Reality of Our Situation

#151
#151
For all the talk of JJ & JG, I’d say 70-80% of the improvement during this season was on defense - Bituli, To’o To’o, the 2 Taylors, & the whole DL. CJP seems to understand that you win games with defense.
 
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#152
#152
XknoxvolsX said:
Everybody is acting like we went 9-3 while beating some good teams.. We went 7-5 beating bad teams and losing to Ga State and BYU.
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Who is acting like we went 9-3? Show me a few posts that come close to that or quit cluttering up the board with that accusation. Might be and outlier or two but I have not seen the vast majority of Vols over valuing the way the season played out. Not a player or a coach I have seen have attempted to justify or even gloss over those losses.... but for sure there are other increments to measure by than whole seasons.... for sure overall team performance the second half of he season was a major upgrade from the first. Had it not been we could have easily lost to several of those teams we beat down the stretch. Celebrating improvement is not redefining the status of the program, just the existence of said improvement. 9-3 would have been better. From where we started this season the losses to GA FL and Bama could not be defined as bad losses... We did not add better players mid season, so better execution is the key.... better is better...
 
#153
#153
GUNTERSVOL said:
Who is acting like we went 9-3? Show me a few posts that come close to that or quit cluttering up the board with that accusation. Might be and outlier or two but I have not seen the vast majority of Vols over valuing the way the season played out. Not a player or a coach I have seen have attempted to justify or even gloss over those losses.... but for sure there are other increments to measure by than whole seasons.... for sure overall team performance the second half of he season was a major upgrade from the first. Had it not been we could have easily lost to several of those teams we beat down the stretch. Celebrating improvement is not redefining the status of the program, just the existence of said improvement. 9-3 would have been better. From where we started this season the losses to GA FL and Bama could not be defined as bad losses... We did not add better players mid season, so better execution is the key.... better is better...
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I'm not going to wast time doing research for you but the board is littered with posts stating that the first two games of the season were flukes and that we'd win both of those games if played today. There are also plenty who have opined that the losses were the wake-up call the team in general and JG in particular needed, thereby paving the way to 5 conference wins. It's all hogwash and revisionism.
 
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#154
#154
XknoxvolsX said:
Maybe it is just that I am a realist or maybe even a Debbie Downer. However, I have read many posts over the past couple of weeks that seem to have me feeling we are elite again.

The reality of our situation is this:

We are 7-5; not 10-2 or even 9-3 but a seven win team. Those seven wins are against very bad teams with one of those teams (UAB) not having a single impressive win. On top of that, we got beat by Ga State and BYU!

On getting beat by BYU and Ga State as well as who we actually beat, we do not have a coach of the year coach! We, Tennessee fans, are very fond of two of our receivers this year. However, neither are going to win any awards or go in the first round or even the second of the NFL draft!

We had a record setting RB tonight. He set the record against a typical Vandy team with a losing record! In fact, the previous record was set against a Georgia team.

When we have break out, record setting performances against teams who are ranked and we win those games, then COY honors and All-American statuses can be proclaimed.

On to maintaining the Butch standard in beating lesser quality teams at the end of the season and then beating some over ranked Iowa, Nebraska or whichever the over ranked bowl opponent we have!
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If you are lucky enough to get to heaven , will you still make complaints ?
 
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#155
#155
VolunteerHillbilly said:
I'm not going to wast time doing research for you but the board is littered with posts stating that the first two games of the season were flukes and that we'd win both of those games if played today. There are also plenty who have opined that the losses were the wake-up call the team in general and JG in particular needed, thereby paving the way to 5 conference wins. It's all hogwash and revisionism.
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So you believe GA State or BYU could come to Neyland and beat us now? I agree the games weren't flukes, we earned those losses. However at this point in the season we would destroy one and beat the other 75% of the time.
 
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#156
#156
I an really happy about the way the season ended. I am a realist looking forward to a bowl game. There are other realists whose teams are staying home this year. Last year our Vols lost to South Carolina, Missouri, and Vandy. This year we beat them. 2 were on the road. That's progress. Thank you Coach Pruitt and thank you Vols for a great comeback season. I'm looking forward to next season for real.
 
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#157
#157
XknoxvolsX said:
Maybe it is just that I am a realist or maybe even a Debbie Downer. However, I have read many posts over the past couple of weeks that seem to have me feeling we are elite again.

The reality of our situation is this:

We are 7-5; not 10-2 or even 9-3 but a seven win team. Those seven wins are against very bad teams with one of those teams (UAB) not having a single impressive win. On top of that, we got beat by Ga State and BYU!

On getting beat by BYU and Ga State as well as who we actually beat, we do not have a coach of the year coach! We, Tennessee fans, are very fond of two of our receivers this year. However, neither are going to win any awards or go in the first round or even the second of the NFL draft!

We had a record setting RB tonight. He set the record against a typical Vandy team with a losing record! In fact, the previous record was set against a Georgia team.

When we have break out, record setting performances against teams who are ranked and we win those games, then COY honors and All-American statuses can be proclaimed.

On to maintaining the Butch standard in beating lesser quality teams at the end of the season and then beating some over ranked Iowa, Nebraska or whichever the over ranked bowl opponent we have!
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Damn. Tell us how you really feel...
Question though. Did you expect us to compete against Bama, GA, and FL? I know not lose to BYU and GA state, but come on man.
 
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#159
#159
Proud Army Wife said:
Damn. Tell us how you really feel...
Question though. Did you expect us to compete against Bama, GA, and FL? I know not lose to BYU and GA state, but come on man.
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Always expect us to compete. But not lose to Ga State and/or BYU. And, as the season played out, the end season wins are not impressive.
 
