REASONABLE EXPECTATIOS for 2016

#178
#178
SEC championship game, talk about playoffs during the season. There are no games outside of Alabama that should be tough battles for our team next year.
 
#180
#180
ice said:
Our season is over.
We won big against a #12/13 ranked team in our bowl appearance. We made a statement and our coaches, fans, and players are pleased.
Going forward, what is a "reasonable" expectation for our teams accomplishments in the 2016/2017 season considering next years schedule?.
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Win the East
Beat two of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama

If we can't do that, we should consider a coaching change.
 
#181
#181
tvolsfan said:
Win the East or new coach.
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such a hard thing to say w/out knowing all the circumstances of how a season plays out.

there's scenarios where this could be warranted.

But it's far from an if/then situation.
 
#184
#184
Beat Florida, then let's talk. i don't think any of our goals are realistic if we lose that game again. 12 in a row, with the team we supposedly have coming back, the only game that i think you look at is Bama.

every other game is even or we should win.

Beat FL, then we can start to talk about what we should expect, or hyping up this team up as a real contender. all it is now is cheap talk. sorry, but it's true.

time for results to justify, or validate as the case seems to be, the hype.
 
#185
#185
florida will be way down---UT will beat them easily in Knoxville, beat Ga and win the east. In the title game---UT v. Alabama rematch--UT can pull the upset!
 
#188
#188
tvolsfan said:
We are safely to the point where Butch deserves more criticism for losing to Florida than credit for beating them. He HAS to win this game.
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typically, i put games in the "more important not to lose, than it is to win" category if the team is inferior, or we're playing for something, they aren't.

in that respect, i won't put FL in that category. while i do think we'll be the better team in 2016, they're not Vandy. there's little doubt that we'll be both playing for the same thing, so in that respect, i'll disagree with the notion that he should get more criticism for losing, vs. credit for winning. of course he should get credit. end an 11 game win streak and put us in 1st place in the East....yes, that's worthy of some praise. if we lose, well, i think we know what that means as far as criticism is concerned. i've already put all my eggs in the "beat FL" basket.



to be honest, i think this FL game is really no different than last year's. it's just time for this thing to end. period.
 
#189
#189
I didn't read the rest of the thread. 10-2 with a win over Bama or Florida. And win the East. At least IMO. If it doesn't happen I don't think Butch should be fired or anything, but I will be disappointed.
 
#190
#190
checkerboards09 said:
I don't know about last best chance. Who knows what the future holds. I'm just gonna keep the mindset of what myself and many others see and that is the UF game is all mental. It's a hump that we gotta get over.
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I agree with LawGator. After this 2016 season we will lose most of our play makers more than likely. Maybe have another down year in 17
 
#191
#191
BigOrangeTrain said:
So basically right off the bat, any loss next year and it's automatically a failure regardless of the circumstances. That seems totally fair.
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Any loss? Who said that? Why do some of you insist on dishonest debate tactics like this (poisoning the well) when someone's point corners you a little bit? It is OK to say "well maybe I had not looked at it that way".

There are extraordinary circumstances that could hit completely beyond Jones' ability to control or expect then prepare for however unlikely that is. BUT... he will have had 4 recruiting classes and over 3 years to develop "his" players... and "purge" those that so many of you claim were irreparably crippled by having played for Dooley. "Circumstances" such as injuries or attrition belong to Jones.

Injuries- everyone has them. Not everyone has them at the same rate we've seen at UT over the past 3 years. Not everyone has them at the same rate in practice that we've seen at UT over the past 3 years. This is a problem that can be and must be diminished through changes in S&C and practice methods.

Attrition and depth- If he does not have experienced upper classmen then that belongs to Jones too. If he again loses a well above avg number to attrition then he has not adequately addressed the issues that led to past attrition. He's had the opportunity to study the problem and improve.



The problem is that some of you are desperate to make sure you can supply an excuse if expectations aren't met.
 
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#192
#192
VolForLife83 said:
I agree with LawGator. After this 2016 season we will lose most of our play makers more than likely. Maybe have another down year in 17
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It shouldn't be if Jones is the recruiter that so many believe him to be. ALL good teams lose key playmakers each year. Great programs replace them with new playmakers.

