The Notes:A FortNight With Lincoln Financial

[orange+white=heaven]

Good Morning All!

And so our annual season ending turn of 12:30 games on that icon of sports television, Lincoln Financial, begins...

The tfp's Gentry Estes spoke with Mike Hamilton this week about the state of the season. Given the mood here at the Nation, this story could do nothing but get the headline here at The Notes....

tfpOnline:The Season Considered

Mike Hamilton remains convinced the school’s football program is in the proper hands.

"I was talking to our coaches the other day about what lies ahead in terms of our talent that we have returning next year," Hamilton said. "I think we’re headed in the right direction."

Hamilton cited injuries — "We looked like a MASH unit after the game Saturday night" — while assessing what he deemed to be "noticeable improvement" from last season.

"I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made," Hamilton said. "I was looking to see what I’ve seen, and that’s a resiliency and a determination and a responsiveness to our failures."

the Vols must work off the bitter taste of last Saturday’s 31-14 thumping at Arkansas.

"The main thing I want us to do is just get our groove back, get back into the flow like we’re capable of playing," Fulmer said. "Certainly injures have played a part in that. The schedule, who we’ve played, has played a part in that.

"But we’re capable of being a darn good football team when we’re playing on all cylinders well."

Mayo deems this season a success as long as Tennessee can finish in comfortable fashion.

"You know, 10-3 is way better than 5-6. I’ll take that any day," Mayo said. "We’ve gained some of that respect that we lost from last year back this year. We feel like, to top it off, we need to win these next three games."

tfpOnline:Expect Ainge-Other Bits

Fulmer said the injured quarterback has been "upgraded to probable" after a good showing in practice Monday.

"He practiced the whole time," Fulmer said, "did all the drills, and that was encouraging. ... He’s better. He’s not 100 percent. It’s going to be, as it has since the beginning, can he protect himself?"

"I’m not going to go out there and be crazy and try to do everything and run sprints and do all that kind of stuff," Ainge said. "But I’m going to go out there and see what I can do and try to do a little bit more every single day."

Cutcliffe answered, "That’s where we’re headed," when asked Tuesday if Ainge would start against the Commodores.

Jacques McClendon, practiced with the firstteam offense Monday in place of right guard Anthony Parker, who sat out because of what Fulmer deemed a headache.

"He never missed a beat," Fulmer said of McClendon. "He’s kind of bridged that gap, I think, from being a little hesitant about things to now where he’s ready for game experience.

"The thing you like to see is that kind of will, that kind of, ‘Hey, I’ve got my chance here.’"

examinations on defensive end Antonio Reynolds’ neck revealed "no nerve or muscle damage of any kind," Fulmer said.

Reynolds’ status remains questionable with the sprain he suffered at Arkansas.

Wes Brown moved from the left end to Reynolds’ right spot Monday. Either he or Robert Ayers would start if Reynolds can’t go against Vanderbilt.

"I’m sure they’ll probably get amount the same amount of reps if Tony can’t go," position coach Steve Caldwell said.

Turk McBride has been battling a sprained ankle. So has linebacker Jerod Mayo, and middle linebacker Marvin Mitchell has played through a painful shoulder injury suffered against LSU.

Tennessean: Vandy Last Year Painful Memory

At the time, UT Coach Phillip Fulmer called the loss "rock bottom." A year later, the Vols can't disagree.

"When I came to Tennessee, I never thought I'd see Vanderbilt storm the field, rushing to go sing in front of their band," redshirt freshman center Josh McNeil said. "I think it was a humbling experience for everybody."

Xavier Mitchell, like many of his teammates, still has a vivid image in his mind of the aftermath of the Commodores' come-from-behind win, their first in Knoxville in 30 years.
"The silence in the locker room after the game, the frustration on our guys' faces, the joy they found in beating the University of Tennessee — that's everything I think about when I remember walking off that field," Mitchell said.
"That's something I don't ever want to feel again. Every loss we have feels just as bad as any other. But the way things were going last year, that made it hurt worse."

