I was just rewatching the replay of the CA fumble as they cut to CPF on the sideline....and I noticed something that I don't think I had noticed before.....
CPF looked completely exasperated, befuddled, and confused....grimacing and then clapping......managing at best what I can only describe as a "doofus face"......
And then it dawned on me.
Fulmer does not know how to motivate and discipline his players.
In the old days, the old ways would work....and he could be the player's buddy.
It seems to me that many of the new recruits come from broken homes with rather dismal backgrounds....this is not a racial matter as it seems to be rather evenly divided across all socio-economic backgrounds (at least according to the info I could get from scout and the other recruiting sources).
In the old days old style football motivation and "big buddy" would work. It still works in recruiting because the dynamics are different there....so CPF is a first class recruiter.
But then they arrive on campus. The old style of self-discipline, self-motivation, and self-accountability does not work. Those are old days ways.
Those days are over. You can tell it in the disciple slide over the last half decade or so. You can see it in the lack of innovation. You can see it in the under-development of talent...as well as the development of talent where the old ways still work--players such as Manning, etc.....
The reality is CPF (as the person where the buck stops) cannot coach up the marginal players. He simply cannot develop talent. Why?
Look to the player development coaches that surround him.
Who has been a great success. Chief! Why? It seems obvious. Chief is as different from Sanders as they come.
Sanders does not have the depth of experience or ability to fill in the gap.
As long as changes are not made, we will win most of the games we are supposed to win (although some of those will "slip" away), some of the games we are not supposed to win, and lose far too many of those games where coaching and talent make the difference.
Welcome to the new reality of TN football.
It's not about being a fair weather fan. Fulmer says the buck stops with him on many occassions. It's about accountability, and Fulmer's inability to maintain it.
CPF looked completely exasperated, befuddled, and confused....grimacing and then clapping......managing at best what I can only describe as a "doofus face"......
And then it dawned on me.
Fulmer does not know how to motivate and discipline his players.
In the old days, the old ways would work....and he could be the player's buddy.
It seems to me that many of the new recruits come from broken homes with rather dismal backgrounds....this is not a racial matter as it seems to be rather evenly divided across all socio-economic backgrounds (at least according to the info I could get from scout and the other recruiting sources).
In the old days old style football motivation and "big buddy" would work. It still works in recruiting because the dynamics are different there....so CPF is a first class recruiter.
But then they arrive on campus. The old style of self-discipline, self-motivation, and self-accountability does not work. Those are old days ways.
Those days are over. You can tell it in the disciple slide over the last half decade or so. You can see it in the lack of innovation. You can see it in the under-development of talent...as well as the development of talent where the old ways still work--players such as Manning, etc.....
The reality is CPF (as the person where the buck stops) cannot coach up the marginal players. He simply cannot develop talent. Why?
Look to the player development coaches that surround him.
Who has been a great success. Chief! Why? It seems obvious. Chief is as different from Sanders as they come.
Sanders does not have the depth of experience or ability to fill in the gap.
As long as changes are not made, we will win most of the games we are supposed to win (although some of those will "slip" away), some of the games we are not supposed to win, and lose far too many of those games where coaching and talent make the difference.
Welcome to the new reality of TN football.
It's not about being a fair weather fan. Fulmer says the buck stops with him on many occassions. It's about accountability, and Fulmer's inability to maintain it.
lol: Thanks for the laugh, I needed that one.