PhillyGirl
Member
http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2014/10/tennessee_coach_butch_jones_si.html
Tennessee coachButch Jones is no stranger to sizing up one of the best teams in college football.
Since he was hired in 2013, the Vols have squared off against nine teams ranked 12th or better in the Associated Press top 25. No. 4 Alabama will be the 10th on Saturday and fifth ranked in the top five when the cross-divisional rivals kick off under the lights of Neyland Stadium.
One year after he referred to Alabama as the "red team" to his players, Jones was relentless of his praise for the Crimson Tide during Wednesday's SEC teleconference.
Jones called Alabama "very deserving" of its current ranking because it's a "very, very complete football team."
"You look at Alabama, they play complementary football in terms of offense and defense and special teams all working together," Jones said. "They really hit their stride last week, I thought. They played complementary football, very physical, very aggressive, very inspiring. Defensively, very, very big, very, very solid. There's no weaknesses at all.
"Blake Sims adds a whole another element to their offense. They're able to run the football with the physical presence but also spread you out and get the ball to their playmakers. It's going to be a tremendous, tremendous challenge for us Saturday evening."
Jones opened up a bit about one of his team's biggest weaknesses, the Vols' young offensive line. He mostly defended the group, which has dealt with a slew of injuries on its way to allowing an SEC-worst 30 sacks. The next worst in the conference has surrendered 16.
Two Tennessee starters, guard Marcus Jackson and right tackle Coleman Thomas, are dealing with injuries and are questionable for Saturday's game. A potential fill-in for one of the players is fifth-year senior Jacob Gilliam, who is playing with a torn ACL.
Alabama had six sacks last week against Texas A&M, the most ever by a Saban-coached Crimson Tide team. At 19 through seven games, it's on pace to finish with more than it's ever had since Saban arrived in 2007.
"We're doing everything we possibly can to put our players in the best possible opportunities to succeed," Jones said. "Just the realities with where we're at with our football program. I do believe our offensive line is continuing to improve. All the eyes want to point toward the offensive line but there's been a number of reasons why, maybe the quarterback holding on to the ball too long in the three-step drop, it may be a tight end, it may be a running back, it may be a missed assignment. It all kind of combines into one.
"At the end of the day, football comes down to one-on-one matchups and winning your one-on-one matchups. We know we'll be tremendously challenged by Alabama's front Saturday."
Tennessee coachButch Jones is no stranger to sizing up one of the best teams in college football.
Since he was hired in 2013, the Vols have squared off against nine teams ranked 12th or better in the Associated Press top 25. No. 4 Alabama will be the 10th on Saturday and fifth ranked in the top five when the cross-divisional rivals kick off under the lights of Neyland Stadium.
One year after he referred to Alabama as the "red team" to his players, Jones was relentless of his praise for the Crimson Tide during Wednesday's SEC teleconference.
Jones called Alabama "very deserving" of its current ranking because it's a "very, very complete football team."
"You look at Alabama, they play complementary football in terms of offense and defense and special teams all working together," Jones said. "They really hit their stride last week, I thought. They played complementary football, very physical, very aggressive, very inspiring. Defensively, very, very big, very, very solid. There's no weaknesses at all.
"Blake Sims adds a whole another element to their offense. They're able to run the football with the physical presence but also spread you out and get the ball to their playmakers. It's going to be a tremendous, tremendous challenge for us Saturday evening."
Jones opened up a bit about one of his team's biggest weaknesses, the Vols' young offensive line. He mostly defended the group, which has dealt with a slew of injuries on its way to allowing an SEC-worst 30 sacks. The next worst in the conference has surrendered 16.
Two Tennessee starters, guard Marcus Jackson and right tackle Coleman Thomas, are dealing with injuries and are questionable for Saturday's game. A potential fill-in for one of the players is fifth-year senior Jacob Gilliam, who is playing with a torn ACL.
Alabama had six sacks last week against Texas A&M, the most ever by a Saban-coached Crimson Tide team. At 19 through seven games, it's on pace to finish with more than it's ever had since Saban arrived in 2007.
"We're doing everything we possibly can to put our players in the best possible opportunities to succeed," Jones said. "Just the realities with where we're at with our football program. I do believe our offensive line is continuing to improve. All the eyes want to point toward the offensive line but there's been a number of reasons why, maybe the quarterback holding on to the ball too long in the three-step drop, it may be a tight end, it may be a running back, it may be a missed assignment. It all kind of combines into one.
"At the end of the day, football comes down to one-on-one matchups and winning your one-on-one matchups. We know we'll be tremendously challenged by Alabama's front Saturday."
