Recruiting Forum Football Talk LVII

[Glitch]

BVS is real, bro. It's taking over like the plague around here. Be careful, it could take you too.

When we win this fall it will hopefully relieve some of the BVS symptoms. Until then, the dead whale carcass that is VN will continue to bloat.

 

[LaagerVol]

Y’all haven’t learned yet.


No expectations... good or bad. Let’s see it THEN form opinion.

My expectation is that we look like a well coached football team. If I can’t have some hope, I don’t see much point in following bc I would be miserable.

 

[WarMachine]

When we win this fall it will hopefully relieve some of the BVS symptoms. Until then, the dead whale carcass that is VN will continue to bloat.

Is it sad that I think in movie quotes sometimes? Lol.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

My expectation is that we look like a well coached football team. If I can’t have some hope, I don’t see much point in following bc I would be miserable.

There is hope, and I will cheer loudly for a tough scrappy team even when they lose.

 

[Ulysees E. McGill]

Is it sad that I think in movie quotes sometimes? Lol.

My family speaks movie too 😃

 

[LaagerVol]

I agree we have good players at WR and RB barring injury, and JG may be better this year than last, but the OL is atrocious, especially if Smith doesn't come back. With him we have a chance to be mediocre at best.

On OL we have one great player that may not even be available, a couple of talented HS kids, and a few meh guys who are having to be retrained in a crash course on how to play real football...that is a recipe for a disaster at OL.

I hope they are better, but objectively I just don't see a lot of improvement happening that quick, therefore I think the offense will be horrid to watch against any defense with a pulse.

Richmond 5* - I know he has been disappointing..... Butch Jones

Ryan Johnson 4*

Marcus Tatum highly sought after

Locklear we all talked about how good he was gonna be when he signed

If Smith comes back that’s a pretty good starting 5.

 

[LaagerVol]

That's why I think the wild blind optimism is dangerous, it turns into a poisonous situation when they don't live up to ridiculous expectations.

Everybody calls me a pessimist now, but I am optimistic about the future with Pruitt, I just don't think this year is going to be fun to watch.

I look for the real improvement to be made in year two...there are just to many major problems to fix in this years team to expect much more than a more fundamentally sound team with a tougher attitude.

I don’t think there is much wild blind optimism. Most people who are optimistic just expect us to look better and be competitive.

 

[bignewt]

Richmond 5* - I know he has been disappointing..... Butch Jones

Ryan Johnson 4*

Marcus Tatum highly sought after

Locklear we all talked about how good he was gonna be when he signed

If Smith comes back that’s a pretty good starting 5.

unfortunately we all know how long a starting 5 lasts in the SEC.

 

[butchna]

It's kinda like this, you're getting ready to have heart surgery. Come to find out the surgeon Is a first year medical student. You are pulling for him to succeed.

So in your sweeping medical drama, there’s ONE qualified surgeon and all of the interns, residents and attending physicians are STUDENTS? Whacky and innovative prime time stuff there! It’s on FOX...right? :wink2:

 

[LaagerVol]

That last sentence should tell people something IMO. We have people thinking our talent level is in the 8-10 win range. It's not. Doesn't matter how well this team is coached, I don't see how anyone could realistically think we have a good shot of winning more than 7.

Has anyone REALLY said we will win 10 besides a couple of people joking about it? The majority I see is 6-8.

 

[Glitch]

Is it sad that I think in movie quotes sometimes? Lol.

I do too. It drives my wife crazy sometimes.

"How do you remember that lines from movies you saw years ago but not what I told you five minutes ago?" lol:

 

[Vols4us]

Next year is gonna be fun. I don't even understand why some folks feel the need to put a cap on this teams potential. We have no clue what we have. We have no clue how coaching will change things.

We also have no clue how hard our schedule really is.

All I know is we have a head coach that has historically turned around defenses fast. Caaant wait. I miss football.

