Skeptical CBS: TN must back up Hype

[EZE]

Better to be highly regarded and told to back it up...

Than to have little hope and only a puncher's chance to get to a winning record and a low-tier bowl game.

Give me the hype any day as opposed to the recent wilderness years.

 

[ReaderVol]

They're right.

We even had hype last year and lost 4 games that we shouldn't have.

Many outside of the UT family would say we shouldn't have even been in 2 of those games.

 

[dcm3w]

I agree with the article. It is time to put up or shut up. I believe we have a special team this year but if we don't put it together this year then I don't know when it will happen.

 

[ReaderVol]

I agree with the article. It is time to put up or shut up. I believe we have a special team this year but if we don't put it together this year then I don't know when it will happen.

In spite of what some of us think. UT did not under achieve last year. Could it have been better? Sure but there's a huge difference in that and underachieving.

 

[dcm3w]

In spite of what some of us think. UT did not under achieve last year. Could it have been better? Sure but there's a huge difference in that and underachieving.

We didn't "underachieve" so to speak with expectations but losing 3 or 4 games that we shouldn't have then yes, we underachieved.

 

[orangemadam]

Everybody seems to keep harping on bad coaching in the Fl. 4th and 14 call. It wasn't so much the call being bad in having a 3 man rush. The players had the receiver corralled, the players just did not execute the tackle. In my opinion, some games showed some questionable coaching decisions, but the Fla. missed tackle is on the players, not the coach. JMO

 

[paige_09]

Let me get this straight... the media has been hyping us up ever since the start of the off season. Not the fans, but the media. And now, the media is telling the Vols that they need to back up the hype that THEY THEMSELVES have been forcing on the Vols the last 5+ months. It's like saying "OMG this team is the best there has ever been" and then "Heeeeeeey... why are you getting so cocky? You have to prove yourselves first". And then actual fans and the team are just standing on the sidelines, watching the media argue with itself about how much hype the Vols are getting vs how much they deserve. It's just confusing.
I mean, the only "hype" I see from fans is excitement. Confidence. We know how talented our current roster is, and we expect them to perform fairly well. There's nothing wrong with that expectation considering the upward trajectory that has been the last 3 seasons under Butch.

 

[BowlBrother85]

We didn't "underachieve" so to speak with expectations but losing 3 or 4 games that we shouldn't have then yes, we underachieved.

I think everyone here would give you Oklahoma and Florida as games we should have won but Arkansas just whipped Tennessee at the line of scrimmage and though we have closed the gap with Alabama, they were still the better team and the game was on the road.

 

[Iam4utalways]

Let me get this straight... the media has been hyping us up ever since the start of the off season. Not the fans, but the media. And now, the media is telling the Vols that they need to back up the hype that THEY THEMSELVES have been forcing on the Vols the last 5+ months. It's like saying "OMG this team is the best there has ever been" and then "Heeeeeeey... why are you getting so cocky? You have to prove yourselves first". And then actual fans and the team are just standing on the sidelines, watching the media argue with itself about how much hype the Vols are getting vs how much they deserve. It's just confusing.
I mean, the only "hype" I see from fans is excitement. Confidence. We know how talented our current roster is, and we expect them to perform fairly well. There's nothing wrong with that expectation considering the upward trajectory that has been the last 3 seasons under Butch.

The issue is that Butch nor anyone on the team is pumping the brakes. They are embracing the hype. And are fine with the expectations that have been put on them. It's refreshing that we as a program have not backed down from what is apparent to others. We have a stacked team that will do well. There is no game on our schedule, to sit and analyze that is an automatic loss. In fact it has been said that taking one game at a time we are favored to win them all. That's a disturbing thought for many of our opponents that have gotten used to being able to count us as a win for them, that is simply not true anymore, and now as fans all we can do it talk about it(run each other down) until it is Football Time In Tennessee.

I'm glad the players have a way to vent(one legged squats and running 20+ mph on a treadmill), you know working to get even better.

Let the Hype continue.
Challenge accepted.
See you in Tampa.
"Own It".
https://vimeo.com/154128450

Go Vols!

 

[paige_09]

I mean, yeah, the only thing the team can/should do is embrace the hype. It's being given to them regardless, so might as well own it. I just think it's funny that the media was the one giving the hype in the first place and now they're criticizing it.

The issue is that Butch nor anyone on the team is pumping the brakes. They are embracing the hype. And are fine with the expectations that have been put on them. It's refreshing that we as a program have not backed down from what is apparent to others. We have a stacked team that will do well. There is no game on our schedule, to sit and analyze that is an automatic loss. In fact it has been said that taking one game at a time we are favored to win them all. That's a disturbing thought for many of our opponents that have gotten used to being able to count us as a win for them, that is simply not true anymore, and now as fans all we can do it talk about it(run each other down) until it is Football Time In Tennessee.

