Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my first post so bare with me.
My take on this whole situation is this: I agree with earlier posts about how Crompton rode the pine and then earned/deserved his chance as starting QB. His performance against LSU last year proved that. But when a QB or any other player for that matter, gets into a game and does not/cannot perform you pull them out and see if someone else can do it. The fact that CPF stands behind him was admirable even after the debacle at UCLA. But to continue to stand behind him and make excuses for him continuouly after 4 miserable games is not only detrimental to the perceptions of his ability to coach, but to the team and the Universtiy of Tennessee in whole.
Now my opinion on practice leading up to the season is this: When you are preparing for a season in the spring/summer, it does the team, and specifically the quaterback, no justice to put a green jersey on the quarterback. When you have the green jersey, you have no pressure. If you go to practice knowing your going to get you face planted in the dirt, or EB is going to blind side you with a massive blow, that's going to more prepare you for game time. Crompton seems to perform well according to CPF in practice. Well, he doesn't have to worry about getting hit in practice. Might as well give him a pink jersey and tutu. He's proven he can't play this year. CPF....give someone else a chance.
I have an opinion on Foster that I have not heard anyone else mention. He's had fumblitis ever since he's been here. Listening to Gerald Riggs on Sport Talk in Chattanooga, he says it's been a problem all along because of the way he hold the ball. According to Gerald though, that's coachable and should have been corrected long ago. We all know Hardesty and Creer have proved they can produce and deserve the chance to get more carries. To me the situation with CPF playing Foster is that Foster came to CPF at the end of last year to get his opinion on going pro. CPF convinced him that it would be in his best interest to stay, who's best interest is debatable. My opinion is that CPF feels indebted to Foster, who is indeed a pretty good back and close to holding the all-time rushing record at UT. I believe that he knows the team would be much better of with Hardesty or Creer, but the fact that he helped convince Foster to stay, he feels obligated to keep him in the line-up again to the detriment of the team.
Sorry for the long post, but I am so frustrated with CPF's inability to turn this thing around. The game has indeed passed him by and his unwilligness to change is costing us all.