Recruiting Forum Football Talk [RIP 9.3.2019]

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#24,552
#24,552
Kids particularly teenagers value sleep. If you have an opinionated teenager try the following: In the middle of the night (maybe one of your wake up to pee trips) stand next to their bed and nudge it until they wake up. When they ask "What are you doing Dad?" Say "Nothing" and walk out (holding a butcher knife is optional). Next morning bed is made ,trash will be taken out and blessed silence at the breakfast table.
 
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#24,553
#24,553
SugarCC said:
Doc, I agree about the offense, nothing good, nothing improved there; but the defense is showing signs. All levels(not just DB) look to be improving and giving good effort for the most part, and he, more times than not, has them in the right places, don't you think?
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Yes, but they still gave up 45 points. I get that UF had a ridiculously short field for 3 of those drives, and I guess one of the explosive plays was because we were in GL defense, but it still would have been nice to force a FG here and there. I do agree that there is improvement.
 
#24,554
#24,554
Random thoughts:

When Jeremy Pruitt was hired, members of the sports media (Athlon, CBS Sports, ESPN, USA Today, and Sports Illustrated) graded the hire as B, C+, B-, C, and 3.2/5.0, respectively. I think that works out to around a C+ average. Obviously this is just their perceptions and at the time their perceptions were likely impacted by the coaching search itself.

I remember most of us here were really optimistic for his rebuild of the imploding 2018 recruiting class. In some cases we got carried away with our expectations. In hindsight many would now probably agree that he did better than what should have been reasonably expected under the circumstances including having 2 jobs and the introduction of the early signing period.

There were generally pretty positive reviews across the board for the coaching staff he assembled. Most came from having early experience as high school coaches and had worked their way up to big time college football. Some were SEC veterans. The staff was perceived as good teachers. At least five members of the new staff had carried or would have the title of coordinator, either offensive or defensive, however, only Pruitt, himself, was actually a well-seasoned and highly regarded play caller.

In my view we at Tennessee tend to put our coaches on a pedestal, at least for a honeymoon period. It’s not unwarranted as fans. It’s just the way it is. We’re really not all that unique as a fanbase, at least in that regard. We do the same for our recruits. I’m not sure who has the shorter honeymoon, recruits or coaches, but it does seem like a lot of people would like to get rid of most if not all of the existing roster at the same time we get rid of a coaching staff.

The average age of college football fans is 52. The cost of attendance continues to increase and is only marginally affordable for anyone outside of the affluent class. The average age has continued to increase over the past couple of decades. Most members of the younger generations are growing up and coming of age in a time where the prospects for our football program have perhaps never been bleaker.

Erik Ainge has said a number of times that it’s hard on a staff and team to lose anywhere in the SEC but it’s hardest to lose in Knoxville.

Our fans have A+ level expectations for everything about our football program. The truth may be that the only things about our football program that ranks that high is our strength of schedule and the amount of revenue the football program continues to produce year after year, almost without regard to the product on the field.

I’m older than the average and I’ve been a die-hard fan longer than the average has even been alive. I know all the evidence strongly suggests that we’re at best a C+ football program but I still believe. When I was a young teenager I would sit at the kitchen table every week looking at the rankings in the newspaper, trying to figure out who above us could lose so we could move up. There is only one spot in the rankings I ever would have been satisfied with and it was the very top. Nothing about that has changed.

This weekend we’re going to Athens. Almost everyone I know is convinced we’ll be blown off the field just like we were supposed to have been in the 1985 Sugar Bowl. Old Dominion proved this past week that teams with a 98.4% chance of losing can still sometimes surprise you. I think I can honestly say that there has never been a single game in my life as a Tennessee football fan where I didn’t expect us to win either because we were obviously the better team or just because I believe in surprises. I don’t mean I have been hoping we would win; I mean I just don’t have it in me to expect us to lose. It’s never been there. It just doesn’t fit.

We’ll need an A+ performance this week and that’s what I’m looking for when we go down to Georgia Saturday and beat those Dawgs!
 
