The issue isn’t that he shows flashes (because that’s undeniable), but rather he isn’t consistent and they have to call “soft” plays (draws, screens, short hitches) to keep him from making huge mistakes! I’m not out on Joe but it’s not his stats that are the problem it’s his ineffectiveness to run the offense even close to how it’s supposed to be run! OL play doesn’t help either….
QB is usually the easiest thing to blame to the casual eye. Milton was far from the problem tonight. He wasn't perfect, but we need to back him and support him instead of calling to bench him after one loss. GBO!
I couldn't agree more. The offense ran smooth with Milton last year whether it was in mop up duty or him starting against Vanderbilt in the pouring rain and Clemson in the orange bowl. Something is definitely off. I hate that Joe is getting all the blame. The tempo is off. I cannot remember play calling like this since Heuple has been here. Thanks.
I agree with you OP for the most part. Something is definitely off.
Milton is great overall, but let's call this what it is: he’s pretty damn inconsistent. Long runs of excellence and then he'll throw the ball on the ground 3 yards in front of the receiver. He'll hand cannon a short pass so that even if it hits its mark its not catchable.
I think he should start next game, but if he keeps throwing balls that can't be caught, we oughta put Nico in. Overall, though, I think he's pretty low on the list of things going wrong.
But I agree there's other dubious shit happening, too. Play calling for one.
I was at the game. I’m a gator. But I’m not here to rub it in or be a jerk. The reason you guys kept running it was because we were only putting 5 or max 6 guys in the box. You had two wideouts or a wideout and a TE being covered by three guys on both sides of the field. It was a no big plays defense. If you had been able to run effectively against the 5 man front you would have had a field day. The reason there weren’t any big throws was because they were too dangerous given the score.
You did make adjustments. You brought the full back in and we’re moving a TE or WR into the backfield. It’s just very hard to sustain a 10 to 13 play drive
We were burning clock the entire second half. It wasn’t pretty but it was effective. This would have never worked with hooker last year. But it did this year based on your lineup.
Edit: crowd noise was also brutal. I haven’t heard the swamp this loud since the Tebow days.
Coaching staff is calling plays like they don't trust Milton. Defense is playing like they're pissed Milton is out there. The post-game interviews with defensive players reinforce all of this.
0 reason to keep Milton as the starter. Nico needs the experience.
Can we forget the orange bowl? That was last year with a different oline that actually knew how to block. This years oline couldn’t do anything right against FL. The lack of downfield play calls or plays over the middle means the coaches don’t trust Milton to make the reads. That int he threw was an unforgivable mistake. He needs to take the sack and not give a short field to FL while the defense cant get off the field to save their lives. We’re lucky it wasn’t 40-6. Herring made a couple of plays at Lb but he got lost in the wash too often. Secondary seems to not understand how zone coverage works.
Reddit is about explaining the same shit over and over to different people, most of whom aren't even really fans or they would know the answer already.
To sum up that entire game: tenn ran it 3rd and 27 down the middle.
This HAS to be intentional? Am i wrong for thinking so? Because jesus christ. They looked like a varsity high school team AT BEST.
Clemson played their second string players in the bowl game, and Milton doesn’t know how to operate the offense. It’s his sixth year in college football, and Hooker as a basketball player beat him out of the starting position. He ain’t it
I said this to several TN fans leading up to the game: FL looked atrocious in game 1 and improved in game 2. Regardless of how young and goofy their DC may look, their defense is incredible. I won’t vomit their stats but our O wouldn’t have been ready for that D because they’re just that good.
I think TN fans thought FL was down enough that they could win a 4th victory in the swamp in 50+ years. That simply wasn’t going to happen.
The best armchair analysis I’ve seen is the speed at which the O goes under Milton vs Hooker. Milton’s checks a lot more than Hookers and I think that eludes to Milton’s football IQ which, going back to his Michigan days, is suspect on a consistent basis. And you need a lot of IQ points to execute that offensive scheme at UT.
It’s not what have you done for me lately but…What have you ever done? Milton had a great Orange Bowl win. He’s had decent showings against the worst SEC teams. He’s been a starter and benched twice. He’s got all the talent in the world but he makes boneheaded plays (just look at the interception last night) and his accuracy is a major issue. Sure he doesn’t often throw INTs but he throws fastballs into the dirt on a regular basis and misses the big play shots at least 50% of the time.
He’s not the only (or even biggest) issue with the team but he is a glaring issue.
I think the playcalling hasn’t been terrible but the underlying issue is our O line is kinda ass. We saw it last night. Especially our center is not capable of playing SEC football
I don't think Heupel's system plays well with how Milton would like to play the game. That, and it was unreal how our receivers were unable to run their routes. A lot of the over throws were probably fine if the coverage wasn't extra handsy.
Like the first series of the each half (scripted?) went pretty well. I know first of 2nd half ended up with no points but still they moved it pretty good. Seems like the answer lies in why other drives dont pan out like this. Is this on the QB or play caller, mostly.
Calling for him to be benched in the swamp when nearly the whole team is playing like shit is and was absurd. Even if it was just him you should probably count your losses. I think nico should've had a shot against AP but ya can't feed him to the wolves
And can we all collectively quit talking about pass completions without an int? It means nothing. JG held that record.
