On the Balance...

[Ashevillevol]

In spite of all the negative publicity CLK has generated with some of his statements, how do you feel about the progress of the program as a whole so far? I, for one, am willing to forgive some of the foot-in-mouth disease that has hit CLK up to now when you consider that he has put together a tremendous staff, did a really good job saving the recruiting class in a very short window, and brought an energy to our program that hasn't been seen here in many years.

I think sometimes people overlook the fact he is rather young to be in this kind of spotlight and media glare. Every word he utters is disected and parsed by people on this and other sites, along with a national media that seems to be waiting for him to say something they can pounce on. I can't believe he had this level of scrutiny even when he was with the Raiders. I think because of his age and position there is a certain element of people who would like to see him fail. I think he has also wanted to make an impression on people by showing a confidence in his own abilities to get this job done in a big way. It rubs some people the wrong way and comes off as arrogant. I bet over time he will settle into the position and the spotlight and the verbal gaffes will diminish. So on the whole, I feel we are headed in the right direction and are miles beyond where we would be with the staff we had before.

Any other thoughts?

 

[drwut70]

I agree with your analysis. I especially think people are tending to overlook CLK's age. In retrospect when I was under 40 (and like many young competitive people) an "in your face" attitude is typical, i.e., "bring it on" "we are gonna kick your butt", etc.... When over 40 one tends to think a bit more about the negative side of direct confrontation, how to avoid it and yet still win (see CLK's dad). Over 60 as I am, you just wish you could still get on the field! I think CLK is exactly the right man for UT, right now, with the right plan.

 

[#10_Ainge_#10]

I think we are headed in the right direction, I realize he was 5-15 at Oakland and what not and a lot of people don't like that we hired him because of that record and because people say he is unproven, yeah he is unproven because of his pro career....I just don't think he was a pro coach, just from what I gather from everything I have seen from him I think he is geared for college...That being said, he is arrogant to the media and what not and I do think that because he is so young everything that is said gets dissected, like it was said in this thread...As far as the arrogant thing goes in person he is a very nice guy, I just got lucky last Saturday at the Vandy game and met Coach Kiffin and he also had Jon Crompton and Bryce Brown with him, very nice guys...I don't care if he is arrogant to the media, other teams etc., as long as he wins some games and kick some tail end in the process I'm all for it....GO VOLS!

 

[rmsmith]

While i do not like everything he has said. (i'm just a shut up and play kind of person) I gotta say it's nice to have this much confidence in our team. Also people need not hold the Oakland stint against him.. Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden,(call it a trade if you want) and now Kiffin were all fired by senile man.

 

[K Zed]

I believe we are ready for a good season, but lets try not to judge things too early...

 

[hmanvolfan]

Very fresh thoughts and queries. I can't understand how this hasn't been brought up before.

 

[#10_Ainge_#10]

While i do not like everything he has said. (i'm just a shut up and play kind of person) I gotta say it's nice to have this much confidence in our team. Also people need not hold the Oakland stint against him.. Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden,(call it a trade if you want) and now Kiffin were all fired by senile man.

I think he will get the kind of team together in the future where he can pretty much talk what he wants to talk and hopefully back it up....As far as Oakland goes though, nobody is going to win in Oakland as long as Al Davis is there

 

[rmsmith]

I think he will get the kind of team together in the future where he can pretty much talk what he wants to talk and hopefully back it up....As far as Oakland goes though, nobody is going to win in Oakland as long as Al Davis is there

yeah me too.. hopefully sooner than later.

 

[#10_Ainge_#10]

yeah me too.. hopefully sooner than later.

Oh don't get me wrong I hope we come out and kick UF, UGA, and Bama around like rag dolls this year but I don't see it happening, I think we are a year behind Bama and maybe 2 years behind UF, I say behind meaning talent wise at certain positions(WR mainly) I don't think we are that bad at QB, I really think Crompton, Stephens, Coleman whoever it may be next year would have done fine last year, but Clawsons play calling was absoultely retched...I think we are able to compete with UGA, I don't think their talent level is that of UF or Bama...You could take a mediocre team and win 10 games with a great coach if you catch the right breaks...JMO..THe UF game this year, I want to win it, I expect to win it as a fan but I don't think we will, if that makes sense? I think we will compete but right now I don't think we got the talent level on the offensive side to beat them, if the game was in Neyland though I would feel alot better about it

 

[K Zed]

i hate saying it, but i agree with you. Florida and Georgia still have thier good QBs and we currently don't have one?!?! who knows well have to wait and see.

