I generally receive my inspiration from watching the Vols during football season, but this week I was captivated by the valiant effort of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. They had two plays to get the job done from the one foot line, and yet they came up empty. There are really two ways to look at the outcome of this game. The first and most popular opinion is: “If you can’t get a foot, you don’t deserve to win.” Most hard line football fans take that approach. Heck, that is generally my stance as well, but in a case like this, I’d offer a second option.
Winning is a learned behavior. If you aren’t used to it, and you wind up on the one foot line of your opponents with a chance to finish them off, it takes a while to learn how to do it. After all, you have 11 players on the field at any given time. None of those players have been called upon in the spotlight, on this stage to win a game like this.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are used to losing. They are comfortable with it. It is what they have learned to do. Sure, they were all heartbroken after the loss, but I guarantee that most of the Dawgs were able to revert back to their innermost thoughts to deal with the loss. “We’ve lost before, we will lose again…this is no big deal.”
When players are used to losing, it takes a while to learn how to win. It doesn’t matter who your coach is. That is why I really don’t understand the outrage when UT fails to put a team like Ohio away. Putting teams away is another learned behavior.
Tennessee’s offensive line is a MASH unit right now. They are using both Sullins brothers and starting an offensive tackle formerly known as a tight end. We should be happy that they are still running the ball at all, much less come into any contest as a 21 point favorite.
On top of it all, Jon Crompton continues to fight his own demons, while having to fend off barbs from his receiving corps as well. The current situation seems unwinnable for Crompton, and I am wondering aloud (for the first time publicly) if he has too much history of failure to continue his role as the starting QB. Unfortunately, it is probably going to be all uphill for the senior QB.
Lane Kiffin has earned the right to keep the QB of his choosing playing. He has also earned the right to call his own game plan. To borrow from Bill Parcells, Lane inherited the groceries, and we shouldn’t expect him to turn 3 ounces of ground beef into a 20 ounce Porterhouse.
This entire coaching staff is faced with the task of teaching winning ways to a team that is used to losing and playing down to competition. You don’t root that attitude out in one recruiting class, one spring football game, one fall camp or four games into a football season.
Expect tight football games from here out. It doesn’t matter who is starting at quarterback for the Vols. Tennessee is going to rely heavily on the running game and the swing passes to make a few first downs, and then they will turn the game over to the defense to hold the line.
Game plans like this aren’t always going to fill the stadium, but they convey an important message from this coaching staff to this team.
“This football team is not going to make excuses for injury and sickness. It doesn’t matter if he is a five star recruit or a walk-on. We expect the next man in to do great things. We are going to run the ball and play defense. If you are man enough to block and tackle your opponent then we can learn to win as a football team.”
I’m perfectly fine with that message. You should be too.
Until next time, Go Vols!
4 responses to “Guitar Shots: Winning is a Learned Behavior”
I agree with your “putting teams away” point. The most frustrating thing about UT over the last, O say, 17 years, is that the vols have played up to or down to whatever competition they faced. We could go head to head with a great team and then scrap with a team like Memphis the very next week. It was probably the most unnerving thing about Fulmer’s regime to me.
good work bro
You make living in Kentucky bearable. Good article.
Really nice piece.
I think that a lot of folks honestly believed that Kiffin could just walk in an make wins fall from the sky. It’s just not that easy. I have been thoroughly impressed with our new coaching staff and the ways that they have elevated the level of play thus far, but it does take time — especially when you have no passing game at all.
This team wants to win, and I know this staff wants to win. People can say what they want, but Kiffin has brought a little swagger back and I like it. As you point out, though, you have to learn the whole thing — how to finish the deal and win the day. Swagger alone isn’t enough.
It is, however, a start.
I didn’t expect too much from this season because I knew it would be an uphill battle for Kiffin and Company, but they are making progress. Slow but steady, they are slowly making changes that will lay the groundwork for championships I feel certain will come down the road.
For now, though, we all have to just grit our teeth and tell ourselves when that day comes — and it will — I was there all along…
Now, the fans