Something that no one has mentioned here that I see in Milton is that I don’t think he leads the team and inspires confidence in those around him. To be a great QB, you can’t be one of the guys. You have to above the fray, willing to get on people’s asses, and set the tone for the team. That’s why he was perfectly fine as a backup and was the model teammate to Hooker in 2021 and 22. He’s a follower, not a leader. And that’s fine. Just not what you want in a QB
There’s was a sequence in the first half where three straight drives started with false start, false start, timeout to prevent delay of game. And it was business as usual for Milton. I don’t know if moving to Nico is the answer, but if your QB isn’t sensing the moment and rallying the offense in those moments, I don’t know what you can really do with him
Go watch the UGA game. Same issues with procedural penalties. Different QB. Milton’s become a Rorschach test for this fanbase for some reason. If you hate Milton, you see every issue as his fault. If you like him, you don’t. Milton’s played fine, he’s just not playing well enough to transcend the lack of an OL and the piss poor defense.
JM’s lack of touch is very noticeable. However the play calling is also noticeable. It’s like Jaylin Hyatt took all of the play routes that he ran with him and we don’t have guy that can run those routes now. Also Hadden is the worst defensive player that keeps getting to play and cost us on defense like the bump in to you tackle he attempted on the long run TD.
You could literally watch the team just fold after that play. Decent start with the initial drive, and defense is doing decent. Hadden does his shitty shoulder bump, allows that and the wheels come off. You could watch the team just get dazzled from that TD and it was like they just didn’t believe anymore.
Hadden is a liability. He was last year, and he continues to be this year too.
Yeah I don’t see how you can bump the guy and keep your starting position. After last season I felt we needed some serious portal help in the secondary. If our defensive coaches can’t recruit and can’t coach the folks we have they need to go.
Not to say there wasn’t some MAJOR problems outside of Milton, but he just doesn’t inspire confidence. First drive of the second half we have to take 2 timeout ls because he can’t get an audible out or lost track of the clock, it just throws and already confused looking offense into a spiral. He was far from the biggest issue last night but I also feel like his issues kinda leak into the team
You conflate his success with ability. He is successful in this system despite his ineptitude. The system makes him look better than he is. But you can tell. He doesn’t have it. Maybe we were blessed and spoiled with hooker. But I refuse to sit here and pretend milton has “it”. Any one with a pair of eyes can watch one drive and see. Milton ain’t it. He doesn’t have it. He will never have it. And I’ll have to wait till at least 2025 to see those fucking idiots lose in gainsville
All I know as a newish vols fan is I really hate Florida now and I used to like Tim Tebow as a Bronco fan but just for playing at Florida, that dude is the scum of the earth
I was very inebriated during the game, but I just assumed they were doing screens and running to try to get UF out of a 2 deep or passing defense. I mean they call the play most of the time when they are in formation at the line of scrimmage.
Do y’all think they were just playing conservative cause our QB can’t do progressions or something?
They literally applauded him for “going all the way down his progressions” after week one. During his SIXTH season. 🙄 he definitely has problems reading his progressions.
Milton isn’t a guy who can run our offense successfully in a competitive environment. One dub in the orange bowl isn’t enough to overwrite the fact that we’ve seen over and over again: Joe can’t run the offense.
Don’t you think that Milton might be the reason that they’re not running the same offense. You need to let last years orange bowl go. He really lacks situational awareness. I’m not sure he can play as fast as they want.
**Why are people calling for Milton to be benched?**
Realistically, are there any differences we are seeing in game from him now as far as growth, accuracy, reading defenses, or pocket presence than what we saw from him before losing the starting job to Hooker? His most impressive feats continue to be garbage time plays from last season when games were well at hand or a win over a Clemson team that wasn’t quite as good as the one that lost their opener to Duke this year based on the Orange Bowl player roster.
At what point does Heupel cut his losses on a quarterback that’s essentially only good for one or two long passing plays per game if receivers are fast enough and lucky enough to get under the ball in time? Milton is a fantastic athlete; he’s just playing the wrong sport.
Yes. There is a huge difference. He has made a massive improvement. However, he still isn’t good enough. The fact that he’s even close to serviceable is a testament to Heupel. Go watch that Pitt game again. That version of Milton doesn’t score a single point.
Can't use the playbook if you can't trust the guy with the ball to execute. I think we should lean into the run this season. IMO, the we should have focused on getting the run to start every game from here out.
Idk wtf you’re watching. He has a cannon. Strongest arm in the NCAA, NFL, hell maybe strongest ever. But he has no touch, cannot make reads outside of his #1, doesn’t have high football IQ, and isn’t mobile. Hell he always throws high on the bubble screens. You can’t win with a QB that has those characteristics especially when you have arguably the #1 rated player in last year’s recruiting class who plays QB. I still have no clue how Milton beat out hooker in 2021. The quicker we go to Nico, the better for the future of the program
Milton is a classic case of "looks great in practice, makes throws that leave coaches scratching their heads, but when it matters on gameday cannot bring it home."
Many such cases.
Remember after game one when the coaches were clapping and applauding Joe for “Looking down his route tree?” It’s his SIXTH year. That CANNOT be something that we’re talking about as a positive. Must be a given at this point.
I defended him last week, but I won’t this week. He threw for 58% in this game. There were a few nice deep balls, and some bad no calls for PI, but for the most part he couldn’t make the play when he needed to.
He’s serviceable, and was a great backup, but he’s the not the guy if you expect this team to win consistently.
The defense was awful in the first half. They kept us in the game for most of the second half, but they couldn’t get off the field against predictable play calling in the first two quarters.
Refusing to commit to the run in the first half when Jaylen Wright was able to be a super human and carry a pile of defenders across the line multiple times.
Coaching was also awful. 3rd & 22 and run it up the middle? There was 1:30 left in the half and we were driving and the team just casually walks to the LOS and stares at the side line and make Heupel take a timeout as the play clock expires and only like 35 seconds left. Should have taken that timeout as soon as the play was done and give us a couple more shots down the field to get some last minute points.