 

[rmsmith]

Oh don't get me wrong I hope we come out and kick UF, UGA, and Bama around like rag dolls this year but I don't see it happening, I think we are a year behind Bama and maybe 2 years behind UF, I say behind meaning talent wise at certain positions(WR mainly) I don't think we are that bad at QB, I really think Crompton, Stephens, Coleman whoever it may be next year would have done fine last year, but Clawsons play calling was absoultely retched...I think we are able to compete with UGA, I don't think their talent level is that of UF or Bama...You could take a mediocre team and win 10 games with a great coach if you catch the right breaks...JMO..THe UF game this year, I want to win it, I expect to win it as a fan but I don't think we will, if that makes sense? I think we will compete but right now I don't think we got the talent level on the offensive side to beat them, if the game was in Neyland though I would feel alot better about it

Yeah Clawson's scheme is good against D II or III whichever he came from. But against the speed and intelligence of SEC defenses his efforts were futile. I'm with ya about being a couple of years behind UF. UGA we can beat this year.. Bama we might need 1 more year. One thing for sure.. This team will surprise people in the fall.

 

[#10_Ainge_#10]

i hate saying it, but i agree with you. Florida and Georgia still have thier good QBs and we currently don't have one?!?! who knows well have to wait and see.

IMO, UGA will be worse off at QB and RB than we will be next year.....Stafford and Moreno, especially Moreno were what made that offense go, but with receivers like AJ Green to throw to, and the addition of Marlon Brown any QB they put under center will look good

 

[hmanvolfan]

i hate saying it, but i agree with you. Florida and Georgia still have thier good QBs and we currently don't have one?!?! who knows well have to wait and see.

I thought Matt Stafford was gone.

 

[K Zed]

i heard he was staying. But ive been wrong before, it could've been Bama's...

 

[rmsmith]

IMO, UGA will be worse off at QB and RB than we will be next year.....Stafford and Moreno, especially Moreno were what made that offense go, but with receivers like AJ Green to throw to, and the addition of Marlon Brown any QB they put under center will look good

I think it all depends on how good their receivers opposite Green are. He'll get double teamed like Moss (pats) does but that opens up Welker. If they can catch and their new qb can throw then they'll be a'ok.

 

[#10_Ainge_#10]

Yeah Clawson's scheme is good against D II or III whichever he came from. But against the speed and intelligence of SEC defenses his efforts were futile. I'm with ya about being a couple of years behind UF. UGA we can beat this year.. Bama we might need 1 more year. One thing for sure.. This team will surprise people in the fall.

Well I'm not saying the guys on the team were not smart enough to run it, but I believe I heard at Richmond he had like 40 different sets to run plays out of and here he had to reduce it to like 8-12..I was excited as anyone was about our new offense that was coming in with him, but he failed miserably...His scheme I think if you got the talent and the intelligence to run it is a good one, but his play calling was horrible...He made Randy Sanders look like a genius..I think that the reason alot of people cite his scheme and play calling for having such a horrible year least year is beause we virtually had the same team that took the field in 2007, with the exception of Erik Ainge, I understand its hart to replace a QB but we had the same guys playing pretty much from '07 to '08 and there was a huge lack of production...Cutcliffe made our offense go with good play calling...Good play calling can work wonders for any team and Clawson just wasn't gifted in that area

As far as being a year Bama, I don't think we are that far behind them because last year had we had even a mediocre offense we would have beat them I think, they just got lucky last year and caught most of the SEC West and their East opponents with the exception of UGA and UF on a down year, that's why they looked so dominant last year

 

[rmsmith]

Well I'm not saying the guys on the team were not smart enough to run it, but I believe I heard at Richmond he had like 40 different sets to run plays out of and here he had to reduce it to like 8-12..I was excited as anyone was about our new offense that was coming in with him, but he failed miserably...His scheme I think if you got the talent and the intelligence to run it is a good one, but his play calling was horrible...He made Randy Sanders look like a genius..I think that the reason alot of people cite his scheme and play calling for having such a horrible year least year is beause we virtually had the same team that took the field in 2007, with the exception of Erik Ainge, I understand its hart to replace a QB but we had the same guys playing pretty much from '07 to '08 and there was a huge lack of production...Cutcliffe made our offense go with good play calling...Good play calling can work wonders for any team and Clawson just wasn't gifted in that area

I just think he tried to do too much too fast. you can't expect players to run an entirely different offense with that many variables that soon. There were too many plays where blockers (lineman and wr's) looked lost.

