Guitar shots to the head – September 2nd

I woke up this morning, and I gave the calendar a second glance. Yep, it was still September 2, 2007. It just feels like September 16. If I could throw a few banana peels in the flux capacitor and fire the up the ole Delorean I would go all the way back to August when there was the promise of a new day…..a hope that the Vols defensive front had matured….a chance that they would come out and “shock the world”….or the prospect that having a senior QB would help weather the storms that the Vols would face against Cal and Southern Miss. Sure this feeling in my gut was apparently inevitable, but the Vols just aren’t supposed to get exposed like that until they enter the SEC portion of their schedule.

As much as I hate to do it, I feel a deep obligation to pass some of my misery off to you this week by handing out a dose of reality with every shot to the head. Agree or disagree, programs generally get what they deserve. Withholding guitar shots would make me a willing participant in mediocrity that has become UT football, and while some are willing to support and enable the current path of the Vols, I refuse to do so. Without further ado, we will get down to business.

The new Intercontinental champ this week is Volholic. He put into words what most of us were feeling in a post that everyone on the nation should read at least once. Here it is in case you missed it:

What really sucks is that you wait for this all year long. If you are like me, you read all the recruiting reports. You go to the spring game. You read the practice reports and then you somehow get through all summer waiting for this, hoping that your team has some glimmer of a shot at something great. I listen to Dave Hooker say they look impressive in practice. I hear him say that the d-line looks good and that Mapu and Bolden look like they have taken that next step. And then suddenly it’s all ruined in one 4 hour stretch. Just ruined.

For those of you that say it is way too early for talk like this, you are recipients of the first blow to the head. Being exposed on national television, and having the opposing coach talk to the media about how much his familiarity with the Vols defense aided his play calling are harbingers of what will be a long and frustrating year for the front four of this UT squad.

Just to be fair, Dan Brooks gets a lump on the melon as well. In the past, when all else on the UT team found a way to lose, quit or simply stink the place up, fans could always count on a lineman or an end to provide a spark for the team. We have taken our front four for granted for a long time now, and many, including myself consider this to be the last domino to fall in Fulmer’s legacy. First we run out of receivers, now our defensive line is in shambles. As we are finding out, as the front four go, so go the linebacking corps.

All in all, there are plenty of more guitar shots for everyone. For all of us who expected the OL to show some improvement, we deserve a large crack on the skull. We were all introduced to some new logic on Saturday night. Physical fall and spring practices = being on the three yard line in the third quarter against a Pac 10 team and running the ball one time. Suckers!

As for the menu system, it looks like we will settle for a number two at Mickey D’s while a Mortons is right across the street. CPF thought we had more talent than Cal, and was in no hurry to insert the new talent. No, we didn’t try to ram it down their throats, but I felt like I was watching a Hal Mumme coached offense in Berkley.

The offensive line has not improved enough to run the ball straight ahead. I don’t know what the coaching staff has seen to make them think any differently….unless it was the OL’s performance against our own inept DL. This news flash is presented by Gibson. UT cannot run the ball without stretching the field. Stretching the field requires fast receivers. Stop trying to cram the Indianapolis Colt’s offense down their throats, and get them the ball in space.

Looking forward, it is time for UT to roll the dice and put their fastest players on the field. As fans, we can choose to react emotionally or cognitively. If you factor any of the latter in at all you certainly understand that this UT football program is now at a crossroads. I hear all of that “this is only one game” kind of talk. I assure you it is not only one game. The AP and other coaches remember the beat down at Arkansas. They still chuckle about the loss to Penn State, and now they are armed and “loaded for Bear”. They will not soon to forget our beating in Cali. Neither will most Tennessee fans, because they will be constantly reminded about how early that “gut” feeling came this year.