Relax... The Vols can still have a decent season

#1
ConantheVolbarian

ConantheVolbarian

What is best in life? Winning by fiddy!
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#1
I have seen a lot of overreactions to the loss to West Virginia. People think that Tennessee is in for another 4-8 or 5-7 year. I think it is too early to start panicking.

Tennessee's coaches and players know exactly where they need to improve and they have a few weeks to make significant progress in practice before Florida comes to town.

I think that loss was the best thing that could happen. That is why you play those tough teams instead of cupcakes. Would you be happier if Tennessee had scheduled a third cupcake, and we got a nasty surprise against Florida and had to adjust on the fly in the middle of a brutal SEC stretch?

When you have a good coaching staff (and we do now), your team will improve as the season goes along. Tennessee will be able to compete with the lower-tier SEC teams by November and finish strong. Tennessee will go to a bowl and beat the likes of Vandy and Kentucky. Heck, maybe we get a surprise upset along the way. Cool your jets. The Vols will be okay. Like Pruitt said, they are 0-1 and they can either sulk about it or get to work and get better. Pruitt said they will do the latter and I am inclined to believe him.
 
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#5
#5
OP sums it up pretty well. If we can make it thru this year showing some progress, we FINALLY get a breather on scheduling in 2019...not just OOC, which we should be embarrassed, but no top tier SECW opponent, and MOST importantly, no 4-5 game gauntlet in the middle of the season. UF moved back, which I love, and only tough back to back stretch is Bama/UF, which is a far cry from FL, GA, AUB, BAMA, SC this year
 
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#8
#8
Longsufferingvol said:
BYU usually has a quality team. We should definitely win that game, but it probably wont be a gimme.
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Wow I must be tired/hungover. I read that as "BUY" as in a "bye week". Must have been too much Don Julio trying to drown my sorrows after the WVU game.
 
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#9
#9
njvols said:
OP sums it up pretty well. If we can make it thru this year showing some progress, we FINALLY get a breather on scheduling in 2019...not just OOC, which we should be embarrassed, but no top tier SECW opponent, and MOST importantly, no 4-5 game gauntlet in the middle of the season. UF moved back, which I love, and only tough back to back stretch is Bama/UF, which is a far cry from FL, GA, AUB, BAMA, SC this year
Click to expand...

This schedule isn't in chronological order. It simply lists the OOC opponents, the Home SEC games, then the Away SEC games.
 
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#12
#12
Jeremy should have more of his hand picked players on board by then, right? Strengthening and conditioning a year further along and more distance from last season. Could be ten and two. JUST KIDDING!!!!
 
#13
#13
Defense will get better no doubt in my mind. Pruitt knows how to fix a defense and he'll get it done on that side of the ball. Our OC has to become more aware of what a team's weakness is and attack with plays that make them vulnerable. Was obvious to me that their CB's were weak we refused to keep the pressure on them the entire game.
 
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#16
#16
Longsufferingvol said:
I have seen a lot of overreactions to the loss to West Virginia. People think that Tennessee is in for another 4-8 or 5-7 year. I think it is too early to start panicking.

Tennessee's coaches and players know exactly where they need to improve and they have a few weeks to make significant progress in practice before Florida comes to town.

I think that loss was the best thing that could happen. That is why you play those tough teams instead of cupcakes. Would you be happier if Tennessee had scheduled a third cupcake, and we got a nasty surprise against Florida and had to adjust on the fly in the middle of a brutal SEC stretch?

When you have a good coaching staff (and we do now), your team will improve as the season goes along. Tennessee will be able to compete with the lower-tier SEC teams by November and finish strong. Tennessee will go to a bowl and beat the likes of Vandy and Kentucky. Heck, maybe we get a surprise upset along the way. Cool your jets. The Vols will be okay. Like Pruitt said, they are 0-1 and they can either sulk about it or get to work and get better. Pruitt said they will do the latter and I am inclined to believe him.
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How is this lose a good thing? And how do you know we have a good coaching staff, do you have proof of that?
 
