Reality check...

[A2K]

Saturday night was embarrassing for us all. Heartbreaking to watch it go down that way. However, This year has been a hell of a ride and maybe a year or so to soon. We got 2 left ya'll lets get the kid's backs and pull for Milton ..... get out with an early 11 YR season.....GOVOLS!!!!!

 

[BubbaDoc]

I've weathered the ride for the past 15 years. I'm not gonna quit on them now.

 

[montereytnvol]

I have been a Vol fan for over 59 years. I love the Vols but I am totally disgusted and worn out. We were out coached and out played Saturday night. It just seems to Butch Jones like. Losing Hendon is last straw. I may be wrong but he was the thing that held the team together. Hate to say it but Vandy beats us and we lose the bowl game. Totally ruining what was going to be a Cinderella season.

 

[stolitonic]

I've weathered the ride for the past 15 years. I'm not gonna quit on them now.

I'm not quitting, but my enthusiasm level is going to be significantly curtailed.

Quite frankly, half the team that walked out on the field Saturday didn't give a crap. The entire world in front of them and they threw it away over a bunch of garbage.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

I have been a Vol fan for over 59 years. I love the Vols but I am totally disgusted and worn out. We were out coached and out played Saturday night. It just seems to Butch Jones like. Losing Hendon is last straw. I may be wrong but he was the thing that held the team together. Hate to say it but Vandy beats us and we lose the bowl game. Totally ruining what was going to be a Cinderella season.

On the other hand, you can bring out all your black and gold!

 

[The Tall Gguy]

We waited 21 years for this opportunity. 21 years.

 

[m1al]

Damn, when I saw "reality check", I got excited..... I like reality checks...

 

[JoAllan]

I had wished for a really big check………I should have been more specific.

 

[Stephen Gray]

I think it’s fair to believe this has been an amazing season, definitely exceeded expectations, but also to be very disappointed with the SC game and feel that the level of play exhibited in that one is not acceptable.

It’s not okay to be that poorly prepared for any game, but especially with the opportunity the team had as a result of all of the work they had done, and the accomplishments they had achieved, it stings. I suspect it hurts for them much more than for even the most upset of us fans.

Stuff happens and sometimes the team will mess up, and we have to move on. This team has done things no one reasonably could have expected of them, and we should be proud. One disappointing game does not remove the good done in the entire the body of work.

The team will lose more games in the future, and some of those losses will happen when they should not have because we blew it. That should be a rare occurrence, and we should not forget the good a team has done, but it is fine to be upset. All being upset means is they care.

 

[stolitonic]

I think it’s fair to believe this has been an amazing season, definitely exceeded expectations, but also to be very disappointed with the SC game and feel that the level of play exhibited in that one is not acceptable.

It’s not okay to be that poorly prepared for any game, but especially with the opportunity the team had as a result of all of the work they had done, and the accomplishments they had achieved, it stings. I suspect it hurts for them much more than for even the most upset of us fans.

Stuff happens and sometimes the team will mess up, and we have to move on. This team has done things no one reasonably could have expected of them, and we should be proud. One disappointing game does not remove the good done in the entire the body of work.

The team will lose more games in the future, and some of those losses will happen when they should not have because we blew it. That should be a rare occurrence, and we should not forget the good a team has done, but it is fine to be upset. All being upset means is they care.

Did you see anybody in D acting like they even cared Saturday? I didn't. Only one I saw displaying any passion was running his mouth after getting beat

Exceeding expectations, yeah yeah yeah. Expectations change as the season goes on. I had somewhat hight hopes in 2020, those got dashed quickly.

We may not have expected much from our guys before the season, but things changed quick. We got very lucky a few times this season. Those balls had to bounce in exactly the right way for us to be where we were-and they did.
.
Expectations changed, thems the breaks. Who knows when UT will be in that position again though? For these players, it was a once in a lifetime shot basically.

 

[Mustng959]

In 1985, quarterback Tony Robinson went down with an ACL injury as we played Alabama. Robinson was pre=season ALL SEC and a Heisman candidate. The back-up was Darryl Dickey (Doug Dickey's son). We thought a great season was lost. Darryl went the last games with a record of 6-0-1 and we won the SEC Championship. Miami Hurricanes had an awesome team that year and was expected to clean Tennessee's clock in the Sugar Bowl with their highly touted quarterback Vinny Testaverde. Ken Donahue was the defensive coordinator and he dialed up so many blitzes on Testaverde that he didn't know if he was coming or going. Darryl Dickey had an awesome game as well and was voted MVP. Tennessee trounced the heavily favored Hurricanes 35-7. I watched that game and was never more proud to be a VOLS fan (and still am to this day). I was 27 then and 63 now.

