Recruiting Forum Football Talk XXXIII

[RiseToTheTop]

If we go 9-3 this year with this schedule with a new QB I'll be satisfied anything better would be amazing. 8-4 I will be hanging on for one more season since we did have a new QB. 7-5 or worse will be hard to stomach.

@GT (basically)
@UF
UGA
SC
@Alabama
@Kentucky (not a pushover this year)
@Missouri (probably a win but road game could be tricky)
LSU

i agree with your point on the records but we also literally hear that about UK every single year. never fails. i hear how UK is sneaky good every yr from ppl on here but then in the last 3 yrs we have scored about 160 pts combined on them. They make our team look really fast and somehow tackle worse than we do.

 

[Glitch]

Using words like retarded to be cute is ignorant.

Should I have used mentally challenged? Would that be more suitable. The issue is that the same people keep vomiting up the same posts over and over again about Butch getting fired and already conceding the season that hasn't even arrived. I have to assume that the people doing this have some sort of impairment since they continue this circular argument for days on end and never seem to realized what they are doing. We actually have spring football reports to discuss and they insist on arguing about what is going to happen when we go 7-5 or 8-4 this year. Why post all the doom and gloom scenarios when there are so many hopeful story lines coming out of the practice reports.

1. Darrell Taylor stepping up into a leadership role.
2. Coach Warren getting the DBs back to basics and technique.
3. The OL having a great start and good competition with a new OL coach.
4. Butch actually sitting back a little more and letting the coaches coach.
5. Two high quality QBs slugging it out and a couple of competent backups besides.
6. WRs stepping up and assuming the roles in the absence of Malone and limited activity for JJ.
7. A new OC that is changing things up and adding in some new wrinkles and possibly operating more from under center from the things seen in some of the practice videos.

There are more but instead we are having to read the same conversation again. So... maybe I shouldn't have used the word retarded. However, I do worry about the mental state of people that would choose to wallow in the agony of depressing speculation instead of discussing the myriad of hopeful speculations that they might discuss instead.

 

[BaldBiker]

Using words like retarded to be cute is ignorant.

No different than the fu**wads (PC I hope) of VN using the word "cancer" (ie...cancer in the locker room) on here. Many of us on here have lost spouses or other family members to cancer, yet it does not seem to slow anyone down from using the term.

How about everybody just buck up and stop whining about it. If someone is a cancer in the locker room...say it. If what someone says sounds retarded to me, I'm going to say it. Neither has a damn thing to do with my opinion or thoughts on those "real life" subjects.

:hi:

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

Must have fallen off the wagon for those two games then. Either that or you're being willfully ignorant.

We obviously had more talent on the field in both of those games. But, for whatever reason (be it poor preparation, coaching, locker room discord, lack of faith in the system/coaches, players not in good enough shape to play all out for 4 quarters, maybe all of the above), we didn't take advantage of it.

The injuries were bad, but not bad enough to excuse those two particular losses.

On defense...where was this greater talent? The offense was way more talented, but Dobbs talent was broke in the SC game, and Hurd quit. Still SC should have never scored in that game. The defense was wrecked. If they had more talent it was extremely non cohesive talent, or playing hurt. Injuries devastated a defense already having cohesion problems due to back biting coaches.

 

[McGeesPub]

Should I have used mentally challenged? Would that be more suitable. The issue is that the same people keep vomiting up the same posts over and over again about Butch getting fired and already conceding the season that hasn't even arrived. I have to assume that the people doing this have some sort of impairment since they continue this circular argument for days on end and never seem to realized what they are doing. We actually have spring football reports to discuss and they insist on arguing about what is going to happen when we go 7-5 or 8-4 this year. Why post all the doom and gloom scenarios when there are so many hopeful story lines coming out of the practice reports.

