Kirby Smart takes a jab at Butch Jones

#126
#126
The Artful Dodger said:
Chucking it down field is not that dangerous of a pass. Especially for someone with Eason's arm strength. Short to intermediate "dump off" passes and long go routes are used with young QB's because of their low risk. It's the medium to deep passes that aren't just go pattern's, that are the more difficult to complete. The 55% could have been slightly affected by more deep balls, but I am far from the only one to point out that Eason, so far, isn't as accurate as many predicted.
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He chucked it downfield a lot into coverage and threw INTs and had a lot of incomplete passes because of it. From the games I watched, it appeared they were asking him to make throws that were beyond his years, which makes sense because he is beyond his years in terms of arm talent.

It isn't surprising to me that a true freshman who was asked to make some advanced (for his age) throws completed passes at a 55% clip. Now, if he doesn't improve this year, that will be surprising.
 
#127
#127
BigOrangeMojo said:
I don't understand all the hate towards Kirby. If it wasn't for his "coaching" last year, the DobbNail boot would have never happened.

I hope Butch sent Kirby a thank you card for the gift UGA gave us. Imagine how hot Butch's seat would be if Kirby and UGA didn't F up in a typical UGA type of way
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I suppose you're forgetting the bomb they scored on with a minute left in the game. We gave them a gift before they returned it
 
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#128
#128
05_never_again said:
The expectation I had is somewhere between where vintage Fulmer recruited and where Dooley recruited. Fulmer was recruiting in an era where, for the most part, top national recruits went to Tennessee or Florida if they played in the SEC. Spurrier fought with FSU for State of Florida guys, while Fulmer got lots of guys from the states surrounding Tennessee (not much talent in Tennessee) and California.

The league got more competitive, Fulmer started getting his lunch eaten, and was fired. Then we endure Kiffin and Dooley and as a result start pulling in classes that are the 10th best in the SEC.

Enter Butch, who is a good recruiter but recruiting in a different environment than Fulmer was. He's got to go up against good recruiters at a multitude of other SEC schools that have inherent advantages over Tennessee. It is much easier to recruit at places like Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and LSU than Tennessee. Yet Tennessee has recruited better than all of those schools except Alabama over the last 4 or so years.
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I totally agree that the last 12 years have changed the competitive landscape in the SEC. There are way more top 25 teams now. However I don't think it should be easier for Bama or LSU to recruit over UT. I think that they did so well due to who was coaching them but there is no inherent advantage to Louisiana or Alabama over Tennessee. Florida is obviously loaded but you also have 3 very strong programs in that state. Georgia is the only school left with no excuse. They are the only powerhouse school in a state loaded with talent. They should dominate every year in recruiting and yet people steal talent from that state all the time.

Tennessee in my opinion should always compete as a top 2 or 3 team in recruiting inside the SEC. The problem was though that the SEC got huge nationally and none of it was due to Tennessee which is the real tragedy. That never should have been true.
 
#130
#130
MWAVolfan said:
Why has he far exceeded your expectations when it comes to recruiting? Yeah sure Dooley left him nothing but that's a statement about Dooley. Jones is simply recruiting at the level commensurate to the university of Tennessee where as Dooley was recruiting at the level of northwestern. This is the problem I have. We see Jones as being better than expected just because our expectations were beaten down by Dooley.
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Because I saw him as nothing more than a mid major coach and doubted that he'd be able to recruit the kind of athletes we would need to compete with Florida and Georgia.
 
#131
#131
The Artful Dodger said:
The Appy st. game can be chalked up to over-looking a competent opponent. But the fact remains that the team was 5-0 before the injuries. The team didn't start losing till injuries took their toll on a defense that was breaking in a new coordinator and scheme, in the first place.
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They may have been 5-0, but anyone who watched those games came away underwhelmed by UT with the exception of the second half vs UF. UT seemed to sleepwalk at the beginning of games all year.

The A&M game was great statistically on offense, yet was mired by mental breakdowns and turnovers that ultimately led to a loss.

Maybe the folks who are pointing to the Gullickson hire as big are right. Maybe the lack of discipline started in the weight room and carried over into the season. It would certainly explain some things.

In any event, here's hoping the program has learned from last year and we have a more engaged team out of the gate.
 
