Deep breath...and here we go

[VonVol]

it's a new coach and a new beginning. there should be excitement.

i just sense that things are so bad, people want to treat each recruit, each press conference, etc, etc, etc.....into a sign that things are turning around immediately.

it's a long climb back out of hell and when you get out, it doesn't mean that everyone else won't be still waiting there.

I'm not sure about anyone else on here, but I once again feel so privileged to have this guy around. So wise. So all knowing. There are times when I start to think that our fan base should be excited about the possible prospect of the program turning around. Then he shows up again and keeps me grounded. Reminding me that we will not in fact win ten games tomorrow. Thank you so so much. You brilliant shining beacon.

 

[ksgovols]

I'm optimistic but Vol fans have earned a wait and see sort of attitude about such things. While I think it will give our younger alumni born into a pretty decent football program from about 1985 on a reality check, I still have concerns about why it happened in the first place. Poor decisions, poor contracts and inept leadership above the football team's head coach made our bed. The road up is just as steep as the road down. It just takes longer to achieve.

I've always thought we were lucky on Arkansas play call right there. Not taking away from the execution afterwards.

 

[colorado king]

Actually, I give most of the credit to Butch, who could be coaching at Colorado right now.

This is when I knew that Jones was a smart dude. The CO job wasn't worth any amount of money. The program out here is a disaster, and unless there is a serious cultural change with respect to football at CU, the Buffs chances at a real comeback, or even just being an annual contender i the Pac 12, are slim to none IMO.

I agree with the OP and others. Despite being 1000+ miles away, it feels like we're headed in the right direction. Big 12 and Pac 12 supporters out here often remark that college football is just better when the VOLS are good.

 

[ric1958]

Everyone of us has had a moment in their life when they just thought it couldn't get any worse. Whether it was when you were a teenager, a job you hated, a job you lost, or a break up...maybe even a family death.

And while alot of these moments seems unbearable, and that things would never get better, the reality is they always did--and would.

I truly feel TN was at that moment up to a few months ago. It was rock bottom. Fans, players, and rivals all looked at the scenerio and considered it a wrap. "Those Vols had a nice ride but the SEC has changed and they will never be the same again," was the consenus of many people--including many on this site.

Then it went from bad to worse.

We fired the coach and many of us were on the Gruden ride. Yeah, wasn't that fun. Instead of being realistic we went with the Chucky dream and got so swept up in it that all other coaches were like drug-out meth hookers missing teeth. Then Gruden fell through. Then Strong fell through. Then we were back to the same feeling we hads during the coaching search for Dooley. The oh crap we are f%^^&&ed feeling.

But then something happened--

We got lucky. I'm not sure if it's Arkansas fumbling the football for no reason lucky but it may be up there.

We hired a real coach. A coach who clearly wants to be here. A coach that is turning the preception of this team around very quickly.

I say all of this not because North just committed (welcome home young man!) and not because Bell appears to be a commitment but because of this...

Rivals.com

Click on the page and go to recruiting. Every player popping up, Boyd, Gibson, etc, has an article and it includes us. We are hot again. We are getting in people's heads.

I personally don't know were we will end up because CBJ took over with very little time but the fact is he connects with players. He is bringing an energy we haven't felt since about 01...like anything is possible.

Please let that sink in...we have 5 stars actually placing us in their final two and are serious about it. Whe is the last time we felt we could actually go up against Bama with a recruit and win? Von Bell may just be that.

So the point is, it's deep breath time. We made it through one of the worst periods of TN football ever and we are now back in the game.

And NSD.......... we may shock the world!

Tennessee football has never been anywhere near rock bottom and Gruden didn`t fall through because he was never coming here to begin with.

 

[OrangeBalls]

it's a new coach and a new beginning. there should be excitement.

i just sense that things are so bad, people want to treat each recruit, each press conference, etc, etc, etc.....into a sign that things are turning around immediately.

it's a long climb back out of hell and when you get out, it doesn't mean that everyone else won't be still waiting there.

It also doesn't mean that everyone else will be still waiting there. Spurrier isn't going to be at USCjr for long. Richt isn't going to be at UGA much longer. Saban isn't going to be at Bama a lot longer. Who knows how long Muschamp will be at Fla.