#160
#160
EZE said:
Much of what you say is true. However, this is Year 2 and progress has been made. We don’t know what Pruitt’s ceiling is yet. I have been as hard on him as anybody, but the best case scenario is for him to continue elevating this program.
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No! Because apparently it’s more fun to start threads about who our next coach will be, or why coach X turned us down, or how inept our AD is...
GBO!!
 
#161
#161
XknoxvolsX said:
That we are what our record says we are.
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What exactly are you arguing? I didn't once hear anyone say anything about us being ELITE. Everyone was honestly thinking of 8-4 being the top of where we would get this year. Most had us 6-6. Although either way would 9-3 with wins over GA ST and BYU have really changed how you feel about this team?
 
#162
#162
CAVPUT said:
Look, no one is proclaiming this to be a good UT team much less a great UT team. It's a team down to what...60 scholarship players? We are woefully thin and very young. Rebuilding this program is akin to learning to walk as a child. You take baby steps, walk then run. It's a process/progression. We have a winning record for the first time in a while. We are going to a bowl game for the first time in a while. We FINISHED a season in winning fashion for the first time in a while. We have a good culture in and around this program for the first time in a while. Bottom line is that we've got things going in the right direction for the first time in a while.

I don't think any fan, coach or player would say this is an acceptable norm, but everyone involved needs to show some patience. There's no way to quickly flip a roster, develop SEC level strength and depth. You'll enjoy things a lot more if you accept reality and enjoy watching the transformation.
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Careful there bud, they’ll throw you into the “Pruitt making excuses postgame”, category from last night. Youth, attrition or not being able to walk as a toddler, are not acceptable excuses, sir!
GBO!!
 
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#163
#163
AndyMizunogolfer said:
What exactly are you arguing? I didn't once hear anyone say anything about us being ELITE. Everyone was honestly thinking of 8-4 being the top of where we would get this year. Most had us 6-6. Although either way would 9-3 with wins over GA ST and BYU have really changed how you feel about this team?
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Speaking for myself and the silent majority, yes.
 
#164
#164
coach799 said:
You don't go from the basement to the penthouse in one move! We are improving and it's enjoyable after the start of the year. Just enjoy the ride and give up your hopes of firing Pruitt! You definitely display traits of that group from earlier this year!

GO VOLS!!!
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George Jefferson says, hold my beer!
😎
GBO!!
 
#166
#166
vol9799 said:
So you believe GA State or BYU could come to Neyland and beat us now? I agree the games weren't flukes, we earned those losses. However at this point in the season we would destroy one and beat the other 75% of the time.
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Doesn't matter. We lost. Get over it.
 
#169
#169
Yes we beat bad football teams. And Yes we our just the best of bad football teams in SEC. But I will celebrate this because it is a starting point of bigger things to come. Our roster next year will be good not great as a few others will have but I believe we will challenge these teams because a foundation is built.
 
#170
#170
Proud Army Wife said:
They're not, but considering we've lost to those crap teams the past few years, it's an improvement, no?
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It is an improvement compared to the past several years, yes. But it doesn’t mean we are elite nor is our coach COY worthy nor do we have All-Americans.
 
#172
#172
RAVOL said:
Yes we beat bad football teams. And Yes we our just the best of bad football teams in SEC. But I will celebrate this because it is a starting point of bigger things to come. Our roster next year will be good not great as a few others will have but I believe we will challenge these teams because a foundation is built.
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I remember this being said a few times during the Jones years.
 
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#173
#173
XknoxvolsX said:
Maybe it is just that I am a realist or maybe even a Debbie Downer. However, I have read many posts over the past couple of weeks that seem to have me feeling we are elite again.

The reality of our situation is this:

We are 7-5; not 10-2 or even 9-3 but a seven win team. Those seven wins are against very bad teams with one of those teams (UAB) not having a single impressive win. On top of that, we got beat by Ga State and BYU!

On getting beat by BYU and Ga State as well as who we actually beat, we do not have a coach of the year coach! We, Tennessee fans, are very fond of two of our receivers this year. However, neither are going to win any awards or go in the first round or even the second of the NFL draft!

We had a record setting RB tonight. He set the record against a typical Vandy team with a losing record! In fact, the previous record was set against a Georgia team.

When we have break out, record setting performances against teams who are ranked and we win those games, then COY honors and All-American statuses can be proclaimed.

On to maintaining the Butch standard in beating lesser quality teams at the end of the season and then beating some over ranked Iowa, Nebraska or whichever the over ranked bowl opponent we have!
Click to expand...

We were 5-0 in our last 5 games (better record than Alabama same time frame).
We were 6-1 in the last 7 games (same or better record than Alabama same time frame).
We beat just as many teams currently ranked as Alabama did in the regular season.
Every loss was to a bowl-eligible team.

Year, we really should have been 9-3 this year. But we were not...I am going to look at the positive and that 1-4 start that we had led to the meeting, getting some players out of the locker room, and the remaining players became Pruitt's. We do not end the season on a 5-0 streak if we do not start 1-4 and have the meeting.

Pruitt, etal. did this with < 70 scholarship players available and gave us a glimpse of a physical Tennessee team that reminded me of the 90's with the physical play. I look forward to watching what he can do with 5 years of recruiting his players, several RS Jrs and Srs on the team and the full compliment of scholarships on the team.

Are we elite? No.

Are we heading down the right road? Yes.

Are we getting there quicker than I thought we would? Yes.
 
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#174
#174
XknoxvolsX said:
It is an improvement compared to the past several years, yes. But it doesn’t mean we are elite nor is our coach COY worthy nor do we have All-Americans.
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Oh, I don't think we're elite. Coach O should and will get the COY honors. I think we've got a few all-americans, they've just been limited by the surrounding cast.
 
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