#133
#133
MyBloodRunnethOrange said:
Because I saw him as nothing more than a mid major coach and doubted that he'd be able to recruit the kind of athletes we would need to compete with Florida and Georgia.
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OK. OK. Fair. Let me restate. I wasnt saying that Butch himself as a recruiter hasn't exceeded expectations. What I'm saying is that Tennessee as a football program hasn't recruited above expectations. Perhaps Butch had punched above his weight class. But Tennessee has been recruiting where I expect Tennessee to recruit as a program (regardless of who is coaching them).
 
#134
#134
05_never_again said:
Eason dropped a dime between 2 DBs with a perfect throw. Not sure that was a "gift" we gave them
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Run the same 2 plays 10 times in the same two situations and they probably go for TDs a similar percentage of the time. I wouldn't call one any more fortunate than the other.

In that situation it is unbelievable for a DB to get beat over his head. Not to mention he clearly slowed down on the play.
 
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#136
#136
WildTurkey said:
They may have been 5-0, but..
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Yes yes. It was obviously an unbelievably lucky way to get to 5-0.

An honest assessment would be that the second half of the Florida game and the VT game were the only times where you felt like Tennessee was actually in control of their destiny.

5-0 was real real close to being 3-2.

But 5-0 was the record, so mark it 8,Dude.
 
#137
#137
MWAVolfan said:
Severely disappointed or throwing dead wood off a sinking ship? Someone HAD to go after last year and it obviously wasn't going to be him. The notion that he is now "taking advice from others" is tantamount to admitting that you didn't actually know what you were doing in the first place. Bravo, I suppose, if he turns things around on the field. I just wish we hired someone who knew these things from day 1.
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It's tbd but if the staff is improved, then he's doing his JOB. All this other "but why?" crap belongs in a novella. :pinch: Bottom line is I DON'T CARE what he says to the talking heads and the resulting message board blowback. If we win it's all window dressing. Seems like Currie reached him about fanning the crazy flames but it's always been secondary to what our team does on the field. The back and forth bickering on here is simply the by-product of interpretation of success,progress and the lot. Accusations of "not a real fan" on one side is matched by "accepting mediocrity" on the other. When the real truth is official, we'll all be right at the same time.
 
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#138
#138
butchna said:
It's tbd but if the staff is improved, then he's doing his JOB. All this other "but why?" crap belongs in a novella. :pinch: Bottom line is I DON'T CARE what he says to the talking heads and the resulting message board blowback. If we win it's all window dressing. Seems like Currie reached him about fanning the crazy flames but it's always been secondary to what our team does on the field. The back and forth bickering on here is simply the by-product of interpretation of success,progress and the lot. Accusations of "not a real fan" on one side is matched by "accepting mediocrity" on the other. When the real truth is official, we'll all be right at the same time.
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Agree. This year will tell all.
 
#139
#139
MWAVolfan said:
Yes yes. It was obviously an unbelievably lucky way to get to 5-0.

An honest assessment would be that the second half of the Florida game and the VT game were the only times where you felt like Tennessee was actually in control of their destiny.

5-0 was real real close to being 3-2.

But 5-0 was the record, so mark it 8,Dude.
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A real wise (by his own admission) multi-quoting poster ruled out the existence of "luck". :) Since you believe in it whole-heartedly, can we start blaming losses on the bad variety again?
 
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#141
#141
MWAVolfan said:
I totally agree that the last 12 years have changed the competitive landscape in the SEC. There are way more top 25 teams now. However I don't think it should be easier for Bama or LSU to recruit over UT. I think that they did so well due to who was coaching them but there is no inherent advantage to Louisiana or Alabama over Tennessee. Florida is obviously loaded but you also have 3 very strong programs in that state. Georgia is the only school left with no excuse. They are the only powerhouse school in a state loaded with talent. They should dominate every year in recruiting and yet people steal talent from that state all the time.

Tennessee in my opinion should always compete as a top 2 or 3 team in recruiting inside the SEC. The problem was though that the SEC got huge nationally and none of it was due to Tennessee which is the real tragedy. That never should have been true.
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Agreed with you on Georgia. I've said on here before that they should have won 4-5 national championships over the last 30 or so years. If you look at the proximity to talent, location of the schools, assets/resources of the schools, proximity to rivals, etc., Georgia should really be the most dominant and successful SEC school. They, by far, are the most underachieving SEC school over the last 20 years.

