Desmond Howard can suck it

[rocytop2624]

He’s actually factually correct. Since the 2001 SEC Championship loss...

Change my mind with FACTS!

2007 sec championship loss!

 

[VolRoger]

He just said the vols haven't been good since 2001.

If he meant “competing for national championships” good, I would agree with him. If he’s talking about top 10 good, I think you could stretch it out to 2004. We’ve been mediocre to bad from 2005 forward. We had no business playing for an SEC championship in 2007 although we played well against a more talented LSU. We were destroyed that year by the Gators and Bama. It’s a 12 game season and we fell apart the last half of 2016 due to injuries but more so bad chemistry. Very lucky to beat Georgia. In 2015 we were out coached in 2 of the 4 losses, but that might be the only outlier year concerning being a good team since 2004.

 

[madbamahater]

The sports media (and the media as a whole) are like jackals circling with glee to watch and highlight the troubles, failures, and shortcoming of others. It has fed a really bad tendency in society at large where we seem to revel in watching once successful people and organizations take a big fall. Rather than just being happy for your own team, cheering for them, and being thankful for success, way too many of us take glee in stomping on others with snarky, unsolicited, and unprovoked comments when they’re down. It’s tough to endure gracefully, especially from a proud fan base such as ours.

That being said, Desmond isn’t really wrong. We had a couple of blips on the radar where it “looked” like things were turning around, but all of those turned out to be false signs life - Hell, when Butch Jones couldn’t figure out how to win the SEC East with Dobbs, Kamarra, Jennings, and Sutton on this team, that was a clear indicator that he was incapable of getting it done. The only way to fix it is to actually get back to winning.

Can you imagine if UT actually had a halfway decent XOs coach with that offensive roster?

 

[coffeevol]

2007 is really the only decent argument otherwise.

Even then we backed into the Championship game and finished 10-4 and 6-2 in conference

 

[VolRoger]

2007 sec championship loss!

Had no business playing in the game as we backed in via tie breaker with Florida and Georgia. Got destroyed by the Gators and Bama that year. UT got some breaks late in the year but still almost blew it against KY.

 

[Ty4Vols]

He just said the vols haven't been good since 2001.

 

[madbamahater]

2007 sec championship loss!

Vols literally backdoored their way into that game at the mercy of other SEC east teams *****ing the bed badly. Once in ATL it was evident LSU was the superior team, even though Vols should have won if Ainge didn't almost purposefully throw the game.....

 

[SpookyAction]

Can you imagine if UT actually had a halfway decent XOs coach with that offensive roster?

DeBord was the reason we were above average, even with that list of talent.

 

[UTK]

"Good"? We were good in 03, 04, 06, 07, 15, and 16. Now "great?" Yeah it's been since then.

 

[Jxn Vol]

He is a pen!s with ears

 

[Chad F]

Can you imagine if UT actually had a halfway decent XOs coach with that offensive roster?

Yes, I think we all can. The rest of the SEC East was down and it looked like we were coming to life . . . and then Butch Jones happened. He might have been a nice guy, but Butch was an absolute disaster as a head coach. Wasted talent. No player development. Terrible in-game decisions. But he was bailed out by the talent of Dobbs and Kamarra (and a few others) that won games despite the coaching incompetence.

 

[butchna]

Not sure he was talking about Mich. Am sure he was talking about Tenn. Really don't think he mentioned Mich. in this statement at all.....

This is the part where the offended audience retorts and his own alma master’s success (or lack therof) becomes. It can be a scary literary device for the unaware. Roll with us, Scooter.

 

[FEARinSEC]

We've had some good teams since 2001 but we haven't had any great teams since then. Not really sure why anyone gives a ratz azz what Desmond thinks, anyways.

 

[UTK]

Vols literally backdoored their way into that game at the mercy of other SEC east teams *****ing the bed badly. Once in ATL it was evident LSU was the superior team, even though Vols should have won if Ainge didn't almost purposefully throw the game.....

It was evident LSU was the better team yet they only won because they lucked out when Ainge went full dumbass and threw two bad picks. Okay lmao

 

[VolRoger]

Vols literally backdoored their way into that game at the mercy of other SEC east teams *****ing the bed badly. Once in ATL it was evident LSU was the superior team, even though Vols should have won if Ainge didn't almost purposefully throw the game.....

To me 2004 was our last really good team in most phases of the game. Last time we beat Florida, Georgia, and Bama in the same year.

 

[rocytop2624]

Vols literally backdoored their way into that game at the mercy of other SEC east teams *****ing the bed badly. Once in ATL it was evident LSU was the superior team, even though Vols should have won if Ainge didn't almost purposefully throw the game.....

Say what you want the vols was representing the SEC East in the conference championship game.

 

[madbamahater]

DeBord was the reason we were above average, even with that list of talent.

I'm talking headcoach buddy. The offensive line was horrendous and how many times was Kamara seen standing on the sidelines not being utilized? That's a head coaching head scratcher.....

 

[butchna]

Can you imagine if UT actually had a halfway decent XOs coach with that offensive roster?

DeBord was a good playcaller. Not a QB groomer but his scheming within the limitations of Butch’s offense were top notch. Especially how he’d utilize pulling guards and the center. Did the most with the least with the crappy blocking fundamentals under Mahoney.

 

[madbamahater]

If you think the Vols have been a good football program as a WHOLE since the early 2000s.......you are part of the problem.....

 

[VolGirl1126]

His own school is always over-rated and will get their butts kicked by Ohio State again this year. So let him talk.

 

[volintheham]

It really surprises me that people complain about stuff that you know full well it is garbage going in. Lowered expectations when watching guys like Pollack, Howard will help if you like watching that crap at all.

 

[Zues1]

Two words for Des , Ohio State

 

[Behr]

If you think the Vols have been a good football program as a WHOLE since the early 2000s.......you are part of the problem.....

 

[VFL-82-JP]

He’s actually factually correct. Since the 2001 SEC Championship loss...

Change my mind with FACTS!

2003 Vols - 10 wins, including victories over #6 Miami, #17 Florida, and a pitiful Bama squad. 6-2 in SEC play. Ended the year #15 in the nation (AP).

2004 Vols - 10 wins, including #3 Georgia, #11 Florida, #22 A&M (in the Cotton Bowl) and a pitiful Bama squad. 7-1 in SEC play. Ended the year #13 in the country (AP). SEC East champs.

2007 Vols - 10 wins, including over #12 Georgia, #15 South Carolina and #18 Wisconsin (in the Outback Bowl). 6-2 in SEC play. Ended the season #12 in the country (AP). SEC East champs.

Those are facts.

A team that ends up with 10 wins and a ranking among the top 15 in the nation, that team is "good" by any definition. Not great, maybe, not champions, but certainly good.

So there you go. Facts.


p.s. The Fulmer haters try to dismiss his last four years, despite the '06 and '07 seasons (which were both good, though I included only '07)...or his last seven seasons, as TAF attempted here...or even his last ten years, everything since the national title...because, you know, we didn't repeat, RIGHT ZOMG ROFLCOPTER?!?!?!?! Fulmer was a great coach, and had good (not great, but good) seasons right up almost to his last year. That's facts, too.

 

[UTwild82]

What was said was we haven't had a great team since 2001, which is a fact.