This season may turn out to be a good thing.

#1
LadyinOrange

LadyinOrange

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#1
1. Discipline off the field is SURELY going to be revamped after this season. I'm betting that a zero-tolerance policy for law-breaking behavior goes into effect very soon.


2. As bad as I hate to admit it, since 1998, we the fans AND the team have become complacent. As long as we won more than we lost and got into a bowl everything was hunky-dory. Even as we berated the Peach Bowl, or Outback Bowl, or WHATEVER Bowl, we were smug and confident about our team being somewhere in the top 25 week after week. Surely after this season, fan and team complacency will be a thing of the past.


3. A little humility never hurt anybody. Especially not a kid with NFL stars in his eyes.


4. We definitely won't be ranked in the preseason top 5 next year, thus avoiding the preseason jinx that plagued us in 2002 also.

 
#2
#2
LIO, I hope you are right. I just hope that discipline will work and not turn the tainted goods into rebellious youth.

I am being optimistic that we buck the trend of downslides with change. We're a strong and resilient program with a lot of history and pride.
 
#3
#3
I'm with ya LIO. I'm hoping we can use this season to get things done that should have been done long ago. It makes you sick to think of what coulda been, but sometimes you get what you need and not what you want.

I think the off the field issues back in the spring and summer, and now a disasterous season shows just how undisciplined this team really is.

I'm a true Vol fan. I love rooting for this team even when we have rough times. I just hope this will wake up the powers that be. :thumbsup:
 
#4
#4
Originally posted by sparta vol@Nov 8, 2005 9:54 PM
I'm with ya LIO.  I'm hoping we can use this season to get things done that should have been done long ago.  It makes you sick to think of what coulda been, but sometimes you get what you need and not what you want. 

I think the off the field issues back in the spring and summer, and now a disasterous season shows just how undisciplined this team really is.

I'm a true Vol fan. I love rooting for this team even when we have rough times. I just hope this will wake up the powers that be. :thumbsup:
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If this season doesn't do it, nothing will.
 
#5
#5
1. Discipline off the field is SURELY going to be revamped after this season. I'm betting that a zero-tolerance policy for law-breaking behavior goes into effect very soon.
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We might see Fulmer and Co. being strickter, but I don't think we will ever adopt a zero tolerance policy.

2. As bad as I hate to admit it, since 1998, we the fans AND the team have become complacent. As long as we won more than we lost and got into a bowl everything was hunky-dory. Even as we berated the Peach Bowl, or Outback Bowl, or WHATEVER Bowl, we were smug and confident about our team being somewhere in the top 25 week after week. Surely after this season, fan and team complacency will be a thing of the past.
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I do think the coaches have become complacent, which has trickled down to the players (see Peach Bowls). The fans have not been that way since the loss to LSU in the SECC. I think that woke a lot of people up.

3. A little humility never hurt anybody. Especially not a kid with NFL stars in his eyes.
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Exactly

4. We definitely won't be ranked in the preseason top 5 next year, thus avoiding the preseason jinx that plagued us in 2002 also.
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I would be surprised if we were ranked in the top 10 next year. I don't think we will hear any more bragging at the beginning of the season anymore.
 
#6
#6
I have always thought they should do their talking on the field and keep their mouths shut.
 
#7
#7
This season has also shown the players that they can't win on talent alone. I've heard all the stories about players hot dogging it in practice and not taking teams seriously. Maybe this is what they really need.
 
#8
#8
I remember when the players and coaches almost dared the opponent to step on the field and start the game. Then we proceeded to kick their butt consistently. WE WERE FEARED!

Time to get back to that.
 
#9
#9
I'd tell these guys to leave trash talk to the NFL. They don't get paid. They are here to prove they are NFL caliber (for those who want to move up). So actions speak louder than words in the NCAA. Too many of these guys like to think this is the NFL and they can showboat and flash the bling.

Prove yourself first. And we need a coach to instill that in these guys. Maybe these top tier recruits we're getting have that mentality instead of one where they'd rather prove they are the you know what. Perhaps we need more humble recruits rather than these TO types who are good but are more concerned with themselves than playing as a team.

Bring back the Neyland Maxims!!!
 
#10
#10
I'm not sure what the problem is but i have a feeling that the "lack of effort" on this team is a cultural thing. Let me try to explain my point.

In the late 90's we had team leaders that gave everything they had to the team and left it all on the field. See, Peyton, Al Wilson, Tee Martin, Marcus Nash, Will Overstreet and others. :bow: These players were not only talented and hard working but they demanded excellence from their teammates. The culture on those teams was to push yourself to be the best player possible.

Fast forward to this season. Who are the team leaders on this team, Rick Clausen and Jason Allen, right? Jason Allen, I believe, is cut from the mold of Al Wilson and it shows in the way Inky Johnson and Jonathan Wade have been playing in his absence.

Now let's look at Rick Clausen. He is a average player at best that has ambitions to be a coach. :bad: What does he have that inspires his offense to perform above and beyond? Not much that I see. The WRs can only catch what hits them in the numbers and refuse to lay out for anything. When your team leader makes comments week after week about how they didn't execute then it is up to his coaches to address the problem and up to him to demand improvement from his teammates. I don't see that happening. Once Rick and Randy get out of they way (please Fulmer, don't hire Rick) I believe we will see a totally different Erik Ainge.

