Athlon predicts the results of UT's season....

[vtvol98]

Not to mention that our offense was the lone bright spot last year. Why would you trust the defense to make a critical stop in OT when they were incapable of doing it during regulation? Just.... stupid

Plus, Bray was 38 of 55 (69% completion %) for 404 yards with 4 tds AND NO PICKS in that game. Only an idiot wouldn't ride a hot hand like that.

 

[JohnMarxism]

UT winning another championship is going to be a marathon race. "Fair weather" fans are the ones that see it as a sprint.

 

[VolForLife83]

You clearly weren't watching the games last year and how close we came to winning a lot of those games. 5-7 will be underachieving even for this year.

And your failing to recognize that we lost, TB, JH, CP, ZR and MR.

And that our wr's and qbs are still unproven. Not to mention learning a new scheme

 

[GAVol]

Holtz at SC? Not applicable at any level.

Why not?

He was a national championship winning coach that went 0-11 in year one then won 8-9 games the next couple of years.

 

[90 Vol]

Holtz at SC? Not applicable at any level.

Saban walked into a discipline mess and cracked alot of eggs. No such thing for Jones. In fact, he has said this team has bought in better than his previous two.Muschamp likewise inherited a bunch of discipline problems from Meyer. He had youth all over the field including both lines. IIRC, most of his D was Sophs.


OTOH, Dooley got six wins. Freeze got six wins at Ole Miss coming into a mess and playing a schedule that included the SECW and UGA and Texas.

Sumlin... goes without saying.

Richt was 8-3 in his first year.

James Franklin was 6-6 in his first year at Vandy.

Les Miles was 11-2.

Kelly was 8-5 at ND.

Brady Hoke was 11-2.

The list is almost endless of mediocre to good coaches who walked into situations as bad or worse and won 6 or more games.

If 6-6 to you is good for Jones with this roster... then just prepare yourself... and not to celebrate championships.

Your post is spot on. The bold at the top tells me that these guys are tired of losing and ready to do something about it.

 

[tennezz]

You clearly weren't watching the games last year and how close we came to winning a lot of those games. 5-7 will be underachieving even for this year.

You do know we lost our Quarterback, Tightend, and Receivers since then?

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

Agreed. And we're closer to 5-7 than 7-5.

No we're not.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[LordVOLdemort]

Then it'll be lots of fun when they have to eat them there words when we pull a couple of meaningful upsets. We're due!!! Boom!!

View attachment 63490

That gif is the best part of this thread

 

[sjt18]

I hate to say it, but sjt18 is making alot of sense here. Most of the teams we play don't have a raw talent advantage. Some might have had a coaching advantage, but that should hopefully be in the past, given what we're spending on our new staff. I'm not setting huge expectations, but I'm not going to celebrate if we go 6-6 either.

Same reasoning... same standard as I started with and maintained while discussing Dooley.

I thought Dooley's chances of surviving were well under 50% from the start. I didn't pre-judge his ability like some did but the situation he came into was terrible. I said from the start that if he could coach then we should see it in year three. BUT even if he was somehow a good coach who could not turn the corner by year 3.... he still had to go. You can't keep a hot seat coach around when you depend on out of state recruiting and national image like UT does.

I think Jones starting point is considerably better. I honestly have more hope in his coaching ability as well... though I am still resisting the urge to pre-judge that (as many are doing positively now).

As objectively as I know how, I have compared the situation before Dooley's first season to Jones' situation now. If Jones is a coach good enough to win championships at UT then he should win 7 games or more this year. Part of the reason I say that is that I think the potential is there to win more. I do not think UT has more talent than USCe, Oregon, and Auburn or even UGA and UF... but I think they are close enough in talent that a great coaching job could turn one or more into victories. That's five chances to get the one win that makes UT a 7 win team. A great coach... should be able to do that.

I WANT A GREAT... NOT GOOD... COACH.

 

[VolBeef88]

You guys don't get it. Sjt and Oskie have to set the table in order to defend Dooley. If we go 6-6 they'll say Jones sux and we should have kept their hero. If we win more then they'll say we should have given Dooley more time and Jones won with Their heroes talent.
Whatever it takes to defend Doofus they'll do it.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[VolBeef88]

Same reasoning... same standard as I started with and maintained while discussing Dooley.

I thought Dooley's chances of surviving were well under 50% from the start. I didn't pre-judge his ability like some did but the situation he came into was terrible. I said from the start that if he could coach then we should see it in year three. BUT even if he was somehow a good coach who could not turn the corner by year 3.... he still had to go. You can't keep a hot seat coach around when you depend on out of state recruiting and national image like UT does.