Now, it looks like we might go to the Sugar Bowl ... our starting QB is out with season ending ACL tear ..... we have a back-up with limited playing time coming in for relief duties ..... I believe history can repeat itself and I see good things for Joe Milton III.
GO VOLS
52nd Annual Sugar Bowl Classic ~ January 1, 1986
(Click and read the link, still gives me chills thinking about that game)

 

[OLEVOLFAN]

I have been a Vol fan for over 59 years. I love the Vols but I am totally disgusted and worn out. We were out coached and out played Saturday night. It just seems to Butch Jones like. Losing Hendon is last straw. I may be wrong but he was the thing that held the team together. Hate to say it but Vandy beats us and we lose the bowl game. Totally ruining what was going to be a Cinderella season.

Hate to say it but you're Wrong!

 

[Stephen Gray]

Did you see anybody in D acting like they even cared Saturday? I didn't. Only one I saw displaying any passion was running his mouth after getting beat

Exceeding expectations, yeah yeah yeah. Expectations change as the season goes on. I had somewhat hight hopes in 2020, those got dashed quickly.

We may not have expected much from our guys before the season, but things changed quick. We got very lucky a few times this season. Those balls had to bounce in exactly the right way for us to be where we were-and they did.
.
Expectations changed, thems the breaks. Who knows when UT will be in that position again though? For these players, it was a once in a lifetime shot basically.

I saw people playing poorly. Whether they cared is impossible to prove, but I find it difficult to believe so many competitive athletes who hate to lose decided to throw the game. Even one doing it would be be surprising, let alone several, to “make a point”. I could see them having not prepared adequately, due to any number of distractions, but I absolutely think they care, and I think they care more than almost anyone else.

Anyway, whether you are right or I am is impossible to prove. You focused on one sentence where I say say we exceeded expectations and either missed or ignored the rest. I will do you the service of responding to what you said in total.

It can basically can be summed up as:
1. The players didn’t care, which I address above.
2. The expectations changed as we had success and new opportunities.
3. We had to get lucky to get into that position and may never again.
4. The unspoken but implied belief that because we messed up and lost those opportunities nothing else matters that the team accomplished.

I addressed the first point already, and we can just agree to disagree. The thing about expectations changing as we have success is true. No argument with that statement but I do think it is implying (4) above, which I will get to.

As for getting lucky and maybe never having another shot.. Let’s start with the end of that first. It’s true we may never get there again. We may not, but we are trending upward as a program under this staff. Nothing is guaranteed but I see no reason we will not continue to improve as we recruit. I feel much better about our chances than I did under the three previous coaches by their second year end.

I think at least offensively our scheme can be as good as anyone, and we can develop dudes to a very high level. Defense is the big question, but if we can figure that out then we should be able to produce better teams than we have since at least the early 2000s. If we do that, we will very likely have to be incredibly unlucky to not at least be competing for the conference or more with some regularity.

The reason we have not had opportunities for championships is less about teams being lucky in the season and more because the teams we have had haven’t been good enough. I love all of the Tennessee teams I’ve watched, but we have not produced teams that can compete at those levels in many years. Those teams were not good enough because we have continually been in a failed rebuild with few seasons showing any real progress on that front.

This season is an excellent step toward a program that can consistently field good teams. We are not there, and I would not be surprised to see some drop off next year, but if we can be competitive and win what we are supposed to, no reason 2024 should not have us in a good situation. We could also do even better than expected next season and be in contention for good things again immediately. Seriously, did you think we would have gotten as far as we did this season before it began? Did you think we would win 7 games last season before it began? I didn’t. How many times in the last 15 years have you had season expectations exceeded?

Back to being lucky: As for this season, yes we had some favorable things happen but I don’t recall winning a game due to insane circumstances. We have put up a ton of points against most teams and while the defense has been lacking in places it also has been quite good in some respects against some good competition. Before anyone says they are garbage, try to remember how we have done against the run, or in the red zone, or what our scoring defense was before SC. All of this is to say, that wasn’t being lucky, it was having a great offense, a usually good enough defense, and calling good games.

We almost lost the Florida game and needed them to not make a play in the end to win, but we were only in that situation because we allowed them to overcome a big deficit late in the game. That’s not luck almost beating us, it’s bad defense almost beating us. Maybe some debatable play calls too. If we get some stops it looks much better. I don’t think we were lucky in the Alabama game either. If they don’t have Bryce Young working miracles we beat them by a lot. Pitt was scary and maybe the closest thing I can remember.

Finally the biggest issue I have with your post is being unwilling to acknowledge that this team achieved a number of things that they should be proud of, and we also should be. You ignored anything I said said about SC and then said a bunch of things that implied that because the team blew that game the season is a failure and the things they achieved are not important.

Again, it is true that the SC game was a huge disappointment and a missed opportunity, and not in any way acceptable. We can and should be upset. It is also true that the team achieved many things that few thought they would. You can be upset with what happened and also proud of the other things. Why should we only be upset?

Did you really believe we would break steaks against Florida, Alabama, and LSU in the same season? We were even underdogs against Pitt. Florida I felt we should beat, but there have been many times Tennessee should have beaten a down Florida team and did not get it done. We broke that streak. Even winning, some games were uglier than they should have been but we had some impressive performances too.

We were in playoff contention for the first time ever. Not only that, but we were #1 in that polling. When was the last time a Tennessee football team was in the top 10 of any important poll, let alone top 5, top 3, or #1. Our offense is elite and has led the nation in various categories all season. We have broken several school records with players who haven’t even played two seasons full seasons. We have received more favorable media attention than anytime since the early 2000s.

If you really don’t see how those things are great and very helpful for a program that was 3-7 two years ago and hasn’t been relevant in any way at the highest levels for 15 or so years, I don’t know what would be enough to acknowledge as achievements. The missed opportunity sucks, and we have to do better, but there are a lot of things we did this season, and really the last two that are worth celebrating. Nothing is certain, but at least what I have seen suggests we will have a great chance of accomplishing things that have eluded us a lot more frequently than in many years. Getting thrashed by Vanderbilt could get me concerned, but as long as we show up playing the way we have most of the season, I am optimistic.

 

[TNnative]

I have been a Vol fan for over 59 years. I love the Vols but I am totally disgusted and worn out. We were out coached and out played Saturday night. It just seems to Butch Jones like. Losing Hendon is last straw. I may be wrong but he was the thing that held the team together. Hate to say it but Vandy beats us and we lose the bowl game. Totally ruining what was going to be a Cinderella season.

Cinderella had her first dress torn to shreads by her evil step sisters. Though I am slighty less enamored with the program compared to all you guys? (I've been burned out on this whole thing for awhile now) I am dumbfounded by this game. But being from Greenback where Marcus Satterfield is from, and consider his parent dear friends, I gotta say this; Our boy is a good, smart coach. And though the loss hurts? He brought a strong plan, and his players executed it well.

That being said, Lose to Vandy? Yeah right.

 

[Stephen Gray]

Cinderella had her first dress torn to shreads by her evil step sisters. Though I am slighty less enamored with the program compared to all you guys? (I've been burned out on this whole thing for awhile now) I am dumbfounded by this game. But being from Greenback where Marcus Satterfield is from, and consider his parent dear friends, I gotta say this; Our boy is a good, smart coach. And though the loss hurts? He brought a strong plan, and his players executed it well.

That being said, Lose to Vandy? Yeah right.

It could happen (Lose to Vandy), but in no univese should it. It is not okay to lose that team…

 

[stolitonic]

I saw people playing poorly. Whether they cared is impossible to prove, but I find it difficult to believe so many competitive athletes who hate to lose decided to throw the game. Even one doing it would be be surprising, let alone several, to “make a point”. I could see them having not prepared adequately, due to any number of distractions, but I absolutely think they care, and I think they care more than almost anyone else.

Anyway, whether you are right or I am is impossible to prove. You focused on one sentence where I say say we exceeded expectations and either missed or ignored the rest. I will do you the service of responding to what you said in total.

It can basically can be summed up as:
1. The players didn’t care, which I address above.
2. The expectations changed as we had success and new opportunities.
3. We had to get lucky to get into that position and may never again.
4. The unspoken but implied belief that because we messed up and lost those opportunities nothing else matters that the team accomplished.

I addressed the first point already, and we can just agree to disagree. The thing about expectations changing as we have success is true. No argument with that statement but I do think it is implying (4) above, which I will get to.

As for getting lucky and maybe never having another shot.. Let’s start with the end of that first. It’s true we may never get there again. We may not, but we are trending upward as a program under this staff. Nothing is guaranteed but I see no reason we will not continue to improve as we recruit. I feel much better about our chances than I did under the three previous coaches by their second year end.

I think at least offensively our scheme can be as good as anyone, and we can develop dudes to a very high level. Defense is the big question, but if we can figure that out then we should be able to produce better teams than we have since at least the early 2000s. If we do that, we will very likely have to be incredibly unlucky to not at least be competing for the conference or more with some regularity.

The reason we have not had opportunities for championships is less about teams being lucky in the season and more because the teams we have had haven’t been good enough. I love all of the Tennessee teams I’ve watched, but we have not produced teams that can compete at those levels in many years. Those teams were not good enough because we have continually been in a failed rebuild with few seasons showing any real progress on that front.

This season is an excellent step toward a program that can consistently field good teams. We are not there, and I would not be surprised to see some drop off next year, but if we can be competitive and win what we are supposed to, no reason 2024 should not have us in a good situation. We could also do even better than expected next season and be in contention for good things again immediately. Seriously, did you think we would have gotten as far as we did this season before it began? Did you think we would win 7 games last season before it began? I didn’t. How many times in the last 15 years have you had season expectations exceeded?

Back to being lucky: As for this season, yes we had some favorable things happen but I don’t recall winning a game due to insane circumstances. We have put up a ton of points against most teams and while the defense has been lacking in places it also has been quite good in some respects against some good competition. Before anyone says they are garbage, try to remember how we have done against the run, or in the red zone, or what our scoring defense was before SC. All of this is to say, that wasn’t being lucky, it was having a great offense, a usually good enough defense, and calling good games.

We almost lost the Florida game and needed them to not make a play in the end to win, but we were only in that situation because we allowed them to overcome a big deficit late in the game. That’s not luck almost beating us, it’s bad defense almost beating us. Maybe some debatable play calls too. If we get some stops it looks much better. I don’t think we were lucky in the Alabama game either. If they don’t have Bryce Young working miracles we beat them by a lot. Pitt was scary and maybe the closest thing I can remember.

Finally the biggest issue I have with your post is being unwilling to acknowledge that this team achieved a number of things that they should be proud of, and we also should be. You ignored anything I said said about SC and then said a bunch of things that implied that because the team blew that game the season is a failure and the things they achieved are not important.

Again, it is true that the SC game was a huge disappointment and a missed opportunity, and not in any way acceptable. We can and should be upset. It is also true that the team achieved many things that few thought they would. You can be upset with what happened and also proud of the other things. Why should we only be upset?

Did you really believe we would break steaks against Florida, Alabama, and LSU in the same season? We were even underdogs against Pitt. Florida I felt we should beat, but there have been many times Tennessee should have beaten a down Florida team and did not get it done. We broke that streak. Even winning, some games were uglier than they should have been but we had some impressive performances too.

We were in playoff contention for the first time ever. Not only that, but we were #1 in that polling. When was the last time a Tennessee football team was in the top 10 of any important poll, let alone top 5, top 3, or #1. Our offense is elite and has led the nation in various categories all season. We have broken several school records with players who haven’t even played two seasons full seasons. We have received more favorable media attention than anytime since the early 2000s.

If you really don’t see how those things are great and very helpful for a program that was 3-7 two years ago and hasn’t been relevant in any way at the highest levels for 15 or so years, I don’t know what would be enough to acknowledge as achievements. The missed opportunity sucks, and we have to do better, but there are a lot of things we did this season, and really the last two that are worth celebrating. Nothing is certain, but at least what I have seen suggests we will have a great chance of accomplishing things that have eluded us a lot more frequently than in many years. Getting thrashed by Vanderbilt could get me concerned, but as long as we show up playing the way we have most of the season, I am optimistic.

When did I ever mention anything about throwing the game. Don't put words in my mouth-I can do that just fine on my own thank you.

I stated that the defense seemingly did not care Saturday. Throw the game, no. I was thinking more along the lines of didn't pay attention during meetings that morning. Maybe FaceTimed Banks from their rooms after breakfast etc. All day just stewing about the situation. Then game starts and they find themselves lost on the field and it's too late to do anything about it then.

In terms of expectations changing as the season goes along-either for the good or bad. Sorry, but this happens every season.

Regarding luck-you don't think there was just a BIT of luck at the end of the Alabama game? How many drops did Bama have on that last drive? Two at least. They have a decent FG kicker-he missed. Those two passes are completed, more time goes off the clock and the kick is from shorter. No time then for Bru's heroics. Hell, 6 weeks later and I still don't know for sure if McGraths kick was tipped or not. I see different things every time I watch the replay.

I have no immediate clue who we played after Arkansas in 98. That mess Saturday was the equivalent of that 98 team getting blown out the game after the Arkansas miracle.

Once again, you do not have to agree with my post. When words start being put into my mouth, I am going to take exception however.

 

[Winchester73]

I keep seeing and hearing a trend on VN. I share those same feelings that we THREW IT AWAY … but did we really ? Reality is we were NOT ready for this and the SC game proves it. Blame whoever you want for the loss - but it shows we just aren’t there YET. These are growing pains and we’re all very disappointed now, I’m just hoping we get back on track, can win the last 2, and build momentum for next year.

 

[barknoxbrawler]

I have been a Vol fan for over 59 years. I love the Vols but I am totally disgusted and worn out. We were out coached and out played Saturday night. It just seems to Butch Jones like. Losing Hendon is last straw. I may be wrong but he was the thing that held the team together. Hate to say it but Vandy beats us and we lose the bowl game. Totally ruining what was going to be a Cinderella season.

Time to pull for another team in your 60th year it sounds like.