Can / will Fulmer turn it around...

[RealVol]

It has been sooooo obvious our offense sucked for sooooo long it's unbelievable more fans haven't realized it before! Not to mentioned our over paid, underperforming, unimaginative & lazy Head Coach & Staff employed for too many years. Fulmer & Staff have got to wake up & get into the 2000 era. Otherwise they may all end up in Mississippi. Not necessarily Ole Miss.....

 

[rockydoc]

One of the Loyalists a few weeks ago made the statement when Fulmer was getting the heat for going 5-6 that "Coach Fulmer didn't get dumb overnite". NO, he got dumb 7 years ago when he elevated Sanders to OC. That mistake in retrospect probable will ultimately cost him his job. No sympathy from me.

 

[GAVol]

(The Emperor has no Clothes). All little despots surround themselves with "yes-men" who are afraid to give them objective advice. Eventually their protective shield is removed and their dyanasty comes crumbling down. If Fulmer had a trustworthy advisor such as a Larry Lacewell he would have never hired Sanders or he would have fired him after 1999!

I'm nowhere near where you are on getting rid of Fulmer, but this is a really good point. Forget the impact on the offense when Cutcliffe left, the greater loss was probably that Cutcliffe was the one guy who could be counted on to give CPF an honest answer. After winning the National title, who was going to say no?

 

[kiddiedoc]

As for pics of crying babies, you will receive none from me. My baby pics don't include crying.

:lolabove: I sure wish I could say that!!!

I've enjoyed reading your posts and input. Nice to have you around.

 

[rockydoc]

I'm nowhere near where you are on getting rid of Fulmer, but this is a really good point. Forget the impact on the offense when Cutcliffe left, the greater loss was probably that Cutcliffe was the one guy who could be counted on to give CPF an honest answer. After winning the National title, who was going to say no?

Not me. But after 2-3 years of Sanders bumbling stumbling offense (remember the Alex Brown Fiasco when Tee was a senior) even casual fans knew Sanders was a dud.

 

[RealVol]

I don't believe Coach Fulmer "got dumb 7 years ago" but I will have to say he's stayed stupid w seven years of no corrections after years of slippage.

Quite frankly, until this season many UT Fans starting believing a last second fg, last quarter rally, a last quarter defensive stop & some very very lucky ref calls (many at Neyland) was becoming "UT Football" we as fans should NEVER, NEVER accept this. We should never expect miracle 3, 7, 10 point struggles against lesser talented teams ever again!

 

[GAVol]

I hear you, but the days of looking at the schedule and predetermining the blowouts are over forever. The 85 scholarship rule has shrunk the talent gap immeasurably.

 

[MachiaVolli]

:lolabove: I sure wish I could say that!!!

I've enjoyed reading your posts and input. Nice to have you around.

Thanks, glad to be here.

 

[RealVol]

Blowouts...sure, I agreed. Comfortable control is what I'm talking about.

 

[WA_Vol]

I hear you, but the days of looking at the schedule and predetermining the blowouts are over forever. The 85 scholarship rule has shrunk the talent gap immeasurably.

UT shouldnt be struggling to beat Kentucky, Vandy, and Memphis the way we have the last several years. A lot of those games have been really close, where the talent gap is very large.

I will add this though, I'm not one who thinks UT has always had the most talent, I think most years Georgia and Florida have had as much talent or more then UT has. They have a much easier time recruiting then UT and can fill their roster just recruiting from their home states. LSU has recruited well and been very talented as well.

 

[MachiaVolli]

A new line of hosiery aims to offer women comfortable control top
hosiery that firms and flatters but does not feel binding.</span>

[/quote]

 

[JasonCajun]

I hear you, but the days of looking at the schedule and predetermining the blowouts are over forever. The 85 scholarship rule has shrunk the talent gap immeasurably.

Yeah, those USC guys and Texas guys have a real problem blowing out the opposition, too.

 

[RealVol]

As I said, comfortably control those teams UT SHOULD dominate. When UT has the very distinct advantage of speed, size, talent, 100,000 plus supporting fans, superior resources, player depth & player experience, a last second fg, a last minute defensive stop & worse yet questionable officiating to win a game should not become routine....EVER. And no I never thought our Staff planned it that close. Let&#39;s face it they simply were not that savvy. For way too many years, we were fortunate our talent over rode pathetically lame coaching.