Coach Phillip Fulmer admitted Tuesday that his first loss to the Commodores as head coach was difficult to swallow, but he said revenge won't be much of a factor.
"It was a big win for them and a disappointing loss for us," Fulmer said. "Certainly, somewhere in the back of their minds, it is there. But, as I have said, every year stands on its own. This year there are different dynamics and things going into the game."

Jonathan Wade said there's a hard-learned lesson UT can take from one of its darkest days.
"Sometimes you take things for granted, I can say," Wade said. "I think that was one of those situations. We learned a lot of valuable lessons all through last year. You live and you learn. That's what life is about."

Tennessean:Bowl Possibilities
I'll not quote from this. Give it a click, it lays the maybes out pretty well.

Tennessean: Few Sacks Disappoint DEs Coach

The Vols have only 16 sacks through 10 games this year, one of the lowest numbers they've had in recent memory.
"That's horrible," Caldwell said. "We've got to get better. … The thing that we've got to do is become playmakers. We've got to do a better job of getting off of blocks and making plays rather than just doing our job."

"The thing that we're still not doing, and part of it comes back to athletic ability, is we're not making as many plays as we should this year," Caldwell said. "But there's a lot of different factors to that."

Sears told reporters after Saturday's game that Arkansas "kicked our (rear) up front."
"We didn't have a very good game up front, and it's true, so Arron's word speaks for itself," McNeil said. "I don't think it was terrible, but there were some bad things, some breakdowns. We didn't do what we needed to do. It was a pretty rough game for all of us."

McNeil said he's beginning to feel the wear and tear of his first college season.
"It starts to wear on you — more than I thought it would," McNeil said. "I'm hurt, and I've got some injuries. Everybody else does, too. You've just got to keep on fighting for each other, for the team."

Fulmer said Ja'Kouri Williams and Johnson would likely be the deep men on kickoff returns again this week since tailback LaMarcus Coker still is not at 100 percent.

Let's finish this season folks....

Go Vols!!!

 

[hohenfelsvol]

All good reads. Do not want to go to Music City Bowl. Am hoping for a FL bowl. Short drive for me.

 

[tidwell]

"When I came to Tennessee, I never thought I'd see Vanderbilt storm the field, rushing to go sing in front of their band," redshirt freshman center Josh McNeil said. "I think it was a humbling experience for everybody."

Uh... yeah.

 

[OWB]

The Vols have only 16 sacks through 10 games this year, one of the lowest numbers they've had in recent memory.

Terrible. I don't look for that number to improve against Vandy's QB since he can run.

 

[KSVOL]

Lets just hope EA is back and healthy enough to protect himself from further injury. I would not count the last two games as sure wins without EA.

 

[JAllen18MVP]

I love to see McClendon making a push for the starting job, but what is it going to take for Fulmer to put Ja'Kouri Williams on the bench? Does he actually have to give the other team a touchdown? :realmad:

 

[westtnvol]

what is it going to take for Fulmer to put Ja'Kouri Williams on the bench? Does he actually have to give the other team a touchdown?


This guy is terrible along with all the others who are on kickoff returns. why cant we get somebody back there that atleast knows what they are doing.

 

[cd12]

You know I don't mind having a "darn good " band, but I would hope our HFBC would set the bar a little higher!

 

[vader]

I would like to thank O+W=H for his continued VolNotes posts. Also, extra credit for his use of "FortNight"

 

[orange+white=heaven]

I would like to thank O+W=H for his continued VolNotes posts. Also, extra credit for his use of "FortNight"

Not too much credit please, I think I spelled it wrong...

 

[vader]

Nah, you got it, with the exception of the capital N.

fortnight - Definitions from Dictionary.com

:hi:

 

[rexvol]

we just suck on special teams and I dont see that ending any time soon

 

[WA_Vol]

Caldwell was the primary special teams coach last season along with being the DE coach.