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#24,558
#24,558
VolunteerHillbilly said:
I'm quite sure that by kickoff, I will create some false rationalization for victory based on UGA's lack of a pass rush and our guys playing mean after the humiliation of the UF game. It's what fans do.
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I been like that for a while now. But after last week's debacle enough is enough. Love my Vols too much to watch. Stress takes a toll on the body. I will DVR the games and go back and watch if lightening strikes. CFB is pretty much unwatchable. I am tired of Bama being the best team. Now GA is up there too. Reminds me of the Dooley years with FL at the top instead of GA. We all now how this ends, unless Tua is injured, with Saban hoisting another trophy. If Tua stays healthy, they will win SEC and Natty next two years. Book it. Good news is by the time Tua leaves for NFL, maybe we'll be respectable again.
 
#24,561
#24,561
rekinhavoc said:
Kids particularly teenagers value sleep. If you have an opinionated teenager try the following: In the middle of the night (maybe one of your wake up to pee trips) stand next to their bed and nudge it until they wake up. When they ask "What are you doing Dad?" Say "Nothing" and walk out (holding a butcher knife is optional). Next morning bed is made ,trash will be taken out and blessed silence at the breakfast table.
Click to expand...
1537961986650.gif
 
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#24,562
#24,562
rekinhavoc said:
Kids particularly teenagers value sleep. If you have an opinionated teenager try the following: In the middle of the night (maybe one of your wake up to pee trips) stand next to their bed and nudge it until they wake up. When they ask "What are you doing Dad?" Say "Nothing" and walk out (holding a butcher knife is optional). Next morning bed is made ,trash will be taken out and blessed silence at the breakfast table.
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Do you nudge with the butcher knife?
 
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#24,563
#24,563
JAllen18 said:
South Carolina
Missouri
Vanderbilt
Kentucky

Gotta find some way to go 3-1 here to get to a bowl game. Assuming no major injuries and young guys get better during the October gauntlet. Its not a stretch to go 3-1 here with an upset along the way. We need the bowl prep practices to get better.
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Not getting to bowl. Had to beat one of Florida or WVU
 
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#24,567
#24,567
ChattaTNVol said:
Random thoughts:

When Jeremy Pruitt was hired, members of the sports media (Athlon, CBS Sports, ESPN, USA Today, and Sports Illustrated) graded the hire as B, C+, B-, C, and 3.2/5.0, respectively. I think that works out to around a C+ average. Obviously this is just their perceptions and at the time their perceptions were likely impacted by the coaching search itself.

I remember most of us here were really optimistic for his rebuild of the imploding 2018 recruiting class. In some cases we got carried away with our expectations. In hindsight many would now probably agree that he did better than what should have been reasonably expected under the circumstances including having 2 jobs and the introduction of the early signing period.

There were generally pretty positive reviews across the board for the coaching staff he assembled. Most came from having early experience as high school coaches and had worked their way up to big time college football. Some were SEC veterans. The staff was perceived as good teachers. At least five members of the new staff had carried or would have the title of coordinator, either offensive or defensive, however, only Pruitt, himself, was actually a well-seasoned and highly regarded play caller.

In my view we at Tennessee tend to put our coaches on a pedestal, at least for a honeymoon period. It’s not unwarranted as fans. It’s just the way it is. We’re really not all that unique as a fanbase, at least in that regard. We do the same for our recruits. I’m not sure who has the shorter honeymoon, recruits or coaches, but it does seem like a lot of people would like to get rid of most if not all of the existing roster at the same time we get rid of a coaching staff.

The average age of college football fans is 52. The cost of attendance continues to increase and is only marginally affordable for anyone outside of the affluent class. The average age has continued to increase over the past couple of decades. Most members of the younger generations are growing up and coming of age in a time where the prospects for our football program have perhaps never been bleaker.

Erik Ainge has said a number of times that it’s hard on a staff and team to lose anywhere in the SEC but it’s hardest to lose in Knoxville.

Our fans have A+ level expectations for everything about our football program. The truth may be that the only things about our football program that ranks that high is our strength of schedule and the amount of revenue the football program continues to produce year after year, almost without regard to the product on the field.

I’m older than the average and I’ve been a die-hard fan longer than the average has even been alive. I know all the evidence strongly suggests that we’re at best a C+ football program but I still believe. When I was a young teenager I would sit at the kitchen table every week looking at the rankings in the newspaper, trying to figure out who above us could lose so we could move up. There is only one spot in the rankings I ever would have been satisfied with and it was the very top. Nothing about that has changed.

