carolinaviking
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- Sep 13, 2009
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Hi people. New member here. I'm a Vol fan in Sweden. I was lucky to see the game on television yesterday and can say that the Vols looked pretty good, better than I expected. Here is my opinion of JC:
I don't think Crompton's talent is the problem; the guy has all the physical qualities and abilities anyone would want in a QB. His high-school credentials caught a lot of people's attention and the former Vol staff thought he was UTs future. The guy obviously has talent. I think JC simply has taken an emotional hit somewhere along the line and has lost confidence in himself. It isn't that he can't hit the downfield receivers (he can) or that he has no accuracy (he does); it is that he gets scared of making a mistake really, really quickly and if the play doesn't unfold perfectly then he loses the ability to decide which receiver is the best to throw to. Then he waits too long and blows it by over/under throwing or throwing into the stands. Sure, this is all part of the talent package, but he showed that he can get the job done in a big game against Cal and I think he needs to have his confidence restored. This takes a great coach and in my opinion, the pressure right now is on Kiffin to prove that he can transform a gifted but scared QB into a star.
Poor CLK had to decide whether to let JC pass often and deep against the Gators or play it safe with infrequent, easy passes. Success with plan A would have rocked UF's world and transformed JC into the QB I truly believe he can be. But a few incompletions or an interception might have ruined JC for the rest of the season. This "respectable loss" I think may be valuable if it helps rebuild some of JC's confidence going forward. A win against the Gators would have been nice, but a blowout loss to them might have sent UT into a tailspin and another losing season, which would have killed recruiting for next year. If we can finish up with a winning season, including a couple of marquee wins against Georgia and Bama, and go to a decent bowl, then blue-chippers will see the direction UT is headed with the new staff and line up to join the Vols. Keeping JC progressing is key to this.
The question I have is, why has he lost confidence? Maybe some of you out there saw the moment he went from a star to a goat, I don't know. But this much I do know: if he is going to get better and if the Vols are going to have a good season, then we fans are going to have to get behind him. Imagine hearing 50,000 people call you a loser. That has got to take a toll. Many Vol fans tend to run hot-and-cold from play to play and I would not be surprised if he is terrified of inciting their wrath. We are in awe of a player's amazing strength and skill in practice or after reading Sporting News articles, but one bad play and we are calling him a worthless punk UT never should have recruited. Yes, truly great QBs can handle this pressure and maybe JC doesn't have that ability, but at some point we fans are going to have to step up and get behind our struggling QB. Everyone here says we need a great QB. Well, our QB needs some great fans right now. It is in our best interest to support him and help him along if we want to have a successful season. Future recruits are watching the fans, btw...if we want to get the best players coming to UT, we have to show that if they come here we will get behind them 100% even in the tough times. A great, supportive fan base will give us a huge boost in recruiting. And recruits are watching the online fan boards.
My $0.02.
I don't think Crompton's talent is the problem; the guy has all the physical qualities and abilities anyone would want in a QB. His high-school credentials caught a lot of people's attention and the former Vol staff thought he was UTs future. The guy obviously has talent. I think JC simply has taken an emotional hit somewhere along the line and has lost confidence in himself. It isn't that he can't hit the downfield receivers (he can) or that he has no accuracy (he does); it is that he gets scared of making a mistake really, really quickly and if the play doesn't unfold perfectly then he loses the ability to decide which receiver is the best to throw to. Then he waits too long and blows it by over/under throwing or throwing into the stands. Sure, this is all part of the talent package, but he showed that he can get the job done in a big game against Cal and I think he needs to have his confidence restored. This takes a great coach and in my opinion, the pressure right now is on Kiffin to prove that he can transform a gifted but scared QB into a star.
Poor CLK had to decide whether to let JC pass often and deep against the Gators or play it safe with infrequent, easy passes. Success with plan A would have rocked UF's world and transformed JC into the QB I truly believe he can be. But a few incompletions or an interception might have ruined JC for the rest of the season. This "respectable loss" I think may be valuable if it helps rebuild some of JC's confidence going forward. A win against the Gators would have been nice, but a blowout loss to them might have sent UT into a tailspin and another losing season, which would have killed recruiting for next year. If we can finish up with a winning season, including a couple of marquee wins against Georgia and Bama, and go to a decent bowl, then blue-chippers will see the direction UT is headed with the new staff and line up to join the Vols. Keeping JC progressing is key to this.
The question I have is, why has he lost confidence? Maybe some of you out there saw the moment he went from a star to a goat, I don't know. But this much I do know: if he is going to get better and if the Vols are going to have a good season, then we fans are going to have to get behind him. Imagine hearing 50,000 people call you a loser. That has got to take a toll. Many Vol fans tend to run hot-and-cold from play to play and I would not be surprised if he is terrified of inciting their wrath. We are in awe of a player's amazing strength and skill in practice or after reading Sporting News articles, but one bad play and we are calling him a worthless punk UT never should have recruited. Yes, truly great QBs can handle this pressure and maybe JC doesn't have that ability, but at some point we fans are going to have to step up and get behind our struggling QB. Everyone here says we need a great QB. Well, our QB needs some great fans right now. It is in our best interest to support him and help him along if we want to have a successful season. Future recruits are watching the fans, btw...if we want to get the best players coming to UT, we have to show that if they come here we will get behind them 100% even in the tough times. A great, supportive fan base will give us a huge boost in recruiting. And recruits are watching the online fan boards.
My $0.02.