I think Jones starting point is considerably better. I honestly have more hope in his coaching ability as well... though I am still resisting the urge to pre-judge that (as many are doing positively now).

As objectively as I know how, I have compared the situation before Dooley's first season to Jones' situation now. If Jones is a coach good enough to win championships at UT then he should win 7 games or more this year. Part of the reason I say that is that I think the potential is there to win more. I do not think UT has more talent than USCe, Oregon, and Auburn or even UGA and UF... but I think they are close enough in talent that a great coaching job could turn one or more into victories. That's five chances to get the one win that makes UT a 7 win team. A great coach... should be able to do that.

I WANT A GREAT... NOT GOOD... COACH.

Horse crap. You wanted to keep Dooley and you know it.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[volmoon]

Shame on you... You said the "F" word!!! Lol

Yeah. That guy was worse than Kiffin and Dooley combined. The dufus would never win a CHAMPIONSHIP! So, never mention his letter again!

 

[sjt18]

You do know we lost our Quarterback, Tightend, and Receivers since then?

And return six guys who have started on the OL, at least one that has started at WR, one that has started at TE, one that has started at QB, 2 starters at RB, iirc 7 guys who have started on the DL, 3 guys who have started at LB, 3 DB starters...

Four of the OL starters, 2 LB starters, 1 TE starter, 2 safeties, one CB, and one DE.... have started since they were Freshmen. IOW's, there is a bunch more experience on this team than a first glance will register.

 

[volmoon]

I guess it is true that you just can't fix stupid.

Fulmer was not a competitive coach when his tenure ended at UT. He NEVER demonstrated the willingness or ability to demand excellence from his staff without Cutcliffe around. Fulmer would make a bad situation worse.

Overstated.

Cutcliffe was not on staff for the national championship game. Fulmer-coached UT teams won 9 or more in six seasons after Cutcliffe. UT hasn't seen an 8 win season since Fulmer.

 

[sjt18]

Horse crap. You wanted to keep Dooley and you know it.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

No. I didn't. To say any different is to be a liar...blind... or stupid. I suspect that you are just so blinded with irrational hatred for Dooley that anyone who doesn't hate him as much as you do automatically loves him or is a fan of him or whatever else. I am a UT fan. I liked Dooley and found him funny. By the same token, I have fired people personally and face to face that I "liked" personally. It isn't and never was about "loving" or "hating" him. It was about seeing if he could do the job then acting if he couldn't.

I DID argue for Dooley to get his shot that third season with a roster talented and experienced enough to compete. How exactly that equates to me thinking he should be kept when I clearly said he had to prove something... and that by the USCe game had failed to do enough and should be fired... I just don't know.

 

[Boca Vol]

Overstated.

Cutcliffe was not on staff for the national championship game. Fulmer-coached UT teams won 9 or more in six seasons after Cutcliffe. UT hasn't seen an 8 win season since Fulmer.

You're wrong. UT won 9 or more games 4 times, not 6. Cut was back in 2006-7.

Regarding the Fiesta Bowl, that was an upper-class filled team that wasn't going to change the offensive plan in the month between the SEC CG and the Bowl game.

 

[1974Vol]

Does anyone on here truly think Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and/or Auburn have a superior roster to this Tennessee team. In fact a comparison of recruiting classes shows even Oregon is not better talent wise than the Vols. Maybe you don't believe in the recruiting services but on the whole they are pretty accurate. So add in the three other non-conference games and you have eight games where the Vol's on strictly a raw talent basis are not over matched. Most people are counting the 3 lesser non-conf. games as wins. So the question is how many of these 5 games against reasonably matched teams can Butch win? It shouldn't take a miracle to go 3-2.

 

[volmoon]

You're wrong. UT won 9 or more games 4 times, not 6. Cut was back in 2006-7.

Regarding the Fiesta Bowl, that was an upper-class filled team that wasn't going to change the offensive plan in the month between the SEC CG and the Bowl game.

Cough. Six times - 99, 01, 03, 04, 06, 07.

1998 Tennessee 13–0 8–0 1st (East) W Fiesta† 1 1
1999 Tennessee 9–3 6–2 2nd (East) L Fiesta† 9 9
2000 Tennessee 8–4 5–3 2nd (East) L Cotton 25
2001 Tennessee 11–2 7–1 1st (East) W Florida Citrus 4 4
2002 Tennessee 8–5 5–3 3rd (East) L Peach
2003 Tennessee 10–3 6–2 T–1st (East) L Peach 16 15
2004 Tennessee 10–3 7–1 1st (East) W Cotton 15 13
2005 Tennessee 5–6 3–5 4th (East)
2006 Tennessee 9–4 5–3 2nd (East) L Outback 23 25
2007 Tennessee 10–4 6–2 T–1st (East) W Outback 12 12
2008 Tennessee 5–7 3–5 5th (East)

 

[volmoon]

Cough. Six times - 99, 01, 03, 04, 06, 07.