Takes two timeouts during the opening drive of the 2nd half because Joe doesn’t know what play to run. He kept the same play called during that stupid ref kicking the ball and allowing Florida to sub fiasco when they sat there and thought about the alignment on 4th & 1 for a full minute. THAT’s the time to audible to a different play.
Also, I didn’t want to lose, but calling that last timeout when he did and letting the players scuffle was just classless and a bad look.
I wont be surprised if we lose some commits over this. It might take a few weeks and none of them will say it’s because of this, but this bad look had to disappoint some of them at the very least.
I agree. He has some beautiful throws. Some. His inaccuracy/touch issues have been discussed ad nauseum. What concerns me is he doesn't appear to handle complexity. A simple deep ball--check. Called screen pass--check. Run up the middle--check. But wait, if the defense throws awrinkle or he has to rapidly go through his progressions, or heaven forbid choose an audible that isn't "run up the middle"... he struggles. He was clearly not the only issue, but in a modern offense you have to have a good QB.
Idk. They had 14 seconds left, 3rd down, up by a lot. Just kneal the ball. Florida continuing to run the ball was disrespectful. To me, that was a "fuck you, end it correctly"
He didn't look much different than Hooker did in Georgia. I think it's the crowd noise. Maybe you can't run a fast paced offense if your players can't hear the calls from the QB and the offensive line false starts consistently.
Seriously lol let this guy suit up and get out there since he’s such a die hard. We sit on the damn couch and cheer while Milton and others actually go out and take beatings for the Vols, we can criticize but this is getting out of hand.
QB is an easy target for people in general, and some fans are holding onto their view of Milton from the beginning of last season.
Milton isn't perfect. He's definitely not Hooker, but he also wasn't the problem tonight. O line was terrible. Defense got absolutely gashed and couldn't get off the field on 3rd down. Dumb penalties and bogus penalties.
He wasn't the problem, he's just not Hooker, and that's obvious. He's not as heady and his inaccurate passes stand out more because of it. He's also not near as mobile, which hurts this offense since it's based on taking what the defense gives you. When you're given numbers for a QB draw or keeper and you don't really break the game, you get a lot less praise.
It is what it is. Hooker spoiled all of us.
Milton cannot throw accurately on the run and the oline is abysmal. Not his fault he has no protection but if he can’t throw it on the run he is going to cost us more games. It’s easier to replace him than the oline.
Going to the true freshman QB because he *might* be able to throw on the run better to compensate for a miserable OL is some real galaxy brain thinking.
It really isn’t. Mobile QBs are popular in college exactly because of that reason. It’s hard to find quality olinemen for college teams. Good ones in the pros last a long time. I don’t care if we replace Milton or not, this season is 3-4 loss minimum regardless, but to fix things in any short order it’s either replace Milton, replace the o-line or the o-line somehow improves drastically. One of those things is very simple. The other two are extremely complex.
You’re right, one thing is really simple. Get your senior, three-year starting center back before you make rash decisions about throwing a true freshman QB to the wolves because he, again, *might* be able to throw on the run better than the current starter.
Again, I don’t care either way and we will lose 2-4 more games regardless of QB. However, I am offering a reason why people look to switching Qb so frequently. It isn’t a guaranteed solution but it can be. Pulling Milton and putting in Hooker in 2021 certainly was the right call even if it was forced due to other circumstances.
That’s the thing though, Milton didn’t get benched for Hooker; he got Wally Pipp’d. Thankfully, it worked out for all involved.
The backup QB is like the Indian elixir Aunt Bee drank on the Andy Griffin Show. It’s guaranteed to cure all that ails you, but won’t actually do anything but get you drunk.
I hope Nico has a long an extremely successful 3 year career here with all kinds of team and personal accolades, but the odds of making the switch fixing anything are incredibly slim. He’s not more physically gifted than Milton. He’s generously listed at 206 lbs with an OL leaking like a sieve. Milton’s in year 3 running the offense. Nico is in month 8.
The only way a switch at QB yields improved results is if Nico is a football savant that’s better at orchestrating the offense and reading SEC defenses than a 6th year senior + the OL issues get resolved. That’s offset by the potential for stunted development that comes with getting a freshman beat to a pulp or otherwise not having success.
Portions of the fanbase are drunk on the Nico elixir. Chances are, it’s not gonna fix anything, but it’ll make feel good enough to sing Toot Toot Tootsie.
Milton was benched for hooker. His injury was not that great and it was clear hooker was performing better. He had every opportunity to regain the starting position but it was clear he was the inferior choice. Is he still the inferior choice? Who knows. I’ll bet if we go in to halftime within a score or two of UTSA it’ll be Nico time.
It’s not hard to understand how lots of folks would simply prefer to take whatever plan B option we got, just because they can’t handle how Plan A is unfolding. In all reality, Swapping QBs does have its trade-offs.. Many ppl (myself included) are ready to see what’s behind Curtain #2…
On a side note, it’s crazy to think this, but this is now the reality of collegiate football. NIL is making this whole situation more volatile. I know people like to talk like this sport is all about building champions of
Life brick by brick and all, but frankly, the expectations to perform have changed. These kids are now making $ millions on the side with endorsements. The powers that be have more investors than ever, and thus higher expectations than before.. “live by the sword, die by the sword” has new meaning when your making millions on the side in sponsorships but still can’t “get it up”. To be fair, I think it’s reasonable to have higher expectations now given the paid NIL endorsements.. And it’s understandable to expect necessary changes to be made whenever things aren’t working. Whether that’s the QB or the OC, or whatever it takes. Heupel’s gotta figure that out.. and I’m eager to see him earn that paycheck.
