OneManGang
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[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Tennessee vs The Maxims vs South Alabama[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
It is an axiom that nations have no permanent allies, just permanent self-interests. [/FONT]
France and England have been foes for roughly a millenia longer than they have been allies. From the Norman Invasion, through the Hundred Years' War to the epic struggles of the Napoleonic era, the sons of Albion and la Belle France have slaughtered each other in large numbers on battlefields renowned throughout military history.
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It was the existential threat posed to both by a resurgent Germany in the 20[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]th[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Century that finally convinced the two countries to put aside their blood feuds and stand together in both world wars and later as members of NATO and now as members of the EU. Over time the business and political ties between the two nations strengthened and led to increased trade and cooperation. One manifestation of this is the subject of today's excursion into the dusty and weird world of military trivia.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In the 1960s a spirit of jointness swept the European members of NATO and many projects were launched to demonstrate that, really, we CAN all just get along, really. The Germans, Americans and French launched a project to develop a new main battle tank. The French soon dropped out and the Germans and the Americans produced an armored abortion known as the M1970 which was so expensive that Congress told the Army, in no uncertain terms, NO! The Germans went on to field their own design, the excellent Leopard II and the Americans came up with the equally magnificent M1 Abrams. The French and the British formed a company named SEPECAT to design a new ground-attack fighter. The outcome of this collaboration was the Jaguar.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The Jaguar was reasonably good-looking in the way virtually any supersonic aircraft can be. It was small, somewhat under-powered and short-legged. It had the unfortunate circumstance though, of reaching service status at roughly the same time as the instantly classic American F-16 and the apex predator of NATO airspace, the mighty F-15 Eagle. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]One day in the early 1980s there was a joint exercise featuring some USAF F-15s defending against the bad guys, in this case a group of RAF Jaguars on a ground-attack mission. On any given day [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]A pair of orbiting Eagle drivers spotted a lone Jaguar streaking along at low level. The flight lead eschewed using missiles and decided to teach the interloping Brit that the Eagle reigned supreme and rolled behind the Englishman to nail him with the F-15's 20mm cannon. Unfortunately for the Yank, modern fighters NEVER operate alone and the Jaguar's wingman now found his gunsight filled with $50 million of high technology parts flying in formation[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]. The Eagle driver, with his fangs through the floor was ignorant of the threat but but HIS wingman now saw a opportunity and, with his own fangs growing dropped behind the second Jaguar secure in the knowledge that EVERY NATO air force flew their fighters in pairs. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Thence came the inevitable monkey wrench.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The RAF strike had originally consisted of TWO pairs of Jaguars. One ship had a mechanical problem and aborted but his wingman carried on and attached himself the other pair. It was this pilot who now found himself in perfect firing position and soon electronic monitors at headquarters recorded the embarrassing result: both Eagles were killed and the Jags carried on. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Many pints of bitter were raised in the RAF squadron's Officer's Club that evening.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Tennessee dodged the figurative bullet Saturday against the South Alabama Jaguars, but it wasn't for lack of trying.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/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]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I stand by my statement that the ONLY way a team the likes of South Alabama should be in attendance at a football game in Neyland Stadium is to buy a block of tickets. That being said, I do doff my chapeau to the Jags for fighting, clawing and scratching all the way to the final gun. I also realize those are contradictory statements.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So sue me.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]2.Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way SCORE![/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
I mentioned this last week but it bears repeating and amplifying. Tennessee has now squandered FIVE opportunities with the ball in scoring position. Three of these were from last week and two on Saturday. Face it Vol fans, if Tennessee converts on just two of those, we are celebrating a win over the much-hated Giant Water Lizards. They convert ONE against USA and Head Vol Butch Jones is back to being a genius.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Simply put, Tennessee has left THIRTY-FIVE points on the field in the last two games.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
3[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]. If at first the game or the breaks go against you, dont let up PUT ON MORE STEAM![/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
I disparaged a fellow Vol fan at the Austin Peay game who exhorted the Boys in Orange PMS151 that, despite their 42-point lead, This thing ain't over yet! He has my sincere apologies. Maybe we should add a codicil to this Maxim: If at first you build up a big lead, don't let up the other guy might not have quit yet![/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
The Romans had a god named Janus who had two faces, one looking ahead to the future and the other to the past. Tennessee's offensive line now has a classical representation. We saw the future in the first half. The past came to the fore in the second.
