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Offensive Line.

A double entendre.

The O-line has been the biggest complaint of most Vol fans this year, and for good reason. It has been offensive. Knowing we would probably blowout the I-AA school, one of the things I wanted to watch during the Chattanooga game was the OL's performance. And, like most fans, I was disappointed. Yes, the sacks were bad, but what I noticed in addition was even more alarming. Considering the general consensus is that the Vols are lacking in both talent and depth this year--thanks again, Double D(bag), for not signing a single OL in 2012...and for just being terrible in general--I wanted to see how our big uglies would fare against a team with less or comparable D-line talent (if you consider Chattanooga's two potential NFL prospects), especially halfway through the season with a bunch of freshmen and first-year starters.

My line of reasoning was something like this: With comparable (or more) talent and half of the season under their belts to jell and learn, in the 2nd year of the same system with the same coaches, the game performance would be indicative of how well the OL understood the system. In short...

Execution, not talent.

While talent is obviously a big issue, the question I had was, is execution the biggest reason the OL is failing to the tune of 5 or 6 sacks allowed and only about 2-3 yards per carry per game?

Of course, one could argue that they simply aren't smart enough to understand or retain what they're being taught. But, if reports are true, the vast majority of the group is fairly bright.

And while we may or may not like zone blocking schemes or believe they are the most effective for running--or even that they'll ever really work well in the SEC--there are plenty of teams in college and the NFL who have running success despite employing zone blocking.

So, what's left?

Coaching, not scheme.

Going into the Chattanooga game I thought, the WAY in which the OL fails this week will answer these questions for me. If the young'n's are still getting beaten off the line and playing "Olé" with rushing defenders, then the talent level is even worse than we thought (at least for the guys they're choosing to start and play. But if the line is getting beaten because of poor decisions and pre-snap reads, then they aren't being taught and coached effectively.

So, what did I see?

Tackles and interior offensive linemen consistently double-teaming one defender while simultaneously allowing another to go unblocked, straight toward QB Justin Worley. I saw the interior OL (and occasionally OTs, TEs, and RBs) neglecting d-linemen to block LBs and DBs in the second level, again allowing down lineman unimpeded access to Worley. They would literally run right past DTs to block someone in the back 7!

In other words, they aren't being coached or taught the scheme in a way they can understand, retain, and implement. As the great Billy Corgan once sang, "Speak to me in a language I can hear."

Considering that we already had the highly respected (by his peers) and beloved (by his players) Sam Pittman in Knoxville when Butch Jones took over, the ineptitude of the OL and OL coaching is even more of an issue for me. Especially in light of the fact that the previous OL--all of whom made NFL rosters--begged and pleaded with Coach Jones to keep Pittman, who just happens to coach ZONE BLOCKING schemes. Oh, and did I also mention that Dan Skipper, the Soph. starting LT for Arkansas, was committed to UT but followed Pittman to Fayetteville when he joined Jim Chaney on Bret Bielema's staff after Pittman was let go by Butch Jones? Think he could solve a problem for the Vols right now?

Now, you could accuse me of 20-20 hindsight, but I'm on record as saying that was a HUGE mistake before and when it happened.

So, what's the solution? Fire Don Mahoney, right? Well, as Lee Corso would say, not so fast my friend. But the idea should be on Butch Jones' radar. Randy Moore of InsideTennessee.com pointed out that Mahoney is down what should have been his top 2 options at LT with the early draft entry of Tiny Richardson and the injury to Jacob Gilliam. I do, however, blame Mahoney and Jones for signing the apparent bust that is JuCo OT Dontavius Blair, especially since some (including Dr. Sean Sinclair) clearly saw before signing day that he was slow, stiff, and overrated. Thus, his failure to develop into the starting LT the coaching staff ostensibly hoped he would be isn't exactly a shock. And if Mahoney (and Jones) couldn't convince Tiny to stay (like Tommy Thigpen did with AJ Johnson, a feat which Jones touted as his staff's greatest recruiting feat of the 2014 Class), that's two "recruiting" blunders.

Whether it's keeping/recruiting OL or getting the players on the roster ready to play, it all comes back to coaching.

Mahoney and his unit need to improve.

(As does the offensive play calling, specifically with regard to the elimination of those long-developing pass plays that suddenly appeared with increasing frequency the past 3 games or so.)

If they don't improve, either due to an influx of talent, understanding, execution, or coaching more generally, then it is time to look in another direction.


And, as always, you can follow us on Twitter @LittleOsBlog.

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