Not Top 10, you say? Make your case here!

#151
#151
Vol524 said:
We have not been very good for so long, some of us are having trouble excepting the fact we are much improved. While I wish our defense was elite, I have to admit it has improved over last year's defense. The key to winning is simple, score more points than the other team. Make no mistake about it. We have an elite Offense. Georgia won the NC last year because their Defense was elite. It made up for a lackluster offense. Our Offense can make up for some of the weakness in Defense. I don't think that any team in the country would jump at the chance to put everything on the line against us. They know they can score points against us, what scares them is, can they score enough to win? I think we have earned out place in the TOP 10. JMHO
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Good post.

In this era of CFB especially, I think it is better to have an elite O than an elite D. UGA was the anomaly. Even Saban recognized it a few years ago. LSU can beat UT. However IMO one of the things that strongly favors UT is that O is the strength of UT while D is the strength of LSU. A team dependent on D has to hope for turnovers like Auburn gave up late in order to make a come back. A team with a great O can fall behind and then come back like UT did vs UF and especially Pitt. Then all you need is the D to get stops or FG's.
 
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#152
#152
jeff1vol said:
I don't think UT beats LSU, Bama, UGA...
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Those are the games that concern me most basically due to overall talent. LSU has issues that UT can take advantage of. They have enough that UT could actually win it lopsided against them. But on the whole, they're more talented. However UT goes two deep at QB better than anyone they have. That's important.

and 4 (UK) isn't out of the realm of possibility.
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No game is. However UT should not lose to UK this year. UT has more talent in a similar way to LSU having more talent than the Vols. UT is better at QB, WR, OL, TE, and DL. LB is about a push. UK's experience in the secondary is better but athletically they're not better.

Their D is good but not good enough to stop UT. Their O and particularly their OL... are not good.

In the "realm of possibility"? Yes. But it shouldn't happen. UK will very likely be a 2 loss team coming into the game. I don't think they can beat MSU either.

However... 9-3 would be awesome, IMO. In year 2 would be fantastic! We simply aren't ready talent-wise to compete for any kind of SEC title. 2 more years... should be one of the favorites to win the SEC!
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9-3 would be great with a 10th win on the table in a bowl game. However as we have seen many times over in recent CFB... particular areas of great strength can overcome deficiencies. UT has a good OL that keeps a great QB clean most of the time. They have a very, very good group of receivers as well. UT has talent holes when compared to the top teams. But that O gives the Vols a punchers chance against anyone.

So I would say that UT can "compete"... and if they do so with a 9 or 10 win season then I think we'd all be pretty happy.... well, maybe not folks like you and a few others.
 
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#153
#153
We had 2 weeks to fix the Defense and a lot of situational football on how to be proactive vs reactive when faced with 3rd and 4th down situations. It's a matter of dealing with these situations and I truly believe that FL did us a favor by putting us in those situations for upcoming opponents. Everybody studies the film and we are learning on the fly with wins. Fix the issues that cost us on defense and continue to fine tune the offense and we will be fine.
 
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#154
#154
sjt18 said:
Those are the games that concern me most basically due to overall talent. LSU has issues that UT can take advantage of. They have enough that UT could actually win it lopsided against them. But on the whole, they're more talented. However UT goes two deep at QB better than anyone they have. That's important.

No game is. However UT should not lose to UK this year. UT has more talent in a similar way to LSU having more talent than the Vols. UT is better at QB, WR, OL, TE, and DL. LB is about a push. UK's experience in the secondary is better but athletically they're not better.

Their D is good but not good enough to stop UT. Their O and particularly their OL... are not good.

In the "realm of possibility"? Yes. But it shouldn't happen. UK will very likely be a 2 loss team coming into the game. I don't think they can beat MSU either.


9-3 would be great with a 10th win on the table in a bowl game. However as we have seen many times over in recent CFB... particular areas of great strength can overcome deficiencies. UT has a good OL that keeps a great QB clean most of the time. They have a very, very good group of receivers as well. UT has talent holes when compared to the top teams. But that O gives the Vols a punchers chance against anyone.

So I would say that UT can "compete"... and if they do so with a 9 or 10 win season then I think we'd all be pretty happy.... well, maybe not folks like you and a few others.
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I would rather be happy with a 9-3 season that was earned and shows progress vs a 7-6 season and questioning the direction of the program. All is good for recruiting and CJH + Staff are on track in all facets of the game. Either way Wait until next year takes on a completely new meaning.
 
#155
#155
Sudden Impact said:
I would rather be happy with a 9-3 season that was earned and shows progress vs a 7-6 season and questioning the direction of the program. All is good for recruiting and CJH + Staff are on track in all facets of the game.
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I'll go ahead and mention this because it has so often been a contentious point with other coaches... The coaches historically who have gone on to win championships at a school post a least 9 wins in one of their first 3 seasons. Looks like Heupel has a great shot at that and maybe better. With him, we aren't having to argue that his starting point justifies 4 or 5 years before starting to have expectations. He took the hand he was dealt and played it well.
 
