Dooley takes closer look at mistakes

Dooley looked over UT’s past two seasons and found seven games the Vols lost because of mistakes in the last four minutes.
“The lesson is that you don’t have to do anything special at the end of the game,” Dooley said Tuesday. “You just have to do the common things uncommonly well.”
Dooley was critical of his team for mistakes like dropped passes, penalties and bad snaps in last Saturday’s scrimmage.
“It was amazing the number of critical, game-changing mistakes that we made,” Dooley said.
Bad snaps , often in the shotgun formation with a defenders shifting, has been a consistent problem throughout spring camp.
Dooley said he’s still concerned with the center position but seemed encouraged by the play of junior Cody Pope, who has played guard and tackle this spring.
“We’re starting to see some promise with Cody Pope,” Dooley said. “I think we might have found a home for him.”
Dooley said Pope will continue to compete with senior Victor Thomas, a converted defensive tackle, for first-team snaps.
Pope actually practiced at center in preseason camp after signing with the Vols in 2006. Coaches were pleased with his development before he was forced to return home to California because of an unforeseen academic issue.