One distributing fact that should never have been ignored was the glaring lack of offensive improvement from the 1st game to the last game. Look at any season since the NC & we basically remained flat throughout the season. Yet Fulmer NEVER remotely addressed it. As someone else mentioned if you remain the same and everyone else around you is improving, you are slipping behind. How & why Fulmer, the A.D., & the loyal UT Fan base ever allowed that to to become acceptable, is still beyond me.

 

[bleedingorange]

As I said, comfortably control those teams UT SHOULD dominate. When UT has the very distinct advantage of speed, size, talent, 100,000 plus supporting fans, superior resources, player depth & player experience, a last second fg, a last minute defensive stop & worse yet questionable officiating to win a game should not become routine....EVER. And no I never thought our Staff planned it that close. Let&#39;s face it they simply were not that savvy. For way too many years, we were fortunate our talent over rode pathetically lame coaching.

One distributing fact that should never have been ignored was the glaring lack of offensive improvement from the 1st game to the last game. Look at any season since the NC & we basically remained flat throughout the season. Yet Fulmer NEVER remotely addressed it. As someone else mentioned if you remain the same and everyone else around you is improving, you are slipping behind. How & why Fulmer, the A.D., & the loyal UT Fan base ever allowed that to to become acceptable, is still beyond me.

nice post realvol, but u better watch out for the fulmer lovers :biggrin2: :biggrin2:

 

[WA_Vol]

Thanks, glad to be here.

I noticed you havent been using any Fulmer legendary quotes, like "work like heck to get better" and "defense played good enough to win."


Whats up with that???

 

[MachiaVolli]

I noticed you havent been using any Fulmer legendary quotes, like "work like heck to get better" and "defense played good enough to win."


Whats up with that???

"It was kind of like the Perfect Storm." ~describing our season

"Really, it took a lot of different variables to happen at kind of the same time. Whether it be schedule, whether it be injuries, or quarterbacks or inconsistencies of the receivers or offensive front, or penalties -- we just never ended up doing much."

 

[MachiaVolli]

One more,

"We were 17 points from being 9-2. There&#39;s a lot of frustration that goes into that. Obviously, you&#39;re talented enough to compete, but you&#39;re not talented enough to win ballgames. That&#39;s concerning."

Here is my perspective on Fulmer. I think that he&#39;s a good coach. He has done a lot for our program and he bleeds orange just like the rest of us.

The thing that irks me about him is that he never seems to be liable for anything. I&#39;ve heard him say that things "might" be his fault, but does he ever own up to anything?

I was watching Charlie Weiss talk about his 2 losses this season and you could tell he was disgusted by losing 2 games by 3 points. Not only that, but he said that it was his fault they didn&#39;t get those 6 points.

I believe that Fulmer will get this turned around and I believe that it will be next year.

"Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times."

 

[RealVol]

Really, the "Perfect Storm" could be identified as Fulmer & his Staff&#39;s continued pathetic slippage in coaching ability w excellent talent were indeed the conditions. Nothing new, but this season instead of the BREAKS & LUCK falling on UT&#39;s side of the ledger, it didn&#39;t.

Too much talent, a favorable schedule, 5 rookie coaches at new schools & the main opponents in the SEC had been raided by the NFL yet Fulmer & Staff (sometimes referred to as the Perfect Storm) failed to improve one squat during the season. As previously stated, nothing new.

I agree, for 5-6 seasons in a row now -- we just never ended up doing much. Nothing new.

P.S. if you see a "Perfect Storm" brewing take proper precautions don&#39;t sit on your butt & DO NOTHING&#33;

ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE H.C. OF AN S.E.C. FB TEAM&#33; Nothing new.

 

[JasonCajun]

"It was kind of like the Perfect Storm." ~describing our season

"Really, it took a lot of different variables to happen at kind of the same time. Whether it be schedule, whether it be injuries, or quarterbacks or inconsistencies of the receivers or offensive front, or penalties -- we just never ended up doing much."

There you go. Same old Fulmer, not taking any of the blame. Quotes like those do nothing to encourage me about the future of this program under it&#39;s current leadership.

Yeah, the schedule was tough. But so was a lot of other teams schedules tough. Vanderbilt and South Carolina beat us for pete&#39;s sake. UAB and Memphis almost did. You can&#39;t blame that on schedule.