I'm glad the players have a way to vent(one legged squats and running 20+ mph on a treadmill), you know working to get even better.

Let the Hype continue.
Challenge accepted.
See you in Tampa.
"Own It".
https://vimeo.com/154128450

Go Vols!

 

[Iam4utalways]

I mean, yeah, the only thing the team can/should do is embrace the hype. It's being given to them regardless, so might as well own it. I just think it's funny that the media was the one giving the hype in the first place and now they're criticizing it.

I think we are on the same page, but it's not just the media. Dobbs mentioned Tampa at the Orange & White game. Then our DC talked up how nobody will run on us. Kongbo said we win every game. Hurd tweets out him running on the tread mill holding the rail and got called out for using the rail, so then he tweets him going faster no rail and then him doing the one legged squats. Butch said this is a veteran team, and that they will embrace the expectations.

It's all Hype till it happens.

Go Vols!

 

[dcm3w]

I think everyone here would give you Oklahoma and Florida as games we should have won but Arkansas just whipped Tennessee at the line of scrimmage and though we have closed the gap with Alabama, they were still the better team and the game was on the road.

Arkansas wore us down and won, respectively. But we also had a lead on them early so we blew the chance to keep it going. I also said 3 or 4, so give or take one. Now, I think we should have won against Bama.

 

[EZE]

They're right.

We even had hype last year and lost 4 games that we shouldn't have.

I get so tired of this narrative.

Arkansas flat out beat us. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

We played Alabama tough, really tough, but the better team won in the end.

It was disappointing to lose after being up on OU, but that happens. Ask Auburn about blowing an 18-point lead in the title game against FSU. The better team probably won both the FSU-Auburn and OU-Tenn games, but our loss to OU is one that can be debated. I wonder what UGa is saying about blowing that big lead against us (I think the better team ultimately won that game as well). In any event, the blown lead to OU is evened out by the big comeback against UGa.

We flat out blew the Florida game. No question about it.

But, to say we lost 4 games we should have won is jumping the shark. Simply not true.

 

[ReaderVol]

I get so tired of this narrative.

Arkansas flat out beat us. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

We played Alabama tough, really tough, but the better team won in the end.

It was disappointing to lose after being up on OU, but that happens. Ask Auburn about blowing an 18-point lead in the title game against FSU. The better team probably won both the FSU-Auburn and OU-Tenn games, but our loss to OU is one that can be debated. I wonder what UGa is saying about blowing that big lead against us (I think the better team ultimately won that game as well). In any event, the blown lead to OU is evened out by the big comeback against UGa.

We flat out blew the Florida game. No question about it.

But, to say we lost 4 games we should have won is jumping the shark. Simply not true.

I agree with this.

 

[ALGator]

Just went back and looked at UT's schedule last year. I honestly thought they would have scored a lot more points than they did: (They did win.. no taking anything away. Just with all the hype their offense received figured it would have been more)

North Texas - a team that lost to Portland State 66-7 - and went 1-11 on the year. Yet, the Vols only mustered 3 touchdowns?

South Carolina - 3-9 on the year. coach quit mid-season - Vols win by a field goal? At Neyland?

Missouri - 5-7 on the year - 19 points?

 

[tn4elvis]

Butch has beaten only 2 SEC teams with winning records in 3 years......wow, that's sobering and should ease people's fear about him leaving for another gig.

He has also been at a decided talent and depth disadvantage for alot of those games.I think we are now back on a level playing field talent wise.So I guess we will se if ole Butch can coach a little..

 

[VFL-82-JP]

[some stuff, but none of it about 2016]

You seem to be lost. This thread is about CBS saying the Vols need to prove it on the field in 2016 before this writer will buy into the hype.

Surely there's another thread out there that talks about offensive productivity last season.

But glad to have you here, gator.

 

[sjt18]

Arkansas wore us down and won, respectively. But we also had a lead on them early so we blew the chance to keep it going. I also said 3 or 4, so give or take one. Now, I think we should have won against Bama.

UT helped Arkansas.... A LOT. Dobbs threw it poorly. The receivers dropped passes and made mistakes. Weather favored Arkansas but you have to overcome that.

Just one of those games where the better team didn't play well enough to get the win.

 

[sjt18]

But, to say we lost 4 games we should have won is jumping the shark. Simply not true.

UT overachieved vs Bama on the road. They lost a winnable game against a team that was probably a little better in OU.

