against Tennessee, assuming the OL can give Taylor the time he needs. Its also interesting to me that Darryton Evans is listed as ATH on the roster. He could be weapon X.

[bigdaddyg]

Really cool to see the transition from FCS to lower G5 to what I hope are solid G5 type athletes. We went from having basically one stud- Dexter Jaxkson to a couple (including Quick, who just blossomed) to a couple of probably better receivers (guys mentioned above) to hopefully bigger, stronger guys who can (hopefully) get separation from quality DB's and can make big time catches. I think I agree that this might be the key. The big boys have to respect the pass so that we can really use our bread and butter.

[mountaineerman]

I think the comments on here about giving up 1 sack to Clemson defenders may be a bit misleading. Per my previous comments, we hardly ever tested Clemson deep so the offensive game plan was to get the ball out of Taylor's hands as quick as possible. It's hard to sack anyone if you aren't holding the ball long enough to attempt a pass farther than 10 yards. To that point I hope we open up the playbook a bit more against Tenn and keep their secondary honest but attempting to go downfield when those safeties start creeping up.

I don't know if it is so much about opening up the playbook as being able to actually run the plays we have. I loved our guys like Simms and Bobo, but they just weren't tall enough to manage dealing with the size Clemson had in the secondary.

We finally have some height at WR again. IF we can run the ball, we will get some play action and I also believe our taller guys at receiver will see some success. I look for Meadors, Adams, Virgil, Letman and Capel to make some plays against Tennessee, assuming the OL can give Taylor the time he needs. Its also interesting to me that Darryton Evans is listed as ATH on the roster. He could be weapon X.

Satterfield said in an interview last week that Evans was one of the most versatile players on the field and that they were using him on defense and offense he is going to be good.that may be why he is listed as athlete?

[AtlAppMan]

I watched the Tennessee - Oklahoma game from last year and Sterling Shephard ate UT up. Shephard is a 5'10", 194 lb WR. He played a phenomenal game but it proves that you don't have to be 6'5" wideout to be effective. Let's get that off the table right now.

To UT's credit, he was highly contested on numerous catches but he found ways to make the play. The key is getting the ball out from the QB quickly and in the right place and then the receiver HAS to make the play even when the defender is closely contesting the play. Lamb will have to trust his instincts and arm and take some chances while not making bad decisions or mistakes. And our receivers have to step up and make big catches with guys all over them. If they do that then it will also loosen up the running game.

[sixtoes9134]

I watched the Tennessee - Oklahoma game from last year and Sterling Shephard ate UT up. Shephard is a 5'10", 194 lb WR. He played a phenomenal game but it proves that you don't have to be 6'5" wideout to be effective. Let's get that off the table right now.

To UT's credit, he was highly contested on numerous catches but he found ways to make the play. The key is getting the ball out from the QB quickly and in the right place and then the receiver HAS to make the play even when the defender is closely contesting the play. Lamb will have to trust his instincts and arm and take some chances while not making bad decisions or mistakes. And our receivers have to step up and make big catches with guys all over them. If they do that then it will also loosen up the running game.

Well, at least in Clemson's case last year, they had a 6-5 safety who was extremely disruptive, Jayron Kearse. Don't know if we will see one of those again, also their corners really kept our guys from getting ANY separation and did so very effectively, but the added height in the WR corps will help and then we've got speedsters like Hopkins

[WilliamDuVOL]

Hi guys. I come in peace as well. I typically converse with opposing fan bases before our openers. I made friends with USU and BGSU posters in years past.

I'm very excited for this game, and while I do believe it will be a victory for us (shocker I know), I also believe it will be closer than many of our more delusional fans will be comfortable with.

In reference to the two posts above about NFL caliber O linemen, I'm excited that your program is bringing in and developing talent. I actually watched the App State / Ohio bowl game last year to get a feel for both teams, and I loved your uniforms for that game. The black unis were really cool. That being said, we do face NFL caliber linemen week in and week out in the SEC, and many have said that one of our pass rushers, Derek Barnett, is one of the most disruptive players they have gone up against. Iowa left tackle, Outland Trophy winner, and number 5 overall pick in the last draft Brandon Scherff had to hold Barnett constantly to stop him.

What kind of pass rushers do you guys face in a typical season? I watch as many games as I can in a weekend, and I will be following along with you guys after our game, as is my yearly custom for OOC games.