Now to the talent/recruiting question. What happend? Kelley Washington happend. That, I believe is when UT lost its way in recruiting. Instead of bring in quality players with the potential to be studs by their Jr. and Sr. years al a Wilson, Manning etc. they started going for the quick fix the super stud with nothing more to prove. Kelley Washington was the manifestation of a change in recruiting philosophy. That's how we get a Gerald Riggs who wasted 3 years in the dog house before he changed his attitude, Recievers who think they're better than they actually are, and Casey Clausen who never lived up to the hype, thought more of himself than the team he was playing for and never improved in 4 years as a starter.

But that's just my opinion :dunno:
 
#11
#11
Good post Mighty Pan. I agree. We do not have the onfield, get in your face leaders like we used to. Those kind of leaders helped make the other players give that extra effort. It's all fine to name team captains, but lets look for some team leaders.

GO BIG ORANGE
 
#12
#12
Great post LIO.
Im all in favor of accountability and discipline on and off the field. Looking at this season as much of a disappointment that it has been for all of us, the fans, how do you feel if your a Sr on our Defense? Sorry just had to get that off my shoulders, I feel terrible for that group.

Back to the topic. Whats wrong with taking a page from the ARMYS maxims? WR drops a ball during practice, he gets a chair to sit in (mid-field) and enjoys his favorite snack while the rest of the team runs goat trails(steps, bleachers etc) It builds unity, its also known as tough love. Mr Individual goes out and gets in trouble thats cool, let him answer to the guys that went to class then practice, meetings, film, and back to classes.
Play for the locker room sign, the T on your helmet and the guys lined up next to you.

GO VOLS...
 
#13
#13
Good Points, Mighty Pan, Orange4ever and I Bleed Orange24/7.Those are some great overall assestments of the program. Someone give some advise on this. A. Are we developing leaders at the high school level. B. How about the way these kids are being rasied, i.e. what are the parents teaching there kids about issue like character, and discipline. C. Let's look at values in sports, are kids today taught about history of a program and tradition. Or do they not care. D.You've heard about the new generation Y or X. What does that really mean. Just some ideas to discuss on this board. Please talk about these.
 
#14
#14
Originally posted by LadyinOrange@Nov 8, 2005 10:20 PM
1. Discipline off the field is SURELY going to be revamped after this season. I'm betting that a zero-tolerance policy for law-breaking behavior goes into effect very soon.
2. As bad as I hate to admit it, since 1998, we the fans AND the team have become complacent. As long as we won more than we lost and got into a bowl everything was hunky-dory. Even as we berated the Peach Bowl, or Outback Bowl, or WHATEVER Bowl, we were smug and confident about our team being somewhere in the top 25 week after week. Surely after this season, fan and team complacency will be a thing of the past.
3. A little humility never hurt anybody. Especially not a kid with NFL stars in his eyes.
4. We definitely won't be ranked in the preseason top 5 next year, thus avoiding the preseason jinx that plagued us in 2002 also.
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WORD
 
#15
#15
The only good thing about this season is that it is almost over. I hope the 2005 season is one of the first things to go when senility starts robbing me of my memories.
 
#18
#18
Originally posted by Mighty Pan@Nov 9, 2005 1:15 AM
I'm not sure what the problem is but i have a feeling that the "lack of effort" on this team is a cultural thing.  Let me try to explain my point.

In the late 90's we had team leaders that gave everything they had to the team and left it all on the field.  See, Peyton, Al Wilson, Tee Martin, Marcus Nash, Will Overstreet and others.  :bow:  These players were not only talented and hard working but they demanded excellence from their teammates.  The culture on those teams was to push yourself to be the best player possible. 

Fast forward to this season.  Who are the team leaders on this team, Rick Clausen and Jason Allen, right?  Jason Allen, I believe, is cut from the mold of Al Wilson and it shows in the way Inky Johnson and Jonathan Wade have been playing in his absence. 

Now let's look at Rick Clausen.  He is a average player at best that has ambitions to be a coach.  :bad:  What does he have that inspires his offense to perform above and beyond?  Not much that I see.  The WRs can only catch what hits them in the numbers and refuse to lay out for anything.  When your team leader makes comments week after week about how they didn't execute then it is up to his coaches to address the problem and up to him to demand improvement from his teammates.  I don't see that happening.  Once Rick and Randy get out of they way (please Fulmer, don't hire Rick) I believe we will see a totally different Erik Ainge.

Now to the talent/recruiting question.  What happend?  Kelley Washington happend.  That, I believe is when UT lost its way in recruiting.  Instead of bring in quality players with the potential to be studs by their Jr. and Sr. years al a Wilson, Manning etc. they started going for the quick fix the super stud with nothing more to prove.  Kelley Washington was the manifestation of a change in recruiting philosophy.  That's how we get a Gerald Riggs who wasted 3 years in the dog house before he changed his attitude, Recievers who think they're better than they actually are, and Casey Clausen who never lived up to the hype, thought more of himself than the team he was playing for and never improved in 4 years as a starter.

But that's just my opinion  :dunno:
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Putting Wil Overrated in the same sentence as Al Wilson is an absolute disgrace.
 
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