I'm so with you, man. No idea why people get so beaten down and let it ruin their fandom. I mean, we only have so many Saturdays in the fall to watch our favorite teams. We have a new staff, new hope! I'm pumped to watch Pruitt's boys compete this fall. Sounds like at the very least they'll be fundamentally sound, tough SOB's out there, or they'll be on the bench. I'm ready to cheer for a team like that.

People already writing this season and/or Pruitt off really should rethink what they're doing here and maybe go find another hobby. This might not be a good fit. JMO

GO BIG MFING ORANGE

I'm with you two. I hate that fans sold out to the Dools and Jones schtick. I tried to as hard as I could to no avail. To not see the difference in CJP/staff versus the others, one has to close his/her eyes and ears.

No more useless dumb selling to the media with Doolisms and Butchspeak. The silence is music to my ears along with the occasional plain speak from a real football coach.

Cannot wait for the season to begin to see the real improvement on the field and decision making of the coaches. Five of the past eight seasons have been so painful to watch in every aspect. Even the better seasons had so much stupid in them it reduced the enjoyment.

 

[Nashvegas31]

You don’t have to have a great OL to score points. The seahawks have had awful OL play the last two years and still score points.

They are ways to work around it if you have a good QB and scheme.

If your going to have a rough OL your QB better have great pocket presence, be able to move in pocket and Get ball out quick. Russell Wilson does all that. JG based on last yr needs a lot of work on his mental clock.

Helton def will have to earn his $ in yr 1. Weapons are there around the OL. If they can scheme it up right to get ball out quick and move the pocket and get a QB processing things quickly we can score

 

[Glitch]

unfortunately we all know how long a starting 5 lasts in the SEC.

Until roughly the second series.

 

[LaagerVol]

The funny thing is I think most people have pretty much the same number in mind. Most have stated that we probably win 6 or 7 games. Where the argument comes in is some of us think if a couple of things go our way we can win one or two more, while others think if any luck is involved it will be bad luck and cost us games. Other than me and Ron saying 15-0 haha most of the optimistic people aren't really saying any more than 8 or 9 wins. Which isn't even really what should be considered a good season for us. It's not like this team is being put on this crazy pedestal. Hopeful expectations are a halfway decent record. haha. But we've seen the last couple of years that a play or 2 a game has been the difference in 3 or 4 wins a year. So IMO it's not unrealistic to think a better coach could change the outcome of some of those close losses and sneak some extra wins in there.

Sleegro Swansoning me..... constantly. That may be a bad sign for you Sleegro that our opinions are lining up so much.

 

[LA Vol]

It ain't happening imo, at least not unless a lot of breaks go our way, which they literally never do.

I see beating the cupcakes, UK and Vandy for 5 wins this year. I want to see good fundamental tough football against everybody we play.

I think we can beat WVU, which hinges on the defense stopping them...so that is a really big if.

I think we could beat UF, but we've only pulled that off once in 13 years..so that is really big if.

I do see where some higher win totals could be attainable this season, but that just hinges on too many big ifs for me to see it happening.

Frankly, I'm past the play tough and compete stage. I want to win, I expect to win and I don't care if we win ugly. I'm not looking for style points. I'm not looking for flash and highlight reels. I'm looking for a team that's sick of losing and finds a way-- any way-- to win. I'm waaaaaaaaaaaay past excuses and looking forward to "next year." Just win. Win now.

 

[LaagerVol]

See that is where I am different from the other pessimists, I actually believe given time that Pruitt is a good coach that will build something solid to great here.

I am from the generation that saw how long it took Majors to rebuild the UT program from the nuclear ashes of the Battle era. It just doesn't happen overnight..and I think Pruitt is a much better football mind than Majors.

We are all different. That’s part of what makes this place fun. I think this year will show improvement and the next couple years after that I expect bigger things.

 

[jakez4ut]

In addition to Pruitt, we have a new AD, new (real) S&C coach, commitment to winning. I think it will take time, but we are much better off today than the circus we've been watching the last few years.

Agreed.

