Does anyone remember when Tennessee was respected/feared?

[buckfama]

Just curious. I remember the days when, even when we lost, teams would say we were the most physical team they had played all year. When we imposed our will on teams. When we were the only team in the SEC that didn't schedule cupcakes for our OOC games. When we lined it up and said "this is what we are gonna do today", and usually did it.

We don't impose our will on anyone anymore. We have forgotten what it's like to have a defense that intimidates the other team. Can't believe I'm saying this but Bama does it. Feel like I need a shower after saying that but it's true.

Butch doesn't recruit to that level because I feel he doesn't KNOW what it takes to field a team like that because he has never had it. And it's not always a matter of stars but more of an attitude. We lost our swag... our attitude. Offering up cliches and deflecting responsibility for what's going on with and within your team is no way to build it either.

I'm not saying that I know how to fix any of this.. not gonna pretend I do. But I can say that I haven't seen that "attitude" in a Tennessee team in a long time.. and I don't think CBJ is the one to bring that back. He has done a good job fixing all the other problems but he has peaked... jmo

 

[JFreak]

Bama players were quoted as saying we were the most physical team they played last season..

 

[Catbone]

As someone who only started religiously watching vols football 10 (age 14) years ago, no.

 

[buckfama]

Bama players were quoted as saying we were the most physical team they played last season..

That was last year. Do you think they would say it this year? Have any of the other teams we played this year mentioned it? Or their coach? I can't recall.

It used to be what we were known for.. period. Good game or bad you were gonna get punched in the mouth.

 

[NEVolFan]

Just curious. I remember the days when, even when we lost, teams would say we were the most physical team they had played all year. When we imposed our will on teams. When we were the only team in the SEC that didn't schedule cupcakes for our OOC games. When we lined it up and said "this is what we are gonna do today", and usually did it.

We don't impose our will on anyone anymore. We have forgotten what it's like to have a defense that intimidates the other team. Can't believe I'm saying this but Bama does it. Feel like I need a shower after saying that but it's true.

Butch doesn't recruit to that level because I feel he doesn't KNOW what it takes to field a team like that because he has never had it. And it's not always a matter of stars but more of an attitude. We lost our swag... our attitude. Offering up cliches and deflecting responsibility for what's going on with and within your team is no way to build it either.

I'm not saying that I know how to fix any of this.. not gonna pretend I do. But I can say that I haven't seen that "attitude" in a Tennessee team in a long time.. and I don't think CBJ is the one to bring that back. He has done a good job fixing all the other problems but he has peaked... jmo

Ahhh the good old days,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLiRGW31nyk

 

[OneVolNation]

Yes, yes I do.

There was a time when the world knew there was a good chance Tennessee would win
the game no matter who they played. Yes, even Alabama. Tennessee beat Florida State in 1998 and proved, at least that year, Tennessee was the best college football team in the world. You didn't even entertain the sheer lunacy of the thought there was even a possibility Vanderbilt posed a threat. That "interstate rivalry" was more in name only. There were teams that could play it close and occasionally pull off the upset, but it would only be a fluke if it happened and there was a full four quarters of football played no matter what.


That's why it's encouraging to see glimpses of it, but also frustrating because I know what the impact would be if we could just pull it altogether.

It seems like sometimes that "killer instinct" is gone.

We need soldiers ready to war in such a way the other team (no matter who it is) looks like a scared high school team going against pros.

I do remember when it seemed more like that.

 

[IknoxvolsI]

Been many years since Johhny started building it into what used to be a powerhouse!

 

[IknoxvolsI]

Been many years since Johhny started building it into what used to be a powerhouse!

Next season will be 40 to be exact!

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Yes I do. I remember the days when winning 9 games was considered a fairly down year. I remember when Tennessee was thought of as a true powerhouse. Those days are gone. I mean how can a team be feared when they are 2-3 against freaking Vanderbilt in the last 5 years.

 

[djohnnyg]

"It is NEVER ok to lose a football game"-Nick Saban (today). THIS...THIS is what is missing with Tennessee. No excuses...no BS. That is why Bama is where they are and we are "life champions". Yes we had injuries...bad ones...but where was the depth? Isn't that recruiting? "You can't expect Butch to_____(fill in the blank)". Is all we hear. "Butch has done so much to pull us out of the gutter...were lucky to have him". BS. Butch is lucky to coach at a legendary top 10 all time program in the best conference in football.

Expect better. Demand better. "It is NEVER ok to lose a game" Saban says. THAT is why they are where they are. This is the world of big time college football. If Butch or any fans only care that we have good kids who go on to have happy lives and a great experience at school then Butch needs to go to Austin Peay and coach em up. If THAT is what defines success in his world then go do it somewhere else where losing football games doesn't matter cuz there's way too many people who care about winning at UT. If that is too much pressure "on the kids" and Butch himself? Then he needs to get out and find a school that really needs his benevolent assistance in building more life champs.