I don't get excited about prospects until they show it on the field. However, getting a top WR is a start.

 

[BACKDOC]

Everyone of us has had a moment in their life when they just thought it couldn't get any worse. Whether it was when you were a teenager, a job you hated, a job you lost, or a break up...maybe even a family death.

And while alot of these moments seems unbearable, and that things would never get better, the reality is they always did--and would.

I truly feel TN was at that moment up to a few months ago. It was rock bottom. Fans, players, and rivals all looked at the scenerio and considered it a wrap. "Those Vols had a nice ride but the SEC has changed and they will never be the same again," was the consenus of many people--including many on this site.

Then it went from bad to worse.

We fired the coach and many of us were on the Gruden ride. Yeah, wasn't that fun. Instead of being realistic we went with the Chucky dream and got so swept up in it that all other coaches were like drug-out meth hookers missing teeth. Then Gruden fell through. Then Strong fell through. Then we were back to the same feeling we hads during the coaching search for Dooley. The oh crap we are f%^^&&ed feeling.

But then something happened--

We got lucky. I'm not sure if it's Arkansas fumbling the football for no reason lucky but it may be up there.

We hired a real coach. A coach who clearly wants to be here. A coach that is turning the preception of this team around very quickly.

I say all of this not because North just committed (welcome home young man!) and not because Bell appears to be a commitment but because of this...

Rivals.com

Click on the page and go to recruiting. Every player popping up, Boyd, Gibson, etc, has an article and it includes us. We are hot again. We are getting in people's heads.

I personally don't know were we will end up because CBJ took over with very little time but the fact is he connects with players. He is bringing an energy we haven't felt since about 01...like anything is possible.

Please let that sink in...we have 5 stars actually placing us in their final two and are serious about it. Whe is the last time we felt we could actually go up against Bama with a recruit and win? Von Bell may just be that.

So the point is, it's deep breath time. We made it through one of the worst periods of TN football ever and we are now back in the game.

And NSD.......... we may shock the world!

I hate you, cause you just jinxed us with Von Bell.

 

[Titan&Volfan4life]

I totally BELIEVE!!!

Go get then bUTch!!!

VFL...GBO!!!

 

[SmokinBob]

Actually, I give most of the credit to Butch, who could be coaching at Colorado or Purdue right now. But he stuck it out, even through Hart and Cheek unsuccessfully chasing down Gruden/Strong, knowing he had a chance to coach here. To me, that was the most telling thing. He was willing to let the two birds in the hand fly away so that he could wait on the Big Orange bird in the bushes. Now he's here and doing one helluva job...so far.

So the credit is his and not so much anyone else in the administration.

I hadn't really looked at it quite that way - well said :hi:

 

[volgrad500]

That moment in my life was when I was standing in a field in Pakistan at the end of September in 2001...and I said to myself "WTF but I'm in the AIR FORCE!"..

Holy **** this is hilarious! I bet I know you! Were you at Jacobabad, Pakistan (pretty much had to be at that time lol) I was with the SF's. Nice to see another AF guy on here! :hi:

 

[VOLsince68]

Everyone of us has had a moment in their life when they just thought it couldn't get any worse. Whether it was when you were a teenager, a job you hated, a job you lost, or a break up...maybe even a family death.

And while alot of these moments seems unbearable, and that things would never get better, the reality is they always did--and would.

I truly feel TN was at that moment up to a few months ago. It was rock bottom. Fans, players, and rivals all looked at the scenerio and considered it a wrap. "Those Vols had a nice ride but the SEC has changed and they will never be the same again," was the consenus of many people--including many on this site.

Then it went from bad to worse.

We fired the coach and many of us were on the Gruden ride. Yeah, wasn't that fun. Instead of being realistic we went with the Chucky dream and got so swept up in it that all other coaches were like drug-out meth hookers missing teeth. Then Gruden fell through. Then Strong fell through. Then we were back to the same feeling we hads during the coaching search for Dooley. The oh crap we are f%^^&&ed feeling.

But then something happened--

We got lucky. I'm not sure if it's Arkansas fumbling the football for no reason lucky but it may be up there.