 

[#10_Ainge_#10]

I think it all depends on how good their receivers opposite Green are. He'll get double teamed like Moss (pats) does but that opens up Welker. If they can catch and their new qb can throw then they'll be a'ok.

I agree with that....IMO though, the reason that they could throw down field so often and be successful is because Moreno was such a threat to break it every time he touched the ball, it was open down field, obviously...I just don't think they are gonna be as prolific next yeart as some say, but who knows?

 

[rmsmith]

I agree with that....IMO though, the reason that they could throw down field so often and be successful is because Moreno was such a threat to break it every time he touched the ball, it was open down field, obviously...I just don't think they are gonna be as prolific next yeart as some say, but who knows?

yeah moreno definitely compacted the defenses. Kinda like us when we had Jamal.

 

[K Zed]

Second. Things DO seem too fast. Mabey it'll pay off though...

 

[#10_Ainge_#10]

I just think he tried to do too much too fast. you can't expect players to run an entirely different offense with that many variables that soon. There were too many plays where blockers (lineman and wr's) looked lost.

Well I think you can cite the Auburn game last year as a prime example of that because man there were so many times in that game alone that, like you said they looked lost...If you watch the games where we had more than 200 yards of offense man, we got 85 of that in one play, we were a one play offense last year...I think given time that he would have been ok, but not great like UT needs to compete in the SEC East year and year out

 

[#10_Ainge_#10]

yeah moreno definitely compacted the defenses. Kinda like us when we had Jamal.

Jamal Lewis and we had a QB that could make the throws to the guys down field...I think we got one now in Stephens or Crompton....I don't mention Coleman because I don't think that we have saw enough of him...He might be better than both Stephens and Crompton, both of them with some good coaching could be good QB's...Stephens has a whale of an arm, I just think that every QB we put on the field last year, as bad as the OL play was and the play calling and not knowing the system were a victim of the Clawfense

 

[rmsmith]

Well I think you can cite the Auburn game last year as a prime example of that because man there were so many times in that game alone that, like you said they looked lost...If you watch the games where we had more than 200 yards of offense man, we got 85 of that in one play, we were a one play offense last year...I think given time that he would have been ok, but not great like UT needs to compete in the SEC East year and year out

yeah i think that would have been the case.
Kiffin definitely has more intensity/drive than Clawson. And 1 good year out of 3 will not be nearly good enough.

 

[#10_Ainge_#10]

yeah i think that would have been the case.
Kiffin definitely has more intensity/drive than Clawson. And 1 good year out of 3 will not be nearly good enough.

Well I think Kiffin knew what he was getting into when he took the job, he knew when he came down people expected him to win, he knew that people expect us to be in the hunt for the SEC Championship and maybe the National Championship year in and year out, I want us to be but I don't expect it, I just want to be in the talk come October for the BCS to come out and stay in it for a little while, I know being in the SEC its hard to stay on top but look at Urban Meyer at UF, he has got his kids to buy into that Spread Option offense he has and no one has figured out how to stop it or they just have better athletes than everyone else in the conference and I think its a little bit of both, I mean I hate UF as much as the next guy but 2 NC's in the 3 years speaks for itself, I think Kiffin is bringing that to Knoxville, it may not be as soon as everyone likes it to be but its coming, it just takes time...In Knoxville if you are at UT and coach football or basketball, the fans love you until you lose a game...That's not realistic expectations for anyone to meet

 

[rmsmith]

Well I think Kiffin knew what he was getting into when he took the job, he knew when he came down people expected him to win, he knew that people expect us to be in the hunt for the SEC Championship and maybe the National Championship year in and year out, I want us to be but I don't expect it, I just want to be in the talk come October for the BCS to come out and stay in it for a little while, I know being in the SEC its hard to stay on top but look at Urban Meyer at UF, he has got his kids to buy into that Spread Option offense he has and no one has figured out how to stop it or they just have better athletes than everyone else in the conference and I think its a little bit of both, I mean I hate UF as much as the next guy but 2 NC's in the 3 years speaks for itself, I think Kiffin is bringing that to Knoxville, it may not be as soon as everyone likes it to be but its coming, it just takes time...In Knoxville if you are at UT and coach football or basketball, the fans love you until you lose a game...That's not realistic expectations for anyone to meet

that is right on. my only response to that is monte's d is focused on speed, so maybe that will shutdown urban's spread.:crossfingers: