It's not the loss. It's the execution.

[TheMookieMonster]

I have seen a lot of posters on VN tonight criticizing their fellow fans for being "delusional" or "impatient" and demanding that fans give CJP ample time to rebuild this program because we are in a bad state. I understand that fans need to temper their expectations, thus I agree people should not realistically get too upset about losing to WVU.

I think where my disagreement lies is that I don't believe people are necessarily being ridiculous for being upset with that performance. Personally, I did not expect us to walk away with a victory today. But going into kickoff my expectations were to watch a team and when the clock struck 0:00 be able to point out all the places we have noticeably improved over last season. Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure where those places are. The one bright side I would say is JG. He played great today. Didn't rush any throws, remained poised, was accurate, and generally made smart decisions all day long.

However, it's disappointing to see our defense under a defensive-minded head coach be so....I guess the word is terrible. Grier is an elite QB. But our DL failed to get pressure against a pedestrian OL all afternoon. Our DB's were toasted play after play. I don't think I saw our LB's make a great play all afternoon. The OL looked like swiss cheese. All I wanted from this afternoon was to see some form of improvement to let me know things were at least headed in the right direction, but I'm not sure I saw anything that spoke to me. Considering we face a number of elite QB's all season long (Stidham, Fromm, Brantley, Tagaliova, Locke) I am extremely concerned we might be giving up 400 yards passing per game.

 

[VolFreakJosh]

Pruitt is having to force Butch’s players into his system whom aren’t very good compared to what he’s used too at Bama.

It’s not even a debate right now if Pruitt is the right guy for the job or not.

Way too early to tell.

 

[MurphyVol]

Bingo. I never expected us to be in this game. What I wanted to see was discipline, heart, good coaching adjustments and players playing in position with max effort.

If you're in position and you get beaten by a better player then fine.

When you block like a matador, let guys run wide open and go the whole game without making a tackle then that's a lack of effort and/or poor coaching.

 

[Tarkus]

It's just too early for me to have a very strong opinion of what I saw today. I don't know how good WVU is at this point. They say their O-line is one of the best in the country this year. I don't know if it is or not and neither does anyone else after only one game but I think the defense will get better as the year goes on and I did see some good things out of the offense. I don't think we are going to know much about us or WVU until about the forth week or so. Our young secondary got torched but I expect them to get better with some experience. This game went about how I expected it to go but I think we have a chance to get better as the year goes on. We will see.

 

[AstonRoyal]

We have a coach who has never been a head coach before go up against a top 25 team and one of the best quarterbacks in the country. It's not like we had a cupcake where we could figure out all our issues before hand. Pruitt will get better.

 

[vavolfan6]

I understand what your saying and was hoping for the same thing, but I think Pruitt was a bit in the dark himself about how to adjust and correct this team until he saw them play live.

I think our OL will only grow and improve as a unit as the season progresses. Plenty of talent, just have limited experience as a unit in their current positions
JG made some nice throws, generally good decisions, and protected the ball well enough to give me hope in his future.
We have a young CBs on the outside, and while it was trial by fire for them, they have plenty of time to improve.
WRs played decently when given a chance...Calloway was consistently beating his man, Jennings fought hard, Palmer showed some flashes...he had a nice catch, but was out of bounds
TE's need more involvement. Hopefully Wood-Anderson plays more of a role in the future.

I think by the time the Florida game rolls around we will have a good sense if these units are improving or just hopeless and talent deficient

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I didn't necessarily buy into it at first, but I think there is something to what a few of the media members on the Vol beat said today after the game. One of CJP's biggest challenges this year will be restoring a winning mentality to this team and believing that each time they step on the field they can and will win that game, whether it's ETSU or #1 Alabama.

I don't believe right now that a lot of these players who were here under Butch truly believe they can win games against teams that aren't FCS. They may say the words but I don't think they believe it. There were a few times where the camera crew zoomed in on player's faces throughout the game and they just looked shell-shocked from start to finish.

 

[MiramarVol]

I said it was their mentally a few times during the game. You could see it in their body language. They still have the losers mentally. When adversity strikes they don't know how to react. They just resorted back to what they're used to doing instead of fighting through and presavering.

