I haven’t posted anything this week so I wanted to touch on a few things.
The Florida Game
It is officially Florida week. Urban Legend is leading the “Mighty Gators” into Knoxville. The question is, are they still the “Mighty Gators”? They earned that title under Spurrier but I am not sure that it still applies. They have yet to win 10 games post Spurrier and, like Tennessee after last season, have lost some of their swagger since the ole ball coach left. Don’t get me wrong, three Outback Bowls and a Peach Bowl appearance aren’t bad, they just aren’t Spurrier type seasons. Tennessee has been to the SEC Championship game twice since Florida’s last trip in 2000.
I am not sure about my game prediction just yet. We don’t really know much about what the Gators have. Then again, with their habit of scheduling cupcakes for their first two games, we never really know what they have. Regardless, don’t be fooled into thinking these are the same “Mighty Gators” that came strutting in here during the 90’s. It’s not. Not even close.
It’s interesting to analyze last year’s game. The 16-7 score is a bit surprising now that we can look back. Tennessee gave up 16 points to Meyer’s offense at the Swamp. That has to be a head scratcher for the Gators considering the Vols gave up 28 to Vandy, 41 to Notre Dame, 27 to Georgia and LSU, and 16 to Memphis and South Carolina. This was after Florida outscored their first two opponents 73-17 and all we heard about was Chris Leak and this great Urban Meyer offense.
This season is pretty much the same story. Florida beats two directional schools 76-7 and all we hear about is Chris Leak and this great offense. We know pretty much what we are getting from the Gators.
The questions we have to answer are about Tennessee. Can the offensive explosion continue against SEC talent? Can Cut keep Ainge out of trouble? How will Ainge react if he gets in trouble? Then we have the defensive issues. How bad does losing Inky and Harrell hurt us? Do we have enough depth on defense to compete for four quarters? Can Chavis do it again and will we see the “prowler” or some other unexpected defense from Chief?
This game is about Tennessee not about the Spurrierless Lizards.
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The Air Force Game
I’m still laughing about the University release that we, the fans, should not boo Air Force. You know, out of respect. I guess we decided not too hit them too hard either. We almost even went as far as to give them a win. After all, we shouldn’t really disrespect these young men.
Honestly, I don’t mean to make light of the sacrifice that these men have made to serve our country. I very much respect that and I am very grateful. I really just don’t think the announcement set a good tone for the week. It was almost like, hey, we are 21 point favorites and we are going to kill this poor team. Let’s not make it any worse by booing.
I highly doubt that any of the Air Force players wanted any special treatment. They proved on Saturday that they don’t need our help. They are very capable on their own.
My hat goes off to their effort and class. I sat next to the visitor section and did not run across one obnoxious Air Force fan. But I suppose that’s to be expected.
I know this game has been analyzed to death so I will say only this: I think if Tennessee loses to Florida (notice I did say “if”) I think we will look back to last Saturday and realize that we probably lost to Air Force and Florida that day.
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Tennessee Hoops
I went to another basketball pickup game on Saturday before the Air Force game and I finally got to see Ramar Smith play. However, I still don’t have a very good feel for what type of player he is. He seems pretty quick and athletic but his shots weren’t falling as most came up short. He looks to have potential and I suppose he might be better at getting to the basket than Jordan Howell but I doubt he is as good from the outside as Jordan. They always say that you play the position that you can defend and I think Ramar can defend the point better than Howell and that’s why he will get his minutes.
Lofton looked more crisp this time but he was one of the few that looked better.
Crews had lots of trouble getting his shots off over Chism.
Wayne had trouble finishing. Nothing was falling for him.
Pearl had a series where he turned the ball over on two straight possessions.
Bradshaw was his normal self and had a nice afternoon. JaJuan started ice cold but finished red hot. When he is on his game he can hit from anywhere.
Childress played with passion. He looked much better than what I saw last week. The theme seems to be that whoever Chism guards doesn’t have a good day. Last week he was guarding Childress and this week it was Crews.
Johnson and Passley didn’t do much to alter my opinions of them and I don’t believe Tabb played.