CFN asks: Is mediocrity the new TN?

#1
Neyland Law Vol

Neyland Law Vol

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#1
It all adds up to another okay team. It’ll have its moments in the SEC East race, and it’ll come up with a few big wins to stay alive and be a factor, but is that it? Can Jones finally show he’s ready to take the team to another level?

Compared to last year, the pressure is off. Everyone will be touting Florida after winning two straight East titles, and Georgia will the darling in Year Two under Kirby Smart, but Tennessee is right there. Like before last season, there’s still no real excuse to not be the SEC East champion.

Unless, that’s just not Tennessee now. Some programs have it when it comes to winning big things, and some don’t. Considering the last SEC championship was 1998, and the last appearance in the conference title game was 2007, Tennessee is currently among those that don’t.
One big season can change that.
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http://collegefootballnews.com/2017/preview-2017-this-might-be-what-tennessee-is


SIAP - thought it was interesting analysis of our program.
 
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#2
#2
Another quote:

There’s still a ton of talent returning, and the East is still just okay and very, very winnable. So maybe it’s time to blow off the idea that the Vols will ever be dominant under Jones, and just accept that being above-average is the new norm.

After thinking for several years that the big season is coming to turn the corner and become the 1990s killer again, maybe Tennessee gets thrown into the former superpower pile of Nebraska, Texas, Miami and Notre Dame, who have become more about brand name than championships.
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Ouch!
 
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#4
#4
We're average because our last title was in '98, but UGA is a darling? When was their last title? This guy is f.o.s.
 
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#6
#6
Guys, this guy isn't a "hate TN" media member. He has actually picked TN to win big the last two years. I guess he is saying "show me". You really can't blame him for some of his points. He's saying we have the roster, we just have to put it together and do it. I think it's spot on. We need to win the division every now and then to be relevant.
 
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#7
#7
Didn't they get Butch's message that we're competing for championships? WTF is wrong with these people? It's like they want to use their own sensory perception that God blessed them with instead of taking Butch's statement to heart.
 
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#8
#8
Neyland Law Vol said:
Guys, this guy isn't a "hate TN" media member. He has actually picked TN to win big the last two years. I guess he is saying "show me". You really can't blame him for some of his points. He's saying we have the roster, we just have to put it together and do it. I think it's spot on. We need to win the division every now and then to be relevant.
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Everyone knows what he means. I look forward to the level-headed discussion between the adults here on VN.
 
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#9
#9
Neyland Law Vol said:
Guys, this guy isn't a "hate TN" media member. He has actually picked TN to win big the last two years. I guess he is saying "show me". You really can't blame him for some of his points. He's saying we have the roster, we just have to put it together and do it. I think it's spot on. We need to win the division every now and then to be relevant.
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Agree it's pretty fair. All people have to judge on is what's in the rear mirror. No one is looking at 18 wins in two seasons which may propel them to higher ground. My hope (orange colored optimism) is that staff changes, recruiting, and players are ready. Know you can slice this any way you want, but folks were saying the same thing about Dabo a few years ago...he wasn't the guy, couldn't get over the hump...clemsoning. Now look at them. IF we keep recruiting at high level, and keep doing all the right things, we've got a chance to get there. Go Vols...Just Win!
 
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#10
#10
njvols said:
Agree it's pretty fair. All people have to judge on is what's in the rear mirror. No one is looking at 18 wins in two seasons which may propel them to higher ground. My hope (orange colored optimism) is that staff changes, recruiting, and players are ready. Know you can slice this any way you want, but folks were saying the same thing about Dabo a few years ago...he wasn't the guy, couldn't get over the hump...clemsoning. Now look at them. IF we keep recruiting at high level, and keep doing all the right things, we've got a chance to get there. Go Vols...Just Win!
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The similarity between UT under CBJ and Clemson under Dabo Swinney has been debunked ad nauseam.
 
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#11
#11
njvols said:
Agree it's pretty fair. All people have to judge on is what's in the rear mirror. No one is looking at 18 wins in two seasons which may propel them to higher ground. My hope (orange colored optimism) is that staff changes, recruiting, and players are ready. Know you can slice this any way you want, but folks were saying the same thing about Dabo a few years ago...he wasn't the guy, couldn't get over the hump...clemsoning. Now look at them. IF we keep recruiting at high level, and keep doing all the right things, we've got a chance to get there. Go Vols...Just Win!
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Maybe CBJ isn't dabo. Until CBJ gets over the other hump....he will be criticized as UTs HC.
 
#12
#12
"Respect" is similar to "trust" in that both can be lost in bucketfuls but are regained in teaspoons. We had an opportunity to gain back some respect last year but blew it with losses to USCjr and Vandy. Recruiting class rankings are nice in February, but Ws and Ls are the way that people ultimately judge programs. Less talk about championships should be in order until we actually start winning some. GBO
 
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#13
#13
njvols said:
Know you can slice this any way you want, but folks were saying the same thing about Dabo a few years ago...he wasn't the guy, couldn't get over the hump...clemsoning. Now look at them. IF we keep recruiting at high level, and keep doing all the right things, we've got a chance to get there. Go Vols...Just Win!
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No they weren't. He had one bad year and had some grumbling. He followed up with a good year with an ACC title and things took off from there. The one similarity is that Dabo inherited an ACC with the door standing wide open much like the SEC East. FSU wasn't themselves and no one else was particularly good.

Unlike Jones, Swinney has capitalized. Unlike Jones, he won his division in his 2nd year when the opportunity presented itself. He won 10 games in his 4th season and hasn't won fewer since. In that one really bad season, 4 of the 7 losses were by 6 points or less. Unlike Jones, he's never had a losing conference record. His low mark was 4-4 in his 2nd full season.

