Can Ainge play the bowl game?

[milohimself]

ND realized their backfield sucks so they just fired up the blitzes. Hard not to get sacked a time or two when the other teams' D is playing like that. Schaeffer probably got sacked because he left the pocket in a split second.

Ainge just needs to brush up on his fundamentals -- He was 6'6" playing at a high school level, with an awesome offensive line to cover him. He could play sloppy, sit around in the pocket and still look amazing. Sanders had him coming along well, though.

 

[JohnsonCityVol]

Keep Ainge out. I've had the exact same injury and even when you're feeling well, it still occaisionally sends spurts of pain through your whole upper body if move a certain way, and it drastically affects armstrength.

Let Slick Rick lead the way in Dallas, then let them go against each other in the spring.

BTW, Manning STILL has happy feet and has yet to miss a start, rarely gets sacked, is about to break the most passing TD's in an NFL season, and may break the most passing yardage record in a single season this year.

 

[rwemyss]

I liked the way Ainge moved... he seemed to GAIN accuracy when he was on the run early in the season.

I think Rick earned a start, but I'd like to see the freshman put in their spark... if one QB is good, 3 is better!

 

[volbrian]

Originally posted by allvol+Dec 6, 2004 5:31 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (allvol @ Dec 6, 2004 5:31 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>

Originally posted by _volfan_@Dec 6, 2004 5:21 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-allvol

@Dec 6, 2004 5:18 PM
"happy feet" ?......  that&#39;s what those morons over at ESPN said during Manning&#39;s senior season in &#39;97 while he was throwing for 3819 yards and 36 TD&#39;s.

:espn:

Manning played for 4 years with "Happy feet". He said he learned it from somebody. Its part of his game. Keep his feet moving, instead of planted, in case he has to scramble.

Ainge, however got his in the middle of the season, when those long looks downfield that he got againsg UNLV, were turning into sacks against Ole Miss and BAMA.

I&#39;m not looking to pick a fight, but Ainge was only sacked 5 times all season.....

1 for -3 against Georgia
1 for -7 against South Carolina
3 for -31 against Notre Dame

He may have rushed his throws or scrambled out of the pocket early... but I thought I remembered that Ainge just doesn&#39;t get sacked much... so I looked up the stats.

Other notables.

Clausen&#39;s only 2 sacks were against Notre Dame. Shaeffer was sacked 9 times. [/quote]
Your not picking a fight at all All-Vol. I appreciate somebody challenging me. LOL

If you can get ahold of the USC game, watch him. If a defender gets within 2 yards of him, there goes the feet. He didnt do that earlier in the year.

 

[General Jack]

Originally posted by allvol@Dec 6, 2004 5:18 PM
"happy feet" ?...... that&#39;s what those morons over at ESPN said during Manning&#39;s senior season in &#39;97 while he was throwing for 3819 yards and 36 TD&#39;s.

:espn:

...and the king of happy feet - Andy Kelly&#33; Did hold him back so much either.

 

[General Jack]

I say leave Clausen in.

Ainge will be a great player, but coming in after nearly 2 months out? He&#39;s going to be rusty and probably trying a little too hard, a receipe for disaster.

If our run game can keep up its performance from Sat, Clausen will have all the time in the word to throw in the CB.

 

[milohimself]

If Ainge were to play, I think he would be able to do really well, in the event he gets a good pocket. If that happens, I would imagine the same sort of thing as what he did against UNLV, with all those amazing passes.

