Missouri Takeaway

[Weezer]

Last night, I was pretty pissed off. That game was Ugly with a capital U. For the first timr this year, I saw players quit on the team. If you disagree, watch the replay. Some of our guys straight out gave up. That is unacceptable and I hope CBJ deals with that this week. That is a "behind closed doors" type of thing, but those guys need to be dealt with. Losing is frustrating, but quitting is not an option. "I will give my all for Tennessee." That's an oath that shouldn't be taken lightly.

Our lines on both sides of the ball got owned. Mizzou's D was constantly pressuring Dobbs. Our OL has played soft almost all year, and this was supposed to be the strength of our team. I don't know if it's another new system or poor OL coaching or something else entirely, but CBJ needs to recognize the problem and address it. At this point, imo, Tiny would be a fool to go pro. I don't care about how he might show at the combine, any NFL scout worth a salt can see he is not mentally mature enough to play in the league. I've lost count of all the false start penalties he's had this year. It reflects a lack of discipline, which ultimately falls back to the coaching. The OL coach needs to be held accountable.

And our DL looked awful as well. They got run over, time after time. They had trouble with penetration and pressure and basically accomplished very little, if anything. The one thing I will say though, is that at least we knew going into the year they would be a weakness, unlike our OL. Hopefully help is on the way for the DL next year.

No matter how you look at it, we completely lost the battle at the line of scrimmage. Mizzou whooped our tails.

As for my thoughts on Dobbs, I don't think he did horrible. Yes, he made some mistakes, something to be expected from a true freshman QB making his first start. But he also played behind a line that wasn't giving him the protection he needed and his receivers did not help him out several times. The playcalling left a lot to be desired as we continued to try and run again and again despite Mizzou's DL owning our RBs. This loss was not on Dobbs. Ferguson would have done just as poorly given the way the rest of the team played yesterday.

Last night, my emotions had me ready to tar and feather CBJ and run him out of town on a rail, but in the light of day, reason has prevailed and I'm not ready to give up on him yet. UT has an emotional fanbase. Any who fail to recognize we wear our hearts on our sleeve just don't understand TN football. That's what makes our fanbase great. Some call it bipolar, I call it showing our emotions. So anyone calling out other fans for being emotional should really pipe down. No one's abandoning the Vols. We all just want to be on top again. Let people express their hurt and disappointment and maybe they'll be able to calm down. Keep riling them up, and this place will remain a zoo. (And yes, I do know some fans will never calm down, but that's why Freak created the ignore button.)

Right now, we still have a chance to become bowl eligible. Even a crappy bowl gives us that extra practice time that could help players develop. Even a crappy bowl shows improvement over last year. So let's focus on that and hope we can get there. And if we don't, well then, I expect all hell to break loose, but for now, let's just hope CBJ can take at least a baby step forward.

 

[jimallvol]

Your right everybody keeps making excuses for last night. The bottom line is we quit. For a minute I thought Dooley was back on the sideline

 

[Biopsyman]

Dooley would have had a brown spot on the back of his orange pants

 

[driscokid]

Bottom line is Missouri is pretty good and we are not.

 

[Gramps]

My takeaway was Missouri is a very good team. They are a top 10 team, imo.. I picked TN to win because I thought Mizzou was way overranked. I now believe they are the best team in the east

 

[Weezer]

Bottom line is Missouri is pretty good and we are not.

My takeaway was Missouri is a very good team. They are a top 10 team, imo.. I picked TN to win because I thought Mizzou was way overranked. I now believe they are the best team in the east

Mizzou is good, and I'm not trying to take that away from them, but we shouldn't be as bad as we played last night. We didn't just get beat, we got handled. I just didn't see TN intensity on the field for 60 minutes and that is something CBJ needs to address. I can handle losing to a better team(which Mizzou clearly is), but I can't handle not going full throttle for 60 minutes trying to overcome the odds. Goes against the Maxims.

 

[Rocky Top Raby]

Our LBs had their worst game last night too. So slow to react and too slow to make a play. Everyone on thag D minus Sutton and Randolph need to have some basic tackling technique classes. We would make contact behind the line of scrimmage and Mizzou would stil end up with at least 5 yds.

 

[volfan4evr]

Our LBs had their worst game last night too. So slow to react and too slow to make a play. Everyone on thag D minus Sutton and Randolph need to have some basic tackling technique classes. We would make contact behind the line of scrimmage and Mizzou would stil end up with at least 5 yds.

This is pretty much what I saw as well. Most of the time, the MIzzou runner ran through our tackler, and rarely did the first man make the tackle. Blocking seemed to be nonexistent. I try hard to understand why a team that can play so good for two games, can suddenly disappear. I do however, still support this team, and coach like I always do.

