I didn’t see a lot of complaints about the Tennessee Vols’ 45-24 road win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, but the internet is the internet, so there were a few negative things floating around out there.

Probably the most common complaint I saw had to do with Tennessee’s “soft coverage” at times against Georgia Tech’s offense — specifically on a nine play drive in the third quarter when the Yellow Jackets cut the Vols’ lead to 14 points.

Some fans (not all, but enough to make some noise) thought Vols defensive coordinator Jim Knowles should’ve been more aggressive in those spots.

Knowles, though, doesn’t really care about giving up yards. Sure, he wants his defense to win every play, and he’d love to allow zero yards in every game. But he also understands how to move the chess pieces better than almost anyone, and that’s what he was doing on Saturday night against Georgia Tech.

Jim Knowes’ focus is on winning the game, not Tennessee’s defensive stats

What we saw on Saturday night was Knowles picking his spots. There were times when he was aggressive and Tennessee created negative plays. At other times, he understood what Georgia Tech was trying to do, and he made them earn it. Knowles wasn’t going to give up any freebies (quick scores) by being aggressive in those spots.

By taking this approach, Knowles also put his players in position to make plays on the intermediate stuff that Georgia Tech was running. And his players responded by making a couple of big plays (Dejuan Lane’s pick six and Jeremiah Telander’s interception).

“I think you see how they’re going to be able to catch people and put themselves in positions to make big plays,” said Voice of the Vols Mike Keith on Monday on WNML’s SportsTalk. “They may give up yards at different points, and they did at different points in the ball game, but they found ways to get off the field at key moments — the two interceptions, obviously, the fourth down stops, and the sacks that came at big points. I think those are the things that you saw out of the defense that are the big takeaways.

“They will do more, and they will be able to do more as they go. But just understanding that Knowles has answers at certain points that even after you’ve taken a few punches, you can come back with one of your own, and it’s significant enough that it gives you the chance to be that difference maker and to do what you need to do, and that’s to get off the field. Yards are not the key measure in winning football games. Everybody listening to SportsTalk right now can tell you games where their team has outgained the opposition by a massive number of yards and then lost. It’s about the plays that get you off the field. Tennessee could not get off the field in key situations last year, and this past Saturday in Atlanta, they did find ways to get off the field.”

Former Vols assistant coach Doug Matthews made a similar point on his show on Sunday on 104.5 The Zone.

“Why were there some yards picked up in the fourth quarter by their offense?” said Matthews. “I think this is good coaching. If you are a defensive coordinator that worries about stats, that (giving up yards) would bother you. But what was happening then? It was the fourth quarter, [Tennessee is up] by two touchdowns — make them earn it. Make them drive the football. That’s what Jim Knowles did. That’s good coaching.

“Now, you’re probably watching the ball game and saying, ‘Man, let’s do this. Let’s get them stopped.’ And eventually, they got them stopped. But that’s what good coaches do. That’s what experienced coaches do. That’s why you bring a Jim Knowles-type guy in on defense because he’s not worried about stats. I’ve seen too many coaches — and I’ve worked with some of them — that are stat oriented. They want to be able to say, ‘Man, we did this, and the opponent only did that.’ Stats don’t win you games, they help win games. Smart, good coaching [wins games]. That was smart, good coaching (by Knowles).”

Knowles has a feel for the game. There are going to be times when he knows he has to be more aggressive. And there are going to be times where he plays a little softer and makes the other team earn it, while also trying to bait them into some mistakes (which, again, we saw against Georgia Tech).

Look, the other team is going to make plays — they’re getting paid to play, too. Knowles knows that. No one in college football is pitching a shutout every week. Knowles’ main focus, however, is on doing what he needs to do to win the game. Not every call is going to work out, but I’d much rather have a defensive coordinator in the booth that’s more focused on winning the game than making overly aggressive calls at the wrong time and giving up explosive plays to let a team back in the game.