We hired a real coach. A coach who clearly wants to be here. A coach that is turning the preception of this team around very quickly.

I say all of this not because North just committed (welcome home young man!) and not because Bell appears to be a commitment but because of this...

Rivals.com

Click on the page and go to recruiting. Every player popping up, Boyd, Gibson, etc, has an article and it includes us. We are hot again. We are getting in people's heads.

I personally don't know were we will end up because CBJ took over with very little time but the fact is he connects with players. He is bringing an energy we haven't felt since about 01...like anything is possible.

Please let that sink in...we have 5 stars actually placing us in their final two and are serious about it. Whe is the last time we felt we could actually go up against Bama with a recruit and win? Von Bell may just be that.

So the point is, it's deep breath time. We made it through one of the worst periods of TN football ever and we are now back in the game.

And NSD.......... we may shock the world!

Very good post Neo!!!

I would like to say that Clint Stoener did not fumble for no particular reason. Please go back and look at the replay. I was at that game (in the freaking rain), but you couldn't really see how it happened from the stands. However, I saw a replay view from behind Stoener a few days later.

The reason he fell and eventually fumbled was because big Darwin Walker pushed their center back into him. He bull rushed him and the center took a step backwards to dig in, but he stepped on Stoener's foot. Then, Stoener tried to catch himself with the hand he had the ball in and it came out. We pounced on it and a few plays later, Travis Henry goes over the top. VOLS win and keep the perfect season going!!

To this day, I don't think Walker has ever gotten credit for that. Check it out if you can find that replay view. I will look myself. It was from directly behind Stoener and it clearly shows what happened.

Anyway, great post and here's to a great recruiting finish!!!


GBO VFL

 

[Thrasher865]

Stoener didn't fumble for no reason. The government was testing EMP weaponry, and allowing the NCAA to use it to set up the most exciting BCS title game. It was just a way to keep Kansas State out of the title game.

I don't expect you guys to know the true history. Keep believing the cover-up.

 

[byobbio]

Op i give u credit for positive vibe but im still in a wait n see mode..

We had a coach that could win 8 or so games in Johnny majors.. He was fired for several reason but the biggest was phil fulmer promised to take recruiting to a new level.

Will cbj be Johnny or phil? We need phil level...

Man, there is so much more to that story. You can't just gloss it over to prove your agenda. Phil could have kept on recruiting as the OC.

 

[soda23]

Very good post Neo!!!

I would like to say that Clint Stoener did not fumble for no particular reason. Please go back and look at the replay. I was at that game (in the freaking rain), but you couldn't really see how it happened from the stands. However, I saw a replay view from behind Stoener a few days later.

The reason he fell and eventually fumbled was because big Darwin Walker pushed their center back into him. He bull rushed him and the center took a step backwards to dig in, but he stepped on Stoener's foot. Then, Stoener tried to catch himself with the hand he had the ball in and it came out. We pounced on it and a few plays later, Travis Henry goes over the top. VOLS win and keep the perfect season going!!

To this day, I don't think Walker has ever gotten credit for that. Check it out if you can find that replay view. I will look myself. It was from directly behind Stoener and it clearly shows what happened.

Anyway, great post and here's to a great recruiting finish!!!


GBO VFL

Probably the reason Walker has never gotten , credit , is because it was Ratliff not Walker and it was the guard not the center that he bull rushed and tripped up Soener

 

[Volumnus 2011]

Tell me you're not dumb enough to believe that wasn't luck. Ratliff knocked his guy back but a thousand times in a row, that ends up in a sack.

We got lucky. That's not a bad thing. But don't pretend that it was anything else.

I was thinking the same thing. Anytime a quarterback uses a freaking ball to break his fall it is luck... That never happens. If Stoernor (sp?) had just tucked and fell, or if his knee had hit before the ball, or anything else, UT loses that game. Great play by the UT defense, but an equally moronic play by the quarterback.

 

[508mikey]

Beat me to it. I'm tired of hearing some UT fans try to cheapen that National Championship just to fit their agenda. Tennessee had the best team in the nation that year and they have the trophy to prove it.