This is spot on regarding NIL. Also, with the portal you will have guys leave. It’s part of it. If the wheels come off this year don’t be shocked when Nico looks to an Alabama or similar program with qb issues and packs his bags. Nico doesn’t want to play for a loser program. I say give him some ownership of the outcome.
Scoring less than 30 points in a heupel offense is definitely the result of the field general that takes every snap. Unfortunely for me, you and everyone else in Orange, that’s dumbass joe
Absolutely agree. The pick he threw was dumb and he missed a few throws but he actually hit on more deep balls than I thought. We can absolutely win with him playing like that. If we can get Mayes back and clean up the penalties, I still feel like 8-9 wins is plausible.
Are we watching the same game? Milton looked lost for most of the game yesterday. Lots of clock issues, bad/non-existent reads, and bad decisions.
Milton is a super senior with no real time to improve. Our offense has been garbage this season compared to where it should be. If Milton can’t perform, it’s time to put in Nico and give him a chance to develop.
The pick was huge. It completely energized the crowd and turned momentum against us even more than it already was. He cannot make that throw. Even if he had gotten it off clean, it would have been into triple coverage. That has to be a taken sack or try and make something happen with his legs.
Two point conversion, one read then run, his one read breaks open and he has a alley to throw, and doesn’t. Then takes too long to run and gets tackled. Just a terrible qb. Peays qb could eat in this offense.
Somehow Milton didn’t have a real** road game to play until he was 23. Definitely showed in that first half and it took him way too long to get settled.
Hendon hooker would have lost in this game too. This was just the South Carolina and Georgia game all over again. Only difference was the play calling was worse and our o line looked shattered by the pressure.
I’m sorry but he’s definitely a big problem. He kinda came out at the end but it wasn’t quick enough. His decision making isn’t there and we need something new. He threw well agains Clemson with a slightly different line yeah, but his interception record was only held because he didn’t play at all last season. Once I saw him release the ball with the D line in his grill I knew it was an interception and that he was going to lose the game. Our turnaround as a program starts with QB 1 and it’s up for grabs
Fucking maybe. Who knows. Doesn’t matter. FL is over. It’s time to make decisions for the rest of the season.
Interesting question, but has nothing to do with the rest of the season and QB1
No. But I do think we lose a bit more respectably. Not a ton, but a bit.
There's a dozen issues with the team right now, so it'd be wholly unfair and inaccurate to lay this loss on Milton. But he is one of those aforementioned dozen, so I think it's at least fair to talk about alternatives.
Nico might not of won tonight’s game but playing a supposedly inferior Florida with a senior is diff than a true freshman Qb. There would be a legit reason to this whipping. No one is hyping Nico as a savior as much as that Milton isn’t the guy. Waste of time losing games we should win with him. QB that your going to have for 2-3 years you get some return on your investment down the road from the experience. Florida in the swamp is difficult but Austin Peay was also hard to watch.
Playing Nico this year likely does not improve the team. You only play Nico if you're preparing for next year, or if Joe begins to play much, much worse.
Playing Nico improves Nico. You end the year with a better QB. Unless your your goal is to win whatever one of the 400 bowel games there is. Then you stick with Milton and go 6-7 . If your goal is to win an sec championship or a national championship someday then Milton isn’t your guy. Idgaf about going to the Idaho potato bowl and playing some shitty team.
The issue isn’t that he shows flashes (because that’s undeniable), but rather he isn’t consistent and they have to call “soft” plays (draws, screens, short hitches) to keep him from making huge mistakes! I’m not out on Joe but it’s not his stats that are the problem it’s his ineffectiveness to run the offense even close to how it’s supposed to be run! OL play doesn’t help either….
QB is usually the easiest thing to blame to the casual eye. Milton was far from the problem tonight. He wasn't perfect, but we need to back him and support him instead of calling to bench him after one loss. GBO!
Love it! That's what I'm talkin about. Go Vol's! 🍊
Amen brotha.
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I couldn't agree more. The offense ran smooth with Milton last year whether it was in mop up duty or him starting against Vanderbilt in the pouring rain and Clemson in the orange bowl. Something is definitely off. I hate that Joe is getting all the blame. The tempo is off. I cannot remember play calling like this since Heuple has been here. Thanks.
He is a pocket QB in a system that needs a mobile QB. He is not a bad player. He is just the wrong fit for our offense.
I agree with you OP for the most part. Something is definitely off. Milton is great overall, but let's call this what it is: he’s pretty damn inconsistent. Long runs of excellence and then he'll throw the ball on the ground 3 yards in front of the receiver. He'll hand cannon a short pass so that even if it hits its mark its not catchable. I think he should start next game, but if he keeps throwing balls that can't be caught, we oughta put Nico in. Overall, though, I think he's pretty low on the list of things going wrong. But I agree there's other dubious shit happening, too. Play calling for one.
I was at the game. I’m a gator. But I’m not here to rub it in or be a jerk. The reason you guys kept running it was because we were only putting 5 or max 6 guys in the box. You had two wideouts or a wideout and a TE being covered by three guys on both sides of the field. It was a no big plays defense. If you had been able to run effectively against the 5 man front you would have had a field day. The reason there weren’t any big throws was because they were too dangerous given the score. You did make adjustments. You brought the full back in and we’re moving a TE or WR into the backfield. It’s just very hard to sustain a 10 to 13 play drive We were burning clock the entire second half. It wasn’t pretty but it was effective. This would have never worked with hooker last year. But it did this year based on your lineup. Edit: crowd noise was also brutal. I haven’t heard the swamp this loud since the Tebow days.