I can pretty much echo what others have said. Using last years Clemson game as a reference point, App actually held their offense in check pretty well EXCEPT for a couple of long passes. On offense, App's turnovers turned a closely played contest into a orange crush in last 10 minutes of the first half. App ran the ball well in the second half against the mixed 1 and 2 units for the Tigers and Apps defense held their own pretty well with Ronald Blair, App's senior DE having an excellent game (now with the 49ers). If App can limit the turnovers and shorten the game with some success running the ball it can be a contest. As good as App's D should be I would be surprised if UT doesn't score at least 28-30 points. UT will have by far the best talent App lines up against this season. Hopefully App can be as good as we all hope they can be and we are treated to a good contest. If UT has a few turnovers as with any opponent, anything can happen. I'm really interested to see how App's D performs against a very good UT offense with a mobile QB. Hopefully App's speed on the outside can cause some issues as I truly thing our NT and middle LB's can hold their own.

I've always wanted to attend a game at UT and I will be there for this one. Look forward to the atmosphere of SEC night game.

We're certainly excited to host you. OOC fans almost always report having a great time at Neyland, and I wish you the same.

I think you'll see us attempt to establish a run game from the get go and control the ball. Our offense was 2nd best in the SEC last year behind only LSU and Leonard Fournette. Honestly, I'd say we were even better solely because we varied things up and had a better passing attack. With LSU, it's shut down Fournette, shut down LSU. With us, we have a much more dynamic attack.

[hapapp]

UT article in the Roanoke Times:

http://www.roanoke.com/sports/colleges/ ... a39b5.html

[Goapps15]

Let's keep it simple: limit turnovers and not have the game decided at halftime.

[MDaniels84]

Hope that we don't abandon run game too quickly. Definitely need to keep drives alive and avoid 3 and outs. Mix short passing and go deep off play action if running game is productive. Let's go App! Just 9 days till we get the privilege of watching the 2016 Mountaineers!

[MDaniels84]

Oh, and on defense, bring the HURT!

[LegendsOutdoors]

Given that nothing in college football is automatic, what do most App St fans truly expect the final score to be? Obviously winning the game outright would be huge - but if UT wins, how close does the score need to be to keep fans content?

[EastHallApp]

Honestly, here's what I expect: I'm afraid this game will wind up similar to the Clemson game. Hopefully not quite the avalanche that one was, but I think we're down three scores by halftime and wind up losing big. If we lose by less than 20 (without having to score garbage-time points to get there), I'll be somewhat pleasantly surprised.

HOWEVER, I think we'll use that experience as a sort of calibration of what it's like to compete against that level of athlete. And when we play Miami, we'll be more prepared because of it - plus everyone will think we're just going to get hammered again, so we'll have a chance to sneak up on them. And I think we'll give them all they want and have a real shot to win.

[mountaineerman]

My thought are... I really don't see Tennessee scoring big on our defense. But I also really don't see us scoring big on theirs. I'm content with anything other than a blow out and confident that we will surprise Tennessee in some aspects .will it be enough to win? That's why we play the game.

[LegendsOutdoors]

Fair enough. Another question...how important is winning this game to your coaches? What I mean is, will they be inclined to throw the kitchen sink at UT vs saving some stuff for conference play?

[hapapp]

I'm not convinced we can do much offensively against UT's defense. A lot of that has to do with our past performances against similar competition. This team might be best equipped to deal with such an opponent and last year's Clemson4 game may provide some experience that better prepares them for what they will face. I guess until I see us perform otherwise, I remain a bit skeptical of our ability to make it a 4 quarter game. How we perform at the line of scrimmage will be the telling sign of the game's proceedings.

[AppOrange]

I think we get another team I would have rather played 2 years before. Seems we always get these teams on their upswing. At this rate, Wake should be starting their turn around pretty soon.

We keep it close for a quarter, then a couple of second half mistakes put us in a hole for the second half. A back breaker score mid-way though the third. 4th quarter is that mix of salvaging pride and making sure no one gets hurt for ODU.

[bigdaddyg]

I've said it on other threads. We absolutely have to limit the bad mistakes- PIC's anywhere but certainly not on our end of the field, stuff like strip sack fumble crap, numerous false starts that put us in 2nd or 3rd and long- you know, like when we have manageable down and distance then shot ourselves in the foot. Dropping kickoffs and starting drives at the 7 yard line. Killer!!