They choked away a winnable game against slightly inferior opponents in UF and Ark. Argue all you want but UF came back on UT with a skill player group without great talent, depth, or experience, an OL with health issues, .... and while installing a completely new offensive system.

The Vols just stank it up vs Arkansas in every way that you can.

 

[jakez4ut]

UT helped Arkansas.... A LOT. Dobbs threw it poorly. The receivers dropped passes and made mistakes. Weather favored Arkansas but you have to overcome that.

Just one of those games where the better team didn't play well enough to get the win.

yeah, we got off to a fantastic start...opening KO return for a TD, we're up 14 in the 1st qtr...then the mistakes...turnovers, missed tackles, missed fg's, can't get off the field on 3rd or 4th down, and couldn't convert 3rd downs when it absolutely mattered.

that game sucked, and we should have blown ARK out of the building. we left 17 additional points on the field in the 1st half alone. it should have been over at the half. that game though i think was more about players not making plays and making too many mistakes.....which doesn't exactly help the trust factor from the coaches......

 

[jakez4ut]

UT overachieved vs Bama on the road. They lost a winnable game against a team that was probably a little better in OU.

They choked away a winnable game against slightly inferior opponents in UF and Ark. Argue all you want but UF came back on UT with a skill player group without great talent, depth, or experience, an OL with health issues, and a qb that was on life support late in the 4th.... and while installing a completely new offensive system.

The Vols just stank it up vs Arkansas in every way that you can.

fyp.

 

[sjt18]

yeah, we got off to a fantastic start...opening KO return for a TD, we're up 14 in the 1st qtr...then the mistakes...turnovers, missed tackles, missed fg's, can't get off the field on 3rd or 4th down, and couldn't convert 3rd downs when it absolutely mattered.

that game sucked, and we should have blown ARK out of the building. we left 17 additional points on the field in the 1st half alone. it should have been over at the half. that game though i think was more about players not making plays and making too many mistakes.....which doesn't exactly help the trust factor from the coaches......

Yeah. I had been pretty critical of the coaches over the OU and UF losses but agree and agreed at the time that the players really blew the Ark game.

 

[sjt18]

Just went back and looked at UT's schedule last year. I honestly thought they would have scored a lot more points than they did: (They did win.. no taking anything away. Just with all the hype their offense received figured it would have been more)

North Texas - a team that lost to Portland State 66-7 - and went 1-11 on the year. Yet, the Vols only mustered 3 touchdowns?

South Carolina - 3-9 on the year. coach quit mid-season - Vols win by a field goal? At Neyland?

Missouri - 5-7 on the year - 19 points?

For better or worse, there are times when Jones just seems to be downright stubborn about what he wants to do. He still has a "manage the game" mentality as well that makes games closer than they should be... or cost UT games.

It is my opinion that his strategy of "managing the game" is the primary reason for the UF and OU losses last year. You'll always have play call or player mistakes. You can't afford to telegraph that you're going to run 3 times and punt to UF or fail to drive a stake through the heart of a typical Big 12 offensive team when you have them down.

 

[OHvol40]

Just went back and looked at UT's schedule last year. I honestly thought they would have scored a lot more points than they did: (They did win.. no taking anything away. Just with all the hype their offense received figured it would have been more)

North Texas - a team that lost to Portland State 66-7 - and went 1-11 on the year. Yet, the Vols only mustered 3 touchdowns?

South Carolina - 3-9 on the year. coach quit mid-season - Vols win by a field goal? At Neyland?

Missouri - 5-7 on the year - 19 points?

I was equally as surprised at the vaunted gator defense after looking at the schedule from last year.

- Gave up 24 to East Carolina, at home?

- Gave up 27 to that questionable UT offense, at home?

- LSU scored 35 without a functional QB...

- FSU put up 27 on the gators, who were at home... again

- Allowed Bama's offense to put up 29

- Let a slightly above average Michigan team put up almost half-a-hundy?

 

[ALGator]

I was equally as surprised at the vaunted gator defense after looking at the schedule from last year.

- Gave up 24 to East Carolina, at home?

- Gave up 27 to that questionable UT offense, at home?

- LSU scored 35 without a functional QB...

- FSU put up 27 on the gators, who were at home... again

- Allowed Bama's offense to put up 29

- Let a slightly above average Michigan team put up almost half-a-hundy?

Because of that performance against the Gators is exactly why I was surprised. The Vols ran all over 'em and so, I figured if they could do that against a pretty good defense they would run the score up on lesser teams.

Also, I don't think the Vols offense is questionable. Top 6 in the league is pretty good.