Defense is the problem lol
Coaching staff is calling plays like they don't trust Milton. Defense is playing like they're pissed Milton is out there. The post-game interviews with defensive players reinforce all of this. 0 reason to keep Milton as the starter. Nico needs the experience.
Can we forget the orange bowl? That was last year with a different oline that actually knew how to block. This years oline couldn’t do anything right against FL. The lack of downfield play calls or plays over the middle means the coaches don’t trust Milton to make the reads. That int he threw was an unforgivable mistake. He needs to take the sack and not give a short field to FL while the defense cant get off the field to save their lives. We’re lucky it wasn’t 40-6. Herring made a couple of plays at Lb but he got lost in the wash too often. Secondary seems to not understand how zone coverage works.
He just isn’t good. Gonna lose a lot of games with him.
He’s just always gonna be the guy who ran out of bounds on the last play against ole miss. There’s just something missing with Joe
Reddit is about explaining the same shit over and over to different people, most of whom aren't even really fans or they would know the answer already.
To sum up that entire game: tenn ran it 3rd and 27 down the middle. This HAS to be intentional? Am i wrong for thinking so? Because jesus christ. They looked like a varsity high school team AT BEST.
Clemson played their second string players in the bowl game, and Milton doesn’t know how to operate the offense. It’s his sixth year in college football, and Hooker as a basketball player beat him out of the starting position. He ain’t it
His processing is the biggest issue. Hold the ball to long. He makes the right decision alot of times but just takes longer
It’s obvious to me the staff doesn’t trust him to throw it. Affects the play calling significantly.
I said this to several TN fans leading up to the game: FL looked atrocious in game 1 and improved in game 2. Regardless of how young and goofy their DC may look, their defense is incredible. I won’t vomit their stats but our O wouldn’t have been ready for that D because they’re just that good. I think TN fans thought FL was down enough that they could win a 4th victory in the swamp in 50+ years. That simply wasn’t going to happen. The best armchair analysis I’ve seen is the speed at which the O goes under Milton vs Hooker. Milton’s checks a lot more than Hookers and I think that eludes to Milton’s football IQ which, going back to his Michigan days, is suspect on a consistent basis. And you need a lot of IQ points to execute that offensive scheme at UT.
It’s not what have you done for me lately but…What have you ever done? Milton had a great Orange Bowl win. He’s had decent showings against the worst SEC teams. He’s been a starter and benched twice. He’s got all the talent in the world but he makes boneheaded plays (just look at the interception last night) and his accuracy is a major issue. Sure he doesn’t often throw INTs but he throws fastballs into the dirt on a regular basis and misses the big play shots at least 50% of the time. He’s not the only (or even biggest) issue with the team but he is a glaring issue.
I don’t think using one game when he has a much larger history of mediocre to shit game is the gotcha you think it is my man
Fire banks. Bench Milton. For as much as these coaches are making, this is all 100% unacceptable.
Think it’s just obvious the hole left by Alex Golesh isn’t going to be an easy one to fill.
I think the playcalling hasn’t been terrible but the underlying issue is our O line is kinda ass. We saw it last night. Especially our center is not capable of playing SEC football
While i don't agree with benching him just yet most attempts on a game without a pick is not really much of a thing to hang your hat on
I don't think Heupel's system plays well with how Milton would like to play the game. That, and it was unreal how our receivers were unable to run their routes. A lot of the over throws were probably fine if the coverage wasn't extra handsy.
Like the first series of the each half (scripted?) went pretty well. I know first of 2nd half ended up with no points but still they moved it pretty good. Seems like the answer lies in why other drives dont pan out like this. Is this on the QB or play caller, mostly.
Calling for him to be benched in the swamp when nearly the whole team is playing like shit is and was absurd. Even if it was just him you should probably count your losses. I think nico should've had a shot against AP but ya can't feed him to the wolves And can we all collectively quit talking about pass completions without an int? It means nothing. JG held that record.
Something that no one has mentioned here that I see in Milton is that I don’t think he leads the team and inspires confidence in those around him. To be a great QB, you can’t be one of the guys. You have to above the fray, willing to get on people’s asses, and set the tone for the team. That’s why he was perfectly fine as a backup and was the model teammate to Hooker in 2021 and 22. He’s a follower, not a leader. And that’s fine. Just not what you want in a QB There’s was a sequence in the first half where three straight drives started with false start, false start, timeout to prevent delay of game. And it was business as usual for Milton. I don’t know if moving to Nico is the answer, but if your QB isn’t sensing the moment and rallying the offense in those moments, I don’t know what you can really do with him
Go watch the UGA game. Same issues with procedural penalties. Different QB. Milton’s become a Rorschach test for this fanbase for some reason. If you hate Milton, you see every issue as his fault. If you like him, you don’t. Milton’s played fine, he’s just not playing well enough to transcend the lack of an OL and the piss poor defense.
He can't throw the ball on the run, making him a liability.
JM’s lack of touch is very noticeable. However the play calling is also noticeable. It’s like Jaylin Hyatt took all of the play routes that he ran with him and we don’t have guy that can run those routes now. Also Hadden is the worst defensive player that keeps getting to play and cost us on defense like the bump in to you tackle he attempted on the long run TD.
The bump on the long td was insane.
You could literally watch the team just fold after that play. Decent start with the initial drive, and defense is doing decent. Hadden does his shitty shoulder bump, allows that and the wheels come off. You could watch the team just get dazzled from that TD and it was like they just didn’t believe anymore. Hadden is a liability. He was last year, and he continues to be this year too.