 

[vavolfan6]

I said it was their mentally a few times during the game. You could see it in their body language. They still have the losers mentally. When adversity strikes they don't know how to react. They just resorted back to what they're used to doing instead of fighting through and presavering.

This is one thing which I took note of as well. Of course we can't hear everything the guys say and how they lead vocally, but body language sends a message. I'm not sure if JG just naturally shifts his body to one side while he stands, but it seems like a defeatist stance...show some urgency, aggression, and be upbeat with your body language...players follow by example..

 

[GVol1966]

We have a coach who has never been a head coach before go up against a top 25 team and one of the best quarterbacks in the country. It's not like we had a cupcake where we could figure out all our issues before hand. Pruitt will get better.

It’s not Pruit that needs to get better. It’s the talent level on the field!

 

[Blake25p]

Pruitt was in a tough situation. If he blitzed he was leaving the young secondary in 1 on 1 situations, and if he played coverage our dline couldn’t get any pressure. Lose lose situation.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

I have seen a lot of posters on VN tonight criticizing their fellow fans for being "delusional" or "impatient" and demanding that fans give CJP ample time to rebuild this program because we are in a bad state. I understand that fans need to temper their expectations, thus I agree people should not realistically get too upset about losing to WVU.

I think where my disagreement lies is that I don't believe people are necessarily being ridiculous for being upset with that performance. Personally, I did not expect us to walk away with a victory today. But going into kickoff my expectations were to watch a team and when the clock struck 0:00 be able to point out all the places we have noticeably improved over last season. Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure where those places are. The one bright side I would say is JG. He played great today. Didn't rush any throws, remained poised, was accurate, and generally made smart decisions all day long.

However, it's disappointing to see our defense under a defensive-minded head coach be so....I guess the word is terrible. Grier is an elite QB. But our DL failed to get pressure against a pedestrian OL all afternoon. Our DB's were toasted play after play. I don't think I saw our LB's make a great play all afternoon. The OL looked like swiss cheese. All I wanted from this afternoon was to see some form of improvement to let me know things were at least headed in the right direction, but I'm not sure I saw anything that spoke to me. Considering we face a number of elite QB's all season long (Stidham, Fromm, Brantley, Tagaliova, Locke) I am extremely concerned we might be giving up 400 yards passing per game.

No disrespect but you are just another Vol fan that doesnt see the truth. Sigh.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

It’s not Pruit that needs to get better. It’s the talent level on the field!

Its both. Pruitt and his staff need to get better. There is no denying that. Helton, Sherrer and Pruitt are all first time coaches at their respective postions. The talent Butch brought in is obviously not whats needed to be successful. That was evident when Pruitt walked in and commented how small our team is.

Pruitt is having to deal with a situation that no coach in UT history has had to.

 

[TennesseeTarheel]

I think the problem is conditioning. Those 2 and 3 star players looked huge. At it looked like they were everywhere. Our guys looked like they were being over powered on both sides of the ball. I expected way too much from Fitzgerald and our guys from the off season, I guess.

 

[Advol]

Pretty Simple. I saw a New Young Coach with a BUNCH of new young players get beat by a BETTER Team. Support the Vols or move on. It is going to take some time. This year and next year are rebuilding years. I realize NO one wants to hear that, but if nothing else, you will come to believe it!

 

[swampfoxfan]

Pruitt is having to force Butch’s players into his system whom aren’t very good compared to what he’s used too at Bama.

It’s not even a debate right now if Pruitt is the right guy for the job or not.

Way too early to tell.

Kennedy is a JP guy, did you like his step to the side , give the nose tackle a free shot move?

 

[swampfoxfan]

Its both. Pruitt and his staff need to get better. There is no denying that. Helton, Sherrer and Pruitt are all first time coaches at their respective postions. The talent Butch brought in is obviously not whats needed to be successful. That was evident when Pruitt walked in and commented how small our team is.

Pruitt is having to deal with a situation that no coach in UT history has had to.

I posted long ago, Pruitt walked in and started making excuses reminds me of dooley

 

[ReelfootVol]

I am about to be blasted but I will say it anyway. We do not have the players to run out of the pro set. The spread is a definite equalizer when there is a definite lack of talent. We have the players to be a spread offense, not a power I or pro set. Strictly my opinion.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Pruitt is getting his first taste of what its like to have to coach up a team full of non elite players. The talent he had at Florida St, Georgia, and Alabama was on a completely different level than what is currently on this roster.

 

[TennesseeTarheel]

I am about to be blasted but I will say it anyway. We do not have the players to run out of the pro set. The spread is a definite equalizer when there is a definite lack of talent. We have the players to be a spread offense, not a power I or pro set. Strictly my opinion.

Was thinking the same thing. Maybe Butch knew his players were soft and wasn't able to "make" them get stronger. So, he used the spread to take some pressure off the OL. Not making excuses for Butch, but, our guys looked like boys to their men.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

What disappointed me the most in yesterday's game was our overall lack of physicality. The one thing that I thought I was certain of going into this game and this season was that if nothing else, we would play a tough, physical brand of football. However there's no other way of saying it, we got whipped, especially on defense. WV absolutely took it to us! Kudos to them. We looked slow on defense and soft. I saw so much arm tackling, and we never really tackled with any "pop" or impact. Not one time did I see us lay a good lick on anybody. It was all soft arm-tackling. I hate to say it but we played like we didn't hit at all during fall camp. I knew our secondary would go through growing pains, but our front 7 play was terrible. No penetration whatsoever and not a single one of our linebackers shined. No one stood out. WV completely took us out of the game.

Well, after yesterday's game at least we know what we have. I was REALLY hoping that our roster was more talented than everyone thought and were just underdeveloped by the previous staff. I was hoping this year wouldn't be a complete rebuild and our lumps would be taken mostly by getting accustomed to a new offensive and defensive scheme, not because of a lack of talent or will. And that's another thing. I think there's still a bit of a "loser" mentality that's infected our team from the previous staff. This team is well versed in HOW to lose. Breaking that mentality and getting them to believe they can win is probably the biggest challenge that's facing our coaching staff.

 

[Mightyvol]

Well, watching UT play football is almost unwatchable, and has been for a couple years. With that said, I see a coach and coaching staff that I would like to play for if I was a high school player. iMO, this game wasn't the highest priority to win but seeing who could or would play football like CJP wants a player to play football in his system. He now has a better perspective of not only his team but also individuals. Even Saban lost to Northeastern Louisiana his first year. I honestly believe we have a real football coach and it will start to be evident at some point this year.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Well, watching UT play football is almost unwatchable, and has been for a couple years. With that said, I see a coach and coaching staff that I would like to play for if I was a high school player. iMO, this game wasn't the highest priority to win but seeing who could or would play football like CJP wants a player to play football in his system. He now has a better perspective of not only his team but also individuals. Even Saban lost to Northeastern Louisiana his first year. I honestly believe we have a real football coach and it will start to be evident at some point this year.

I disagree. The goal is to get to a bowl game this year. They are ALL high priority. We have to get to 6 wins and yesterday's game was one of about 8 this year that I felt like we had a legitimate chance. Losing yesterday just made reaching a bowl game that much more difficult.

 

[photovol]

It's just too early for me to have a very strong opinion of what I saw today. I don't know how good WVU is at this point. They say their O-line is one of the best in the country this year. I don't know if it is or not and neither does anyone else after only one game but I think the defense will get better as the year goes on and I did see some good things out of the offense. I don't think we are going to know much about us or WVU until about the forth week or so. Our young secondary got torched but I expect them to get better with some experience. This game went about how I expected it to go but I think we have a chance to get better as the year goes on. We will see.

Don't forget, all the other teams we play will probably get better as well, it's a forgone conclusion that the team we saw on Saturday is not going to win many games

 

[Roustabout]

Pruitt is having to force Butch’s players into his system whom aren’t very good compared to what he’s used too at Bama.

It’s not even a debate right now if Pruitt is the right guy for the job or not.

Way too early to tell.

Waaaahhhhh!
He took the friggin job and is getting well paid to do it. No one expected him to hold Grier to zero yards. However, giving up a career high in TDS and passing yards is hot garbage.