1. Darrell Taylor stepping up into a leadership role.
2. Coach Warren getting the DBs back to basics and technique.
3. The OL having a great start and good competition with a new OL coach.
4. Butch actually sitting back a little more and letting the coaches coach.
5. Two high quality QBs slugging it out and a couple of competent backups besides.
6. WRs stepping up and assuming the roles in the absence of Malone and limited activity for JJ.
7. A new OC that is changing things up and adding in some new wrinkles and possibly operating more from under center from the things seen in some of the practice videos.

There are more but instead we are having to read the same conversation again. So... maybe I shouldn't have used the word retarded. However, I do worry about the mental state of people that would choose to wallow in the agony of depressing speculation instead of discussing the myriad of hopeful speculations that they might discuss instead.

Well, I mean you've pretty much already discussed what there is to discuss about that stuff in your post. It's all based on nebulous practice reports and speculation.

It's March and April. Pretty much every topic is going to be recycled, pointless opinions. If it's really getting to you that much, maybe a break is in order.

 

[chavisut]

No different than the fu**wads (PC I hope) of VN using the word "cancer" (ie...cancer in the locker room) on here. Many of us on here have lost spouses or other family members to cancer, yet it does not seem to slow anyone down from using the term.

How about everybody just buck up and stop whining about it. If someone is a cancer in the locker room...say it. If what someone says sounds retarded to me, I'm going to say it. Neither has a damn thing to do with my opinion or thoughts on those "real life" subjects.

:hi:

Go ahead.

 

[BaldBiker]

Go ahead.

You're not the boss of me!

 

[chavisut]

You're not the boss of me!

Nor are you anyone else's on here. If people take issue with it, they should be able to speak up. Listen or ignore is your prerogative.

 

[butchna]

Appreciate the concern, but I'll pass.

On predicting doom...or posting?

 

[Kristy*]

No different than the fu**wads (PC I hope) of VN using the word "cancer" (ie...cancer in the locker room) on here. Many of us on here have lost spouses or other family members to cancer, yet it does not seem to slow anyone down from using the term.

How about everybody just buck up and stop whining about it. If someone is a cancer in the locker room...say it. If what someone says sounds retarded to me, I'm going to say it. Neither has a damn thing to do with my opinion or thoughts on those "real life" subjects.

:hi:

There are multiple definitions of cancer. The one being used to describe JH (and others) is, "a practice or phenomenon perceived to be evil or destructive and hard to contain or eradicate." I've used the word before, and the thought of offending someone never crossed my mind.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

You can't say anything without offending someone.

 

[butchna]

No different than the fu**wads (PC I hope) of VN using the word "cancer" (ie...cancer in the locker room) on here. Many of us on here have lost spouses or other family members to cancer, yet it does not seem to slow anyone down from using the term.

How about everybody just buck up and stop whining about it. If someone is a cancer in the locker room...say it. If what someone says sounds retarded to me, I'm going to say it. Neither has a damn thing to do with my opinion or thoughts on those "real life" subjects.

:hi:

I could pull a double whammy. Having a special younger sister AND losing a mother,father and spouse to cancer. It's easy too see the spirit in which words are used. People use righteous indignation for their own purposes imo.

 

[BaldBiker]

Exactly folks. Quit trying to fix VN. It's not going to happen. Doesn't matter what someone says...someone COULD be offended.

 

[SpringBokVol]

No body makes me bleed my own blood.

 

[volinexile17]

I think we cash in last year's expectations this season. Fully expect 10 wins.

More experienced and deeper OL. Better fits at RB. Enough talent at WR particularly if either QB is a better passer than Dobbs.

On D, it sucks to lose Barnett, but otherwise I expect we'll play better. Partly because it's impossible to be worse and also there's no way that rash of injuries happens again.

It really only takes a few guys to step up for this team to really surprise some folks.

 

[SouthKnoxVOL]

no body makes me bleed my own blood.

nobody!!!!

 

[Vol464]

You can't say anything without offending someone.

This hurts my feeling is. Take it back.

 

[Darth_Shiveman]

On defense...where was this greater talent? The offense was way more talented, but Dobbs talent was broke in the SC game, and Hurd quit. Still SC should have never scored in that game. The defense was wrecked. If they had more talent it was extremely non cohesive talent, or playing hurt. Injuries devastated a defense already having cohesion problems due to back biting coaches.

