Status of the program....

#1
jakez4ut

jakez4ut

Patience... It's what's for dinner
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Jul 7, 2005
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#1
The opinion of UT Football..hmm. though this year sucked big time, when you look back over the years, and hopefully years to come, there is one thing that you alwasy have to come back to..."ARE WE IN CONTENTION FOR OUR CONF. TITLE ON A REGULAR BASIS?". Which really means, are we competitive with the top teams in the conf. regularly. Now, going back to 2000 to now, there is a definite drop off for us against the rest of the big boys of the league. But what you have to consider is this, are we as capable of beating those teams as they are of beating us? Usually the answer it YES. YOu can't win 'em all, though it would be nice.

2004 was a perfect example. We were not expected to do anything but finish 3rd in the East behind UF and UGA. And at the end of the year, no one was all that suprised though that we won the EAST. There's a reason for that.

While we all have justified gripes with the way this season was handled and all have differing opinions of what is to come in the future, there's still one thing that cannot be overlooked. Year in and year out we are usually in the discussion of winning the division (or just playing in the CCG for those that say we don't "win" anything) and/or conference.

And at the end of the day, that's really all you can ask for as a fan. i'd rather be in the discussion, or be a factor, than not be heard from at all, like the MSU, Ole Miss, Vandy's, USC(until this and next season anyway), and Kentucky's of the world.

Let's face it, over the past 5 years, this conference has developed in to a 6 way race for the title every year, and with the addition of Spurrier at USC, and based on what he'd done down there this year, you'd have to think they'll be in the mix as well in the future...

No team has repeated as conf. champs since we did it in 97 & 98, right?. And i think it will be a while before you see a team come out and dominate like UF did in the 90's.

So, overall i'm still happy with the status of this program just not recent performance of this program.

Which could lead to the direction of the program..which is a nother important part of this equation...are you going up, down, staying still? While i wouldn't say we've acheived the same success we did in the 90's by any stretch, we have won the East twice (or again, played in the SECCG twice) since 2000, we've played in Bowl games every year, so w/out a BCS berth or a conf. champ in the last 5-7 years, i would lean RIGHT NOW to saying we're staying still. Given that we have already had a losing season this year, should we follow it up next season with another crapola season, we will have done a complete 180, and going down hill fast. But if you really want to see a team that was heading down hill...go to Lincoln, NE and State College, PA (at least until this year), and Tuscaloosa, AL (also at least until this year), and South Bend, IN (also until this year). All of those hit VERY rocky times, much rockier than we have seen thus far (barring a losing season or two!).

there's still a chance to turn it around w/out having to go thru what those afformentioned programs had/have to endure.

That doesn't make me complacent or willing to settle, it just makes me a realist. And i can tell you one thing, with the excepiton of Penn St., the other programs mentioned above, there was one thing that all of them wen thru...multiple coaching changes at the HC position in a very short period of time. As bad as this year has been, and despite the shortcomings we've had in the past few seasons, you have to take the GOOD as well....it's not all about the shortcomings. We all agree that things were done, and mistakes were made and CPF was ultiamately responsible for that, but with that you just can't discount his winning %, Back to back SEC titles, 13 consecutive years of bowl appearances, and a national title.

We'll be back folks...trust me. So relax, it's not near as bad as some would have you think it is.
 
#4
#4
i hope and think so as well, and i hate your picture on your avatar!!!! :D
 
#5
#5
(jakez4ut @ Jan 17 said:
i hope and think so as well, and i hate your picture on your avatar!!!! :D
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I've already been through it with him. In fact, I think my jabs are one of the reasons he still has it.



And no offense, but I am tired or trying to analyze the team and get a grasp on things. Can we just see how the infamous "there's always next year" will work and move on?? :dunno:
 
#6
#6
none taken, and i would love to, but there has to be some levity to the discussion....too many times all you see is the negative side of things, and there has to be "the other side of the story", if you really want to call it "other side"....there's really not as much difference in our opinions as most would think, it really just has to do with the over the top sensationalism that some folks can't resist posting sometimes....so i merely post this as realistic and objective a view as i can possibly muster as a biased observer of this board.
 
#7
#7
Somebody left the gate open and let out the sheep...JK , good post.
 
#8
#8
baaaa. what are ya gonna do huh? but, if we're all sheep, who's the shepard? wait, i may not want to know the answer to that question...
 
#10
#10
i just can't agree guys there are to many other good coaches in our league now. i hope you guys are right and we tear it up next year, but i think we lose 2 of our first 3 games and fulmer out as coach by november. i can't become a believer when almost all of the offensive line has to be replaced and huge qb concerns still looming. CUT will help and foster is a stud, but if we have no blocking i don't think we are going to beat anybody passing the ball. i'll stick with 7-4 or 6-5 and the team struggling to score again. as the program continues the downward trend. hopefully you guys are right and i'm wrong, but i also picked us to be 7-4 last year. we need playmakers and we don't have any.
 
#13
#13
(smokedog#3 @ Jan 17 said:
i just can't agree guys there are to many other good coaches in our league now. i hope you guys are right and we tear it up next year, but i think we lose 2 of our first 3 games and fulmer out as coach by november. i can't become a believer when almost all of the offensive line has to be replaced and huge qb concerns still looming. CUT will help and foster is a stud, but if we have no blocking i don't think we are going to beat anybody passing the ball. i'll stick with 7-4 or 6-5 and the team struggling to score again. as the program continues the downward trend. hopefully you guys are right and i'm wrong, but i also picked us to be 7-4 last year. we need playmakers and we don't have any.
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here's what i see when i read this.....a valid arguement. my whole issue with the way we get on CPF is the unrealistic views of how things should be vs. what has already happened in season's past.

What you state here is not necessarily off target. we will have holes next year, and we could very well go 6-6 or 7-5. But we could also go 10-2 or 9-3 just as easily.

my whole point is when you look at the program as a whole, you just can't discount the GOOD CPF has done, focus solely on his misgivings, which he does have. But even with all the misgivings he does have, it has netted us only 1 losing season in his 14 years, compared to 2 SEC titles and a NC. that's all....it's all relative.
 
#14
#14
i agree jake fulmer has done alot of good things for UT. my whole problem with him is that he waited way to long to make coaching changes. if our back ups last year were as good as they said they were how come they didn't play. we sure needed the help. that was suppose to be the best o-line we ever had, that doesn't make me optomistic. fulmer has not done a good job lately and i believe he may be past his prime. our offenses are boring and hard to watch and he always is afraid to make the big plays he wants the other team to self destruct. if they don't it is a L for UT. he plays not to lose, and you can't do that now a days. your right if crompton can lead the team the o-line blocks great and we know foster can run we could be allright. if all our defensive replacements are as good as advertised we could be really good on defense. you have to admit though that is alot of if's, that is the reason i'm saying 7-4, but i see your point. we could be better than that.
 
#15
#15
(GOT TWELVE? @ Jan 17 said:
UT isn't going anywhere, they will always be a contender.
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You know they probably said the same thing about Vanderbilt in the 30's. Time to give up now, guys. We could suck 50 years from now, too.
 
#16
#16
(milohimself @ Jan 17 said:
You know they probably said the same thing about Vanderbilt in the 30's. Time to give up now, guys. We could suck 50 years from now, too.
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One more post like that and I'm going to petition to remove your permission to use personal pronouns when referring to the team.
 
#19
#19
Realistically speaking, Tennessee has always rotated a lot of players plus the injuries this year helped young players get expierence so shouldn't that be a positive. Good post Jake.
 
#21
#21
One thing has got to present itself in the 06 season. Improvement. If we look no better offensively in Dec than we did at seasons start my friends it is time to scrap that 30 year old, over-exposed, 8 play system everyone on the hill has subscribed to for decades. Along w everyone, regardless of "family relationship" associated with it.

P.S. when I say improvement I'm not speaking about a few stats one must "dig" for to prove slight improvement. I'm speaking of REAL improvement , expansion, development & growth w our whole offensive approach. And for goodness sake I don't ever want to hear "we'll play what they give us" again. First off that indicates our offense is at a disadvantage from the start (w our recent talent that pretty lame) or does it really mean, our offensive staff isn't smart enough to make your defense adjust to what we intend to do.
 
#22
#22
(RealVol @ Jan 18 said:
One thing has got to present itself in the 06 season. Improvement. If we look no better offensively in Dec than we did at seasons start my friends it is time to scrap that 30 year old, over-exposed, 8 play system everyone on the hill has subscribed to for decades. Along w everyone, regardless of "family relationship" associated with it.

P.S. when I say improvement I'm not speaking about a few stats one must "dig" for to prove slight improvement. I'm speaking of REAL improvement , expansion, development & growth w our whole offensive approach. And for goodness sake I don't ever want to hear "we'll play what they give us" again. First off that indicates our offense is at a disadvantage from the start (w our recent talent that pretty lame) or does it really mean, our offensive staff isn't smart enough to make your defense adjust to what we intend to do.
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Beautifully stated. Sleepwalking through last season allowing Ainge to digress, and talking about the Rose Bowl in August is all intolerable. People are talking about a 5-6 season like it was a bump in the road now, but I cannot buy that. Why should a program with talent at the skill positions that UT has have to be in a rebuilding year? It is absurd. Why were most of the talented players less effective when they were a year older and game experienced.

Flowery talk and perspective is one thing, starting next year outside the top 25 looking in is another. That is the reality. Cut, please help.
 
#23
#23
(smokedog#3 @ Jan 17 said:
i agree jake fulmer has done alot of good things for UT. my whole problem with him is that he waited way to long to make coaching changes. if our back ups last year were as good as they said they were how come they didn't play. we sure needed the help. that was suppose to be the best o-line we ever had, that doesn't make me optomistic. fulmer has not done a good job lately and i believe he may be past his prime. our offenses are boring and hard to watch and he always is afraid to make the big plays he wants the other team to self destruct. if they don't it is a L for UT. he plays not to lose, and you can't do that now a days. your right if crompton can lead the team the o-line blocks great and we know foster can run we could be allright. if all our defensive replacements are as good as advertised we could be really good on defense. you have to admit though that is alot of if's, that is the reason i'm saying 7-4, but i see your point. we could be better than that.
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I don't disagree with anything you said here. I'm not saying i never get frustrated w/CPF....Lord knows that isn't the case. I've been standing in my living room dog cussing at times....and for a lot of the reasons you state above. He has played not to lose in the past. He has made mistakes, esp. recently. He should have made some changes on the staff earlier. And yes, there a lot of if's for next season, and like RealVol said in one of his posts in this thread, we all should expect to see some real improvement. And i think i know what he means, and what you mean. I want to see a kid make some real effort. I want to see plays come together and work!!! I want to see our players look like they are beating the other team...it's been a while since you could visibly tell we were just flat out beating someone....or were just flat out faster, stronger, smarter, more heart, etc, etc, etc,.....I do agree that beating UAB on a last second pass deflection is not exactly inspiring. I do agree that losing to Vandy is completely unacceptable. I do agree that the discipline issues on and off the field have to be fixed before this team can go anywhere of signifigance.

I'm just not ready to say that the only way to acheive any/all of that is to fire fulmer and go with the next trendiest pick out there....that's all. And i'm not ready to undermine, ridicule, belittle anyone who thinks otherwise...
 
#24
#24
(smokedog#3 @ Jan 17 said:
i agree jake fulmer has done alot of good things for UT. my whole problem with him is that he waited way to long to make coaching changes. if our back ups last year were as good as they said they were how come they didn't play. we sure needed the help. that was suppose to be the best o-line we ever had, that doesn't make me optomistic. fulmer has not done a good job lately and i believe he may be past his prime. our offenses are boring and hard to watch and he always is afraid to make the big plays he wants the other team to self destruct. if they don't it is a L for UT. he plays not to lose, and you can't do that now a days. your right if crompton can lead the team the o-line blocks great and we know foster can run we could be allright. if all our defensive replacements are as good as advertised we could be really good on defense. you have to admit though that is alot of if's, that is the reason i'm saying 7-4, but i see your point. we could be better than that.
Click to expand...
I don't disagree with anything you said here. I'm not saying i never get frustrated w/CPF....Lord knows that isn't the case. I've been standing in my living room dog cussing at times....and for a lot of the reasons you state above. He has played not to lose in the past. He has made mistakes, esp. recently. He should have made some changes on the staff earlier. And yes, there a lot of if's for next season, and like RealVol said in one of his posts in this thread, we all should expect to see some real improvement. And i think i know what he means, and what you mean. I want to see a kid make some real effort. I want to see plays come together and work!!! I want to see our players look like they are beating the other team...it's been a while since you could visibly tell we were just flat out beating someone....or were just flat out faster, stronger, smarter, more heart, etc, etc, etc,.....I do agree that beating UAB on a last second pass deflection is not exactly inspiring. I do agree that losing to Vandy is completely unacceptable. I do agree that the discipline issues on and off the field have to be fixed before this team can go anywhere of signifigance.

I'm just not ready to say that the ONLY way to acheive any/all of that is to fire fulmer and go with the next trendiest pick out there....that's all. And i'm not ready to undermine, ridicule, belittle anyone who thinks otherwise...
 
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