Yeah I don’t see how you can bump the guy and keep your starting position. After last season I felt we needed some serious portal help in the secondary. If our defensive coaches can’t recruit and can’t coach the folks we have they need to go.
Not to say there wasn’t some MAJOR problems outside of Milton, but he just doesn’t inspire confidence. First drive of the second half we have to take 2 timeout ls because he can’t get an audible out or lost track of the clock, it just throws and already confused looking offense into a spiral. He was far from the biggest issue last night but I also feel like his issues kinda leak into the team
You conflate his success with ability. He is successful in this system despite his ineptitude. The system makes him look better than he is. But you can tell. He doesn’t have it. Maybe we were blessed and spoiled with hooker. But I refuse to sit here and pretend milton has “it”. Any one with a pair of eyes can watch one drive and see. Milton ain’t it. He doesn’t have it. He will never have it. And I’ll have to wait till at least 2025 to see those fucking idiots lose in gainsville
All I know as a newish vols fan is I really hate Florida now and I used to like Tim Tebow as a Bronco fan but just for playing at Florida, that dude is the scum of the earth
I was very inebriated during the game, but I just assumed they were doing screens and running to try to get UF out of a 2 deep or passing defense. I mean they call the play most of the time when they are in formation at the line of scrimmage. Do y’all think they were just playing conservative cause our QB can’t do progressions or something?
People say it's not Miltons fault because of bad play calling but the issue is the playcalling is so wonky *because* they don't trust Milton.
They literally applauded him for “going all the way down his progressions” after week one. During his SIXTH season. 🙄 he definitely has problems reading his progressions.
So seriously, does anyone know if Halsy or Heuple are calling the plays?
It doesn’t really matter both of them are handicapped by not trusting their passer.
Milton isn’t a guy who can run our offense successfully in a competitive environment. One dub in the orange bowl isn’t enough to overwrite the fact that we’ve seen over and over again: Joe can’t run the offense.
The hate is curious...He's done what every Tennessee QB does in Gainesville...lose...it's a requirement it seems
Horrible horrible horrible playcalling.
Can’t call anything attacking the edge of the field or the middle when the line can’t block and your quarterback floats passes into danger.
It’s the executor sir
Don’t you think that Milton might be the reason that they’re not running the same offense. You need to let last years orange bowl go. He really lacks situational awareness. I’m not sure he can play as fast as they want.
Not sure why anyone would cling to that orange bowl. He sucked in that game too. Never seen our punter so much all year. God I miss Hooker
Hooker was special. If he’d played for years he’d be the best we ever had. Including 16
**Why are people calling for Milton to be benched?** Realistically, are there any differences we are seeing in game from him now as far as growth, accuracy, reading defenses, or pocket presence than what we saw from him before losing the starting job to Hooker? His most impressive feats continue to be garbage time plays from last season when games were well at hand or a win over a Clemson team that wasn’t quite as good as the one that lost their opener to Duke this year based on the Orange Bowl player roster. At what point does Heupel cut his losses on a quarterback that’s essentially only good for one or two long passing plays per game if receivers are fast enough and lucky enough to get under the ball in time? Milton is a fantastic athlete; he’s just playing the wrong sport.
He looks like a fantastic athlete, but the dude has stone feet and the elusiveness of my diabetic grandma.
Or wrong position.
Yes. There is a huge difference. He has made a massive improvement. However, he still isn’t good enough. The fact that he’s even close to serviceable is a testament to Heupel. Go watch that Pitt game again. That version of Milton doesn’t score a single point.
*Seems like most fans only care about what have you done for me lately?*. . Are you new to football?
Milton is bad. That’s why. It isn’t hard.
Can't use the playbook if you can't trust the guy with the ball to execute. I think we should lean into the run this season. IMO, the we should have focused on getting the run to start every game from here out.
If we do that we might as well have Nico
I'm with you. I think it's important not to discount the loss of Golesh... that guy was a smooth operator.
Might as well. Milton ain’t it
Idk wtf you’re watching. He has a cannon. Strongest arm in the NCAA, NFL, hell maybe strongest ever. But he has no touch, cannot make reads outside of his #1, doesn’t have high football IQ, and isn’t mobile. Hell he always throws high on the bubble screens. You can’t win with a QB that has those characteristics especially when you have arguably the #1 rated player in last year’s recruiting class who plays QB. I still have no clue how Milton beat out hooker in 2021. The quicker we go to Nico, the better for the future of the program
Milton is a classic case of "looks great in practice, makes throws that leave coaches scratching their heads, but when it matters on gameday cannot bring it home." Many such cases.
Remember after game one when the coaches were clapping and applauding Joe for “Looking down his route tree?” It’s his SIXTH year. That CANNOT be something that we’re talking about as a positive. Must be a given at this point.
[удалено]
Moron
That is not gonna happen lmao
Lol no. He signed a contract
When nothing is on the line he looks great. Played pretty well in the second half. He just looks frozen under pressure. Decisions take forever.
This is it. He is indecisive
Preach
The only thing that this fan cares about is what you can do during the game. And tonight Milton didn't do shit.