This weekend we’re going to Athens. Almost everyone I know is convinced we’ll be blown off the field just like we were supposed to have been in the 1985 Sugar Bowl. Old Dominion proved this past week that teams with a 98.4% chance of losing can still sometimes surprise you. I think I can honestly say that there has never been a single game in my life as a Tennessee football fan where I didn’t expect us to win either because we were obviously the better team or just because I believe in surprises. I don’t mean I have been hoping we would win; I mean I just don’t have it in me to expect us to lose. It’s never been there. It just doesn’t fit.

We’ll need an A+ performance this week and that’s what I’m looking for when we go down to Georgia Saturday and beat those Dawgs!
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siap, but i think it applies here as well...
Betting on the unknown is always a shaky proposition.

All of us want to see something to help us hedge our bets. Be it on the field results, recruiting wins... Whatever.

And for now there just still a lot of unknowns and we literally have no choice but to wait and see.

And that has many of us kinda impatient and anxious. Cause we know what the worst case looks like. and it's been a while since any of us have seen the other side of that spectrum. and even if we see some things that may be signs of it swinging the other way....it still feels like we're waiting for the other shoe to drop. because, well, that's what has happened lately.

And another season at or below .500 does nothing to curtail the anxiety, and only increases the impatience.

fans will still show up. we all still care, probably too much. but i think for the sake of the short term future of the prorgram, i do think it's probably wise to adjust the expectations just a bit, at least from a seasonal expectation standpoint.... this program has standard we like to think we should be living up to.

in reality, right now, it's just something we have to work toward. we're no where near living up to it. but we know what it looks like when it gets to that point. none of us will be sure if the steps we're currently taking will get us there, until we get there....
 
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#24,568
#24,568
Love the 'my kid is' posts this AM. Been there. Take it from an old guy; grind. Just love, communicate and discipline them through it. It's true that when they marry and have kids they start figuring out that we might have known what we were doing. When the light bulbs go on, that becomes your crowning achievement as parents. Of course by then you probably have moved on to the greatest gift God and your kids can give you - grandkids.

As to our Vols - always darkest before the dawn. Just like above there is a process that will not be circumvented or avoided. We hoped the process would be accelerated by the broad, successful experiences of the staff. We probably overlooked the poor condition of the roster as well as the inexperience at OC. I no longer expect a bowl game. The way the team performed Saturday was pathetic physically and emotionally. They did not want to be there, it showed and it appeared they were in disarray. That's what I want to see strongly improved. Don't try to dominate other SEC teams at physicality because you can't do it with this roster. That will take 3-4 years. Be smarter and unpredictable while playing the most talented guys that give maximum effort. What I keep seeing is tryouts for some players while continuing to use guys that could not get it done in previous seasons with no identity or philosophy on either side of the ball. Those issues start at the top with CJP. Hopefully he is addressing with his staff and roster so that there will be steady improvement for the rest of the season.

Grind.
 
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#24,570
#24,570
VolGee4 said:
That’s why all records are not created equal. Probably Butch’s best coaching job, considering the talent. Could have beaten UGA and Vandy. If Oregon isn’t on the schedule, we probably make a bowl.
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I thought things were really looking up in 2013. The team was playing much more disciplined and all seemed much better organized than under Dools. I also loved the play calling in the South Carolina game. Then, they kind of spun their wheels in 2014 but added talent, then integrated that talent but started making boneheaded mistakes in 2015, and then things unravelled further with their most talented team in 2016.

I think there was more improvement demonstrated in the first few games of 2013 than this year. But, given how that turned out, maybe it doesn’t matter. That’s what I’m telling myself anyway.
 
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#24,571
#24,571
Considering the new 4 game RS rule has led to a number of players disgruntled about lack of playing time, announcing a transfer.... anyone else kind of surprised none of our guys are doing so?
 
#24,572
#24,572
HoleInTheRoof said:
Considering the new 4 game RS rule has led to a number of players disgruntled about lack of playing time, announcing a transfer.... anyone else kind of surprised none of our guys are doing so?
Click to expand...
yes. i would have bet Sapp was gonna announce something on sunday. glad he didn't.
 
#24,573
#24,573
HoleInTheRoof said:
Considering the new 4 game RS rule has led to a number of players disgruntled about lack of playing time, announcing a transfer.... anyone else kind of surprised none of our guys are doing so?
Click to expand...


I said this yesterday and I believe these kids don't know the rule. It sounds like many think they can transfer and play next year and that isn't true unless they graduate. If I am a coach at one of these schools I am bringing in my compliance director to explain this new rule and I bet these defections slow down
 
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