 

[CMcEver]

I do recall that last year was the first time, in a decade, that we won more than 7 games, and did it for the second straight year this year. Also, there was that whole 11-year streak to Florida that we broke this year.
I think we need to calm down. Another year won't hurt. If anything, we need some stability after the whole Dooley/Kiffin debacle, and develop 5 quality years of depth and then maybe we won't just be throwing bodies in for injuries. Butch was having to over recruit to fill the huge voids, and in a lot of cases, those guys were and are just warm bodies, as we saw the effects of injuries. Don't get me wrong, we have quality talent, but only about 3 years worth.

 

[Wylo]

I do recall that last year was the first time, in a decade, that we won more than 7 games, and did it for the second straight year, this year. Also, there was that whole 11-year streak to Florida we broke this year.
I think we need to calm down. Another year won't hurt. If anything, we need some stability after the whole Dooley/Kiffin debacle, and develop 5 quality years of depth and then maybe we won't just be throwing bodies in for injuries. Butch was having to over recruit to fill the huge voids, and in a lot of cases, those guys were and are just warm bodies, as we saw the effects of injuries. Don't get me wrong, we have quality talent, but only about 3 years worth.

Lol.. Ok.

 

[CMcEver]

Lol.. Ok.

Insightful.

 

[deezvols]

Yeah, and this is exactly why other teams love seeing us down. They hate the thought of us being great again, so they take their shots while they can.

 

[vol-un-tear]

Hell yes! I was in school 90-95 and we used to go to games expecting to win. Even against Florida and Bama. Nothing like the feeling I have now...hoping to win.

 

[Volstylexx]

I do recall that last year was the first time, in a decade, that we won more than 7 games, and did it for the second straight year this year. Also, there was that whole 11-year streak to Florida that we broke this year.
I think we need to calm down. Another year won't hurt. If anything, we need some stability after the whole Dooley/Kiffin debacle, and develop 5 quality years of depth and then maybe we won't just be throwing bodies in for injuries. Butch was having to over recruit to fill the huge voids, and in a lot of cases, those guys were and are just warm bodies, as we saw the effects of injuries. Don't get me wrong, we have quality talent, but only about 3 years worth.

2007: 10-4
2008: 5-7
2009: 7-6
2010: 6-7
2011: 5-7
2012: 5-7
2013: 5-7
2014: 7-6
2015: 9-4
2016 : 8-4

Butch is a victim of his own success. How quickly we forget how down TN was before he arrived.

 

[wildorange]

Yes many years in from 85 to 2000 that we clearly were the dominant team, we lost a few nobody rarely wins them all but most years we were winning a lot more than losing. 8 wins was considered a average season and the next year usually was 9 or 10 wins at least. 7-5 in 86 and 5-6 in 88 were followed by 10-2-1 and 11-1 seasons. We used to not have to many consecutive bad years we might have had a down year every 2 or 3 years but most of the time we bounced right back into sec contention. We rarely lost to people we were supposed to beat either. GBO!!!!

 

[buckfama]

I do recall that last year was the first time, in a decade, that we won more than 7 games, and did it for the second straight year, this year. Also, there was that whole 11-year streak to Florida we broke this year.
I think we need to calm down. Another year won't hurt. If anything, we need some stability after the whole Dooley/Kiffin debacle, and develop 5 quality years of depth and then maybe we won't just be throwing bodies in for injuries. Butch was having to over recruit to fill the huge voids, and in a lot of cases, those guys were and are just warm bodies, as we saw the effects of injuries. Don't get me wrong, we have quality talent, but only about 3 years worth.

I'm not advocating firing the guy today. Like I said earlier.. I'm not gonna pretend that I know what it takes to run a football program at a P5 school.

But I can say this after watching UT for nearly 40 years... something is missing. The one thing that we were ALWAYS known for is gone. I see it in Alabama. Knock Les Miles all you want but LSU had it for a long time up until recently. Knock Vandy all you want under Franklin but they got a taste of it.

Like someone said esrlier.. Saban DEMANDS perfection.. losing isn't in his vocabulary. And you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see how he does it and it's not just recruiting even though that is a big part of it. He recruits tirelessly + develops that talent+ makes good decisions with assistants+ demands accoutability from his players and coaches+ and has an iron will to win = wins on the field.

How many f those traits would you say CBJ posesses?

 

[ALLVOL 4LIFE]

I can tell you one thing for sure I didn't see much of....49-10 in Neyland Stadium. And we was 10

To me...it's inexcusable. We still to this day this year never settle on the 5 starting O Linemen. I know we lost some to injury, but that was the big discussion after Appy St. Our offense was not terrible and there is no excuse that I will except that we only scored 10 points in a game.

Arkansas and Ole Miss had over 400 yards passing against the same team. What is their record this year.