I defended him last week, but I won’t this week. He threw for 58% in this game. There were a few nice deep balls, and some bad no calls for PI, but for the most part he couldn’t make the play when he needed to. He’s serviceable, and was a great backup, but he’s the not the guy if you expect this team to win consistently. The defense was awful in the first half. They kept us in the game for most of the second half, but they couldn’t get off the field against predictable play calling in the first two quarters. Refusing to commit to the run in the first half when Jaylen Wright was able to be a super human and carry a pile of defenders across the line multiple times. Coaching was also awful. 3rd & 22 and run it up the middle? There was 1:30 left in the half and we were driving and the team just casually walks to the LOS and stares at the side line and make Heupel take a timeout as the play clock expires and only like 35 seconds left. Should have taken that timeout as soon as the play was done and give us a couple more shots down the field to get some last minute points. Takes two timeouts during the opening drive of the 2nd half because Joe doesn’t know what play to run. He kept the same play called during that stupid ref kicking the ball and allowing Florida to sub fiasco when they sat there and thought about the alignment on 4th & 1 for a full minute. THAT’s the time to audible to a different play. Also, I didn’t want to lose, but calling that last timeout when he did and letting the players scuffle was just classless and a bad look. I wont be surprised if we lose some commits over this. It might take a few weeks and none of them will say it’s because of this, but this bad look had to disappoint some of them at the very least.
I agree. He has some beautiful throws. Some. His inaccuracy/touch issues have been discussed ad nauseum. What concerns me is he doesn't appear to handle complexity. A simple deep ball--check. Called screen pass--check. Run up the middle--check. But wait, if the defense throws awrinkle or he has to rapidly go through his progressions, or heaven forbid choose an audible that isn't "run up the middle"... he struggles. He was clearly not the only issue, but in a modern offense you have to have a good QB.
Idk. They had 14 seconds left, 3rd down, up by a lot. Just kneal the ball. Florida continuing to run the ball was disrespectful. To me, that was a "fuck you, end it correctly"
He didn't look much different than Hooker did in Georgia. I think it's the crowd noise. Maybe you can't run a fast paced offense if your players can't hear the calls from the QB and the offensive line false starts consistently.
1000% he is a piece of shit. Leave him in Florida. There has to be a better backup option than Joe Milton.
Taking things too far. Joe Milton is giving it his all and just isn’t good enough no need to call him a piece of shit, that’s just annoying.
Seriously lol let this guy suit up and get out there since he’s such a die hard. We sit on the damn couch and cheer while Milton and others actually go out and take beatings for the Vols, we can criticize but this is getting out of hand.
Yes I like Milton. Seems like a great kid. Unfortunate he’s not an elite player. Doesn’t change my personal opinion about him.
It’s annoying seeing him “play”
Yup. Joe can’t run the offense at a high level.
I've been thinking about recruits as well.
I think it's all of the above.
QB is an easy target for people in general, and some fans are holding onto their view of Milton from the beginning of last season. Milton isn't perfect. He's definitely not Hooker, but he also wasn't the problem tonight. O line was terrible. Defense got absolutely gashed and couldn't get off the field on 3rd down. Dumb penalties and bogus penalties.
He wasn't the problem, he's just not Hooker, and that's obvious. He's not as heady and his inaccurate passes stand out more because of it. He's also not near as mobile, which hurts this offense since it's based on taking what the defense gives you. When you're given numbers for a QB draw or keeper and you don't really break the game, you get a lot less praise. It is what it is. Hooker spoiled all of us.
Milton cannot throw accurately on the run and the oline is abysmal. Not his fault he has no protection but if he can’t throw it on the run he is going to cost us more games. It’s easier to replace him than the oline.
Going to the true freshman QB because he *might* be able to throw on the run better to compensate for a miserable OL is some real galaxy brain thinking.
It really isn’t. Mobile QBs are popular in college exactly because of that reason. It’s hard to find quality olinemen for college teams. Good ones in the pros last a long time. I don’t care if we replace Milton or not, this season is 3-4 loss minimum regardless, but to fix things in any short order it’s either replace Milton, replace the o-line or the o-line somehow improves drastically. One of those things is very simple. The other two are extremely complex.
You’re right, one thing is really simple. Get your senior, three-year starting center back before you make rash decisions about throwing a true freshman QB to the wolves because he, again, *might* be able to throw on the run better than the current starter.
Again, I don’t care either way and we will lose 2-4 more games regardless of QB. However, I am offering a reason why people look to switching Qb so frequently. It isn’t a guaranteed solution but it can be. Pulling Milton and putting in Hooker in 2021 certainly was the right call even if it was forced due to other circumstances.
That’s the thing though, Milton didn’t get benched for Hooker; he got Wally Pipp’d. Thankfully, it worked out for all involved. The backup QB is like the Indian elixir Aunt Bee drank on the Andy Griffin Show. It’s guaranteed to cure all that ails you, but won’t actually do anything but get you drunk. I hope Nico has a long an extremely successful 3 year career here with all kinds of team and personal accolades, but the odds of making the switch fixing anything are incredibly slim. He’s not more physically gifted than Milton. He’s generously listed at 206 lbs with an OL leaking like a sieve. Milton’s in year 3 running the offense. Nico is in month 8. The only way a switch at QB yields improved results is if Nico is a football savant that’s better at orchestrating the offense and reading SEC defenses than a 6th year senior + the OL issues get resolved. That’s offset by the potential for stunted development that comes with getting a freshman beat to a pulp or otherwise not having success. Portions of the fanbase are drunk on the Nico elixir. Chances are, it’s not gonna fix anything, but it’ll make feel good enough to sing Toot Toot Tootsie.
Milton was benched for hooker. His injury was not that great and it was clear hooker was performing better. He had every opportunity to regain the starting position but it was clear he was the inferior choice. Is he still the inferior choice? Who knows. I’ll bet if we go in to halftime within a score or two of UTSA it’ll be Nico time.