 

[dan4vols]

Originally posted by GAVol+Dec 6, 2004 10:30 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (GAVol @ Dec 6, 2004 10:30 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-crazyguy@Dec 6, 2004 10:26 AM
If they don&#39;t change the BCS then preseason standings are huge and winning your bowl game becomes important if you want a high preseason ranking...just look at auburn&#33;

Great point - With the people we have coming back, a big win over A & M would probably make us a preseason 8-10 ranking next year. [/quote]
should.....all things being equal....realistically i see the vols about 16-18...IF we win

 

[crazyguy]

Originally posted by dan4vols+Dec 7, 2004 1:52 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (dan4vols @ Dec 7, 2004 1:52 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>

Originally posted by GAVol@Dec 6, 2004 10:30 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-crazyguy

@Dec 6, 2004 10:26 AM
If they don&#39;t change the BCS then preseason standings are huge and winning your bowl game becomes important if you want a high preseason ranking...just look at auburn&#33;

Great point - With the people we have coming back, a big win over A & M would probably make us a preseason 8-10 ranking next year.

should.....all things being equal....realistically i see the vols about 16-18...IF we win [/quote]
I&#39;d say a little higher than that but not in the top 8

 

[milohimself]

Preseason rankings suck. Forget about &#39;em

 

[crazyguy]

Originally posted by milohimself@Dec 7, 2004 2:22 PM
Preseason rankings suck. Forget about &#39;em

I&#39;d love to but it&#39;s not going to happen...

 

[allvol]

considering that about 5 or 6 teams rated higher than the Vols will lose in the bowl games.... and if the Vols win... and finish 10-3.... they could be rated as high as 10 or 11 to finish the season.

With 18 returning starters + Simon and Stewart... defending SEC EAST champs.... the Vols will undoubtedly be ranked in the preseason top 10...... and may be no matter the bowl results.

 

[crazyguy]

Originally posted by allvol@Dec 7, 2004 3:34 PM
considering that about 5 or 6 teams rated higher than the Vols will lose in the bowl games.... and if the Vols win... and finish 10-3.... they could be rated as high as 10 or 11 to finish the season.

With 18 returning starters + Simon and Stewart... defending SEC EAST champs.... the Vols will undoubtedly be ranked in the preseason top 10...... and may be no matter the bowl results.

yeah, you might be right...I think that might be true of the AP poll but I always have doubts about the lucidity of the espn/coaches....

 

[milohimself]

The Vols do not get any respect. We have to prove ourselves and get the respect after the fact. Pollsters will not rank us that high.

 

[allvol]

Originally posted by milohimself@Dec 7, 2004 3:40 PM
The Vols do not get any respect. We have to prove ourselves and get the respect after the fact. Pollsters will not rank us that high.

Think about this... the Vols were 10-3 last season.... lost to unranked Clemson in the Peach Bowl by a score of 27-14 and finished ranked 15 in the AP and 16 in the Coach&#39;s polls...... came into this season with an unproven secondary and defensive front as well as a new quarterback..... yet were preseason ranked 14 in the AP and 14 in the Coach&#39;s polls.

Having experienced players at key positions means alot to the voters. How else do you explain California and West Virginia being ranked so high in the preseason after having mediocre 2003 seasons?

Winning the bowl is also big. Georgia and Tennessee were close in the rankings prior to the bowls. Georgia won and finished 7, while Tennessee lost and dropped to 15. Georgia has key returning players, is preseason ranked 3.... Tennessee has to replace key positions and is ranked preseason 14.

I definately think the Vols will be top 10 to start 2005.

 

[crazyguy]

this all relies on winning in the bowl game which we should have done last year, but didn&#39;t.

 

[allvol]

Originally posted by crazyguy@Dec 7, 2004 6:28 PM
this all relies on winning in the bowl game which we should have done last year, but didn&#39;t.

I agree, the bowl game is the key. Tennesse had an opportunity to finish the 2003 season ranked near the top 5, but didn&#39;t because of the upset bowl loss to Clemson. A top 5 2003 finish would have translated into a much higher preseason ranking this year. And apparantly, the big difference in Georgia&#39;s and Tennessee&#39;s ranking this year is based upon preseason perceptions and where each team started in the rankings at the beginning of the season.

Georgia in 2003 to 2004 is very similar to Tennessee in 2004 to 2005 in terms of record, ranking, and returning key players from the previous season.

Georgia was 10-3 going into their bowl game last season... with losses to LSU twice (10-17 and 13-34) and a 5-loss Florida team (13-16). They dropped from being ranked 5th to 11th after losing to LSU in the SECCG. They beat Purdue (9-4) in the Citrus Bowl (34-27 OT) to finish ranked 7th. They returned 17 starters from last year and were preseason ranked 3rd/4th.