1998 Tennessee 13–0 8–0 1st (East) W Fiesta† 1 1
1999 Tennessee 9–3 6–2 2nd (East) L Fiesta† 9 9
2000 Tennessee 8–4 5–3 2nd (East) L Cotton 25
2001 Tennessee 11–2 7–1 1st (East) W Florida Citrus 4 4
2002 Tennessee 8–5 5–3 3rd (East) L Peach
2003 Tennessee 10–3 6–2 T–1st (East) L Peach 16 15
2004 Tennessee 10–3 7–1 1st (East) W Cotton 15 13
2005 Tennessee 5–6 3–5 4th (East)
2006 Tennessee 9–4 5–3 2nd (East) L Outback 23 25
2007 Tennessee 10–4 6–2 T–1st (East) W Outback 12 12
2008 Tennessee 5–7 3–5 5th (East)

My error. You were right. I counted the last two years when Cut was back.

 

[Col_Cathcart]

Agreed. And we're closer to 5-7 than 7-5.

I would disagree with this. I think we're closer to 7-5 than 5-7.

 

[sjt18]

Overstated.

Cutcliffe was not on staff for the national championship game. Fulmer-coached UT teams won 9 or more in six seasons after Cutcliffe. UT hasn't seen an 8 win season since Fulmer... because of how the program had declined under Fulmer.

FYP.

The NC O was a Cutcliffe coached O. It was disciplined and efficient. Those were two things Sanders could never produce... and Fulmer turned a blind eye to.

The record of decline speaks for itself to anyone not too blind to actually look. UT scored over 400 pts six of the 8 years Cut was OC... even with an 11 game schedule for much of that time. Sanders only once reached exactly 400 pts in his 8 seasons as OC. Fulmer not only tolerated his incompetence... he defended him to the bitter end.

With Cut, CPF was 82-15 (85%)... without 70-37 (65%)... so no. Not overstated by any stretch.

 

[VolFootballlover]

we will win 7-8 games this season & then go to a bowl! If not we better pack it in for next season. If Butch is as good as you guys say he is there is no reason we can't win 7-8!

 

[VolBeef88]

No. I didn't. To say any different is to be a liar...blind... or stupid. I suspect that you are just so blinded with irrational hatred for Dooley that anyone who doesn't hate him as much as you do automatically loves him or is a fan of him or whatever else. I am a UT fan. I liked Dooley and found him funny. By the same token, I have fired people personally and face to face that I "liked" personally. It isn't and never was about "loving" or "hating" him. It was about seeing if he could do the job then acting if he couldn't.

I DID argue for Dooley to get his shot that third season with a roster talented and experienced enough to compete. How exactly that equates to me thinking he should be kept when I clearly said he had to prove something... and that by the USCe game had failed to do enough and should be fired... I just don't know.

You're so full of it and your argument on Jones and how "great" the talent on this team shows it.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[sjt18]

Does anyone on here truly think Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and/or Auburn have a superior roster to this Tennessee team.

I think Auburn actually does. Chizk recruited better than Dooley. They are still beatable and Jones should have the advantage over Malzahn as a HC.

I personally think UT is "as talented" as USCe if not a little more so. I think they are pretty close in raw talent to Oregon though Oregon's system makes them better than the sum of their talent.

you have eight games where the Vol's on strictly a raw talent basis are not over matched. Most people are counting the 3 lesser non-conf. games as wins. So the question is how many of these 5 games against reasonably matched teams can Butch win? It shouldn't take a miracle to go 3-2.

You made a good analysis overall imo.

 

[sjt18]

You're so full of it and your argument on Jones and how "great" the talent on this team shows it.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

Once again I have to ask are you too stupid to understand written English, blinded by irrational bias, or a liar?

I have not said this roster was "great". Can you ever make any argument that does not lead with a strawman (aka lie)?

I HAVE argued that if Jones is a good coach then it is better than a 6 win team. You loath Dooley. I mean it is truly pathetic how absorbed you are with it. So it mystifies me how you can possibly accept a first year result from Jones equal to Dooley's first year result against similarly difficult schedules and with a better roster.

I actually believe Jones is better and therefore will win more than 6 games. I think 7 or 8 are reasonable possibilities. More than that would be pretty extraordinary.