:good!: It's a divided bunch. Some see it for what it is and some like to put lipstick on a pig..Do we back pedal or is our expectations still to win the SEC East?Should be a goal each year. May not always be realistic but it should be a goal..
What should TN fans settle for? Depends on which fans you're talking about. The ones that want championships and to contend for them regularly, or the ones that defend a coach like he's their brother who are just fine with whatever slop he gives them...
Worley should have never been on the field in that offense, that's why I can't stand the redshirt BS. It was clear from the 1st game of that season a DTQB should be starting. Or do what good coaches do and coach to the strengths of your players.I think Butch likely needs to win the East to keep his job. The problem is that winning the East is going to be more difficult next year than this year. I think something like 7 wins is pretty likely.
2016 was Butch's window to win 10 games, go to Atlanta, and keep the momentum building into 2017. He missed that window and underachieved this year, so he needs to overachieve next year. He's never really overachieved while he's been here, so I have doubts that he can do it.
I also have serious doubts about Butch's player evaluation and development. When it comes time to make a critical evaluation/decision at a position, I don't have confidence in him to do it.
I won't be shocked at all if he mismanages this QB situation and that causes struggles early in the year. He did it with Worley as JGA said above, and the best RB on the roster for the past 2 years only became a starter when the previous starter left the program.
It's going to be a tall mountain to climb. Schedule isn't favorable and the few pieces that we have to replace were key players this past year. However, and I'm not saying 2017 is our year, when the goal is short of an SEC east championship, you might as well hang 'em up.
That's what this program has to get back to. When people hear the word "Tennessee" they need to assume that we're gonna be right there. Every. Damn. Year.
Theoretically, we have less talent next year than this year, but the step down shouldn't be too much. That said, our schedule next year looks easier than this year.
I wouldn't evaluate our performance on "whether we win the East." Rather, I'd look at it in terms of overall wins and quality of play. A 9 win regular season with a new starting QB is good. I'd hope to see at least a few "quality wins", as well.
While 8-4 this season was a bit disappointing, I think it would've been more tolerable had we played Bama close and not had so many near-losses and embarrassing defeats. Last season, we were 8-4 but looked more like a 10-2 team. This season, we were 8-4 but looked more like a 6-6 team. Ultimately, I think we have to see progress again. We might not win the SEC next year, but we need to show that we might be capable of doing it sometime soon.
Umm he was our best back by the end of the season. Had more rushing yards than KamaraI expect 5-7 to 7-5.
Too many on here are just assuming Guarantano steps up and replaces Dobbs' production. I am not even convinced Jones can handle deciding the QB situation. Last time he was in this spot, we watched Worley get used as a punching bag for the first part of the season while Dobbs was tucked away on the bench.
Replacing Maybin, Sutton and Barnett on defense won't be easy either. They failed miserably this season trying to get buy with the first two this year.
And John Kelly is a great kid and good player but he isn't Kamara or Hurd.