Tenn. defense seeks to improve from ‘C-minus’ performance
In last Thursday night’s 38-6 dismantling of Bowling Green inside Neyland Stadium, the Tennessee defense allowed two lengthy field goals and just two snaps inside its red zone.
Who knows how the Volunteers would have performed had they brought their “A” game?
“We can do better than what we showed,” senior cornerback Alontae Taylor said this week in a news conference. “I would probably give ourselves a C-minus. We left a lot of plays out there on the field in the secondary, and I feel like we could have tackled a little better.
“We did a good job of stopping the run game, but whenever they went to the passing game, I feel like we could have done better.”
In a college football era when wide-open, pass-happy attacks are becoming more and more prevalent, the timeworn objective of establishing the run and stopping the run is still quite desired. The inferior Falcons of the MidAmerican Conference did top the Vols through the air by a 187-144 yardage margin, but that hardly combated the 331-32 advantage Tennessee
enjoyed on the ground.
If the C-minus opinion from Taylor seems a bit harsh, first-year defensive coordinator Tim Banks admits he grades on a hard scale.
“I was pleased with the way we played in terms of effort,” Banks said. “That’s the first thing we talk about, as cliche as it may sound. I thought we minimized the mistakes, but we had some. We have some things we’ve got to fix to play at a higher level.
“Overall, we played a pretty clean game.”
Banks is still a bit hesitant when it comes to heaping praise on specific players, though he did admit senior safety Theo Jackson played hard and was productive in his 11-tackle performance. He feels good about the direction of his unit, though he knows this Saturday’s test against visiting Pittsburgh (noon on ESPN) will provide a much more accurate gauge.
In his five seasons as Penn State’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2016-20, Banks faced Pitt four times and schemed against current Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett in 2018-19.
“They look like all the teams we’ve seen in the past,” Banks said. “Our kids understand it’s going to be a great challenge with these guys rolling in here, and we’re going to have to put our best foot forward to have a chance to come out victorious.”