Calm down, TN has the talent to win most remaining games.

#51
#51
If Josh can straighten out the D, and Milton can get some blocking, no reason to believe that the Gators, Dawgs, and gamecocks can't choke. Win the east and we are in. Have you seen the other conferences.
 
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#53
#53
Cooper Mays was supposed to be back three weeks ago and is still not ready. He needs to spread some Vagisil on his wound and get back to work.
 
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#54
#54
Offensive line has some injuries, but could be back later. Give Milton some time back there. Different team
 
#63
#63
VOLfrombama said:
I would like to see the team play cleaner as a whole. Stop missing tackles on D and stop making stupid mental mistakes that result in penalties on O. Fix those two issues and then lets see where they are.

With a little better D, they dont need to score 49 ppg.

I heard VQ say Heup is ofer when they dont score more than 30 points. The way the game played out last week you didnt need 30 to win if you dont miss tackles and could actually finish drives
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This. Stop the pre-snap penalties and missed tackles, which are fundamental things that can be fixed, and a lot of other problems will take care of themselves. Not consistently getting behind the sticks on offense allows the run game to be more effective, which in turn will open things up for the pass game.

My view is that Heupel might need to take his foot off the gas a bit more with this group, at least until the mistakes lessen and the offense begins to find a groove. Going fast requires chunk plays and moving the sticks, which this group has so far had trouble getting done. If it has to be more of a ball control system to salvage something out of this season, it's not the end of the world.
 
#64
#64
StickMan said:
Again, we need to remember where this program was when Heup took over. All-time program low. If you had told me then that in year 3, we'd have a shot at 8-4 or even 7-5, I'd have been thrilled. Yes, there are concerns moving forward, but let's give the guy some props for setting the bar so high so quickly.
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If you would have told me that in year 3 we'd have a shot at 7-5, I'd have told you no thanks.
 
#65
#65
1. 8-4 is the floor. If we go below 8-4, something is seriously wrong.

2. The season thus far highlights the importance of teamwork, chemistry, group dynamics. It is so much more than just the sum of the parts. Too much focus on individuals, not enough on team.

3. Given that, the next two games define the season. The team needs to come together to BE a team, a solid, effective, functioning team for the UTSA and USCe games. The lightbulb needs to come on. We need to make the 180 degree turn. Whatever analogy you like. We need to start acting like a team, establish a team personality, and win decisively.

We'll see. Ten days. The next 10 days.

Go Vols!
 
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#67
#67
IndianaVol said:
Yes, on paper, we have the talent to win most of our remaining games...actually the only game left we are outmatched in the talent department is UGA...on paper.
The glaring reality is though, and I've said this since spring camp, is that Heupel knows Milton is a step down from Hooker and Nico just isn't ready to go yet.
Add that to the O Line issues with injuries and such and I just can't see this squad being any better than 8-4.
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We're outmatched talent wise by Bama and A&M as well if you talking about "on paper".
 
#68
#68
EZE said:
3-9 is so much better. Glory days….
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Yeah, I guess I should be thankful we aren't going -1-13 every year with a couple hundred people wondering into Neyland on Saturday because they are doing free diabetes screenings.
 
#69
#69
I do not see the “lack of talent “ cited by some. I have yet to see “put on more steam” or “60 minutes” from this team. I do see the potential for this team to gel and embody Neyland’s maxims. They do that, and they can win on any remaining Saturday.
 
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#70
#70
Everyone we play has flaws:

UTSA: This team is not good. I watched them against Army at home. They have been overhyped.

SC: Oline is improving but bad. I don’t think they have the mental toughness to get a W in Neyland at night. Their WR also got injured vs uga, so they’re hurting there as well.

Bye week: Great timing to get everyone healthy and on the same page.

A$M: Their secondary is as weak as ours and their talented D line is underperforming (shocker for a Jimbo team! Haha). And it’s at home.

Bama: Their qb/OC issues are too much for them to keep up with a Heup offense. It’s not gonna be 52-49, but I doubt the score more than 24, even against our secondary. Their Oline is the weakest at Bama in 17 years.

Kentucky: This one is a sleeper for me. 2nd road game after playing a huge rivalry game. UK can be physical, but their talent is lacking. Stoops will try to control the clock and the clock rules this year (or should I say the ‘more commercials rules’) will keep this game lower scoring. Heup has to have this team ready for the turnaround after Bama.

UConn: Much needed scrimmage to break up the road trip and get guys healthy and younger guys playing time.

Mizzou: Burden and the kicker are their entire offense. Their D looks decent. It’s another road game, but maybe it will be an early kickoff. Their talent is lacking.

Uga: Their offense has looked suspect and their D has let some wrs run free. I’m sure they’ll improve, but they hardly have any healthy rbs, and their oline is hurting. Another injury there and they could look like our patchwork oline vs uf. Also, their d doesn’t have Jalen carter.

Candy: c’mon, it won’t be a ballgame.


Are we gonna win all these games? Probably not. But none of these teams have looked like world beaters. They all have weaknesses. Just need the coaches to see how we can leverage them and the players need to execute. I think 9-3 is probable, 10-2 is reasonable, and 11-1 isn’t a complete pipe dream. We’ll see how the coaches develop this team and how the ball bounces.
 
#71
#71
I will be unsurprised with any outcome. This team could finish 11-1 or 5-7. I mean it. We have the talent to win any game left on our schedule. The SEC does not look that great this year. Georgia scraped by USC Jr. at home and Alabama beat USF 17-3. I don’t think any game is out of reach.

On the flip side, this team has glaring issues that don’t inspire confidence that it will be fixed overnight. We have a porous OL, we have WRs with a case of the butterfingers, and we have defenders that are out of position and cannot tackle.

I don’t think these problems are unfixable. I’m just not seeing anything that tells me we will. If those issues get cleared up this team has the talent to win the rest of their games.
 
#72
#72
All this talk about "o line jelling" and "o line underperforming" ignores the fact that we were on our third string (and final!) center Saturday due to Cooper being injured and Mincey suspended due to smoking dope in public. This situation will hopefully pass.
 
#74
#74
IndianaVol said:
Yes, on paper, we have the talent to win most of our remaining games...actually the only game left we are outmatched in the talent department is UGA...on paper.
The glaring reality is though, and I've said this since spring camp, is that Heupel knows Milton is a step down from Hooker and Nico just isn't ready to go yet.
Add that to the O Line issues with injuries and such and I just can't see this squad being any better than 8-4.
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You think we’re not outmatched in talent by Bama and A&M? Might want to look up 247 team rankings the last three or four years.
 
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