Injuries???? Exactly what injuries did we have this year that changed the course of the season? Every team has injuries and deals with it. We use them for excuses.

Quarterbacks and inconsistencies of receivers and offensive front... that solely rests on the position coaches and you. Many fans knew that the receivers were not playing up to snuff long ago, but nothing was done about it. The offensive front has been weak since Jimmy Ray Stephens was hired. Offensive production has been down since Randy Sanders was elevated to OC position. Fulmer makes the hires and fires. And if it is a question of talent, then who is responsible for bringing the players in? And we all really know it is not a question of talent, don&#39;t we?

Penalties... well that is discipline. It&#39;s curious how some teams consistently make dumb penalties and some consistently play smart. Discipline on the field and off the field sucks. What the hell is Fulmer doing over there, watching soap operas during the day like Wade Houston?

 

[WA_Vol]

There you go. Same old Fulmer, not taking any of the blame. Quotes like those do nothing to encourage me about the future of this program under it&#39;s current leadership.

Yeah, the schedule was tough. But so was a lot of other teams schedules tough. Vanderbilt and South Carolina beat us for pete&#39;s sake. UAB and Memphis almost did. You can&#39;t blame that on schedule.

What is bothering me at this point, is seeing how down the SEC was this year, and how obviously beatable Georgia was, who blew us out. UT was never in that game. Thats very discouraging to go 5-6 in the SEC when the SEC is in a down year.

 

[WA_Vol]

The thing that irks me about him is that he never seems to be liable for anything. I&#39;ve heard him say that things "might" be his fault, but does he ever own up to anything?

Yes, especially, when he prefaces the statements by saying, "you know me, I&#39;m not one to make excuses."

Here is my perspective on Fulmer. I think that he&#39;s a good coach. He has done a lot for our program and he bleeds orange just like the rest of us.

I was watching Charlie Weiss talk about his 2 losses this season and you could tell he was disgusted by losing 2 games by 3 points. Not only that, but he said that it was his fault they didn&#39;t get those 6 points.

I agree Fulmer is a good coach, obviously he won an NC in 98, and he&#39;s UT through and through.

However, I heard Pearl talk after the OSU game, about how poorly coached the team looked. You will never hear a statement like that from Fulmer, even when most everyone else is saying it. With Pearl, everyone was talking about how well coached the team was, and he still says it after a bad game.

I&#39;m not sure Fulmer is ready to make the adjustments to compete in this league now. The competition is getting a lot better, and there are a lot of excellent coaches in this league now, when there used to be only a couple.

 

[kiddiedoc]

What is bothering me at this point, is seeing how down the SEC was this year, and how obviously beatable Georgia was, who blew us out. UT was never in that game.

:blink: As I remember, we were down by only 6 points in the 4th quarter until our "Special" (like the short bus) Teams allowed a punt return TD. I&#39;m also not sure "13 points" qualifies as a "blowout."

Not arguing that our season was dismal, but I think that your sentiments mischaracterize the game.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

:blink: As I remember, we were down by only 6 points in the 4th quarter until our "Special" (like the short bus) Teams allowed a punt return TD. I&#39;m also not sure "13 points" qualifies as a "blowout."

Not arguing that our season was dismal, but I think that your sentiments mischaracterize the game.

We scored a TD to get within 7 then got a turnover and then our offense turned it back over to UGA. Lay off the short bus peeps.

 

[GAVol]

:blink: As I remember, we were down by only 6 points in the 4th quarter until our "Special" (like the short bus) Teams allowed a punt return TD. I&#39;m also not sure "13 points" qualifies as a "blowout."

Not arguing that our season was dismal, but I think that your sentiments mischaracterize the game.

Yeah, even as butt ugly as the offense played, we were amazingly very much in that game until the punt return. I was in section J sitting next to a Georgia fan . . . a painful experience all the way around.

 

[kiddiedoc]

We scored a TD to get within 7 then got a turnover and then our offense turned it back over to UGA.

Exactly. We were down by only 6, in the fourth quarter, with the ball. That, to me, qualifies as "being in the game." And, if you were there, when we recovered the fumble to put ourselves in that position, you could certainly feel some momentum. Thank our particularly inept offense for not doing anything with it.