I agree we are not scaring anyone and no where close to a powerhouse anymore. Very Sad😢

 

[CMcEver]

I'm not advocating firing the guy today. Like I said earlier.. I'm not gonna pretend that I know what it takes to run a football program at a P5 school.

But I can say this after watching UT for nearly 40 years... something is missing. The one thing that we were ALWAYS known for is gone. I see it in Alabama. Knock Les Miles all you want but LSU had it for a long time up until recently. Knock Vandy all you want under Franklin but they got a taste of it.

Like someone said esrlier.. Saban DEMANDS perfection.. losing isn't in his vocabulary. And you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see how he does it and it's not just recruiting even though that is a big part of it. He recruits tirelessly + develops that talent+ makes good decisions with assistants+ demands accoutability from his players and coaches+ and has an iron will to win = wins on the field.

How many f those traits would you say CBJ posesses?

Well, with the "sky is falling" attitude the last few days, it's hard to read the angle, lol. But, I also don't agree with a lot of his calls, he makes stupid decisions, but all-in-all, he is a solid recruiter. I mean, we were going into the season with high expectations, based on talent alone. But if I look at the depth chart, we still have very few quality upper-classmen, and the ones we had are or were injured during a significant portion of the season. I think if he doesn't improve next year, we should part ways, but another year of talent, assuming he can close strong, and this job will be much more attractive than it was 4 years ago, when we had to go with our 10th or 15th choice, or whatever it was.
And Saban will be the only Saban, he learned it from Belichick. Belichick always fields a good team, because he has HIS system, with the coordinators being QC, so that no matter the turnover, there is always consistency. Saban is probably already the best ever, and that's hard to shoot for.

 

[rockytopbilly]

I remember the second game of the 2-year Miami series in which the broadcast team wouldn't stop crooning over the fact that we were the first team Miami faced that hit that hard. They made it a point to mention that Miami saw plenty of speed against other teams, but no one who hit them in the mouth like the Vols. That was a proud moment for me. Then Kellen Winslow referring to himself as a soldier in the locker room after we beat them in the old Orange Bowl stadium...

 

[buckfama]

2007: 10-4
2008: 5-7
2009: 7-6
2010: 6-7
2011: 5-7
2012: 5-7
2013: 5-7
2014: 7-6
2015: 9-4
2016 : 8-4

Butch is a victim of his own success. How quickly we forget how down TN was before he arrived.

I'm not saying he is a bad coach or that he hasn't done a good job of rebuilding a lot of what was broken.

I guess what I'm saying is that, from what I have seen on the field and how he coaches/addresses things, I don't think he can bring us back to that elite level. Yes.. we are 8-4 right now. . But that could have easily been a 6-6 or worse record staring us in the face right now. Just as everyone said we had bad luck and lost 3 games by 17 ppints last year and 2 of those were to playoff teams. This year we were supposed to be way more talented and deeper. And lost 4 games.. only 1 that I feel had superior talent than us.. even with the injuries we were at least equal to TAMU.. and we definitely had more talent than Vandy or USCe. If you have more or equal talent.. and have that drive... that desire to impose your will on anote team then your usually gonna win. That starts at the top. Players can't acquire that on their own.. a team just can't have it without leadership... without it being taught..

 

[OneVolNation]

I was much younger the last time we played the Golden Gophers.

 

[crazyguy]

I remember that we used to look at the schedule and wonder if we had 1 or 2 really difficult games in a year, and that was about it. Man, times have changed.

I will say, if butch will allow shoop to bring his guys in, and we can get a new offense (I hate the dive left on first down) then I think he'll be ok.

 

[CFBFanatic]

It may be difficult to hear, i believe there is no choice right now but to stay the course with Butch for another year—maybe with some personnel changes in the coaching staff. I know the wildly popular thing is to say, "fire him now." I get it. I understand it. I also think it would be a huge mistake. It would start the clock all over again with no guarantee whatsoever that the next coach will do any better. More likely, the program will go into another dismal slide that would take three or four years for the next coach and team to overcome. Despite the losses to South Carolina and Vandy, Butch has righted the ship to a large degree. No one is happy with just eight or nine wins when expectations are high, but it's a lot better than losing seasons. And it might, if things work out, get much better next year. Yeah ... I know it sounds like "wait until next year" all over again. But no matter, there's just not much choice. The program does not need to start over again. Losing to Vandy and South Carolina is unacceptable. But think back to last year, the Vols lost four games by what? 17 points? And nearly beat Bama in their own house. I still believe it was a turning point in the program, and I'm not convinced everything has been lost this season. I don't think it will help to continue this roller-coaster ride of firing coaches and hoping for the best. Butch and the coaches need to hit the recruiting trail harder than ever. Bolster up the depth. Don't ever forget that injuries really did play a major role in the team's performance this year. That's just a fact. If Butch can't get it done next year, then he has to go and the Vols have no choice but to start over. But right now? There's no football savior out there available. Stay with Butch, support the program and just maybe, it'll pay off. There's just no better choice.