(Sorry, I can't ever get these damn tables to cooperate.)
Aaron Suttles
TideSports.com Senior Writer
The Tennessee offensive line has struggled this season, ranking next to last in FBS in sacks allowed.
TeamSacks Allowed
Utah State 2
Arkansas State 2
Oklahoma 5
Georgia 3
Florida 6
Chattanooga 5
Ole Miss 7
Total 30
Forgive Justin Worley if he's a bit punch drunk seven games into the season. If you'd been knocked around as much as him you'd understand.
The senior Tennessee quarterback's been sacked 29 times, and that's not counting the times he's been hit, hurried and harassed.
That's just one of the difficulties of the Tennessee offense created by the struggles of the Volunteers' offensive line, a line which has given up 18 of its 30 total sacks in its previous three games: six against Florida, five against Chattanooga and seven to Ole Miss.
So it's not the best timing considering Alabama is next on the schedule, a defense that registered six sacks against Texas A&M.
UA is fourth in the conference with 19 sacks, including a team-high 5.5 by outside linebacker Xzavier Dickson.
Alabama's improved pass rush was never more evident that against the Aggies with Dickson and outside linebackers Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams sustaining good pass rush. That's not including Jonathan Allen, A'Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed, among others, who've helped establish the line of scrimmage while also getting good push.
But Alabama coach Nick Saban has moved past the Texas A&M game and the results garnered by the dominant front seven. He wants to see that effort in every game.
"The lines did a good job in the game," he said. "The defensive line did a good job in the game. There was a lot of pass rush, not a lot of run. "It's going to be different in this game. We need to improve and continue to build on the positive energy that we have so that we can play better this week."
"Tennessee's offensive line, in my mind, is very capable of being effective, and I think the thing that we need to do is focus on what we need to do to dominate the line of scrimmage and try to affect the quarterback in a way that will not allow them to make the plays with the really good skill players that they have."
The Volunteers rank near the bottom of most offensive categories in the SEC. They are last in the conference in rushing yards per game with 94, seventh in passing yards with 231 and 12th in total yards with 325.
The trouble starts up front.
Tennessee has used three different starting combinations through its first seven games, and that total could go up this week depending on the injuries to starters Marcus Jackson and Coleman Thomas.
Jacob Gilliam, a fifth-year senior with a torn ACL, filled in last week after Thomas went down against Ole Miss. Gilliam tore his ACL in the season-opener Aug. 31.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones wouldn't confirm whether Jackson and Thomas could play this Saturday, only saying that he hoped get both back to practice this week.
Jones knows the challenge in front of his make-shift offensive line.
"You need repetitions throughout the course of the week during practice because of the different looks that (Alabama gives you)," Jones said. "They do a great job of disguising the moving of their fronts and the speed of the game."
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1695016#sthash.kXiqqHOH.dpuf
Aaron Suttles
TideSports.com Senior Writer
The Tennessee offensive line has struggled this season, ranking next to last in FBS in sacks allowed.
TeamSacks Allowed
Utah State 2
Arkansas State 2
Oklahoma 5
Georgia 3
Florida 6
Chattanooga 5
Ole Miss 7
Total 30
Forgive Justin Worley if he's a bit punch drunk seven games into the season. If you'd been knocked around as much as him you'd understand.
The senior Tennessee quarterback's been sacked 29 times, and that's not counting the times he's been hit, hurried and harassed.
That's just one of the difficulties of the Tennessee offense created by the struggles of the Volunteers' offensive line, a line which has given up 18 of its 30 total sacks in its previous three games: six against Florida, five against Chattanooga and seven to Ole Miss.
So it's not the best timing considering Alabama is next on the schedule, a defense that registered six sacks against Texas A&M.
UA is fourth in the conference with 19 sacks, including a team-high 5.5 by outside linebacker Xzavier Dickson.
Alabama's improved pass rush was never more evident that against the Aggies with Dickson and outside linebackers Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams sustaining good pass rush. That's not including Jonathan Allen, A'Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed, among others, who've helped establish the line of scrimmage while also getting good push.
But Alabama coach Nick Saban has moved past the Texas A&M game and the results garnered by the dominant front seven. He wants to see that effort in every game.
"The lines did a good job in the game," he said. "The defensive line did a good job in the game. There was a lot of pass rush, not a lot of run. "It's going to be different in this game. We need to improve and continue to build on the positive energy that we have so that we can play better this week."
"Tennessee's offensive line, in my mind, is very capable of being effective, and I think the thing that we need to do is focus on what we need to do to dominate the line of scrimmage and try to affect the quarterback in a way that will not allow them to make the plays with the really good skill players that they have."
The Volunteers rank near the bottom of most offensive categories in the SEC. They are last in the conference in rushing yards per game with 94, seventh in passing yards with 231 and 12th in total yards with 325.
The trouble starts up front.
Tennessee has used three different starting combinations through its first seven games, and that total could go up this week depending on the injuries to starters Marcus Jackson and Coleman Thomas.
Jacob Gilliam, a fifth-year senior with a torn ACL, filled in last week after Thomas went down against Ole Miss. Gilliam tore his ACL in the season-opener Aug. 31.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones wouldn't confirm whether Jackson and Thomas could play this Saturday, only saying that he hoped get both back to practice this week.
Jones knows the challenge in front of his make-shift offensive line.
"You need repetitions throughout the course of the week during practice because of the different looks that (Alabama gives you)," Jones said. "They do a great job of disguising the moving of their fronts and the speed of the game."
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1695016#sthash.kXiqqHOH.dpuf
