Stocks to sell
Inside linebackers
Henry To’o To’o is getting lots of credit for having his best game, and with 11 tackles, five of which were solo, and two tackles for a loss, it makes sense. However, there are deeper issues with the unit as a whole, and they need to be addressed. For starters, the entire unit is just as bad in pass coverage as the safeties were. They were a big reason Kearis Jackson and Tre’ McKitty went off.
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Meanwhile, To’o To’o missed a key tackle despite filling a gap well, and Jeremy Banks missed multiple tackles all night. Banks was the worst in coverage, but To’o To’o and Crouch struggled on that front as well. Simply put, despite the great plays by the front seven in, the linebackers have to get better in pass coverage, and they have to wrap up better. Until then, they’re being overrated.
Defensive line
Unlike the linebackers, there is nothing about the way the Tennessee football defensive line played Saturday to suggest misleading stats. Darel Middleton got a huge push on that 4th and goal stop, and stopping a 4th and goal and 4th and 1 earlier were huge. Oh, and they recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. This unit did everything it could all day.
The only reason we have it on a stock to sell is because, well, there’s honestly no reason to believe it will play this well in the future. This was a bit of a fluke, but the unit struggled at times through the first two games. As a result, we say that the stock is artificially high for inexplicable reasons at this point.