Same Record, Different Year? Hardly

We’ve scoured the stats, we’ve made the comparisons, we’ve looked high, low, and under every rock for numbers that we can feel good about.

Talk of a moral victory and its merits has been bantered back and forth over the last 48 hours. There have been salvos launched in the form of excuses like the flu and Lane Kiffin’s conservative play calling to keep the ball out of Florida’s offensive hands.

In the end; and this is for Tennessee fans, just as assuredly as Coach Kiffin has spoken to the Big Orange nation exclusively on occasion. . . The program just feels righted. It’s not there to be sure, it’s just beginning. But moving (not looking) in the right direction. Actually moving might not be the right term. Check that. . RUNNING in the right direction. That’s what it feels like.

Be sure, there is no Kool-Aid being passed around here. No one is desperately clinging to a good showing that fell short.
The 2009 season is three games old and just like last year; the Vols are 1-2. And for the naysayers, that is all you have to hang your hat on. Don’t believe me? You can feel it all around you. This is not a ‘buying in’ as we hang on in quiet desperation. This is recognizing what’s happening.

The reason the collective Vol faithful mindset is in a much better place than last year at this point in September is _________. You can fill in the blanks with any number of things:

Much improved in attitude, work ethic, discipline, GPA, arrest (specifically the lack thereof), talent coming in, putting that talent where it needs to be, turning deserving freshmen into veteran sophomores, a defense that is obviously heading toward a lights out unit, and a swagger that’s been missing for a long time.

These are tangible improvements. Take the example with defensive hitting. Enter Janzen Jackson. Monte and the Defensive coaches have put a lot of trust in this freshman. In the UCLA game, he missed two open field tackles and they were mentioned.

If you watch the tape, notice who lines up to Cunningham’s left on kickoffs and flies downfield and bust the wedge. This freshman can hit and he showed on numerous occasions against Florida. Saturday in Gainesville, he officially became an SEC safety. We hope his career covers four year at Tennessee.

This coaching staff has not been here a year yet. Yes, there are those who will continue to say, they haven’t won anything yet. Do you seriously doubt the wins will come?

If so, maybe there has been some Kool-Aid getting passed around. It’s certainly not Orange in flavor however.

This Saturday night is a great opportunity for the fans to show the Vols we see where things are going. They know it. And while the record is the same as last year at this point, this team will is only going to get better, faster, and stronger.

Better record, Better Year? Most definitely.

8 responses to “Same Record, Different Year? Hardly”

  2. Can’t ever remember a season when I didn’t feel we were being outcoached, until this year. Lane Kiffin may be relatively young and inexperienced as coaches go, but he is obviously very smart and his energy, enthusiasm, attention to detail and demand for perfection have this team vastly improved. What a great hire he and his assistant coaches were. Big thanks to Mike Hamilton. See only better days and years ahead. Go Big Orange!

  3. Any time your plan is to lose (which it clearly was based on his offensive gameplan) I have no respect for you.

    • Yeah, its the reason for 2 a days in the summer heat, all the time spent in the weight room and the film room getting your body and mind ready to be a finely tuned instrument so you can take the field in the Fall and…. lose on purpose. U sir are a moron. Moron isn’t even good enough, I’m not sure what to call you, mentally deranged, challenged, etc. but I do know one thing: You know absolutely NOTHING about football. Leave it to the adults for discussion, and go strap on ur “special” helmet and play in the sand box for a while.

  4. You Gators sure are looing silly with your “you didn’t play fair” comments…..No one is buying it!

  5. Any time you come out after a poor performance and then whine about players being sick, I have no respect for you either.

    What will it be next time, malaria, small pox, genital warts?

    So I guess the feelings mutual!

  6. No Really, the gators were very sick…it was the hn14EB strain of the Whine Flu.

  7. no doubt, vol’s played as well as they could play and UF played about as bad as we possibly could have played. congrat’s boy’s. let’s see if you can play well enough to lose your next two games. you people ran coach fulmer outta town for the same type of play calling that lane did on saturday and you people are exited and act like lane is the second coming. UT had a great defense last year, how soon you forget. lane k came into a great situation at UT with awsome talent on both sides of the ball from top 10 recruiting classes left in place by coach fulmer. lane takes top 10 talent and loses to ucla at home. at UF we play to win and aren’t satisfied or “happy” to play respectful against our rivals…….oh yeah…….UT can’t be considered our “rivals” any more, ’cause to be a rival you’ve gotta win…….sometimes…….. god bless vol nation……see ya’ll next year

    • Oh yeah!!! Top Ten Classes eh?
      #24 – 2006 not a great class
      #4 – 2007 31 recruits most have left, been busts, or kicked off team
      #35 – 2008 even worse than 06
      #8 – 2009 Freshman this very year
      Fulmer left UT with a bunch of I’s and very few Teams..
      On the other hand… Florida without Tebow is Vanderbilt without Cutler. Have fun next year!!! the SEC will prove Meyer is a fraud.. No Zook recruits … No Tebow.. no Harvin..

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