I thought about starting a new thread, but this seems like the perfect place to post because I'm right there with DOCTORLOOMIS.
I grew up in Knoxville, and TN football was a religion. You lived and died on Saturday afternoons in the fall depending on the fate of the Large Orange.
But, I, too, have never seen a team or coaches like what we're privileged to watch this season.
We all witnessed the incredible improvement the Vols made last year from September to December. This year, that improvement is on a whole new level.
Watching the Pittsburg and FL games, I was happy to win. But, I figured AL was going to be ugly because of our shaky secondary. Then, that defense, with hardly any starters in the secondary and razor thin, bent but never broke - And put us in a position to win!
But ... This week with Kentucky was a huge turning point for me. What Coach put together was remarkable.
Facing a team with a formidable and a ball control offense, Coach was looking at his injury-ravaged, young defense and a lightning quick offense. But, if he stuck to the script:
- His offensive touches would be severely reduced, which could result in a shootout in which the last team with the ball was likely to win, and
- His defense would be exhausted and, likely, stretched even thinner with additional injuries from spending so much time on the field trying to stop the pounding of the KY running game
So, what did Coach do? He flipped the script. Suddenly, TN became the grind it out, ball control offense - with one twist - a lethal passing game he could turn on at any time that kept KY off balance the whole game. Coach's play calling was a master class.
This led to a defense that was fresh ALL GAME LONG and tore KY apart.
So, not only did Coach devise a brilliant game plan, he clearly has a genius for making sure every one of his players understands their assignments because they switched schemes faster than they changed jerseys.
This game was a turning point for me. I no longer believe there is a defense in the country that can stop TN offensive talent coupled with Coach's planning and play calling. Can GA outscore us? Maybe. But, Bama and Mr. Heisman couldn't. So, we'll see.
But, no matter what happens in Athens, I love this team and how hard they play and how fast they improve and how much fun they have.
And, I'm all in on Coach Heupel and the coaching staff for making playing football fun again in Knoxville and for being such gifted teachers of young men.
If I was Randy Boyd and Danny White, I'd be backing up the Brinks truck for all of them.