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#156
#156
Volfan39 said:
And we are in the 99.9 percent in the other. I’m kinda getting sick of your temper tantrum on how we suck and are ranked to high
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iu
 
#157
#157
sjt18 said:
Hopefully we all realize that success on D at UT under Heupel is going to look different and be measured different. Even if they get good at getting off the field, their turnaround time to get back on the field is always going to be less than most.
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Quoted for Truth.

Our defensive stats are going to look different because of our offensive style. It's unavoidable. We have to learn how to read them in context. We have to learn how to judge our players and coaches in that context.

Sadly, a lot of folks on vn.com aren't going to see these words. And some who do are going to forget them, over and over again, in the heat of the games.

We will be plagued by this even as we're winning championships. It's just the nature of this particular beast.

Thanks for pointing it out, SJT.

Go Vols!
 
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#159
#159
VFL-82-JP said:
Quoted for Truth.

Our defensive stats are going to look different because of our offensive style. It's unavoidable. We have to learn how to read them in context. We have to learn how to judge our players and coaches in that context.

Sadly, a lot of folks on vn.com aren't going to see these words. And some who do are going to forget them, over and over again, in the heat of the games.

We will be plagued by this even as we're winning championships. It's just the nature of this particular beast.

Thanks for pointing it out, SJT.

Go Vols!
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Right now I agree- it is unavoidable. Once UT has experience and more depth on D then I think it can look better even by a traditional comparison. But a top 40 D at UT... will be the equivalent of a top 10 D elsewhere.

I "normalized" total D to time of possession the other day. If UT allowed yardage at the same rate but was even on TOP at 30 minutes per game... yards allowed drops from 407 to 359. That would place them in the middle of the SEC even with the late collapse vs UF.

I'm not "happy" about the D because they don't get off the field at the rate they should on 3rd and especially 4th down. But in reality, they're a "middling" SEC D... not a bad one.
 
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#160
#160
Is Tennessee a Top 10 team? Yes, polls Coaches and Media seem to think so.
Can they win Championships with this Defense? Yes, better when they get more Depth.
Can they win Championships with this Offense? Yes. No doubt about it.
Are they a top 10 team? Weekend win will validate it for the time being.
Some will still question it because we have lived in hell for many years.
It is a one game at a time, a week-to-week mentality for the fans and team. TIFWIW
No looking ahead and time to focus on Alabama is Sunday and time to focus on Kentucky is the week after UT Martin.
Sometimes I think BVS has us thinking that the wheels are going to fall off at some point or doubting. Maybe they will, maybe they will not. Time will tell. I think we have convinced ourselves that we have gotten the best coach for the program since Fulmer was fired.
We haven't but give credit to Danny White for making this hire. I had my doubts, but CH has proven me wrong. At present, just be grateful the CJH + Staff has brought is to the place we now sit at 8th. With plenty of opportunities to move higher in the polls as each week transpires.
On paper, we may be lower ranked than some but voters/coaches don't think so. That is why you play the game.
 
#161
#161
sjt18 said:
Those are the games that concern me most basically due to overall talent. LSU has issues that UT can take advantage of. They have enough that UT could actually win it lopsided against them. But on the whole, they're more talented. However UT goes two deep at QB better than anyone they have. That's important.

No game is. However UT should not lose to UK this year. UT has more talent in a similar way to LSU having more talent than the Vols. UT is better at QB, WR, OL, TE, and DL. LB is about a push. UK's experience in the secondary is better but athletically they're not better.

Their D is good but not good enough to stop UT. Their O and particularly their OL... are not good.

In the "realm of possibility"? Yes. But it shouldn't happen. UK will very likely be a 2 loss team coming into the game. I don't think they can beat MSU either.


9-3 would be great with a 10th win on the table in a bowl game. However as we have seen many times over in recent CFB... particular areas of great strength can overcome deficiencies. UT has a good OL that keeps a great QB clean most of the time. They have a very, very good group of receivers as well. UT has talent holes when compared to the top teams. But that O gives the Vols a punchers chance against anyone.

So I would say that UT can "compete"... and if they do so with a 9 or 10 win season then I think we'd all be pretty happy.... well, maybe not folks like you and a few others.
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Fair enough! I'll go with your thoughts!
 
#167
#167
RockyTop140 said:
I think we are a good team. What makes it hard for many to believe we are a top ten team is our defense. More specifically, the linebackers and secondary. However, I think our offense is so potent that we can beat teams that are more “complete”. It’s too early in the season to say we are for sure overrated or where we deserve to be yet. We’ve played 4 games and the two ranked teams we have played have had games where they look awful. LSU and Bama will tell us where we are.
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One down , one to go.
 
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