-VQ

as i read this, i was thinking about Pruitt's comments the other day on how a team finds/builds/maintains confidence, and he spoke about sometimes you have teams with one real leader, or teams that have good leaders on both sides of the ball, and others where it's the coaches that have to provide that.

and as he spoke, i didn't get the notion that we DIDN'T have leaders, but that we probably didn't know who they were, and it may likely be the coaches that have to instigate that.

i think one thing that would probably help is if the coaches TRUST the players. you go back and think about the opportunities lost by the previous staff because we followed the prescribed remedies for whatever situation presented....more times than not, we followed whatever the chart said to do.

i think if this staff puts this team in situations to succeed, and then trusts them to go do it...they just need these guys to prove to themselves they can.

it'll be interesting to see what we might do on a 4th and 1 from the 40 early in games/early season. or in some other situational football scenario where we might lay the script down, and tell somebody "go make a play".

trust=confidence. gonna be interesting to see how that develops.

UT's in a tough spot. Fans are tired of being patient and want Tennessee to be back. We're not back and nobody knows how long it'll take. Fulmer is going to give Pruitt time-- more time than many would like. Everybody's sick of hearing "it's a process" and "enjoy the ride" while getting smacked around by our rivals and watching programs that used to be sure wins beat us year after year. UT fans have hung in longer than any other fanbase would've... but now it's wait and see time. There are no guarantees-- just hope.

agreed.

Is it sad that I think in movie quotes sometimes? Lol.

I do too. It drives my wife crazy sometimes.

"How do you remember that lines from movies you saw years ago but not what I told you five minutes ago?" lol:

same here...lol. my wife sucks at that game. and i can't help myself. lol:

 

[Nashvegas31]

Richmond 5* - I know he has been disappointing..... Butch Jones

Ryan Johnson 4*

Marcus Tatum highly sought after

Locklear we all talked about how good he was gonna be when he signed.

If Smith comes back that’s a pretty good starting 5.

I think richmond will be improved but not banking on anything drastic. I'll go with he will be solid this yr but not great.

Ryan Johnson is someone in interested to see his jump this yr. he seems to be cemented in the top 5 and looks to have put in a good bit of size this offseason already.

Locklear prob needs some more size to where we can count on him being a force. Still seems on small side in practice pics

Tatum has a high ceiling. Need it to click for him.

Need Smith and Hall back badly especially Smith.

Calbert, Lane, Carvin, Brooks, Jahmir will be wildcards worth keeping an eye on how they progress and look come fall. The first 3 have good size for their age but we need them ready now unfortunately.

Neuhaus just looks too small for what this staff will want.

 

[LaagerVol]

It ain't happening imo, at least not unless a lot of breaks go our way, which they literally never do.

I see beating the cupcakes, UK and Vandy for 5 wins this year. I want to see good fundamental tough football against everybody we play.

I think we can beat WVU, which hinges on the defense stopping them...so that is a really big if.

I think we could beat UF, but we've only pulled that off once in 13 years..so that is really big if.

I do see where some higher win totals could be attainable this season, but that just hinges on too many big ifs for me to see it happening.

Look at McGill predicting 7+ wins.

 

[Glitch]

Has anyone REALLY said we will win 10 besides a couple of people joking about it? The majority I see is 6-8.

Ron is at 15-0.

A few more of us are gonna meet him there before the season starts. We've got room if you want. Ron is driving though so take some Dramamine if you get car sick.

 

[LaagerVol]

unfortunately we all know how long a starting 5 lasts in the SEC.

I don’t think most teams have the same horrible luck (or horrible S&C) that we’ve had the last few years. Surely we won’t have that many catastrophic injuries again this year? I hope.

 

[Big Gucci Sosa]

Gray gonna be a factor at CB?

Too early to know. Was interesting that he made some plays Saturday though, especially when several other DBs really struggled.

Simonton

 

[Sleegro]

Sleegro Swansoning me..... constantly. That may be a bad sign for you Sleegro that our opinions are lining up so much.

Haha right. I'm starting to question myself now.

 

[jakez4ut]

Gray gonna be a factor at CB?



Simonton

interesting....i have high hopes for that kid.