OneManGang
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[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Tennessee vs The Maxims vs Georgia[/FONT]
Shameless self-promotion: Your humble scribe will be appearing on the "Veteran Next Door" radio show Sunday morning (Oct. 6) from 9am to 11am discussing World War I. The show is on Knoxville station WKVL (AM 850) and can be heard online at wkvl.com.
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It was a routine patrol. A company of Indiana troops was detailed to check out a stand of trees to the west of the main encampment. As they blundered through the early morning fog across a field toward the woods the Indianans were horrified as what seemed like the entire Rebel army came storming out of the treeline.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It was April 6, 1862. The place was on the west bank of the Tennessee river at a ferry stop called Pittsburg's Landing. Nearby was a rough-hewn Dunker church named Shiloh.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The Confederate host bearing down was the bow wave of the 40,000-strong Confederate Army of Mississippi under General Albert Sidney Johnston. Their objective was the Union Army of the Tennessee encamped at Pittsburg's Landing under the command of General Ulysses Grant. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Johnston's boys achieved near complete surprise that morning and scattered the Yankees like so much monkey chow. For most of the morning the main hindrance to the Johnnie Rebs was their pausing to wolf down the remains of the Blue-bellies breakfasts. The delay was sufficient. The Union troops drew up a hasty defense line along a sunken road and the battle was joined in earnest. The road made a slight turn to the west and the apex of that curve became to focus of the fight. The Confederates repeatedly charged the Yankees there and the Union troops defended so stoutly that that little curve in the road was renamed The Hornet's Nest. Finally, the Confederates drew up every cannon they could find and pounded the Hornet's Nest following up with an attack that finally put the obdurate Yanks to fly. However precious time had been lost and it was now late afternoon.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Unfortunately for the Confederates, General Johnston was mortally wounded early in the fight and command passed to Gen. Pierre Gustav Toutant Beauregard. Beauregard knew the plan but had difficulty establishing contact with his units scattered in the thick woods and fields. As such, the Confederate attacks were piecemeal and uncoordinated. That being said, there were points where there were more Federal troops cowering along the riverbank than in the firing line. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Grant's command was pushed back into a narrow perimeter by nightfall when the fighting sputtered to a halt. Legend has it that Grant was sitting beside a campfire with Gen. William T. Sherman that evening. Sherman poked at the fire and said something to the effect of, We took a hell of a beating today. Grant nodded and said, Yes. But we'll whip them come tomorrow. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]That night the Union Army of the Ohio under Don Carlos Buell reached the Tennessee and crossed bringing an additional 20,000 men to Grant's aid. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Whip the Rebels the next day they did.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing to you unreconstructed types) set the pattern for the Civil War in the West. In battle after battle the Confederates would repeatedly come ever so close to victory only to have it snatched away at the last instant.
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So how did the team do compared to the Maxims?[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I would offer that Tennessee's critical error has been not recruiting linebackers and defensive backs that can stop a ten-yard crossing pattern.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]2.Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way SCORE![/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]NO wasted efforts Saturday! The Vols kept their heads in the game and were a minute-and-something from putting the ghosts of the last five years to rest with a signal victory when ...[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]3. If at first the game or the breaks go against you, dont let up PUT ON MORE STEAM![/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
CBS put a camera in the Tennessee locker room pre-game and Head Vol Butch Jones put particular emphasis on this Maxim. His boys listened and responded. Good show, Coach![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Tennessee's offensive line seems to finally FINALLY be living up to its preseason billing. Mighty LSU was held to less that 100 rushing yards against the Dogs just last week. The Vols put up nearly 200. Tennessee's critical failure, though, was allowing Georgia to drive the field for the tying score in regulation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]5. Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
I compared Tennessee's offensive line to the Roman god Janus last week. This week that comparison goes to the Vol defense. There were plays where Georgia players were literally planted into the turf of Shields-Watkins Field and times when last year's wave at them as they go by effort reared its head. * sigh *[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Recovering from an uneven performance against South Alabama, Tennessee's special teams had a monster game Saturday. The blocked punt returned for a touchdown surely had the spirits of Coaches Cafego and Neyland beaming.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]7. Carry the fight to Georgia and keep it there for sixty minutes.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Did they ever. Tennessee fought the entire game and simply were beaten. They did not give up. They did not surrender.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Saturday proved what I have been saying for years. God, in the SEC, is on the side of the big battalions. By the end of the game no less than four of Georgia's starting skill position players had been sidelined with injuries, yet their understudies came in and there was no noticeable drop off in the overall talent level amongst the Dawgs. Now, posit for a moment where Tennessee would have been had, say, Rajion Neal, Pig Howard, Josh Smith and Marquez North been sidelined during the game?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I rest my case. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]MAXOMG [/FONT]
Shameless self-promotion: Your humble scribe will be appearing on the "Veteran Next Door" radio show Sunday morning (Oct. 6) from 9am to 11am discussing World War I. The show is on Knoxville station WKVL (AM 850) and can be heard online at wkvl.com.
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It was a routine patrol. A company of Indiana troops was detailed to check out a stand of trees to the west of the main encampment. As they blundered through the early morning fog across a field toward the woods the Indianans were horrified as what seemed like the entire Rebel army came storming out of the treeline.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It was April 6, 1862. The place was on the west bank of the Tennessee river at a ferry stop called Pittsburg's Landing. Nearby was a rough-hewn Dunker church named Shiloh.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The Confederate host bearing down was the bow wave of the 40,000-strong Confederate Army of Mississippi under General Albert Sidney Johnston. Their objective was the Union Army of the Tennessee encamped at Pittsburg's Landing under the command of General Ulysses Grant. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Johnston's boys achieved near complete surprise that morning and scattered the Yankees like so much monkey chow. For most of the morning the main hindrance to the Johnnie Rebs was their pausing to wolf down the remains of the Blue-bellies breakfasts. The delay was sufficient. The Union troops drew up a hasty defense line along a sunken road and the battle was joined in earnest. The road made a slight turn to the west and the apex of that curve became to focus of the fight. The Confederates repeatedly charged the Yankees there and the Union troops defended so stoutly that that little curve in the road was renamed The Hornet's Nest. Finally, the Confederates drew up every cannon they could find and pounded the Hornet's Nest following up with an attack that finally put the obdurate Yanks to fly. However precious time had been lost and it was now late afternoon.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Unfortunately for the Confederates, General Johnston was mortally wounded early in the fight and command passed to Gen. Pierre Gustav Toutant Beauregard. Beauregard knew the plan but had difficulty establishing contact with his units scattered in the thick woods and fields. As such, the Confederate attacks were piecemeal and uncoordinated. That being said, there were points where there were more Federal troops cowering along the riverbank than in the firing line. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Grant's command was pushed back into a narrow perimeter by nightfall when the fighting sputtered to a halt. Legend has it that Grant was sitting beside a campfire with Gen. William T. Sherman that evening. Sherman poked at the fire and said something to the effect of, We took a hell of a beating today. Grant nodded and said, Yes. But we'll whip them come tomorrow. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]That night the Union Army of the Ohio under Don Carlos Buell reached the Tennessee and crossed bringing an additional 20,000 men to Grant's aid. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Whip the Rebels the next day they did.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing to you unreconstructed types) set the pattern for the Civil War in the West. In battle after battle the Confederates would repeatedly come ever so close to victory only to have it snatched away at the last instant.
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So how did the team do compared to the Maxims?[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I would offer that Tennessee's critical error has been not recruiting linebackers and defensive backs that can stop a ten-yard crossing pattern.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]2.Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way SCORE![/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]NO wasted efforts Saturday! The Vols kept their heads in the game and were a minute-and-something from putting the ghosts of the last five years to rest with a signal victory when ...[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]3. If at first the game or the breaks go against you, dont let up PUT ON MORE STEAM![/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
CBS put a camera in the Tennessee locker room pre-game and Head Vol Butch Jones put particular emphasis on this Maxim. His boys listened and responded. Good show, Coach![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Tennessee's offensive line seems to finally FINALLY be living up to its preseason billing. Mighty LSU was held to less that 100 rushing yards against the Dogs just last week. The Vols put up nearly 200. Tennessee's critical failure, though, was allowing Georgia to drive the field for the tying score in regulation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]5. Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
I compared Tennessee's offensive line to the Roman god Janus last week. This week that comparison goes to the Vol defense. There were plays where Georgia players were literally planted into the turf of Shields-Watkins Field and times when last year's wave at them as they go by effort reared its head. * sigh *[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Recovering from an uneven performance against South Alabama, Tennessee's special teams had a monster game Saturday. The blocked punt returned for a touchdown surely had the spirits of Coaches Cafego and Neyland beaming.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]7. Carry the fight to Georgia and keep it there for sixty minutes.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Did they ever. Tennessee fought the entire game and simply were beaten. They did not give up. They did not surrender.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Saturday proved what I have been saying for years. God, in the SEC, is on the side of the big battalions. By the end of the game no less than four of Georgia's starting skill position players had been sidelined with injuries, yet their understudies came in and there was no noticeable drop off in the overall talent level amongst the Dawgs. Now, posit for a moment where Tennessee would have been had, say, Rajion Neal, Pig Howard, Josh Smith and Marquez North been sidelined during the game?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I rest my case. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]MAXOMG [/FONT]
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