However, I disagree with you on other schools having no inherent advantages to Tennessee. They do, and it is why those schools have been more successful than Tennessee over the last 25 years. It is easier to recruit to Alabama, LSU, and Florida purely because of the proximity to talent. Florida might be the toughest of those 3 because of the in-state rivals - however, remember Miami and FSU are non-conference rivals and Florida still reaps the benefit of top recruits wanting to play in the SEC over the ACC.

Tennessee is always going to be burdened by a lack of in-state talent and being very far (5+ hours away) from the region of the state that has the most talent. Nashville, for a city of its size, is not necessarily oozing with top prospects. Not like Atlanta, south Florida, Birmingham, and New Orleans are.

Lots of Memphis and western Tennessee kids have an affinity for Ole Miss or Alabama. This is why, unfortunately, Tennessee will always be somewhat reliant on our biggest rivals being down for us to be the most successful.
 
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#144
#144
MWAVolfan said:
Agree. This year will tell all.
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Alas...different results are interpreted differently. This season is ripe for divergent opinions. Full disaster or resounding success or bust? Good luck with that. :hi:
 
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#145
#145
WildTurkey said:
Kirby replaced a guy who rolled out of bed with 9/10 wins per year. He is under considerable pressure.

Pundits everywhere are picking UGA to win the East this season based on the perceived talent. The draft explanation is nonsense - simply came down to Malone and Barnett leaving early while Chubb and Michel came back to school. Otherwise draft picks would be virtually equal.

The truth is UGA has no excuse not to be more talented than anyone in the East. If they're not, it's only Kirby's fault.
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Dead On!
 
#146
#146
MyBloodRunnethOrange said:
Because I saw him as nothing more than a mid major coach and doubted that he'd be able to recruit the kind of athletes we would need to compete with Florida and Georgia.
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It was a concern of many. Of course its hard to gauge his recruiting ability from Cincy.

It also lends to the idea that UT has plenty to offer to get great players and classes. Its not like no one else could get players here prior. Dooley sat on his arse and pulled top 20.
 
#147
#147
MWAVolfan said:
Yes yes. It was obviously an unbelievably lucky way to get to 5-0.

An honest assessment would be that the second half of the Florida game and the VT game were the only times where you felt like Tennessee was actually in control of their destiny.

5-0 was real real close to being 3-2.

But 5-0 was the record, so mark it 8,Dude.
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I think somewhere in there we kind of agree. I'm not taking away any credit for 5-0 - I just think the way they got to 5-0 included some undisciplined and unmotivated play that ended up costing us at the end of the year.

Injuries may have been the single biggest factor, but they weren't the only factor.

Thus far, between staff changes and fewer soundbites, it appears Jones believes he needs to have a good season.

Or it could just be my annual 'preseason get myself hyped up and believe we're gonna run the table' feels.
 
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#148
#148
butchna said:
Alas...different results are interpreted differently. This season is ripe for divergent opinions. Full disaster or resounding success or bust? Good luck with that. :hi:
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Exactly.
 
#149
#149
WildTurkey said:
I think somewhere in there we kind of agree. I'm not taking away any credit for 5-0 - I just think the way they got to 5-0 included some undisciplined and unmotivated play that ended up costing us at the end of the year.

Injuries may have been the single biggest factor, but they weren't the only factor.

Thus far, between staff changes and fewer soundbites, it appears Jones believes he needs to have a good season.

Or it could just be my annual 'preseason get myself hyped up and believe we're gonna run the table' feels.
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Yeah, we agree
 
#150
#150
butchna said:
Alas...different results are interpreted differently. This season is ripe for divergent opinions. Full disaster or resounding success or bust? Good luck with that. :hi:
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I don't think it's that hard but people try and complicate things with ifs ands and buts. Lead by the excuse maker in chief CBJ. We've won 9 games now multiple times. Are we getting better or not? Well logic would dictate a double digit win season and a new year's six bowl game is the next step down the path of better. If Butch wins 9 regular season games and beats a not-laughable opponent in a meaningful bowl then it is hard to argue against progress being made given a brand new QB. Some of us would like to win faster and not just improve by a single win, but whatever, you can't claim no progress. Anything less and a reasonable person has cause to be seriously concerned. And seven or fewer wins would give any reasonable person cause for outrage. At a minimum, as a fan you have to ask yourself if capping out at 9 wins is acceptable long term for UT football. How you answer that question dictates your views on the subject and defines you as a fan like it or not.
 
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