Guitar Shots To The Head: Do Over

I understand that every generation looks fondly on their childhood. I am not one of those guys that wants to grow old and talk about how good things were when I was growing up, but feel a little loss for the neighborhood kids when I drive by an empty open field near the house. If that was my neighborhood, this time of year everyone that had a pair of shoulder pads and a helmet would have been out there playing some good old tackle football.

There was nothing like a good old eight on eight game that would last well into the late afternoon. Even better was the rules that we played by. On several occasions, I would be kicking off, and I would shank the ball. Was that disastrous for my team? Heck no! If I could yell “do over” before the receiver caught the ball, I would have another opportunity to kick the ball again. Everyone loves a do over.

If I were to pull my Atari out of the attic right now, you would see that the most warn switch on the machine is the reset switch. It was perfect for when my stick men weren’t doing so well against the computer, or when the Asteroids started moving too quickly. Space Invaders would have cost me my sanity if that reset button wasn’t so convenient. I know that several of you out there felt my pain.

Turns out that this UT football team has at least one “do over” left in this football season. For some of us it provides a spark and gives meaning to the rest of the season. Regardless of where we have been and what we have done, Saturday against the Gamecocks, Jacques McClendon and Daniel Lincoln hit the reset switch, and at least for this week, the football season for the Vols is still a salvageable enterprise. It isn’t always pretty, but that is what “do overs” are for. It will be interesting to see if there is another opportunity squandered or if UT parlays this into a trip to the Georgia Dome.

In the spirit of the Volnation’s good fortunes let me be the first to hand out some guitar shots to the head to those who made the reset possible.

Urban Meyer: The more that I hear and see Urban the more impressed I am with his abilities as a head coach. However, if he doesn’t soon realize that Tim Tebow is in fact going to eventually get killed carrying the ball 60% of the time, some one needs to hit him over the head with a six string. The Georgia game was simple proof of what everyone on this board has been trying to tell Lawgator. You cannot play a full SEC schedule and expect your QB to be that durable.

Phillip Fulmer: Icing the kicker with one of your two remaining timeouts was just not all that smart. Thank goodness the one trick play we practiced this week worked. The old illegal motion play before the kick was one for the ages.

The Open Week: UT destroyed a Georgia team that in turn beat Florida. Though I don’t recall how the UT vs. Florida game turned out this year, I am almost positive that it was a competitive game based on Saturdays results…….All kidding aside, the one common element between the UT/Gawga and the Gawga/Florida game was this. The winner of each contest was off the week before. As poor as it has looked at times this year, the SEC is still a very physical league. Just ask the recently Croomed Kentucky Wildcats how hard Mississippi State players hit you in the mouth.

Mike Hamilton: here is your Gibson to the gourd. I don’t want to hear about the national perspective on the Tennessee football head coaching job from you. Sure, it is prudent for you to evaluate where you think it stands. I just don’t want to hear you talk about it publicly. When you hit the print or the airwaves I want some party line talk. I want you to convince me that a person would be a fool to not want the job. You of all people completely understand that it is your responsibility to market the program. If the job isn’t all that attractive, will someone please tell me why Phillip Fulmer will not surrender his death grip on it?

In closing, I will tell you that I have been an avid college football fan for as long as I have understood the game. I have never seen a season quite like this one. For all the resets and “do overs” this year, fans have to know that it may never be like this again. In that case, I will be tied to the couch every Saturday from here on out to see what the Vols do with this opportunity. Given the current state of affairs, it is impossible to predict what is going to happen during the remaining Saturdays. I am not discouraging the good old debate that goes on in the Volnation (the play of this team still befuddles me to no end), but I am encouraging everyone to fill the seats at Neyland and hope for the best with our beloved football team. Until next week, Go Vols!