Similarly, Tennessee is 9-3 going into the bowl game.... with losses to Auburn twice (10-34 and 28-38) and a 5-loss Notre Dame team (13-17). The Vols stuck at 15th in the AP poll and dropped to 17th in the other poll after losing to Auburn in the SECCG. (I&#39;m thinking that voters were keeping the Vols at 15th before the SECCG partly because they anticipated the loss to Auburn) If the Vols can beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl to finish 10-3, I think they can finish ranked somewhere around 10th. With the number of returning starters the Vols have, I think they might be ranked 7th in the preseason next year.

If the Vols lose.... they could still be ranked as high as 10th, but with 3 bowl losses in a row.... what little &#39;national&#39; respect the Vols have will be gone and they&#39;ll probably be rated around 15th in the next preseason.

 

[crazyguy]

great comparrison, I completely agree with your summary at the end. We need to be winning the bowl games that aern&#39;t for all the marbles-that&#39;s just the way that you gain respect in college football.

 

[allvol]

Bowls under Fulmer:

&#39;92 Season
Hall of Fame Bowl
Bowl Result: Win, 38-23, #16 Boston College
Ranking before bowl w/ record: 17 (8-3)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: 12 (9-3)
Next season pre-season rank: 10

&#39;93 Season
Citrus Bowl
Bowl Result: Loss, 13-31, #13 Penn State
Ranking before bowl w/ record: 6 (10-1)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: 12 (10-2)
Next season pre-season rank: 13

&#39;94 Season
Gator Bowl
Bowl Result: Win, 45-23, #17 Virginia Tech
Ranking before bowl w/ record: NR (7-4)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: 22 (8-4)
Next season pre-season rank: 8

&#39;95 Season
Citrus Bowl
Bowl Result: Win, 20-14, #4 Ohio State
Ranking before bowl w/ record: 4 (10-1)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: 3 (11-1)
Next season pre-season rank: 2

&#39;96 Season
Citrus Bowl
Bowl Result: Win, 48-28, #11 Northwestern
Ranking before bowl w/ record: 9 (9-2)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: 9 (10-2)
Next season pre-season rank: 5

&#39;97 Season
Orange Bowl
Bowl Result: Loss, 17-42, #2 Nebraska
Ranking before bowl w/ record: 3 (11-1)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: 7 (11-2)
Next season pre-season rank: 10

&#39;98 Season
Fiesta Bowl
Bowl Result: Win, 23-16, #2 Florida State
Ranking before bowl w/ record: 1 (12-0)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: 1 (13-0)
Next season pre-season rank: 2

&#39;99 Season
Fiesta Bowl
Bowl Result: Loss, 21-31, #3 Nebraska
Ranking before bowl w/ record: 6 (9-2)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: 9 (9-3)
Next season pre-season rank: 12

&#39;00 Season
Cotton Bowl
Bowl Result: Loss, 21-35, #11 Kansas State
Ranking before bowl w/ record: 21 (8-3)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: NR (8-4)
Next season pre-season rank: 8

&#39;01 Season
Citrus Bowl
Bowl Result: Win, 45-17, #17 Michigan
Ranking before bowl w/ record: 8 (10-2)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: 4 (11-2)
Next season pre-season rank: 5

&#39;02 Season
Peach Bowl
Bowl Result: Loss, 3-30, #20 Maryland
Ranking before bowl w/ record: NR (8-4)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: NR (8-5)
Next season pre-season rank: 12

&#39;03 Season
Peach Bowl
Bowl Result: Loss, 14-27, (NR) Clemson
Ranking before bowl w/ record: 6 (10-2)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: 15 (10-3)
Next season pre-season rank: 13

&#39;04 Season
Cotton Bowl
Bowl Result: ? vs #22 Texas A&M
Ranking before bowl w/ record: 15 (9-3)
Ranking after bowl w/ record: ?
Next season pre-season rank: ?