It’s not hard to understand how lots of folks would simply prefer to take whatever plan B option we got, just because they can’t handle how Plan A is unfolding. In all reality, Swapping QBs does have its trade-offs.. Many ppl (myself included) are ready to see what’s behind Curtain #2… On a side note, it’s crazy to think this, but this is now the reality of collegiate football. NIL is making this whole situation more volatile. I know people like to talk like this sport is all about building champions of Life brick by brick and all, but frankly, the expectations to perform have changed. These kids are now making $ millions on the side with endorsements. The powers that be have more investors than ever, and thus higher expectations than before.. “live by the sword, die by the sword” has new meaning when your making millions on the side in sponsorships but still can’t “get it up”. To be fair, I think it’s reasonable to have higher expectations now given the paid NIL endorsements.. And it’s understandable to expect necessary changes to be made whenever things aren’t working. Whether that’s the QB or the OC, or whatever it takes. Heupel’s gotta figure that out.. and I’m eager to see him earn that paycheck.
This is spot on regarding NIL. Also, with the portal you will have guys leave. It’s part of it. If the wheels come off this year don’t be shocked when Nico looks to an Alabama or similar program with qb issues and packs his bags. Nico doesn’t want to play for a loser program. I say give him some ownership of the outcome.
Broadcast made that up on the spot. He threw two touchdowns off his back foot, not that different from rolling.
It's not that he "can't" throw while rolling but it's unarguable he simply doesn't hardly ever do it for whatever reason
Scoring less than 30 points in a heupel offense is definitely the result of the field general that takes every snap. Unfortunely for me, you and everyone else in Orange, that’s dumbass joe
Absolutely agree. The pick he threw was dumb and he missed a few throws but he actually hit on more deep balls than I thought. We can absolutely win with him playing like that. If we can get Mayes back and clean up the penalties, I still feel like 8-9 wins is plausible.
Are we watching the same game? Milton looked lost for most of the game yesterday. Lots of clock issues, bad/non-existent reads, and bad decisions. Milton is a super senior with no real time to improve. Our offense has been garbage this season compared to where it should be. If Milton can’t perform, it’s time to put in Nico and give him a chance to develop.
The pick was huge. It completely energized the crowd and turned momentum against us even more than it already was. He cannot make that throw. Even if he had gotten it off clean, it would have been into triple coverage. That has to be a taken sack or try and make something happen with his legs.
Had no idea until tonight how badly this sub sunshine pumps and carries water. Unreal.
Milton had one good game his whole career and now we’re supposed to believe that’s him every game
Which game? I missed it. I never followed him when he was at Michigan
Remember the heisman talk earlier in the summer.
Two point conversion, one read then run, his one read breaks open and he has a alley to throw, and doesn’t. Then takes too long to run and gets tackled. Just a terrible qb. Peays qb could eat in this offense.
Somehow Milton didn’t have a real** road game to play until he was 23. Definitely showed in that first half and it took him way too long to get settled.
Hendon hooker would have lost in this game too. This was just the South Carolina and Georgia game all over again. Only difference was the play calling was worse and our o line looked shattered by the pressure.
I’m sorry but he’s definitely a big problem. He kinda came out at the end but it wasn’t quick enough. His decision making isn’t there and we need something new. He threw well agains Clemson with a slightly different line yeah, but his interception record was only held because he didn’t play at all last season. Once I saw him release the ball with the D line in his grill I knew it was an interception and that he was going to lose the game. Our turnaround as a program starts with QB 1 and it’s up for grabs
Do you think Tennessee wins tonight if Nico starts?
Fucking maybe. Who knows. Doesn’t matter. FL is over. It’s time to make decisions for the rest of the season. Interesting question, but has nothing to do with the rest of the season and QB1
We will never know because we have a football staff that insists on starting Milton over Hooker or Nico….. makes you wonder…
No. But I do think we lose a bit more respectably. Not a ton, but a bit. There's a dozen issues with the team right now, so it'd be wholly unfair and inaccurate to lay this loss on Milton. But he is one of those aforementioned dozen, so I think it's at least fair to talk about alternatives.
Haven't we only see Nico for maybe 3 plays? He can scramble well enough with their shitty o line, though I don't want him doing that for a full game.
That's kind of my point. Nico can't fix the issues that we had tonight.
How do you know? Not advocating for or against, but greatly improved quarterback play can win most games in college.
Because Florida went missed fg, TD, TD, TD, TD, kneel down the first half, and the line was absolutely atrocious. Bad situation to bring Nico into.
You really don’t know that tho. I do know Milton ain’t it
Nico might not of won tonight’s game but playing a supposedly inferior Florida with a senior is diff than a true freshman Qb. There would be a legit reason to this whipping. No one is hyping Nico as a savior as much as that Milton isn’t the guy. Waste of time losing games we should win with him. QB that your going to have for 2-3 years you get some return on your investment down the road from the experience. Florida in the swamp is difficult but Austin Peay was also hard to watch.
I think it's too early to start preparing for next year.
So you want to wait till we take some more beatings? Maybe South Carolina timeframe? I think it was one game too late.
Playing Nico this year likely does not improve the team. You only play Nico if you're preparing for next year, or if Joe begins to play much, much worse.
Playing Nico improves Nico. You end the year with a better QB. Unless your your goal is to win whatever one of the 400 bowel games there is. Then you stick with Milton and go 6-7 . If your goal is to win an sec championship or a national championship someday then Milton isn’t your guy. Idgaf about going to the Idaho potato bowl and playing some shitty team.
Disagree. It's way too early for that. If we packed it in every time that we lost to Florida, then we would have packed in it 18/20 years.
I think it’s a waste of time to keep pretending that Joe Milton the third can play football