The CheckerBoard

The Vols signed 3 highly rated DTs and 2 DEs . . . and how many did we lose? Malik Jackson, a beast of a player, is the only contributor that will not be returning in the fall.

None of those 3 were as important as Otha Peters would have been. However, I do think Patterson was a must get. We desperately need a WR who can produce immediately to protect against injury to Hunter or Rogers. As mentioned above, we already had a pretty good haul at DL and DB. Plus there were the clearinghouse concerns with Leggett.

I think we made some good progress at all three positions. Top quality receivers are ALWAYS good to get. The LB position is where I would have liked to see some depth established. But we do have two Sophs with All SEC talent.

I disagree. The ESPN SEC blog had an article about offensive performance against SEC competition and we were dead last. Patterson is as close as it comes to being an automatic contributor next year on offense, and with Hunter coming back from injury almost insures the passing game will be strong all year.

in all fairness to that evaluation... we didn't have Bray for 4 games in the SEC and we didn't have Hunter for any of them.

I don't know why others are not getting the understanding on this but let me try....We are using the pass to set up the run and now we have at least 3 difference makers at wideout....that means you cannot play a base defense on us...you will have to have an extra db in the game and take a LB out....that makes it easier to run the ball. The strength of the Alabama and LSU teams is the front 7 not the back end we are going to compete in a different way our strength vs their weakness rather than vice versa. We are running more of a New Orleans Saints type offense....I am excited about what we have gotten in the signing period. We increased our depth along the front line and added the DB and Safety that we needed....The only other thing we could have asked for was to keep Peters, but he was swayed....I believe Christian Harris will look pretty good at ILB...GBO!

Don't think the offense failing had anything to do with the lack of a running game, a bad OL blocking scheme for a running game in the SEC devised by Mr. Chaney, and an unimpressive OL coach?

Had way more to do with losing Hunter.

People forget that we're returning 20 starters next season. That's more than anybody else in the FBS (Except UTSA). People also seem to forget that we're moving into a 3-4 style defense. That means that out of the 5 DLs that we signed, at least one is more than likely going to end up at an OLB position. A.J. Johnson, Curt Maggitt, Jaques Smith, McCullers, PSwagg, etc. are going to be just fine next year. Don't everyone get your panties in bunch until you give our very experienced team a realistic look. And then, if you're still dissatisfied, well... you're just hopeless.

Even with 2 WR, if an SEC defense doesn't have to respect the run, it's not too difficult to make a passing game obsolete.

I agree with that, the run game has to be much better this year. My initial point was solely about the OP. Which does not talk about OL or RB.

Great post dxh! Appreciate the way you break down the opposing D when we hit them with a top passing attack. Add in the fact that the O-Line is a year more mature, has another year of chemistry, and another year in the weight room, I think we will see a potent offense come September!

There is a possibility that Hunter and Da'Rick enter the NFL draft after next season. I guess there's also a possibility of Patterson entering the draft but having 3 monster playmakers at WR instead of 2 in 2012 makes it more likely that we will still have a monster playmaker at WR in 2013.