Many have said the '16 class wasn't that important. For the reason you cite, it is. The class ranking may be down due to class size but UT NEEDS guys who can step in and play as Sophs after other guys move on.
 
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#193
#193
sjt18 said:
It shouldn't be if Jones is the recruiter that so many believe him to be. ALL good teams lose key playmakers each year. Great programs replace them with new playmakers.

Many have said the '16 class wasn't that important. For the reason you cite, it is. The class ranking may be down due to class size but UT NEEDS guys who can step in and play as Sophs after other guys move on.
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Amen, brother.

Sure, we'll lose Dobbs and likely Hurd and Sutton (if not already gone) and JRM (ditto) and Foreman and Wiesman and North and Lewis and O'Brien and Vereen and so on after next season.

But you know, we're already seeing the guys who will allow us to reload rather than having to rebuild: Dormady (plus Jones and Guarantano) ... and Kelly and Young ... and Abernathy, Miller and Griffin ... and Phillips and Taylor ... KMac and Shy and Picou ... Sapp and Smith and Maddox and Kirkland ... Boulware and Richmond and Jones and Hall ... and on and on.

They're already getting good, building college bodies, building up to college strength and speed and quickness, learning the playbook, adopting the culture and work ethic. Already. Some have been doing it for almost a year now.

Those are the guys who offset the playmakers we lose after next year. And then we'll have more to replace them in the following years.

Brick by brick, Butch & Co are building the program up so that we can reload without having to rebuild. Ever again.

From this point on, every year is a potential championship year for the Vols.
 
#194
#194
I expect them to be better than they were this year. Anything more than that, and I am just setting myself up for disappointment.
 
#195
#195
jakez4ut said:
Beat Florida, then let's talk. i don't think any of our goals are realistic if we lose that game again. 12 in a row, with the team we supposedly have coming back, the only game that i think you look at is Bama.

every other game is even or we should win.

Beat FL, then we can start to talk about what we should expect, or hyping up this team up as a real contender. all it is now is cheap talk. sorry, but it's true.

time for results to justify, or validate as the case seems to be, the hype.
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Beat Florida and then we can all get aboard the hype train. Bama at home with the team we have is a great opportunity. UGA will be a tougher game than we think on the road. We will be the front-runner and will be getting everyone's best shot.
 
#196
#196
VolsRule said:
florida will be way down---UT will beat them easily in Knoxville, beat Ga and win the east. In the title game---UT v. Alabama rematch--UT can pull the upset!
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Florida isnt going to be way down. They havent been way down for 20+ years.
 
#198
#198
Anything from 8-10 wins is technically reasonable. Less than 8 or more than 10 in the regular season would be unexpected.
 
#199
#199
Wilhelm16 said:
Anything from 8-10 wins is technically reasonable. Less than 8 or more than 10 in the regular season would be unexpected.
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8-4 will not be reasonable next year. I could very credibly argue that it wasn't reasonable this year. So, unless one assumes we don't continue to see progress going forward and is ok with it, no way 8 wins should be acceptable IMHO. 10-2 should be the minimum expectation next year when you consider that we blew 3 late 4th quarter leads and an early 14 point lead at home this year in our 4 losses. The odds that we would've/should've lost all 4 of those games considering those circumstances are very, very low. I'm assuming and believing that Jones will continue to move the program forward in 2016 and that progress will be reflected in the win-loss record.
 
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#200
#200
thebjd said:
Beat Florida and then we can all get aboard the hype train. Bama at home with the team we have is a great opportunity. UGA will be a tougher game than we think on the road. We will be the front-runner and will be getting everyone's best shot.
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I think looking at the schedule, and teams as they are right now (things will change between now and then obviously), you have that 4 game stretch...FL @ aTm, @ GA, Bama.

that's a tough stretch, but the other 8 games are all winnable.

i'm all in on beating FL, so that's 9. so you're left with the two tough road games, and the Bama game.

i like playing aTm with, what is right now anyway, a soft defense. how much better can they get really, is going to tell the tale of that game...right now, i think we can run over, thru, and by them. who knows what the offense will look like right now with all the qb issues. this is a ? that will have to get answered.

that leaves GA and Bama. i think GA game will be tougher than we might expect and Bama is Bama.

i look at the schedule and it screams 10-2. and could be better than that if a few things break our way. 9-3 i think is the floor for next year.
 
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