And who does cohesion ultimately reflect upon if not the guy in charge of recruiting the players and putting together the staff that coaches them?


All that aside, if you really don't think we should have been able to get enough out of a defense with Barnett, Kongbo, Phillips, Vereen, Vickers, and Taylor up front, DK (although not 100%) and McDowell at LB, Todd Kelly, Nigel Warrior, Justin Martin, and Cam Sutton (admittedly injured) to hold Vandy under 600 yards and 34 points and 600 yards, then IDK what to tell you. Shoop had less talent to work with his first year at Vandy and had a top 25 unit. The dude has a history of doing more with less and a track record of being successful in his first year at a new school (although in both of those scenarios he had a staff mostly of his own choosing).

Their QB didn't throw for more than 279 yards in a game all season (even against teams like MTSU, WKU, and TSU), but he passed for over 400 against us.

You can harp on injuries all you want, but more than anything the performance against Vandy was indicative that there was something rotten with the staff (whether it was Butch, Shoop, assistants, the S&C program, or (IMO) varying degrees of all of the above which made for the perfect storm of suck we saw the last few weeks of the season).

Hopefully those issues have all been properly addressed this offseason. It seems Butch has made a strong effort to make necessary changes. I'm hoping that's the case and we see the kind of defense we were expecting last year in 2017.

 

[Vol464]

You can't say anything without offending someone.

This hurts my feelings. Take it back.

 

[Volnukem]

My problem with realists is that I have enough in my life I have to be realistic about. Tennessee sports is hobby for me. It's a getaway for me. Some of the realists are dragging me down. While you are being real, I'm gonna enjoy myself and be optimistic about next year. The day I lose that optimism is the day I quit investing my time into the team. It sucks enough to endure losses during the season. I'm not going to drag myself down during the offseason with doom and gloom.

 

[SouthKnoxVOL]

This hurts my feelings. Take it back.

Well...it offends me that that comment hurts your feelings.

 

[BaldBiker]

Well...it offends me that that comment hurts your feelings.

Dammit! Now my feelings are hurt.

I apologize for the use of the word dammit in my post. I did not mean to offend anyone by it's use.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

And who does cohesion ultimately reflect upon if not the guy in charge of recruiting the players and putting together the staff that coaches them?


All that aside, if you really don't think we should have been able to get enough out of a defense with Barnett, Kongbo, Phillips, Vereen, Vickers, and Taylor up front, DK (although not 100%) and McDowell at LB, Todd Kelly, Nigel Warrior, Justin Martin, and Cam Sutton (admittedly injured) to hold Vandy under 600 yards and 34 points and 600 yards, then IDK what to tell you. Shoop had less talent to work with his first year at Vandy and had a top 25 unit. The dude has a history of doing more with less and a track record of being successful in his first year at a new school (although in both of those scenarios he had a staff mostly of his own choosing).

Their QB didn't throw for more than 279 yards in a game all season (even against teams like MTSU, WKU, and TSU), but he passed for over 400 against us.

You can harp on injuries all you want, but more than anything the performance against Vandy was indicative that there was something rotten with the staff (whether it was Butch, Shoop, assistants, the S&C program, or (IMO) varying degrees of all of the above which made for the perfect storm of suck we saw the last few weeks of the season).

Hopefully those issues have all been properly addressed this offseason. It seems Butch has made a strong effort to make necessary changes. I'm hoping that's the case and we see the kind of defense we were expecting last year in 2017.

Shoop didn't all of a sudden get stupid. It was a combination of several things. Injury and staff disfunction. Up the middle that defense was wrecked by that game.

 

[chavisut]

Double

 

[BaldBiker]

Shoop didn't all of a sudden get less than the normal intelligence that he was once known for. It was a combination of several things. Injury and staff disfunction. Up the middle that defense was wrecked by that game.

.