There's really no comparison between the two at all except for the wish we all have that Jones might turn the corner... but Swinney had already proven MUCH more by this point in his Clemson tenure. He had won his division twice, won the ACC once, AND posted a 10 win season.
 
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#14
#14
The worst part about his article is that there are several here... who validate it with their apologies for Jones. Mediocre and the "good ol' days" seem to be good enough. You even see that exact line of argument with references to "historical averages" and the rarity of winning championships.
 
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#16
#16
Article seems like it could be about us the last couple seasons.

“The act of delivering an inexplicably disappointing performance, usually within the context of a college football season.”

A helpful example of use within a phrase is then offered: “Oklahoma State’s overtime loss to an unranked Iowa State was a full-blown Clemsoning.”

The fact is, Clemson’s performance Saturday, in which it repeatedly declined opportunities to beat the No. 1 team in the country at their crib, was very much par for the course. It’s just what Clemson does, year after year. The team has an uncanny knack for putting together talented squads that inevitably become less than the sum of their parts.

The Web site Lost Lettermen cites, as an example of Clemsoning, the 2012 Orange Bowl, pitting Clemson against West Virginia. The Tigers had finally not done a lot of Clemsoning that season, winning the ACC for the first time in 20 years and reaching its first-ever BCS bowl game. So what did it do in that bowl game? Clemson got blown out, 70-33.

But we need not go back any further than Saturday to find immaculate examples of Clemsoning. In the third quarter, with the game tied at 10, the Tigers had a first-and-goal from the Seminoles 1-yard line. Here comes a touchdown, right? Wrong. Two extremely predictable running plays right up the middle went nowhere, but wait, there was a penalty on Florida State, giving Clemson another second-down play, mere inches from the goal line.

Then Clemsoning happened. The snap to quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was in a shotgun formation — raising the question, “Why are the coaches having you stand back in the shotgun when your team is on the goal line??!!” — sailed right past, and Watson could only sprint back and fall on the ball at the 24-yard line. Two plays and a missed field goal later, the Tigers had nothing to show for near-certain scoring position.
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Clemson had just Clemsoned in epic fashion
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This ribbing seems at least slightly similar to the "life champions" "5 star hearts" jokes about TN. Hard to believe this guy is now on top of the CFB world after getting destroyed like this.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...lemson-ever-clemsoned/?utm_term=.0aa6b67910b8
 
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#18
#18
After thinking for several years that the big season is coming to turn the corner and become the 1990s killer again, maybe Tennessee gets thrown into the former superpower pile of Nebraska, Texas, Miami and Notre Dame, who have become more about brand name than championships.

Everybody knows those programs, with the exception of Nebraska, has EVERYTHING it takes to turn their programs around in a short time.
 
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#21
#21
sjt18 said:
No they weren't. He had one bad year and had some grumbling. He followed up with a good year with an ACC title and things took off from there. The one similarity is that Dabo inherited an ACC with the door standing wide open much like the SEC East. FSU wasn't themselves and no one else was particularly good.

Unlike Jones, Swinney has capitalized. Unlike Jones, he won his division in his 2nd year when the opportunity presented itself. He won 10 games in his 4th season and hasn't won fewer since. In that one really bad season, 4 of the 7 losses were by 6 points or less. Unlike Jones, he's never had a losing conference record. His low mark was 4-4 in his 2nd full season.

There's really no comparison between the two at all except for the wish we all have that Jones might turn the corner... but Swinney had already proven MUCH more by this point in his Clemson tenure. He had won his division twice, won the ACC once, AND posted a 10 win season.
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All valid points. But there is one factor that is different. Clemson had TOMMY Bowden as the coach that preceded Dabo. They had decent talent on the team, not as good as now, but pretty good. Jones was preceded by Dooley and we saw how great his players were when our NFL drafted players list which started with the first draft died with the Dooley players. Our players were not of the caliber to compete in the SEC for the most part when Jones arrived. Jones did not have the luxury of red shirting anyone from the first recruiting class to speak of and had no offensive line. I will say that now is the time for things to start to come together. If Jones had been able to redshirt JOSH Dobbs he would be our starting QB this year,but injuries prevented that, and this upcoming season would look totally different right now.
 
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#22
#22
Well i mean it's not wrong. We have hired Derek Dooley and now Butch Jones back to back.. We're a easy target. Especially having crapped the bed after having the east all but gift wrapped last year. We seem like team that can't stand prosperity anymore. It's self inflicted though. I mean Dooley and now Jones. I can't imagine why we're not in the national title discussion every year with those stellar hires.
 
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#24
#24
Boca Vol said:
2005
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Correct, sort of.

In 2005 Georgia did indeed win the SEC championship. However, the last time they won a national title was 1980 when despite losing their bowl game to the University of Arkansas, Georgia was still voted number one in the final Litkenhous poll.

Begs the question, who the heck is Litkenhous and when did he graduate from Georgia?
 
#25
#25
Seattle Hillbilly said:
Correct, sort of.

In 2005 Georgia did indeed win the SEC championship. However, the last time they won a national title was 1980 when despite losing their bowl game to the University of Arkansas, Georgia was still voted number one in the final Litkenhous poll.

Begs the question, who the heck is Litkenhous and when did he graduate from Georgia?
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The same guy who voted UT #1 in '67 that UT fans now claim...hell, it's even in the stadium.

The last time UT won any title was in '98.
 
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