CJH at Crossroads

#1
Chitlin&theDude

Chitlin&theDude

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#1
Will he say... we just need a few more players and make some adjustments to D. Or will he say it's completely unacceptable to be where we were in the rankings and then have 63pts put on us by a bad qb and mediocre team. It seems clear this is not a championship level D-staff.
 
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#2
#2
Chitlin&theDude said:
Will he say... we just need a few more players and make some adjustments to D. Or will he say it's completely unacceptable to be where we were in the rankings and then have 63pts put on us by a bad qb and mediocre team. It seems clear this is not a championship level D-staff.
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SC had a better win than we did vs Bama/Fl/LSU. None of those were a record setting win as an unranked vs ranked (#5 no less). Anybody want to split a room at the Mayo Bowl?
 
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#8
#8
dduncan4163 said:
It was more than coaching. Something has happened in that locker room you can't convince me otherwise
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Agreed, that was not the team we have seen the last 1.5 years. Something is a miss in the comradary, preparedness, and over spirit if the team. They looked like they did not even want to be there. I can’t believe the team thru a massive opportunity away in the fashion we did tonight.
 
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#9
#9
Chitlin&theDude said:
Will he say... we just need a few more players and make some adjustments to D. Or will he say it's completely unacceptable to be where we were in the rankings and then have 63pts put on us by a bad qb and mediocre team. It seems clear this is not a championship level D-staff.
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Don’t be silly. This was on the team, not much the coaches. The same team that ripped through Missouri last week did not play today.

The coaches were at fault and the team was outmatched at GA but not today,

No, today the TEAM (or at least enough of them) simply laid down on the field and let themselves get f@$$ed by the cocks.

Not sure why that was but I am sure it did. They may not have intended to lose but they unquestionably played like losers with no heart. So unlike the rest of the year.
 
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#11
#11
Chitlin&theDude said:
Will he say... we just need a few more players and make some adjustments to D. Or will he say it's completely unacceptable to be where we were in the rankings and then have 63pts put on us by a bad qb and mediocre team. It seems clear this is not a championship level D-staff.
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Huepel should just say we got our ass kicked, time to recruit and move on, btw banks pack your bags
 
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#15
#15
dduncan4163 said:
It was more than coaching. Something has happened in that locker room you can't convince me otherwise
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Makes sense. Maybe there was something to the J Banks thing. Regardless, accountability is order. There is no doubt we have a championship level O, but that defense (especially the secondary) can not take us to the next level.
 
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#16
#16
I don't think Heupel is at a crossroads. I think the team isn't as mature as we thought they were . Good teams fight , correct their mistakes , and attack . I agree there's something toxic going on in the locker room. Maybe there is something with the Banks vs Hooker thing and it may not all be Banks. Hooker has been noticeably vocal on social media lately. Could be he's gotten a big head. Who knows, but they aren't meshing as a team the way they were earlier in the year. That much is clear.
 
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#17
#17
I can care less about all the schoolgirl lockeroom drama. All that matters, is they went out there and laid a great big egg tonight. You win as a team and you lose as a team. Since it sends a bad message and hurts recruiting to fire players, then coaches heads will have to suffice in this matter. Preferably, the heads of coaches on the defensive side of the ball.
 
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#19
#19
BreatheUT said:
The only thing I will accept is James Banks absence played a huge role in defeat. I don't know how much.

When Clemson gave up 70 to West Virginia, Dabo fired Kevin Steele and possibly others. This was UNEXCEPTABLE!
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And Dabo went on to steal future UT players and win championships. Time for Heupel to get tough and do the right thing.
 
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#20
#20
There’s a reason Kirby was bragging about not taking any portal players this year. Vols didn’t have a choice but to go that route if they wanted the early success it was gonna take to get fan buy-in for Heupel. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to maintain a good locker room when players get caught up in whether they’re getting their fair share when measuring production vs. NIL deals. This staff has yet to recruit at a level where we can look away from the portal and last night won’t help. They gotta calm the waters, beat Vandy, and look like everyone is on the same page going into early signing day.
 
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#21
#21
VolunteerHillbilly said:
There’s a reason Kirby was bragging about not taking any portal players this year. Vols didn’t have a choice but to go that route if they wanted the early success it was gonna take to get fan buy-in for Heupel. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to maintain a good locker room when players get caught up in whether they’re getting their fair share when measuring production vs. NIL deals. This staff has yet to recruit at a level where we can look away from the portal and last night won’t help. They gotta calm the waters, beat Vandy, and look like everyone is on the same page going into early signing day.
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There was a top juco d lineman that went to the game that we are unfortunately recruiting against S. Carolina for I understand. There is no way we didn't lose ground. It was in your face embarrassment.
 
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#22
#22
VolunteerHillbilly said:
There’s a reason Kirby was bragging about not taking any portal players this year. Vols didn’t have a choice but to go that route if they wanted the early success it was gonna take to get fan buy-in for Heupel. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to maintain a good locker room when players get caught up in whether they’re getting their fair share when measuring production vs. NIL deals. This staff has yet to recruit at a level where we can look away from the portal and last night won’t help. They gotta calm the waters, beat Vandy, and look like everyone is on the same page going into early signing day.
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Yeah, whatever the truth to the underlying causes for our players being unprepared and not giving appropriate effort and attitude has to be fixed immediately. Locker room drama, just assuming you would win and not focusing enough in practice… or anything else.. doesn’t matter what it is. It must be addressed immediately.

If we do that and we are prepared and handle business against Vanderbilt, which means not just winning but playing well, and like you care about what you are doing, then this can be put behind quickly and our future is still very bright. It never should have happened, but if we learn from it we are fine.

The thing is though, you can’t mess up this badly with any frequency. If we let a one failure become two now, or next season we blow games that we shouldn’t because we aren’t doing the things we should be doing to be our best come game day, we will quickly have a huge problem.

As we saw under previous coaches, once faith in your ability to get the job is lost, it becomes nearly impossible to get things right. Any progress made will be very easy to lose and very difficult to regain and build upon.

I believe we have legitimately good coaches who can teach football effectively and scheme at a high level. Maybe some changes do need to occur in a couple of areas, but overall this staff is fundamentally sound in ways Dooley, Jones, and Pruitt never were.

That said, while we have seen improvement all year in most all position groups, the garbage we saw today was a big step back. Ultimately the coaches have to get their kids focused on the right things and playing their best on game day.

If they don’t do that then it doesn’t matter if the reason was because of interpersonal conflicts or because they inadequately planned or failed to address issues in technique. Once you have people questioning your ability to get it done you can quickly lose any momentum and progress. Recovering from that is unlikely.
 
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#23
#23
Chitlin&theDude said:
Will he say... we just need a few more players and make some adjustments to D. Or will he say it's completely unacceptable to be where we were in the rankings and then have 63pts put on us by a bad qb and mediocre team. It seems clear this is not a championship level D-staff.
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When did the football fairy sprinkle winning defensive players on campus? Pruitt left very few. Everyone knew the defense would suck in ‘21 & most likely’22. Nothing changed but our expectations. Tonight was terrible & completely unacceptable but Tennessee players were beat consistently in 1 on 1 matchups by SC players all night. That ain’t just coaching.
 
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#25
#25
Wezcoast said:
I don't think Heupel is at a crossroads. I think the team isn't as mature as we thought they were . Good teams fight , correct their mistakes , and attack . I agree there's something toxic going on in the locker room. Maybe there is something with the Banks vs Hooker thing and it may not all be Banks. Hooker has been noticeably vocal on social media lately. Could be he's gotten a big head. Who knows, but they aren't meshing as a team the way they were earlier in the year. That much is clear.
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That is very true, it’s a sign of immaturity, it’s hard to break old habits and mindsets. I like Banks but he is a hothead and his antics have cost us on the field numerous times with stupid penalties
 
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