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#17
#17
volfanjustin said:
How is this lose a good thing? And how do you know we have a good coaching staff, do you have proof of that?
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Let me rephrase that. It is better to lose to a good team in a neutral site game in the first week of the season than it would be to schedule cupcakes for the first few games and then get exposed by Florida. Imagine being hit by the reality of our issues in that game and having to fix them on the fly during that brutal 4-game stretch.
At least now we know what we need to work on and have two gimme games, and 3 weeks of practice to start getting things sorted out. This loss will make us a better team going forward, even though it stings right now.
 
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#18
#18
After being depressed Saturday night and into this morning.. I was able to think about it like Longsufferingvol did.. (great name btw).. We could have played a glorified scrimmage game on Saturday, thought we were ready for the season, and been completely embarrassed when we played someone halfway worth a crap. Hopefully, opening up against a legit football team will have given the players and coaches a realistic view of the season ahead and what to improve and how to improve. If we have a good coaching staff.. that's what will happen. Hopefully they will use these next two weeks to correct the kids and be healthy and ready for that team in Florida.. GBO
 
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#20
#20
How low are we when we look at the 2019 season schedule for hope when we've only played one game of the 2018 season?
 
#22
#22
The season is based on if we can beat florduh. Does anyone still think we can beat florduh? We've seen this before. Thinking we will beat florduh is stupid. I hate them and want all florduh fans and players to all run into each other at high speed while holding nitro glycerin. They seem to figure out a way - not to win but to make us choke, no matter the talent of either team. Its F'ing great their are so many florduh fans here in TN. The Gator symbol on with Knox co tags is normal. It sucks but its normal. Florduh sucks and always will. hate hate hate florduh
 
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#23
#23
I guess it comes down to how you define a decent season. I am not expecting a lot of wins, to many big gaping holes like the offensive line to allow for that, but I will consider this season a tremendous success if I see improvement from week to week. This year is all about the process. Just remember Kirby Smart's first year at UGA and UGA had a lot better athletes when he got there then we have now.
 
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#24
#24
Volfan2012 said:
Defense will get better no doubt in my mind. Pruitt knows how to fix a defense and he'll get it done on that side of the ball. Our OC has to become more aware of what a team's weakness is and attack with plays that make them vulnerable. Was obvious to me that their CB's were weak we refused to keep the pressure on them the entire game.
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Definite over-sight on the part of UT's OC. I think the game plan was for UT to establish the run. UWV was giving up the underneath route not wanting to get burnt deep. Considering how well JG was placing his passes and the receivers catching and holding the ball this was money. Which brings into question when should a team and it's coaches deviate from the game plan? In this case immediately. Sometimes teams adjust quickly and get points for it even though later in a said game the opponent realizes it and adjust to stop it. All said and done this was failure on Helton's part. To grind the point home....this is why S.Darnold is the starter for the Jets now. His ability to see what the defense is willing to give up and exploit a weakness. Irony is Helton was his QB coach. This ineptitude needs fixed now on part of the staff.
Another example....Jordan gashes their line for about a 12-14 yd gain giving UT a 1st and goal at the one. Up to that point UWV's D-Line was besting UT's O-Line. What does he do? Runs Jordan into the LOS on 2 plays and then decides to roll JG out. Fortunately UT is able to get 6 out of that mess. Same scenario presented itself later in the game and UT came up short.....no points. Here's the correction. Plowing Jordan into the line is a good call because most of WV's team is gonna converge there and LB's and DB's are going to be frozen for a second. Except Jordan fakes a dive without the ball because JJ is running an end around and has taken a pitch from JG. He's dashing for the pile-on at the right corner of the endzone. Can he make it? Might not matter because he's in option position. How many WV defenders read the play...sniffed it out? If not 2 give UT 6 because the TE initially gave the look of blocking down but released toward the back pile-on. JJ is a tough cookie to bring down one on one for most DB's he's in option position and all he has to do is look for the TE and make a split-second read. Chances for success on this goal-line play are 90% IMO. You shouldn't have to make 4 attempts. WV players actually got a moral lift by forcing UT to have to go to 4th down.
This boils down to imagination and innovation. The former does not. I'm somewhat concerned about UT's offense a lot more than their D. WV isn't know for good defenses and Saturday didn't show that they were a good defense and this would have been more-so had Helton made the adjustment. Whatever the problem is there needs fixed and you can't point to JG or any receiver as the problem. Danielson CBS saw the open routes and commented on it. 'NUFF SAID!!!!
 
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