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John Wendling was directly responsible for two of the biggest plays made by Tennessee in the first half.
1. The fake punt. Wendling was the furthest player on the D-Line coming off the edge rushing the punter. Normally, that player is responsible for outside contain if the punter pulls it down and runs. That means he's supposed to make the punter turn inside of him, towards the rest of the defense, so someone can make the play before he gets the first down. Wendling completely neglected the outside contain (again, assuming he was supposed to have that), continued on towards the punter and was beaten easily to his outside. No one else was there to make the play.
2. On 4th and 2 right after the 2-minute warning, Chris Henry was sort of stymied at the line. Wendling was the only player in the hole able to make the tackle - and should have. He stopped, let Henry make a move on him, then tried to dive at his feet and tackle him. He STILL had a chance to bring him down, but completely let Henry slip through his grasp.....err......whiff.
I like Wendling's athleticism. But if this is the kind of effort and play he's going to bring to defense and special teams, get rid of him right now.
And, by the way, there's no "it's only preseason" excuses you could possibly make for these kinds of mistakes. He's now a 3-year vet who should know his assignments, as well as not miss 1-on-1 tackles on 4th down.
1. The fake punt. Wendling was the furthest player on the D-Line coming off the edge rushing the punter. Normally, that player is responsible for outside contain if the punter pulls it down and runs. That means he's supposed to make the punter turn inside of him, towards the rest of the defense, so someone can make the play before he gets the first down. Wendling completely neglected the outside contain (again, assuming he was supposed to have that), continued on towards the punter and was beaten easily to his outside. No one else was there to make the play.
2. On 4th and 2 right after the 2-minute warning, Chris Henry was sort of stymied at the line. Wendling was the only player in the hole able to make the tackle - and should have. He stopped, let Henry make a move on him, then tried to dive at his feet and tackle him. He STILL had a chance to bring him down, but completely let Henry slip through his grasp.....err......whiff.
I like Wendling's athleticism. But if this is the kind of effort and play he's going to bring to defense and special teams, get rid of him right now.
And, by the way, there's no "it's only preseason" excuses you could possibly make for these kinds of mistakes. He's now a 3-year vet who should know his assignments, as well as not miss 1-on-1 tackles on 4th down.
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