[/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]
There were points Saturday where Rajion Neal was being compared to Little Man Stewart and Travis Henry. His 169-yard effort is certainly nothing to be sneezed at. In the first half, besides Neal, even the much-maligned Justin Worley was putting up Manning-esque numbers. Then came half-time ...[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
After four weeks of stellar play, Michael Palardy was due for a bit of a let down. Thankfully, neither his mis-hit field goal attempt nor the fakery try that came a cropper on a procedure penalty was fatal.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]7. Carry the fight to South Alabama and keep it there for sixty minutes.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Anyone who has been following Tennessee football since the latter days of of former Head Vol Philip Fulmer's reign recognized the affliction that surfaced in the second half. Folding in the second half became a hallmark of former Head Vol Derek Dooley's tenure on The Hill. The Incredible Disappearing Volunteers re-surfaced with roughly twelve minutes left in the third canto Saturday, much to the chagrin of all and sundry.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Since somewhere around 2003 or 2004, the Vols have made a habit of playing at exactly the same level as their competition. They could look like the Green Bay Packers against a Florida or an Alabama and the very next Saturday look like the a bunch of guys who had never played a down together against a Buffalo or, well, a South Alabama. This tendency has bedeviled Vol fans since then and through all three coaches who have succeeded Sir Philip of Winchester.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] If current Head Vol Butch Jones can fix this predilection, and this alone, he deserves to be reckoned an excellent choice to lead our beloved Volunteers.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]MAXOMG [/FONT]
It is an axiom that nations have no permanent allies, just permanent self-interests. [/FONT]
France and England have been foes for roughly a millenia longer than they have been allies. From the Norman Invasion, through the Hundred Years' War to the epic struggles of the Napoleonic era, the sons of Albion and la Belle France have slaughtered each other in large numbers on battlefields renowned throughout military history.
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It was the existential threat posed to both by a resurgent Germany in the 20[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]th[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Century that finally convinced the two countries to put aside their blood feuds and stand together in both world wars and later as members of NATO and now as members of the EU. Over time the business and political ties between the two nations strengthened and led to increased trade and cooperation. One manifestation of this is the subject of today's excursion into the dusty and weird world of military trivia.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In the 1960s a spirit of jointness swept the European members of NATO and many projects were launched to demonstrate that, really, we CAN all just get along, really. The Germans, Americans and French launched a project to develop a new main battle tank. The French soon dropped out and the Germans and the Americans produced an armored abortion known as the M1970 which was so expensive that Congress told the Army, in no uncertain terms, NO! The Germans went on to field their own design, the excellent Leopard II and the Americans came up with the equally magnificent M1 Abrams. The French and the British formed a company named SEPECAT to design a new ground-attack fighter. The outcome of this collaboration was the Jaguar.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The Jaguar was reasonably good-looking in the way virtually any supersonic aircraft can be. It was small, somewhat under-powered and short-legged. It had the unfortunate circumstance though, of reaching service status at roughly the same time as the instantly classic American F-16 and the apex predator of NATO airspace, the mighty F-15 Eagle. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]One day in the early 1980s there was a joint exercise featuring some USAF F-15s defending against the bad guys, in this case a group of RAF Jaguars on a ground-attack mission. On any given day [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]A pair of orbiting Eagle drivers spotted a lone Jaguar streaking along at low level. The flight lead eschewed using missiles and decided to teach the interloping Brit that the Eagle reigned supreme and rolled behind the Englishman to nail him with the F-15's 20mm cannon. Unfortunately for the Yank, modern fighters NEVER operate alone and the Jaguar's wingman now found his gunsight filled with $50 million of high technology parts flying in formation[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]. The Eagle driver, with his fangs through the floor was ignorant of the threat but but HIS wingman now saw a opportunity and, with his own fangs growing dropped behind the second Jaguar secure in the knowledge that EVERY NATO air force flew their fighters in pairs. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Thence came the inevitable monkey wrench.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The RAF strike had originally consisted of TWO pairs of Jaguars. One ship had a mechanical problem and aborted but his wingman carried on and attached himself the other pair. It was this pilot who now found himself in perfect firing position and soon electronic monitors at headquarters recorded the embarrassing result: both Eagles were killed and the Jags carried on. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Many pints of bitter were raised in the RAF squadron's Officer's Club that evening.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Tennessee dodged the figurative bullet Saturday against the South Alabama Jaguars, but it wasn't for lack of trying.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/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]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I stand by my statement that the ONLY way a team the likes of South Alabama should be in attendance at a football game in Neyland Stadium is to buy a block of tickets. That being said, I do doff my chapeau to the Jags for fighting, clawing and scratching all the way to the final gun. I also realize those are contradictory statements.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So sue me.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]2.Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way SCORE![/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
I mentioned this last week but it bears repeating and amplifying. Tennessee has now squandered FIVE opportunities with the ball in scoring position. Three of these were from last week and two on Saturday. Face it Vol fans, if Tennessee converts on just two of those, we are celebrating a win over the much-hated Giant Water Lizards. They convert ONE against USA and Head Vol Butch Jones is back to being a genius.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Simply put, Tennessee has left THIRTY-FIVE points on the field in the last two games.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
3[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]. If at first the game or the breaks go against you, dont let up PUT ON MORE STEAM![/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
I disparaged a fellow Vol fan at the Austin Peay game who exhorted the Boys in Orange PMS151 that, despite their 42-point lead, This thing ain't over yet! He has my sincere apologies. Maybe we should add a codicil to this Maxim: If at first you build up a big lead, don't let up the other guy might not have quit yet![/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
The Romans had a god named Janus who had two faces, one looking ahead to the future and the other to the past. Tennessee's offensive line now has a classical representation. We saw the future in the first half. The past came to the fore in the second.
[/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]
There were points Saturday where Rajion Neal was being compared to Little Man Stewart and Travis Henry. His 169-yard effort is certainly nothing to be sneezed at. In the first half, besides Neal, even the much-maligned Justin Worley was putting up Manning-esque numbers. Then came half-time ...[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
After four weeks of stellar play, Michael Palardy was due for a bit of a let down. Thankfully, neither his mis-hit field goal attempt nor the fakery try that came a cropper on a procedure penalty was fatal.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]7. Carry the fight to South Alabama and keep it there for sixty minutes.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Anyone who has been following Tennessee football since the latter days of of former Head Vol Philip Fulmer's reign recognized the affliction that surfaced in the second half. Folding in the second half became a hallmark of former Head Vol Derek Dooley's tenure on The Hill. The Incredible Disappearing Volunteers re-surfaced with roughly twelve minutes left in the third canto Saturday, much to the chagrin of all and sundry.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Since somewhere around 2003 or 2004, the Vols have made a habit of playing at exactly the same level as their competition. They could look like the Green Bay Packers against a Florida or an Alabama and the very next Saturday look like the a bunch of guys who had never played a down together against a Buffalo or, well, a South Alabama. This tendency has bedeviled Vol fans since then and through all three coaches who have succeeded Sir Philip of Winchester.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] If current Head Vol Butch Jones can fix this predilection, and this alone, he deserves to be reckoned an excellent choice to lead our beloved Volunteers.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]MAXOMG [/FONT]
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