Ratliff drove Burlsworth back causing him to step on the QB's foot. Then UT drove the ball down Arkansas' throat to score the winning TD. Not only that, the Vols were on a 25-3 run to end the game.

A few other plays in that game helped - like the Arkansas center snapping that punt over the punters head - Name any other QB that wouldnt have done the same thing Stoerner did - the real blunder was Nutt calling a pass play in the first place.

 

[soda23]

Well you guys can call it what you wish ......the fact is Ratliff made a play, and that was the reason Stoener fumbled .

 

[berry4heisman77]

"The night is always darkest just before the day."

 

[oregonvol]

I was thinking the same thing. Anytime a quarterback uses a freaking ball to break his fall it is luck... That never happens. If Stoernor (sp?) had just tucked and fell, or if his knee had hit before the ball, or anything else, UT loses that game. Great play by the UT defense, but an equally moronic play by the quarterback.

Really? UT was still going to get the ball back. If Stoerner falls there and doesn't fumble, it's like 3rd down and 25 with well over a minute left to go. Arkansas would have probably had to punt to us with around :50 seconds left in the game. That's plenty of time to get into field goal position (and all we needed was a field goal). The fumble helped, but the people on here who keep saying that we wouldn't have had a chance to win without it either had no faith in our offense or just aren't very good at math.

 

[VOLsince68]

Probably the reason Walker has never gotten , credit , is because it was Ratliff not Walker and it was the guard not the center that he bull rushed and tripped up Soener

Well, nonetheless, many people want to say he just tripped, but that was not the case. I certainly can't argue with you as I have slept since then, but I know one of our d-linemen caused that to happen.

Anyway, it was an awesome game and an amazing season!!!

 

[orangeluvr]

it's a new coach and a new beginning. there should be excitement.

i just sense that things are so bad, people want to treat each recruit, each press conference, etc, etc, etc.....into a sign that things are turning around immediately.

it's a long climb back out of hell and when you get out, it doesn't mean that everyone else won't be still waiting there.

You Gators spent 50yrs in the wilderness ,so y'all oughta know. :the_finger:

 

[orangeluvr]

Governor Haslam has weighed in on UT football. As always, timesfreepress.com :hi:

 

[Volosaurus rex]

A few other plays in that game helped - like the Arkansas center snapping that punt over the punters head - Name any other QB that wouldnt have done the same thing Stoerner did - the real blunder was Nutt calling a pass play in the first place.

It truly should have never come down to the Stoerner fumble setting us up for a game-winning drive. Either the SEC Commissioner's office or the head of SEC officiating admitted after the game that they blew the call on the snap over the punter's head, which he kicked through the endzone for a safety. We should have been given possession at the point where he committed the foul, which would have put us about 10-15 yds. from a game-winning touchdown.

 

[GBO97]

First post has 69 likes...

 

[VolFan4Life87]

Actually some people have those really bad times and things don't turn up. They die. Thankfully our football program, while not invincible in the sense that no one can beat us, IS invincible in the sense that it will always be here.

I mean think about how powerful that is. On your death bed there will still be UT football. Hell most can't say that about their spouses. UT football has gotten me through some really tough times, losing my dad and watching my sister lose her battle to cancer. Surely we will be Rocky Top of the World again in my lifetime, I can't freakin wait!

 

[Volumnus 2011]

Really? UT was still going to get the ball back. If Stoerner falls there and doesn't fumble, it's like 3rd down and 25 with well over a minute left to go. Arkansas would have probably had to punt to us with around :50 seconds left in the game. That's plenty of time to get into field goal position (and all we needed was a field goal). The fumble helped, but the people on here who keep saying that we wouldn't have had a chance to win without it either had no faith in our offense or just aren't very good at math.

Well, okay, maybe it wasn't over, but Arkansas had the momentum. Obviously, with that little time left, you would have to throw the ball. Where is the punt downed? Inside the 10, inside the 5, in the end zone. If it goes in the end zone, there is around :50 to go 45 yards in a hurry up offense. How many times does that really work out?

None of that matters anyway. We won. I was just calling Stoerner a moron for breaking his fall with the ball. That is the type of dumb luck that happens in order for teams to win a championship. It's a yearly occurrence.