Ok, I’m not going to elevate my fandom status to radical like a few of our Vol brethren and say the young man needs to be shot, killed, kicked off the team or dismissed from school, but Jonathan Crompton needs to be relieved of his role as the starting quarterback of the Volunteers.
I’ve stood behind and supported the guy through all of the public bashings and message board insults. I’ve been on his bandwagon for as long as I could stand the ride, but I’m saying it now: Lane, please, for the love of all things holy, give Stephens a shot. Heck, give Lamaison a shot. Run out of the “Nu-Gun”, I really don’t care.
Since Crompton has taken the reins, he’s led the Vols to a 4 – 6 record as a starter (Yes, he started at Vandy but I can’t honestly attribute his 0-1 with an interception, -200.00 passer efficiency rating performance to the victory). He’s thrown 13 interceptions to 11 touchdown’s but the number of picks could easily be over 20 at this point. He’s had more fumbles (6) than every one of our running backs combined (5) going back to the first game of last year and he gets more balls batted at the line than Kanye West at a Taylor Swift show.
As a former QB, I understand Kiffin’s coaching mentality of not wanting to interrupt the psyche or shake Crompton’s confidence by sitting him but, from what I’ve seen, his psyche was interrupted and his confidence was shaken long ago by Phillip Fulmer and revolving offensive strategies. That being said, what’s the worst that could happen?
It can’t get much worse. I just can’t see the downside in giving Stephens a shot. He’s expected to take the helm next season, why not give him an opportunity to create some chemistry? I realize we are heading into the meat of our SEC schedule, but it’s a great opportunity to give him a taste of what he’s facing. If our strategy against talented teams is going to be a run-to-pass ratio of 9 to 1, I believe Stevens has the ability to hand the ball off to our stable of backs. It’d be difficult for him to play any worse with our “Gerber baby food” offense, as George Plaster has termed it, and if he does, put Crompton back in. What’s the worst that could happen?
Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for Crompton. Even at his worst, he’s still doing a better job than you or I ever could. He gives his absolute all for Tennessee week in and week out. He works hard, studies hard and is under more pressure than any other player in the country. He knows he going to get booed by 100,000+ of his own classmates and fans if he doesn’t perform to what we expect yet he continues to put forth the effort and put his health and well-being on the line for the Vols every Saturday. Unfortunately, it’s just not translating to W’s on Saturday’s.
So, come on Lane, what’s the worst that could happen?
3 responses to “What’s the Worst That Could Happen?”
I quit reading after you misspelled the second string qb you so desperately want to replace the current qb.
What’s the worst that could happen? How about Kiffin having to go back on his word? He said whoever won the job gets it, and he will back him up till he fails miserably (not exact quote, but kind of close) and I do not feel that Crompton has done that yet. Lane seems to be a man of principle and his word is his bond kind of coach. Crompton EARNED the starting job, Stephens had just as good of a shot (besides the injury in spring). And I believe any qb who had 100,000 people expecting him to make mistakes would. The air in the stadium has a sense of “here it comes” “get your sighs and boos ready”, which is very unnerving to me about our fan base. GO vols and GO crompton.
If Kiffin going back on his word is the worst that could happen then I’ll take it. This is football and sometimes adjustments have to be made. And what exactly would you call Cromptons performance as a starter? I believe failed miserably is pretty accurate.