Tennessee football report card: Grading the Vols in their loss at Georgia

Defense

Defensive Line: C+

If we were just judging on the first half, this unit would get an A. Alexis Johnson disrupted the running game all night, and he and Kyle Phillips managed to be in on a lot of plays. Shy Tuttle did his part to be a cog as well. However, there are two halves in a game. And as Tennessee football began to stage a comeback, this unit got tired. The Georgia Bulldogs took advantage and torched them on the ground in the second half, which is why their grade fell below a B. They fought hard, but that doesn’t count for much. It’s worth noting that the Dawgs injuries up front helped them out as well.

Linebackers: B

Just like the defensive line, the linebackers had a great first half. But they get a little more credit for their play, only because they actually made splash plays. Darrell Taylor alone turns this group into a B, as he had three sacks and two forced fumbles. But Will Ignont also had a tackle for a loss, and Daniel Bituli led the team in tackles overall. Quart’e Sapp came in and had an impact as well. So these guys played great for a while. But like the defensive line, they couldn’t stop the run late. That’s why this grade collapsed. To be fair, though, it still did enough for an above average grade.

Secondary: C-

The Vols weren’t horrendous in the secondary by the numbers, as Jake Fromm didn’t even have 200 yards passing. But that had a lot more to do with the front seven getting pressure in the first half than anything else. Fromm still completed over 70 percent of his passes, and the defensive backs missed on a lot of plays. So this was definitely the worst unit for the Vols on a consistent basis, they just didn’t get the chance to mess up as much.

Overall defensive grade: C+

Look, this group fought hard. But they wore down in the second half, and the only time they actually got a stop was when Jim Chaney called a horrendous drive. As a result, Tennessee football’s defense doesn’t get credit for playing well. It just gets credit for fighting hard.