CFP projects TN to suck...

#127
#127
Dougie_D said:
I'm sure these were "random" picks, but how do you not put Tennessee on that list of 25?! Really!!??

College Football Playoff Scenarios
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Until we prove it on the field that won't change. Strength of schedule doesn't mean squat anymore and losing to weak opponents the last two years hurts. Losing to elite OOC opponents on our insane schedule also hurts. It doesn't matter that all the world can see we're finally on the right track until we're there we have to prove it more than others. And that's only fair. It also doesn't matter that even an SEC an team as weak as Vandy makes ACC teams look like cupcakes and has been doing so for years or that the B1G was so down that even if the Spartans hadn't embarrassed OSU in their title game tOSU wouldn't have made the natty because the B1G was recognized as so dayum terrible that year.

Reality is that while the SEC is recognized as the best, when the rubber meets the road we tend to be underrated when we have losses (not just us but every SEC team not named Bammer, well unless said team beats Bammer). Doesn't matter if we could stomp tons of OOC schools minus some of their top tier ones. Just the way it is.

Be patient - we're on track to be back soon.
 
#128
#128
CountVolcula said:
Not an excuse but selling reality

We are extremely young and inexperienced on both lines. Doesn't bold well for the long haul. That's without losing someone to injuries. Throw that in and we might not see 5 wins
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Dooley's first two seasons saw even younger OL's and patchwork DL's. Still after two years he was on a very hot seat headed into a make or break season. He failed because he was not an elite coach. UT NEEDS an elite coach... one that gets it done when things aren't ideal.

Honest question here. How often does a team go through a season without losing players? Is losing players unique to UT?

Now a more rhetorical question. If other coaches can develop the players they have in preparation for eventual injuries... then why can't Jones? If other coaches can move players around or modify their plans to account for injuries, why can't Jones?
 
#129
#129
CountVolcula said:
Yes

People expecting the moon and only getting a paper plate will be the ones yelling and screaming the most at the end of the season

As much as I hate losing, I am willing to give Jones time as long as improvement continued on the field and he continues to recruit lights out
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I expect 6-8 wins... not the moon. That is VERY consistent with your expectation of continuing improvement on the field.

Question though... what improvement on the field are you talking about continuing? I saw mostly treading water at the same level as Dooley's failure last fall. What can you point to at the end of the season that says, "This team has really improved over the course of the season... they've really been coached up"?
 
#130
#130
Catbone said:
People love setting themselves up for disappointment. 6-6 this year will be a win for the program and a step in the right direction.
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I won't be disappointed with six to 8 wins. I will be disappointed with anything less and flat out amazed by anything more.
 
#132
#132
DD4ME said:
When the game is on I'll be full homer as usual but I'm done with the pie in the sky off season crap. CBJ is a good coach but again we have issue and we still play in the toughest conference in the land. We shall see but the whole team has to improve. I saw skill player issues last year more so than line issues. Could be reversed this year.
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Honest question. How do you know Jones is a good coach? At Cincy, he was 6-13 vs FBS schools that finished with a winning record. He was 2-6 against the same last fall. USCe was his first and only win against a ranked team... and some of us recognized this time last year that USCe was a good match up for UT.

He has taken a MAJOR step up in competition. I believe he's better than some think but there is still room for plenty of doubt.
 
#134
#134
niftyal said:
I get tired of so called Vol fans putting Coach Fulmer down. He produced winner after, one being a national championship. Several Eastern championships. Also conference championships. I would like someone to explain what has happened since . I do think Coach Jones will turn it around. But quit dragging Coach Fulmer through the quagmire, he done lots for UT and he is a Vol through and through. What did Dooley and that piece of crap that is at Alabama do. O O .
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Fulmer was great in his day. His day came... and it went. That isn't putting him down. That's being truthful. By the time he was asked to leave, recruiting had fallen to dangerously poor levels, team discipline on and off the field was horrible, Fulmer failed to hold asst's accountable,... and worst of all... he absolutely REFUSED to see it. He famously said "We've won a lot of games around here doing what we're doing so we ain't changing now".

The game passed him by. He wasn't a strong enough leader to find and hold good asst's accountable. His career can almost be broken down to "with Cut" and "without Cut". They just had the right chemistry.
 
#135
#135
tnvols72 said:
As of right now I wont say BJ is or isn't the man for the job. He has to show improvement this year and have a upset or 2 but I think Jones liability is Jancek. I think by the end of the year Jones will have to make a decision on a couple of his coaches and if not Jones wont make it to year 4. Our Def. was horrible and I don't see it getting better because I don't think Jancek is even a decent DC.
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I've gone back and forth but want to see if things improve with the new philosophy on the DL. I would agree that the D looked poorly coached last fall beyond anything that others excuse as "lack of speed/talent". It doesn't take tremendous speed to at least look like you know what "in position" means.
 
#136
#136
VOLorNuttin said:
Pundits and fans NEVER, EVER pick teams to break out. They ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS.....predict based on the previous year. Nobody expected Auburn to even challenge for the SEC W in 2010 or last year, but they won their division. Nobody, but nobody picked Mizzou to win the SEC E last year.

So, predictions are like bungholes...everyone has one, and it usually full of worthless crap. It doesn't take any special insight to predict based on what happened last year.
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Exceptionally good point.:good!:
 
#137
#137
sjt18 said:
I expect 6-8 wins... not the moon. That is VERY consistent with your expectation of continuing improvement on the field.

Question though... what improvement on the field are you talking about continuing? I saw mostly treading water at the same level as Dooley's failure last fall. What can you point to at the end of the season that says, "This team has really improved over the course of the season... they've really been coached up"?
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The coaching up standard only applies to butch,huh? There are some sites already suggesting that butch can't coach. They do give him credit for his recruiting. I would rather have a recruiter because there is no evidence that anyone wins the sec without players. I tend to look at the nfl draft instead of rivals, by the way as the proof is in the pudding.
 
#138
#138
BeattieFeathers said:
The coaching up standard only applies to butch,huh?
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Where did I ever suggest that? But ftr, I only care about whether the UT HC can coach players up... I'd just as soon other programs didn't.

There are some sites already suggesting that butch can't coach.
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I would say there's some reason for concern. I'm holding out hope and believe he CAN coach. But I can't buy in completely. The coaching didn't look good last year. In fact, it didn't look any better than the previous 3 years on the field. Most here want to blame the players... it wasn't all the players. My HOPE is that it was part of his rebuilding strategy and not an indication of a lack of ability.

Beyond last year, Jones was only 6-13 vs FBS programs that finished with a winning record while at Cincy. He'll have to be a better coach than that to survive at UT.

And... he lost to a 5-7 UT team coached by Dooley... in a blow out. I'm not sure how anyone can avoid being concerned knowing that.

They do give him credit for his recruiting. I would rather have a recruiter because there is no evidence that anyone wins the sec without players. I tend to look at the nfl draft instead of rivals, by the way as the proof is in the pudding.
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There is every evidence that a top shelf coach can win with somewhat less talent. Spurrier is doing it. Franklin did. Pinkel did. Petrino did.

But recruiting to win at the level you seem to suggest isn't a sprint... it isn't a one year proposition. If you want to win with anything less than great coaching and on great talent alone then you have to recruit in the top 5 or 10 year after year.

Jones' first class wasn't top 10. Dooley set him up poorly but it still belongs to the guy who finished it. Two of the four 4* players were busts and are already gone. One has been beaten out by a Fr. The '14 class looks great. The '15 class right now is not on track to be a top 10 class.

If you aren't getting classes that avg top 3 in the SEC then you have to be able to do it with coaching and development.
 
#142
#142
sjt18 said:
I've gone back and forth but want to see if things improve with the new philosophy on the DL. I would agree that the D looked poorly coached last fall beyond anything that others excuse as "lack of speed/talent". It doesn't take tremendous speed to at least look like you know what "in position" means.
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I can agree with this. But I thought Jancek was bad hire the day he was hired and then turned around and hired Martinez. People use to say wait until he gets his players here but him and Martinez was loaded on D at Ga and still teams were throwing yards and points on them. Just like our D last year.
 
#143
#143
DL916 said:
I am as big of a fan as I've met, but I understand why people say we suck. Because we have lived through the worst era in UT football history.

What bothers me is that the national guys act like getting 32 highly touted kids is insignificant to this season. You hear things like "you don't win with freshmen, they're inexperienced on the OLine" etc.

My argument is that even in the last 10 years, heck maybe even 5, freshmen have changed. These kids have camps, private coaches, nutrition plans, more gyms are available at low prices etc. They're coming in and they're about as prepared as we've seen freshmen be.

Now that's not to say that we'll win 10 games, but nobody is expecting that. But why is 7 wins looked at as impossible by the national media? Because they're not in touch with every program.

I'll say it again, 7 wins is what I'm expecting. I'm hoping for 8, and I honestly don't think it's that crazy of a stretch.

Last year who would have picked us to beat a superior SC team? Or to take Georgia within an inch of another upset?

Now you infuse the team with more talent, although less experienced. And I say we're a better team. If Butch and company could coach up those guys from last year, I expect the same this year.

You have 6 games on the schedule that you're going to be the favorite in. Find one upset and bam there's 7 games.

Last year we had experienced OLine and DLine and still sucked so the theory that "no returning starters on either lines" is flawed. These kids have played, just not started a lot. And we got an upgrade at skill positions.

QB-better this year
RB-better this year
WR-better this year
TE-better this year
OL-not as talented, but we'll see if they can perform better since they fit this system better.

DL-taking a step back
LB-more athletic, a little better this year
DB-better this year
K-worse this year
P-worse this year
KR-better this year
PR-slightly better this year.
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As difficult as it is to pull off an upset, it's also difficult (for any team) to run the table in games you're favored in, especially in the SEC.
 
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