Pruitt: "I didn't come here to win 6 games

[sunnyvol79]

Glad to hear it! My expectations are 8 regular season wins in year 1. If Pruitt falls short of that, then he has underachieved. Given that it's his first college head coaching job, he shouldn't be fired or anything like that, but that's the standard we should measure him against (in my opinion) when we draw a West opponent like Auburn, until we start out-recruiting Florida again.

I'm appalled that people are already excusing 7 or more regular season losses. Where is the 7th regular season loss for a competent coach? That would have us losing to every opponent with a pulse, + 1. I'm not sold on Pruitt, but I have more faith in him than that.

. 4-8 or 5-7 prepare yourself and adjust your expectations

 

[BeecherVol]

And so did the fanbase

Not all of it.

 

[wmcovol]

Come on, KB! The '03, & 04 UF teams weren't great.

Now, the '01 UF team was! Had UT not played Miami a UF/ Miami NC game would have been a great one.

Any win over Florida, Alabama or Georgia should be celebrated. Even if they are 0-12.

I remember many here didn't celebrate the wins over Shula coached Bama teams but Alabama sure as hell counts the wins over Dooley and Butch don't they? Same for Florida. They don't discount the win cause UT had a retarded coach.

 

[Behr]

But....we own florida

Snuggling up to a Gator. Nice.


Besides Nation, who else has said that?

 

[ice]

"Everybody has a plan until they get hit." - Mike Tyson

True!

 

[UT-Rex]

"Everybody has a plan until they get hit." - Mike Tyson

And so shall they say -- they, the 10/12 opponents who get hit really hard by the VOLS in 2018.

 

[BreatheUT]

“We play 12 games this fall, and if we play to the best of our ability in all 12, we’ll have a chance to win every one of them.” -CJP

Hints that he doesn't think this team is without talent

Well what did you expect him to say. "We got 12 games and we think our ceiling is 10 wins."?

I do agree he has more C.O. Jones than Lyle Jones. It is refreshing not to hear a guy preparing fans for a loss.

 

[Eddie Vol Halen]

If we as a fanbase are going to give Fulmer a bit of latitude for losing to Florida because the teams were so exceptional, would we also not take his victories against Georgia and Bama with a grain of salt as well?

The Georgia teams Fulmer started beating were much better than the team that just went the NC game. Davis, Hearst, Zeier, Ward, etc. A big reason for their decline was Fulmer pulling talent out of Georgia after beating them regularly with less talent at the time.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Glad to hear it! My expectations are 8 regular season wins in year 1. If Pruitt falls short of that, then he has underachieved. Given that it's his first college head coaching job, he shouldn't be fired or anything like that, but that's the standard we should measure him against (in my opinion) when we draw a West opponent like Auburn, until we start out-recruiting Florida again.

I'm appalled that people are already excusing 7 or more regular season losses. Where is the 7th regular season loss for a competent coach? That would have us losing to every opponent with a pulse, + 1. I'm not sold on Pruitt, but I have more faith in him than that.

Wow. You are already setting Pruitt up for failure in your eyes. If you truly expect 8 regular season wins then you are delusional. Our roster is full of underdeveloped, lazy undisciplined guys. Thats not gonna change in 1 season.

Its not excusing losses. Its stating that we have a ton of issues with our current roster. Also, we have an entite new coaching staff with new systems on both sides of the ball.

If we win 8 games total, Pruitt should be SEC coach of the year.

 

[SD189]

The Georgia teams Fulmer started beating were much better than the team that just went the NC game. Davis, Hearst, Zeier, Ward, etc. A big reason for their decline was Fulmer pulling talent out of Georgia after beating them regularly with less talent at the time.

They definitely had plenty of teams full of future NFL players.

 

[sjt18]

Wow. You are already setting Pruitt up for failure in your eyes. If you truly expect 8 regular season wins then you are delusional. Our roster is full of underdeveloped, lazy undisciplined guys. Thats not gonna change in 1 season.

Its not excusing losses. Its stating that we have a ton of issues with our current roster. Also, we have an entite new coaching staff with new systems on both sides of the ball.

If we win 8 games total, Pruitt should be SEC coach of the year.

Simply put... and consistent with what I said concerning Fulmer, Dooley, and Jones... the "right" coach will win games that he "shouldn't" win.

The roster issues he is addressing and the development problem isn't nearly the show stopper that some claim. Lots of teams including UT have gotten Fr ready to play with only a few months to coach them. The development "curve" is one of diminishing returns. IOW's, a guy who is "coached up" will see a lot of improvement quickly then the returns will diminish later in his development.

Admittedly it is that late development that turns a player from very good to championship caliber... but a lot of progress can be made early.

The new coaching staff thing IS an excuse. If they can coach, they can coach.

Bottom line is that the right coach will produce more from the team than the sum of its parts. That's what the good ones do. That's what the bad ones, like Jones, can't do... in fact they do the opposite.

My biggest concern is the layout of the schedule. There's a brutal stretch. If the team exits that stretch beat up and with many guys injured then those final very winnable games become a much more difficult prospect.

I would probably agree that from a pure talent and program maturity standpoint UGA, Auburn, and Bama are pretty much off the table. UTEP, Vandy, Mizzou, Charlotte, and ETSU give a baseline of 5 wins. IMHO, UK should be on that list too but that isn't an argument worth having at this point. That means Pruitt needs to win only one of the other winnable games to meet the expectations that you and others have laid out. I simply disagree that should ever be the standard for a UT coach. They have to be better than "average". This seems to be a repeating argument. Jones' inability to make the most of his first roster proved to be a consistent theme.

 

[Behr]

Simply put... and consistent with what I said concerning Fulmer, Dooley, and Jones... the "right" coach will win games that he "shouldn't" win.

The roster issues he is addressing and the development problem isn't nearly the show stopper that some claim. Lots of teams including UT have gotten Fr ready to play with only a few months to coach them. The development "curve" is one of diminishing returns. IOW's, a guy who is "coached up" will see a lot of improvement quickly then the returns will diminish later in his development.

Admittedly it is that late development that turns a player from very good to championship caliber... but a lot of progress can be made early.

The new coaching staff thing IS an excuse. If they can coach, they can coach.

Bottom line is that the right coach will produce more from the team than the sum of its parts. That's what the good ones do. That's what the bad ones, like Jones, can't do... in fact they do the opposite.

My biggest concern is the layout of the schedule. There's a brutal stretch. If the team exits that stretch beat up and with many guys injured then those final very winnable games become a much more difficult prospect.

I would probably agree that from a pure talent and program maturity standpoint UGA, Auburn, and Bama are pretty much off the table. UTEP, Vandy, Mizzou, Charlotte, and ETSU give a baseline of 5 wins. IMHO, UK should be on that list too but that isn't an argument worth having at this point. That means Pruitt needs to win only one of the other winnable games to meet the expectations that you and others have laid out. I simply disagree that should ever be the standard for a UT coach. They have to be better than "average". This seems to be a repeating argument. Jones' inability to make the most of his first roster proved to be a consistent theme.

I agree with this.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I agree with this.

I do, too.

And admit that Butch had me fooled, right up to the latter part of the 2016 season. His progress: 5-7, 7-6, 9-4 ... looked right. Dumb calls along the way as warning signs that some noted, but others (including me) overlooked. That 5 to 7 to 9 win progression certainly could've been more like 5 to 8 to 11, perhaps, without the bad calls, poor development, injuries, etc.

The annoying question that remains for me (which will probably never be answered) is how much or little did Butch & Co.'s actions and decisions contribute to our horrible string of injuries two years running?

Some believe a lot; a few will even lay them ALL at Butch's feet. I don't think that's quite right. I think just sheer bad luck was a big part of it (you just gotta look at how and where most of the injuries occurred to see they didn't come down to conditioning alone).

Bottom line is, Butch was not only less than excellent in some of his duties as head coach, he also had horrible luck.

You really want a coach who is lucky as well as good.

Here's hoping Jeremy has metaphorical rabbits' feet and 4-leaf clovers in his pockets.

 

[VolTexas]

Simply put... the "right" coach will win games that he "shouldn't" win.

My biggest concern is the layout of the schedule. There's a brutal stretch. If the team exits that stretch beat up and with many guys injured then those final very winnable games become a much more difficult prospect.

If they stopped recruiting on signing day, your concern would be valid. But they didn’t. The post signing day folks provide depth that will carry through the whole season. Pruitt is one step ahead of us.

 

[cHiZzLeVOL]

I do, too.

And admit that Butch had me fooled, right up to the latter part of the 2016 season. His progress: 5-7, 7-6, 9-4 ... looked right. Dumb calls along the way as warning signs that some noted, but others (including me) overlooked. That 5 to 7 to 9 win progression certainly could've been more like 5 to 8 to 11, perhaps, without the bad calls, poor development, injuries, etc.

The annoying question that remains for me (which will probably never be answered) is how much or little did Butch & Co.'s actions and decisions contribute to our horrible string of injuries two years running?

Some believe a lot; a few will even lay them ALL at Butch's feet. I don't think that's quite right. I think just sheer bad luck was a big part of it (you just gotta look at how and where most of the injuries occurred to see they didn't come down to conditioning alone).

Bottom line is, Butch was not only less than excellent in some of his duties as head coach, he also had horrible luck.

You really want a coach who is lucky as well as good.

Here's hoping Jeremy has metaphorical rabbits' feet and 4-leaf clovers in his pockets.

Here here, to what sjt18, Behr, and JP have said. I agree on all fronts.

Edit: JP I am going to lay a few on Jones for putting his best players on things like Kickoff.....

 

[dan4vols]

If you go into a game thinking your opponent is unbeatable your beat already. Mindset can mean a big difference between 4-8 and 8-4. I’m sure coach Pruitt knows this.

 

[Behr]

Here here, to what sjt18, Behr, and JP have said. I agree on all fronts.

Edit: JP I am going to lay a few on Jones for putting his best players on things like Kickoff.....

Lulz, I didn't say anything, just agreed with sjt. I give him a hard time sometimes because of disagreement, so I feel obligated to let him know when I do agree. I try to do that with everyone. Fwiw.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Here here, to what sjt18, Behr, and JP have said. I agree on all fronts.

Edit: JP I am going to lay a few on Jones for putting his best players on things like Kickoff.....

Fair enough, Chizzle. A counter to that position is General Neyland himself, especially these two maxims:

Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made ... and ... play for and make the breaks and when one comes your way - SCORE.

Sound reasons for having your best players on the field during those key plays.

Then again, some statisticians have made a pretty compelling case in recent years that General Neyland was wrong in Maxim #6, that kickoffs in particular aren't as significant as most folks believe.

But yeah, fair enough. We did get a couple of injuries to starters during kickoffs and punts/punt returns.

 

[jakez4ut]

Simply put... and consistent with what I said concerning Fulmer, Dooley, and Jones... the "right" coach will win games that he "shouldn't" win.

yep. and there's probably 5 games that could qualify as such. 2 of which, i think are off the table, as you point out below. Auburn, USCe, WVU.

The roster issues he is addressing and the development problem isn't nearly the show stopper that some claim. Lots of teams including UT have gotten Fr ready to play with only a few months to coach them. The development "curve" is one of diminishing returns. IOW's, a guy who is "coached up" will see a lot of improvement quickly then the returns will diminish later in his development.

Admittedly it is that late development that turns a player from very good to championship caliber... but a lot of progress can be made early.

i think one thing that will help here is that this staff will rotate players unlike the last staff. development will get better. how much, how fast? we'll see.

The new coaching staff thing IS an excuse. If they can coach, they can coach.

Bottom line is that the right coach will produce more from the team than the sum of its parts. That's what the good ones do. That's what the bad ones, like Jones, can't do... in fact they do the opposite.

agreed. and i think we'll take some lumps, obviously, this season simply because of all 'the new'. it's been said here, and by many an analyst, first year coaches make mistakes. i remember kirby's clock management against us in 16 at the end of the game....was awful, and the only reason it isn't talked about more is because he got bailed out by their hail mary. then of course, we know what happened. but you go back and look at that game....yikes. i'm sure pruitt and co. will have a moment or two they'll learn from. as well.

My biggest concern is the layout of the schedule. There's a brutal stretch. If the team exits that stretch beat up and with many guys injured then those final very winnable games become a much more difficult prospect.

agree 100%. having the bye in between helps, but those 5 games in a row....whew. it does put "?" on the back end, for sure.

I would probably agree that from a pure talent and program maturity standpoint UGA, Auburn, and Bama are pretty much off the table. UTEP, Vandy, Mizzou, Charlotte, and ETSU give a baseline of 5 wins. IMHO, UK should be on that list too but that isn't an argument worth having at this point. That means Pruitt needs to win only one of the other winnable games to meet the expectations that you and others have laid out.

i gave it a bigger window, but yeah, i agree with this too. for whatever reason, i think that Auburn game is sneaky. but like you said above, a lot of this analysis, really depends on how we come out of that 5 game stretch. hard to be to analytical, other than to say you figure 0-3 against Bama, Aub, GA, and you figure 3-0 vs. ETSU, Charlotte and Utep. need to win any 3-4 of the remaining 6.

I simply disagree that should ever be the standard for a UT coach. They have to be better than "average". This seems to be a repeating argument. Jones' inability to make the most of his first roster proved to be a consistent theme.

yeah, i think most realize that the "adjusted" expectation is situationally based, not etched in stone for the long term.

the last thing i'll say about this season is that along with all the other unknowns we have, we also don't know what kind of positive impact the new comers will have. we're used to getting all the wrong answers to our unknowns. what the hell happens if we get some right answers??? i mean, it's June. it could happen.:thumbsup:

 

[Behr]

Gave you a like for the multi quoting.

 

[jakez4ut]

Gave you a like for the multi quoting.

yeah, i gotta admit, that was on purpose. "know your audience" and all.......

 

[sjt18]

The annoying question that remains for me (which will probably never be answered) is how much or little did Butch & Co.'s actions and decisions contribute to our horrible string of injuries two years running?

I was hammered for suggesting that coaching decisions and methods were a significant factor in injuries. Pruitt seemed to think some of the practice methods contributed based on some comments back in the spring.

Bottom line is, Butch was not only less than excellent in some of his duties as head coach, he also had horrible luck.

You really want a coach who is lucky as well as good.

Here's hoping Jeremy has metaphorical rabbits' feet and 4-leaf clovers in his pockets.

I understand what you are saying but what you call luck is nothing more than probability. A coach who consistently does things very well will be more "lucky" than a coach that doesn't.

A coach who rotates players well... will have less injuries. A coach that teaches the right techniques correctly will have less injuries. A coach that has a good S&C program will have less injuries. A coach who selects the right players will have less injuries. The schemes a coach runs also factor into injuries.

Those are all controllable "luck". Even the best will have injuries... but they won't have a consistently bad trend like Jones did.

 

[sjt18]

Lulz, I didn't say anything, just agreed with sjt. I give him a hard time sometimes because of disagreement, so I feel obligated to let him know when I do agree. I try to do that with everyone. Fwiw.

If we agreed all the time... what fun would that be?

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I was hammered for suggesting that coaching decisions and methods were a significant factor in injuries. Pruitt seemed to think some of the practice methods contributed based on some comments back in the spring.


I understand what you are saying but what you call luck is nothing more than probability. A coach who consistently does things very well will be more "lucky" than a coach that doesn't.

A coach who rotates players well... will have less injuries. A coach that teaches the right techniques correctly will have less injuries. A coach that has a good S&C program will have less injuries. A coach who selects the right players will have less injuries. The schemes a coach runs also factor into injuries.

Those are all controllable "luck". Even the best will have injuries... but they won't have a consistently bad trend like Jones did.

SJT, I agree with every word you say here.

And yet, I've still not seen anyone provide analysis of the 30+ injuries we suffered over those two seasons, isolating the proximate cause of each one.

Until we see that level of analysis, there's simply no way to lay it at the feet of any one, or any group of, causes. We're left shrugging our shoulders and saying, "yeah, it could be conditioning in part...could be coaching of technique...could be choice of practice drills used...could be bad luck (tripping over helmets)...could be ___________."

We simply won't know until someone with (1) access to detailed info about each case, and (2) the medical and training/conditioning insight to distinguish proximate causes does the analysis.

And I'm not seeing anyone lining up to do that. So we may never know.

 

[Bauce]

yeah, i gotta admit, that was on purpose. "know your audience" and all.......

I still can't multi quote correctly...:thud: