SI's Andy Staples: Tennessee Fans Should Be Cautiously Optimistic in 2015

#51
#51
pimo1 said:
we are actually thin at DT also currently. Our whole DLine has depth problems unless a lot of freshmen pan out and guys come bakc well from injury. the sheer number of guys we have coming back from injury on DL is scary.

That being said if everything works out our DLine will be insane. There is no position we are really deep at until the fall and it all depends on guys coming back from surgery and/or freshmen.

QB dobbs goes down we are in a world of hurt.
RB hurd/Kamara--crickets
TE Wolf..then what?
WR lots of talent but we had lots of talent last year too and it stays in the training room.
OL- plenty of depth on interior line nothing but ? at tackle

DE- decent depth
DT- basically depending on freshmen to provide depth
LB we have dpeth but no who is MLB?
Safety plenty of depth
CB decent depth
Click to expand...

One word: Skitter.
 
#52
#52
turdherder11 said:
Great article. I love what he said about Dooley. A lot of people on this site need to adjust their expectations, we are on the way, with a really good coach, but the depth is not quite there yet. 8-5 after the bowl game, but I' won't be surprised if they finish better.
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Really not trying to be unrealistic, but 7-5 regular season ain't gonna cut it.

Consider this....if we go 7-5 this year it likely means we go 1-5 vs Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Missouri. Now, should we all be good with losing 5 games to our 6 best opponents? I say not only no, but hell no. 2-4 vs that group is still suspect imo. I'd think that if we're truly making real progress, with the most experienced returning team in the SEC, that we'd at least go .500 vs the best teams on our schedule.
 
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#53
#53
KBVol said:
Really not trying to be unrealistic, but 7-5 regular season ain't gonna cut it.

Consider this....if we go 7-5 this year it likely means we go 1-5 vs Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Missouri. Now, should we all be good with losing 5 games to our 6 best opponents? I say not only no, but hell no. 2-4 vs that group is still suspect imo. I'd think that if we're truly making real progress, with the most experienced returning team in the SEC, that we'd at least go .500 vs the best teams on our schedule.
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Ilk, imo.





JK :)
 
#55
#55
KBVol said:
Really not trying to be unrealistic, but 7-5 regular season ain't gonna cut it.

Consider this....if we go 7-5 this year it likely means we go 1-5 vs Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Missouri. Now, should we all be good with losing 5 games to our 6 best opponents? I say not only no, but hell no. 2-4 vs that group is still suspect imo. I'd think that if we're truly making real progress, with the most experienced returning team in the SEC, that we'd at least go .500 vs the best teams on our schedule.
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barring significant injuries I completely agree.
 
#56
#56
pimo1 said:
we are actually thin at DT also currently. Our whole DLine has depth problems unless a lot of freshmen pan out and guys come bakc well from injury. the sheer number of guys we have coming back from injury on DL is scary.

That being said if everything works out our DLine will be insane. There is no position we are really deep at until the fall and it all depends on guys coming back from surgery and/or freshmen.

QB dobbs goes down we are in a world of hurt.
RB hurd/Kamara--crickets
TE Wolf..then what?
WR lots of talent but we had lots of talent last year too and it stays in the training room.
OL- plenty of depth on interior line nothing but ? at tackle

DE- decent depth
DT- basically depending on freshmen to provide depth
LB we have dpeth but no who is MLB?
Safety plenty of depth
CB decent depth
Click to expand...

And yet, we return more starters and collective starts than any other team in the SEC and we're one of only 4 teams who knows for sure who their starting QB is. Every team deals with depth issues to some extent (except Bama) and injuries. Fact is, without knowing who may be injured in the future, we come into this season as well as or better positioned than virtually every other team in the conference.
 
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#58
#58
KBVol said:
And yet, we return more starters and collective starts than any other team in the SEC and we're one of only 4 teams who knows for sure who their starting QB is. Every team deals with depth issues to some extent (except Bama) and injuries. Fact is, without knowing who may be injured in the future, we come into this season as well as or better positioned than virtually every other team in the conference.
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Damn, KB, that was quite positive for an ilk! :hi:
 
#59
#59
KBVol said:
And yet, we return more starters and collective starts than any other team in the SEC and we're one of only 4 teams who knows for sure who their starting QB is. Every team deals with depth issues to some extent (except Bama) and injuries. Fact is, without knowing who may be injured in the future, we come into this season as well as or better positioned than virtually every other team in the conference.
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if everything works perfectly and alot of people recover from surgery well. We have something like 10 guys in the front 7 recovering from surgery of some type. We have talent but not a lot of proven talent. The ice is really thin between great and "oh crap".

Seriously if Wolf goes down and out tight end position is a concern.

Dobbs goes down unless one of these freshmen are a prodigy bye bye bowl game.

We don't find a left tackle... Dobbs is pretty much guaranteed a hospital stay.

Defensive tackle is almost completely relying on incoming guys and Mosely for depth.

In the defensive back field, we have 4 proven commodities sadly 2 of them play the same position. We have a lot of bodies with promise but no way to know how it works out. I am optimistic about DB's though.

I figure 7 times out of 10 it all works out and we are good for at least 8 wins. but if the injury report starts piling up I hope guys will realize how thin we are. At least early in the season. If we make it to mid season without major injuries we will be fine. by that time the young guys will be up to speed and some will be ready to step up.

I think as go the FL and UGA games so goes our season. If we can split those 2 games and win the other game we are supposed to we are in good shape. A win against Florida would be massive. For momentum and morale. In the best case scenario I see us taking 3 losses worst case we barely squeak in a bowl with 7 wins that is assuming no big injuries.

In my mind, there are 3 places we simply cannot afford injury. Dobbs, Sutton, Kerbyson with Wolfe being an honorable mention. A lot of people knock on Kerbyson but he is one of our most important olineman because of his versatility. him healthy means we can take a hit at another position and shuffle around.
 
#61
#61
pimo1 said:
if everything works perfectly and alot of people recover from surgery well. We have something like 10 guys in the front 7 recovering from surgery of some type. We have talent but not a lot of proven talent. The ice is really thin between great and "oh crap".

Seriously if Wolf goes down and out tight end position is a concern.

Dobbs goes down unless one of these freshmen are a prodigy bye bye bowl game.

We don't find a left tackle... Dobbs is pretty much guaranteed a hospital stay.

Defensive tackle is almost completely relying on incoming guys and Mosely for depth.

In the defensive back field, we have 4 proven commodities sadly 2 of them play the same position. We have a lot of bodies with promise but no way to know how it works out. I am optimistic about DB's though.

I figure 7 times out of 10 it all works out and we are good for at least 8 wins. but if the injury report starts piling up I hope guys will realize how thin we are. At least early in the season. If we make it to mid season without major injuries we will be fine. by that time the young guys will be up to speed and some will be ready to step up.

I think as go the FL and UGA games so goes our season. If we can split those 2 games and win the other game we are supposed to we are in good shape. A win against Florida would be massive. For momentum and morale. In the best case scenario I see us taking 3 losses worst case we barely squeak in a bowl with 7 wins that is assuming no big injuries.

In my mind, there are 3 places we simply cannot afford injury. Dobbs, Sutton, Kerbyson with Wolfe being an honorable mention. A lot of people knock on Kerbyson but he is one of our most important olineman because of his versatility. him healthy means we can take a hit at another position and shuffle around.
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Bollocks. You seem to go out of your way to spin things toward the weak and the dark. DBs ... Sutton, Randolph, McNeill, TKjr, Moseley, Gaulden, Swafford has made plays, Martin coming in is not a freshman, and Griffin is here now and wowing people ... and you wring your hands about this unit? DTs ... OWilliams, OBrien, Vickers strongest of the bunch, Big Mosley, KMac, and Suttle another EE who is impressing now ... and you are wringing your hands about this unit???? TEs -- Wolfe is best of bunch so far, but Ellis can get it done, Branisel is back, Creamer hasn't even cut loose yet, Oliver is coming in, and in worst case scenario Croom could probably step in ... and you are fretting about this unit??? :shades:
 
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#63
#63
Pimo1, I apologize for my harsh tone. I will have to do better about not drinking and posting. You don't need me to tell you that you are entitled to your opinion and you can word it however you please.
 
#66
#66
2016 is our year and every one knows it. I don't care if we lose every game this year as long as we put bama back in the dirt were they came from. I expect to hit bama's qb this year. I want to see dirt o his jersey.
 
#67
#67
orangebloodgmc said:
Bollocks. You seem to go out of your way to spin things toward the weak and the dark. DBs ... Sutton, Randolph, McNeill, TKjr, Moseley, Gaulden, Swafford has made plays, Martin coming in is not a freshman, and Griffin is here now and wowing people ... and you wring your hands about this unit? DTs ... OWilliams, OBrien, Vickers strongest of the bunch, Big Mosley, KMac, and Suttle another EE who is impressing now ... and you are wringing your hands about this unit???? TEs -- Wolfe is best of bunch so far, but Ellis can get it done, Branisel is back, Creamer hasn't even cut loose yet, Oliver is coming in, and in worst case scenario Croom could probably step in ... and you are fretting about this unit??? :shades:
Click to expand...

I think pimo1 has it about wright. We have starters with some experience, but and the depth for most positions is more talented than last year. However, the most talented depth will have little or no experience and a red-shirt freshmen is likely to have to start at ML. Back up QB will be a true freshman. If we have injuries anywhere close to what we had the lsat two years, we will not win 8 games. The key to our success will depend on the OU game. If we beat them, we could have have 9 wins or more.
 
#68
#68
Turning talent into wins is what you pay coaches millions to do.

This team is very talented. Everyone they play has issues right now and going into the season. UT's aren't the "worst" or necessarily worse than average.

UF- new coach, system, and player losses
USCe- new QB, deficient talent
UGA- new QB, player losses particularly WR
Mizzou- lost best playmaker, decimated at WR, lost a TON of talent at DL
Vandy- back to being Vandy
UK- insufficient talent
Bama- new QB, lost best player, questionable personnel in places

etc, etc, etc

EVERYONE has problems. UT isn't unique in that regard.
 
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#69
#69
I'm never cautious about anything. I'm going full blown unadulterated optimistic dammit! :rock:
 
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#70
#70
Practically verbatim what he routinely says on Finebaum,pretty much not a epiphany for anyone from the South who follows CFB
 
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