 

[driscokid]

Mizzou is good, and I'm not trying to take that away from them, but we shouldn't be as bad as we played last night. We didn't just get beat, we got handled. I just didn't see TN intensity on the field for 60 minutes and that is something CBJ needs to address. I can handle losing to a better team(which Mizzou clearly is), but I can't handle not going full throttle for 60 minutes trying to overcome the odds. Goes against the Maxims.

It's not that easy to play with confidence when an 18-19 year old freshman is the QB . Not all his fault but there is a reason 99.9% of coaches don't want that situation and it was a major factor in the game

 

[Weezer]

It's not that easy to play with confidence when an 18-19 year old freshman is the QB . Not all his fault but there is a reason 99.9% of coaches don't want that situation and it was a major factor in the game

I'm sorry, but that's a piss poor excuse. Dobbs playing shouldn't effect the D. They should be playing tough no matter what. Dobbs playing should not effect the OL. They're all veterans and should know their assignments. Dobbs hit the receivers more than once in the hands only to have them drop the ball. How should him actually getting them the ball effect their confidence poorly. Dobbs made some mistakes, but if anything, the team effected his confidence and not the other way around.

 

[SGMVols]

My takeaway: it will no longer be a surprise when Auburn kicks our teeth in next week.

Also, Palardy for MVP.

 

[checkerboards09]

Mizzou is good, and I'm not trying to take that away from them, but we shouldn't be as bad as we played last night. We didn't just get beat, we got handled. I just didn't see TN intensity on the field for 60 minutes and that is something CBJ needs to address. I can handle losing to a better team(which Mizzou clearly is), but I can't handle not going full throttle for 60 minutes trying to overcome the odds. Goes against the Maxims.

This is what most of the sunshine pumpers don't understand. Nobody is mad about these last two weeks because we lost (yes losing sucks), most everyone is upset because of the effort being given and these happen to be road games. This no effort on the road crap has got to give. These last two games should have been MUCH more respectable than what we seen. It's sad as hell.

 

[kyoon2]

I was watching the game with Cam Sutton's aunt last night with the Atlanta UT alumni club. She was "*****ing" him out via text the whole game haha. She was really funny and said that Cam grew up a UT fan.

 

[NEVolFan]

I was watching the game with Cam Sutton's aunt last night with the Atlanta UT alumni club. She was "*****ing" him out via text the whole game haha. She was really funny and said that Cam grew up a UT fan.

What's her 40 time?

 

[vtvol98]

That 3rd and goal screen pass to Dorial Green-Beckham for a TD made the Vol defense look like the Keystone Cops. Talk about out of position.

 

[orangeslice]

I am not a pessimistic person, but, I believe that reality has set in with me. It will be quite a long time before TN football is relevant again. Our misfortune should be laid at the feet of the administration, our AD (the previous one mostly) and some of our coaches. There should have been plans made for hiring an excellent coach when it became obvious that it was time to replace Fulmer. Of course, I realize, you can't force a coach to come here, but , if we had put our money into securing ONE great coach to take over (as AL did), we would be well into restoring the TN program. No one knew Kiffin was going to leave but knowing that he was a California guy and his wife liked the lifestyle there, WHY wouldn't you have had second thoughts about him? Taking a chance on Dooley was understandable, I suppose, but it was questionable from the beginning. So here we are....we have players who have tried to learn the systems of 3 different coaches, we have a new coach who is unfamiliar with the SEC and we have a very frustrated fan base, even though we are loyal to the team and want to support them. I actually feel sorry for Butch Jones because he has a monumental task. What I saw in these last two games has made me feel that a lot of the players just don't care...they think this season is a lost cause so why should they give 100%. I could not watch the game Saturday...when MO scored the first TD and there was a swarm of TN players in close proximity to him and NO ONE tried to stop him from scoring, I knew it was all over! It is strange to me that I can enjoy watching games from other conferences between teams that are unranked and not coached by well-known men and yet they fight like they are playing in the National Championship. The passion is not here for some reason and it's sad and hard to watch. I will admit we have had some very bad luck with injuries etc. over the last few years, but other teams have also, but some how they adjust. I am so tired of hearing we will be better next year, recruiting will help, or give them several years. We have been buying into those excuses for a long time. Unless our AD and the administration commits themselves to supporting our coach with great assistants who are paid well so that he can build his coaching staff up to be the best, we are going to continue with MEDIOCRITY. There is NO excuse for a reputable college team like TN to look and play like a small town high school team! Even with the adverse conditions we have faced, the BASIC skills should be there and learning to TACKLE is a necessity! I will always support the TN VOLS but it is very sad for me to say that my EXPECTATIONS have been lowered and I am beginning to feel like the Chicago Cubs fans who suffered through many years of frustration to the point of being the butt of many jokes. I truly hope Butch Jones can raise the bar and demand excellence from every player who puts on a TN uniform. We must give him a chance and I know that, but, he calls the shots in that locker room and on the practice field. If he doesn't have the assistants he needs, he should not be restrained by money from getting them! The WORST thing is not LOSING the game, it's NOT BEING COMPETITIVE and NOT EXECUTING THE BASIC SKILLS WITH PASSION AND DETERMINATION. If the TN fans see that, this team and the coaches will have our support.

 

[Catbone]

Indeed, we are Vanderbilt.

 

[papatomany]

I am not a pessimistic person, but, I believe that reality has set in with me. It will be quite a long time before TN football is relevant again. Our misfortune should be laid at the feet of the administration, our AD (the previous one mostly) and some of our coaches. There should have been plans made for hiring an excellent coach when it became obvious that it was time to replace Fulmer. Of course, I realize, you can't force a coach to come here, but , if we had put our money into securing ONE great coach to take over (as AL did), we would be well into restoring the TN program. No one knew Kiffin was going to leave but knowing that he was a California guy and his wife liked the lifestyle there, WHY wouldn't you have had second thoughts about him? Taking a chance on Dooley was understandable, I suppose, but it was questionable from the beginning. So here we are....we have players who have tried to learn the systems of 3 different coaches, we have a new coach who is unfamiliar with the SEC and we have a very frustrated fan base, even though we are loyal to the team and want to support them. I actually feel sorry for Butch Jones because he has a monumental task. What I saw in these last two games has made me feel that a lot of the players just don't care...they think this season is a lost cause so why should they give 100%. I could not watch the game Saturday...when MO scored the first TD and there was a swarm of TN players in close proximity to him and NO ONE tried to stop him from scoring, I knew it was all over! It is strange to me that I can enjoy watching games from other conferences between teams that are unranked and not coached by well-known men and yet they fight like they are playing in the National Championship. The passion is not here for some reason and it's sad and hard to watch. I will admit we have had some very bad luck with injuries etc. over the last few years, but other teams have also, but some how they adjust. I am so tired of hearing we will be better next year, recruiting will help, or give them several years. We have been buying into those excuses for a long time. Unless our AD and the administration commits themselves to supporting our coach with great assistants who are paid well so that he can build his coaching staff up to be the best, we are going to continue with MEDIOCRITY. There is NO excuse for a reputable college team like TN to look and play like a small town high school team! Even with the adverse conditions we have faced, the BASIC skills should be there and learning to TACKLE is a necessity! I will always support the TN VOLS but it is very sad for me to say that my EXPECTATIONS have been lowered and I am beginning to feel like the Chicago Cubs fans who suffered through many years of frustration to the point of being the butt of many jokes. I truly hope Butch Jones can raise the bar and demand excellence from every player who puts on a TN uniform. We must give him a chance and I know that, but, he calls the shots in that locker room and on the practice field. If he doesn't have the assistants he needs, he should not be restrained by money from getting them! The WORST thing is not LOSING the game, it's NOT BEING COMPETITIVE and NOT EXECUTING THE BASIC SKILLS WITH PASSION AND DETERMINATION. If the TN fans see that, this team and the coaches will have our support.

I'm old and 3 years DOES seem like a long time.

 

[checkerboards09]

I am not a pessimistic person, but, I believe that reality has set in with me. It will be quite a long time before TN football is relevant again. Our misfortune should be laid at the feet of the administration, our AD (the previous one mostly) and some of our coaches. There should have been plans made for hiring an excellent coach when it became obvious that it was time to replace Fulmer. Of course, I realize, you can't force a coach to come here, but , if we had put our money into securing ONE great coach to take over (as AL did), we would be well into restoring the TN program. No one knew Kiffin was going to leave but knowing that he was a California guy and his wife liked the lifestyle there, WHY wouldn't you have had second thoughts about him? Taking a chance on Dooley was understandable, I suppose, but it was questionable from the beginning. So here we are....we have players who have tried to learn the systems of 3 different coaches, we have a new coach who is unfamiliar with the SEC and we have a very frustrated fan base, even though we are loyal to the team and want to support them. I actually feel sorry for Butch Jones because he has a monumental task. What I saw in these last two games has made me feel that a lot of the players just don't care...they think this season is a lost cause so why should they give 100%. I could not watch the game Saturday...when MO scored the first TD and there was a swarm of TN players in close proximity to him and NO ONE tried to stop him from scoring, I knew it was all over! It is strange to me that I can enjoy watching games from other conferences between teams that are unranked and not coached by well-known men and yet they fight like they are playing in the National Championship. The passion is not here for some reason and it's sad and hard to watch. I will admit we have had some very bad luck with injuries etc. over the last few years, but other teams have also, but some how they adjust. I am so tired of hearing we will be better next year, recruiting will help, or give them several years. We have been buying into those excuses for a long time. Unless our AD and the administration commits themselves to supporting our coach with great assistants who are paid well so that he can build his coaching staff up to be the best, we are going to continue with MEDIOCRITY. There is NO excuse for a reputable college team like TN to look and play like a small town high school team! Even with the adverse conditions we have faced, the BASIC skills should be there and learning to TACKLE is a necessity! I will always support the TN VOLS but it is very sad for me to say that my EXPECTATIONS have been lowered and I am beginning to feel like the Chicago Cubs fans who suffered through many years of frustration to the point of being the butt of many jokes. I truly hope Butch Jones can raise the bar and demand excellence from every player who puts on a TN uniform. We must give him a chance and I know that, but, he calls the shots in that locker room and on the practice field. If he doesn't have the assistants he needs, he should not be restrained by money from getting them! The WORST thing is not LOSING the game, it's NOT BEING COMPETITIVE and NOT EXECUTING THE BASIC SKILLS WITH PASSION AND DETERMINATION. If the TN fans see that, this team and the coaches will have our support.

This x1000. The losing isn't the bad part. It's the effort. The effortless performances on the road are sickening. If we want conference and NC's again soon, we've got to at least be competetive away from Neyland during this "rebuilding stage".

 

[Volhoops]

Knowing our secondary is so terrible why did we not all out blitz their QB several times last night ? Are we afraid that somebody will come free and be 20 yards wide open in the end zone ? Well it happened last night while we played base defense. We keep going into these games doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

 

[LA Vol]

The players that don't want to work hard, try hard and give their all for Tennessee every game need to follow Vincent Dallas and Alan Posey out the door. Then those that are fully committed can play to the best of their ability for 60 minutes every game, we will support them and get the best recruits we can in here as soon as possible. This half-assing it and pretending that certain games don't matter is garbage. The underclassmen don't need to be around that losing mentality.

 

[i2amavol]

Bottom line is Missouri is pretty good and we are not.

Lets further define pretty good: top 10, and not undefeated only because they let another good team back in the game in the fourth quarter after they had held them scoreless for three quarters.

We are just not ready to go on the road and beat anybody in the top 20.

 

[daj2576]

This is what most of the sunshine pumpers don't understand. Nobody is mad about these last two weeks because we lost (yes losing sucks), most everyone is upset because of the effort being given and these happen to be road games. This no effort on the road crap has got to give. These last two games should have been MUCH more respectable than what we seen. It's sad as hell.

if there are no moral victories, there are no moral defeats. Football is binary, you get a W or an L.

Playing the game closer and losing is still a loss. I get confused around here: people criticize others for being proud of a close loss (moral victory) then turn around and behave like a big loss counts proportionally more.

Ultimately, I dont care about the score, only if it results in a W or an L. Would you feel better if we played 12 top 12 teams, went 0-12, but lost each game by a field goal? I wouldn't, and I bet you wouldnt either.

It doesnt matter if you lose by 1 or 100, when the game ends there is nothing that can be done to change the outcome. In that case both losing by 1 or 100 are equally and infinitely distant from the W.

 

[orangeslice]

if there are no moral victories, there are no moral defeats. Football is binary, you get a W or an L.

Playing the game closer and losing is still a loss. I get confused around here: people criticize others for being proud of a close loss (moral victory) then turn around and behave like a big loss counts proportionally more.

Ultimately, I dont care about the score, only if it results in a W or an L. Would you feel better if we played 12 top 12 teams, went 0-12, but lost each game by a field goal? I wouldn't, and I bet you wouldnt either.

It doesnt matter if you lose by 1 or 100, when the game ends there is nothing that can be done to change the outcome. In that case both losing by 1 or 100 are equally and infinitely distant from the W.

I disagree, it does MATTER if the L resulted because the effort and passion were not there. It matters to the players because the only way they get better is to give 100% in every game....that is how they challenge themselves and improve their skills. They can improve in some way from every game even if they lose, but, not if they are not putting out their maximum effort. It MATTERS to the coaches because if the players are not giving 100%, they have NOT been inspired by the coaches. It MATTERS to the fans because we give 100%to this team in our loyalty and support, many times sacrificing in order to attend the games and we have a right to expect that our team will BE IN THE GAME, start to finish, doing everything they are capable of to WIN. If you do not give your maximum effort in EVERYTHING you do, you are already DEFEATED...that is true in life and in an athletic contest. The score is what is on paper, but, the EFFORT is what is most important. You can't go back and change a score, but, you can gain something from every game that will contribute to making you the best you possibly can be, if you give 100% in every situation.

 

[SlipKidVol]

Lets further define pretty good: top 10, and not undefeated only because they let another good team back in the game in the fourth quarter after they had held them scoreless for three quarters.

We are just not ready to go on the road and beat anybody in the top 20.

This. We simply need more depth and speed. It's coming